Saturday evening vibes felt extra loud inside Sarah’s silent room. Everyone was out — parents, noise, even Hina hadn’t spammed her in the last 10 minutes. Just her, her phone, and Ronan living in her brain rent-free.
Kira: “If you scroll his profile one more time without saying hi, I’m blocking you myself 💀”
Hina: “Fr. Say SOMETHING. Even a ‘hi’ in lowercase.”
Sarah: “Bro what if he’s like—EW A GIRL.”
Her heart thudded when the notification came:
"Ronan accepted your follow request."
A pause. Nothing else. No like back. No follow back. But she saw the number go up. He knew.
Sarah: “OH MY GOOOOO—HE ACCEPTED.”
Kira: “Now go like his oldest post 😭😭”
Yuna: “Stalk time activated.”
Sarah didn’t double-tap. She didn’t even scroll. She froze on his profile pic — Ronan, hoodie up, shadow in his eyes, smile nowhere in sight, just like always.
Days passed. She didn’t message him. Neither did he. But something shifted. In class, he didn’t look through her. He looked at her.
Once, their hands brushed while grabbing the same worksheet. Sarah jerked back, muttering a sorry.
Ronan: “You always say sorry.”
Sarah (tiny voice): “Because I mess up a lot.”
Ronan: “That’s human.”
No smile. No spark. Just him. Being… soft?
Her heart did backflips.
The next week, Sarah posted a random sunset on her story. No caption, no filter — just orange skies from her balcony.
She didn't expect anything.
But then—
"Seen by: ronan.jpg"
Then:
“Nice sky.”
Her breath hitched.
She stared at the message like it would vanish if she blinked.
Kira screamed in the group chat.
Yuna sent a hundred keyboard smashes.
Hina just typed: “reply rn or I’ll come over and do it for you.”
Sarah’s thumbs trembled over the keyboard.
Sarah: “Not as nice as yours.”
Send.
Delete? No—wait.
He was typing.
Ronan: “That so?”
Ronan: “I didn’t think you noticed.”
She breathed—barely. The world outside her window looked the same, but everything had shifted. She had read that message exactly eleven times now. Every word, every punctuation mark, even the dot at the end that he didn’t use—she memorized it.
Her trembling fingers opened the girlies groupchat.
Sarah:
> "GUYS. HE. SAID. ‘didn’t think you noticed.’
I’m dying."
Kira was instantly unhinged.
> "IM LOSING MY MINDDDD WHY IS HE BEING SMOOTH WHO TAUGHT HIM THIS"
Yuna:
> "NO WAIT. NO. THIS IS A MAN WRITTEN BY WOMEN. WE CALLED IT. WE CALLED IT."
Hina (finally matching her usual chaos):
> "SEND YOUR WEDDING INVITE RIGHT NOW. I want pastel colors."
Sarah was smiling so much it hurt. But her heart? It was being annoying. Beating way too fast for someone who wasn’t even with the guy.
But then… the dots appeared. Ronan was typing.
She held her breath like it was illegal to inhale during this moment.
Ronan:
> “Your stories always got something pretty in them. But that one was next level.”
Sarah melted. Straight up melted. Turned into soup.
She didn't even care what the sky looked like anymore. He thought she was “next level.” That was a certified heart-thief line.
She sent the screenshot to the girlies at the speed of light.
Sarah:
> “I CANT I CANT I CANT BREATHE”
Kira:
> “Girl drop out of school it’s over just live your romantic arc.”
Yuna:
> “I’m screaming into my pillow what does this MEAN”
Sarah thought for a second. This wasn’t flirting anymore. This was...almost like he was waiting for her to notice something. Or maybe… he had already noticed something about her.
So she replied, hands shaking and heart thumping.
Sarah:
> “Maybe the sky just had competition.”
She closed the app. Immediately.
Then opened it again. Then closed it. Then screamed into her blanket. Then opened it again.
Ronan had liked her message.
And then...
Ronan:
> “Okay… now you’re just unfair.”
Before Sarah could reply to that, he typed again.
Ronam:
> "Alr talk to you later, Gotta eat. Ml."
And that? there were a THOUSAND butterflies in her stomach. She sent that screenshot to the group
Kira : OMG, that's crazy. WAIT ML? Did he just call you my lov-
*Cut off by Yuna*
Yuna : WHAT EXCUSE ME OMG OMG OMG DID HE JUST CALL YOU MY LOVE? GIRL YOU WON 😭
Hina : WOWOWOWOW GIRLY GO GET YOUR MAN 😭
*after Ronan has returned, Continuation of "your unfair"*
Sarah stared at the message like it was a rare artifact.
Unfair? Her? What did he mean by that? Her brain was already throwing a tantrum, running scenarios at hyper speed.
She typed. Deleted. Typed again. Deleted harder.
Finally, she went with:
Sarah:
> “Unfair? Me? I’m literally known for being average.”
Immediately regretted it.
Ronan:
> “Average’s not a word I’d use for someone who made me pause mid-scroll.”
Sarah screamed. Into her pillow. Loud enough to scare the dog next door probably.
She voice-noted the group chat.
Sarah (whisper-screaming):
> “HE SAID I MADE HIM STOP SCROLLING. LIKE. MID SCROLL. DO YOU KNOW HOW HOT THAT IS.”
Kira responded in all caps.
> “MA’AM. YOU’RE NOT BREATHING. GET A PAPER BAG.”
Yuna was losing it.
> “HE IS SO INTO YOU I’M ABOUT TO FILE A POLICE REPORT FOR EMOTIONAL DAMAGE.”
Then Hina:
> “Girl if this doesn’t end with you making out in the rain I WILL RIOT.”
Sarah couldn’t take it. She went to his profile again. His last post? A picture of him playing guitar—captionless, of course. He looked way too good. Someone should’ve warned her.
She clicked on his story.
Nothing new.
Until—
WAIT FOR CHAPTER 2 🫶🏻😂
VOCÊ ESTÁ LENDO
Connecting The Strings 💕🫶🏻
Romancesoft romance, admiring him from afar, adorable little story 🫶🏻🥹
