VIRAL | JSCHLATT (stopped)

Sixteen

!! As a heads up, I do not condone violence or threats as a solution for arguments. Anything pictured or hinted at in this chapter is completely fiction and is my interpretation of the characters and the actions that would best fit the plotline. I am aware that these are real people and this book henceforth can be considered an AU. This is not real !!

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"What the fuck?" Schlatt whipped his head to look at me, and his eyes turned dark. With a scowl and a clenched fist, he pushed the bodies of several people and heaved as he walked out from the kitchen and into the hallway, clearly heading for Charlie.

I looked at Madi as we both widened our eyes and went straight after him, but the crowd of people began to build up again and it got harder and harder to travel through it. A few people looked my way, clearly already knowing about the 'incident' since it was caught on the cameras of several vloggers, but we managed to rummage past those who wanted to know more.

As we got to the kitchen, there was a crowd of people gathered in a circle around two more - Jschlatt had Charlie pulled close by the collar of his neck, the two glaring back and forth at one another in fury. I frantically looked around the room in hopes that somebody would do something, and right as I was about to step in, Schlatt put him down.

"What the fuck is going through your head?" He spat at the boy in glasses, scowling harder.

"What's going through yours?" Charlie yelled right back, standing in a prepared position to defend himself.

"You don't just do that, dumbass! She's a real person! You've legitimately harassed her!" Schlatt carried on, ignoring Charlie's attempt to get him to back off, and within moments, Charlie began to walk over to Schlatt. Before he could swing his arm to the man in front, I sprinted and got in the middle of the two.

"Both of you! Stop!" I put my arms out and shifted my glance from one boy to another. "Do you have any idea of how intoxicated you two are? Schlatt, you don't even drink!"

"You know why I drank tonight, Alexa? You know why? Because clearly all that's been happening is me getting depressed over you leading me on! I'm so fucking confused and Charlie's being manic and you're defending him? I don't know what to fucking believe!" His voice was less loud but equally stern, evidently full of hurt. "I like you, okay? And you clearly don't give a shit!"

He seemed to have sobered up in the last few minutes as he rubbed his face with his hands and threw them back down to his sides.

I was at loss for words, and it seemed that Charlie was too dazed to respond. He stepped forward towards me, and instantly, so did Schlatt.

Right as Charlie attempted to put his hands on my spread out arms to stop me from shaking in embarrassment and irritation in the best of his intentions, Schlatt took a hold of his shoulders and pushed him back.

"Don't put your hands on her!"

"Schlatt!" I yelled out, glaring at him, and before any of us could notice it, Charlie stumbled back and lost his balance, flailing his arms as he fell face down onto the ledge of a table beside us.

The room echoed with gasps as I unglued my eyes off Jschlatt, who, in his drunk state, simply started to walk backwards in anger and shame of what he just did, and stormed off into the darkness of the house. I ran towards Charlie, who was sitting on the floor with a group surrounding him, and holding his nose.

I kneeled down to his level, "Charlie, are you okay?"

"I-I think I broke my nose," he coughed, and took his hand off his face, a pool of blood in his palm and streaming down to his lips and chin.

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A week has passed.

For some of us, the rehearsal process was put on hold for a while, and we were allowed to take a break from filming so that the crew could focus on the other, smaller characters. Charlie was rushed to the hospital after that night, and the only talked about topic between the cast was how Schlatt was at fault.

How could he have known that Charlie was going to fall? That he was going to push him that hard? Obviously, he shouldn't have pushed him in the first place, but, it's still unfair..

I haven't picked up my laptop or streamed, either. Some YouTuber didn't notice and forgot to edit out the part where Charlie and I kissed in the background of his vlog, and now, the only mentions and tags I get on my social media are about that. Thanks, Simon.

Is this what it's like to be viral? Videos made about you, comments all about you, fans begging to know more.. It seemed unreal, like a different reality, and before I knew it, my hands reached for the laptop.

"Hey guys, it's me," I saw as the viewer number increased by the second. "This won't be a long stream and I should've said it earlier, but I'm here to address all that's been happening."

I breathed in heavily and closed the chat box to ignore any feedback and criticisms of my actions. Angie, my manager, had told me that it's probably best to leave it for the time being, but we all know how well that decision turned out for others.

"Yes, Charlie and I kissed. It was a complete mistake and initiated by both of us." Lie.

"But we are all on good terms." Lie.

"No attraction between us, got it?" Another lie.

"We have yet to all speak out about it, but I just wanted to say that we're all single, we're all okay, and there's nothing wrong. It was a mistake, as I said, but it's a mistake you make once and never again. There was no reason behind it other than boredom and intoxication." Stop fucking lying, Alexa! You're leading them on!

I gulped, my mouth going dry and hands shaking.

"Schlatt is involved, yes, but that's a different topic," I pressed my lips against themselves, scared to mention his name in front of the several thousand people watching. "He can talk about it himself."

"Right," I clasped my hands together to achieve some sort of balance in my body after pausing for a few. "I guess that's it. Thank you for tuning in, and I hope I'll get the normal streams up and running very soon. See you!"

Closing the tab and laptop, I flopped my back onto the bed, and began to stare at the ceiling, replaying every moment that's happened that night. I remembered how earlier, at the arcade, Schlatt and I were constantly giggling, and he sent me the location of a nearby pier that he would have loved to go to sometime with me since it reminded him of Boston. Has he really liked me all that time? I thought about the clear signs from Charlie - his eavesdropping and frowned face and nervous attitude, his staring and jealousy.. It all seemed so surreal.

I turned to my side, and switched my glance to the wall.

I mean, I wanted to be viral, right?