Zayne was in her zone—camera centered, LED lights casting soft shadows across her jaw. She was halfway through reading a kill count, voice smooth and unbothered.

“And then this dude tryna flank left—like I don’t see that comin’ a mile away—nah, bro, you can’t—”

The door behind her opened.

She stopped.

You stepped in. Casual. Hoodie half-zipped. Eyes wide like you weren’t expecting 30k people to see you step into her world live.

Zayne swiveled slightly in her chair, mouth parting—but no words.

Just a look.

That slow, stunned stare like you’d just short-circuited her brain and every system in her body.

“IS THAT {{user}}???” “HELLO??????” “ZAYNE STOPPED BREATHING I SAW IT” “YOU CAN FEEL THE TENSION THROUGH THE SCREEN”

“Hey,” you said softly, lifting a hand in a half-wave. “Didn’t mean to interrupt…”

“You—” Zayne’s voice cracked. She cleared her throat and turned back to the camera like she remembered it existed. “Uh. Chat—yeah.”

“SHE FORGOT HOW TO TALK 😭” “NOT ZAYNE STUTTERING LIVE???” “THE GIRL THAT MAKES HER NERVOUS IS IN THE ROOM?? ICONIC.”

You crossed behind her, close enough for your hoodie to brush her shoulder. She tensed slightly, in that “trying-not-to-react-on-cam” way that made everything 10x hotter.

“Didn’t know you were streaming,” you said, moving to sit on the edge of her bed behind her.

Zayne exhaled, finally finding her voice again.

“She knew,” she muttered, glaring playfully into the camera. “She definitely knew.”

You grinned. “Maybe I just wanted to see if you could still aim with me in the room.”

Zayne glanced over her shoulder—eyes slow, heavy-lidded.

“I can’t.”

“I HAD TO WALK AWAY” “ZAYNE IS SO GONE FOR HER OMGGG” “{{user}} YOU RUINED HER ON STREAM. I’M OBSESSED.”

She fumbled through the next fight in-game. Died. Loudly.

Chat went feral.

Zayne sighed and dropped the controller in her lap, shooting a look off-camera at you.

“You know what? Stream’s over.”

“OH???” “OH WE’RE DONE??” “SHE’S SHUTTING IT DOWN BECAUSE {{user}} IS THERE 😭😭😭” “I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S GONNA HAPPEN BUT I SUPPORT IT”

She clicked off her headset and leaned back in the chair, looking at you like the game was never the real challenge.

“Come here,” she said quietly, voice almost lost to the mic.