Chapter 2: Trending for All the Wrong Reasons

After Carter ended his stream, I tidied up my gear and got ready to stream myself. The room felt stuffy, the air buzzing with leftover adrenaline from watching him fall apart on camera.

I'm a beauty vlogger. My hobbies are basically doing makeup—and playing games.

My desk was a mess of palettes, brushes, and half-empty Red Bulls. I had my ring light on and my camera set up. I took a breath, forcing a smile, ready to pretend my heart wasn't doing somersaults.

As usual, I followed my planned routine, teaching my followers. But while I was drawing my eyeliner, my viewership suddenly shot up, and the chat was flying by too fast to read.

It was weird—usually my streams were chill, but tonight, it was like someone had thrown a party in my chat. The messages blurred together, and I had to squint to catch anything.

With my eagle eyes, I managed to spot one comment: "Heard Wicky's here, checking in!"

Wicky? Carter Woods? My idol?

My hands froze mid-eyeliner. There was no way, right? But the chat kept mentioning him. My heart started pounding again.

Watching my stream?

Learning makeup?

No way, right?

A guy coming just to learn makeup is probably, well... not straight, right?

I mean, no judgment. But Carter never struck me as the type to care about contouring. The idea made me giggle, nerves and all.

Suddenly, I remembered how the fan forums were full of fan-edited shipping videos of my idol and his support teammate.

Some of those edits were so convincing, even I started to wonder. Maybe Carter really was into his teammate. The internet sure seemed to think so.

For real?

Just thinking about it made my hand shake, and my eyeliner wobbled all over my eyelid.

I let out a groan and grabbed a makeup wipe. Ugh. Of course, the one time my idol might actually be watching, I mess up my liner. Figures.

Honestly, shipping them wouldn't be so bad.

They looked good together, and the chemistry was undeniable. Maybe I was just jealous I wasn't part of the ship.

But in the hour and a half I streamed, Carter didn't say a word—but he didn't leave for even a minute.

Every time I peeked at the viewer list, his username stayed right at the top. It never dropped off. It was weirdly flattering, but also nerve-wracking.

Every time someone tipped or sent a gift, his name was right there. The chat kept buzzing about it, too. "Wicky's still here!" "Does he have a crush?" I tried to ignore it, but my cheeks were burning.

After the stream, my best friend messaged me, telling me to check Twitter.

I was still taking off my makeup when my phone buzzed. Her text was full of exclamation marks: "Girl, check Twitter NOW!"

I wasn't prepared for what I saw:

#TVG.WickyWatchingBeautyStream#

#CarterWoodsSavannahReed#

#CarterWoodsHeartbroken#

Oh my god, my first time trending—and it's because I'm tied to my idol.

I scrolled through the tags, jaw dropping. People were dissecting every second of my stream, analyzing Carter's every move. People were even pausing and zooming in on his chat icon. I felt like I'd been thrust onto a stage I never asked for.

Even though he doesn't seem into girls.

Still, a tiny part of me hoped...

Secretly, I was thrilled.

Even if my idol doesn't like me, the flood of his fans coming my way means big money!

My follower count was climbing by the second. I tried to play it cool, but inside, I was already planning new content. Maybe I'd finally be able to quit my day job.

Not long after, Carter, who rarely posts on Twitter, actually posted with the trending tag:

"What's wrong with learning some makeup skills? Gotta make my partner look pretty!"

Partner?

My idol already has someone?

My heart dropped for a second. Was he really taken? Was this just another tease for the fans?

Using my fangirl account, I frantically commented:

"Idol, does your boyfriend wear makeup too?"

"When are you announcing it?"

"Is your partner handsome?"

I fired off the comments, half-joking, half-desperate for a response. The chat was so fast, I didn't expect him to notice.

Then, I actually got a reply from Carter:

"Bullshit!"

"I'm totally straight!"

"The one I like is you!"

"And now you're backing out!"

"Yeah, I said it."

Me: ?

My jaw literally dropped.

Completely stunned, I shot to the top of the hot comments, my head spinning—did my idol mistake me for someone else?

My phone wouldn't stop buzzing.

Do I even deserve this?

Especially since it's just a nobody fangirl account!

How did I end up here?

Under my comment, tons of fans replied:

"Are you Savannah's alt account, sis?"

"When are you going to make it official with the idol?"

"Her profile looks like Savannah's daily life, I think it's her!"

"Caught you!"

The speculation was wild.

I was losing it. I'm just a die-hard fan of influencer Savannah Reed.

Now people thought I was her?

And my profile is all my daily life, with a few of Savannah's selfies thrown in.

Who wouldn't? She's gorgeous.

Savannah has millions of followers as a beauty influencer and is now breaking into the entertainment industry. If Carter really had something with my goddess, I could probably ship it too.

Honestly, they would've made a power couple.

But I still felt a little sad.

After five years of being both a hardcore fan of his career and a shameless 'girlfriend fan' of Carter Woods, the ache wouldn't go away.

Like eating lemon-flavored chocolate—can't quite describe the feeling, just sour.

I mean, who puts lemon in chocolate anyway?

Like finding out your online boyfriend's been into some girl for years.

It's the same hollow feeling.

But soon, people realized I wasn't Savannah, and Savannah didn't post any denials.

I could finally breathe again.

Damn! My idol confessed to me—thinking I was her!

I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity. Or maybe the right one?

Am I just a part of their game too?

I uninstalled Twitter, stopped watching Carter's streams, and just quietly followed his matches.

Cheering him on from the shadows.