Page 37 of How We Play the Game
“You’re a genius,” Brian said simply. “I knew I could count on you.” He leaped up from his seat, clearly too excited to stay in one place, and paced toward the window and back.
“Just your presence was enough to get tongues wagging, but now you’re going full romance subplot with one of our unknowns? She has no baggage, no footprint, which means she can be anything we need her to be.” Brian brought his fingers to his lips and smooched them wetly. “Chef’s. Kiss.”
“About that,” Ivan began. No one had to tell Ivan that romance brought eyeballs to the league; he’d had front row seats to the development of the first one. “We’re not really a thing.”
Brian looked at Ivan as if he just told him he’d never learned to read. “You of all people should know it doesn’t have to be a thing to be a thing.”
“I know,” Ivan said. “Like, obviously we’re not really dating, but it wasn’t my idea to fake date her either.”
Brian frowned. “So you’re saying it was her idea?”
“No!” Ivan replied quickly. Honestly, it was a philosophical exercise to determine whose idea it technically was, but he didn’t want to give Zora any credit for surprising him. Again.
“Good.” Brian let out a puff of air in mock relief. “Because if that little girl got the better of you, then I should be talking to her in here, not you.”
The fact that Brian so directly echoed Ivan’s concerns about that topic contributed little to his sense of security.
“She didn’t get the better of me,” Ivan snapped. “I just”—his mind flashed back to two nights ago in Zora’s dorm room, a collection of moments that were colored a tense, dark blue in his memory—“was surprised she went along with it.”
“Why wouldn’t she? It’s a Cinderella story. Famous streamer falls for a nobody, she climbs the ranks, a new power couple emerges, you get your comeback—and your timing couldn’t be better!”
Brian looked expectantly at Ivan, clearly wanting to be asked exactly why said timing couldn’t be better. Ivan stared back patiently, with silence being his only real form of defiance in this situation. Brian stared back. Ivan blinked. Brianblinked back, and Ivan pretended not to notice. Brian blinked again. Finally, after an eternity:
“Wh—”
“Because the captain of our New YorkGuardians League Onlineteam is leaving at the end of the summer.” Brian nodded knowingly. “We both know battle royale isn’t your bag. If you pull this off, I don’t see why one of our biggest stars from the academy couldn’t step in and take his spot.”
This time, Ivan was silent because he couldn’t process what Brian was offering him. Captaining his own team was something he hadn’t even considered. It was a pipe dream, something he’d given up on last year when, well … when Emilia found out what Team Fury did, left them for Team Unity, and beat them at their own game.
Ivan didn’t love thinking about that time, now over a year ago, but with this specific offer on the table, how could he not? Emilia joined Team Fury at the apex of their dominance. Ivan was only one of five players, but their unstoppable record made them the favorites to win the tournament that awarded one team a massive contract to play in the Guardians League. He knew that Emilia was part of that winning formula, but as the tournament progressed, Ivan began to realize she was more than that. She was their secret weapon. Some of his team members didn’t like that. They did everything they could to ruin her life—kicked her from the team, put her public information online, and used her relationship with Jake to sic the worst of the internet on her family and friends. And Ivan did nothing to stop them.
At first he tricked himself into believing they were kidding about exposing her. When it was clear they weren’t, he trickedhimself again by pretending his hands were tied with the tournament contract. He still didn’t think they would have listened to him if he had spoken up, but that didn’t excuse the part where he didn’t try. As far as Emilia knew, and as far as his actions showed, Ivan was just as in on the doxxing as the rest of Team Fury. Honestly, he’d been relieved when they lost. It was karmic, obviously, but part of him hoped that Emilia felt that all the shit they’d put her through was maybe, kind of, if you squint, a little bit worth it. She had the contract Ivan had dreamed about for years, and she deserved it more than him. She still shouldn’t have had to live through that.
And now the dream was back. He could do it without the rest of Team Fury, and instead with an entirely new team that would never, ever hurt someone like Emilia ever again. He could be a leader, an example; he could change the way the game was played!
But, to get there … he had to fake date Zora Lyon. Which, now that he thought about it, was totally her idea to begin with. Which was smart, and since Zora was obviously smart enough to spot the advantages, who was Ivan to get in the way of her decisions? It wasn’t like this was some elaborate scam. It was going to be a very, very simple scam. The only thing now was to commit to it. That made sense, right? Of course it did. Just stick with Team Vision for the rest of the summer and get his spot in the league that fall. Foolproof.
“Can I get that in writing?” Ivan spoke as if he was joking. He wasn’t. Brian simply smiled.
“Later,” Brian replied. “For now, work on generating some heat for the next battle royale. Don’t be afraid to getcute. Emilia and Jake are great, but they could do with some competition in—”
“No.” It came out of Ivan’s mouth before he knew he was saying it. “Zora and I can handle our end, but I don’t want to be compared to Emiliaat all. That’s not the story.”
“Fine.” Brian held his hands up innocently. “You’re still touchy about that; I get it.”
“Promise me.”
“I promise.” The cocreator of Wizzard Games saluted Ivan and headed to the door in the back of the suite. He held it open, clearly expecting Ivan to walk out on his own. “Scout’s honor!”
Ivan nodded, took the hint, and left. It wasn’t until much later, after he walked all the way down to street level, waited for the lighting test to end, and took his seat onstage that he thought to wonder if Brian Juno had ever in his life been a Boy Scout.
ZORA
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I WAS TOO young to know what was going on when my Uncle Clive was drafted for the NFL, but I remember how my grandmother reacted when they called his name. She wasn’t the most emotive person, actually she was kind of cold as far as grandmas go, but where anyone else would be jumping and screaming for their son’s success, she simply … sat down.
I was the only one looking at her; the day was about Clive. There were too many people clustered around our TV and I didn’t like the noise, so I had retreated to my favorite hiding spot under the dining room table. From under there I had a view of grandma and not much else. They called Clive’s name and she sat down, looking more exhausted than I’d ever seen her. But she was smiling.
