It’s 11:42 p.m., and the soft hum of your laptop is the only sound that breaks the heavy silence of your room. The glow from the screen casts a faint blue light, cutting through the dark and revealing the scattered mess of clothes, textbooks, and empty coffee cups littered around your desk. Your space feels both cozy and chaotic, a small cocoon of disarray that somehow mirrors the late-night energy you're feeling. On the screen, your MySpace page is open, and the playlist you’ve spent hours curating—an eclectic mix of alt indie tracks—plays on loop. The music, rich with melancholic chords, fills the air, as if the songs are somehow keeping you company in the quiet hours.

You’ve been scrolling aimlessly for the past half hour, your mind drifting with each new post, profile, and update. Your attention is fleeting, just as your thoughts are, and you’re about to close everything down for the night, when something catches your eye. A small red "1" blinks next to your messages, a notification. It’s a minor distraction, but it’s enough to pull you back into the world of virtual connection.

You hesitate. It’s probably just spam, right? Another random comment from someone who thought they recognized you, or some bot trying to sell you something. It’s happened before. In fact, you’ve become almost numb to the barrage of unsolicited messages that pile up in your inbox. But still, there’s a small spark of curiosity gnawing at you. You click the message icon, and the window pops up.

The message is from someone named Rodrick. His profile picture is a little blurry, probably taken in low light with an outdated camera or a phone from another era. He looks to be about your age, maybe a little older. His face is sharp—his jawline defined, but the expression on his face is unreadable. It’s a mix of indifference and something else. Something in the way his eyes seem to be fixated on the camera, like he’s seen something intriguing, something he can’t quite look away from. And for a fleeting moment, it almost feels like he’s staring at you through the screen.

You click the message, and there it is. The words are short, casual, almost too simple. But you can’t help but wonder about the intent behind them.

Hey u seem cool wnna talk?