Page 16 of Our Final Game

Starryeyes: oh really? ;)

Zero: lol yea

Starryeyes: there’s something else i was wondering….

Zero: whats up

Starryeyes: can we … chat on headset?

I chew on my bottom lip, waiting for his answer. I’ve been wanting to ask for so long, but I can obviously tell he’s being super cautious with me. I mean, we don’t really know each other. But I feel like we’ve been playing together long enough to at least voice chat. It’s not really all that odd. It’s weirder that we haven’t, to be honest. Maybe this will help prove he’s not some creeper. He’s taking a while to answer, and it’s freaking me out a little.

I gasp when the voice chat request pops up in my friends list. I’ve never accepted a request so fast in my life.

“Hey,” I say, breathless.

“Hey.”

My heart is thrashing in my chest at his voice. It’s so deep and exactly how I fantasized about him sounding. It has a comfortingly familiar ring to it, but my mind is racing with too many nerves to think about it.

“Are you still there?” he asks.

“Oh yeah, sorry … I just…”

“You like my voice?”

“It’s okay.” I grin.

“Right. Sure. Wanna go to the map?” He laughs a little.

“Aww, aren’t you sweet? You really gonna level me all night?”

“I mean, for as long as I can. Are you tired?” he asks, his voice so alluring I feel like my body is being pulled into the screen, hanging on his every word.

“Not really. Not right now.”

“Alright, let’s go to the fields and then do a quest really quick.”

“Sounds good.” I nod even though he can’t see me.

Our characters run in the direction of a map known for these dragonfly-like monsters, again much higher level than me, but fine for Zero. We reach the map, and he pulls his sword out, black and heavy, swinging it in one swift motion, taking out five of the monsters. My experience bar jumps as he kills a few more while I keep a distance behind him.

“How long have you been playing to get to such a high level already?” I ask.

“Since they opened beta.”

“Me too. But I’m nowhere near your level.” I laugh.

“Hmm, maybe somebody needs to focus on the game instead of chasing boys with big swords,” he teases, slashing a path for me to follow him deeper into the map.

“Hey, the boys with big swords are the ones coming after me if I remember correctly.”

“Ah, not sure I remember it that way.”

“I think somebody just has too much time on his hands playing games all night,” I say, making my character sit down on a ledge while he’s still grinding for us both.

“That’s rich coming from you, seeing as you literally throw a fit every time I have to get off.” Zero laughs, and it sounds so nice to hear for the first time. My cheeks hurt from smiling.

“What’s your real name?” I ask cautiously, and a beat goes by before I blurt out, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”