There are a lot of stories that begin with love at first sight.
But with Isis and Jasper....theirs started with a username.
It honestly wasn't supposed to mean anything.
Just two strangers, online.
Just two avatars floating in a pixeted universe where they didn't have to exist in reality.
But something about the way he typed, the way she replied, the silence between messages-it just felt so...familiar.
It was more real than anything they'd ever known before.
They weren't looking for anything.
They just found each other.
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Part 1, when they first connect.
The night was the kind that pressed against your skin—quiet and wet, with rain drops racing down Isis' car window. She sat curled in the driver's seat, knees to her chest, and a bck hoodie that was 3 sizes too big for someone her size. Her phone screen glowed in the dark like a dim night light. She wasn't sure what she was looking for when she opened the IMVU app—maybe a distraction or maybe someone who didn't expect anything real.
Her avatar was quiet, bck clothing, wandering aimlessly through a foggy, digital cityscape.
She joined a random chat room that was titled "Somewhere You Don't Belong."
To her, that felt fitting and inviting.
As she's studying the environment, she notices most of the avatars there are very loud and shallow looking—except one, this one stood out to her. All bck, just standing by a street light in silence.
She clicks his name to see more, his status reads "Leave if you're looking for sunshine."
She smirked, intrigued.
She sends a message, and this is where it all begins...
IMVU chat night one
LostxGurl: Good thing I'm content in the dark then, huh?
He replied instantly.
JxAshbourne: Yes, good, maybe you won't run off then.
—————-
That was it. That was the start. No names, no personal info. Just shadows typing across a screen.
They didn't talk like strangers, they talked like people who'd already been broken in the same pces.
Isis didn't know how to respond, so she sat quietly until Jasper responded again.
—————-
JxAshbourne: You always log on this te?
LostxGurl: Only when I can't sleep. So.... Always.
JxAshbourne: Ah, I see... Insomnia or guilt?
LostxGurl: Both...you?
JxAshbourne: Neither. Just...alone. Being alone is fucking terrifying. That's when the thoughts come in...the thoughts that...well, never mind. I just don't like being alone.
Isis just stared at the message, her fingers hovering above the keyboard. Nobody says things like that. Not first, not ever. She's always the one getting weird looks for saying things like that.
LostxGurl: You talk like someone who smokes in cemeteries and writes poetry on bathroom walls.
JxAshbourne: You say that like it's a bad thing.
LostxGurl: It's not.
As the week goes by, they've talked every night, at the same time. Never needing names, locations, any personal details to make it feel real. Every conversation was like peeling skin, slow and raw.
IMVU chat night 10
JxAshbourne: You ever feel as if living is a house party you weren't actually invited to?
LostxGurl: Every second of every day.... I'm literally the girl sitting in the corner, hoping no one looks at me.
JxAshbourne: I'm the guy setting the pce on fire just so I can actually feel something.
LostxGurl: We'd be so bad together.
JxAshbourne: Maybe...or maybe we'd be the only ones who wouldn't destroy each other.
IMVU chat night 11
LostxGurl: Do you... ever wonder what people would say about you at your funeral?
JxAshbourne: No. I think I already know...I'm almost certain that half the people there would pretend they knew me and say all kinds of bullshit, and the other half would just be relieved that I'm gone.
LostxGurl: Damn..that's heavy.
JxAshbourne: You asked.
LostxGurl: Yes, but I ask when I want someone to lie to me.
JxAshbourne: You asked the wrong person then, mate.
IMVU chat night 15
LostxGurl: What do you look like?
JxAshbourne: Alive, but only barely.
LostxGurl: That's not an answer.
JxAshbourne: Alright...um....Dark hair, pale skin, tired eyes...I look like I haven't slept since 2021.
LostxGurl: So you look like one of those old haunted oil paintings?
JxAshbourne: Yeah, and you?
LostxGurl: I look like regret, disaster, and...eyeliner.
JxAshbourne: So, you're beautiful then. Got it.
She then stared at the screen so long the message disappeared because the app timed out.
IMVU chat night 19
JxAshbourne: What would you do if we met in real life?
LostxGurl: Idk...freeze, and look away.
JxAshbourne: And then?
LostxGurl:...Pretend like I haven't been waiting for that moment every night since we started talking.
JxAshbourne: Same
IMVU chat night 23
JxAshbourne: I read somewhere that broken people recognize each other like wolves. You believe that?
LostxGurl: Yeah. We don't need names, just silence that feels familiar.
JxAshbourne: That's what this feels like, like I've known your silence longer than I've known your words.
LostxGurl: That's because that's the only part of me worth knowing.
JxAshbourne: I really don't believe that...but I'm not going to argue with you. Not yet.
IMVU chat night 26
LostxGurl: If I disappeared tomorrow, would you notice?
JxAshbourne: Don't.
LostxGurl: Don't what?
JxAshbourne: Don't talk like you're already gone.
LostxGurl: It's not talking, it's preparing.
JxAshbourne: Well...you better un-prepare. You don't get to vanish on me... Not now.
IMVU chat night 31
JxAshbourne: I saw someone today that reminded me of you. Except you're softer, a bit sadder. You're like poetry in combat boots.
LostxGurl: You've never even seen me.
JxAshbourne: Don't need to. I've read you.
This is the kind of intimacy that hits under the skin—where even though they've never touched, it feels more real than anything either of them have ever known.
IMVU chat night 35
10:03pm -No sign of JxAshbourne.
Isis refreshes the app. Once. Twice. Again.
"He's always on by now..."
10:17pm -She messages anyway. Fingers shaking.
LostxGurl: You okay?
Nothing. No "seen." No typing dots.
10:45 PM-She tries again.
LostxGurl: Jasper??
And then she freezes.
She never calls him that. He never told her it was his name, he let it slip once-weeks ago- and she caught it, but never actually said it, until now.
Still nothing.
It's midnight now, still nothing. She's staring at the screen, eyes burning, heart racing with the terrible thud-thud-pause-thud-thud-pause thing. Because for the first time in 35 nights, she feels alone again.
Worse than alone.
Unseen.
Unchosen.
Forgotten.
She types one st message, thumbs trembling.
LostxGurl: I don't care where you are... just please...please let me know you exist. Please.
She doesn't sleep. Doesn't cry. Just sits in her car under a streetlight, phone screen dark in her p. Silence.
And for the first time since she met him, the silence hurts.
