"One million subscribers in just four months of consistent uploads. Damn... that's a big accomplishment dude." Riggs says when we were alone in the basement.

We just finished our celebration, for the whole crew. We had a blast, waiting for the subscribers to grow until it reached a million.

"Yeah. I still can't believe that we reached this far." I lay down on my bed, suddenly felt the exhaustion of the many hours working late at night making videos. "Sponsorships keep on coming, from different brands of clothes, shoes, personal and health products, and many more. I can't handle talking to these people by myself anymore, I need to hire staff."

"We're growing, and money is coming in," his smile widens, "by the way, thanks for the cash, dude. You've given me too much."

"That's nothing. You helped me a lot, my friend," I tap his shoulder, "I wouldn't make it alone. I owe this success to you, to Chance, and to the rest of the crew."

"We believe in you, dude. You're hardworking, passionate and dedicated to your goal. We know you're going to be a very successful and important person someday."

I chuckle, tapping his shoulder again, "thanks, bro."

"So, does this mean that I'll be receiving a monthly salary now?"

"Of course. And a big bonus." I assure him.

"Oh, yeah!"

That night, I was having a hard time sleeping. The euphoric feeling of accomplishment was there, but what really bothered me, was what happened earlier during the celebration.

When the channel reached one million subs, we all cheered and hugged everyone. It was Roxanne's hug that caught me off guard. I don't know if anyone noticed, but we hugged too long.

It just felt so right, having her in my arms. I wanted for that moment to stop, that we would just continue hugging each other.

Strange, but every time I see Roxanne, she makes me feel so alive.

__

The following week, I hired two staff. PJ, my manager, who will take care of sponsorships, endorsements, paperworks, finances, taxes and so on. He will also talk to people on my behalf and organize events, invitations, meetups, collaboration with other YouTubers, and so on. I also hired an editor, Grace Lee, who will do the video editing, so I can focus on myself.

I also transferred to a new apartment, just two blocks away from our house. It is big, with three rooms. One I use for my bedroom, the second as an office, and the third as a studio, where we will shoot more videos.

"Have you seen this comment?" PJ asks me after our meeting, while looking at his laptop, "it's hilarious. This girl, Marites201 says, 'Gray has feelings for Roxanne, but is holding it back because of Julia. Imagine how awkward it will be if he dates his sister's best friend, and later on, breaks up."

"Let me see..." Grace checks the comment, "hmm... and this comment alone has three hundred twenty-two replies. They're arguing about it already."

"Yeah, I read too much of it," I shrug my shoulders, "I'm getting used to it."

"This one is funnier," Grace laughs, "Chimay says, 'Look at 9:43 in the video guys, Grayson is checking Roxanne.'"

I look heavenward, shaking my head.

"Let's check," PJ gets excited, then chuckles, "yes, you did!"

"Nope. I was looking at someone behind her." I say after he shows me the video.

God knows how I tried to avoid Roxanne, especially being alone with her. I always put a distance between us, at least two meters away if possible. I could feel this spark between us, and it keeps intensifying every time we see each other.

"If you say so..." PJ looks not convinced, "Roxanne is a very attractive woman. I'm just saying that, it's normal for any guy to appreciate her beauty."

"Of course. She's very attractive, no doubt about that. But I'm not entertaining the idea of us together... I mean, in a relationship."

"You mean you're ignoring your attraction to her," Grace interrupts, her eyes looking curious.

"Come on, we're good friends," I click my tongue, "stop shipping us too."

"So you're not affected by all this shipping from your audience, is that it?" PJ questions.

"No," I say firmly.

"Well, Roxanne says the same. She stops reading the comments also because of this shipping." Grace twists her lips.

"Your audience wants the two of you to be together." PJ says, then closes his laptop. "They want it soooo bad. That's the reason the subscribers and views are increasing, to be honest."

"Roxanne is aware about that," I point out, "and she's been supportive all along. We don't have to pretend that we have something going behind the camera. What the viewers see, is what they get."

"But that's not what many YouTubers are doing," PJ stands up, crossing his arms together as he expresses his opinion, "they give what the viewers wanna see. It's like creating a story and acting on it. YouTube is business, and we're here for the business side. Be honest, Gray, you're on this platform because you want to be successful and earn a lot of money."

"Yeah... but..."

"Just go with the flow," he suggests, "don't hold back, just do it to make your YouTube channel very successful."

I frown, not liking the idea, "are you suggesting that I'll fake a relationship with Roxanne?"

PJ raises his eyebrows, "Who said about faking it? Why not go into a relationship with her? It will grow your channel so big. You'll be so huge Gray, you'll earn millions of money every month."

"Seriously?" I chuckle, shaking my head, "I don't give a damn, I won't fool my viewers."

"You won't. You'll be giving them what they want. It will make them so happy," PJ insists, and talk about using strategies to get more sponsorships, endorsements, brand deals and contracts. "Who knows? Having your own reality TV could be possible. So..."

"That's the worst suggestion that I've ever heard, PJ. So stop it."

___

"Where's Roxanne?" I ask Julia, when it's already a quarter past ten. Roxanne is always on time, it's the first time that she's late in our video shoot.

"I don't know. I talked to her this morning, and she said she's coming."

"Will you call her?"

Another fifteen minutes passed and Roxanne still hadn't arrived. I notice that I'm the only one who is worried. Julia, who is her best friend, is talking to Grace and PJ, and drinking beer.

Roxanne's phone is dead. I text her but no response. I immediately became worried sick.

"Do you have her mom's number?" I ask Julia, and she just gives me a confused expression.

"What?"

"Roxanne's mom. Do you have her number?" I asked her again.

"Um... yeah. But you can't call her, she's in California. She doesn't want to be disturbed when she's at work. Her celebrity employer gets pissed easily."

"Okay fine," I raise my hand, giving up, "I'll go find Roxanne," I turn to Riggs, "you can start filming Julia now before she gets drunk."

I grab my car key and run outside. Just in time, I see Roxanne, about a hundred feet away, half running towards me. She smiles when she sees me.

"Sorry. Mom's car broke down, so I had to push it back to the house," she's panting and breathing hard.

"You should have called. I could have helped you."

She laughs, between panting, "It's no biggie, I don't bother anyone with things I can handle myself."

I know she's far from being a 'damsel in distress', but it would have been great if I could have helped her.

She reaches me, and we walk together towards the house. Subconsciously, I put my arm around her shoulders and drew her close to me. It's like an instinct.

Friends do this all the time, right? It's pretty normal.

I feel her resistance for a minute, then immediately relax. When I pull her closer. She responds by putting an arm around my waist. That makes me happy. Thrilled.

It's a natural thing to do, I told myself, for two people who are good friends. Who grew up like... no, not siblings? I never saw her as a younger sister, ever. But my sister's friend... a younger friend.

"Is everyone now in the house?"

"Yeah. We were just waiting for you so we can start." I rub her arm briefly, giving her an assurance that her being late is acceptable.

"I could not call or text anyone, my phone is dead. Something's wrong with the battery, it keeps on turning off."

"So that explains why I could not reach you. Don't worry, I'll get you a new one tomorrow."

"Wow. Thanks boss!" She gives me a salute, then laughs happily.

"You made me worry."

"Really? Why?"

I shrug my shoulders, "I want nothing to happen to you."

"Because I'm your precious asset right now? You're worried what will happen to the many brand deals we have?"

"Exactly," I chuckle, "let's put it this way. I don't want a tiny scratch on your billion dollar face, or any parts of your body. It will ruin the business."

"You're so bad, Gray." She pushes me, but I draw her back into my arms, hugging her this time.

"I was just kidding."

"Of course," she leans on me, as we continue to stare at each other's eyes.

Again, it feels like a natural thing to do. It feels right... really right. Warm feeling of joy overwhelms me, like Christmas. Holding her, breathing the same air with her... makes me feel so alive.

That moment, everything was great, until the main door of my apartment opened.

A young woman sees us, her mouth drops wide open.

Guilt immediately creeps in. Like two opposite poles of magnets, Roxanne and I pulled apart.