Bloody

"Why should I play a game?" Anti asked, still wary.

I smiled at him. "Because that way, I can get to know you better. Having someone as your opponent in a card game is the best way to share information." I had learned that with Sean. None of our conversations came as easily as the ones over cards.

"What's in it for me?"

"Information about me."

"And if I lose?"

"A feeling of disappointment."

"If I win?"

"A feeling of triumph."

"If I refuse?"

I stared at him. "I'm not going to force you to play a card game. It's only a game, Anti. No high stakes, no win-or-die you choose not to play-" I saw him flinch, as if expecting a blow "-then I'll put the deck away and we can talk without it."

He seemed somewhat confused. Then something occurred to me, and I laughed. "You're a fighter," I said. "You're used to anything and anyone being an enemy. You protect Sean at all costs. You are suspicious of everyone. But let me assure you, neither you nor your host is in any danger while they are here. I happen to like Sean, and he and Emily are getting quite close. Now come, sit, and play awhile."

Uncertain as he was, he was also curious. He walked over to the couch and sat. I dealt each of us four cards and placed four more on the couch between us.

"It's your turn first, so look at your hand and-" I burst out laughing as he held up his hand and looked at his palm.

"Okay," I said, wiping tears from my eyes, "looks like we're starting with the basics. When I say your 'hand', I mean the cards that you have. This," I indicated the four cards he hadn't yet picked up, "is your 'hand' in a card game. We also have these things called 'turns', where the players go one at a time to 'make a move', or perform an action. Does that make sense?"

"Yes," he said calmly, slightly ashamed.

"Okay, pick up your hand, but don't let me see what cards you have."

"Why not?"

"You don't want me to know what you can do."

"Why?"

"It makes winning easier for me."

He picked up his cards carefully, holding them close.

"Okay, the object of the game is to have a bigger bundle. What you want to do is look at your hand and see if any of the cards have the same number or face as one of these four in the middle."

"Face?"

I rooted through the deck for a moment. "These are the face cards," I said. "Jack, queen, and king."

And so it went on. Anti got confused multiple times, but he soon got the hang of the game. However, it was mostly a game of luck, not skill, so I won the round. Anti was slightly scared when he found out he lost, but relaxed again when I asked if he wanted to play another round.

Without my instruction getting in the way, we could finally converse over the cards.

"What kind of a name is Bloody, anyway?" He asked, as he stole my bundle.

I shrugged. "She said something about me being a reflection of her and started calling me Bloody Mary, or Bloody for short. You?"

"Well, on YouTube, Sean's name is Jacksepticeye, but everyone calls him Jack. Some of his fans made up a character called Antisepticeye, and he liked it, so he named me after it. Anti."

I smiled as I lay down my last card, then picked up the deck and dealt a new hand. "It must be weird to have fans."

"It is. For him, at least. I don't have fans. Everyone just says I'm evil." He shrugged and picked up my card. "He's always complaining to me about how he can't spend as much time with each fan as he wants because there are too many of them."

"To which you reply…"

"Usually, 'oh hush'. But sometimes I just tease him."

I laugh, and Anti smiles for the first time since I met him. Then he grimaces.

"Sean's coming back, but I've only got one more card."

"In that case," I replied, grinning and stealing his bundle, "I shall have this off you."

He smiled back at me and replied, "Joke's on you," as he swiftly stole it back. Then he groaned and held his head, breathing hard.

"All right there, hun?" I ask innocently as he looked back up, his eyes back to blue.

"What the hell happened?" Sean asked urgently, rubbing his head and staring confusedly at the cards in front of him.

"You hadn't introduced us to Anti yet. I like him. He's a sweetheart."

"Where's Emily?"

"Anti tried to kill her. She panicked and threw me in his way. I talked him down and taught him the basics of card games. Poor guy didn't even know 'go fish'."

"A guy nearly killed you, and you played cards with him?"

"Well, what else am I supposed to do? Kill him?"

"Given your reputation…"

"That was one time, Sean. One time!"

He laughed, and I grinned. His laugh was infectious.

All right, Emily, I thought, it's safe to come out. Sean's here. Everything's okay. And by the way, his name was Anti.

This time, I blacked out with no pain as I allowed Emily to take back control.