Sure enough, Jack woke up the next day to an email from the company that owned Team Xtreme. The team had accepted an offer from an anonymous bidder, and the new owner wasn’t renewing any contracts. Jack was officially without a team. To make things worse, when Jack sought out Sebastian to see if he knew anything about the situation, Sebastian told him there was word going around that Jack had been blacklisted from joining any current pro teams.

Panic struck first. Jack paced around his room, gnawing at his nails. He would stop, shake his head, and go back to pacing, over and over again. He tried calling a few of his connections, but they all said the same thing: they’d been told not to involve him in League business anymore. Whoever had put a professional hit on his career had either major influence or serious money. If it was about money, he could call his dad, but he discarded the idea just as quickly. His dad would only tell him to come home and work for him instead.

Was it his attitude at Worlds? Had he gone too far? If he’d known this would happen, he would have restrained himself more. This was his life—the only thing he had ever wanted to do, the thing he had worked so hard to prove himself in. His parents didn’t expect anything from him, but he wanted to prove he was worth expecting everything from.

After being holed up in his room all morning, Jack ran into Ben, who had been looking for him. “Did you hear the news?” Ben asked, his voice trembling slightly.

Jack could only nod. His energy was gone, drained completely. He had no idea what to do.

Riley found them and looked from one desolate face to another, raising an eyebrow. “What’s going on, guys?”

“Team Xtreme has been sold and disbanded,” Ben explained when Jack could only slump into the couch without a word. There was no solution in sight, no reason to fight when there was nothing to fight for. Team Xtreme was, for all intents and purposes, dead. “I was offered a reserve position on another team, but rumors are going around that they blacklisted Jack.”

“It’s not a rumor….” Jack said so quietly that Riley barely heard him.

“I’m so sorry, Jack.” Riley sat down beside him, rubbing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You can stream with me until you figure out what to do.”

“Thanks,” Jack acknowledged his friend’s concern with a small, empty smile. His eyes flickered to Ben. “What are you going to do?”

Ben heaved his shoulders in a shrug. “I have no idea. I told them I’d think about it, but I didn’t work this hard to go back to being a reserve.”

In the camera room, Sebastian and Lexi sat alone, watching the screens. They had both overheard the conversation between Riley, Ben, and Jack. Sebastian, who had connections, had known about the whole thing the second he woke up this morning. But he also sat on some information that made things even more difficult.

“Why couldn’t those fucking idiots at least wait to announce it!” Lexi growled suddenly, so loudly that Sebastian nearly spilled his coffee. “How am I supposed to run a show when half the cast is depressed?”

“You’ll need to get their minds off it,” Sebastian said calmly. He hadn’t told her the other information he had yet—considering her reaction now, that was probably for the best. “You need to separate Jamie and Jack. It’ll be a bloodbath when Jack finds out Jamie is heading the new team.”

Lexi nodded, gnawing on her nails as she thought furiously. “We can’t do what we originally planned to do… Do you know who the new owner is?” She turned to Sebastian with an expectant look.

After a short hesitation, Sebastian shook his head. “I only heard it’s an ex-pro player. But with the amount of money they’ve used to buy both teams, I have no idea who could afford something like that. No one seems to know or even have a solid guess.”

“Well, shit,” Lexi sighed. She looked calmer now. The nail-biting had stopped, and Sebastian knew immediately she had made a decision about how to handle the situation.

“What’s your plan?” he asked her.

“Tommy is going to hate me,” she muttered, rubbing her forehead.

“More than he already does?” Sebastian asked carefully.

Lexi only smiled and nodded. “More than he already does.”

Nearby, Tommy was in the kitchen alone, oblivious to what was happening elsewhere. Jamie entered and came to a stop when she saw him. She looked around, checking for anyone else, and when she saw they were alone, she seemed to relax slightly.

“Morning,” Tommy greeted politely. He didn’t have a problem with Jamie, really. But he knew better than to let his guard down around her. His skill at being passive was a weapon when dealing with people like Jamie—people whose motives he wasn’t sure he could trust.

“Good morning,” Jamie replied. She hesitated for a moment, then seemed to make up her mind and pressed on. “Tommy, I want you to join the new Team OddlyPerfect as the coach.”

Tommy stared at Jamie in quiet confusion, his look demanding an explanation before he would deign to answer.

“This morning, Team Xtreme and OddlyPerfect were both bought by an anonymous buyer,” Jamie explained. “I’ve been offered the team leader and top lane position for the new team. The higher-ups think your playstyle is outdated, so they’re not renewing your contract—but I convinced them of the incredible value you’d bring to the team as a coach.”

With a poker face, Tommy looked Jamie in the eyes. “Alex?” he asked pointedly.

“He’s been offered a contract as a reserve. They’re bringing in other top players, but as a coach, you’d have a say in who gets to play. If you think Alex is the best, you could argue for him to be on the main roster,” Jamie answered. Seeing that Tommy wasn’t reacting as she had hoped, she continued, shifting her approach. “You don’t have to answer right away. Just think about it. I know you want to play, but coaching could be the key to keeping yourself in the scene—and influencing how this team is built from the ground up.”

Tommy was struggling to keep his composure. Coaching already? It would be a personal nightmare. He was still at the top of his game—he just wanted to play. He paused, gathering himself, and slowly gave a nod before leaving the kitchen to meet up with everyone in the living room.

“We’ve analyzed everyone's games and come up with the best strategy for each of you,” Lexi declared from atop a table, her usual command post. With her hands on her hips and an air of authority, she looked down at the gathered boys like a battlefield general. “Sebastian has your assignments, and I expect you all to give it your absolute best!”

Riley gave Jack a reassuring pat on the back before heading to collect her assignment. She, Alex, and Ben had been tasked with simply playing together, expanding their champion pools. Easy enough. Jack, on the other hand, looked like he had been sentenced to exile.

“I have to spend an entire day in a room alone with Tommy?” Jack’s voice was a mix of disbelief and impending doom.

Riley glanced at her friend, noting the way his fingers twitched slightly at his side. She had been worried about him since the news of his removal from the team. Even if he wasn’t showing it outright, she knew this was more than just a career shift for him.

“Do you think they’ll be okay?” Riley asked Ben and Alex as they watched Jack disappear into the room with Tommy.

Alex shrugged. “Not sure. Haven’t known Jack long enough to say.”

Ben, however, smirked knowingly. “It’s probably the best thing for them. They won’t be able to run away from an argument this way.”

Riley wasn’t so sure. Something about Jack had changed today, a shift she couldn’t quite put into words. She wasn’t convinced that the life of a streamer was truly going to make him happy.

A few hours later, Ben, Alex, and Riley were deep into their training session, their synergy growing with each match. By the time they wrapped up, Ben was laughing in surprise, Alex was grinning with excitement, and Riley sat back, satisfied.

“Man, how are you this good with off-meta picks? That’s insane,” Ben praised her.

Riley grinned. “It wouldn’t work against a pro, but I can take advantage of the current meta in casual games. Most players hyper-focus on a couple of champions, which leaves gaps in their knowledge.”

Alex leaned back, watching her with an appraising look. “You’re wasted on streaming. You’d be deadly on a pro team.”

Riley accepted the compliment with a small smile. She had heard it plenty of times before, but it still felt good to be recognized.

“Alright, I think we’ve given Lexi enough footage. Let’s unplug the cameras, grab some snacks, and watch a movie instead,” Riley suggested, stretching her arms lazily.

Alex went around unplugging cameras, Ben retrieved snacks and alcohol, and Riley picked out a random action film. As the movie played, their focus drifted to conversation instead.

“You must get people sliding into your DMs daily,” Ben asked, his face tinged pink as he lounged next to Riley.

Riley chuckled. “A fair share. It’s flattering, but not all that tempting.”

“So you’re not dating anyone?” Alex interjected casually, though his gaze held a hint of curiosity.

Riley snorted. “Nope. I had a partner before I got popular, but it got too much for him. People found out, and not only did he get harassed, but he couldn’t handle all the… unsolicited content in my inbox.”

“So, you’re straight?” Alex pushed.

Riley turned her head to look at him, amusement flickering in her eyes. “No. He was just my first crush.”

Ben blinked. “But if you haven’t been with women before, how do you know?”

Riley smiled. “You can’t know until you try.”

She reached for Ben’s shirt, moving slowly, giving him plenty of time to pull away. When he didn’t, she pulled him down into a kiss. His reaction was frozen, caught between shock and intrigue. When she pulled away, she turned to Alex, who had been watching with passive curiosity. He needed no invitation, leaning in with much more certainty and kissing her forcefully.

Sitting up, Riley grinned, taking in both of their stunned expressions. She grabbed Ben’s shirt and lifted it over his head, while Alex wasted no time discarding his own. The three of them tumbled into a mess of limbs, letting go of everything else.

Elsewhere in the house, in a much smaller and considerably less chaotic room, Jack and Tommy had long since finished their assigned matches. What had started as bickering had slowly simmered into silence. Sebastian had dropped off some snacks, and Jack had produced a hidden stash of beers from behind a dresser, much to Tommy’s amusement.

They drank in quiet contemplation before Tommy finally broke the silence. “What are you going to do now?”

Jack exhaled heavily. “Is there anything I can do? They blacklisted me. No top-tier team is going to take me. All I wanted was to play the game I love.”

Tommy felt an unexpected pang of empathy. He knew that feeling all too well. “I’m off the team too.”

Jack’s head snapped toward him. “What?! You just won Worlds. How could they toss you aside?”

Tommy smiled slightly at Jack’s outrage. “They want me to coach. But I still want to play.”

Jack hesitated before speaking again. His fingers tapped restlessly against his can, his mind working through something unsaid. Tommy followed his gaze to the cameras in the room and made a decision. He stood up, unplugged them, and sat back down.

“Sebastian and Lexi have enough footage. No need to give them more,” he explained at Jack’s questioning look.

Jack took a deep breath. “Gaming is the only thing I’ve ever been good at. My parents never cared what I did. Never expected anything, never told me they were proud. I just wanted to prove I could accomplish something on my own.”

Tommy nodded. “I grew up with my dad. My mom took the money when they split. I didn’t really know her or my sister. I wanted to go pro to make sure my dad never had to struggle again.”

Jack tilted his head. “You have a sister?”

Tommy exhaled, smiling tiredly. “You’ve met her. She’s the reason we’re in this room.”

Jack stared at him blankly before his eyes widened in realization. “Lexi?!”

Tommy nodded, unsurprised by the reaction. “Yeah. I made her promise to keep it quiet. I wanted to make it on my own.”

Jack huffed out a laugh before his expression darkened. “Whoever did this to us, I swear I’ll beat the shit out of them.”

Tommy chuckled at Jack’s fiery declaration, and for the first time, Jack found himself laughing along.

Later that night, Lexi peeked into the room. Jack and Tommy were asleep, leaning against each other, empty cans and snack wrappers scattered around them. Smirking, she snapped a photo.

“Oh, they are never living this down.”