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⤥ ☜♡☞ actor!tyriq withers x influencer!black reader — a social media au.. kinda
⤥ ☜♡☞ ☜♡☞ s͙y͙n͙o͙p͙s͙i͙s͙: A viral tweet pulls Kynadi into Tyriq’s orbit after he sees it during an interview. What starts as a funny moment spirals into follows, lurking, and a DM that changes everything. As their chemistry unfolds in real time, the internet watches closely—while something genuine begins to build beneath the attention.
{ authors note: hey yallll! i was not expecting to get this much love as quickly as it did 🥹🫶🏾. thank yall so so much, i been planning during free time at my internship for the past few days (it’s currently 9am & i’m writing in the corner 😂) because i was soo excited to write. i stayed up writing until 1 am. i’m so proud of myself bc i had writer’s block for yearssss and i wanted to write so bad but something in me just couldn’t. but anyways, i hope yall enjoy it! <3 ~ K 💋 }
⤥ ☜♡☞ ☜♡☞ w͙a͙r͙n͙i͙n͙g͙s͙: none.. yet
“ᗯᕼᗝ ᗯᗝᑌᒪᗪ’ᐯᗴ 丅ᕼᗝᑌǤᕼ丅 Ꭵ’ᗪ Ǥᗴ丅 Ƴᗝᑌ?”
⤥ ☜♡☞ word count: 3.5k+
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丅ᕼᗴ ᔕᗝᑕᎥᗩᒪᔕ
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TUESDAY, OCT 21 — INTERVIEW DAY
3:30 PM — INDOOR FIELD SET
The turf smells faintly like rubber and something clean—like it’s been reset just for the cameras.
Tyriq sits on a tall stool placed right at the fifty-yard line, one foot hooked on the rung, the other planted flat against the ground. His tall muscular frame nearly making the stool look miniature. Stadium lights hang overhead, bright but controlled, casting just enough glow to make everything look sharper than it actually is.
In his hands—
a black popcorn bucket with the streaming service Peacock logo all over it in his large hands.
He turns it slightly, glancing down at it with a smile.
“…y’all do know y’all not getting this back right?” he says, half to himself, half to the crew.
Someone off-camera laughs.
The interviewer smiles, already mid-transition.
“Alright, so we’ve been seeing a lot of reactions online—like, a lot—so I gotta ask… have you seen any of the most viral tweets about the movie yet?”
Tyriq shakes his head almost immediately.
“Nah,” he says, adjusting his grip on the bucket, “I been kinda off my phone today, I’m not even gonna lie. I know it’s out stuff out there though ‘cause everybody keep sayin’ something, but I ain’t actually looked yet.”
The interviewer nods, already smiling like they’ve been waiting for that answer.
“Oh perfect. So we’re just gonna show you one.”
Tyriq leans back slightly, brows lifting.
“…aight,” he says, dragging the word out a little, curious now.
A phone is handed over. The title card pops up on the screen.
“Go ahead and read it,” the interviewer says with a chuckle.
Tyriq takes the phone, glancing down casually at first—
Clearing his throat, then actually reading it in his best girl voice.
“yallllaaa im watching the new movie HIM on peacock— and why tyriq kinda..” he bites his lip dramatically.. “WHY NOBODY TOLD ME ABOUT THIS MAN?? HELLO?!!!” he says rolling his neck.
His lips press together, trying not to laugh.
“…bruhhh,” he breathes out in a loud laugh, shaking his head as he looks up for a second like he needs to reset.
The interviewer is already laughing, “Well??”
He looks back at the phone, “yall heard her! Somebody should’ve told her.”
“…‘WHY NOBODY TOLD ME ABOUT THIS MAN??’” he repeats smacking his lips, then lets out a short laugh, shoulders dropping slightly.
“whew that’s funny as shit.”
“Do you know who that is?” the interviewer asks.
Tyriq glances at the username.
Shakes his head.
“Nah, I don’t—but she funny though, I ain’t even gon’ lie. Do you blame her? Um look at me…” he says dramatically, handing the phone back.
“You are something else.” the interviewer adds chuckling.
“But nah foreal,” he says, pointing lightly, “Thank you for the compliment—and to all the fans who enjoyed the movie. It was real fun to make.” He bows politely.
The interviewer grins, letting the moment breathe before sliding into the next question.
“Alright, so since the internet is clearly very interested… I have to ask—are you single?”
Tyriq exhales softly through his nose, leaning back just a little, one hand still resting in the nearly empty popcorn bucket.
“Yeah,” he says simply. Then after a beat, with a small shrug, “I’m single… but I’m never alone, though. I’m a man of God.”
The interviewer raises their brows, impressed.
“Okay, okay, I like that answer. We love God over here!”
Tyriq just smiles, relaxed again, the next question firing at him.
⸻
TUESDAY, OCT 21
7:47 PM — BEL-AIR HOTEL ROOM IN LOS ANGELES
The interview wraps, quick handshakes, a few “appreciate you”s passed around before everything breaks apart just as fast as it came together—lights dimming, cameras lowering, people already moving on to the next setup like none of it mattered past that moment.
By the time he gets back to the hotel, the energy’s gone.
Not in a bad way—just quiet.
The kind of quiet you actually look forward to after a long day of talking, answering the same questions five different ways, smiling on cue.
He drops his keys on the counter, kicks his shoes off near the door, hoodie gone not long after as he moves through the room without turning on all the lights—just the lamp by the bed, dim and warm against the otherwise dark space.
He showers.
Longer than he needs to.
Lets the water run hot, standing there for a second with his head tilted forward, eyes closed, like he’s letting the rest of the day rinse off with it.
The hot water relaxing his tense muscles from the strenuous day.
By the time he steps out, the world feels slower.
Quieter.
He throws on sweats, a black wifebeater, towel-drying his buzz cut hair as he walks back into the room, phone already in his hand again out of habit more than intention.
The bed dips slightly as he sits, then leans back into it, one arm behind his head, the other holding his phone up just above his line of sight.
TikTok first.
Mindless.
Clip after clip sliding past without much thought—half-watching, half-listening, videos that have him laughing until he’s actually shedding tears as his thumb moves on autopilot.
A couple familiar sounds.
A trending song or ten.
His phone has been lighting up on and off for the past hour—not nonstop, not overwhelming—but just enough to keep pulling his attention back every few minutes.
He ignores them at first.
Scrolls past a few notifications.
Opens Instagram.
Closes it.
Until— his phone keeps buzzing.
Then again. And again. Not urgent. But consistent enough to pull him out of it. His thumb pauses mid-scroll.
A second passes.
Then he swipes out of that.
Opens Twitter.
And that’s when he sees it.
And there it is again.
Her tweet. … Kynadi’s.
Sitting right at the top like it’s been waiting for him.
Same picture. Same caption.
Different numbers. Way different numbers.
“…damn,” he mutters under his breath, thumb hovering before he taps it.
The replies load instantly.
Too fast to keep up with, but he catches enough:
—
“HE REPLIED TO YOU???”
“nah this is insane 😭”
“girl don’t fumble this”
“THIS IS LITERALLY FLIRTING IDC”
“oh.. shit..”
—
He exhales a quiet laugh, shaking his head slightly “…they be doin’ too muchh,” he murmurs.
Then he scrolls up. Finds it. Her newest retweet.. posted at 10 this morning.
His mouth pulls to the side a little.
“…she funny,” he says softly.
Then he retweets it with a comment: “nah you can’t go to sleep now 😂”
He huffs out a small laugh, leaning back slightly.
But it’s her response that actually makes him pause.
“im logging off. watch me 😭😂”
He reads it once. Then again.
“…you ain’t logging off,” he says under his breath, almost instinctively.
His thumb taps her profile before he can think too much about it.
Her page loads. First thought? She’s pretty. Very.. very pretty.
Like… naturally beautiful, her deep skin tone was doing something to him. He loved him some fine shit.
He taps her profile picture.
Zooms in slightly.
“…oh yeah, i think i might have get on that..” he says aloud to no one but himself as he bites his bottom lip all cringe like.
He scrolls through her tweets.
Just her talking. Reacting. Promoting.
“…she just be sayin’ whatever,” he says, but there’s a hint of amusement in his voice.
He switches tabs to Instagram.
Searches her handle and finds it immediately.
Taps.
Her Instagram loads cute—very organized.
Very… intentionally her he assumes.
He scrolls up pausing on a reel.
Caption: “we’re trying this new @saie blush again.. because last time?? yeah no 😭”
He taps it.
“…I’m not even gonna lie to y’all, you cannot keep hyping stuff up like this and then expect me not to say something when it look crazy on me and other people my color or darker, because last time? yeah no, I had to wash my face immediately…”
He exhales a quiet laugh, shaking his head slightly.
“…alright,” he murmurs, settling in.
She blends the blush, leaning closer to the mirror, then back to the camera.
“…Now yall— you can’t even see this on my skin. It’s BLUSHH, hello???…”
He smiles. Actually cheesing.
Watching her pause.
Squint.
“…like.”
She leans in closer.
“…be soo foreal—”
Cuts herself off.
Looks back at the camera like she’s deciding what to say.
“…okay wait, hold on, let me finish before I start talkin’ too fast ‘cause last time I said that and it betrayed me…”
He lets out a soft laugh through his nose.
“…yeah,” he murmurs.
The video keeps going—her rambling, getting distracted, coming back, talking like she forgot people would watch it.
It loops. He watches it again. Without realizing.
Then— his thumb taps the screen. Liked. He glances at the date.
4 weeks ago.
“…oh, well too late now,” he says under his breath, leaning back slightly. But he doesn’t unlike it. Doesn’t hesitate.
If anything, he lingers a little longer.
Then— he followed her on Instagram.
Fuck it, he thought.
It’s done.
A second passes.
Then he switches back to Twitter.
Back to the tweet.
Back to her page. His thumb hovers.
Then— Follow.
And just like that— it’s done, again.
⸻
8:23 PM — HER BEDROOM
ATLANTA, GA
Her room is still buzzing.
Not physically—her LED lights are low, glowing soft purple against the walls, her tripod still standing off to the side like she forgot to take it down—but her phone hasn’t stopped vibrating for the past day, and it’s starting to feel like the sound is living in her chest now. Willow lay curled up by her chest, eyes slowly opening and closing as she dozed on and off.
Kynadi sits cross-legged on her bed, back against the headboard, her laptop open but completely ignored, her phone the only thing that mattered in the moment.
Lai is still on FaceTime, propped up against Kynadi’s pillow, watching her like this is better than TV.
“…I’m telling you, I’m actually logging off this time,” Kynadi says, thumb hovering over her screen, not moving. “Like I’m not about to sit here and keep hearing these notifications all night because they’re doing entirely too much—”
Buzz.
She pauses.
“…hold on.”
She pulls the notification down, unlocking it quickly.
Still expecting Twitter.
But it’s Instagram.
Her brows pull together.
“…who on Instagram—” She taps it.
And freezes, “…Lai.”
“What now?!”
She doesn’t answer right away, she just stares. Reads it again.
Slower.
“tyriqwithers started following you”
“… bitch he just followed me on Instagram.”
Silence.
Then—
“HE WHAT???”
“And—hold on—” she scrolls quickly now, heart picking up, “he liked something.”
“What do you mean he liked something??”
“I don’t know—wait—”
She taps into the notification.
Her own video pops up. Her voice fills the room. She pauses it immediately. Her heart feels like it’s going to explode, hell she might combust.
“…this is from last month.”
“WHAT???” Lai shrilled, Willow’s ears went up at the loud sound.
Kyndal sits up on the edge of her bed, “Lai i think i gotta throw up.”
“He was lurking,” she says, more to herself now.
“Exactly.”
“No, like—he scrolled scrolled.” Lai replied as she stared at her friend.
“Lai…”
“I KNOW.” She shakes her head slightly, staring at the screen.
“…why would he do that.” Kynadi mumbled.
“Because he think you fine shit hoe duh— don’t make me hit you.”
Kynadi lets out a short, disbelieving laugh, “Girl no.”
“Bitch, yes.”
“No, that don’t even make sense—”
“It makes perfect sense, you just don’t want it to. Idk why not though.”
She exhales, rubbing her forehead lightly “…I’m logging off.”
“You keep saying that and yet you’re still here bookie.” Lai antagonizes playfully.
“I’m serious this time, actually i’m jumping off a bridge.” Kynadi biting her acrylic nail.
“Mhm.”
Buzz.
Another notification.
She glances down.
And there it is.
“tyriqwithers followed you (X)”
Her breath catches slightly.
“What now??”
“…he just followed me on Twitter too.”
A pause.
Then—
“OH MY GOD BITCH, YOU DONE GOT GOT.”
“I didn’t even do anything—”
“I meaaaannnn...” Lai says trailing off pursing her lips.
Kyndai drops back onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling for a second, phone still clutched in her hand “…this is crazyy bruh, why he replied back.”
“A good crazy though.” Lai says over the phone.
“…I don’t know.” But she does. She just won’t say it out loud.
She looks back at her phone.
His name is there. Sitting on both apps, as a mutual now.
Not going anywhere.
Not a glitch. Not a mistake. Extremely real as she refreshes her page.
“…I actually hate this,” she mutters softly.
Lai laughs immediately “No you don’t. You need to have fun boo.”
Kyndal doesn’t argue.
She just stares at the screen— at his name, at everything that just shifted without warning.
And for once— she doesn’t have a rebuttal.
She just sits there.
Letting it be.
She stares at his name—still sitting there under her followers, still real, still not going anywhere.
Her thumb hovers over the screen, not doing anything, not moving— until her phone buzzes again.
Instagram, a new direct message. From him.
She freezes. Oh shit.
Just for a second. Oh shit.
…
“Lai.”
“Huh??”
“…he just texted me.”
“Well bitch OPEN IT?? Don’t keep the man waiting! What he say?” Lai asked getting all up in the camera.
Kynadi stuck her tongue out.. “he said my tweet was funny as hell.”
Lai squealed, “Perfect ayeeee, laugh him out them drawls!”
Kynadi smacked her moisturized plump lips, “please.” Her acrylic nails clicked as she replied back on the screen.
Well… shit’s definitely going to change now. Kynadi exhales slowly, tapping the notification.
The message loads. She stares at it.
Then closes her eyes slightly—more to calm herself than anything. Her fingers start moving. The typing bubble pops up almost immediately.
Her stomach flips.
She lets out a small laugh through her nose.
Lai is already watching her like she’s losing her mind.
“What he say??”
“Hold on—” The girl shared her screen so Lai can see the messages.
Kynadi bites her lip, thinking for half a second before typing back.
Lai SLAPS her own forehead.
“OH MY GODDDDD.”
“Girlaaa shut up—” Kynadi laughs.
Her phone buzzes again.
She physically recoils as she laughs “Ewww.”
“What??”
“He said motion and it sounded so off.” Kynadi laughs as she pushes up her glasses. Willow stretches out beside her, sighing in content.
Lai bursts out laughing “Sighhhh yall so cute.”
Kynadi shakes her head, already typing, “Lai i’ll hurt you. Stopp.”
There’s a pause. Not awkward.
Kynadi stares at the screen, thumb hovering.
Then— she smiles a little.
Another pause. Her heart thumping as she cheeses hard.
There’s a slight delay this time. She busts out laughing at Tyriq’s unhinged response.
She pauses. Then types.
Lai is literally kicking her feet, smiling “UGH, HE LIKES YOU!”
“Be quiettt.”
“NO.” Lai cheeses with her.
Kynadi tries not to smile, “both of y’all need help.”
A pause. Longer this time.
Kynadi watches the typing bubble appear… disappear… come back.
Her heart picks up just a little. Her eyes nearly closing from how hard she’s laughing.
Then—
Her breath hitches—barely noticeable, but there.
Lai sees it anyway, “OHHHH i like thiss.”
Kynadi playfully rolls her eyes, but she’s already typing.
Stops. Deletes it. Types again.
“…what do I say?” She’s internally panicking and QUICKLY.
“GIRL.”
“I’m asking—”
“Say yes???” Lai says without a doubt.
Kynadi exhales, shaking her head slightly like she’s trying to play it cooler than she feels.
It takes two seconds.
Then she sends it. Her number. Tyriq Withers now has her number.
Immediately she tosses her phone onto the bed like it burned her.
“OH MY GOD,” Lai screams.
“WHAT THE HELLL!” Kynadi yells back, freaking the fuck out.
“Oh i’m starting a rumor hoe.”
Buzz.
Kynadi grabs it instantly.
iMessage. An unknown number. Her heart jumps again.
She opens it.
She stares at the message. Then slowly types back.
Three dots appear. Disappear. Come back.
She laughs out loud this time. Actually laughs because this is fucking crazy.
And just like that— the noise fades. Not completely.
Twitter is still going. Notifications still climbing.
People still talking. But none of that feels as relevant anymore.
Because now— shit just got real..
Her.
Him.
And a conversation that somehow feels a little too easy for something that just started. Whatever that something came to be.
On the screen, Lai is still watching her, grinning “…this about to be sooo good,” she says.
Kynadi doesn’t even look up.
Thumb moving.
Smile still there. “…mhm.,” she murmurs softly.
For the first time all day—
she’s not thinking about the tweet.
Or the numbers.
Or the attention.
Just him. Well the possibility of what could stem from this.. is this.. is that a little too delusional to think?
And how quickly everything shifted.
All from one moment— that wasn’t supposed to be seen.
And now?
There’s no going back, she’s not sure if she would even want to go back anyway.
#NeedThat
