2: Game to You

Do you know what is not extra cute? Permanent eye damage from this thing; I already have terrible vision. I don't need it to get worse.

I took the VR headset thing off my eyes.

WOW, the real world. I hate it. I want to go back already.

I turned off my PC, and I changed into my pajamas.

I opened my door.

"Alex, I swear to god I've been calling you for an hour; get your ass down here." I heard Daniel's voice echo through the hallway, my brain, and my ears.

I started to walk down the stairs, and I heard voices that I couldn't recognize.

Maybe some of my mom's friends were here?

Not Mom's friends. I should have never left my room.

"I didn't know you had a brother," a voice said. Daniel's friends, yay!

"Come get him," Daniel said. And there Isaac sat, crying his head off.

I squatted down and picked him up.

"Why are you not wearing any pants?" Daniel mumbled at me with this nasty look on his face.

"Why are you still living at home?" I mumbled back at Daniel, holding Isaac in my arms.

"Let's get away from the mean man, and I'll make you some Mac n cheese," I said in a baby voice to Isaac, and he immediately stopped crying.

"Dumb ass, he wanted food," I said, putting Isaac on my waist and flipping off Daniel with the other hand.

I started to boil water as Isaac continued to talk in my ears about one of the cartoons he watched.

"And what did the dog say?" I asked, and he started yelling in my ear, explaining in great detail what the dog had said.

"Indoor voice," I said, and Isaac went a little quieter.

"Can you make me something too?" I looked behind me. It was one of Daniel's friends.

"Yeah, sure, what do you want to eat?" I asked.

And he opened our refrigerator. Okay, I don't even know why he asked.

He handed me some pizza rolls. I raised my eyebrow.

I opened the bag and spread them all out on a sheet.

I turned on the oven and popped them in.

I went back to the mac and cheese, opened up the box, and put it in the pot.

"How old are you?" The guy asked.

"18."

"Oh."

I raised my eyebrow.

"Nothing; I just thought you were younger. Because you are just so short," the guy said, laughing.

Look at my face. Does it look like I'm fucking laughing? No bruh.

"Sorry, sorry."

"You're fine," I said.

 He was staring hardcore bro. Back off, please, dawg.

"Sorry if I'm staring. I just never thought that Daniel had another brother. You're kind of cute. What happened to his ugly ass?" His friend said.

"His ugly personality," and the guy started laughing. Not a joke, but okay.

I plated Isaac's mac and cheese and gave him a fork.

"Where do you want to sit?" I asked, and he pointed to his little play table.

I sat him down on it and gave him Mac n Cheese and water.

I took the pizza rolls out of the oven and put them on a plate.

"Share," I said, and he nodded.

"You should join us."

"I don't think my brother would like that."

"Why?"

"Because he doesn't like me, simple as that."

"You seem nice; why doesn't he like you?" His friend asked.

It's because I'm gay, but you don't have to know that.

"It's his older brother complex; I don't know," I said with a shrug, and he seemed content with that answer.

I heard crying, and I sighed and walked over to Isaac.

"What's wrong?" I asked, sitting down with him.

"I burned myself," he said, getting in my lap.

"Was it too hot?" I asked, and he nodded with tears.

"Okay, so why did you eat it?" I asked.

"I was hungry."

"Next time, blow it off. Momma taught you how to do that, and I did as well. No more crying; drink your water," I said, and he nodded, staying on my lap.

I brought over his macaroni and cheese and he continued to eat.

I heard the front door open.

"Where's Isaac Daniel?" I heard her ask frantically.

"I have him, momma; he is eating," I said.

I watched as she kissed Daniel's head and came over and kissed me and Isaac on the head too.

"Thank you so much, baby. I know you don't like his friends, but thank you for watching him," she said, trying to take him out of my lap.

"Go do what you need to do. I will put him to sleep," I said, and she smiled at me.

"What would I do without you, baby?" She said that, bent down, and hugged me.

I smiled. 

She let go and looked at me funny.

"You seem happy; what's up with you?"

"New video game."

"That's cool, honey. Make sure you go to school tomorrow, please," she said, and I nodded, and she kissed me again.

And she walked upstairs. As long as she is happy. I don't want her to be even more stressed out than she already is.

"I already read you something; go to bed-." I stopped myself.

He was out. Thank fucking god.

I kissed his head and quickly escaped to my room.

"Bro, get out of here," I whined. I actually just wanted to go to sleep.

"What did you do to Gavin?"

"Who?"

"My friend."

"Not ringing a bell."

"The one you made food for," my brother said.

"I made him food."

"What else? Why is he talking about you so much?" 

"I'm nice?" I said getting in bed.

He stopped me because his big ass was on the edge of my bed, taking up the whole fucking thing.

"Are you saying I'm not nice?"

"Exactly."

He rolled his eyes and jumped on me.

"You are too old to be fighting me every time you get mad," I said.

I touched my eye.

"Bitch ouch? What is wrong with you? Get off me," I said, kicking him.

Getting punched in the eye at like 4 feet fucking hurts like a bitch.

"Tell me what you did to him-."

"Nothing; now get off me before I call Mom."

"Snitch."

"Assaulter!" I spat in his face.

"You boys, go to bed; it's late," Momma said, opening the door.

"Daniel, get off him," she said, rolling her eyes.

He stood up. Well, not before fucking strangling me.

"Daniel!" My mom yelled.

I rolled my eyes.

My mom opened the door for him.

"Good night, honey; I love you," she said, and I nodded, and she shut the door.

"Daniel, you are my son, and I love you but do not hurt your brother, or else I'll kick your ass," and I heard someone get launched into the wall.

"Good night," my mom said. It was Daniel.

Thank God, bro.

I woke up. I heard wailing that was so fucking loud I couldn't even get my ass back in bed.

I grabbed my phone. Time check 5:43 a.m.

I walked down the hall, and Mom's light was on.

I pushed open Isaac's door.

He wasn't there.

I pushed open my mom's.

Isaac was having a full-blown fucking meltdown on her floor, and by the looks of it, she was half ass dressed.

"Isaac," I said, and I grabbed him off the floor.

He was hitting me, screaming, and biting.

I sat him back down on the floor and sat with him.

"Isaac, it is 5:43 in the fucking morning. Why the fuck are you crying?" I asked him. Not raising my tone at all.

He kept crying.

"Baby, how do you want me to help you if all you are going to do is wail?" I asked.

"Hungry," he said in between his screams.

"Okay, now why didn't you just say that?" I asked and picked him up.

We walked out of my mom's room, and I sat him on the counter in the kitchen.

I put some instant oatmeal in the microwave, and I stared at him.

His crying started to calm down.

"Momma works two jobs; if you are hungry, come wake me up, okay?" I asked, and he nodded, wiping his tears.

I put his oatmeal on the counter, put it in a bowl, and got a spoon.

"Now we are going to blow on it because it's hot," I said, and shocker, he didn't burn himself this time.

As he finished his oatmeal, I threw the dish in the sink, and we walked back upstairs.

"You just ruined your night's sleep, so you can sleep until momma wakes you up for school, okay?" I asked and laid him in bed.

He nodded and started to fall asleep.

Good, now I have to get ready for school, bruh.

I pushed open Daniel's door. Who sleeps naked? That's gross.

I got in the shower, did everything I needed to do, and walked out of his bathroom and into his room.

"You are getting my carpet wet."

"I'll get more than just your carpet wet if you don't shut up," I said.

"What?"

"Yeah, I don't know," I said, opening his door.

I walked to my room and got myself ready.

Jeans, shoes I've had since 7th grade, and a shirt with roses on it that I swiped from my Uber driver, the Uber driver being Daniel's dumb ass. 

"Let's go!" Daniel screamed, and I grabbed my backpack and put it on.

Fuck I forgot my dumb ass contacts. Who does that? 

Whatever. I grabbed my glasses and put them on my face.

"Are you wearing my shirt?" my brother asked as we walked out of the door.

"Yeah? What are you going to do about it? Go cry me a river," I said, getting in his convertible.

Everything was so dull; I miss the bright colors of that weird video game world.

He pulled out of the driveway, and we started to go. 

It was a pretty silent drive; we never talked, so we didn't really have anything to talk about.

"You got a boyfriend yet?" he asked.

"No."

"Freak!"

I rolled my eyes.

"You call me a freak when I have a boyfriend and call me a freak when I don't have one?" 

"You had a boyfriend?"

"Yeah, the guy from freshman year," I said.

"The super senior?" he asked, and I nodded.

"That guy's 23 now; that's crazy. I kicked his ass for dating you," he said.

"Good for you; you want some brownie points?"

"Yes," he said, stopping in front of the school.

The school was the same as the one in the video game, or my school was the same as the one in the video game. I don't even know. 

"Have a good day," he said, and I got out and shut the door, and he drove off.

I looked up and around. I walked into the school.

I didn't have any friends; it was back to normal. No boyfriend waiting for me, and no best friend happy to see me. Nothing.

There were so many people and all these voices.

I watched. I opened my locker, and I heard people talking and laughing.

"Elijah." I felt his name slip out of my mouth. So does he exist? 

I touched my mouth, and the guy looked at me confused.

I turned around. Okay, so things don't correlate—I mean, no shit—but I kind of wanted them to correlate.

I guess my virtual boyfriend will have to stay in virtual reality. I can just admire him from afar because, damn, he is sexy.

Giving me a reason to go to school finally. 

Kegan, oh my god, all of these people.

Not a soul even looked my way, but I knew them. I knew everything about them, but nothing at the same time.

"You play Minecraft?" a voice asked me, and I turned around.

"Nate?" I asked, and he nodded.

"How do you know my name? I don't think we have met before," he said, laughing.

Nate had headphones on his neck, and he looked exactly like he did in the video game.

"Oh, lucky guess, and I do like Minecraft," I said, and his face lit up, and he started jumping up and down and yelling about all the video games he likes to play.

I smiled.

I felt awkward but also happy because no one ever talked to me.

"I'm sorry, am I talking too much?" he said, and I shook my head.

"No, you are talking just enough," I said with a smile, and he smiled back at me.

"How come I have never seen you around before?" he asked me.

"I keep to myself; my name is Alex, though."

"Shortie?"

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"Sorry, that's what me and my friends used to call you back in middle school," Nate said with a smile.

"Am I really that short?" I asked.

"Average height."

"So, not short?" I asked.

"Average height for a freshman-year girl, that is,'' Nate said, laughing like it was the funniest thing he's ever heard.

"It's cute, dude, trust. I didn't recognize you because of the glasses; you didn't use to wear them did you?"

"No, I hate wearing them; today was just one of those days, and I can't see anything," I said, and he smiled.

"They look good," he said, and I smiled.

"Do you want to be friends?" I asked.

"Best friends!" Nate asked, and I smiled.

"Yes, yes, of course, oh my god," I said, and he smiled at me.

Make your dreams a reality I guess.

"What class do you have?" I asked.

"We all have the giant class thing."

"The what?"

"Dude, have you never been to a school-wide thing? It's twice every week," Nate said.

"Bruh, of course not," I said.

"Let's go then," Nate said, and the two of us started to walk. Yeah, you really think I would go to this thing?

Kegan, I kept seeing him.

"Alex, good to see you," Kegan said with a smile.

"Kegan?" I asked.

"Bingo. The real world is not as good as that one is it?" he whispered in my ear.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"In this world, Elijah isn't your perfect little boyfriend. In this world, you are a fucking loser with no friends-."

A voice interrupted Kegan, "Bruh, stop."

He rolled his eyes.

There a shorter version of Elijah stood.

"You're the vice president, you have to be early to the meeting, now stop harassing random people in the hallways," the guy said, pushing Kegan in front of him. 

"Sorry about him, he's weird," The guy said, and just like they were gone.

What in the world? Kegan is the only one who remembers, so maybe the video game is real? Or maybe I am just sleep-deprived? 

"Let's go, we are gonna be late," Nate said as he dragged me into the auditorium and we sat down in the middle away from the teachers but not too close to the stage.

The lights dimmed and everyone started to cheer.

I watched Elijah. Oh god. He walked across the stage in a confident stride with his jacket on and Jordans and he waved as the cheering got louder and louder.

He stood up tall with a charming smile. He deserved to be there, I could just tell. Not because he's handsome, just the aura he had, just gave off leader vibes.

Gave off, he ran the world and he knew it vibes. 

He stood near the microphone and everyone started to quiet down. He didn't he have to say a word and people listened to him.

It's crazy how much power one person can hold over people.

He gripped the microphone and smiled.

"Hello, my name is Elijah, your senior class president," he said and people started to cheer. Whistles and claps, everything. People were going crazy over him, me too, to be honest bro, he's mad sexy. 

"Thank you to all those who voted for me in the class election, I thank you from the bottom of my very heart and I hope to guide you to a great school and school year," he said with a smile.

"And to the 2 percent of people who didn't vote for me, I hope me being up here changes your mind. Because I only want unity and peace for our school. I hope that my one year as class president changes the course of the school for many years to come. I want positive change and I want the best for teachers, students, and parents alike," he said and people cheered again.

How in the world can he even do that?

"Some may be asking, how can just one man do so much? The simple answer is money. Most of you know that my dad is the school's headmaster and has been for the past 25 years. He actually did not vote for me for some reason, but I am doing this to prove him wrong. I will do everything in my power and milk my parents' money into the school so you guys can have a good few years to come," he said and I smiled. At least he was honest.

The cheers got louder and louder as people pulled out phones and claps. Everyone seemed to like him a lot.

The spotlight shifted as Kegan emerged. He had his hands in his pocket. He gave off byronic hero vibes and I would be all for it if he wasn't a fucking cunt.

Every step he took was quiet confidence, he knew he was the shit but he didn't want others to know, he had to keep up that weird aura.

He stopped and stood next to Elijah with a small smile on his face.

"Hi. I am Kegan and I will be this year's vice president," he sounded very dead and like he didn't want to be there.

"I am here to keep Elijah grounded in his dreams," he said and a few people laughed as his eyes swept over the crowd of people.

That's one way to make a terrible first impression as a vice president. 

People were whispering left and right as curiosity bloomed through the crowd.

"How did someone so boring make it up here? Because I'm hot and smart. That's why," he said. Good for him to be honest.

"He's so annoying," Nate said, damn almost forgot he was here.

"Tell me about it," I said. 

"I don't talk much and most of you know that. But I also hope for change in the school just like you guys and I hope to be welcomed with open arms just like Elijah," he said with a smile and people started clapping for him.

He is very interesting, to say the least.

The whispering started up again as people tried to make sense of the two of them standing on the stage talking.

Glances and stares, everyone is looking at them. Watching what they will do next.

Elijah stood there with so much confidence and pride no wonder why people like him so damn much.

And no wonder he is my boyfriend in the other world.

I looked at Nate who was on his phone.

I want to tell him about all that's been happening but I feel like he would believe me and I don't want to ruin my one chance at having a friend, a best friend at that.

Things were going to change. I had that feeling in the pit of my stomach.

My lonely boring life was going to start taking a change and I don't know if I was even ready for that.

Our school experience was also changing as our new leaders took their spots with a smile and a straight face.

Everyone was happy about Elijah but not so much Kegan. He was a dick so I understand that.

I feel like he is just misunderstood but at the same time, I feel like he is just a dick to be a dick sometimes.

They balance each other out which is good. We have dreams and reality and I respect it. Sometimes we all need to be grounded.

I watched as the two of them glanced at each other. They both smiled and laughed.

They had a plan for this school wasn't ready for.

Everyone's voice started to die out as the two of them scanned every row of students and waved to each of them.

Okay, Kegan. Bro is staring at me like I owe him money bro or killed his grandma or something.

He winked at me. I looked behind me. He shook his head and pointed at me.

He whispered something at Elijah. Damn, there goes any chance I had with him I guess.

I started to watch people pour out and I realized they said with could go.

I got my ass up and Nate followed behind me.

I walked into the hallway as people walked every which way trying to find their friends.

We walked into the cafeteria and there Kegan and Elijah walked.

Me and Elijah made eye contact and he nodded at me with this warm friendly look on his face. What did Kegan tell him?

Kegan's eyes glared at me with this nasty look that me shiver. Yuck I don't feel good. What is wrong with him bro?

I felt the world pause for a second as I saw them. Like we were in a movie or something.

Then it was alive again and I was walking with Nate.

"Kegan gets on my nerves," Nate mumbled under his breath.

"Dude you already said that."

"I-i know I just wanted to make sure you knew," Nate said.

"Why are you stuttering?" I asked laughing, he continued to stutter. Strange.

Nate pushed in front of me and I followed after him.

"It's not him," I heard a voice say. It was Kegan. 

Kegan was a mumbler so I was having a hard time hearing what he was saying.

Elijah wasn't, but he was also giving one-word responses.

Nate stopped in his tracks.

"What now?"

He was staring at Kegan.

"What's wrong with you?" I tapped him and he looked at me like I caught him doing something.

"Nothing."

"It's something because you keep talking about him and-."

"Drop it," Nate said and I did.

Kegan smiled at me again. 

"He's a fucking weirdo, I'll tell you that much, now let's go to class," I said and Nate nodded.