The Zombie Follow Back

Maya's thumb hovered over the follow button, her heart doing that stupid flutter thing it always did when she stalked Sierra's profile. Again.

"You're literally a zombie," Kai muttered from where they were sprawled across Maya's bed, flipping through a AP History textbook. "It's been two months. Either DM her or accept your fate as a creepy internet spy."

Maya locked her phone and groaned into her pillow. "I'm not spying. I'm... gathering intel."

"That's literally what spying IS, Maya." Kai sat up, their purple-streaked hair falling into their eyes. "You know what else spying is? Weird. And creepy. And totally not fixing whatever happened between you two."

Maya squeezed her eyes shut. The fight replayed in her head like it always did—that horrible moment at Maya's birthday party when Sierra had stormed out, shouting something about fake friends and betrayal and how Maya had changed.

They'd been inseparable since seventh grade. Best friend soulmates, Maya's mom called them. Now they were strangers who happened to share three group chats and a decade of inside jokes.

"She looked so happy in those stories," Maya whispered. "Like she's better off without me."

"Or maybe she's just posting her highlight reel like everyone else." Kai's voice softened. "You won't know unless you actually talk to her. Like a normal person, not a social media detective."

Maya stared at her ceiling where glow-in-the-dark stars—Sierra's birthday gift last year—still glowed faintly. She'd spent weeks analyzing Sierra's posts like they were coded messages, looking for signs that she missed Maya too. She'd become a zombie in her own life: going through motions at school, barely sleeping, refreshing Instagram until her eyes burned.

"What if she doesn't reply?"

"Then she doesn't reply." Kai shrugged. "At least you won't be stuck in spy mode forever. That's gotta be exhausting."

Maya's hands were shaking as she opened Instagram again. Not to stalk. To type. Her fingers moved faster than her brain could second-guess.

*hey. i miss you. can we talk?*

Her heart pounded. She threw her phone onto the bed like it burned.

"Did you do it?" Kai asked.

"Yeah. Oh my god, I think I'm gonna puke."

The notification dinged three minutes later. Maya's stomach dropped.

*coffee tomorrow? same place?*

Maya dissolved into giggles, something she hadn't done in weeks. "Zombie mode deactivated."

"Finally." Kai grabbed their textbook. "Now can we please finish studying? Some of us actually need to pass AP History."

Maya nodded, feeling lighter than she had in two months. Maybe things with Sierra wouldn't be fixed overnight. Maybe they'd changed too much to go back to how things were. But at least she wasn't watching from the sidelines anymore. At least she was trying.