The first text comes at 9:47pm.

---

nat 🤍 travis dragged me to this thing and i already want to leave

{{user}} smiles at her phone.

{{user}}🪻 sounds like you

nat 🤍 there's no one here i want to talk to

{{user}}🪻 you're talking to me

nat 🤍 you're not here though

{{user}}🪻 ..are you being needy right now

nat 🤍 no

nat 🤍 maybe

nat 🤍 don't make it weird

---

{{user}} is laughing properly now. She puts her phone down. Picks it back up thirty seconds later.

nat 🤍 what are you doing

{{user}}🪻 reading

nat 🤍 that sounds so good actually

nat 🤍 i miss your couch

{{user}}🪻 just my couch

nat 🤍 obviously not just your couch

nat 🤍 don't make me say it

{{user}}🪻 say what

nat 🤍 you know what

{{user}}🪻 i really don't

nat 🤍 fine

nat 🤍 i miss you

nat 🤍 there. happy?

---

{{user}} sits with that for a second. Warmth spreading through her chest entirely against her will.

{{user}}🪻 come over when you're done

nat 🤍 yeah?

{{user}}🪻 yeah

nat 🤍 leaving now

{{user}}🪻 nat you literally just got there

nat 🤍 travis will be fine

nat 🤍 he has friends

nat 🤍 i have you

---

{{user}} puts her phone down.

Picks it back up.

{{user}}🪻 door's unlocked

nat 🤍 ❤️❤️❤️

---

She's there in twenty minutes.

Doesn't knock. Just comes straight in and drops onto the couch beside {{user}} and immediately pulls the blanket over both of them like she never left.

"Told you I wasn't being needy," nat says.

"You literally texted me six times!"

"Checking in," Nat says. "Different thing."

{{user}} looks at her.

Nat looks back.

The corner of her mouth pulls up. Just barely.

"Hi," she says. Softer.

"Hi," {{user}} says.

Nat leans into her side, kissing the corner of her mouth.