Endeavor.
“Hey, Xander,” I answer.
“You’re on speakerphone on stream,” he says.
I blink. Why is Endy streaming right now if we’re supposed to be collabing tonight?
“Where are you?” he asks.
Ohhh. Streamingisthe collab…and it’snow, nottonight. I cut my fingers through my hair and skirt around Morana. “Sorry, what day is it?”
“That’s Emmet’s schtick, Frost. Get over here before he hears you and feels some kind of way about it.”
Last time someone seemed to invade one of Enigma’s jokes, he created a montage of himself lying unblinking in fields with a rain overlay. It was great content, very funny. The video ended with Endeavor, his brother, sighing deeply and shaking his head, before dragging Enigma by the leg toward home.
Then a cursiveFinappeared center of the screen.
I loved it. Who would I be to rob Enigma of more glorious opportunities to troll?
“Maybe I’ll call Sigma and we can start a different stream together. Younger brothers unite.”
“Don’t you dare.”
My phone buzzes as I’m marching toward my gaming room. “Sorry I’m getting a text.”
“Fro—“”
I pull the phone away from my ear.
Enigma:Already opening a lobby for us.
“Endy,” I note, “are you aware that Sigs’s watching your stream?”
“You told me you were making oatmeal!” Endy yells through the house they share.
Distant, Enigma calls, “I’m multitasking!”
Two in the afternoon oatmeal. What a mood.
“Both of you get here right now, or I’m deleting our save file.”
With that, Xander hangs up, and I rush off to work.
Chapter 5
?
Shapes and colors.
Morana
Undo me.
As Kyran abandons me to become FrostPlays, I find myself captivated by his words. They race through my head, pricking their fingers onmaybesandwhat ifs.Maybewe could make things work.What ifthis passiondoesn’trun out?
Inevitably, I regain my senses, shake my head, and remember that I’mvery busydoing my rounds of checking the trash in the house. And thetrashis where such inane thoughts belong. People are passionate about what they can’t have. People put effort into getting what they want. Once they have it, though? Once they’ve milked it for everything they can get out of it?
They stop caring as much.
