AN: sorry it took so long, but here is CH 2. I'll try to get CH 3 a little faster, I promise! Thanks for reading and I hope that you enjoy my story. Please review!

Chapter Two: Day One

After another short car ride, we finally turned into the familiar suburban neighborhood. The houses all looked pretty much the same, as in every neighborhood. The only differentiation between the other neighborhoods and this one...well...let's just say my parents aren't poor. The houses around me were all two and a half or two stories high with a basement, some fancier than others, but none too outlandish. Heading down the curvy, main road, I glanced to my right at the man-made lake in the center of the subdivision. A fountain had been installed while I was gone, and was spewing water up into the air in every direction. Green shrubs, grass and trees completed the scenic area of my childhood.

We took a left turn onto the road which held the house I still call home. Turning into the driveway of my parents' house. I practically tucked and rolled from the car, almost forgetting to take my seatbelt off. I pulled the back door open and grasped my copy of SAO. I was so excited to finally get ready to play.

"Tyler, come on! Let's go!" I had already made it halfway down the sidewalk to the wooden front door. He was still rummaging through the back of his car, gathering his things. Tyler made a half-assed attempt at spitting out an insult, which I laughed at, then followed me into the two and a half story, white house. After opening the door, I looked to my right out of habit. My Dad's office, my room, my big brother's room, and a guest room. This house held many memories for me, but that room in particular was rather important. I kept walking further into the house, Tyler having already walked up the stairs into the loft above me. I walked under the archway into my parent's main room. "You want anything from the kitchen before we log out of life for a couple hours, we might get hungry IRL," I reasoned, wandering to the left side of the living area, walking around the furnature in the room.

"Huh? Oh no. I'm good," I could hear Tyler mumble from upstairs. He seemed to be engrossed in the SAO Guidebook.

"Ok, nevermind then, I'll eat when you do," I said, turning around and walking up the stairs to the loft. The carpeted stairs led up to a landing, pausing on it, I could see up into the loft where Tyler was gazing with wonder at the Guidebook, awaiting my arrival so we could play. I couldn't hold in my excitement any longer, I sprinted up the stairs and practically dived over the leather couch between me and my best friend. He looked up and me just once, picking up his NerveGear and placed the helmet-like device on his head.

I followed his example, putting my own NerveGear on. The device's default Heads Up Display, or HUD, automatically clicked into view when I had it fully strapped on. I could see the time in the upper left-hand corner. The battery level was full and shown on the upper right-hand corner. Not much to it, until I gave the start up command.

"Link Start!," Tyler and I nearly shouted at the same time. A flash of light from the HUD insued, beginning the start-up process. Once my senses were all confirmed to be linked into the system, a swirl of blue light overcame my view, followed by a small room that allowed me to customize my avatar. I tend to make my characters look as close to me as possible, so I put in my medium length; sandy blond hair, dark brown eyes, narrow; athletic stature, and pale skin. "There we go!" I thought, looking over my avatar, "That looks about as close as I'm gonna get."

The words "ARE YOU READY?" appeared, floating in front of me. I touched the blue circle, and another bit of floating text appeared, "NAME YOUR AVATAR", and a keyboard replaced the letters. I typed in my stock MMO name, clicked another blue circle, and another flash of blue flared around me. "WELCOME TO SWORD ART ONLINE!"

I spawned in a courtyard-type area, surrounded by other players spawning in. I glanced around, seeking out Tyler. We had previously planned to meet up in the spawn area, so I knew he would be here, looking for me too. So I took in my surroundings. The courtyard was completely surrounded by buildings, with only a few exits. I made a quick choice that Tyler and I wouldn't stay here long, I don't like having a severe lack of exit routes. Just then, a message popped up in front of me.

"Rilos, I assumed this was the name you used, and there are way too many people for me to look through. Where are you? -Tobias"

The message was from Tyler, he was brilliant! Of course he would know me well enough to know that I would use 'Rilos' for my character name. Just like I knew 'Tobias' was his go-to name. I touched his name and pulled up his character info panel, adding him as a friend and inviting him to a party.

"Tobias, meet me just outside the Northern side of the courtyard. I don't like it in here. -Rilos" I sent the message and headed North.

AN: What do you guys think the flock's avatar names should be? I could make them just Max, Iggy, Fang, Angel, Gazzy and Nudge if that's what y'all want. And if nobody replies, I guess that's what I'll do. Thanks again for reading!