To The Next Level

Player 5

-Christopher

"My brother from another mother, I'm back", Chris’s best friend Mason shouts on the phone.

"Do you need me to pick you up", Chris asked him. A slight undertone of irritation in his voice. Mason always had way more energy than Chris could keep up with. At first glance, you would never believe them to be friends considering they were total opposites, but their past together was heavy enough for them to form a long-term friendship that would last for decades on end.

Long ago, when Chris was around twelve years old, his parents would always force him to make friends with their business partner's kids. Most of the time, it was girls he had to appease, but on rare occasions, he would be pushed to make friends with boys his age. There was a time when Chris’s parents decided that instead of leaving him with a nanny, they would drop him off at their new friend's house. Coincidentally, the parents of this boy were, like Chris' parents, never home. They insisted that Chris stay with their son and his nanny. When Chris arrived at their house it wasn't the size or the design of it that caught his eye. What did grab his attention was the sad boy, bawling his eyes outside of the door. There stood an older woman behind him with concern written all over her face, but she made no attempt to calm him down.

Chris wondered why the boy was so upset, and whether he was okay or not, but didn't plan to speak to him. He wasn't the most friendly as a young boy either, and oftentimes got punishments for failing to make friends with the other kids. It was because their connections were all forced that he felt reluctant and disobedient about it. If they were only going to be friends for a little time, what would be the point of pretending something existed in the first place?

Chris stood near the door after the driver escorted him out. Watching as the little boy continued to cry, the older woman from before, long gone from the scene. Every time the kid started crying, Chris twitched, not sure what was wrong with him. For some reason, he felt like the little boy was just like him when he was much younger. Once upon a time, Chris did cry for the attention of his parents but, of course, never received it. This made him grow cold and aloof, not afraid of being alone. As time passed by he even welcomed loneliness as if it was an old friend, but Chris could tell that the little boy before would have a much more difficult time.

"Why are you crying", he remembers asking while watching himself give in. The boy did not answer nor did he lookup. Instead, he continued to cry with his head in between his knees as the sounds of nature surrounded both of them. Chris awkwardly kicked the rocks around the area as he waited for the boy to cool down a little longer. What exactly did his parents want him to do with this one? What was even more bizarre was that he was thinking about actually listening to them in the first place.

"Hey kid it's okay to cry, but don't you think there's a time to stop", Chris finally said, getting rather impatient. He was doing his best to be friendly and, seeing he hadn't had true friends before, was at a loss. What were you supposed to do at times like these? That was a question Chris had no answer to.

"W-who says I'm crying, can't you see I have sweat in my eyes", the boy mumbled while stuttering. Chris couldn't help but laugh and watch as his face grew red with embarrassment. "Why are you laughing", the boy yelled while wiping his tears.

Chris smiled at him, before standing up and holding his hand out to him. Without another word, they made it inside of his house, heading straight for the video games. For hours they played, until the little boy who Chris learned to be named Mason's nanny, called them down for dinner.

From then on, they were inseparable, despite having completely different personalities.

Mason could make more friends, whether fake or not, he was definitely the party type of guy. Chris, on the other hand, only had Mason by his side. To him, no one else was worth the effort, and he didn’t mind. There was nothing wrong with having one friend to trust.

Later on, Mason told Chris exactly why he cried that day, and it was then that Chris understood why they were so different.

Chris had the ability to adapt to the feeling of loneliness. From the day he was born, his parents barely showed up in his life and so it became an expectation. The thought of having to handle the world all by himself was never a fear of his. Chris was ready to go through everything alone.

Mason, on the other hand, was not always so rich. In fact, his parents were barely making ends meet on a middle-class salary. During those times they were close, spending quality family time together. He told Chris all the stories of each birthday, going to the park and getting ice cream together. His parents were one of the happiest couples, and their humble home was enough for them.

That all changed when Mason's father got a huge promotion at work. The founder of one of the largest automobile corporations in the world, John Silver, owner of Zanti Motive, almost lost a critical business deal when trade secrets were leaked to their competition.

Though the team was relieved by the other party to create a new plan within three weeks, everyone in the company found themselves with their hands tied. The only one ready to step up to the challenge was Mason's father, Mark Benson, who delivered a plan in the given time period that was not only better than the first proposal but valid enough to be used in the future.

Because of Mark Benson, the future of Zanti Motive was secured. Not only did John Silver, the Chief Executive, find this act astonishing, but many other companies did as well. They all tried to battle for Mason's father, but he, who was loyal to the one he worked for, stayed alongside Zanti Motive. This ultimately pushed all of the main directors of Zanti Motive to promote Mark as Vice President, directly under the son of John Silver.

After that, Mason's father became a big deal and it eventually became his number one priority. His wife, who had gotten lost in fame, followed her husband and ended up becoming her husband's PA. The two were known as one of the most powerful couples in the country, but it came with consequences. After Mason turned eight years old, it seemed like his parents were too busy for him.

Mason was always a kind and friendly child who was loyal to everyone. He loved his parents dearly and did not wish for any others. When they started leaving him behind and going away on more business trips, however, he couldn't help but feel lonely. For a child solemnly dependent on the love of others, it was too drastic of a change.

After that, Mason surrounded himself with other people, not caring for their intentions. He never wanted to be the boy that was so overwhelmingly lonely again. In a sense, Chris understood him well, but their ways of coping proved to be different.

After all, Chris never got that love from his parents to start with. This is how their friendship formed, and how it was founded by their many differences. Chris would always have his back, no matter what the cost would be. And Mason would do the same because he knew Chris was his true friend behind everyone else.

"Hurry up, I've been waiting a few hours for you at this stinking airport already", Mason yelled through the phone as Chris drove towards the airport. There were so many people getting off of work and school, causing the streets to be flooded with people trying to get home.

Chris eventually arrived at the airport, picking up the weird boy who ran towards him as soon as he made himself known. They hugged before leaving the airport and headed straight towards Chris’s house.

"By the way, I have a new game I want to show you", Chris told Mason excitedly, which surprised him. There was never a time that Chris showed genuine excitement towards anyone after a game.

“What game could possibly get you this excited", he said with a chuckle before sitting down on the bean bag chair in front of the TV. Mason was a walking ball of energy, failing to fall into the hands of jet lag. Chris entered the disk and handed Mason another controller with a smile. Mason grinned before looking up at the screen and then turning to Chris as soon as he saw the name.

"I had no idea you played this game before I came back. I was just about to get it", he explained. Chris nodded before waiting for him to create a character of himself and then they went into training.

An hour later, Chris saw A-Zender was online and told Mason that he had to meet her. Mason eyed Chris, surprised once again at the smile on his face, but didn't say a word.

"Hey A-Z you there," Chris typed in the chat.

"What is it mate", she replied to him in a friendly manner.

"There's someone I'd like you to meet, he's my best friend and will be playing with me", Chris told her clearly. He hoped she wouldn't be opposed to another guy joining them, but for A-Z, that was no problem so long as they were nice.

“Sure bring him over to our private hangout", she replied.

"You guys have a private hangout", Mason intervened while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at Chris.

"As friends in the game, it wouldn't be uncommon to have a private hangout. Besides, don't get any ideas, this girl could kick both our asses combined. Even though you're just a nob", Chris taunted Mason, to which the boy replied with a pout.

"So you do like the type that could beat your ass, don't you? I always knew you were some sort of masochist", Mason chuckled, causing Chris to punch him in the arm. They talked a bit together before playing the game. A-Z and Mason, to Chris’s surprise, got along really fast.

Chris couldn't help but feel jealous that they were getting along so well. Mason's handle was "myNameisNo", and he and A-Z were chatting for thirty minutes non-stop, with Chris making minimal contribution.

"Alrighty, now we had better play something together or else Mr. Pouty to my left here's going to cause me to melt under his glare", Mason texted A-Z while laughing hysterically.

Chris instinctively raised his hand to hit him on the head, only for Mason to dodge it. Mason did his best to embarrass Chris, who grew aggrieved.

"I guess we should start then. We can't keep his highness waiting", A-Z answered back, before choosing a quest they could all do together. After that, it felt like time flew by as Chris found himself lost with his best friend and the girl from Hero's Playground.