Offline haters
Please read the authors note at the end
Tyler groaned as he saw a small boy with blue hair walk in his direction. He was surrounded by his friends. He slammed the door of his locker and walked angrily away. As soon as he passed the boy, his smile faded. "Tyler," he said, nodding. "Ethan," Tyler responded.
Ever since their first class together Ethan and Tyler hated each other.
Tyler had the grades, he was good at every subject, from math to gym. He was at the top of the school and every teachers favourite. He barely had friends but everyone knew him. But nobody expected less for his parents had a very popular business; they were basically considered geniuses.
Ethan was the opposite. He was funny and easy to get along with. He didn't have very good grades, but always managed to joke around with them. He had tons of friends, even the people from higher classes liked him. Nobody even dared to bully him for he would just reverse the roles and make fun of you in front of the whole school. He had always a quick comeback. All the teachers liked him too; it wouldn't be the first time a teacher would burst out in laughter and wouldn't recover. And Ethan would lean backwards with a self-satisfied smirk.
Nobody exactly knew what happened between them. Of course there were rumours why the two most well-known boys hated each other, the most popular one being that Ethan made fun of him and Tyler being the serious and grave boy he was couldn't stand it.
This, however, was not the truth. What actually happened was something only the two boys knew. Their parents were rivals in business. Tyler's parents pulled a smart move and caused Ethan's to go bankrupt. Nobody even knew that Ethan's parents had a business, let alone that they used to be very successful.
Tyler threw his backpack on the floor. "I'm home, mother, father." His parents were both behind a computer busy with planning and arranging. "Honey," his mother said to him, "We want you to stay silent upstairs. There is an important person coming over tonight and we cannot have you make any sound." Tyler nodded. "Yes mother." His mother quickly kissed his cheek, although there wasn't any feeling in it. "You can study. You'll need those grades because you are going to inherit our business." Tyler nodded again. His parents wanted him to get good grades and planned his whole future. They were even looking for a suitable wife. But Tyler didn't want that. He wanted to be just like Ethan, with friends. Ethan would probably easily find a girlfriend, or what Tyler wanted, a boyfriend. He wanted a fun life, not stuck behind a computer in a business suit.
Ethan also arrived. He tried to be as silent as possible and go to his room, but his father opened the door. "Son! Come here!" He internally cringed. They would probably scold him for his grades. He always got the minimum grade to pass and he was happy with that. But his parents weren't. "You know you need to get better grades, don't you? You need to defeat them...The Scheids..." His father spat at the name of Tyler's family. Ethan sighed. "Yes father." "Good. Go study then. Less fun, more studying." And he basically pushed him out of the living room. Ethan felt tears well up. He would give so, so much to just hear their parents say: "We're proud of you, Ethan." Or just "good job." But no matter what he did, he was never good enough. He heard his parents say when he was younger they wanted another son that would be better at studying. It never happened, but Ethan wished it did. He wanted to be just like Tyler, good grades and a proud family. Tyler would probably get a good job and earn good money. He would probably hear every day "good job Tyler. We're proud of you." Ethan ran up the stairs and locked his door.
The game they are going to enter is just like real life but with monsters and bosses and stats. They don't have to move for they control with their minds. Their bodies are also not the same, they get to choose their looks. The game looks like real life.
Ethan put on his VR-helmet. Time for him to go to the world he truly belonged – a world without screaming parents, without grades and without being a disappointment.
Tyler also put on his VR-helmet. He liked the virtual world so much better. He could have fun there.
Ethan felt the weird sensation of his body being scanned. He smiled when the technical voice welcomed him. "Welcome back, Ethan. Choose your avatar." Ethan chose his usual one: a small boy, around his real high, with long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail and blue eyes. He wore a long green cape and a green tank top with black wide pants. He had a belt with a wand clinging to it. He had bandage around his arms and bracelets around his wrists. Big brown boots with fur hugged his feet and a big sword hid behind his cape. "You will now enter the game."
Tyler choose his avatar: a tall man with black hair falling to the right, the left side shaved. He had green eyes and a scar over his cheek. He wore a black cape, a black vest and black pants. He had a few throwing knifes at his leather belt and two katanas on his back. "You will now enter the game."
Ethan loved killing bosses. He was pretty good at it, and it made him feel good. Not because he loved killing them, but he was a healer and could be useful to his team. The most important thing in his life was being useful. He practised walking around to be sure he was used to it, and started to walk to the entrance of the boss' palace. A tall man with black hair to one side was waiting with his back against the wall. "Hey you looking for a party?" Ethan asked. The man nodded, smiling. "Yeah." He send Ethan an invite. [Tyler invites you to his party. Accept? Do not accept?] Ethan clicked accept. "Hi Tyler," he said. "Hey Ethan."
They defeated the Cerberus Boss easily. They both had a different style: Tyler preferred strength and strategy, first carefully watching the enemies movements and blocking all the attacks. He didn't like dodging but blocked everything. He also used two katanas at the same time but when he used his fists he would always block with one and attack with the other. Ethan was more of a speed kind of guy. He liked to dodge and attack weak but quickly. He also barely fought with the sword – almost only with his feet. He attacked immediately, not caring about the enemies stats.
"You're a good fighter." Ethan felt a blush crawl up to his cheeks. "Thanks, you too." He saw a red spot on Tyler's clothes. "You're hurt!" "Yeah, no problem, I'll heal in no time." Ethan shook his head. "No, take off your shirt. I'll heal." He slowly took off his shirt, and he felt a shiver where Ethan's hands were. "Hey, it's fine, it's just a game." Ethan looked up and smiled. "It is, but I've always find this more home than my home." Tyler sighed. He understood how he felt. "Me too."
Satisfied Ethan pulled back. "All done." "Thanks buddy," the other boy thanked. "Oh, I'm sorry, I have to go," Ethan apologized. "Oh." Tyler looked a bit sad. "Will I see you tomorrow? At the same spot?" "Sure!" he beamed, happy to have made another friend. "Let me add you to my friends list!" Tyler accepted the offer and waved when the other boy vanished into thin air.
-the next day at school-
"Look! Ethan, it's Tyler!" one of the girls whispered and clinging to his arm. "I know, Rianna, I can see him." He smiled sweetly. He just wished she wasn't so clingy. He thought back about the Tyler of yesterday. Couldn't this Tyler be as nice as him? That Tyler appreciated him...
Their sports teacher whistled. "Fighting, freestyle. Boys against boys, girls against girl. Girls stand on the left, boys on the right. Get some gloves and line up, I'll make the teams." Everyone hurried to get the boxing gloves. "Ok, Mark with Jack, Dan with Phil, Robert with Owen, Ethan with Tyler..." The two boys send each other an angry glare. "Sir." Ethan raised his hand. "Tyler is a lot taller than me. This would be an unfair fight." The teacher turned to him. "Nestor, I've seen you fight. You're a lot better than you think. You just might match Scheid. You're really good." Tyler didn't miss how Ethan's eyes started to sparkle and he started to blush at the compliment.
Tyler and Ethan faced each other, sending angry glared at each other. "I'm going to fuck you over, Ethan," Tyler threatened. The other boy bit his lip. "Probably," he mumbled, barely audible. Tyler raised an eyebrow. He expected him to have a way higher self-esteem.
Ethan ran forward as soon as they heard the whistle. He kicked at Tyler, who easily blocked. "Immediately starting, huh?" he grinned. Ethan growled at kicked quickly left and right. Again blocked his opponent. Tyler grabbed his leg and punched his stomach. Luckily he didn't do it hard as they were not allowed to hurt each other. Ethan pulled his leg back and dodged the next hit. I can do this, he thought. I will beat Tyler Scheid at something. He kicked again, this time higher so he hit his shoulder. The teacher whistled again, making the boys get of each other panting. To their confusion they were being watched by all the student. "Whoa," one of them breathed. "That looked so awesome!" Again Tyler noticed the blue haired boy blush and look so happy with the compliment. "Thanks," he beamed.
Ethan ran upstairs as soon as he got home, ignoring his parents calls and locked the door. He wanted to see Tyler again.
"Hey," the black-haired man said with a smile. "Hey Tyler," he smiled back. He got pulled into a quick hug. "Wanna kill bosses or just talk?" Ethan shrugged. "Talking is fine with me. We barely know each other..." Tyler smiled. "Sure."
"Hmmm...My question is...how old are you?" Tyler asked. "I'm 17, and you?" "18." They continued to ask questions back and forth. "So...you said you liked this world better. May I know why?" Ethan's face fell. "Well...My parents like to plan my whole future. I don't get really good grades and my parents want me to. But I work pretty hard and my parents never say "We're proud of you son" or something..." He looked at his friends shocked face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so depressing..." Tyler shook his head and pulled the smaller boy in a hug. "No, let it all out. It's kind of the same for me. I do get good grades and my parents want me to because they want me to inherit their business. But I don't want that. I just want a fun life." He sighed, feeling warm and fuzzy inside because of the boy hugging him so tightly. They stayed like that for a few moments.
"You know, you're the first one I've told this to," Ethan commented after a few moments of just sitting next to each other. "I...I just feel really comfortable around you." Tyler smiled at him. "If you want to let something out, I'll be here for you, ok?" Ethan nodded, wiping a tear away. "Hey, don't cry..." "Then...can I tell you something else?" The older boy rubbed his back. "Always." "You know...Heh...I don't even know why I would say this... Well, I can't have fun at home, so I act really funny and am always laughing...Is that a good thing to do?" Tyler nodded with a smile. "You can act however you want, online or at school. If that's who you really are, go for it." Tyler looked down at the other boy and felt the sudden desire to kiss him. (A/N if you touch a person in this game, the real you is touching the real other person. Tyler wouldn't kiss Ethan's avatar, he would kiss Ethan.) He leaned down and pressed they lips together. He smiled a little when he felt Ethan lean into him and wrap his arms around his neck. He shoved him up his lap. Out of breath they pulled away. "That," he breathed, trying to calm down the butterflies in his stomach, "was amazing." Ethan nodded. "It really was. Can...can we do it in real life too?" Tyler smiled and pecked him. "Of course."
After exchanging their locations – they surprisingly lived close to each other – they decided to do a meet-up the next day because it would be Friday.
Ethan walked to school. Today, he thought happily. He didn't know the other boy for long but he liked him so much. Only the thought of him made him blush and his heart fluttered at the memory of the amazing kiss they shared. He didn't remember the time he was in such a good mood.
Tyler was also smiling at the way to school. He wanted to know who the mysterious Ethan was. He was so much nicer than the "real" Ethan. He really liked him – he was always on his mind.
"Ouch! Watch where you're going," Tyler groaned. "Oh, sorry bud – oh never mind, I'm not sorry." Ethan corrected himself as soon as he recognized him. Couldn't he be a little nicer, like the other Ethan? Tyler would be lying if he said he didn't think over the possibility these Ethan's were the same, but it just seemed so unlikely with the change in character. "Well I don't care whether you are sorry or not, just don't run into me again. I'm in a good mood so don't let your face ruin it." Tyler actually thought Ethan was really cute, but his personality made him so unattractive. Of course he'd never admit it.
Ethan was lost in thought during the last lesson, history. He was staring at the board attempting to seem like he was paying attention, chewing on the end of his pencil. "Mr Nestor, could you give me the answer?" "I'm sorry sir, I wasn't paying attention. But I guess everyone could see that," Ethan replied, earning a few chuckles from his classmates and even a smile from the teacher. "Well, Ethan," everyone noticed this time his first name was used, "I would like you to pay attention next time – " before he could finish his sentence the bell rang. "Yes of course sir, bye!" he yelled, picking up his bag and running towards their meeting place.
Ethan arrived half an hour early but he didn't care. He was so excited to see how he looked and if he knew him – he was probably really good looking. He said he was 18, maybe he even went to his school!
"Ethan?" A low voice pulled him back to reality. "Tyler? W-why are you here?" He shrugged. "I'm doing a meet-up with...oh my God. You can't be serious." All the pieces fell together and completed the puzzle. "S-so you're Tyler?" Tyler nodded. "Yeah...Well...You hate me so...I guess we'll just forget the kiss and just continue with our life." Ethan mumbled something. "What did you say?" "I don't hate you," Ethan repeated. "And the kiss was awesome." He flushed bright red. Tyler smiled. "I'm glad you don't hate me." Ethan smiled back. "You won't tell anyone about what's happening home will you?" Tyler pulled Ethan in a hug. "I won't. But...I had no idea that was happening. I had to hate you because our parents hate each other...But...I actually really like you." Ethan smiled. "Same goes for me. And also...you...you said I could kiss you in real life..."
Tyler kissed him long and passionately. "So...What does this make us?" Ethan asked. "It depends." "On what?" Tyler kissed his forehead. "If you want to be my boyfriend." Ethan smiled. "This took a twist. And I would love to."
-four months later-
"Mom, dad," Tyler called. His parents look up from their computers. "There is someone I want to introduce you to." Ethan appeared next to him, fixing his sleeves. Tyler wrapped his arm comforting around his waist. "This is Ethan, my boyfriend." His mother smiled. "Ethan Nestor?" He nodded. "Tyler, if you thought that we wouldn't approve of him because he is a Nestor, we wouldn't do that. We try to put you on the right path, but if you don't want to...it's your life." Ethan smiled as his boyfriends face lit up. "But," his mother continued with a serious face. "You'd better make him a Scheid." She winked.
"Well, that went better than expected," Tyler commented. "Yeah...She ships it," Ethan chuckled. "Now let's introduce you to my parents."
"Mother, Father, I want to introduce you to my boyfriend Tyler." His father inspected him closely. "The Scheid huh." Tyler swallowed. "Yes sir." He stood up from his chair and walked over to him. "So...I don't say I exactly expected you to be his boyfriend, but goddamn are we glad Ethan is out of the closet. And if you ever hurt him I'll break down your house and business myself." Tyler smiled. "If I hurt him you fully have the right to do so." They walked away together, hands clamped together. "Also, son?" Ethan turned around.
"I'm proud of you."
A/N: so this was different, not as original as the rest. Pretty basic actually – two people fall in love online, hate each other in real life. But I tried to make a twist in it to make a point – and please read.
Something has been bothering me for a while. And that is that people always think they know you.
Ethan always laughs because he can't have fun at home. And Tyler thinks he know that.
Tyler gets good grades but has to keep doing it because his parents force him to.
It happened to me lately. A guy said that I should be happy that I was accepted when I came out, but it wasn't like that. I got beaten up for it, not by my family but by some people in the neighbourhood. It happened quite a lot, and that guy thought he knew me. People, please don't assume people lives. I know my situation isn't really messed up but for some people it is. I know sometimes you have to assume but please do it as less as possible. It can really hurt, a teacher said one time to a friend of mine got bad grades and the teacher scolded him – but somebody in his family recently died. He nearly cried in front of his class and he just proved to me again, it really hurts.
Thank you for reading this long-ass authors note and this boring chapter. I love you guys.
*flies away* Robin out