Chapter Text
---
Caitlyn Kiramman believed everything could be solved with enough preparation.
It was a philosophy that had gotten her through most of her life.
Exams?
Study harder.
Deadlines?
Make a schedule.
Problems?
Find the source and fix it.
People?
Well.
People were more complicated.
Which was exactly why Caitlyn had decided to write about them.
It was supposed to be the article that would finally get her noticed.
Not just another assignment for her journalism class.
Not just another piece buried between campus announcements and restaurant reviews.
Something meaningful.
Something honest.
Something that proved she could write about real people instead of just statistics.
Her professor had given her one instruction:
"Write something people can relate to."
Simple enough.
Except Caitlyn had no idea how to write about people when people were impossible.
Especially relationships.
---
"You're telling me you want to write an article about how to ruin a relationship?"
Caitlyn looked up from her laptop.
Her roommate stared at her like she had lost her mind.
"No."
The girl pointed at the title on the screen.
How To Lose A Girl In Ten Days.
"That literally says that."
Caitlyn sighed.
"It's research."
"That's what everyone says before doing something questionable."
Caitlyn ignored her.
The idea was simple.
Everyone wrote about falling in love.
Nobody wrote about the things that drove people apart.
The habits.
The misunderstandings.
The little things that slowly made two people realize they weren't compatible.
She was going to document it.
A social experiment.
Ten days.
One relationship.
A list of things guaranteed to test someone's patience.
And she already knew exactly who she wanted to test it on.
---
Vi.
Caitlyn had met her exactly once.
And somehow, once had been enough.
She was impossible to forget.
She was the girl who rode a motorcycle instead of taking the bus.
The girl who wore old band shirts and leather jackets like she had personally invented being intimidating.
The girl who argued with professors.
The girl who somehow looked both exhausted and completely fearless at the same time.
Everyone on campus knew Vi.
Not because she tried to be popular.
Because she didn't.
She was just... Vi.
The kind of person who walked into a room and changed the atmosphere without even trying.
Which was exactly why Caitlyn thought she would be perfect.
If Caitlyn could prove that even someone like Vi could be driven away by ten days of terrible relationship habits, she would have her article.
It would be funny.
It would be interesting.
And it would be completely professional.
---
It took Caitlyn three days to convince Vi to go on a date.
Not because Vi wasn't interested.
That was the annoying part.
Vi was interested.
She just found Caitlyn's entire approach hilarious.
"You know asking someone out usually doesn't involve a presentation."
Caitlyn lowered the folder in her hands.
"I did not make a presentation."
Vi looked at the neatly organized notes.
"You have bullet points."
"They are reminders."
"You have sections."
"They are helpful."
"You have a backup plan."
Caitlyn paused.
"That is irrelevant."
Vi grinned.
"Oh, this is going to be fun."
Caitlyn frowned.
"Why?"
"Because you're either the most serious person I've ever met or secretly completely insane."
"I am neither."
"Sure."
---
Their first date was supposed to fail.
Caitlyn had planned everything.
A restaurant that was too formal.
A conversation that would become awkward.
A schedule that left no room for spontaneity.
The perfect disaster.
Except Vi ruined it.
Because instead of complaining about the expensive restaurant, she asked questions.
Instead of making fun of Caitlyn's manners, she found them amusing.
Instead of being uncomfortable around Caitlyn's world, she seemed curious about it.
"So."
Vi leaned back in her chair.
"You always this prepared?"
Caitlyn looked up.
"Yes."
"That's exhausting."
"It's efficient."
"That's just a fancy word for exhausting."
Caitlyn tried not to smile.
She failed.
Vi noticed.
"You smiled."
"I did not."
"You did."
"I was being polite."
"Uh-huh."
---
By day three, Caitlyn had a problem.
The experiment was failing.
Vi was supposed to be annoying.
Instead, she was funny.
Vi was supposed to be difficult.
Instead, she was thoughtful.
Vi was supposed to make Caitlyn want to end the whole thing.
Instead, Caitlyn found herself looking forward to seeing her.
Which was completely inconvenient.
Because Caitlyn had an article to write.
Not feelings to develop.
---
"You know you can relax, right?"
Vi said one evening.
They were sitting outside a small coffee shop after closing.
Caitlyn looked confused.
"What?"
"You."
Vi pointed at her.
"You're always thinking."
"I am not."
"You are."
"How would you know?"
"Because you make the same face every time."
"What face?"
"That one."
Vi copied her expression.
Caitlyn stared.
Then laughed.
A real laugh.
And the look on Vi's face changed.
Like she hadn't expected to hear it.
---
That was the problem.
Caitlyn was supposed to be studying Vi.
But somewhere along the way, she had started understanding her.
Vi wasn't reckless because she didn't care.
She was reckless because she cared too much.
She wasn't loud because she wanted attention.
She was loud because silence reminded her of things she didn't want to remember.
And beneath all the sarcasm and confidence was someone who was constantly making sure everyone else was okay.
Everyone except herself.
---
Caitlyn wrote in her notebook that night.
Day Three: Vi is not what I expected.
She stared at the sentence.
Then added:
She is much harder to understand.
She paused.
Then:
And much harder to dislike.
Caitlyn closed the notebook immediately.
That was dangerous.
---
Meanwhile, Vi sat on her couch staring at her phone.
The message was simple.
Caitlyn: Tomorrow, 7 PM. Don't be late.
Vi smiled.
She hated that she smiled.
Because this was not supposed to happen.
She was supposed to think Caitlyn was annoying.
Too serious.
Too perfect.
Too much.
Instead, she found herself waiting for her messages.
Thinking about her.
Wondering what she looked like when she wasn't trying so hard to be impressive.
Vi threw her phone onto the couch.
"Nope."
The room was silent.
She picked it back up.
Read the message again.
"...Definitely not."
A pause.
Then she smiled.
---
Caitlyn thought she was writing an article about how to lose someone.
She didn't realize she was accidentally writing the story of how she found someone.
And Vi?
Vi had spent years avoiding people who wanted to change her.
She never expected someone to come along who simply wanted to know her.
The problem was...
Neither of them knew what to do when the person they were trying to push away was the person they wanted to stay.
End of chapter one.