Hacked into my Feelings | Player Bouchard x Reader

Chapter 26 - Start of Something New

Player's POV

A few days after the flower field, Player was sitting in his favorite booth at his favorite restaurant. He was on his phone with a tray of fries in front of him. He took a bite out of his burger and stared at the screen.

Team Red has dispersed. Ivy and Zack now work with ACME fighting crime with Chase Devineaux and Julia Argent. Graham Calloway is nowhere to be found. All of VILE is in jail, Shadowsan went back to Japan to stay with his brother, and Carmen chose to catch up with her reunited mom. It was funny, really, how everyone moved on from their life of justice so easily. It's been two years since they started. Now all the crime-fighting together is gone. There's new Carmen Sandiego dupes and they do the work for them. No need for the original Carmen Sandiego to be around.

It made Player quite sentimental to see the crew break up. Of course, they'll still be around, but not as often as before. He was happy to see everyone settle into independent lives. No more messing with VILE or traveling the world. No more serving justice with thievery. No more Team Red.

What about Player?

Everyone is settling into happy lives. New lives, with new opportunities, with new possibilities. But Player... he's still the same he's always been. He hasn't jumped into a new beginning like all the others. Because there was nowhere to go.

But, holding his phone to his ear talking to Carmen, he smiled.

He didn't want to go anywhere.

He was satisfied staying right where he was.

With his family, his neighbors, and his restaurant.

In the humble city of Niagara Falls, Canada.

He may have not been working with a new professional agency, or hanging around in a sibling's hometown, or moving in with a long-lost parent. But he was happy where he was, eating the food he loves, and making memories where he belongs.

While saying his last farewells before his retired partner finally meets her mother, he says, "Like I told you before Red, I'm not going anywhere."

•••

Almost a month since he last hung out with Y/n. He hasn't even seen them ever since that lame trip to the flower field. He still kept the forget-me-nots they gave him though. They were dried up now, crinkled with a gray tint. The flowers sat on his desk, untouched, only to be stared at every half-hour.

For the first time since he met Carmen, he felt bored.

There was nothing to do. No one in Team Red to check on, no one to worry about, no one to assist. This was rare, since he always had something to do involving VILE. There wasn't any places to research for Carmen's next trip, no firewall-breaking through a thousand tough security measures, not even any info he could give about what products have fish in them for Zack.

Life really has changed. Back to two years ago, where he was a vulnerable white-hat hacker named Player. Doing business hacking while trying to improve each & every day. No friends, shut off from the world, indulged in his small world of technology.

Technically, he never gave up white-hat hacking, but it's been a while since he did it for him and himself only. Maybe he should go back to his usual life, living in isolation while constantly breaking through security flaws. Those were his glory days. Before he worked with Carmen Sandiego.

He laid down on his bed, throwing a basketball high up in the air and catching it before it hit his face. He always felt connected with technology. Always tapping away on his keyboard, browsing the internet. There was no way he was ever going to give that up.