A World of Our Own

"Hi."

"Hi."

<Online POV>

For what seemed like forever the private chat that appeared on the screens of both Kimberly and William only contained that one innocent word… Hi.  It was like a chair had been pulled out for the heavily cautious woman to sit and take in a new conversation.  Almost seemed like a lost cause for William until he got a Hi back.  

Then, as if their conversation was a roaring inferno sparked from the Hi, they started to talk.  At first, it was merely the common courtesy questions that you would expect to hear when chatting with a stranger.  But in an instant, they talked of Halloween and Thanksgiving plans each finding out things about the other.  

The time flew by for both of them as they chatted.  Six hours had passed like it were nothing.  Until Kimberly had to go and wished Billy good night.

:Log Out:

<William's POV>

Hi.

"She has a boyfriend. She isn't going to respond.  I definitely doubt she is.  Let's go find someone else."  These were the thoughts that went through his mind as he stared at a blank private message screen for a minute before closing it to scroll down the guest list again.

(POP)

It couldn't be her could it?  His mind was racing as he clicked the red notification icon.  

"No way…." His exclamation was audible as he had seen that he had received a message from Kayleigh, the woman he had message after contemplating it for over an hour.

As they started to talk, William was nervous.  Why was he feeling nervous?  With a deep breath, he answered her reply and it was off to the races.  He had a set of rules that he followed when chatting in rooms and he felt the need to definitely follow that tonight.

Rule 1:  Never let the person know who you are.  Feeling like a monster since high school definitely made William's approach to talking to anyone this way.  It seemed as though whenever he let this mask slip that he would lose his potential friend faster than the breath needed to say anything.  

Rule 2:  Everyone is temporary so just go get what you want.  He had talked to so many people over the years that William just didn't trust anyone to stay wrong.

Rule 3:  Finally, just worry about yourself or else.  Simple but effective.  This was his armor.  This is what he did to survive the net.  To survive being alone.  

As the two chatted about themselves, getting to know each other, it started to feel like those went out the window.  With each response, he became more and more intoxicated by her mere presence.  He wanted more.  He craved more.  Was this the feeling that he had been seeking?  No.  It couldn't be.  She had a boyfriend obviously even if this is so much fun.  As the sun rose, letting light into his plain bedroom, all he could think about was knowing more about her… he wanted to know all of Kayleigh.

Unfortunately, like all good things,  this night had to come to an end. After they shared a pleasant farewell, Kayleigh left, causing William to wonder if he would ever see that girl again.

:Log Out:

<Kimberly's POV>

"Hi."

"That's it?  No asking personal questions?  No inappropriate comment just because I was a female on the internet? In a chat room?"

As she considered her options, her fingers lightly tapped a reply.  She said hello and asked how he was, slightly worried that this guy would quickly turn into one of those desperate bums who cared only about getting someone to make them feel good.  Thank God for the Ignore button, right?

She hovered over the Ignore button as they talked at first.  A bit of small talk that was refreshing to find in this era of instant expected gratification and genital pic bombardment.  Yet, this guy seemed different.  He wasn't seemingly trying to get in her virtual pants.  Yeah he may flirt a little but it was more dorky and sweet than creepy and desperate.  Her frown quickly turned into a smile as they talked of various topics, getting to know each other.  

As the light crept into her window from the dawning sun, she heard a pebble pang against her window pane.  Knowing that the only person who does that was Lance, she quickly ended the conversation saying that she was tired.  After saying goodbye and logging out, she let her boyfriend in.  As much as she was mad at him, he did the smartest thing that a guy could do whenever their girlfriend is mad.  He brought her food and her favorite at that.  She threw her arms around her boyfriend's neck and kissed him, forgetting for now about the guy on the other side of the computer screen.