Home, finally. I walk into my small studio apartment, one home to only my cat and me. The work days only get longer the more I stay at the job. 'Maybe a new experience is what I need', I think against my newly closed front door. Retail work doesn't offer many, but enough to sustain my needs. I take my flats off by the door, turn on my dim lampshade, and make myself some cup of ramen. 'Childish', I recognize, but is it wrong to be on a budget? At least I make the cup well, seasoning it with a concoction of oyster sauce, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. The effects of the sodium will hit me someday, but today isn't the day as I remove the cup from the microwave and walk toward my room.
My haven, as I like to call it. I've felt almost all of my best and worst emotions in this room alone; however, it always seems to give me comfort and stability. Unfortunately, stability is too simple for me right now, I need something more. "...Hey, chat, anyone available to play with me today..?", I text desperately in my close group chat of three. "Marcus! Of course, we can! I'd love to Amarkins!" Nelly, one of my two closest friends is incredibly excitable, but never too coordinated. "Oh actually, I can't, sorry Amarkins", my smile fades as fast as it came. Zack, the other piece of this group, is nowhere to be seen. 'Probably swept by college work', I conclude. However, being alone won't stop me from enjoying my time. I unlock my desktop's home screen and open up 'Mystic Mischief', a corny RPG I've had since my first years of high school. 'I haven't aged a single bit', I laugh at my situation as I'm sitting in my room playing an RPG as a sophomore in college. 'One day I'll grow up', I think as the game's home screen illuminates my face and I officially lose myself in game.
Finding a party isn't difficult. My level is relatively middle ground and most players enjoy my presence; good enough for pros, wonderful for newcomers. I load up a new quest and wait for a party to arrive. Lost in the depths of social media on my phone, I begin to hear voices in my headphones. "Someone who's not completely shit at this game? It must be my lucky day", I perk up, immediately beginning to type a slew of 'hello's!' and 'hi's'. "Bee will you calm down? You're gonna scare them away like the last ones!", I begin analyzing their characters. Who I presume is 'Bee', is a short purple-haired halfling, with proportions that don't seem to make too much sense logistically. Next to them is a taller, blonde, and pink-haired princess, adorned in several limited-edition cosmetic accessories. 'I figure they must play this game a lot' I think to myself. "Listen, the last guy fucking sucked anyways, so it doesn't matter if Bee scared them away. Let's just hope this guy isn't fucking terrible either." This guy seems like a real wonder. Standing canonically almost 7 feet, and looking like the most stereotypical idea of male beauty, I knew I wouldn't like him just by the avatar. Two others weren't on the mic, but they didn't seem too interested in the bickering. "Anyways, let's start shall we?", the blonde pronounces excitedly and the games begin.
I found myself tuning out the team as a whole and mostly playing on my own. The bickering was non-stop, it seemed like these guys didn't even like each other. As the night went on, one by one left, the call becoming quieter each time. By the end of the hour, it was just me and the princess, so I decided to accompany them. "Hello?" I state. "Hey! I didn't even know your mic worked!", they stated with a 'sob' emoji in the chat. "Yea, sorry, I didn't know when to intervene in the conversation." "No worries!! Those guys are a lot, and they get on my fucking nerves sometimes, so I completely understand." They seem sweet, really sweet, I might just continue playing with them.
It was a night full of giggles and laughs. 'Kris', as I now know them, and I seem to have a lot in common, which is terrible for me! I begin to panic as I already know exactly what's going to happen. 'I'm gonna get fixated on them and dedicate my next few months to them and only them, oh god!', I realize a little too late as I'm already accepting Kris' socials. We say goodnight, and I hop off the game. 'A successful night lowkey', I think while looking at my stats right before logging off.
I lay down on my bed and sighed, feeling a slight bit of relief after the consistent socializing I had put myself through for the last few hours. Right when I thought I was free, I get a text. 'It's from Kris!' I think excitedly, immediately sitting up with my phone in both hands. "Hi!! I just wanted to say thank you for joining me! I really enjoyed our time together and I'd love to play again if you'd be up for it!" I sit, stunned, and feel a tingling feeling rush to my face. 'Shit', I realize it's already over for me. "Of course!! I enjoyed our time too, but if you wanted to keep talking...I wouldn't mind just texting." Here I go, letting myself just fall into my own trap.
They love marine animals and the Nintendo series 'Pikmin'. They're incredibly invested in the Vocaloid genre and all the characters surrounded by it, they have been for years at this point. I learned they cosplay as a cute little hobby, have terrible self-control when shopping, and are incredibly, incredibly cute. I blush just reading and re-reading texts I received only minutes ago. Look at the pictures of Kris in their cosplays and notice how even in real life they adorn their cute blonde and pink hair. I fidget with my locs as I await their next message patiently. As small talk turned into in-depth conversations on shared game knowledge and common childhood experiences, I started feeling insanely connected to them. 'It's like I've known them forever' I notice based on how similar we were as kids. In-depth conversations become small instances of flirting, which is probably my fault but who's keeping track? "You know, you kind of remind me of this character I really like...", Kris states. "Oh? And who would that be?" I reply. I stare dazed as I see a picture of two characters who are heavily implied to be dating and read as Kris fumbles to explain how we're "just like them!" but not in a weird way. At this point, it's over for me. I'm falling for a person I just met hours ago, even staying up knowing full well I have several classes to attend in horrendous hours of the morning. The worst part about it? It's real. I'm really falling for Kris, not the small infatuation I feel when finding someone cool I like, I mean I am sitting here crushing. Imagining scenarios of us cosplaying together and holding hands like I even have the right to? 'I'm insane, what am I even thinking', I sit confused wondering what I should even do in this situation. 'Should I step back? Should I see where this goes? Do they even care, we just met! I'm so crazy, what even'. I get thrown out of my thoughts after receiving another text from Kris. "As much as I would love to keep yapping with you... I really should sleep and so should you! It's late from what you told me!" 'At least one of us has some sense', I think as I begin typing. "Yeah, that's a good idea. We should play tomorrow though." "See you then?" "See you then Kris." And it's all over just like that.
