Nick paced in his room. Grizzizzik was there, checking, then checking again the two tattoos on the inside of each wrist. They were a glowing violet color in the shape of an empty jar. The closer it got to six o’clock, the more nauseous Nick felt. There were so many variables that made him anxious, the scariest being that Walt situated himself on the couch soon after dinner with a stack of books. He’d sit in the same vicinity while Nick roleplayed his rogue character, possibly facing Akshi.
“You won’t attack him, will you?” It was the first thing Nick said to his character since the nervous silence settled over them.
Grizzizzik stared at his wrists. “Not unless he attacks first.”
Which is what Akshi would do if he ever saw Grizzizzik.
“Everyone’s arriving in another half an hour. We still have time to level you up.”
Grizzizzik traced a finger again over the empty jar tattoo. “When I’m ready, I’ll let you know.”
Nick finally stopped pacing. “It’d be easier if you told me what’s going on.” Grizzizzik distracted himself by unsheathing his hell dagger and cleaning underneath his fingernails. “Do you really think that makes you a badass? Because it’s a stupid thing to do.” Grizzizzik remained quiet. “Come on, man. You’re about to sneak into some place to steal a sword from your father. You have twenty-five hit points, and you could use the boost from the two extra ability points to your dexterity.” Grizzizzik flicked off whatever was on his hell dagger, and Nick rolled his eyes. “Or your intelligence, since that’s your spellcasting ability.” Grizzizzik resumed cleaning his other fingernail. Nick tried not to grind his teeth. “Please boost your intelligence. I’m pretty sure Hraktar is smarter than you.”
Grizzizzik shot him a glare. Nick matched it. The rogue made a point to run his tongue over his sharpening teeth. “If I need your help, I’ll ask for it,” Grizzizzik said, slow and clear. Nick narrowed his eyes.
“You’re part of a team. Everyone is depending on you. We need to be strong. Unified. You can’t go in there as a level three when everyone else is level four. You cannot drag everyone else down with you,” Nick said.
Grizzizzik stood up, sheathing his dagger. Without another word, he slipped out of the room and down the hall. Nick rubbed the bridge of his nose with two hands, trying to calm his stomach. This was worse than Walt watching him play CCNC, but not by much.
The doorbell rang, and Nick was grateful for the distraction. It was still a while before everyone else arrived, but he knew who it was.
Nick walked down the hall, but Evelyn beat him to the door. Tyler stood there with two rolling suitcases. He was leaning against one as he checked his phone. “Sorry, running a little behind.” He slipped his phone back in his pocket before grabbing the handle of his two suitcases. He moved into the house, and Walt watched him come in, a frown on his face. With the suitcases, it made it seem like Tyler was moving in.
Walt checked his watch. “You’re actually early.”
“Game master late.” Tyler dropped his suitcases by the table and unzipped them. “I’ve got to get some visuals prepared, and a few back up ones just in case. You never know what path these characters will take.”
Tyler pulled out four tubs of miniatures from the first suitcase. He opened the other suitcase and grabbed his mat before unloading three other smaller totes. Walt watched the whole thing with a confused and annoyed look on his face before he shook his head and went back to reading.
“Need any help?” Evelyn asked.
“No, I’ll be fine. Shouldn’t be too long to set up.” Tyler placed all the totes on the table and opened the lids.
Nick didn’t want to stay here. Not with Walt. It was already hard enough pretending enthusiasm to have a CCNC session with his father watching. He didn’t want to stay a half an hour longer than needed.
He walked outside, feeling the pleasant heat. It hadn’t hit triple digit heat in a while, so it was nice not to sweat the moment he walked outside. He sat on the bench, calming his anxious mind. He tried to think about what they knew. Akshi was controlling Mr. Stower. There was a good chance he was at Mr. Stower’s house. They needed one of Akshi’s swords. They were all level four, except Grizzizzik. If his rogue hadn’t already tried leveling up, there was little chance he’d do it during the heist. Grizzizzik was planning something. That much was obvious.
Nick remained on the bench, quietly rocking it, thinking of strategies. They needed stealth. Grizzizzik had the best stealth of anyone, even at level three. This was the first time in a while he’d be a part of the session. Sure, he rolled from his room, but this was different. He wouldn’t need an update from Evelyn. He’d see Grizzizzik in action, even if Grizzizzik would be miles away.
A car pulled up, and he realized he’d been stewing in his own anxieties for a good twenty minutes. He watched as Derek and Milo got out of the car. Derek held four bags, three of which Nick knew were treats. The other bag contained his dice and everything he needed to prepare them for a session.
“Yo, Nick. How’s it going?” Derek asked. Nick said nothing, though his shoulders drooped. Derek snorted. “I get that. But the party can officially start! I come bearing food!”
Nick smiled. “Alejandra and Rafael haven’t come yet, but you can go get organized in there.”
Derek grumbled as he let Nick open the front door for him. “Fine. The frozen pizzas take about fifteen minutes to cook, anyway. Your parents aren’t using the oven, are they?”
“Nope. You’re good.”
“Great! The party can start once the frozen pizzas cook! Also, the container of margarine has my abuela’s salsa. The container of jumbo sour cream has mild salsa. Don’t mix them up,” Derek said as he slid through the door.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“Thanks for the warning.”
Derek disappeared down the front entryway as Milo followed behind him. “I bring snacks!” Derek shouted loudly.
“Yes! You’re the best, Derek!” Tyler said.
“It’s the first rule of pre-game preparedness. One must always feed the dealer of consequences. Starts the good karma rolling,” Derek said.
Nick shook his head as he closed the door again, staying outside. He was left alone, staring at the road, thinking of calmer things. His heart continued to pound as he heard talking within. No doubt Derek getting the pizza ready to cook and his dice ready to roll.
It wasn’t much longer before Rafael and Alejandra pulled in. He could see Ezekiel, Hraktar, and Clarissa in the back. Nick tried to ignore them as he stared at a crack in the cement porch. These two, with his father, were the people he’d never be prepared to see, no matter how much he psyched himself up. However, he needed to keep this from being a disaster before the session even started.
The characters were the first to get out of the car, talking amongst themselves as Clarissa hurried Ezekiel into the house. The glimpse Nick got of Ezekiel didn’t look great. Sunken eyes, sharper front teeth, hooded eyes. Rafael and Alejandra were far slower to leave the car. Clarissa opened the door and walked in, easing Ezekiel into the brighter house. Hraktar walked inside, shutting the door behind him. Rafael and Alejandra froze, and Nick saw the words appear.
Roll for stealth.
Nick wasn’t sure what Grizzizzik was doing, but he didn’t have a good feeling. He rarely had a good feeling about things when Grizzizzik was involved. Especially lately.
Nineteen. With the +6 of his level three stealth modifier, whatever Grizzizzik was planning, no one would find out unless that rogue let them.
Time resumed, and Alejandra walked toward the house. She didn’t even acknowledge Nick as she knocked on the door. The loud chorus of everyone inside telling her to come in was enough for her to slip inside. She left the door open for Rafael to follow, but he grabbed the knob, the hinges squeaking as it closed. Nick raised an eyebrow as Rafael glanced at him, a slight frown on his face.
“This session will already be hard.” Rafael sighed, rubbing his neck. “So I’d like to apologize now. Out here. Before we go inside. I’m sorry, dude. Really sorry. I was a jackass. Not just to Evelyn, but to you. While trying to hide what I did, I was overly rude to you. Afraid you’d find out. And… I never apologized for that yet.”
Nick stared at Rafael. At his old friend. Rafael was right, of course. He had been a complete jackass to him. “Uh…” he said, because he wasn’t sure what else to say.
“I was scared. Insecure. I should have admitted what I did from the start.”
“I would’ve still punched you.” That much Nick was certain of.
“And I would have deserved it then, too,” Rafael said.
Nick was so confused by this conversation, mainly because he didn’t expect it. This was a conversation old Rafael would have had with him. Before the ‘incident’. No, he realized. The ‘incident’ was different. It wasn’t about him hanging out with Anthony and Eddy at all. This was about Rafael trying to hide what he did to Evelyn.
His point of view shifted, realizing what Rafael truly meant. He was apologizing for being rude to Nick. For yelling at him for making stupid choices. For avoiding him and sticking his nose up at him when he couldn’t. Not because of what Nick did with Anthony and Eddy, but because Rafael tried to hide what he did to Evelyn. Nick didn’t know why it took until now to click into place, but his eyebrows slowly loosened. This whole time Nick thought Rafael was frustrated at him for hanging out with Anthony and Eddy. But it sounded like Rafael hadn’t been frustrated with him at all.
“So… that time you told me I was an idiot for getting into the car with Eddy?”
“Still an idiotic choice, but… I shouldn’t have yelled it. And I shouldn’t have been such a stuck-up jerk. I didn’t want to leave the game, but… Evelyn threatened me. To leave her alone or she’d tell you. She… had every right to push me away after what I did. So I kept my distance while also making sure no one found out what I’d done.” Rafael shook his head, staring at the door. “I seriously cringe at how hypocritical I was to you. I’m so sorry.”
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, that’s… alright.”
Did he believe it was alright? Maybe. He wasn’t sure. Rafael acknowledging he was a jackass certainly helped. Rafael didn’t actually care about Nick’s choices like he thought he did. Rafael was covering up his own choice by insulting Nick and pushing him away. And here he was, apologizing for it.
Nick continued to stare, realizing he should say something, but he was dumbfounded.
“The thing that hurt the most was that I left you alone to deal with your dad,” Rafael said.
Nick couldn’t keep Rafael’s gaze with that statement. Instead, he stared ahead; the glare returning to his face. “Honestly? The silver lining in all this was my dad couldn’t constantly compare me to you. I don’t think I would’ve lasted the three years it’s been.”
Rafael deflated at that. “I can’t believe he’s still doing that.”
“Yeah, well…” Nick trailed off. His throat closed up, the emotions betraying him. He rubbed his scarred eyebrow with his palm, not looking at Rafael. “He is.”
Rafael kept looking at him, but Nick refused to meet his gaze. Silence came between them, but Nick didn’t dare breech it.
Rafael sighed, glancing at the door. “What do you want me to say to him tonight?”
Nick shrugged, his throat still tight. “I don’t know. I never know what to say. Just… keep him distracted, I guess. We’ll need that while our characters travel to Mr. Stower’s house.”
“How badly does it bother you that your dad treats me this way?” Rafael asked.
“It’s… nice to know you’ve admitted you’re a jackass. It makes it hurt less,” Nick said.
“But it still hurts?”
Nick held in a sigh. Rafael took in Nick’s slumped shoulders, the heat in his eyes that were moments away from forming into tears. For three years, Nick hid this version of himself from Rafael. Felt sickened at the idea of such vulnerability in front of his old friend. But now, though it was still embarrassing, he acknowledged it didn’t hurt as much.
“I wish it didn’t hurt,” Nick whispered. “But it’s not your fault that it does. It’s my dad’s.” That much was true.
Rafael reached for the door, his hand lingering on the knob. “I’ll go talk to your dad to distract him while the characters leave. Please tell me if it hurts too much. I won’t be that pretentious again. I understand you can’t trust me, because I’ve broken many people’s trust. But… I hope you go back to feeling comfortable calling me out if I’m ever disrespecting you,” Rafael said.
Nick couldn’t help but chuckle. “That I can do.”
Rafael tried to smile, but it was a flicker. “There’s something else you should know. Grizzizzik… he said he’s got something planned for you. To strengthen you. I… I figured you’d want to be aware. I didn’t want to text you, and I didn’t want to worry Evelyn, either.”
Nick frowned, not sure how to react. “What does that even mean?”
Rafael shrugged. “Grizzizzik’s got a list of who he thinks Akshi would go after. You’re pretty likely on the list, and he wants to make you stronger. I guess. I figured you’d want to be aware.”
Nick didn’t know what to do, other than to nod. Rafael said little else as he opened the door and slipped inside. The door, though left open for him, slowly closed. Nick knew it was time for the session and he should return, but he needed five more seconds to steady himself. He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. He could do this. They could break into Akshi’s place and get a sword for Ezekiel.
Crunching rocks caused Nick’s eyes to fly open. He saw Grizzizzik walking up to him, calm as ever. Nick stared at his character, his heart rate spiked.
“That kid is slowly building a backbone. It might save his life,” Grizzizzik said.
“What are you planning?” Nick asked.
Grizzizzik walked up the steps. “You’ll find out soon enough.” The rogue slipped into the house. That statement alone made Nick close his eyes for another ten seconds, trying to calm his breathing as he mentally prepared himself for this session.