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You ignored your phone as it buzzed for the millionth time that hour and shoved another chicken nugget into your mouth instead. You had ended your after Love or Host stream about an hour ago now, and had been wallowing in your room until Maddy had come back and coaxed you out with a box of chicken nuggets. 

Only the crunchy goodness of fried chicken bits could make this day better now.

Across from you at the table, Maddy looked down at your phone. "Are you sure you don't even want to look at it?" She asked.

"No." You groaned, pressing your face into one of your hands. "I'm probably getting canceled by all the little kids that have a crush on him as we speak."

Maddy chuckled. "I find it hard to imagine a thirteen year old with a crush on someone who easily looks 40 years old."

"I don't." You said. "You should see some of the actors they simp over - those guys could easily be their fathers."

"Fair, I guess." Maddy hummed. 

You popped another chicken nugget into your mouth, chewing half heartedly. Your phone buzzed again, and another notification lit up the screen. Your eyes were immediately drawn to it, but you didn't pick your phone up, too scared to see what it was.

Maddy watched you with a frown. "How about I look?"

"Yeah." You agreed, watching as she pulled out her own phone and opened Twitter. She scrolled around for a moment, and you watched her eyes scan over the screen. 

"Well." She said. "You're trending."

You groaned, laying your head on the table. "I knew it. This is going to suck for my career."

"It doesn't have to." Maddy tried. "Publicity is good, whether it's good or bad. I mean, people hate Trisha Paytas and she probably makes millions off it."

You picked your head up off the table. "You seriously didn't just compare me to Trisha Paytas."

Maddy shrugged. "Just saying, you could make this work for you."

You frowned, picking up another nugget. "Why did I even think it was a good idea to choose host?"

"Because you didn't think you were going to win it." Maddy supplied. "And you barely knew the guy, and he came off as kind of brash in that video you watched. And you didn't like his facial hair. And it was last minute-"

"That was rhetorical." You said. 

Everything Maddy had said was true though. He'd come off as kind of rude and annoying, but after spending close to five hours with him, just getting to know him and trying not to laugh at his jokes, your opinion had vastly changed. If you had been asked to choose between love or host now, you would have no doubt chosen love. Even if your feelings weren't quite romantic, he wasn't the asshole you had thought he was and he deserved more than to just get hosted like you had done.

But you had hosted him. And now you looked like an asshole. 

"Hey, it's not all bad." Maddy said, still scrolling around. "I'm seeing some people stand up for you."

"What are they saying?" You asked. 

"That it's just how the game works, and if Schlatt had been the one that hosted you everyone would just be laughing about it." Maddy said. "They're not wrong, but nobody's really listening to them. They're too busy dragging you for hosting him, even though you spent like an hour apologizing."

"I fucking hate thirteen year olds." You said, scraping your fingers along the bottom of the box. "And I'm out of chicken nuggets." 

Maddy pushed her box over the table to you. "Here, you can have the rest of mine."

You smiled at her, taking the box gratefully. "I love you."

"Of course." Maddy said, setting her phone aside. "Who wouldn't?"

You laughed a little at that, and popped a nugget into your mouth. Hopefully, this whole thing would blow over by tomorrow and it wouldn't hurt your viewership too much. You really didn't want people just coming to your streams to fill your chat with hate, but you knew there was no way to block it, really, until everything blew over on it's own.

"Did Schlatt say anything about it?" You asked. 

"Not that I saw." Maddy said. "I'm sure he will at some point though."

You sighed, running a hand over your forehead. "The next couple days are going to be rough. As if I don't already feel bad enough about it."

"What are you going to do about it?" Maddy asked. 

"Nothing, I guess." You said. "Just have to wait until it blows over on it's own, right?"

Maddy shrugged. "I mean, you could, but there's always the option of taking matters into your own hands."

You raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I know you already apologized on your stream yesterday, but nobody really takes internet apologies seriously anymore, right?"

"Yeah." You agreed. "I'm not going to sit in front of a camera and cry about it or anything."

"Right." Maddy said. "So what about like, making it up to him? Doing a video with him or sending him a cut of the money that stream brings in or something? They do say actions speak louder than words, and I'm sure once word got out all those kids dragging you would think again."

"You kind of have a point." You said. "But I wouldn't want him to think that I was just doing it so that his fans would leave me alone. I do actually feel bad-"

"Believe me, I know." Maddy said. "But just tell him, you know? I'm sure he also feels bad that his entire fanbase went after you for hosting him too."

"Yeah." You said. 

Maddy got up from her seat, taking the empty boxes and bags from the table and dropping them in the trash. "I've got to go stream, but think about it, yeah?"

"Yeah, I will." You said. 

As she left the room, Maddy ruffled a hand through your hair, patting your head. "And cheer up! You're so sexy!"

You laughed, batting her hand away as she disappeared back to her own room. You would think about it, alright. 

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