I barely contain a shiver as he says my name out loud. I don’t understand my reaction so I ignore it, focusing on typing my credit card information into the little box again, sending Blue another ten dollars.
“Don’t spend all your money sending messages, Maki,” Kent says, shaking his head. “I swear, that’s how they get you.”
“This is so juicy I’m willing to send you some cash to cover the donations,” Oli says with a chuckle.
“You’re such a drama queen,” Ivan says, shoving his elbow into Oli’s side.
“I don’t normally like drama but I’m kinda eating this up,” Sullivan murmurs from the other side of Daniel.
Someone snorts before Daniel says, “youdon’t like drama?”
“Hey!”
You are talking about me and that is not what happened,the voice reads out. Blue’s face turns to one of surprise. He stares at the dono for a long moment before turning back towards the screen.
“You’re shitting me. You’re actually shitting my dick right now. No fucking way,” he breathes out, running a hand through hispretty blue hair. “If you’re really the guy I met today, then what was I wearing?”
“Holy shit,” Oli says, pointing at the top corner of the screen. “Look at the view count! It’s spiking!”
“What does that mean?”
“It means, people are flocking to Blue’s channel to watch the drama unfold,” Oli explains. “Look, it just jumped up to 20k!”
“What’s this logo,” I quickly ask Oli, showing him the picture of Blue and I again. He explains it for me as I write out my donation message.
You were wearing jeans and a hoodie with a video game logo on the front. I did not recognize it but my friend says it is from ‘Sugar Land World’. You are exaggerating your story. I was not rude to you or thought I was better than you. The same cannot be said about your behavior.
“If it makes you feel any better, chat is totally taking your side,” Kurstin says, his eyes glued to the chat. “They’re all bullying the hell out of Blue on your behalf.”
I frown. “That’s not what I wanted.”
“We know that,” Amour says softly, “but I get the sense Blue’s chat likes giving him a hard time even on the best days.”
“That’s it,” Blue says, suddenly looking off to the side, typing rapidly. “If you were really the guy, why don’t you call me and we can straighten this out. Let chat hear your side of the story, big guy.”
My phone pings with a private message.
“Oh my gods. No fucking way,” Oli says, practically shaking with excitement. “He actually wants to call you!”
“I don’t know if this is such a good idea,” Daniel says slowly, his eyes wide.
Sullivan looks like he can’t decide if he wants to cheer me on or tell me to stop. Ivan is yelling at Oli while Bo looks excited atthe prospect of me getting attention online because that means he might have more fans come watch us in the future.
“Oh my gods,” Kent says, pointing at the stream. “Someone in chat recognizes you, Maki! They say they love our team!”
“I’m calling him,” I tell them all, going through the steps to set up a call with Blue. It only takes a few moments before my phone is ringing. I look at them, telling them to keep quiet before finally answering. “Hello.”
“Hi! It’s nice to officially meet you, Maki.”
“We’ve met before,” I tell him, staring at my television. Apparently the stream is delayed because it takes a moment before I see him take my call. It’s weird, seeing him like this while I have him in my ear.
“Yes, well, apparently that meeting wasn’t very good. Would you like to give me your side of the story?”
“Very much so,” I say seriously. “You worded things to make me sound like some stalker or something. We kept running into each other by coincidence, both needing the same aisles at the same time. Yes, I will admit that I continued to look at you but that was simply because I found you beautiful.”
Blue sucks in a sharp breath. All around me, my teammates are making noises. Some of them are shocked, Kent is chuckling to himself, Oli is staring at me with wide eyes. When I look at him, he gives me a grin and thumbs up. My eyes dart back to the television.
Blue’s face has turned a shocking red color and he covers his face.
