Aggro = Agression/Agressive = also hate or threat = Used to describe how much focus a monster has on a player. In dungeons, tanks are supposed to have all the monsters focused on them, not on all the other players. Generally, this is done as a percentage or level, where for example a healer healing someone too much, out-healing the health bar of a player, may pull the aggro away from the tank and to the healer, which, of course, is a bad thing. As a tank I have a range of skills to deal with this, but it’s always better if other people don’t do something that would pull the aggro away from me in the first place.

I can see that Fleur isn’t really happy with all the questions that her mom is asking me, though, I have to admit, they’re not as bad as the ones my mom asks... Her mom is just trying to figure out who I am and this is apparently the only way she knows how.

My mom? She’ll ask the weirdest stuff about people’s thoughts and feelings and things like that... She seems to never really leave her job behind when she meets new people. That, or it’s the only way she knows how to deal with people. Which is of course always a possibility too... Anyway, it tends to freak people out a little when she does it.

“Mom.” Fleur really has had enough by now. “We need to go. I still want to go to a couple of stores and then we’re going to eat somewhere before seeing the movie. We kind of need to go now.”

“Oh, yes, of course.” Fleur’s mom smiles. “It was nice seeing you again, and talking to you a bit. Have a great afternoon and have fun at the movies.” She turns to Fleur. “Be safe, don’t forget to turn on the light on your bike when you go home tonight.”

“Yes, Mom.” Fleur rolls her eyes a little. “I’m going to be fine.”

“Good. Bye, Alex. See you tonight, Fleur.”

“Bye.” Fleur and I laugh as we say the word at exactly the same time.

Fleur’s mom starts walking off and I turn to Fleur, a little nervous now. Sure, meeting her mom is scary, but that’s different from spending the day alone with Fleur...

“Where did you want to go?” I look her over.

“Oh, I need to pick up a couple of T-shirts that I’d seen online, but, after that, I’m free to go wherever.” She smiles a little. “I’m happy that you’re here.” Is that a little bit of a blush?

“I’m glad that I came.” I turn away, ready to start walking, then I turn back. “What store did you need to go to?”

“I need to go to H&M.” She points and I let out a laugh. Of course.

She starts walking and I follow her, now the nerves of meeting her mom are gone, I can focus a little better. Like, on the outfit she’s wearing, a skirt, a T-shirt and boots, army boots. It’s interesting and definitely not in a bad way. It’s a little more ‘rough’ than the dress she was wearing last time I saw her. It’s a different look and I’m actually curious what other outfits she’s going to come up with.

“Do you need anything from here?” Fleur turns to me, walking backwards for a moment.

“No. I’m good.” I’m just here for the fun, not for the shopping. I keep following her as she makes her way around the store, picking up things, looking at them, considering them. I may not be interested in the clothes, but it’s definitely interesting to watch Fleur’s face as she picks things up and puts them back down. I think I could watch this for hours, which I probably will be doing today...

***

The place where we’re having dinner is a small pizzeria. The light is a little low, but it’s cosy. And, since we’re a little early, there aren’t too many people yet, so we can easily hear each other as we wait for the pizza to arrive. We ordered a single pizza together, one with a lot of cheese and even more meat. We saw it on the menu and both went ‘yes’ at the same time.

Is it supposed to be this easy? Is finding someone you really like supposed to be easy?

It’s not like I’ve not dated girls before, but it was always more... complicated. They didn’t get me playing videogames. Or, they somehow couldn’t seem to understand that I usually wear jeans and a shirt but I also like wearing dresses, I just don’t do it often. I didn’t fit their idea of ‘butch’, while at the same time, I liked things that they considered ‘boy-ish’. It was confusing and tiring. Which is why it never worked out, I guess. But sitting here with Fleur, talking to her, this is so easy. This is so very easy.

And that scares me a little, it scares me how easy it is, because if it’s easy, doesn’t that mean we may be better off as friends, isn’t friendship supposed to be the easier one of the two?

“Alex?” Fleur waves her hand in front of my face.

“Yes?” I blink, looking at her with more focus.

“I was trying to ask you about the game.”

“What part?” Talking about Destruction of Elysium is easier, a much safer topic too.

“Raiding.” She looks at me levelled.

“Ah. What part of raiding?”

“The getting-killed-a-hundred-times part?” She frowns. “Isn’t that like... really confusing, and also expensive on gear repair costs?” She frowns a little more.

I shrug. “It’s the only way really to understand the mechanics, and the timing of them. Sure, you can watch videos about someone else explaining the mechanics, but when you’re the first one playing through a dungeon or raid, you’re the one who’s going to be writing those guides. And yes, the costs can add up, but with the item drops and the other stuff, you generally get more income from it than that you spend on repair costs.”

She nods. “Still... As a healer, your whole party wiping over and over again, it’s a little demoralizing.”

“True. It can get a little frustrating sometimes. Which is why I don’t like to keep doing it day and night...” I smile. “I like figuring out new raids, but I also love to do other things those days.”

“Like what?”

“I level some gathering or crafting skills, but I also like to do something away from the computer.”

“You do things away from the computer?” Her eyes glitter.

“Oi!” I can’t help but laugh. “Yes, I do. I have multiple hobbies that do not involve being connected to the internet, or even having a computer.”

“Like what?” She leans forward.

“I like reading. I have a lot of different hobbies that I’ve collected and all tried for like... a couple of weeks. Ehhh...” I have to think for a moment. “I guess reading is the one I still do the most.”

“What do you read?”

Do I dare to tell? “Romance novels. I’ve been reading a lot of paranormal romance novels lately.”

“Really?” Fleur laughs. “That sounds... I don’t know. I didn’t expect that.” She tilts her head a little. “I guess I expected you to read a lot of like... Hard science fiction or epic fantasy or something.”

“Hard science fiction, no. Epic fantasy, yes. Just not recently. It’s been a while since I read one. I like reading romance novels, they make me happy.”

“I guess I can see that.” She nods. “I also read romance novels, though, just contemporary stuff. I’m not into the monsters or shape-shifters or whatever. Give me a cute high school girl falling in love with a sexy sports-player or whatever any day.”

Girls falling in love with guys... Of course. It’s not that I read books that are much different from that, but just hearing her say it like that... I don’t know. It makes me really aware of our situation right now. I also mostly read about girls falling in love with guys, though I’ve been finding more books of girls falling in love with other girls, or guys falling in love with other guys. But, many of them are a little... explicit. A bit more explicit than I prefer to read. Does Fleur read the explicit stuff? Although... The way she reacted to her mother joking about R-rated movies, maybe not.

A guy comes to our table, smiling broadly. “Your pizza?”

“Thank you.” I sit back a little, taking my drink out of the way so he can put it on the table between us.

“Do you need anything else?” He looks at us both, a big smile on his face, and Fleur gives him a sweet smile as she shakes her head.

“We’re good.” She looks at me, still smiling. “Right?”

“Right.” I nod. “Thanks.”

“Have a nice meal. And if you need any of us, just look for us. We’ll be happy to help you with anything.” He bows a little, eyeing us, and then he walks off again.

This feels weird, I’m not used to guys looking at me like that, or someone I’m with. A little bit of anger sparks in my chest. Or maybe it’s just been too long that I was out without Troy by my side. I can’t really remember if the same happened when I was on dates before... With other girls... Or maybe it’s just a different dynamic this time. Or maybe we now seem old enough to get this type of attention from guys? It’s been a while since I actually went on a real date...

Is this even a ‘real’ date?

“Alex?” Fleur’s voice is teasing, but I do realise that she’s again trying to get my attention while I’m freaking out about a date that may or may not even be a date. A whatever-date I’m on, with Fleur, who I apparently keep zoning out as my mind keeps going in weird directions… Whoops.

“Sorry. I keep...” I move my hands, not sure how to explain or apologise.

Her eyes soften. “It’s okay. I was just trying to tell you that you’re on your way to pushing your phone off the table with your elbow.” She reaches over the table, grabbing the phone and putting it in the middle of the table.

“Thanks.” I look at the pizza in front of us. “It looks good.”

“It totally does.” Fleur grins. “Who’s gonna cut into it first?”

“You? This is your home town, and I did ask you to come to the movies with me.”

“Well, I was the one who came up with the dinner part, so you should cut it. You’re a guest in my home town.” She leans back, making it obvious she’s not going to do it.

“Fine.” I laugh and cut the pizza in half and then I cut a slice for myself. “Do you want me to cut for you too?” I look her way.

“Yes, thank you.” Fleur’s voice is lower, her cheeks a little redder than before and she swallows hard.

Oh. My heart beats louder, and I quietly cut off a slice for her too. I slide it onto her plate and sit down again, a little awkward and very aware of the mood.

We eat in silence for a while, both not saying anything and I don’t know if it’s because of something I said or did or if we’re just a little too lost in thought...

“Fleur?” I look at her, at the way she’s focusing on the pizza.

She looks up, softly smiling. “Yeah?”

Do you like me? Oh, hell, no, can’t ask that. “Thanks for inviting me here. I really appreciate it.” And that’s not much less awkward...

She nods. “Of course. I didn’t just want to go to the movies, it’s no use getting all excited just for two hours in the dark.” She smiles.

“Yeah.” I take a breath. “Of course.”

“And I like spending time with you. I don’t know many girls who like playing videogames as much as I do. And you’re probably even more dedicated than I am.” She laughs and the mood has lifted a little.

“Potentially.” I grin. “But I’ve been playing this game since release. So... What... I’ve got more than a year on you?”

She nods. “Yeah, sounds about right.” She takes another slice. “But I’ll catch up with you. I promise.”

“I’ll look forward to that. Tank and healer super duo. We’ll take on any raid, just the two of us.”

Fleur bursts out laughing, quickly covering her mouth and nose, then wiping at them with her napkin. “Don’t make me laugh like that. My water nearly came out through my nose.”

“Can’t help being too funny that I’m a danger to my surroundings.” It feels good, making her laugh like that.

Fleur rolls her eyes and shakes her head... Still laughing. “Right... Let’s pretend it’s that and not your overblown ego.”

“Ego... Funny... I can live with either.” I wink and Fleur wipes her mouth again as she shakes her head at me.

I love making her laugh like that, she gets even more cute...