Thomas fast-walked from the library to his house. The "dorms" at Krughy's University were like a set of buildings filled with studios or two-bedroom apartments. This anomaly was only explained by the size of the country, where most students lived not far off local Universities. The ones that required housing were those who lived outside in the countryside, 45 minutes to an hour away. In Thomas's case, he got a scholarship that provided him a studio apartment.  

His door was red, and inside there was only a hallway that divided the entrance from the full-size bed. Right in from of it stood a dining table that he also used as a desk. I forgot to do the dishes, he thought before dragging his laptop from the messiness of his backpack, which consisted of a labyrinth of different tangled things.  When he sorted out his laptop from the cables trap, he set it on the mattress and took place in front of it.  

The Skype app was still on, and Thomas felt his fingers tremble a little before clicking the green "Phone" button. He saw the logo of Laurence's smiling face rang a few times before the tone dropped, indicating that the call had ended noticeably on purpose.  

Thomas felt a spark of frustration on his chest, cursing this dramatic side of his beautiful boyfriend. He tried again. This time it only took two rings. When the call started, he automatically turned on his camera, as someone used to a routine.  

"What?" Laurence's sharp voice startled him a little, but Thomas tried to keep a calm face, only affected by a tiny, worried muscle that knitted his brows. 

"Could you turn your camera on?" Thomas tried avoiding sounding like he was pleading, failing miserably. 

"I don't want to."

"Laurence... please." He wasn't trying to hold it in this time, his brows grew closer together, and he looked directly into the camera. Thomas's expression was clearly meant to carve into the sweet spot Laurence reserved just for him. 

Laurence turned it on, making the annoying guy on the other side smile for a second. "What?" 

Thomas sighed. "I'm sorry for leaving you so suddenly. Carly came and wanted to introduce me to her new boyfriend or something." 

Laurence sighed too, considering his words. He felt tempted to drag the silence, so he was able to make his boyfriend suffer just a little longer.  "It's fine, it's just-..." His expression softened, and he looked down. "I told you we shouldn't do it in public. Especially not so near your uni." 

Thomas tried again. "I know, I'm sorry." And smiled, more confident this time. "I don't regret it, though."

Lau rolled his eyes, hiding a shy smile. "Whatever, Thom, I've gotta work." 

Thomas felt insecure again. "You sure you are not mad anymore?" Asked carefully, biting his bottom lip. "I didn't mean to make you feel unsafe or leave you hanging."

"You'll make it up to me." He said almost as if it was meant as a new sexual proposal? But his tone was dry. 

"Okay," Thomas said, unsure of what the last phrase implied. His thoughts wondered before hearing a rushed "'kay, love you, bye", from the other line, followed by the called drop. 

Thomas's let his back fell on the mattress and closed his eyes. He rewinds into memory lane to the time he first talked to Laurence. Sleep weighted his eyelids shut, making his consciousness drive to a pleasant dream of flashbacks. 

One year ago. 

Laurence used to Admin an online forum where members could discuss their favorite topics, often related to art, music, and comics. The discussion started with Laurence posting an announcement, commonly a question that showed no sides taken. It created an open space for the users to debate. After a few days, the Admin either posted a conclusion showing both sides of the spectrum or revealed their opinions. Laurence's finals words captured just the perfect gimmick of the important parts of an argument, making it almost impossible to disagree with him. This ability caught Thomas's attention. 

He still remembered how their interaction began. A popular graphic novel peaked popularity that week, when the author used a Dragonfly as a metaphor for the romance portrayed. When he logged on to the forum, a question was posted just a few minutes before, it said something like: "Symbolism behind the Dragonfly, change or misfortune?" 

Until then, Thomas had kept himself behind the anonymity of someone who prefers to read other people's thoughts and mental processes. As a philosophy student, it fascinated him how the same story or piece of art could spark so many perspectives from the eye of the beholder. When put into words, all the opinions made sense. Nobody was right or wrong. And he believed that's what the Admin saw too. They only wanted to see people debate, not to rule moral correctness. 

Thomas had followed the graphic novel over the years, so he felt a boost of confidence while typing his opinions: It represents change. Amy loves Jamal but also loves Erika. In the previous chapters, she realized her feelings are not exclusive to one or the other. It's the same feeling for two different people. Being aware of it will cause change. The dragonfly on the cover is giving us, readers, an obvious hint. As dragonflies represent good fortune and spiritual balance, I believe it means the relationship between the three of them won't be seen as an outrageous event but as an opportunity for love. 

After hitting send and seeing his post, Thomas almost expected an instant reply. He kept looking at the screen as if, at any moment, another post would pop up, showing some stupid angry fan disagreeing with him. But the Admin only posted the question a few minutes ago, now almost half an hour. It would probably take the rest of the community at least another whole day.

Five minutes in, his hungry stomach was urging him to the grocery store, and he felt the need to stand up and obey. However, as he was disconnecting the power source, a ding indicating a message caught his attention back to the online world. He never received a text through the forum before, and his eyes only grew with surprise when he read from whom it was.

Admin: Hi TT-mas98, I really appreciate you posting your opinions on "Symbolism behind the Dragonfly, change or misfortune?" :) I checked, and it's the first time you've shared some of your thoughts with us and noticed only a real fan of this graphic novel could come up with such an elaborate insight. Would you mind if I share the opposite opinion? I believe other readers would be more interested if they see some friendly brawling between us, especially as we avoid posting often. 

Thomas could feel the sweat coming at the tip of his fingers, incredulous with the text, rechecking over and over to confirm he didn't imagine things. Why him? Why now? It could be fun if he got to grow out of the anxious feeling of intimidation this Admin-persona caused him. If he played well, the community could respect him. If he left with idiotic opinions and nothing else to say, he was going to look like a fool. And then again, there was nothing to lose. Thomas cleared his throat and kept his cool. 

TT-mas98: Sure, game on. 

Exactly a minute after the page refreshed with a new comment: Good point; however, I will proudly disagree with you. How could it possibly mean change? Jamal and Amy are in a committed relationship, and they've talked about making it an open one before, in which it was Amy who refused the possibility. She is now into Erika, contradicts herself constantly, and questions if her love for Jamal is even real or not. If anything, the dragonfly here portrays misfortune, the end of a cycle, and destruction. Selfish feelings will tear three hearts. 

"Oh, so that's the type of brawl you want." A malicious smile curved his lips.