I didn't expect much when Connor Sharpe followed me back.
Just some random notification while hanging out with my best friend.
But one simple "hi" turns into something neither of us saw coming.
A couple of years apart, different grades, and a millio...
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“Okay, so… what do I even say?” I asked, voice barely above a whisper. The TikTok chat with Connor stared back at me, innocent but somehow terrifying.
Yumi leaned in, eyes sparkling with excitement. “You gotta keep it casual! Like, don’t make it sound like you’re writing a novel. Just be you.”
Laura nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! Maybe start with something funny. Like ‘Your Q&A was wild!’”
Jake smirked, folding his arms. “Or you could just go full fan mode: ‘OMG, can’t believe you texted me!’” He winked, but I shot him a warning glance.
“No way,” I said, cheeks burning. “Too much.”
Yumi pulled out her phone and started typing a draft. “What about this: ‘Hey! Yeah, your family Q&A was hilarious. Definitely didn’t expect you to follow me back because of that!’”
I tapped my fingers nervously. “It’s good… but what if it sounds too eager? I don’t want to come off as desperate.”
Laura grinned. “It’s not desperate. It’s honest. And that’s way better than sounding fake.”
We debated back and forth, switching words, deleting lines, adding emojis, until finally, I gave up and wrote what Yumi told me.
Yumi glanced up, her eyes encouraging. “You’ve got this. Just hit send.”
My thumb hovered over the button, heart pounding like a drum in my chest.
“Okay,” I said, taking a shaky breath. “Here goes nothing.”
I tapped ‘Send.’
The message disappeared into the digital void, and suddenly, the coffee shop felt way too loud.
Laura grinned. “Now we wait.”
Jake elbowed her lightly. “You’re worse than she is.”
We all laughed, but I was too jittery to join fully. I stared at the screen, willing it to light up with Connor’s reply.
Minutes ticked by, each second stretching longer than the last.
Yumi elbowed me. “You’re gonna make yourself crazy staring like that.”
“I can’t help it,” I whispered. “This is Connor.”
Laura shook her head with a smirk. “He’s just a guy texting you back. No big deal.”
“No big deal?” I repeated, skeptical. “You don’t know Connor Sharpe.”
Jake raised his cup. “Well, whether it’s a big deal or not, you’re about to find out.”
I glanced around at my friends, their smiles, their teasing, their faith in me and suddenly, I didn’t feel quite so alone in this.
I set my phone down, trying to breathe normally, trying to be patient.
But the truth was, every fiber of me was buzzing with anticipation.
And all I could think was: What if this is the start of something real..?
I checked my phone again to see if he had texted me back yet, and as I opened our chat, I saw the familiar three dots - the typing bubbles.
My heart skipped a beat.
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