The HDMI Incident

Maya's bedroom was basically a disaster zone of tangled wires, but today she was actually trying to fix it. The **cable** behind her TV had been loose for weeks, making every Netflix session an adventure in whether the screen would randomly go black mid-scene.

"You need help with that?" Jordan leaned against her doorframe, looking annoyingly perfect in his basketball shorts and backwards **hat**. The same beanie Maya had been wearing for three days straight because she'd gotten bangs that were absolutely not "fringe" and more like "tiny angry stalactites" on her forehead.

"No thanks," she said, voice muffled from where she was basically doing yoga behind the TV stand. "I've got this. It's just... the HDMI **cable** is being extra."

"Extra?" Jordan laughed, sliding down to sit beside her. "You sound like my little sister."

Maya finally wiggled the **cable** free, triumphantly holding it like a trophy. Her hair escaped her **hat**, revealing the bangs disaster she'd been hiding. Jordan stared.

"Whoa. What happened to your forehead?"

"Don't." She covered her face with her **palm**. "I did it myself and now I look like I lost a fight with a lawn mower."

"No, you don't." Jordan tilted his head, actually looking. "It's kinda... honestly? It looks like something from a K-pop video. Trendy."

"You're just being nice because I'm fixing your Xbox connection."

"I'm being nice because..." Jordan started, then stopped. His **palm** found hers on the carpet between them. "Because I've been trying to hang out with you for weeks and you keep wearing that stupid **hat** and hiding."

Maya's heart did that anime protag moment where it practically beats out of her chest. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh." Jordan's **hat** slipped off, revealing messy hair that made him look actually vulnerable for once. "So... can I help you with that **cable** now?"

"Only if you admit my bangs aren't that bad."

"They're not," he said, like it was obvious. "They're just extra."

Maya laughed, finally letting herself breathe. Maybe her DIY haircut disaster wasn't so bad after all. Some things, like Jordan holding her **palm** and this moment between them, were worth a little temporary ugly phase.