"Hey...what are you doing out here?" Mae asked.

Trent looked over, saw that she had poked her head out the window.

"Just having a little smoke," he replied.

She sighed and climbed out the bedroom window to sit with him on the overhang of roof it offered access to. It was something they'd taken to doing sometime after winter, after Mae had found out that they could do it. Occasionally he found her sitting out here, smoking or just sitting. Sometimes Bea or Ann came out and listened to music. He'd bought them all noise-canceling headphones last month, as it seemed a logical choice given they were all people living in close quarters who, much as they loved each other and got along, did need alone time.

"You're nervous," Mae said as she sat beside him.

"Kinda."

"This is your party, dude…" She paused and a look of dawning horror came onto her face. "Aw man, shit, am I spending too much time with Molly?"

He laughed. "No, Mae. I'm not mad, and I'm not annoyed. And you aren't. Trust me, it's just normal jitters from having so many people around."

"Oh...okay. Do you care if I sit here with you?" she asked.

"I don't mind, Mae."

She scooted closer to him and he felt her wrap her tail around the wrist of his free hand. He smiled and took another puff and looked out over their street.

He'd originally been thinking of having the launch party yesterday, on the final day of the month, so that as it became the first of May, they could have a sort of New Year's countdown. But ultimately it had worked out best to just have the party Wednesday night for more people, and he was more interested in having people around than an arbitrary date, so here they were, the first day of May.

The party had officially started two hours ago, and they were still in the first phase. What they called the adult phase, which was kind of a huge misnomer, because normally whenever someone had an adult version of something, it was sexy. But this was the opposite. They were surrounded by adults, and had to pretend they weren't all fucking each other, and they hadn't totally brought Molly down so she could fuck around with Mae and Ann and possibly Bea, or that he was probably going to fucking nail Claire later tonight, because she'd been flirting with him ever since she'd arrived.

So far, Mae's parents, Bea's dad, Ann's mom, two of Mae's old teachers, Gregg and Angus, and Lori and her parents and sister had all come and were all mingling downstairs or in the backyard. Stan and Bea's dad had decided to collaborate on grilling this time.

"This is so fucking weird," Trent muttered finally.

"What?" Mae asked.

"I know you think I'm all like grown up and stuff, but for real, this is still kind of crazy to me. I'm throwing a party, at my own house, that I legally own and is completely paid off, for a book deal to novelize a popular video game series that, by all accounts looks like it's going to go, like, really well. And I am dating three really hot women, and living with them, and sort of dating another one-this is nuts. My life was complete garbage a year ago. Less than a year ago. This time last year I was fucking miserable in another state, lonely and desperate for cash. And, like, it's great, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, I'm just...having trouble with it."

"I agree with you," Mae murmured. He looked over at her. "I know I complain about feeling like the kid of the group, but you did sorta call me on it, and you were right. I do like it. I've been thinking recently and I realize that while I do just go off and do stuff on my own a lot, it's only because I lack direction, and once someone shows up and points me in a direction and says 'we're going this way', I'm pretty content to just sit back and enjoy the ride."

She frowned suddenly and then he felt her squeeze his wrist with her tail. A classic sign of anxiety for Mae. He was sure she didn't even realize she did it.

"What?" he asked.

"Just...I get worried sometimes. I don't...I don't really want to do a lot of stuff in life, you know? I want to just...live it as it comes to me? I want to play video games all day sometimes, and sometimes I want to wander all over town. Sometimes I want to go deep in the woods exploring. Sometimes I want to sleep all day. But that isn't how people, like, live their lives, right? I mean, is this gonna be okay ten years from now? Twenty? Thirty?"

"As long as the money holds out, I don't really see why not," Trent replied.

"But it doesn't bother you? That you've got a girlfriend who, if she can help it, will never get a real job? Go to college? Be, you know, smart?"

"That's what I've got Bea for," he said.

Mae stared at him. After a seconds he grinned at her.

She laughed. "You fucker, you actually had me convinced you were serious for a few seconds there! I didn't think you could lie to me like that anymore!"

"Apparently I can," he replied, laughing with her. "But seriously...no, it doesn't other me, Mae. I'm almost twenty three, and I've already figured out that life is largely horseshit. They want to shove us into square holes, no matter our shape, and if we suffer because of it, well, so what? Because that's just 'the way it is', and you'll notice if they can, a lot of rich people just fucking opt out of the daily grind. I want you to be happy, Mae. I don't care about your level of education, your current employment, or whether or not you can drive. I care that you're happy and healthy and safe, and that our relationship is going well. And the same goes for Bea and Ann. I just want us to be happy together."

"And you think you'll feel this way when we're all fifty?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied.

She laughed, then hugged him suddenly.

"Careful! We really need to not fall off the roof," he said, hugging her back.

"Sorry, I'm just happy," Mae replied.

She kissed him and he was vaguely aware of a car driving up, an engine dying, and then a door opening and closing.

"Wow! I cannot think of a cooler way to first lay eyes on you guys in the flesh! Making out on the roof!"

They both looked over and saw Tabby standing in their driveway, looking up at them and grinning.

"Tabby!" Mae cried, leaping to her feet.

"Hey, glad you found us," Trent said, slowly standing as well. "Uh, we'll be right down."

"Okay," she said.

"This is so cool!" Mae cried, climbing back in through the window.

"Yep," Trent replied as he followed after her and put away his pipe.

They headed through the bedroom and back downstairs, coming to the front door and opening it up. For the first time, Trent studied Tabby in real life.

She was a white-furred rabbit with vivid, shoulder-length pink hair. She had electric blue circuitry designs running down one arm, dyed into her fur, and that was definitely a newer development. She was about average height and a little over average weight. She was wearing a black hoodie with a red N7 logo on it, a white tanktop on beneath it that, for a moment, matched close enough with her fur that he thought she wore nothing beneath the hoodie, and a pair of baggy gray sweatpants. Her smile was easy and her blue eyes were fully of joy.

"Hi!" she said.

"Tabby, hello, oh my fucking God!" Mae replied, and hugged her.

Tabby laughed and hugged her back.

"Oh man! I'm sorry, I should've asked! Is this weird?!" Mae asked.

"It's fine," Tabby replied. "I like hugs. Especially from awesome people."

"Oh-I, I'm not awesome," Mae muttered as she let go.

"I can assure you that you are," Trent said.

"Shut up, you," Mae hissed.

"Can I get hug from you as well?" Tabby asked.

"Yeah, sure," Trent replied, hugging her. "Welcome to our home. I know there is at least one other person here who really wants to speak with you. He is a rather large fan of Demontower."

"I'm always happy to talk with fans. Also, congrats on the release. It's going, like, really well. Also, I've got a few boxes of books in my trunk," she said they parted and she came in and took off her hoodie.

"Wow, that was fast," Trent replied. "Also...like how well?"

"Um, so, final pre-order count was about two thousand."

"Whoa!" Mae cried. "What!?"

"Yeah, it's already fucking ROI'd, and all those pre-orders put it into a visible place with the Amazon algorithm. We're in, like, the top two hundred of all books. I thought you'd have been checking."

"Are you fucking serious? No, um, shit. I've been trying not to. Like. Wait. That's like…" he tried running some mental math in his head. "Uh…"

"Seven grand in profits after Amazon takes their cut just from the pre-orders alone," Tabby said. "Which, split down the middle, is roughly thirty five hundred bucks for each of us. Which means about a grand for you, because of the advance, and your half of the cost of production, since we agreed to split that cost," Tabby said. "And that's just pre-orders. Last I checked, in the driveway, another thousand people have bought today alone."

"What?! A thousand?!" Trent cried.

"Hey, is everything okay over here?" Candy asked, walking over.

Trent turned to face her, feeling in a daze. "Uh...my book has already sold three thousand copies."

"That's great! Wait, hasn't it been available just for today?" she replied. He nodded. "Wow! That's amazing!"

"Yeah, and more are being bought all the time. And that's not even counting the page reads from the Kindle Unlimited program. Or the paperback sales," Tabby said.

"Jesus fucking shit, are you serious?" Bea asked as she and several other people approached.

"Language, Bea," her father murmured.

"Sorry, I just-did I hear that right? Three thousand copies, in...what, eighteen hours?!"

"A lot of them were pre-orders, so technically a thousand in eighteen hours," Trent replied.

"Probably actually closer to three thousand if you include audiobook and paperback sales," Tabby said.

Trent felt even more in a daze as several people congratulated him.

"I think Trent needs to sit down," Ann murmured, taking his hand.

"Shit...sorry, I guess I shouldn't have just dumped that all on you all at once," Tabby said.

"No, it's, uh, it's cool. This is great. Just...unexpected," he replied as Ann led him over to the recliner in the living room. He sat down heavily.

"Hey, it's a good book. I'm not just being nice when I said that. Even for someone who has no idea it's based on a game, it's a solid read. Very stylish," Tabby replied.

"She's right," Angus said.

"Yeah dude, even I read it and I thought it was kickass, and I don't really read much," Gregg agreed.

"Thanks. Uh...everyone, this is Tabby. She's the one who made Demontower and allowed...all this to happen. She's awesome," Trent murmured.

Mae laughed. "Oh my God, dude, you're losing your shit and you're still trying to host. Try to relax."

He nodded. "Yeah, uh...yeah."

Trent spent the next ten minutes or so accepting congratulations and fielding questions from just about damn near everyone, and honestly couldn't tell what he was feeling. It was annoying, it was fucking awesome, it was overwhelming, it was absolutely surreal. Especially considering that most of the people he was being congratulated by were literally twice his age. It was probably kind of surreal for them as well.

After awhile, Bea shooed everyone away and took Trent's hand and led him towards the back door. As he went, he caught sight of Molly looking at him. Staring at him, actually. There was something in her eyes that made him hesitate, briefly, before Bea tugged on his hand firmly, and he shook off the strange feeling.

They stepped out into the backyard and he was very grateful to find that they were the only ones out there. The sun was just beginning to set, casting red-gold light across the backyard. Having it to themselves, the pair sat down in some of the chairs.

"You doing okay, babe?" Bea asked.

"I think so," he replied. He paused. "Jesus." He paused again. "I'm successful."

She laughed. "You say that with such fear or...wonder. Amazement."

"I didn't think it would really, like, happen. I mean even now, there's a part of me that feels like Tabby has to be wrong. The numbers are wrong, or the website is reporting it wrong. I guess...I won't truly believe it until the money is in my account. Which is still, like, two months away."

"Oh yeah, that delay...you got paid recently, right? For your other self-published books?"

"Yeah, I got February's royalties. It wasn't much, a couple hundred bucks. So I'll see this money that we were talking about at the end of July."

"Wait...that's three months. May, June, July?"

"Yeah, but May's royalties can't be calculated until the month is over. So they pay me sixty days after the month is over."

"...oh, okay, yeah, I guess that makes sense. Jeez, man. Your first paycheck is going to be, like, thousands of dollars? Do you think three grand is out of the question?" she murmured.

"I think five grand might not be out of the question," he muttered.

"Wow! Five whole grand!"

"Yeah, though I don't get all of it. I have to set some aside for taxes." He heaved a weary sigh. "This is nuts. Fuck."

"Hey. Trent. Babe," Bea said, taking his hand. "Look at me." He looked at her. "This is good, okay? I know it's scary, because it's more responsibility. But this is good, sweetheart. And I'm not just saying that because I'm going to directly benefit from it, because I'm your…" She hesitated, then blushed and looked away.

"You're my what, Bea?" he asked.

"You fucker," she whispered, still not looking at him.

"Come on, Bea. I need a pick-me-up. I need you right now."

She snapped her gaze back to him. "Oh fuck you. Conniving, manipulative-fine! I'm you're goddamned sugar baby."

"Bea," he said, and she looked at him with fire in her eyes. "You're my girlfriend, and I love you, and I happen to be the one doing well financially right now. Shit, you've got money, and you've got a side hustle you could develop even further if you really wanted. You worked your ass off for two miserable years. Enjoy the vacation...of being my sugar baby."

She laughed and then growled and then pushed him. "Jerk...God we have such a weird relationship."

"I like it," Trent said.

"Duh," she replied, laughing again. She got up suddenly and sat down in his lap. "Are you okay? Really?"

"Yeah. Just in a daze. But I'll be okay. I think. Just more pressure on me now…"

"Whatever happens, even if it all goes wrong, you have me, and Mae, and Ann, and Claire...sorta. And we will help you, and take care of you. And you will do the same for us."

He laughed softly and wrapped his arms around her. "I guess I should just give up worrying."

"I know it's not that easy, but...you should try, yeah. We all should. And I know it'll take a lot of time and effort, and we're never going to just stop worrying completely, but I do believe we can reduce our overall stress." She smiled suddenly. "This is amazing, though. Thousands of sales? Like, dude. That's fucking awesome."

"It is," he replied. After a moment, he sighed. "We should probably get back in there."

"Probably," Bea agreed. "It is your party. But hey, not much later, it'll really be your party, and you can be a fuckboy." He sighed. "Tabby was already giving you the 'fuck me' eye."

"What? No she wasn't," he replied.

"She totally was. She's cute. Would you hit that?" Bea replied.

"I mean yeah, totally, but would it even be a great idea? She's like...my boss? Kinda?"

"So? Besides, I've heard you two talking on the phone. You totally flirt. And Mae's noticed it, too."

"I dunno, I doubt she's even single. Or interested. Some people are just, you know, flirtatious."

"Okay, sure." Bea opened her mouth to say something else, then suddenly shut it and pursed her lips, as though something unpleasant had abruptly occurred to her.

"What?" he asked cautiously.

"Nothing really, just...well, now I'm wondering if I am losing my touch. Because if I didn't know better, I could swear…" she shook her head.

"What?" he asked.

"It's just...I could swear Molly's been giving you, like, that look a few times tonight. And yeah, I know, she's a lesbian, that's why I'm wondering if I'm misinterpreting...but I'm not wrong about Tabby. She was so eye-fucking you."

"I guess we'll see," he replied as they got up and headed back into the party.