My Best Friend is a Vtuber 15

"What's your plan for the break?" Phoebe typed on her keyboard, the clacking of the keys resonating as a diminutive smile formed on her face. She was staring at a group conversation of her class, waiting for a few replies from her classmates who seemed to be typing up a storm in response to the question. Leaning back into her chair, she stared around her room to look for something, finding it laying on the desk beside her. "Anyone want to hang out?"

"I'm going out of town to meet up with my grandparents, sorry." One classmate replied, followed by another that was in a similar boat. With a heavy sigh, she clicked on a bubble to bring her to another conversation.

"Hello everyone." She typed out a message, her face in a slightly sour mood as her mind started to wander. It had been a few weeks since Zeke told him those words, but they still sounded clear as day to her.

"You look a lot better when you smile and laugh like you did today."

She forced herself to smile for a bit, looking at her face in the reflection of her phone. It felt awkward, unnatural, and a little painful. With a long sigh, she rolled out her chair and got up to get something from the kitchen. "Hey, sis…"

"Hmm?" Samantha was seated on the sofa, a book in one hand and a steaming cup of coffee in the other. "Oh, good morning." She smiled, giving her sister a short glance before taking a sip of her drink.

"Do you think we can go out a bit for today?" Her voice soft, barely audible over her footsteps, Phoebe walked into the kitchen and found another hot mug waiting for her; this one was filled with hot chocolate.

"Have you run out of things to do already?" Flipping a page of her book, she set her coffee on the coffee table and craned her neck back to catch a glance of Phoebe's embarrassed nod. "You're not streaming?" Adding another question to the pile, she moved her head back and started scanning the page before her.

"It's just… I can't be streaming all day." Phoebe retorted, sipping on her cup of bliss as she took a seat beside her sister. "And I just want to get out of the house with you; you're always so busy at work. It's not every day that you have a day off, after all." She smiled, leaning her head against Samantha's shoulder to try and leverage the conversation further.

Samantha hmm'd and haa'd for a few seconds, though that was mostly for show since a smirk was on her face the entire time. "Sure, where do you want to go?" She said, shutting the book and downing the rest of her coffee before bending over to get the keys to her car.

"How about we take a walk by the park again?" Phoebe suggested, righting her posture as Samantha put down the keys; they wouldn't be needing them. With that matter settled, the two of them got up and changed for the frigid air and the frosty streets. Phoebe wore a thick jacket over her clothes, a pair of pants, and some dark purple shoes that almost looked black, her sister just threw on a coat and a scarf before heading to the door. "So, how's work?" The younger asked, putting her mitted hands in her pockets to protect them from the cold.

With their breath fogging up in front of them, Samantha looked down and said with a straight voice. "It's the same as usual…" There was an emptiness in her voice as the two made it to the park. It was fairly sparse that day, with only a handful of people taking walks in this weather and even fewer skating on the frozen lake.

"Sis, do you like your job?" Phoebe asked, slowing down as the two of them approached the same bench they met Betty at that one time. She is met with a long sigh, her sister leaning back against the wood and staring at the sky. "I'll take that as a no…"

"Can we not talk about it? It's my day off…" With a soft chuckle she reached down to get some snow in her gloved hands, pressing it into a ball before setting it on the armrest on the bench."What about you? How have you been? Been talking with your classmates?" Gently nudging the ball to the side until it fell off, she turned her head to look at Phoebe who was just sitting contently, staring off, as she often does, at nothing in particular.

"They all have plans for the break already, there's nothing much to talk about until they're back." She replied, her voice almost as cold as their surroundings. "It's…" Trailing off and blowing raspberries, Phoebe got up and made her own snowball, one much larger than her sister's. Once it got large enough, she set it on the ground and started rolling it around. "It's kind of lonely."

"What about that one you keep visiting? You're pretty close now, right?" Samantha got up herself, helping her sister roll the now massive ball out of the path and into a spot where people could see it. "Or you could stream…"

"It's not that easy, you of all people should know this…" Phoebe retorted, starting on another snowball. "As for Zeke… he's…" Trailing off again, this time accompanied with a contemplative frown, Phoebe's breathing became slightly shallower. "I don't want to disturb him."

"I see…" The two sisters finished rolling and piling up their spheres, finding a few pebbles and sticks nearby to finally turn this pile of frozen water into a snowman. "How about we go somewhere to eat, it's close to lunch now, right?" Samantha asked, putting a hand to her hip as they admired their handiwork. Phoebe brightened up, checking the time on her phone before nodding and walking toward the end of the park's path.

Craving something warm to combat the climate, they made their way to a restaurant, both of them ordering some soup and idly chatting at a table. "Hey sis, how do you know if you're happy?" Using a straw to stir the ice in her drink, Phoebe stared at it as she waited for her sister to answer her question. "I know that I'm happy when I stream, but… does it show?"

Instead of talking, Samantha first places a hand on her sister's head, roughing up her hair a little bit before taking in a deep breath. "You're thinking too much about this. You're happy when you're happy, do you need to know more than that?" With a gentle smile to warm her sister's face. "Why are you asking that anyway? Why do you care if you look happy when you know that you're happy?"

"... someone told me that I look better when I smile." Phoebe answered, the fondness of that memory bringing the smile in question to the surface. "So I want to smile more… but."

"I mean, whoever that was, they're right." Samantha shut her eyes, nodding slightly while leaning back in her seat. "But I don't understand. You're always smiling."

"That's because you're here, or I'm streaming. But, if I'm in class or just by myself…" A dower look took over, Phoebe lowering her head just as the chimes by the door dinged at the arrival of a few more customers.

"Oh, Phoebe. Hello there." Tabatha smiled, waving over as she and Barry scanned the room for a table; finding none. They walked over as they saw Samantha calling to them, watching as the two sisters made some room for them by sitting next to each other. "Sorry to intrude. You're her sister I presume."

"Samantha, a pleasure to meet you. I have to ask though, how do you know my sister?" She extended her hand, which Tabatha took and shook. "I assume that you're not one of her classmates, so you must be one of her online friends. A vtuber?" She added, getting a nod from her as she moved her gaze over to Barry. "What about you, Pent-san?"

"Ah, it's been so long. How have you been, senpai? Or, should I call you Samantha now?" Bowing courteously, Barry's words carried a surprising amount of respect toward Samantha, who just blew it off in favor of a more casual air.

"You've been abroad for so long. You picked up their mannerisms. What brings you back here?" She asked, resting her cheek against her hand as her eyes darted between the two of them. "Don't tell me… Oh, what a small world." Her words slightly condescending but mostly congratulatory, she raised a hand and called over a waitress to get them a menu. "You know what, since today is a strange day, I'll treat you two to something."

They sat down for a meal, Barry and Samantha catching up the past few years, seeing as they had some sort of connection. Though that topic quickly got washed over as the four of them discussed current events like their winter holidays. "Ah, so you're not going anywhere?" Tabatha asked, sipping on her tea as she looked over at the two sisters.

"Sadly, I still have to work, I don't get many days off. They need me in the office, even over the holidays." Samantha replied, seeing her sister lower her head. She quickly glanced at the table, looking to the side to call a waiter for their bill. "It's nice to be able to catch up with you again, Barry. And it's a pleasure to talk to you, Tabatha, but we really must get going." Her words raised a few eyebrows, especially her sister's. "There's something I have to do, I hope you understand. Come on, Phoebe." Paying the bill and bidding the two of them farewell.

"Are you going to go back to work?" Phoebe asked, a hint of fear in her voice as she noticed that they were heading back home. Fear that was blown away the moment Samantha opened her mouth.

"Just… wait for me while I get my keys." The elder of the two entered the home the moment they arrived, quickly grabbing her keys before the two of them went to the car and drove off into the empty winter streets.

The drive was silent, the only noise coming from the car, and even that was only barely audible. It was still the middle of the day, around 2 or 3 hours away from sunset, but the streets were barren where they drove. The snow and frost covered glass muddied the lights from inside the buildings around them, creating warm orange flecks in the white and grey landscape that they were surrounded by. "I said it before, but don't worry too much about what you look like to others, even if you are a streamer." Breaking the ice as they reached a crossroads with a red light, Samantha took the time to take a hand off of the wheel and scruff her sister's hair a little.

"But… I want to put the best of me forward. I think everyone feels that way too. I know you did." With only a few words, Phoebe silenced her sister. The sound of their breathing rang loud in their ears, the silence deafening as Sam thought of something that had long since passed.

"And that's good, but…" She hit the gas again, this time driving slightly faster as they did a small run around the city. "The more you think about it, the harder it will be. I'm sure that you'll be able to get what you want, eventually. You have friends that make you happy, and that's enough. It would be enough for me, at least." As the conversation continued, they arrived at a small parking lot on the outskirts of the city, near a small hiking trail. "Come on, let's go for a little walk." Getting out and heading to the back of the car to pick up a bag, she took her sister's hand and started walking on the trail.

"Where are we going?" Phoebe asked, getting no answer. "Sis?"

"You know… sis." Breaking her silence, Samantha brought the two of them to a small clearing by the edge of a cliff that overlooked the city, a single tree grew and glistened with ice crystals that replaced the leaves on its branches. "That friend of yours is right, and I do think that you should smile more. But a forced smile is worse than no smile at all. Putting on that mask is a painful experience." The bag was put down and unzipped, revealing an easel, a few tubes of paint, and everything else necessary for an artist. "So I treasure the times that you do smile and brighten up, it just means you're extra happy. You feel the same when I have my days off, right?"

"I kind of get it…" Phoebe watched as her sister sat by the edge of the cliff, the lights of the city switching on as the sun started to fall behind the horizon. Noticing that the art materials were left behind, she figured exactly what Sam wanted her to do. "Sis, do you think that I'll be able to show my emotions better?" Phoebe asked, setting up the easel with a canvas.

"I don't know, but I hope for it. Your smile is cute." Sitting as still as she could, Sam stared down at the city below that started to look like the starlit sky above them. "But even if you don't, the advantages of being a vtuber is that you can just make your model smile all the time."

"I guess you're right." With a short giggle from both of them, Phoebe started painting her sister as she sat under the icicle covered tree, the crystals sparkling under the starlight.