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But what bothered Noelle the most was that she seemed invisible.
From the start, he'd seemed a little larger than life with his imposing presence, battle strategy, and even that damn digitized voice of his. She didn't know why she'd imprinted so much on him from the start, but as the days trickled by, she realized shewantedhis validation.
Maybe it was because he was so good at what he did—the best really—and she was attracted to competence. But she wished for nothing more than to earn his praise.
That prompted a series of failed challenges that made her more of a mockery than theheroineshe wanted to be. Instead of getting praise from him—Blue—all she'd gotten had been laughter.
It all came crashing down one day when her impatience got the best of her and she ended up falling into a trap, thus losing half her levels.
She'd entered the game a little earlier than the designated time in hopes she could secure some additional bounty before everyone else arrived. Instead, all she'd done had been to lose what she'd worked so hard for.
"You're a walking disaster, aren't you?" His voice resounded as Noelle's avatar was struggling to not sink into the quicksand hole she'd fallen into.
She noted he'd logged on earlier, too, and was now standing by the sidelines, watching her with amusement.
"You could help instead of watching me sink," she mumbled dryly.
"What can I say, it makes for a nice sight," he chuckled, and she heard the snap of a camera.
"You…" she ground her jaw as she realized he'd screen recorded her shame.
"Got to keep it for the others. I'm sure they will love to see this."
"You're dead, Blue," she promised as she continued to struggle.
"Nope.You'redead unless I help you."
"Well? Please do," she rolled her eyes at the screen. Really, just what she needed. To have Blue witness her failed attempts when she'd just been trying to impress him. Ok, maybeimpressinghim was going a little too far. But after all the other disasters she'd caused within the team, she'd wanted to do something good.
She'd wanted one word of praise from him—a tinygood jobwould have sufficed.
But now?
"Ask me nicely and I will," he retorted, his voice tinged with amusement.
"Please?" she gritted her teeth as she said it. She was aware that the more her avatar struggled, the more points she would lose until ultimately she'd lose her life.
But his help didn't come immediately. He waited at least a few more seconds, leaving her in suspense as she continued to sink before he procured a rope.
Throwing the rope at her, Noelle grabbed on to it just as Blue pulled her out of the quicksand with one effortless tug.
"Thank you," she murmured as she saw the state of her clothing. It wasn't enough she'd lost half her levels, now she had to part with some coin to replace her ruined clothes, too.
"You're welcome," he winked with his one good eye, and Noelle felt herself getting flustered.
Surely it wasn't normal to feel drawn to an animated character, right?
Right?
Yet she couldn't deny the life-like appearance of the avatar, or the fact that despite the roguish look and the pirate patch, Blue looked…good.
Behind the screen, Noelle blushed to her roots as she covered her eyes with her hands.
She must be going crazy. That was the only explanation. Her time in isolation plus having to put up with her rather insane mother and the ongoing gossip surrounding her must have driven her to insanity.
Yet it wasn't the character itself that made her blush. It was the whole package and the fact that…his competence was appealing. There, she'd said it. She found his self-assured manner, his brilliant strategies and competence in battle very attractive.
Since he'd joined their team, they've been winning battle after battle—if it weren't for her stupid attempts at standing out, which ended up with their loss.
