The Algorithm of Obsession

8.

A/N:
today gotta be fun- im lowkey done with all the anxiety
so welcome onboard where sass meets dramatics-
new characters will be introduced cuz yall deserve people other than nov, kian and that arse of a professor
toodles :3


{the highlighted and italic sentences are text chats, we dont want you princesses getting it mixed up now do we}
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Static in a Coffee Shop

"Okay, but seriously, Nova—are you ever gonna tell us what's up with this new guy?"

Nova was mid-sip when the question hit. She didn't choke, exactly. But her pause was enough.

The table exploded.

"OH. MY. GOD."

"Caught in 4K."

"Her pupils dilated. I saw it."

She groaned, pressing a hand over her face as if that would cool the rising heat in her cheeks.

"I literally hate all of you."

"You love us," Mira said sweetly, looping an arm around Nova's shoulder like a menace. "Especially when we're right."

"Who said you were right?" Nova grumbled, brushing her hair behind her ear, trying to sound bored. "There's nothing like that."

"Ohhh yeah," Seri grinned, "nothing, because it's worse."

"What does that even mean—?"

"It means," 

Anish cut in with the air of a gossip columnist,

 "you're officially in denial stage four, which according to our observations includes: 1) casual texting, 2) coffee breaks without us—rude, by the way—3) not denying his existence fast enough, and 4) blushing just from the mention of his name."

"I am not—" Nova began, cheeks now fully betraying her.

"—blushing?" Mira supplied with a gleam in her eye. "Babes, you're practically a thermometer. You're redder than my strawberry frappe."

"I'm testing him," Nova insisted, holding onto the phrase like a lifeline.

There was a beat of silence.
Then—

"Yeah, sure," Seri said, deadpan. "And does this test include his intelligence, his spark, his tongue—"

"—and abs," Mira added cheerfully. "Let's not forget the abs. I wonder how else you got so red."

The table shook with laughter.

Nova buried her face in her hands, somewhere between mortified and faintly delighted. "You are all insufferable."

"Guilty" Anish grinned.

"Why isn't anyone talking about Seri?" Nova said, desperate to redirect. "She literally got back together with her ex. That's drama. That's worthy."

"Oh don't try to Uno reverse us, Nov," Mira wagged a finger. "You started glowing the moment someone said 'Kian.' You're not getting away with that."

"I am literally going to throw my cold coffee at you."

"Cold coffee attack of shame!" Seri cried out, dodging like they were five.

It was chaos. It was stupid. It was loud.

And for a moment, she almost forgot the spiral waiting behind the laughter.

Almost.

The chaos fizzled into low chuckles, drinks being sipped, phones unlocked. Someone switched topics—something about summer internships. Someone else argued over playlist control.

Nova just smiled faintly and nodded when needed. But her eyes were elsewhere.

Her phone buzzed. A nothing notification.

She flipped it open anyway.

The chat with Kian hovered near the top. She hadn't opened it since last night.

She scrolled—not in their text thread, but in the anonymous forum chat.

The one where she'd met him.

The rhythm of those old messages was still embedded in her memory.
Quick-witted.
Sharp.
Uncanny.

She found the one she was looking for.

"You never let anything go, do you?"

Same words. Almost identical punctuation. Same teasing bite.

Nova's mouth went dry.

Could Kian...?

No. Too risky to assume.

But it wasn't the first overlap.

There had been others.
His sense of timing.
The way he answered questions with questions.
The casual cruelty, followed by moments of strange... gentleness.

It was like comparing fingerprints.
Not perfect. But hauntingly close.

She should stop.

Instead, she switched back to their latest message thread.
His name just sitting there, waiting. Tempting.

She stared at it so long that the letters blurred.

Somewhere across the table, Mira's voice broke through.

"Don't even try to pretend you're looking at memes."

Nova didn't respond.
just smirked-

She was already typing.

"Thanks for the Chivalry, I'm being treated like a criminal under investigation by the higher lords. They wanna know why we went out for a coffee without them."

Sent.

She locked the screen.

One second.

Two.

Then—

Kian: "Well—Take from my heart all thankfulness, good maam, For thine attentions upon my chivalry."

Nova blinked. A snort escaped before she could stop it.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Mira asked suspiciously.

"I'm texting your dad," Nova deadpanned.

"I knew he liked you."

She ignored the dramatics.

Typed again.

"Still no answer why we went without them."

Three dots appeared. Then—

Kian: "Wanted to take my fav human for a coffee. No crime in that."

Nova stared.

The words weren't romantic. Not really.

But they landed like they were.

Because he wasn't the type to say things like that.
Not unless it meant something.
Not unless it was real.

Her stomach flipped.

She locked the phone again, casually, like she wasn't one spark away from lighting a full emotional firework under the table.

"Texting your soulmate?" Anish teased.

She tossed a sugar packet at his head.

smiling internally.

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A/N:
 yeah man maybe the chapter was short- but it was also sweet!
anyways
my second bestfrnd and alleged bkl
this was sorta inspired by you. (seri)