I woke up late that day. My phone was buzzing with notifications. I stretched, rubbed my eyes, and saw Sevi's message.
"Good morning! Did you sleep well?"
I smiled. Her simple message felt warm. Like someone was thinking of me even though we hadn't met in person.
"Morning! Yeah, I slept okay. You?" I typed back.
"Barely, I have early enrollment today," he replied.
"Early enrollment? That's tiring," I typed.
"Yeah, long lines, lots of papers. But it's done," he said.
I imagined him in line, tired, waiting for his turn, and suddenly felt a flutter in my chest.
"So,anything exciting happen today?" I asked, trying to sound casual.
He paused before answering. I could feel it even in the chat.
"Actually… I saw someone I know," he typed eventually.
I paused for a moment, my heart skipped a beat. "Oh? Who?"
"My crush from school," he admitted.
I didn't know what to say. Should I be jealous? Should I be happy he was honest?
"Wow! okay," I typed, trying to keep it light.
"Yeah… it was normal. We just talked about school. Nothing special," he said.
I smiled at his words. Even if it wasn't about me, I was glad he shared it with me.
He trusted me. "Good for you," I replied.
"Glad it wasn't awkward."
He sent a small thumbs-up emoji.
We continued chatting, joking about trivial things teachers, subjects we hopefully wouldn't get, and how boring school stuff can be.
Even with simple conversation, I couldn't help but smile. Everything he said, even the smallest things, made me feel light.
I realized why did it feel different talking to him? I've chatted with other guys before. But with Sevi it was natural. Comfortable. Happy. And maybe, maybe I was starting to like him.
I looked at my phone again. He was still typing. My heart skipped a beat, hoping he'd say something funny or cute.
"Do you ever get tired of school?" he asked finally.
I chuckled quietly. "Every day. But hey it's still better than a boring vacation."
He replied almost instantly, "True. But… honestly, I liked chatting with you last night more than I expected."
My stomach fluttered. "Me too," I admitted in the chat.
And with that simple message, everything felt different.
Different in a way that made me think, made me happy, made me excited.
Even though we only knew each other online, and hadn't met in person… somehow, our connection was becoming important. Someth
ing I didn't expect… but wanted to nurture.