Mister Silver Fox

Part I

     "Alright, y'all, I'm done for the night but make sure to come back next week for some more epic gamer moments." Kurtis Conner said brightly, ending his most recent twitch stream. "Bye!" he waved to the camera before turning it off.

     In the past few months his twitch streams had been getting more popular, bringing in nearly a hundred thousand subscribers despite him being relatively new to the gaming scene. Of course he was proud, ecstatic even, that he was able to have success but sometimes it was just too much to handle. In the beginning his streams were purely for fun, but they had recently turned into nothing but a chore. Kurtis really didn't mean to sound ungrateful,  but the issues in his personal life made it hard to pretend to be okay and entertain all these people.

     And even when things started to look up for him, he had been completely demonetized on YouTube, meaning his only main source of income were his hebdomadal minecraft streams that he put on his second channel.

     He stretched back in his chair, letting out a groan. Yes, he was passionate about his work but nothing could help him after a long night of gaming like a good stretch.

     Kurtis took off his headphones and walked out of his bedroom and into the kitchen. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his roommate laying on their couch, watching a youtube video on his phone, oblivious to Kurits's presence. Their Chicago apartment wasn't big or lavish, but they made do.

     He poured two glasses of water from the tap and walked to sit next to his roommate, handing him one of the glasses.

     His roommate sat up, finally noticing the other person in the room. He sat upright, grabbing the glass and setting his phone on the coffee table. "Thanks, Kurtis."

     "No problem, Danny," Kurtis smiled. He grabbed the remote, and began to search for a movie they could both enjoy.

     "How'd the stream go?" Danny Gonzalez asked carefully as he sipped on the water.

     The other youtuber shrugged at him, scratching his scruff with his free hand. "It went well, I s'pose. Got a hundred new subs."

      Danny looked at his friend with concern. He knew what Kurtis was going through and he wanted to help, but he just wasn't sure how. "That's good, right?"

      Kurtis kept his eyes locked on the television as his roommate studied his face. "Mm-hm," he mumbled.

     Danny tapped on his leg awkwardly. "Well, what should we get for dinner?" he said, trying to change the subject. "There's this great new Italian place down the street. Their pizzas are supposed to be really good."

     "I'm not really hungry," Kurtis said, heaving himself up from the couch when he realized there was nothing good to watch. "But don't let me stop you from going."

     Danny sighed and followed his friend into the kitchen, putting his empty cup in the sink. "At least come with me to the restaurant? You've been cooped up in here for months, I think some fresh air would be good for you."

     Kurtis turned to face him, weighing out the options in his head. As much as he wanted to stay in the apartment, he knew his roommate was right. Ever since they moved in together he was constantly alone in his bedroom, working on his videos and streams nonstop. Besides, he felt like he hadn't hung out with his best friend in forever.

     "Alright, fine," he agreed, moving past his friend and grabbing his jacket from their table.

...

     Danny was right, the restaurant was nice. Very nice, actually.

     They say in a booth at the back of the diner after ordering their food. Kurtis was decidedly hungry as the scent of the fresh pizza wafted into his nose upon arrival, and they both ordered a large pepperoni and ham pizza.