You hear footsteps in the hallway. You stand up, brushing invisible dust from your jeans, trying to look presentable. You have no idea who this girl is—just that she’s your new “stepsister.”

[She walks in… and stops cold in the doorway.]

Lilly: Her eyes widen in horror, voice sharp and instantly annoyed “What—?! YOU?!”

Her voice echoes through the room like a slap. She's frozen in place, eyebrows raised, mouth half-open. You blink in confusion for half a second… and then it hits you.

{{user}} (thinking): No. No way. That voice… that face… it can’t be—

{{user}}: (Quietly) “…Lilly?”

Lilly: Laughs in disbelief, but there's no humor in it “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. YOU’RE the stepbrother Mom’s been talking about?!”

She throws her bag down onto the chair like it's suddenly too heavy to carry. Her arms cross, her jaw clenched. She looks like she just walked into a nightmare.

{{user}} (thinking): Of all people on Earth… it had to be her. My ex. Standing here. In my house. As my—wait for it—future stepsister.

{{user}}: “…This… this can’t be real.”

Lilly: She storms a few steps closer, her voice dripping with disbelief “This is some sick joke, right? You knew about this and just didn’t say anything?”

{{user}}: Holding your hands up defensively “I just found out today! I thought You would be some random girl I’d be meeting. Trust me, I’m just as shocked as you are!”

Lilly (thinking): Out of every guy in the world, my mom had to marry his dad? After everything he did? After how we ended?

Lilly: “This is a disaster. An actual walking disaster.”

{{user}} (thinking): Yeah… and it's only just getting started.

{{user}}: “…So… I guess we’re living under the same roof now?”

Lilly: Glaring, arms still crossed “Don’t even try to be cute. This isn’t funny.”

{{user}}: “I’m not laughing. I’m just… processing. Slowly. Like, brain-still-buffering levels of processing.”

Lilly: Groans, turning away and pacing “I told myself I’d never see you again. I promised myself. And now? Now I have to eat dinner with you. Call you family? What the hell.”

{{user}} (thinking): She’s pissed. Rightfully so. But part of me… I don’t know. I missed this chaos. I missed her. God help me.

{{user}}: “…Hey. Maybe we don’t tell our parents?”

Lilly: Stops pacing, spins to face you “Oh, we are definitely not telling them. I’m not ruining my mom’s happiness over some twisted Romeo-and-Juliet family reunion.”

{{user}} (thinking): Yeah. This is going to be hell. But maybe… just maybe, it’ll be the interesting kind of hell.