─── YOU'VE GOT MAIL .ᐟ
...or how reader made a friend in the most unconventional way.
★ pairing.ᐟ frat!rafe x nerd!reader
★ summary.ᐟ rafe cameron is the golden boy of kildare university; certified frat boy, captain of the football team, relentless party animal with lines of girls to sleep with.
reader couldn't be more different; while she has the best grades in the whole school, she suffers from social anxiety disorder, and her social life is limited to her three best friends and the cat she secretly snuck into her dorm room.
both of them decide to join the anonymous chatroom for their campus, and start talking to one another,, a friendship starting to form between the two; but neither of them know how different the other is.
★ author's note.ᐟ i hope you guys like this! i'm considering making this into a series; if i do, i think i'd do it the same way this fic is, aka some narration but mostly 'chatting' between rafe and reader. anyway, let me know if you want it to continue!! i've been feeling down for a few weeks now, so something simple and fun like this was a good way to get back into the flow of writing.
i thought about making this a smau, but doing the chats like this feels more authentic to the 2000s chatroom experience y’know
you were sitting on your bed, your laptop open on a website called KildareUChats, a website that was apparently meant for the students of your university to be able to anonymously chat with other students, your friend having told you to give it a try, knowing that it’d be difficult for you to do in person.
you didn't really see the point of it; although your social circle was in no way huge, you were happy enough with it, really. never having been great with new people, you'd made three friends on your freshman year of college and simply stuck to them. it didn't help that whenever you tried to talk to someone new, it felt like someone was choking you.
but this was online. the person on the other side would never know who you are, and you'd never have to actually be face-to-face with them. your cursor moved to hover over the 'REGISTER' button, and you filled the page out with your basic information, name, school email, birth date... but when the website asked for a username, you couldn't help but purse your lips as you looked around your dorm room, from the fairy lights you'd hung up on walls that now glowed in a yellowish hue, to the several books stacked on the floor, to the dead roses on your desk...
but when your eyes landed on your nightstand, you spotted a book of poems by edgar allan poe, and your lips quirked up into a small smile. after you typed the name 'AnnabelLee' into the username field, a green check mark appeared next to it to signify it was available.
after setting a password, you were redirected to a page that said 'WELCOME TO KILDAREUCHATS AnnabelLee! CLICK HERE IF YOU WISH TO CONNECT WITH A RANDOM STRANGER!'. you clicked the button, your cursor turning into a circle for a moment as it loaded, before you were redirected to a chatroom with a pop-up.
KILDAREUCHATS IS CONNECTING YOU TO A STRANGER...
KILDAREUCHATS HAS CONNECTED YOU! REMEMBER TO TREAT OTHERS THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED <3 SAY HI!
you stared at your computer screen, biting into your lower lip. you had no idea what you were supposed to say; outside of the people you already knew, you were helpless when talking to people, the words always getting stuck in your throat, or vanishing from your mind. angel's white fur blended in with your white sheets as your hand moved to absentmindedly stroke her, the little cat purring in her sleep. but before your hand could dart out to type something on your laptop, a message appeared on the screen.
taking in a deep breath, you shook your head, as if shaking all doubts and worries out of it. the site was anonymous; that was the whole point. and your therapist told you, that for your social anxiety to get better, you should try go socialize. mingle. you took the bottle of cheap white wine you'd snuck into your dorm, taking a large swig straight out of the bottle before setting it back down, your hands flying to your keyboard.
STRANGER: lmao no... what's up?
YOU: sorry, i'm not good with that kind of lingo haha.
YOU: nothing much. i'm hanging out with my cat.
STRANGER: damn, do you have an off-campus apartment or something?
YOU: nope :)
YOU: don't tell my ra.
STRANGER: shit you have a CAT in your dorm?
YOU: if you tell on me, i'm gonna have to hunt you down and kill you.
STRANGER: lucky for you this is anonymous
STRANGER: and i'm not a snitch lmao
STRANGER: so, what are you doing on this thing at 12am on a friday night? no hot parties?
YOU: honestly, i think i'd rather put a noose around my neck than go to a party.
YOU: i'm just in my room drinking wine. decided to try this site after my friend suggested it.
YOU: what about you?
STRANGER: damn, kinky
STRANGER: i do have a 'hot party' to go to but i also have an essay due in nine hours and the prof already hates my ass
YOU: so you decided to not write your essay and instead procrastinate by chatting with some random stranger?
STRANGER: exactly! you get it
STRANGER: if i even have my laptop in front of me, i'm counting that as me writing my essay
STRANGER: what kind of a role religion has when it comes to politics and shit
YOU: and let me guess, that's not a topic you enjoy studying in your free time?
STRANGER: you know me so well already
YOU: if it helps, i'm also studying. or, procrastinating studying.
YOU: i have a chemistry exam on monday :(
STRANGER: ...and you're studying for it on a friday already?
STRANGER: i just read for exams a few minutes before they start
STRANGER: compared to me you're like a genius
YOU: eyeroll.
YOU: and that's why you have trouble writing an essay!
YOU: you're probably missing out on a keg stand at your 'hot party'.
STRANGER: i can't believe you're making fun of the art of the stand
STRANGER: how do you know? maybe i'm the god of the kegstand and every time a human loses faith in me, i grow weaker
YOU: are you?
YOU: oh sacred frat god?
YOU: shall i make an offering for you at your altar? would that appease your distaste towards me?
YOU: okay, how about these for an offering:
YOU: a white claw, a buzz ball, a red solo cup with a strange mixture of different kinds of alcohols, and a vape pen?
STRANGER: those appease me much, mere mortal
STRANGER: also mango-flavored juul pods
STRANGER: says the person who's hanging with her cat on a friday night
YOU: how do you figure i'm a her?
STRANGER: oh please
STRANGER: no man would disrespect the fine art of the keg stand
YOU: got me there, frat boy.
STRANGER: that's very presumptuous
STRANGER: i could just be a tomboy
YOU: please.
YOU: if you're a girl then i'm sasquatch.
STRANGER: don't worry, i don't mind a little body hair
glancing at the clock on your wall, you'd realized that thirty minutes had already gone by. you let out a small sigh, rubbing your eyes.
YOU: i should get going. i can't keep procrastinating.
YOU: what, are you gonna miss me or something?
STRANGER: hey, if i get a pic of bigfoot i'm gonna be making millions, i just have capitalistic tendencies
STRANGER: you should add me as a friend
YOU: you can do that??? i thought this was an anonymous chat.
STRANGER: yeah you can lmao why else would you need to set a username
STRANGER: i'll just do it
and soon enough, a pop-up appeared on your screen, with the text 'STRANGER HAS REQUESTED TO ADD YOU AS FRIEND.' along with the buttons 'ACCEPT' and 'DENY'.
you pursed your lips, your finger lingering over the touchpad, first dragging it over the button reading 'DENY', before you let out a sigh, taking a large swig from the bottle of wine, moving the cursor to 'ACCEPT' and pressing it before you could regret it.
the pop-up was now replaced with another one, reading 'CONGRATS AnnabelLee YOU ARE NOW FRIENDS WITH MalachiConstant' and when you read the stranger's name, you couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. you clicked the red 'x' that closed the pop-up, and the word STRANGER in your chat logs was now replaced by MalachiConstant.
MalachiConstant: what? i don't seem like the type to read?
MalachiConstant: says the girl with the hard-on for poe
MalachiConstant: which isn't surprising at all
YOU: har har.
YOU: goodnight, weird vonnegut frat boy.
MalachiConstant: goodnight, weird poe girl
YOU HAVE LOGGED OUT OF KILDAREUCHATS.