Note: Sorry it took long; yesterday, I spent a long time cleaning and rearranging furniture, so I am completely sore. Then I wrote this chapter earlier, only for it to fucking delete, and Google Docs could only recover half, so I had to rewrite it again. Enjoy!

Leo walked into the university and to the spot where he and his friends met. Once he reached the area, everyone was already there, waiting for him.

Cecil quickly turned around, smiling as he ran towards Leo. As he came closer, a whiff of Cecil's pheromones passed through, causing Leo to almost gag. Even though the mask covered most smells, if the pheromones were potent, the mask would do nothing.

Before Cecil could grab him, Leo stepped around him, covering his nose, "How many times do I have to say that you need to control your pheromones?"

Cecil slowly followed Leo's steps, almost pouting, "Ah, sorry, I must have forgotten to use the spray blocker." He pulled out a bottle and sprayed himself at a slow pace, almost like he was reluctant.

Leo ignored it, sitting between Ruben and Jo, not giving Cecil a chance to sit next to him. "Hey." He greeted Ruben and Jo.

Jo waved her hand, busy playing a shooting game on her phone. She was more obsessed with gaming than he was. Ruben hummed, "Did you eat yet?"

Before Leo could answer, Cecil quickly said, "If not, I made extra muffins." He pulled out a container of muffins from his bag.

"I already ate." 

Hearing about food, Jo paused her game and grabbed Cecil's container before he could put it away. "Oh my god, Cecil, you are the best!" She took off the lid and grabbed one, eating it. 

"Fuck, these are good." Jo devoured another one. 

Cecil swallowed, his hands awkwardly hanging in the air as his ears turned red. "Thank you. I handmade them." He scratched his cheek. "Eh, if you guys want to try one, you can." 

Even though his sentence included Ruben and Leo, they knew he meant Leo. 

"It is okay, I don't want to overeat since I am streaming after class." Leo declined. 

"Jo might bite my hand if I took a muffin," Ruben commented. 

"Damn right." Jo agreed, taking her third, or it could be fourth, since no one was watching, muffin. 

Cecil strainedly smiled, "Haha, okay." 

The air lay awkwardly around them, minus Jo eating and not caring about reading the room. 

Ruben tried to save the atmosphere: "We still have approximately 36 minutes before class starts. Should we kill time by taking a short stroll?" 

"That would be nice." Cecil quickly responded. 

"Sure. I need to digest these muffins." Jo closed the now-empty container and handed it back to Cecil. 

Before Leo could agree, he felt his phone vibrate. He pulled out his phone and saw a message from Niko. 

[Mad Dog: What time do you stream?] 

[Masks: Are you going to watch me? Or do you want to know when my stream will end so I can play with you right after? 

[Mad Dog: Do you usually question everything, or is it just when you think about me?] 

[Masks: My class ends at 12:30, so I start streaming at 1:15.] 

[Mad Dog: That is all you had to say initially.] 

"Who are you messaging?" Cecil asked, louder than usual, breaking his focus. 

Leo turned off his phone and pocketed it, unconsciously wanting to hide who he was talking to. "No one. I was checking something. Do we still have time for a walk?" 

"Yeah," Ruben answered, standing up. Cecil still looked skeptical, not believing Leo but following Ruben in getting up. 

Jo and Leo joined as they left the area for a short stroll before class. 

Leo unconsciously touched the spot where he had pocketed his phone while Cecil secretly watched him, feeling uneasy. 

Leo left the room when class ended, checking his phone for the time since class ended a bit later. He waved bye to his friends and went to one of the school doors that led outside when a tug on his sleeve caused him to stop. 

He turned around, seeing Cecil. "I don't have time to talk, I need to go." Leo almost sighed. 

"I feel like we haven't had time to ourselves. Remember when we used to walk and bike around Leeway Park? Why don't we do that anymore?" 

Leo removed Cecil's hand, "Think back to how you have been acting lately, and you will see why we don't do that anymore." 

"But," Cecil began to pout, but Leo cut him off as he glanced again at the time displayed on his phone. 

"Look, Cecil, can we talk about this another time? I do need to go." Leo quickly left after speaking, ignoring how Cecil called after him. 

He knows it is rude of him, but he needed to stream, seeing how that is his job. 

When he reached home, he instantly entered his gameroom, logged into Epic Streams, and started his room while putting on his headset. 

Once he went live, 4,230 people entered the room and continued to rise steadily. 

〔Marks, you were three minutes late, you know what that means!〕

〔We get to choose the game he plays today!〕

〔Oh! Oh! Let's do Horror. Isn't Halloween coming up?〕

〔Marks, why were you late?〕

〔Yeah! We were waiting for you!〕

〔 Horror! Horror! Horror!〕

"Haha," Leo laughed, his voice resonating in the turned-on mic, "to honor the agreement, I will play a horror game for all of you." 

Once he agreed with what his viewers wanted, he received donations of Rockets ($10) and Lollipops ($5). 

〔Ahhh! I am ready for any jump scares.〕

〔I am turning off all the lights in my room and closing the curtains.〕

〔I told my parents to ignore it if they hear me screaming.〕

"Thank you, everyone. You do not need to donate; I will always honor my viewers." Leo thanked them as he looked through his computer game file for a horror one he downloaded but hadn't played yet. 

He selected one, "I will play Don't Fall Asleep." 

〔 Isn't that game a psychological horror?〕

〔Ah, I watched another gamer play that game. It is so creepy.〕

〔No spoilers!〕

"Please, no spoilers. I'm going into this game blind, everyone." Leo echoed one of the viewers. 

Once he clicked the game and started it, Leo began to focus, barely paying attention to the comment section and donation alerts. But he always remembers to add commentary to keep his viewers entertained. 

Two hours passed before he finally finished the game. In the ending, the character walks off into the sunset, and the credits enter the scene. 

Leo cracked his neck, grabbed a water bottle he kept around the table, and took a big gulp. "Did everyone enjoy?" 

〔It was so scary!〕

〔Every time the ghost would appear, I kept jumping.〕

〔I am happy we got the happy ending. Good game, Masks!〕

This time, a few people donated Spaceships ($50). "Thank you for the Spaceships! I have time for another horror game. Is everyone still in a spooky mood?" 

〔Yes!〕

〔Give us more ghost!〕

〔Hurry up and play!!〕

After streaming for another hour and 47 minutes, Leo finally ended his live, telling his viewers bye. Once the room was closed, his phone vibrated. Leo stretched before checking his phone. 

[Mad Dog: Finished right? Come join me.] 

[Masks: Were you watching?] 

[Mad Dog: Does it matter?] 

Leo couldn't stop the smile forming on his face. 

[Masks: No. I am logging in right now.] 

[Mad Dog: I am waiting for you at Fae River.] 

Leo entered Starlight Journey, running towards Fae River. "Grim!" He called when he grew near. 

"Zero, so good of you to join me." Grim greeted. 

"What are we doing today?" 

"Let's do some dungeon runs. I would suggest some 3v3 PVP battles, but I know you don't want your Guild finding out about us." Grim suggested. 

Zero laughed, "You make it sound like we're in a secret forbidden affair instead of being rivals." 

"Which sounds more fun?" Grim teased. 

"I mean, either way is a secret." 

"You're no fun," Grim playfully clicked his tongue. "Let's go. I heard that there are two dungeons around here."

They played for three hours, stopping atop a mountain and sitting towards the edge as they watched the sun go down. The wind picked up during the game, causing their characters' clothes to flow. 

Grim and Zero were silent for a few minutes, enjoying the view. After another minute, Zero asked, "Are we also playing together tomorrow?" 

"Not scared of me anymore?" Grim smiled. 

"Like you said before, it is a game. I enjoy playing with you, although your summons are eye-opening." 

"I find them cute." 

"You would say that." 

Grim pushed his character to lie down, "We can." 

Zero joined Grim's character in lying down, staring at the sky. His stomach felt weird. He wondered if it was because he hadn't eaten in a few hours. Zero should eat, but his fingers would freeze each time he wanted to tell Grim it was time for him to log off. 

"Then, tomorrow night? My Guild is doing 5V5 PVPs tomorrow afternoon." 

"Hmm," Grim mischievously smiled, "I should ensure my Guild matches yours." 

"Will you be there?" 

Usually, during PVPs, when Zero's Guild and Grim's would match, Grim is not present. He also barely appears on raids. It is usually his Vice-Captain who takes over. 

Grim pushed his character to lie down, staring at the changing sky. "Do you want me to be?" 

Zero joined him. "I do." He quickly typed. 

"Then, your wish is my command." 

They stayed in the same position for almost an hour, enjoying the quiet scene before logging out. Leo stood up, stretching as his stomach growled. 

He walked into the kitchen, made himself food, and then got ready for the night, relaxing and watching TV. 

Once it got close to bedtime, he pulled out his schoolwork, finishing it when the clock hit one in the morning. He yawned, grabbing his phone as he went to bed, feeling his phone vibrate. 

Leo could not stop his spreading smile as he saw it was Niko. 

[Mad Dog: Sleep yet?] 

[Masks: Not yet. I just finished my homework.] 

[Mad Dog: Ew. The best thing about not being in school is that there is no schoolwork to do.] 

[Masks: I only have a year to go. But I might do a summer semester to finish faster.] 

[Mad Dog: What degree?] 

[Masks: Mathematics.] 

[Mad Dog: Aw, you are a nerd, how cute.] 

[Masks: I may love math, but am far from a nerd.] 

[Mad Dog: Aw, that sucks, and here I was imagining you with oversized glasses while carrying math textbooks.] 

Leo laughed as he yawned, cutting it short. He rubbed his eyes as his vision slightly blurred. 

[Masks: I am getting tired.] 

[Mad Dog: Trying to get rid of me already?] 

[Masks: No. I find it hard to keep my eyes open.] 

Leo watched Niko typing, his eyes barely wanting to stay awake. When the message came through, he saw it was a voice one. He instantly clicked it. 

"Good night, Masks." Niko's voice sounded different from how Leo imagined it. His voice was low and velvety, sounding way better than Leo thought. 

He played it two more times as his ears grew hot. Leo bit his lip, barely understanding his feelings. He quickly sent Niko a good night, turning off his phone as he turned over. 

Leo ignored how warm he felt, closing his eyes as he drifted off to sleep.