Cut Yourself Free

HANABI

"You're not just a clown, Prime_Eight. You're the ENTIRE FUCKING CIRCUS!"

The DedSec gang laughed at Sitara's taunt into the camera as they ended the stream, the signature "JOIN US." line at the end. Sitara pulled off the mask and lowered her hood as she joined the other, all of them giving her a high five.

"That was a hilarious insult!" commented Max, the others also sharing their appraisal for Sitara's video. Ever since Max's infiltration, Prime_Eight and Lenni have been silent. It was odd, but maybe they were reflecting about how stupid they were. Max certainly thought that Prime_Eight were fools for how easily they fell for Max's ploy. Then again, she hadn't made herself entirely known to the rival gangs, but they knew about her Vtuber persona. They just didn't know that it was her who was behind the persona.

Speaking of Vtubers...

"Hey, is it okay if I leave early today?" Max asked the gang. "There's a stream I need to do today. Well, I mean, I don't need to do it today, but--"

"We get what you mean." said Sitara, a smile on her face.

"Yeah, no worries, man. You're helping out the cause with your streaming." commented Marcus. Max nodded happily, a wide smile on her face as she gave them a thumbs up. She got up and went to grab her satchel, getting ready to head out when Josh approached her.

"Hey! H-how's everything, what's up?" she asked, tilting her head. He was silent for a moment, just sort of staring at her, his fingers moving slightly before he sighed.

"Do you want to hang out? I know you have a stream and everything, but since we're dating and all, I thought it would be a good idea to be around each other more. We don't have to if you don't want to, I-I just thought it was a good idea." Josh rambled on about how he was afraid to ask her at first, and then he imagined every single scenario he could about how the conversation would go. Max listened to the entirety of his talk until he realized that he was talking for too long, which was surprising since he was never one to talk for such a long time.

"Josh, I get what you mean." she said, placing a hand on his shoulder, which made him flinch. "Of course we can hang out! I'd absolutely love to." Josh gave her a nervous smile as he took her hand for a moment, giving it a kiss, which made her blush and look away shyly. Josh grabbed his backpack and the two of them left together, with the others looking at them curiously.

"I still can't believe he has a girlfriend now." commented Wrench, before letting out a loud yell, throwing his hands into the air and declaring that he was going to get a girlfriend too.

-----

"Josh, you don't have to hold my hand if you don't want to." mumbled Max as Josh continued to try and hold her hand, although he didn't like affection in public or touching really.

"I'm sorry, I just feel like I should." he said quietly, pulling his hand away and adjusting his beanie.

"Hey, whatever you're comfortable with, I'm comfortable with. We'll go at your pace."

"Are you sure? That feels very one-sided."

"Don't worry. And besides, relationships are all about patience." She gave him a wink and pinched his cheek, making him push her hand away before mumbling another apology. The two of them made it to her apartment. Josh was slightly amazed by how nice the place is. It was in a better part of town, and it was surprising that she could afford it despite her "jobs" being a streamer and a hacker. Then again, it wasn't that hard to funnel money into a bank account to afford such a nice place.