Note: I'm sorry this is a day late. On Sunday, I was too tired to finish writing the chapter.

Leo woke to a knock at his door. He got out of bed, stretching as he yawned. He wanted to check his phone (unconsciously, he wanted to see if Niko left a message), but couldn't as the knocking continued. Clicking his tongue, Leo started to grow annoyed by the disturbance; he quickly put on his mask and left his room. 

He walked to the door and opened it without checking who was there first. On the other side was Cecil, holding a container. "Good morning, Leo," he greeted. 

Rubbing his face, Leo sighed, "Seriously, Cecil?" Does he only know how to keep pushing now? Leo thought. "

"I'm sorry. I really wanted to talk, and since you don't have any classes in person today, I thought I would stop by first," Cecil explained, scratching his cheek. "Can I come?" 

Leo thought for a few seconds before moving aside to let Cecil in. Cecil smiled and walked in. At least he masked his pheromones. Leo thought as Cecil passed him. 

Cecil walked towards the kitchen table and sat down, beckoning Leo over. Is this my house or his? Leo joined him. 

Cecil slid the container over and opened it. "I made you your favorite for breakfast." 

Leo peered inside and saw a breakfast sandwich with cut red-skinned potatoes. "Thank you," he said, grasping the top and closing the container. "I am not hungry right now, but I will eat it later." 

Cecil looked slightly disappointed but didn't express it. "Leo, I want to apologize for my behavior. I know I have been pushing too much." 

"If you knew, then why keep doing it?" Leo interrupted, causing Cecil to flinch guiltily. 

"I'm sorry. I only want us to go back to how we used to be. I feel that there is a wall between us." 

"Cecil," Leo sighed once more, trying to find ways to sugarcoat his words. "We are no longer kids. Do you understand what I mean?" 

Cecil frowned, not understanding what Leo meant. He shook his head. 

"I promised to take care of you, and I will keep that promise, but there is a line. To me, you are my childhood friend, and it will stay that way. Do you understand?" 

Cecil understood those words this time, even though he didn't want to. "We—" 

"Can stay close friends." 

"Leo," Cecil pleaded, "can we at least try?" 

"There is nothing to try. I will never change, and nothing can change my disorder. And if, by a miracle, I am cured, things between us would still stay the same. So, stop pushing because I don't want to break my promise by pushing you from my life completely." 

Swallowing, Cecil pushed back tears threatening to fall. He didn't want to stop, but he didn't wish for Leo to leave him. For now, he could compromise, but he won't stop trying. He knew he and Leo belonged together, just like his parents had told him ever since they were young. 

"Okay. I will stop. I don't want to lose you, Leo." 

"Good. You should hurry to school. I don't want you to be late for class. Later, I will message the group chat to see if I can set a time and day to meet with everyone to go out and eat." 

Cecil strainedly hummed, "Okay, I will see you on the game later." He stood up and walked to the door with Leo. 

Leo waved him bye and closed the door. He returned to the kitchen and glanced at the container, debating whether to eat the food. Cecil is a great cook, but he feels a particular aversion to eating his food. 

But, in the end, he gave in to eating it because he was hungry and didn't feel like cooking himself breakfast. 

After eating, the next few hours were uneventful. Leo went to his online classes, barely focusing as he kept glancing at his phone. He wondered if he should message him at one point, but would change his mind at the last minute. 

Ah, what is wrong with me? 

Once he finished his classwork and assigned homework, he had a few minutes left before he had to stream. He stood up, getting ready to grab a snack before streaming, when his phone vibrated. 

Like a man possessed, he quickly grabbed his phone and checked who had messaged him. When he saw it was Niko, he happily chuckled. 

[Mad Dog: Don't forget about my Guild going against yours after your stream.] 

[Masks: Will you really participate?] 

[Mad Dog: Already changing your mind?] 

[Masks: Never.] 

[Mad Dog: Then, yes, since I promised yesterday.] 

[Masks: And after?] 

[Mad Dog: You and me.] 

[Masks: Good to hear.] 

Leo checked the time and entered his gameroom while messaging Niko back. 

[Masks: I got to go.] 

[Mad Dog: See you soon, Zero.] 

The smile on Leo's face could not drop, almost like it was permanently stuck on his face. It hasn't even been long since they met, but he couldn't stop his growing smile every time he talked with Niko. 

He will set it aside and get through his streaming so he can talk to Niko again without worry. 

After he finished streaming, he logged into Starlight Journey and entered the Guild's room. "Hey, Captain!" Moon happily yelled, turning on his mic.

"Fuck, your voice is too loud," Ayn complained.

"Old man, are you hungover at six p.m.? Wait. You are too old to hear me, so let me yell my question." Moon chuckled.

"You fucking brat!" Ayn turned on his mic to yell.

"Stop yelling. We are not children." Snow popped in, getting a headache from both.

Owl walked in after him, reaching Zero, "Good afternoon, how was your day?"

"Fine." Zero answered, glancing around for the main team so they could get started. The faster they get to the fight, the faster he can see Niko.

Thoja and Sun soon entered, chatting on their way inside.

Seeing everyone present, Zero walked over to Snow and asked, "Has Viper (Vice-Captain of Fallen Guild) messaged you yet?"

Snow looked at his messages and nodded, "Yeah. He said to give them a few more minutes."

Hearing Snow, Moon started to complain, "A few more minutes? They are trying to stall! Vice-Captain, tell them to send the invite in ten seconds if they aren't scared."

"Then why don't we send it out? Are you saying we are scared?" Ayn questioned

"No! Why should we send an invitation to those losers? We aren't desperate." Moon argued.

"Fuck, stop yelling, you brat." Ayn felt like his ears were bleeding.

"Send them the invite." Zero told Snow. Snow nodded.

"Owl, Snow, Ayn, and Moon will do the first two rounds, then Thoja and Sun will replace Ayn and Moon for the last two." Zero gave them the line-up.

Everyone nodded as they saw Fallen Guild accepting their battle invite.

"Fuck, we really sent the invite."

"Moon, be good, or I will ban you for future fights." Zero stopped his rant.

"Ay, Ay, Captain."

Zero, Snow, Owl, Ayn, and Moon entered the battlefield.

There are two 5v5 PVP versions. One is an all-out battle, where you have to get rid of all the team members to win, while the other is more of a protect and destroy game, where you have to demolish the other team's tower to win (the players can resurrect in that version of the game).

Since they are fighting against their rivals, the Deserted Chaos Guild loves choosing the first option with them.

The battlefield was a vast rainforest, perfect for stealth. "Owl, I want you to follow Ayn while Moon, Snow, and I will move on our own. Let's spread out around the forest. If you need help, send your location in the chat."

"Can I move with you since you are the Captain? It is best if the Captain stays alive until the end." Owl asked. However, his real intention was to stick to Zero.

"No." Zero turned down his request. "Let's get moving."

Everyone nodded while separate. Ayn had to drag Owl with him.

As Zero moved through the forest, he pulled open the list of the other team's players. When he saw Grim's name, he smiled and opened his private chat, sending Grim his location.

He knew it was the wrong thing to do since they were in the middle of a battle, but he wanted to see him. Grim did not reply to his message, but he saw that Grim had seen it.

Zero stood by a random tree, leaning against it while waiting for Grim to show. However, he did hold his weapon in his character's hand, in case someone other than Grim appeared.

He heard footsteps growing near him, causing him to grip his weapon tighter. As it came closer and near him, Zero stepped from the tree, ready for anything when the noise stopped before him.

?

?

He froze at the sight that welcomed him. Fuck! Zero felt like he had entered a horror movie with the zombie-like summon standing before him. The peeling skin was too unattractive.

After a few seconds of him and the summon not moving, Grim popped out, sending a row of laughing emojis. "Your reaction is so cute." He grabbed the head of his summon, rubbing it. " Isn't it the cutest?"

"No." Zero slowly spoke, looking away from the zombie.

Grim laughed again, putting his summon away as he walked closer to Zero. They were barely an inch apart. "You know, sending the enemy your coordinates is a bad idea."

"Are you going to kill me?"

Grim pokes Zero's chest with his scythe, "Should I?"

Zero moved one of his swords on Grim's chest, "Should you?"

They held the same position, and nobody moved as they stared at each other.