Page 55 of Now Streaming

Hayden ran his hand through his hair, frustration in every cell of his body.

“She’s already working with the tournament people on a statement that I don’t work for them and never have.”

“Did she mention any fallout from the tournament itself?”

Hayden shook his head. “There shouldn’t be, considering they know the story is false and that I don’t work there. The lawyer’s also in contact with the internet news site that published the story to begin with, but they’re claiming the pictures were sent anonymously from an IP address belonging to a library computer here in town.”

“Sounds like a shitty source. Will they retract the story?”

“They’re standing by it. And they made it clear that they’re going to pay good money for whoever can give them the identity of the mysterious man in the photo with Min. Fuck, this is a disaster.”

In the past, Theo was the hothead and Hayden would work to calm him down. But now Theo just sipped his wine, their roles reversed. “It can’t be that bad. Who really gets invested in streamers?”

Hayden thumped down into the chair next to his brother. “The article itself was picked up by every gaming website in the country, as well as a few mainstream media outlets. And has been trending top five on Twitter all morning.”

“So your picture is everywhere.” Theo still sounded calm, and for some reason, that really pissed off Hayden. He glared at his brother, simultaneously knowing he needed Theo to talk him down and also wanting to yell at him.

“Yeah, everywhere. I’m lucky if I get out of this mess with my identity intact.”

“And how’s Min doing?” Hayden heard how carefully he asked the question, how deliberately neutral he was, and grew instantly suspicious.

“Why did you ask it like that?”

“Because you’ve been here for an hour pacing and panicking and bitching and on the phone yelling at people and I haven’t heard you mention one word about the woman you brought here. The one you couldn’t stop staring at who is once again being forced into a scandal, this time doxxing her.”

Theo’s tone was mild, but Hayden felt like he had been punched in the gut. Hayden drummed his fingers on the table, his mind racing. How was Min doing? She was pale when she left, and it had felt awkward. And he hadn’t stopped to check on her before he came here. She was also living a nightmare, a repeat of one that she had just started coming out the other side of.

And Hayden hadn’t even checked on her.

“Fuck,” he said. “I don’t know.”

“Have you seen her since the article came out?” At the look on Theo’s face, Hayden knew he was seeing right through him. “Shit, you were with her when she saw it this morning.”

“That is… none of your business.”

“You were with her and saw the article and then proceeded to only think about yourself. You are such a fucking dumbass.” Theo looked pretty pissed, which was a surprise. His brother was usually on his side no matter what, ride or die. That’s when it really hit Hayden that he must have royally fucked up for Theo to be this mad about something other than food.

“It was a lot at once. You know my anonymity is a big deal to me.” Hayden heard how defensive he sounded and felt like shit. Lower than shit.

“Yeah, I know, and I respect that, and the anxiety you deal with. But do you really think Min values her anonymity less than you do yours? She’s being accused of cheating at the one event that was supposed to help her get her career back. And now it’s all exploding in her face—again—and the guy she thought liked her is acting like the situation is all about him.” Theo shook his head in disgust. “Men. No wonder they hate us.”

The truth hit Hayden, hard. He sunk his head into his hands, overwhelmed with how terrible he had handled that morning.

“God, I’m truly the worst asshole.”

“You are.”

Hayden was frustrated, his mind racing in several directions at once. The only way to publicly refute the claims that he worked for the tournament were to out who he was, giving up his own privacy. But doing that would only create more of a frenzy around him and Min, not to mention completely destroy his anonymity.

“What am I going to do, Theo?”

Theo shook his head, finishing his glass of wine and standing up, clearing the table. “I don’t know, Hayden. This is a complicated situation and there are no simple solutions. All I can tell you is yesterday you were in here with a girl, looking at her like she hung the fucking moon, ready to break my fingers for flirting with her.”

Hayden opened his mouth to argue but found he couldn’t. “We’ve only known each other a few weeks,” he tried, sounding weak even to his own ears. “We hated each other for years before that. We never even hung out before this weekend.”

“I saw the photos, Hayden. Whoever that girl is, you don’t hate her. I suspect it’s actually the opposite.”

Hayden worried he was right. But still. “It doesn’t work that fast.”

---