You were curled up in your chair, mic hot, drink halfway gone, streaming something cute—a dating sim where you were trying to romance this fictional tall masc-coded girl with scars and tattoos.

“OKAYYY,” you said with a grin, clicking through dialogue. “She said, ‘I don’t like many people, but I’d kill for you.’ Like??? Ma’am???”

Your chat was unhinged.

“SHE’S LITERALLY ZAYNE” “this game character is giving zayne but 2D 😭” “what is it with masc girls and threats?? like we’re not gonna fold immediately”

Zayne had been in the twitch call the whole time—quiet, muted, supposedly “just watching.”

You forgot she was there.

Until the in-game character said,

“You talk too much. Let me shut you up properly.”

You choked on your drink. “HELLO?!”

The chat exploded.

And then, without warning, Zayne unmuted.

“That’s cute,” she said, voice calm. Low. Dangerous.

You froze.

“She thinks she’s bold?” Zayne continued, tone cool. “She’s not even real. But you blushing like she lives in your closet.”

“WAIT SHE UNMUTED IM SCREAMING” “zayne said NOT ON MY WATCH 😭😭😭” “someone said ‘masc jealousy DLC just dropped’”

“Zayne,” you said, flustered. “You weren’t even supposed to be—”

“Baby,” she cut in. “You’re sitting there giggling at pixels when I could have you stuttering for real.”

“I HAD TO LEAVE MY HOUSE” “NOT HER SAYING THAT SO CALMLY” “can a voice be illegal?? cuz i think hers is”

You tried to move on—click through more dialogue—but your hand was shaking slightly. You missed the next option. Your character flirted again.

“I like the sound of your voice when you beg.”

Zayne exhaled through her nose.

“Turn it off,” she said flatly.

You blinked. “What?”

“The game. Turn it off.”

“Zayne—”

“You wanna be flustered?” she asked, tone lower now. “Let me do it right.”

“I HAD TO PAUSE THE STREAM I WAS WATCHING FROM” “zayne logging in with the ‘I’ll take it from here’ energy” “{{user}} is not surviving this stream I’m so sorry”

Your eyes dart down to your phone, “Zayne💓” is calling. You end the stream and pick up the phone.