Chapter 2: Viral Fallout and Vampire Promises

Just then, Benny messaged me.

My phone buzzed, the notification lighting up the screen. Benny’s avatar—a cartoon bulldog in sunglasses—grinned at me.

"Dude, big spender, you went off to grind ranked without inviting me?"

He attached a screenshot of the match with the streamer. Oh, great. Just what I needed.

The image was already making the rounds online. I winced. "Get lost. Grind what? I lost all night, okay?"

I replied with an exasperated facepalm emoji.

"Still worth it! That one game of yours wiped out over a hundred thousand of her followers!"

"What followers?"

Benny replied: "You don’t know? After you leaked her address, her top supporter is driving over right now—says he’s gonna kill her!"

My jaw dropped. That can’t be real. "No way, really?"

"Of course! The guy dropped nearly two hundred grand on her. Now he’s a laughingstock online—if he doesn’t confront her, he’ll look like a fool."

Benny’s messages came in rapid-fire, each one more dramatic than the last. I could practically hear him cackling on the other end.

"Well, she brought it on herself—serves her right for running her mouth."

I typed, but my fingers hesitated for just a second. Was it really justice, or just more online chaos? I shoved the thought aside.

"Seriously, though, a bunch of people she scammed are coming out now. Everyone’s piling on. If you started streaming right now, you’d rake it in!"

I snorted. "Forget it. I have zero interest in streaming or showing my face."

"Hey, I noticed your couple status with Ivy is over level ten. When did you start dating?"

I glanced at Ivy busying herself in the bedroom and casually replied, "When I was twelve."

The words felt surreal, even to me. I watched Ivy fluffing the pillows, humming softly to herself, and smiled.

"No way! How’d you get a girlfriend at twelve?"

"Believe it or not."

I shrugged, knowing he wouldn’t. Not really. Some things are too weird to explain.

"I don’t. Hey, we’ve got a holiday coming up—I want to take my girl home to meet my folks. Let’s all grab dinner together, yeah?"

Benny’s enthusiasm was contagious. I grinned, picturing the four of us crammed into a booth at Applebee’s, swapping stories over greasy fries.

"Sure! You got yourself a girlfriend too, huh?"

"If you can get one, why can’t I?"

…

Benny and I were deep in conversation, completely oblivious to Ivy sneaking up behind me.

Suddenly, she jumped onto me, hugging my waist and whining, "Boss, time for bed!"

Before I could answer, she’d already snatched my phone, her cheeks flushed as she leaned in and pressed her lips to mine…

I melted into her kiss, the world outside fading away. For a moment, there was no drama, no games, no trolls—just me, Ivy, and the promise of a brand new year.