Chapter 7: Voice Reveal
Kai accidentally fell asleep at his desk again.
One moment he was staring at Discord, half-deciding whether asking Luna about her childhood was a normal thing to wonder, and the next sunlight was cutting through the blinds directly into his eyes.
His neck hurt. His arm was numb. Discord was still open.
Last message sat there waiting.
You don’t deserve to feel unsafe in your own home.
Kai stared at it for a few seconds, then at the clock.
3:42 PM.
"Fantastic."
His sleep schedule had officially stopped behaving like a schedule and started behaving like a symptom.
His phone started buzzing the moment he unlocked it.
Twitter. TikTok. Discord. Emails. Notifications stacked on top of each other like they had been waiting to ambush him.
One sponsorship email stood out.
BLOODRUSH XTREME — "UNLEASH YOUR LIMITS"
Kai deleted it instantly, then paused.
Rent existed.
He undeleted it.
Scrolling through everything else, one thing became immediately obvious. People weren’t just talking about him anymore. They were talking about her.
Not casually. Not jokingly.
Obsessively.
Threads breaking down "Luna lore." Edits romanticizing her messages. Posts insisting she was "obviously in love." Entire videos reconstructing their Discord conversations over soft piano music.
Kai stared at his screen.
"...The internet should’ve been a mistake."
His Discord pinged.
Luna.
Perfect timing as always.
You slept in a chair again.
Kai looked around his apartment like it might confirm or deny that accusation.
starting to think u may actually be inside my walls
I’d hate the décor.
He laughed without meaning to. It came too easily now, which bothered him more than it should have.
wow okay rude
You own three forks and none of them match.
Kai froze mid-step.
"...Okay, that one was targeted."
A pause.
Then:
Eat breakfast.
its 4pm
Eat breakfast anyway.
He exhaled through his nose.
That tone again. Not demanding. Not playful. Just certain.
Like she already knew what he was going to do.
Kai opened his fridge.
Expired yogurt. Half a bottle of something vaguely caffeinated. Nothing else worth acknowledging.
"Bleak."
His phone buzzed again.
Check outside your door.
Kai stared at it immediately.
if this is a pipe bomb im ending the friendship
You can’t end friendships without starting them first.
"...That was unnecessarily emotionally intelligent."
Still, he moved cautiously to the door.
Opened it.
And stopped.
A paper bag sat neatly outside.
Warm.
No note. No receipt. No sign of delivery.
Kai picked it up slowly, like it might change state if he moved too fast.
Inside was food from the diner two blocks away.
His usual order.
Extra fries. No pickles.
His stomach tightened.
𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
That wasn’t public knowledge.
That was remembered knowledge.
He stepped back inside and locked the door behind him before sitting down at his desk again, staring at the bag like it might start explaining itself.
Steam still rose faintly from the container.
His Discord pinged softly.
You forget to eat when you’re overwhelmed.
Kai swallowed.
luna
What?
He hesitated.
There were too many questions he should’ve asked. Too many rational boundaries he should’ve reinforced.
Instead:
thank u
The reply came instantly.
You thanked me.
yeah? normal human interaction
A longer pause.
Then:
People usually only talk to me when they want something.
That landed harder than it should have.
No theatrics. No manipulation. Just a simple statement said too plainly to ignore.
Kai leaned back in his chair.
Outside, the city shifted into late afternoon light. Neon signs flickering awake. Rainlight on glass.
He looked back at the food.
Warm. Intentional. Specific.
Care.
And something else he didn’t want to name.
His phone buzzed again.
Eat before it gets cold.
Kai smiled despite himself.
"Yeah, okay."
That night’s stream started quieter than usual.
Which, in his case, immediately made chat suspicious.
Viewer count climbed anyway. Fifty thousand. Then sixty. The number didn’t feel real anymore—just something that happened to him rather than something he earned.
Kai adjusted his hoodie under soft blue LEDs while rain tapped the windows in a steady rhythm.
The weather was starting to feel like part of the stream setup.
Chat moved like a storm.
Boobykiller_051: HE LOOKS HAPPY TODAY??
Peepee_666: LUNA FED HIM
WetHamster_420: YANDERE AFTERCARE DLC UNLOCKED
Kai rolled his eyes as he launched the game.
"You people genuinely concern me."
Donation alert.
$20.
blink twice if ur in danger
Kai blinked four times.
Chat detonated instantly.
For a while, the stream settled into something almost normal. Chaos, jokes, clipped reactions, Kai roasting bad horror games. The rhythm came back easily, like muscle memory.
And somewhere behind it all, Luna stayed present the way she always did now. Not interrupting. Just existing in the gaps between everything else.
Then the pink alert appeared.
Chat volume dropped for half a second before exploding.
LunaLove donated $12,000:
You sound happier tonight ♡
Kai paused.
That was the problem.
She was right.
And she noticed.
Again.
Chat lost its mind.
xXDivorceArcXx: SHE DETECTED EMOTIONAL STATE CHANGE
GrandmaToeCollector: THIS IS SURVEILLANCE WITH EMOTIONAL IQ
Peepee_666: BRO IS IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH A SOFTWARE UPDATE
Kai rubbed his face, trying not to smile.
"You guys make everything sound criminal."
Another donation instantly followed.
LunaLove donated $500:
Not everything ♡
"See?" Kai pointed at the screen. "That sounded like a threat."
Chat barely had time to react before another donation came through.
Different username.
RealDerekVoss donated $100:
This the dude with the stalker fan?
Kai blinked.
The chat shifted instantly.
Jacksonvill3_89: WAIT THAT’S DEREK
Boobykiller_051: OH NOOOO
Kai felt something drop in his stomach.
Of course he knew the name.
Derek Voss.
Big streamer. Bigger ego. Known for tearing into smaller creators like it was content rather than people.
Another donation came in.
RealDerekVoss donated $500:
Careful bro. Parasocial girls get dangerous fast.
The energy in chat changed.
Not fully.
But enough.
Sharper now. Watching.
Kai forced a laugh.
"Thanks for the TED Talk, man."
Another donation.
RealDerekVoss donated $1,000:
Nah seriously. Figure out who she is before she gets someone hurt lol
The joke didn’t land.
And then something worse happened.
The silence after.
Because for the first time since Luna entered his life—
chat didn’t fully disagree.