Kai Bennett considered three options:
1. Delete his blog.
2. Drop out of university.
3. Fake his own death.
"All valid," he muttered, pacing his tiny dorm room. "All extremely valid."
His phone buzzed again.
And again.
And again.
He had stopped checking notifications after the first thousand.
Now he just stared at his ceiling like it might offer life advice.
It did not.
A loud knock suddenly echoed through the room.
Kai froze.
"…no."
Another knock. Louder this time.
"Kai Bennett?" a voice called from the other side.
Professional. Calm.
Terrifying.
Kai slowly turned toward the door like he was in a horror movie.
"I'm not here," he whispered.
The voice paused.
Then—
"We know you're in there."
Kai's soul left his body.
⸻
He opened the door exactly three inches.
Two people stood outside.
One sharply dressed woman holding a tablet. One equally polished man holding what looked like his will to live.
"Kai Bennett," the woman said with a polite smile. "Hi. I'm Lila from Cross Media Group."
Kai blinked.
"…Cross."
"Yes," she said. "As in Aiden Cross."
Door closing speed: immediate.
A hand shot out and stopped it.
"Please don't panic," the man added quickly.
"I'm already panicking," Kai snapped. "You're just late to it."
Lila sighed softly, like she'd expected this.
"We're not here to sue you."
Kai paused.
"…you're not?"
"No."
"…yet?"
"…No," she repeated, more firmly.
Silence.
Kai slowly opened the door wider.
"Okay," he said cautiously. "Then why are you here?"
Lila held up her tablet.
On the screen was his blog.
His very incriminating, extremely viral blog.
"Aiden wants to meet you."
Kai stared at her.
Then laughed.
A short, broken sound.
"Good one."
"I'm serious."
"Oh, that's worse."
⸻
Twenty minutes later, Kai was sitting on his bed while two strangers calmly explained how his life had spiraled beyond his control.
"This is a PR opportunity," Lila said. "The public loves authenticity. Your post created buzz. Aiden responding created more. Now—"
"You want to monetize my bad decisions," Kai finished flatly.
"…in simpler terms, yes."
Kai covered his face.
"I knew this blog would ruin me one day. I just didn't think it would be this fast."
The man—Daniel, apparently—cleared his throat.
"It would be a controlled interview. Short. Lighthearted. You meet Aiden, discuss your post, maybe soften your stance a bit—"
"I'm not apologizing," Kai said immediately.
Lila raised an eyebrow.
"We didn't ask you to."
Kai hesitated.
"…you didn't?"
"Aiden specifically said not to script your opinions."
That made Kai pause.
For the first time since this nightmare started… he was curious.
"…why?"
Lila gave a small, knowing smile.
"He finds you interesting."
Kai blinked.
"Interesting how?"
Neither of them answered.
Which somehow made it worse.
⸻
"Absolutely not," Kai said ten minutes later.
"You already said yes," Daniel replied.
"I changed my mind."
"You signed the form."
"I didn't read it!"
"We noticed."
Kai groaned and flopped backward onto his bed.
"This is how people end up in documentaries," he mumbled. "I'm going to disappear."
Lila checked her watch.
"Car's downstairs."
Kai sat back up.
"…you're not giving me time to emotionally prepare?"
"No."
"Mentally prepare?"
"No."
"Spiritually prepare?"
"…You have five minutes."
⸻
The car ride was silent.
Kai sat in the back seat, staring out the window, watching the city blur past.
"This is insane," he muttered. "I insulted a celebrity and now I'm being chauffeured to meet him."
"Technically," Daniel said from the front, "you critiqued his public persona."
"I called him creepy."
"Subjectively."
Kai sighed.
"Do people usually survive this kind of thing?"
"No comment."
"Great."
⸻
The building they arrived at was… expensive.
That was the only word Kai's brain could produce.
Glass. Steel. Security everywhere.
"I don't belong here," he said immediately.
"You'll be fine," Lila replied.
"That's what people say right before something goes terribly wrong."
They led him through sleek hallways, past people who looked like they had their lives together.
Kai, in contrast, had slept three hours and was wearing a hoodie with a questionable stain.
"This is humiliating," he whispered.
"No one is judging you," Daniel said.
A passing assistant glanced at Kai.
They were definitely judging him.
⸻
They stopped outside a door.
Lila turned to him.
"Aiden is inside," she said. "Just be yourself."
"That's the problem," Kai muttered.
She smiled anyway.
Then opened the door.
⸻
Kai stepped inside.
And immediately forgot how to exist.
Aiden Cross was there.
Not on a screen.
Not behind lighting and filters.
Just… there.
Leaning casually against a table, sleeves rolled up, hair slightly messy like he'd run his hands through it one too many times.
Real.
Human.
And looking directly at him.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then—
Aiden smiled.
Not the polished, camera-ready smile Kai had seen a thousand times.
This one was softer.
Curious.
"Hey," Aiden said.
Kai's brain short-circuited.
"…hi."
Aiden tilted his head slightly, studying him.
"You're not what I expected."
Kai blinked.
"…what did you expect?"
Aiden grinned.
"Someone meaner."
Kai huffed.
"Give me five minutes."
Aiden laughed.
And just like that—
The tension cracked.