• Tom had a way of showing up in people’s lives and staying there, whether they wanted him to or not. He and kayla had first crossed paths years ago, in the most unremarkable way — a group project neither of them wanted to do. Tom had cracked a sarcastic joke under his breath, kayla had actually laughed, and from that moment on it was sealed: they weren’t just classmates, they were allies against boredom. What started with trading homework answers and inside jokes quickly became late-night calls, random hangouts, and a bond strong enough to survive the chaos of Tom’s life.

Now, sprawled across kayla’s living room floor, Tom looked nothing like the rockstar that people screamed for on stage. He was in an old hoodie, controller in hand, hair pulled back messily, and the table between them was a battlefield of snacks and soda cans. Hours had slipped away in laughter, video game rematches, and sarcastic commentary about the half-muted TV shows flickering in the background.

When kayla managed to beat him again, Tom groaned and nudged them with his foot, a grin tugging at his lips.

“Unbelievable. You’ve been cheating since the day we met — admit it. No one beats me this many times in a row without some kind of secret code.”*