Later that night, back in his condo, Gray was lying down on his bed with his phone in hand. The city lights shimmered faintly through the glass window of his room. The view was nice up there, but his focus was on a different screen.
It was the glowing screen of his phone in front of him.
The day replayed in sections inside his head. He remembered how nervous he was at first as he waited on the backstage. Then, a second after, he was already on the stage with Luna’s voice guiding him through each question.
And then... that scene in the waiting room. His day was full of first times.
However, what really stuck in his mind was the moment that she hugged him. He still couldn’t wrap his head around it.
"I actually got a picture with Luna McQueen..." He muttered to himself.
The words sounded absurd even as he said them out loud. It was like something pulled straight out of a fanfiction.
Yet here it was, saved in his phone’s gallery. There was a whole collection of his photos with her. Fortunately, Mara’s photography skills were good.
Scrolling through them, he paused at every picture to look at it. He didn’t even know how many times he had looked at the picture since he went home.
He couldn’t help it. After all, every picture showed Luna’s radiant smile.
"I don’t even look half bad." A laugh slipped out of him. He also looked decent besides her. It looked like he was proud and confident, even if he was all nervous earlier.
’I wonder if she posted it already.’
Quickly, Gray opened his social media account. The first thing that greeted him nearly made him drop the phone.
Right at the top of his feed was Luna’s post.
A single photo, their photo. It was aptioned with:
✨ Thank you for tonight’s heartfelt conversation. Truly inspiring to meet someone so genuine. ✨
His name was tagged on the post too.
For a moment, Gray’s brain shut down. He scrolled down to the comments, wanting to see how the people reacted to it. Maybe he will receive some hate comments or criticism.
However, what he found instead made his chest tighten in the best way.
"This was one of the best interviews I’ve watched in a long time."
"Gray Adams seems so real. I want to hear more from him."
"We need more guests like this. Respect."
"He’s actually kinda handsome ngl."
"Lol why do they kinda look good together?"
"I guess we’ll be seeing more of Gray Adams. He’s quite nice."
Gray covered his mouth with one hand. His chest felt warm when he saw that they were rooting for him.
What felt nicer was the fact that it was Luna who shared it.
He put the phone down for a second, staring at the ceiling. His lips refused to stop curving upward.
Eventually, curiosity got the better of him. He opened the network’s streaming app and pulled up the replay of tonight’s episode.
At first, he cringed at his face. He squinted his eyes and cursed. The opening shot showed him stiff in his chair and his shoulders tense.
"God, I look like I did something wrong," he muttered under his breath.
But as the episode went on, he noticed something unexpected.
His voice didn’t shake at all as he remembered. His answers came out measured, natural, and even heartfelt. He didn’t sound desperate or awkward. Just him. Sometimes, the cameras would pan on the audience too.
In there, he could see them nodding and reacting to him.
"Wow," he whispered to himself, stunned at it. "That’s me?"
Even he couldn’t believe the calmness in his tone when he talked about his lowest point in life, or the quiet conviction when he explained why he kept moving forward.
Watching it from the outside, it was as if someone else had taken over his body that moment.
"Unbelievable," he muttered, shaking his head as he watched himself on screen, "I didn’t think I had the talent for this."
He leaned back against the headboard of his bed, letting out a long sigh.
"Still... that was nerve-wracking as hell. My heart almost gave out up there." He ran a hand down his face, exhaling again as if to release the leftover tension in his chest from today’s events.
"I guess this one’s enough. I just need to do one more and get it over with. Fortunately, I only told Mara that I can only do 2 interviews."
Despite his words, the corners of his lips was still curving upwards.
He went back to his social media account again. He couldn’t take watching his face further. What matters is he already knew he did well. What greeted him back was Luna’s post.
When he saw it earlier, it barely had 500 comments. But now, after just 30 minutes, the comments crossed the 2,000 mark.
And it didn’t just end there. The comments kept coming in waves, and it seemed like more and more people were sharing the clip from the show.
Some comments were serious, but others were lighthearted.
"Bro really carried the whole interview."
"This guy’s like that quiet student who suddenly says something that makes the whole class go silent."
"Protect Gray Adams at all costs 😭."
"Luna and Gray? Don’t play with me, I’d ship that."
Gray couldn’t stop chuckling at the ones made by the younger crowd. The way they joked around in the comment section made him feel oddly lighter.
He shook his head, still grinning like an idiot.
Just as he was about to scroll again, his phone vibrated in his hand. A soft ding sounded, followed by a notification sliding across the top of his screen.
His eyes darted to the message he had received. He thought that it was just a normal message.
But it wasn’t.
It was from Luna.
===
A/N: Thank you to all the readers who have dropped Golden Tickets this month:
Mike_Kunz, Ikras, Alec_Sutherland, Goatfied, Wes_Briggs, JungleDan, gsels, Sugar_pixie86, Peacecj, Anita_Fritzsche, larrythegoat, Benjamin_Green, Mike_Jansen, saito258, ebonysmith12, Annshanin, Macronimus, DaoistDD7do4, Jamie_FLeming_4817, Daoist958786, Jean Laparra, Jeremiah_Madj, NY0LIPS, SilentSlayer7.
I really appreciate it!