A few hours later, I upload a video of myself playing three instruments and singing my song about bad decisions. The first comment I get is from someone with the usernameTinyGem.
"Wow, really beautiful song. You’re very talented, Bay."
For some reason, I just know it’s Alex. I leave a heart under his comment and reply politely,
"Thank you so much!"
The next day at school, the first thing I do when I see him is say,
"TinyGem? It fits."
Alex laughs, bright and cheerful.
"Ah… your notification popped up. I played your song on full volume for like an hour until my dad told me to stop. It’s really amazing! Can I be your first fan?"
For some reason, my cheeks burn.
"I don’t know if I deserve to have a fan. I’m just getting started."
"Everybody starts somewhere! You know you need social media to promote yourself, right?"
I stare at him, a little helpless.
"I don’t think I have the kind of personality to make posts or chat with people online…"
Alex grins wide.
"No problem! I’ve got experience. I run a chess fan group, we’ve got our own page, social media, even a discussion channel. I know how this stuff works. I can help you if you want. I could suggest ideas for posts," he says with an encouraging smile.
I look at his bright, kind face and feel almost ashamed.
How could I deserve his attention, his kindness, his help?
Alex can’t know. He can never know the truth.
We can only be friends.
???
By the end of my first week at school, everyone in class has gotten used to me always hanging out with Alex. Zion and Kaen have backed off. Sometimes they exchange a few words with me, but mostly they keep their distance. It definitely hasn’t made anyone more friendly toward Alex. People look at him with irritation and dislike. The only one who sometimes interacts with us is that chubby beta, Dereck, who’s in the band with me, so maybe he feels like he should at least be friendly.
Vin and Rob seem to ignore me completely, but soon I’m going to find out that it’s just not the case.
On Friday afternoon, my classes end around the same time as Alex’s. We walk down to the locker room together, and frankly, I don’t pay much attention to what’s happening around us. At one point, I think I see something dark flash through the air, like a shadow, but there are so many windows, corners, and lights in the school that weird shadows are nothing unusual.
We’re too excited anyway, talking about how my song video just hit two thousand views, which is pretty good for only the fourth video I’ve ever uploaded.
Alex has already set up several profiles for me on all the popular social media platforms. He even posted some pictures he took of me with my guitar and cello. They actually turned out pretty well, even though I look gloomy in every single one.
I’m really grateful to him for it. I’ve never had much confidence in that kind of stuff, but if I ever want a music career, I probably need to start getting used to it.
We talk about what I should record next. I have a few original songs and lyrics, but Alex thinks I should do a cover of one of the current hits.
Probably because when he read my lyrics, his face went kind of blank, since the level of darkness and depression in them could crush anyone.
He insists on a cover of a popular love song that’s everywhere right now. Covers of trending tracks always get more clicks and are even suggested by the algorithm, "It’s a good direction to build a following," he says seriously.
I glance at him with admiration. Alex might be small and fragile-looking, but he’s wise beyond his years and knows a ton about different things. I really enjoy talking to him.
