"See you guys later!"
LeonidasTheGreat: goated stream
Plutotheplanetgod: bye
Owen smiled one last time and turned off the streaming software. Almost immediately, there was a knock on his door. He recognized the inflection of knocking right away. "Come in, Mary."
The expression on her face didn't need to be described. "So you're back to this, huh?" Bitterness filled her mouth.
"Except this time…" Owen turned his chair around, smiling. "I had a lot of fun."
Mary put a hand on her hip. "Really?"
"Really."
"What, are you and Isabella famous all of a sudden? What's going on?"
"Maybe. Could be."
Giving something everything you have yet not being enough. Making conversation but getting discouraged from the void that responds. There were pretty rough depressive episodes that Mary was forced to see. She didn't like it one bit. She hated seeing him that way.
Owen's smile this time was genuine, however. He was hiding pain, he was wholly satisfied. Mary, skeptical, went over and sat on his bed.
"Riiiight. You're not hallucinating?"
"Totally."
Mary stared. "Sarcasm…?"
"No sarcasm."
"Hm. Hmmmm." Mary leaned forward, elbow on their thigh and hand cupping her cheek. Piercing hazel eyes focused on him. "Fine. Fine, you can keep doing this."
"Thanks."
"But the moment I see any depressing shit, you're stopping."
"Deal."
"Great." She yawned and stretched her arms high up. "I'm going to sleep in your bed."
"Really?"
"Really." Mary fell flat on the mattress and stretched again while turning her head on its side. "Smells like you."
"Alright. Ophelia wanted to play Monopoly."
Mary sprang up. "Son of a bitch—I'm in."
Mary marched out of the room, rolling up the sleeve of her fancy red feather robe. Smiling, he stood up and noticed that one of his viewers, Pluto, edited a clip. On a whim, he downloaded the clip and uploaded it to his WuTube channel as a short.
After that, he joined everyone in the living room and played Monopoly.
***
The game entered its final stages. Tensions rose as the four players vied for control of the board. Mary's empire had grown substantially, with numerous properties and hotels under her ownership. Isabella and Ophelia, while putting up a valiant effort, found themselves struggling to keep up with Mary's aggressive tactics.
Owen rolled a dice—then sighed. Mary smirked.
"Pay up."
"I'm bankrupt," Owen admitted. "Take everything."
Mary's empire grew again.
With each roll of the dice, the stakes grew higher, and it became evident that victory was within reach for one player. Ophelia groaned when two of her turns caused her to fall onto both Isabella and Mary's properties. She bowed out, though not before handing all her stuff to Mary.
Inevitably, Isabella landed on Mary's Boardwalk.
"I hate you."
"Don't worry, me too. Bankrupt yet?"
"...I hate you."
"Hate is just another word for jealousy. You're jealous."
It was a crushing victory for Mary.
Owen applauded. Isabella didn't say a word. The game lasted nearly two hours. All that work just for Mary to win.
"She's going to hold this over me…" Isabella murmured.
"Yep."
"As the victor, I receive rights that you people do not!" Mary declared. "First…food rights! Second…massage rights. Third…Sunday—"
"That's pushing it," Isabella and Ophelia chorused.
"Fine. Third will be…washing dishes rights."
"Except I'm the one who does them," Owen pointed out.
"Precisely. For the next week, no more of that. Ophelia, you're taking over."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Finally…we're going to the mall tomorrow."
"A-all of us?" Ophelia asked
"No shit all of us. What, are you a pet or something?"
"I-it's sudden," Ophelia murmured. Mary narrowed her eyes.
"Mary," Owen interjected. "She said she doesn't want to go, so she's not going."
"Then why did Ophelia tell me a couple weeks ago that she was absolutely okay going outside?"
"It was just for that week," Ophelia clarifies. "My mood is different now."
"Can't say I get it but whatever. If you don't want to go, then it will just be me and Owen."
"Ahem, I'm going too," said Isabella.
"Oh? Don't want to keep Ophelia company?"
"She will be fine."
"The shut-in is getting smarter. Congratulations." Mary shifted on the floor, adjacent to Isabella on the couch. Before the brunette could curse her out, Mary tapped at herself. "Massage my shoulders."
Owen snorted and got out his phone to check out his WuTube account. As usual, there wasn't an impressive amount of views. His heart beat slowed, disappointed.
***
The next morning, rolling out of bed, Owen grabbed his phone from the nightstand and instinctively opened WuTube to check his channel's activity.
His eyes widened at the notification count. "What the hell?" he muttered, rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Overnight, his reaction video to the rap feud had garnered an impressive number of views and comments. Nearly twenty thousand.
He propped himself up against the headboard and clicked on the video. The comment section was buzzing with activity:
Still can't believe I had to witness such a shit response
Click down below if you support X
Cooked
He scrolled through the comments. The positive feedback was a nice boost to his morning. A really nice boost. All of a sudden, dreams of being the biggest WuTube star flashed through his eyes. Bursting his dreams was a message from Isabella.
> Isabella: Check out @TheMashupKing's latest video
Owen clicked on the link to TheMashupKing's channel. As his name suggested, he compiled the best reactions to trending videos. Sure enough, there was a new upload titled "Best Reactions to Josh vs X".
Owen tapped on the video and settled back to watch. The video started with a dramatic intro, highlighting the most intense moments of the rap feud. Then, it cut to various reactors, their faces capturing the range of emotions elicited by the feud.
Then Owen appeared.
"Wait, that's…that's really me! My video! My dream!"
Owen's own face popped up on the screen not once but at several points. He didn't stand out, being one guy out of several in every appearance, commentary drowned out slightly. He did get to join in on a particularly amusing verse from X and the ensuing laughter.
The Mashup King had expertly edited the video. Owen couldn't help but watch without blinking when he saw himself reacting alongside popular WuTubers. Like really popular WuTubers. It was surreal.
The comments were the same more or less: that Josh was bad and getting destroyed. The reactors, himself included, reflected that opinion.
His phone buzzed again with a new notification – this time, a message from Isabella.
> Isabella: Fame, wealth, power…
Insert a picture of the moustached pirate. Owen gave a heart emoji reply and then set his phone aside to get ready for the day. He threw on a comfortable t-shirt and jeans, his usual morning attire, and headed downstairs. The smell of fresh coffee and the sound of laughter greeted him as he entered the kitchen.
Isabella was already at the table, scrolling through her own WuTube feed. Ophelia was busy preparing pancakes, while Mary sat with a steaming mug of coffee, looking unusually relaxed.
"Morning, everyone," Owen greeted, sliding into a seat next to Isabella. "Ophelia is making pancakes? I'm surprised she hasn't burned down the house."
"I told her to do it," said Mary. "But of course, she was trash at it so it was pretty much just me."
"You?"
"It was me," Isabella clarified.
"The three of you? That makes even less sense."