CHAPTER ELEVEN:

*le time skip – early November*

Things are the best they've ever been. Mitch's and my first recording together was received amazingly well, getting way over the 18,000 likes I asked for. Instead, it got almost 25,000. Lizzie and I were hopping all over our apartment when we found out. We've been recording a lot ever since, almost every week. I quickly found out that it's a lot harder to find time to record with someone than to just talk to them, especially when Mitch travels all the time and I seem to have tests whenever he's free. We still find time to talk practically every day. I would go so far as to say we're good friends.

Which, you know, is making my inner fangirl extremely happy.

Right now, I'm back in my hometown to see Belle perform in the school play. She's not the lead, but still has a fairly big part. They're doing Anything Goes, which has always been one of my favorite shows (shoutout to my fellow musical theatre geeks). I finally get a chance to talk to her for the first time in forever after her show Friday night. The cast goes to out to a restaurant for an afterglow (as per tradition) and were nice enough to let me come along. The first thing that comes out of her mouth isn't a question about college, or how I've been.

"So, how's Mitch?" she asks, taking a sip of her soda expectantly. I laugh.

"You know how he is," I reply. "You just talked to him two weeks ago." We recorded a little bit of Capture the Wool with him and Jerome, #Jenja versus #MinorASF. Mitch and I won, in case you were worried or something. I mean, come on now.

"Yeah, but still."

"Don't you wanna know how I am?"

She sighs overdramatically. "I suppose," she says.

"I'm doing great, thanks. Also, Lizzie says hi."

"Well when you can get back, you can tell her that I said 'may the gods smile upon you and your descendants.'"

I laugh. "Oh, totes McGoats."

We talk for a few more hours, just catching up. After awhile, we shift into deeper topics. She tells me that she's still solid in her relationship with Ryan, although Connor would be ecstatic if she left him. I laugh.

"Speaking of relationships, what's up between you and Mitch? Don't you guys Skype, like, every day? You can't truthfully say there's nothing going on there," she says.

"Yes, we Skype ALMOST every day, and NO, there's nothing romantic going on between us. We're just friends," I say. Honestly, it's better this way. I don't think my little fangirly heart could take a relationship at this point. I might actually explode from all the feels.

It helps that he likes someone else. He told me one day when mine and Lizzie's friend Corrin was over and I had to explain why there was a male voice in the shouting match going on in the kitchen. They were having an argument about whether or not toast legitimately deserves a different name than semi-burnt bread. Why, I don't know. I don't question my friends.

"Is that your boooooooooooooyfriiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeend?" he asked, dragging it out.

"Noooooooooooooooooooo," I reply. "He's just a friend."

"Really?" he asks sarcastically, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Really," I reply, rolling my eyes.

"Really really? You don't like him even a little?" he asks.

"Nah, we're way too similar. He's like one of my limbs," I say. He really is. It's freaky how alike we are sometimes.

"So you don't like anyone then? You just hate all humans?" he says.

"How did you get from 'he's my friend' to me hating humanity? Of course I find people attractive. I just don't know anyone that I could stand to spend the rest of my life with. Or even a few months with, actually. Wow. I guess I do kind of hate humanity. I would just probably take a few seconds to appreciate them before I murdered them."

"Told ya. Psychic Benja is on the case."

"Ya well, what about you? Do you hate humanity?" I ask.

"No. Just most of it," he replies. I raise my eyebrows.

"So, there is someone, then."
"Maybe."

"Does their name start with J and rhyme with Merome?" I ask.

"Really?"

"I had to. I'm bound by fangirl law. If it makes you feel any better, I was never really a Merome shipper. You guys were always a BroTP for me."

"Oh. Well in that case, no, but I will say that there is someone," he concedes.

"Really?" I ask. My inner fangirl rises to the surface, and I struggle to keep the overexcitement from spewing everywhere.

"Really."

"Does their name start with an A and rhyme with Mashley?" I ask.

He pauses. I start to smile.

"No."

"Um, bullshit."

"That's not nice," he says, looking offended. I smile wider.

"Well, you are a liar my good sir, and that's what happens to liars. You like Ashley."

"So?" he asks defensively.

"So what? I won't spill. I can practically hear the fanfics being written right now. I don't wanna have to read that so I can find good ones to embarrass you with."

"So you don't mind?" he asks.

"Why would I mind?" I reply. "It's your life, Mitch. I'm not gonna question you. Besides, she's pretty, and y'all would be a cute couple."

He blushes. "Shut up."

"Okay," I say. We continue our conversation as normal from there, dropping the subject.

"So there's NOOOOOTHING going on?" Belle asks, jolting me back to the present.

"We're friends, B," I reply. "That's all."

She gives me a doubting look, but drops the subject. The next morning, we make a vlog for one million even though we're halfway to two million already. Oh well, that's life.

I'm just gonna go with the flow.

A/N TIME! BET YOU SAW THIS COMING! YEY! : Hey guys! QD here with another chapter. I didn't include Mitch's POV in this chapter because a) it would have been super long and b) I didn't think there was any point. Anyway, here are the facts and fictions!

-Anything Goes has been one of my favorite musicals ever since my babysitter played in the pit orchestra and gave my sister and me a CD when my school performed it and I was in elementary school.

-The person I based Corrin off of really is a lot like me. He practically is me, just a boy instead of a girl.

-The whole 'hating humanity' thing? Yeah, that's kinda true. I don't mean to think everyone around me are idiots, but it just kinda happens. Oh well.

-Merome is, and forever will be, my top BroTP. Never ever OTP. Sorry, Merome shippers.

-My sister's real name starts with a B, and I do call her B all the time.

And then the fictions:

-My friends and I are probably definitely not going to the same colleges.

-I don't know if my sister will even be in the musical when she's in high school.

Anyway, there it is! An update. YAY! Seriously though, this story is at almost 3500 views. HOLY PURPLE NUGGETS OF COMBAT WOMBATS, that is AMAZING! I can't say enough how awesome you beautiful individuals are. I love all of your reviewing, etc. Keep it up! You guys are what keeps me going. Just a warning, there are massive time skips coming up to get towards the next planned part of the story. PREPARE YOUR BODIES, as Mitch would say. As always, much luv!

-Quiet Defiance