Chapter 14

After the ceremony, the three of us had planned to log out, but so many people wanted to come and talk to us that it wasn't an option. A player with a Lulu avatar approached me through the slowly dispersing crowd. Now that the avatars were in the way, I couldn't tell the real ages of players. Lulu herself always gave me the creeps, but this player was smiling at me in a really cheerful way that made Lulu terrifying. "Hey," She chirped. She sounded about my age, "I'm Olympia. Your story really inspired me, and I think it's cool how you've got your own Moogle."

"Uh, thanks," I murmured, "So where are you from? If that's okay to ask?"

"Australia," Olympia said with pride.

"Same here."

"Ooh! We already have something in common," She giggled. I shouldn't have expected Olympia to have a low, seductive voice or a foxy type of personality. Why did players choose avatars that didn't suit their personality? Maybe it was a silly thing to ask. I guess that players most likely went for their favorite characters created by Square Enix. "Well, I'll see you around! Could you maybe add me?"

"Sure."

I accepted her friend request and she took off with a small group by the name of the Aeroga Party. I had a feeling I was going to start turning into a popular player. Not in the league of Lionheart or Ominous Blight, but I was going to be known for being some sort of superhero or something. Another player came up to me, this time with an Elena avatar. "Hello, I'm Starlight, from the Zantetsuken Party," She held out her hand.

Throwing around the Zantetsuken's name showed she was probably one of its newest members, seeing as she was already wearing their armor. Starlight had a strong German accent, and she seemed pretty serious and business-like. It suited her avatar's character, being a member of the Turks and all. "Nice to meet you, I'm Oathkeeper," I shook her hand. I should rehearse how to introduce myself.

"I know who you are," She said curtly, "Could I add you as a friend?"

I accepted another friend request that day and Starlight said farewell. Not long after, a player with a Paddra Nsu-Yeul avatar walked up to me. If pretty girls were always going to talk to me from now on, I could get used to my new reputation. Paddra herself was like an innocent-looking version of Aqua, so how could I deny smiling at this player?

"Hi, gorgeous!" They spoke in an exuberant, manly voice. He reached up to kiss me on the cheek, "In here they call me Divine Rose, but you can call me tonight."

Oh no. No. No. No.

"Uh, thanks," I said for the second time that day. I wasn't homophobic or against the different types of sexuality, seeing as Aubade was bisexual, but this situation was weird and uncomfortable.

"Oh my gosh, you're so shy!" Divine Rose beamed with a rapid pace in his voice, "That makes you even cuter."

As I was about to let him down easy and say I had a girlfriend, I saw someone wrap their arm around my shoulders. "Hi, honey," The voice belonged to a Heartless with a southern drawl. What a wanker.

"Hi, babe," I played along with a forced smile, "How's it going?"

"Good, good," End of Pain nodded, "Who's your friend?"

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Divine Rose frowned in embarrassment towards me, "I didn't know you already had a boyfriend. Oh well, I guess we can still be friends. See you around."

He rushed off without another word. I turned to say thank you to End of Pain. But then I realized he still had his arm leeched onto my shoulders, and he winked at me. I wasn't an idiot. "Fuck off, I have a girlfriend," I growled.

"Oh?" End of Pain raised an eyebrow, but his expression snapped to one that showed realization, "Is it Oblivion? No wonder you gave me the death glare when I flirted with her."

"I wasn't glaring," I said defensively, "... And she's not my girlfriend."

"Anyways, this is Divewing," He ignored me and let go of my shoulders. Did this guy ever stop to smell the roses? End of Pain introduced me to a player with a Zack Fair avatar. Divewing gave me a slight nod, so I returned it with my own. He didn't seem like much of a talker. "We're going to head off to Radiant Garden, so we might run into each other there," End of Pain started to walk off.

"Wait," I muttered. He faced me again with curiosity. It was probably a bad idea; one that would backfire on me. And I didn't trust this guy, he seemed like trouble. But if I didn't ask, I would regret it later, "What do you know about Oblivion?"

"I used to go out with her, so I'm not sure how much I should be telling you—"

I stared at him in disbelief, "What?"