Eiji is Online

Chapter 3

A week had gone by since Eiji and Zane started gaming regularly and it was already becoming routine. Almost every night, after Eiji finished classes and his café shift, there’d be a message waiting for him on Discord.

NightFury32: You up for a round tonight?

Without a fail, Eiji’s answer was a quick, eager, yeah, just give me five minutes, and before long, they’d be in voice chat. At this point, though, it wasn’t just about gaming anymore. Sure, sometimes they’d tackle missions in Raging Skies, but other times they’d end up just talking, filling their conversations with random stories and laughs that goes into the late hours. And tonight was one of those nights.

Eiji leaned back in his chair, smiling faintly as Zane’s voice floated through his headset.

“So, there I am, middle of this photoshoot, and the photographer’s like, ‘Try to look more intense, like you’re very serious.’ And I’m thinking, dude, my face does this naturally!” Zane said, laughing.

Eiji chuckled, picturing it. “So your secret to looking intense is doing nothing?”

“Pretty much,” Zane replied, still laughing. “But they loved it anyways. Somehow, I haven’t been kicked off more shoots for being ‘too natural.’”

They laughed together, the sound blending with the game’s music. Eiji glanced at the clock—2 a.m., yet again. He hadn’t planned to stay up this late, but when he was talking to Zane. His cheeks were actually sore from smiling so much.

“Still can’t believe you don’t like coffee,” Eiji said, shaking his head. “You’re probably the only one keeping tea sales alive.”

“Hey, atleast tea doesn’t make me agitated,” Zane countered. “Besides, you café people take coffee way too seriously. How many ways do you actually need to brew it?”

“It’s an art, okay?” Eiji protested, grinning. “You can’t just toss grounds into hot water and call it coffee.”

Zane’s laughter softened. “Alright, fine. Guess I’ll have to try one of your fancy brews someday, then.”

Eiji’s heart did this weird skip and he quickly changed the subject. “Yeah, yeah, we’ll see. So, what’s the game plan? Dungeons or just random chaos?”

But before Zane could reply, another voice barged into the call. “What’s up, nerds?”

It was Jamie, popping in like he usually did when he saw Eiji online.

Eiji grinned. “Hey, Jamie! Didn’t expect you to still be up.”

“Couldn’t sleep,” Jamie replied, a hint of typing in the background. “What’ve you two been up to? ‘Cause it looks like you’re spending a lot of time together these days.”

Zane chuckled. “Guess I’m a bad influence. Keeping Eiji from his sleep.”

Eiji rolled his eyes, feeling a slight blush. “Right, like Jamie’s not the one keeping me up half the time. Anyway, we were just talking. Nothing major.”

“Uh-huh, sure,” Jamie said with an exaggerated tone. “Hey, Zane, mind if I steal Eiji for a sec?”

“No problem,” Zane replied, casual as always. “I’ll be here. Just let me know when you’re back.”

Jamie dragged Eiji into a private voice chat, and Eiji could practically hear him grinning.

“So sister, kindly spill,” Jamie demanded. “You’ve been gaming with Zane a lot. What’s going on?”

Eiji shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant. “What do you mean? We’re just gaming.”

Jamie made a skeptical noise. “Right, just gaming with the same guy every night, laughing like an i***t until 2 a.m. Totally nothing.”

“How did you know?” Eiji asked.

“Sis, I’ve been in the call for like two minutes hearing y’all talk about cringey stuff. I guess you two are so busy that you didn’t realize I joined in.” Jamie said that made Eiji feel a bit embarrassed.

Eiji just sighed. “Seriously, we’re just friends. He’s just easy to talk to, y’know?”

Jamie’s tone softened. “Uh huh. But are you sure you’re not catching feelings?”

Eiji let out a breath, leaning his forehead against his desk. “No, Jamie. It’s not like that. Besides I don’t even know if he’s, y’know, into that.”

Jamie sighed but there was a smile in his voice. “Alright, alright. Just be careful, sis.”

Eiji’s defensiveness faded, replaced by a bit of gratitude. “Yeah, I know. Thanks for worrying.”

“Anytime,” Jamie replied, switching back to his usual teasing tone. “Now go back to your new bestie. I’ve got a date with my bed.”

Eiji laughed, feeling lighter. “Night, Jamie.”

Switching back to the main chat, he found Zane still waiting, his character idle in the game lobby. “Hey, sorry about that,” Eiji said as he rejoined.

“No worries,” Zane replied easily, not pressing. “Everything good?”

“Yeah, all good,” Eiji replied, trying to steer things back to their usual vibe. “So, uh, ready to dive back in?”

“Sure, but before we do,” Zane’s voice had a hint of hesitation. “There’s something I wanted to show you.”

Curiosity piqued, Eiji raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What’s that?”

There was a pause, then a message from Zane popped up on Discord. Eiji clicked the notification, and a photo loaded on his screen. It was a guy leaning casually against a café window, holding a cup of tea with a lopsided smile. Tousled dark hair, sharp jawline, and these brown eyes that seemed to have this mischievous glint.

Eiji felt his breath catch. “Wait, is this…you?”

Zane chuckled, sounding a little sheepish. “Yeah, turns out I’m not just a faceless voice after all. Figured it was time to put a face to the name.”

Eiji fumbled for words, his face warm. “You, uh…you look good. I mean, thanks for sharing. I’ll, um, send you mine sometime.”

“Looking forward to it,” Zane replied, a faint smile in his voice.

They returned to the game but Eiji’s mind kept wandering back to the picture. The way Zane had smiled, looking right at the camera. As much as he wanted to try, he couldn’t ignore the flutter in his chest.