𝑺𝑬𝑬 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑨𝑮𝑨𝑰𝑵, javon walton

005

Mae was currently on FaceTime with Anya while finishing her skincare routine.

"Did you manage to find his Insta yet?" Anya asked eagerly, her face filling the screen.

"Not yet, hold on," Mae replied, carefully applying the last bit of moisturiser. "Almost done."

"Alright, let me do it. What's his last name again?"

"Walton."

"Cool, give me a second."

Mae continued with her routine while Anya searched. A few minutes passed, and she finally sat on her bed, phone still in hand.

"So?" Mae asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Oh, right! We're still on the call." Anya chuckled. "His username is 'wanna.'"

"Huh?" Mae raised an eyebrow, confused.

"Yeah, his Instagram handle—it's 'wanna.' Go grab your iPad, and let's stalk him properly," Anya said with a mischievous grin.

Mae laughed softly, heading over to her desk to grab her iPad. "Okay, okay, hang on."

She unlocked the device and opened Instagram, quickly typing "wanna" into the search bar. Sure enough, there it was—Javon's account, verified and with a staggering number of followers.

"Wow, he's... popular," Mae muttered under her breath, still in slight disbelief.

"Damn," Mae repeated, her eyes glued to the screen.

"Did you see his follower count?" Anya asked, already laughing lightly.

"Yeah... five million? That's almost the population of Switzerland," Mae replied, her voice incredulous.

"I know, right? It's insane," Anya added.

Mae couldn't help but laugh. "He acts like he's not famous, but then boom, five million followers."

"Well, I guess he just acts like a regular guy," Anya pointed out, trying to rationalise it.

"A regular guy with five million followers," Mae teased.

"True," Anya laughed. "But hey, that's life."

They talked for another half-hour, discussing Javon's surprising fame and laughing at the situation before eventually hanging up. After the call, Mae turned on the TV, hoping to watch a movie to relax, but ended up falling asleep midway through.

The next morning, Mae was jolted awake by the sound of her phone alarm blaring. Groggily, she pulled herself out of bed and sat on the edge, feeling the weight of sleep still lingering in her limbs. She stared at the wall for a few moments, trying to gather the strength to move. Finally, she stood up, grabbed her phone, and headed downstairs.

In the dining room, Clara was already preparing breakfast. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and buttered toast filled the air.

"Morning, Clara," Mae said, taking her usual seat at the table.

"Good morning, Mae. Did you sleep well?" Clara asked as she placed a plate of fruit in front of her.

"Very well, thank you," Mae replied, offering a small smile.

As she scrolled absentmindedly through her phone, a notification from Instagram popped up, catching her off guard. It was from Javon.

"What?" Mae blinked, sitting up straighter in her chair.

"Something wrong, dear?" Clara asked, glancing over at her.

"Oh, no, it's nothing," Mae said quickly, feeling her cheeks heat up slightly. She opened the message, heart racing, and read: "Next time you stalk someone, try not to like their photo. They might notice 😉."

Mae groaned, covering her face with her hands. "Oh no..."

"You alright?" Clara asked again, her voice filled with concern.

"Yeah, just... did something dumb," Mae muttered, poking at a strawberry on her plate. "So stupid," she sighed, shaking her head in disbelief.

After breakfast, Mae returned to her room to take a quick shower. She dressed in her favourite pair of jeans and a navy blue long-sleeve shirt, finishing off her look with a pair of golden goose. She sat at her vanity, doing a light touch of makeup, and once she was satisfied, she sat scrolling through her phone, still trying to shake off the embarrassment from earlier.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed. It was her dad calling.

"Hello?" Mae answered.

"Hi, Mae. How are you?"

"I'm good. How about you?" she asked.

"I'm fine, thanks. The driver will be there in about 10 minutes to pick up Anya."

"Okay, got it. Bye, Dad."

"Bye," he said before hanging up.

Mae grabbed her things and headed downstairs, just in time to see Florent, the driver, pulling up in the car.

"Morning, Florent," she greeted as she got into the car.

"Morning, Mae. Off to pick up Anya?"

"Yep, that's the plan," Mae said with a smile.

They arrived at Anya's house a few minutes later, and Mae stepped out to ring the bell. As she waited, her mind wandered back to the message from Javon. Would it be awkward next time they saw each other? Or would they laugh it off?

Before she could well on it any longer, the door swung open, and Anya stood there, beaming as always.

"You ready?" Mae asked.

"Ready as ever," Anya replied, linking her arm with Mae's as they walked back to the car. "And you're totally telling me more about that message from you know who on the way."

Mae just shook her head, knowing there was no escaping it.