Chapter 6 - First Confession
1193 Words
Avegail couldn’t stop smiling.
No matter how she tried to focus on her classes or assignments, her thoughts drifted back to the night before—the sound of Emmett’s voice when he said I like you. The way it trembled just enough to let her know it wasn’t rehearsed. The way her own heart nearly burst when she said it back.
It felt like stepping off the edge of a cliff and finding out someone was there to catch her.
It felt like stepping off the edge of a cliff and finding out someone was there to catch her.
That night, she rushed through dinner, impatient for midnight to arrive. The moment her clock struck twelve, she was already logged in, her sorceress standing in their usual meeting spot near the guild hall fountain.
Emmett’s paladin was there too, waiting.
“Hey,” his voice came through her headphones, warm and a little shy.
“Hey,” she whispered back.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The fountain splashed softly in the background, the glow of the digital city wrapping them in gentle light. Then Emmett cleared his throat.
“So, last night,” he began carefully. “When I said… what I said. I just want you to know I meant it. I wasn’t caught up in the moment or anything. I’ve felt that way for a while.”
Her heart fluttered. “Me too,” she said. “I just didn’t know how to tell you. I thought maybe I’d scare you off.”
He laughed softly. “Scare me off? Avegail, I’ve been trying not to scare you off.”
He laughed softly. “Scare me off? Avegail, I’ve been trying not to scare you off.”
They both laughed then, the nervous kind that melts tension into something tender.
“So… what now?” she asked, half teasing, half serious.
“Well,” he said, pausing like he was choosing his words carefully. “Now I think we stop pretending this is just friendship. We… make it something more. If you want that.”
Avegail’s stomach fluttered as though butterflies had taken flight inside her. She swallowed hard, cheeks burning even though no one could see her.
“I want that,” she whispered.
“Then it’s settled,” he said, his voice steady now. “We’re together.”
The words echoed in her chest like a promise. Together.
They didn’t announce it to the guild—not yet. Their relationship felt like something fragile and precious, too new to be put under the teasing spotlight of friends. For now, it was just theirs, hidden in late-night whispers and quiet confessions.
But their bond was obvious anyway.
During raids, Emmett always stuck close to Avegail, shielding her first when chaos broke loose. During guild events, they exchanged glances in voice chat, laughing at each other’s jokes more than anyone else’s. MiraBell noticed, of course.
“You two are insufferable,” she teased one night. “Like newlyweds hiding a secret. Just admit you’re obsessed with each other already.”
Avegail’s face turned crimson, but Emmett only chuckled. “Maybe we are,” he said lightly, and Avegail nearly choked on her drink.
Outside the game, their relationship bloomed even faster.
Daily messages became constant threads of conversation—inside jokes, silly photos, snippets of their days. Emmett started calling her “Midnight,” saying she had become his favorite part of the night. She called him “Paladin,” partly as a joke, partly because it fit him too well.
They tried video calls once. Avegail was nervous, fumbling with her hair and adjusting her camera a hundred times before clicking accept. When his face appeared on her screen, she almost forgot to breathe.
He was… real. Messy hair, kind eyes, a crooked smile that tugged at her heart.
“You’re prettier than I imagined,” he blurted before he could stop himself.
Her face burned. “You’re not so bad yourself,” she muttered, and they both laughed awkwardly.
It wasn’t perfect—the video call froze a few times, and she hated how shy she felt—but when they hung up, Avegail couldn’t stop grinning. He was no longer just a voice. He was a face. A real person.
One evening, after a long day of classes, Avegail logged into Discord to find a message waiting:
Emmett: Meet me in AFK. I have a surprise.
Curious, she logged in. His paladin stood outside the capital city gates, waving.
“Follow me,” he said through voice chat, his tone full of excitement.
He led her across fields, through forests, and finally into a hidden clearing she had never noticed before. Fireflies hovered in the air, casting the space in soft gold. A small pond reflected the moonlight, and at its center was a wooden bench, an object players could craft and place if they knew the recipe.
“You made this?” Avegail asked, surprised.
“Took me a week to gather the materials,” he admitted. “But I wanted a place just for us. Somewhere no one else comes.”
Her chest tightened. She guided Lunaria to sit on the bench, and his paladin sat beside her.
“This is beautiful,” she whispered.
“Not as beautiful as having you here,” he said softly.
Avegail’s fingers froze on her keyboard. She didn’t know how to respond, so she just let the moment wrap around them like the glow of the fireflies.
In that little hidden clearing, surrounded by pixels, she realized something: this wasn’t just an online crush. This wasn’t just a game. She was falling in love.
Their relationship deepened with every passing day. They stayed up too late, laughing until dawn. They talked about futures, about fears, about what they’d do if they ever met in person.
“I’d take you out for coffee first,” he told her one night. “Then maybe we’d walk by the river. Something simple. Something real.”
She smiled into her pillow. “I’d say yes.”
There were times she worried. She knew people would question it—how can you love someone you’ve never touched, never met in person? But when she heard his voice, when she read his words, when she saw the effort he put into being there for her… how could she not believe it was real?
One night, after hours of whispering in their private channel, Emmett’s voice grew quiet.
“Avegail?”
“Mm?” she murmured, half-asleep.
“I love you.”
Her eyes flew open. She sat up in bed, heart racing. He had said it—three little words she hadn’t dared hope for so soon.
Her throat tightened, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. “I… I love you too.”
Silence filled her headphones, but it wasn’t empty. It was full—overflowing.
And in that silence, Avegail realized she had crossed a line she could never uncross.
She was his. He was hers.
No matter how fragile, no matter how far apart—they were in love.
- Writer
