Chapter 77:

"Well guys, I have to run, I think this is the end of today's stream chat. It was pretty fun, tell me if you want me to play with John again.", Ace answered a few questions, then said his goodbyes and logged out.

He had been playing with John for a while already, chat seemed to like his personality, and he was a good friend, so they had a fun time playing together. He also told chat that John streamed as well, even if it was usually him casting games. It should give him a boost in popularity, and hopefully even the attention of some of the event organisers that watched his stream.

He had also spoken to CJ, and told him that he would play his music while they were in a queue, and waiting for a game to start. He had heard it, and loved it, he was truly talented, but Ace knew that in the industry, talent was not everything, connections were important too. Luckily, Ace would be the only connection he would need. He would play the music without saying anything, and only tell his chat about the name of the artist once he saw a few people request it. This would eliminate any talk of favouritism, while still giving him a shot at some more listeners.

For now, however, he had to focus on other things, he took a shower, and waited in a robe for a few minutes for the stylists to come. In his grandmother's words: 'Everyone there will be perfect, you have to be above that'.

They had chosen a simple tuxedo, it fit him perfectly after a few modifications, and the colours suited his complexion. He had been manhandled by 'assistants' for over two hours, before his grandmother came, as always, she looked amazing, in a wine red dress that was simple, yet suited her well.

They got in the car, and drove to where the event would be happening, Ace hoped it would at least offer some entertainment. There would apparently be a separate room for the younger guests, so the whole thing would probably become a f*ckfest, some of these guys were not on good terms with each other, and Hollywood had taught them to not play nice. Ace hoped it would be amusing, praying that no drugs were involved, since alcohol was a given.

The chances of these people acting 'classy' once they got high or drunk were low. Ace just wanted to not get roped into any fights, it would ont be a good rep, and these guys carried some pretty big weights, especially when it came to social media. Ace could deal with them, but it would take a big expense of resources, which was the reason why he had dug up dirt on every single one of them.

Surprisingly, a few did not seem to have done anything stupid, but all it could be was that they had hidden it well. This was meant to be a gala for kids with disabilities or handicaps, so famous singers and actors would be there. This would mean that connections would be made, as they were in all of these events, and that rumours would be spread, as they were in all of these events.

Ace could not wait for the night to begin, it would be the most fun he had had in days.

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As they went in, Ace spotted a pretty big amount of reporters and so one, so he asked the car to take them through the back entrance. Most would want to be seen as much as they could, but Ace had no interest in being stopped by reporters that would recognise him, and ask him stupid questions, about whether he considered 'streaming' a real job. They would just piss him off, and it was too early for that.

"Ok Ace, remember-", his grandmother began,

"Yep, no drugs, minimal alcohol, and wear a condom if it has to happen. Don't worry grandma, it's not my first time, and you taught me well.", Ace stopped her, and gave her a wide smile, she looked proud, and responded with a smile in kind. Then, they went in.

It was a big hall, decorated tastefully, and with a podium at the centre for whoever had to give a speech. Ace also spotted various security guards that clearly did not belong there, mingling around with each other. Their own four guards looked much better trained, and while they began to laugh between each other, they all kept their eyes on one quadrant of the room, aware of any possible threats. They were much better trained, and no one would be able to differentiate them from any other guests. The suits they were wearing were just as expensive, and their earpieces were barely visible, only a small bud in the ear, that was made to blend in with their skin tone.

Ace nodded at them, they had probably been here for some time, scouting the place, and they nodded back. Ace then picked up a coke, and as he was already getting used to, the bartender asked, "Want any rum with that?", Ace declined the offer with a smile, and just took the glass. It seemed funny to him, how little of the law applied to these people. By the end of the night, they would be openly using drugs, and clear minors were drinking alcohol as if it was not an issue. That was fine, all minors ended up drinking anyway. What was not fine, was that regardless of what they did, they would most likely not face the consequences.

Ace understood why, yet it sickened him to see people behave so irresponsibly, one thing was to unwind with some friends, and the other was to get so high you couldn't stand straight in a charity gala, where you had volunteered to support disabled and handicapped kids.

Ace walked around, looking to see if he recognised any faces, when suddenly, someone stopped him, he turned around, he saw someone he recognised, "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Well… Can I ask for your autograph?", she looked a bit nervous, fidgeting slightly.

"Uhh, why is Melissa Chang asking me for my autograph?", Ace stared at her curiously, Melissa was a voice actor, at her young age of 16, she had given voice to over 20 different animated characters, working with pretty much everyone that mattered in the animated movie industry. She was obviously not as well known as some actors, but she had a sizable following of her own. She was also one of the people Ace could not find anything on, and surprisingly, she still lived with her parents. Most actors, especially teenagers, went to live on their own, a recipe for disaster that it seemed she was smart enough to avoid.

"Well, my younger brother really likes you, so I thought that maybe…", she was blushing now, and Ace laughed,

"Of course, don't worry about it, is there anything specific you want me to sign?", she nodded, and handed him a piece of paper, Ace looked at it and laughed, it was a Rainbow Six Siege poster, given out in the convention a few weeks back.

"So he was at the convention, cool, I should have something to write with here.", Ace dug around the inner pocket, and took out a Fountain Pen, a simple black one, with his name in Gold inlay, a gift from his grandmother. "What's his name?"

"Alex."

"Cool.", he wrote a few lines, his calligraphy was perfect, his hand control and muscle memory allowed him to replicate any style of writing to perfection with a bit of practise. He then signed it at the bottom, and handed it back to Melissa.

"Here you go."

"Oh, wow."

"Huh? What's up?"

"Well, I pretty much expected you to sign your name and done, if at all, but what you wrote…"

"Don't worry, it's fine, it does not even take too long."

"Well, thank you, I am sure he will appreciate it."

"No problem. Also, they said there was a room where the younger people would be, where is that?", Ace asked, and was surprised when he saw Melissa make a grimace, "Well, that's not good. What's up?"

She sighed, "Nothing, it's just that the atmosphere there is… not good to say the least, they are already throwing shade at each other, they will make a few appearances later, and when that is done, they will get drunk, high or both.I have been around them for a long time, and most of them are not good people."

"Oh, well, nothing we can do. But let's go watch, I am sure it will be fun.", he smiled at her, and she sighed, "Ok then, follow me."

They walked across the room, saying hi to a few people that recognised them, until they were in front of a door, Ace could hear some muted noise from it, so he opened it and went in.

As he did, he was struck by the atmosphere, people were standing around, talking with some light music in the background, but the hostile looks that were traded around, were definitely not pretty. They got a few looks as they came in, but people went back to their conversations. Ace and Melissa went to one of the corners, and sat down.

"So, tell me, who is who, and who do I watch out for.", Ace already knew this, of course, he would be a trashy spy if he did not, but he wanted to see who Melissa was on better terms with, and whether she was truly neutral or not.

"Ok, so you got the Disney guys there, they mostly separate into generations, but that's subject to change whenever, some are on good and some are on bad terms, but they are mostly stuck together. Then, you got the rest, some movies, some TV shows, but they are pretty much segregated into various fields, such as genre, popularity, age, and so on. They all know each other, and they have hooked up at one time or another, so it can get pretty awkward when a couple breaks up. Also, a warning, these people don't play nice, and - oh, someone's coming, I assume you know who it is?"

Jake Austin, one of the former Disney child stars was coming, he was a character in a show, but was off the radar after that for the most part, even if he did have some projects.

"So, who's this?", he was obviously a bit buzzed, and looking for a fight, Ace had no problem instigating one, "Hello, I'm Ace."

"Shut up assh*ole, I was asking her.", his breath reeked, and Melissa winced her eyes,

"Just go, Jake, we are having a conversation here.", Melissa tried to tone him down, but he was not having it.

"Do you know who I am?"

"No. And I think that proves enough, just go, you will only embarrass yourself here.", Ace gave him a warm smile and motioned with his hand. It was obviously a taunt, and Jake took it as a grave offence.

"Shut up! You are nothing! I don't know you! Just go, you are not welcome here!", he was getting aggressive, widening his stance, wanting to appear bigger. He was obviously more than a bit buzzed.

"Look, man, I don't know what your problem is, but just go yeah?"

"Hey! Jake! D*mb*ss, you are wasted, just leave them alone, there is nothing for you to do?", however, even if the words were meant to help, the speaker, one of the guys that were looking at the scene, clearly did not think about his wording, or maybe he did. Regardless, it seemed to incite Jake to make it a big deal, and he turned around, marching towards where he thought the speaker was.

"Who was that? Come on! Who was that?", he was now pretty mad, and a few people tried to calm him down with no success, it was going to all escalate, when one of the girls walked behind him, and struck him in the neck, "Well, that got dealt with.", Ace grinned and Melissa laughed.

Ace looked at who it was, and smiled, "Hey, Melissa, did you see who it was that hit him?"

"Yes, pretty funny right?"

"No. look, 8 2 o'clock, a group of four."

"Wait, it was her? Hahaha, ok that was funny."

The deliverer of the hit had been Olivia Holt, one of the main characters in one of the most famous martial art shows of a generation. It was a cult show, and one of the ones Ace had actually watched.