Donny

“Well this deals with the phone messages, I should also make some time to call Dad and Diana later. Crap, all these years and I still can’t call her mom, she’ll probably cry again…”

I gave a small sigh while combing through messages in my phone. It was hard to focus, with how bad the coffee was today! I should just stick to Homer’s coffee instead of trying other brands! This one is full of kick, no taste at all.

Before I could debate with myself regarding how incredible coffee is, my PC sounded off the old familiar ringtone. And after seeing who it was a smile crept onto my face..

“ Yo Rambo.”

I was met with complete silence.

“Yea, yea sorry about that Teacup *cough* I mean Felix.”

“Do we have to do this every time, every single time!?” My old friend on the other side of the call spoke with an annoyed tone. That reaction only fed my inner smart-ass as I made a sheepish grin, which made Felix groan in frustration. He was a naturally handsome guy, tall with that “I can eat everything and still look good” build. Set up with a pair of smart glasses and an aura that made you feel like he was very mature. He was always popular with the ladies since he looked smart and rich. On top of that, people often came to him for advice, thinking he wouldn't steer them in the wrong direction… And, if I’m being honest, they were right.

We’re not in the video call for even a minute and he was already face palming and letting loose a sigh of exasperation… Haha, I loved it! Poking at him was my favorite pastime.

“Oh come on man! You know this is tradition, at least it’s better than Lord of Trainers.”

I just couldn't help myself. Everyone we know, me, and he himself all knows it’s his fault. Anybody who's ever played anything with Felix knew one important thing. Never start a game that has a complicated and in-depth pet system. He would disappear for days making sure he amassed an army of every single one of them. But what made it worse was he gave each one a ridiculously corny nickname. It was so bad that we've made drinking games from them, at least four games for now and for sure there will be more.

“Man you are such a di-” Felix didn’t even get to finish the sentence as a hand flew over his face and pushed him off the screen.

“Hahah GJ Donny! Only you can make him twitch like that, sup Gray how are you, GG today? Maybe FTW? Tell your BFF boy your story?!”

My grin widened at the welcome sight. The person who tends to shorten sentences to the max and my partner in making Felix facepalm, was of course none other than Chris. He was probably the only person I knew who could call me Gray in such a way that I wouldn’t even mind it.

“Hey Chris, how is my favorite short-stack doing?”

Now even though I like to call Chris short he was still not one of those small types. He was a dark skinned man with a strong build since he likes spending time in the gym. He had short dreaded hair and he spent a lot of time on cosmetics. According to him, his look was important for their business. One time Felix showed me some pictures of their bathroom, and more than half of the shelves were filled just with some skin care and hair care products that belonged to Chris. Shortly after I said that, I could see Felix smile as he pushed himself back into the screen. He knew it was time to switch targets.

But Chris just smirked as he shrugged like he wasn’t bothered at all.

“Brother, you have no right to say anything! How tall are you again? It was 177? Maybe 178? You are like one centimeter taller than me, so nice try, your shots do nothing against me but GG anyway!”

“Oh? only one you say?”

Oh boy… This was perfect. I wanted to save this for something special, but I can treat myself today. It's my birthday after all.

So I started clicking and found my special little folder. Not a “homework” folder, no this was much more special. And there it was, a beautiful little treasure that Felix provided last year as my previous birthday present.

“What do you think about this picture? I find it very amusing and educational.”

Felix instantly knew what was going on by the grin on my face alone. So he casually rose and started moving away from the camera.

“Bathroom!” Too bad he started to laugh half of the way there and even sped up. Yeah, he should probably get some distance for this next part.

After the usual *ding* giving the all universal sound that the file has been delivered, the effects were immediate. Chris’s face went from the annoying, full of himself smirk to a face of utter shock and despair.

There on his desktop he was looking upon the picture of his favorite brand of shoes. He had seven different pairs, each one identical, but that wasn’t the best part. The best part was a ruler that was held next to them. Showing a sole that was more than 2 cm tall, a clear extension for somebody's height. Felix snuck in and measured all of them last year. Bastard, hahahah!

“FELIX!!! GET BACK HERE YOU PET COLLECTING BASTARD!!! I’M GOING TO MURDER YOU SO HARD THAT YOUR BABIES ARE GOING TO GO FOR ADOPTION!”

And that was it! I was laughing like crazy, I could still hear Felix screaming in the back with laughter. I could die happy since I knew this was going to be the highlight of my day. I have to thank Felix for that gift somehow…

After about ten minutes of Chris running after Felix who was still laughing and screaming like crazy, things finally calmed down. Well, more like one of the other group members, Sandra came and screamed at them to shut up.

Now we were just sitting in front of our cameras and talking and having a drink. They were having a beer since it was something like 1am at their place and I was still having my morning coffee and cigarette.

“You know smoking is bad for you right?” Which was kind of ironic since Felix lit a cigarette only a few moments after me. While Chris was smoking one of those electric bullshits that fuck up the whole room with how much smoke they produce. I still can’t believe Felix even allowed him to buy that shit. It didn't matter much though, since their apartment was actually massive. It needed to be since there were four of them and it was paid by their company. But still! The bullshit he was using could fill a Chrono-Haven University study hall with smoke in minutes!

“So is waking up in the morning, but alas what we do to survive. And don't act like you're not smoking right now too!” My comment made Felix smirk while Chris just snickered like a kid and started waving his hand in clear excitement.

“So tell me, how does it feel to be an old man!?”

To which I just raised my eyebrow and frowned.

“OK, listen here you little shit! First off, I am 31! Second off, I’m taller than you!”

That shut him up. I could even see one of his eyes twitch in annoyance.

“In what universe does height have anything to do with age?”

“None, but me being average height, unlike you, has some perks!”

“Bah! Screw you asshole!”

“Love you too, shorty!”

We loved messing with each other. It all began when we met eleven years ago in an online game. And to imagine all of that started with me calling him and Felix, noobs for not knowing the game mechanics.

After that we got talking and even met in real life, and they went from gaming friends to real friends. But a few years ago they started a band. Yeah, I know, talk about holy shit of shock. Felix was a tech expert for all the newest musical instruments, he had actual pure talent. Give him any instrument and he will master it in a couple of weeks. And Chris here was the opening singer of their group… Well if you can call Rap singing! But I think it’s really more because of his energy and attitude that he was popular.

Now two of my closest friends are constantly traveling the world, while I stay in Chrono-Haven slowly wasting my life away...

“Why did you suddenly get quiet?”

Words from Felix broke me out of memory lane… Shit, I have been there a lot today. A nightmare with a birthday tends to open that little black box you use to hide everything.

“Oh nothing, I just remembered how we used to meet and how we started hanging out every day. All of those live D&D sessions and Larp meetups were a thing of beauty.” I said while taking a sip of my coffee and looking through my very, very small apartment window. I forgot just how much I hate my birthday.

“Hahaha, man I know, but what can we do? We would have invited you to join our band but your singing is just ~so~ AMAZING!” And there we go. Chris was just waiting for this opportunity. And Felix decided to jump on the train as well, looks like it was my turn to get poked.

“Amazingly BAD you mean, I swear my hamster went deaf because of you man..... And you remember that time when we went for karaoke? I swear that the clerk tried to kill themself after listening to you for thirty seconds.“

I was not going to take any of this without a fight though!

“So? Chris running around waving his hand and speaking things in a rhyme is singing? I will never understand how people like that bullshit. I understand those little girls and those poser kids but actual adults listen to him.”

And there we go. Felix was already covering his ears and I was already lowering the sound on my laptop as Chris took a deep breath and went completely red. 3…..2…..1….

“IT’S CALLED RAP! IT’S ART! NOT ME WALKING AROUND AND TALKING YOU IGNORANT PIECE OF UNCULTURED S-”.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Now hearing Chris scream and rage was always fun. But when that blue door with stickers made out of flowers slams open mid scream with a familiar face poking her head out, with even more rage and overpowers Chris’ screaming… It’s not fun.

“WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP ITS ONE IN THE FUCKING MORNING! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU IDIOTS! DON'T MAKE ME COME INSIDE! AND TELL DONNY I DON'T MIND GOING BACK TO CHRONO-HAVEN TO FUCK HIS FACE UP! NOW SHUT THE FUCK UP, GEEKS!!!”

Even though we were on a video call, even though I turned my volume down to 10%... It still made my ears ring. And by the looks of Felix and Chris who were crouching with their ears covered, I can only imagine how loud it was over there. OK, note to self, never make a lead vocalist yell. My ears were going to spend the whole afternoon recovering now.

“OK, let’s stop messing around. Sandra is going to murder you, and I’ll be next in line!”

It was time to bury the hatchet, or these guys will really get in trouble. Sandra was a very nice woman… relatively nice. She was a good friend and somebody you could talk to. But she had one simple rule; “I am always right and if you don’t like it go fuck yourself.”

Felix started to speak as he comically tried using his finger to scratch inside his ear. I don’t even want to imagine how loud it was in person.

“Oh ignore her. She just broke up with another boyfriend and is just pissed off. And it was, of course, another douche that cheated on her.”

I could only sigh in disbelief.

“Really? Again?”

This lady probably beat me in the luck department when it comes to picking up partners… Actually, I think she just picks them on purpose.

Chris was actually slapping his ear and opening his mouth, he was the closest one to her when she screamed… poor guy.

“You know Sandra... The lady has a talent in picking up the worst guys possible. Well at least she doesn't get friend zoned like a certain someone I know.”

“HEY! Shots fired!” And boy was it a critical!

But before we could start another shooting contest which would most definitely wake up Sandra, Felix spoke those magical words.

“Anyway my brother, we have a present for you!”

My eyes started sparkling since these two knew what my favorite types of gifts were.

“I bet you think it’s a new Blade v29 Mouse with 8 Macros and 12 extra speeds?”

I could only nod my head like a small child on Christmas. I was looking at that mouse every day, but man was it expensive. And yours truly who makes a small sum of just under 2k per month could never even think about buying it.

“Well guess what!”

“WHAT!?”

And then Chris decided to cut in.

“It’s NOT!”

And they started laughing loudly like crazy. I was pretty pissed off how they found this funny, but right then Sandra came inside and smacked them both on their heads. Sandra was a short pale skinned curvy woman with short, ginger, curly locks of hair, standing no taller than 165cm. Knowing how short this girl was in comparison only made watching her smack their heads all the more entertaining.

“Seriously, can you guys shut the fuck up already? And hi Donny, Happy Birthday! Laura also wishes her best but she is too lazy to get up.” The small ginger gave me a bright smile as she came into the view of the camera. She was always chipper and full of energy… And loud… Very, very loud.

“Haha, thank you Sandra. How are you by the way?”

“Oh, I’m… fine. I-” She was stopped by her ringtone. She immediately pulled out her phone and started to giggle while dropping the comment “It’s him!” And she ran while answering her phone happily.

I was shocked as I processed what just happened.

“Wait.... Did she just find a new one? And wasn’t she just trying to sleep!?!”

Most people would think I had a fish mouth the way it was opening and closing. Chris and Felix on the other hand could only sigh as they shrugged.

Meh. What can you do? I get friend zoned a lot and it looks like I missed my chance, which I never really had. I really need to learn to be more aggressive but… I just get scared of getting hurt. Like I did on Christmas with.... Crap, NO! Bad memories go away!

“Hey Donny, are you OK? You look a little down.”

Felix had a concerned look on his face and he got closer to the camera with a frown.

“Y-yeah! yeah, man just some bad memories.”

They both looked at each other and simply nodded while Chris began typing., After a brief moment, that same universal *DING* sounded off as a file was transferred to me.

I just cocked an eyebrow while giving them a cautious look as they smiled and said;

“Happy Birthday!”

Truthfully, the first thing that came to mind was money, and probably how to get the money transferred without actually talking to anyone. They knew I had some issues, but they knew how I felt about borrowing money. It’s not about pride, it's just mostly that I can't sleep soundly while I owe someone..

The file was just named *????*. I even started to worry if it was some virus, I wouldn't be surprised if Chris was being a dick. But the Fanfare, sounds and all the bright lights as the file opened made taking a sip of coffee at that moment a bad idea.

CHRONO-HAVEN SOUTH STADIUM

13/04/2024/ 9PM

INFINITY L00p

Row1 / Seat Nm2 (Deluxe)

Diamond VIP (Full Drink’s Package/ VIP After Party/ Private Transport/ Meet the Stars/ 4 Private Pictures & 2 Group Pictures/ Social Media Following & A thank you post on your account)

Donatello Porter

TKNm 000002

Please make sure to bring ID to confirm your name and ticket. Minors need to be in the presence of adults and are not allowed to attend the VIP party without signing a consent form. If you have questions please feel free to call the company “Infernal Voice” and they will be more than happy to answer

Even though it was only a file… It was very shiny. The ticket was completely black with gold lettering and some markings that were probably decorations that were “In the now” but truthfully they looked like random symbols to me.

Felix spoke while I was coughing and trying to swallow/spit out the coffee that went the wrong way.

“I know this is probably not your thing… but you should go. It will be good for you.”

And then Chris went in for the assist.

“It’s from the four of us. So don’t you even dare go thinking you can back out!”

His words finally brought me out of my coughing fit.

I knew who INFINITY L00p was… you had to be living under a rock not to know about them, and to tell you the truth even people who were living under the rock knew about them.

I usually stick to rock and metal, but the way their music mixed the dancing and rhythm, I actually kind of liked them. Not to mention that the group members were hot… Beyond hot, actually! I mean the four of them are definitely in the top ten most beautiful women in the world. And I’m not even going to mention how much fan fiction and art exists for them.

I even followed them a little since they actually did a few songs for some of the games I like. They even had an opening concert in Chrono-Haven a few years back for a gaming convention. It was clear they were there just to get some new fans and the people were skeptical, but after a few songs they easily won over the whole geek community that day. This was probably the first time in any gaming convention that people were actually there for the concert instead of testing the new games that were around.

But that's as far as it went. I liked their songs, I even had a lot of them on my playlist… But I’m not a diehard fan. At least not enough to make me go to their concert.

“Ok, first off… Wow… I mean, thank you… it’s amazing really!”

“Oh boy, here we go.” I had to ignore Chris who was already rolling his eyes and standing up ready to fight with me, it was clear he was not going to listen to any excuses.

“But this is too much! Diamond VIP?! I don’t even want to imagine how much this had to cost you!”

They both looked away from the camera at that moment… Fuck, it was that expensive? These guys, even though they are not on the level of Infinity L00p are still pretty popular and made good money… They were in the top 30 groups for the past few years and that alone was an achievement.

“And finally it’s not like I’m that Diehard of a fan… I mean, I don’t mind… but…”

Chris was clearly about to start yelling but Felix motioned for him to stop and he looked towards me… Ah shit.

“Donatello.”

Double Shit… I hate it when he calls me that… It means one of his Wiseman speeches is coming.

“When was the last time you went out?”

“That’s…”

He had no intention of letting me defend myself though, as he started counting on his fingers the fuck ups he already knew about.

“When was the last time you had a date?!”

I just lowered my head since he was attacking all my sour spots.

“Me, Chris, and Greg are your only friends, and I am not talking about true friends. I mean friends as in actual friends!”

Then Chris decided he was done being quiet and chimed in.

“BTW, you even missed the last two Larps because we weren’t there! Greg actually called me a few weeks ago asking if you were even alive… In the name of the void, he is your fucking friend you SOB, and you don’t even call him! He always has to call you or message you and it usually takes you weeks to answer!!!”

And then we were back to Felix… wait! Did they rehearse this?

“This is a good opportunity for you so go to the concert. You flash this ticket, listen to some music and then go meet the pop-stars, after that you’ll go to the after party they’re hosting.”

Yeah, he was right. This package was clearly the highest tier you can get, from meeting the pop-stars to the party, and even social media bullshit… Crap, this is really making me uncomfortable.

And then again, Chris started right back up… These dipshits really rehearsed this speech in advance! I guess they knew how I would react.

“Yeah man! I agree with him, you need to get out more! FFS when is the last time you got laid!”

“My fun-fun time is none of your business!”

“Considering you’re even calling it “fun-fun time” makes it my business!”

“Ohhhhh really?! And when the fuck is the last time you got some?!”

“Just two nights ago! It was that influencer that was used as the poster girl for those new web series!”

“Holy shit really?! Good job man! She's freaking hot!”

“Oh I know right, and the wa- ouch!”

But Felix smacked Chris over his head with annoyed expression

“Don’t try to change the subject!

Crap! He saw right through me! And Chris was shocked as he processed what I was trying to do. But before we could start anything Felix laughed and grinned.

“Go there! Meet some people. Mingle and who knows maybe, just maybe it will change your life. One of the girls is actually a friend of ours. She did one song with us and we pulled some strings for this ticket and even gave her a heads up.”

But then that grin was replaced with a look of seriousness. There was no lenience or mirth in his tone, only absolute seriousness and calm.

“And for the love of the seals that hold the void together- Do not, and I will repeat this one more time. DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT DRINKING! If you get drunk you will start singing… And if you sing…. I don’t want to be accused for aiding in an attempted murder.”

I couldn't say anything, I could only smile. These two bastards knew me, one that feeds 80% of his games and one that screams in rage did at minor inconveniences did something like this. They are thinking about my life and they want to help. There was nothing I could say to disagree with them… And despite that, I was still nervous.

“Fine, thank you... I will try to have fun, I promise.”

“Good! The concert is tonight so have fun! And call us tomorrow.”

And then Chris jumped in pushing Felix out of the cam shot completely again.

“And if you don’t call us it means you got lucky and your boy is proud of you! SO PEACE OUT BITCH, GLFH!”

And just like that the call was over

“INFINITY L00p huh... guess I’ll go. Shit the car is picking me tonight. I need to get ready!”

Well maybe they are right. Maybe it will be fun… right?