A clickbait article at the bottom of the screen caught my eye. “Top Ten Freddy Fanfics—Can’t get enough of the UK’s hottest former child star Charles Downing? Check out these Freddy fan favorites that take this heavenly body out of this world.”
“Oh lord,” I said out loud to the pun-tastic title even as I clicked the link.
I’d heard about all the fanfic thatTerraFormativehad manifested over the years. Emma, Harrison, and I had been paired in every possible combination. It was an unavoidable product of being part of one of the world’s largest franchises. I’d always stayed away, feeling a new level of skeezy hearing about the various scenarios people had placed my character in. Especially with Harrison and Emma. We’d grown up together and were closer than siblings. Anything romantic was … icky.
The headline took me to a website called FanFavz. The interface was not terribly user-friendly, but after clicking around a bit, I got the gist. You could search by franchise, author, story popularity, etc. I sorted by author popularity within theTerraFormativeworld since I’d already committed to spending time in the gutter. The very first result was the story that had been mentioned in the article. In fact, the author had a few dozen “fics” under their name. The article dubbed this particular story, “Fresh Stars,” “the top Freddy post-grad fantasy.” It had been favorited an astounding fortythousandtimes, and comments were a never-ending gushfest, consisting mostly of emojis and lines of repeated vowels. Post-grad referred to the time after the show ended, when Freddy had graduated from the flight academy.
“Bloody hell,” I mumbled. So many people out there reading a version of myself far more interesting than the one that existed. The top author on each list was someone called FreddyStan4Life.
“Regrettable username.” My face contorted, leaning closer to the screen. “Who the bloody hell is Stan?”
I read the first sentence.
Then the next.
Then several chapters. The story focused on my—er, Freddy’s post-flight academy life, as he worked up the ranks to become a captain of his own vessel and featured a particularly strong romance with a cyborg named Nix, who had been in the show but only briefly in season four. I’d loved that subplot when it had debuted in the show. I had approached the writers about stretching out their love story over a few more episodes but had been shot down. The writers had reminded me that Freddy’s character only existed to relieve the tension when things got too heavy. But this “Fresh Stars” I read now was …good. Really good.
I also couldn’t help but notice that FreddyStan4Life’s description of Freddy resembled me as I looked now, instead of the child I was in the series. Interesting.
It felt like only a minute had passed when a loud rap on the closed door caused me to jump in my seat.
“You come eat, Mr. Downing.” Agata’s soft voice was a deceptive ruse, like calling the shake of a rattlesnake as soothing as a child’s rattle.
“You can call me Charlie,” I shouted through the door.
“Mister Charlie, come eat.”
“Can you bring me a bowl in here?” I asked.
“No. Break from computer better for your eyes.” Her footsteps retreated back to the kitchen.
I sighed loudly but pushed away from my desk.
At the kitchen island, Agata shoved two warm crusty rolls on my plate and wouldn’t stop staring at me until I ate them along with the soup.
The whole meal was delicious, but she side-eyed me as I shoveled bites into my mouth. I couldn’t focus on anything but getting back to my computer.
“Thank you. It was fantastic,” I said.
She nodded knowingly as I rushed out of the room.
I thought I knew what fan fiction was—admittedly, I thought it was primarily an excuse to make characters have sex—but this was unlike anything I expected. The writing was compelling and thought-provoking from the first line. The world was as familiar as sliding into a worn jumper, but the new scenarios were intriguing and the additional settings captivating. It felt so familiar and yet unlike anything I’d ever read. My eyes couldn’t read fast enough. My heart raced, desperate to get back to it. I missed feeling …excited. About anything.
I would just read a few more chapters, just to see what happened next, and then I’d stop.
2
Twenty Months Ago
Kate
“Kate, do you have a second?”
My head snapped up at my boss’s voice like I’d been caught playing solitaire on the company computer.
Mrs. Jennings, or Gail as she preferred to be called, stuck her head out from her office a second later. I was supposed to have been organizing her meetings for next week, when really I’d been totally zoned out thinking about a plot hole I’d gotten myself into. I never technically wrote at work, but I never could keep myself from daydreaming. Story of my life.
The chances that my boss would suddenly be able to read my mind and fire me for misuse of company time were low, but never zero.
