Chapter 3 Three

Cory Title is not a good guy. Yes, he is the most followed guy on Zeep-the leading social media platform in the country-. Yes, he does charity work and claims to donate half his earnings to orphanages every year. Yes, he has received the award for 'humanitarian of the year,' three times in a row, and yes he claims to be an 'environmentalist,' but to me he isn't a good guy.

Never would be. It's all just bullshit.

The Cory I knew back when we were younger was a jerk. A big jerk. The type who had too much ego for his own good, the kind of guy who made jokes about other people to feel better about himself, the type who brought others down to be on top. He was just not my type of guy and don't get me wrong, he's not my archenemy or nemesis (because that always ends with falling in love), I just never liked the guy. He made it easier though, by acting like I never existed.

I remember when my sister and I would visit his house on Sundays and he'll try everything in his power to avoid me. From looking away when I asked him questions, pretending he didn't hear me or just plainly ignoring me, there's nothing he didn't do. Even on special holidays like Christmas or Halloween, he'd prefer to leave the room or go out for a walk(he was always going out for a walk) solely to avoid being around me. It became glaringly obvious at some point back then that I got tired and settled with only saying Hi whenever we crossed paths.

He didn't have the right to treat me like a disease when I didn't even like him.

The man might have fooled the world with his good-guy-next-door vibes and his sexy-but-innocent dimples, but I'm the only exception. I know who he truly is. An egotistic talentless asshole who I suspect was cheating on his highschool girlfriend-I say suspect because I never really saw him in the act, but I'd heard from a handful of people.

Anyways, I'd long forgotten about the asshole until he went and became famous. The type of famous you could not just ignore, especially given my line of business. I had to be updated on anything trending and when Cory Title started to become the most trending thing, I just had to notice.

To me I think there had always been signs Cory Title was destined for fame but I can bet no one ever expected it'll really happen. Number one, he had an arrogant notice-me personality (at least in my opinion). He wanted to be at the centre of everything. The group leader, the class clown, the cool guy, the handsome guy, prom king, name it all-he took them all. Number two, he dressed more expressively than other teenagers his age-I'm talking bandanas, rings, baggy jeans- and he was even the first guy to get a piercing at school. Three, his father was a former celebrity kind of which automatically granted him the cliche 'most popular guy in school' title. Four, he had an attractive face which often granted him unmerited favours like getting out of detention, changing his lab-partners, and skipping sports because he didn't feel like it. And lastly, he made the statement "when I get famous" a lot in the past. All the times I got to sit with him and his brother-courtesy, my sister-at their table during lunch- I'd hear him say it. Even when we were asked on career day about what we would like to become, he'd said "celebrity," while other kids were saying Lawyer, doctor and engineer. The teachers had all laughed it off and called him funny, but little did they no.

Now that I think of it I think he always knew. The celebrity lifestyle he was living in highschool was just a warm-up to the real one. The only place were the Titles weren't treated like gods was the neighbourhood.

I remember times when people in the neighbourhood would make complaints to the police about him blasting loud music from his room and the mum's would come over to our house to spread gossip about his parents and their YOLO-lifestyle. About three neighbourhood meetings were held just to discuss how to push them into moving out, because that were too chaotic. It was like they could never do any good in everyone's eyes.

It wasn't hard to tell that the other neighbours except my family hated the Titles and thought they were strange. To them they felt the parents were too carefree and 'childish,' the first son was a shy but sexually active boy that changed girlfriends like he changed underwear and the second was a hip-hop-obsessed arrogant boy-which wasn't a good family description. With the number of times complaints were issued against them, I'm sure the police had gotten tired at some point.

His family believed in the whole you-only-live-once-so-you-have-to-party-as-much-as-you-can thing. You know, the kind of life where the kids could do whatever they want, party as much as they want, bring home whoever they please, and the mum and dad could make out on the couch while the kids watched TV(this actually happened).

They were like the coolest family on earth. A big contrast to mine. His father, a retired basketball player, and his mother, a DJ-were always updated on everything 'entertainment' whereas my parents didn't even know who Cardi B was. P.S: they still are confused to date. I would never understand how the exciting Titles and the boring Jerry's established their inseparable bond at that time. Our families were opposites in every sense of the word.

The coolest thing my dad and mum had ever done was let me go to a party with my sister(which they made reference to whenever I complained about their uncoolness) while on the other hand, Mitch Title used to host sick parties at his cabin whenever his former team wins a game, and his wife would DJ the party. Trust me, she did everything Gen Z DJ's do-I mean jumping on a table, moonwalking, screaming things like " Turn it up," "let's fuck this party up" and "We going to the top"(okay now that think of it, that was cringey)-, her DJ name was even DJ WOKE. DJ WOKE!

If only they knew they were destined to become the superstar family they are today, they would've treated them better.

"Hey, have you heard the new song?" Tate calls from my room while I flush the toilet. When I enter the room, she's lying on my bed with her eyes glued to her phone screen.

"What song?" I know what she's talking about but I prefer to feign ignorance for some reason.

She plays the snippet of Cory's new song which he posted two hours ago. It's a forty seconds video of him in a doctor's costume, dragging a mannequin around an empty hospital in the middle of nowhere. Yeah. I'll never understand who comes up with his music video concepts.

"I think this guy is losing the touch," she says, grimacing. "There's no way this is gonna be a hit."

I laugh because this is what I've always wanted to hear. "What happened to Title FC for life? Cory has no bad songs, bla bla, bla,"I tease her.

Tate Jerry is the biggest fan of the Titles, despite all the controversial rumours that surround Cory and the family most times. Asides the fact that Justice Title was once her best friend, I can tell she genuinely loves Cory's music. I'll always commend her for her maturity though, it's not easy being a fan of your ex best friend who ditched you for Hollywood and his brother who was never really nice to you. I don't know how she manages that.

"Yeah Title FC for life," she makes the stupid FC sign which a random thirteen year old created that stuck with everyone for some reason-it's just using your two pointer fingers to make a T, nothing special. "But I have to tell the truth this time. The song doesn't sound like a banger."

"Exactly what I thought when he sent it to me." Immediately I say it, I regret it. Now I have to cover my ears.

She screams,"Shut the fuck up!" bouncing off the bed. "Did you and Cory talk? You mean you heard this song before these millions of people?"

It's not really something to be proud of but I wouldn't say that to her. "Yeah. Don't get too excited he's still the same Cory."

"The same Cory that is now on everybody's lips."

"That doesn't change the fact that he's still the guy we knew back then."

"The same Cory who is now stacking millions?"

Who cares about millions? "Yes, he's still the same guy."

"Well whatever. Haven't you seen the guy? He is so hot, it's painful, have you seen his new haircut?"

What? You've got to be kidding me. Since when did Tate start finding Cory hot? I guess I'd never cared that much about anything she said about him since he moved. Maybe that's why I didn't think about the possibility of her crushing on him. I thought it was just his music she cared about.