Annalise doesn't sleep well over the next couple of days, but she keeps up the grind anyway, paranoia be damned. She uploads her videos like usual, and on Thursday after school, she draws the names of the winners and records the announcement video, trying to inject every bit of peppy enthusiasm into her tired body.
She makes sure that PizzaNunchucker is among the winners. Thinking of meeting him is all that keeps her going when she feels like she's on the verge of shutting down, and his comments throughout the week fuelled her forward.
She wonders if she should tell her mom about them, but admitting how attached she's become to a stranger online is embarrassing. Besides, it's not like she's going to see him in person, and there's still a chance he's a grown man whom she definitely cannot be friends with.
The Internet is a wonderful tool and an avenue for great things, but there's a lot about it that can be dangerous, and Annalise hopes that PizzaNunchucker isn't one of those dangers.
She sets the video to upload at 8:30 p.m. tomorrow, just as she promised, and drags herself to bed to get some much-needed sleep.
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Michelangelo can die happy.
He never dreamed that he, of all mutants, of all people, would win, and yet he's been riding the high of victory all weekend. Annalise said his screen name. Annalise smiled and announced his screen name while trumpets blared and fake confetti rained down around it. She has fully acknowledged his existence not once, but twice.
He can die happy.
He wants to laugh in the face of anyone who says that lightning doesn't strike the same spot twice. He is on top of the world, and if it weren't for something he noticed in the video, he'd be sailing straight up into space.
The thing is, there's something about the announcement video that doesn't sit right with him. He's watched and rewatched the video multiple times, even compared it to her other uploads, and he's sure that what he's seeing isn't a fluke.
She looks...tired. Sad, even. Sure, in the video she's smiling, but her eyes aren't sparkling and her voice is almost too perky to be genuine. There are circles under her eyes, and the idea that she isn't sleeping well breaks Michelangelo's heart. If his little cupcake isn't happy, then he can't ignore it.
When she first posted the video, he left a comment.
PizzaNunchucker: Can't believe I won!!! AHHH!!! :D But...idk if it's just me, but are you okay? This video contest thing must have been super stressful ;-;
She hasn't responded. He didn't expect it, exactly, because Annalise is known in the Donut Box community to never reply to comments unless she's doing a live-stream. Still, she replied to him once, and it leaves him checking his phone with every notification, hoping that she'll let him know what's going on. It makes focusing on tonight's patrol exceedingly difficult, but if the rest of his family notices how distracted he is, they don't mention it.
He slips his phone into his belt with a sigh, wandering after his family as they enter Washington Square Park. It's easy enough for them to avoid any stragglers at this time of night, and the trees provide nice shadows for them to linger in.
They come to a stop near a cluster of picnic tables. Destiny climbs onto one and starts to turn in slow circles, searching their surroundings for spectators. The park is empty. All the life in New York City lies far away from them.
Michelangelo checks his phone again.
"Man, I almost wish there was something to pound," Raphael complains as he spins one sai. He flops down on the picnic table bench and huffs.
YOU ARE READING
Digital Mutation (Book Five)
FanfictionShe's a YouTuber with a small fanbase and big dreams, but lately, she catches herself wishing that things were different. She misses the privacy. She misses the simplicity that being a "nobody" brought. She misses the girl she used to be, but she ca...
