Page 8 of Don’t Love the Boy Next Door (Hotties Next Door #2)

Chapter Seven

Phoenix

“Hey, Firebirds. You know what time it is? Zombie slaying time!”

I’ve brought my gear to my house because Katie had to study for a test and needed some quiet. Besides, I kind of promised my mom I’d come over more often. So far, my siblings haven’t torn the door down.

I smile as the comments drop in, each more excited than the last. These fans aren’t just strangers, they’ve become my friends. I recognize so many of them, and I get more every day. Not to brag or anything, but my channel is slowly building up.

“But before I start, I want to answer some of your questions. So hit me up with anything you’ve got.”

The chat’s rolling up so quickly it’s hard to keep up.

But I manage to catch a few. One guy—I think it’s a guy—asks if I have a boyfriend.

There are other similar comments, including some rude ones that I completely ignore.

Ugh, it comes with the job. People think they have a right to say whatever they want to me.

I answer as many questions as I can before starting the game. The chat continues to explode, but it slows down as most of the viewers watch me play. It’s the kind of game where you can’t be distracted or else your character will die.

I play for a few minutes, enjoying every second of it and my virtual friends. But when I take a break to check the comments, I notice the chat has been hijacked by a group of jerks saying all these terrible things about me. I think it’s the same people who attacked me on my last few videos.

I swallow, forcing myself to ignore them and stay calm and cool. I’m live now. I can’t fall apart. I can’t let those jerks see me lose it.

They’re just words, anyway. I mean, how much damage could they do?

The more I play, the more they try to tear me down. Calling me ugly, fat, useless, among other things.

I scan the chat, smiling at all my fans sticking up for me. But one commenter stands out above the rest.

LiamC: You morons are blind. Phoenix is beautiful. Talented and an amazing gamer. And she’d demolish all of you in any game. Get the heck out of here. No one wants you and you have no right crashing her stream.

He goes on to call out each one of these jerks. And the way he talks back to them? So cool and collected, not like he’s yelling at them.

Right. That guy LiamC. I totally forgot about him. I thought he was Thad, but there’s no way he’s that jerk. And besides, this guy lives in Kansas.

I know I told him not to defend me last time, but now I’m kind of glad he did. I’m so emotionally drained from all this and it’s nice for someone to have my back.

But…who is he? And why is he going through so much trouble to answer back each and every one of those trolls?

And…he called me beautiful. Should I be flattered or insulted?

The negative comments die down for a little while and I play in peace, while talking to my viewers. But it’s not long before they start up again.

TheTMan: This girl is crazy. Got some loose screws. And anyone who watches is just as crazy as her .

His buddies take his side, but I’m hardly reading them. My head spins. What are the odds that they’re calling me crazy right after Thad did? Could these jerks be his friends? The football team? This totally feels like a personal attack.

I have no proof and can’t jump to conclusions, but I’m pretty sure it’s them. Why would anyone put so much effort into attacking me unless they have a reason? And Thad’s reason would be that I embarrassed him by not showing up with him to the party.

Clicking on their profiles doesn’t really help me much, since they didn’t write where they live. These guys could be random idiots online, but I’m almost a hundred percent positive they’re the football team. TheTMan is one of these guys. Could the T stand for Thad?

The number of haters correlates to the number of players on the football team. It can’t be a coincidence, can it?

That must mean…Ethan is one of these jerks. As the captain, he’d stand by his teammate’s side, wouldn’t he?

Then why pick me up the night Thad ditched me? Why have a sort-of decent time with me at the museum today if he planned on attacking me online?

This must be a joke to him. I’m a huge joke.

But whatever. I don’t care. Not about him or any of these jerks. As far as I’m concerned, they don’t exist.

I could confront him tomorrow, demand to know why he’s doing this. But I’ll never do that. I don’t need him and his buddies to know that this bothers me. It’ll only make them more powerful. No, the best course of action is to ignore, ignore, ignore.

I play, they talk, I pretend they don’t exist. I could technically block them from the stream, but I’m pretty sure they’ll just create new profiles. And besides, if I block them, that means I actually care about what they say. And I don’t. Not really.

The only problem is that they’re starting to gain supporters. Ugh. Why is this such a mess? Why can’t I play in peace?

That guy LiamC continues to have my back…and it’s very sweet of him. Cool of him. They bark back at him, but he knows exactly what to say to put them in their place.

Who is he?

I play for a bit longer before telling my fans I have to do homework. Before I log off, though, I click on LiamC’s profile. But there’s not a lot of information I can learn about him. He likes and follows some other gamers’ channels, but that’s basically it.

He’s still online. I bite my lip before sending him a message.

PhoenixFireBird: Hey. I just wanted to thank you for the help tonight. Sorry I was rude the other day.

LiamC: You weren’t rude. And I know you can fight your own battles. It helps to have others on your side. And from what I see, you’ve got a loyal army behind you.

True, but no one was as determined to put the bullies in their place like he was.

PhoenixFireBird: Thanks. Are you new to my channel?

LiamC: I’ve been watching for a while now. Never missed a live stream and I’ve watched your old videos. Your gameplays are so entertaining. So real. It’s very interesting to watch.

LiamC: Sorry if that was a bit much. I’m not stalking you or anything. Just a big fan.

PhoenixFireBird: Well, I’m always glad to have another FireBird along for the ride.

LiamC: Maybe we can game together, if you want? Off camera, though. I’m no way as good of a gamer as you, but I do play here and there.

I’ve played with many of my fans before, but this seems different for some reason. There’s something about this guy, something that makes this weird feeling enter my body. A calming feeling. Like we could be great friends.

PhoenixFireBird: I’m totally down for gaming with you. Pick a date and time and I’ll be there. What’s your favorite genre?

LiamC: I like RPGs. They’re so relaxing. You?

PhoenixFireBird: FPS. I’d shoot stuff over questing any day.

LiamC: Ha, I see what you mean. When I’m feeling frustrated, killing things helps. A little.

We chat for a little while. When I ask him why he cares so much about defending me, he says one thing he can’t stand is bullying, whether face to face, online, or anywhere else. He claims he especially hates online bullying because you never really know who’s behind the screen.

Except I know who’s behind the screen in my case. Or at least, I’m pretty sure.

PhoenixFireBird: Thanks again for the help. And you can protect me online whenever you want. We need to stand together against these bullies.

LiamC: We sure do. Have a good night. I’m still holding you to that game.

PhoenixFireBird: Yep. Talk to you later.

I log off and lie down on my bed, folding my hands beneath my head. What in the world just happened?