2,000 Lives -Mavin fanfic-

Chapter 1

(Gavin's POV)

As I saw Michael's figure appear in the space behind his house, I walked up to him. The torches on the Achievement Hunter logo felt like they lit up almost all of Achievement City, casting my shadow along the dirt. I moved quickly to make sure none of the other lads would notice me from inside their houses. It might have been paranoia, but I swore they were all awake despite the fact it was so late.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hey," I said, playfully pulling on one of the ears of his banjo skin despite my lack of energy. The skins were what we wore to express ourselves, almost everyone had a different one. Of course everyone looked different, like the fact Michael had curly hair and wore glasses while I had blonde hair and a big ol' nose, but people who chose not to wear skins were so boring. We called them Steves.

I knew we had to make our meeting quick since it was around the time the monsters started spawning. Michael cautiously took out a handful of emeralds and stuffed them in my jacket which was apart of my creeper skin. I didn't have time to count them, but I also took a loaf of bread he handed me. Looking at it and then back up at Michael, I started shoving it down my throat.  I had thought for sure I would have lost another life to starvation over the night. Michael let out a strange sad grunting noise as he saw me eating, like he was miserable to see me in my condition.

"Eat up tonight and tomorrow Gavin, you're going to need energy for the Let's Play."

"What's the point?" I asked, swallowing a massive piece. "You know I'm not going to win weather or not I'm full."

"Don't say that. Maybe you could turn the game in to a team game... can't it be a lads vs gents? What's the Let's Play going to be anyway?"

Everyone had been curious about what the Let's Play was going to be because Geoff had told me I wasn't allowed to work on it like I usually did with him. For some Let's Plays building it meant you would know how to win and therefor you couldn't participate in it. In those situations, Geoff always did it by himself and didn't play. In return he got 20% of the winer's emeralds, which I wish I could have gotten. Heck, just 10% was better than nothing.

The Let's Plays were our way of getting emeralds, which everyone needed to make some how. Long ago there were cows and pigs roaming around everywhere, but as people kept hunting them it became more than difficult to find them. We needed to pay for food with emeralds these day, something I did not have very much of due to the fact I didn't win often. There was usually only one winner, who got all of the emeralds people payed to watch us compete that Friday as well as the tower of pimps. If we were divided in to groups, the winners would split emeralds evenly.

"It's bloody fucking hopeless Michael. I just want to... give up," I whispered, looking to the ground.

Michael threw his hands up and grunted. He was more angry than sincere. "Well I can't just keep feeding you for every single fucking meal, I'm hungry too!"

"I'm sorry Mi-cool, I really am. What do you want me to do?"

"Just... win! Win this one round for me," he said as he put his hand on my shoulder. His touch made my bones feel lighter and for a second I lost all connection to my brain.

The feeling was interrupted by what sounded like a thump. Michael's arm pulled away from me as he jumped in to a cat like stance, looking around the Achievement Hunter field. It sounded like the noise could have come from Geoff's giant stone castle. The silence grew until I began to question if there had been a sound at all, each second un-grasping what I thought reality was.

"Go. Go now," he said, turning back to me.

I began to turn and sneak back in to my house but was stopped again by his voice. "Wait!"

I looked back over my shoulder and stared in to his lost depressed eyes. "How many... do you have left?" he asked.

I thought back to my chest I kept right next to my bed, storing my notebook and quill. I had written in a new number just before I left. 1,578. If that's how many I lost, than I had 422 lives left.

"About 500... I think." It was better to round up. But it didn't seem like Michael's face grew any more relief from it.

For some reason I thought it would make it better when I whispered "Sorry." Then I ran back in to my house, trying to stay close to the ground. I looked out the window one last time to see the door to Michael's house close. I smiled to myself but wished we could have had more time together, just me and him.