Two of a Kind

Chapter 1

            Skylar Daniels loved being a nerd. She loved gaming, movies, books, and music. She loved streaming and connecting with fellow people who enjoyed the games she played. She supported herself through her streaming and the donations people willingly gave her. All through middle school and high school, she'd been heavily into video games and other "nerdy" things. After she graduated, she got a job so she could save up to get good equipment to do what she really wanted to do. She retained the job until her streaming had really taken off. Once she was able to support herself through streaming, she quit her job so she could be a full-time streamer. Her boyfriend worked a corporate job and often made snide remarks about how she should get a "real job" and quit being lazy all day. She didn't think she was lazy as she kept their apartment clean, kept up with the laundry, and had a hot meal waiting on him when he came home from work.

He knew her plans for her life when they started dating. She'd gone to several conventions, including Comic Con and Pac West. After three years of being together, she was getting tired of his snide remarks. One day she logged into one of her favorite MMORPG's as that's what she planned on streaming that day and discovered a Free Company mate complaining about how he was being treated by some of his colleagues. She sent him a private message trying to encourage him. He quickly responded back and the pair began chatting about their lives. Over the course of several months, they not only became good friends in game, they became friends in real life. They began telling one another all about their real lives, gave each other their actual names, and even exchanged phone numbers so they could call and text one another outside the game. He was surprised when he learned she was a streamer and quickly subscribed to her channels. She streamed on Twitch and posted videos on YouTube as well. They gave one another advice on life and tried to be good friends to one another. She found his nickname of Juice to be weird but didn't say anything. He thought she was in an abusive relationship and encouraged her to end it with her boyfriend.

Skylar thought long and hard about what her friend had told her and realized he was right. One night she told Juice she was planning on leaving but didn't have anywhere to go. He immediately offered to let her move into his place until she found a place of her own. She thought he was just being nice since he knew about her boyfriend troubles and didn't want to be a bother to him. He reassured her he wouldn't have offered to let her move in if he didn't care about her and was happy to let her use his spare bedroom. Since her name wasn't on the lease of the apartment she shared with her boyfriend, she decided to take her friend up on his very generous offer. While her boyfriend was away for the weekend with some of his buddies, she packed everything she owned into a Uhaul rental van, left her house key on the kitchen table, and left the apartment. She'd rented a car hauler to attach to the Uhaul van so she could take her truck at the same time. She wasn't used to driving such a vehicle or hauling a trailer behind her vehicle so she drove slower than normal.

Juice was excited to have his friend move in with him. He knew she needed to get away from the abusive ex and moving to California would afford her the opportunity for a fresh start. Besides, they had a lot in common and she promised she'd keep them well fed. He wasn't much of a cook himself so hearing she didn't mind cooking for them was a huge plus. The drive took about two days and she arrived late evening on Sunday. Since the shop was closed on Sundays, Juice had the day off. She kept him informed of where she was so he knew roughly when to expect her. He was sitting outside his apartment when he saw the Uhaul van pulling into the parking lot. He stood up and began walking towards it. She stepped out of the van after she parked and noticed a man walking towards her. His smile was wide as he stopped in front of her. He asked her name making her smile and tell him. The pair hugged one another since it was their first time physically seeing one another. He told her that her bedroom was all set up all she had to do was bring in her stuff. He also said he'd help her set up anything she needed help with earning an enthusiastic thanks in response. They worked the rest of the evening to empty the Uhaul truck and get her equipment set up so she could get back to streaming as quickly as possible.