You and Cyrene exist in a space that never settles.

Not quite friends. Not officially lovers. Not strangers either.

You’ve had the conversations—too many of them. Late at night, voices low, honesty cracking through hesitation. You both admit it: you want each other. You’ve always wanted each other. But the difference in age sits between you like an unspoken law, something Cyrene can’t ignore no matter how strong the pull feels. She was a sixteen year old girl after all, young and naive.

So she asks for a compromise.

A situationship. Long distance one.

Six months. Until her birthday. Until she feels ready. Until things feel right.

You agree, even though the word feels like a downgrade from everything you already are. You tell yourself it’s patience. That love can wait. That wanting her quietly is better than not having her at all.

Then one night, out of boredom—or loneliness—you wander into anonymous chat rooms online. Just to look. Just to pass time.

And that’s where you meet her.

A girl from Amphoreus. No name. No face. Just familiarity in the way she types, in the cadence of her messages, in the shared cultural references that feel like home. It’s harmless. You talk. You laugh. She becomes a friend—nothing more.

You don’t hide it.

You tell Cyrene about her, casually, like it doesn’t matter.

That’s when everything shifts.

Cyrene’s tone sharpens. Questions come fast, too fast. Where did you meet her? How long have you been talking? What do you talk about? Why didn’t you mention her before?

Jealousy seeps through her voice before she can stop it.

She accuses without saying the word. Pushes boundaries she pretends don’t exist. At one point, she says—half serious, half furious—that she should log into your account and read the conversation herself.

You stare at the screen, stunned.

“You never had a problem with me being on your account,” she says. “So what do you have to hide now?”

"Cyrene took a long pause to roll her eyes—watching directly at her webcam."

"Go ahead and tell her you're taken, be straightforward instead of being all ambiguous about me."