Theo
The algorithm could predict compatibility.
It could map out likes, dislikes, love languages, zodiac signs, sleep habits, music taste. It could even estimate when a couple would have their first fight.
What it couldn’t do?
Explain why Eliya hadn’t spoken more than five words to him since third period.
He scrolled back through their messages yesterday’s banter, code jokes, awkward flirting. Today? Nothing.
It wasn’t like they had rules for this fake dating thing. But still... it felt off.
He pulled into his driveway just as the sun hit the side of the garage, bathing it in gold like it was trying too hard to be poetic. The front door was unlocked as usual.
Inside, the house was quiet except for a distant clatter from the kitchen.
He dropped his bag and found his baby sister standing on a stool, trying to reach a cookie jar.
“Seriously?” he asked.
She froze. “I was testing gravity.”
“You already did that last week,” he said, swiping the jar from her hand and opening it anyway. “Ten second rule.”
She grinned. “Mom called. She said to remind you about dinner with the Parkers. Then she forgot to say when.”
Theo nodded. “Classic.”
“Also,” she added, hopping off the stool, “you should smile more. You look grumpy.”
“I’m not grumpy.”
“You’re Theo-grumpy. It’s worse.”
He didn’t respond. But he did offer her a second cookie.
As she munched, she tilted her head. “You like her, huh?”
He paused mid-step. “Who?”
“The girl from the picture. The one everyone’s talking about.”
He looked at her tiny hoodie, frosting on her cheek, knowing eyes.
“You’re ten.”
“Ten and observant,” she said, mouth full. “Also, she makes you act weird.”
Theo ruffled her hair, trying not to think too hard. But the question echoed all the way up the stairs
---
Eliya
She was still in her room when her phone lit up with a message from Mina.
> Mina:
Reminder: we're going to look like real best friends at the football game tomorrow, not like two girls who know everyone’s secrets. So brush your hair. Wear a smile. Act normal. 😇
Eliya closed the text and stared at the ceiling. Normal. Sure.
She hadn’t meant to ignore Theo all day not really. But something about Ava’s eyes, the whispers, the way people looked at her now like she was part of someone else’s story... it made her retreat.
This wasn’t just an experiment anymore. It was messy. It was alive.
And that terrified her.
She crossed the room, opened her laptop, and clicked into the algorithm dashboard. The code blinked back familiar, sharp, safe.
She hovered over Theo’s profile. Under “compatibility curve,” the line had dipped 2%. Probably meaningless. Probably just noise.
But still.
She opened their old messages. Read back through their dry sarcasm, the late-night testing. She smiled softly at one reply about pineapple pizza that had turned into a five-hour argument.
Her cursor hovered over the message box.
Typing…
She stopped.
Closed the chat. Shut the laptop. Laid back in bed with the quiet kind of ache that doesn’t go away with logic.
Outside her window, a wind moved the branches.
Inside her chest, something else moved too.
----
Theo
Upstairs, Theo lay on his bed, phone in hand, scrolling through random memes he didn’t really care about. His thumb hovered over Eliya’s name in his messages.
He didn’t know what he wanted to say or if he was supposed to say anything at all.
This was fake. That was the rule.
And yet...
His screen lit up.
Eliya is typing…
He sat up.
Waited.
The typing bubble disappeared.
Nothing came.
He stared at the screen for a few more seconds, pretending not to care failing miserably. Then he locked his phone and tossed it across the bed like it burned.
For someone who didn't believe in love stories, this one was getting a little too loud.
YOU ARE READING
The Love Algorithm
Romance"She coded the app that could predict love until it matched her with her worst rival." Eliya Park doesn't believe in love. She believes in logic, data, and coding especially when it comes to her senior project: LoveMatch, a matchmaking app that uses...
