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The day kicks off strangely which should’ve been Sebastian’s first red flag.
He wakes up like normal, the birds chirps missing which is fine. He and p.AI.nter exchange good mornings like usual, Sebastian reaching for the coffee machine while p.AI.nter pulls up his drawing app.
What’s weird is that Sebastian, for the first time since moving into this new place, messes up his coffee. His muscle memory eludes him and he ends up misclicking a single little button. Which gives him a not-as-good-as-normal cup of coffee.
What’s even weirder is that there’s no small story from p.AI.nter this morning. He normally talks Sebastian’s ear off and Sebastian listens attentively, nodding, gesturing with his coffee mug, and giving his own comments. It didn’t matter what the topic was, what mattered was how their mornings were never quiet.
p.AI.nter’s silence should’ve been Sebastian’s biggest red flag of all.
—
It goes without saying that the Big Moment happens seemingly out of nowhere for Sebastian.
It’s the middle of the afternoon now. Sebastian is lounging around in the living room, debating whether or not he should tear into the new packet of sour patch kids he just got when p.AI.nter speaks up.
“Hey Sebastian, doesn’t this look familiar?” p.AI.nter’s screen flickers briefly before revealing an Instagram post under an account named exp34. Sebastian wouldn’t have thought anything of it if it weren’t for the art displaying what seemed to be an impression of a humanoid sea creature. They had an extra arm poking out alongside a long tail that seemed to be a mix between a sea snake and a whale. His skin was tinged a light blue and the gleam in the extra eye paired with the smug expression gave him an air of confidence, as if he had the upper hand no matter the situation and…
Huh.
This was a drawing. Of him.
Sebastian blinks. What?
“What.”
p.AI.nter flickers back to his regular screen. His smirk sends shivers down Sebastian’s spine. He doesn’t think he wants to know what that could even mean. “It gets even better, look.”
Well fuck. Now he had no choice.
p.AI.nter’s screen flickers once more, this time revealing all the comments below the post. Sebastian numbly feels his jaw drop.
op_v4try81: Hear me out.
alekso: Damn why he kinda…
lou_kis: Lord forgive me for the things I’d do to him-
nanzvi_33: Would.
“Looks like you have fans, huh Sebastian?” p.AI.nter says. He still has that stupid smirk on his screen and the urge to simply switch his power button off was getting increasingly tempting but gosh.
His face felt so hot.
He was frozen almost completely in place, his ear fins flapping small gusts of wind that had no effect in cooling him down. He was blushing. And he couldn’t get his damn heart to stop racing.
These people were literally strangers. They were strangers, just people on the internet and he could feel his body curling into himself whether out of embarrassment or disgust or discomfort he didn’t know but—
But to see so many get so excited over him... it almost made him feel giddy. But first: “How do they even know me?” He croaked out.
It was a miracle p.AI.nter hadn’t said a word during Sebastian’s whole mini-breakdown but Sebastian knew it wasn’t over just yet. The AI was capable of much more than he normally let on.
p.AI.nter let out a small hum in consideration. “It says here that this is their ‘OC’ so they’re passing it off as a creation of their own. Pretty clever of them, I’d say. Wonder how Urbanshade would take it though.”
Sebastian has too many things occupying his mind to care for that just yet. Mainly how people reacted to a simple drawing of him. “Right. Yea this is...”
Creepy.
Weird.
Flattering.
Sebastian coughs into his fist. “Nevermind. I’m gonna go uh.” He gestures awkwardly outside. “For a swim.” He finishes lamely. His ear fins have not stopped flapping for a single second.
p.AI.nter sends him one last smirk. “You go do that Sebastian.”
Sebastian starts towards the door, freeing his hair from his ponytail as he goes. He’s already making his way down the little ramp in front of their home when he comes to a realization. He whips back around.
“Hold on- PAINTER! Why were you even on Instagram in the first place?!”