Chapter 4: Parasocial
Kai made the catastrophic mistake of reading Reddit.
By noon the next day, his entire life had already been turned into internet folklore.
There were conspiracy threads, compilation videos, and TikToks with dramatic music breaking down "LunaLove lore" as if she were part of an ARG instead of a real person who was, at minimum, deeply involved in his life in a way that should concern multiple authorities.
One post had over forty thousand upvotes.
THEORY: LunaLove is either
A) a hacker
B) a government psyop
C) in Kai’s walls
Kai stared at it while eating dry cereal out of a coffee mug.
"...Honestly C feels strongest right now."
His apartment still felt wrong after last night. Not unsafe exactly, just watched in a way that made him aware of every sound it produced. Pipes clicking. The hallway shifting. His phone lighting up.
Especially his phone.
Because every time it did, some stupid part of him still hoped it was her.
He hated that part.
Kai tossed the spoon into the mug and rubbed his eyes. This had crossed into a different category of problem now—something less like "internet fame" and more like "long-term psychological damage."
Three days ago nobody cared whether he existed. Now tens of thousands of people tracked his every move, and somehow Luna moved through all of it without effort, like she existed outside the noise entirely.
Her messages didn’t feel like fan messages anymore. They felt personal. Comfortable.
That was what made it dangerous.
Discord pinged.
Did you sleep?
Kai stared at the message for a moment, then at the clock.
1:14 PM.
define sleep
That means no.
He smiled before he could stop himself, which only made him more annoyed.
𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
wow judgmental
A pause.
Then:
I worry about you.
No theatrics. No performance. Just simple, direct concern.
Kai leaned back in his chair slowly.
Nobody really did that anymore. Not in a long time. Not since his life had started shrinking into his room and his screen and whatever time he had left between shifts and streaming.
His phone buzzed again.
Did you read Reddit?
Kai groaned out loud.
unfortunately yes
Don’t let strangers decide who you are.
That one landed harder than it should have.
Because it wasn’t wrong.
And worse, because it sounded like she actually understood what part of him it was aimed at.
Before he could respond, another message came in.
Also the "in your walls" jokes are getting repetitive.
Kai laughed so suddenly he almost choked on his cereal.
"Jesus Christ."
That night’s stream peaked at forty thousand viewers.
Kai had stopped trying to emotionally process numbers like that. If he thought about it too much, it stopped feeling like his life.
His room glowed blue and purple under LED lights while rain tapped against the windows in a steady rhythm that had become almost routine.
"Alright," he said, adjusting his headset. "Today we’re investigating haunted internet urban legends because apparently my real life wasn’t stressful enough."
The chat immediately flooded.
Boobykiller_051: ASK LUNA IF THE GHOSTS ARE REAL
Peepee_666: YOUR FANBASE IS A GOVERNMENT THREAT NOW
GrandmaToeCollector: KAI PLEASE INSTALL A GUN
Kai sighed.
"I live in New Jersey. The strongest weapon I own is expired pepper spray and unresolved trauma."
Donation alert.
$250.
Can you say hi to my hamster Maurice
Kai blinked.
"...Hi Maurice."
The chat exploded, and for a while the stream felt almost normal again. Chaotic, loud, unserious. He slipped back into rhythm, reacting to videos, roasting fake ghost hunters, letting the noise carry him the way it always did.
But every so often, his attention drifted toward Discord without meaning to.
That realization made him pause mid-sentence.
No. Absolutely not. He was not doing that.
He kept going.
Then the pink alert flashed.
The chat went silent for half a second before detonating.
LunaLove donated $7,000:
Your hair looks soft tonight ♡
Instant chaos.
Kai leaned back slightly, rubbing his face with one hand.
"I actually hate all of you."
But he was smiling.
And the chat noticed.
Another alert followed immediately.
LunaLove donated $500:
You smiled.
Kai froze.
There it was again—that sense of being noticed too precisely, like someone was watching him closer than he was used to being watched.
"Okay," he said slowly, trying to keep his voice steady. "That one’s concerning."
The chat erupted again, half joking, half spiraling.
And for the first time, Kai noticed something worse than the attention.
He didn’t entirely want it to stop.
Before he could sit with that thought, a Discord call suddenly rang through his setup.
He jerked so hard his chair squeaked.
UNKNOWN USER.
The chat immediately lost its mind.
Kai muted his mic and stared at it.
No profile picture. No mutual servers. No context.
The call rang again.
Then stopped.
Instantly.
Luna was typing.
Don’t answer random calls tonight.
Kai swallowed.
why
No response.
The typing bubble flickered, disappeared, returned.
Then:
Some people are getting too interested in you.
A cold tension settled in his chest.
Outside, thunder rolled softly across the city, distant and heavy.
Kai typed carefully.
luna what does that mean
The response took longer this time.
Long enough for silence to feel louder than the stream.
Then:
Fame makes people obsessive. Especially lonely people.
Kai stared at the message.
Something about it didn’t feel like it was aimed at chat.
It felt personal.
Before he could respond, another message appeared.
You should end stream early tonight.
That wasn’t like her.
Usually she wanted him online longer. Talking. Streaming. Being seen.
His fingers hovered.
are you okay
The typing indicator appeared immediately.
Stopped.
Started again.
Then:
I’m trying very hard to be.
And for the first time, Kai didn’t know which part of that sentence scared him more.