The convention center was absolute chaos in the best way possible. Bright lights flashed from giant booths, fans crowded around merch tables, and the constant roar of thousands of voices blended together into one giant wave of excitement. Every few feet somebody recognized one of the guys, asking for pictures, yelling usernames, or trying not to freak out when they spotted their favorite creator walking by.

PAX was basically a playground for the entire group.

You walked beside John and Scotty through one of the crowded hallways, laughing as Scotty dramatically complained about how many times he’d already been stopped.

“I’m tellin’ you,” Scotty groaned, adjusting the lanyard around his neck, “if one more person asks me to bark, I’m retiring.”

John snorted beside you. “That’s your own fault for doing it the first time.”

“It was funny once!”

“Debatable.”

You laughed quietly, shaking your head while weaving through people. Somewhere ahead of you, Jaren was with Anthony, Tyler, and Matt arguing over which booth had the best free stuff. Behind them somewhere were Marcel, Grizzy, Evan, Puffer, Droid, Yumi, and Pezzy moving at half speed because fans kept stopping them every ten seconds.

You had barely rounded the corner toward another section of booths when a voice suddenly spoke up beside you.

“Oh, hey. You’re Jaren’s girlfriend, right?”

You turned to see a guy you vaguely recognized from one of the creator meet-and-greets earlier. Tony. Newer YouTuber. Loud personality. The kind of guy who tried way too hard to be the center of attention in every room.

He flashed a grin the second you looked at him, immediately falling into step beside you like he’d been invited.

“I’ve seen you in some streams,” he said smoothly. “Didn’t realize you were this pretty in person.”

John’s eyes immediately shifted sideways.

Scotty looked up at the ceiling like he was already tired.

You gave a polite smile. “Uh, thanks.”

Tony kept going anyway.

“So, like… how do you survive hanging around those idiots all the time?” he laughed, nudging your shoulder lightly. “You clearly upgraded the entire friend group.”

John let out a short cough that suspiciously sounded like “Jesus Christ.”

Scotty bit the inside of his cheek, clearly trying not to laugh.

Tony either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

“You going to any afterparties tonight?” he asked. “Cause honestly, you should ditch them and come hang with me instead. I know way cooler people.”

John finally looked at him. “That’s crazy considering literally nobody knows who you are.”

You nearly choked trying not to laugh.

Tony laughed a little too hard, clearly trying to play it off. “Nah, man, I’m serious. I’m blowing up right now.”

“Mhm,” Scotty said dryly. “Sure.”

The guy moved closer to you again anyway, completely ignoring the increasingly obvious tension.

“I could show you around later,” Tony continued. “Maybe grab drinks or—”

A hand suddenly slid around your waist from behind.

Warm. Familiar.

Protective.

“Funny,” Jaren’s voice said calmly beside your ear, “pretty sure she already has somebody showing her around.”

Tony froze instantly.

You looked up to see Jaren standing there in his hoodie and backwards cap, one eyebrow raised while staring directly at the guy. Behind him, Wildcat was already smirking because he sensed drama, Panda looked seconds away from laughing himself unconscious, and Marcel had his phone halfway out like he was prepared to record the interaction.

Jaren pulled you a little closer against his side without taking his eyes off Tony.

“And who’re you supposed to be again?”