Alex planted her forehead on the study table. Logan sat beside her, setting the laptop for a live stream. She saw her floor briefly before she closed her eyes. She lifted her head and banged it on the table.
She had just suffered humiliation. Minutes earlier, she jerked back too much that she almost fell to the floor. It would have happened if Logan hadn’t moved to the bed. She landed on her soft mattress, narrowly missing the laptop. Her instincts led her to roll away so she wouldn’t come near his face for the second time in a row.
She was still getting over the after effects of their act in English Class.
“Hey, hey!” Logan protested. Her caught her forehead halfway and pushed it back up, “You wouldn’t want them to see a red spot on your face now, would you?”
“No, Logan” Alex lamented, “I wanted a red spot for them not to see so I won’t need to do this.”
He muffled a laugh, “I know it’s not something you’re keen to do but you need to address at some point. This is the most genuine way you could do so since it’s live. There’s no script.”
She blew raspberry, supporting the side of her face with the base of her palm.
“How are we even going to do this?”
Logan turned back to the laptop and opened the suggestions board, “I was thinking that we can do five questions each. You pick questions for me while I pick questions for you.”
“And if I don’t like your question?”
“You’ll still need to answer,” he snorted, “If I let you pick your own questions, you’d choose nothing.”
He received a snort, “Obviously.”
“Just choose 5 questions for me, okay? I’ll go to the bathroom real quick”
Alex rolled her eyes, “Fine, fine.”
She pulled the laptop to her side and browsed the comments. Her cheeks flamed just from reading a few. These users definitely did not hold back. Some even sent more than one question! It already broke through a hundred!
“`Alex: Are you and Logan official? Don’t be shy… XD“`
“`Logan: Have you confessed to Alex yet? If not, when do you plan to do it? Don’t forget to share the good news with us.“`
“`Alex & Logan: how long have you been a couple?“`
“`Logan: Are you single? Same question for Alex! If you’re taken, can we know who is the lucky boy/girl? ;)“`
“`Alex: Did you and Logan kiss? Was it your first kiss? It was so cute! >.<“`
She skipped over them, dread clouding her head. Which questions would Logan choose? None of them appealed to her so far. He wouldn’t really pick one that made her uncomfortable, right?
Right?
Choosing to ignore that problem, she typed the five questions on her phone. They didn’t seem to be any easier. She only found two safe ones. Most of them were being repeated by different people. Did that mean she needed to choose it? It wouldn’t be good to leave them be…
A grave sigh flew out of her lips.
Here goes nothing…, she thought to herself.
“Done?” Logan asked, opening the door. He closed it and walked straight to the study table. His rotating chair didn’t have a backrest. It resembled a stool more with its round cushion.
“Pretty much” Alex shrugged, “You?”
“I already picked yours.”
“Oh.”
He nudged her side, “Don’t be too down. Viewers would think I’m forcing you to do this.”
Alex blinked several times. She gave him a look, “But you are forcing me to do this.”
“You know that. I know that… but they don’t need to know that.”
She shook her head, “Let’s just get over it, shall we?”
The browser opened a black screen with a chat box on its right side. It filled a fourth of the site from top to bottom. After a few seconds, it flooded to life. Message after message, users sent their questions—about the time, about the correct link, about what to expect, about what to eat… they were endless!
The audience kept increasing by the second.
Then, a voice came out from the speaker.
“Am I doing this right?”
The darkness faded away as a blue powdered room covered the screen. A gray door with white frame stuck out from the background. The edges of a built-in ivory closet peeked from the left. The corner of a bed glimpsed from the right. In between, honey brown hair framed a delicate face.
Gray eyes blinked at the screen.
Alex raised her chin and stared straight into the webcam.
She gulped.
“Say something!” A voice yelled from off camera.
“Okay…” she breathed out, relaxing her shoulders. She cleared her throat and snapped her head to the left, “Shut up, Logan.”
“Not to me! To them!”
“Well, I can’t tell them to shut up.”
“I didn’t say you should!”
“Ah, arguing with you has helped me feel better. Thanks.” Alex smirked.
“You’re welcome?”
“She turned her attention back to the screen. A grin stretched on her lips, “Hey, everyone! Thank you for taking the time to join us for this session. I’m Alex Greenwood and I’m your Junior Club Event Coordinator.”
The microphone picked up the sound of wheels rolling. Logan materialized from his hiding spot, his hands up in the air. His feet pushed him into frame, “And I’m Logan Parker, a varsity for our basketball team and…! The current salutatorian!”
Alex held back a snort, “Because I took the valedictorian spot.”
Logan rolled his way to her side, “Let’s not have this debate again.”
“I seem to recall that you promised to dethrone me.”
“And I will,” he nodded. He faced the webcam. The light from the window glistened in his emerald eyes, “Please be a witness for this sole mission of mine. I shall take back what rightfully belongs to me.”
“I think I have been in my rank since freshman year so it was never yours.”
“Then, I shall take what rightfully belongs to me!” Logan corrected. Then, he addressed their audience, “I know we raised some controversy and we heard you, guys. Since we’re bored today—”
“You mean you were…”
He raised a finger without looking, “Sshh! No interrupting while I’m talking. Since we’re free today, we decided to address some of your questions on the Suggestion Board. That means if you came up with one in the chat box, we can no longer accommodate them.”
Despite stating this rule, the viewers continued to quiz them periodically. Some users merely repeated their statements of curiosity. They hoped this could bring it more attention at being chosen. Others freely spoke their mind, including more questions they wanted answers for.
“`Pikachu: Logan, when did you fall for Alex? When was the moment you realized that she is one for you? Don’t you dare to deny your feelings, we all have seen the video.“`
“`FlowerDaisy: OMG! The two of you are so cute! I ship so much!“`
“`Red Wine: Alex, Why did you choose to deceive us?“
“`Red Wine: Do you feel like hiding the truth would make you feel better?“`
“`CookieDiya: Logandra all the way! #SailTheShip“`
“`Zombieee: Logan, give a pick up line for Alex?“`
“`JiyenTheDoggo: Were you already together when you kissed? Please say yes T^T“`
“So who starts first?” Alex asked, flickering her gaze away from the chat box. She didn’t realize that she began reading it while Logan spoke. The messages went up faster than the blink of an eye. The speed left her astonished.
“Rock, Paper, Scissors?” Logan shot back, raising a clenched hand, “Loser gets asked first!”
Alex raised a fist instead of answering. They jerked their arms three times. On the third, their fingers changed positions. One created a V-shape and imitated a scissor. The other spread out, choosing paper.
“Ha! I win!” Logan cheered. He snapped his finger scissors and fished out his phone, “Alright! First question! What are the things you like and dislike about Logan?”
Alex hung her head. She stared at the ceiling, scowling in concentration. When she was done, she raised a finger for each answer, “One, I dislike him being annoying. Two, I like how I dislike him being annoying. That’s it”
“That is not a valid answer!”
“Ugh,” she groaned, rolling her eyes, “If I have to… I would say… What I like about Logan is how he knows when to not push a person. The day he found out my secret, I told him that I couldn’t reveal everything to him yet and he respected it. He waited for me to open it up later on.”
Logan leaned his cheek against his knuckles, elbow supporting the weight on the side table. He wiggled his eyebrows, “What’s another thing you like about me?”
“That’s not part of the question.”
“Well, at least, give two.”
“A second one?” Alex shook her head at the ceiling. She tapped on her chin, “Uh, how you don’t judge people right away? When you wanted to be close with male Alex, despite how cold and aloof he was, you didn’t let that get to you. You still considered him as a friend.”
She pinched her thumb and forefinger, “My bad image of you then lessened about 1%.”
“Just 1%?” Logan exasperated. He straightened his spine, “I think that was a shining moment for me. It should have been at least 5!”
Alex patted his shoulder as if to comfort him, “It’s in the past. Let it go.”
“How about what you dislike about me then?” He grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.
“You’re annoying.”
“Well, except that.”
“You’re bad at laundry.”
“Hey!” Logan protested, “That was one time!”
“One too many times” Alex stared at the webcam, giving everyone a warning look, “If you don’t want a disaster to happen, never ever let Logan near the washer.”
