With a tap of her finger, the video went live. Penelope's insides were a knot of nerves as she watched the progress bar inch forward to completion. This wasn't unusual for her. Every time a video of hers went up, she'd buzz with excitement for the next few hours, constantly checking the view counts and comments.
But this time the nerves were mixed with a new sensation—fear.
The nagging voice was back.
What if they hate it?
What if no one believes you?
Or worse, what if no one watches it?
The video finished and appeared on the screen. She waited for a second and then pulled down on the screen to refresh the content, waiting...
One by one, views began to trickle in. A few at first, then more and more. The view count quickly swelled to tens, then hundreds. She may have lots a few thousand followers in the aftermath of Daevon's revelation, but she still had plenty left. She wasn't sure why they'd stuck around, but they had.
Either way, they were watching.
And commenting. The numbers were increasing there, too.
Penelope's hands shook as she scrolled down to read them.
About time, the first comment she saw said. Took her long enough to come up with an excuse. Too bad it wasn't very good...
Of course, she'd blame Daevon, said another comment.
Penelope cringed. This was exactly how she had feared it would go. For a moment she thought about going back and deleting the video. She could pretend it never happened. She could join a convent and take a vow to stay off the internet forever. She could use the rest of her ad revenue money to buy a cabin out in the middle of nowhere, somewhere even more remote than Ridgestone...
But as more comments began to appear, Penelope managed to pull herself out of her descent into another spiral.
I KNEW something was off about Daevon's video! said a new comment. He always came off as fake. Penelope is too good for him.
I believe PARANELOPE! came another.
Daevon is such an f-boy, someone said.
Penelope couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face.
Okay, she thought, so not everyone believes me... but some do. And that was more than enough.
She kept refreshing, watching as comment after comment was added to the growing pile. Overall, it seemed the reaction was mixed: some believed her, some didn't, and the rest weren't ready to decide—they were just here to see if she threw more fuel on the fire.
I'm not sure who I believe, said one comment, but I'm going to keep watching.
I'm just staying for the drama lol, someone replied.
Penelope didn't mind that. If these people needed proof that she was telling the truth, they'd get it.
And besides, views were views.
What a coincidence, added another snide commenter. Penelope could almost hear the sarcasm through the screen. She posted this video right after Daevon's new one.
That comment sent chills up Penelope's neck, especially the last bit...
Daevon had posted a new video.
Her first thought was to just close the app and pretend like she didn't know. She didn't need to see it, didn't need to hear what he had to say. It would only make it worse. But her curiosity was too strong. She tapped on her subscriptions tab, kicking herself for her weakness as the screen loaded up the list of videos.
Just as the commenter had said, there it was: a brand new video on DAEVONIC posted just one hour ago. What timing.
She stared at the thumbnail, debating whether or not to open the video. In the thumb, Daevon was standing in what looked like a graffitied alley. He looked back to his usual self. His hair looked freshly bleached and cut, and though his outfit looked casual, she knew it had all been carefully chosen.
Seeing him through new eyes, Penelope wondered what she had ever liked about him. He was so full of himself and his smug face was so punchable.
There's still time to click away, she reminded herself. You don't have to watch...
But the title of the video pulled her in:
What's next for DAEVONIC
She smashed her thumb over his face, hoping he'd somehow feel it.
In this new video, Daevon's tears were gone. He looked just as he always did, carrying himself with undeserved swagger. He looked well-rested, like he was no longer losing sleep over the things he had done.
"Hey guys," Daevon said to the camera, with a devilish grin. "I wanted to give you a quick update. Big things are coming, but first I wanted to say thank you for all the support you've given me these past few days. You can't know what it means to me. It was so hard to come clean but I'm so glad that you guys were willing to listen. You guys are like my family—you mean the world to me. Thank you."
Penelope waited for him to say something—anything—about how he misled their fans about her involvement, but nothing came. He quickly moved on to the next topic.
"So, since we're tight, I wanted you to be the first to know... Something big is coming. Your boy is gonna be breaking out beyond YouTube." Daevon's smile spread so wide you could almost see every one of his shiny white teeth. "I can't say too much more, but... Be ready, guys. When the news officially drops, it's gonna blow your minds!"
The video ended there.
Penelope blinked at the screen. He'd wasted no time moving on without her. One quick apology video and it was back to business as usual. Penelope couldn't help but feel like this had all been some ploy so he could cut ties with her.
Is this all I meant to him?
She thought of their last call, of something Daevon had said.
"Someone found out," he had said.
Who was that someone? Did whatever deal he was brokering dig up some dirt on him and this was his way of absolving himself? By throwing her under the bus?
Well, she wasn't going to just lie down and be roadkill.
She swiped violently down, dismissing his video and returning to her own. Despite the mixed reaction, it was doing good numbers and the comments were still coming.
The newest one at the top seemed to still think she wasn't trustworthy. Who says she's not just going to fake her videos like before?
Didn't they listen to anything I said? she thought with a huff.
It didn't matter. She had a plan to prove them all wrong.
She dropped her phone on the bed and marched out of her room. In the kitchen, she found her dad slicing lemons for the fish she could smell cooking in the oven.
"There you are," he said as he caught sight of her. "Dinner will be ready soon. What've you been doing cooped up in your room all day?"
"I just posted a new video," Penelope said, glancing around for her hoodie. It was slung over the back of one of the stools, so she grabbed it and pulled it on over her pajamas.
"You did? That's great—wait, where are you going? I just said dinner would be ready soon!"
"I won't be long," she said, shoving her feet into her sneakers by the door. "I've just gotta talk to someone." And with that, she stepped out the door.
Her dad called something after her but she couldn't make it out. It didn't matter; she'd be back soon enough. She marched across the lawn of the campsite, heading for the front office and the house attached. As she got to the porch, she bounded up the steps and then knocked on the front door.
It took only a moment for the door to crack open. Beth appeared in the opening.
"Hi Peaseblossom," she said. "Or should I call you Penelope now?" The smile on her face was gentle and she didn't appear to be angry about the deception.
"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry about that," Penelope said, her cheeks turning pink."Yeah, Penelope is fine. My dad was just trying to—..."
"Don't worry about it, Liam already explained everything," Beth said, waving her hand at her. "Now what can I do for you? Something wrong with the cabin?"
"N-no," Penelope said, suddenly feeling stupid. Liam told his mom about me? "Is Liam here?"
Beth's eyebrows raised and her smile softened into a smirk. "He is. We're just sitting down to dinner, but I can grab him."
"Oh, I don't want to interrupt your dinner, I can come back—"
But Beth was already calling for him. "Liam! That pretty girl in Cabin 1 is here, and she'd like to talk to you!"
Penelope's face went from pink to red at Beth's description.
"Who?" Liam called back, sounding annoyed.
Beth rolled her eyes. "PENELOPE," she called again.
"Why didn't you just say that?" Liam replied and already his voice sounded closer.
Beth gave Penelope a knowing smile before stepping back. Liam took her place in the open door.
He was frowning. "What the hell are you doing here? Why didn't you just text me? I gave you my number, didn't I?"
"I don't have a SIM card," Penelope said.
"What? You bought a phone but no SIM? What was the point of that?"
"I just wanted the camera and I didn't want to connect it to my old number—whatever! This isn't the reason I came over. Do you know where an actual sighting of the Raven took place?"
Liam glanced over his shoulder then stepped out onto the porch, closing the door behind him like he didn't want his family to hear. "Yeah, everyone around here does. One of them is the grounds of an old logging camp, a little ways out of town. Why?"
"What's cell service like out there?"
"Depends on the provider you have," Liam said with a shrug. "Some of them can be spotty, but one of them has decent enough coverage."
"Well, whoever's best, can they handle video?"
"Video?" Liam repeated. "I don't know. Maybe? Why? You wanna watch Netflix in the woods?"
"No," Penelope said. "I want to do a livestream."