I really don’t. Not because I didn’t find myself pretty or anything, but I just never got the time, and it never really occurred to me that I should. I didn’t need random photos of myself when I had a mirror.
Jennie clutched her chest. “This is a tragedy. Do you know how photogenic you are?”
“I don’t—” I started, but they were already moving closer, eyes gleaming with determination.
“Okay,” Aly said, smirking. “We’re fixing that right now. Come on, angel. Pose.”
“No!” I blurted, hands flying up to cover my face. “If it’s my profile picture, I want it to be all of us.”
That stopped them cold.
Jennie blinked. “All of us?”
I nodded, shyly looking up. And suddenly they were crowding around me. Aly holding my phone, Jennie adjusting my hair, and Layla wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
“Okay, big smiles, show them pearly whites!” Jennie said, and we all cracked up laughing as Aly snapped the photo.
Click.
Another.
Another.
The photo that stuck was the one mid-laugh, messy, real, all of us squished together with sunlight spilling over the table.
“Perfect,” Aly said softly, typing something quickly into the bio before turning the screen toward me.
@auroramae
A pin emoji next toSilverwood University
And at the very bottom, some science emojis.
Cute. I like it.
Jennie then started giggling, “Oh, this is rich.”
We all snapped our heads towards her, and she turned her phone to face us. Face glowing with amusement.
“Cold. Ass. Grayson. Followed. Aurora.”
Aly blinked. “Wait—Alex Grayson? Mr I Only Follow Two People? And one of them being you”
“Yup,” Jennie said, popping the p proudly. “And the other one’s Joshua, obviously, because they’re attached at the brooding hip. But that’s it! He literally follows no one from this university except me and that asshole of a best friend.”
She raised her eyebrows at me.
“And now you.”
I blinked, cheeks heating.
I like him. I like Alex. We were both British, and he reminded me of something I miss a lot. Home.
Aly grinned. “Well, you just became part of an elite club, babe. Cold-hearted Instagram boy doesn’t follow anyone without a reason.”
Jennie sipped her drink, muttering, “Maybe he’s trying to balance Joshua’s karma by being nice to someone.”
They all laughed.
