Summary: AU. Sophie begins to realise Sian's serious addiction to video games, and decides to act on it before her girlfriend destroys her life. Siophie, Sophie/Sian.
A/N: Apologies in advance, but I may not get the next chapter up for another fortnight. It's only because I have an incoming exam week and I've got to up my game and revise. I'm so sorry, but I promise this isn't the end.
Video Game Addict
Chapter Three
Once P.E had concluded, a moderately muddy Sophie was stood at her locker, placing her sports bag and books inside the light blue, narrow storage compartment. Since her rigorous discussion with Katy, the final conclusion of Sian being 'addicted' hadn't striked her until that very moment. Now it was all that was lingering upon her mind. She had, deep down, known this for awhile…yet she was unable to face it or accept the fact. Her 'Siany'…having such a concerning, worrying complication.
An addiction. An addiction to video games.
All the key aspects made perfect sense…Sian sitting in her gaming chair, never standing. Unable to look away from the television screen. Playing consistently for innumerable hours, being a potentially harmful effect on her mental capacity and physical state. Keeping a stock of fizzy drinks, sweets and chocolate bars in the side cabinet, having never to stand to fetch these sugary treats. Using a bucket, of all objects, to go to the toilet in. Only thinking about her gaming and nothing else, especially her upcoming GCSE's…and maybe, just maybe, her own girlfriend. Sophie even reckoned that Sian…loved games more then her.
"Soph…" Awkwardly walking towards Sophie was Sian, her eyes watering and red-rimmed. The bags beneath them were, by far, more prominent than that morning, significantly darker and sunken in. She yawned about three times before she managed to talk any further, "I'm…so drained."
"Yeah, and you know why?!" Sophie slammed the locker door shut, frightening the blond by slight, "You've been playing that bloody Clash of Clans all day! All day! It's unreal! And you claim that you 'walk around in school'. Sitting on your arse, in front of a school's computer, is not exercising, nor is it helping your tiredness!"
"…actually, I was playing Wizard 101…I found it installed on the network. Guess the gameplay's a little like ToonTown. It's about wizards and-"
"I really don't care what you was playing!" Sophie spat sharply.
"…ehm…"
A deathly, awkward silence soon dwelled between the couple, Sian's confusions raising and Sophie's anger subsiding. Whatever she did or thought, she couldn't stay upset with the blond for long, especially from her temptation to squeeze Sian's chipmunk cheeks.
"…sorry babe…" In an attempt to show her honesty, Sian entwined her fingers with Sophie.
Sophie held back, tightening her clench, "I know…I'm sorry for having a go. You…love your games," It took all the willpower she had not to say 'unhealthily addicted', "How was that…wizardy, 'Harry Potter' like thing you played?"
"It was alright, bit laggy in the overall gameplay, and I didn't like the quality of the graphics. The overall concept was…kinda original, kinda not. I enjoyed playing it though, it was quite fun!"
"Oh, right…" Sophie pretended to be moderately interested, nodding along to every word. She had no idea what 'laggy' meant either. Eventually concluding that it was 'gamers talk', she brushed her curiosity aside ans continued to converse with the blond, "Are you…doing anything later? I know it's a Monday night, and you're knackered, but I'm wondering…since we didn't really see each other today."
"…going home, working on Halo at bit more. Maybe a little Black Ops too."
"What a bloomin' surprise…" Sophie grumbled, turning away, "Have fun being up in your room all evening. Again…" She forced her hand away from Sian's grip, instead sliding it into her blazer pocket.
"Okay…I will." Sian rose an eyebrow, oblivious to Sophie's extreme hurt, though perfectly aware over her girlfriend's dislike towards gaming…whatever the reason it would be.
When she played video games, she felt…free. In reality, Sian was a geeky, glasses-wearing, slightly chubby, technology whizz. Be that as it may, in her miniature universe she was a soldier, a wizard, an adventurer, a fighter, a footballer…all within the short distance of her Xbox One or mobile phone, both conveniently located in the comfort of her stylish bedroom. She could express her swift skills in each game, controlling various protagonists on their significantly divergent journeys. Video games were her escape from the cruel, controlling world that she resided in.
And Sophie…never seemed to understand that. She never understood what it meant to be whoever she wanted to be.
"Let's do this…" Sian sat in her well-worn, cushioned gaming chair, keeping a firm seize on her controller. She causally lay back, her icy-blue peepers riveted to the gruesome, ghastly bloodshed being displayed on her personal television screen. She had skived off school on a particularly miserable Thursday, pretending to Janet that she was ill with the flu. Only, she hadn't completed the next level on Halo, having no previous time to work on it. And it was very, very important, "I'm so completing this shit in one sitting…" Feeling a little smug since tricking her mother, Sian slyly rose the system's volume and sported her gaming headset, her slightly greasy hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. She hadn't wanted any loose strands to block her eyes.
With a single finger, she pushed her glasses up against the bridge of her nose, refusing to observe any other corner of her spacious room. Her mouth opened wide with a deep inhalation, a sudden drowsiness commencing. Pulling a successful all-nighter was not an easy task, especially with an eavesdropping mother fluttering in and out of one's bedroom.
"Sian?! Are you feeling any better love?!" Janet hollered from downstairs, holding a steaming mug of warm, milky tea, "I've made you a cuppa! Would you like it?!"
"…ehm…no thanks!" Sian took a handful of moments to reply, and, by some means, managed to hear the elder woman chattering away through the explosions and shooting blasting through her lime-green headphones.
"Oh, well okay then…I'll be up with your special banana medicine soon!" Being a mollycoddled, fussy person, the sixteen year-old only took her favorite medication, refusing to consume anything else. It was a 'banana' flavoured, thick, liquefied substance, directed more towards young children than anybody else.
"…oh…fuck…" Sian gulped; she wasn't really unwell, and didn't even need any medicine! "E-ehm, yeah! Okay mum! Thanks! I…ehm, appreciate it!"
"Anything for my little honey-boo."
Sian, who would normally feel herself burning up at Janet's childish nickname, hadn't paid much consideration to what was mentioned, being unduly engaged in the futuristic world of her video game. Narrowly brushing her contemplations over school and, even Sophie, alongside…to make extreme space for all things gaming.
"Now…I need to do this before mum disturbs me…I have to…" Sian pounded the colour-coordinated buttons, operating the controller's joystick in an attempt to move Halo's unseen protagonist.
For Sophie, the following couple of days was a complete blur, flying by in an instant. A stressful, surreal blur; teachers piling on worksheets, students ultimately taking things seriously. Nevertheless, the brunette kept her head down and worked, having a conscientious attitude - despite all that was being thrown upon her. She was efficient in the notes she produced, prideful and passionate over her outstanding performance. Or…maybe she was working so hard because of Sian's daunting disappearance?
Especially since the blond would, most likely, had been playing hours of video games. And bunking off school to do so, faking some form of exaggerated sickness.
The brunette, who was home after school, lazed around on the cozy couch. She held a teenage-aimed magazine, flicking the pages every couple of seconds. In an attempt to cast her thought-track away from Sian…and her unfortunate case.
'Sian's got a serious problem,' the sound of Katy's voice echoed through Sophie's mind, 'It's not just a hobby for her. She's addicted to video games.'
Addicted…addicted…addicted.
"What do I do…?" She asked herself, massaging her temples, "Now she's skiving…"
Rosie strode through the living room, wearing a face mask and silken dressing gown, "Hey Soph babes, mum's nipped out for a bit…want some of her red wine to prove you're so grown up?" This was more of a snide, catty remark than anything else. Sophie wasn't in the mood to deal with her sister's tricks and teasing.
"Shut your trap." Sophie narrowed her eyes in annoyance, glaring at the glamorous young woman.
Rosie snorted, flicking her long, luscious, shoulder-length hair over her bare shoulder, "You're such a misery guts. You've got no sense of humor," Silencing for a couple of moments, she she soon changed the topic of conversation, "Oh, are you reading that magazine?"
"Ehm…yeah. Why?"
"Because I wanna look at that model's hair. It's dead tacky," With a lithe, heavily manicured finger, Rosie pressed against a beautiful woman's head on the thin page, "Mine's well healthier-"
"Rosie, I don't care about your flamin' hair!" Sophie barked, forcing the magazine shut, "Now just go away!" Sian's worsening condition was pressurizing Sophie to the very core, causing her to consider on whether to take action; she certainly hadn't wished for Rosie to irritate her any longer, especially whilst she was contemplating her future actions.
"Okay, okay…Christ, someone got out of the wrong side of bed this morning. You're so fucking moody today." Upon that note, Rosie stomped out of the room and up the stairs, mumbling illegible things as she went.
"Yeah, I did…suppose you could say that."
What was she to do? Intervene? She couldn't, it wasn't right. Sian adored gaming with all her might. The overall concept of computer-generated simulations even kept her sanity in-check at times. And still…Sian's idolization was an addiction. Whether she cherished gaming or not, this prime factor hadn't concerned Sophie in the slightest. In fact, she didn't care that her girlfriend treasured gaming; a dependancy on technology for entertainment and satisfaction hadn't been…healthy. Surely it wasn't. In that sense, it was assuredly an addiction. There was no denying it.
Sian really needed help. A therapist, a counsellor…somebody to talk to about her issues. Only, convincing the blond that she had an unlucky, complex problem was far from simple. Sian believed she was innocently playing games, blinded and controlled by her own interests and desires. Sophie, on the other hand, had recognized the alarming verity long ago, only beginning to 'face the music' since Katy's declaration.
Sophie had to do something. She had to. Intervening with her girlfriend's apparent 'innocent hobby' or not, it was gradually morphing into a set of circumstances that could impact Sian's subsequent lifestyle. An impact for the worse. One which may become frightfully permanent.
After all, she was Sian's partner…so she was fully entitled to deal with the blond's complications. She loved Sian Powers to the moon and back, and yet…she was remaining unsure if the older girl reciprocated her own affectionate endearment and tenderness.
Sian…loving games more than her own girlfriend?
It shattered her heart in one-hundred pieces to even consider it. But a wise Katy was not intending to upset her friend, only wishing to state the dire truth. Even if this were true, the truth still hurt. Her supposed 'significant other' staring in awe and admiration at her strategy-incorporated, gory games; a look of which should've been reserved for Sophie. Not the virtual reality that Sian seemingly lived in. The blond's real-life, imperfect, somewhat smart girlfriend.