coming together // muserfruit

chapter 1

     Eyes on the screen, deeply focused; following a pixelated character that was bought for too much money. Switching between guns; aim, shoot, miss— process repeats until a shot of 100 is given. A chorus of cheers can be heard through the headpieces of the 4 gamers in discord, praising the winning shot.

     "Victory royale!!" Elliot cheered, going into the emote menu that he has for his Fortnite character, pressing down on "hula."

     "Great job, boys." He continued, staring at the Victory Royale screen for a split second before going to the main menu. He stared at all four avatars on the screen; Merry Marauder, a gingerbread man, representing Lazarbeam — Lannan, in actuality — in more ways than just being his avatar; Drift, a blonde newer skin that Lachlan wears most of the time; Chomp Sr, a shark skin that Elliot has been wearing lately for the great memes that come with the skin; and finally, Sun Strider, a female skin that the only girl Elliot really plays with wears... Loserfruit, or Kath as he has grown to calling her.

     "I could've gotten that final kill, Elliot!" The three other players could hear Lannan whine, all laughing in response. Elliot — or Muselk, according to his YouTube account — barely listened, but could still find humor in the statement. He had a lot on his mind, a good part of it involving Kathleen.

     In a couple of days, Kath is moving from Sydney to Melbourne, closer to him. They'd be able to film more collabs— he'd be on more of her Twitch streams, and the idea was exciting for him. Elliot loved to collaborate with his friends, which is why he tried to frequently; not only did he love it, but his audience loved it... and they love his love/hate friendship-relationship that he has with Kath— thus, this was going to be a good thing.

     It still further begged the question; what would come of it in the long term?

     Pushing away his thoughts, Muselk attempted to tune back into the banter between his three best friends, laughing at a silly joke that Lachlan made.

     "Well guys, I should probably get going. I have to finish packing for my move." Kath said into the mic, after already ending her too-long Twitch stream. "Elliot should be getting a move on too, I need your help moving everything in tomorrow, remember?"

     He took a quick glance at the time and shuddered; it was already 3 in the morning. "Oh yeah, you're right, Lufu," a chuckle escaped his lips, "thanks for playing with me, boys. I'll talk to you guys later today."

     A chorus of, "BYE MUSEY," could be heard from the men as he left, but nothing was from Kath. A frown appeared for a moment until he saw a photo of Lufu appear on his phone— he wasn't expecting a call from her, especially after she just told him to get to sleep.

     "Yes, Kath?" Elliot answered, amused that she would call after just being in a discord call; that wasn't normal amongst the group of friends. Usually they all went on to edit videos or play some other game that they never post about. "Something you've got to say that Lannan and Lachy couldn't hear?"

      "Yes, I need you to be up and ready to meet my halfway. It's around an 8 hour drive so you should be there by 12-ish. If you're not there, I will personally kick your arse." Kath's voice was quiet, but demanding as she spoke. The whole demeanor was quite hilarious to him, it was hard to take her seriously when she spoke like that.

     He wondered why someone like Kath didn't have a boyfriend; he knew a little as to why her and Marcus broke up, but he couldn't connect the dots as to how she was still single. Kath was hilarious, sweet, dedicated and hard working. Not only that, but she was gorgeous. It all was mind blowing to Elliot, who thought of himself as subpar, if he could even categorize himself as such. Shaking away thoughts, Elliot finally answered,

      "I promise you, Kath, I will be awake and will meet you halfway. I know this is important to you. I just don't understand why you don't want people to know that we're gonna be flatmates; we're friends, after all."

      On Kath's side, she sighed heavily, running her free hand through her long brunette locks. To be completely honest, she didn't have too big of a reason why she doesn't want people knowing that her and Elliot are going to be flatmates. The only small reason she can think of is Marcus finding out or her friends making fun of her for the fact that it's Elliot— but really, it's all just a minor reasoning that she should be able to tell her best friend.

     "It isn't that big of a deal, Ell. I just like privacy, ya know?" She spoke softly, playing with her hair as she sat back in her chair. "Until someone really needs to visit me, it isn't like they really need to know. My P.O. box will just send the mail to the new address, so... I guess I just... I don't know, Elliot."

     Truly, she didn't know how to put into words that she was fearful of Marcus finding out; while the breakup didn't end badly and she respects him will all ounces in her being, she just needs to be away from him. Moving will be like a holiday away from him of sorts, except permanent. One where she doesn't have to come into contact with her ex, albeit friends.

      "It's just my decision, and I'm glad you respect it and asked nicely."

      "Of course, K." She closed her eyes while he continued to speak on for a little bit, giving her an approximate game plan that calmed her nerves. "Moving is stressful."

      "I know, but you'll get through this. It's just a simple move, and then you'll be all set up here and ready to go. I'll even hide when you do your Twitch streams."

     That brought a smile to her features, and even a giggle from her lips. She was happy and lucky to call Elliot her best friend. "Thank you. Goodnight, Ellie."

      "Goodnight, Kathie."

     Setting her phone down and plugged into the charger, she looked around at all the packed boxes in her small flat. As she looked around at them, maneuvering through them to get to her bed, she couldn't help but be excited for the next day. It was going to be a good change, a change to better her future for her career.

     And with positive thoughts, Kathleen and Elliot were both able to get to sleep soundly that night; both dreaming of the future of their new adventures.