Page 44 of Aim Assist

Every time I try to talk to her, she ignores me. Even K's noticed, and I can't give them any fucking answers to their questions. I tell them to drop it.

They have me dressed in this ridiculous getup every single day, and my stream's viewers are loving every second of it. I don't stream often anymore, but my name alone brings them in. There are a couple million followers to my name—not that I give a shit.

All they care about is that Trickshot is back from retirement. They haven't seen me in ages. I pop on here and there when I'm bored, but there's no schedule, no rhyme or reason.

They've been waiting for this.

Finishing the burgers and fries I ordered for lunch, I head back early, hoping Amy will too.

Maybe I'll finally get a chance to talk to her. I'm so desperate that I might have to stalk her to the bathroom, but that's so far under creepy that I can't quite take that step.

I'm going to go mad if she doesn't give me a chance to explain soon.

K's on the phone outside the conference room, talking to someone—presumably Asher, judging by the stressed-out look on their face. They change their crown daily, and today it's gold with fake amethyst gems studded all around it.

The viewers love K as much as me, especially when they lean over my shoulder to ask how the fuck I became a professional when I still don't understand how to follow quest markers.

Direct quote.

And my viewers agree with them. Traitors.

RPGs aren't my genre, okay? They play completely different.

I just want to shoot shit.

And in this game, even that's based on action skills and character progression, things I'm not used to having to monitor.

Every so often, I see Amy's little avatar, an elf—because in this post-apocalyptic world, there's still a fantasy element—running around. She's farther ahead than I am, likely due to the fact that she asks pertinent questions and focuses on learning how to play the game.

It's easy, apparently.

All my viewers watch her, too, and they love to point out how much worse I am at adapting.

Well, how many of them could figure it all out while staring at the sexy woman who's determined to ignore you for the rest of your natural life?

"Fuck!"

I push myself away from my desk with a groan as my avatar crumples to the ground again, dead.

"K, this game might be too damn hard for the casual gamer. No way anyone's going to figure out this battle system without serious time investment."

K snorts. "Are you sure about that?"

I glance over at the chat stream, already knowing what I'll see. And yep, there it is:

ZombieHunterHawkKun: lol trickshot ur probably the only person on the planet who cant figure this out

xXShadowAssassin413Xx: I'm not even playing and pretty sure I'd still be better at this than you

Allthegoodnamesweretaken: can't wait for release so we can all laugh at you failing hard

IntawebzNo1H4t3r: is trickshot actually popular or just fun to hate on? lol

Yep. I used to be a pro, the best of the best. Now I'm retired and the butt of everyone's joke. Hah, hah.

K leans over, adjusting their glittering crown. "So which is it, Trickshot? You a beloved legend or a punching bag these days?"

I flip them off.

---