CHAPTER 16: THE REQUEST
The friend request was still there when Liora woke up.
It was the first thing she checked.
And she hated that.
Liora stared at the screen from beneath her blanket, morning sunlight barely filtering through the curtains.
rowan_17
No profile picture.
No posts.
No mutual friends.
No information.
Just a name.
A completely ordinary name.
Yet somehow, it had occupied her thoughts for almost an entire night.
She had considered accepting.
Then ignoring.
Then accepting again.
Then convincing herself she didn't care.
Then checking the profile three more times before sleeping.
Now, staring at it again, she groaned and buried her face in her pillow.
"Why am I even thinking about this?"
The pillow offered no advice.
By the time she reached school, she had successfully decided absolutely nothing.
Which was unfortunate.
Because now she was thinking about it during class.
And lunch.
And while walking.
And while pretending not to think about it.
Which only made her think about it more.
"Earth to Liora."
Nothing.
Mira snapped her fingers.
Nothing.
Kai waved both hands dramatically in front of her face.
Still nothing.
Jaden looked up from his lunch.
"She's gone."
Liora blinked.
"...What?"
"There she is," Kai announced.
"Welcome back."
She frowned.
"What happened?"
"You tell us," Mira said.
"You've been staring at the same french fry for thirty seconds."
Liora looked down.
The fry was indeed still in her hand.
"...Oh."
Kai pointed.
"Suspicious."
"How?"
"You zoned out."
"People zone out."
"You never zone out."
Mira narrowed her eyes.
"Wait."
Liora immediately disliked that look.
"What."
Mira leaned across the table.
"Do you have a secret?"
"No."
The answer came too fast.
Everyone noticed.
Especially Kai.
"Oh, she definitely has a secret."
"I don't."
"That's exactly what someone with a secret says."
Liora threw a napkin at him.
Kai looked pleased with himself.
Across from her, Evren quietly watched the exchange.
Not suspicious.
Not worried.
Just noticing.
The way he always did.
"You seem distracted," he said.
Simple.
Calm.
Liora looked at him.
For a second, she almost mentioned the request.
Then stopped herself.
Because honestly?
It sounded ridiculous.
She didn't even know who the person was.
"I didn't sleep well."
The excuse came easily.
Evren nodded.
"That explains it."
And just like that, he accepted the answer.
No interrogation.
No suspicion.
Just trust.
For some reason, that made her feel slightly guilty.
The rest of the day passed normally.
Classes.
Assignments.
Teachers reminding everyone that graduation was approaching faster than they thought.
Students complaining.
Life moving forward.
Yet every now and then, Liora's thoughts drifted back to the same thing.
A username.
A friend request.
A stranger.
After the final bell rang, students poured out of classrooms like water breaking through a dam.
Normally, Liora would wait for everyone.
The five of them always walked together.
It had become routine.
Comfortable.
Expected.
But today—
Today she hesitated.
Her phone felt unusually heavy in her pocket.
She wanted to know.
Just know.
Who was Rowan?
Why had he added her?
That was all.
Curiosity.
Nothing more.
"Lio!"
She turned.
Mira was waving from the hallway.
Kai and Jaden stood beside her.
Evren a few steps behind.
The usual group.
The usual afternoon.
The usual walk home.
And suddenly, for the first time in years, Liora said:
"You guys go ahead today."
Everyone looked surprised.
Kai spoke first.
"...What?"
"I need to get home early."
"Why?"
Liora had already prepared an excuse.
"My aunt needs help with something."
A lie.
Not a huge lie.
But still.
Kai shrugged.
"Fair."
Jaden nodded.
Mira accepted it immediately.
Only Evren studied her for a second longer than the others.
Then he simply said:
"Okay."
No questions.
No pressure.
Just okay.
And somehow that made it harder.
The moment she reached home, she practically ran upstairs.
Her bag hit the floor.
Shoes kicked aside.
Bedroom door shut.
Silence.
Liora sat on her bed.
Phone in hand.
Heart beating faster than it should.
"This is ridiculous."
It was literally a friend request.
Not a life-changing decision.
Not a confession.
Not a secret.
Just a request.
Taking a breath, she pressed accept.
Then tossed her phone beside her.
Done.
Finished.
Mystery solved.
Her phone buzzed.
Immediately.
Liora stared.
Then slowly picked it up.
A new message.
Rowan:
thanks for accepting :)
She blinked.
That was fast.
Very fast.
For a second she wondered if he'd been online.
Waiting.
But the thought disappeared as quickly as it came.
People were online all the time.
Nothing strange about that.
Right?
After staring for another minute, she finally replied.
Liora:
no problem
Three dots appeared almost instantly.
Rowan:
honestly didn't think you would
Liora:
why not?
Rowan:
no profile picture
no posts
looks suspicious
Liora laughed.
Liora:
that's true
Rowan:
i'm self aware
The conversation continued.
Simple.
Easy.
Unexpectedly normal.
He told her he was seventeen.
She told him she was too.
He lived in another city.
He was in his final year of school.
He liked photography.
At least enough to recognize a good photo when he saw one.
That surprised her.
Rowan:
the rainy street photo on your profile was nice
Liora paused.
Then looked at her own profile.
Of course.
She had posted it weeks ago.
The bookstore photo.
The one she'd taken during the rain.
Liora:
thanks
Rowan:
do you take all your pictures yourself?
Liora:
mostly
Rowan:
that's cool
Simple.
Nothing strange.
Nothing flirtatious.
Nothing that raised alarms.
Just conversation.
By evening, they had exchanged only a handful of messages.
Yet somehow the stranger no longer felt entirely like a stranger.
Around sunset, Liora's phone rang.
Evren
She answered immediately.
"Hello?"
"You busy?"
"No."
"Walk?"
Straight to the point.
Typical.
Liora smiled.
"Give me ten minutes."
The café garden near their neighborhood was quieter than usual.
String lights glowed softly between trees.
A fountain murmured somewhere nearby.
People passed occasionally.
Nothing rushed.
Nothing loud.
The kind of place conversations naturally happened.
Liora and Evren walked slowly along the stone path.
Talking about school.
The festival.
Kai's constant complaints.
Mira's dramatic speeches.
Jaden's impossible patience.
Normal things.
Comfortable things.
"You know," Liora said, "I still think the festival was the best week this year."
"It was."
"You complained through most of it."
"I complain through everything."
"That's fair."
Evren glanced at her.
"You seem less distracted now."
"Huh?"
"Earlier."
At lunch.
At school.
Throughout the day.
Liora immediately knew what he meant.
"Oh."
She looked away.
"I'm fine."
"I know."
The answer came so easily that it caught her off guard.
Not:
Are you sure?
Not:
What's wrong?
Just:
I know.
Because he trusted her.
Always.
Buzz.
Her phone vibrated.
A notification.
Instinctively, she looked down.
Rowan
Without thinking, she tilted the screen away slightly.
A tiny movement.
Barely noticeable.
Yet noticeable enough.
Evren's gaze shifted briefly.
Then back to her.
"Who was that?"
Casual.
No suspicion.
Just curiosity.
Liora suddenly became aware of how strange she probably looked.
"No one."
The answer sounded awkward.
Even to her.
Evren raised an eyebrow.
"No one texted you?"
"...Okay, someone texted me."
"That's usually how messages work."
She groaned.
"You're annoying."
"Frequently."
The awkwardness dissolved.
Mostly.
A few minutes later, Evren asked:
"By the way."
"Hm?"
"Why'd you leave early today?"
"Oh."
There it was.
"The thing with my aunt."
He nodded.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah."
"Good."
And that was it.
No further questions.
No investigation.
Just concern.
Then acceptance.
Later that night, after dinner, after homework, after the house had gone quiet—
Liora sat on her bed.
Phone in hand.
The room lit only by a lamp and the glow of her screen.
A new message waited.
Rowan:
how was your day?
Liora stared at it.
Such a normal question.
Such an ordinary message.
Yet she found herself smiling slightly.
Not because she liked him.
Not because she was interested.
Just because someone had remembered to ask.
Her fingers moved across the keyboard.
Liora:
pretty normal
Three dots appeared almost immediately.
Then:
Rowan:
those are usually the days people remember later
For some reason, she read the message twice.
Outside her window, the night remained quiet.
Inside her room, the conversation continued.
And neither of them knew it yet—
but a simple friend request had already begun changing everything.