Chapter 1 No One Was Waiting
I stared at the screen. At first, I tried to tell myself it was just a coincidence. But six weeks, the swamp, seven kills—even the limited-edition banner matched. It was still flying over my in-game camp.
The announcement overhead told passengers to stow their tray tables, but I sat frozen.
Six weeks ago, Ash had added me as a friend, saying he really wished to learn how I set traps. He had a lovely voice and a lazy, easy laugh.
When I stayed up late preparing for my academy entrance exam, he kept me company on voice chat while I studied, reminding me every so often to drink some water.
When I told him I had been accepted by Blackpine Academy, he said, "What a coincidence. I'm going there too."
After that, I checked my phone every night before bed, waiting for him to message me.
One night, we lost three matches in a row. He was so sleepy he could barely speak. I urged him to log off and go to bed, but he readied up again.
"I can't let you go to sleep in a bad mood."
We lost the fourth match too. On the results screen, I received a golden mount from him.
"Feeling better now?"
I slumped over my desk laughing, my cheeks burning. Ivy asked why I was grinning at my screen like an i***t. I told her I might be in love.
She leaned over and scrolled through his profile. In the photos, he was either skiing or sitting on a yacht, and a luxury watch peeked out from beneath his shirt cuff.
Farther down, she finally found a clear shot of his face, taken as he leaned against a car door.
"He has money, and he's not bad-looking," she said. "Why is someone like him dating online?"
"Maybe he just likes gaming with me."
"He just lost four matches because of you." She looked from my face to his photo. "At least video-call him first. You don't want to find out he looks nothing like his pictures."
On the day of the call, I washed my hair, tried on 3 tops, and even asked Ivy to choose my earrings. I never expected an allergic reaction to the new soothing cream.
By the time I returned from the healer, I'd already missed our scheduled call. When my phone rang, I answered without thinking.
He really was as young and handsome as he looked in his photos. Meanwhile, my features were so swollen that they were nearly unrecognizable, and the carefully chosen earrings only made me look more ridiculous.
"I really can't let anyone see me like this today. Can we video-call another time?" Mortified, I reached to cover the camera.
Instead, he moved closer to his screen and asked if it hurt. I shook my head, then nodded.
"Then get some rest. When you arrive, I'll take you somewhere good to eat."
My nose stung when I heard that. After we hung up, I found two old photos of myself and sent them to him. I wanted him to know I didn't normally look like that.
He didn't respond for several minutes.
Ash: You don't have to go looking for photos to show me. I don't care what you look like.
I replayed that voice message again and again. When I heard his quiet laugh, I couldn't help smiling as well. I fell asleep still clutching my phone, afraid I might miss his next message.
Later, he sent me directions from the airport to the academy and marked a breakfast place, saying the first meal was on him.
I saved the map and even looked up the restaurant several times, wondering what I should order when we met.
When my friends asked why I was arriving so early, I only said I wanted time to get familiar with the school.
The truth was, I hadn't even chosen a coat for the new semester, but I had already picked the dress I would wear for him.
For the first time, leaving home didn't seem entirely frightening.
I went back to our chat. The two selfies were still there, right above my long explanation about the allergic reaction. He'd seen all of it, yet he'd still sent that voice message with a laugh.
Someone on the forum asked what he would do if the girl actually cried. His reply appeared below.
OP: [She didn't show me any mercy in the game.]
My fingertips slowly went cold. I was 19, leaving my pack on my own for the first time.
Before I left, my mother had warned me about all kinds of scams in the city. She'd never mentioned that a scammer might remember the time of my exam.
A message from Ash arrived.
Ash: Have you landed?
Fighting through the ache in my chest, I took screenshots of the post and started to ask him what was going on.
But before I could send anything, messages from him began appearing one after another.
Ash: Stop waiting. I'm not coming to get you.
Ash: Remember the guy you killed seven times in the swamp? That was me. After playing along for this long, I figured you should know what it feels like to be played too.
Ash: You didn't honestly expect me to take you out with that face and introduce you to my friends, did you?
I tried to send, "What do you mean?"
But the screen told me the message had failed.
When I returned to the forum, the post was gone too.
The address of the breakfast restaurant he had sent me was still in our chat. I stared at it for a long time before turning off my phone.
After the plane landed, my suitcase went past me on the carousel, and I didn't reach for it. Only when it came around again did I grab the handle and pull it down.
The suitcase smeared dirt across the hem of the white dress I had worn especially for him.
In my carry-on was a box of maple cookies only sold near my home. He had said he wanted to try them.
Afraid they would be crushed in checked luggage, I had carried them in my hand the entire way. Now the paper handles dug into my wrist as tears fell onto the bag, one after another.
I'd even paid an extra $40 for a seat near the front so I could get off the plane sooner. That thought made me cry even harder.
Ivy had a toothbrush in her mouth when she answered my call.
"Did he pick you up?"
"No," I said. "He blocked me."
She took the toothbrush out. After hearing the whole story, she was silent for two seconds, then started putting on a coat.
"What are you doing?"
"Checking whether there are any flights to Cedarhaven tonight."
"You have a test tomorrow."
"Then let's hope he survives until the weekend."
I sniffled and finally managed a laugh.
Ivy told me to find a hotel, change my clothes, and eat something.
"You earned your place at Blackpine yourself. He can't even get around your traps in a game. What gives him the right to make you miserable? Go to class, have fun, and don't let him ruin any of it."
I opened the cookies and took a bite. They were sweet enough to make my teeth hurt.
She put on her headset.
"Now log in. You set the ambushes, and I'll do the swearing."
