Forget it. I close out of the page with a sigh. There is zero evidence to suggest Jude and Judah are the same person.
But there’s also zero evidence they aren’t the same person.
I check our text history. We don’t usually talk on Sunday nights, which could be because he’s performing live from his backyard for millions of viewers.
Or it could be a million other logical reasons.
I think about texting him now, but what on earth should I say? Hey, Jude, you aren’t actually Judah MacKenzie, mega-hot contestant on American Famous, are you? No? Oh. Okay. I was just wondering.
Better not.
The next morning, I wake up to a buzzing on my night stand. I pull my phone toward me and smile.
Jude: I got Doris Day. Who are you? *attachment BuzzWord Quiz WHICH HOLLYWOOD IT GIRL ARE YOU?*
Jude: I’m predicting Grace Kelly.
Gray: Wow, no pressure there!
Jude: Just calling it like I see it.
Gray: Okay, okay. Gimme a sec.
Gray: I just woke up.
I hesitate and then decide to drop the tiniest nugget.
Gray: Was up late watching American Famous. Popcorn hangover.
I watch the gray dots with a nervous feeling in my stomach.
Jude: I bet you look really cute when you first wake up. Hair all over. Puffy eyes.
I release my breath. Okay. Well, that was uneventful (and massively sweet). Fine.
Gray: We have very different definitions of the word “cute.”
I click through BuzzWord, answering the quiz, while propped up on my pillow.
Gray: Hey! You were right. I got Princess Grace Kelly!
Jude: Knew it.
Deciding to be bold, I lift my phone over my head, making sure to capture every glorious hair out of place, snap the fuzzy selfie, and hit send.
Gray: You mean you like me for me?
Jude: That’s what I’m saying.
—
JUDE
In my defense, I was wearing a mask. I had to. It was required by the law and also my uncle. So I wasn’t trying to hide my identity. I never lied.
In fact, I was more truthful than I’ve ever been in my whole life.
That’s the thing about a mask. It allows you to be realer than real because you don’t have to be you. The you that everyone else knows, carefully cultivated over years of trial and error.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. The first time I saw Gray Archer was earlier this year, at the cast party for my cousin Colin’s musical. Last fall. Before any of *gestures at the world* this. Before the American Famous audition where I was only supposed to be accompanying Colin but ended up making it into the Top Ten. Before the millions of hits on my barely existent YouTube channel. Before the girls flooding the comment sections and texting to vote for me week after week.
Before the pandemic brought the entire world to a screaming, screeching halt.
Before all of that, I was just a guy nursing a breakup at a rival high school’s theater department after party. Colin had dragged me along, insisting I needed to stop moping, and then promptly ditched me at the door to accept his accolades and show off his boyfriend. Typical Colin. And I ended up spending the entire night warming a couch cushion in a basement, surrounded by strangers.
It wasn’t that bad, honestly. Better than being home, watching my little brother play Xbox with his friends. And it’s where I first met her.
It was barely a blip on her radar, I know, but I won’t forget it. She sat next to me on that couch for over an hour, talking animatedly with her friends about the glory days of Hollywood costume design, and debating whether To Catch a Thief or High Society showcased Grace Kelly’s best looks. At one point, she waved her hands so wildly, she smacked me in the head. When she apologized, I held out my hand and introduced myself.
“It’s okay. You were on a roll. I’m Jude.”
She smiled, full on, and shook my hand. “I’m Gray.” Then she immediately turned to finish her argument.
So I sat and listened and watched and fell under the spell of this girl. That was it. You don’t forget a name like Gray and you don’t forget a girl like Gray Archer. But that night, I went home and never saw her again.
After that, my life got pretty crazy. I created a public Instagram account that immediately earned a blue check. I finished my senior year through a tutor. I spent January in Hawaii taping the top twenty episodes for American Famous. And I’m grateful. This is my dream.
But when I logged on to my uncle’s A2NeighborGram account and saw Gray’s post, it was like the world’s strongest magnet drawing me to her. I just wanted to be her friend.
Maybe more.
Please, please, please let her still want me when she knows who I am.
GRAY
Jude: Are you watching American Famous tonight?
Gray: Duh. Chloe would disown me if I didn’t. I missed two weeks in a row because of mask making and she threatened to replace me with her boyfriend, Ferris.
Jude: Not Ferris.
Gray: I know right?
Jude: Girls before Tilt-a-Whirls
Gray: Um
Gray: What?
Jude: Sorry
Jude: Ferris -> Ferris wheel -> Tilt-a-Whirl
Gray: That was rough, man.
Jude: You still like me.
Gray: Lord help me I do.
Gray: This is going to sound very awkward, but.
Jude: Yes?
Jude: Sorry! I have to run!
Gray: What is your last name?
I stare at my screen, confused for a second. We must have messaged each other at the same time, and now Jude’s gone. I glance up at my clock. It’s nearly eight. Time for American Famous.
At the mask dropoff yesterday, I stayed nearly thirty minutes, talking with Jude alone, while Colin did deliveries. It was heaven. Muffled heaven. Because, yes, I
