sirens - david dobrik

chapter seventeen

It had been a month since the party and they still weren't official. David didn't have the guts to ask her and she wasn't in a rush to move forwards. She knew David was still getting used to the idea of a new relationship and that was okay with her. What wasn't okay with her was all the comments people were making about her. The fans had been speculating that they were together for a while, since she was in the vlogs a lot, and the comments were pretty vicious. Everyone was comparing her to Liza, and it made her really uncomfortable. She knew she had no reason to feel that way, since her and David weren't technically an item, but she couldn't help it.

Sophia sat on her bed, editing her video that she was posting later that day. It was a vegan mukbang with Matt, and it had come out really funny. Matt wasn't vegan, but she was, and his pleasantly surprised reactions to meat substitutes made her laugh. They had a long debate about veganism in general and it got heated in the best way possible. They always fake argued about stuff like that, where they'd just laugh when one of them ran out of things to say.

"Okay, but plants technically have cells that you're hurting when you eat them." Matt reasoned, pushing up his glasses on the bridge of his nose.

"I guess, but they have no nervous system to process that so it doesn't count."

"Humans are omnviores. It can't be healthy to eat strictly vegan."

"Vegans lack certain nutrients that come from animal foods, but there are plant-based supplements available to counteract that." Sophia shrugged, taking a bite of her Impossible burger.

"Okay, but why go through the trouble of doing that when eating a piece of chicken can do the same thing?"

"Because that chicken has been raised in a coop filled with hundreds of other chickens and lives in a mixture of shit and rotting chicken food, not to mention it's stuffed with hormones so it's abnormally meaty."

"Okay, but you could buy a hormone and cage free chicken that wasn't raised in awful conditions." Matt shrugged, taking a sip of his soda.

"And that would be just as expensive as buying a bottle of supplements."

Sophia laughed to herself as she watched the footage, finishing up her editing and leaving it to render. She grabbed her Hydroflask from her nightstand and headed downstairs, finding David sitting on her kitchen stool.

"How do you even get in?" She laughed, shaking her head as she descended the stairs.

"Marcie gave me your spare key." He smiled, turning from his computer and facing her. She kissed his cheek lightly before filling up her water bottle.

"What were you up to?" David wondered, tapping his fingers on her counter.

"Editing my mukbang with Matt. I finished it already, so I'll upload it later tonight."

"It came out good?"

"Yeah, pretty good. We ate vegan food and just talked. I hope it works for my channel because I haven't done anything like that before." Sophia admitted, leaning against the counter next to where he was seated.

"We should do one together. The clickbait would be insane." David laughed, pulling her onto his lap. Sophia rested her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"I don't know if that would be a good idea." She mumbled, looking down at the floor.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, the comments lately have been a little crazy. I just don't want to add fuel to the fire."

"Sophia, you read those? Don't listen to them." David whispered softly, lifting her chin to meet her gaze.

"It's just, everyone is comparing me to Liza. We're not even technically together, and I've never met her but I know how great she is and I know how much she means to you," Sophia started, biting her lip nervously.

"It just makes it feel like it's some sort of competition and that's just not me. I don't want all this drama and baggage. It sucks that other people have this kind of power over me."

David took a second to process what she had said. It was true, he had seen what people were saying about Sophia, but people said a lot of shit online. He didn't think she would notice them, and he didn't think to warn her. Now he felt really bad.

"It's not a competition, Sophie. Yes, Liza was a huge part of my life and I love her a lot, but I've moved on. You're my girl now." He smiled, pecking her lips quickly. Sophia blushed at his words, shaking her head and smiling.

"I'm sorry, I just don't get a lot of hate on my channel and I'm a little insecure about us so it got to me."

David kissed the top of her head, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer to his frame. He felt really comfortable, and he wanted her to feel the same way. He knew he was falling for her. Everything she did was mesmerizing to him. He was scared of his feelings for her and of her feelings for him. He hadn't been in this weird place for a really long time, but he knew she was worth it. He needed to put himself out there, show her that he was serious about them.

"Meet me at my house later? I have to go finish filming something with Jason." David said calmly, patting on her thigh. She jumped off his lap, grabbing her water bottle from the counter.

"Yeah, I'll see you. Do you want me to bring you something for dinner?"

"I'll get something, don't worry." He smiled, pecking her lips lightly before heading out to his Tesla.

David Dobrik had a plan, and he needed some help setting it up.