𝐋𝐀𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄'𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋 || gameknight999

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

BETTER TO BE LOST THAN LOVED, NOW ISN'T IT?

===

Darkness pressed in on Angel at all sides as she panted softly.

The air was far less stuffy than the Stronghold had been, yet it still made her shiver a little from how cold it was. Her palms were slick with sweat as she held onto the headset, her eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. Slowly, she began to feel her way over to a dim crack of light in the nearby wall, each footstep as cautious as possible to avoid stepping on anything other than the floor. Once she reached the wall, she ran her free hand along it, feeling for the switch there, and upon feeling it, she flicked it, wincing slightly at the bright light that flooded the room.

It was an all-too familiar sight for her, the state of her bedroom. Clothes were crumpled up on the floor near her bed, and random clutter - various papers, outfit accessories, empty bowls, a vinyl case for Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti album, and the like - was strewn across her desk. Wires were still connecting the VR headset in her hand to the computer on the desk, and she quickly moved over to it, shoving some of the clutter to the side and placing it down. The computer showed the title screen for Minecraft, rather than the Stronghold she had just left, and she frowned softly.

It was a shame, her having to leave so abruptly. She really wanted to see how Erebus was.

With a small sigh, she moved over to her dresser, opening a drawer and bringing out one of her many oversized hoodies, not bothering to see what was on the front. Pulling it over her head, she smiled a little at how warm it was in comparison to her air-conditioned room, before deciding to leave. Stepping over some of the dirty clothes on the floor, she opened the door to her room, glancing around before heading to the kitchen.

Clara Abrams, Angel's aunt, stood at the counter, surrounded by bags of vegetables. She looked up from the carrots she was cutting, creases on the sides of her eyes forming as she smiled.

"How's your game been going, sweetpea?" she asked.

"Eventful as hell," Angel said, opening the refrigerator and pulling out a small can of ginger ale. "It's been fun, though, I've been making a lot of friends. Can I help you with anything?"

Clara shook her head, dark curls bouncing slightly. "I appreciate that, but I'm alright for now," she reassured. "This salad won't take long to make, hopefully your uncle will be off the phone by then." She chuckled a little. "Tell me about your friends. Anyone new?"

Angel nodded, opening the can of soda. "Yeah, it's been... quite interesting," she told Clara over the soft hiss from the ginger ale. "Lots of fighting and stuff going on..." She took a small sip, leaning back against the refrigerator a little. "I made a... different sort of friend, too."

She couldn't think of an easier way to describe Erebus to her aunt - 'enemy that she felt comfortable enough with and related enough to to talk about her parents' didn't seem as easy to say as simply 'friend'.

"How so?" Clara tilted her head.

"Um... well, originally we weren't supposed to be friends," Angel elaborated. "I guess you could say he was on the different team... but nobody that he was with liked him, because the guy that ran the team was a bit of a jerk." For the sake of summing the situation up, she chose to understate what Malacoda really was. "So I just... I sort of felt bad, I suppose, and he ended up helping me in return."

Clara's smile was gentle as she surveyed Angel, and it made her feel so grateful that she was living with her and her uncle, rather than with her parents.

"That was very kind of you," Clara told her. "I'm sure your other friends weren't as happy to hear about this."

"Oh, I didn't tell them," Angel said quickly. "They would've probably gotten suspicious of me." She took another sip from her drink, shrugging a little. "I feel bad, though. I just left him all alone, with those people on the other team, 'cause I was trying to save my own skin..."