"AGH!!"
Pints of simulated pain shot through the back of my skull as darkness consumed m-
Wait… He missed? Both shots? And from such a close distance? He really was an imbecile. Without a moment to squander, I spun around and grappled the already stumbling, tall, blue-skinned, bald android to the dusty, now bloodied, concrete floor. Placing my barrel between his cracked lips, seeing the simulated saliva and blood crawling through his teeth onto my crimson red gun, I couldn't help but say it. I had to say it.
"You're about to see red."Never gets old.
With the hacker now stuck in the respawn black screen of death, his profile window appeared above his virtual corpse, allowing me to complete my mission. Reaching into my bag, I pulled out a small, copper device akin to a flash drive, and pressed the one button on it.
"Account discontinued. All Gigaroos, gear, and other items returned to the accounts he transferred them from. Thankyou for the- blah blah- reward funds uploaded to your accou-"
Bing-
"I'm cashing in on some of that too, right?" My face lit up as a familiar fruity scent crept up behind me. Underworldquen04 pressed her warmth against my back, wrapping her arms around my torso, akin to a constrictor… akin to a lover's daydream, or in my case…nightmare.
"Well? How much am I getting for saving your ass this time?" She pressed harder, both with her warmth and her greedy lips.
"First of all, I had it under control. Secondly, that guy was an imbecile. I'm amazed he even knew how to log on to his own account." I lied. Well, sort of. He was an imbecile.
"Under control?! Pfffft! Hahaha. Right. Two seconds later and you'd be respawning. If I hadn't taken those extraaa precise shots from next door-" With all her rambling, she seemed to be in a good mood. Shocking, considering what had happened the night before, or didn't happen, rather.
"Look, granny, you may be older than me, but I'm a capable gir- guy. I can handle myself." Smooth comeback, but keeping up the gender façade had been taking its toll. I wasn't sure how much longer I could go along with it… But could I have really broken the truth to her? I wondered how she'd react.
"Wha- I'm literally just two years older than you! And look who's talking. Didn't you just turn 21!? You're barely old enough to play the game!" I couldn't tell her. Not at the risk of this, of us… I couldn't give up the times we had. The banter, the fun, the love… But even after saying all that, I wondered… Could I tell her?
"So how come you logged on so late?" I asked as we walked along the city. The question was more for me than her, really. I mean, anything to distract myself from not only dealing with those petulant intrusive thoughts, but also having had to give up half the reward money. Not that she didn't deserve it.
"Late? Was I? Well… I just had to deal with some research and stuff. Send out some packages, and, well, you know? The usuuuuall." She held onto my arm, letting her crimson red hair freely rest on my shoulder as we strolled Serenity.
"I should tell her," my consciousness pleaded with me.
"Hey… I've been meaning to- well. I've been wondering if you'd be-"
"You wanna meet up in real life too?!" with the most excitement I've seen painted across her digital face, she blurted out the exact words I was actively NOT thinking, constricting me even more than her nightmare counterpart had earlier that morning.
"Oh… uh, well, I dunno." The disappointment brewing on her face hurt more than the squeezing.
"You're lying." She stopped in her tracks, allowing her arms to slip out of mine.
"She knows… She has to know. She's just trying to meet up to confirm it." Anxiety whispered its bitter ideas into my heart.
"Whateverrr. I'm sure you'll change your mind soon." She continued on our path of aimless strolling, not bothering to latch onto me again. Being led by nothing but our hearts, thousands of silent steps later, we eventually came across our favorite park. Seated on our individual swings, we quietly embraced each other's presence. I know I've said this a million times, but her beauty truly swallowed my mind. Even as she sat, doing nothing more than fiddling with the misspelt dog tag I'd gotten her, I could hardly take my eyes off her.
"I can get you another one." Underworldqueen04. It wasn't so hard after a couple hundred attempts. I'd have engraved her real name, but I… didn't know it. Although, one time she mentioned her name was the same as some bitter fruit. Not that she didn't trust me… and she shouldn't have, but the Devs heavily frowned upon sharing your identity or location in Serenity.
"No, it's fine as is. Reminds me of why I love you. You klutz." She finally hugged me, helping me forget she used the word "klutz" in 2032.
"I really want to meet you and believe me, I'd even kill to be with you, too. Kill in Serenity, I mean! Hahaha! But… I can't leave my wife. She'd probably beat me up for doing that. Haha." I plotted course for a carefully crafted excuse.
"She hurts you?"
"What?"
"Does she hurt you?" My wife? No. She didn't exist. My husband, however, hadn't even laid a finger on me in lust, let alone in anger; and if we're being all honest in my thought process, here… I'm the one who hit him one or two times. Not out of rage, though. Just… regret.
"Well, not… not really. Just one or two times, but it wasn't bad or anything!" I technically wasn't lying, since she'd been talking to me posing as my husband, I figured. It wasn't lying, right?
"…" Her furious, digitalized face said everything her lips could not.
"I was kidding! And I thought you could take a joke. I guess you only give them ha ha… ha…" I stumbled to lighten the mood.
"… That's not something to joke about." she dropped the dog tag from her hands.
"Sorry…"
"I'm not mad. It's just. You love me, right?"
"Mhm."
"Well then, it's settled. Leave your wife!" She excitedly hopped off of her swing and settled herself on my lap, allowing her familiar fruit bowl of a scent to wrap itself around me.
"I'd kill to be with you, too." She whispered gently into my ears.
"Huh?"
"Earlier. You said you'd kill to be with me, right?"
"Oh… oh yeah."
"I love you."
"Yeah, I know."
"Okayyyy Han Solo. So since you know that soooo well, I'm guessing… you'll break up with her?"
"I…can't"
"Why not?" even pouting during an argument, she still wore her cute aura.
"Can we just… talk about something else?"
"Hey! I literally got rid of my ex for you; why can't you do the sam-"
"'Got rid of?' Didn't he get hit by a drunk driver?"
"That's my EX, ex. Not the last one. I broke up with him a couple days ago."
"Oh, sorry."
She got up off of my lap, sighed, and turned her eyes towards the sun. With her back facing me, I wondered if that moment was the ideal one to stab her with the truth. With my betrayal. My lies.
"Hey… would you still love me no matter what? What if I were awoman?"
The question stubbornly stapled itself upon the tip of my tongue, so to not leave my mouth. I just… couldn't ask her.
"I know. I know you-"
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
For the first time in my year of playing Serenity, I received a second daily anxiety alert, immediately launching up from my swing, nearly collapsing to the ground on my way up. "Wha- Woaw. Down, boy! Hahaha! Are you hiding somethi- Pffft. I've never seen you so- Ha hahaha!!" The look on my face must have been priceless seeing as she couldn't complete her sentences. I nervously laughed along.
"Well, what I was sayingggg… is I know you wanna ditch her. I get it. You want to, but can't. But we should at least be able to meet IRL."
"Isn't the next grounding in a week?" She had a point. The grounding period; Serenity's devs shut down all the servers for two weeks every other month to ensure players didn't forget to… well, to live. Of course, any games as realistic as Serenity had to be rated 21 and up, regardless of the content, but even we adults needed that reality check once in a while. Especially, we adults.
"I dunno… hey, I gotta go." I couldn't take it. The lies, the arguing… the guilt. Even her fruity scent, I couldn't get enough of. I just… needed space. I needed to let my mind go off until it arrived at the answer.
"Again?! It's not even 12 yet! Why can't she leave us alone?! She's so fuc-" I'd never seen her so… furious before.
"Sorry. I'll be online tomorrow. Promise. I'll spend all day with you too. So just please calm do-"
"It's fine. Sorry for yelling."
"Are you mad at me?"
"I'm not mad at you. I gotta log off too, anyway."
"Really? Uh, well, guess I'll see you tomorrow, then?"
"Yup. You'll see me tomorrow. Promis-" She faded away alongside her fruity scent and the rest of her promise. I vanished soon after.
"You're off early." Mr. Chef showcased his hidden talent for stating the obvious as I made my way down the stairs. "Yeah, well, you're up early." I countered. He laughed while stirring a pot in the kitchen. Curry, again. And definitely reheated from the night before. Not that it bothered me.
DING
"Oh! Can you finish this up for me? I gotta get the door."
"Sure." Watching him skip towards the front door would have had anyone thinking he'd been off to greet his prom date. And go figure. A woman, maybe around our age, stood outside the door. But even then, all I could think was…
"Maybe I'm the horrible one."
My husband was the last person on earth who'd be unfaithful. He wouldn't even play dating sims. Well, then again, the AI in those came across as living women, anyway.
Ah, a delivery woman.
By the time I set our plates on the table, he'd already made his way back, carrying two somewhat small cardboard boxes with him.
"What'd you get?"
"…."
"Babe?"
"Oh, I'm just a little confused. I-" He put the first box down on the couch and sat on the chair beside me with the other box in hand.
"- didn't order this. But it's addressed to me."
"Any sender address?"
"Nope."
"Hmm… Wellllll open it! Let's see what it is!" Curiosity killed the cat; we weren't cats.
"Huh, must be some sort of promotional thing." He guessed as we peered inside the box, only to find under an endless layer of confetti paper, a jar filled to the brim with olives.
"Must be…" I figured he was right. He worked in the restaurant, after all.
Even with the whole cheating girlfriend scenario on my mind, no amount of distractions or lies could deny me the truth. The curry tasted much better than the night before. But I guess that didn't come as a surprise to either of us; fridges did that now.
"This really is your best cooking yet. Can we do this every week?"
"We, huh? Hmmm. How about every other day, IF you promise to help me cook?" he grinned. "Fine." Damned face muscles, forcing their blushes upon me.
"Oh, I gotta go finish up some work for a minute. Can you clean up here, or-"
"I got it, I got it. Thought you were on leave, though?" He stumbled, taking the boxes with him.
"Yeah, I just gotta finish up stuff for the boss lady. Shouldn't be too long!" He hurried up the stairs and out of sight.
"Boss lady?" I could have sworn the restaurant owner was a man.
After spending half an hour cleaning up after Mr. Chef, I made my way up to our room for a very much-needed shower. Or, at least, I would have had one, if I hadn't noticed the game room's door.
"How?! I shut you clo-"
"Oh, just in time. Come check this out!" Mr. Chef lunged out of the shadows of the game room, grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the void with him.
"What the spec!? So you're the one who's been leaving the door open and switching on my headset!"
"Uh… I left the d- Oh, last night! Yeah…you came upstairs before I finished checking the dimensions, so I had to rush back to bed! I didn't touch your headset, though…"
"Well then, how'd it turn on by itself?"
"Huh? I don't know, maybe we have a ghost, or who knows? A hacker maybe?"
"I already chec-" I noticed it, from the corner of my eye.
"Wait… wha- H…THANKYOU!! What-"
"I know. I know. You love me." He smirked.
"But it's… so expensive. How'd you-"
"Let's just say those extra hours paid off. Ha ha… never again."
Instant loading times, customizable color swashes, adjustable frames, and the tagline "More realistic than life2". The latest VR headset, or more accurately, glasses, sat gently on my desk, whispering my name like sirens at a sea, ready to drown me in hours of gameplay.
"Well, I guess I'll see you in a few days? Haha." Mr. Chef, no… my husband, closed in the door, knowing fully well I'd have wanted some privacy with my new VR glasses. He knew me so well… he only took all that time off for me.. and what did I do? Hook up with an online girlfriend… I...
"Babe…" The door swung open.
"Hmm?"
"Come for a sec." I knew it wasn't much, especially when I hadn't showered in two days,(Come on, you know you're no better.) but I wanted to treat him. And so I did. And for the rest of the night after, I ignored the sirens' songs, not even glancing at the sea; only allowing my attention to be spent on my husband. The next morning, however, the sirens sang louder, even louder than my husband's snoring, at that. I logged on instantaneously. No lag, no loading. No shower. Just syncing up my new VR glasses with my own female body. No more lies. Everyone would know the male avatar I used belonged to a female, but screw it. I'd come clean and give myself no room to wiggle out of. Underworldqueen04, my girlfriend, had to know the truth. She'd been with a woman, not a man, and worst of all, my husband wasn't nearly as bad as I painted him to be. As I cruised through the virtual city on my bike, letting pixels gently brush against my face as wind, my mind cruised through an ocean of doubt. Was it really wrong to have a girlfriend in a video game? I mean… most married people have their "waifus" and "husbandos", or whatever. It wasn't really cheating, right? But… my guilt claimed otherwise.
One…two…three- five, eight. After a workday's worth of gaming in Serenity, I got the hint. She wasn't coming on. She'd never broken a promise before… but then again, I'd never broken her heart before…
"Can't blame you after yesterday, I guess…"I turned off the glasses, shut the game room's door behind me, and headed downstairs to spend time with my husband, even getting excited by the idea of him using the old headset to play with me. He didn't like VR games. Something about cases of people losing their sense of reality from too much play. But the keywords are "too much". All the games gave clear guidelines, and Serenity even went the extra mile with the whole grounding period. But, even then, he didn't like them. I figured it wouldn't have hurt to ask, though, even finding myself skipping all the way down the stairs in excitement.
"Baaaabeee!!! Do you wanna set up the old headset and-"
"Sorry, come again?" I heard him speaking to someone over the phone. Probably a wrong number even, but other than a delivery girl, they definitely couldn't have been a visitor, because we were too busy to… uh…we had no friends.
"-ueen four-" Turning the last corner of the staircase, my heart dropped. We had a guest. A drop dead gorgeous woman, possibly in her mid twenties, carrying bright red, silky hair, and a tanned, leather-suited body, stood at our doorway. Had he…been cheating on me? No, not him. But even if he was, I couldn't blame him.
"Oh! She must be your wife! She's so pretty!" the woman rushed past him and extended her biker-gloved hand to me. Whoever she was, she was gorgeous, and not only was the woman exactly my type, she even reminded me of-
"I'm Olive, it's really nice to meet you!"
"Huh? Olive?"
"Yeahhh, you know, like the fruit?! Ha ha." As though I'd turned invisible, she winked at my husband, who turned to me with just as stunned an expression as I wore.
"I even sent you some. Didn't you get them? Not that I like olives much. It was just a little hint." She winked again at my very uncomfortable husband and focused her piercing gaze to my vulnerable eyes.
"My parents weren't exactly the most creative with their naming, trusttt me, I know. Anywayyy, I'm a close friend of your husband's, so I hope we can get along too. Actually, we've been-" The woman, Olive. Her mannerisms, her hair… her style… her… everything. No. It couldn't be.