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Ashley was in her room, sprawled across her bed, ring light casting an artificial glow on her face as she streamed yet another live. The routine was second nature by now—mindless chatter, forced enthusiasm, and, of course, the constant encouragement for her viewers to send galaxies. Why wouldn’t she? How else was she supposed to fund her never-ending supply of bean dip and Hot Cheetos?
Tonight was no different, just another evening spent wading through waves of comments, dodging drama, and raking in gifts. That is, until a notification popped up on her screen—a request to join the live.
Ashley squinted at the name. Tophiachu?
Her brows furrowed. The name sounded vaguely familiar. She had a large following, didn’t she? Did lives like she did? Maybe this would bring in more clout. More money. The decision was easy. Without a second thought, she accepted.
The chat exploded the moment their screens merged. Messages flew by at dizzying speed.
“No way Ashley and Tophia are live together rn.”
“The crossover we didn’t know we needed.”
“Rose Toy Duo LET’S GOOOO.”
Ashley barely had time to process before her eyes landed on the woman now sharing her screen.
Tophia looked… rough.
Unwashed hair clung to her face, strands curling in unpredictable directions. Her hoodie was at least two sizes too big, sleeves swallowing her hands. And was that—stubble?
Ashley swallowed hard, suddenly hyper-aware of the warmth creeping up her neck. Oh. Oh, fuck.
She quickly looked away, forcing herself to focus on the chat instead.
“Rose Toy Duo? What does that mean?” she asked, feigning ignorance.
She glanced back up at her screen just in time to catch Tophia’s reaction. The slight tilt of her head. The way she averted her gaze. The embarrassed little grimace she made.
Cute.
Ashley felt her stomach tighten. No. No, stop that.
Shoving the thought aside, she let the live continue as usual. The battle of the gifts began—both of them hyping up their viewers, watching the virtual presents stack higher and higher. In the end, Ashley won, but only by a sliver. If it weren’t for someone named SantosPRC sending a ridiculous amount of gifts, she probably would’ve lost.
“Damn, good game,” she said, stretching her arms above her head. “We should do this again sometime.”
To her surprise, Tophia nodded. “Yeah. Tomorrow?”
Ashley hesitated—only for a second. “Sure.”
And with that, the stream ended.
She exhaled, flopping back onto her bed, arms splayed out as she stared at the ceiling. That strange, warm feeling in her stomach hadn’t faded. It sat there, lingering, gnawing.
“It’s just the bean dip and Hot Cheetos, Ash,” she muttered to herself. “It’s not… her.”
She groaned, rolling over to grab her phone, ready to distract herself with mindless scrolling. But before she could even unlock it, a notification popped up at the top of her screen.
A DM.
From Tophiachu.
Her breath hitched.
Tophia: “hey ashley right? lol our stream was fun n u seem chill af, wanna be friends?”
Ashley didn’t even think before replying.
Ashley: “YES of course!! i’d love to omg :)”
The moment she hit send, regret sank in. Was that too fast? Too eager? Too desperate?
Her screen dimmed for a few seconds, and she swore her heart stopped. And then—
Tophia: “lol good cuz i lowkey woulda been sad if u said no haha but gnight ashley don’t let the bed bugs bite 😭 can’t wait for tmrw!!”
Ashley exhaled. That warmth in her stomach spread, reaching up to her chest.
She hesitated before typing out a response.
Ashley: “omg sameee i’m looking forward to it too!! gnight sleep well toph 💕”
The second she hit send, panic. Was it too soon for nicknames? What if Tophia thought she was weird? What if—
A soft ping.
Ashley stared at her screen.
Tophia had hearted her message.
A stupid, stupid grin tugged at her lips as she set her phone down.
She rolled onto her side, pulling the covers over her head, determined to sleep. But as the minutes ticked by, she found herself tossing, turning, thinking.
Her mind refused to settle.
Her thoughts wouldn’t stop circling back to her.
Ashley groaned into her pillow.
“Fuck. What am I gonna do?”