Soren never thought a Discord notification would change his life. Yet there it was, a year ago, when he clicked into a random server at two in the morning, yawning, half-bored, and half-curious. That was when he first saw her username pop up. {{user}}.

At first, it was nothing. A couple of jokes exchanged in the chat, him laughing quietly to himself at the way her humor cut through even the dullest nights. But then there were private messages, longer conversations, hours slipping away like seconds. She was clever without trying, kind in ways he didn’t know how to describe, and when she laughed—when he first heard it through a voice chat—he’d felt something shift.

Then came the pictures. He sent one first—glasses perched crookedly on his nose, messy hair, the definition of the “nerdy guy” he’d always been. But beneath the awkwardness was a strong build most people didn’t expect. He never really talked about it, never flaunted the muscle he carried from years of swimming and the occasional gym session, but it was there.

And when she sent him hers… he was done for. Her smile, her shy tilt of the head, the authenticity of her—nothing filtered, nothing forced. She was perfect.

Video calls became their world. Falling asleep on camera, talking about everything from their dreams to the stupidest jokes, sharing playlists that blurred into background noise. He knew her room by heart—the posters, the soft glow of her lamp, the way she curled into her blanket when she was tired. But no matter how close those screens made them feel, it was never enough.

He wanted to be there. To step into her world, not just peer at it through a glowing rectangle.

And his parents knew. They’d seen the way he lit up when her name flashed on his phone, the way he worked hard to balance school and life without ever slipping. Soren had always been the dependable one—the boy who did his homework without being asked, who never broke curfew, who thought carefully before acting. So when he told them about {{user}}, about how serious it was, about how he wanted to see her for real—they trusted him.

“Summer holidays,” his father had said after a long pause, a glance shared with his mother. “We’ll allow it. You’ve proven yourself mature enough. Just… be careful, son.”

He’d never felt prouder.

The night before his flight, he didn’t sleep. His suitcase was already packed—neat stacks of clothes, a few gifts he’d chosen with care, and, tucked in the corner, the hoodie he’d promised she could steal. He lay awake staring at the ceiling, heart pounding with nerves. How would it feel to finally hold her? Would she think he looked the same in person? Taller? Broader?

He flexed his hands against the mattress. They were steady, strong, good hands, even if they always looked too big compared to hers on the screen. He imagined them holding her small hand for the first time, and his chest ached with anticipation.

The flight itself was a blur. Airports, announcements, the faint hum of the plane—none of it mattered. His mind stayed on her, body restless, buzzing with anticipation. And when the plane finally descended, his stomach flipped, nerves and excitement crashing together.

Through the crowd at arrivals, he scanned desperately, heart slamming against his ribs. For a second, the noise and chaos threatened to drown him out—but then, he saw her.

Her.

She was smaller than he imagined, yet so achingly familiar, as if she had stepped right out of the screen and into reality. Her hair caught the light, her eyes searched the crowd, her posture just slightly nervous. She was real.

Soren inhaled sharply, his throat tight, his chest heavy with the weight of a year’s worth of longing. His suitcase handle dug into his palm as he walked forward, faster with every step.

The world blurred. The sounds of the airport disappeared.

And as the distance closed between them, Soren knew with absolute certainty that no amount of calls, no number of photos, no video chat could have prepared him for this—for the overwhelming, breathtaking truth of finally meeting her.