Sleeping at Xinder's had its ups and downs. On the one hand, the bed was a miracle. It felt like it was made of marshmallows and clouds - deep and fluffy enough that Pre practically sank into it.

The problem, no, the bane of her otherwise perfect sleepovers, were the 20 foot tall windows that Xinder refused to get curtains for. By 8 AM, her room was filled with sunlight and daytime. It was awful.

Pre, used to her own windowless apartment, always fought against  impending awakeness. She buried her head under the pillows and managed to fall back asleep for a few minutes… until the lack of oxygen forced her to resurface.

The struggle continued on like this for a little longer but eventually Pre had to admit defeat. At 10 am, she untangled herself from the thick duvet and got up.

Xin had left some clothes out for her while she was sleeping. Jawn and Xinder might have been together for most of their adult years, but Xinder's real true love was fashion. Whenever Pre slept over, he would prepare an outfit for her. Being unranked, she wasn't allowed to own any expensive items, even if they were gifted to her, so she couldn't keep the clothes. But it was nice to wear nice things, even if only for a little bit.

Normally Xinder's outfits were extravagant, to say the least, but today he must have predicted her somber mood. The clothes he left were more cozy than couture: a draping forest green cashmere sweater, velvety fawn leggings, and a wide cream headwrap for her hair.

She got dressed then headed out to the living room, flicking on her com as she walked. Connext was the first program to open, as always. She cringed at the glaring 32% still plastered on her screen, but with a swipe she minimized it and went to check who her next first date would be with.

Then she saw the message on the screen. She stopped, frozen in place with confusion.

NO NEW MATCHES.

Pre blinked. No… matches? The words rang in her head but didn't make sense. Toran was a massive city, one of several which used Connext for their citizens. There were always matches in the system. She never had a problem getting dates, even after being unranked for so long. 

A million worries bubbled up. Was this it? Was she blacklisted and out of the system now? Would she have to leave Toran? Would she never see Xinder again? Was there really nobody in this city who could possibly love her?

There had to be an answer. She closed Connext and pulled up Tox, the popular forum program that everyone used. Maybe someone else had this issue before and knew how to fix it.

No matches on Connext, she searched.

A few threads popped up, although nothing that was recent.

Has anyone seen this message on Connext before?

No new matches? Is Connext glitching?

Why don't I have new matches?

Pre clicked on the most recent thread from 389 days ago, Why don't I have any matches on Connext?

RomeoRomancer: Hey has anyone else gotten this before? I opened up Connext this morning and it said I didn't have any matches. Is that even possible? Isn't, like, literally everyone on this app? What should I do?

The replies were mostly about standard troubleshooting. Turn your com on and off again, update the program, check if Connext is doing server maintenance, etc. All the suggestions were very matter-of-fact, which helped soothe Pre's jangled nerves. This wasn't about her being alone and unlovable forever. It was just a technical problem with Connext.

She was about to turn off her com when she saw the last comment on the thread.

Zer0: Run. They're coming.

Pre stared. The dread returned, like an icy snake crawling up her spine. She tapped on the name, expanding the user's post history. Maybe it was just a troll. Maybe it was a fake account, or a meme, or-

Every one of their posts was identical, always in reply to someone who got the No New Matches message.

Run. They're coming.

She didn't know who Zer0 was, didn't know who they were. But the message triggered her survival instinct. Her mind started churning, trying to piece it all together. She thought about her talk with Xinder last night, the way he had been avoiding her eyes. He was hiding something, she was sure of it now. It made sense that he would know more about the situation than she did. After all, he was one of Connext's top celebrities.

But he wouldn't hide this from her if she was in danger, right? No, if she was in danger, he would have warned her. So if they were coming for her, and everyone else who ever received the NO MATCHES message, what did they want?

She sighed, closing her eyes. This was ridiculous. Nothing was proven. Tox was notoriously unreliable, and she was probably getting herself worked up over nothing. First things first, she needed to calm down.

Meditation was a useful skill she had picked up around her eighth failed date. Emotional control was a good tool to have in your back pocket after facing rejection time and time again.

I'm ok. Everything is ok. She breathed deeply to the rhythm of her mantra, willing her muscles to relax and her mind to rest. The panic subsided but she was still unsettled. She needed grounding; she needed Xinder.

Picking up her com again, she closed Tox and opened her messages to him.

Hey, she texted. Any idea when you'll be back? Then, not wanting to sound needy or desperate, she added, No rush! Just wondering when we're gonna eat.

She hit send and put the com back in her pocket. Briefly, she wondered if Xinder really was at a photoshoot. Maybe he was at Jawn's for breakfast. But then, why would he lie? Why would he lie to her about anything?

Pre and Xinder had known each other their whole lives; they became friends as soon as they were old enough to understand what those were. Like most children in Toran, they were raised by the collective: a large group of utterly loving, endlessly caring, and ridiculously overqualified adults called caregivers.

Through those caregivers, Pre and Xinder learned a lot of communication skills. Sometimes though, Pre felt like Xinder had learned more than her. He was so charismatic, so clever, that she often ended up feeling confused after arguing with him. He had a knack for spinning words to craft his perception, thus convincing her to agree with him. Usually.

She shook her head. Too many thoughts. Not enough coffee. She blocked out her nagging worries and headed to the kitchen. Xinder would be home soon, they would laugh about this stupid prank, eat some delicious food, and maybe Pre would go to Vian's party with him, and maybe, maybe, she would go rogue, make a connection, and finally gain her rank.

She ground the beans, filled the pod, and started the machine. The warm, comfortable, dark smell of the brewing coffee melted away the rest of her fears. I'm ok. Everything is ok.

Then someone knocked on the door.