Kevin got out of his Ferrari and walked up the many steps towards the mansion. Now, to be frank; this was his richest acquaintance by far, and that reflected even in the monolith of an estate before him. When he finally got up the many steps, he waited five seconds before knocking, just to be safe.
It took a moment before the door opened, and when it did, he was greeted by the man of the hour himself, Baron.
"Ah, Kevin! It's good to see you could make it, even on such short notice." He exclaimed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
Kevin shook his head, and recited coolly, "It wasn't a problem; I wouldn't miss this for the world. How've you been doing?"
Barron grinned sarcastically, and replied jokingly, "Older."
Kevin and Barron burst out laughing, making the other guests turn towards them and stare. They both soon after grew self-conscious, and slowly stopped their chuckling, breathing out a long sigh as they settled down.
Baron then spoke seriously, "But I've been doing peachy… okay well, that's a lie, things have been sucking recently."
Kevin stopped grinning, his expression souring, "Let me guess, Dad problems?"
Baron just sighed, nodding his head. Baron's father had wanted his son to go to a prestigious business school and get into the family business, running a giant boating company that supplied half the east coast. But he refused, his passions lied elsewhere, so he had decided to go to a community tech college instead. His father blew a gasket, no, several gaskets when he heard the news. Kevin knew that for sure; he had been there. His father had almost knocked his block off when Kevin stepped in to take the blow. That day was the first day Kevin actually hated someone, and he enacted on it. Kevin vividly yelled at the man, angrily telling him off.
Looking back, it scared him how vicious he had been. Kevin had lost his job at Baron's father's company, not like he cared.
Kevin shook his head, clearing his thoughts before asking, "What atrocity does he think you've committed this time?"
Baron clenched his hands, and stated, "He still wants me to go where he went to school, despite the fact my video games have been selling pretty well."
Kevin just shook his head in disbelief, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"He said, and I quote, 'If you don't stop making these… GAMES, I'm going to make sure you go under, and when that's over and done you will go to the college I told you to go to." I just wish he'd get over it…" Baron sighed again, a forlorn expression cast onto him.
Kevin pat Baron's shoulder soothingly, and comforted, "It'll be okay."
Baron smiled softly, his gratitude evident in his eyes.
Kevin snapped his fingers, like he remembered something, "Oh, right. Here, I got this for you."
Baron looked at the expensively wrapped box, before opening the present. Inside he found a mahogany box that slid open to reveal probably one of the fanciest watches he had ever seen. The watch wasn't made of gold, it was made of a shiny platinum; it looked much nicer anyway. The watch itself was encrusted with diamonds and emeralds, a gem near each hour marker. The watches' face was an intricate emerald swirl that seemed to go infinitely deeper and deeper into the back. The glass was made of diamond, giving the watch a crystalline look. Finally, the straps on the watch were made of some of the finest looking leather that could be found.
Baron looked at the watch in awe, not quite knowing how to react. He slowly picked up the watch, as if the moment he picked it up, it would crumble, and scatter in the wind. He seemed to hesitate, and then he spoke, his voice quite:
"How… where…? Thank you, Kevin… this is beautiful."
Kevin grinned, patting Baron on the back, "You're my best friend, why wouldn't I give it my all?"
Baron smiled gratefully, before clearing his throat to gather the rest of the crowd's attention. When they all gathered in the main entry hall, some of the butlers passed around champagne flutes filled with sparkling cider, as Baron announced:
"Now that everyone's present and accounted for, I'd like to make a toast. To all of you that had the time to get out here, I thank you. I know I can be a little eccentric at times, but I'd like to thank you again, for sticking with me through thick and thin. Let's all raise our glasses; for a better tomorrow!"
The crowd all cheered, raising their champagne flutes high. The only person who seemed to raise their glass halfway was Kevin; he had to appear cool and controlled, so he tilted the flute towards Baron nodding. His warm grin was apparent, as he took a sip along with the others.
This had been a good night.
Kevin thanked Baron for invited him to the party than exited the building. His smile drooped and he sighed. Another party done and dusted, he went to his Ferrari and slouched into the seat.
He drove back home, exhaustion evident in his eyes. Kevin's mind wandered, the thoughts breaching the otherwise quiet drive home. His wayward thoughts eventually landed on one subject; his ties with everyone.
At first, he did what he did to appease his brother's request, to become popular enough to be well known in the small Californian town he grew up in. But that backfired horribly, leaving the large scar on his left shoulder he had grown used to seeing. So he had himself and his brother moved to the east coast, so no one recognized him. Then he decided to watch the people he wanted to know, for days or months at a time, before subtly moving into their friend circles. He had repeated the process across the east coast until he had connections EVERYWHERE. There wasn't a popular group he wasn't a part of.
But, after a while, he grew dependent on them, for jobs and money. So he invested everything into getting pricier and pricier objects. After some point, Kevin had come to the realization that, not only become the first trillionaire, he had a net worth of over ten quadrillion. He hadn't believed this either. When he told the bank to stop joking with him, they just stared at him blankly.
Kevin had been behind on his hospital bills, his brother had nearly been kicked out when he had come to this realization. He paid the bills in full, while also donating over a quarter of what he had amassed to the hospital, earning it back quite quickly. His brother had been waking up on and off, so he decided that he would go see his brother more often.
He had been a little under fifteen.