Chapter 1: Top Donor
Kai Mercer stared at the number on his monitor like it had personally offended him.
"Twenty thousand dollars."
His voice cracked halfway through.
The donation alert was still spinning across the top of the stream in bright pink letters, looping over a royalty-free EDM track like this was supposed to be some kind of life-changing montage.
It didn’t feel life-changing.
It felt illegal.
Chat was moving so fast it blurred into static. Kai’s eyes physically strained trying to keep up.
Boobykiller_051:
BRO GOT ADOPTED
xX_CryptidMilk_Xx:
MARRY HER RIGHT NOW
Peepee_666:
AIN’T NO WAY A WOMAN SPENDS 20K WITHOUT CRIMES INVOLVED
Kai dragged both hands down his face.
"Okay. First of all, relax."
Another alert cut through before he could continue.
LunaLove donated $20,000:
You looked stressed lately. Quit your job and stream full-time ♡
Kai leaned closer to the screen.
The heart at the end made it worse. Somehow.
He checked his viewer count.
11,482.
That number alone almost made him nauseous.
Yesterday, he’d had eleven viewers. Eleven. One of them was a guy named Tony who kept asking if ghosts could get pregnant.
Now clips of tonight’s stream were already exploding across TikTok—mostly the part where Kai screamed during a jumpscare so hard he woke up half his apartment building.
Apparently, that was entertainment now.
"Chat," Kai said slowly, "I need everyone to understand something very important."
Another donation alert flashed.
Another twenty thousand.
Pink light washed over his room again. The chat dissolved into unreadable chaos.
Kai stared into the camera for five full seconds.
"...Never mind," he whispered. "I’m being hunted for sport."
His phone vibrated violently against the desk.
Discord.
Three missed calls from his grocery store manager.
Right.
His shift started in six hours.
Kai leaned back, eyes scanning his apartment like he was seeing it for the first time.
Tiny studio. Cheap desk. Dirty dishes stacked like a timeline of procrastination. Empty ramen cups. Neon glow reflecting off secondhand furniture he’d bought off Facebook Marketplace from a guy who absolutely looked like he sold something questionable.
Tonight, it felt smaller.
Like the room itself was realizing it didn’t belong in this version of his life.
He straightened in his chair.
"Okay, okay," he said, forcing his voice back into streamer tone. "Let’s continue before I develop a heart condition."
He switched back into the game.
For about thirty seconds, things were normal.
Then another alert.
LunaLove donated $5,000:
You skipped dinner again.
Kai froze.
So did the chat.
His eyes drifted, almost unwillingly, toward the fast-food bag sitting beside his keyboard.
He hadn’t mentioned it on stream.
Hadn’t even realized the camera angle caught it.
A slow chill crawled up the back of his neck.
Not fear exactly.
Something worse.
The feeling of realizing someone had been quietly watching you longer than you thought.
Kai let out a short, awkward laugh.
"Okay."
Silence.
"Cool."
Chat exploded.
Jacksonvill3_89:
BRO HOW SHE KNOW THAT
MilfHunterPrime:
CHECK YOUR WALLS
GoblinFreak_77:
nah I’d move cities
Kai shook his head quickly.
"She can see the bag, dumbasses. That’s literally what webcams do."
Nobody looked convinced.
Honestly... neither was he.
Another alert popped instantly.
LunaLove donated $500:
You’re cute when you get nervous.
Kai nearly choked.
The chat detonated.
"Okay, absolutely not," he said immediately, ears burning. "We’re setting boundaries right now."
ToeSnifferActual:
HE BLUSHING
Peepee_666:
OUR STREAMER IS GETTING RIZZED LIVE
xSlaughterDaddyx:
LUNA PLEASE BUY HIM BETTER SHAMPOO TOO
Kai muted his mic and leaned back, staring at the ceiling.
What the hell was happening tonight?
Three years of streaming to empty rooms. Talking to dead air while microwaving noodles at 2 a.m., pretending it didn’t feel pathetic.
And now suddenly—this.
Thousands watching. Thousands caring if he ate dinner.
It should’ve felt good.
It did feel good.
That was the problem.
Every donation sound hit like a pulse straight through his chest. A reward system firing too hard, too fast.
You matter.
𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
People are watching.
Don’t stop.
Kai unmuted.
"Anyway," he said, forcing calm, "we’re going to continue the game and pretend my life isn’t currently being sponsored by an emotionally unstable billionaire."
LunaLove donated $1,000:
Not billionaire. Yet ♡
Kai stared at it.
The smile faded from his face for half a second.
Because somehow...
that didn’t feel like a joke.
Two hours later, the stream finally ended.
Silence swallowed the room.
No chat.
No alerts.
No noise except rain tapping softly against the window and the low hum of his PC cooling down.
Kai sat frozen in his chair, staring at the dashboard.
Total donations: $63,450.
He refreshed it.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Still real.
Still there.
"Jesus Christ."
His entire yearly salary wouldn’t touch that.
His phone lit up with notifications. Twitter clips already spreading. His follower count climbing in real time.
His chest felt tight.
Not just excitement.
Not just panic.
Something tangled between adrenaline and disbelief, like his body didn’t know whether to run or laugh.
Then Discord pinged.
A DM.
LunaLove
Kai stared at it for a long moment before clicking.
No profile picture. Just a black circle.
You did really well tonight.
He typed before he could think:
thanks
i think im still having a stroke though
Typing indicator.
Stopped.
Started again.
That tiny pause felt louder than anything else tonight.
I was worried you’d quit streaming eventually.
Kai frowned.
why
Three dots.
Gone.
Back again.
Because you look sad when the stream ends.
He went still.
Rain tapped harder against the window.
That feeling returned—that strange awareness of being seen too clearly, like someone had found a part of him he usually kept buried under sarcasm and exhaustion.
He leaned back slowly.
The apartment felt quieter than before.
He typed carefully.
thats a mildly insane thing to say to someone
Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.
Then:
Eat your food before it gets cold.
Kai glanced at the bag beside him.
Still warm.
His stomach twisted.
For a moment, he looked toward the dark window behind his setup. His reflection stared back—tired eyes, messy hair, neon glow.
Behind him—
Nothing.
Just the empty room.
He exhaled slowly.
You’re being paranoid.
That’s all.
He opened the bag and finally started eating.
His phone buzzed again.
Goodnight, Kai ♡
He stared at it for a long moment.
Then typed back:
...goodnight luna
Typing indicator appeared immediately.
It stayed.
Longer than before.
Then:
I’m really happy you replied.