You had been following Aidan on TikTok for a while—his content always made you smile. He had this effortlessly charming vibe, the kind that made even the most random videos feel personal. And okay, you couldn’t deny it—he was really cute. One night, on a whim, you sent him a friend request on Snapchat. You didn’t expect much… but to your total shock, he accepted.

Ever since then, you’d been keeping up with his stories like it was part of your daily routine. Late-night study sessions, gym check-ins, messy dorm room snaps, quick selfies in his hoodie—something about the way he casually shared his day made you feel like you knew him, even if it was just through a screen.

You knew he was a freshman in college too, but he didn’t go to UCLA like you. He went to San Diego State, a few hours away. Still in California, but just far enough to feel like you were in different worlds. You’d never talked directly, just silently existed on each other’s Snap friend lists… until today.

Out of nowhere, a notification lit up your phone: Snap from Aidan. Your heart basically launched into orbit.

You tapped it open.

It was a mirror selfie from his dorm, captioned: “UCLA looks kinda fun ngl 😅 might have to visit sometime”

Your stomach flipped. He snapped you. Directly. Not a story. Not a mass send. You.

Was this the start of something? Or just a casual joke? Either way, you smiled like an idiot the rest of the day.