twentythree x fem reader

mini series

summary: you came to toronto expecting a weekend with your friends. instead, you ended up lost with a dead phone, no sense of direction, and a stranger who insisted on helping you.

cw: none so far

wc: 1007

if anyone asked, you’d blame your dead phone.

not yourself.

because there was no way you’d managed to get this lost in a city you’d spent weeks planning a trip to.

at least, that’s what you kept telling yourself as you stared at yet another unfamiliar street sign.

your phone died at the worst possible time.

not while you were sitting in a café.

not while you were on the train.

but in the middle of downtown toronto while you were trying to find a club your friends had picked and forgotten to properly explain how to get to

the most embarrassing part?

you all were staying at the same air bnb.

earlier that afternoon, everyone had split up to do their own thing before meeting back at the club later that night. one friend wanted to go shopping, another wanted food, and you’d decided to walk around the city for a bit instead of sitting inside for hours.

maybe not the smartest idea on your part to walk around an entirely new city in a country you’ve never been in all alone but it would’ve been fine if your phone was charged.

it would’ve been fine if you had actually memorized the route.

it would’ve been fine if your friends answered texts before your battery hit one percent.

but none of those things happened.

so now you were standing on a random street in toronto with a dead phone, no directions, and absolutely no idea where you were supposed to be.

“please turn on” you muttered, pressing the power button for the tenth time as if that would do the trick.

nothing.

the club your friends were supposed to meet you at wasn’t far—at least according to the directions you’d looked at twenty minutes ago—but every street suddenly looked the same.

you stopped outside a convenience store and looked around desperately.

nobody carried paper maps anymore.

everyone’s heads were down, staring at their phones.

just your luck.

after another five minutes of wandering, you finally spotted someone near a small takeout spot.

black hoodie. hands in his pockets. headphones hanging his neck.

he looked like he actually knew where he was going.

“uhh excuse me?” you called.

the guy looked up.

you froze for half a second.

he was cute.

not in an obvious way. more in the kind of way that made you look twice when walking past.

“yeah?” he asked.

“this is going to sound really stupid.”

a small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“what’s up?”

“my phone died and i’m trying to get to this club to meet with my friends, but literally no one uses paper maps anymore.”

the guy laughed. not just a laugh that people do to make someone feel better.

a genuine laugh.

“you’re telling me you were looking for a PAPER map in 2026.”

“don’t laugh.”

“i’m trying not to.”

“you’re doing a terrible job”

he rubbed the back of his neck, still smiling.

“sorry. i just don’t think i’ve seen one of those in ages.”

“exactly my point,” you sighed. “everyone depends on their phones now.”

“everyone including you.”

you scoff with no real annoyance behind it.

his eyes flicked to the black screen of your phone before looking back at you.

“what club are you trying to get to?”

“lost and found”

his eyebrows lifted slightly.

“you’re nowhere near it.”

your stomach dropped.

“…you’re joking.”

“wish i was.”

you looked up and down the street as if the club might magically appear.

“i’ve been walking for twenty minutes.”

“yeah…” he laughed again. “in the opposite direction.”

you covered your face with your hands.

“this is actually so embarrassing.”

“could be worse.”

“how?”

“you could’ve ended up on the other side of the city.”

“don’t even put that into the universe.”

he smiled to himself before pushing away from the wall.

“c’mon.”

you looked up.

“i’ll walk you there.”

“you don’t have to.”

“i know.”

“…then why are you?”

he shrugged.

“i don’t have anything better to do.”

you narrowed your eyes

“that’s a lie.”

“a little.”

“so what’s the real reason?”

he looked at you for a second before a small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“you seem interesting.”

you tried not to smile.

“is this your attempt at flirting?”

“did it work?”

“…maybe.”

“i’ll take maybe.”

the rest of the walk was surprisingly easy.

conversation never really stopped.

between teasing you for getting lost, he told you about the city, his favorite places to eat after long studio sessions, and how he’d been spending almost every night making music.

“it’s been busy lately,” he admitted.

“good busy?”

“yeah.”

“that’s a good sign.”

he smiled to himself.

“one of my songs has been getting a lot more attention than i expected.”

“that’s amazing.”

he shrugged like it wasn’t worth celebrating.

you found yourself laughing more than you had expected to.

it was different.

a good different.

twenty minutes ago, he’d been a complete stranger.

now it felt like you’d known him for longer than the walk across downtown.

“so,” he said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. “first time in toronto?”

“is it that obvious?”

“a little.”

“wowww.”

“don’t take it personally.”

“i am.”

he laughed.

“you’ll survive.”

“ehh.”

“you’ve made it this far.”

“barely.”

he glanced over at you.

“yet somehow i don’t think getting lost was the worst part of your day.”

“definitely not.”

the music reached you before the building did.

bass echoed through the street, followed by the familiar neon sign you’d been looking for all night.

“that’s it,” he nodded.

your face lit up.

“oh my god.”

“told you we’d find it.”

you turned toward him with a grin.

“thank you so much. seriously.”

“don’t mention it.”

before you could say anything else, the club doors swung open.

“there she is!”

you turned just in time to see your friends practically running toward you.

“girl!! where have you been?” one of them asked. “we’ve been freaking out.”

“your phone kept going straight to voicemail,” another added.

you held up your dead phone.

“it died.”

“we figured.”

“i got completely lost.”

one of your friends looked past you.

“…who’s this?”

you glanced back.

he was standing a few feet away, hands still in his pockets like he wasn’t sure whether he should stay or leave.

“he helped me find you guys.”

your friends exchanged quick looks before smiling.

“well…” one of them said. “thank you for making sure she didn’t end up missing.”

he laughed.

“someone had to.”

you shot your friend a look.

“don’t start.”

“i didn’t say anything.”

“you were thinking it.”

she raised her hands innocently.

he looked between the two of you, amused.

“i should probably get going.”

for some reason, that made your stomach sink a little.

“right…”

there was a brief silence.

“so…” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “your phone’s dead.”

you looked down at it.

“guess asking for your instagram would be pointless.”

you smiled.

“a little.”

he reached into his pocket and pulled out his own phone.

“i mean you could just type it in.”

you looked up at him for a second before taking his phone.

you searched your account, tapped follow, then handed his phone back.

he looked down at the screen.

“y/n”

“yep that’s me!”

“don’t say i never did anything for you.”

he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

“i won’t.”

there was another small pause before he smiled.

“have fun tonight.”

“thanks, and thanks for helping me.”

“anytime. try not to get lost again okay? if you do you know where to find me”

you let out a small laugh

with one last smile, he turned and disappeared into the crowd.

you stood there watching until he was out of sight.

“…girl,” one of your friends said.

you blinked.

“what?”

“you were literally gone for forty minutes…”

“…and somehow came back with a new cute guy?”

your cheeks warmed.

“i was just trying to find the club.”

“mhm. suree”

“i was!”

“yeah yeah.”

you couldn’t help but smile to yourself.

maybe getting lost hadn’t been the worst thing to happen tonight after all.

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