Author Notes - A slightly shorter chapter this time, but still an important one. After all, Zooli isn't the only one dealing with online harassment...

CHAPTER FIVE - YOU ARE NOT ALONE

The other Guppies remained quiet as Zooli came back into the room, led to them by the hand of Oona. They were no longer crowded around the computer, but instead sitting in the very spot they sat in at the beginning of every day. The difference was that today they were much closer together, and there were a couple of pillows on the floor specifically for Oona and their new friend.

Most of them gave Zooli welcoming smiles as she sat down next to Oona. Even Nonny had a tiny smile, one that looked even cuter in person than it did on the website. Deema was the one exception, sitting and frowning with her arms crossed. Zooli knew that her anger wasn't aimed at her, but instead those horrible fans online.

'H-Hi, guys.' Zooli said, her voice still a little shaky.

'We're so sorry about what's happened today.' Molly said. 'We hoped that today would be the best day of your life, but… I think we've made it the worst. There's not much we can do to make everything better. But we see no reason not to try, and… maybe we can make you a little happier.'

'You don't have to do that. Really, you don't. Getting to meet you guys in person and be a part of the band is awesome enough! It's such an honour that the greatest band of all time offered to let me join!' She shuddered. 'But those fans… they scare me. Knowing that people are saying those mean things about you is… Oh, who am I kidding? You would never understand.'

In contrast to her anger just a few moments ago, Deema began to laugh. It wasn't her usual laugh, for it was a little bitter, and to say that Zooli found it a little inappropriate given the circumstances would be to say nothing.

'You seriously think that we never get any hate comments?' Deema asked. 'Puh-lease. You're talking to Miss Base-Breaker over here. Half the fanbase adores me, but the other half cannot stand me. They think I'm trying too hard to be funny, and find me kinda annoying.'

'Oh.' Zooli said. 'Yeah, I guess I've seen that a bit myself. But it's never gotten as bad as it has now.'

'HA! Oh, you really think so? Zooli, I've seen so many fans demand that I leave the band that I can't even remember half of it anymore. Comments upon comments of things like oh, you ruin the band or things would be so much better if you left.'

Zooli frowned. 'Oh, that sounds awful! How do you cope with people saying such stuff about you?'

Deema shrugged. 'Eh. After a while, you kinda get used to comments like that. It took me a while to get used to it though. A looong while, too. Trust me, we all know what it's like to receive hate comments.' She smirked. 'HHHHIT it, guys!'

And then, before Zooli knew it, the other Guppies burst into a song not unlike the roll-call portion of the video. It had a lot more syllables though, so the flow was completely wrong, but it was still in the same order nonetheless.

'I'm a spotlight-stealer who's too perfect!'

'I'm an annoying coward!'

'I have no personality!'

'I'm an unfunny idiot!'

'I'm so sweet that it hurts!'

'I'm the one people sometimes forget exists.'

By the end of this impromptu song, most of the Guppies ended up laughing among themselves. Even Zooli managed a small giggle. Deema growled to herself, probably because she remembered some more nasty comments aimed at her friends.

'Wait, really?' Zooli asked. 'People say stuff like that to you?'

Molly nodded. 'More than you can imagine. Hate comments are, unfortunately, a reality of being famous online. And we can tell you that… they hurt. When I was first getting comments about being an annoying 'overly-perfect' kid, it hurt. It hurt to know that people were saying such things about me, even if I wasn't there to read it.'

'And for some of us,' Goby added. 'It goes the extra mile. Some people just don't like seeing a black kid like me in the band. Or an Asian kid, like Oona. Or a Hispanic girl, like Molly. There's some crazy people who think that there shouldn't be any white Guppies, but they're not nearly as common.'

'I've been hit with some mean stuff too.' Nonny said. 'Because I… don't quite act like the rest of my friends, I've gotten a lot of comments. Including the r-word.'

All of the Guppies, including Zooli, cringed at the very thought of such a word.

'Wow.' Zooli said, tapping her fingers against the pillow. 'I-I never would've thought guys like you would receive such awful comments. How do you cope?'

'It takes a while.' Oona admitted, holding her hand. 'Just one or two hate comments is one thing, but it piles up after a while. But, soon you learn to just… deal with it.'

'Deal with it?'

'Mm-hm! Nothing you say will change their mind, in most cases anyway. And responding to it can only make it worse. You just have to learn that those kinds of comments don't matter. Those people are - for lack of a better word - idiots. If they leave mean comments just to be nasty, then they don't matter. It'll take a while, but you will learn to ignore them. After a while, you may even be able to laugh at them.'

They all laughed together again, and even Nonny added a little chuckle at the end. Zooli's heart rose, beating faster than usual and in a good way too.

'What we're saying,' Oona continued. 'Is that hate comments should, unfortunately, be expected. There's no avoiding it, unless you never become notable. Which there's nothing wrong with! And there is nothing wrong with them affecting you. If it's your first, it's going to hurt. But, in time, you will learn to accept and deal with it.'

Zooli chuckled. 'Oh, you are so my favourite Guppy now.'

'Hey!' Molly said with a giggle. 'I see how it is. I've been dethroned!'

'Can ya blame her?' Deema asked.

'If I wasn't part of this band,' Nonny said. 'Oona would be my favourite Guppy too.'

He immediately blushed when Oona gave him a smile. Regardless of how this day ended, Zooli was sure to write a 'Noona' fanfic about this when she got home.

'The real question is,' Molly said. 'Are you sure that you're able to handle the hate comments until you can laugh at them, or is it too much to handle?'

'If you want to back out now,' Gil added. 'We won't stop you!'

'We just wanted to make sure that you knew that you weren't the only one dealing with comments like that.' Goby said.

Zooli smiled, but sighed with a frown. While she was thinking about her words, Nonny sat up and swam over to the laptop. For the shortest moment, the smallest smile appeared on his face.

'I'm not sure.' Zooli said. 'L-Look, it's relieving to know that this is normal. Unfortunately. But I don't know if I can handle it. It seems like… too much. I mean, everyone hates me.'

'I wouldn't say… everyone.' Nonny said, as he came back on scene.

He sat down next to Zooli and set up the laptop in front of them. The first thing Zooli saw was another comment under the announcement video. It was right underneath MegaGuppiesFan05's highly-upvoted comment, the one that arguably started this whole mess in the first place. Zooli felt dread wash over her as she glanced at a comment written by someone named 'FinTasticGuppy', which was liked almost as much as MegaGuppiesFan05's.

But, as she read it, her dread faded away.

I don't know what you're all worried about. This is the Bubble Guppies we're talking about! I mean, did you all forget that there's gonna be a FIFTH ALBUM? Who cares about the new member! If the music is still good, it doesn't matter! I'm remaining cautiously optimistic. HYPE FOR ALBUM FIVE!

Zooli's eyes widened as she read this lovely - if cautious - comment, and was even more in awe in the amount of likes. Nonny had refreshed the page before showing her this comment, and the amount of likes was astounding: only a couple hundred off the much more hateful one before it.

It was then that Mr Grouper decided to join in, and he was both happy and relieved to see a smile appearing on his new student's face.

'This fan… doesn't mind me? A-And that many people liked their comment?' Zooli asked, too in awe to say anything else.

'That's right, Zooli!' Mr Grouper said, making an unsuspecting Zooli jump. 'In fact, I think you'll find that most fans don't mind your presence at all.'

Zooli did a double take. 'W-What? But… look at all these awful comments! They… they hate me!'

Mr Grouper shook his head. 'I won't deny that some of them hate you. To say otherwise would be denying reality. But it's only some. The best way I can describe this is… imagine you handed a bunch of megaphones to an entire crowd of people. The calm, rational people aren't going to use them, but the loud and obnoxious people certainly are. Only a few people may be screaming into those megaphones, but because they're so much louder than the calmer people, it certainly sounds like there's hundreds of people screaming annoyingly.'

It was a lot for a young child to take in, but it didn't take her long to understand the basic gist. It was the 'Vocal Minority': that one group of fans who made the rest of them seem like a bunch of crazy nutters, when that group was much smaller than everyone else.

She smiled, with relief.

'But that doesn't matter.' Mr Grouper continued. 'If those mean comments hurt so much. If that one person with a megaphone is yelling all the time, you might not want to go near the crowd even if everyone else is nice and friendly, because that one person is just so loud. The point I'm trying to make, Zooli, is that even if it's only a few people, it can still hurt to deal with. But, maybe, knowing it's only a few people will help. It's all up to you, Zooli.'

As Zooli stared at the screen, focusing on this one comment by FinTasticGuppy, she took the plunge and opened up the multiple replies to the comment. Aside from MegaGuppiesFan05 losing their mind, the replies were all in support of Zooli.

Yeah, I don't see the problem either. More Bubble Guppies is more Bubble Guppies, in more ways than one!

If Zooli turns out to be an awful decision, I'll decide that when it happens. Too early to tell now.

I'm not a big fan of this change myself… but I can see why you'd be excited!

It only made the decision even harder. Before this small meeting, she probably would have settled on 'leave the band', thanks to all the backlash from the fans. After hearing the other Guppies' stories, however, it made the temptation to stay stronger than ever. She bit her lower lip, feeling the gazes of her new friends piling on the pressure.

'You don't have to decide now!' Molly said. 'You can think about it for a bit first. Being the target of crazy upset fans is never fun, and even though I know they'll calm down eventually, that may be too far away for it to be worth it for you.'

'And you can always change your mind!' Gil added.

'Most importantly, no matter what decision you make, you will still be our classmate. You don't have to be in the band if you don't want to, but you can still go to our school. You could even help us out with some behind the scenes stuff if you want! Whatever it is, it's all up to you.'

Zooli thought about this hard, as hard as she could before her head began to hurt. On one fin, it was a relief to know that it was her decision and her decision alone. On the other, that only put an astronomical amount of pressure on her.

'I… I… I don't know!' She cried, lifting her 'knees' up to her chest. 'I-I don't wanna miss out on joining the band, but those fans are so scary! But, you guys are so nice. A-And it would be cool to sing alongside my favourite band… oh, I don't know!'

She buried her face in her hands and whimpered. The other Guppies went silent, unsure of what to say, until Molly got up and placed a hand on Zooli's shoulder.

'It's alright.' She said, in a gentle voice. 'It isn't an easy decision to make. You don't have to choose anything today. Or tomorrow. Or any time! Just say so when you're certain.'

Zooli sighed. 'I-I think I need an extra day. I'll sleep on it, you know?'

Molly smiled. 'That's fine with us! You can even head back home right now if you want.'

'I'll let your parents know,' Mr Grouper said, pulling out his phone from his, er, pocket. 'So you won't have to explain everything to them. It is a lot to take in.'

What a way to ruin a perfectly good band!

As Zooli sat in her bedroom, surrounded by all of her animals, those nasty comments would not leave her mind.

GET HER OFF THE WEBSITE!

They infested her thoughts.

I haven't seen something this desperate for clicks in years.

But as she remembered every cruel word thrown her way, she had to remember.

You're just doing this for brownie points, aren't you?

She wasn't the only one. She was not alone when it came to such nasty comments.

It's gonna be like Scrappy-Doo all over again!

And it wasn't going to last forever. She would get used to them eventually.

Who paid to get HER on board?!

But could she wait that long?

Because it ended SOOOOO well when Fairly Odd Parents tried adding more main characters…

When she really thought about it, it boiled down to one thing...

KICK HER OUT OF THE BAND OR YOU'LL LOSE ANOTHER LOYAL LISTENER!

Could she consider the other Guppies good enough friends to take the plunge?

Author Notes - I don't think the topic of cyberbullying gets discussed enough, and definitely not well enough. Discussions regarding cyberbullying tend to fall into one of two categories. Either it'll be a melodramatic mess that is so painfully optimistic that it ignores reality, or it will boil down the ENTIRE issue to 'lol, it doesn't exist, just step away from the screen'. Neither of which I think do the topic any justice.

So, in this story, I attempted to fix these issues. It does not ignore the unfortunate reality of hate online. It's there, there's no stopping it, and the only real solution is to ignore it and move on the best you can. But it also doesn't disregard it with 'lol, just turn off the screen'. The argument of 'cyberbullying is not real, just turn off your computer' hurts my brain on multiple levels. Yeah, have fun living without the internet in TODAY'S society.

I'm going to stop here, because bullying/harassment/'trolling' online actually makes me beyond furious, and the words I have for such people do not belong in a Bubble Guppies fanfiction. Or in any fanfiction, for that matter.