“And you have nothing to say about our style? Look at my hair!” Jake burst out. He ran his hand through his long hair, showing off how shiny and healthy it looked. “People have been stealing my look.” He huffed, fanning his hand in front of his face.

“You have me curious, what is your hair care routine?” One of these days, Katherine would have to fix a system and get her hair healthy.

The five of them continued to chat and Katherine finally had a sense of belonging among these strangers. They seemed to be excited gamers with little interest in politics. In the back of her head, she remembered the cautions put into her mind. She would be better off not trusting anyone.

Albeit the fact that the other three were star-struck by Laurence’s presence, everything went down smoothly.

“So, Katherine, you are an artist!” Tom turned to her, her name sounding wonderful in that accent of his. “What style do you prefer?”

“I am,” she nodded. “I actually prefer fan art in the realistic style. I also like hyper-realism in some cases, but those are for special occasions.” Namely, detailing every inch of Cage’s body in black and white.

“That’s great!” Jake remarked, raising the welcome drink served to the competitors up in a toast. “The three of us are college students. If this works out, though. We are planning on quitting.”

Katherine reigned in her disapproval. She wanted to ask these students to stay in school but it would be highly inappropriate.

“Existential crisis is a bitch,” Liam said with a disappointed sigh.

“It’s just so hard to juggle college work with creating videos, you know?” Tom added gingerly, looking at Katherine for approval. “How do you do it with your job?”

That was a good question. She didn’t know how either. “It can be hard sometimes but I sacrifice on my time with the people I love to manage all of it,” Katherine confessed. She felt a twinge of guilt. “I love my work, but I also like creating content. It’s hard to just… not talk to people, you know?” she breathed.

“Have you thought of quitting either one?” Laurence interjected helpfully.

“No!” Katherine protested. “I am not going to quit anything unless I roll over, dead.” She scoffed.

There was talk about examinations and how to deal with stress. Memories from university came flashing back and Katherine couldn’t help but laugh.

“The only quiz I want to take is the celebrity boyfriend one,” Jake said. “Have you guys seen all the content creators taking it?”

Katherine hadn’t. “Can’t imagine actual celebrities pouncing on others because their girlfriends got a different answer.” For one, she knew she would not be taking one. The answer would probably result in a very jealous Cage and sulking. Fun times.

“I bet you would get Laurence if you tried,” Tom quipped, giving a pointed look to the man in question. Katherine balked, not answering at first. She sobered up quickly and replied vehemently.

“Those things are dangerous!” She waved her hand in front of her animatedly. “What if I get a scandalous answer and some celebrity gets on my ass.” She pretended to wipe the sweat off her forehead. “Well, my friends are possessive about celebrities. Can’t get someone they have on their lists. I haven’t learned how to sleep with my eyes open yet.”

The bunch chuckled.

“You just need to try until you get the answer you want,” Tom pressed. His eyes were hopeful as he looked at Katherine. “We should all take it!” He looked around for approval.

“Sorry, I ship Laurence and Katherine but the results may break their friendship apart,” Liam chortled in a jokingly serious tone.

“Now, we wouldn’t want that,” Katherine nodded sagely. What a lively bunch. It seemed she hadn’t gotten rid of those rumors just yet. People were talking in real life and she needed to snub them before it created a bigger raucous.

The whole celebration started with a panel of creators and professional players, joking and talking about the game. Katherine blended into the crowd, her expression equally excited as the others as she heard about this new version. The session was hilarious, making the crowd roll in laughter.

The fun continued with impromptu meet and greets with any viewers of the competitors who were in the crowd and caught up to them. Of course, Katherine wasn’t given any bodyguards because she wasn’t really important enough to protect. In worked in her favor as she filtered through the crowd without being noticed.

It all went to hell when Laurence came to find her. A huge crowd of people followed. Thankfully, she was in the less crowded part of the venue.

“Whoa, that is a lot of people,” Laurence muttered, sounding unaffected. “Are you ready?” he asked.

She wanted to scream no, but instead plastered a smile on her face. “As I’ll ever be,” she replied. “Catch me if I say something weird. I have never really spoken to a crowd of my viewers before.”

Laurence shook with laughter. “We’re bound to say some weird things eventually. Isn’t that part of our brand?” He gave her a pat on the shoulder. The crowd hollered, commenting about their ‘relationship’ and Katherine was left grinding her teeth together as she laughed and protested that nothing was going on between them.

“We’re going to stand for a long time before the actual championship begins, so I hope you will be comfortable.” He looked at her hopefully, making her feel guilty. In a moment of insanity, she said what was on her mind.

“Laurence, I’m sorry. I’m uncomfortable with how close you are. I don’t want the viewers to think we are together.” Who knows how he took the news, he spluttered as he carefully moved away. The viewers didn’t seem to hear or notice the change in their interaction.

“Don’t hesitate to tell me if your feet hurt,” he tried to salvage the situation carefully. She sighed in relief as she nodded. Sometimes, being rash helped the situation, it seemed.

“Let’s do this.”