Steve's POV
The thing about fan meets? They're traps.
Not obvious ones, not with ropes and cages. Worse. They're traps lined with posters of your face, glow sticks waving like lightsabers, and thousands of eyes that already know your habits better than you do. Fans don't just listen to music—they study you. Every shrug, every smirk, every millisecond you spend glancing at someone else.
And when they see something they like? They don't just clap. They ship.
So when Monique announced, "Fan meet at Alcantara Mall, three hours, big sponsor, no backing out," I nearly begged her to reconsider.
Because this wasn't just any fan meet. This was the first one with Xiarya pretending to be Adra.
And teen fans? They don't miss a thing.
Backstage Chaos
The mall's event hall was packed wall to wall. Banners of our faces hung over the escalators, girls screamed whenever one of our songs played through the speakers, and the floor itself seemed to shake with energy.
Behind the curtain, Xiarya tugged the hood of Adra's jacket tighter, her bangs shadowing her face. She looked like she was about to sit for an exam she hadn't studied for.
"You'll be fine," Gelo said, calm as always, adjusting his mic pack.
She glanced at him, half-annoyed, half-grateful. "You always say that."
"Because it's always true."
I swear, he said it so casually I almost choked. Oh no. If I heard it as smooth, imagine what the fans would do.
Mark nudged me with his elbow. "Rule one: don't faint."
"Rule two," I added, "don't smile too much. They'll think Adra's been hacked."
"Rule three," Mark said, smirking, "don't trip. Unless you want to be a meme."
Xiarya groaned. "Wow. Such supportive friends."
The stage manager poked his head in. "You're on. Move it."
We lined up.
"Remember," Gelo murmured to her. "Short answers. Keep the mask. Don't panic."
She nodded, exhaling like she was about to leap off a cliff.
The Entrance
The lights dimmed. The MC's voice boomed.
"Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for—Sudden Music!"
The curtains swept open. The noise was nuclear. Screams, chants, hands reaching out. Light sticks flashed like a sea of stars.
We walked out one by one. I threw the crowd my usual grin—they screamed louder. Mark did his lazy wave—they swooned.
And then Xiarya stepped out, in Adra's black jacket, shoulders squared, face unreadable.
The hall went insane.
"ADRAAAA!"
"LOOK AT HIM!"
"ICE KINGGGG!"
The cheers nearly drowned out the music track playing in the background. Xiarya didn't flinch. She slid into the chair at the long table like she'd done it a hundred times. From a distance, she was Adra.
It should've been perfect.
Except Gelo sat down beside her.
And the fans noticed.
Fan Meet Begins
We went through the motions—introductions, a short game with the MC, signed some posters. At first it was smooth.
Then came the questions.
A fan held up the mic, voice trembling with excitement. "This one's for... Adra and Gelo!"
I froze. Oh no. Here we go.
The girl clasped her hands together. "We noticed lately you two are really close on stage! Like, really close. Do you practice those moments?"
The hall erupted into squeals, chants of "AdraGelo! AdraGelo!"
Xiarya blinked, deer-in-headlights. Gelo jumped in smoothly, calm as a monk. "We practice everything we do on stage. Timing, energy—it's all part of making a good show."
The fans screamed like he'd just confessed marriage.
"SEE? HE ADMITTED IT!" someone yelled.
I bit my lip to stop from laughing. Poor Xiarya's ears were turning red.
Autograph Session
After the Q&A came autographs. A line of fans snaked down the hall, clutching albums, photos, and handmade gifts.
Xiarya scribbled Adra's signature like she'd practiced a hundred times, eyes down, minimal words. Perfect.
Then a fan leaned forward, smiling mischievously. "Adra, can you write 'for my one and only Gelo' on this?"
The crowd around the table lost it. Screams, laughter, phones snapping pictures.
Xiarya froze, marker hovering. She shot Gelo a desperate side glance.
Without missing a beat, he leaned over, close enough their shoulders touched, and said in a low voice, "Just write it. They'll think it's funny."
The proximity was like throwing gasoline on the fandom. The hall exploded.
"OH MY GOD HE WHISPERED TO HIM—"
"LOOK HOW CLOSE—"
"SHIP IS REAL!"
I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. Mark buried his face in his hands.
Xiarya's hand shook as she scrawled the words, then shoved the signed paper back with a curt nod.
The fan squealed like she'd won the lottery.
Photo Time
Next came photos. Fans lined up in groups of five, snapping quick pictures with us before security ushered them off.
Most asked for peace signs, heart poses, normal stuff.
Then one group of girls begged, "Can Adra and Gelo sit closer? Please? Just for one shot!"
The crowd chanted instantly. "Closer! Closer!"
Xiarya's eyes went wide. Gelo didn't hesitate. He slid closer, draping an arm across the back of her chair like it was the most natural thing in the world.
The scream that tore through the hall could've shattered glass.
Phones clicked like machine guns. Twitter was already imploding, I just knew it.
Xiarya sat stiff as a board, but Gelo leaned in just enough to look casual. To the camera, it looked intimate. Dangerous. Perfect.
The girls shrieked, some nearly crying. "IT'S REAL! ADRA AND GELO FOREVER!"
I thought Xiarya might faint right there.
The Aftermath
By the time the event wrapped, my throat was sore from laughing too much at the chaos. Mark kept muttering, "We're doomed. Twitter's going to eat us alive."
Backstage, Xiarya collapsed onto the couch, burying her face in her hands. "That was... a nightmare."
Steve: "Correction: that was comedy gold."
Mark: "Correction: that was PR hell."
Gelo just grabbed a water bottle, handed it to her, and said, "You did great."
She peeked up at him, still flustered. "Great? They think we're—"
"They think what they want," he interrupted calmly. "Let them. It keeps the focus on me, not you."
I blinked. Clever. If the fans obsessed over shipping "Adra" with Gelo, no one would dig deeper into why Adra seemed different. It was the perfect distraction.
Xiarya stared at him like she hadn't thought of that. Slowly, she nodded. "Right... makes sense."
Mark groaned. "Makes sense, but it's still weird."
I grinned. "Weird sells. And honestly? You two looked natural."
Xiarya turned crimson. Gelo just smirked faintly, like he knew exactly what he was doing.
Online Reaction
By the time we got home, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok were on fire.
#AdraGelo trended within an hour.
Fans posted clips of the autograph whisper, the chair-arm photo, and even slow-mo edits of the way Gelo glanced at Xiarya during the Q&A.
"LOOK AT HOW HE LOOKS AT HIM—THIS IS LOVE," one caption screamed.
"Stop calling it fan service, this is REAL," another insisted.
Memes spread faster than we could keep up with.
Steve showed us one on his phone, laughing so hard he nearly dropped it. "Guys, look—they put your faces on a wedding cake topper."
Mark groaned. "Kill me now."
Xiarya hid under a pillow. "I can't do this. They're insane."
Gelo just leaned back on the couch, perfectly calm. "Let them talk. The louder they are, the safer you are."
I glanced at him, then at her. He wasn't wrong. But the way he said it—steady, certain—made me wonder if maybe the fans weren't the only ones starting to see something.
Closing
That night, as the noise of social media swirled around us, I realized something important.
The mask Xiarya wore as Adra was fragile, but the chaos of fandom was strangely protective. Everyone was so busy screaming about ships and "secret love" that no one noticed the truth hiding in plain sight.
And the funniest part?
Sometimes I couldn't tell if Gelo was just playing along for the fans... or if the fans had actually seen something real before we did.