Chapter 1: The P
Ethan stared at the screen as his character was defeated for the third time.
DEFEAT.
“Seriously?”
He dropped his head against the back of his chair.
Three games.
Three losses.
And somehow, he still couldn't stop playing.
Gaming had always been Ethan's escape. Whenever school became stressful or he didn't feel like talking to anyone, he could simply put on his headset, open his favorite game, and forget about everything else.
Well… almost everything.
Because there was one person he could never seem to forget.
Mia.
His classmate.
His crush.
And, unfortunately, the person who sat only two seats away from him.
Ethan glanced at the clock.
He still had twenty minutes before their next class.
He opened his phone and casually checked the class group chat.
There were already dozens of messages.
Most of them were about their upcoming project.
Then one message caught his attention.
Mia
:
Does anyone here play this game?
Ethan immediately sat up.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard.
He knew the game.
He played it almost every day.
He could answer.
He should answer.
It was the perfect chance to finally talk to her.
He typed:
Yeah, I play.
Then deleted it.
He typed again.
I do.
Delete.
Again.
I can play with you.
Delete.
Ethan sighed.
“Why is this so hard?”
He looked toward Mia's seat.
She was talking to one of their classmates, laughing while showing something on her phone.
Ethan quickly looked away.
He couldn't just walk over there.
What if she thought he was weird?
What if she didn't actually want to play with him?
What if—
His phone vibrated.
Another message appeared.
Mia:
I really need a gaming partner 😭
Ethan froze.
A gaming partner.
He stared at the message for a few seconds.
This was his chance.
e could finally play with Mia.
He could help her improve.
They could talk.
Maybe they could become friends.
Maybe…
He smiled.
Then immediately frowned.
There was still one problem.
She didn't know that he was good at the game.
And more importantly, she didn't even know he played.
Ethan looked at his username.
NightRaven99.
It wasn't exactly something that would make Mia recognize him.
He could simply tell her.
Hey, I'm NightRaven99.
Easy.
Simple.
Normal.
So why did the thought make him nervous?
Before he could decide, Mia sent another message.
Mia:
Pleaseee. I don't want to play alone anymore.
Ethan's heart jumped.
He started typing.
I can be your partner.
His thumb stopped above the send button.
He stared at the message.
Then deleted it.
“Nope.”
He placed his phone face down on the table.
Maybe he was overthinking everything.
Maybe he should just be honest.
He picked up his phone again.
This time, he noticed something else.
There were already several people volunteering to play with Mia.
His opportunity was disappearing.
Ethan leaned back in his chair.
He didn't want to compete with everyone else.
He wanted Mia to choose him.
But how?
He stared at his phone.
An idea slowly began forming in his head.
At first, it sounded ridiculous.
Then, the more he thought about it…
the more possible it seemed.
Ethan looked around to make sure nobody was watching.
He lowered his voice.
“What if…”
He paused.
His eyes returned to the game.
“What if I didn't play as Ethan?”
A small smile appeared on his face.
Maybe he didn't need to approach Mia as himself.
Maybe he could meet her somewhere else.
Somewhere behind a screen.
Somewhere she wouldn't know who he really was.
Ethan picked up his phone again.
His fingers hovered over the screen.
There was only one thing left to figure out.
What kind of account would he make?
And more importantly…
Who would he pretend to be?
For the first time that day, Ethan wasn't thinking about winning the game.
He was thinking about a plan.
A very stupid plan.
A very risky plan.
But maybe…
the perfect plan to finally play with his crush.
