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“Yo, D,” Simon said from the other side of the door. “You’d better not be jacking off right now, bro, 'cause I'm coming in.”
“Oh, good,” I answered in a grumble while grabbing a pillow to conceal the erection in my sweatpants. “I was hoping you'd join me.”
The door was thrown open, and in walked my friend, carrying a plate holding two slices of pepperoni pizza. “Hey, I mean, we've never gone there before, but I guess there's a first time for everything,” he said with a shrug. “You hungry?”
“Starving,” I said, gratefully accepting the plate.
He took a seat at the end of the bed as I took a bite. “Did you see we hit five million streams today?” he asked, the corner of his mouth quirking into a contagious smile. “Like … man, this is crazy shit that's happening right now. I don't even know what the fuck is going on, but I am here for it.”
With my mouth full, I nodded and said, “Yeah, Mitch texted me earlier. Fuckin' insane.”
“We're back on the map,” he said just as Greyson and Dave cheered boisterously from the lounge.
I looked around Simon to glance down the hall and saw Dave running in the direction of the open door.
“Guys, guys, guys,” he chanted, his phone in hand as he dropped to the floor beside the bed.
He shoved the phone in my face, and I wrinkled my nose at the video playing on the screen.
“The hell am I looking at?” I asked before taking another bite.
“Watch it!”
Groaning impatiently, I took the phone from him and paid attention as a guy wearing sunglasses and big red headphones spoke to the camera. Behind him, the scenery moved, and it didn't take long for me to realize he was traveling down a sidewalk in a power wheelchair.
“You guys, my life was fuckin' changed today,” he said. “Like … you know when you hear a song that just blows your mind and you feel this need to listen to it over and over again? Well, that, except this whole fucking album. Angels of the Silences came out with their new album today,When Karma Met Destiny, and, like … I loved them already, you know, but this fuckin' masterpiece is exactly that. A masterpiece. And it's a fuckin' game changer for the disabled community. Go listen to it. Fucking listen to it right now, and then come back here for part two where I’ll explainwhyit's a game changer.”
Unimpressed, I handed the phone back to Dave with a nonchalant shrug. “Okay. So, he likes the album,” I said. “What were you guys freaking out about out there?”
Greyson was standing in the doorway now, wearing an expression of disbelief. “Dylan,” he said, gesturing toward the phone, “this guy? He has fifty million followers.”
My brows rose as my jaw fell slack. “Fifty …”
“Million,” he finished with a slow, assured nod. “The guy is one of the biggest creators on this app. He's insanely influential, and he just told all of his followers to listen to our fucking album.”
I wasn’t the most well versed when it came to social media platforms. I wasn't on Instagram or TikTok, and these days, all I used Facebook for was to feel closer to a woman who didn't want me. Even our presence on the web was managed by some guy Mitch had hired a while back, simply because none of us cared to keep up with it ourselves when there was music to make.
But as stunted as my knowledge was, I knew enough to know social media impacted the entertainment world in a big way. And with fifty million people following him, this dude had the power to take our career as a band to places we'd only imagined.
“Holy shit,” I uttered absentmindedly while I tried to imagine what fifty million people looked like, let alone how it would change our lives to have them all listening.
“Yeah. Exactly,” Dave replied as he tapped on the screen. “Now, watch his part two.”
Once again, I took the phone from him and saw the same guy on the screen. Except now, he was inside, sitting in what looked like a bedroom. Without the sun in his face and the sunglasses shielding his eyes, I could better see he was without the telltale signs of age lining his features. He was young, maybe in his late teens or early twenties, and he was facing his audience with a look of serious intent, the depths of his emotions displayed in the bob of his Adam's apple and the gleam in his eyes.
“This is part two of whyWhen Karma Met Destinyis a game changer. And buckle up 'cause it's gonna be a lengthy one,” he said to the camera.
“So, if you're coming from part one, then you know I am officially and completely obsessed with Angels of the Silences' new album—and for good reason. One, because they're my favorite band ever, so obviously, I'm going to love it. My dad introduced me to their music when I was, like, a baby, so I basically grew up with them.”
“Jesus, I feel fucking old,” I muttered.
“Watch the damn video,” Greyson ordered, and I clamped my lips shut.
“Two …” The kid took a deep breath and dropped his gaze to whatever was in front of him. “As you guys know or for those of you who are new here, I was born with cerebral palsy, which is why I'm in this chair. But what I don't talk about a lot is how it has impacted me socially, particularly when it comes to dating.”
My heart twinged with the faintest warning of impending emotion as he rubbed a limp hand beneath his nose and cleared his throat before looking back into the camera and continuing.
“I don't get out much,” he explained. “You guys see me outside, but what you don't know is, I'm just getting some air and rolling around the block. You see me hanging out with my brother and his friends, but you don't know that I don't have any friends myself … outside of who I know on here anyway. And probably the most embarrassing thing of all is, I'm twenty years old, and I have never even come close to having a girlfriend.
