33. exposed

I woke up to my phone vibrating nonstop.

Bleary-eyed, I reached over and grabbed it from my nightstand, squinting at the screen. My notifications were out of control-texts, Twitter mentions, Instagram DMs.

What the hell...

I sat up, rubbing my eyes as I scrolled through the messages.

Mandy: Um. Have you been online???Martin: LMAO y'all are trending

My stomach dropped.

I tapped open instagram and immediately saw my own face staring back at me. Well-me and Hamzah. A paparazzi-style photo, clearly taken the night before, of us standing on the sidewalk after our date. His hands were on my waist, and we were mid-kiss, city lights glowing behind us like something straight out of a romance movie.

And, of course, it had exploded.

@user1: *EXCUSE ME. WHAT IS THIS.* @user2: *How did we go from "just roommates" to them making out in the streets??* @user3: *Nah, I been knew. The tension was too strong.* @user4: *Martin & Mandy, y'all got anything to say??*

"Oh, shit," I muttered.

Just as I was processing the chaos, my bedroom door swung open.

Hamzah, wearing sweats and one of his old hoodies, stood in the doorway, his phone in hand. His expression was a mix of amusement and exasperation.

"So," he said, stepping inside. "I take it you've seen it?"

I groaned, falling back onto my pillows. "We were so lowkey. How did this even happen?"

Hamzah chuckled, flopping down beside me. "We made out in public, Cora. Someone was bound to catch it."

I buried my face in my hands. "This is so embarrassing. I didn't think you were that popular"

"Wow, harsh," he said, scrolling through his phone. "People are actually hyped. They're calling us 'the soft launch that turned into a hard launch overnight.'"

I peeked up at him. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

He grinned. "A little. But mostly, I think it's funny how everyone thought Martin or Mandy would be the ones to accidentally expose us. Turns out, we did that all on our own."

I groaned again, rolling over and grabbing a pillow to scream into.

The bed shifted as Hamzah leaned over me, prying the pillow away. "Hey, c'mon. It's not that bad."

I turned my head to look at him. "Not that bad? The entire internet knows we're dating."

His expression softened. "And? We are dating."

I sighed, my frustration melting slightly. "I know. I just... wasn't ready for the chaos."

Hamzah smirked. "Too late for that." He held up his phone, showing me the latest tweet. "'Cora and Hamzah being in love was not on my 2024 bingo card, but I'm here for it.' See? They're rooting for us."

I huffed out a laugh, shaking my head. "I guess there are worse things than people shipping us."

He nudged me with his shoulder. "Exactly. Now, let's make breakfast before Mandy and Martin show up demanding answers."

As if on cue, my phone lit up with a FaceTime call from Mandy.

I groaned. "Too late for that, too."

Hamzah just grinned. "Better get used to it, girlfriend."

And despite the chaos, I couldn't help but smile.