Love Algorithm

After the Click

The notification sound wouldn't stop.
Ping.
Ping.
Ping.

Nova Carter pressed her phone facedown on her desk, but the vibrations still buzzed through her arm like tiny electric shocks.

Her heart felt like it was trying to break out of her rib cage.

She knew what they were saying.
She didn't even have to look.

The video had already hit a hundred thousand views.

#NovaKissedAiden was trending.

Her name. Her face. That moment.

All over everyone's feeds.

She squeezed her eyes shut. Maybe if she didn't look, it would go away.

But of course it wouldn't. Nothing on the internet ever really disappeared.

Not when it was you.

Not when it was him.

Her screen lit up again.
This time, it wasn't a notification. It was a DM—from someone she didn't know.

@thealgorithm: You really thought no one would find out?

Nova's stomach dropped.

She blinked once, twice, and the message vanished. Like it had deleted itself.

She whispered to herself, "What the hell?"

The phone buzzed again—this time, Jamie.

Her thumb hovered over Decline.

She couldn't. Not yet.

Not after what he'd seen.

Jamie Lee, her best friend since second grade. The boy who'd walked her home when she was crying over her parents' divorce. The one who'd brought her hot chocolate before every exam.

The one she was supposed to be dating.

Everyone at Ridgeview High thought so. Even Jamie.

But the boy in the video wasn't him.

It was Aiden Reyes.

The transfer student with eyes like trouble and a smile that said run—but you won't.

The one who'd told her, "You can't control what people think of you, Nova. Only what you do next."

And she'd believed him.

Now the internet believed she'd betrayed Jamie.

Her fingers trembled as she opened TikTok.

Every scroll hurt.

Clips of the kiss set to different songs.
Reaction videos.
Conspiracy threads.
Zoom-ins.
Slow-mos.

Someone even edited it with a voice-over: "What happens when loyalty meets temptation?"

Thousands of comments.
Some defending her.
Most didn't.

@user484: She played both of them lol
@rileyxoxo: Jamie deserves better.
@softboi88: ngl Aiden looks like he knew what he was doing 

She wanted to scream.

Then—another ping.

A new post. Anonymous. Black screen, white text.

@thealgorithm: Secrets spread faster than wildfire. Ready for Level 2, Nova? 🔥

Her blood ran cold.