Asshole

10: Manhunt

Orlando, FL

"Oh my god, you guys are so annoying."

His words didn't match his tone in the slightest. He didn't even bother to try and act serious or angry - he was having way too much fun to do that. His laughter went unsuppressed and was joined by that of three other people. On the screen, Clay's character was displayed in third person, in all his bright green glory, so that what was going on behind him was visible. A second character, one dressed in black pants, a flame-embellished white shirt, and a matching white bandana partially hidden by his dark brown hair, was gaining on him. Sapnap began to read off their coordinates while Darryl relayed every move that Clay was making.

"He's getting hay bales."

He had managed to lose Sapnap in the village, but Darryl's tip brought him right back. Luckily for Clay, he was more than prepared, and whipped out an iron sword to defend himself from his housemate. Sapnap, rather than staying and fighting, fled after taking a few hits. Clay collected the rest of the hay to turn into bread later and took off in the direction of Darryl's character, who he spotted in the distance. Darryl's design was mostly black, with some red, white, and brown details that made it clear he was wearing some sort of hooded robe. He took off with a yelp and barely escaped via boat.

"No! Oh my god, I hate you." His words were cruel, but they were said with such inflection that no one would have believed them to be true. "I hate you."

He kind of wished that he'd agreed to stream with them sooner. It wasn't as anxiety-inducing as he expected, though he was sure that it had something to do with the one-on-one stream he and George did the other day. It got him used to having another person around. The four of them, the Dream Team plus Darryl ("The Four Muffinteers!" as Darryl had proudly exclaimed), were doing what Clay called a Manhunt. It was the same thing that he and George had done, except more refined and with a clearer set of rules. And with three Hunters instead of one. Clay was determined to remain completely focused on the challenge this time. It was the promised stream that the community was waiting for - he wasn't going to let himself fuck it up because some British guy with pretty privilege was pointedly flirting with him. That didn't stop his eyes from flitting to his phone when it silently lit up with a Discord notification from George. His lips twitched into a smirk.

"You're not distracting me today, George. I'm not opening your message right now."

"But what if it's important?"

"Yeah, Dream. I bet it's important. You should take some time to check, don't you think?" Darryl's voice was fun to listen to. It wasn't the type of voice that one would expect from someone named BadBoyHalo - in fact, he sounded like anything but a bad boy.

"If it was so important, he would just tell me instead of messaging me."

"It's not something I can say on stream."

This was part of his plan, he was sure. He wasn't letting it get to him. At least, that's what he told himself as his eyes once again darted to the now dim screen. "Yeah, right."

Any other words were interrupted by Darryl.

"Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy..."

"Why're you bouncing?" George asked with a short laugh.

"'Cause I can!"

"Stop the bouncing right now," Sapnap said. Darryl did not stop the bouncing. Clay, having discovered a lava pool on the surface, was busy making a Nether portal. He was thankful for the change in subject.