Actions

Work Header

#Phairene (And Other PR Nightmares)

Summary:

Once upon a time, a five-year-old boy stood on a front porch and swore that he would get rich and find his best friend again.

Fast forward to twenty years later, Phainon is now one of the most famous content creators on the internet, and he is currently dealing with the biggest drama of his career after he confesses live on stream that his childhood friend is the only crush he's ever had in his life.

After admitting that he's never seen her since the day they were separated, some of his more particularly rabid and stalker-ish 'fans' decide to make it their life's mission to track down his long lost best friend...

Well, that means he can at least find her now, right?

Notes:

So uhhh... I'm supposed to be in retirement rn LMAO.

COME ON, how can you expect me NOT to join in when I hear that it's Phairene Week?!

Well, to be fair, I don't actually know if I'm gonna be writing oneshots for the rest of the week, considering how long this was and the fact that my other ideas sound like it'd be just as long. I'm starting second year in 2 weeks from now, so I'm still thinking about it.

For now, enjoy my brief return from retirement in the form of this one shot.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

It was a random, totally innocent question from Caelus that Phainon had heard a thousand times by now.

 

"Have you ever had a girlfriend before?"

 

His voice filtered casually through their VC just as Phainon landed a clean snipe with his Black Widow, ending their game of Marvel Rivals in a sweeping victory for the two streamers. Which was quite a miracle, considering their opponents were literally stream snipers.

 

Serves them right.

 

With the match finished, Phainon relaxed and leaned back into his ridiculously expensive gaming chair, giving his camera and the second monitor a brief side eye to make sure everything was okay with his stream.

 

Nothing was wrong. Chat was still as energetic as always, the nonstop flow of messages a frantic mix of reactions to their victory, Caelus' abrupt question, and viewers merely discussing amongst themselves.

 

dogut222: phainons main character ahh skill continues to save them once again from the wrath of stream snipers

 

sjww6969: sometimes i genuinely wonder what goes on in caelus' brain for him to just start randomly spouting shit

 

sjww6969: prolly nothing

 

dazaisbby: phainon, sweetie, the more you recline in your chair like that the more visible your muscles become

 

dazaisbby: im def not complaining though 🤤

 

dazaisbby has been muted for 60 seconds. Reason: no horny pls

 

limereeeenceL: lol

 

PinkEyeFan2022: Uh guys? Phainons gone oddly quiet

 

heideer4921: so what? that's usually one of his classic deflections whenever he gets asked that damn question

 

heideer4921: that or just sometimes outright denying it

 

PinkEyeFan2022: But this one feels different, though!

 

PinkEyeFan2022: I can tell the silence has meaning!!!

 

Phainon felt a drop of sweat tickle the back of his neck as he skimmed through the chat, thinking in a deadpan about how they were even capable of conversing when the rapid influx of messages instantly drowned out the past ones.

 

Besides that, he wasn't entirely surprised to see that Caelus' singular question had already ignited that specific demographic of his fanbase. Now, they were cooking up a storm in both his chat and their own minds about his nonexistent love life.

 

He should probably stop spacing out and shut this down right now.

 

"No, Caelus," Phainon breathed out a slight sigh, trying not to sound annoyed but finding it rather difficult after repeating the same answer to the same question thousands of times (not an exaggeration!) by now. "I've never had a girlfriend." He replied, completely bare-bones and honest.

 

"Hey, man. We're bros here, right? If you've got a secret bitch-"

 

"No, Caelus." Phainon repeated a bit more firmly, exasperated. "I swear on my mom that I don't have a girlfriend." He confidently swore, knowing his mother's life was completely safe.

 

"Then how?!" Caelus shrieked dramatically, sensing that Phainon was dead serious since he had never placed bets on his mom's life. The sudden outburst would have made Phainon flinch from the volume in his headphones if he wasn't already used to Hyacine screaming at horror games like a little girl.

 

Phainon calmly clicked into another queued ranked lobby while responding. "I never answered anyone that liked me, and eventually they just stopped coming." He explained blankly, not sounding sad about it, but not particularly happy either.

 

His lack of a girlfriend was the saddest thing about him, a fact that Cipher always made sure to tease him relentlessly for. But really, what was he supposed to do?

 

Sure, girls liked him, but that didn't mean Phainon liked them back. For some reason, he never felt the urge to reciprocate their feelings, even if they were practically walking green flags. By the time his friends started getting into relationships and leaving him behind, they were all big-time streamers. Phainon, in particular, had cultivated an audience of obsessed fans who openly fantasized about and idolized him, creating an environment that definitely didn't welcome him having a personal lover.

 

So Phainon just gave up. Mydey sometimes half-joked that he was asexual or something, and while Phainon understood the thought process behind that, he knew deep down it wasn't accurate either.

 

"So you've never had a crush before?" Caelus curiously asked as they both hit ready, with Phainon already preparing to auto-lock his Black Widow. However, his mind was drifting elsewhere, and Caelus' sudden inquiry dragged it even further away.

 

A crush?

 

Right, Phainon thought as his eyes subtly widened, a dormant flood of memories suddenly rushing to the forefront of his mind.

 

He didn't think he was asexual because he had actually felt love before. He understood the feelings Aglaea and Anaxa secretly held for each other. He understood (somewhat) why his fans obsessed over him. He even understood and related to those ridiculously cringe and cheesy TikToks about love.

 

Because way back then, he had genuinely experienced what falling in love felt like.

 

Phainon clicked on Black Widow as he drew in a steadying breath, preparing to admit something he hadn't ever dared to speak about in his entire career as a content creator. He didn't even know why he was doing this. Maybe he was just desperate to find a way to permanently put an end to this endless question constantly being thrown at him.

 

"I had a crush before."

 

Immediately after Phainon dropped that bombshell, he knew the match loading in his screen stopped mattering to his viewers. From the corner of his eye, he watched his chat begin to explode.

 

"I- huh?" Caelus remarked dumbly, completely caught off guard and taken aback. "That's- uh..." He stuttered and trailed off, clearly lacking a prepared response because he never imagined Phainon would actually confess to something.

 

For the first time during their exchange, Phainon smiled, snorting quietly at the goofy stuttering spilling through his headset.

 

"I've never told this to anyone but Hyacine, so please keep this a secret..." Phainon then dramatically shifted his gaze directly toward his camera lens, plastering a fake, humorous deadpan across his features. "Chat." He stated blankly.

 

Of course, judging by the absolute barrage of text flying across his second monitor, he knew they were definitely not going to be respectful and keep quiet. It was just an attempt to keep the atmosphere light and casual while he dropped the equivalent of a nuclear payload onto his audience.

 

"So... What was she like?" Caelus eventually managed to stumble out, continuing to sound just as dumbfounded. Maybe it was finally starting to dawn on him that he shouldn't randomly grill Phainon with over-asked questions.

 

"I only knew her when I was really young." Phainon began, fully aware he now had tens of thousands of people listening with rapt attention. "She lived with her grandma, which made us neighbors. Because of that, and being the only kids in our neighborhood at four years old, we hit it off instantly."

 

Phainon didn't even realize it, but a soft, nostalgic smile slowly began to creep onto his face. "To answer your question directly... She was amazing." He answered, his tone raw, completely honest, and laced with something else even he couldn't quite explain.

 

"We were attached at the hip. We did everything we could think of under the sun, though she was always the one keeping me out of too much trouble. Really, I know girls develop faster than boys, but I swear it was almost... unfair how smart and mature she was compared to me." Before he knew it, he was subconsciously rambling on about that blurred, muted image of a girl in his head, his fingers mindlessly tapping his keyboard to make his character jump around the spawn room.

 

Caelus was strangely quiet, not making another goofy attempt to be entertaining or to derail the conversation. Phainon didn't know why, but he took the silence as a green light to continue, deciding to get a little more specific.

 

"There was one time," Phainon recalled a highly specific memory, a fond crinkle forming around his baby blue eyes. "Where she accidentally pushed a little too hard on her swing, and she was sent crashing backward into the pond behind her."

 

"I went into full panic mode as I dragged her out. Without even thinking, I immediately ripped off my own shirt to try and wipe her down." Phainon chuckled, fully aware that he definitely would have been in massive trouble for that if he didn't have the ultimate armor of being a naive little kid.

 

"I was worried she would catch a cold, and that pond water did not look clean in the slightest. But even then, it was a really stupid thing for me to do, and I'm sure I looked even more stupid doing it. Especially since she just stood still and stared at me...

with this cheeky little smile, tilting her head slightly in a way that caused her pink hair to cascade over her shoulder as those striking blue eyes pushed up in amusement..." Phainon slowly trailed off.

 

His eyes aimlessly wandered up to his ceiling as he tried to force his brain to render every lost detail of her face that had left poor five-year-old Phainon speechless and completely flustered.

 

The mental picture was fuzzy, blurred around the edges from almost twenty years of not having seen her at all, but he could still recall just enough for him to treasure the memory close to his heart, despite everything that had happened in his life.

 

Still, he thought with a sudden, quiet surge of melancholy, he really wished he could remember the sound of her voice.

 

"Blue eyes like you, huh?" Caelus suddenly interrupted his train of thought, sounding almost nervously amused with his following chuckle as he forcefully dragged Phainon back to reality.

 

Right, he was still streaming.

 

Oh, and playing Marvel Rivals.

 

Phainon immediately snapped his focus back onto the monitor. By now, he knew his chat on his second monitor was undoubtedly brimming with rampant chaos that he would have to pay his mods overtime for.

 

Maybe he had revealed a little too much.

 

Still, abruptly abandoning the conversation now and having this exact moment clipped for YouTube was far from ideal. The internet would definitely spin the narrative that he was still desperately in love with a childhood friend he hadn't seen in nearly two decades. So he needed to provide enough context right now to prevent his fanbase from going actually insane.

 

"Yeah," Phainon responded softly to Caelus as he focused on hammering away at the enemy Doctor Strange. "Anyways, I'm pretty sure that's when I fell- got a crush on her, because I remember going to my mom later that day and asking her why this girl made it feel like 'frogs were jumping in my tummy'." He ended the sentence with a breathy huff of a laugh. His mom certainly hadn't held back with how hard she teased him for that.

 

To this very day, she still randomly asks him if there are any girls making frogs jump around in his tummy lately, instead of just asking if he had a crush like everyone else.

 

Let it be known that baby Phainon did not have it easy.

 

Caelus also laughed lightly across the call. "Man, I'd love to meet the only girl on the planet who somehow managed to charm the guy with the most rejections under his belt." He joked smoothly, though Phainon knew that specific title was meant to be unironic.

 

Every time he heard that, he had to physically resist rolling his eyes. He wasn't trying to rack up a high score of rejections; he just genuinely couldn't find it in himself to reciprocate their feelings.

 

"Unfortunately," Phainon began to reply, his earlier lightheartedness slowly evaporating as he approached the sour end of his story. "As much as I'd love to have you meet her, I've had no contact with her since I was six years old."

 

Immediately, Caelus yelled, "What?!" Though his voice was slightly inflected with a sudden spike of gamer rage, probably because his Bucky had just been murdered by a rampaging Captain America at the same time as Phainon's admission.

 

Phainon immediately locked onto Captain America to trade the kill, continuing his explanation. "Her grandmother passed away, so her parents quickly swooped in to take custody of her again. We were little kids, we didn't have cellphones to exchange numbers, and her parents didn't even bother trying to reach out to my mom. They just packed her up and left."

 

"Dude...!" Caelus drawled out from the peace of the respawn screen as Phainon locked in on the match. "Did you have to end such a sweet story like that?!"

 

Phainon scoffed lightly, "Why are you making it to be like it's my fault?" He sassed as he finally got the snipe kill on Captain America, drawing back to receive healing from his ally as he added, "If it's so sad to you, imagine how baby Phainon felt during that."

 

He probably wouldn't be able to imagine, Phainon silently thought to himself. Mom actually had to deal with a depressed emo child years earlier than normal because of that separation.

 

"Still..." Caelus muttered in a strange mix of awe and sympathy. "God... Is that why you can't find it in yourself to like anyone else? Because you were hurt by her?"

 

Phainon actually paused for a moment after hearing that. He had never thought about it like that. Such an early bad experience with love could not be good for anyone, but Phainon was still unsure.

 

How deep could a child's feelings for another child be that it was still affecting him as a twenty-five-year-old man?

 

Besides, "Maybe don't word it like it was her fault," Phainon immediately spoke out and came to her defense, now beginning to get anxious that this conversation was going to get clipped in all the worst ways possible.

 

On that note, as he was waiting to respawn, Phainon finally allowed his eyes to drift over to his second monitor, bracing himself for the incoming shitshow. Chat was a complete blur of flying emotes, key smashes, and screaming capital letters. They were absolutely losing their minds over the backstory of their content creator's first and only crush.

 

Phainon wished he could read what they were saying. He really did. It was one of the biggest joys of being a streamer. But for the love of God, it was just too fast. Phainon had never seen them go this crazy before, not even when they interpreted a moment between him and Mydei playing It Takes Two as them being madly in love with each other.

 

Thankfully, there were still his wonderful donators, whose messages were still visible for a noticeable while for Phainon to read properly. Though he would quickly realize they were losing their minds as well.

 

friesforlyfe: bro is the man who cant be moved wtf

 

Phainon immediately sighed, quickly leaning closer to his microphone to nip that narrative in the bud. "Alright, relax, everyone. I am not some hopeless simp who can't move on from a kindergarten crush from almost twenty years ago." He stated firmly, shaking his head. "She's just a nice childhood memory, that's all. I don't even remember what she sounds like anymore."

 

Chat started simultaneously spamming the Copium Pepe and other sad emotes in response. Seriously, it looked like a hive mind all culminating together to form and share one brain cell.

 

Before Phainon could continue defending himself because he was absolutely not in love with someone he doesn't even know anymore, Caelus naturally interjected over the Discord call.

 

"Damn, that actually sucks, man," Caelus said softly, sounding genuinely sympathetic despite the chaotic game still happening on their screens and the even more chaotic audience they were subtly trying to rein in. "You at least remember her name, right?"

 

Phainon felt a sudden tightness in his chest at the question. He remembered her name all right. Objectively speaking, it was still the most beautiful-sounding name he'd ever heard in his life.

 

But should he say it now?

 

His fans were rowdy, and he knew better than anyone else from failed doxxing attempts that a minority of them were certainly rabid and determined enough to try to find her online presence.

 

Suddenly, that line of thought caused something to snap within Phainon.

 

They could find her.

 

Without thinking, and before he could stop himself from making a decision that he would immediately regret, he quietly uttered, "Cyrene."

 


 

Twitter | X

 

Trending

 

1 • #Cyrene
232.6k posts

 

2 • #PhainonsFirstLove
196.3k posts

 

3 • Robin
141k posts

 

4 • Phainon
133.3k posts

 

5 • Chrysos Heirs
100.1k posts

 

 

@phainonclips
[ mp4 file attached ]

"I am not some hopeless simp who can't move on from a kindergarten crush." Then he proceeds to drop the most dramatic, lovesick name drop that just screams "I miss her"

Replies (9,201)

 

@phainonswifefr
im gonna throw up

> @grasstypepokemon
   
You guys need to chill. It was twenty years ago.

     > @phainonswifefr
         
YOU DONT UNDERSTAND THIS IS LITERALLY THE REASON WHY HE'S NEVER LOVED ANYONE BEFORE

         > @mydihxdxd225
           
Did you watch the clip? He literally straight up denied that

             > @phainonswifefr
               
context clues are important and lying is easy baby. i have a childhood friend too, and I can tell you right now that i have never talked about him like that. we didn't even get forcefully seperated for twenty years. theres no way he doesn't still have feelings for her.

 

@phaidei_daily
bro was cheating on mydei???! unbelievable

> @aglaeasfreefootstool
   
the other way around. he was using mydei as a side hoe while his heart actually belonged to cyrene

    > @phaidei_daily
       
not my streamer smh

        

@phainonishim___
this girl better live up to all the hype phainon was giving her or else im gonna riot

 

@mydeiglazer51
istg watch this bitch suddenly come out of nowhere to hog all this attention now that Phainon's got all the clout 🙄️

> @sweetspring_
   
girl just say that you wished Phainon talked about you like that 🤭️

 

@mysweetphaidei63
NOOOOOO PHAINON WHAT ABOUT YOUR HUSBAND

> @aglanaxaappreciationacc
   
phaidei went from "might be gay" to doomed in the span of one clip lol

 

@_thatthingwithfeathers76
Bro, Phainon literally met Robin and Sunday irl (two of the objectively greatest face cards of humanity btw) and all he had to say about them was that they were 'nice people' and absolutely nothing about their appearances

 

I'm really curious as to what kind of Aphrodite ass goddess could this Cyrene girl be that she managed to make Phainon of all people smitten for her

> @livelaughlovephainon
   
i think his infatuation with her is less about her appearance. in fact, i think that's the least important factor. on the clip, you can clearly hear him almost stutter "that's when i fell" before catching himself and saying "that's when i got a crush on her". he's definitely in love, even if he denies it or doesn't realize it yet.

    > @rizzzziizzziz
       
bro is actually not beating the man who can't be moved allegations

 

@detective_phainon
Okay guys, let's get to work. He said they were separated at six years old because her grandmother passed away, meaning it happened around twenty years ago. If we cross reference his old Q&A vids and podcasts where he mentioned where he grew up, we can narrow down the state. Afterwards, we can find records of old women who lived there passing away, and boom, that's her family discovered.

Replies (64)

 

> @charmonydove99
   
This is literal stalking. Please stop.

     > @detective_phainon
         
I'm just doing what we all know Phainon secretly wants.

         > @charmonydove99
           
No, you are just committing a crime.

 

Mydei (✔)
@mydeimos_chrysos
I leave the internet for two hours to go to the gym, and I come back to find out Phainon's in ANOTHER controversy?

Replies (12,844)

 

@phaidei_daily retweeted @mydeimos_chrysos
how does it feel to find out that you've been cheated on?

 

@phainonplsletmehit retweeted @mydeimos_chrysos
not a controversy per se, more like a minority of phainon simps being immature because he was in love, and not with them or you

> @ronggg333
   
Correct me if im wrong, but aren't you a Phainon simp yourself?

 

@chrysoshstanaccount retweeted @mydeimos_chrysos
HELP EVEN HIS OWN FRIENDS DIDNT KNOW 😭️

> @snissassa555
   
well he did say he only told Hyacine... sooo @hyacinthia_chrysos???

    > Hyacine (✔)
       
@hyacinthia_chrysos
       
Yes, I was aware, and he swore me to secrecy. So I'm pretty shocked to see him just outright admitting this on stream.

       Replies (5,553)

 

Cipher (✔)
@cipher_chrysos
To everyone asking, no, I do not know who Cyrene is. Yes, I am just as shocked as you are. No, I will not help you dox her. Go do your own homework.

Replies (8,284)

 

> @phainonplsletmehit
   
did you just imply that they can go keep trying to dox her and you aren't gonna stop them???

    > @fishandchips6332
       
to play devils advocate, phainons the one that literally outed her name for no reason, almost like he wanted his obsessive fans to find the childhood friend he clearly misses a lot. i'm not gonna bother giving my opinion to phainon and his rabid, unreasonable fanbase, but i will say that he better hopes that WHEN someone eventually finds her, its someone who actually wants to reunite them and doesn't just want to ruin this normal girls life.

 

@dailyphainon
the way his face and voice actually softened when he started talking about her... i ship them already.

> @theblazingerectiondestinedtorise
   
IKR "Tilting her head slightly in a way that caused her pink hair to cascade over her shoulder as those striking blue eyes pushed up in amusement..." BRO TURNED INTO A FULL ON WATTPAD AUTHOR DESCRIBING HER

    > @dailyphainon
       
dude how is ur username allowed T_T

 

@phaidei_ceo
bro is 25 and rich but he's hung up over a girl he knew when he was a practically a baby? generational yearning right here.

 

@mydeistanaccount4
idc what anyone says, cyrene gives off massive pick me energy. "falling" into a pond just so he could take his shirt off for her? yeah okay.

> @rizzzziizzziz
   
HELLO?! SHE WAS FIVE!!

   > @mydeistanaccount4
       
Some girls start early 💅   

   > @phainonswifefr
       
as a Phainon fan im embarassed of Phainon fans

 

@ceo_of_phainonfans
if she actually comes out of hiding to claim him im going to make her life a living hell. you dont get to ghost a man for twenty years and then come back when hes rich and famous.

> @realtalksontwt
   
She didnt ghost him, her parents moved her away. Forget phainon not beating the simp allegations, HIS FANS are not beating the cant read allegations.

    > @ceo_of_phainonfans
       
she could have found him! he's literally one of the biggest ccs oat! if she couldn't be bothered to reach out all this time, then she certainly doesn't deserve him!

 

@anti_cyrene_club
just made this account.

 

betting 100 gifted subs that she looks mid as hell now. kids obviously dont look anything like their adults selves, so even if she was cute as a child, that's prolly not the case now.

 

i hope he gets so disappointed when they meet again.

> @mysweetphaidei63
   
literally this. she probably looks like a troll and is working at mcdonalds while phainon is out here being a millionaire. they are not in the same league anymore.

    > @realtalksontwt
       
and you are?

    > @ilovechrysos_tv
       
Yall are so insecure its actually fascinating to watch in real time.

    > @dailyphainon
       
you just dont get it do you? even if she's the ugliest woman on earth now, you don't fall as deeply in love as Phainon clearly was from just someone's looks alone. i'm sick of Phainon fans getting a bad rep cus of deluded assholes like you guys.

 

@chrysosheirs_tea65
As sweet and tragic as the story is, and trust me, I feel really bad for Phainon. But is weaponizing your stans really the right way to go about this? What if she gets doxxed and one particularly bad apple decides to get her swatted? What if they find the wrong Cyrene and harass a completely innocent girl?

 

I'm not a hater, I swear, I just feel like we aren't criticizing Phainon enough for his lack of responsibility.

Replies (1,305)

 

> @aglanaxaappreciationacc
   
Honestly if i were cyrene i would stay hidden forever. phainons stans are actually rabid dogs off their leashes today.

    > @dailyphainon
       
Woof woof

 

@phainonsnumber1bitch
watch her suddenly make a twitter account today and put "Phainons childhood friend" in her bio to start an onlyfans.

> @pushing30ontwt
   
You are literally making shit up in your head just to get mad at a girl who likely doesn't even know this is happening right now.

    > @phainonsnumber1bitch
       
you cyrene defenders always call us stupid, but you guys need to look in the mirror. do you SEE how big this has gotten? its literally number 1 on trending and only growing in posts. its impossible for her to not know about this.

        > @pushing30ontwt
           
What point are you even trying to make?

            > @phainonsnumber1bitch
               
the "point" is that Phainon is giga popular and theres no way Cyrene doesn't know who he is. if shes still radio silent by now, then she clearly doesn't care about him and doesn't deserve his feelings.

                > @pushing30ontwt
                   
So if she keeps silent she's a horrible person to Phainon but if she says something then she's an attention seeking whore? Damned if you do, damned if you don't i guess.

 

@romance_fanfics_only
"I don't even remember what she sounds like anymore." My heart 🥺

 

I am going to write a 100k word slow burn enemies to lovers about this immediately.

> @dailyphainon
   
how is it enemies to lovers if hes already hopelessly in love with her?

    > @romance_fanfics_only 
        Because his fandom is going to make her his enemy! The angst writes itself!

 

@onlyphainons
 when he started going on about that head tilt that's when i knew it was over for us ladies. wrap it up. we can't compete with twenty years of romanticized nostalgia.

> @phainonsoneandonlygf
   
Speak for yourself. i can tilt my head too. AND i don't fall into dirty ponds like a klutz.

    > @onlyphainons
       
then phainon prolly wouldn't love you dumbass

 

@snowballchan56
Uhm... My name is Cyrene. I've never had a childhood friend named Phainon, and I only know a little about him even now.

 

I'm just gonna drop this here before his fans start harassing me. Please, I'm not the one yall are looking for.

> @dailyphainon
   
that sounds like something phainon's cyrene would say...

 


 

The Chrysos Heirs Discord Server 👽️

 

Cipher: @snowballchan56

 

Tribios: you've really done it now snowy

 

Tribios: Agy's gonna get early gray hairs with our PR team trying to fix the mess you made

 

Aglaea: No comment.

 

Anaxa: Hahahahahaahhahahahahahahahahahahah

 

Mydei: It's a mess, that's for sure, but I can't lie I got a good few laughs out of the jokes about Phainon being a massive simp for a girl he hasn't seen in two decades.

 

Castorice: I would've found it funny too, if it wasn't for the fact that there's an active danger of every single Cyrene on the internet being harassed by Phainon's fans.

 

Castorice: I genuinely have to ask @Phainon, what were you thinking?

 

Cipher: @Cyyyyy_4443

 

Hyacine: See thats the problem right there

 

Hyacine: He wasn't thinking with his head, he was thinking with his heart.

 

Hyacine: Since the cat's out of the bag, I'll just say rn that he's even more down bad than what the clip showed. He actually talks about Cyrene like how Caelus talks about that white haired girl from that other content creator circle

 

Caelus: ???

 

Caelus: im catching strays now?

 

Tribios: werent you at fault for starting this in the first place?

 

Caelus: bruh

 

Hyacine: So when he saw an opportunity for his fans to find her after numerous failed attempts to find her himself, ig I shouldn't really be too surprised that he would do something stupid without thinking of the consequences

 

Mydei: The greatest simp in history: Phainon

 

Mydei: Vs The greatest simp of today: Caelus

 

Caelus: bruhhhh

 

Phainon: can you guys stop making fun of me?

 

Hyacine: No :)

 

Phainon: bro it wasn't even that bad

 

Phainon: did i really sound so "enamored" when I was talking about her?

 

Hyacine: Yes :)

 

Mydei: Undeniably so

 

Caelus: dude i could feel how in love you were from the vc

 

Cipher: @cyreneeeeeee112

 

Phainon: what are you even doing, cipher?

 

Cipher: im dropping the handles of the people named cyrene, or the accounts the weirdos have been finding on twt

 

Cipher: you should look at all of them so you can quickly find your childhood baby girl

 

Phainon: stop

 

Cipher: bcs the most effective way to put an end to this is to find the actual cyrene and give a formal statement with her to quell the dogs you just unleashed

 

Cipher: itd be better if you guys started making out and dating afterwards

 

Cipher: cus then you can finally stave off your toxic fans and you can stop being hoeless

 

Cipher: but the important part rn is you find her before this gets too out of hand

 

Hyacine: ...

 

Mydei: Wow...

 

Tribios: did cipher just become serious?

 

Castorice: I'm actually surprised by the sudden logical reasoning.

 

Cipher: ...

 

Cipher: yall are lame

 

Cipher: im leaving for the stellaron hunters

 

Caelus: ill come with. idk why i ever left them for these clowns

 

Cipher: ofc you will 😉️

 

Caelus: actually yk what? go by yourself

 

Mydei: Really trying to ragebait the entire server, are you, Cipher?

 

Cipher: heh

 

Aglaea: Focus, everyone.

 

Aglaea: We should be taking this far more seriously.

 

Anaxa: Hard to when its you talking

 

Aglaea: Cipher is right.

 

Anaxa: Not gonna cave this time, huh?

 

Mydei: Maybe you need some lessons from Cipher in the art of ragebaiting?

 

Cipher: nah aglaea's just a brick. too hard to ragebait

 

Aglaea: Please look into it, Phainon, while our PR team handles the mob of fans on Twitter. Refrain from making any statements until you've talked the circumstances out with her.

 

Aglaea: Ideally, you two would start dating. As Cipher said, that would not only be excellent damage control, but it would also benefit your fanbase and your environment in the long run.

 

Phainon: ...

 

Phainon: i wish you had just kept your mouth shut, caelus

 

Caelus: im genuinely sorry

 

Tribios: dont be so glum, snowy!

 

Tribios: this might finally be your chance to reunite with your childhood sweetheart :D

 

Phainon: FRIEND

 

Phainon: CHILDHOOD FRIEND THAT I JUST HAPPENED TO HAVE A CRUSH ON AT THAT TIME

 

Castorice: Why lie? It's just us 🙂️

 

Mydei: Whatever helps you sleep at night bro

 

Aglaea: This is a pointless hill to die on, Phainon

 

Aglaea: Just go find your woman.

 


 

"Are you really leaving?" Phainon asked, his warm hands clutching the hem of her shirt. His voice was trembling, thick with the tears he was trying so hard not to shed because he desperately wanted to be strong in front of her.

 

Cyrene really wished she could've told him just how obvious it was that he liked her.

 

Cyrene and Phainon stood on the front porch of her now deceased grandmother's house. It didn't feel like home anymore. Now, all that remained were the unfamiliar, impatient faces of her parents, who were hurriedly packing her remaining belongings into the trunk of a running car.

 

She focused all of her attention back on Phainon, knowing deep down that these precious minutes were going to be the last she ever spent with him. He knew that too, and that was exactly why he looked so sad.

 

"Yes... My mother says I have to come with them to the state where they work." She answered softly, trying her best to sound brave. She was only slightly older than Phainon, so it was always her role to be the big kid between them.

 

She knew full well that if even she couldn't hold it together, he would definitely break down entirely. So she raised her head firmly and willed those nasty tears away as best as she could.

 

Phainon sniffled, aggressively rubbing his eyes. "B-but... who am I going to play with now?" He whined miserably, those striking baby blues leveling her with an expression that absolutely shattered her little heart.

 

Cyrene reached out, grabbing his hands to gently pull them off his face and locking their fingers together tightly. "You'll just have to find new friends," She told him with a wobbly smile, showing that this was just as hard for her too. "You're an amazing person, I'm sure you'll have no problem getting along with the kids you meet in school."

 

She didn't get a reply. Instead, his grip on her hands tightened until his tiny knuckles turned white. "I'll... I'll find you," Phainon suddenly declared, the overwhelming sadness radiating off him slowly melting into something fiercely stubborn. "I'm going to grow up and get rich, and then I will find you again, Cyrene!"

 

Cyrene's eyes widened, pleasantly taken aback by the sudden promise. He said it like he really, really meant it, and now her vulnerable, open heart couldn't help but believe his words without a second thought.

 

However, that brief window of shock was all it took for a car horn to blare through the quiet neighborhood, cutting through their moment.

 

"Cyrene, let's go!" A voice called out impatiently from the driveway.

 

Cyrene closed her eyes, recognizing the signal to finally let go and pull away from Phainon's grasp, even though she obviously didn't want to. Still, even with everything going wrong, she couldn't help the small, fond smile slowly etching across her face.

 

He was going to find her again, huh?

 

Cyrene opened her eyes, her gaze gentle and now even slightly happy as she teasingly responded. "It's bad to make promises you can't keep..." She warned with a light, playful click of her tongue.

 

Phainon aggressively shook his head. "I will keep it! I swear on my mom that I'll never even look at another girl until I find you again!" He screamed, declaring it loud enough for her parents to hear in the distance, though Cyrene was only wondering if he was saying these silly things because he was so emotional.

 

Did he even know the full weight and meaning of what he was saying?

 

Cyrene shook her head fondly, amused at both the thought and how intensely heated Phainon was getting now, almost completely forgetting his prior grief. Why did she ever think he wouldn't be perfectly fine without her?

 

Slowly, Cyrene's body turned to head towards the awaiting car, but not before she made one last, lingering eye contact with Phainon to whisper softly across the wind.

 

"Please keep your promise... I'll be waiting every day."

 


 

Cyrene dragged a heavy hand down her face, trying to scrub away the lingering melancholy of a dream she hadn't had in a while. She had convinced herself she was over Phainon; she knew for a fact she was over him. But dreams had a mind of their own, and they clearly decided to lord that specific memory over Cyrene's head nonstop.

 

So she conditioned herself into not caring about it. However, it was a fruitless effort. Every single time, including right now, she would awake with a sharp gasp and the loud beating of her heart, proving that she very much still cared.

 

She warned him not to promise her something he couldn't keep.

 

Cyrene sighed, lazily swinging an arm to the side to grab her phone. Her schedule dictated an afternoon shift at the local cafe in an hour, and she had a chapter of her novel to edit afterwards. Being a part-time author barely paid the bills, but making overpriced coffee for grumpy middle-aged commuters paid just enough to keep her afloat while she pursued her passion.

 

However, just as she was mindlessly unlocking her screen to prepare for the day, she noticed a strange influx of notifications on her Instagram. She had Do Not Disturb enabled, but the app icon still displayed a glaring red badge of ninety-nine plus notifications on the top right.

 

Cyrene's brows furrowed at the sight. Instagram was the only social media she had, and it was mostly used to post sparse updates about her ongoing novel, alongside some aesthetic photos of places she'd visited. She had no mutuals besides her two real-life friends, and it was highly unlikely this sudden activity was due to her novel miraculously gaining massive traction overnight.

 

She wasn't that naive.

 

Still, Cyrene pondered as she began brushing her teeth with one hand, her other hand holding her phone up as she stared at the screen with bright, curious blue eyes.

 

She, slightly reluctantly, opened the app that was suddenly beginning to feel slightly intimidating. She half-expected hate comments regarding her latest chapter, or maybe this was all just March and Dan Heng having a massive conversation in their shared group chat.

 

Neither of her guesses was exactly wrong.

 

March and Dan Heng occupied a lot of the messages. But along with that, Cyrene's immediate attention was instantly snagged by the dozens of message requests from people she certainly didn't know.

 

She was getting more confused by the second, but she didn't panic just yet. She had already received some random, weird private messages from strangers since she had made her account to post updates about her novel.

 

It was just never on the same scale as this.

 

Driven by a morbid curiosity, Cyrene decided then and there that she had enough time to read through this mess before heading out. She tapped on the first contact sitting at the very top of her requests.

 

linalulx_: are you the pond girl?

 

burneraccount22: Stay away from him you gold digger ass bitch! Don't even try to crawl out of the woodworks now just because he's rich and famous

 

jessica_m_me: honestly honey, if you were actually his friend you wouldn't have ghosted him. drop the act and delete your account before you embarrass yourself.

 

sunshineflowers2: I dont know you at all, and I don't even know if ur the real Cyrene. But whether you are or not, don't listen to the people calling you dumb, ugly, or a whore! They're just pathetic excuses of human beings...

 

alexander_004: you dont deserve him lol

 

breathing.in.drama: Why are you so scared to show your face? I bet you only show the back of your head in your pfp because that pink hair is the only thing you've going for you LOL

 

2fye.luna: i haven't read that book yet but i just KNOW its dogshit LMAO

 

theaaalulz: don't get a big head just cus you got an unfair advantage okay? 🤭️

 

marianna_xo: he doesnt love you btw

 

cutie_angela: why dont u post a selfie? lets see if ur actually pretty

 

sarah_loves_chrysosheirs: hey sweetie! just wanted to let you know that you're really hurting his brand right now. maybe just go private? for his sake 💖

 

prtty.aia: do you have any idea how much pain you caused him? he literally rejects EVERYONE because of you. you're actually so selfish for not reaching out to him sooner.

 

Cyrene stopped reading right then and there, swiping out of Instagram in a slight rush before spitting out her toothpaste into the sink so she could gasp properly.

 

"What the fuck?" She mumbled to herself in a rare drop of vulgarity, her reflection in the mirror looking just as bewildered as she felt.

 

What was all of that? A gold digger? Ruining a brand? Ghosting him? Ghosting who?!

 

With the way they were all talking, it almost sounded like she was some snotty homewrecker who had just destroyed a celebrity's marriage, except it was a marriage with his fans...?

 

Ignoring the ridiculousness for a second, that was completely impossible in the first place. She hadn't even dated anyone before, let alone some sort of famous playboy! In fact, the closest thing she ever had to a boyfriend in her entire life was Phainon, back when she was literally five years old.

 

She dared to look back at her phone to check the time. She only had twenty minutes left to get dressed and catch the bus for her cafe shift.

 

Of course, Cyrene thought pettily. The one time she slept longer than usual was when chaos decided to come knocking at her doorstep to shatter her normal, peaceful, quiet life.

 

Cyrene felt a fresh wave of anxiety wash over her as she noticed that the little red notification bubble on her Instagram app had already climbed right back up to 99+, despite her having just read a handful of them. She was still actively receiving a barrage of hate from strangers.

 

Nope. She just didn't have the time or the mental capacity for this right now.

 

Cyrene firmly decided to shut down both her mind and her device. She completely powered off her phone, shoved it deep into her tote bag, hastily washed her face in an effort to look like she hadn't just woken up and received devastating news (which was not even that far off), and practically sprinted out of her apartment door.

 

While Cyrene commuted on the bus, she dearly missed the sound of her Spotify playlist blaring through her earphones. Music would've been the perfect way to take her mind off the sudden heat on her, but she couldn't risk even opening her phone right now.

 

Luckily for her, the cafe she worked at was currently bustling with the usual afternoon lunch rush, which was honestly a massive blessing in disguise. The repetitive motions of tamping espresso, steaming milk, and calling out ridiculous customer names would certainly help in keeping her busy and not spiraling too far into anxiety.

 

She didn't know how old those people messaging her were (she doubted they were that much older than her and Phainon when they got separated), but she was a grown, twenty-five-year-old woman. She had to be the one with a more reasonable sense here.

 

Seriously, Cyrene thought as her hands started subconsciously working automatically, the brief greetings and interactions with her coworkers melting into background noise. Those people needed to get off the internet and remember that there was always a person on the other side of the screen.

 

And all of that harassment was for what was likely a misunderstanding, anyway. Maybe some famous influencer or model got into a huge scandal involving a girl named Cyrene, and she was just caught in the crossfire because they shared a similar name? That kind of witch hunt happened all the time on the internet, right?

 

Cyrene really wished she knew a bit more about the online space beyond just funny memes. That was more so March's thing.

 

But still, that pond comment from that one user... It was the most specific, and it was the only one that had stuck in Cyrene's head along with the singular comment of support she received.

 

"Even if you're not the real Cyrene"? What was Cyrene supposed to take from that? Was she the real Cyrene they were hating on for some reason?

 

No, Cyrene answered herself as her logical reasoning worked overtime. It was probably just a bizarre coincidence and a stroke of dumb, unfortunate luck. There was no way a normal, part-time author and barista like her was the actual target of a coordinated hate mob.

 

She'd have to be in some sort of bad drama show if that were the case.

 

By the time her scheduled break finally rolled around two hours later, her mind had mostly returned to being calm and collected. She untied her apron, slumped into a comfortable chair in the quiet employee breakroom, and took a deep, reassuring breath to prepare herself.

 

She was fine. She wasn't ugly like they claimed (she didn't even post pictures of herself on Instagram?), she wasn't a homewrecker, and her book wasn't bad. It was just a bunch of salty people with too much time on the internet.

 

Just online drama that had nothing to do with her.

 

Gathering her confidence back, Cyrene reached into her bag and powered her phone back on. The moment the screen lit up, she snappily swiped away the immediate influx of new Instagram requests, completely ignoring the strangers in favor of heading straight to her group chat with March and Dan Heng.

 

She had neglected to pay them any heed earlier, but maybe all she needed right now was the comforting normalcy of her actual friends.

 

7th_of_march: CYRENE

 

7th_of_march: CYRENE WAKE UP

 

7th_of_march: YOUR USUALLY AN EARLY BIRD WHY AREN'T YOU AWAKE YET 😤️

 

dan.heng.il: You're*

 

dan.heng.il: What's this about, March?

 

dan.heng.il: It's too early for you to go this crazy

 

7th_of_march: DAN HENG

 

7th_of_march: [ link sent ]

 

7th_of_march: LOOK

 

7th_of_march: WE FINALLY FOUND THE BOY CYRENE KEEPS TALKING ABOUT WHENEVER SHE GETS DRUNK

 

7th_of_march: and it was PHAINON?!?!?! 🫪️

 

Cyrene paused, her breath hitching like she had just been slapped in the face. Her finger automatically stopped scrolling, frozen in shock.

 

Phainon?

 

She never told March or Dan Heng that name.

 

dan.heng.il: What?

 

dan.heng.il: There's no way that's her. We aren't living in an anime, March.

 

7th_of_march: ik but think, Dan Heng, THINK

 

7th_of_march: pink hair

 

7th_of_march: blue eyes

 

7th_of_march: had a grandmother that passed away leading to her getting seperated from her childhood sweetheart

 

7th_of_march: @mem_reney did you ever fall into a pond when you were a kid?!

 

7th_of_march: DONT IGNORE ME

 

7th_of_march: I SEE THAT ONLINE STATUS 😡😡

 

dan.heng.il: Okay, let's maybe calm down?

 

dan.heng.il: Her shift is starting not too long from now, so she's probably getting ready for work.

 

7th_of_march: @mem_reney WHAT WAS YOUR 5 Y.O BF'S NAME?!

 

7th_of_march: ANSWER IMMEDIATELY‼️‼️‼️

 

dan.heng.il: I said chill out, March

 

dan.heng.il: If this Cyrene they're going crazy about on Twitter really is the same Cyrene we know

 

dan.heng.il: And one of the most popular content creators of recent times, Phainon, is SOMEHOW the same childhood crush she had almost two decades ago

 

7th_of_march: the same time frame btw

 

dan.heng.il: Then why hasn't Cyrene ever reacted to Phainon?

 

7th_of_march: because

 

7th_of_march: my dear

 

7th_of_march: precious dan heng

 

7th_of_march: Cyrene is a BOOMER

 

7th_of_march: THIS GRANDMAS NEVER HEARD OF A SINGLE STREAMER IN HER LIFE

 

7th_of_march: DESPITE ALL OF MY ATTEMPTS TO GET HER TO WATCH AT LEAST FIREFLY

 

7th_of_march: WHO DOESNT WANNA WATCH FIREFLY?!

 

dan.heng.il: You've never talked about Phainon with her???

 

7th_of_march: NO!

 

7th_of_march: if i had the foresight to know that he was secretly cyrene's long lost soulmate, i DEFINITELY wouldve been dragging her butt to watch his content!

 

Cyrene's eyes stayed glued to the screen, stopping her backreading of messages as she decided to focus on the elephant March had dragged into the room.

 

Phainon.

 

It was a unique name, definitely not something March would be able to randomly guess out of thin air. Cyrene's heart executed a backflip against her chest before she could even calm it down. Whatever the following discussion March and Dan Heng were having afterward suddenly became moot to her.

 

She scrolled back up slightly, bringing all of her attention to the singular, damning link March had dropped in the middle of their group chat.

 

There was absolutely no way, Cyrene thought as her thumb pressed the blue link after an agonizing moment of hesitation and a pinch to her own cheeks to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

 

The app instantly switched, tossing her browser right into Twitter. Her phone hadn't been muted, so the audio immediately filled the quiet of the breakroom.

 

"So you've never had a crush before?"

 

Cyrene stared blankly at the screen. The video showed a guy sitting in a ridiculously expensive gaming chair. He was undeniably handsome, sporting snow-white hair and striking blue eyes, the first glaring sign that Cyrene tried to ignore as she continued watching.

 

This wasn't her Phainon. Why would her Phainon suddenly look so hot?

 

This wasn't her Phainon. Surely, there was another man out there with white hair, blue eyes, and whose name was also Phainon. It might sound too specific, but the odds were literally one in seven billion.

 

"I had a crush before." The white-haired guy answered softly, completely cutting through Cyrene's thoughts and tearing apart her admittedly weak attempts at rationalization.

 

In no time at all, Cyrene froze, her entire body locking up on the chair.

 

That voice. It was deeper, smoother (h̶o̶t̶t̶e̶r̶). It sounded nothing like the high-pitched whine of a five-year-old, but the underlying rhythm was the same as when Phainon attempted a botched confession of his feelings to her that one time at the playground.

 

Undeniably sweet and familiar.

 

The streamer on the screen looked away from his camera and started talking about a girl he knew when he was really young. A girl who lived with her grandmother.

 

Cyrene's grip on her phone tightened so hard her knuckles turned bright white.

 

He talked about pink hair. He talked about a swingset. He talked about a girl who swung a little too hard and went crashing backward into a dirty pond.

 

"I immediately ripped off my own shirt to try and wipe her down." The guy chuckled fondly, his eyes wandering up to his ceiling, clearly trying to visualize the moment in his head.

 

"No way..." Cyrene breathed out, the words slipping out of her control. Because as she was listening, her mind started throwing her back into the exact memory this celebrity (h̶e̶r̶ ̶P̶h̶a̶i̶n̶o̶n̶) was talking about.

 

She remembered the freezing shock of splashing into dirty water. She remembered a frantic boy nearly tripping over his own feet to pull her out, sacrificing his favorite graphic tee without a single second thought because he was terrified she would get in trouble.

 

Meanwhile, the other person talking in the clip asked for the girl's name, finally sealing the deal and closing off any lingering doubts Cyrene had left as he quietly responded with a heavy sigh, his voice radiating a distinct sense of longing.

 

"Cyrene."

 

Her phone slipped right out of her grasp, dropping onto her lap.

 

Cyrene just sat there, staring blankly at the wall of the breakroom as the video automatically looped back to the beginning, repeating his public confession over and over again and accidentally subjecting her to hearing his voice, which was now so silky and soothing to her ears.

 

She actually couldn't believe it. March spoke his name like he was a god amongst men. Dan Heng called him one of the biggest internet personalities.

 

In the nearly twenty years that they had been separated, her goofy little boy had grown into an outstanding, handsome, successful celebrity.

 

All of the scattered context was finally adding up and beginning to piece together like a puzzle to make sense in her head.

 

He was the celebrity that she had originally labeled as a famous playboy, the same guy whose obsessed fans were currently harassing her on Instagram. This clip, his confession regarding a girl named Cyrene, was exactly how she suddenly got dragged into the spotlight.

 

It was him. It was actually him.

 

And apparently, he still hadn't moved on.

 

Cyrene almost laughed at the thought, simultaneously exasperated and fond. They say kids possess the most raw, genuine feelings, and anyone they grew to love during that period would become a permanent fixture in their hearts.

 

Phainon had taken that concept and ran with it for two entire decades. The realization brought a warm smile to Cyrene's face, accompanied by a strange flutter in her stomach that she hadn't felt in a very long time.

 

"Jeez..." Cyrene muttered to herself as she picked her phone back up, staring at the screen replaying the clip of Phainon's confession. "Must you be a hopeless romantic, even now?" She asked, knowing he couldn't hear her, but still dearly wishing her voice would push past the screen and reach him anyway.

 

She was relieved, so relieved that her time spent waiting for him to fulfill that childish promise hadn't been wasted. Even if he had inadvertently created a massive spectacle that resulted in her receiving harassment, she was just so glad that he hadn't forgotten about her all this time.

 

Maybe it was stupid to care so much about someone she hadn't seen in almost twenty years. Maybe Phainon was now nothing like the sweet kid she once knew. They might not hit it off nearly as well now compared to back then.

 

But none of that mattered right now, because Cyrene just wanted to relish the happiness of knowing there was someone in the world who cared about her this deeply.

 

She turned her attention back to the looping video, her thumb hovering subconsciously over the screen. However, just as she tapped on the icon to read the replies under the clip, a large, frankly annoying pop-up blocked her view.

 

Sign up for X to see more posts.

 

Cyrene frowned, instantly feeling the urge to hit the small cross in the corner and just close this annoying pop-up and this even more annoying website. She had always avoided Twitter like the plague because of its notoriously toxic environment where people argued over the most meaningless things. Even March, ever the positive ray of sunshine, had ranted about the people of Twitter more than once, warning Cyrene constantly about how horrible they were.

 

She supposed it proved even more accurate now, since she had no doubts the people who were actively harassing her on Instagram were probably the exact same people here on Twitter.

 

She really shouldn't bother making an account right now after enjoying so many years of internet peace. She just wanted a place to post fun, aesthetic photos while giving updates about her novel, and she was almost certain Twitter was not the platform for that.

 

However, as she looked at the faded background of the pop-up, spotting the messy white hair of the boy she hadn't seen in two decades, her resolve crumbled in record time, making her a hypocrite for calling Phainon a hopeless romantic earlier.

 

She missed him, okay? She missed him so much, and now that he was actually within reach, there was a physical ache in her chest pushing her to step forward. If this was the only way to see what was happening, to see him again, then she had to suck it up and brave the storm.

 

Switching back to her messages for a brief second, she quickly typed out a reply to her friends so they wouldn't worry, both of whom were still locked in an ongoing conversation.

 

7th_of_march: do we take her silence as an admission?

 

dan.heng.il: No.

 

dan.heng.il: But there's no need for that anyway.

 

dan.heng.il: You're right. There's no way Cyrene wasn't the same person that Phainon was being enamored with live on stream.

 

dan.heng.il: Too many things just add up for it to be false.

 

7th_of_march: thank you!

 

7th_of_march: but why isnt she responding here??

 

7th_of_march: she's literally online again!

 

dan.heng.il: @mem_reney If you're at all worried about our reactions or anything like that, don't be.

 

dan.heng.il: It's gonna take some adjusting to the fact that my friend has an actual big-time content creator simping for her, but you're still Cyrene, and we're still your friends.

 

dan.heng.il: Phainon isn't going to change that.

 

7th_of_march: thats actually so sweet dan heng 😊

 

7th_of_march: but still

 

7th_of_march: im kinda getting concerned now

 

7th_of_march: ik how bad phainons fans are specifically

 

7th_of_march: cyrene has her name displayed on her profile

 

7th_of_march: what if his crazy stans found her and are now harassing her constantly??

 

7th_of_march: MAYBE THATS WHY SHE ISNT RESPONDING BCS SHES TRYING TO IGNORE THE HATE MESSAGES

 

dan.heng.il: I don't wanna sound naive

 

dan.heng.il: But they don't even have any confirmation that it's the Cyrene they're looking for besides the name and the back head of pink hair.

 

dan.heng.il: Would they really go that far and possibly harass an innocent girl?

 

7th_of_march: oh, dan heng, you sweet, naive little thing

 

dan.heng.il: I said I wasn't trying to be naive

 

7th_of_march: its PHAINON FANS

 

7th_of_march: there's no such thing as rock bottom for them because theyre always evolving to keep going lower and lower

 

7th_of_march: i wouldnt be surprised if cyrene's gotten death threats by now

 

dan.heng.il: Jesus

 

mem_reney: I haven't, actually.

 

mem_reney: Though I have yet to read all of them.

 

7th_of_march: CYRENE 🫪

 

dan.heng.il: So you have been receiving messages

 

dan.heng.il: Are you okay?

 

mem_reney: I'm fine, thanks for asking. :)

 

mem_reney: But I can't talk right now. I'm going to make a Twitter account to see what's happening to Phainon.

 

7th_of_march: OMG 🫪🫪🫪🫪🫪

 

dan.heng.il: Even though you're getting mobbed by his fans?

 

mem_reney: Sure.

 

mem_reney: I just wanna see what Snowy's been up to all this time.

 

7th_of_march: SNOWY??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!

 

7th_of_march: HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT NICKNAME?!?!?!?

 

mem_reney: I think I was the first one to come up with that nickname~

 

7th_of_march: WTFFFFFF

 

7th_of_march: OMGOMGOMGOGMOGMOGMGOMG

 

dan.heng.il: Damn

 

7th_of_march: YOU GUYS ARE ACTUALLY CHILDHOOD SWEETHEARTS THAT ARE STILL MADLY IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER

 

7th_of_march: ARE WE IN AN ANIME?!

 

dan.heng.il: I've already made that joke.

 

mem_reney: Think of it what you will. ;)

 


 

Twitter | X

 

Trending

 

1 • #Cyrene

299.9k posts

 

2 • #PhainonsFirstLove

206.3k posts

 

3 • Robin

173k posts

 

4 • Phainon

170.2k posts

 

5 • #Phairene

155.7k posts

 

Cyrene blinked in disbelief.

 

Phairene? Did the internet actually just mash their names together?

 

A sudden warmth rushed to her cheeks despite herself. She hadn't even spoken to the guy in two decades. And now, literally hundreds of thousands of people were already actively shipping them like they were characters in a cheesy Korean drama. Or an anime.

 

She was starting to see why Twitter had its current reputation.

 

With nothing else to do and unsure of how to really navigate this new Social Media platform, she decided to just wing it and clicked on the fifth trending topic containing her and Phainon's ship name (God, that still sounded surreal to her brain).

 

Immediately after, it was almost like she was dropped in the middle of a nuclear warzone.

 

Aglaea (✔)
@aglaea_chrysos
On behalf of the Chrysos Heirs, we formally ask our beloved fans to respect the privacy of individuals unaffiliated with our organization. Phainon's comments were personal anecdotes. Any harassment done in his name is strictly condemned by both him and our entire group.

 

Phainon himself will be giving a more formal statement regarding the situation soon. So until then, I urge all of you to please remain calm and respectful.

 

Remember, we are all humans here.

Replies (13,422)

 

> @cipherscuuumsucket
   
Mama Aglaea has arrived. Phainon is so COOKED

 

> @daily_phaidei
   
all of this could've been avoided if you had just stuck to being gay @phainon_chrysos

 

> @daily_hyacine_
   
This drama has gotten WAAAAYY out of hand. Can't they just kiss and make up already?

     > @onlyphainons
         
i bet that's what phainon WANTS to do, but if it was that easy, then he wouldn't have resorted to sicking his fans just to find her

 

> @phaideigayseggs6969
   
How can you tell us not to get upset when she's a useless whore who can't even be bothered to reach out to her childhood friend smh

     > @dailyphainon
         
ah yes, the most unbiased opinion from "phaideigayseggs6969"

         > @phaideigayseggs6969
             
It's not an opinion. It's a fact. Do you actually plan on refuting my point?

             > @dailyphainon
                 
nah i cant be asked

                 > @phaideigayseggs6969
                     
I expected nothing less from a PhAirEnE fan (dogshit name btw 🤮️)

 

> Anaxa (✔)
   
@anaxagoras_chrysos
   
We? That demographic would include you, thus making your statement false.

   Replies (598)

 

   > @imgonnatouchuuu
       
bro doesn't care about the drama and just wants the smoke w aglaea

       > @aglanaxaappreciationacc
           
it's a classic old married couple thing shhh

 

@chrysoshstanaccount retweeted @aglaea_chrysos
You are NOT slick by adding the Phairene hashtag at the very bottom of your tweet.

 

Even the Chrysos Heirs secretly ship Phairene

> Cipher (✔)
   @cipher_chrysos
   
who said we didnt? 🙂‍↕️️

   Replies (5,450)    

 

@mysweetphaidei63 retweeted @aglaea_chrysos
why doesnt phainon literally just explain that twitter is overblowing this whole shit and that he doesnt care about her anymore?

 

literally the only reason its such a hot topic rn is because everyone thinks he's in love with some random girl he hasn't seen in almost 20 years (which is historically proven to be impossible btw)

> @ceo_of_castoriceglazers
   
if she really was just a random girl he didn't have feelings for, he wouldn't have sounded so emotional recounting that story and even going as far as to reveal her name for his fans to manhunt her.

 

    phaidei fans try not to be delusional challenge: FAILED

    > @mysweetphaidei63
       
did u ever consider that maybe phainon hates her for leaving him for years and wants to get revenge by getting her doxxed?

        > @onlyphainons
           
girl, stop lumping phainon down to your level 😭️✌️

 

@dailyphainon retweeted @aglaea_chrysos
that's cool and all, and i'm so sorry to anyone that's getting harassed due to this situation...

 

but when are we gonna see #Phairene making out?

> @hseelena442
   
They make out on stream and then play minecraft survival together while talking about their experiences in childhood

    > @dailyphainon
       
OMG

 

@delilaccc_3
Dude, #Phairene is literally the perfect ship name we could've ever made. Whoever thought of this first deserves a gold medal.

> @phaidei_crumbs_acc
   
overrated asl

    > @wanaxaappreciator6
       
ive yet to seen a phairene hater that isnt also a salty phaidei stan

 

Castorice (✔)
@castorice_chrysos
Today is going to be a chill stream with just chatting and playing Life is Strange 2! Feel free to come by on twitch.tv/castorice_ch ☺️

> @dailyphainon
   
GIRL WHY IS THIS TAGGED UNDER PHAIRENE😭️😭️😭️😭️😭️

 

> @chrysoshstanaccount
   
 is the just chatting part gonna be u talking about phairene or what?

 

> @ceo_of_castoriceglazers
   
Leave her alone guys she's just cashing in on the free clout 😍️

    > @touchmecastoriceplease
       
Queen Castogoat as always

 

@ilovefriedchickeeeeeeen
#Phairene so peak half the fandom hates it

Replies (1,042)

 

@nammmnammmmm
I am ITCHING to draw fanart of #Phairene pleaseeeeeeeee 😭️

 

Cyrene, if you're reading this. I hope you're doing fine, do whatever you want, and feel free to take it at your own pace. But if you do decide to come out of the woodworks, I would be SOOO honored to draw fanart of you and Phainon. 🥹️

 

@pushing30ontwt
If this whole #Phairene mess SOMEHOW ends with two separated childhood sweethearts getting back together, my faith in humanity is gonna be restored.

> @mydeisf1esh1ight
   
literally unsubbing if phainon gets back with a manipulative little bitch

    > @dailyphainon
       
unsub to this ratio

 

@abyss_zetaa
Why are we romanticizing #Phairene? This is fucked up.

 

Phainon is actually a massive piece of shit for this. He knows exactly how rabid and toxic his fanbase is, yet he intentionally weaponized them to hunt down a woman who clearly wanted nothing to do with him for twenty years.

 

Bro is literally inciting a harassment campaign just because his ego can't accept that his crush from when he was 5 doesn't like him back. He's a manipulative, dangerous creep who is using his massive platform to threaten women, and y'all need to wake up and stop treating this like it's sweet.

Replies (943)

 

Cyrene stopped scrolling, staring at that particular... opinion with a growing shred of disgust like she wanted to will it out of existence just by staring at it.

 

A manipulative creep? A massive piece of shit?

 

Back when they were kids, Cyrene was always Phainon's unnoficial caretaker. She taught him everything she knew at the time, she dusted him off whenever he got dirty, and she was always the one protecting him whenever the other kids tried to make fun of him.

 

Maybe it was because of that. That faint, lingering, but still potent protectiveness she held for her childhood friend, that Cyrene didn't even try thinking of anything else at the moment, letting her fingers fly across the keyboard.

 

@abyss_zetaa
Why are we romanticizing #Phairene? This is fucked up.

 

Phainon is actually a massive piece of shit for this. He knows exactly how rabid and toxic his fanbase is, yet he intentionally weaponized them to hunt down a woman who clearly wanted nothing to do with him for twenty years.

 

Bro is literally inciting a harassment campaign just because his ego can't accept that his crush from when he was 5 doesn't like him back. He's a manipulative, dangerous creep who is using his massive platform to threaten women, and y'all need to wake up and stop treating this like it's sweet.

Replied (644)

 

> @firefly_stanaccount
   
i agree that phainon was reckless, impulsive, and irresponsible with this entire situation. but a manipulative, dangerous creep? really?

    just say that you're only using this situation as a reason to hate phainon

 

> @phainonsnumber1simp
   
Why are we throwing the heat on Phainon now instead of that snotty klutz of a bitch Cyrene????

 

> @mem_reney
   
You spout off nonsense assumptions about Phainon as if you know him personally, yet I'm sure you've never even seen him face-to-face. How are you so certain that he is a horrible person who's a threat to women? How are you so certain that she didn't like him back? He never even get rejected, so who are you to talk as if she wanted "nothing to do with him"?

   Please get off the internet for one day and reflect as a person.

   > @abyss_zetaa

       You accuse me of making "nonsense assumptions" about someone I've yet to see ftf, even though his own actions are a testament to his true nature. And then you start going on about how Cyrene actually liked him back and didn't reject him, which is pure headcannon, because nothing he ever said on stream ever indicated or even hinted at that.

      Maybe you're the one who needs to get off the internet when you're just making things up.

      > @mem_reney
         
Oh so you think me implying that Cyrene liked him back is headcanon. But how is you calling him a manipulative, dangerous creep who got rejected not the exact same thing? (P.S: You spelled headcanon incorrectly :3)

         > @abyss_zetaa
             
Because my accusations come from deductive reasoning. You're just making up fanfics in your tiny brain.

             > @mem_reney
                 
Then what would you do if I suddenly dropped hard evidence that Cyrene liked him back?

                  > @abyss_zetaa
                     
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

                      

                      Try me

 

             > Phainon (✔)
                @phainon_chrysos
               
Stop fighting them, Cyrene. Check your DMs.

                Replies (4)

 

                Replies (21)

  

                Replies (64)

 

She stared blankly at her screen, specifically onto the new reply sitting at the very bottom of the thread and rapidly growing in engagement by the second.

 

@phainon_chrysos.

 

Right beside his username sat a little blue checkmark that she had seen from a couple of other people tweeting, and though she wasn't certain on what it was, consdering what that icon meant on Instagram, it was more than likely an indication that someone was verified and they were the real deal.

 

This was the actual celebrity Phainon she had watched the clip of. This was her Phainon. He had finally found her after all these years.

 

And he just told her to check her DMs.

 

"DMs? Where even are the DMs?!" Cyrene whispered frantically to the empty breakroom, feeling particularly frustrated at her lack of Twitter intelligence.

 

She began tapping aggressively at her screen, completely lost while trying to navigate the foreign, unfamiliar layout of Twitter. She hit the little house button, then the magnifying glass, then the bell icon, her anxiety spiking higher and higher with every wrong page she loaded.

 

It definitely didn't help that the app was now lagging from the sheer influx of notifications she was receiving by the second.

 

Finally, her desperate eyes caught a small, unassuming envelope icon tucked away at the bottom corner of her screen. She pressed it, and was immediately shown a rapidly growing inbox of messages.

 

It was all a blur, but she could glimpse a bunch of people asking her if she was really Cyrene amongst a field of negative comments. She tried to act like none of it existed as she scrolled down past all of it, getting to the very bottom and the first message this newly created account ever had.

 

It was a single message request from that exact same verified account.

 

Cyrene swallowed, unsure of why she was even feeling nervous as her she tapped on his name to open the chat.

 

This was just Phainon... after twenty years.

 

No big deal, Cyrene. Just act natural.

 

Phainon (✔)

 

Cyrene?

is that you?

i saw you were a fresh account, so i tried searching your name on every other social media platform and i found your instagram

that pink hair

Cyrene told me she wanted to be a writer before, and now you're posting updates about an ongoing novel

is that really you?

please stop arguing with that guy and answer me...

i don't want to have to butt in there and bring even more chaos than i already have

 

Phainon?

 

oh thank god

if this is really you, you shouldn't have started your digital footprint on twitter like that. especially with a random hater of mine that was already recieving backlash from others.

im not 5 anymore. i have tough skin, just like all the other ccs

 

I know...

It was just out of impulse.

 

??

 

And what do you mean is this really me, silly? Didn't you already piece it together from my Instagram?

Who else could it be~?

 

well, sorry, but years of being popular has really done a number on making me paranoid of everyone i talk to.

 

Hmmmmm...

I understand. :)

I don't want to show you my face yet, but perhaps I could tell you something only YOUR Cyrene would know?

 

yes please

 

Alright then!

Let's see....

You probably don't know this yourself, but Auntie Audata had actually told me about you telling her "Cyrene was making frogs jump around in my tummy!"

 

WHAT?!

 

I had a very good laugh with her, and from then on, I always knew you liked me and was aware of all your silly attempts to confess~

Seriously, who did you think you were to "confess" as a five year old?

 

WAIT IS THAT HOW ALL OF MY ATTEMPTS SOMEHOW WENT WRONG?!?!

 

Is that proof sufficient enough for you, Snowy? :3

 

i

you

yes it is...

i never even told the public my mom's name, so that's pretty hard evidence

listen

we were 5

it was just a crush!

 

Hehe~!

 

don't laugh like that! >:(

do you know how much trouble we're in right now?

my friend aglaea's been trying her best to keep the mob at bay while me and my other friend cipher worked on finding you

and thank the gods that shes chronically online and was immediately finding every single Cyrene my fans were interacting with or just had Cyrene in their name.

because if not for that, i probably wouldn't have been able to find you fast enough to stop you from getting into pointless arguments on twitter.

but now that has thrown us right into the middle of the frying pan because everyone saw on public me confirming that it was you and that we've started talking again.

im already being spammed with messages, and im sure you are too

 

Right

 

I'm sorry, Phainon.

 

what?

no

 

I don't use Social Media for more than things regarding my novel, so I've never even had a Twitter account until now.

 

stop it

 

I didn't realize you had sent me a message, and I forgot public PRs were a delicate topic and I shouldn't have thrown myself to the wolves in your defense.

I just missed you. I knew all the things I wanted to see about you were on this damned platform.

But I'm really sorry that I made everything worse.

 

stop it, Cyrene

since when did you get so anxious?

 

Since your fans started messaging me abhorrent things?

 

then tell me every single one of their names

i'll have my lawyers try their hardest to get them all sued

 

Oh.

 

but i wasn't mad at you

never

i just wanted you to know how out of hand this has gotten

and that if anything, its no ones fault but ME

i could've just ignored caelus' question or danced around it like i've done so many other times before

but i just had to get antsy and spill my mouth

now, not only are hundreds of thousands of people under the delusion that i'm still madly in love with you

but since i also revealed your name, i practically invited all the crazy, stalker fans of mine to come hunting for you

all for the small chance that we could finally be reunited

i'm so sorry

i just missed you so much

(Seen 4:20)

 

Cyrene?

are you there?

 

Yeah...

I'm here.

I missed you too, Phainon. :>

Sure, the way you went about finding me might've been... unorthodox, very much late, and is still causing us a heap of trouble.

But you still found me.

You kept your promise this whole time.

I can't thank you enough.

 

well

i DID swear on my mom that i'll find you again

i was completely serious about it

 

Well, now you found me then~!

What are you going to do with me now? :)

 

i'm going to make a public statement soon.

we were just holding it off until i could talk this situation out with you

i want to make sure any statement that i make from this point forward is with your full consent and support

since it's the least i could do for dragging you into the spotlight like this

 

That's really sweet, Snowy, but it's not necessary.

I'm a big, twenty-five year old girl now too, you know?

 

not all 25 year olds should have to deal with my rabid fans

 

Then maybe you shouldn't be attracting so many of them by being so handsome. ;)

 

wHat?

listen

i

 

Hehehehehe

 

want to go on a call with you and my managers so we can all discuss how we're gonna make a statement and what to do moving forward

you're free right now, correct?

 

Hmmm

Not exactly.

I'm on break right now, and said break is ending in three minutes from now.

 

what???

i wanna talk to you some MORE

 

So as much as I'd love to talk to you, my bills aren't gonna pay themselves, and I don't really want to use this as an excuse to get a free leave from my shift.

Sorry, Phainon, I wanted to talk to you for longer as well.

I'll be free later tonight. I'll hold off on writing since this is pretty urgent.

 

i wanna do it now

where do you work?

in fact, just give me your address and i'll drive there right now

 

Hm?

Snowy, I might be a bit dense compared to others when it comes to the internet,

But I am very much aware of the phrase "Don't give your personal info out to strangers online."

 

IM NOT A STRANGER

please

i want to see you right now

 

My, how clingy~!

 

i

i havent seen you in twenty years

im sick at looking at your insta pfp on my second monitor and only seeing the back of your head

im going crazy imagining what you look like now

please, tell me where you work

i'll wear a mask and everything so i don't get recognized and cause a scene

 

Alright, Snowy, I get it.

You sure know how to show your desperation through chat messages.

You're making this pretty girl blush!

 

im sure you are

 

Oh? Have you finally learned to be smooth after all these years?

 

that's up for you to decide when we meet up.

 

My curiosity has been piqued, then!

1482 Boulevard, Suite B Okhema

It's a modest cafe down west.

 

got it

 

I'll be working the front counter from here on out, so I'll be the first thing you see when you enter.

Come and get me, Phainon~!

 


 

"She said she wouldn't be able to get in a call until later tonight, so you and our PR team are gonna have to hold the fort on Twitter a little longer." Phainon casually stated, his phone stuck between his shoulder and tilted head as he closed the door on his car and made sure it was locked.

 

"That's a bit of a hard bargain considering your recent tweet, is it not?" Aglaea responded against the speaker, sounding unusually sarcastic and wry.

 

Whoops.

 

"I know, I'm sorry." Phainon apologized again, his eyes roaming over to the nearby cafe.

 

"If this debacle ends with you getting your first girlfriend, then we will consider you forgiven." Aglaea simply responded, drawing out an exasperated chuckle from Phainon as he walked across the street.

 

"Although she didn't seem too different over text, it's still been twenty years since I last actually saw her, so I don't know if we're gonna hit it off that well..." Phainon muttered, grabbing his phone with one hand so he could straighten his head again.

 

"But," He suddenly added, remembering the flutters dancing around in his stomach just by reading the cheeky replies she was giving him earlier. "I would be happy if that became the case." He admitted softly, with only Aglaea's ears and the blowing wind picking up on it.

 

"If you were talking to any other of the Chrysos Heirs, they would be calling you... a 'simp' right about now." Aglaea blankly told him, though even through the phone audio, he could somehow hear the smile on her face.

 

"I know." Phainon merely replied, stepping right up to the cafe.

 

"Then I'm sure you also know what to do from here on out?"

 

"Yes, Aglaea."

 

"Good. Don't mess this up." Aglaea didn't wait for his response, dropping the call right after.

 

Phainon sighed fondly, pulling his phone away from his ear. He gave one look at the barrage of notifications reflecting off his sunglasses and decided to completely ignore it all, throwing the device back into his pocket to face the looming cafe in front of him.

 

He couldn't cheat and see through the windows, so the only way he was going to see her was if he went in.

 

He didn't even know why his heart was beating so loudly in his chest. All he knew was that he must've looked so stupid right now. A man covered in a hoodie with a face mask and sunglasses, staring at the entrance of a cafe and getting in the way of other potential customers. It was ridiculous, so he tried to stop dilly-dallying and just push through.

 

This was just Cyrene... after twenty years.

 

No big deal, Phainon. Just act natural.

 

The bell above the door chimed a greeting as Phainon stepped inside, instantly enveloped by the rich, warm scent of roasted coffee beans. He kept his head slightly lowered, adjusting the dark mask covering the lower half of his face as his gaze immediately flicked toward the front counter.

 

He stopped dead in his tracks.

 

There she was.

 

It was impossible for any sane human being not to notice her. Her hair was the same striking, beautiful shade of pink he remembered, but now much longer and tied back into a ponytail that still managed to frame her face just right.

 

And that was probably because her face was an absolute delicate masterpiece, pale and soft all around.

 

As he took a hesitant step forward, she looked up from the cash register, and Phainon felt the remaining breath completely vanish from his lungs. Her eyes met his, and they were an incredibly vibrant, piercing shade of blue shining far brighter than his own.

 

Beautiful. So beautiful...

 

Phainon's mind completely blanked, every rational thought and things to say he had prepared in the car evaporating into mush in his brain. He had spent the entire drive agonizing over what she might look like as an adult, but none of his imaginations ever even came close to doing the real woman standing in front of him justice.

 

She called herself just pretty? That was modest!

 

A playful, knowing spark flashed within those bright blue eyes as she took in the sight of the tall, masked man freezing like a deer in the headlights right in the middle of the cafe.

 

"Hi! My name is Cyrene! What can I get for you~?" She greeted him with a bright, welcoming smile, her voice carrying that same teasing cadence he had imagined through text.

 

Phainon couldn't speak. He couldn't move. He just stood there, hopelessly stuck in a spell, realizing right then and there that he was in so much deeper than he initially thought.

 

"I-I..." Phainon tried to start, but he kept stuttering over himself like he was five years old all over again, something that Cyrene certainly didn't let pass without an amused crinkle of those eyes.

 

God, those eyes. Why were they so entrancing to look at?

 

"Would you like a Matcha Espresso, a regular Americano, a Chocolate Espresso..." Cyrene began helpfully listing off the cafe's menu to him, though he knew for a fact she was getting a massive kick out of this.

 

Phainon swallowed, forcing himself to grow the hell up and stop acting like he was still a kid. He had to say something, literally anything.

 

"Y-you."

 

Not literally anything!

 

As Phainon suffered a mental breakdown over his stupid, irrational, nonsensical response, Cyrene actually couldn't resist the sudden snort escaping her lips, though she did manage to prevent herself from devolving into a full fit of laughter.

 

"Alright, sir." Cyrene responded cheekily, the sheer mirth in her voice revealing how amused she was as she motioned a brief signal with her hands to her coworker at the side.

 

It seemed they must've talked this out already, because the other worker immediately knew what to do. They took Cyrene's place at the counter, leaving her completely free to walk around and head straight for him.

 

Phainon just stood like a deer in headlights the whole time. Though as she got closer, he suddenly felt the strange urge to step away, almost intimidated by her presence.

 

But Cyrene put a quick stop to that by grabbing onto the top of the hoodie covering his head. It was a bit inconvenient for her considering how much taller he was. But she accomplished her goal of pushing away the fabric, revealing his bright, distinct snow-white hair that practically screamed "Phainon the celebrity!".

 

But even in spite of that, Cyrene continued. "If it is me you desire, then it is me you shall have~" She began playfully as she also got to work on pulling down his shades, slowly unmaking his disguise to see him in his full, unfiltered self. "But the price is I have to see you too!"

 

"B-but what if I get noticed-?!" Phainon tried to argue back in a sharp whisper, looking around the cafe in pure paranoia. Though he never even actually tried to stop her hands.

 

"My, since when did you get so narcissistic?" Cyrene lightly chided him, playful and joking as she booped his nose through his face mask before getting to work on removing that too. "Not everyone in the world knows who Phainon is, you know. I'm the living proof of that."

 

He supposed that was true too, but shouldn't they be careful of everything after all that's been going on? Not to mention that tidbit of information that she had never learned of his online presence until this drama made him feel a bit melancholic.

 

"I always hoped you would find me through my popularity." Phainon softly admitted in a whisper as his full face was laid bare.

 

Cyrene actually paused, her cheeky disposition freezing for a moment as he finally caught her slightly flustered. But she was quick on her feet, she always was, so she recovered in no time to respond. "Then you're even more hopeless than your fans make you out to be."

 

Phainon wanted to join in on her teasing, but he couldn't help the small flinch because she wasn't speaking as lowly as he about his secret online persona. "Cyrene, please, don't be so loud-!" He tried to whisper again, but he was once more cut off as she placed a singular finger to his lips in a shushing manner.

 

"Why don't you stop being so paranoid and just come here to give your childhood friend a big ol' hug?" Cyrene suggested giddily as she wrapped her other arm around his waist, pulling him close in an embrace that Phainon's body immediately reacted to before his mind even caught up.

 

He wrapped his arms around her like they just naturally belonged there. Suddenly, with the close proximity, his nose was greeted by the distinct scent of chamomile, slowly melting Phainon's tense shoulders into the hug.

 

Phainon slowly dropped his face onto her left shoulder, sighing heavily as they both clasped tighter to each other, the full weight of their reunion finally crashing back down on them.

 

"Thank you for finding me, Phainon..." Cyrene finally said, her voice raw, genuine, and absent of her earlier light teasing. "You did so well."

 

"It was still too long," Phainon muttered regretfully against the fabric of her clothes. "You've changed so much now..."

 

Cyrene merely chuckled in response. "Look who's talking!" She retorted playfully. "You're practically towering over me, and I'm already considered a pretty tall girl, you know?"

 

"Still..." Phainon tried to argue back, but she just clicked her tongue at him.

 

"That's enough of that," She muttered in a bit firmer chide, though it was still overwhelmingly fond. "We're reunited now, and that's all that matters. We still have a bare minimum of fifty more years to catch up on everything."

 

"Okay..." He uttered in a relenting manner, still feeling regretful deep down, but not wanting to bring down her mood. "Can we stay like this for now?" Phainon asked quietly, burying his face a little deeper into her shoulder.

 

Cyrene hummed, her fingers gently brushing against his back. "Well, if you can handle the embarrassment of other people looking at us like this, then sure!" She chirped happily, completely casual and nonchalant about the multiple sets of eyes Phainon could just feel glaring down at them.

 

It really should be a cause for concern. Any one of them could be one of his fans, and the chances were not zero that they were one of the creepy ones. But if Cyrene wanted them to just focus on their moment together, then that's what he would do.

 

"For you, I think I can do that..." He murmured, closing his eyes as he held her close.

 

"Wow, you really are smooth now." Cyrene laughed, the sound vibrating warmly against his chest.

 

"And you're really pretty now." He countered smoothly, mostly because it was the most honest, genuine thought in his mind.

 

"Wasn't I always? You literally admitted that in front of thousands of people." She teased right back, refusing to let him have the last word and the upper hand.

 

Phainon just sighed, realizing that some things didn't change about her no matter how many years passed.

 

She was still endlessly teasing him.

 

"Just stop talking and hug me." Phainon groaned dramatically in a whine and threw a slight tantrum by rubbing his face against her shoulder.

 

Cyrene chuckled, but did exactly as he asked anyway, because she herself wanted nothing more than to keep embracing him just like this.

 

Unbeknownst to either of them, a few tables away, a quiet customer sat with a half-empty cup of coffee. He had been scrolling through his phone for the past hour, catching up to date on the Chrysos Heirs drama currently setting Twitter ablaze. And by Chrysos Heirs, he meant Phainon specifically.

 

When he first entered this shop and heard the barista introduce herself as Cyrene, he had briefly connected the dots. Pink hair, bright blue eyes, and that specific, unique name. He wasn't a man who believed in coincidences, so he automatically deduced that the barista for this random cafe he had decided to try out was the very girl the entirety of the internet was manhunting.

 

But he was a decent human being. It wasn't his business, and she had given him a really nice reception, so he just pretended not to know her so she could have her peace.

 

However, when a ridiculously tall man walked in wearing a hoodie, sunglasses, and a mask, only to be immediately dismantled by that same barista to reveal the distinct white hair of Phainon himself, the customer couldn't help it anymore.

 

He watched the millionaire, insanely popular streamer, completely melt into the arms of his childhood friend right in the middle of a shift. The same childhood friend he was yearning for earlier this morning like a fool who couldn't get over a two-decade-old crush. And the girl herself barely seemed any better.

 

They looked like a modern-day Romeo and Juliet.

 

A soft smile reached the customer's face at that thought. He usually never did this, but he decided to discreetly raise his phone to snap a quick picture of the two of them hugging.

 

He made sure it was unobtrusive by angling the phone so that it was facing Cyrene's back, leaving only her pink hair visible while Phainon's head was buried on her shoulder. He also made sure the other parts of the store were either blurred or didn't have enough details, so that this place wouldn't get tracked.

 

And as he looked at the results of his sneaky photography, his smile grew wider.

 

If the internet was capable of bringing these two childhood sweethearts back together, then maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

 


 

Twitter | X

 

@chocolate_frappecf
Congratulations @phainon_chrysos @mem_reney

 

[ image attached ]

Replies (21,940)

Notes:

This was heavily inspired from one of my previous fanfics on another acc (diff from the one i linked) where its a similar premise of twitter online drama inciting romance. The formatting is so one to one someone might just guess it off rip lmao, especially considering it's both under hyv fandoms.

I didn't know the first week of July was Phairene week until I saw a post on reddit, and even then it was just people posting art. I was half debating on even writing this since I didn't see anyone posting fanfics, and even when I looked around the Phairene discord server, NO ONE was talking about Phairene week. No convos about it on general, no announcements, nothing in the Phairene week channels. The easiest thing to do would've just been to ask around myself, but if I did that, then I wouldn't live up to my title of most introverted person of all time xD

Even now, I still don't know if there's gonna be a Phairene week 2026 on ao3, but since I already got started, I figured why not just post this. I have other ideas for oneshots already, and depending on if everyone else actually starts joining in, I might continue writing them all. But if not, then I'll just go back to preparing for my 2nd year.

In the case that I don't end up uploading my other oneshots, I'll just drop the concepts here:
Phairene medieval Au where Cyrene is a princess and Phainon is her appointed knight (heavily inspired by someones artwork and, of course, Zelink)
Hanahaki au. enough said LOL
Modern High School setting with smut

Series this work belongs to: