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Nobody’s around the dorms that I can see, and I remember that Bunny said Doc and Kendrick would be in the clinic. That leaves Keys, but his door’s shut. I give it a tentative knock just in case he’s napping or something. After a long, awkward wait, I turn around to find the showers on my own.
Just as I’m about to wander off, Keys’ door opens. When I look back, he’s leaning against the door frame, wearing nothing but a pair of low-slung pajama pants. His signature sucker stick rolls in his mouth as he looks me over, taking in the towels and soap in my hands.
“Need the showers?”
I nod, suddenly mute.
“Cool. Follow me.” Without another word, he strides down the hall. I hurry to keep up. Something seems off about Keys. I’ve barely known him a day, but he seems like the upbeat, jovial type. Now he’s more quiet, somber even. I wonder what happened while Bunny and I were together to get him so down.
After a few awkward minutes, I figure it couldn’t hurt to ask. After all, Keys has been nothing but nice to me since I got here. If there’s anything I can do to cheer him up, I might as well give it a try.
“You okay, man? You seem kind of bummed about something.”
He gives me a half-hearted grin. “It’s nothing. I had a friend who went through something similar to what you did recently, and I’m just worried about them.”
“Jesus! How many people get jumped in the clubs here in town?” I mean it as a joke, but Keys’ smile vanishes. “Sorry. That was dumb of me. Is there anything I can do to take your mind off it? If you’ve got a spare computer in the control room, we could play someBattlemages Unleashedtogether. I always find that killing mobs puts me in a better mood.”
There’s that grin again. “Yeah, I could set something up. Meet me there after your shower. I’ll scrounge up a chair for you.”
“Cool.” We stop at a heavy door, and Keys pulls it open. Inside are two rows of shower heads … and no stalls.
“Here you go. Take your pick.”
I clear my throat and take a hesitant step inside. “No walls, huh?”
Keys shrugs. “We don’t really need them here. Everyone’s seen everyone else naked, so what’s the point?” He smirks. “I can stand watch for you if you’re nervous.”
“No! No, I’m okay. I’ll be fine.”
“All right then. Control room. Fifteen minutes? Don’t be late.” He winks, then disappears around a corner.
The AC in the Burrow might be wonky, but the showers are blissfully hot. I let the steaming spray beat down on my aching body for a few minutes before I start washing up. Once I’m done, I dry off and slip into my borrowed clothes. The sweats are a bit big, but thankfully they have a drawstring.
True to his word, Keys has a small desk and chair set up for me in the control room when I get there. He’s got BU loaded on the screen, and the cursor blinks at me in the login screen, waiting for my info.
I note that the setup has me with my back to Keys, but I guess there aren’t many options in the crowded room. His chair faces the wall of monitors, so there’s really nowhere to set me up so we can be face-to-face. It seems weird, but I shrug it off. I pull the chair out and sit down to type in my login.
Keys is already logged on, and his toon darts back and forth, killing monsters left and right. He seems laser focused on his task, so I stay quiet while my character loads.
“What’s your tag?”
His voice startles me, and I jump a bit in my seat. “Oh! Sorry. It’s Noobslayer92.” I blush a bit as Keys chuckles at my screen name. I’ve considered changing it, but Bunnyluv said she dug it, so I kept the geeky name despite having outgrown my “Noobslayer” days.
“Cool. Add Lightningkey90 and go to the Forbidden Zone.”
I add Keys’ username to my friend list, surprised that we’re on the same server. When I port to the FZ, I see his avatar standing there waiting for me.
The toon towers over mine, with huge, bulging muscles and bulky armor. I hear Keys tapping on his keyboard, and a few seconds later his avatar flexes those muscles in a goofy display. I laugh and make my Battlemage flex too, though my character doesn’t have the muscles for it. We both giggle, and some of the tension melts away.
“Have you done your daily quests yet?” I ask. “I’m obviously a couple days behind on mine.”
“We can do that. Which ones do you need?”
I give Keys a brief rundown of where I am in the quest line, and we head off together. With Keys’ character helping me, I get through my quests in record time. It’s a lot easier when there’s a tank with me, especially since my character is a squishy mage. Keys keeps the mobs away from me, and I’m able to safely blast them from a distance. I take almost no damage, and once we’re done, Keys suggests finding a group for some dungeon runs.
It’s fun, but I start to worry. Usually, Bunnyluv is online by now. I check my social list, but her icon is still greyed out. I wonder if she got my message about the club. I want to tell her about Bunny, but I don’t want to do it in another message. I’d rather chat live, as it were.
“You all right, man?”
