“My parents hated it when the doctor diagnosed me with Pheromone Aversion Disorder. We were a normal family in the beginning. My parents were kinder to me, but couldn’t stand being around me once this happened. When I had to be locked in the hospital for two years to deal with the new changes, they barely came to see me. They hated that I was no longer normal in their eyes. 

And when I finally got out, and when hormones are supposed to start raging, I felt nothing. Even my ruts did nothing for me. Since they knew I couldn’t even give them a grandchild, they kicked me out and disowned me at a young age, and had another child, who would be normal since the disorder is extremely rare and cannot happen to a family twice. 

It hurt to be kicked out and disowned, but I got over it. But what hurts the most is that my parents don’t want me to interact with my little sister. They treat me like some stranger. I only want to be a big brother to her; I want to be there for my little sister. She shows how much she loves me, so why do they ignore it? Is it because I am not normal? What am I supposed to do?” Leo explained. 

Niko clicked his tongue. “You are perfectly fine and normal. The ones who are not normal are your parents. What kind of parents disown a child because they cannot stand pheromones and won’t be able to give them grandchildren? Do they think grandkids are what make a parent? And do they believe others would make fun of them if they knew about your disorder? Has anyone made fun of you because of your disorder?” 

“No,” Leo answered. No one said anything; people barely mentioned him wearing masks all the time. 

“See, there is nothing wrong with you. Your parents live in some weird fantasy, only believing in what they say is right when, in fact, it is incorrect. Baby, you shouldn’t let delusional people dictate what's normal and trust yourself more. And if you don’t want to trust yourself, trust me; put your faith into me, okay?” 

“I can try, but I cannot make any promises. It will have to take time.” 

“That is okay; I am not going anywhere. Also, I am sorry I cannot give you a legal solution to seeing your sister. But I can give an illegal suggestion.” 

Leo started laughing, “That is fine. We don’t need to go down that path any time soon. My parents still treat my little sister fine, minus not letting her see or mention me.” 

“Well, it sucks that you won’t take my suggestion, but at least you are laughing.” Niko smiled. It was good to hear Leo laugh rather than his somber tone from earlier. 

“Thank you for taking the time to listen to me. I am bad when talking to someone; I tend to bottle up my emotions.” Leo felt like he made the right choice by calling Niko. 

“You’re welcome, baby. I am always here; you don’t have to hold back with me. I promise, if you think something is crazy, just know I am crazier.” 

Leo laughed, “So I heard.” 

“You heard well. But, seriously, let me take care of you.” 

Leo blushed, “You are already doing enough.” 

“Hmm, it is not enough for me. But it is okay, I can wait. Things take time.” 

“Niko.” 

“Yes, baby.” 

Leo bit his lip, wanting to ask where Niko wanted to take this. He held back from truly mentioning a relationship because of their disorder; they might never work in person. But the question gnawed at him on the inside. The unknown scared him. 

But knowing the answer frightened him the most. 

“I've got to go. I am still parked at the park and don’t want anyone questioning why I am still here. I will talk to you after my stream and classwork.” He swallowed down his unspoken words. 

“Okay, I will talk to you soon, baby. Don’t forget about me.” 

“I won’t.” Leo ended the call. I could never forget about someone who takes over my mind 24/7. 

When Leo returned home, he started on his classwork, which he hadn’t finished yet before streaming. When the hour came to stream, he streamed for almost four hours before ending. Before logging into Starlight Journey, he opened his group chat and messaged his friends. 

[Leo: I may have found a place for us to stay and a vehicle to use. I will let you know in three days.] 

Leo wanted to make it seem like he was still searching, because quickly finding something might seem suspicious. 

[Noah: Awesome!] 

[Nathaniel: Don’t forget to inform your professors that you will be out.] 

[Noah: Stop trying to show off that you are no longer in school. No one is irresponsible like you.] 

[Nathaniel: Don’t make me come over.] 

{Ruben: Stop fighting. That is good, Leo. Once everything is secured, we should plan for the essentials.] 

[Jo: I think they are flirting again. Anyway, we need to ensure the food!] 

[Cecil: Do we need to decide who will be in the room together?] 

[Summer: I believe it will still be the same.] 

[Ruben: Yeah. Noah and Nathaniel, Jo and Summer, and you and I will room together while Leo will have a room to himself.] 

[Leo: Ruben, you can get the list started. Having some things in advance is best since some people can forget.] 

[Nathaniel: You are talking about me.] 

[Noah: And me.] 

[Ruben: I can get started on it.] 

[Leo: Thank you!] 

Leo left the group chat, setting his phone aside as he logged into Starlight Journey. He went to the last spot he and Niko were at. 

Grim was sitting on a boulder, swinging his character’s legs back and forward. When Zero appeared, he jumped from the boulder towards him (Z). “Hey, how was the rest of your day?” 

“It was good. Thanks again.” Zero responded. “What do you want to do tonight?” 

“You’re welcome, baby. Let’s take on some quest.” 

“Okay.” 

They rode into one of the closest villages. When they entered, they walked towards the post holding different-level quests. “Why don’t we do some quick low-level ones? I have an in-person class tomorrow morning, so I cannot stay up too late.” Zero suggested. 

“That is fine. We can start by finding a child's lost pet, sending letters between lovers, finding material for the blacksmith, and killing some monsters who are destroying a farmer's crop field.” Grim picked out a few quests. 

“That sounds perfect,” Zero said. 

They started the quests from the order that Grim listed. It didn’t take long to find the missing pet; a cat was chilling in one of the dark alleys in the village. The white cat reminded Zero of Grim’s cat. “This cat reminds me of yours.” He commented as Grim picked up the cat and returned to the child. 

“You look at my pictures a lot?” Grim teased. 

Leo splutters, trying to find the right words to say without embarrassing himself, but he can't find anything, so he goes with the truth. “Is it wrong to?” 

“Nope. I do the same, baby. You should post more. Or if not, just send me pictures. I accept any kind.” 

Zero turned red, feeling like he would never win against Grim. 

They continued with the quest, making their way to the last two. They ended up in the dark forest, looking for uncommon and hard-to-find mutated, poisonous plants because the blacksmith wants to make a venomous dagger. The plants rested in toxic areas, but the mutated ones were few. 

When they reach an area filled with poisonous mist, Zero and Grim are equipped with masks that protect them from the poison. They walked into the area, searching around for the plants, when they saw two mutated birds chewing on some mutated poisonous plants. 

Zero pulled out his sword, but Grim stopped him and summoned his undead. “Let them take care of it while we look for some snakes.” The summons entered battle and started fighting the mutated birds. 

They walked around the purplish green mist, looking for snakes. They found some high-level venomous mutated ones that were perfect material. Zero and Grim swiftly killed the snakes, collecting the dropped scales and teeth. Once they finished, they returned to the plant area and saw that the birds were dead. Grim unsummoned his undead as they collected the birds’ feathers and meat, then collected the needed plants. 

They left the forest, taking off the masks as they returned to the blacksmith to finish the quest. When they received their rewards, they ran off to the farmer. “We are almost done,” Grim commented. 

“Yep. This went faster than I thought. After we log off, do you want to talk for a while before I go to sleep?” Zero asked. 

“Do you really have to ask? I would love to, baby.” 

Zero pushed Grim’s character, but couldn’t do anything more without triggering the PvP mode. As they reached the farmer, a message popped up for Zero. 

“Zero.” The message read. 

Zero saw it was from Owl. When he glanced at the location, it showed Owl, Snow, and Thoja behind him. “S**t.” Zero cursed. 

“What happened?” Grim asked when he saw Zero cursing. 

“Behind us.” 

They turned around, and Owl, Snow, and Thoja were there, looking like they were doing their own quest. “You are still online?” Zero asked, trying to make it seem like he was not walking with Grim by his side. 

“Is that Grim?” Owl asked. 

“In the flesh or character,” Grim answered before turning towards Zero. “Do you want me to go ahead?” 

Zero nodded, “I'll be there soon.” Grim walked off, and Zero turned back to his friends. 

“Are you hanging out with Grim?” Owl pushed again, seeing that Zero wasn’t answering his question. 

“Nothing is wrong with that. Doesn’t Snow hang with Viper sometimes? Although Ayn and Moon complain about it.” Thoja commented, seeing that Owl was getting worked up. 

“But that is Grim. Did you forget who Grim is? Zero, answer me, are you hanging with Grim? Is this what you do when it shows you are still online? Is Grim Mad Dog?” Owl started throwing off many questions, typing at a faster rate. 

“Calm down,” Snow told Owl. 

Zero wanted to sigh from all of Owl’s questions. “Let’s go talk in the tavern.” 

“Will you answer my questions, please?” 

“Owl, let’s talk in the tavern.” Zero walked to the tavern, not waiting for his friends to follow. He knew they would. 

He wanted to scream; he did not expect to get caught. Zero wouldn’t lie and say he wanted some things to himself (he wanted Grim to himself). That is one of the leading hidden reasons why he didn’t say anything about hanging with Grim. 

How is he going to explain this?