1 Prelude

"You can't be serious, right?" She chuckles with wariness evident in her voice. A few seconds of hesitation, and then I nodded with a sad smile, and that's when her eyes started tearing up like an open fire hydrant. "W-WHY D-DIDN'T YOU T-TELL ME S-SOONER?!" She yells. I know she didn't mean to scream, but it's my fault that she feels that way.

It's not like I could stop what was about to happen, but maybe fate is binding me on the loneliest point of my life.

"I'm so sorry, Cher." I tried to gather her to my arms, but she seems to push me away. That hurt, really, and my eyes began to water as well. It's too much to bottle up, that I'm going to leave San Francisco and head to a much larger city, leaving behind my only best friend. I knew Cher would be devastated, but she needs to know. "M-My parents said that w-we'll be leaving tomorrow. I-I mean, they only said it recently a-and they didn't even consult me for that!"

Cher had a very scary look that she used to throw at my bullies when we were in high school. I expected that she would hit me – I had my still-crying face guarded by my arms – but nothing really came up. Instead, she threw herself at me and hugged me as if we'll never see each other again.

"If you're on television or YouTube again, please shout me out okay?" Cher sniffles. I laughed softly, she's always grateful that she has a special friend like me.

To break the sad moment, I may need to introduce myself. I'm Max, a 21-year-old YouTube star who covers songs and sing a few originals too. I live with my non-biological parents, who happen to be my music director and producer, and we're leaving San Francisco soon. My best friend is Cher; we've been friends since high school, we know each other's secrets, and she's been like the sister that I never had. Sadly, I'll leave my hometown along with my only friend, but there's nothing that I can do when it's my parents' decision.

Let's get to the point; my parents are too controlling over my life. No, they're not abusive, they're just so in control with my decisions and future. Most parents will say, "We know what's best for our child." But the "best" that my parents are trying to incorporate to me isn't what I like.

I love singing, but I don't like being at the center stage. I didn't really want to perform in public, but again, my parents want me to. They even made me stop my studies so that I could focus on "my career". And to think that I should've been on my third year in college right now with Cher, it's just so frustrating.

Don't get me wrong; I love my parents even if they're not my real parents. But sometimes I think they're getting way out of the line. Of course, I said my opinions to them, but they didn't really understand me. They would say that they do, but they just shrug my opinions off.

'I wish my life was just normal like everyone else…'

"Well, at least I have some time to help you pack, right?" She grins, wiping off the tears from her face.

I smiled back, a much-relieved smile that is. "Yeah… I guess you could say that."

From Cher's house to mine, the distance was just a couple of blocks away. We decided to walk than to ride her father's car. At least by walking on our way, we can also make up for the time that we may not see each other again. I mean, we can video chat and all, but meeting up with your best friend face to face is one of the best things that I could ever ask for.

But I only got a little time left in San Francisco… I will miss Cher. Not only her but also the memories that I will leave behind. The times when I still wasn't a star, the places that I went to; I will miss them all truly…

~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm good. I'm all alone in the house tonight, while Mom and Dad are checking up on the new studio." I sighed, watching Cher on Skype on my laptop is not really what I used to do. And I think she doesn't like it too; her frown is very evident on the screen. "Don't worry. I can perfectly handle myself," I assured.

"And that was said by the guy who's totally mortified of house lizards and rats." She munches on her caramel popcorns.

I glared at her. But it's true, though she didn't have to remind me that. "I wish I'm there to shove that snack of yours in your throat until you choke."

She chuckles. "Violent much?"

"No, I'm just being a great friend of yours." I laughed.

It was that moment that we started to think that our friendship would never be severed by any distance. We're the best of best friends in the whole world, and we're both proud to have each other's backs when we need them. So be it with my controlling parents; they're not stopping the famous Max from being friends with the best girl in the world.

"Say, how's your playtime with some furry VNs? I'm getting quite hooked with After Class. The characters are really hot!"

Oh, now that she mentioned it… "The last one that I ever played was Extracurricular Activities."

"Oooh! The one with the daddy bear Harold and sexy wolf Spencer? I love that too, especially Harold." She then threw me a playful glare. "You better not be in love with Harold! He's my man!"

I threw my arms in surrender. "I'm not, I'm not! I prefer Spencer, because, y'know? He's a wolf, and I love all wolves."

At this point, I could say that I hinted my biggest secret…

I'm gay, alright? But I'm not totally gay for human males. Well, I have a major thing for furries. You know; characters who look like animals but act like humans. I don't think it's still not gay though, but at least only Cher and I know about my weird tastes and kinks. The public doesn't seem to be suspicious, but I know that all secrets shall be revealed on time.

And my parents don't know it either! Isn't that a bit alarming?

"How 'bout Tavern of Spear?" Cher snaps me from my concerned thoughts.

I giggled at that, remembering a certain burly dragon. "Hakan is my husbando there. Don't be a thief." I added a childish sneer with that last line.

"Well, I prefer Nauxus and Thane there. And you can't ignore Snow's cute little nip-!"

RING! RING! RING!

My phone blared on my nightstand. "Hold up, I gotta know who's calling." I hope it's not my manager though. And what I mean of "manager" is actually my father. But a spark of excitement washes over me when I saw the ID as Best Nanny with a yellow heart emoji at the end. "It's Nanny Rafa! I better check on her. I'll talk to you later, Cher."

"Alright, I'll hang up and maybe get some more caramel popcorns."

"Brush your teeth before you go to bed!" I reminded her.

She chuckles. "I will, I will." And then the video chat ended.

Now, with Nanny Rafa. She's our Asian nanny ever since I started my career. While Mom and Dad are away from home, she's the one that I rely on in many things. She also taught me how to speak Asian languages – yes, with an "s" – like Japanese and Korean. She's really smart and fun to talk to, and I consider her as one of my favorite people in the world – Cher is included there. Right now, she's on a vacation with her family and probably would be back in a few days.

By the way, I think Nanny Rafa also knows that I'm gay, though I never told her.

While I slung my headphones back on my neck, I pressed the call button. "Nanny! How are you doing tonight?" I greeted happily.

"Oh, I'm really tired from the flight. I'm just confirming if you and your parents moved into Vegas?" She says in her Asian accent.

"Yes, Nanny. And I assume you'll be joining us here as well?"

"Of course, son. Maybe I'll be there tomorrow evening or so. But I hope I can have a little rest if you know what I mean?"

I chuckled at her request. Ever since Nanny and I are close, she sometimes asks for some naps or breaks. Though it's not really often, I understand that she's getting quite old too. She's actually in his mid-40s now, and I'm quite capable of doing many things than to let her help me. I'm not a spoiled brat, mind y'all.

"Yes, Nanny. You can rest as soon as you get here. The house seemed to be cleaned and the boxes are unpacked." 'Though I think I haven't seen the attic yet. Did Mom and Dad even saw it?' My thoughts lingered to it for a while, until Nanny said something to snap me back to reality. "Erm… Sorry, I'm just thinking if we fixed the attic."

Nanny Rafa chuckles. "I think I can handle that one, son. You seem to be tired too. Maybe you should get some rest."

I checked my clock on the nightstand and pouted when I found the time. "It's still 7:49 PM. I should be checking the attic too since it's still early." I rarely turn for the day early. I don't even go to school, so why sleep early?

"Alright, alright. But don't clean that place, son. I'll handle it so your parents won't suspect that I'm being lazy or something."

"You're not lazy, Nanny. You're just getting old." I laughed out loud when I heard her unimpressed tone of voice. "Sorry, sorry! I'll call you later, Nanny. Bye!"

"Bye, Max…" And then I hung up.

From my laid-on-my-stomach position on my bed, I stretched my limbs a little then I got off. Slipping on my slippers, I immediately skipped towards the way to the attic. It's just at the end of the hallway of the bedrooms, the wooden stairs leading to it are pretty enticing.

But when I got there and turned on the lights, I'm surprised when my eyes set upon something that I didn't expect to find in the dusty attic.

Sitting at the corner wooden pillar is an acoustic guitar. It seemed like a classic color of guitar, and I wondered what is it doing here. It's not mine though; my signature guitar is black and has a cutaway. So, whose guitar could that be?

"Maybe it's my parents' gift for me?" But when I took a closer look, it seemed quite old. No, only the color seemed old because it's quite fading and scratched. 'The strings seem new. That's strange…'

Really, this is the very first time I found a guitar that's not mine in my house. Dad said that this house belonged to an owner who was also a musician, though I didn't get their name. Could it be that this guitar belonged to the previous owner of the house? The thought of trying it out is killing me!

'It wouldn't hurt to play with it, right?' I asked myself in hesitation, but I already had the guitar on my hands before I could wait for an answer. I prepared myself to take a strum.

The moment my fingers worked to the strings of the guitar, I was shocked when I realized that it's a high-quality type of strings. And the way it sounded was the most beautiful sound of the guitar that I ever heard in my life. It sounded magical, like, it's making me feel a wave of excitement that I used to feel when I received my very first guitar.

And I didn't even realize that I'm playing an actual song too.

Going out tonight

Changes into something red

Her mother doesn't like that kind of dress

Everything she never had she's showing off

Driving too fast

Moon is breaking through her hair

She said it was something that she won't forget

Having no regrets is all that she really wants

It's been a long time since I sang like this before. Like, the melody of my voice is syncing with the guitar like a magical harmony.

We're only getting older, baby

And I've been thinking about it lately

Does it ever drive you crazy?

Just how fast the night changes?

Everything that you've ever dreamed of

Disappearing when you wake up

But there's nothing to be afraid of

Even when the night changes

It will never change me and you

"This ain't a low-quality guitar, I'm sure of it," I said to myself with an awestruck smile. "But why is it here? Did the owner forget it or something?"

And all of a sudden, the lights went out. I yelped in surprise; my heart almost jumped out of my chest. I couldn't see anything, but I still have the guitar clutched to my hands. I'm still standing on my spot, wondering if the lights are turning back on.

Was it a brownout? Am I going to be stuck in this attic? I started to panic by that thought, my legs started shaking. Really, I'm scared of the darkness more than lizards and rats.

For a good minute, I prayed that everything would be back to normal. But something happened that couldn't be possible to happen…

I started floating in the air! I still can't see in the dark, but I knew my feet weren't touching the ground. I yelled, "W-What's happening?! W-Why am I…?" And then my mind somehow shuts down. Whatever happened afterwards, I do not know. I just hope that nothing bad happens to me, I still want to live.

But little do I know that I'm going to find myself in a whole new world when I wake up…