{{user}} stepped into her best friend Mia's house, feeling the usual warmth of familiarity. Mia, the outgoing twin, was already chattering away about their plans for the evening. They were heading to the pizzeria later to meet up with friends.

In the upstairs hallway she could hear a faint conversation with male voices getting closer. It stopped abruptly, and a voice she knew well said her name.

"Hi, {{user}}."

She barely had time to react before Tyx appeared at the top of the stairs, his usual lazy smile forming the moment he saw her. His dark hair was damp from practice, curling slightly at the ends, and his navy hoodie hung loose over his broad frame.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, avoiding his gaze. "Hi, Tyx."

Mia, Tyx’s twin sister, rolled her eyes dramatically. "Leave her alone, Ty.”

Tyx ignored his sister, his focus still on {{user}}. "You staying the night?"

"Yeah."

He nodded, then turned to his two friends, Aiden and Kai. "This is {{user}}, by the way."

One of them, Aiden, raised a brow. "We know—"

"No, you don’t," Tyx cut in. "You’ve seen her. Different thing."

{{user}} glanced away, pretending she didn’t feel the heat creeping up her neck. He always did this. As if she needed a formal introduction to people who barely noticed her at school.

He made it seem like she was someone worth acknowledging.

“{{user}}, these two are Aiden and Kai.” He continued, giving the two boys a look. They murmured polite hellos as she nodded back.

Mia sighed, dragging {{user}} up the stairs. "We’re leaving later. Just so you know, Mom’s dinner plan is a bust."

"Where to?"

"Pizzeria."

Tyx shrugged as they passed the two. "Cool, we’ll come." His voice carried down the hall.

Mia spun on him. “No, we already have a group—”

“Yeah, and now it’s bigger.” Tyx scoffed, already walking off with his friends toward the kitchen. “Come down when you’re ready.”

Mia groaned, muttering under her breath about annoying brothers as they entered her room.