
by FracturedHeart
Though seven years have passed since Theo escaped from his small, conservative hometown to pursue his dream of becoming an EDM DJ, between the exhaustion of working multiple dead-end jobs as well as overcoming his trauma-induced social anxiety, he's barely had any time or energy left over to make any progress towards his goal. Yet Theo remains determined to defeat any obstacle preventing him from turning his love of music into a full-time career. Lysander Delion represents everything Theo sees wrong with the music industry. The unbelievably famous pop star has everything: money, looks, a magnetic personality, and a seductive smile that has fans around the world swooning. When Theo is forced to interact with the flashy celebrity at one of his jobs, he's instantly put on his guard. But then Lysander surprises him by offering a tempting proposition that Theo struggles to turn down, knowing this could be the opportunity he's needed to achieve his lifelong dream. Does he refuse the proposition because he can't believe someone so rich and famous would really offer him such an incredible opportunity? Or does he risk everything and desperately hope that this project won't come with a hidden cost, or worse yet, that Lysander isn't a powerful and dangerous creep? Is this dashing and dazzling stranger worth trusting--worth exposing his fractured heart? What to expect: - A queer/gay "grumpy sunshine" slow-burn enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance that shows how love can overcome even massive class divides and vastly different personalities, if two individuals can bond over their traumatic pasts and find they're not so dissimilar after all! - Fun and witty conversation between characters with very different viewpoints and personalities; great "chemistry" between the MC and romantic lead - Set against the backdrop of the modern musical industry but primarily focused on complex interpersonal relationships and character growth - A robust cast of side characters who all have their own unique personalities and motivations - A sulky "tsundere" MC who is slow to trust but once he does, he's fiercely loyal and protective of those he loves. - nonspecific discussions of past trauma and abuse, but presented carefully and with vague references only that are placed under content warnings when appropriate - A romantic lead that seems unflappably confident on the surface, but who has darkness and hardship in his past despite being a "beautiful boy born with a silver spoon" - Intimate scenes later on in the book, sanitized for RR release but available "as intended" on the "adult only" Patreon account UPLOAD SCHEDULE: Chapters 1 - 10 will be posted on 8/31/2026, then I will switch to one chapter every M/W/F.
No streak history
One state-enhanced oracle order, filtered by each list. Observed Royal Road ranks remain separate ground truth.
Rank updated 2 Oct 2026, 02:49 UTC
Entry forecast updated 2 Oct 2026, 02:49 UTC
Ranking model: rs-public-oracle-state-v1
Forecast model: rs-model-entry-v1
Chart history contains only this ranking model's runs; legacy points are not spliced in.
Coupled 14-day outlook
rs-joint-entry-copula-v1
Any eligible RS entry
5%
Two or more lists
3%
Likely threshold order: Contemporary → Psychological → Drama → Romance → Main.
Leading bundle: Contemporary (2%).
Estimated from one fitted shared story path; category probabilities are not multiplied as if lists were independent.
Separate entry forecast; this probability does not enter the ranking score.
Overall Rising Stars Shadow RS rank
#7508 of 12,412 · 7458 below RS #50
By genre
beats 66% of similar stories
not enough data yet
beats 26% of similar stories
Hidden gem — exposure is the bottleneck
Readers who find this story follow it at a high rate; there just aren't enough of them. In our cohort data, near-daily posting lifted the odds of reaching 25 followers from ~0% to 17% — more chapters, shoutout swaps and ads buy the eyeballs this conversion deserves.
Benchmarks: 8,060 active Royal Road stories, percentiles within the 20–49 chapters band, cohort of 2026-07-02. Conversion is measured as followers gained per 1,000 views over the recent window.