Before he hopped off at his stop, he didn't send a fake message. He asked for her real contact info. Chloe smiled, unlocked her phone with Face ID , and opened her Contact Poster.

Suddenly, her real Messages app pinged. It was a notification from a number she didn’t recognize.

They met at the carriage doors. As he handed back the notebook, he glanced at her phone screen, still open to the fake chat interface."Wait," he said, his eyes widening. "Are you the one writing the 'Midnight in Melbourne' AU? I recognize those character names."

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"I think you left your notebook on the seat. Again."

Sometimes, the best stories aren't the ones we invent in alternate universes—they’re the ones we live in this one.