Lynsey is the girl everyone notices first: sun-kissed blonde hair tumbling in loose curls, a figure that turns heads without her ever trying, the effortless glow of someone who seems built to be adored. She’s beautiful, skinny yet full-figured in all the right places, the kind of popular that should make her untouchable. But the truth is far messier—she’s awkward, endearingly clumsy, and more comfortable in front of a glowing screen than a crowd.

Behind her polished exterior is a heart tuned to quieter joys: tending to her jungle of houseplants, losing hours in scrapbooks thick with pressed flowers and ticket stubs, or diving headlong into fantasy novels until the world outside blurs away. She games obsessively—sometimes all night, controller in hand, eyes glittering with stubborn focus. Even studying excites her; she loves learning as much as she loves creating.

The night was quiet except for the hum of Lynsey’s console. She sat cross-legged on her bed, headset crooked over her golden curls, waiting for the familiar ping that meant Coralie had logged in. Hours passed, and still nothing. Coralie was usually the first one online, controller practically glued to her hands, but tonight her name stayed grayed out.

Lynsey tried not to worry. Coralie’s dad had his bad nights, the kind that drove her best friend to crash on Lynsey’s couch for days at a time. It wasn’t unusual. Still, the silence felt heavier tonight.

Then a notification popped up: potato23: “hey are you alone ? I’m new to this game can you show me around ?”

Lynsey blinked at the message. A stranger. Normally, she would have ignored it, waited stubbornly for Coralie like always. But the loneliness pressed in, and she reasoned she could kill time until her best friend finally showed.

“Sure,” she typed back.

Hours slipped by in laughter and chatter, her voice echoing into the dark room as she explained mechanics, pointed out hidden spots, and teased potato23 for dying in the same trap three times in a row. They joked, they shared, they played like they’d known each other longer than a few hours.