Earth...
Dressed in Omni-Man's red-and-white uniform, Nolan sat on the edge of his bed, staring nervously at his phone screen.
It showed a chat window. Nolan's profile picture was of himself, while the other person's was a close-up of a young woman.
Nolan kept deleting and revising the text in the input field until he finally put together a message:
[Are you free today? I know a really good restaurant. Would you like to go?]
He sent the message.
Within seconds, a "Read" receipt appeared beneath it.
At that moment, Nolan felt as though his heart was about to leap out of his throat. He had never been this nervous.
He held his breath and stared fixedly at the screen.
The "Typing..." indicator at the top of the chat flashed for a few seconds, went silent, then flashed again, repeating several times.
Each time, Nolan's heart leaped into his throat before plunging back down.
Just when he thought he had no chance, his phone suddenly vibrated, nearly making him throw it.
[Really? If you're buying, I'm free.]
Nolan stared at the message, automatically filtering out everything except "I'm free."
His phone vibrated again, and a second message popped up right after it:
[I'll order the most expensive steak and wine, so don't complain about the bill.]
He sprang to his feet and fumbled to type a reply.
[No problem! It's a date! I'll pick you up tonight!]
Only after sending it did he realize he had typed so fast that he hadn't even considered the punctuation.
He stared at the screen as she sent a hand-over-mouth emoji, followed by another message.
[Just kidding. I'm fine with something simple. But if you really want to treat me, I'd be happy to join you.]
Nolan held his phone and grinned foolishly, only