Ten Years From Now

I accidentally video-chatted with my future self from ten years from now. I excitedly asked her who I end up with. After a moment of silence, she said the name of my mortal enemy. I burst out laughing. "Wow, I didn't know I'd still have such a great sense of humor in ten years." Just then, someone walked into the frame. "Honey, who are you talking to?" I stared at my nemesis's slightly more mature face and turned to stone. 1 The scene was surreal. My eyes met Leo Vance's, and we both saw the same shock mirrored in each other's expressions. Leo, wearing nothing but a bathrobe with the collar wide open, had his arm half-wrapped around Future Me. After a full minute of stunned silence, I let out a piercing shriek. Leo just raised an eyebrow, seemingly more intrigued than anything. Then, he leaned in and planted a kiss on Future Me's cheek, shooting me a smug, triumphant look. My world just collapsed. Seeing that I was on the verge of a full-blown meltdown, Future Me quickly jumped in. She started listing off all of Leo's good qualities, trying to explain why on earth she would marry him. It was horrifying. It was like she'd been possessed by a demon and didn't even know it. I couldn't take it anymore. After a few minutes, I cut her off. "I am so disappointed in you. You know how much I hate him right now." "I just finished the SATs and I can finally get away from him, and you're telling me that in ten years, we're *married*?!" "That's like telling me in ten years I'll be in a mental institution!" Maybe living in blissful happiness for so long had made her forget, but my reminder finally jogged her memory of just how much Leo and I were at each other's throats. The second we saw each other, we were rolling our eyes so hard it's a wonder they didn't get stuck. She gave me an awkward smile, suddenly at a loss for words. Leo, standing beside her, just smirked. "You're probably going to be even more disappointed," he said slowly. "We go to the same college." His eyes were glinting with pure, unadulterated glee. The hits just kept on coming. I was grinding my teeth so hard I was surprised they didn't shatter. Ten years, and he was still the same arrogant jerk. One look from him was enough to make my blood boil. I shot him a glare, which only made him smile wider. Future Me saw the look of utter despair on my face and pushed Leo aside. "Even though we end up together," she said, trying to console me, "you have some other romantic adventures along the way." Now *that* got my attention. "Like what?" She thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up. "The guy who helps you with your luggage on move-in day! The super tall, handsome one, the president of the student council? You two start dating pretty quickly." We got so caught up in gossiping about my first love that we completely forgot about the man standing behind her. You know, my future husband. Her current husband. It wasn't until I caught Leo's half-smiling, half-menacing expression that I remembered the gravity of the situation. "Um..." I whispered, trying to get Future Me's attention. "You might want to look behind you." Confused, she turned around and was met with Leo's wounded, puppy-dog eyes. Her smile froze. Her brain went into overdrive, and she immediately started backpedaling. "Well, I mean, he was just okay. And he was really emotionally unavailable later on. Definitely not as good as your future husband." Seeing it happen in real-time, I realized just how obvious I am when I'm lying. Every nervous little fidget screamed guilt. Leo just scoffed, took the phone from her, and said to me, "That's enough for today. Future You and I have some things to... discuss." He hung up. But not before I saw him sweep Future Me off her feet and carry her away. I stared at the black screen, my mind flooded with horrifying images and suspicions. I was going to lose my mind. 2 Thanks to my future self, I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, all I saw was Leo Vance. To make matters worse, we had a class reunion the next day. And to make matters even worse, Leo was going to be there. I took a few deep breaths and walked into the karaoke room, which already sounded like a pack of howling animals. The moment I opened the door, the music stopped. Everyone saw me, then, as if on cue, all heads turned to look at Leo. Our rivalry was so intense that we were practically a package deal. The expressions in the room were a mix of amusement, barely suppressed laughter, and, weirdly enough, a few people who seemed to be shipping us. Normally, I wouldn't care. It was pure, unadulterated hatred between us. We were nemeses. But last night, I found out my nemesis becomes my husband. That was a little hard to swallow. The couches were all full, except for one empty spot right next to Leo. I sighed and resigned myself to my fate. As I sat down, Leo glanced at me. His eyes lingered on the dark circles under mine, and he frowned slightly before his usual smirk returned. "Rough night? Don't tell me you were dreaming about me and couldn't sleep." Normally, I would have told him to get a life and stop being a creep. But this time... he was right. I felt my cheeks flush and turned away, muttering, "You're insane." I grabbed an ice-cold Coke from the table, trying to cool down. Leo noticed something was off. He dropped the act and looked at me with a serious expression. His stare made my skin crawl, and I pointedly avoided his gaze. The other people in the room, oblivious to the weird tension between us, dragged Leo up to sing. The moment he stood up, I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. But my relief was short-lived. My phone buzzed with two new messages. From Future Me. [If I remember correctly, you should be at the reunion right now.] [Just a little secret for you... Leo's singing this next song for you.] Those two sentences sent a tidal wave through me. The phone suddenly felt like it was burning a hole in my hand. My heart was pounding like a drum. I instinctively looked up and met Leo's eyes from across the room. At the same time, the song title appeared on the screen. *Daylight.* The two words hit me like a ton of bricks. Our classmates started cheering and catcalling. Leo just stood there, looking at me, until the music started. 3 Leo had a great singing voice. I had to admit it. The room fell silent, filled only with his voice. Maybe it was because of the texts, but I felt like every glance he sent my way was aimed directly at me. In the dim light, his eyes held an emotion I couldn't quite decipher. When the song ended, everyone erupted in applause. A few of the more gossipy people cornered him, asking if he'd sung that for someone in the room. He didn't confirm or deny it. He just smiled. Leo sat back down next to me, looking a little nervous. His hands were clenched in his lap, like he was trying to psych himself up. As I was wondering what was going on, my phone buzzed again. It was Future Me. [This idiot really thought that after he sang *Daylight*, you'd magically realize he has a crush on you. But you're just sitting there with a blank expression.] [He's trying to work up the nerve to ask you if you got the hint, but he's been trying all night and hasn't managed to say a single word.] [If you look closely, you can see he's actually shaking.] I casually glanced over at Leo. Sure enough, his hands were trembling slightly. A smile tugged at the corner of my lips. I leaned in a little closer. "Leo," I said, my voice laced with amusement, "are you shaking?" His head snapped up, and he reflexively scooted away. It wasn't until he saw the mischievous glint in my eyes that he realized I was teasing him. A flicker of disappointment crossed his face before he masked it with his usual nonchalance. "What are you talking about? I'm not shaking." He was such a terrible actor. Normally, I would have been silently judging him from head to toe. But now, I just found it... kind of funny. I noticed the tips of his ears were turning red, and it was like discovering a new continent. I had him right where I wanted him. I wasn't about to let this opportunity slip by. I looked at him, a playful smile on my face. "You know," I said, my tone half-joking, half-serious, "if I didn't know any better, I'd think you have a crush on me." I didn't miss the way his expression changed. I saw his eyelid twitch, his pupils dilate. His ears were now a shade of crimson, and his fingertips trembled. "No way!" he blurted out, turning his head away so fast he almost gave himself whiplash. He raised his voice, trying to sound casual. "You're imagining things." I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. I immediately sent a report back to Future Me. [I went for it. I asked him if he has a crush on me.] She replied instantly. [You did?!] [What did he say?!] It was weird, being this invested in my own ten-year-old drama. [He got all flustered and denied it.] She sent back a single eye-roll emoji. I could feel my own exasperation from across the decade. A few minutes passed, and Leo still hadn't recovered. His ears were still bright red, and his movements were stiff and unnatural. He was clearly distracted. I secretly snapped a picture of him and sent it to Future Me. A moment later, a voice message came through. I meant to have it transcribe, but my thumb slipped and I hit play. Future Leo's voice boomed through the room. "Was I really that obvious?" Every head in the room whipped around to look at me. Leo was staring at me from point-blank range. I fumbled with my phone, trying to turn it off, but I accidentally hit the next voice message. "No wonder I couldn't get a girlfriend." "I can just picture it now. Him, wanting to say something but being too scared, so he just acts like he doesn't care." Seriously? This guy was even roasting his past self. After a frantic scramble, I finally managed to shut my phone off. I looked at the curious faces around me and had to come up with something, fast. "My brother," I said, forcing a laugh. "He was just telling me about a friend of his who had a crush on a girl for ten years but was too stubborn to admit it." It wasn't even a hint anymore; it was a neon sign. And sure enough, the moment the words left my mouth, Leo guiltily turned away. No one else thought much of it. The music started up again, and people went back to fighting over the microphone. Except for Leo. He was actually thinking. After about half an hour, he suddenly turned to me and asked, "So what happened?" I looked at him, confused. "What about?" "Your brother's friend. Did he end up with the girl?" "Of course... not." "My brother's friend was a jerk, kind of like you. He spent the whole time picking fights with the girl he liked. Why would she ever like him back?" Yes, I was being deliberate. Even though I knew we'd end up married, I still couldn't stand him right now. He couldn't just have everything go his way. When he heard that, his face fell. I sighed dramatically. "You know," I said, "sometimes you just have to be direct. Otherwise, you could miss your chance and regret it for the rest of your life." Leo didn't say anything. His lips were pressed into a thin line. Then, he suddenly looked up, his eyes meeting mine. "I like you." 4 I think the music was too loud. It must have been so loud that it made me hear things. The moment he said it, my heart stopped. I held my breath, completely unsure of how to react. Why was he being so direct all of a sudden? For the first time, I felt flustered in front of him. This was not a good situation for me. I had to say something. Just as I was about to open my mouth, Leo's tense expression relaxed. "See?" he said, a little too casually. "Those three words aren't so hard to say. Your brother's friend is a real loser." He was full of contempt for this imaginary person, but he still couldn't look me in the eye. It finally clicked. He was messing with me. Using a real confession as a joke. I was so mad I had to laugh. I couldn't resist sending a text to Future Me. [Is it too late to get a divorce?] A string of ten question marks came back. [What did that idiot do now?] From the tone, I could tell it was Future Leo. [Can you please give the phone back to your wife? I'm trying to have a conversation with her, not you.] [You know, I haven't heard you talk to me like that in a long time. I kind of miss it.] I... had no words. I didn't know who was more messed up, him or the me who ends up marrying him. As if having one Leo sitting next to me wasn't enough, the Leo on my phone kept sending me messages. My future was looking bleak. After the party, as I was leaving the karaoke bar, my friend Maya, who was on vacation and couldn't make it, called me. "So I hear Leo sang *Daylight* to you tonight?" she said, her voice full of gossip. I tried to deny it, but she immediately sent me a picture. It was a blurry photo of Leo and me, our eyes meeting across the room. On the screen behind us, the lyrics were frozen on "Someone's been loving you for a long time." I only looked at him for a second. The fact that someone managed to capture that one second... these people should have been paparazzi. Maya took my silence as a confirmation and got even more excited. "I would bet my entire life savings that Leo Vance is totally into you." Thanks, but no thanks. I couldn't take that bet. I couldn't afford to lose. 5 When I got home, I showered and collapsed into bed. My phone buzzed. It was a picture from Future Me. A screenshot of a Twitter account. [This guy is so good at hiding things. For ten whole years, I had no idea he was keeping a secret crush diary on this account.] I shot up in bed and immediately switched to my burner account to look it up. When I found the profile, the latest tweet was from ten minutes ago. [Paid a lot of money for this candid shot my friend took. I guess this counts as our first picture together, right?] The picture attached was pixelated, but I recognized it instantly. It was the one Maya had sent me. That's when I noticed he had hundreds of thousands of followers. This tweet alone already had hundreds of comments. They all affectionately called him "Crush Guy." The comments were all teasing him. [Crush Guy's latest masterpiece.] [Whoa, big moves! Crush Guy actually sang *Daylight* in front of Daisy? That's basically a confession!] [This picture is so blurry, who knows if that's even Daisy.] [Daisy probably rolled her eyes at him and he thought she was blowing him a kiss.] [He sings one song and suddenly he's planning the wedding again.] My name is Daisy Miller. If I'm not mistaken... I'm Daisy. Leo seemed used to their comments and just ignored them. The only one he replied to was a comment wishing us a long and happy life together. Even though I already knew we had a... complicated future, that comment still felt incredibly malicious. No one wants to spend forever with their mortal enemy. The further I scrolled, the more I understood why they called him Crush Guy. Every single tweet was about me. Every little interaction, every look, every word we exchanged. I felt a strange fluttering in my chest. But before I could get too emotional, a video call request popped up on my screen. It was Future Me, bawling her eyes out. She looked completely overwhelmed with emotion. I was about to say something comforting when Future Leo walked over and pulled her into his arms, patting her back soothingly. Like he'd done it a million times. ...Did I just get PDA'd by my own future self? "Excuse me," I said, a little annoyed. "Could you two please remember there's a newly-minted adult present?" Future Leo looked a little displeased with my attitude. "You saw all of that, and you're not even a little bit moved?" Of course I was. But I was never going to admit that. I stubbornly turned my head away. Future Leo just smiled. "Daisy-chain," he said, using a stupid nickname he'd given me, "Leo's been messing with you for a long time. Don't you want to get him back?" I frowned. "Do you have a problem with yourself?" "Of course I do. Because of his stupid pride, I missed out on years with you. Don't you think that's a problem?" His logic was flawless. I was speechless. "Just do what I say," he said, a sly grin spreading across his face. "I guarantee, he won't know what hit him."

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