Gemotions

Maya nearly choked on her iced coffee. The barista had just called out, "Order for 'CosmicCat88'!" Her head whipped around. There, standing by the pick-up counter, was Liam. Liam, the sarcastic, witty, and deeply knowledgeable gamer she'd been chatting with online for nearly a year. Her jaw dropped.

His eyes widened, mirroring her own expression. "Maya?" he breathed, a small smile playing on his lips. She clumsily fumbled with her phone, almost dropping it. It couldn't be. All those late-night talks, the shared memes, the inside jokes... all this time, he’d been *here*.

She took a shaky step towards him. The air seemed to crackle around them. "Liam, is that... really you?" Her voice was a bare whisper, the latte suddenly forgotten in her hand.