Date The CEO.com

Chapter 140: Welcome to the Club!

"You You wrote her a note?" Richard breathed out. 

When a chirp about Evangeline's post came up, he whipped out his own phone and checked it for himself. His eyebrows shot up as soon as he saw it. He recognized the handwriting right away. There was no doubt about it. 

It was his best friend's.

Holy shhe really was taking this seriously. Nothing would convince Avery more than this relationship was real more than this note. It was such a clever tactic and it worked. 

"Out of everything that you could possibly say," he continued when Ambryan remained quiet. "This is one of the things I wouldn't have predicted. Couldn't you have said something more romantic like you know missing her?"

"It was a joke between us," Ambryan replied.

He exhaled sharply, having seen the post as well and seeing through Evangeline's intentions. She uploaded it when the masses searched for the answer. It was the time when they'd listen to hermuch more than they would have at the beginning.

"You You joke?"

Ambryan directed a side-eye towards Richard. "Are you shocked because I don't do it around you? Why would I need to when you're right there?"

Richard's face morphed into a deadpan one. Did his best friend really just say he was a joke? 

The ill feelings only lasted for a moment. He reread the note. So it was an inside joke between them he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't curious about it. The words, 'cute' and 'Ambryan', didn't seem to belong in the same sentence.

Ambryan felt his phone vibrate in his mind.

An envelope appeared in his notification bar. 

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``NDdgaf: Hey! I know we only met today but what do you think of Evangeline Reed? I saw that your account is new and I became curious if you joined Twittah to defend her?``

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"What is it?" Richard asked, noticing his best friend had stiffened.

He hid his phone and peeked at the screen. His eyebrows shot up once again upon seeing the message. "Wow, look at you making new friends."

Ambryan rechecked this user's profile. Out of all the fan accounts dedicated to Evangeline, this one had the oldest creation date. If his theory was truethat the owner was a close friend' of Evangeline'sdid Evangeline know about this message?

"Well what are you going to tell her?" Richard pressed. Maybe he should also make an account and join the fray. It seemed a lot more interesting than real life.

"Am I obliged to reply?"

"What? You weren't going to?" He blinked. Then, he slapped Ambryan's back. "Come on, you can't think this will be the last time Evangeline gets attacked. You need to make connections in the interwebs too. Besides, isn't it liberating to speak your mind?"

"I've always spoken my mind."

"Right. Sure." 

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If I asked about how you felt Evangeline, would you be true to yourself?

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``sourcandy: I had been following her for a while.``

``NDdgaf: Really? When did you become interested in her?``

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"Yeah, Ambryan, when did you become interested in her?" Richard repeated. 

Ambryan ignored him. He pulled out the notification bar and decreased the brightness of the screen. If a person's eyes were the tiniest bit too far, they wouldn't be able to read anything. 

Richard fumed at this. 

It was just as childish as making a fake account to defend his/her girlfriend.

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``sourcandy: I had seen her performance for the Athon Rainbow Collection.``

``NDdgaf: Wasn't it amazing??``

``sourcandy: It does leave a lasting impression.``

``NDdgaf: Hehe. I know you're new here but I'd like to thank you for coming to our aid. Your efforts to defend Evangeline is very much appreciated! For that, I officially want to welcome you to her fan club!``

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Ambryan arched one eyebrow. A fan club? Did that require invitations? As far as he knew, the person would become a part of the club as soon as they established themselves as a fan. 

Did that mean he was a fan?

He hadn't considered this possibility when he made the account on a whim.

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``NDdgaf: There's not a lot of perks right now but there will be soon!``

``sourcandy: Perks?``

``NDdgaf: Yep, yep! Like exclusive Q&A sessions!``

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"Andie, don't blow this out of proportion," Eve scolded. She hadn't agreed to any Q&A sessions. She didn't even hear about it until now. "This job only lasts 9 months. Well, 7.5 months now."

"Hush!" Andie hissed, waving off her concerns. "Don't worry about the future. Live in the moment!"

She reread the conversation window. Sourcandy seemed a lot more serious than the first impression she had. The person also seemed reluctant. It wasn't a blunt rejection quite yet but her hopes weren't high.

Could the user possibly be a male?

Andie tapped the side of her phone, playing with the possibility.

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``NDdgaf: By the way, my name's Andie. What's yours?``

``sourcandy: Noah.``

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"Oho! It's a guy!" Andie squealed. She tapped her feet repeatedly on the floor. Bubbling energy flowed from her legs up to her chest. He was the first male fan she met. Eve could no longer say that she wasn't attractive enough to the male species. 

"He must be cute," she remarked, typing out a message to confirm his orientation. She might have gotten a little too ahead of herself.

"Why do you say that?" Eve asked. A yell came from the table. She turned her head in its direction. Eri had her hands raised to the ceiling. She swayed her hips from side to side while staring at the game board.

It seemed like the winner had been established.

"Noah is that guy from The Notebook movie," Andie explained. She continued to chat with Noah. He still didn't reject her invitation. She took it as a good sign. "Jarrett looks like him."

Eve rolled her eyes. "So you're just saying that your boyfriend is cute?"

"Yes."

She huffed and left her best friend alone. Walking to a nearby couch, she plopped herself over it. Her neck rested on top of the backrest. The timbers on the ceiling came to view. She could finally relax and go back to her normal life.

Should she contact Ambryan? 

He must have heard about the post by now.

"Noah" Eve whispered unconsciously.

Andie spun on her heel, pointing an accusing finger. "See, see! You're thinking it too!"

Eve lifted her head just enough to see her best friend's face. Nothing in her expression was amused. "No, I'm not. I just haven't heard that name in a while."

It wasn't a rare name but she couldn't remember the last time she met a Noah. There was probably one or two from school. All of them had nothing on one particular Noah. It had almost almost two decades but that brat really left a lasting impression.

He was the first Noah she ever met.

Andie tilted her head sideways. "Who? Noah?"

"Yeah, don't you remember?" Eve snorted, letting Andie figure it out. 

It was quite a memory. Noah was a few grades older. Andie would always mock him whenever they ran into him in the halls. Then, he'd insult her right back. Their screams always alerted the teachers and got them into trouble.

Not that it really stopped them from doing it again.

"That kid who" Andie gasped. Her stormy blue eyes snapped towards her phone screen. "You think this Noah is the same as that Noah?"

Eve merely shrugged. "Who knows?" 

Andie blew on her bangs and placed a hand on her hip. "I don't recall his face much but I do remember he likes sour candies. He gagged out the first batch of cookies I ever made and almost crushed my destiny as a famous baker. This can't possibly be a coincidence."

"Or it can be someone giving a fake name."

"... Fair enough."

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Ambryan frowned when the messages stopped. Was he a part of the fan club now? He exited the conversation window and found himself on his home page. Based on his activity, Twittah had suggested several chirps. A few of them contained clips from Cale's live stream.

He found one account that cut the whole video into sections. Each chirp had a caption describing the clip. It didn't take long to find the last scene he saw.

"The last child found herself in a black room," Evangeline narrated. Ambryan increased the brightness of his phone until her face became clear. The children looked up to her, completely entranced by her presence.

"It was as endless as a starless night sky. She ran and ran but she found nothing. Her legs eventually gave in. She lied down on the floor and hugged her knees. Tears trickled down her face. The darkness partnered with silence was the scariest thing she ever experienced."

Eri shot her hand up. "Why is it so dark? Everyone else had clues. Isn't that a little unfair? Is the lesson about how the world is unjust?"

"That's impossible," Ede protested. "All the characters have plot armor, including her. The clue is probably something we can't see yet."

Evangeline laughed at their conversation. "The both of you are half-correct. The world can be unfair at times but there is a clue. We cannot see it. And neither could she."

"Huh?" The twins uttered together.

"The little girl may be afraid but she's not going to give up. Her brother once said that if she ever felt that way again, she should sing a song," Evangeline stated, clearing her throat.

When she sang the first line, Ambryan stopped breathing.