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𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗞

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I think there's been a glitch

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ELLUM THOUGHT IT should be studied how the second Mary Jane's name popped up in chat, it suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe.

He had been streaming for a while, starting off with some GTA and then going into a couple games of an in-house Valorant. The in-house had ended quite some time ago, and at the moment, Ellum was just hanging out with chat, doing what he did best — talk. He was in the midst of talking about what his plans were while he was still in LA when a first time chat message popped up, sent by a person with a very familiar name.

maryjane: hey british boy

Ellum paused for a second, his mouth going slightly dry. He had seen that name in his friend's chats before, mostly Foolish and Luna, with the VIP heart or mod sword next to it. That was a clear indication of who it was — the very same girl that was making him lose every train of thought. He wasn't even sure he remembered his own name anymore. God, this was so bad. He was way too invested in this girl, and it seemed like he was drowning in the deep end.

It had gotten even worse last night. Last night, he had gotten so, so close to kissing her. It was like they were opposite ends of a magnet, just constantly getting pulled towards each other. His eyes had acted on his own accord, going to her lips, which made him lose all sense of thought for a bit. Maybe if Tina hadn't dropped her water and caused that crash, he would've just leaned forward and done it, doing the one thing that he'd wanted to do every since he practically laid eyes on her. Yet, he didn't.

Something could happen between them. Ellum knew that — he practically spent all his time thinking about what they could be, and what could happen . Yet, he could never actually act on it, or find the courage to do anything about it. Last night, sitting on that bed, was the closest he'd gotten, but was rudely interrupted by Tina spilling something (no hate to Tina, loved her dearly, it was just . . . classic her).

"Um . . ." Ellum trailed off, clearing his throat and trying to regain his sense of self. "Hi — hi, MJane."

maryjane: hiiiii

At once, Ellum's chatters started to spam her name. While they did so, Ellum sat there, trying to think of something, anything to say. Mary Jane had this distinct ability to make Ellum forget every single word in the English language, but that seemed to be ramped up about a hundred times worse right now. Maybe it was because of what happened between them last night, or the fact that she had suddenly just appeared on his stream, confirming that she was actually watching him.

maryjane: omg hi chat LUBBERS how are you guys doing

"Oh, I'm — I'm doing good too," Ellum stammered, resisting the urge to close his eyes in frustration. Fuck, he seriously had to get it together. "Thank you — thank you for asking."

maryjane: I'm glad to hear that josh . . . I was getting there if you would've given me a second

Ellum laughed slightly at her response, raising his hands in slight surrender. "Sorry." His eyes then slightly widened in realization. "Wait, MJane, let me make you VIP. One sec." He typed in the command for a moment. "There you go. I think that worked."

💎 maryjane: VIP WOAHHHHHH I'M SPECIAL
💎 maryjane: thank you :)))

"Oh, no problem," Ellum responded. His cheeks splashed a light shade of pink. "And you are."

💎 maryjane: hold on let me return the favor
💎🧠 maryjane subscribed at tier 1!
as you are the third person I've ever subbed to on twitch, you are also very special

Ellum's face burned an even brighter shade of red at that, also maybe from seeing that she had used her own money to subscribe to him. "MJane, thanks for subscribing. You really didn't have to do that."

💎🧠 maryjane: it's okay, I wanted to
💎🧠 maryjane: I only really subscribe to people I actually watch. like for luna I have almost a 10 year sub bc I've been there since the beginning and noah I think I have a 1.5 year sub. I just haven't done yours until now, so there you go

He raised his eyebrows. "So you're saying you've watched me before?"

💎🧠 maryjane: . . . I may or may not be a long time lurker

Ellum momentarily felt his heart stop in his chest. She had watched him before? For how fucking long?

"So you've been watching me, is what you're saying?" Ellum asked, tilting his head slightly.

💎🧠 maryjane: I've done a bit of joshing :)

Ellum slightly smiled at the screen, his stomach doing a little flip-flop. "Thank you for watching, and for the sub again, I really appreciate it. I was actually about to end in a little bit, do you want to hang out or something?"

💎🧠 maryjane: WAIT
💎🧠 maryjane: HOLD ON

"Okay, I'm holding," Ellum said. It was only about a moment later until he heard rapid footsteps in the hallway, followed by a knock on the door. Ellum looked in the direction of the door and moved one of the ears of his headset off. "Come in."

The door open, followed by Mary Jane's head peeking through the small crack. Ellum instantly brightened at the sight of her wearing her glasses, especially since they were on full display since her hair was tied back.

"Do you want a brownie?" Mary Jane asked. "I made some."

"Oh, sure," Ellum responded. He actually wasn't that hungry, but considering she made it, it would be worth it. "Come in, come in."

The door fully opened, and in came Mary Jane . . . only her him to completely take his breath away for the second time that night. Not only was she wearing her glasses, but she was also wearing a red cropped tank top and a pair of ripped jean shorts, and Ellum thought he was going to fucking die. It was probably a totally comfortable outfit for her, but it was an outfit that managed to make him feel like he was going insane nonetheless.

She approached him with the kind of smile that made him feel all tingly inside, offering him a plate. "For you."

Ellum accepted the plate, looking down at the brownie. "You made this?"

"From scratch. Sometimes I bake things when I get really bored, and pretty much all of you were streaming, so I just . . . made them. I guess you can consider them an early birthday treat for Tina, because I would've offered to make her cake if QT wasn't already doing it."

He took a bite of the brownie, and Ellum swore to God he had never had anything better. "Wait, this is fucking incredible. MJane, holy shit."

Mary Jane perked up slightly, her grin widening. "I'm glad you like it." She then turned back to the computer screen with a wave. "Hi, chat." Mary Jane leaned forwards slightly, squinting just the tiniest bit at a chat message that had just popped up. "What a . . . strange question that is."

Ellum looked over at what she was reading, his eyebrows knitting in confusion at the sight of it. "Ellum, who in the LA friend group would you date?"

Mary Jane. Confidently Mary Jane, without a second thought or a doubt whatsoever. It was strange how much in the almost two weeks he had known her that she had managed to catch his attention so fast. Yet, even though he wanted to say that answer out loud, he couldn't. So, instead, he played it off.

"That is a strange question," Ellum voiced, taking another bite of the brownie. "I'm not answering that, chatter."

Mary Jane then leaned her arm against the headrest of Ellum's chair right behind his head, leaning slightly against it. The bare skin of her stomach was mere inches away from his arm, and he looked up at her, swallowing nervously at the close proximity of them. Maybe it was all in his head, but could she feel the electricity between them, too? Honestly, it was getting a little tiring pretending that it wasn't there when it so obviously was. Ellum wasn't sure how much longer he could go on living like this.

"I'm dating Meena," Mary Jane answered. "Easily. I fucking love that girl."

💎🧠✅ lunalikethemoon: a wise choice

Mary Jane's eyes brightened at the sight of her best friend in chat, making Ellum's heart race just a little bit faster. "Hi, Lunes."

"Luna," Ellum stated, his voice coming out slightly hoarse due to whatever just happened. "Ello, bruv."

💎🧠✅ lunalikethemoon: hello my loves <3 I'm very excited to see you two tomorrow!

"Thank God," Mary Jane said. "Not only have the rest of us missed you, but Noah's been like a lovesick puppy. It's been kind of saddening to see. Tell him that and I'll kill you, though."

💎🧠✅ lunalikethemoon: oh my boy :( I've missed him so much too ugh
💎🧠✅ lunalikethemoon: oh don't worry I won't, can't have him knowing that you actually care about him

"Yeah, no, that's my worst nightmare," Mary Jane responded, letting out a small laugh. "Anyways, I have to get back to the kitchen and store the brownies before they go bad . . . or before Noah finds them and eats all of them, because he would."

💎🧠✅ lunalikethemoon: no he absolutely would, good thinking

Ellum looked up at Mary Jane. "Wait, so do you want to hang out, or no?"

"Yeah, absolutely," Mary Jane answered. "Only if you make tea, and that we can play Hearthstone."

He scoffed. "Do you even know me? Of course we can do those things."

💎🧠✅ lunalikethemoon: you two being hearthstone duos is actually making me sick to my stomach
💎🧠✅ lunalikethemoon: I tried my best to get mj into this game and all of the sudden all she has to do is listen to a british accent asking her to play and she folds Susge

Mary Jane flushed. "That is not true." She then walked off camera, heading back to the door. "Bye, chat. Bye Lunes." Mary Jane paused by the door, glancing back at Ellum with a glint in her eyes that told him he was way more gone than he already thought. "I'll see you in the living room?"

Ellum nodded. "See you."

She then left the room, shutting the door behind her. Ellum turned back to his chat, ready to end stream, only for Luna's name to pop up in chat again.

💎🧠✅ lunalikethemoon: hmmmm. ellum, check your texts when you're done with stream

She was onto him. Ellum could tell. God damn it.

＊*•♥̩͙•̩̩͙*˚˚*•♥̩͙•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙♥̩͙•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙♥•̩̩͙*˚＊

IMESSAGE CONVERSATION

lunes [ luna ]
bingle boy [ ellum ]

lunes
all right bingle
fess up

bingle boy
hello to you
too luna
nice to hear
from you
hope you had
a good time in
london

lunes
I did
but that's not
the point of this
conversation
it's not about me
this is about
you
and like I said
FESS UP

bingle boy
what exactly
am I confessing
to here
I'm going to
need some more
context

lunes
come on
don't play
dumb

bingle boy
?

lunes
your feelings
for mary jane?
read at 8:15 pm

lunes
josh.
come on.
don't lie to
me

bingle boy
I don't know
what you're
talking about

lunes
oh, you don't?
really?
then what the
hell happened
on your stream
today?

bingle boy
nothing happened?

lunes
bro
I saw it
all

bingle boy
there was
nothing to
see

lunes
dude
there was
EVERYTHING
to see
she typed in
chat and you
like short
circuited

like this was
literally you
took the word
"smooth brain"
a little too
literally

bingle boy
I did not

lunes
oh so we're
being delusional
now?
okay
then what about
when she leaned
against your chair
slightly and you
looked like you
were about to
pass out?
you looked up
at mj like you
were about to
risk everything
for her, stream
be damned
I'm surprised
everything was
kept pg

bingle boy
WHAT?

lunes
I'm just
speaking
my truth
ellum, seriously
anyone with eyes
can tell that you
like her
don't deny it

bingle boy
I don't
we're just
friends

lunes
right
idk about
you but
friends don't
normally look
at each other
like that
it's giving crush

bingle boy
I'm not looking
at her like anything
what do you mean

lunes
denial. interesting
I'll get it out
if you one day,
bingle. mark
my words
just know you're
not being fucking
slick
this is my best
friend we're
talking about
when it comes
to her, I see all
I know all
better figure
your shit out
before I come
back tomorrow

bingle boy
there's nothing
to figure out???

luna
you're on thin
fucking ice, josh
I'm watching you

bingle boy
oh god

-ˏˋ ✩✩✩ ˊˎ-

I love writing for luna again even if it's little glimpses here and there

btw that question of asking who ellum would date in the friend group legitimately happened like I witnessed that question get read aloud