When Mimi didn't see Izzy online for a couple of nights, she got a bit worried until she got an e-
mail from him, explaining his absence.

To: USAflowrgrl@aol.com
Subject: Absence

Mimi,

Sorry I haven't been on recently, but after we last chatted while I was having
breakfast...well, let's just say I took my frustrations out on a hapless basketball player who
tried to de-pants me in the cafeteria again. I ended up with a couple days' worth of detention,
and my folks grounded me from my computer until the weekend. I'm writing this to you late at
night and in secret, and I've got to do a bit of work to get rid of the evidence. So please don't
respond to this e-mail, and I'll try to catch up with you this weekend sometime.

Izzy

Mimi just shook her head. She had a feeling something must've happened, but she had no idea
Izzy would actually lash out like that. Part of her felt he should've exercised some restraint and
not acted so stupidly, so...so male! And yet it was the other part of her that dominated her
thinking. That was the part that knew if he'd been with her, it would've been Michael on the
receiving end of his rage. She let herself daydream for moment about just that, finding a strange
satisfaction in imagining the scene. Izzy defending her honor in the middle of the school, and
then turning to her and taking her in his arms and...

Mimi quickly shook her head vigorously, losing that image quickly. Izzy had always been a nice
friends, but a bit too geeky for her tastes. Even the last time she'd seen him in person he was
more or less the same. To her, it was a bit of a shame. She'd always kind of found him a bit cute
beneath all of his nerdy ways. She sighed, knowing there wasn't much hope for him unless he
started to try and come out of his shell a bit. She happened to glance back over to her screen
and noticed there seemed to be a little more to Izzy's message than what she'd seen before.

P.S. I know I acted stupidly, but I was honestly upset about what Michael did to you. I
just wish I knew a way to cheer you up again, Mimi. I much prefer your normal, cheery self, and
I want to do whatever I can to help you get back to that point. Granted, my capability to do that is
a little limited because we're so far apart, but I'll find something. I promise that I'll help you
get your mind off of him.

"Thank you, Izzy. For a nerd, you can say very sweet things..." she said to herself as she filed
the e-mail in a special folder so she could look at it whenever she wanted to. Her heart felt a bit
warmer now, and she looked forward to the weekend when she might be able to speak to him
again online.

**********************************************

It was Saturday, it was raining, her friends were all unavailable and she was still kind of
miserable, so Mimi decided to turn to the one outlet she had left to vent her frustrations:
EverQuest. She'd never fancied herself a gamer of any kind, but she enjoyed the game more or
less and had had an account for some months now. She only had one character, a female High
Elf Magician named Jerihandra. She was about mid-level range, and had some decent
equipment, though nothing spectacular by any means. She was now in an area of the game
known as the Lake of Ill Omen and was hunting things on her own, and doing rather well for
herself. Channeling her anger and frustration from the week was certainly paying off as she
reminded herself just how therapeutic the game could be.

Mimi looked around a bit and spotted another target, a sabertooth tigress. An easy kill, but she
wasn't terribly worried about experience right now. She cast a spell at it, damaging it and then
sent her Fire Elemental after it to fight for her. As she prepared to cast a follow-up spell to help
finish off the tigress, something hit her hard from behind. She whirled quickly to see a goblin
warlord right there, attacking her.

"Oh crap, I can't take him on! He's too strong!" she muttered to herself as she tried to retreat past
her elemental for some help. That got the goblin off of her for the moment, but just as the tigress
went down the goblin finished ripping through the elemental and continued its pursuit of her. Mimi
ran, trying to get back to a safe location. She sent out a couple yells for help, but no one seemed
to be reacting. Her health was diminishing rapidly, and she knew she wouldn't last much longer.
She was down to a sliver to health and cursed to herself, not looking forward to having to recover
her corpse where it was. She waited for the finishing blow to come crashing down, but it never
did. She turned around to see a male High Elven Paladin named Yevinar Strongheart was taking
on the goblin warlord and winning. She made her way back and cast a couple of spells to help
out, and soon thereafter the goblin was no more. Mimi sighed in relief, glad to still be on her own
two feet. Yevinar then turned to face her.

Yevinar tells you 'Are you alright, milady? Oh, a foolish question, of course you're hurt. Here,
allow me.'

He did something quickly, and suddenly Mimi's health bar refilled completely.

You tell Yevinar 'My thanks, kind sir, but you didn't have to use your Lay on Hands for my sake.'

Yevinar tells you 'A lady was in peril, and harmed! I am sworn to do all I can to protect, especially
those of my own homeland, not to mention of such beauty...'

Mimi giggled at how gallant he was acting and had her character emote that she was a bit
embarrassed at his compliments

You tell Yevinar 'I had feared that chivalry was long dead. My thanks for restoring my faith in
those old, and might I add not often enough practiced ways.'

Yevinar tells you ''Tis not dead, m'lady. But there are more than a few heathens about these
days. I feel I must make up for their slack.'

You tell Yevinar 'That is rather sweet of you kind sir. Well, I do need to rest up a bit to regain my
magical powers. Thank you again.'

Yevinar tells you 'I shall accompany you to a safe place, then. Perhaps the windmill? There are
usually a few other people gathered there as well.'

You tell Yevinar 'Oh, I would not think to deter you from your journey, sir knight.'

Yevinar tells you ''Twould just be another step along the way, m'lady. I would be honored to
accompany you for a bit.'

You tell Yevinar 'Then I would be happy to be accompanied by you, my knight.'

Yevinar bowed to her, and she followed him back around a ways to the windmill where the two
sat and rested. Mimi had her character Meditate to regain her magic power faster, and the two
continued to chat for a while in character. They played a bit at having a budding romance
between the two of them, and Mimi was more than happy to lead him on a bit.

You tell Yevinar 'I am truly indebted to you for my life, my knight. I wish I could make it up to you
somehow...'

Yevinar tells you 'All a part of my solemn duty to protect and serve the general populace, dear
lady. I was happy to do it, as I would gladly lay down my life for you again someday if need be.'

You tell Yevinar 'I would be most sad if you had to die for me, my knight, so please do not say
such things.'

Yevinar tells you 'As you wish, dear lady. I would not wish to burden you with such a thought.'

You tell Yevinar 'Thank you. I have been burdened with quite enough as of late.'

Yevinar tells you 'Oh? Is it anything you would wish to speak about?'

You tell Yevinar '(ooc) It's RL stuff, believe me I'd rather not go into it all again. The short version
is, my ex-boyfriend is scum and a good friend of mine got in trouble over it all.'

Yevinar tells you '(ooc) I...see. Sorry to hear it, but I'm sure it will all work out. Your friend
sounds like he meant well.'

You tell Yevinar'(ooc) Yeah. I'm hoping to catch up with him again later on. We'll see. Shall we
get back in character?'

Yevinar tells you '(ooc) Sure thing.'

Yevinar tells you 'I would be honored to travel with you for some time, dear lady, if you will have
my company.

You tell Yevinar 'Very well then. Let us sally forth in Tunare's name, my knight!'

Yevinar tells you 'Prodigious!'

Mimi giggled at him for a moment, and then stopped, looking intently at the chat screen.

You tell Yevinar 'Wait a second...I only know one person who uses that word...'

Yevinar tells you 'Uh, did I say that? I meant, proctological! Or wait, no that's not... eheheh...'

You tell Yevinar 'Izzy?!'

Yevinar tells you 'Hi Mimi! Long time no see! ^_^;;'

You tell Yevinar 'Just how long were you going to keep your identity a secret?'

Yevinar tells you 'Hey, we were in character! I didn't want to throw things off. Sorry.'

You tell Yevinar 'No, that's okay. This is kinda fun actually.'

Yevinar tells you 'I never would have pegged you for an EQ player, though, Mimi.'

You tell Yevinar 'Hey, every day in my life can't be a social function. Besides, I just feel like
drawing in right now you know?'

Yevinar tells you 'All too well. Well, we can at least vent our frustrations here online, and in
character. How does that sound, dear lady? -_^'

You tell Yevinar 'Sounds just fine to me, my knight.'

Mimi then had her character emote that she hugged him and smiled at him as well.

You tell Yevinar 'Thanks for everything Izzy. It means a lot to me to have someone there to help
me through these times.'

Yevinar tells you 'I'm happy to do it. Now c'mon, let's go hunt us up some goblin!'

You tell Yevinar 'All right!'

Mimi now had a Water Elemental following her around, and she commanded it to follow her as
she took off behind Izzy. The two spent several hours hunting together all over the area. They
received a few invitations to join other groups, but declined them all. They just wanted to hunt
together. By the end of it all, they had a few more platinum pieces to show for it and Mimi's
character gained a level as well. After they both signed off of the game, they got together again
over normal chat.

USAflowrgrl: That was more fun than I've had recently. Thanks again for helping me out, Izzy.

MasterIzE: Glad I could be of service. I had a fun time, too. We should do that again sometime,
when you're not busy with other things.

USAflowrgrl: Maybe next Saturday, same time?

MasterIzE: Sounds good to me. :)

USAflowrgrl: Heh, kinda funny if you think about it.

MasterIzE: What is?

USAflowrgrl: In a way, we were just on a date, and we just scheduled ourselves to go on another
one.

MasterIzE: I wouldn't exactly call getting into a game and killing things a "date" per se, Mimi.

USAflowrgrl: Oh I know, I'm just generalizing is all.

MasterIzE: Still...

USAFlowrgrl: Hm?

Mimi could tell Izzy was hesitating on something. As she waited for his response, she wondered
what he could be holding back.

'He almost sounds like he's afraid to say something. Could he maybe...no, get that idea out of
your head again Mimi! He'd never...would he?'

On his own end, Izzy continually tried to type what he felt, but pulled away from the keyboard at
the last second.

'Are you insane, Izumi? Get it through your think skull! You and her mix like water and
chocolate. It just doesn't work! It would never work! You're a total loser, and she's...she's just
so...what is she to me? I don't know, I just...'

MasterIzE: It's nothing. It's really kinda late over here, I guess I'm beginning to hallucinate. I'll
talk to you some more tomorrow, Mimi.

USAflowrgrl: Okay, you get some rest Izzy. Oh, and one more thing.

MasterIzE: Yes?

USAflowrgrl: Thank you for the "date", and for being so sweet before as well. I liked it. {{{Izzy}}}

Mimi added the brackets around his name to let him know that at least in a virtual sense she was
hugging him. She knew she'd probably never get the chance to do something like that in person,
but she figured that he'd know the sentiment was there. She logged off and decided to call up
her friends for a bit.

Half a world away, Izzy crawled into bed and quickly passing out, his dreams filled with only him
and Mimi, and her hugging him as she just had online. It was the best sleep he'd gotten all week.

***********************************************

Another Saturday rolled around, and Izzy and Mimi met up in EverQuest yet again. Mimi seemed
a lot more focused on killing things this time around, and afterwards Izzy set back to chat with her
yet again.

MasterIzE: You sure were a bit more aggressive than usual there. Anything going on?

USAflowrgrl: Just imagining everything we killed was Michael and his sweet little Robin is all.

MasterIzE: They're still being a problem?

USAflowrgrl: It's like they take every opportunity they have to make out in the halls here, in the
hopes that I see them. It's starting to get disgusting. :P

MasterIzE: Well, do what I do when I see people making out in the halls.

USAflowrgrl: Which is?

MasterIzE: Mentally replace their heads with fish heads. It certainly makes it a bit funnier to see,
and often times it's not too far off either.

Mimi took a second to do just that, and the resulting image sent her into a fit of giggles.

USAflowrgrl: ROTFL! I'll have to do that next time. Thanks!

MasterIzE: Think nothing of it. :)

USAflowrgrl: Izzy, can I ask you something?

MasterIzE: Sure, fire away.

USAflowrgrl: Before I left Japan, you started to get kinda quiet and introverted. Was anything
going on back then?

MasterIzE: Kinda. I don't like to bring that part of my life up very often, but since it's you I'll talk
about it.

USAflowrgrl: You sure?

MasterIzE: Yeah. Don't worry. See, around that time I started getting bullied on a daily basis by
a large group of boys, and even some girls.

USAflowrgrl: Oh no!

MasterIzE: I'd get beat up a bit by the boys, and the girls would beat me up verbally. I think I was
called everything from a geek, nerd and dweeb to some things that didn't even make sense to me
back then. Like hedgehog head.

USAflowrgrl: They must've made you feel horrible! But why didn't you ask any of us for help?

MasterIzE: I didn't want any of you to suffer likewise or worse. That'd make me only feel even
worse. And if they focused on me, then no one else would get hurt either. I can't stand to see
other people be hurt.

USAflowrgrl: That's no reason to hold that all in, though, Izzy! No wonder it seems like all you do
is computers.

MasterIzE: Turning to computers gave me a sense of anonymity. I could be who I wanted to be,
and no one online would judge me on anything other than based on who I was.

USAflowrgrl: How long were you bullied?

MasterIzE: Who said it ever stopped? I still get some of it now, from some of the same people. It
just doesn't faze me anymore. I guess you could say I'm numb to it.

USAflowrgrl: Izzy...it's never a good thing to be numb. You've been hurting for so long...

MasterIzE: I manage. At least I can help my good friends like you cheer up. That's what helps
me out most, helping my close friends.

USAflowrgrl: But...that's not...

Mimi could feel the hesitation in her. She wanted to finish typing what she was thinking, but the
strength had left her hands.

'That's not fair to you, Izzy! You shouldn't have to suffer so others can be happy! It's not fair, and
it's not right!' she thought, a bit of anger welling up inside of her. 'You keep saying I don't deserve
to be treated like garbage...but no one deserves to be treated like that, least of all you!'

Mimi looked back up at the screen, returning to her chat, still trying to sort out her feelings.

MasterIzE: It's not healthy, I know, but I'm beginning to think it's my role in life. At least it ensures
that I'll never get an ego about anything. ;)

'And yet he still acts so nice...so noble, even. It would be so easy for him to be completely cold-
hearted and callous after all that's happened to him, and yet he's still as nice and warm to me as
ever. I wonder...'

USAflowrgrl: Hey, Izzy, do you have a girlfriend?

MasterIzE: LOL, nice one Mimi. Like I'd ever find someone who could put up with a nerd like me.

USAflowrgrl: Never say never, Izzy. That's all I'll say about that.

'Am I honestly starting to feel this way for Izzy?' Mimi thought after she finished typing. 'And
would that necessarily be so bad? Calm yourself down, Mimi. He probably doesn't even think
about you that way anyway. Even so, I can't shake this feeling. Oh, I wish I could see him just
once so I would know for sure.'

The chat session continued on for some time, turning to more lighthearted matters shortly
thereafter. Mimi still found herself idly wondering about Izzy, and trying to discern what her
feelings for him were now, or at least what they were becoming.