A/N: Hey everyone, it's been a while, and I have some explaining to do. But first, the new chapter. Additional notes will be found at the end of the chapter. Enjoy!

"Wait, wait, wait . . ." Silver asked, starting to laugh harder than he had already been doing. "She actually, legitimately, genuinely did that?"

"Yes. In front of a crowd of people too," Blaze's voice responded, also laughing. "She was just . . . just, just, just so fucking . . . God, I literally don't know what to say! Like, dude . . ."

There was a pause as Blaze faintly started eating something crunchy. Then, she resumed, still partially chewing. ". . . I've seen fuckin' four-year-olds throw more composed temper tantrums.

Silver laughed in response and leaned back in the office chair in front of his computer desk. "So . . . Shadow and Selena are done?"

"Yep. Haven't seen her since she ran off this morning."

"That's . . . good," Silver replied, pausing to reflect on the story Blaze had told him. The two of them were engaging in their usual Friday evening activity together: Terraria. The two had been playing their current world consistently for about 6 months and always made sure to continue what had been long binge sessions on summer nights into the school year. But, of course, they both couldn't stay up till 3 am on weeknights, building their comedically oversized house higher and higher while fighting back relentless mobs. So, they agreed to play on Friday nights, a time when neither of them was busy.

Blaze returned to quick-stack some loot she had found exploring caves and groaned audibly as she saw Silver's character standing motionless next to one of their rows of chests.

"Bruh, how much time are you gonna spend in here 'sorting' our stuff? It's getting really boring going out on my own. Plus, I keep dying," Blaze's protest announced into Silver's headset.

Silver rolled his eyes upward. "Maybe you're just bad," he teased.

"Fuck off," Blaze laughed, shoveling more crunchy snacks into her mouth. "You're still lame."

"You know," Silver started, a smile creeping onto his face. "Maybe I am bad and lame, but at least I'm not repeatedly losing my coins to easy-to-defeat mobs and fall damage."

"That is literally not what is happening," Blaze denied animatedly, giggling indignantly.

Silver felt his heart flutter and the sound of Blaze's laughter and had to pull himself back down to Earth. He shook his head and tried to suppress the heat radiating off of his face in case Blaze could feel it pulsing through her own headset.

"Sounds a lot like what's happening to me," Silver replied, smirking.

"Well, it's not. Dick," Blaze stated matter-of-factly, turning her character away from Silver's and rushing away off his monitor.

Silver smiled down at his keyboard, shaking his head.

Dammit, you're so cute . . .

He cringed internally at himself, despite not uttering a word.

"Heyyyyy, you there?" probed Blaze, her character jumping back and forth over his, shooting projectiles that did nothing.

Silver snapped back to reality. Feeling himself smile, he nodded to himself. "Yeah, what's up?"

"You done yet?" Blaze impatiently asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh my fucking god . . ." Blaze said in disbelief. Silver started to chuckle at first, but it quickly grew to a fuller laugh as Silver enjoyed his own sense of humor.

"As I was saying," Blaze cut in. ". . . I wanna actually finish up what you said we were gonna do before I go to bed."

"Aw, what, already? It's only just after 10," Silver protested.

"Yeah, I know, I know," Blaze replied. "But I'm helping Shadow study for world history tomorrow morning.

"Oh, okay, that's . . . Wait, Shadow?" Silver asked, his heart sinking.

"Yeah, he needs help studying for our test Monday."

Silver tried to clear the sudden fog that descended over him. "Oh, okay. Cool," he said, suddenly feeling a pit in his stomach grow.

"Yeah, sorry, dude," Blaze said sympathetically. "Sorry for being such a nerd," she joked.

Despite the angry web of jealousy and disappointment tangling somewhere deep in his chest, Silver found himself chuckling again. "If you were sorry for being such a nerd, you would be a completely different person," he responded, feeling himself smiling again.

"Who're you calling a nerd?" a voice from the entrance to his bedroom shouted.

Silver jumped in his seat and quickly muted his headset, turning his head sharply to glare at the intruder. "Tikal, what the fuck?"

Tikal giggled and entered Silver's room wearing a massive T-shirt repping her art college and a pair of bike shorts, with heatless curlers in her dreads. "Who're you calling a nerd, dingus?" she repeated, a massive smirk appearing on her face.

"Silver, you there?" Blaze's confused voice came through Silver's headset.

Silver shot his sister a dirty look and unmuted his mic. "It's Tikal, just give me a sec," he curtly responded, muting his mic again.

"Oh, tell her I said 'hi,'" Blaze replied.

Ignoring Blaze, he turned back to his older sister. "The fuck do you want?"

Tikal snickered. "Nothing, I just wanted to see who you were talking to." She grinned at her younger brother. Silver responded with an unamused stare.

"Was it Blaze?" Tikal asked, suggestively wiggling her eyebrows.

"Yeah, what about it?" Silver asked saltily, suddenly feeling very raw and exposed.

Tikal was mildly taken aback and raised her eyebrows. "You good, my guy? Did something happen with her?

Silver went silent, feeling his emotions bubbling over like a pot of boiling water. "Shadow and Selena broke up . . ."

Tikal's eyes went wide for a moment before returning to a neutral position. She sipped from the can of ale she held in her hand and looked at her younger brother. ". . . And?"

Silver looked away and towards the floor. "Well . . . she's . . . Blaze is, I mean . . . going to study with him tomorrow . . ." He suddenly felt embarrassed upon hearing himself speak and clammed up, refusing to say anything more on the subject. Silver could feel his sister's eyes on him, even as he stared transfixed at a loose thread in his sweatpants. He could almost hear the cogs in Tikal's head turning as she tried to both figure out what he was thinking and what she could say.

Finally, a noisy sip of ale from Tikal punctured the silence. "So, is it a date then? Blaze and Shadow? A romantic date, I mean. Cause, you know dude . . ." She let out a loud burp, to which Silver gave her an unamused look. ". . . It could literally just be a boring study session. Shadow did just break up. I'd be stunned if he had the gall to immediately pull a 180 and date Blaze."

When Silver didn't respond again, Tikal rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Did Blaze say it was a date, yes or no?"

"No . . ." Silver admitted, looking up at his sister. Tikal snickered. "Aw, come on, Tikal, you've never had a crush on anyone before? Never had your heart sink when you saw them with another guy? " Silver protested in response to her nonverbal teasing.

"Dude," Tikal giggled, gulping more ale down, "You don't want me to start down that path. It's a tragic series of events involving a bunch of straight girls and me as a confused and horny lesbi-"

"OKAY! Yes, you're right, I don't want to hear anymore!" Silver cut her off swiftly. Tikal snorted into the last of her ale and broke out into fits of giggles. "All I wanted to say about that is to not judge me for wondering if-"

". . . Mister-Steal-Yo'-Girl is actually 'stealing yo girl,' yeah, I know, I get it," Tikal finished, flopping down on Silver's bed, dropping the now-empty can of ale on the ground.

"Sooooo many frat-boy lookin' motherfuckers always stole the hotties from me," she lamented to the ceiling.

"You better not leave that can there," Silver responded, getting more and more irritated with his slightly tipsy sister.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she droned, oozing the lower half of her body off the side of Silver's bed.

"Can you, like, leave now? Don't wanna leave Blaze hanging any longer," Silver asked. When Tikal only responded with loud, exaggerated kissing noises, Silver finally stood up, walking over to his older sister. "God, you shouldn't be allowed anywhere near alcohol," he remarked dryly, picking up the discarded ale can and throwing it into his trash.

"I literally only had one drink, you ass," she retorted.

"My point still stands. Get up, c'mon."

Silver grabbed her arm and attempted to hoist Tikal off his bed, with Tikal responding by going limp. She snorted noisily as he unsuccessfully tried to coax her off of the floor.

Finally frustrated, Silver threw his hands up. "Out! Seriously Tikal, get out, now."

Tikal rolled her eyes and picked herself up off of the floor. "Fiiiiiiiiiine," she droned, walking over to his bedroom door.

Silver sat back down in his desk chair and put his headset on. He was just about to unmute when he heard Tikal call his name.

"Hey, Silver, listen . . ."

Turning his head, eyebrows raised, Silver looked at his sister, who was leaning in the door frame, a now supportive (and mildly intoxicated) look on her face.

"Don't sweat it with Blaze. Treat her with kindness and respect, which I already know you do, and you'll go far. I know that's not what you want to hear, but like . . . *hic* you're a good guy, and it will mean the world to her if you stand by her no matter what. Like I said, I know you *hic* already do but like . . . gods, I dunno what I'm saying right now . . . What I'm trying to say is just be a good guy for her. Girls like it when guys are nice to them no matter the situation, and who knows, maybe it'll get you . . . get you . . . uh, get you far. Liking someone goes from infatuation to limerence when you stop focusing on how you feel and . . . and more on how the other feels. You know, getting joy from their *hic* happiness."

Silver nodded, then cracked a small smile. "You do not handle alcohol well."

Tikal scoffed. "That's my big thank you for the great sisterly advice!? I'm so unloved!"

She snickered at her own joke, then (finally) turned to leave. "You're a good man. Good luck, dude." She then exited his room, still hiccupping. "And tell Blaze I said hi!"

Silver stared at the carpeted floor for a few minutes, turning over his sister's intoxicated advice.

I do care about her . . . so much. I'll tell her one day . . . just not tonight.

Feeling slightly constricted in the chest, he smiled at the floor.

She's so happy with Shadow . . . I hope she stays happy, even if that means I won't get to date her . . . I should still probably tell her at some point. I'm gonna go nuts.

"Hey, anyone home?"

Blaze's cheery voice sounded like ear sugar at that moment. Silver felt his heart speed up, and he suddenly felt . . . lighter.

He unmuted his headset. "Yeah, sorry about that, I'm back."

"Ugh, finally!"

Silver snickered. "Hey, go to bed. You've got that study meetup in the morning, right?"

"Wow, you are telling me to go to bed now? Who are you, and what did you do with Silver?"

Silver chuckled. "Seriously. Trust me, studying when tired is a good way to not study anything."

Blaze sighed, then exited the Terraria world. "Yeah, you're right. Guess this is goodnight then, huh?"

"Yeah."

Silver inhaled, then opened his suddenly dry mouth. "Hey, Blaze?"

"Hm?"

Silver fidgeted with his hands in his lap. "Good luck with Shadow. And have fun. I know how much you like him."

There was a brief pause on the other end. "Yeah . . . I'll try. And thanks, man . . . You're like, one of my most supportive friends. It means a lot."

"You mean a lot to me as well. I wouldn't want anyone else to stay up with me until 4 am." A tiny part of his chest suddenly felt freer.

"Glad we feel the same," Blaze said. Silver couldn't see her, but he knew she was exuding a blindingly bright smile. "Night, dude."

"Night." The call ended.

Silver relaxed, staring up at his ceiling.

"Liking someone goes from infatuation to limerence when you stop focusing on how you feel and more on how the other feels . . ."

Then . . maybe I do like her more than I thought.

⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤ END ⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤

A/N: Hey guys, it's been a while, and I apologize for that. May is a busy month for me, and then I had more writer's block, as well as the revelation of some major life changes happening soon. That's mainly why it took so long to release a new chapter.

This was also supposed to be a longer chapter, but this was the best I could do. I didn't want to keep putting it off. I was getting intimidated with the pressure to make it long, so I decided to shorten the chapter and publish it as is. So, I apologize for the brevity of it compared to other chapters. I might combine it with the next chapter in the future, but for now it will stand alone "as is."

I do genuinely apologize for keeping you waiting in the dark. I know how nerve-wracking it can be waiting for a fic you like to update and worrying that the author has gone dark, to never return again. I need to post updates more. If you're *still* here despite my absence, I can't thank you enough. Seriously. You're all the reason I forced myself to sit my ass down and write the next chapter.

As for the future of the fic . . . Don't worry, it's still going to get done, come hell or highwater. As I mentioned, big life changes are happening to me soon, and I might not be as frequently publishing new chapters for a while. To prevent this situation from happening again, I will try to keep you all in the loop more. Maybe I'll post stuff discussing my commentary on how I'm working on the fic. Idk just yet.

Again, this fic *isn't* abandoned! Dammit, I've put so much work into this, I'm gonna finish it.\

I've rambled on for long enough. Thank you for your continued support!