Chapter Text
4:23 PM
Unknown
| HEYY
| GREETINGSS
| HELLO
Ashlyn stared down at her phone, her face blank.
First of all, she didn’t know who the heck this was. Second of all, she didn’t know how they got their hands on her number. Perhaps it was some sort of scam caller. Maybe they’ve stopped calling and moved on to texting. Either way, Ashlyn didn’t give her number to people, and she certainly didn’t reply to random ones either.
Unknown
| wait i forgot to call the number
| why did i text you
| okay prank call failed
| CHANGE OF PLANS
| HI
| LETS BE FRIENDS
| HELLOOOO
Yeah, no. Ashlyn was too curious to not reply.
[You are typing…]
[Me]
who is this?? |
Unknown
| NO
| NOO
| I CANT TELL YOU
| THAT WILL RUIN THE FUN
| fr
[Me]
what fun |
Unknown
| wait how old are you
| i just realized there’s a super high chance i could be texting eldry
| considering i used my parents dusty old phone book that i found in one of the cabinets
| elderly
| I MEANT TO TYPE ELDELRY
| i’ll start feeling super bad if i’m texting a confused old man
| if you’re a confused old man i’m sorry :sad face:
[Me]
what |
Unknown
| if you’re an old man we can still be friends :D
| i think
| well actually not really
| i’m in highschool by the way
| i dont know why i told you that
| pls dont kidnap me
| how old are you??
Ashlyn squinted at her screen with skepticism. There was a huge chance that ‘Unknown’ was some random, probably really bored teenager, but there was no way in absolute hell she was going to reveal her age to them. Especially to some stranger on the internet. She wasn’t stupid. This could easily be a scammer. Or a hacker. Or some creep lying on the internet to lure her in or kidnap her or something dumb like that.
Unknown
| if you’re a confused old man should i call you mister
| wait.
| WHAT IF YOURE AN OLD LADY
| WAIT
| WHAT IF YOURE MY GRANDMA
| IM SORRY
| (if youre my gramma)
Okay, then.
Nevermind.
In a matter of seconds, a quick change of plans took place. Ashlyn’s patience was too thin to handle this (and to be known as Unknown’s hypothetical grandma made it ten times worse). Maybe she could clarify things first.
[Me]
i’m in highschool. |
and i don’t know you |
[You are typing…]
[Me]
also dont call me grandma |
please |
It was merely simple information—it wasn’t like, her address or anything. And it wasn’t like she was specifying her year, or her age, either. High school was a broad spectrum. Anyways, Ashlyn was planning to block the number afterwards, like the responsible person that she made herself out to be.
She nearly rolled off her bed from the immediate notifications.
Unknown
| YAY WE’RE MATCHING
| WE’RE BOTH HIGHSCHOOLERS
| NEW FRIEND ALERT
| WOOHOOO
[Me]
im sorry if this comes off the wrong way |
but im not like. interested in making friends |
also i don’t know you. |
Unknown
| too late
[Unknown changed their nickname to ‘Friend :D’]
[Me]
oh god |
Friend :D
| YATTT
| YAYYY*
Ashlyn couldn’t believe her number was in the guy’s phone book in the first place. How the heck did it even get there? Not only that, but she completely forgot that phone books even existed, and she couldn’t think of anybody who used phone books besides her grandparents. Sure, It was evident that ‘Friend :D’ was an immature teen—but, then again, there was a possibility that they were just an adult that was really, really good at acting.
[Me]
wait |
if you looked through that phonebook |
does that mean that my name was on there |
does that mean you have my name |
?? |
Friend :D
| DONT WORRY
| I FORGOT WHAT IT WAS
| it started with an a
| i think
| or was it an r
| no it was definitely an a
| WAIT SHOULD I TRY TO GUESS YOUR NAME
Crap. Bad move. Ashlyn froze, her fingers hovering over her screen for a moment. She hesitated again. And then she quickly started typing her reply.
[Me]
its not actually |
my name doesnt start with an a |
or an r |
youve got it wrong |
Friend :D
| oooooo
| THATS BETTER
| so i cant guess
| wait let’s introduce ecah other
| because we’re now friends
[Me]
we’re really not |
[Unknown changed your nickname to ‘Friend :O’]
Friend :O [Me]
absolutely not |
hell no |
[You deleted your nickname]
Friend :D
| NOOO
| why did you do that D:
| our matching nicknames were absolutely necesswe
| necessary*
[Me]
we’re not even friends |
Friend :D
| yes we are
| we’re both in highschool and we both started talking to each other
| this is how destiny works i think
[Me]
i don’t know you????? |
Friend :D
| even better
[Me]
you know nothing about me |
Friend :D
| i know that you lied about your name
[Me]
? |
Friend :D
| lets be honest now
| your name probably starts with r
[Me]
right |
Friend :D
| i should try guessing again
| ryan
| richard
| rachel
| RACHEL
| WAS IT RACHEL
| YOUR NAME IS RACHEL ISNT IT :point:
[Me]
well |
Friend :D
| give me a hint
| PLEASEEEE
| ill call you ricky if you dont
| lol imagine if i started calling you ricky and you were actually named ricky all along
[Me]
absolutely not |
Friend :D
| give me the first letter pleaseeeee
[Me]
no |
Friend :D
| gender????
[Me]
well |
i’m a girl |
. |
thats it |
im only telling you this so youll stop calling me a confused old man |
Friend :D
| OHHHHH
[Unknown changed your nickname to ‘confused old woman’]
[confused old woman]
No |
stop it |
dont |
absolutely not |
[You deleted your nickname]
Friend :D
| WHYYYY DO YOU KEEP DOING THAT
| AWWWWW
[Me]
its because we’re not friends |
and i don’t know you |
and i’m going to block you later anyways so |
Friend :D
| WHATTTTT
| NOOO :sad face:
| WHY
[Me]
like i said, we dont know each other??? |
and you don’t know me at all |
Friend :D
| i can tell you stuff about me if itll make you feel better
[Me]
right |
Friend :D
| i’m a guy :D
| fifteen
| i like rollercoasters
| i hate book reports
| also
[Friend :D is typing…]
Ashlyn stopped and stared at her phone. Fifteen. This guy could easily be someone from her year—in fact, someone from her own school, even. Feeling repulsed, she shook her head. Absolutely not. Hopefully, he wasn’t. He could be on the opposite side of the country, or the world for that matter.
Well, not exactly, considering that he used a phone book and phone books listed the numbers of people from around the area but—
No! Just no. Nevermind. This was becoming annoying to think about.
Friend :D
| i’m not gonna say too much
| so we wont guess each other too quiclky
| AND WE NEED TO BE ANONYMOUS
| ITS MORE FUN THAT WAY
| watcha doing rn????
[Me]
i’m texting you |
Friend :D
| well yeah
| but what else??
| im eating icecream
| its rocky road
| crunchy
[Me]
i’m at |
home |
Friend :D
| YAY
| do you like icecream too
Ashlyn scrunched her face—almost considering answering—but she ended up shaking her head. This was too much. Too much social interaction for one day, despite it all being online. She had to block this guy now, before things escalated. For all she knew, he could be stealing information from her like some sicko. As her finger advanced towards the block button, the door of her bedroom clicked open.
“Hey, trooper? Could you help me with the laundry? Your mother’s napping and I—”
Ashlyn promptly closed her phone and looked up at her dad. Her phone made multiple, irritatingly loud ‘ding’ notification sounds from Unknown, and she looked down at her screen with almost…panic. Or disgust. Or horror. Or annoyance. In the end, she was too surprised to pick one.
Friend :D
| because ICE CREAM IS REALLY GOOD
| im eating it rn and its super good
| do you like icecream?????
| this is vital information btw i need to know
For some stupid reason, Ashlyn glanced at the message and had the indecency to laugh . It was more out of disbelief than out of how funny the messages were, but either way: bad move. Her dad, meanwhile, blinked at her phone and curiously tilted his head. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards. “Are you texting someone?”
Ashlyn’s eyes widened and she promptly shook her head. Ridiculous. Stupid. Severely unlikely. “Well—”
“Is it a friend?” Her dad asked excitedly, his eyes lighting up. He quickly made his way towards her bed, peering at her phone’s screen with surprise. “You’ve finally made a friend?”
“No!” She shook her head again, trying to block the phone screen that her dad so eagerly wanted to see. “Not like that! Just a scam caller. Or a prank caller. I don’t know! But it’s not a friend!”
Despite her fumbling around and trying to turn her phone over, her dad still managed to lean in and read the new messages.
Friend :D
| [image]
| [image]
| SEE
| how can you not say no to icecream!!!!!!!
| HELLO
| CMON WE’RE FRIENDSSS
| right??? friend :O ???
| PLEAASE dont leave me on seen when we are discussing ICE CREAM
| do you really hate ice cream that much D:
| are you like. lactose intolerant or something??
Ashlyn cringed backwards.
Dangit.
Her dad, however, tilted his head. His voice softened, yes, but his smile widened immensely. Oh no. Not this again. “Friend? You’re actually…friends?”
Ashlyn laughed—not because she thought they were friends (in what universe would that happen, really), but because the idea was so far-fetched and ridiculous that it actually seemed funny. She probably shouldn't have, though, because this planted an unwanted seed of hope in her dad’s mind. Oh shit. Oh no. He actually thought she made a friend.
Her dad beamed, and walked forward to playfully pat her back. “I’m proud of you, Ashlyn. You’re finally making friends? I almost can’t believe it. It feels too good to be true! How did you meet them? Are they a classmate? Are they from your school? We should invite them over sometime!”
“No!” Ashlyn exclaimed, shaking her head. “It’s just some random—”
“Classmate?”
Ashlyn gritted her teeth. “Well, he—he’s in highschool (she made sure not to specify which highschool, considering she didn’t know at all ). But I’m not close with him. Like, at all. At all. So no invites. Ever.”
Her dad’s face sobered up, but he still ruffled her hair (she bitterly laughed a bit at the gesture but shooed him away afterwards). “Well, keep it up. Oh, and I still need help with the laundry later. But I’ll let you message your new kind–of –friend for a bit. Good luck, Ashlyn. I’m proud of you.”
Ouch.
He left the room quickly, the door making subtle clicking sounds as it closed.
Ashlyn stared down at her phone again. Just this once, she’d reply. Just because she was bored, and she didn’t want to wash the dishes yet. And she felt a little guilty for giving her dad false hope. But friends? Friends? She had never been interested in making friends. It wasn’t like it was going to change now.
So, just this once, to get out of chores for a little while.
..
Just this once.
[You are typing…]
4:32
[Me]
well |
i do like ice cream actually |
no, i’m not lactose intolerant. |