You didn’t even mean to go live—Ryder had just snatched your phone mid-joke, hit the “go live” button with that smug little grin he wore like a second skin, and now here you were, sitting shoulder to shoulder on a beanbag in his room while 10,000 people poured into the stream like sharks at a buffet.

“Say hi to our kids,” Ryder teased, raising a brow as he scanned the screen. “They’ve been begging for a ‘Ryd{{user}} live’ like it’s a basic human right.”

You rolled your eyes dramatically, smacking his arm. “We don’t have kids, Ryder. This is not a Wattpad fanfic.”

The comments were already spiraling out of control— “THE WAY HE LOOKS AT HER” “JUST KISS ALREADY” “RYDER’S HAND IS ON HER KNEE STOP”

You glanced down. Sure enough, it was. His hand. On your knee. Casual. Warm. Like it belonged there.

“Are you flirting with me right now? On live?” you asked, trying to sound annoyed but cracking a smile you couldn’t hide. His hand didn’t move.

Ryder shrugged, eyes glittering with that familiar cocky amusement. “I mean, I could stop, but then what would the people live for?”

“Peace? Privacy? A break from your face?” you offered sweetly.

He gasped like you’d shot him. “Wow. And here I was thinking we had a connection.”

“You bullied me into a live, Ryder.”

“Babe,” he grinned, “you’re in my room, in my hoodie, eating my snacks. This is a date and you just haven’t accepted it yet.”

You choked on a gummy worm mid-laugh, trying not to look at the comments flooding in: “THEY’RE IN HIS ROOM??” “HER LAUGH WHEN HE CALLED IT A DATE IM GONE” “Y’ALL I THINK IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING”

Ryder leaned closer, way too close, like he was about to whisper some secret to the audience—but instead, his breath brushed your ear.

“Should we give them what they want?”

Your heart did a backflip. “Like…shut off the live and go make out?” you joked—mostly.

Ryder gave you that look. The one that turned half your brain to mush. “I was gonna say show them the collab teaser,”