章 11: A Friend of a Friend
Zane was used to people assuming he was a pushover because of his laid back attitude, but the truth was, when he set his mind to something, it was almost impossible to shake him. He cornered Rylee the next time they worked together, and with his jaw set, he looked like he was ready for a fight. The older girl looked warily at his expression.
"Community day is Saturday, you're off by 4. Tell me you'll come." He wasn't as outright demanding, but his expression still left no room for argument.
"Zane..."
"I checked with Tara! You aren't working at the burger joint so you have no excuse! Besides, you OWE me." He crossed his arms, staring her down.
Rylee lifted an eyebrow.
"Oh, I owe you?"
"Yes! Twice! First you ditched me for the movie then you ditched me for the raids! No more ditching! That's not what friends do!" He insisted.
She hated to admit he might have a point. "I wasn't trying to ditch you." There was an apologetic tone to her voice.
He quickly smiled before she could feel too guilty. "I know you weren't, Ry. But please, just come out with us this weekend. After that, I swear, I won't bother you as much."
Rylee knew it wasn't worth arguing anymore. Besides, if she was perfectly honest with herself, the idea of being part of community day for once had already been tempting.
"Okay, you win."
He looked far too happy as he walked away, but Rylee meant to follow through this time. She even let him have her phone number so they wouldn't be stuck organizing everything through the Discord server. There was no turning back after that.
When Saturday rolled around, Rylee changed into her comfy shoes, collected her backpack, and hunted momentarily for her missing hat. 'Probably got buried under laundry again...I'll find it later.' She thought as she made her way to the park. Zane was already waiting when she showed up, waving a hand from a semicircle of players. An old sensation of social anxiety crawled into her stomach, but she pushed it down as she opened her game. At least with the other players in their group they were on common ground. It was easy to compare recent catches and feel more at ease.
"Hey Ry, I wanted to introduce you to Evan! Evan, this is Rylee, we work together."
Rylee looked up at Zane's introduction, politely greeting the boy across from her. He was taller than Zane, with dark eyes and clean shaven features. He had an open button down shirt with a Z of Legend shirt showing underneath. Honestly, he seemed very reserved for someone that hung out with Zane.
Although, people could probably say the same about her.
"Is this your first Community Day?" She asked politely. Evan nodded, showing her his game screen.
"I'm only level 23. I haven't had much time to play lately."
Rylee felt a smile spread across her face, "Oh, so YOU'RE the level 23 he tried to bring last time. Nice to finally meet you," she teased. She was satisfied by the easy laugh it drew from him, and the faintest tint of pink it put on his ears.
"Remind me to punch him later for sharing that with everyone," he remarked. Rylee rolled her eyes.
"Hey, everyone starts somewhere. But if it makes you feel better, we won't mention it again." She leaned closer, peering at his screen. "You catch anything last community day? I missed out on some of the special hats that came out..." he politely turned the game and showed her his catch list. To her amusement, many of the nicknames were pop culture references.
"I can see why you and Zane are friends. Although most of your names are more mature..."
"Hey, I only have a couple inappropriate ones!" Zane defended, and Evan raised an eyebrow. As if sensing his friend was on the verge of ratting him out, Zane quickly separated to two.
"Oh look at the time, we have monsters to catch! Let's get back to work."
As the spawns increased, they grew focused on the game, picking a direction to walk and maintaining a steady pace. Rylee has to clear her storage a couple times to keep the better catches, and resisted the urge to buy more coins to upgrade. The event passed quickly, but they all managed to get a handful of worthwhile monsters.
Wiggling her charger, Rylee watched as her battery pack finally died.
"I think that's it for me. I'm out of juice," she announced. Zane surprised her when he shook his head.
"I have extra outlets in my car, you can charge or while I drive. We can still hit a couple raids, and Evan hasn't fought the new boss yet! You can't leave him to fend for himself, can you?" He insisted. Unable to think of an argument, Rylee agreed.
When they reached the blue pickup truck, Rylee slid into the back, buckling herself in the middle where her charger could reach the cigarette outlet. Evan plugged in as well, before glancing back at her.
"Do you always let Zane bully you? If you let him get his way too often it'll go to his head," he remarked.
"I don't bully her! You two just don't know how to have fun," he retorted. "Speaking of fun, your going to FanQuest, right Rylee? If you don't put in the time off request, I'm doing it for you!" They pulled out to the light, waiting for it to change color.
"I've got a table so I'll be there, but it's not like I can see any panels with you," she explained.
"But that's the best part. Can you at least sneak away for the Star Portal reunion?"
"I have to look at the hall schedule..." she considered, not wanting to give him false hope.
Evan looked back at her, his mouth open to ask more, when the light changed and they pulled forward. Something about her art, the alley? Rylee never heard his question though, when there was a screech of tires, and everything went black.
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