One in a million

Last year, Astella Volago became the light of my life. Her smile shined brighter than any star in the sky, her lips a perfectly shaded red against her smooth pale skin. Every waking moment presented another chance to be with her. She was my light, and I'd give anything to accompany her in love until we both grew old. There was just one problem.

Astella Volago was a Vtuber!

Yet despite that, I wanted to give her my all! Sure, I’d met girls, gone on dates, played around a bit - all of the above. But butterflies danced whenever my eyes met hers. Perfection in human - or well, digital - form. That was the only way to describe her.

Alas, my wildest dreams would stay just that - dreams. Even someone with my immaculate looks couldn’t dare to hope. She resided on another plane - viewable yet untouchable to any mortal man.

Or so I, like many others, thought. Yet sometimes those one in a million odds come to fruition.

                                                                                  * * *

I peered down at my phone, earphones locked and loaded as class began. My radiant sun shone on the screen, playing some gory FPS game while chat scrolled along. Not that she was live, of course. For whatever reason, Astella only streamed in the evenings and weekends - perfect for my schedule as a student.

“Kaiden.” Astella’s voice was crystal clear through the tiny speakers, but it didn't matter how good her audio quality was because I could never look away from those big blue eyes. They were like pools of liquid sunshine, bright enough to make you feel warm all over when you gazed into them.

"Kaiden!" Crap! As I awoke from heaven, Ms. Hani - my classroom teacher - pointed toward the most complex equation I'd ever seen in my life. "Come up and solve this if you would."

"N-no problem!" My voice squeaked. She was on to me, no doubt. But what was the worst that could happen? I'd fail a math test and get kicked out of school? Come on; I'd been failing math tests since elementary. It wasn't that big of a deal.

I pushed back my chair, letting it fall loudly across the linoleum floor, and walked up towards the whiteboard. "Let's see... take the x, divide it by four..." What to do, what to do… My mind raced as the solution popped into my head. When life gives you lemons, might as well squeeze them for all they got!

I turned to the class, "Answers the antiderivative of X!"

Everyone burst into laughter as I gave a grand bow. "Always happy to be of service."

"Kaiden!" Ms. Hani's face flushed red. "I got a one-way ticket for the principal's office with your name on it!"

"While I am extremely tempted, I must decline." Hmm, I eyed my classmates one by one. How to get out of this? Honestly, I couldn’t give a shit about visiting that old geezer, but I’d get my ass kicked if I dared to push this too far.

Yet as my eyes scanned the rows of occupied seats, a singular path lit itself wide within the palm of my hand. God that sounded pretentious.

"Ms. Hani?" In the middle of our light-hearted chat, Ella popped in - hand raised. Please don’t let me down.

"What is it, sweetheart?" God, that lady could swap personalities on a dime.

"I ran the math, and technically Kaiden's correct."

"Is he really?" Her sweet smile wavered as she glanced over Ella's work. "Kaiden?"

"I don't think I'm wrong, ma'am."

"But... but..." She looked back at the board and then back at me. "You're right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She sighed, her shoulders sagging as she walked back to the board. "Okay, I believe you. You are absolutely correct. Thank you, Kaiden."

The rest of the class laughed as Ms. Hani wiped the board clean and started writing something new.

I flashed Ella a peace sign as I passed by her desk. Thank god for that know it all sometimes. Her dark shoulder-length hair shifted slightly as she smiled back, reflecting the classroom lights above. Another class cleared without a certain someone berating me to hell and back for my numerous crimes.

With that distraction out of the way, I put my earphones back in and pressed play - minimizing the window while I scrolled through social media.

It had been almost two years since I'd first found out about Astella. Back then, she was nothing more than a small channel, uploading every other day. But soon, her content exploded. I'd always been interested in Vtubers - watching them stream, reading their blogs, even making a few of my own videos. It was only natural that I would fall for such a perfect girl!

"Kaiden, you there, man?"

"Hmm?" I took out my earphone as Val poked my arm.

She pushed back her long dark hair, emphasizing her slender frame. Val was the type to say whatever popped into her mind - good or bad, which always led to some interesting conversations. "When the hell did you get so good at math? Did begging Ella for homework help finally teach you something?"

"Nah, I just saw an opportunity and took it."

"Still better than I could do."

I smirked, putting my earphones back in. "I know. I’m a man of specialized talents"

"So anyway, what do you think about this?" she asked, pulling up a message board I knew all too well. Vhub, the place to be for Vtuber rumors and discussion. You see, Val was arguably more into Vtubers than I was, but she had a bit of a unique taste in this sphere. 

"You find another ship tripping up the forums?"

"You don't gotta say it like that! I just think that Kazuma and Shoto would be so cute together!" For all her strengths, Val's one weakness was clear as day. God, did that woman love BL

"No, no! That's not what I meant to tell you." She said, "Look at the top link!"

"Top link ei?" What's rocking these morons' worlds today? Posted front and center, one page stood bolded from the rest. 'High School of Astella Vorago leaked in data breach.’"God, are you serious? What the hell is wrong with these people? Well doesn't concern me." I lied. Despite every ounce of my morality screaming against it, I was absurdly curious. How could I not be? She was the girl of my dreams!

"I know, right? But that's not the interesting part," Val smirked. "Read on."

I clicked the link, scanning the page. Every word heightened the suspense until... "You can't be serious…"

"Dead serious. And by all indications, the leaks credible as they come."

Listed in bold letters, the name of her high school overshadowed every bit of text on the page. "JBHS," the same high school I was currently getting lectured to death within.

"Not only that, apparently, she's in our grade too!"

"...what?"

I stared at the screen, unsure of how to respond. Was this some kind of cruel joke? A prank? My mind raced, searching for an answer. Who was this person? All I could think was that she was somehow connected to me. The thought alone sent my heart racing.

"Holy shit," I muttered. There were around four hundred people in our grade, and if you cut that in half... I'd been talking to Astella for years.

"We gotta find her, man!" Val said. "I know how much you drool over that girl."

"Shh!" Not that anyone would hear our hushed tones or care for that matter. "Do you gotta say that out loud?"

"I can say it much louder, don't worry." She smiled. That BL obsessed...

"I don't know Val it-"

"Think about how many fans would love to be in your position! You've had a crush on her since forever! Go for it."

"That's not the point," I grumbled, looking away from the phone.

"Come on! Doesn’t this sound like a blast?"

"No, it's just..."

"Look, you want to meet her or not?"

"Of course I do!" I whispered. "Well. It's not like we have much to lose. Might as well give it a shot."

"There's that Kaiden every teacher here just loves, wanna look into it after class?"

"Can't. I'm heading over to Charlotte's after school."

"Again? Maybe this Astella talk is just covering for something else?"

"Shut it." It was my turn to get bright red. "I'll send you a text after I get home."

"Ok, lover boy."

I wanted to scream into the void. Still, what were the odds?! Astella became my shining star not too long ago - my very reason to live. I’d always dreamed about meeting her someday, be it at a fan convention, one on one meetup, or anything of the sort. But this? I’d been living my dream this entire time without even knowing!

Now, it was time to find the source.