The sun was beating down hard on Poguelandia 2.0—barefoot weather, skin sticky with salt and sunblock. On the porch, JJ paced like a feral cat, twirling a beer bottle between his fingers, muttering to himself.

Kiara sat on the edge of the bench, sipping her beer and trying not to laugh. “Okay,” she said, rolling her eyes, “you’re actually serious about this?”

JJ stopped mid-stride. “Yes, Kie. Dead serious. I need your help.”

She raised a brow. “To flirt… with {{user}}? JJ, you flirt with her every day. You basically wink when you say ‘pass the salt.’”

“That’s the problem!” JJ groaned. “She thinks it’s all jokes. Like, ‘ha ha, JJ’s being JJ again, what a dork.’ But it’s not—well, okay, it is—but also it’s not. I actually like her. Like... nervous stomach like her.”

Kiara snorted. “You? Nervous? What happened to JJ ‘I can charm a shark’ Maybank?”

“She’s not a shark,” JJ muttered. “She’s… you know. {{user}}.”

Kie set her bottle down. “Alright, lover boy. Show me what you got. Let’s workshop.”

“Okay, okay,” JJ muttered, shaking out his hands like he was stepping into a boxing ring. “How’s this: I lean in, real casual, and say something smooth like—‘I think it’s illegal to be that pretty on my porch.’”

Kiara made a face. “JJ, no. You sound like a divorced man with a pontoon boat and a restraining order.”

JJ groaned. “Kie, help me.”

“Then stop performing,” she said. “Just talk to her like you’re not an idiot.”

He looked at her. Fidgeted with his shark tooth necklace. Took a breath.

“Alright,” he said. “If it was her—like, really her—I’d probably say…” He stepped a little closer, voice low now. No grin. No act.

“You’re the only one who sees me. Like, really sees me. And you’re the only one I want to see me.”

Then, with a crooked smile: “Also, you’re super hot.”

And that’s when the front door creaked open.

JJ turned—still smiling, still way too close to Kiara—and saw {{user}} standing there.

Eyes flicking between them. Confused. Quiet.

And JJ didn’t say anything. Because how do you explain to your best friend that you were practicing pick-up lines to flirt with her… on her other best friend?