Chapter 5: Jealousy Is a Bug

___ was becoming accustomed to his daily “missions,” each designed to teach him what it meant to be human. Compliments, holding hands, sharing food—everything felt increasingly like a simulation. But then came the bug in the system.

It was during lunch.

___ sat next to Sunspot at their usual table, the buzz of conversation and laughter swirling around them. She had a tendency to talk to everyone, from the jocks to the drama club. Today, she was chatting animatedly with a guy who had a messy mop of blonde hair and a basketball jacket.

___ noticed the way he leaned in close, laughing at something she said. How her eyes sparkled a little brighter than usual when she smiled. How the boy’s hand lingered just a bit too close to hers as they passed a drink.

It was nothing. Nothing at all. But for the first time, ___ felt an unfamiliar knot tightening in his chest.

“Hey, you good?” Sunspot asked, noticing his distracted gaze. She followed his eyes and immediately clicked her tongue. “Oh. Him?”

“Who?” ___ asked, turning his head slowly.

“The dude,” she said, rolling her eyes. “It’s fine, trust me. It’s just friendly banter.”

___ wasn’t sure what was worse—the knot in his chest or the discomfort of realizing he didn’t know how to fix it.

“I’m fine,” he said, but his voice sounded strange even to him.

A moment passed, and then Sunspot slid her hand across the table to his, her fingers brushing his. The simple contact was a shock to his system, making the knot in his chest loosen, just a little.

“I’m here, okay?” she said, looking at him in that way she did when she was trying to be serious. “And, uh, you’re my boyfriend. So no funny business, got it?”

___ nodded, though he wasn’t sure if he was reassuring her or himself. He kept his eyes on their joined hands for a few seconds, trying to process what was happening. It wasn’t jealousy, right? It was… just an error. A malfunction in his emotional processing.

“You okay, really?” she asked again, squeezing his hand.

“Yeah,” he muttered, his heart rate settling back to normal. “I’m fine.”

⸻

Later, as they walked through the hallways after lunch, Sunspot was still teasing him, but he felt distant. There was a strange feeling growing inside him, a new awareness of how fragile things could be. One simple interaction with another person, and something inside him had changed. His thoughts tangled, and his chest tightened again as they passed the blonde-haired boy on their way out.

Sunspot waved to him, a casual flick of her fingers.

The boy waved back, and just like that, ___ couldn’t breathe for a second.

The system was glitching, and he wasn’t sure how to fix it.