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I refuse to fall in love as agdq

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Oct 21st, 2019
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  1. Chapter One: Welcome to Crowne Plaza!
  2.  
  3. She saved. She crowd funded. She begged her parents with the prospect of pay back. It seemed that she had done everything other than beg on the street to save up for her full week stay at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.
  4.  
  5. Ella Vonnegut had looked forward to this moment for a long, long time. Double, triple checking her bank account on the Macbook screen, the lovely numbers she had worked hard for stared back in her face.
  6.  
  7. This "amazing" event in question was none other than the week long speedrunning marathon event, Awesome Games Done Quick; or AGDQ as it's known among fans. For a week straight, speedrunners from all over fly in to one place and complete video games as fast as possible; all for charity.
  8.  
  9. The last couple of GDQ's yielded over a million dollars in charity and with the hype already surrounding the internet and social media, it would be safe to say that this year would be no different. All proceeds go to the amazing medical movement, Medecins Sans Frontieres or Doctors Without Borders and The Prevent Cancer Foundation.
  10.  
  11. With all of the money and time put into this event, it would seem that this kind of event could only happen once a year but, in fact, this even happens twice a year! Once in the Winter and another in the Summer, called Summer Games Done Quick.
  12.  
  13. Ella didn't want to camp on her money and wait until the Summer. Ever since she saw the very first event, Classic Games Done Quick, in 2010, she vowed that one day she would be sitting in the convention center, enjoying the marathon. One day wasn't enough for her though. She HAD to be there for the whole week to satisfy her want for this event.
  14.  
  15. She logged into her blog site and prepped a blog post. She ran a rather popular blog called "Can You Run It?" dedicated to all things speedrunning. Recent popular uploads to Speed Demos Archive or SDA, upcoming games that people were eager to run, and current games being run were featured on her blog. She provided her opinions and posted tips and hints to people who came to her blog for information.
  16.  
  17. "This is it, everyone! We're finally going to AGDQ!" Ella wrote aloud. She was too pumped up to control her eagerness and excitement.
  18.  
  19. I will be liveblogging the entire event and provide round the clock updates.... except when I need sleep. I've finally booked my room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, just a short drive from my apartment! How lucky!
  20.  
  21. The room in question was a double bed non smoking room for $159.00 a night, totaling a whopping $1,272.00 for eight days. She busted her whole chops for that money, taking double shifts at her day job away from the internet. She saved up over $5,000 for the hotel expenses and eating money that were soon to bombard her for a whole week. Some of it was spent on tee shirts from The Yetee.com to hype herself up for the upcoming event. Since she was driving her car to the hotel, she also had to pay for parking for the whole week and that ate up a lot of her money too.
  22.  
  23. "This is going to be a very exciting experience for all of us and I will do my best to capture the most of this adventure! Stay tuned!" Ella finished her blog post, a rather short one.
  24.  
  25. She shut her Macbook and set it to the side of her bed. She looked over to the folded clothes ready to be packed into her luggage. Tee shirts and jeans fit for the chilly weather. Los Angeles was pretty warm all year round but, it's still a tad bit chilly in the later months; especially in January.
  26.  
  27. Her dirty dishes also started to stare her in the face, along with rather apparent chores around her house. Vacuum the floor, separate the laundry she wasn't taking, make sure everything was unplugged for her week of absence. That annoying wave of lazy exhaustion swept over her as she felt these rather quick chores piled on top of her all of a sudden.
  28.  
  29. Determined to get it all done, however, she pulled up her favorite playlist of saved speedruns, settling on a Yoshi's Island 100% run by Trihex; a rather popular speedrunner. She would be the last to admit it but she found him a bit attractive too. It's not as if speedrunners have some sort of physical demographic, most of them were very fair to look at. Trihex had a cool and charismatic air about him that Ella admired.
  30.  
  31. "Okay..." Ella breathed. Her chosen speedrun playing on her TV through the YouTube feature on her Xbox One. She made her way across her studio apartment and started tackling the dishes.
  32.  
  33. Living by herself was great at first, only buying what she needed. Slowly she found she had a serious coffee mug addiction, with a bad coffee and tea addiction to boot. Slowly but surely, the mugs started to accumulate, not being able to match the slow going and "I'll get to it when I get to it" lifestyle of a 22 year old.
  34.  
  35. Ella threw her black hair into a tight ponytail and quickly changed into a tank top and sweats. She prepped her vacuum and started washing dishes.
  36.  
  37. About 30 minutes passed and she finally finished washing all the dishes, vacuuming her floor, and separated the lights from darks.
  38.  
  39. Trihex was on his split for 2-1 on Yoshi's Island by the time she finished. It was a near three hour speedrun in itself but it was still very comfortable to watch. The music really helped set a calming mood along with Trihex's occasional commentary.
  40.  
  41. She hit the right bumper on her controller and changed the video to a Symphony of the Night speedrun by Cosmo, a very popular speedrunner for Zelda and Castlevania.
  42.  
  43. She took this time to start packing her bags for her drive tomorrow. Albeit a bit overzealous, she seemed to be packing for a month rather than eight days. One of the reasons for that was she was meeting up with another blogging friend she made named Holly Summers. They had planned to go out together during runs they weren't planning to see. Out to eat or hang out together, they also planned to blog together during the entire event.
  44.  
  45. They ran similar blogs, with Holly's blog being a world record showcase and tips blog. She offered her opinion and videos of newly record breaking runs as well and pointing out the strategies they used to achieve their goal.
  46.  
  47. Since everything was already folded, it didn't take her too long to pack. The short speedrun was coming to an end as well. Ella placed her bags by the door, making sure her toothbrush and essentials for lady business was packed. She double checked her purse for all her information, cards, ID, loose change and money, and a couple of business cards.
  48.  
  49. She turned off her Xbox and TV and made her way to her bed. She all but forced herself to fall asleep, excited for her new adventure she waited so long for.
  50.  
  51. Checking in was an absolute nightmare. Not only did her drive to the Crowne Plaza take longer than expected due to the absurd traffic the blocked half her drive up to Los Angeles, over 100 people were trying to sign in at the same time by the time she got there.
  52.  
  53. Not that it was all bad, among the crowd were a few very recognizable runners, come to check in early for tomorrow's festivities.
  54.  
  55. CloakedYoshi and Runnerguy2489 among the crowd. Raysfiyah was also standing among the scene, waiting for his turn to approach the check-in desk. They were visibly surrounded by other people eager to strike up conversation with them, while others looked too shy to even approach.
  56.  
  57. Ella had written articles about all three of them and their achievements so it was even more cool to see them standing so close. However, she was more interested in getting to the check-in before trying to mingle with the crowd.
  58.  
  59. Finally the flow of people starting to move, most of them politely forming a somewhat wonky line in a vain tempt of group order. Ella joined in the line, easily guessing she was about six people away from checking in. People were still shuffling about, weaving in and out of the line and even cutting to get ahead.
  60.  
  61. Ella saw someone approach from the corner of her eye, coming closer and closer. Taking a glance, she saw a boy about her age, slender build and jet black hair, clearly dyed, approaching fast. He was walking with another speedrunner and carrying a duffle bag over one shoulder and a medium size suitcase in the opposite hand. Ella looked away and waited for the inevitable.
  62.  
  63. "Oh god don't bump into me don't bump into me don't-"
  64.  
  65. And yet...
  66.  
  67. Thunk! Whack!
  68.  
  69. "Ah! H-hey! Please watch where you're going!" Ella exclaimed as quietly yet sternly as she could. She really didn't want to cause a scene in the already chaotic jumble of people.
  70.  
  71. "You watch it! We're trying to pass you-" the boy stopped talking. Ella and him locked eyes.
  72.  
  73. There was no gobstruck face, mouth agape, eyes twinkling, cherry blossom swirling mess. Both parties were just staring at each other, almost as if they were trying to read one another.
  74.  
  75. The boy's eyes were a sharp green, fixed on Ella's soft blue ones. His messy hair fell into his eyes a strand at a time but most of it still maintained to the top of his head by the obvious use of gel product.
  76.  
  77. "Y-you.... Who are you?" He asked.
  78.  
  79. By this time, the boy's friend looked at him as if he was ten shades of stupid.
  80.  
  81. "Yo, Orion, can we like, get in line or something."
  82.  
  83. "What the hell? Orion? What kind of name is THAT?" Ella thought to herself.
  84.  
  85. "Yeah man, you go ahead, I'll catch up." The so called Orion responded, tilting his head towards his friend but not losing rather annoying eye contact with Ella.
  86.  
  87. Sighing, the friend walked passed Ella and made his way to the back. Orion broke eye contact and shifted his bags to displace the uncomfortable weight on his shoulder. He then stuck out his free hand towards her.
  88.  
  89. "I'm Orion, nice to meet you. Sorry for bumping into you like that."
  90.  
  91. Ella took a second to look at his hand and then politely took it, shaking it as firm as she could to establish a professional demeanor.
  92.  
  93. "Ella. It's ok, I forgive you. Just... look next time, Ok?" Ella retracted her hand back and placed it back on her luggage.
  94.  
  95. "I'll be sure too, you going to be here all week?" Orion prodded.
  96.  
  97. Ella struck him a confused look.
  98.  
  99. "Uh, yeah but I'm not planning to hook up with anyone so..." Ella passively stated.
  100.  
  101. Quick to pick up the atmosphere, Orion smiled slightly and moved out of the way finally.
  102.  
  103. "Well I hope to see you around the convention floor sometime! Be sure to catch my run too!" Orion called back then waved goodbye.
  104.  
  105. Ella lifted her eyebrows and sported an almost apathetic smile whilst waving goodbye back to the confident boy.
  106.  
  107. How annoying. Not that this happens almost at all. Ella wasn't a "stand out in a crowd" type. Not only that, the way he just stopped his almost insult to just stare and then try to make an advance downright fired her up. She'd rather take the insult!
  108.  
  109. It's not that she's allergic to love or crushes, she just didn't know how to deal with them or act upon them, causing some pretty passive aggressive behavior from her. The last boyfriend she had broke up with her over her always having a witty retort or her always trying to bully her way out of affection. A regular American tsundere, if there ever was one.
  110.  
  111. "Next!" The desk clerk called out and Ella quickly claimed her spot in front of her.
  112.  
  113. Checking in was easy, verifying her card information and telephone. Soon she had two door card keys in hand and, with a smile to the clerk and well wishes, she was on her way to her room.
  114.  
  115. One cramped elevator ride later, she was on the 3rd floor, room 321. Slipping the key into the door, she opened it and held the door with her foot as she attempted to drag her luggage in behind her.
  116.  
  117. Finally, she was in, luggage resting in the coat hanging area, next to a mini fridge.
  118.  
  119. The busy and hot lobby of the 1st floor had Ella sweating a bit too much so she opted for a quick shower, just to get a bit refreshed. Towel drying her hair, she took out her MacBook and opened her three normal tags; her blog, Facebook, and Twitch.
  120.  
  121. This was the day before AGDQ started so the main stream wasn't up yet, however runners she followed were streaming from their hotel rooms, prevalent from the same gaudy art pieces hanging behind their heads in most of the webcams. Many labeled "practice runs before big marathon", they were addicting to watch.
  122.  
  123. Ella's stomach then let out a hearty growl and she felt the beginnings of hunger start to grab her. She closed her MacBook and found her boots she had kicked off earlier. Grabbing her purse and card keys, she set out to find a local Chipotle or even just a McDonalds to grab a quick bite to eat.
  124.  
  125. Shutting the door behind her, she caught a split second glance to a pair of bodies beside her before glancing over at them.
  126.  
  127. "Oh, hey!" The familiar voice called.
  128.  
  129. There he was, that boy once again. Standing right next to her with his friend paying no mind, trying to get into the room. The room right next to hers.
  130.  
  131. It wasn't a heart stopping feeling or even a twinkling glimmer of hope type feeling. No, the feeling Ella was feeling deep in her gut was the one of pure annoyance and "of course things would work out this way" type of displeasure.
  132.  
  133. "What a coincidence, we have adjacent rooms!" Orion exclaimed.
  134.  
  135. Ella still had her hand on her doorknob, but looked back at her room then back to his.
  136.  
  137. "Yeah... I guess we do." Ella was busting her ass to sound as boring and uninterested as possible.
  138.  
  139. "Well I hope you catch my run on Sunday. I'm running Metal Gear Solid, around the end."
  140.  
  141. Ella instantly perked up. Even though Metal Gear Solid was one of her favorite games, she refused to break her hardened impression. However, she was a bit interested in seeing it.
  142.  
  143. "I look forward to it, that's one of my favorite games."
  144.  
  145. "Forreal? Well I'll put in extra effort then!" Orion boasted.
  146.  
  147. At this point, his friend with him rolled his eyes and all but dragged him into their room. Orion gave one last wave goodbye and his friend offered a smile and a small wave before disappearing into the hotel room.
  148.  
  149. Ella sighed though her nose and turned on her heel, setting out to find food. Trying to push the charismatic wide smile paired with black hair and green eyes out of her mind.
  150.  
  151. Chapter Two: We Meet Again! For Lunch?
  152.  
  153. Ella's hunt for food was short lived as simply walking out the front lobby doors greeted her to a plethora of fast food and sit down restaurants, all from across the street. She headed out with an eager smile towards her favorite food establishment of choice, Chipotle.
  154.  
  155. The early evening was greeted with thin clouds and a brisk walk as Ella wished she brought a thicker sweater. Thinking back on it, she knew it wouldn't really help since in about 30 minutes, she would be sweating anyways from this weird weather.
  156.  
  157. Her phone suddenly vibrated as she slowed to the crosswalk adjacent from the Hotel. It was Holly.
  158.  
  159. "Hey I'm at the hotel but I don't see you, did you check in already?"
  160.  
  161. Wide eyed, Ella turned back around and awkwardly jogged back to the doors. Rounding the lobby, she saw a few stragglers trying to check in along with people already checked in just hanging about. After a couple more scans of the area, she saw her.
  162.  
  163. "Hey! Holly!! Over here!" Ella waved in her direction.
  164.  
  165. Holly looked up from her phone and looked at Ella, spawning a huge smile. She shuffled her baggage onto its wheels and made her way over to Ella, who met her halfway. They shared a long hug and a soft giggle together.
  166.  
  167. "Oh my gosh, girl how long has it been?! It's torture being away this long!" Holly stated, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. Her thick rim glasses started to slightly slip down her nose but she pushed them back to their proper place.
  168.  
  169. "Tell me about it. I feel as if I've been stuck in a fishbowl being the same town for so long. Work and blog, that's it." Ella remarked.
  170.  
  171. "Well, now you're here!" Holly nudged her in the side with her elbow playfully, "You finally made it! AGDQ!"
  172.  
  173. "Ha ha yeah! I know." Ella was too bashful to make a big scene, even though on the inside she was screaming with delight.
  174.  
  175. This was not Holly's first GDQ, however. She had been to many of them, only missing some part ways due to work or important matters. She made sure she had all the time off she needed to be with Ella on her first AGDQ trip.
  176.  
  177. "You'll have a lot of fun, trust me." Holly said as they both absentmindedly walked to the front desk.
  178.  
  179. After chatting idly for a few minutes, Holly checked in with Ella's help, after all, they agreed to stay in the same room together. They rode the elevator up to the third floor and made their way to their room. Ella took a sideways glance at room 322, that guy's room.
  180.  
  181. "I already laid my stuff on the side of the room but there should be more than enough room to place your bags too." Ella said as she slid the key card into the door, opening it.
  182.  
  183. "No worries, I remember when they did a GDQ here a couple years ago, the rooms are pretty big." Holly said, pushing past Ella, who was holding the door open for her.
  184.  
  185. Holly placed her bags right next to Ella's and made her way to the bed with the least amount of stuff on it, sitting down and resting for a few short moments.
  186.  
  187. "What a trip, man." Holly breathed out, flopping down on the bed, arms spread out.
  188. "Flight kick your ass or something? Don't you fly all the time?" Ella joked, placing her purse down and opening her MacBook once again.
  189.  
  190. "Surprisingly, this time around, my body couldn't take it." Holly curled up towards Ella, "I feel like I just want to nap."
  191. "Well that's too bad because I was about to go out and get food and I was buyin'."
  192.  
  193. Holly then almost jumped out of bed and struck a goofy pose, one you would see in a Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure manga.
  194.  
  195. "I'm always down for food, why didn't you say so?!" Holly then went for her bag and took out a small bracelet purse, big enough to hold her information, cards, and spare cash.
  196.  
  197. Ella let out a giggle and closed her MacBook, once again picking up her purse and made her way to the door with Holly. They chatted idly as Ella double checked for her card keys and locked the door. Making their way to the elevator on the far side of the hall, they stopped and waited for the lift to make its way to their floor, still chatting and not paying attention to passerby's around them.
  198.  
  199. "Well well!"
  200.  
  201. Ella and Holly perked up at the rather loud voice and turned towards the source. Ella then felt her face all but drop off her body.
  202.  
  203. There he was, that extroverted jerk. Jerk wasn't really a fair claim, but she had little to no interest in this man whatsoever.
  204. Orion was looking straight at Ella however, a broad smile across his face. His poor roommate was with him, shoving him in the ribs with his elbow sporting a disapproving look.
  205.  
  206. "Man, will you stop harassing this poor woman..."
  207.  
  208. Holly then turned towards Ella, "You know this guy?"
  209.  
  210. "Uhh...not exactly." Ella answered as the elevator doors finally opened on their floor.
  211.  
  212. A fair number of people were in the lift already, mostly young adults and teens, come for the event. Many were idly chatting about helping set up in the event room while others were just chatting about personal events. Ella and Holly stood on one side of the lift while Orion and his friend stood on the other. Ella snuck a quick glance towards Orion and saw that he was still looking at her. Once he saw her glance, he popped a quick smile. Is this guy for real?
  213.  
  214. "So... You don't know him?" Holly asked, the doors opening on the first floor.
  215.  
  216. "No, I bumped into him when I was checking in, I told him to watch himself and he was about to give me some half baked insult but stopped." Ella explained.
  217.  
  218. They walked out into the lobby, Orion and company coming to a halt beside them.
  219.  
  220. "You know, it's not nice to gossip about a guy right in front of his face." Orion quipped.
  221.  
  222. Holly almost looked embarrassed while Orion's friend and Ella wore a face of absolute disapproval and boredom. Orion then turned to Ella, pushing some bangs out of his eyes. His hair wasn't long but it was long enough to be styled the way it was, spiky on top but not to crazy and short spiky bangs. He didn't pass for a "scene" or "emo" kind of kid but he didn't look all that prep school or cookie-cutter either. His build was also surprisingly built, he wasn't very skinny, you could tell he has meat on his bones but he took care of himself. Along with that, his clothing style was that of almost all gamers, dark jeans, sneakers, and a gaming tee shirt. He sported a Star Fox tee featuring four Arwings, symbolizing the Star Fox crew, overlaying a "Star Fox Zero" logo.
  223.  
  224. "Look, I promise
  225.  
  226. I'm not trying to woo you off your feet but..."
  227.  
  228. Oh boy here we go.
  229.  
  230. "If you guys are heading out to eat, I'd like to pay you back for bumping into you so rudely. I could cop your meal?" Orion offered. His stance was confident. Kept his hands out of his pockets and feet shoulder with apart, paired with a smile. More of a smirk if you asked Ella.
  231.  
  232. Holly all but gripped Ella's arm and gave her an awestruck face. Ella looked at Holly then back to Orion.
  233.  
  234. "Uhhhh...."
  235.  
  236. "One second Mr..... You. Hold on." Holly interjected and dragged Ella to another corner of the lobby, sitting her down on the white chair.
  237.  
  238. "Holly if you invite him, I will make the church play the Space Jam theme at your funeral." Ella seethed, taking a glance towards the pair by the door. Orion gave a slight wave.
  239.  
  240. "Dude, not only is he offering to pay for your food, he's totally into you!"
  241.  
  242. Ella shot Holly a bored look.
  243.  
  244. "It's like you don't know me at all. You know I'm just going to abuse the poor guy. I don't handle feelings and love well." Ella stated.
  245.  
  246. "Is there anything about him you know that you DO like?"
  247.  
  248. "He runs Metal Gear Solid?"
  249.  
  250. Holly the went wide eyed and brought her hands up in a mock shrug and held them out to her, mouth agape in awe.
  251.  
  252. "Metal Gear runner, a speedrunner, totally cute. You're not gonna TRY?" Holly asked, finally putting her arms down.
  253.  
  254. Ella sighed and took a final look to Orion and friend, who were talking to each other. The friend looking really fed up with the whole situation but stuck around anyways.
  255.  
  256. "Ok, I'll let him pay for my food." Ella said, standing up, "But only because I'm spiteful, not because I want to get to know him, are we clear?" Ella pointed a finger towards Holly.
  257.  
  258. Holly shook her head yes a couple time, a huge smile on her face. They both made their way back towards the boys.
  259.  
  260. "The verdict?" Orion asked, sporting a smile.
  261.  
  262. "I'll take you up on your offer, but only for this time." Ella said, looking away to avoid eye contact. She felt a blush coming on but tried everything in her power to will it away.
  263.  
  264. "Alright! I'll cover your friend's as well. Cuz I'm so nice." Orion said, Turning towards the door.
  265.  
  266. How annoying. Why does Holly talk me into stuff like this?
  267.  
  268. "I'm Holly, Ella's best friend. We blog together." Holly introduced herself.
  269.  
  270. "I'm Orion and this is my friend Lucas." Orion introduced. Lucas gave a small wave to the girls and gave a faint hello, clearly uninterested in what was going on.
  271.  
  272. "Nice to meet you both!" Holly said.
  273.  
  274. Ella was trying so hard to stay out of what was going on. She was only in this for the free food, she didn't want to think about Orion and his stupid advances.
  275.  
  276. I wonder if he runs other games besides Metal Gear Solid?
  277.  
  278. Ella shook herself out of her thoughts. She didn't want to even invest thought into this guy.
  279.  
  280. They made their way to the Chipotle, Orion holding open the door for everyone. Ella refused to make eye contact but let out a soft 'thank you' for the gesture. They all ordered their burrito of choice and to his credit, Orion paid for the meals, except for Lucas's, who insisted he pay for his own.
  281.  
  282. Sitting down at the far right table in the dining area, they began to eat and idly chat. Holly was more of an extrovert than Ella was, not that she was turned off by being around other people, this was just a special case.
  283.  
  284. Listening in to the conversation around her, Ella decided to act upon her curiosity and ask a question.
  285.  
  286. "So, Orion,"
  287.  
  288. Orion perked up instantly at Ella's break in voice, awkwardly swallowing the huge bite of burrito still in his mouth in preparation to answer her question.
  289.  
  290. "Do you run any other games besides Metal Gear Solid?" Ella asked, fiddling around with her burrito, still trying to avoid eye contact. She built up enough courage to look up and see Orion deep in though for a second.
  291.  
  292. "Yeah, I also run the original Metal Gears and Metal Gear Solid 3. Other than Metal Gear, I run Bloodborne, Dark Souls 1 and 2, Final Fantasy 7 and 9, and I'm learning Banjo Kazooie 100%."
  293.  
  294. Not only was Ella keeping constant eye contact at this point, both Holly and Ella were looking upon him in silent awe.
  295.  
  296. "That's quite a wide variety. You usually see people running a specific type of genre or game, but you seem to be all over the place." Holly remarked.
  297.  
  298. "Well, I like to run games I like, and I don't really stop myself when it's a new genre. Almost all the games I run are games I've played as a kid so there was already a huge following to them when I got into speedrunning." Orion noted, picking up his burrito again.
  299.  
  300. He took a bite, chewing for a few seconds while keeping a finger up to signify that he was to keep trying to speak after he was done eating.
  301.  
  302. Lucas was fiddling around on his phone next to him, texting a contact on his phone.
  303.  
  304. "Speedrunning has become my life, if anything. Do you see me on Twitch at all?" He asked.
  305.  
  306. He was talking about Twitch.tv of course, a very popular live streaming web service, geared towards the Western countries like America and Europe. The AGDQ marathon along with millions of other "streamers" broadcast let's play's, reviewer playthroughs, art, music, and most popular, speedrunning on the website.
  307.  
  308. Even though Ella was interested in Metal Gear Solid, she never really delved into the game tag on Twitch. She's never seen him at all on Twitch before and hasn't even heard of him.
  309.  
  310. Holly also absently shook her head and glanced at Ella to see if she knew him as well.
  311.  
  312. "Sorry, I've never seen your stream. What's your Twitch username?" Holly asked.
  313.  
  314. "OrionTV. Just that. I got lucky to snag a single name username." Orion took another bite out of his burrito.
  315.  
  316. Holly took the time to pull her iPhone out of her pocket and bring up the Twitch.tv app. Typing in the name in the search bar, sure enough his profile popped up instantly as the first profile. His profile picture sporting a large letter "O" with a star on it. He had a surprising amount of followers, over 70,000 people followed him.
  317.  
  318. "Ok, I just followed you." Holly said, checking other streamers she followed for a few seconds before putting her phone away.
  319.  
  320. "Really? Thanks! That means a lot!" Orion placed his hand on his heart and gave a genuine smile.
  321.  
  322. Ella looked on at Holly and then looked back at Orion who was giving her kind of a hopeful look.
  323.  
  324. Oh this boy better not....
  325.  
  326. "Hey, there's absolutely no pressure to follow me. I actually don't expect it." Orion joked, and ate more of his burrito.
  327.  
  328. "Well I never said I wasn't going to follow!" Ella remarked, trying to keep her voice as mellow as possible.
  329.  
  330. "Well if you do, it would mean a lot to me." Orion said with a smile.
  331.  
  332. It took all Ella had to not reach over the table and push his face away. She opted to just look out the window quickly, surrendering to the blush creeping up on her face.
  333.  
  334. It was late, they had gotten back a while ago, after saying good bye and parting ways, the boys went on the help set up the convention floor, while Ella and Holly went out for a while longer to shop and hang out.
  335.  
  336. They finally made their way back to the hotel and to the room, where Holly all but slipped out of everything and into some beat up shorts and a tank top, retiring to bed.
  337.  
  338. Ella stayed up a little while longer, replying to blog comments and uploading photos of her first day of the adventure. After making anew post and checking all relatable social media, she finally turned to Twitch. Six streamers she followed were live and she rested on the bed, watching Carcinogen speedrun Resident Evil.
  339.  
  340. Time passed and the further curiosity began to eat away at her. She scrolled her mouse to the search bar and typed in "OrionTV" and clicked on his profile.
  341.  
  342. He was live right now!
  343.  
  344. For some reason, her heart began to race as she clicked on his channel and let it load up.
  345.  
  346. "Practice Metal Gear runs AGDQ" the title said. His webcam secured in the corner, the signature look of runner's concentration on his face as he made his way through the game. He was fighting Revolver Ocelot and there was signs of resets and do-overs as detailed by chat.
  347.  
  348. Ella opted to watch him for a few minutes. On stream, he was a man of few words, only talking to answer a question that someone in chat asked or to whisper an expletive when something went wrong.
  349.  
  350. She finally grew the courage to ghost her cursor over the follow button and click it, feeling good about herself until...
  351.  
  352. 「LIIQUIIIIIIDD!!!」
  353.  
  354. It was a sound clip from Metal Gear Solid 4, followed by a drop down screen showing Ella's Twitch username right on the screen.
  355. Ella froze, bile starting to rise to the top of her throat, fear making her stiff. Orion glanced up from the camera, looking at a screen.
  356.  
  357. "Yooooo, EllaBella93! Welcome to the stream! Wait..."
  358.  
  359. No. God no please.
  360.  
  361. "Is this The Ella? Like from today?" Orion had a goofy smile on his face.
  362.  
  363. Ella felt her entire face got hot, clutching her hand to the top of the MacBook, ready to slam it down.
  364.  
  365. "Hey, if that's you Ella, I'm glad you followed! Welcome to the stream and I hope you still catch my run on Sunday!" Orion's voice was much calmer and softer. Maybe because Lucas was sleeping or the walls were thin.
  366.  
  367. The chat bar flooded with "Orion got a girl!" and various Kappa faces followed by lame jokes and puns.
  368.  
  369. "She's not my girlfriend, guys but, she is pretty cool." Orion stated, laughing at chat.
  370.  
  371. Ella opted to let the MacBook stay open and laid back down, refusing to participate in chat, only listening to Orion softly play the stealth game until she finally fell asleep.
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