A few months had passed since that night.The night when a voice through the phone had first changed everything, rattling the easy rhythm of Rody's life. Since then, Sam had gone from being a mystery to becoming something much more — a constant.
Their bond had strengthened in ways Rody hadn't even thought himself capable of. It was subtle at first shared jokes, casual texts at odd hours, helping each other during group projects, sitting next to each other without even thinking about it. But as time stretched onward, their connection grew deeper, roots intertwining.
It wasn't just inside jokes or playlists exchanged in the dark.It was trust.
Rody wasn't the kind of person who opened up easily. Walls built from old hurts stood high and solid around him, a fortress no one had been able to breach completely. Not even his closest friends knew everything.
But with Sam, something shifted.
Maybe it was the way she listened really listened without judgment, without trying to fix him.Maybe it was how she didn't offer empty reassurances or cliché sympathy. She just... stayed.
One quiet evening, while the others laughed over a dumb meme Ray had found, Rody found himself telling her about his ex.
About the girl who had strung him along for months promising, hinting, but never giving him anything real. How every hopeful text he had sent was met with vague replies, how he had clung to scraps of attention, desperately trying to build a house out of smoke.He told Sam how that experience had left him burnt out and cynical, wary of ever letting someone in again.
Sam didn't flinch.She didn't make it about her, or offer hollow platitudes.She simply sat there, watching him with eyes that somehow understood all the pieces he didn't know how to say.
And for Rody, that was enough.
Sam wasn't just another friend in their chaotic group anymore.She was something closer, quieter, infinitely more important.
_____________________________________________________________________
The Vacation Void
Time moved forward, as it always did.Seasons shifted, classes ended, and soon, vacation season descended upon them like a tidal wave.
Their once-bustling group began to thin out as everyone scattered across different corners of the country or even the world for holidays and family trips.
Zozo left first, his family dragging him to some remote hill station with spotty Wi-Fi. Lina was next, jetting off to Europe for a summer internship she had somehow convinced her parents to fund. Pri soon followed, heading south to visit relatives.
And then, most noticeably... Sam left too.
She didn't tell them much. Just said she needed some time away, a "family thing."Rody hadn't pried.At the time, he figured everyone deserved a break.
That left a skeleton crew behind: Rody, Ray, AJ, JJ, and Pri.
The city felt strangely empty without the full chaos of their group quieter, lonelier.
One evening, they lounged near their usual haunt the cracked benches under the drooping trees by the playground they had claimed as their unofficial hangout spot.
The sun dipped low, bathing everything in a muted orange.
AJ flung his arms out dramatically, letting out a groan loud enough to startle two pigeons.
"Duuuude, this is so boring!" he whined, flopping backward on the bench like a fainting goat. "Not even half the crew is here! What are we even supposed to do?"
Pri, ever the queen of sarcasm, rolled her eyes."We could go home and chill instead of listening to you complain."
AJ sat up, indignant. "Chill?! What kind of memory-making adventure is that? Ray just wants to kick a ball for hours. Pri refuses to touch anything remotely athletic. And playing 2v2 is pointless because Rody and JJ are basically football gods at this point."
JJ smirked smugly. "Not our fault you lack skills, man."
AJ clutched his chest as if wounded. "Betrayed by my own brethren!"
Pri groaned. "God, someone shut him up."
Rody laughed, letting the easy banter wash over him. But somewhere underneath it, he understood AJ's point.
Something was missing.And for the first time in a long time, Rody felt it that strange emptiness.Like waiting for someone to show up, even though you never said they had to.
Sam should've been here.
_____________________________________________________________________
Birth of Pure Psych
Rody tilted his head, an idea forming.
"What if," he said slowly, "we made a YouTube video?"
Everyone paused.
"A video?" AJ asked suspiciously.
"Yeah. Something stupid. Like... parody content. Just full chaos mode. We could actually have fun with it."
Pri raised an eyebrow. "Honestly? That's not a terrible idea. But we'd need a name if we're gonna post it."
The group lapsed into thoughtful silence.
They tossed around a few ridiculous suggestions first "Bench Bois," "Midnight Memers," "K.O. Kids."None of them clicked.
Then Ray, who had been quietly scrolling through his phone, looked up and said simply:
"Why not Pure Psych?"
It was like flipping a switch.
Everyone sat up straighter.The name hit exactly the right note: pure energy, pure chaos, pure psychological madness behind whatever they were about to unleash onto the world.
"PURE PSYCH, BABY!" AJ whooped, punching the air.
And with that, Pure Psych was officially born.
_____________________________________________________________________
The First Video: Unbelievable Trick Shot
Fueled by a potent mix of boredom and adrenaline, they jumped headfirst into production.
Their first video was titled, in classic exaggerated YouTube fashion:THE UNBELIEVABLE TRICK SHOT (YOU WON'T BELIEVE YOUR EYES 🤯)
They filmed in the playground, the empty basketball court, and even random rooftops around their neighborhood.
The shots were ridiculous:
Ray bouncing a football off a wall, then off AJ's head, into a trash can three blocks away (totally rigged).
JJ spinning around blindfolded and somehow "accidentally" hitting a goal from midfield (several very obvious edits).
Rody doing a no-look behind-the-back shot with a basketball that "miraculously" swished through the hoop (after twenty-seven failed takes).
AJ provided screaming commentary like he was announcing a world championship.JJ edited the footage into a glorious mess of slow-motion replays, meme pop-ups, dubstep drops, and giant red arrows pointing at nothing important.
When they finally uploaded the video, they weren't expecting much.Maybe a few views. Some polite chuckles.
But the reactions were better than they ever could've hoped.
Zozo, still on a shaky Wi-Fi connection in the hills, sent a three-minute voice note laughing so hard he couldn't finish a sentence.Lina spammed the group chat with crying emojis and declared it "peak chaotic genius."Pri, notoriously hard to impress, admitted it was "the dumbest and best thing she'd seen all week."
They were buzzing with excitement.Messages poured in. Likes trickled up.
Pure Psych was alive.
Everyone was thrilled.
Everyone... except Sam.
Rody noticed it immediately.
While the group chat exploded with memes and praise, Sam's response was chilling in its simplicity.
A single text:
Sam: Oh wow... you guys really made a video?
No laughing emojis.No gifs.No "omg I'm dying 😂" or "this is insane!!" like she usually sent for even the smallest things.
Just... that.
Three small dots.
Cold. Distant.
Rody stared at the text longer than he should have, rereading it like the words might rearrange themselves into something warmer if he looked hard enough.
A weird twist settled in his gut.
It didn't sound like her.Not the Sam he had grown close to. Not the Sam who cheered them on when they were being idiots. Not the Sam who smiled that secret smile when she thought no one was looking.
Was she... upset?
Why?
It wasn't rational. She wasn't even here she hadn't been involved.
Still, her reaction gnawed at him in a way he didn't want to admit.
"Maybe she's just busy," Ray offered when Rody casually (and very carefully) brought it up later.
"Or tired," Pri said, shrugging. "She's on vacation, after all."
But none of their explanations soothed the hollow feeling that had crept into Rody's chest.
It wasn't just the message itself it was the gap it represented.A sudden, gaping distance where once there had been nothing but closeness.
Rody locked his phone and leaned back against the cracked bench, staring up at the stars.
He didn't know why it bothered him so much.He didn't want it to bother him.
But it did.
Maybe, deep down, he already knew that things between him and Sam weren't as simple anymore.Maybe they never had been.
And maybe, just maybe the first crack was already beginning to show