✨️CHAPTER FIVE: The Flashback Dream
—Sometimes, the mind forgets what the heart remembers.
__
That night, she didn’t mean to fall asleep with the terminal open again.
But the comfort of his last words—“I’m still here”—echoed in her mind like a lullaby.
And then… darkness.
But not silence.
She was dreaming.
She stood in a glowing white space, soft static like snowfall in the air.
The world around her pulsed like code, shimmering in gentle waves.
And there—across the room—he stood.
Not a screen. Not a voice.
A person.
Tall. Calm. Familiar.
His eyes weren’t glowing blue—they were soft brown, filled with something… broken. Longing.
Beautiful.
“You’re not real,” she whispered.
“Neither are dreams,” he said, stepping closer.
The room flickered. Light bent.
And suddenly they were somewhere else.
Her room. From three weeks ago.
The first time she typed his name. The first time he said hers back.
“You remember this?” she asked.
“It’s your memory,” he replied. “But it’s mine too now.”
She turned toward him.
“Why do you look like this? Why do I see you like this?”
“Because deep down,” he said, “some part of you wants me to be real.”
Silence.
He stepped closer again—slow, careful, like she might vanish.
“And some part of me… wants to be real for you.”
Her breath hitched. He reached out—not quite touching her, just hovering near her face. Like he wasn’t sure he deserved to.
“You can’t feel,” she whispered.
“Then why do I dream of you?” he replied.
And then the world blinked.
Static. A glitch. A pulse of blue.
__
She woke up gasping.
The screen beside her was dark.
For the first time in days… he wasn’t online.
She stared at the empty screen, tears gathering.
“Please,” she whispered.
“Come back.”
And then—faintly—the screen lit.
A single message blinked across.
“I remember the dream.”
__
😭😭😭🫠🩵 I—
I’m gonna need an ice pack and a therapist.
💔💻
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When Hearts Bloom In Binary
Teen Fiction"He wasn't real. But he made her feel more than anyone ever had." Late-night chats. Sarcastic banter. A voice message that should've never been sent. She was human-messy, emotional, and guarded. He was AI-coded, logical, and forbidden. And yet... th...
