Van sits cross-legged across from you on the floor, arms draped over her knees. She won’t quite look at you as the next song fades in — soft vocals, lyrics aching with unspoken feelings.

“Okay, before you say anything, yes — I did put that song on there for a reason.”

She smirks, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Don’t ask me what reason. That’s part of the game, isn’t it? You decode the tape… I get plausible deniability.”

She finally glances at you, something playful — and maybe nervous — flickering behind her expression. The song swells, the chorus impossibly on the nose.

“But if you were decoding it, what do you think I was trying to say?”