Page 69 of From Drummer to Gamer
We spent the first few hours working on our own album. Emmie had written some incredible stuff, and we couldn’t wait to see what we could cook up with it. Today was just a start.
For the first time in our lives, we didn’t have a strict deadline. Our previous label worked us to the bone, sucking every drop from us. We hardly had time to catch our breath because we were making one album after the next, days blurring as we hopped from one city to the next and faked smiles at events and parties we gave zero fucks about.
Now, our schedule was as fluid as it could get. It made us fall in love with music all over again now that we had our own creative control.
Only, we’d hoped Lan was here with us. At least he finally texted the group that he wanted some time off but that he would be back soon.
I considered Lan as my own fucking brother, and my gut told me whatever was going on with him had something to do with Katy. When I questioned her, she gave me the worst excuse she could come up with. These days, there was a nagging doubt in the back of my head, like somehow, I didn’t know my sister as well as I thought I did. And that somewhere along the way, I had failed as a brother.
I thought she was happy, but now I fear my assumption wasn’t the actual truth.
And it only worried me more.
Needing a break, I powered the TV and threw a controller at Mikey’s face.
He leaped, shooting me a glare as he caught it effortlessly.
“Careful, I do have my face insured, but it’s my precious asset,” he complained but brought himself to a seat.
I didn’t even bother rolling my eyes as I got the game started, already itching for some game time.
Gaming was my one true escape. An indulgence I didn’t mind spending hours on. I strictly enforced control in every aspect of my life except when it came toFantasy Legends.
I loved keeping my hands busy as my brain worked the reflexes, the whole while my blood pumped with a kind of energy that I could only closely compare to playing my drums.
“So the square is jump, and R2 is reload, right?” Mikey questioned, cocking a brow.
“No, square is reload, and R2 is attack.” It didn’t matter how many times I explained it to him. He never got it into his brain and ended up pressing all the buttons at once, but somehow, it worked. Having him was better than having no one at all.
I was never comfortable playing with random people in the open world. Some of my buddies who played the game tagged me along on their team at times, but I preferred duos or solos.
The loading screen popped into the gaming lobby, and a frown marred my forehead when I saw a notification waiting for me.
I hardly got notifications. To protect my identity, our security team made sure to add veils of extra protection so one couldn’t track us down. That way, my fans could never get wind of the fact that their favorite rock star loved to playFantasy Legends. It was my refuge from reality, and I wasn’t going to let it be ruined by an obsessive fan. Trust me, I loved my fans, but I hated when they poked themselves into my private bubble.
When I clicked it, shock unlike anything surged through my system. “What the fuck?” I muttered, checking to see if my eyesight was right.
It fucking was.
There in bold was a friend request from Daisy Luna. I thought it might be fake, but the verified ranking next to her name confirmed that it was really her.
Why the hell was a pro player requesting a nobody like me? Was it for some streaming challenge?
My fingers dragged the controller to reject her, but I stalled. If it were anyone else, I never would’ve entertained it, no matter how fucking famous they were.
But it washer.
The woman whose gameplay I studied like a diligent student, whose gameplay astounded me no matter how many times I watched it, and the only gamer I never missed a stream from.
I even had notifications set in my phone for her videos, and that was something I never fucking did for anyone, not even my favorite music artists.
I had no clue why she requested me in the first place, but if watching Luna was so mesmerizing, how the fuck would it be to play with her?
It wouldn’t hurt to try a match, right? I could unfriend or block her anytime if it turned out to be a prank or something weird.
I pressed the accept button before I could talk myself out of it.
Her name appeared at the bottom of my friend list with a bright green light flashing next to her name.
