Chapter 6
You meet Me, I meet You
That morning, Steve arose from his bed with an awful headache, his entire face drenched in sweat. He groaned in discomfort and flung the blankets off of his body, which had somehow been neatly tucked into his sides.
Steve's pupils shrank in realization and fear. Last night...he had a dream and then woke up, stumbling outside because of his fever and delirium. He never came back inside, he had fainted outside on the ground. There were no monsters.
The miner put his hands in his face and breathed in and out violently. How did I end up back inside?
Steve quickly grabbed some cooked beef and gulped it down, mumbling Notch's name and his Realm codes under his breath. He couldn't stay here any longer. He needed to see Notch again. He didn't understand what in the world is going on. Clearly Herobrine is here and messing around with him, but not trying to capture him or hurt him. That doesn't make any sense! Steve thought that if he told Notch everything that had happened so far than maybe he'd have some answers. Steve felt confused, scared, and sick. His head was on fire, his body was wet with sweat and odor. He needed to escape. He needed to take a break right now.
Steve ate one more piece of beef to try to help his headache before he pulled up his World options and hovered his hand above the 'quit game' option.
He was only a split second before pressing the option when he heard a sound that originated fairly close by. Steve snapped his head around in an insane way, panting madly. It was the sound of wood being broken.
Steve dropped down to the ground, sneaking up towards his front door, his heart pounding out of his chest. Curiosity took over him within an instant and he bailed the option to quit the World. Is it Him? Is Herobrine out there? Is he really right outside my house? Can he...see me? Oh god!
The curious miner looked out the small window in his door with big, excited eyes. He was greeted with exactly what he wanted to see. Herobrine was standing almost directly outside his door, punching down a...tree with his...fist. Steve tipped his head. He wasn't expecting Herobrine to be doing something like that... Wasn't Herobrine unusually strong? Steve heard that Herobrine could punch a log once and it'd break before him. But this...this was clearly showing Steve that that was not the case. Herobrine took just as long as the normal player to punch down a tree.
The more Steve stared, the more surprised he grew. Herobrine didn't looked anything like the Herobrine he dreamt of last night. He looked rather skinny, almost the same size as Steve. He didn't have any rippling arm muscles or a defined back shape, he didn't have a skinny waist or a dirty, calloused hand. He looked to be...paler and even less attractive than the Herobrine in Steve's dream or the Herobrine Steve remembered from years ago... but maybe players just change over time, perhaps Steve is still stuck in the past and he just needs to move on, to remember the present things and not the past. If this is what Herobrine looks like now, then so be it.
Herobrine was furiously muttering something under his breath while punching the oak wood, his white eyes glaring at the wood as he punched it. Steve continued staring with wide eyes, his hand rubbing the purple, enchanted stick rhythmically, as if ready to hit Herobrine with it unceasingly if needed.
The Underworld god cut the tree down and turned to the side, staring at Steve's house with an angry, disgusted look on his face. His white eyes then fell on Steve's door. He seemed to flinch a little, his eyebrows turning upwards and his eyes growing wider on his face as he saw Steve's big eyes staring at him from the window frame on the oak door. Steve tipped his head a little, his eyes locked on the Underworld god's face. Did I just...scare him?
"Fucking hell. Little creeper, aren't you." Herobrine spoke, his voice not as low and cold sounding as Steve remembered it to be. Steve was very, very confused at this point. One, Herobrine looks A LOT different than how he used to look like, if I remember correctly, but it's been a thousand years. Two, I just scared him, which is NOT normal at all. And three, he was punching a tree down with his bare fist and it took him forever. That is also NOT normal. What is going on? All of Steve's suspicions were making him feel even more scared and unsafe. His fingertips clenched and rubbed the stick quickly and nervously.
Herobrine locked his eyes with Steve's, staring at him with his mouth open as if he wanted to say something but nothing was coming out. Steve didn't dare take his eyes off of Herobrine for a second. He didn't dare speak either.
"Why don't you come out, Steve. I want to talk with you, as you may know." Herobrine slowly mumbled, giving Steve a scary looking smirk, his white eyes lifelessly staring into Steve's face. His eyes didn't seem to have a glow in them, they were just...white. Odd... He really is different than how I remember him to be...
A weird feeling filled Steve's chest, it was composed of boldness, curiosity, and fearlessness. The younger miner continued staring at Herobrine, his hand tightly gripping the enchanted stick as he opened his wooden door, slowly pushing it to the side. Steve felt extremely odd and hesitant, but there was something about Herobrine that didn't seem to scare him as much as he thought he'd be... Steve couldn't quite put a finger on what it was, but he was glad to be feeling that way.
"Yes, come closer why don't you." Herobrine said, taking a small, rather slow step towards Steve. Was he scared to get closer to Steve? Was he nervous about being here?
Steve moved closer and closer to Herobrine until he was only two blocks away, gazing up into Herobrine's face rather shyly. Herobrine didn't seem to be very tall...
The demon still had a wide, scary looking smirk on his face as he stared into Steve's eyes. Steve purposefully gave him a little glare and waved his enchanted purple stick in the air at his side, making sure the Underworld god saw it.
Herobrine raised an eyebrow, still smirking. "What's that you got there?" He asked and pointed to the stick.
Steve's mouth gapped a little bit. He doesn't know what this is? I thought Notch said that he would know and he might even get scared and leave me alone for a bit because of it! "You...you don't know what this is?" Steve stammered in surprise.
Herobrine smirked and shrugged, shaking his head slowly. "I've never seen it before in my life. Looks pretty sketchy to me, like a hack or somethin weird."
The Overworld player looked at his feet, confused by why Herobrine wasn't speaking in a formal way, he was seemingly talking to Steve as if they were young, passive players. Herobrine almost never used contractions in his speech, if Steve remembered correctly. What is going on? Do I just...not remember Herobrine correctly or something? Oh Notch, please help me understand what's going on!
"N-Notch gave it to me... He said that it has lots of power in it and that I should use it on those who make me feel unsafe." Steve muttered, looking into Herobrine's eyes intimidatingly.
For some reason Herobrine's face seemed to harden and his eyebrows raised, his lips pursing together. Steve studied the look, seeing how pale Herobrine's forehead had gotten. Is he scared now? Did I just scare him?
"Oh come on, Steve. You won't be needing that. I just want to talk with you a bit and show you...my mansion...in the Nether. You'll like it a bunch." The god spoke, flushing his paleness away with a dark chuckle, flashing his teeth at Steve.
Notch specifically told me NOT to enter the Nether. He must be trying to trick me. You can never trust Herobrine, that's for sure. Steve backed away from the god, backing up towards his front door so he could open it. He softly said, "I'm not supposed to go to the Nether. I'd rather stay in the Overworld anyway, Herobrine."
Herobrine took a step towards Steve, looking frustrated. "Oh I know, I know. I should've recognized that you would say no. Still, I need you to come with me sometime soon, Steve. I have something very important to show you. It is hidden from the outside World, so nobody knows of it but me...and now you. I want to show you it Steve, you will like it," the god rambled quickly, his eyebrows furrowing. "Just think of it as a present from me to you, Steve. A gift of peace."
Steve started breathing harshly, feeling extremely uncomfortable. It just didn't seem right, his words didn't seem reliable. The way Herobrine was quickly throwing things at Steve felt extremely threatening and untrustworthy. Steve put his hand on his doorknob and turned it slightly, gripping the hard wood in nervousness.
"No. I can't. Absolutely not. Go away. I need to rest now." Steve said, eyeing Herobrine wearily.
"Oh for fuck's sake it's morning, Steve." Herobrine hollered, throwing his hands up in the air and trudging quickly towards Steve, his eyebrows slanted and white eyes narrowed in anger. "You will come with me now.
"STAY BACK! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Steve yelled, swinging the enchanted stick in front of his body, only a second away from hitting Herobrine but he had flinched and leaned backwards.
"GEEZ! Stop it you crazy FREAK! There's no need to hit me with that stick thing! I'm not going to hurt you, I just want you to come and follow me NOW." Herobrine shouted, glaring at Steve and waving his hand to the side, beckoning Steve towards him.
"I told you no! I said no!" Steve cried, squinting and waving the stick in front of his body madly.
"Oh for god's sake! Calm down and stop acting like a fucking child. PUT THAT THING DOWN AND LISTEN TO ME!"
Steve's heart suddenly twisted and started to ache when Herobrine finished his sentence. Why does he have to be so mean and senseless around me? Can't he see that what he's doing is making me scared? Steve looked at the ground desolately and flickered his eyes up to Herobrine's, sighing and putting his tense arm at his side while loosening his grip on the enchanted stick. "I'm not a child..." Steve muttered, shame for his behavior suddenly hitting him hard in the chest. Maybe he is being childish. Maybe he should clam down. Maybe this is all normal and he's just overreacting.
Herobrine suddenly moved extremely close to Steve, so close that Steve could smell the sweat on his dirty shirt. Steve's nose wrinkled a little, Herobrine didn't exactly small pleasant...
"You won't be a child if you put that stick down that Notch gave you. In fact why don't you just hand it to me, it'll help us form a more trusting relationship." The god spoke, almost muttering it into Steve's ear. His pale, stalky arm reached forward to brush the purple stick in Steve's tight grip, his head tipped and eyes studying Steve's face intensely. Steve only gulped and shyly looked back into Herobrine's eyes.
It was interesting, standing there with so much tension between them. The way Herobrine had his hand rested on the stick made Steve feel extremely on edge, knowing that at any second he might try to yank it out of Steve's grasp. It was scary to Steve, he felt uncomfortable and nervous.
"Steve. Let go. Let's be nice to each other. I just want to show you a few things, then you may go back to exploring and living your life in Worlds. I want to consume as little of your time as possible." Herobrine said almost gently, his scratchy, low voice inches away from Steve's ear. A different feeling also washed over Steve's mind and it caused him to blush, his eyes closing slowly.
"Maybe if you say it nicer then I will..." Steve muttered almost unconsciously. He treasured the feeling of having another player so close to him, it enraptured his mind. Even though Herobrine was sweaty and chaotic, Steve couldn't help but like the fact that the god was so close to him.
Herobrine sighed in frustration and disgust. "Oh, am I already not being nice enough for you? I could end you right now, Steve."
"If you whisper it in my ear and be nice then maybe I'll give you the stick..." the younger miner muttered, flashing Herobrine a rather devious grin.
"Oh for fuck's sake-" The god growled, but then leaned in and put his mouth by Steve's small, tan ear. The god mumbled hoarsely, "Can I please have the stick, Steve? If you give it to me then we can try to start a real connection...a real bond."
Steve burst out into giggles, slapping a hand over his mouth in attempt to stifle them.
"What's so funny you little shit?" Herobrine snarled, pushing one of his hands into Steve's shoulder roughly.
"Y-You sound so funny when you say that to me! You act so nice and you sound so innocent but I know inside that you want to kill me! What a joke!" Steve giggled, smiling at Herobrine happily.
The god glared at the human and tugged on the enchanted stick. "You were the one who asked me to be fucking nice. Why are you so choked up that I was?"
Steve's smile disappeared as soon as he felt Herobrine tug on the stick. "That wasn't a real type of nice. I asked you to be a real type of nice to me." Steve said, hitting Herobrine's hand away from the stick. "I'm not giving it to you, Herobrine."
"What the hell!" The god snarled, running his hands through his messy hair angrily. "I did everything you told me to, and you promised that you'd give me that freaking stick!"
"Now who's acting so childish?" Steve cried, "And no, I didn't promise that I'd give you it! You weren't being nice or mature!"
Herobrine let out a hiss of frustration and slammed Steve's shoulders back against the oak planks of his house. Steve's breath hitched a little at the face of Herobrine's push, his shoulders limply sagging downwards.
The god's white eyes pierced through Steve's violet ones, his face full of impatience and disgust. "Give me the stick right now or I will not hesitate to kill you," he murmured slowly, his hot breath hitting Steve's nose and mouth. The human only shut his eyes tightly and shook his head, trying to strain his neck to the side so he could avoid Herobrine's breath. Steve wouldn't dare think of giving the demon the stick. Herobrine cannot be trusted, especially when he is this angry.
Herobrine suddenly grabbed the stick and yanked it, loosening Steve's grip on it. Steve yelped and yanked on it as well, attempting to swing it towards Herobrine's stomach. The god noticed and leaped up into the air, hissing and growling down at Steve.
"It's my stick!" Steve yelled up in the air, glaring at the god. Herobrine gave Steve a death stare and then disappeared, seeming to fly away above the oak tree forest. Steve was shocked when he saw this, for he didn't ever remember Herobrine being able to do that in the past.
Without much hesitation, Steve frantically grabbed a shovel and dug straight down like a mad man, quickly placing dirt back over the entrance of his hidey-hole. He then crouched down in the darkness of the earth, trying to control his abnormal breathing. The only thing he could think about was: Why? Why is Herobrine so different than the Herobrine every player knew of in the past? What is he hiding in the Nether?
Steve looked down at Notch's enchanted stick with a desolate expression on his face. He knew that he couldn't exit the World now, because if he did, he might never find Herobrine again. He has to stay here until Herobrine gives him more information on what he has going on in the Nether and why he appears to look and act so different now.
Steve felt a tear roll down his cheek and he clenched his teeth. He never thought in a million years that Herobrine would be this arrogant and nasty. It's as if he doesn't have a heart. It's as if he doesn't care about anything except getting his way with Steve. This destroyed Steve's heart because rather secretly, he wished that Herobrine would be considerate of his thoughts and intentions because of how long they've known each other.
But Herobrine is terrible. He's gross. This World is already Hell.
