As the others boarded the bus, Tabatha found herself slightly sluggish. She turned around, finding someone around their late thirties, but slightly taller, standing behind her with one hand on their phone. "Is it actually you?" They looked at her, eyes running up and down her body to scan everything. Tabatha's slightly shallower breathing, the small beads of sweat forming on the back of her neck, and the much more serious expression on her face were all signs of discomfort.
"Who?" Tabatha asked with a slightly different voice, taking another step toward the bus. "I'm sorry, but it seems like you've got the wrong person." She added, slowly placing her foot on the steps to make it seem like she wasn't rushing. The bus was packed, and the others were already seated in pairs. Walking past them, she sat on the window seat of the row two rows behind them, the aisle seat empty for now.
Letting out a sigh of relief, she watched the street through the window. The oranges and purples of twilight accenting the light snowfall that had started as she took her steps toward her seat. She felt the vibrations of the vehicle and heard the door finally shut; the bus was now packed to bursting. "Oh, sorry about earlier. It's just you sounded like a celebrity I watch." The person from earlier was seated beside her, looking at their phone with a smile on their face. On the screen was one of Tabatha's videos: a cover of a song.
"What made you think that?" She rested her head on the back of the chair in front of her, lacing her fingers as she tapped her toes against the floor of the bus. With her facing the ground, she got a look at the person and their possessions, something protruding from the zipper of their bag. It was a small booklet with a green cover that was wrapped in a red ribbon. Glancing back at the phone screen, she noticed that the song was coming to a close. "Is that her?"
"Oh? Yes, she's one of the new virtual idols that have been getting popular recently. My daughter started watching her a few months ago, and she told me she wanted something from her for Christmas. I wanted to get her a physical copy of Verdan's album, but they were sold out by the time I started looking." They chuckled, but there was a twinge of sadness in their voice. "But I did manage to get a copy of her book."
"What makes her so enjoyable? Isn't she just an avatar on that screen?" Tabatha asked, feigning curiosity with her tone of voice. She pointed to the screen as the next video came up due to the auto-play. "Oh, she plays games too..." She added as a highlights compilation video started to play.
"Yeah. It's more than that though." They replied, looking around and reclining into their seat. "They're a bit more personal with their fans since they stream often and you get to talk to them often. She read a message from my little girl once, she was over the moon that that happened." Their smile as their eyes looked off listlessly and reminiscently into his memories; with that, Tabatha smiled as well.
She reached into her bag, her hands searching for something. Her fingers grazed it, her face contorting for a moment as she contemplated if this was something that she could do. Pushing those thoughts aside, she pulled out her CD. "Here, take it." Speaking in her normal voice once again, she showed her seatmate the case as their eyes widened. As she extended her hand over to them, a thought crossed her mind and she retracted her hand quickly. "Hold on, wait." She said, reaching into her bag again to pull out a stick of lipstick and a marker. After marking the case, she handed it to them. "Please; vtuber identities are private for a reason. I hope your daughter enjoys it." She smiled as the bus came to a stop.
A bit flabbergasted, her seatmate stood up and carried their things under their arm. Thanking her profusely, they left the vehicle. Tabatha let out another sigh, a smile on her face as her phone buzzed with another message from Barry. She was about to head down when Betty tugged at her shirt. "Do you want some dinner? As thanks for coming along." She offered with a smile, Phoebe's eyes excitedly looking at her as she nodded in agreement.
She looked at her bag, at the large pile of study work that she's currently behind on, and thought about it carefully. "I'll take you up on the offer. I'd like to get to know everyone too." She smiled, moving over to a closer seat as she glanced toward Leslie and her brother, the latter sleeping on his sister's shoulder.
"We're getting off at the next stop. It's a short walk after that." Leslie spoke while gently stroking her brother's head, eyes distant and deep in thought. She pulled out her phone, looking at a notepad she had as she bit her lip in frustration. "Damn..." She muttered to herself as Tabatha looked outside the window at the beautifully illuminated snowfall. They got out to the chilly air, Tabatha following close behind as Leslie and Betty talked amongst themselves out in the front of their group.
"I know that look. What's up this time?" Betty whispered, leaning in close to make sure that the others don't hear. "You've been like that since the hospital, is it about the bill?" She pressed, stepping a bit closer as they neared their apartment building. Leslie looked at her, nodding solemnly. "Alright, I'll cov-"
"Don't... I'll have to find a way to do this on my own." Leslie smiled. "I can't keep relying on you." She added as they entered and boarded the elevator. Welcoming everyone into their home, she saw the extent of the mess that was left in the room. Letting out a sigh, she showed them to the kitchen as she went to clean it up. Betty joined her, getting a mop to help.
"What are you going to you? Open up more commission slots maybe?" Betty mumbled as she started mopping up. Leslie was taking care of any fabric that got stained, putting them all in a pile for laundry later in the week. Zeke was entertaining their guests by asking Phoebe about what he missed in school and bringing up vtubers as the topic of conversation once he noticed that Tabatha was feeling lost.
"I don't know. Maybe I will, or maybe I'll just look for a place that's hiring nearby. I've been going really slowly with my modeling, so I'm not sure." The insecurity in her voice followed by her sigh prompted Betty to place a hand on her shoulder. "I'm just not sure if I can do enough in time."
"Just open up your comms again. I'm sure you can do it." Betty smiled, mopping up the last of the blood and heading toward the kitchen to listen in on the conversation.
"Oh, that song? I love that song, their cover was so good!" Zeke seemed chipper after his nap, a bright smile was already plastered on his face despite the raspiness of his voice. "It's just a shame that Nebby and Mizuna still don't have 3D models. I wonder what they'd look like in 3D..." He sighed, looking at his phone as Tabatha glanced at both Phoebe and Betty; they looked away abashedly.
"Yeah, I wonder..." Betty scratched the back of her head, pulling out her phone to make a tweet about canceling her stream tonight. As soon as she posted it, four notifications rang out across the apartment.
"Oh, she's not streaming tonight..." Zeke sounded a bit disheartened before two more notifications were brought to his attention. "Verdan and Nebby too? That's strange. I wonder if it's related or anything." He said as he walked over to the sink for some water.
"Would you tell him?" Phoebe asked, walking up to the other two to whisper.
"Maybe one day. But not yet." Betty replied, eyes drifting over to Tabatha. "You never know what might happen if someone found out what we look like."
"I actually ran into a fan on the bus. They were nice, but I do agree that they can be a bit of a mixed bag." Tabatha said offhandedly. "Is something up with Leslie? You two were talking for quite some time."
"I know we scheduled that collab with Pent, right? Would he mind if we advertise Leslie a little bit?" Eyes glancing over at the two siblings, the elder now moving to another room while the younger was busy raiding the fridge for whatever he could feed them. "Medicine can get expensive, I want to help her in any way that I can."
"I'll ask about it, I know that I don't mind. What about you, Nebby-chan?" Tabatha was already sending a message to Barry as they talked, asking Betty for a link to Leslie's commissions to make it easier. Phoebe shook her head, smiling.
"I don't mind. Leslie seems like a nice person." She replied, watching Zeke as he came back with some fruit and water for all of them. "Uhm... Zeke, how are you feeling?" She asked, bringing everyone's attention back to him as he pulled up a chair and started listening to a song through his earbuds; one of his ears free to listen to the girls.
"I'm a bit better now, but my throat is kinda itchy." He forced out a smile as the familiar song started playing. A smile formed on the girls' faces as they recognized the video of their recent collab on his screen. Leslie walked into the kitchen and immediately got a large pan out, setting it on the stove to heat it up as she took out some cuts of meat to cook for her guests. "Is everything alright in school? Have I missed a lot?" He asked, looking over to see Phoebe bobbing her head in perfect sync with Nebby.
Betty walked over to Leslie's side, humming the song to herself as she took an onion and started slicing it up to small pieces. "Zeke, what would you do if you met them?" Leslie asked, putting some oil into the pan before cooking the meat while it was still cold. "Like, what if you met Mizuna tomorrow or something? Do you think you'd freak out?"
"I mean, who wouldn't?" Zeke answered, his voice as if he was stating the obvious. The others looked at him with raised eyebrows. "They're like celebrities, but a bit different. The fact that they talk to their fans makes me like them even more." He added, a little more restraint in his voice as he looked back down at his screen. "They feel more human than any other celebrity I watch."
"How ironic." Tabatha chuckled. "Do you mind if I study for a bit?" She asked, taking her bag and moving to the cleaned living area after an approving nod from Leslie. "Leslie, you make 3d models, right?" She raised her voice so that she could still be heard in the kitchen. "Mind if I pay you for something? I want to give someone a gift."
"Really? That's awfully nice of you." Leslie replied, paying attention to the food more than the conversation. "I'm still kind of full up though. I'll tell you once I finish... the big one..." She sighed, glaring at Betty who returned the gesture with a chuckle. "Damn feathers..." She muttered to herself as the two highschoolers joined Tabatha on the couch.
The three of them studied while waiting for the food, Tabatha quieting down to let Zeke ask questions. "I missed a lot..." He grumbled to himself before he coughed into his hand. "Oh no..." He added, looking at all the work he'd need to do.
"Zeke, don't push yourself too hard..." Leslie said, setting a plate down at the table. Betty came along with more plates and some silverware as they all gathered around for the meal. "Get better first, that should be your number one priority." She added as they started eating. The night's conversation dragged on as they ate, jumping from university life, then to vtubers, to whatever else came to their minds. Zeke finished his food first and decided to head into his room to sleep early much to Leslie's delight. "So, I'm down to the last of my smaller commissions. I should be able to start on yours soon, Betty." Betty beamed, leaning to the side to pull Leslie into a tight hug.
"Thank you so much! I knew I could count on you! Hey, do you want to join me for another collab soon?" She asked, letting the hug go in favor of holding Leslie by her shoulders. Leslie looked into her eyes carefully, a strange feeling crawling up her spine.
"You're planning something again, aren't you?" She said, her voice monotone and her brows furrowed. Betty let go, looking away as she returned to her food. "The more streams you bring me on for, the longer you'll have to wait for your model." She added, getting a chuckle out of Tabatha and Phoebe. "What's so funny?" Asking in a softer tone, she looked up from her plate at them.
"It's just, I find it endearing..." Tabatha started. "Verdan is a very different character to me. She's an airhead and a bit of a klutz. Sometimes I wonder if I should drop the act every once in a while. But... when I look at you two..." Tabatha set down her cutlery. "I see no difference between Betty and Mizuna Fi. It's refreshing in an odd way." She smiled, tilting her head slightly.
"I'm sure your fans would understand." Phoebe chimed in, finishing her plate next. "I know that forcing yourself to act like something every stream can be difficult. Sometimes it gets too difficult to handle..." She added, looking a little melancholic and morose. "I've heard of vtubers that were forced to keep up the act even though they weren't that kind of person anymore... it's scary."
"Well, we're not part of any company, so the ones that get to call the shots is going to be us." Betty tried to lighten the mood, resting her elbows on the table with a smirk on her face. "So long as we're having fun, isn't that all that matters? Oh, speaking of fun, I'm excited about the collab!"
"What collab?" Leslie asked, setting her plate aside to wait for Betty to finish.
"We're going to have a collab with Pent-san... uhh, the music guy from the song collab." Betty cheered. "We're going to be playing a game that I've never tried before, I think... I guess we'll have to talk it out as a group. I'll tell you when it's happening so you better mark your calendar and set an alarm. Oh, and Tabatha and I are going to collab tomorrow too!" She pouted, pointing at Leslie before scarfing down the last of her food. They talked idly for a few more minutes before Phoebe's sister came to pick her up.
Using that as their cue, Tabatha and Betty bid Leslie a good night and went on their way as well, leaving her alone to clean the dishes. She had a smile on her face from the conversation, but that quickly faded as she entered her room and sat at her computer. Her blank face stared at the screen as she cracked her knuckles and began working through the night to finish as many of the models as she could. "I... I can't make them wait any longer." She thought to herself as she felt her eyes start to get heavy after working on a dress for some fashion design game. Her head felt hot, her hands and legs were numb, and she was dizzy beyond belief, but she was smiling. "I need... to do more... for Zeke..." She mumbled to herself as she passed out for the night.