Never Have I Ever

TW: Chapter contains bullying, blood, brief suggestive content and violence

October 10, 2016

9:56 p.m.

Their minds refused to accept the images as real, but the camera tracked every last movement made. The video sent to them was none other than the fateful video which made Luigi snap—the one Abate was so close to viewing earlier. It showed the recently-nerfed Luigi doing his best to hold out against his opponents' aggression, only to quickly slip into a disadvantage due to his decreased combo options. The four watched, hardly daring to breathe, as fists and feet flew into the shot, slamming into the man in green in all directions. He threw fireballs, did floor attacks, utilized items and lashed back fiercely until one man grabbed him from behind and held him in place while a few other men used him as a punching bag, giving no thought to his desperate cries. Abate felt an acute sickness arise in his gut. Isai whimpered and sobbed. Eddy muttered a prayer under his breath. Mr. C wrung his hands. They had all been morbidly curious over the contents of that video—and now they wished they hadn't.

"Please! No more!" they watched a badly beaten Luigi scream, his tears making clear tracks on his blood-smeared face as he fought to ward off the attack. He'd tried to retreat, but there were little places to do so on the stage they were on. Eventually, they had him on the floor, kicking him relentlessly, punching him back to the ground each time he tried to struggle up.

Abate tried to exit out of the page, but clicking on it just caused it to pop up somewhere else. Multiple windows of the video began appearing all over the screen, and he couldn't exit out of any of them. He couldn't mute the sound. He couldn't do anything. It was as if his computer was corrupted.

"Dear Lord in Heaven!" wailed Isai as he watched Luigi give up the fight, his body going limp against the ground, as his opponents continued to attack him. "Where were the officials?"

"Maybe they didn't care, either," murmured Mr. C. "It's a blood sport to them, a rush, a turn-on."

"Look at them," Eddy gasped in disbelief. "They keep going at him. He's forfeited the match, and they keep going at him—why can't I close this window?"

The scene then jumped to the aftermath of the "match"—if you could call it that. It was dim and quiet, and all of the spectators had gone. The area was completely vacant—save for one person.

Luigi.

He lay curled up on the stage, hugging himself, in a pool of his own blood. He was bruised and swollen all over his face. More bruises marred his limbs, and by the way he was holding his side, a rib or two was probably broken. Slowly, the camera panned down the plumber's beaten, quaking body. He sobbed softly, while someone else snickered. And then Luigi turned his face so that he was looking directly at the camera. No black eyes or broken noses could mask the vicious malevolence the four men saw on that face.

"Why?" he whispered through his tears as bloody snot ran from his nose. "Why?"

Finally, the page went away, leaving the four men shaken.

"It's worse than I imagined," muttered Isai as his teeth chattered.

"He—he must think we did it," said Eddy.

Abate jumped onto Facebook to plead his innocence.

We had nothing to do with that!

Then what are these? LisRl2015 asked, bombarding Abate with the hateful comments in response to the video.

Plz Weegee kill urself.

OMFG LUIGI UR LIFE IS OVER!

Wow, Luigi, I had no idea you made such a mess.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA XD

KILL URSELF NOW PLEASE!

Bye-bye, Weegee!

Who wrote these, Steve?

Abate scrolled through the page Eddy had sent to him earlier, about the dead haunting the living.

We didn't mean it, he typed. Everyone was posting, so we did, too. But we were only joking! We made a big mistake, but we're good people.

Are you sure about that? LisRl2015 challenged. Let's find out.

Let's play a little game, he posted onto the group chat. I'm sure you're all familiar with it. It's called Never Have I Ever.

"Never Have I Ever? Like the drinking game?" questioned Isai.

Exactly, but in my version, the loser doesn't drink—the loser dies the worst death imaginable.

"Personally, I'd rather take the drink," groaned Mr. C.

"I don't do drinking games," said Abate. "Could someone explain how this works?"

"It's easy, really," said Isai. "Hold five fingers up. Someone will state a claim beginning with Never Have I Ever. And if you did that thing, then you put a finger down."

"I don't want to play this game. I want to go to bed. I want my mommy!" whined Mr. C.

You don't have a choice, remember?

"Why?" demanded Abate. "Of all games, why that one?"

I think you know why, Steve.

"God—it, I'm in no mood for a drinking game, period," sniffed Isai. "I want out."

Would you rather I just kill you now, ISAI?

"He knows my name!" screamed Isai.

Five fingers up, please—

"Okay, fine! Have it your way! Everyone, put your fingers up!" snapped Abate.

The four men raised their left hand.

Never Have I Ever—started the rumor that Abate is a closet case.

"Who—who did that?" asked Abate as LisRl2015 began to count down.

"Well, don't look at me!" Eddy said quickly.

"It wasn't me, either," said Mr. C.

Isai looked flustered for a few seconds before finally speaking up. "God help me, I did it. It was me."

Isai—finger down.

"What? No," gasped Abate. "You said Boss was responsible."

"I—I lied about that," confessed Isai.

"How could you?" yelled Abate. "I looked up to you! You were the reason I got into the Smash business and took up Luigi! What were you thinking?"

"Well, you were always hanging around with Eddy," Isai stated defensively, "so I think there's some truth in that!"

"That's ridiculous! Eddy's seeing somebody now!" Abate shot back.

Never Have I Ever—damaged Isai's N64 console.

"That was one of you guys?" Isai asked incredulously. "That was actually one of you guys?"

After a pregnant pause, Abate put a finger down and hung his head in shame. "It was me, Isai. I was trying to learn how to play Smash 64, and I got frustrated, and then it happened. I'm sorry, man."

"Did you have any idea how much my parents saved to buy me that thing?!" roared Isai.

"Gee-whiz, some friend you turned out to be, Steve," scoffed Mr. C.

"Well, at least I apologized, which he neglected to do for starting this crazy rumor about me—which isn't true!" Abate said hotly.

"Stop it," commanded Eddy. "We need to stick together if we want to stop this guy."

Never Have I Ever—groped a certain man in green.

"Are you joking right now?" asked Abate.

Eddy put his finger down. "That was me, but I swear, I was drunk. It didn't even last long, either…"

Never Have I Ever—sold out Mr. ConCon to the tournament officials for conspiring to cheat on a bracket match.

"Isai, I swear, if you're responsible…" growled Mr. C.

"Lay off, all right? It was me! It was me," Eddy broke in.

"What?! Why, man?!"

"Does it really matter why?"

"Yes, it does! They threw me out of the bracket, man! I was ushered out by security in front of God and everyone! It almost cost me my career!"

"I had no choice!" argued Eddy. "They were gonna find out one way or another, and if they learned that I knew about it in advance, then they would've punished me, too! It was either one of us, or both of us!"

"And so you decided to do the right thing," Mr. C said sarcastically. "How noble of you!"

Never Have I Ever—stolen one grand from Mr. C.

Mr. C was beside himself. "You guys are snakes! All of you!"

"I'll pay it back—I promise!" blubbered Isai, putting down a finger.

"Don't bother—keep it!" retorted Mr. C.

Abate sent an IM to Eddy. Lay off of Mr. C. He's gonna lose it. Remember that convention?

He was drunk, Eddy responded.

He's drunk now, Abate typed back before minimizing the IM window.

Never Have I Ever—offered to trade Isai's life for my own.

"What? Guys, are you serious?" spat Isai. He started to sob.

"No, none of us did that," Eddy said consolingly. "We'd do the opposite! Luigi mains stick together remember?"

"Steve…" said Mr. C.

"Steve, did you do that?" Isai choked out, exasperated and crying harder.

"No! I wouldn't do that!" cried Abate.

"Then prove it! Put down a finger, and prove it!" ordered Mr. C.

"Hey! Steve said he didn't do it, so quit pushing!" snapped Eddy.

"Oh, and he always tells the truth, Eddy?"

"Yeah! Yeah, he does!"

"Oh, he does? Because he always tells the truth, right Steve? Don't you always tell the truth?" Mr. C rambled.

Backed into a corner with two seconds remaining on the clock, Mr. C broke down and confessed. "It was me, okay?!"

"Mr. C!" gasped Isai.

"You're a monster—you're a no-good monster, you know!" shouted Eddy.

"Oh, I'm the monster! They told me that if I traded Isai, then the rest of us would be allowed to live. In short, I was saving all of your thankless butts! But you wouldn't understand because your lives are rainbows and unicorns!"

"I hate you! I hate you!" sobbed Isai. "I hate you, Mr. C!"

As Isai and Mr. C continued to rage at each other, Abate sent a few more IMs Eddy's way, pleading for him to keep his level head and try to calm Mr. C. down.

But Mr. C was having none of it. "All right then, L, it's my turn! Let's make this interesting, all right? Never Have I Ever thrown a match!"

Never Have I Ever—thrown a match.

"What are you doing, man?" screeched Isai.

"L, where's the timer?" asked Mr. C, ignoring Isai. "And—there goes my finger."

"Thrown a match? Nobody's ever thrown a match!" hollered Abate.

"Yeah! I don't believe in that stuff!" Eddy joined in.

"Hey, the timer's still going," said Mr. C in a sing-song voice. "L, why is the timer still going? Tick-tock, folks, this round isn't over!"

"Stop it! Stop it!" yelled Abate.

"Someone hasn't answered! Hello?"

Abate cursed and lowered another finger. "I'm sorry," he said.

"What are you talking about?" asked Eddy.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Eddy," said Abate, on the verge of tears.

"New question—Never Have I Ever stabbed my doubles partner in the back. You happy now, Stevie?"

Never Have I Ever—stabbed my doubles partner in the back.

"MR. C, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" screamed Abate.

"No. No. He can't be insinuating that…" Eddy stammered.

"Eddy. Look at me. I'm sorry. It was an accident. I didn't mean to!"

"We were on our way to the big leagues, Steve!" screamed Eddy. "What made you want to throw the game?!"

"I was mad at you after we had that argument, okay? You said some hurtful things, and I wanted revenge! I'm sorry, and—I hate you, Mr. C!"

"Like I care," Mr. C shot back.

"Stop talking! You got us into this!" Abate lashed out.

"But hey, it doesn't matter, right Eddy? It doesn't matter!"

An oldies song began to play loudly on the computer. It was "Backstabbers", and it was on full blast. Abate tried to stop, pause and mute the song, but even with his volume turned all the way down, it was still playing, though not loud enough to drown out the insults Eddy and Mr. C were exchanging.

"Stop it! Stop it! I don't wanna play anymore!" Isai screamed through his tears, now sufficiently stressed out.

"You know what—I'm gonna win this! Never Have I Ever—hey, hands up, we're still playing! We are still playing here! Never Have I Ever rigged the Wii-U controllers so that you could more easily mash buttons!"

Never Have I Ever—rigged the Wii-U controllers.

"What? Oh, [bleep] you, man!" roared Mr. C.

"In the name of Heaven, this is no way for grown men to settle their affairs!" shouted Abate.

"Don't talk down to me, you dirty backstabber!" snarled Eddy.

"Eddy, I swear, I never meant to hurt you!" pleaded Abate. "Please, Eddy!"

"We were doubles buddies for better or worse, and you spat in my face!"

"It was only one time!" sobbed Abate. "I just let my temper get the better of me! You're my best friend!"

"Ah, yes—the virtuous, pure-hearted, angelic Steve Abate," Mr. C said mockingly.

"I'll have you know that I've spent every night since wishing I could take it back!" said Abate.

"Whatever, Stevie."

"Thanks a lot, Mr. C!" Abate screamed at him.

"And that's supposed to make it better?" balked Eddy.

"I'm sorry! I don't know what else to say! I'm sorry," hiccupped Abate.

"Never Have I Ever framed LoF False for rigging those controllers!"

Never Have I Ever—framed LoF False for rigging the Wii-U controllers.

"Guys, just stop this!" begged Abate. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"What gives, Eddy? I didn't rig any controllers, and I certainly didn't frame LoF False!" Mr. C exploded.

"Why not? Because he also mained Luigi? What does that mean? That prize money makes you forget that, doesn't it, Steve?"

"It wasn't like that!" argued Abate.

"Then what was it like?!" Eddy wanted to know.

Another YouTube video popped onto the screen. It showed Steve meeting with one of his opponents in an undisclosed location, slipping him a piece of paper and then warmly shaking his hand. Steam rose out of Eddy's ears.

"Oh, God! Where are you getting this?!" shrieked Abate. "Eddy, you have to believe me—that didn't mean anything! I didn't mean it! Don't watch that, all right! I still like you, man! You're my best friend forever, Eddy! Please!"

Who's up for a bonus round?

"NOOOOOO!" wailed Isai.

Get ready to keep playing. ;)

Mr. C jumped up and waved his Blaster replica. "No! Forget this! I'm freaking ready for you, buddy! Come and get it, you sadistic brute!"

He whirled around as his printer whirred to life and spat out a paper copy. He snatched it from the tray, took a look at it, and then snatched at his hair.

"What is it?" asked Abate.

"He told me not to tell you what it is," said Mr. C.

"For God's sake! Don't do this to us! Please!" screamed Abate. "You've done enough already!"

He heard his own printer spit out a piece of paper and rushed to grab it.

"No!" he whimpered. "No…"

"What does it say?" asked Isai.

"I can't," said Abate. "I can't."

"What's this? Something else you're keeping from me?" asked Eddy.

"No, it's not like that!" snapped Abate. "For God's sake man, if I tell you, then he'll kill you!"

"Oh, he'll kill me? Then he'd better do it now and get it over with!" roared Eddy.

"Eddy, you need to calm down, right now!" barked Abate. "We all just need to calm down! Just—calm down!" He took a deep breath. "Look—I'm sorry. I can't tell you, Eddy."

"I'll give you one minute to get this off your chest."

"O—kay. Uh. Well, you and I had that argument and you just stormed off, and that made me upset, all right? A lot of things were said, and I only wanted to hurt you like your words hurt me! I just wanted…"

"…to teach me a lesson," finished Eddy.

"Yes. I was angry, confused and upset. I wanted you to see how important it was to think before words leap out of your mouth! So, I ran into our next opponent, and we had a few drinks, and that's when the idea came. I swear, I was still slightly drunk when I executed the plan. I took a few notes about your strategy and handed them off to the opposition. And by the time I sobered up and realized what I had done, it was too late."

"Oh, boo-hoo," said Mr. C.

"Zip it," Abate said coldly. "This is just between me and Eddy."

"Steve," said Eddy. "Show me the paper."

"Trust me, Eddy, you don't want me to," said Abate.

"Do you want to atone for your little act or not?"

"I do."

"Then show it to me. No more secrets, Steve! Show me the paper, or I'm walking! I'm not playing with you! Either you show me that paper, or our partnership is through, do you hear me? Through! Show it to me, Steve! I'm signing out! I've had enough of this! I'm signing out!"

If Eddy signs out, he dies, warned LisRl2015.

"No, Steve! Don't do it! Don't show it to him!" screamed Mr. C.

But Abate realized that he had no choice. In an effort to calm his raging partner, he held up his piece of paper: IF YOU REVEAL THIS NOTE, MR. C WILL DIE.

Mr. C screamed and began clawing at his face with one hand, first snatching out his left eye, and then his right. Crimson liquid immediately shot out of the empty eye sockets, tissue and fluids bathing Mr. C's fingers. He continued to claw at his sightless face, screaming like a banshee, tearing at the skin, the blood running like rivers. Finally, his body went slack and fell over, revealing his paper: IF YOU REVEAL THIS NOTE, STEVE WILL DIE.

Isai screamed. "No! No! No!" He shrieked, cried and hyperventilated. "Abate, you idiot! Look what you did!"

"I'm sorry, Isai! I didn't know what else to do!" blubbered Abate, hugging himself in shock.

The both sat there, crying, until a pop up advertisement for an adult live cam website appeared. Abate wiped his tears and closed the ad. "Okay, that's it. I'm not gonna sit on my derriere and let him do this. Mr. C was right—we can't listen to this guy."

Hands up, gentlemen; we're still playing. I've got a question for you, ISAI.

"I didn't do anything!" protested Isai, his voice high and warbly.

"Isai, whatever you do, do not answer him," Abate said to him. "I don't care what he sends to you, do not answer him, okay? You can't give in!"

"Okay," Isai said shakily.

That was when all of his lights shut off with a loud SHOOMP.

Isai screamed louder than he ever screamed in his life, his hair standing up on end like a cat's. Grabbing his laptop, he darted into his bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him and locking it.

"Okay, Isai! Just hide, man! Just hide! I'm gonna get help!" Abate said briskly before connecting to ChatRoulette to send out an S.O.S.

"Hello? Somebody? We need some help over here!"

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