EX-istential Crisis

Chapter 4: The Karaoke King and Queen

Nelly couldn't sleep that night. He lay in bed, staring at his phone screen, the email still glowing in the dark. Karaoke King and Queen of Cyberzone. He chuckled to himself, rolling over and tossing the phone onto his pillow.

"Royalty, huh?" he whispered to himself. Mira Raine. Just thinking about her made his heart race, and for the first time in a long while, the thought of someone else didn't make him feel guilty. It was nice... but confusing. His feelings were tangled, messy, and he wasn't sure what to do about it.

The next morning, Nelly woke up to his phone buzzing non-stop. His group chat with his group was blowing up.

Ryan: "YO, KING, DID YOU SEE THIS?!"
Amadeus: "Whats happening?"
Dan:  "Its Nelly, you legend! We're literally famous."
Beru: "You dominating bitch"
Shin:  "You guys are trending on CyberZone! Bro, I'm at the arcade now, and they have your faces plastered on the leaderboard screen."
Hiroto: "Really? Something interesting happened?"
Ein: "No comment"

Nelly groaned, rubbing his eyes. He opened the chat to find screenshots from CyberZone's official page—there it was, a picture of him and Mira mid-duet, Nelly in the middle of the princess carry, both of them smiling like idiots. The caption read: Meet the new Karaoke King and Queen!

Nelly: "Bro, kill me now. I'm never stepping foot in that arcade again."
Ryan: "Too late for that, Your Highness. You and Mira are getting VIP treatment next time. You're basically royalty now."
Shin: "Nelly, we have to go back. What if they throw you guys a coronation ceremony?"

Before Nelly could respond, he got another message—from Mira.

Mira: "So... we're famous now, huh? Ready for our royal duties? 👑😂"

Nelly couldn't help but smile at her message. He replied quickly.

Nelly: "Don't remind me. I'm still processing the whole princess carry thing. That wasn't supposed to happen. 😂"

Mira: "Well, it was pretty cute. 😏 But hey, how about we make the most of this? Meet me at CyberZone later?"

Nelly paused, his fingers hovering over the screen. Was this a good idea? He still wasn't sure where he stood with his feelings. But at the same time, he didn't want to disappoint her. Plus, he had to admit—he was curious to see where this would go.

Nelly: "Alright, I'll see you there."

Later that afternoon, Nelly arrived at CyberZone, feeling more anxious than he wanted to admit. The moment he stepped inside, a staff member recognized him and immediately waved him over.

"Your Majesty!" they called out, grinning widely. "Welcome back, Karaoke King! We've got a special area set up for you and your Queen today."

Nelly nearly tripped over his own feet. "Uh, yeah... thanks," he muttered, following the staff member to a reserved area. It was decorated with gold streamers and cheesy signs that read, "Royal Karaoke Zone" and "For the King and Queen!"

Mira was already there, sitting on one of the plush chairs, looking way too comfortable with their newfound fame. She smiled brightly when she saw Nelly.

"Look who finally showed up!" she teased. "You ready to rule the arcade?"

Nelly slumped into the chair beside her, shaking his head in disbelief. "This is ridiculous," he muttered, but there was a smile creeping up on his face despite his protests.