The post hit the internet like a match tossed into a fireworks factory.
@ScarlettIRL:"Ever fall for someone who doesn't even know they're the main character of your life?"#MainCharacter#OopsDidISayThatOutLoud
By the time Eliot refreshed his feed, it was trending. Again. Comments flooding in like a broken dam.
@fangirl420: "IS THIS ABOUT HIM???"@zoe_chaos: "Lol imagine confessing through likes. Amateur move."@booksnroses: "Real ones write entire novels about their crushes. ✍️✍️✍️ #TeamDahlia"@rinawrecks: "Sorry, can't hear you over the sound of me KISSING HIM FIRST."
Eliot sat on his couch in stunned horror, holding his phone like it was radioactive. Around him:• Dahlia's manuscript on the coffee table.• Zoe's burnt cookies in the trash can.• The faint scent of Rina's strawberry lip gloss still haunting his hoodie.• And now? The entire internet throwing confetti on his emotional breakdown.
A knock.
Not again.
Please not another declaration of love, he thought. Please just be pizza or cosmic justice.
It was Noah, his best friend, holding two Slurpees and wearing the face of someone who'd just survived four seasons of a reality show by sheer caffeine alone.
"Dude."
"Don't start," Eliot groaned.
Noah sat down and shoved a Slurpee into his hand. "No, I'm not here to judge. I'm here to strategize. You're trending in six languages, three of which you don't speak. You've got a soft girl literary confession, a chaos goblin rival, an influencer with a digital army, and Zoe—who's basically a slow-burn heartbreak in jeans."
Eliot stared at him.
"Am I supposed to be comforted right now?"
Noah grinned. "No, you're supposed to realize that you, my friend, are now Schrödinger's Boyfriend. The whole internet's watching to see who you choose. Until you do, you are simultaneously dating all of them and none of them."
Eliot buried his face in his hands. "I hate the internet."
"I know." Noah sipped his Slurpee. "But you also hate indecision."
Outside, his phone buzzed again. And again.
It wasn't just fans anymore.
Now articles were popping up:
"Who Will Be the Main Character's Main Character?""Real Love or Viral Stunt?""The Rom-Com of the Year Is Happening in Real Time"
The entire planet had become one big audience, popcorn in hand, waiting to see how Eliot was going to ruin his life next.
And weirdly, for the first time, Eliot felt… calm.
Because behind the noise, behind the chaos, behind the trending hashtags, there was one quiet truth rising through it all:
He didn't care about the internet.
He cared about them.
Zoe. Dahlia. Rina. Scarlett.
This wasn't a storyline. This wasn't content.
It was his heart.
And soon, he was going to have to pick.
Not for the algorithm.Not for the fans.Not even for the drama.
For himself.
But first… maybe one more Slurpee.