"Flame?" Ember called out, as she walked down the hall. "Hello?"

She approached Flame's room, and reached for the doorknob. Hesitating to open it, she knocked lightly instead.

"Who is it?" Flame mumbled.

"It's Ember. I'm here to-"

"Who let you in?" Flame interrupted, speaking more firmly this time.

She was upset at his answer, and was about to walk away. But Ember knew that she had to do this. She opened the door, and stepped in.

The only light in the room was coming from a computer screen. Clothes were strewn all over the floor, and, for a brief second, Ember thought she saw a plate of pizza on the bed. But the illumination that allowed for that view was blocked off by Flame, who stood up from his desk.

"What," Flame started, looking right into her eyes, "do you want?"

Flame's posture was slouched, and his eyes were glazed. Ember was shocked - it was worse than everyone had thought.

"Listen, Flame, you've been playing that game for two months now. Can you PLEASE stop?"

"Ember, I…I can't."

"Why not?"

"This game is amazing, I mean, I owned this noob, and I got a GODSWORD! A frickin' GODSWORD - those are worth like, a billion gold pieces! So I used that money, and started investing, right? And I got even MORE money …"

Ember didn't have the nerve to interrupt him. She sat on the bed. Flame continued.

"…So anyways, now I'm about to get this skill to level 99. Do you know how awesome that is?" He looked at Ember, and he sat down in his chair again.

"Huh?" she said. She was barely even paying attention, until then. "Erm, no, I don't."

"It's like, getting laid in real life! Yup, so, you wanna see?"

Ember pretended to ignore that last comment, and was already looking at the computer screen. She sighed.

"Flame, I've played this game before." Ember stated, emotionless.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. You're getting 99 cooking right now."

"That's right." Flame smiled.

"Listen, I don't mean to burst your bubble, but, 99 cooking…That isn't anything at all like reaching home plate." She had to stifle a laugh. "It's more like, spooning with your dog."

Ember stared at Flame. For a long time, Flame stared back as well, blankly.

"Well?" Ember asked.

She was waiting for Flame to break down crying, and admit that he had wasted so much of his life playing that nerdy game. But it didn't happen.

"…So, you mean, no one cares if I spoon with my dog?" Flame whispered.

"Yes - wait, I mean, no, eww!" She cried out.

"Then what are you trying to say?"

"Everyone gets 99 cooking!" she yelled.

"Gross, EVERYONE spoons with their dog?!"

"NO, I meant that people will look at you in disgust, and -" she stopped. Ember finally realized what a failure her comparison was, and held her face in her claws. She raised her head. "The point is, the game is pointless."

"No, you're wrong. I make money, friends, learn skills, and I get to prove to everyone how much better I am than them, and -"

Ember stood up. "No, YOU are wrong. You're just wasting your time. Whatever happened to those stories you were going to write?"

"I was going to get to it eventually…"

"Oh, were you?"

Flame looked away. "No," he muttered sadly.

"I got sucked into that game too, back when I was chubby. I had no friends, so I used the game as my escape from reality. Until I realized, I wasn't TRYING to get any friends, and that was my problem. So I stopped playing," her voice lightened up, "and look where I am now."

Flame had logged off of the game, and was staring at the floor. "The reason I started playing, was because you, and everyone else, started making fun of me."

"What? We never -"

"The eyeliner."

"Oh THAT," she chuckled, "But, we only joked about you for a little bit."

"Five days is not a little bit!" Flame screamed, jumping from his chair and stomping out of the room.

"Well, at least I got him out."Ember thought to herself. She followed, feeling guilty.

Flame was already in the kitchen, sitting on a stool and sipping some tea he had made earlier. Ember slowly came in, and leaned on the counter.

"Listen, I'm sorry. We're all sorry for not taking you seriously, when you told us to stop."

Flame kept slurping his tea.

"We love you Flame. Please come bowling with us tonight?" Ember asked softly.

He set his tea down, and looked right at Ember. "Can I wear my eyeliner?"

She laughed. "Of course!"

Flame shot up, and bear hugged Ember.

"F-Flame," she stuttered, barely able to breathe.

"Yes?" He loosened his grip.

"You smell like pizza."

He laughed. "I'll go take a shower."

…

"You almost done?" Ember asked.

"Yeah," he quickly said, as he grazed the bottom of his left eye with the eyeliner again. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's roll."

They stepped out of his house, and started walking.

"Is Spyro gonna be there?" He asked flirtatiously, smiling and winking once.

"Back off flamer," she teased, "he's mine."

"Oh, by the way, you're still chubby."

Ember laughed. "Riiight."

Suddenly, the two noticed Spyro up ahead, running towards them. They stopped.

"Flame," he panted, out of breath, "Ember."

"Erm, yes?" Ember questioned.

"Cynder got Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. You have GOT to come over!"

"Actually, we were hoping we could go bowling tonight -" She stated shyly.

"No time! LET'S GO!" Spyro ran off.

Ember felt defeated. She was turning to head home, when Flame put his claw on her shoulder.

"Why don't we go check it out?"

"Well," she thought for a moment. "Fine."

…

(one week later)

Ignitus knocked on the door yet again. There was still no reply.

"This is unbelieveable," he whispered. He kicked down the door.

There were empty cheese puff bags all over the floor, and the smell of soda permeated the air. The only light source was coming from the television, which had the title "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" on it. Ember, Flame, Spyro, and Cynder were passed out on the floor.

Cynder woke up. "What do you want, Ignitus?" She wondered out loud groggily. Her eyes were bloodshot.

"You four," Ignitus began, "have a serious problem."