Digital Mutation (Book Five)

Chapter 2: Comments

Annalise pulls herself closer to her desk, resting her chin on her hand as a sigh escapes her lips. Her YouTube channel stares back at her, filled with rants about fandoms and school and gaming and everything in between. She's amazed that anyone still cares about her half-baked ideas, that people like her videos or find her funny.

Still, here she is, waiting. The comments on her latest video start rolling in, but she's only looking out for one commenter in particular.

PizzaNunchucker is, to this day, the one subscriber that never says anything negative about her or anyone else. No matter who bashes him or whoever tries to argue with him, he never stops being the nicest guy ever. She hasn't figured out much about him aside from the fact that he's a boy and he's a teenager. That's the most he's revealed in past comments.

She tugs at her golden side-braid and lets out a sigh. She wishes she could have meet and greets, just so she could possibly meet PizzaNunchucker. The only image she has relating to him is a slice of pizza with a nunchuck around that acts as his profile picture. Fitting, it'll have to do, but a girl can still dream of seeing the boy behind the screen.

She feels her face heat up and she hides her face in her hands, letting out a soft groan. She's such a creep, she thinks, sitting at her desk and thinking of some random stranger on the Internet. It's so silly of her to feel such an attraction to him, but his words warm her heart and she can't help but wait for more. This is all she gets.

She made a deal with her mom so that she could start a channel in the first place. The rules are simple; don't mention where she lives except in vague details. She could say New York, the state, but not specify the city. She isn't allowed to give out a mailing address and absolutely no meet-ups with fans. It's all part of the privacy that Mrs. Hughes wanted to give her daughter, believing her to be far too young to deal with the Internet in such a way.

Annalise scrolls through the comments, cheek squished against her hand.

Omg, I LUV Harry Potter!

FIRST!

I agree Slytherins aren't all evil. #SlytherinPride

That comment starts getting replies with people agreeing and arguing, but Annalise ignores them. She's still waiting.

This channel has gone to shit. Seriously, who still watches this crap? Do something exciting or get off Youtube, talentless blonde bitc—

Annalise stops reading, swallowing hard as she flags the comment and moves on. Nothing will happen, but she feels better in doing it. Still no PizzaNunchucker. Her heart starts to sink.

Just as she's about to click away and check later, a familiar icon appears and she feels a smile spread across her face in an instant.

PizzaNunchucker: Dude, my comments almost didn't work! Talk about scary 😫 Anyways, loved the video! You're always so cute and funny! Never change, Annalise! <3 Donut Army forever!!! Booyakasha!

She lets out a small sigh and gazes dreamily at the comment. One little comment, one little subscriber among ten thousand others and yet his alone makes her happier than anything else. It's like his comment is the only sincere thing amongst them all, not just a cry out for her to notice him and give him something to brag about.

She likes his comment, moves her cursor to the exit button, but stops. Another warning that her mother gave her was not to reply to comments, just to like them. Replying can be dangerous, what with talking to strangers and such, but Annalise can't help it. She ignores her mother's warnings this time.

DeepFriedDonutLisey: The comments almost didn't work? Oh the horror 😭 Thanks so much for your support! That means a lot <3

She sends it, fluffing her fringe as she chews her lip. Is it too weird? She shoves away from her desk and heads for her fire escape, hoping that some air will calm her down. She hears her door creak open as her Jack Russell terrier puppy, Pepper, trots into the room and follows her out onto the landing.

Annalise shuts her window and settles down on the beanbag chair she left outside. She lays back and watches the New York City horizon, enjoying the cool breeze. Pepper lays down and rests her speckled muzzle on her owner's feet, one ear sticking up and the other floppy.

The blonde smiles and reaches over, scratching her dog's ears. Pepper sniffles her hand and lets out a soft "murf" noise. Annalise imagines that she's asking her about what's on her mind. The fifteen-year-old shrugs, not quite sure of the answer herself.

Right now, her mind is as cluttered as her bedroom, which no matter how hard she attempts to keep it tidy, it always gets messed up again. She's come to be content with her state of organized chaos.

"Booyakasha," she repeats to herself. "What a funny word."

Pepper makes another snorting noise and crawls into her lap. She curls up against her stomach, nuzzling her head against her shirt, and Annalise hugs her puppy as best she can, grey-blue eyes squeezing shut as if to block out the world.

She wants to be able to do something for her subscribers, maybe give them something in a type of contest. Most of all, she wants to show PizzaNunchucker that she appreciates him. But what could she do?

"Hey," she whispers, stroking Pepper's soft fur. "What if I do...like, a shoutout thing? I ask people to enter their names and I pick people to give a shoutout too, but I purposely choose him to be amongst the winners. That'd be good, right?"

Pepper stays fast asleep.

Annalise hums, tapping her finger against her chin. She's been doing a lot of Minecraft videos lately, as the game has grown in popularity over the past couple of years. Maybe she could set up a hub with all the winners and they could play a round of Hunger Games together.

She grins. It's perfect. She can finally "meet" some of her subscribers, she can maybe talk to PizzaNunchucker and find out more about him. She could be going overboard with this, but it's the perfect time for it in her mind. She needs something new, something to get people invested, and most of all, she needs something to keep her going.