AFK - Away From Keyboard

Chapter 20:

Len's POV:

   Emi had scared me so bad when she insisted on coming to the boss chamber. If I died, I would just re-spawn back in the beginning town. If Emica dies however, well...as an NPC in this particular game...she wouldn't come back.

   Emica ran into the bedroom to avoid Myra and Kit, who turned around just in time to see me rub my eyes and yawn.

"Did you find her?" Myra asked, her voice shrill with concern.

"Yup." I flopped on the couch.

"Is she here?"

"Yep."

"Where!?"

"She's probably sleeping so leave her alone." I commanded and stored my coat into my menu.

"I don't understand what she was so worked up about." Kit shook his head. "Yue gets super freaked out about death. I can't tell if she's got some sort of trauma, or if it just triggers her weird emotion malfunction thing."

"What does that even mean?" Myra made a face. "Yue is just sweet and treats everything like real life. It shows what an amazing person she is."

So the amazing Kit hasn't figured out that Emica is an NPC. I wonder if he even knows her real name.

"So, now that I've won the bet, where do I bunk for the night?" Kit asked with an aggravating smirk.

"The floor." I replied. "The girls have the beds and the couch is mine."

"Since I won the bet, maybe I should get the couch."

"Oh for heaven's sake, I'll share with Yue." Myra went strutting into Yue's room.

Kit leapt to his feet. "I call the bed."

I rolled my eyes. It doesn't really matter where you put your character into sleep mode, even if one spot is more comfortable.

I stretched out on the couch. My mom waits twenty-four hours after we've thrown up before announcing that we're better; so I faked another scene before we went to the temple. That meant I wouldn't be going to school again tomorrow. My whole day could be spent with Emi, and this time I wouldn't do anything weird.

I was just drifting off to sleep when I saw someone come padding out of the girl's bedroom. Emi went over to the window, stroking her kitten's fur. She stood gazing out of the window for a few minutes, the moonlight making her look as pale and mysterious as a ghost.

"Can't sleep?" I asked.

Emi whirled around, her eyes wide. "Oh my goodness, you scared me. I thought everyone was asleep by now. Did I wake you up?"

I smirked. "Nah, I never went to sleep. Was Myra talking in her sleep or something?"

"Uh uh." Emi shook her head. "She snores and kicks."

I stood up and stretched. "Alright, you can have to couch. I'll sleep on the floor."

"Oh no! I'm not tired at all." Emica cried.

I looked at her skeptically. "At all? You fought a bunch of monsters today and ran halfway through the woods and back."

Snowy jumped out of Emi's arms and rubbed up against my leg. Emica rubbed at her eyes. "I'm not tired, but my eyes are. My brain won't let me sleep."

"Same here." I laughed quietly. "I have a sure fire way to make you fall asleep."

"What's that?" She wondered curiously.

"I'll rattle off biology facts. We'll start with the purpose of the endoplasmic reticulum."

"I don't like the sound of that." Emica wrinkled her nose. "Those are sciencey sounding words."

I grinned. "Okay good. I can't remember why anyone cares what it does anyway."

Snowy gave an unhappy mewl. 

"She wants you to hold her." Emi observed, yawning and rubbing at her shimmering eyes again. She looked so pretty with her purple ponytail swishing at every small tilt of her head. A few strands of hair that had escaped being tied back wisped about her face.

"And you don't" I mumbled, scooping up the kitten.

Emica paused, her fist still covering one eye. "I don't what?"

"Never mind." I shrugged, wishing I had kept my mouth shut. I can't help saying things like that sometimes. They slip out before I can even think. It's so hard not to say things like that to Emi, but at least she never understands; although sometimes I wish she did.

"So...Kit is joining the group." I sighed and sat back down on the couch.

Emica nodded absentmindedly.

I fluffed Snowy's ears. "Are you happy to see him again?"

"I...I think so?" She answered, sounding like she was trying to convince herself.

I couldn't decide if I was happy with her answer or not.

"Myra wants to continue on to Dranfall tomorrow evening. It's one of the larger cities, which should be interesting. I think the next temple is somewhere in Terre desert."

Snapping back to the present, Emi went pale. "Temple? Why do you want to know where the temple is?"

"So I can fight the boss?" I explained confusedly.

"You're going to fight another boss?!" She cried.

"Um, yeah. Why wouldn't I?"

"Maybe because you almost died trying to kill Argor!"

"But I didn't die." I reminded her.

"Only because Kit and I saved you." Emica grumbled.

"Kit didn't have anything to do with it." I shot back. "And I've battled plenty of bosses before. You're being ridiculous."

"You're being idiotic." Emica marched back to the window and looked out of the glass, the moon again illuminating her features.

I'm always the one apologizing when she gets mad. Well not this time! There's no reason for her to be trying to stop me. It's ridiculous!

   Snowy jumped out of my lap and gave me a cynical stare.

"What?" I hissed.

The silence became drawn out, tense, uncomfortable. It went on for what felt like hours, but I wasn't going to apologize.

"I'm sorry Len." Emi turned, keeping her eyes on the floor. "You're right. I am being ridiculous. It's just, I don't want any more of my friends to die."

"Any more?" 

Emica's head raised slowly, her gaze meeting mine. "Never...never mine. I think I'll...I'll go back to bed." Her cheeks were wet from the tears that glistened in her sapphire eyes, her lip trembled along with her pale fingers.

"You sure you don't want the couch?" I asked as kindly as I possibly could.

Emi hesitated for a moment. "Yes, but...but thank you. Goodnight."

"G'night Emi." I echoed as she left. I stretched back out on the couch, wondering what had happened.