AllFreeNovel
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“Value comes in many forms, including that which feeds the soul,” Gabriel said.
He turned his head. His eyes locked with mine. Staring into those dark irises, I could swear I almost saw warmth.
My brain sputtered and kick-started. Did he just reference the argument we’d had about beauty, and in doing so imply that I was right?
Heat slowly rose up my cheeks. I snapped my attention away, turning it back to Juno. “You said you had backlash on your last post. What happened?”
“It’s the sponsor—Paprikatown.” She sighed, her smile finally faltering. She searched my expression for recognition.
I shrugged.
“They make knives here in the US,” Chester said.
“Seemed like a good company, and the founder—Nylon Johanson—seemed nice enough, too.”
“His name’s Nylon? Like…the material they use to make tights?”
“Yes,” Juno said.
That right there was the first red flag. Anyone who was born with the nameNylonwas bound to be a monster.
“A video of him went live within minutes of my sponsored video. Nylon….” The color drained from her face.
Chester looked from her to Gabriel to me. Then after one more look at Juno, he said, “Nylon accidentally butt filmed himself robbing a sex toy store.”
“Butt filmed?” I could not believe what I was hearing. “Like a butt-dial?”
“Except he started a live stream.” Chester nodded solemnly. “The phone fell out of his pocket, hit the ground, and clearly showed his face when the tights he wore on his head split down the seam over the center of his face. Nylon was foiled by his nylons.”
“I pulled my video, but it’s too late,” Juno said.
“The masses are posting hate on every single Glitter video,” Chester said.
“I’m so sorry,” I told Juno. “What can I do to help?”
“I…an apology piece. I already made it, but I need to rewatch a few times, make sure I didn’t screw something up in that.” She licked her lips and filled her lungs with a deep breath. “If I send it to you, can you look at it for me?”
“Of course,” I said.
“Thanks.” She threw back two shots, slid her signature smile back on her face, and grabbed Chester’s hand. “I have to dance or I’m going to scream.”
I gave her arm a squeeze of commiseration as she and Chester disappeared into the crowd.
And then Gabriel and I were alone.
“I can’t imagine how devastating this has to be for Juno,” I said. “That channel is everything to her.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Um, yes.” I was a bit annoyed that he’d question that.
“She seems to be in search of an out.”
“Why would you say that?”
“She implied she’d prefer to work for a restaurant.”
“No she didn’t,” I said. Except…what if she had? She’d been venting, sure, and this whole thing was obviously super stressful. But she was living her best life, wasn’t she?
