Chapter Eleven — Viral Fire
(Sienna's pov)
The sun hadn't even fully touched the skyline when my phone began vibrating.
At first, I ignored it. Music streaming numbers. Notifications. Fan tweets. All routine.
Then the chaos began.
The first episode of The Last Page aired last night.
And the internet had erupted.
I swiped through my phone like I was trying to avoid an avalanche, but it had already hit.
#NoraAndCalenFirstKiss — trending #1 worldwide.
#SiennaAndAxel — exploding faster than any promotion campaign could have dreamed.
Fans were editing every scene: slow-motion replays of our kiss, zoom-ins on hands brushing, captions like "it's real, I swear" and "they're actually dating."
Someone had even photoshopped us together in a romantic snow scene that didn't exist.
I groaned, face buried in my hands. "Of course."
Ember's messages blew up my phone.
"SIS. They are obsessed. Literally obsessed. You and Axel are a phenomenon. Also someone leaked the bloopers — people are losing it over your 'laughing-at-Calen' face."
"Stop. Stop. Stop," I typed frantically. "I can't deal. I'm 22, I have actual lungs, and they're going to explode my social media."
"Too late. Also—" She sent a short clip: Axel and I had accidentally brushed hands while laughing during a take, and someone caught it behind the scenes. Fans were calling it the most romantic touch of the century.
By the time I reached the studio that morning, the tension was already in the air. Crew members were whispering about "the edits," fans flooding the set. Cameras, lights, social media managers pacing with phones in hand.
Axel was leaning against a wall, calm as ever — dark hair messy, eyes hooded with amusement.
"You survived the internet?" he asked casually, glancing at my phone.
I groaned. "Barely. And somehow they've already made ten edits of our accidental hand touch. I swear one of them is a painting now."
He smirked faintly. "Let me see."
I reluctantly showed him the screen. Fans had taken a tiny hand brush and slowed it down frame by frame, adding soft lighting and music. Axel chuckled quietly — dangerously charming. "They've got a good eye."
"Good eye?" I snapped, exasperated. "They're obsessed!"
He leaned closer, voice low. "I think you secretly love it."
I rolled my eyes. "Shut up."
Behind-the-scenes chaos wasn't just limited to fans. During rehearsal, the cameraman tripped on a cable, sending a boom mic crashing dangerously close to Axel's head. He ducked, perfectly in character, while I yelped — hitting my script in surprise.
Miles yelled, "Everyone okay?!"
Crew nodded, tension vibrating in the air.
I muttered, "This is exactly why I shouldn't be famous."
Axel gave me a look — amused, soft, yet knowing — and for a split second, the world fell away.
The filming of the day's big intimate scene — the one after the first kiss — was interrupted by a loud ding!
My phone. Notifications blowing up. Fans were now creating reaction compilations, GIFs, edits, and fan art of the kiss scene… and every behind-the-scenes moment. Some of it was… too close to reality.
Someone leaked a brief video of Axel and me laughing while in costume, brushing hands again, walking together between takes. A few minutes later, Twitter exploded with:
"Are Sienna and Axel actually dating???"
"Nora and Calen look like they're gonna jump off the set into real life!"
Later, during a break, Axel leaned toward me, voice low, a faint grin tugging at his lips:
"Looks like the internet shipped us before we even got a chance to talk."
I groaned. "And they're relentless."
"They call it dedication," he said. "Or obsession. Depends on the fan."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I hate being famous."
He laughed quietly. "You're perfect for it, though. You've been living under the lights since sixteen. You know exactly how to survive the chaos."
I looked at him. Twenty-two, and yet somehow he could see right through the shield I'd built around myself for years — fame, music, acting, every calculated smile.
"You make it sound like I'm… vulnerable," I said softly.
"Maybe you are," he admitted, voice barely a whisper.
By late afternoon, the energy on set was electric. Miles was snapping orders, the cameras rolling, but every glance between Axel and me was charged. We were acting, yes. But the behind-the-scenes chaos — the viral clips, the edits, the fan obsession — had created a tension that was impossible to ignore.
During one shot, Calen reaches out for Nora's hand. The brush was accidental, but the camera caught it. Axel and I both flinched slightly, realizing just how real it looked.
Calen: "Nora… I can't hide it anymore."
Nora: "Calen…"
And in that moment, the kiss — soft, electric, unplanned in its intensity — ignited once more.
After the take, Axel whispered, just for me, "This is going to break the internet."
I didn't answer. I just looked at him — the man who had once been my enemy, my argument at a gala, and now my co-star — and realized I didn't care if the world saw it.
Because somehow, with him, it felt… real.
And the internet? Let it burn.