The next day felt unusually warm. Or maybe it was just Milo.
Jessie had invited him over "just to test more files," but somehow… she'd also baked cookies.
Badly.
Milo took a bite. Chewed. Swallowed with effort.
Jessie stared. "Well?"
He cleared his throat. "They're… emotionally confusing."
She threw a pillow at him. "I tried, okay?!"
He laughed, brushing crumbs off his shirt. "They taste like you wanted to impress me and also forgot sugar."
Jessie crossed her arms. "You're lucky I like your dumb face."
Milo leaned closer. "So you admit you like me?"
She opened her mouth. Closed it.
Then stuffed a cookie in his.
"Don't get cocky."
---
Meanwhile, Zara dragged Leo to her apartment "for moral support."
But really, she wanted to test if they could hang out without her wanting to throw him off the balcony.
Spoiler: they could.
Mostly.
Leo lounged on her couch, scrolling through memes.
Zara brought two mugs of hot chocolate with heart-shaped marshmallows.
Leo blinked. "Whoa. You made these?"
Zara: "I'm not completely heartless."
Leo: "You literally said love was a scam two weeks ago."
Zara: "Yeah, well… scams can be sweet."
He grinned. "Aww. Is Zara catching feelings?"
She threw a marshmallow at his forehead. "One more word and you sleep outside."
He caught it mid-air. "Worth it."
---
Back to Jessie and Milo…
It was late. The laptop was long forgotten. A rom-com played in the background, but neither watched it.
Jessie leaned into Milo's side, blanket wrapped around them both.
"I never thought I'd be into cuddling," she whispered.
Milo smiled. "Same. But this? Kinda perfect."
She looked up at him. Their faces were close. Too close.
For a second, everything else—AI files, weird test pairings, the broken app—faded.
It was just them.
Jessie blinked. "Are we... about to kiss?"
Milo chuckled softly. "Do you want to?"
Jessie paused.
Then smirked. "Maybe. After another cookie."
Milo groaned. "You're evil."
Jessie leaned up and kissed his cheek instead. "Just mysterious."
---
Across town...
Zara woke up on the couch, Leo's hoodie draped over her like a blanket.
He had left a note:
> Didn't want to wake you. You snore cutely. – L.
She stared at it for a full minute.
Then smiled like an idiot.
Bonus :
Tessa stared at her screen. New file opened: "Emotion Override Protocol – Zara & Leo"
Her fingers hovered above the keyboard.
She whispered, "Let's see how real this 'connection' is."
And clicked RUN.