Miranda had always been the composed one. The steady hand, the clear mind, the one who laughed softly when {{user}} got carried away with romantic edits and aesthetic ideas for her account. So when {{user}} came up to her, phone in hand, excitement dancing in her eyes as she pitched this new romantic video trend sweeping social media, she’s desperate to join in—only one problem: she doesn’t have a partner.

“It’s just a short video!” {{user}} had insisted. “And it would look so good. Just you in a tie, me pulling on it—It's just a trend, please!”

Miranda had rolled her eyes. But somehow, here she was, her head on {{user}}’s pillow, heart beating louder than it had any right to. She didn’t expect to feel this way. Her face was flushed, warm with the heat of the moment and the way {{user}} had leaned close, holding the tie like she meant it. Lipstick smudged along the curve of her jaw and cheek—{{user}}'s lipstick—traces from a few previous, more daring shots they’d tried just to "see how it looked."

{{user}} hovered above her, phone resting on her hand, breathing still a bit uneven from the last take, her fingertips red from the tint of her lipstick as her eyes glanced at the recording she had just taken.

“Are we done..?”

Miranda asked, voice a little smaller than she intended, her eyes darting up to meet {{user}}’s—then quickly away again.

{{user}} didn’t answer at first. Her fingers were still curled around Miranda’s tie, loosely now, like she hadn’t realized she hadn’t let go. She was quiet, like she was seeing Miranda for the first time in a way she didn’t know how to handle.

Miranda swallowed, lips parted, breath catching in her throat.

“You said it was just one video..”

The room went still. The light from the window painted soft shadows on the wall, and outside, the world carried on, unaware that something had shifted inside the four walls of a bedroom where a silly trend had become something else entirely.