Chapter 7: Enough For Now

"Thank you all for watching. Please make sure to like this video and follow me so you never miss another! See ya soon, fellow weirdos!"

Junie turned off her camera and smiled widely before falling heavily on her plush loveseat. She grabbed her phone, held it above her face, and smiled even wider as she read her text from Kian. They had been texting back and forth for the past several weeks, about everything and anything. Kian texted that he was almost done with work and would pick her up as usual. Junie sent him a thumbs up and a heart before tossing her phone on the coffee table and staring up at the ceiling while on her back.

As soon as she let out a dreamy breath, her phone vibrated urgently. She swiped it up and answered it once she saw who was calling.

"Happy birthday, Junie!" Callie shrieked.

"Shh!" Junie snapped.

"What?" Callie laughed. "Oh, are you not alone?" she asked mischievously.

"Of course I'm alone," Junie said. "I'm still working."

"You didn't bother to take your birthday off?" Callie said and Junie could tell by her tone that she was frowning. "Isn't that, like, mandatory for people who are self-employed?"

Junie rolled her eyes but answered Callie good-naturedly. "I don't want to fall behind, so yes, I'm working on my birthday."

"Have it your way," Callie drawled. "So, is Kian taking you somewhere special tonight? You gotta at least do something special."

"You better not tell Kian that it's my birthday," Junie said firmly.

Callie was silent. Junie pulled her phone away from her face to make sure the call didn't drop. She put it back to her ear just in time for Callie's shrill voice to break through. "He doesn't know?!"

Junie's face scrunched up in a grimace. She pushed some of her wavy dark hair away from her eyes as she sat up. "It just hasn't come up."

Callie groaned in exasperation. "How is it going to come up if you don't bring it up?" she asked rhetorically. Then, she grumbled. "I thought you liked him."

"I do like him," Junie said, her face coloring as she said the words. "I just don't want him to make a big deal out of my birthday, okay? He already spoils me."

It was true, too. Kian loved to surprise her with chocolates and little gifts once in a while. Thankfully, they weren't expensive gifts. Her favorite trinket from him was an acrylic keychain that had a little drawing of a camera on it. The camera had a cartoon face etched onto it that reminded her vaguely of Kiara. Junie thought he was going overboard, but he always said that seeing nice things made him think of her. She could still think it was sweet while also thinking he was going overboard.

"Liar," Callie said immediately, making Junie's jaw drop. "I know you. You just don't like to talk about yourself. Well, guess what? That's part of being in a relationship, June. Opening up to people, communicating."

Junie grimaced. "I'll try," she promised. Then, she sighed. "Look, I can't just change who I am just because I like someone."

Junie was aware that it was ironic that she was a very private person even though she posted videos online for the whole world to see. She didn't share any personal information on her site, though. Her viewers didn't even know her real name, and they definitely didn't know her birthday. She was extremely careful to keep all that information private.

"You're already changing, Junie," Callie said matter-of-factly. Junie could almost imagine her waving her hand around animatedly. "You actually pick up your cell phone, for once. If someone told me you would start doing that a month ago, I would have laughed in their face. You're also a lot happier. Admit it."

It was true that Junie was on her phone much more now that she and Kian were talking. The past few nights, the two were up well past midnight just texting one another. Somehow, she was still getting up early in the morning, feeling refreshed and ready to start the day.

"How far have you gone?"

Junie blinked and shook her head hard, realizing that she was still on the phone with Callie. "What?" she asked blankly.

"How far have you gone?" Callie repeated, her tone becoming mischievous. "C'mon, Junie. You can tell me!"

Junie felt the blood in her face burn. "Cal, it's not like that!" she protested, barely able to get the words out.

She wasn't going to admit that although she and Kian had been seeing each other for a few weeks at this point, they hadn't even kissed yet. Kian had tried to initiate a kiss a couple of times but Junie was able to neatly dodge them by turning at just the right moment or ducking to pick something up. She hoped Kian didn't notice.

Junie could tell that Callie was muffling her laughter. "Alright, fine whatever," the younger girl said. "Well, just make sure to do something today. It's your day! Get out of that apartment and celebrate a little bit."

After promising to do something special for her birthday, Junie ended the call with Callie and got back to work. She decided to edit the video she just shot and couldn't help but notice how her eyes seemed to glow or the fact that she was cracking jokes a little bit more in the video.

She spent a couple of hours editing before clicking on one of Kian's videos. He also did a lot of cosplay videos, but they were more on weaponry. He had made everything from swords and shields to bows and arrows. One video was on his bow and arrow set that actually worked. Junie always laughed while watching Kian's stuff. They weren't just informative and well-written. They were also hilarious. He did dramatic close-ups of his face when he told jokes on camera and his timing was perfect. He also added funny effects like explosions and noises that had her clutching her stomach at times.

She couldn't believe that they were together.

Well, she assumed they were together. They hadn't really put a label on what their relationship was. They were clearly dating, but were they actually boyfriend and girlfriend? Junie thought about asking him, but she didn't want to sound eager or desperate. They were spending a lot of time together, and for now, that was enough for her.

She tried not to think too hard about whether or not it was enough for Kian. He seemed like he was enjoying their time together. He was always smiling at her with that kind, almost shy smile of his that made Junie's chest flutter. He texted her multiple times throughout the day and brought her little gifts.

Junie pushed the thought that he might be unhappy away and continued to work, forcing herself to simply look forward to seeing Kian later that night.