Lia: I swear if you ghost me one more time, I’m flying to your country just to slap you with a fish.

Xander: Make sure it’s salmon.

Lia: You’re unbearable.

Lia: Also hi. I missed you.

Lia: But I’m still mad.

Xander: You always miss me.

Lia: Shut up.

Lia: You missed me too, admit it.

Xander: … Maybe.

×××× Lia/pov/

Her room was dark, except for the glow of her phone screen. The fan creaked above her, spinning the same way her mind did whenever Xander texted back after disappearing for days

She was supposed to be studying.

But instead, she was curled up in bed, staring at the one person who lived oceans away,

He was gone for three days without a word.

And all it took was “Maybe” to make her forgive him again.

Pathetic?

Yes.

But love—whatever this was—had never been logical for her.

×××××××

Lia: Be honest. Did you even think about me this week?

Xander: Sorry...I thought you’d message first.

Lia: You always wait for me to talk first.

Xander: Because I don’t know what to say.

Lia: You don’t have to know. Just… show up. That’s enough.

Xander: I’ll try.

×××××× Xander/POV/

His room was silent except for the low hum of his laptop fan. The screen in front of him was filled with unfinished code and blinking tabs. But his eyes stayed on Lia's chat.

He didn’t know how to do this—whatever “this” was.

Feelings didn’t come with labels or clear edges for him.

He didn’t say much.

He never knew how to say much.

But tonight, he typed two words and meant every letter.

I’ll try.

And that…

That was his version of "I missed you too."

×××××× | 3 months ago |

It started in a group chat.

Not a romantic DM, not a random meme. Just… a casual message about tattoos.

Xander was talking to someone else in the group—something about line work, painting, and how piercings were easier to commit to than tattoos.

Lia was quiet. Watching.

But then he said something that made her pause

“I like tattoos that mean something. Symbols. Codes. Quiet anger.”

And just like that, she jumped in.

Group Chat | 8:17 PM | 3 months ago

Lia: Wait you have tattoos??

Xander: Yeah.

Lia: That’s so cool. I thought I was the only tattoo obsessed one here

Xander: Apparently not.

Lia: Do you have piercings too or just ink?

Xander: Piercings too.

{She typed: “marry me.”

Deleted it.

Typed: “hot.”

Deleted that too.}

Settled for:

Lia: That’s actually so attractive

He didn’t reply in the group.

But thirty minutes later, her DMs pinged.

××× Private chat|

Xander: You said tattoos were attractive.

Lia: I stand by that

Xander: You have any?

Lia: 4 so far

Xander: …wait, really?

Lia: Yep.

Xander: Didn’t expect that.

Lia: Why not?

Xander: I don’t know. You just seem… soft. Not the type to handle needle pain.

Lia: That’s cute. But I changed a lot

Xander: You’re full of surprises.

Lia: You’ve seen nothing yet.

She smirked at his surprise.

Most people assumed she just liked the aesthetic of tattoos—not the sting, the buzz, the ritual of it. But Kia? He wasn’t judging. He was curious.

She liked that.

×××

He stared at his screen a little longer than usual.

He hadn’t expected her to be inked.

And that did something to him.

Made him curious.

Made him want to keep asking questions.

×

×

×

Private Chat |

Xander:

You said tattoos were attractive.

Lia:

They are.

Instant bonus points. Especially if you’ve got the vibe.

Xander:

You have any?

Lia:

Four. One near my collarbone, two on my arm, one close to my wrist.

Xander:

Okay wow.

You give off a “bookworm with a dark past” energy but you’re secretly cool.

Lia:

Excuse you—I'm openly cool.

My tattoos prove it.

Xander:

Sure.

LIA:

Exactly

Lia’s Apartment |

Lia closes the chat and sits on her bed with the dumbest smile.

Angel walks in mid toothbrushing, catches the vibe instantly. ({LIA's best friend}

Angel:

You’re either texting your secret boyfriend or reading smut.

/Blink twice for smut,

Lia:

Neither.

umm, maybe found an interesting Guy

Angel: (spits into sink dramatically)

EXCUSE ME? Who is he? Why haven’t I heard about this?

Lia:

We literally just started talking.

he likes tattoos too

Angel:

Tattoo boy?

Oh my god. Did he flirt? Do I need to stalk his Instagram? Do you know his blood type?

Lia:

He asked about my tattoos. That’s flirting, right?

Angel:

In Boy Language? Yes.

In Girl Brain? You’re already mentally married.

Lia:

Shut up.

Angel:

Never.

I live for this.

LIA: Go away

After a while LIA’s phone buzzes again.

/Xander liked your message./

She clutches the phone like it’s a rare gem and flops dramatically onto her bed.

Angel:

You’re acting like you just got proposed to.

Lia:

He liked my message. That’s emotional intimacy.

Angel:

Girl, it’s Instagram. Not therapy.

Just then, a FaceTime rings.

-call from supra

Lia groans. Angel grins like chaos is about to begin.

Lia:

If I don’t answer, he’ll think I died.

Lia answers.

Supra:

YOU.

ARE.

ALIVE.

Lia:

Barely. I’m in the middle of a cute-boy-emergency.

Supra:

Say less. Angel updated me halfway.

Tattoo Guy? Spill.

Angel: (yelling in the background)

His name’s Xander and Lia’s already planning their wedding playlist.

Supra:

That’s fast even for her.

Lia:

I’m not. ’m just… enjoying the serotonin rush of being seen by someone cute who doesn’t suck.

Supra:

So… yes.

Lia:

Shut UP.

Angel:

She’s blushing. That never happens.

Supra:

Oh god.

You like him.

Lia:

It’s been, like, two conversations!

Supra:

Which is two more than your last situationship. Improvement!

Angel:

Should we start stalking him now or wait till she messes it up?

Lia:

You two are unhinged.

Angel:

And yet—you still love us.

Later That Night – LIA’s Room |

LIA lies on her back, staring at her phone screen.

Xander hasn’t messaged again.

She doesn’t expect him to.

But still… her heart does that dumb skip thing every time it lights up.

She reopens the chat, rereads everything.

She doesn’t know where this is going.

But she knows she wants more.

Of this.Of him.

Of the way he made her feel seen in just a few lines of text.

She locks her phone and smiles into the dark

×

×

×

×

...Xander’s Apartment | 1:42 AM...

The room smells like smoke and leftover tequila.

His shift ended an hour ago, and he hasn’t even bothered to shower.

Phone screen’s still lit.

Still on her chat.

He should sleep.

Or eat.

Or literally anything else.

Instead, he reads her last message for the fourth time.

She feels so much. So freely.

He barely knows what he feels most days.

He lights a cigarette.

He only smokes when something’s in his head and refuses to leave.

...Memory – Earlier That Night | Behind the Bar...

It was just another shift.

Fake laughs. Loud music. People are drunk on their own drama.

Then his phone buzzed.

He ignored it at first—work mode.

But when he saw her name light up the screen, he checked it under the bar.

Her reply made him pause.

Then grin. Barely. But it counted.

She was different.

Because she changed a lot since the last time he talked to her.

They knew each other for a long time, but they haven't had this Deep conversation

...Back in Present...

He types a message.

Xander:

Can I ask what the quote says?

He doesn’t know why he’s asking.

He doesn’t care about quotes.

But she mentioned it, and it stuck.

Which is weird.

He’s not good with feelings. Or people who expect things.

But she hasn’t expected anything so far.

She’s just… there. Existing in his world like background music he didn’t know he liked until he listened.

He lights another cigarette and leaves the chat open.

No pressure.

No commitment.

Just a conversation.

Probably.

...Phone buzzes....

Lia:

“‘Survive whatever is trying to kill you.’

That’s the quote.”

No emoji. No context.

Just that.

Xander stares at it longer than he means to.

Then replies:

Xander:Did it?

Lia:

Still trying.

But I’m winning so far.

He stares at the screen.

That should feel like too much.

But instead, it feels… right.

He doesn’t reply. Not yet.

He just closes the chat, finishes his cigarette, and lets the silence sit with him.

Like her words are still in the room.

Lingered.

...The next day passes with no messages....

Not from her.

Not from him.

But her words still burn somewhere in the back of his mind.

“Still trying. But I’m winning so far.”

He thinks of the scars he never bothered to cover.

The ones no tattoo could hide.

The kind that ink couldn’t compete with.

That night, he scrolls through their old messages.

The first conversation—half teasing, half testing boundaries.

Talk of piercings, of tattoos, of pain and permanence.

Lia: What’s your first tattoo?

He hadn’t replied back then.

Too many ways to answer.

Too many truths buried under ink.

But tonight, he doesn’t feel like talking about ink.

Instead, he types:

Xander: What do you sound like when you laugh?

The message hangs there. Bare, strange, a little too honest.

She reads it, but doesn’t respond immediately.

He thinks he’s gone too far.

Then—

LIA: Like I forgot I had reasons not to.

He stares at it.

No emoji. No explanation.

Just like her.

Xander: That’s either the most beautiful or the saddest thing I’ve read all week.

Lia: Probably both.

He exhales slowly.

Almost like she reached through the screen and tugged something loose in his chest.

Lia: You? What do you sound like when you mean something, but don’t say it out loud?

It’s her turn to ask the too-much question.

He doesn’t know how to answer that.

So he sends a voice note instead—

Just a quiet breath. A half-laugh.

Then: “Like this, I guess.”

She listens.

Replies with nothing but:

LIA: Yeah. That sounds about right.

×

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