𝐅𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ⸙͎ ɪᴋᴇ ᴇᴠᴇʟᴀɴᴅ

【 Chapter №.2】

Chapter 2: The Rise

The morning sun filtered through my blinds, casting long, dancing shadows on my bedroom wall. I stretched, wincing at the stiffness in my muscles. The dream I'd had was a blur, a chaotic jumble of images that left me feeling unsettled. I shook my head, trying to clear it.

A notification from my phone jolted me awake. It was a message from Ike: "Yo, you up? We're trending."

I groaned. "Great. Another drama day."

I clicked on the notification. A screenshot of a trending topic caught my eye: "Y/N vs. Shu: The New Rivalry?"

Shu Yamino. The name sent a shiver down my spine. He was everything I wasn't: calm, collected, and undeniably skilled. His rise had been meteoric, and now, it seemed, our paths were colliding.

I logged into my stream, bracing myself for the onslaught of questions and comments. Sure enough, the chat was ablaze with speculation.

"Is it true you and Shu are rivals?"

"I ship it!"

"Can we have a collab?"

I sighed. "Alright, let's clear this up. Shu and I are just friends. Nothing more, nothing less."

The chat exploded with disbelief. I rolled my eyes. Drama was inevitable in this world.

I decided to focus on gaming to distract myself. I queued up Apex Legends, a game that demanded intense focus and quick reflexes. Maybe it would help clear my head.

The match was intense. Every decision mattered, every mistake could be fatal. I lost myself in the game, the adrenaline rush temporarily drowning out the unsettling thoughts from the night before.

When the match ended, I was drenched in sweat but feeling exhilarated. I checked the chat. To my surprise, there were fewer questions about Shu and more about my gameplay. Maybe I could salvage something positive from this.

A notification popped up on my screen. It was a direct message from Shu. My heart pounded. What did he want?

I hesitated before opening it. The message was simple: "Good game."

A wave of relief washed over me. Just a friendly message. Nothing more.

Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. There was an undercurrent of tension between us, a silent competition that was palpable.

I decided to reach out to Ike. Maybe he could shed some light on the situation. "Hey, you see the chat?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's crazy," Ike replied. "But don't worry about it. You're killing it."

"Thanks, man," I said, grateful for his support. "You think there's really something going on between me and Shu?"

"I don't know," Ike admitted. "But he definitely seems interested in you. In a competitive way, at least."

I laughed nervously. "Yeah, right. Competitive."

We talked for a while, the conversation drifting from the drama to more mundane topics. By the end of the call, I felt a little better. Maybe I was overthinking things.

But as I logged off, a nagging doubt remained. Something was definitely going on. And I had a feeling it was about to get a lot more complicated.