Evening Game

“I’m sorry.”

Ethan said as he sat down on the sofa, his face looking down. Chione saw him slumped there and tilted her head.

“Hmm? For what?”

“Had I pulled myself down earlier, they wouldn’t have spotted-”

Chione moved in front of him and put her hand on Ethan’s mouth, stopping him from speaking any further. Ethan straightened up and the sudden contact. Once Chione made sure Ethan had stopped speaking, she pulled her hand away and while wagging her finger at him, she gave him a wide grin.

“I had fun!”

She said with a cheerful tone in her voice. She sat down next to Ethan and leaned back on the sofa’s back. She folded her hand behind her head and crossed her legs.

“I had fun.”

She repeated herself.

“But-”

“We passed, didn’t we?”

“... With that kind of performance, we wouldn’t be able to win.”

They didn’t even get the chance to engage Mason and Calista in battle. Ethan didn’t even kill that much, most of it going into Chione’s bag. He was supposed to be the professional here, not the one getting carried.

“It’s just a game, isn’t it? You said that yourself.”

“Yes, but-”

“No more buts, okay?”

Chione rose from the sofa.

“By training, I mean sleep. The finals are tomorrow. We need to get ready.”

She made her way to her room, Ethan could only reply with a faint ‘okay’. With her back toward him, he took a quick peek at Ethan.

“See you tomorrow.”

She closed the door softly, leaving Ethan on the living room sofa. Ethan brought his feet up to the sofa and rested her head on its smooth surface. He stared at the ceiling while berating himself for how useless he had been. He only managed to get four kills that time, far below Chione’s eleven. They were just two players short of the fifth place.

He still liked her.

Maybe that was why this particular defeat felt so terrible to him. He promoted himself as someone reliable, someone that would help her in reaching her sister. Someone that would help her scale up that tower, but he had made such a simple mistake that nearly cost them their game. He recalled the moment, he remembered his eyes following the movement of Mason’s boat. When did any of them spot him? Chione had been ducking the entire time she was in the house, so it would be impossible for them to see her.

But he couldn’t recall making eye contact with either of them.

Only then did he remember Calista swerving the machine gun his way. The game’s vehicles had limited ammunition, but they carried far more than the average player could carry.

She probably had a feeling and just fired.

Or maybe, they saw him when he was checking his inventory. He still kept an eye on them, bringing out the invisible inventory screen onto the window. Despite still looking at them, he must have missed the simple motions that warned him of their attack. He was a failure as a high-level player. As someone who prided himself in his skills, he lacked one thing that was essential to any high-level gameplay, situational awareness.

Had he, an agility build, noticed the signs, he could evade Calista’s eyes, and maybe move to a better place, using his speed to quickly change positions. It all happened so fast, he knew, but he couldn’t help but feel regret. If he repeated the same mistake tomorrow…

Then he was no more than useless. He could no longer blame things on FireRock. He couldn’t put up a front anymore. If he failed, if he disappointed her, then he would be the one seeing her face, Chione’s true face in school.

He needed to make sure the finals went as planned. Even if it wasn’t his last chance, even if Chione herself said that it was just a game, even if those words were the repeat of his…

He sat back up, intending on going training, to max out his reflexes, to grab a gun and train to shoot, in this nation where everyone used firearms. He may be a high-level close-quarters combatant, but he still lacked skills when it came to ranged weapons, not enough to play competitively. The finals didn’t start until the afternoon, so if he trained now, he should have time to still get some rest.

But then he heard Chione’s bedroom door move. The handles opened, followed by the creaking sound typical of a wooden door. He hid himself behind the sofa, immediately followed by his brains questioning why he even hid in the first place. Besides, FireRock won’t hide in a situation like this.

“Ethan? You’re asleep?”

Chione asked, but he kept his mouth shut. After not hearing any answer, she closed the door, her footsteps audible as she made her way to the kitchen. She took a virtual water heater and filled it with water. As she waited for the water to boil, she took her virtual chocolate and poured it into a cup.

The water heater let out a hissing sound, signaling that the water was boiled. She stood back up, Ethan could only hear the chair moving, accompanied by footsteps and the sound of water droplets filling into a glass cup. She took the cup and returned to the dining table.

She took a sip out of her glass, the sound of her chugging down her chocolate made Ethan shiver. She was there, in the kitchen, unaware of him. He knew it was wrong, but for whatever reason, he couldn’t pull himself out of his hiding position.

Does she always do this?

Ethan wondered.

“Hey, Chione. It’s unnatural for you to call this late.”

A girl’s voice filled the room. Ethan immediately tensed up. He knew still being here was wrong. He felt sorry for not answering the first time she called her name, and decided that he should stop there before things get any worse. He put his knee on the floor and pushed himself upward when he heard Chione’s reply.

“Just a little something on my mind.”

Chione’s words made Ethan sit back down. He felt terrible for eavesdropping, but he felt curious.

“You turning the speakers on?”

“How do you know?”

“There’s this weird, sound reverb thingy.”

“I don’t know if the game simulated that effect.”

“Hold on. I’ll change my settings.”

There was a moment of silence, only broken by Chione sipping her hot chocolate. The smell spread to the living room, making Ethan want some.

“Much better. Besides, you usually call from your real-life phone anyway. Any reason not to do that now?”

“Pretty sure my parents are home from work. I don’t want to bother them.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Couldn’t believe it’s already eleven.”

“I know, right?”

“So, what’s the problem?”

“There’s an issue with the boy I liked.”