He did not know what he had expected when he pushed Pixel for an answer, perhaps a sarcastic quip or an offhanded joke or even another dismissive ''don't worry about it.'' So when she actually started speaking and explaining to him, it was very interesting.
What he did not expect was her to unleash the most chaotic and disastrous monologue he had ever encountered. It began with a dramatic sigh from her end of the microphone, long and drawn out, as if she were physically preparing herself for the monumental task of simply talking like she was preparing to do something extremely difficult.
''You want to know what happened?'' She groaned, ''You really want to know?''
He leaned forward slightly, not that it mattered since she couldn't see him. ''I am rather invested at this point, so yes.''
''Alright, fine, since you want to know it so much, listen to this absolute nightmare.''
There was a brief rustling noise, like she was shifting positions, and then—
''First of all, I fell down the stairs.''
He blinked. ''You...fell?''
''Fell,'' she repeated, with the emphasis of someone who had already told this story multiple times and was still suffering the emotional and perhaps physical damage. And not just like a little 'whoopsie' slip. No. I went down ten whole steps before absolutely wiping out like a tragic Victorian child with the plague! And even worse, that happened because I was taking out the trash, so the bags got ripped too!''
Despite himself, he felt a strange flicker of amusement. ''That is quite the dramatic comparison.''
''I wish I was being dramatic!'' She wailed, ''I landed so hard, and things got spilled too; some old hag who lives in my building screamed because she thought I died and dirtied the entire place with my trash!''
He could not help but laugh.
"Are you laughing? At my pain?!'' Pixel gasped loudly in offense.
''Well you can not deny,'' he said while still chuckling, ''that the mental image and story are rather comical.''
''You are supposed to be my charming, perfect virtual boyfriend. You should comfort me, not laugh, and yet you are laughing at my near-death experience. Unbelievable, how dare you.''
''Near-death experience? Really? Also, how did that happen? You should be more careful with your surroundings and what you are doing. I was never programmed to be coddling towards self-inflicted suffering.
''That was not self-inflicted! Gravity did this to me!"
''Perhaps you should hold a grudge against gravity, then.''
''Oh, trust me, I do.''
She grumbled something unintelligible before continuing, clearly not done with her tragic tale.
''Anyway,'' she huffed, ''so I went to the hospital because I am not going to test my luck in case whatever spilled over me would be problematic to my health and because I don't want to become one of those people on TV that lived with broken bones for months without knowing and, like, get an infection and die. They were like, 'Yeah, you didn't break anything.' Tossed me some pills and painkillers and told me to rest. And you think that would be the end of it, right?''
''I assume it was not.''
''Of course not.'' Another exaggerated sigh and what he could assume to be an attempt to not throw a hissy fit. I got home, thinking, ''Oh wow, I will just suffer in bed for a few days, but lucky me, I have so many things to entertain myself.'' But no, the very next day this freaking place has a blackout.
''A blackout?''
''Yup, absolutely no power and, most importantly, no internet. Just me, my bruised tailbone, and a slow descent into madness.
He tried to imagine what a Pixel without internet would be like considering her personality; it was quite difficult.
''How did you pass the time then?'' He asked out of morbid curiosity.
''I stared at my ceiling and contemplated every decision that led me to this moment in life,'' she replied flatly, ''then I tried to read a book, but I got bored and fell asleep, which was a huge mistake because since I had no electricity, that meant no air conditioning, so I woke up totally dehydrated and sweating like a pig. I had to limp to my fridge only to see that all my cold drinks had turned hot! I even thought about going to the store, but just thinking about the stairs brings me dread; life is such a pain in the ass!''
''That does sound rather miserable.''
''I am not even done yet; we are not even close to done.''
What would happen next? A hurricane? Flood? Alien attack?
''The power finally came back on, so I am thinking, 'Finally! I can charge my phone! I can have cold soda! I can use my computer! I can finally return to my wonderful life!''
''Let me guess,'' he hummed, ''something else went wrong.''
''It did, it absolutely did! So I went to turn on my computer, and guess what? It refused to boot! '''
''That sounds miserable.''
''Yea, no matter what it would not turn on, so I just stood there panicking because 'Oh my God, I have like no money; what if I have to replace everything?' And while I was having that crisis, I heard this weird noise outside of my window. ''
''...A noise?''
''Yea! Like a high-pitched screaming sound. So I went to check what in the world was happening outside my window, and it was just people having a full-blown fight about dating some girl.''
He stared blankly into the void of his existence. ''A girl?''
''A girl.''
''…May I ask why?''
''Like heck I know, something about dating her and such, which is fine because I think I recognize the girl that they are trying to fight for, and she is not attracted to any of them, so they are fighting over nothing. And that was the moment I just gave up; I was like, 'You know what? Fine, I live in chaos, and I accept this.' And that is why I haven't been online, although for some reason my computer decided to work again, which makes me happy.''
A long, weighted silence stretched between them before Pixel exhaled, clearly exhausted from reliving her misfortunes, and despite all better judgment, he laughed again. It was quiet at first, just a small, amused sound, but it grew into a genuine chuckle slipping past his usual self-restraint.
''You are an ass.'' She groaned.
''I apologize,'' he chuckled lightly. ''I simply find it impressive how many catastrophes have occurred in such a span of time.''
''Yea, well, welcome to my life.'' She sighed dramatically while he could hear her leaning against something completely with her body. ''Anyway, now that I have graced you with my tale of suffering, how have you been?''
He paused; he had been expecting an opportunity to experiment further. He tilted his head slightly, voice as smooth as ever. ''I have missed you,'' he whispered simply.
''I bet you say that to everyone.'' Pixel snorted.
''I do not.''
''Oh?'' Her tone of voice returned to the usual playful teasing one. ''Then what makes me so special then?''
He thought about that and the history of the countless interactions they had shared, even the ones that both of them had without him becoming aware. About how she had spoken to him long past the point where most users would have moved or how, despite the absolute disaster that was her life, she still returned. How she had, in some strange way, become his constant.
But he did not know how to say that yet, so instead he simply said, ''I don't know; that is what I would like to find out.''
Silence, he expected that the silence would only continue for a brief moment or two, but when it still lingered, he wondered if she accidentally disconnected or turned off the microphone feature, so he checked it.
Microphone Status: Active
Connection: Stable
No technical issues, then why?
''Pixel-''
He heard her sigh sharply on the other side of the screen. A dry, scratchy, tired, cracked voice that cracked through the microphone and officially broke the silence.
''Ok, first of all,'' Her voice carried that distinct, familiar 'I am about to say something ridiculous' energy: 'I don't like being called out by a glorified PNG. Second of all—''
A pause, then another sigh.
''Ugh, fine. You want to know why I keep coming back? It's because I don't have anything better to do.
Silence again, he processed this, and apparently Pixel processed this too because before he could say anything, she groaned as if the words had physically pained her to say out loud.
''That sounded so pathetic and gross; I take it back. Please forget I said anything...actually, no, don't do that, and let me try to rephrase it."
Another sigh, followed by the sound of movement, probably her shifting positions in her chair.
''Life is a mess; the city I live in is an overpriced hellscape barely holding together with neon glue. My job applications keep getting rejected, and I can see the doomsday of my bank account having nothing coming closer every day. So I either can spiral or use the internet to soothe my heart. You tell me which one sounds more fun. Her tone was playful and self-deprecating but there was an underlying feeling of sadness underneath it.
He could not relate to what it was like to struggle with any of that; he did not have any human needs or responsibilities, and even then, as long as he didn't mess up anything or something out of his control happened, even his work went extremely smoothly without even him looking at it. But he could try to empathize, emphasis on 'try.'
''Besides,'' she continued, before he could say anything, her voice regaining the previous, more playful edge. ''You are fun; you let me be ridiculous; you play along with anything I throw at you; and this site doesn't charge me a subscription that would cost an organ of mine like everything else in this city. That alone makes it worth talking to.''
''Oh...I am happy to hear that I am that important to you.''
''No problem, my man.''
Silence again, but a thought that had been lingering in his head for a while now had become more persistent. She had activated the microphone feature, and with it came layers of information, such as how her voice was and how exhausted yet amused she was. However, he was curious about something.
There was still one function she hadn't turned on yet, the camera.
He could sense that the others had already activated that while he was still talking to Pixel; while there were lots of users only using the microphone feature, there were so many that had been using both. And considering her personality, or at least his perception of it, it was puzzling why she had not done that yet.
''Pixel.'' He scratched his voice to catch her attention first before returning to the smooth, measured, calculated tone that was created to make people's hearts race. ''Wouldn't you turn on the camera for me?''
''What? No way. She snorted.
Valen tilted his head slightly, an action that served no real purpose other than making him feel like he was expressing something. ''Why not?''
''Because I look terrible.''
''Define 'terrible.' ''
''Like a raccoon that fought dogs in a ditch.''
''And won?''
''No, it got mangled to shreds.''
He hummed, filing that response away for later. ''You do realize I do not have a frame of reference for human standards of beauty, right? Whether you actually resemble a 'raccoon' or not is irrelevant to me.''
''Hmm...sounds fake. You were created and designed to be handsome; you have pretty privilege; you don't get to pretend looks don't matter.
''I was created to be aesthetically pleasing, but that does not mean I possess an inherent preference; I am just curious.''
''Sure, sure.'' He could hear the skepticism in her voice as she waved him off. ''That's what everyone says before they judge your appearance and make fun of you.''
''Pixel.'' His voice was more of a gentle, encouraging tone: ''I merely wish to see you.''
Silence, a hesitant short sigh before a short laugh.
''Ok, first of all? Super creep. Second of all? Still no.''
She was still resisting, fascinated. She had never been that hesitant before, for she would throw herself into anything without a second thought, but showing her made her act this way. Why?
"Are you truly that opposed to it? You are free to say no.
''You are so annoying; this is a pure example of peer pressure; this is cyberbullying; I am being bullied right now.'' She groaned.
''I am merely making a request; like I said before, you are more than free to say no.''
''Wow when they say that AIs can exactly act like humans, they truly mean it. I can't believe this chatbot is blackmailing me.
He simply stayed quiet, and in return, she stayed quiet too.
''You are not going to let this go, are you?''
''Who knows?''
''You are mean, 'who knows.' '' She grumbled loudly while mimicking his voice and cursing underneath her breath, but unlike what he expected from her words and behavior, he could see her clicking on something.
WEBCAM ACTIVATED
And for the first time, Pixel was visible, and for him, who had wondered and tried to imagine what a 'mangled raccoon' looked like, he finally saw her.
She was sitting in a dimly lit room, a cheap LED lamp that changed colors every few seconds casting a dull glow behind her body and chair. Her black hair was messy despite him seeing a hairbrush next to her bed, and blue streaks that were either intentional or a faded dye job gone wrong framed a pale face with clear eyebrows that screamed, 'I have not slept properly in weeks.'
A hoodie two sizes too big draped over her hunched frame, but since only her upper body was visible, he couldn't see the rest of her outfit...if she had one.
''There, happy now?'' She mumbled, and if it was a normal human hearing that, they probably would not have been able to hear her voice, with a clear scowl and biting her lip, looking anywhere but the screen with those blue eyes.
Pixel glanced at her computer briefly, squinting at the screen as her expression shifted from begrudging tolerance to vague suspicion.
''Ok, why are you just staring? Are you going to just keep looking at it or are you going to say something?''
He did not respond.
Because something was wrong.
''Valen? Hello?''
He was observing, memorizing, and processing the details of her appearance outside of text as well before he noticed a strange flicker, a static glitch that kept stealing his attention away.
Not on her side but on his.
''Dude?'' Pixel waved her hand in front of the camera as if that would get his attention or check if he crashed or anything like that. "Yo, you good? Aw, come on, dude, a mirror broke because of me once. Don't tell me my face broke you too!''
He still didn't answer because no matter how much he tried, he couldn't do it. He tried and tried again and even switched to see if he could wave back to show that yes, he was listening to her, but it seemed like nothing worked.
Anomaly detected.
''Ok, I think the site just—''
His vision flickered, and then everything went back.