The pair were met with a wall of noise as they stepped into the Bara Ballroom. Once again, it had been reorganized to make way for countless booths and stands associated with Bara Bash's central theme – gaming. The chattering of voices, tinny chiptune music, and occasional announcement over the speakers merged together into a hazy din that pervaded the entire space.

"Wow, it's pretty crowded," Ian remarked. Kaitlyn had to agree. It wasn't even noon yet, but the event was already packed full of students milling about between vendor booths and enjoying the various gaming setups around the area.

And yet, it gets even more packed later. Somehow.

She watched as Ian took the scene in. He always seemed a little intimidated by the sight, especially when he caught how many people were at the Bash Bros setups near one side of the room. However, she knew that his fears were unfounded. He'd be able to crush the majority of the competition just like usual, with a couple of notable exceptions.

ZoggyWoggy will still be a problem for him, of course. Like always. Kaitlyn thought as they picked their way forward through the throngs of people. But now he'll have to deal with Lelas, too.

Those two always took first and second in the tournament, with Lelas reigning as the undisputed champion of the game. Ian could get top eight no problem, and on loops where they practiced together he sometimes ended up closer to third. But despite his efforts, she'd never seen him actually triumph over either of the players.

I don't think this is the one. Not for me, Kaitlyn frowned. I'm good, but I still haven't quite broken that final barrier yet. But maybe for Ian…

She shook her head. There was no use thinking like that. She would win. She could win. If she didn't believe that, then it definitely wouldn't happen.

Ian looked over as she nudged him in the ribs. "C'mon. Let's head over to sign up for doubles."

"Right."

Kaitlyn rolled her shoulders as they navigated through the crowd. Singles wasn't the only competition she had to look forward to today. This was going to be a huge opportunity for her and Ian to really put their teamwork to the test.

Ian spoke up as if reading her mind. "Are you ready?"

She nodded. "I think so. You?"

"Ready as I can be," he shrugged. "We got pretty close to taking down Zog and his buddy last week. I think we can do it this time."

"Er… maybe not." Kaitlyn grimaced. "He's got a different teammate for this one."

Ian's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Really? Who?"

"Lelas."

"Lelas?" He groaned, putting a hand to his forehead. "No way. He's here, too? That's just not fair."

She nodded in commiseration. "Yup. That's what I said. But hey, maybe they'll underestimate us?"

"Yeah, fat chance of that," Ian grumbled. "Even if Lelas doesn't know us, Zog does. They'll know exactly who they're up against."

He had a point. Last time they'd faced the pair as a team, Kaitlyn had been a nobody. A subpar Ray-Chu main that Ian teamed with just for fun. But now, they were actual contenders.

"Well, maybe they'll get cocky," she suggested hopefully. "You know, maybe we can goad them into going double Pompuff or something."

"Uh-huh," he eyed her skeptically. "And how are we gonna do that, exactly?"

Her shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. "Well, if we think we might lose anyway… maybe we offer a quadruple Pompuff mirror match right out the gate? I'm pretty good with his cheese."

Ian laughed. "Yeah, that'll be a great grand finals. Everyone will love it."

***

Kaitlyn and Ian meandered about the ballroom for a while longer, checking on the vendors and game demos themselves while there was time. The momentary distractions couldn't pull them away from the temptation of Bash Bros for long, though. Soon enough, they found themselves settled down in front of a setup, warming up and playing friendlies with some of the other competitors. Many of them were familiar faces. Some of them were new, having come out of the woodwork specifically for this event.

John called out for the start of doubles. Kaitlyn wasn't sure who they'd be facing, even in the first round. Her constantly improving tournament performances meant she'd earned herself better and better seeding placement, meaning the brackets from loop to loop practically never looked the same. In a way, it was nice. It kept her facing different opponents and gave her a taste of the variety she desperately craved.

Together, she and Ian tore through the majority of the competition with little resistance. Only a few of the teams had anywhere near the skill to slow them down, much less give them trouble. There were a few games that were closer than she would have liked, though. No one was perfect.

However, as expected, they hit a wall with their archenemies. ZoggyWoggy and Lelas took them down in a close 1-2 match. Ian and Kaitlyn ended up with a respectable, if frustrating, second place finish. At least they took home a bit of cash for their troubles.

It wasn't all bad, though. As Ian had said, their opponents seemed to take them seriously enough to use their mains. Unfortunately, with how close the games had been, neither she nor Ian ended up going through with the Pompuff gambit in grand finals.

Singles also went as expected. After taking an early loss to some Lieutenant Sparrow for dumb reasons, she managed to claw herself all the way up to fifth place before ZoggyWoggy took her out. Ian got to third, losing to both Zog and Lelas. But despite the losses, Kaitlyn didn't lose hope.

I was right. I'm SO close, I can almost taste it. A fire lit in her chest. One more loop. Give me one more loop and I'll be able to destroy these guys. Just you wait.

It was that determination that had her ready to go the next day, stepping into the dorm stairwell with a fierce smile. Rather than heading down, she jogged up another level to reach Ian's floor. The familiar weight of her PlaySphere controller settled in her hoodie pocket, its cord wrapped securely around it.

As she emerged into the smaller side common area, she spotted the familiar sight of Ian sitting on the couch. Rather than warming up at Bash Bros though, he was instead hard at work on his laptop.

Oh, right! For a moment, she'd nearly forgotten. This is probably the friendship ending encounter. Guess practice will have to wait a bit longer…

"Hey Ian!"

It took him a second to look up and register her words. "Oh! Hey Kay. One second."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

His fingers flew across the keyboard as she came to sit beside him. She took care to give him space, enough that she couldn't just watch his screen easily. Better to be invited over than nosy.

"What are you working on?"

Ian hesitated. "I…"

His face grew conflicted. After a long pause, she raised her hands in a placating motion. "You don't have to tell me. I was just curious."

After a little more deliberation, the chestnut-haired boy finally made a decision. "...No, it's ok. I can show you, if you want?"

"Of course!"

And so, Ian once again walked her through his personal project – a top-down action game. At his invitation, she took the laptop and began playing through its first levels. She guided her swordsman across the screen, darting about to dodge projectiles and slash at wave after wave of demons.

Wow… I don't think I gave Ian enough credit, she realized after playing a few rounds. These controls are like butter. Seriously. How did he get them feeling so good?

The game was obviously a work in progress. The graphics and the sound design were lacking, to say the least, and the UI was still a bit clunky. She'd expected that. But between the controls and the fascinating way he'd set up the skill mechanics, the core gameplay was there. It was a matter of smoothing a few things out and putting a new coat of paint on.

"How long did this take you to make?"

Ian's face reddened. "Well… I've been working on it for… about a year? Maybe a little longer? It's taken a while, since I'm doing it all myself, but…"

"A year?!" Her jaw dropped.

"I know it seems slow, but–"

"Ian, that's not slow! That's…" she struggled for the words. "That's fast! Way faster than I expected! How are you this far already?!"

It took me longer than that to even learn programming!

Ian's face continued its transition from cherry to beet red. "I really enjoy working on it. That's all, really. I can show you the code too, if you want. I'm pretty proud of it."

As Kaitlyn stared at the lines of colorful text, she only became more impressed. Seriously. What the hell, Ian.

There were plenty of things here that she didn't really recognize. It was an entirely different style and purpose compared to the programming she was used to. But it was clear that Ian wasn't just winging it, here. There was thought and meticulous care put into this thing.

Did he already have experience before he started this? Or is this some sort of crazy learning project for him? The questions whirled through her head, but one stood out above the others. Actually… if he's been working on it for a year, then how much of it did he do before coming to Hartland?

She glanced over. "I can't believe you can juggle this with classes. That's insane. I mean, I'm sure that Intro to Programming is a cakewalk for you, but I've taken Intro Calculus. That class is still brutal. Writing, too…"

The character on screen – a spearman now – rolled forward into a diving thrust, taking an enemy in the chest. A group of slow, explosive demons began to surround him on all sides. With a tap of the keyboard, Kaitlyn had him spin his weapon in a deadly circle, sending the crowd back just enough to make an opening. The spearman hurled the weapon through the gap, dashing after it with a quick skill activation as the group detonated behind her.

Nice! I didn't think that would actually work. She grinned. Her progress this time around was way better. All of that Bash Bros practice was paying off in other ways, it seemed.

Eventually, she realized that Ian hadn't said anything for a while. Looking over, she saw that he'd averted his gaze, looking distractedly at the wall.

"You ok?"

"Huh? Oh." He jumped. "Sorry. I just… it's nothing."

Kaitlyn frowned. "Are you sure? You seem pretty bothered."

"Well, uh…" He scratched his cheek, still not meeting her eyes. "I just…"

His eyes darted around the room as though looking for an escape as Kaitlyn's frown deepened. What's going on? Is it something I said?

Replaying the conversation in her head, realization dawned on her. It could have been just a case of Ian getting awkward around the mention of classes, but that didn't seem quite right. He'd been loosening up lately, even on that topic. No, this seemed like something more.

It's gotta be that. It's the only thing that makes sense…

She decided to just come out and ask. "Ian? Are you… embarrassed by your grades or something?"

The boy stiffened, indicating she'd hit the nail on the head.

"It's ok," she reassured him quickly. "I'm not gonna judge you for it! Hartland's classes are way hard. And besides, it's not like I'm some super genius."

Ian finally glanced over at her. "You're not?"

"No!" She shook her head vigorously. "Trust me, I know what it's like to fail more than anyone else on this campus."

On one hand, it wasn't the whole truth. She got straight A's every single loop now. But that didn't mean she'd forgotten how far she'd come. Those memories didn't fade so easily. She could still completely relate to Ian's own troubles.

It's no exaggeration. I do know failure more than anyone else here. Even if things are better now.

After a long moment, his hands fell into his lap. Ian let out a long, defeated sigh. "I… Sorry. I just don't like talking about it much."

She gave him an apologetic shrug. "If you're having a hard time, maybe I can help? I'm not the best tutor, but my suitemates seem to think I explain things well…"

"It's… not about tutoring. Not exactly." Ian shifted uncomfortably. "I mean, I know I can do this stuff. It's more that I… I dunno."

Kaitlyn frowned in thought. Hmm… that sounds a little familiar, in a way. Is this another Alex situation?

"Is it because you don't want to mess up?" She asked.

"No, it's not that." He shook his head. "It's just… I just procrastinate. Like I know I have to do something, but suddenly there are twenty things I'd rather be doing instead. Well, one in particular." He flapped a hand at his computer.

She looked at the laptop, its monitor still displaying Ian's work-in-progress game. It made sense. He really seemed to enjoy programming and games both. Making his own? That had to top the list for things he'd rather be doing at any point in time.

Still, it's dangerous to get too wrapped up in one thing like that. I learned that myself. The real question is, how bad has it messed him up?

"…Can I ask what your grade is in Intro to programming?" Kaitlyn asked. If there was a class he'd be doing ok in, it was that one.

Ian grimaced. "It's… a C-."

A C-?! How?!

Kaitlyn clenched her teeth in an effort to bite back her shock. She'd taken that class. She knew what it required. There was no universe where Ian could possibly deserve a C- in it.

Evidently, her control of her expression wasn't quite up to snuff. She watched as Ian's shoulders slumped. "Yeah. I know. The tests are fine, and I mean, I probably could whip those projects out in no time. But I just… I get so wrapped up in this, and end up putting it off, and before you know it…"

He let the words trail off as Kaitlyn let the revelation sink in. If that was his grade in the CS class, then she was fairly certain she already knew what he'd be getting in the others.

It's not the same issue as Alex – not exactly, she realized. Alex was afraid to try because he might fail. But Ian? He knows he could do it, but he just gets distracted. Distracted and unmotivated.

Glancing over, she realized that Ian's clear blue eyes were fixed on her. He seemed tense, as though waiting for her to say something. His lips pressed together tightly as he sat awaiting her verdict.

With a sigh, her expression softened. "What're you so worried about? I said I wouldn't judge you, right?"

He blinked. "I guess… but–"

She waved him off. "It's ok. I totally get it. I was a little surprised, that's all. It didn't make sense. I mean, look at this!" She leaned forward to scroll through his code. "I don't think a single person in that class could pull something like this off."

Pride and embarrassment warred on his face. Ian scratched his head, his face reddening again. "Er… thanks. I am pretty proud of it…"

Kaitlyn looked at the male lead. His curly brown hair fell partially over his eyes as he ducked his head down in apology. He shoved his other hand into his hoodie pocket as though trying to hide more of himself inside its baggy folds. His blushing face turned aside, refusing to meet Kaitlyn's stare.

…We are pretty alike, she realized. Maybe more than I thought.

***

Cycle 31 Complete!

New Ending Unlocked!

Ending: Fertile Ground

Total Endings Unlocked: 9

Achievement Earned: Social Butterfly