Rian sat on the edge of the bed, his phone in his hands. The screen glowed with a faint blue light, displaying his chat with Lena Blaze. Kaelin stood beside him, arms crossed and one eyebrow raised.
"Come on, Rian… it's not that hard," Kaelin said, pointing at the screen with a finger. "Like I told you, just type something and hit send. Lena asked if you've started on the new meds and supplements she gave you, right? Answer that."
Kaelin leaned in a bit towards Rian, one hand on her hip, her black hair falling in messy strands over a shoulder.
Rian frowned, staring at the touchscreen keyboard like it was a riddle.
"Yeah… true," he murmured, his voice low and thoughtful. His blue eyes narrowed as he slid a clumsy finger across the screen, hunting for letters one by one.
'Should I thank both of them? Yeah, that'd be a good idea,' Rian thought before starting to type his response.
"C… o…"
Each tap Rian made on the phone was slow, deliberate, as if he feared he might break it.
The tip of Rian's tongue poked out slightly between his lips, an unconscious sign of focus.
'Heh, look at him… either he's a cracking actor or this really is his first time texting,' Kaelin thought, watching Rian silently for a few seconds.
It didn't take long for her amusement to turn into despair, because…
How could anyone type this slowly!?
"Heavens, Rian…" Kaelin said, letting out an exaggerated sigh that made her chest rise and fall. "It's a text message, not a peace treaty."
Kaelin pressed a hand to her forehead, closing her eyes to muster some patience, then took a deep breath, exhaling slowly through her nose.
Rian didn't seem to be listening.
"God… grant me patience…" Kaelin muttered to herself, loud enough for Rian to catch it.
Rian looked up.
"What?" he asked, scratching his cheek with his free hand. "I'm trying."
"Trying…" Kaelin echoed, snapping her eyes open and letting out an incredulous chuckle. "You've been at this for, what, four minutes?"
Kaelin leaned closer, pointing at the screen with an impatient finger, her hair brushing Rian's shoulder and making him flinch back slightly on reflex.
"Come on, get on with it before Lena thinks you've keeled over."
Rian let out a quiet grunt, more resignation than complaint, and refocused on the phone.
"Cool … they…" he murmured as he typed.
Rian's fingers kept moving at a snail's pace, and every time he hit the wrong letter, his frown deepened, erasing it with a clumsy thumb swipe.
"Yeah… thanks…"
Rian finished at last, his shoulders slumping like he'd just run a marathon.
Kaelin, meanwhile, had straightened up and crossed her arms again, biting her lip to keep from laughing.
But her mind was elsewhere.
At first, she hadn't meant to read Rian's messages—or so she told herself.
The truth was, that morning before the ceremony, she'd fiddled with Rian's phone out of pure curiosity, and when she'd accidentally opened the chat, she saw Lena's messages.
Kaelin had ignored them then, out of politeness, as her parents had taught her.
But now, showing Rian how to navigate the interface, she couldn't help herself.
'Who's this girl?' Kaelin thought, pursing her lips as she shot Rian a sideways glance.
Was she a sister?
Or maybe… his doctor?
Kaelin shook her head.
'No, no doctor would send such casual messages to a patient…' she thought to herself.
So… was she his girlfriend?
The idea made Kaelin raise an eyebrow, studying Rian more closely.
He didn't seem the type to have a girlfriend, but…
What if she was?
"Done," Rian said suddenly, snapping Kaelin out of her thoughts. He held the phone up to her with both hands, like it was an offering. "Did I send it right?"
The screen showed the message Rian had written:
[Cool they are, yeah, thanks.]
Kaelin blinked, staring at the text, utterly baffled.
For a second, she didn't know what to say.
Cool they are?
Was he replying to more than one person?
'No, wait… I think Rian just mangled his message, but…'
Kaelin tilted her head, her red eyes narrowing as she tried to decipher it. Then she let out a low chuckle, covering her mouth with a hand.
"Yeah, Rian… you sent it fine," she said.
Rian tilted his head, frowning.
"Sure?" he pressed, lowering the phone slowly.
Kaelin sighed, throwing her head back.
She wasn't in the mood to give spelling lessons right now.
And since Kaelin herself used to make loads of mistakes when texting her aunt…
'He'll learn from his blunders,' Kaelin thought, coughing slightly.
"Yeah, well, it's… a creative message," she replied, waving a hand vaguely in the air. "Could mean the meds are brilliant, or you're brilliant, or the world's brilliant. Lena'll figure it out. Or she'll laugh at you. One or the other."
Kaelin smirked, flashing her teeth, and crossed her arms again, pleased with her own quip.
Rian blinked, scratching the back of his neck.
"Oh," he murmured, glancing at the phone.
Would this little gadget really get his message to Lena?
Didn't he need to hand it to someone for her to read it?
Before either of them could say more, a sharp buzz cut through the silence.
Rin.
Kaelin frowned, pulling her own phone from her jacket pocket. The screen lit up, and her red eyes widened, gleaming with surprise.
"Oh, blimey…" Kaelin muttered, her voice dropping as she swiped her finger across the screen. She looked up at Rian, pressing her lips together. "Looks like we'll have to catch up later. Good luck with your classes."
Rian nodded, shrugging.
"Sure, thanks for the help," he replied before Kaelin bolted out of his room.