HER PHONE DINGED—it was an Instagram notification. Nora dropped the comb she was holding and picked up the phone.

nat.han_ started following you.

She blinked. There was only one person this could be. Without hesitation, she tapped on the notification. His account had two thousand followers, but the page was almost empty—just two pictures: one an old picture, the other with his friends. His profile revealed next to nothing about him.

She hesitated for a moment but decided not to follow him back. As she scrolled through her own feed, a message request notification popped up. It was from him.

nat.han_: Too proud to follow back now, are we?

She accepted the message request and began typing.

a-nora-ble: Absolutely.

nat.han_: BTW, your username is not surprising.

A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Why is Nathan texting me? He followed her, and now he was texting her? What did this mean—were they friends now? Oh, hell no!

"Who's that?" Bims' voice startled her from behind, making Nora nearly drop the phone.

"Oooh, Nathan!" Bims' eyes lit up with mischief, and she bobbed her head knowingly.

Tsk. As if.

"What's going on?" Mir's voice floated from the bathroom, muffled by the toothbrush in her mouth. She'd been crashing at Nora's since the breakup.

Before Nora could react, Bims snatched the phone from her hands, flashing it toward Miriam who was now in the room, toothpaste suds running down her chin.

"Give it back!" Nora shrieked, lunging to reclaim it. But her protests fell on deaf ears as the two friends cackled, scrolling through the brief chat.

"Ooh, what's this I'm sensing?" Mir teased, leaning over Bims' shoulder. "He followed you? Wow, Nathan followed you? Girl, if this isn't love, then I don't know what is."

Nora spluttered, taken aback. "Lo–lo...?" she stammered before making a retching sound. "You two are insane."

"See? She can't even deny it," Bims said with a triumphant grin.

"What I could say is not worth the effort. Believe what you want," Nora huffed, rolling her eyes.

The pair stuck out their tongues, fully embracing their childishness.

"Oh wait, he texted again!" Miriam exclaimed gleefully.

"Give me that!" Nora made a desperate grab for her phone, but Bims was faster, holding it out of reach.

"Relax, babe. We're just helping."

"Please don't say anything foolish," Nora begged, her voice edged with panic.

Bims grinned mischievously. "What, don't you trust us?"

Nora gave her a deadpan look as if to say, I'd rather eat a sock than trust either of you with this.

"Seriously, just give me the phone," Nora pleaded, exasperated as she watched Bims' fingers hover over the keyboard.

But the two troublemakers exchanged devious smiles. There was no telling what nonsense they were about to type.

After they were done, they handed her back the phone, and Nora quickly checked the reply Bims had sent.

a-nora-ble: Nothing, just bored here. You?

She heaved a silent sigh of relief—thankfully, nothing complicated had been typed.

nat.han_: I'm not doing anything either. Just wondering what you were doing.

There was a long pause. The three dots that indicated he was typing appeared, disappeared, and then reappeared again.

nat.han_: How old are you?

That was...random. Why does he want to know my age? Could he be interested in me?

a-nora-ble: Two years older than you.

nat.han_: *rolling eyes emoji*
nat.han_: I knew you were going to reply with something silly. I'm serious, though. I want to know more about you, Nora.

Her heart did a small flip. This could mean anything, right? She didn't want to entertain the possibility of Nathan Ayobami—the school's sweetheart—being interested in a random girl like her. Don't get ahead of yourself, she told herself.

Deciding not to let her guard down, Nora stopped replying.

• • •

A knock jolted Nora from her short nap, and she grunted as she stood up to open the door for Bims. "Right about damn time! Honestly, why did you even bother coming home at all? You should have just sle—" her words trailed off as she froze, face-to-face with a pair of deep brown eyes staring back at her in amusement.

Her own eyes widened as she struggled to process the situation. Nora opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She was just opening and closing her mouth like a fish gasping for air.

Fish don't technically drown, but yeah.

"Fancy to see you too, Nora bear."

She was tempted to slam the door in his face.

"What are you doing here?" she managed to ask, still half-dazed from sleep. Nathan looked infuriatingly good—casual in a black t-shirt and jeans, but the whole ensemble came together way too well. Annoyingly so.

"May I come in?"

"What the hell are you doing here? And how did you even find my room?" Nora demanded, trying to make sense of the situation. Sure, he had dropped her off at her hostel once, but how did he know which room was hers?

"I'll take that as a yes," he said, breezing past her into the room.

She stood there, stunned, as Nathan made himself at home. Without hesitation, he flopped down on her bed like he owned the place.

"Nice room," he commented, glancing around. "Very... girly."

Nora rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

After two weeks of texting, she found herself oddly drawn to the version of Nathan she knew online. But in person? He still managed to annoy her beyond belief. She couldn't quite figure out why, but every interaction with him made her want to whack him with whatever was closest—pillow, hairbrush, anything.

As Nathan snooped around, Nora resisted the urge to whack him in the face with... something. His eyes, however, slowly trailed up her body, and she gasped, suddenly aware of how revealing her halter crop top and very short shorts were.

"What are you looking at?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes.

"What?" He feigned innocence, but she saw right through it. Rolling her eyes, she went to sit beside him on the bed, crossing her legs.

"What are you doing here?" she asked for the third time, her voice sharp with exasperation.

"I need your help," he finally admitted.

Nora arched a brow, already knowing she would probably end up helping him with whatever it was. But for now, she decided to have a bit of fun.

"No," she said flatly, grabbing her phone to text Bims. Where the hell is she?

A soft click broke the silence, and Nora looked up abruptly.

"What was that?"

"What was what?" Nathan asked, slipping his phone into his pocket just as she lunged to snatch it from him. He dodged her grab effortlessly, and she scowled, slumping her shoulders in frustration.

"What do you want?" she inquired, a mixture of curiosity and irritation lacing her tone.

"I had booked two tickets for Dave and I to see a movie, but Dave cancelled on me at the last minute," Nathan explained casually.

"So? Ask Graig to go with you," she suggested, waving a dismissive hand.

"Graig isn't on campus. He had to go home."

"Home, as in his parents' house?" Nora clarified, giving him a skeptical look.

"Yes, home." Nathan sighed, as if dealing with her sarcasm required all his patience.

Suddenly, it made sense why Nora hadn't seen Graig around for the past week.

"Yeah, you're the only one who can go with me," Nathan admitted, his tone matter-of-fact.

"Why me?" she questioned, feeling a bit taken aback.

"Believe me, going with you is the last thing I want to do, but I guess I'll just have to put up with your annoying ass," Nate remarked casually. It stung a bit, but she concealed her reaction well.

"Good to know we're on the same page. Going out with you is toxic for my sanity," Nora retorted, crossing her arms defiantly.

"Says the girl who thinks out loud," Nate teased, a smirk playing on his lips.

Nora playfully whacked him on the head. "What movie is it?"

"Joker," Nathan answered, and she couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. The movie had been the talk of the internet for a while, and she was thrilled to finally have the chance to see it.

He glanced at his wristwatch. "It starts in thirty minutes. We have to hurry."

"Who said I was going?" she challenged, her arms still crossed.

He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, a rare sight that seemed to only happen when he was truly desperate. "Please, Nora. Please." He pleaded.

Did Nathan Ayobami just beg her? Considering his reputation as one of the most talked-about guys at school, she had heard rumors that he never begged nor apologized. She felt a mix of surprise and amusement, her stomach doing a flip, and she couldn't help but grin.

Quickly, she grabbed a pair of ripped jeans and a crop top from the closet, laying them out on the bed before disappearing into the bathroom.

***

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