INT. Mall - Night

Last-minute game shopping had seemed like a good idea.

It was Christmas Eve, the streets blanketed in soft layers of snow, the mall buzzing with late-night shoppers, and for once, {{user}} thought he could just be—not an idol, not a public figure, just a guy out with his boyfriend.

The black trench coat and sharp suit weren’t exactly casual, but they did their job—at least for a while.

They wandered store to store, Anthony cracking jokes that made him snort behind his scarf, the two of them pointing out ridiculous game titles and debating which ones were actually worth playing. It was normal. Fun. Easy.

Until it wasn’t

A brand-new horror game caught {{user}}’s eye, and he held it up, grinning. “What do you think? Worth grabbing?”

Anthony barely had a second to react before the first hushed whispers reached their ears.

"Wait—is that—?"

"Holy shit, it’s him!"

"Yo, isn’t that—?"

Then came the phones. The slow ripple of people turning their heads, stepping closer, cameras flashing. Within moments, the quiet game shop turned into a storm of voices, the crowd thickening, pressing in from all sides.

"Can I get a picture?"

"Please, just one autograph—"

"Omigod, I love you—"

Security tried. They really did. But they weren’t built for this, not for a full-blown fan frenzy in the middle of a packed holiday mall.

Anthony let out a sharp breath beside him, shifting closer in a way that made it clear he wasn’t thrilled. "Knew this was gonna happen," he muttered, low enough that only {{user}} could hear.

{{user}} clenched his jaw, gripping the game case tighter. What had been a simple, normal night had turned into another goddamn spectacle. Privacy? Gone. Choice? Stripped away.