How To Lose A Crush In 10 Texts

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For the first time in what felt like forever, things were… calm.

No obsessive confessions. No soulbond breakdowns. No girls passing out from emotional overload.

Just five teens—one cursed, four emotionally stabilized—living together in a haunted mansion during break week.

And somehow, we were functioning.

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House Rules 2.0

After a surprisingly well-balanced breakfast (Elira had finally figured out eggs weren't supposed to crunch), we all gathered in the dining room—coffee mugs in hand, toast crumbs everywhere—and held a serious meeting.

The topic?

Boundaries.

Because no matter how weird things had gotten, none of us wanted a repeat of the soulbond meltdowns or spontaneous fainting caused by accidental emotional explosions.

So we created a truce. A very, very specific one.

No flirting. No sneaking into bedrooms. And definitely no surprise shirtless incidents. (I was still traumatized from the Ayaka towel accident.)

> Rule 1: Respect private space.

Rule 2: No touching without consent.

Rule 3: No one's allowed to catch Ren doing… "weird things."

"'Weird things'?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mei raised hers right back. "You mean gross boy things."

Akane flexed her fingers with a grin. "If I catch him with a magazine, I'm throwing hands."

I coughed. "What century do you think I'm from?"

Elira blinked, genuinely confused. "Is human solitary pleasure really that shameful? I read in Modern Intimacy for Young Adults that it's a normal expression of stress relief."

I stared at her.

Ayaka choked on her tea.

Akane groaned. "Elira, please stop reading romance psychology at the breakfast table."

Elira pouted. "But it's fascinating. The hormonal spikes alone—"

"Moving on!" I choked, cheeks flaming.

"I propose we add another rule," Ayaka said, dabbing at the tea she'd spilled on her shirt. "No discussing Ren's libido while eating eggs."

"Seconded," I muttered.

> System: Group bonding increased. Trust stabilized. Suspicion at minimal levels.

Somehow, through jokes and deeply uncomfortable topics, we created a working system. I had rules. I had peace.

All I had to do… was not screw it up

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Danger Level: 0%

Everyone spent their days doing their own thing.

Ayaka sunbathed and read romance novels like she wasn't the lead of one. Akane boxed air in the backyard and sang 90s rock off-key. Mei livestreamed the mansion interior like it was a new drama location. Elira discovered tea brewing and became terrifyingly obsessed with steeping time.

Me?

I was just trying not to die.

Emotionally. Mentally. Hormonal-ly.

> System Reminder: Equilibrium maintained. Continue monitoring.

I did. I monitored. I tiptoed. I dodged glances. I kept my mind pure.

Until I went to shower.

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The Shower Incident

I grabbed a towel, my soap, my last remaining shred of sanity, and walked down the hall toward the guest bathroom.

My personal one was being "borrowed" by Ayaka to dye her hair or something. I wasn't going to argue with a girl holding chemicals near my pillow.

So I used the backup bathroom near the east wing.

Opened the door casually.

Steam hit me.

Then I saw her.

Mei.

Shower running. Wet hair clinging to her back. Skin like porcelain fogged by heat.

Eyes wide.

So were mine.

She shrieked. "RENNNNN!"

I slammed the door. "SORRY! I—THIS ISN'T—I DIDN'T KNOW—!"

From behind the door:

"My shower's broken! I didn't know you were using this one today!"

I clutched my face, heart hammering.

Then footsteps.

Fast ones.

From the hallway.

Panic.

"Mei. Someone's coming."

"What do we do?!"

"If we get caught—"

"I KNOW! We'll get Rule Three'd!"

"Let me hide—"

"Where?!"

"...The shower curtain."

She stared.

"You want to hide with me?!"

"It's either that or let Akane catch us and go Mortal Kombat on my soul!"

"…Fine! No peeking!"

I didn't peek.

Much.

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The Hide

We squeezed behind the curtain. The space between us? Non-existent.

Her skin was hot from the steam. Her breath touched my chest. My soul left my body and filed for a vacation.

Outside the door: a knock.

"Yo, anyone in here?" It was Ayaka.

Mei tensed.

I held my breath.

Ayaka jiggled the doorknob.

"Hmm. Door's locked. Must be the ghost again."

She left.

I didn't move.

Neither did Mei.

"...We're alive," I whispered.

She looked up.

Then realized she was still pressed against me. Barely dressed.

"...You're warm," she muttered.

> System: Physical contact detected. Excitation levels rising.

Apply restraint to maintain equilibrium.

I cleared my throat.

"I should go."

"Yeah."

I turned to leave.

I slipped on a bar of soap.

Faceplanted onto the tile.

And in the half-second of panic mid-fall—my hand went out instinctively.

Straight onto something soft.

Very soft.

Mei gasped.

Time froze.

I lay sprawled on the tile, face red, hand accidentally still on her chest.

I screamed. She screamed. A shampoo bottle screamed.

"I DIDN'T MEAN TO!"

"I KNOW!"

We scrambled apart like two cats caught in a tumble dryer.

> System: Physical mishap recorded. Embarrassment saturation: 999%.

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Aftermath

I emerged ten minutes later with a bruised ego and a towel-shaped trauma.

Mei walked out later, calm like nothing happened.

Except she winked at me over her shoulder.

> System: Mei's confidence increasing. Emotional saturation stable.

Later that night, the girls gathered in the lounge.

"I propose a new rule," Ayaka said, sipping tea. "No locking doors for more than ten minutes."

"Seconded," Akane nodded.

"Thirded," Elira added. "Especially if shared bathing spaces are involved."

Mei sipped her drink. "Hmm. I guess rules really do keep things from heating up too fast."

They all looked at me.

I coughed into my cup. "I support safety. And doors. And not dying."

> System: Tension minimal. Bond dynamics stable. Emotional storm averted—for now.

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