“So… they liked my performance?”
“Why wouldn’t they? It was bomb.”
It was? What I saw last night was anything but. “So, what do they want, these people outside?”
Kyle shook his head, tsking me. “It’s almost as if you didn’t grow up with a rock star for a brother. How do you not know what they want?”
“Because I’ve never had this happen before, dick!”
“Okay, fine. Let me paint the picture. You know when, like, Jake goes to a grocery store and people are ducking behind the avocados to take pictures of him and then those same people post the pictures to social media just to brag that they saw him? Now, pluck Jake out of that scenario and insert yourself. That, my friend, is what those people outside want. You, Quinn. They want you.”
I stared at him, blinking. That couldn’t be right.
“Don’t believe me? Check your followers on Instagram. Go ahead. I’ll wait.”
It took all of ten seconds to discover my brother was telling the truth. My followers hadn’t just doubled, they’d quadrupled—maybe even more.
My jaw dropped. “What the hell?”
“Exactly,” Kyle confirmed. “Now, don’t start getting a big head. You’re nowhere near Jake levels—or even my levels, for that matter—but it’s a solid start for our little troublemaking Quinn. You’re just so cute, I want to squeeze those cheeks of yours.”
I cut him off. “I have more.”
“More what?”
“More Instagram followers than you.”
“No, you don’t,” he scoffed.
“Yes, I do.”
“Shut the fuck up,” he said, his screen going black while he checked his own Instagram profile.
Once he came back on, disgruntled, I was ready to pounce. “Ah, look at you. So cute. Totally schooled by your own baby brother. Sorry, Kyle. How does it feel to be third best?”
“Shut up,” he grumbled.
I popped back over to my profile once more just to bask in the glory.
“Where did all these people come from?” I asked, more to myself than to anyone else.
“It’s not rocket science, Quinn. You went rogue in front of twelve million people. And then those twelve million people told their friends…”
I stopped listening when I saw the magical check next to my Instagram handle. “I have a check mark!”
“Yeah. Yeah. And you know what else you have? A security problem. Your apartment building isn’t equipped to handle a guy with a blue check mark next to his name; you know what I mean?”
“I’m starting to.” I nodded numbly, clicking back over to Kyle. “Does Jake know?”
“Dude, everyone knows.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“What does he think?”
Kyle stared at me. “Does it matter what he thinks?”
