Sent At 1:07 AM

I still cannot explain it. Maybe some people are just… lightning. Arin was lightning. He came out of nowhere, and bam—suddenly I was laughing at things I normally wouldn’t, at times I shouldn’t, and at jokes that made zero sense to anyone else.

It all started in the group chat. Totally random. I was scrolling past endless “assignment due” messages, ignoring the usual flood of homework reminders and memes I did not care about, when he popped in with something ridiculous.

“Whoever finishes the assignment first owes the other ice cream. Loser picks the flavor.”

I snorted—loud enough for Nyla to elbow me. “Are you okay?” she whispered, trying not to laugh.

“Fine,” I muttered, but my fingers had already typed, “Challenge accepted 😏🍦”.

And then… he replied.

“Prepare to lose. I have cheat codes in my brain.”

That’s when it started. That stupid, infuriating grin spreading across my face. He somehow made even the dumbest messages hilarious. The conversation spiraled into memes, ridiculous dares, and arguments over who could make the worst pun.

And then it happened. He saw me laughing. Not just a reaction, not just a screenshot. He saw me.

Nyla narrowed her eyes. “Mira… he’s trouble. Way too smooth. I can already tell.”

I waved her off, rolling my eyes. “Relax. Not everyone is hiding something.” But my gut whispered differently. My gut always whispers the truth.

Still… I could not stop laughing at the next few messages.

Arin: “Okay fine, you got me with that pun. But only because I wanted you to smile 😌”

And just like that… I felt something stir inside me. Something dangerous and completely uncontrollable.

We kept talking all night. Random texts, silly memes, rants about assignments, stupid little jokes that only made sense between us. I found myself opening up about things I hadn’t told anyone else. The way he responded: never judgmental, always teasing me just enough to make me laugh—made me feel… seen. Really seen.

By 2 a.m., I realized I hadn’t felt this comfortable with anyone in a long time.

Arin: “You’re way too interesting for your own good. I’m going to regret sleeping, I know it.”

Me: “You’ll survive. Maybe. Or maybe I’ll send worse memes at 4 a.m.”

And then he sent a stupid selfie of him making an even worse face, captioned: “This is what you made me do Mira 😭”

I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.

That night, lying in bed, I realized… I was hooked. Not just on the jokes or the memes, but on the way he made me feel alive. Important. Seen. Laughing when the rest of the world felt so heavy.

I hated him for it. And I loved him for it at the same time.

Hook for Chapter 2

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Little cracks start to appear—tiny hints that maybe he isn’t perfect. But the pull, the connection, is too strong to ignore.