Who Needs Sleep Anyway?

My sleep schedule was sacred. I knew from past experience that trying to stay up late and "do work" was counterproductive, because it usually just ended with me being a tired zombie for the entirety of the next day. 11:00 PM lights out, 7:00 AM wake up. REM cycles were not to be trifled with. At least, according to that one article I read a while back.

Unfortunately, electronic devices don't really care about things like that. My phone suddenly began blaring a bright and cheery pop tune (that ironically only made me feel grumpy) as it vibrated on the small table beside my bed. I groggily fumbled for the device.

Caller ID: Parker

What a weird alarm name. No, wait, this isn't an alarm, it's a phone call. I groaned at my current lack of brain cells and swiped right.

"Parker, what's wrong?"

"Celeste," Parker’s voice sounded breathless, panic lacing his usually chill tone. "Don't hang up. Have you looked at your social media lately?"

"I am sleeping. I do not need to distract myself with useless things when I am sleeping."

"Look at it. Now."

I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, and switched apps.

#CelesteAndParker was a trending hashtag. I briefly wondered if I was in the middle of a weirdly realistic dream. Why on earth would our names be trending? I scrolled through my feed and tried to decipher what was happening. Did we do something wrong?

Another tag people used was #B1Revealed. B1. That's the term I used earlier. I was even more confused now. The niche amount of followers we had already knew we were best friends. It was obvious from our interactions, right?

I froze when I saw the next related tag. #FriendsToLovers. What?

Parker started talking again on the other end. "I think you need to Google what 'B1' actually means."

"I know what it means. It means Best One. Like a best friend."

"Celeste. It means Beloved One."

That snapped me awake. There was a long silence between us.

"Beloved...One?" I repeated, my voice squeaking slightly.

Parker hesitates. "Cee, I think you basically called me your boyfriend."

I had a million thoughts racing around in my head, and it was hard to choose what to say next. I wasn't sure if it was even an important question at this point, but what I ended up saying was:

"Why would people care so much if we were dating?"

"Okay. Um." I could tell that Parker was definitely freaking out on the other end. Any other time, it would've been funny to tease him, but right now, I was still in shock. "Celeste. Do you remember the movie we did together?"
"Yes, of course. Sunset Heart. Why would I forget?"

"Okay. And...do you remember what happens in that movie?"

"I play this precocious teenager who has big dreams, and then she dies at the end."

Parker sighs. "Celeste, you're missing a big part of that movie. Actually, I'd say you're very much missing the only focus of that movie."

"The romance? Well, our characters flirt with each other a little, I guess. Nothing happens, though." I tried to remember the events of the movie. It had been a while, after all. "We just make big plans to sneak me out of the hospital so we can see the fireworks together, and I was really excited to go with you, but then the plot-device cancer gets me first...Oh, I guess we held hands and almost kissed once."

There was another sigh. "You are the least romance-obsessed girl I know. Anyway, that movie did well, right? People said we were young actors to look out for, and we'd have a bright future in acting—" Parker trails off, and Celeste could tell he was on the verge of making a self-deprecatory remark.

"—AND it turns out, there's this sub-section of our fans who ship us together?" Parker had gone back on track. "As in actual us. The actors. Because we had a lot of chemistry on interviews and promotional videos."

"Oh." I knew I should probably say more, but this was all a lot to take in.

"So...do we tell people it's a mistake? We probably should, right?"

My first instinct was to issue a video where I apologize and admit that I'm an idiot, but the more I scrolled through my feed, the more I started to hesitate. Owning up to the mistake would be the right thing to do, but...

We were trending. The response was overwhelmingly positive. For example, there was even Gina Moskovi, who is a gold medalist player in tennis, gushing in their timeline about our so-called romantic reveal. This is so surreal. The video where I used that infamous B1 term had gotten 5 million views, and it was only uploaded yesterday.

We even had a ship name! Apparently, our ship name is ParCel, which I thought was kinda cute.

Parcel! Our two names together! That's so fun. No, wait, I'm getting distracted. I cleared my thoughts and tried to focus on the task at hand.

"Parker?"

"Yeah?"

"We were child actors, right?"

"And?"

"Since we know how to act...maybe we should just be nice and give people what they want?"

"Wouldn't that be lying?" Parker was definitely shocked. He probably pictures me as a stereotypical 'good girl' who always follows the rules, and usually that description would fit me, but this whole thing was so promising. This might just be the big push we need to help with our 'popularity' (or the lack thereof).

"Look, making these ViewTube videos is fun, but we mostly do it as a way to spend time together and earn some money on the side. Our real ambitions are different, you know." I wanted to be a pop singer who sells out concerts. I wanted my songs constantly playing on the radio. Parker wanted to continue his acting career and land exciting roles that would challenge him, instead of just extra characters in random B-grade movies. "This is our chance, Parker. If we don't take it, when is the next one going to come along?"

"Cee, are you sure about this?"

"Well, friendship and romance are pretty close anyway. Basically, if you think about it, the only thing we need to do is...exaggerate our friendship a little. That should be easy, right?"

Parker remained silent on the other line.

"We don't have to do it if you don't want to." I felt stupid. I had been so caught up in my weird, ambitious daydream that I didn't realize that the average person would probably think I'm crazy for even suggesting a fake relationship. It was a good idea in theory, but obviously the final choice was up to Parker. I didn't want to do anything that he was uncomfortable with.

"No, it's not that...it's just." Parker's voice was quiet. "Wouldn't this be annoying for you?"

Huh. "Annoying? How?"

"You know. Pretending. That you're dating me. Wouldn't it be weird for you?"

"Oh." So that's what he meant. "But it's you. I'm always comfortable as long as I'm with you." I spoke slowly, trying to find the right words to use. I wasn't used to sounding this...mushy. My cheeks had probably turned scarlet, and I was thankful that we weren't actually having a conversation face-to-face. "I mean, pulling off a fake relationship is hard, but I think it might be a fun experience?"

Finally, Parker agrees. "Okay. Let's do it."

I was getting excited; I wanted to plan this thoroughly, but I definitely should rest instead. How frustrating!

"Listen, Parker, I think I'll have to sleep first. Let's meet up tomorrow morning, though? So we can talk and figure out what to do."

"Of course. Good night, Cee."

"See you tomorrow."

"Oh, wait. Cee?"

I stopped my finger from pressing the 'end call' button. "Yep?"

"Is this an alright time to joke about the fact that you basically called me 'baby' in front of 5 million people?"

I groaned and hung up immediately.