The Night Luna Saved Us

My best friend Sofia hadn't spoken to me in three weeks, ever since I accidentally liked her crush's post from last summer. Stupid, I know. But I'd been doomscrolling at 3 AM like a total loser, thumb slipping, and suddenly I was that creepy friend who cyber-stalks her bestie's crush.

I should've just apologized. Instead, I became a digital spy, checking her stories without leaving a trace, watching her live her life without me.

Then came the night my cat Luna decided the HDMI cable connecting my TV looked like a snake worth killing. She pounced, cable snapped, and my late-night FaceTime with Sophia — my one attempt to fix things — went black.

"Did your cat just murder your internet?" Sofia's voice cut through the silence.

"She tried. The cable's done."

"Come over. My parents are out. We need to talk anyway."

My heart raced as I grabbed my bike. This was it. The friendship funeral or the restart button.

Sofia's room was glowing gold from her fish tank. We sat on her bed, awkward silence stretching between us like the last month had never happened.

"I'm sorry about the like thing," I blurted. "I was just... missing you. And scrolling too deep."

She snorted. "I know. I saw you on my viewer list three times that night. You're not exactly a master spy."

My face burned. "You knew?"

"That's why I didn't block you. I wanted you to say something."

Her goldfish, Captain Fin, swam to the glass like he was eavesdropping. Luna would've tried to eat him.

"I missed you," I said. "Social media spying is weird. I'm weird."

"We're both weird." Sofia grabbed my hand. "Just... don't stalk my crush's old posts again? It's giving major obsessed energy."

"Deal."

We stayed up till 4 AM eating cookie dough and watching Captain Fin do absolutely nothing. Some friendships are worth fighting for — even if it takes a cat destroying technology to remind you.