Page 64 of Now Streaming

They both scrambled for weapons. She figured his health was probably now as low as hers—shotguns had terrible range, but TeddyBearHugs had been close enough to Alex to do real damage with it. Min got to her machine gun first, sprinting over to Alex’s avatar to get a better shot. He tried to dodge, tried to hit her, but she was faster, and with one press of her button, his avatar was down. Alex was out of the tournament.

Min watched, a little stunned, as Alex’s avatar fell to the ground. She had thought she would feel vindication, relief, karma, something at this moment, but she didn’t. Instead, she was hollow, as if all the conspiring and hate had taken up too much of her. Now that the moment was over, she was left wondering if there was anything left.

Slowly, Min became aware that someone was yelling, not over comms but in the actual arena. She slipped off one of her headphones to listen and immediately recognized the voice. It was Alex, and he was pissed. The mods had already shut off Alex’s comms so the streaming audience couldn’t hear him. But that didn’t stop Alex from screaming his outrage to the live audience, the officials, to anyone who could hear him.

“You fucking bitch. You think you can kill me? You think you can just dump me? Do you know who I am? You don’t fucking deserve anything, you fucking whore.”

There was a scrambling of movement around her bay, and she heard the audience yelling, booing, and then the game came up with a pause screen, tournament officials freezing gameplay. Which meant Alex was causing a huge scene. When Min looked up, it was to see Alex pushing his way through security guards to get to her. His eyes were dark, pissed, and he looked completely unhinged in a way that Min had never seen before.

“You’re a fucking whore, you hear me, Min?! And everyone knows it now! No one wants you to win because you’re a fucking disgrace. You should’ve stayed the fuck away like you were supposed to.”

He kept yelling, security finally managing to pull him away from Min and toward the exit. His voice bounced through the arena, screaming obscenities at her, calling her names, but none of it registered. No matter what she had done, this reaction was off the wall—even the audience that supported him could see that. When security finally got him through the door and away from the cameras, Min was shaking. She had never been the focus of such hatred, not really, and gave thanks to herself that she had broken it off with Alex when she had.

The arena was silent in the wake of Alex’s exit. Min took some deep breaths, trying to steady her nerves, knowing the cameras were on her and that her face was probably plastered on every screen. She knew she couldn’t let them see how much his words hurt, how much she hated the destruction he had caused in her life.

And then a deep, gravel voice came through the comms.

“Nice shot, FlameThrower.”

It was like the sun had finally come out after a rainy day, what his voice did to her. The approval there. She shook her head, already smiling. “Thanks, DeathsHead. Can’t wait to put a bullet through your skull.”

His laugh shivered down her spine.“Stop flirting with me, baby. I got a tournament to win.”

Her screen flashed with a countdown, showing the game was restarted as the audience began to cheer. She forced herself to focus. She and Hayden had a lot to talk about after this tournament, but for now, she had to win. She gave herself a moment to revel in the cheers, in the countdown, in the anticipation. Min had missed playing the games, had missed streaming, but she had also missed playing against DeathsHead.

No matter what happened, she was going to enjoy this.

Their avatars respawned in new locations, all back to full health, and Min focused on her search for weapons, items, and players. It was a while later that she heard yelling back and forth, and she realized Hayden had cornered the last player left, taking him out swiftly. The audience cheered, and a now-familiar voice came over the comms.

“Give him hell, FlameThrower.”

Min laughed. “Will do, Teddy. That is definitely the plan.”

TeddyBearHugs signed off, and it was now down to just Min and Hayden. The audience was losing it, cheering for them both. This had been the draw for a lot of fans, a final match between FlameThrower and DeathsHead, and Min knew the streaming numbers must be through the roof.

“Well, FlameThrower? Feel like giving up?”His calm voice rasped in her ear, heating up her blood.

“Can’t say that I do, Death.”

“You really gonna make me find you?”

“Not if I find you first.”

Min kept searching, and she knew he was doing the same. She found some stealth gear and equipped it, hoping to get an advantage to sneak up on him. They kept their banter up, always considered the audience’s favorite part, only this time with a lot more meaning to it, at least for Min.

“How do you want it, baby? Fast and hard? Slow and painful?”

Not one to back down, Min bit her lip. “Well, Death, I know you have trouble making anything last too long, so I’m guessing I don’t have to worry about a slow burn.”

“Don’t lie to the fans, Flame. You know I could make you burn for hours.”

“I guess we’ll never know since I plan on whipping you the first chance I get.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that promise.”

Min loved this, loved that he was clearly planning on giving this fight his all, loved that there was no backing down for either of them. She felt her adrenaline rush through her as she spotted movement way across the map—him running around a corner. She checked her weapon to make sure it was loaded.

“I see you, Min.”

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