⫷𝐴𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒⫸ (A kinitopet story)

20: 𝐹𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑔𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔

You hear chimes. As you lazily get up and stretch, you notice you're not in your bed. You're in front of your computer, Kinito lingering on screen.
You remember installing him yesterday, but you didn't remember it clearly. He scares you.

K: "Who is your best friend?"

The question surprised you. It wasn't Kinito, but would being honest trigger him?
Kinito's eyes widen as you don't answer. He's getting impatient, isn't he...
You took a deep breath and wrote your real best friend's name. The screen looked like it was melting away and glitched before kinito spoke again:

K: "Aw... Perhaps you didn't hear my question."

You got goosebumps when you felt the air around you cool down. It was like a ghost was passing by.
Suddenly, one of Kinito's gloved hands pierced through the screen and grabbed you by the neck, pulling you closer to the screen.

K: "I am your best friend, forever and always! No one else."

You try to pull away, his tight grasp hurting more and more. Once his second hand comes through the screen and pulls you off your feet, you give in and get pulled right in.
A painful fate. Forever stuck in your computer with a crazy virus.
But then....

You woke up... Again. This time, you were in your bed. Your heart was still racing as you realised you've just had a terrible nightmare. You sigh before you turn around, just to be greeted by Kinito's wide, creepy eyes staring you down.
The feeling of the dream still reigns over you as you remember what actually happened for the past days. Kinito was your new roommate after he returned you to the real world and...

You just didn't want to see him at the moment. That nightmare felt so real...
You touch your neck, which was painless, but an odd feeling still lingered around it.

Your head begins ringing as you get off your bed. Your legs were weak, almost like you had to run a few miles. You begin hearing things as you speed up your walking pace. Something grips your arm right before you hit the floor. You tripped.

K: "Y! Are you okay? Do you hear me?"

His voice finnaly became more clear as the ringing went away. He caught you right before you would've had a nasty fall.

Y: "I had a terrible nightmare. No, i... I need to be alone."

You picked your words very carefully. He's been getting nicer, sure, but... He would definitely snap if you just told him he's not your best friend ... That he's scary, he's making you uncomfortable, that you don't want to see him...
What would he do? He's real now. You're real again. He could very easily take your REAL life now.

K: "What was it about? You can tell me anything."

Can i, really? If i just uttered anything about not liking him...

Y: "Maybe later... I need to go to work."

K: "But... It's weekend. You said you'd spend some time with me today and tomorrow...."

Shit... You really did promise him that. What were you thinking? You also lost  track of time... Using work as an excuse to leave as well?
Only one person is trustworthy enough to help you with this. Your REAL best friend. Even though he didn't believe your story of being sucked into the digital world, he will definitely help.

Eureka.