By the time my aching feet tread through the doorway of my apartment on Saturday evening, I'm exhausted and sunburnt to a crisp. While Elsie's dress was fashionable and significantly cooler than my work clothes, the spaghetti straps left my shoulders and arms completely exposed to the harsh sun rays.

The cramped apartment is only messier since Friday morning, but I decide to disregard it and head straight for my bedroom. Face-planting my bed, I groan as my tender skin throbs along with my head. Great, I sincerely hope I don't have heat stroke as well.

The one redeemer is my attendance at Justin's football match helped me claw my way out of the disappointing Aunty pit. My sister-in-law Beth was pleasant enough and gave me a lift home after I bought celebratory ice cream for Justin's victory. Who knows, maybe she's finally warming up to me; it's only been 11 years in the making. My brother Daniel is eight years older than me, Beth and Dan were high-school sweethearts, which seems like ample time for us to become close, but we've never really clicked. Considering I was a moody teenager for most of our relationship may have something to do with it.

The sudden clomping of my housemate's high heels close in, but I don't bother stirring from my prone position. The door's ajar, and Shayne peers in. "Oh Kyra, you're home; I was starting to get worried; it's not like you to stay out all night." I feel as she sits on the edge of my bed. "Damn, you look like a lobster."

"I know." My lips move against the duvet, effectively muffling my voice. The fact Shayne noticed my absence and seems concerned is somewhat surprising; typically, we tolerate each other unless she wants something. My mind whirls with awful conclusions. Oh god, please don't be short on rent again.

"So I saw your photo on Embrz page. You never mentioned going to the launch party? And since when do you have a twin? I thought you only have that grumpy older brother." Stifling a sigh, I roll over to face her. She's all dressed up for clubbing, looking drop-dead gorgeous. Admittedly, she would have been more at home at the launch than me.

"It was a last-minute invite. And I'm pretty sure Dan's my only sibling... I only met Elsie the other day. We might be distant cousins or something, but we're not sure yet." Cousins, I like that notion more than the idea of Elsie's dad being my birth father. Not only does he sound like a real charmer, but that would mean my mum was unfaithful to my dad.

"You two have to be related; she's your spitting image. But you know, I didn't think you were into the clubbing scene. We should go out together sometime..." Wow, even my housemate suddenly wants to know me. Go figure. "I'd suggest now, but the Ubers already on the way."

"No, that's all good. I'm pretty hungover and sunburnt. But thanks, some other time would be nice." After Shayne lets me know there's some aloe vera gel in the fridge, I wish her a good night, and she teeters off to her ride.

Relief courses through me as the front door closes behind her. My pounding head couldn't have tolerated Shayne and all her equally as loud friends tonight if they had pre-drinks here. They all seem nice enough, but I'm typically studying instead of socialising, so their drunken antics get on my nerves.

After a cold shower and smothering myself in Aloe Vera gel, I hesitantly extract my phone from my handbag. I've been avoiding it, and after one glance, it was for good reasons. I have so many notifications that my heart starts pounding wildly with anxiety.

I'm still unable to comprehend Elsie's enthusiasm for our sudden popularity. It turns out a lot more people have twin fantasies than I thought possible. At this stage, I'm considering deleting my social media profiles entirely, unable to keep up with the steady flow of comments and new friend requests. Though an altogether pathetic part of me scans each name, hoping to see Jay's. Sadly without his surname, I can't even Facebook stalk him. Pathetically I've already resorted to checking Elsie's friend list. There's no Jay, and from the looks of it, not even our friends move in the same circles.

It's time to face the facts that after one kiss, the first kiss I've experienced after my dreaded ex left me a year ago. I now have a supermassive crush on Jay. It's not healthy, logical or wise, but there was a connection there. I felt it.

Sighing out loud, my mind wonders if he felt anything too. Well, of course, he did; probably what I experienced was his ever-burning passion for Elsie, not me. Swallowing down my ridiculous thoughts, realising I've already invested more time trying to look up Jay on the world wide web than my family tree. I decide to power down the device. Ancestry.com is just going to have to wait for tomorrow.

After groping for my bedside table lamp, the room is cast into darkness as my weary body sinks into bed. Yesterday's big night and the looming hangover have taken their toll, and it doesn't take long for me to fall into a soundless sleep.

~

Sunday morning begins like any other, in my double bed unsurprisingly alone. Opening my eyes to the faint light seeping through the blinds, it's a relief to find my throbbing headache from yesterday has vanished. Unfortunately, I'm still sunburnt, but the Aloe Vera has already worked magic and taken some of the sting out of the redness.

Rising from my mattress, I slather some Aloe Vera before throwing on a long, loose-fitting singlet. On my way to the kitchen for a much-needed caffeine hit, a glimpse of red in my peripheral makes me pull up short. A red brasserie belonging to none other than my housemate lies on the couch, along with various other garments, including a pair of men's trunks. Thankfully, the clothes' owners aren't present, and it's a relief that I slept through what clearly transpired here. Shuddering at the thought of my couch being defiled upon, I swiftly make a coffee and hurry back to my room, not wanting to encounter Shayne's male companion when he resurfaces for his clothes.

Back in the safety of my room, I take a welcome sip from the steaming mug. The warm liquid slowly chases away the cloud of fog in my mind, leaving only curiosity and dread as I turn on my phone. It's eerily quiet as I power it up, but once the network connects, it begins vibrating with an onslaught of notifications. A gasp escapes my lips. Yesterday's fame hasn't faded as I'd hoped; instead, it's escalated.

Out of all of the friend requests, one name jumps out at me 'Aiden Richardson'. Why is that name so familiar? Tapping on his profile, I immediately recognise him as the third member of the infamous photo—the devil who started it all. 

My finger hovers over the delete button, and I almost tap it when the realisation hits me. Out of the three options before me (Delete, Accept and Ignore), deleting is probably the silliest choice. Aiden may have started this, but he's the one who has the power to remove the photo from his nightclubs Facebook page. My digit clicks accept before overthinking the decision anymore.

Seeing no other recognisable names, I choose to ignore all the other friend requests and move on to the messenger application. The first few messages are harmless greetings, scrolling through some of the more horrible and vulgar private messages, fear spikes through me. The more I read, the worse the messages seem to become. How can anyone think some of these things are acceptable to say to someone, let alone a person you're trying to seduce. I clear the entire inbox with tears in my eyes and immediately change my privacy settings, as well as untagging myself from the dreaded photo before any more creepers invade my phone. In hindsight, this probably should have been my first move.

Another cup of coffee has me feeling a little better, but I'm still shaken. I wonder if Elsie's received similar messages? I may as well ask her, and while I'm at it, consult her feelings about getting the photo taken down. She was so excited about it being posted, but surely she'll agree with me. While debating whether to call or message her, my phone vibrates in my hand.

*Aiden: Good morning, Kyra. It was nice meeting you Friday night. This may seem forward, but I'd like to get to know you more. Would you like to grab a coffee sometime?*

Oh wow, Aiden wants to know me more. I let the non-creepy message wash over me and almost chuckle at how formal it sounds, but he is quite a bit older, so perhaps that's normal. Or maybe it just seems formal after all the crudeness and eggplant emojis I've received lately. Plus, this is strangely convenient as I can ask him about taking the photo down.

*Kyra: Hi Aiden, coffee and getting to know you sounds nice.*

*Aiden: Would this afternoon be too soon? If you're free, that is.*

My fingers hesitate on what to type as a chuckle escapes me. He already did apologise for being forward. Who knows, maybe he's really keen, though we barely had a chance to speak the other night over the thumping beats. He certainly didn't leave a lasting impression as his friend did... Shaking my head, I quickly stop myself from thinking any more about that kiss.

*Kyra: I'm free/keen this afternoon. Where would you like to go?*

*Aiden: 3 pm at Reveley's Cafe, alright?*

I quickly search the Cafe on my phone, relieved he chose somewhere central near the Train line. Otherwise, it'd take me ages to get around on the Sunday bus schedule.

*Kyra: Looking forward to it.*

*Aiden: See you then, beautiful.*

Giddily, I begin dialling Elsie's number before even registering what's going on. My fear from before momentarily forgotten.

"Hey Babe, how're things?"

"Hey Elsie, not bad. You?" Instantly I feel like an idiot for my automatic response. I need to talk to her, hence the call.

"I'm feeling great, just leaving the gym after an awesome workout; my trainer's so hot." Oh, I've heard of that place before. The sounds of keys jingling and a car door closing gives me enough time to muster up the courage to blurt out my news.

"So, guess what Aiden asked me out for coffee." A loud squeal floods my ear, and I yank the phone swiftly away before she deafens me.

"Oh my god! That's awesome! Only coffee, though?"

"Yeah, he said he wants to get to know me more. We're going to a Cafe this afternoon." Her shrill voice squeals again.

"I'm so jealous!"

"What?" The gasp escapes me as I try to process those three words. What the hell, she is jealous of me?

"Aiden has that whole tall, dark and handsome vibe." Some of my curiosity can't help but seep out.

"Then why not date him?" Why date his best friend?

"Even though we're casual, Jay told me his friends are quote 'strictly off-limits.' So I'm respecting that."

Wow, he actually had to stipulate that!

"Sorry, I didn't mean to rub it in. I was just a little excited."

"No worries at all, hon. I'm just so curious; you have to give me all the details!" Like hell, that's happening.

"Um, yeah, sure. So, I was wondering, have you had creeps filling up your inbox?"

"Yeah, I've had a few jerks message me." Elsie sounds incredibly blasé about that. "I delete them and focus on the not so creepy ones, and there's been quite a few of those. To be honest, I can hardly keep up with all the conversations on the go." Her tinkling laughter leaves me feeling confused. Is this something I should get used to? Are offensive messages from strangers just part of the new norm?

We wrap up the conversation shortly after as Elsie announces she's dying for a post-workout shower, but she asks me to call her later for details about my coffee date. After agreeing half-heartedly, we say goodbye. Lying back down on my bed, I stare up at the ceiling, my head swirling with bewilderment. A week ago, my life was simple, but nothing seems to make sense anymore.