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Now

“What’s that you're humming?”

Seth was in the middle of washing the dishes, when he glanced up at his Mum. She wore a curious expression, one that was almost amused. Her dark blonde hair had been pinned into a bun, and wisps of it fell against her forehead that was beginning to wrinkle with age.

“Was I humming something?” he asked, setting down the sponge. He hadn’t even realised.

“You were, it sounded like this.”

His Mum mimicked the melody of a song that Nina played for him yesterday on their train home.

They’d listened to most of the album from that artist Laufey before arriving at their stop. A lot of her style was jazzy and mellow, so by the time he’d walked through the door, he crashed into bed immediately.

“Oh, yeah, a friend played that song for me yesterday,” he said, and a smile pulled at his lips.

“Well, it’s nice. What’s the name?”

Seth didn’t remember the name of the song, only the artist, so he told his Mum about Laufey. Later on, she started to play some of her songs on TV as she vacuumed the living room, and Seth continued with his chores in the kitchen.

His Mum only worked from Wednesday to Friday, so he was often at home with her on Tuesdays.

Tuesday were his work days at the indie gaming company, and because he could work anywhere from his laptop, he alternated between working from a cafe, or at home. Usually, he stayed home, because he was too lazy to go out at 9am, when his hours started.

It was a strange feeling, to not know how to hang out with your own Mum. But doing morning chores together, and listening to jazzy tunes seemed like a good start.

Listening to it made him think of Nina. More of Nina. This morning, he’d woken up with a strange urge to text her and ask what she was doing today. They didn’t usually go to university today, so they’d both be at home.

Was she at home?

Once he finished wiping the dining table from their breakfast scraps, he settled in his room and searched her up on Instagram. Were they even connected with each other there yet?

Except, where the follow button was, it read ‘follow back’.

Wait, he never followed her back? To be fair, he hardly used Instagram. He was more accustomed to YouTube. He only went onto Instagram for the occasional scrolling whenever he was bored in a lecture, or on the train.

Unless…she had requested him in high school.

And he didn’t want to follow back. God - what a dickhead he was.

He checked whether they were friends on Facebook, and thank goodness they were. At least he acted like a decent person on that platform.

Seth rolled his eyes at his younger self and followed Nina back.

His eyes studied her profile picture, which was a selfie of her with her hair down and wearing a light red dress.

She was smiling in it, with her eyes closed.

Seth clicked on the most recent photo, which was posted only 2 weeks ago. It was a photo of her in front of a large, geyser fountain at the heart of Hyde Park in Sydney.

Her arms were splayed outward, and her leg propped up, her face paused mid-laughter. The way the sun caught her figure made her seem to glow.

A strange stirring tickled Seth’s stomach. He scrolled onwards, his lips twitching.

I’m not stalking, he told himself. Just….catching up. Observing…

He noticed how her appearance had shifted, how the maturity settled on her eyes, on her cheekbones, and the way her jaw was more prominent.

She still held youthful cheeks, and her smile was the same.

The subtle makeup she wore made her look bolder, noticeable.

He really liked how her hair looked now too, it’s short length seemed to frame her face really well.

Strangely, he felt his cheeks burn slightly as his eyes raked over her face.

Pretty.

But was it so much a realisation, or a reminder?

His pulse began to quicken, and he shook his head. He noticed that Nina didn’t really post much throughout the year, maybe four times at most. Scrolling further, he eventually reached the high school years. He could tell the year based on how she used filters for her selfies.

A smile tugged at his lips as he breathed in her old appearance with a wave of nostalgia.

This is how he remembered her.

A braided headband, long ponytail and fuller cheeks. And those eyes that always glanced his way, even when she thought she was being subtle.

He studied her face, and realised that even then, she was pretty.

Always had been.

Seth started to scroll again, but as his thumb grazed the screen, he realised it’d accidentally pressed the heart.

Shit!

The red heart stared at him like a mockery.

No, no, no! Even if he pressed the heart to unlike, it wouldn’t take away the notification.

Sinking into bed, Seth groaned. Suddenly, his phone buzzed. It was a message from Nina.

Nina: Stalking me, I see?

Warmth flooded onto Seth’s neck and cheeks as he read the message.

She saw it, she saw it, she saw him like the old photo.

He froze, unsure of how to reply, when she sent another.

Nina: Let me join

Right after, a notification popped up. Nina had liked one of his old photos too. A grin crept onto his face, his pulse quickening.

Seth: I bet you stalk me all the time

Nina: Of course. It’s all I do day and night, during classes, in between

Seth: Can’t say I’m surprised ;)

He pressed send, keeping his eyes glued onto their open chat. He saw as Nina read the message, and reacted to it with a laughing emoji. Then, nothing.

A minute passed. A second.

She didn’t reply.

Soon, ten minutes passed with no reply. The once ballooning elation began to dwindle. He wanted the conversation to continue, so what could he say? Chewing his lip, he started to type, then stop, then started again, before settling on one to send.

Seth: I listened to a few tracks from Laufey this morning, btw…

Sweat began to build on his palms, and he pushed away his phone, as though it were on fire.

Gosh, he should really do some work.

Opening his laptop, he logged into his work email and furiously checked through the first page of unread emails. His neck continued to heat in anticipation, and tried to occupy himself by opening up a brainstorming document that he was going to add notes to.

But all he could think about was how it’s been two minutes now since he sent the message and no reply.

Shaking his head, he trained his eyes on the document, digesting the new idea for a co-op online game that was reminiscent of the Waterboy and Firegirl one he used to play back in middle school.

Yet, every now and then, his eyes flickered to his phone on his bed, wondering why it hadn’t buzzed yet.

About a half hour passed until he heard it vibrate. Jumping up, Seth grabbed his phone and checked the notifications.

Nina: oh my goodness, really! What did you think? Do you have a favourite?

He couldn’t help his grin as he opened it instantly, typing a response within seconds. He told her which track from the album was his favourite, and asked for more song recommendations. The conversation dipped into discussing the kind of music they both liked.

Nina was an all-rounder, liking anything that caught her ears, and not really having a preference to a specific genre.

Seth was more grounded, often enjoying OSTs much more and the occasional, trendy rnb track here and there.

Eventually, he got a notification for a meeting he was required to sit in and take notes for. His shoulders deflated, saddened at the thought of having to end this discussion with Nina. He wanted to keep talking to her. All day.

Seth: Sorry I’ve gtg, got to sit in this meeting

Nina: wow, forgot you’re a fancy gaming man. Have fun in your meeting!

A smile fluttered across Seth’s lips. He didn’t want this to be the end but just…a pause. With that, he sent the last message.

Seth: I’ll talk to you later :)

His pulse quickened as he waited on her response. A minute flew by, with his heart making no effort to slow.

Then, after approximately one minute and forty seconds, Nina replied.

Nina: Looking forward to it :)

They’d spent all night talking, once Seth had finished his work day. From 7pm, they’d texted about what they were having for dinner, and the movies that they’d be watching.

Nina’s family were having pancit, this Filipino dish that her Dad cooked. Then, she’d be watching a Barbie movie online with Veronica and Celine.

Seth was having a schnitzel with fries that his Dad cooked for them. After dinner, he was planning to try out the new popular horror game that’d just released for playstation.

Just before they both went to bed, Seth texted, asking how the Barbie movie went. It had a lot of giggles and singalongs, she’d told him, before enquiring about his horror game.

Good atmosphere, but not enough jumpscares so far, he told her.

Settling under his coverlet, they continued to text, with Nina chatting about the games she enjoys, even if she wasn’t as big a gamer as Seth.

It wasn’t until he noticed that it was 1am, and they both had university tomorrow, that he suggested they call it. He fell asleep, smiling.

The next morning, as he waited at the train platform, tapping his foot patiently to the OST of the game, Undertale , memories of their texts came flooding back.

From the emojis she’d send, to the way she’d use caps when she was excited. Nina texted the way she spoke: with such loud veracity. With every word that was sent through, he’d always hear it in her voice.

The thought of it made him smile a little.

Which was silly.

Did friendship make you smile this way?

Unless…

No.

No way. She was Nina Mendez, from high school.

He didn’t like her, never has in that way. What would be different now?

It was just the thrill of forming a new friendship. It was the serotonin of gaining a new friend, someone who shared the same high school history as him, who had the same things in common, someone who was quite fun to be around, who kept him company on the train rides.

Just a new friend.

“Seth!”

He heard her voice carry across the platform.

Turning, his eyes landed on her figure as she descended the platform stairs and made her way to him.

Portions of her hair were held back by a claw clip, and stray wisps of it fell over her face.

Her lips were a different colour, a darker shade of reddish-brown, and she was wearing a red singlet with a bow at its centre, reminding him of that Strawberry Shortcake character.

God .

She was so damn pretty today, and it annoyed Seth. It annoyed Seth so much.

How did she look this good? Has she always looked this good?

And why, oh why, was his heart beating this way for Nina Mendez?