Lovers: Boarding School

_blackout

Part 2/2 of a double update! Holy shit did I just write 10k words in two weeks \(Q7o)/

Edit: Actually this is not a double update cuz it took me THREE DAYS to finish this goddamn update 'cause I'm a pathetic perfectionist and wanted to get the emotions of this chapter just right. Might need to edit this chapter further because I'm still not satisfied by it. ARGH.

Also: HAPPY CANADA DAY EVERYBODY (and in three days, HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY MY NEIGHBOURS IN THE SOUTH! 'MURCIA!)! I hope everyone has an amazing summer vacation and did excellently on their exams and booked fancy trips to exotic locales and everything! I'll be too busy writing to do anything spectacular so live y'all lives in my stead (q w q)

WARNING: major cliffhanger. That's all. ψ(｀∇')ψ

Enjoy!

"Do you have it open?"

"Yes," Viola replied. Levitating before her was the bright blue log out button that Gale told her had been intentionally faulty since the game had first appeared. "Most enter-exit screens freeze the scene while you're contemplating exiting," Gale said earlier as they were preparing for the final phase of their scheme. "It's a legal requirement for VR first person immersives."

Despite her and Gale being users in the game, they both had separate sets of menus that only they could view upon demand. And while the VCCU could manipulate her settings to a certain degree (something which Gale refused to go into greater detail) some functions like her LG and IOs were untouchable.

"So none of the past versions of the game fixed that problem?" Viola asked, nervously eyeing the floating button.

Gale offered her up a stiff smile. "We're dealing with a sim that is connected to a string of deaths. Do you think whoever developed this thought it was a problem?"

"What are you thinking about Viola?"

Through the transparent blue screen, Viola looked to Gale who'd been watching her while she was recollecting their previous conversation. "I'm remembering the time you told me the log key was screwed up," Viola said quietly, afraid the button would malfunction while she spoke of it.

"Don't worry about that," Gale murmured, half his attention present in the room with her. Ever since Gale sent out their location to Gin, Gale had been waist deep in his thoughts. He was a quieter version of the domineering wisecrack earlier, his snarkiness reduced markedly and his sarcasm knocked down a few notches. What is he thinking about? she wondered as she watched Gale keep surveillance of the motel's parking lot through a hole in the shutters. And why did she feel so bothered by it?

"He'll be here soon," Gale murmured.

Gin. Just thinking of his name would produce an immediate physiological affect that even her RL body would mimic with startling sameness. Her over reactive tearducts would gush out like overactive springs of water. Her throat felt tight, her breathing thinned out by what felt like the weight of the world on her chest. Did she feel betrayed by him because he lied? Did she feel this way because she felt like she was betraying him?

Was this the only way? she wanted to ask Gale, her eyes fixed onto his side profile. Why did it feel so uneasy for her to do this? Those seeds of doubt she had had about Gin even before she knew him had reason to sprout. That last barrier that demarcated her from Gin on a fundamental level--that he was a virtual entity and she a living one--had been christened and now stood as an impenetrable wall she could no longer treat as a small hurdle.

Gale wanted her to succeed and survive this game. But what did Gin want? What were his true motivations?

"Are you worried about it?" Gale said, his eyes stuck to the window.