Hey, Gommie here. Not really gonna do my usual intro because I'm a little busy sobbing. This story really got me. Please, enjoy.
And don't hesitate to talk to me or someone else if you are feeling down.
Thank you for reading. There will be no A/N after this, so, ciao!
Like a physical blow, it hit you again. The sadness. The pain. The depression. Everything. You hated when the world seemed to crash on you and it was one of the worst feelings imaginable, if not the very worst.
You paused the game, your favorite game known as Minecraft: Story Mode, and let the controller drop onto the bed beside you. You were seated in your bedroom, your Xbox turned on and now showing the pause screen on the bright TV in front of you.
You absolutely hated it when this happens. You shut everyone out, you cried, you stopped eating…
"Why? Why does it always have to be me?" You were now curled into a fetal position, hugging your knees close to your chest as you tried your best to keep the tears at bay. The thoughts were what affected you the most. You managed to pick up the controller again with shaking hands and resumed your game.
"Tomorrow, we have to stand up to the Old Builders… Together." Jesse's bold voice proclaimed through the speakers you had set up for your video gaming entertainment. Your TV's volume was always too low for you to be able to hear it. You looked up to the screen, reading the words as they spoke.
"Um, actually, I think you mean the Gladiators. They're the ones that keep kicking our butts in the games." The leader of the Yellow Team spoke in her sassy voice.
"Don't you want a Starbucks with that?" You joked to bring up your mood a little, but it turned out to be ineffective. You were still down.
"Uh, actually actually, the Gladiators work for the Old Builders and they never want us to be able to win." Jesse's voice echoed again, as confidence seeped through his veins. "Hadrian keeps twisting and changing the rules. I say it's our time to change the rules on them!" He proclaimed.
"What's the point? Hadrian will still have all the power." Em's tough-girl voice grumbled, as the large, built girl made her way to the dormitories. "There's no way he's gonna let us just take that from him."
"Hadrian is not fully in control. Winning is possible, Em." Jesse had stepped up onto the platform in front of a portrait of Tim, the famous man that never existed in the first place. "Don't you want to win?"
"I do." You mumbles. "But it's like these games. You can't." You paused again. You set the controller down once again and buried your face in your hands. "Is it wrong to think I shouldn't live anymore?!" you called out. Nothing. Then, you realized you were home alone. Once again, your parents were off running errands or something and once again, they didn't bother to tell you. You didn't blame them- you had been waiting for this episode for days on end.
When no one answered you, you let the tears fall.
"It is very wrong to think like that, (Y/N)." the familiar bold voice sounded through your ear. You jumped a little, bringing your head from your hands to reveal your tear-stained face to Jesse himself. He wasn't dressed in his armor like you were just playing in the game. He was in his normal red suspenders with the white shirt and light jeans. "Especially when someone out there cares deeply for you." he spoke again. His hand was on your back, and you felt it there.
"Wh-wh-what?" you managed through the tears, looking around you. There stood the whole gang… The New Order of the Stone. Jesse sat on the bed next to you, Petra on your other side, Axel kneeling in front of you, Olivia and Lukas standing on either side of the brute. They were all smiling softly at you. Olivia handed Jesse a tissue, who took it and wiped your tears away gently.
"It's all right, (Y/N). Let it all out." Jesse told you and an oink sounded from behind Axel. A small piglet jumped onto his back, before making the leap into your lap, cuddling into your stomach. He let out a worried oink and Lukas finally spoke at last.
"It's okay to cry. It means you've been strong for too long." Lukas looked down at you. At this, you began to sob, hugging Reuben who clearly didn't mind at all.
"But everything feels so complicated!" you managed out. "I feel like everyone hates me, I feel like I'm letting everyone down- don't you see? My life sucks!"
"I'm sure not everyone hates you, (Y/N)." Petra rubbed your back comfortingly. "There's always someone out there that cares deeply for you, whether it's your parents, (your siblings,) a close friend, or even a bystander just watching you walk the halls of the school."
"Look, (Y/N), we all know how you feel." Olivia placed a hand on your shoulder. "The Ocelots, except for Lukas, used to bully us endlessly. Made us feel useless and have nothing for us in the future." she began, looking at Axel and Jesse as she spoke. "But Petra and Lukas became our friends, along with the Old Order."
"She probably knows that stuff already-" Axel began in a joke to try to lighten the mood a little, but Reuben oinked at him, making him shush for the time being.
"Shush, Axel." Olivia rolled her eyes at her friend. She looked back up at you.
"Look, my point is, everyone has someone looking out for them, even if they don't see it. Even you."
"I just really hate this feeling." By now, you had stopped crying and Olivia released her hand from your shoulder.
"Hey, everyone feels this way. Even I do." Lukas admitted, and the others looked at him with a raised eyebrow or half a unibrow raised. "Don't tell anyone else I said that." he recommended.
"I may be strong," Axel took his words from there, but Petra stole them from him as well.
"But I have my doubts. And that doesn't mean I should stop trying." Axel stood, holding both of your shoulders with his massive hands.
"You have the strength to keep going. Keep fighting for as long as you can, because once you reach the end, you'll be satisfied." he told you.
"Yeah, you have a whole life ahead of you. Have fun with it while it lasts." Jesse looks down at you, making Reuben oink in agreement.
"Be your own hero." Lukas suggested. "And once you get to that point, you can start helping others!"
"It feels great to help others, trust us on that one." Olivia chuckles a little bit.
"Even if hope doesn't exist anymore, don't lose it, (Y/N)." Jesse drew your attention again. "It'll reappear in the most unexpected of places."
"Have faith and believe. Never that light inside of you." Petra smiles down at you.
"B-but you're all in my head. Why should I listen to you?" you ask, the tears still flowing but you kept your composure and managed not to stutter or stammer as much as before.
"We may be in your head, but we're here now. A part of the light that decided to show." Olivia told you. "You are much stronger than you think, (Y/N)." You wiped your face free of the tears as Jesse held the tissues in your hand.
"What if I can't-"
"We're not giving up on you, (Y/N)." Lukas interrupted your 'what-if.' "You don't understand this yet, but that someone who cares about you is hurting because they hate seeing you like this."
"Lukas's right." Axel agreed. "They'll be by your side, no matter what happens."
"Stay strong and fight on, (Y/N), for them because they love you." Jesse smiles. Reuben oinked in agreement, still in your lap.
"Don't let life bring you down. Trust your instincts and believe in yourself. There are many paths your life can go, and the way you want to go may not be perfect, but it's a way." Petra stood up from her seat to your left. Jesse did the same to your right.
"Now come on, show us that smile!" Axel gave you a grin, ruffling your hair. Slowly, your lips turned into a smile until your teeth showed, baring a grin. You leaped forward, one arm holding Reuben up while hugging Jesse. Jesse laughs, hugging you back.
"There s/he is. (Y/N) the Warrior. Nothing will stop you from living a good life. Show everyone you have hope and let that light in you shine." Jesse looks down at you.
"Just as I'm writing the story of the portal adventures…" Lukas began, motioning back to the screen that still showed the pause slide. "Write your own story. Be your own hero in it."
"Now… do you believe you'll make it?" Petra asks, as you and Jesse pull away from one another.
"Yes. I can. Thank you."
"Just keep fighting." Axel grins. "Blow up how awesome you are in peoples' faces!"
"And you're very welcome, (Y/N). Just remember…" Jesse began, taking Reuben from your arms. "Take life one step at a time and see where it takes you."
When you blinked again, they were gone. As if they weren't even there in the first place. You sat back on the bed, relieving the experience you had just, well, experienced. Determined to get to the end of the season finale, you picked up the controller and pressed on 'Resume Game.'
"I do. More than anything." Em admitted. "But nobody beats Hadrian at his own game. Nobody." Jesse seemed unconvinced. The blonde on Yellow Team, the one major fangirl of Tim, slid into view.
"Hey! Tim did!" she pointed out. "That's the only thing that keeps me going in here."
"Except he's not real." You clicked on the choice that would tell this audience the truth. "You were fed a complete lie about Tim. He never existed. He was made up to keep you going in the games." That made the crowd go down a little. Even the blonde began to cry. "Don't you want to win? We can beat these games!"
"What about the Gladiators, though?" Em responded. "We can't beat them all."
"One on one, we can't. But together, we'll overpower and outnumber them!" Jesse proclaimed. "We don't need Tim to keep us going… because we are Tim!"
You finished the game not too long after that. Shortly after the screen went dark and while the credits were rolling, a grin appeared on your face.
"Thank you. I'll stay strong and keep fighting, taking life one step at a time."