Chapter Text
“No!”
Avery shouted at his laptop screen as it displayed the classic Minecraft death screen. He fumbled for his mouse as he rapidly clicked the respawn button. “Please, please, please,” he muttered to himself.
He started running through the doors, trying to get through the mountain world as fast as possible. He knew the way, having been there multiple times at that point.
Avery ran as fast as the game would let him, spamming his space bar and W key in hopes of pushing his character just a bit more. “Come on, come on, move faster!”
Suddenly, his hearts and hunger bar disappeared.
Avery froze. Don’t tell me..
His eyes fell to the chat box, where a message seemed to taunt him.
<Gamemode changed to creative.>
Avery could only stare at his screen. He couldn’t believe it. He’s not dead, he can’t be.
He stood up from his desk, legs shaking. He stepped away from his laptop and backed up against the wall. His breathing started to pick up, vision getting blurry.
“No, no, no, no..” Avery shook his head. “Why..?” His voice trailed off as he hit the floor. “You…it-it’s not fair. Why did he..”
If only I wasn’t so dumb. If only I was smarter. Maybe if I would’ve been like him, he would have let me stay.
His mind raced through all the things that d3rLord3–no, Derek, had said to him. Their first meeting, only a few hours ago. What had he said then? I don’t remember.
I don’t remember, I can’t remember, come on, come on, stop being so dumb.
Think, think, think, think. Think thinkthinkthinkthink
Avery felt numb. He was already forgetting the conversation that happened earlier. He had taken it for granted. He’d thought that he’d get to know Derek the way that he probably knew Avery.
Wait.
That random string of numbers and letters that Derek had sent into chat—Avery had screenshotted it. Just in case.
Avery shot up from the floor, ignoring the spots in his vision. He disconnected from the server and went to go find the screenshot he’d taken. He found it, then blankly stared at it.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” He whispered. His lip trembled as he held back frustrated tears. A Youtube link? No, maybe a google drive..
Avery reached under his glasses to rub his eyes in muted shock when something actually showed up. “Maybe I am smart.”
He looked at the two things on the google drive. One seemed to be a recording, and the other seemed to be a google doc. Despite wanting to check out the recording, Avery found himself moving his cursor toward the google doc.
When clicking on the doc, Avery could see that it was still in process of being written. But who was writing it?
Avery knew who it was. He couldn’t bring himself to look and confirm it. He stared at the words being written, feeling more and more hopeless as he read through it. He read the words that Derek had left for him, then read them again.
I failed him.
Derek didn’t seem to think so.
But why?
Avery watched the words stop, the writer appearing to be finished. He read through the whole thing. And again. And again, and again, until his eyes hurt from staring at the bright screen.
“I just don’t want to be forgotten.”
“How could I forget you?” Avery choked out. “How could I?..I—I promised, I promised you.” He sniffled, then felt anger bubbling up inside him. “Why couldn’t you just let me help you? I would have been helpful, really!”
“What–what was it all for?! The crafting tables, the signs?” Avery gritted his teeth. “Why did you help me? How could you say that I didn’t fail you, when I clearly wasn’t enough for you to keep around?!”
He slammed his hands on his desk, drawing one up to punch his laptop in a blind rage. But, he stopped.
Avery shakily closed the laptop with gentle hands, drawing it to his chest and hugging it. The last thing he’d ever have from Derek, and he almost destroyed it.
He sat there for what felt like hours, sobbing and hugging the laptop.
My throat hurts.
I feel dizzy.
Why am I doing this?
God, I really am worthless.
A loud BANG! made him flinch, color filling his room. Several other loud noises filled the air, colors washing his walls. Fireworks, Avery realized. But there’s nothing to celebrate.
It was a new year, but there wasn’t anything to be happy about.
//
Avery woke up to the sunlight on his face. He sat up and stretched, body hurting from the uncomfortable position he’d fallen asleep in. “Did my eyesight get better?” He wondered to himself, reaching to rub his eyes. His hands hit a surface, causing him to jolt.
Oh. Just my glasses..
Something fell off his lap and hit the floor, making him jump again. He peered onto the floor, eyes widening. “Shit!” He swore, scooping up the laptop from where it had fallen. He checked it over, sighing in relief when he saw no damage. Avery stared at the top of his laptop, remembering the events that happened the night prior.
He sniffled and carefully set the laptop down. “I’m..I need to get out of this place.” Avery walked over to his front door and pulled some shoes on. He exited his dorm and took a step before remembering he forgot his phone. He spun on his heel and quickly ran back inside for it.
As Avery walked down the hallway, he idly checked his phone. He wanted to try and distract himself by going outside and seeing other people. He hoped it would help.
Upon opening his phone, Avery was met with a bunch of text messages from an unknown number, and about five missed calls from the same number. He furrowed his brow and paused in his step.
Unknown number: Block and report spam?
Hello
Hello??
Please tell me this is the right number
Oh wait you might be sleeping 1:30am
Are you awake
Avery? 7:28am
Missed call 7:28am
Missed call 7:28am
Missed call 7:29am
Either I’m currently blocked or you’re still sleeping
I can understand that
My head feels like shit
I’ll let you sleep for now 7:29am
Avery was quite dumbfounded. Maybe somebody gave his number out at a New Year’s party? Highly unlikely, but with everything that had happened recently, Avery could believe anything was possible.
Me:
uhhh who is this lol
did somebody give you my number or smth 9:42am
Unknown number:
Oh ym god
I’m so sorry
I’m Derek
If uou remember 9:42am
Me:
derek?
i dont really kmnow a derek tbh 9:43am
Unknown number:
Avery
I’m d3rLord3
Do you not remember me? 9:44am
Me:
is this some sort of prank
or sick joke 9:47am
Unknown number:
??
No 9:47am
Me:
how the fuck do you know about him 9:47am
Unknown number:
Uh.
Because I’m literally him?? 9:48am
Me:
proof or youre lying 9:48am
Unknown number:
What
Ugh fine
Give me a minute 9:49am
Avery bit his lip and turned his phone off. Maybe it was an insensitive person that somehow knew about Derek. But a big small part of him wanted to believe that it really was him. D3rLord3. Derek.
Avery moved from the middle of the hallway, leaning against a wall. He could go back to his dorm, but he was already too far deep into whatever was happening on his phone. And he felt a little too lazy to move from his new spot.
He checked his phone again. And again. And then he caught himself, rubbing his face with one hand. What am I doing? Why am I so invested in this conversation?
Avery’s phone buzzed, and he nearly dropped it while trying to open the message.
Unknown number:
[image] 9:53am
Me:
wtf
this isnt like ai or smth right 9:54am
Unknown number:
No
Fuvk my hesd hyrts ine sec 9:54am
Me:
are you ok? 9:54am
Unknown number:
Yeah
The king isn’t entirely gone you see
He’s stuck inside my head
And he just threw a tantrum 9:58am
Me:
waiitt so like
are you actually derek/d3rLord3 9:58am
Unknown number:
You finally got it
Good job Avery 9:58am
Add to contacts? Yes
Change name to D3rekkk? ✓
Avery had to think for a moment.
He had so many questions to ask. Are you really okay? What happened? Did you die and come back to life? How are you still alive?
Of course, he wouldn’t be asking all of them. Just some. Avery didn’t want to overwhelm Derek if the king was trapped inside his head. That sounded horrible.
He looked down at his phone after feeling it buzz again. Somebody was calling him this time. Somebody who must’ve gotten tired of texting.
Avery picked up after hesitating just a moment. “Um…hello?” He hated the way his voice shook. It wasn’t like it was a total stranger.
“Avery?”
Derek’s voice sounded rough, like it hadn’t been used in a little while. He also sounded tired.
“Derek?..” Avery near whispered into the phone, holding it close to his ear. “Is–is that really you? How are you–wait, how did you even get my number?” He inquired, half to the hallway and half to Derek.
The other man seemed to shift and let out a sigh. “Well..when I got flooded with all the knowledge, I saw you, and I knew so much about you in just seconds. Your mannerisms, your favorite color, your phone number–hell, even where you live.”
Avery blinked. “Oh. Uh. Cool.” He ran a hand through his hair and made a face. Fuck me, I’m so awkward!!! “Do you still know where I, uh, live?”
“I wrote it down. I tried to. My handwriting at the time reflected my current mental state. Sloppy, jumbled up, and hard to make out.” Derek hummed and seemed to have grabbed something. “You go to college, don’t you?”
Avery nodded even though Derek couldn’t see him. “Yeah..might be failing one of my classes, but whatever..” He let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
Derek said nothing about that. Avery just sighed.
“Okay. Are you in your dorm?” Derek asked with the sound of fabric shifting in the background. Avery scratched the back of his neck. “Not really. I mean, I’m just down the hall from my dorm. I was about to go outside to take my mind off of..that.”
“I can—fuck—understand why,” Derek grunted, a muted thump coming through the phone. “Are you okay?” Avery asked worriedly. “Just dandy,” came the response.
Avery frowned. “Give me a real response. Are you okay?” Another quiet sound came from Derek’s side of the phone. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just having a little trouble walking.”
“Why are you walking then?? You should be resting.” Avery crossed his arms, staring at the floor. Derek just laughed. “How else am I supposed to unlock my door?” He was clearly struggling to get there.
“I could like, break in! I—I mean, climb through your window or something? Wait, I don’t even know where you live..” Avery slumped against the wall, stumped. He heard a quiet “yes!” from Derek, and the nearly silent sound of a door opening. ”Avery, you’re still in the building, right?”
Avery looked down the hallway, back towards where his dorm was. “Uh..yeah. Why? Don’t tell me that you’re going to try and come to me,” he said with a sterner tone. “Of course not. I could barely make it to my front door.” Derek’s tone sounded just ever-so-slightly amused, and Avery wanted to punch him. Avery had been wanting to punch him.
“Okay..then what are you doing?” Avery asked cautiously.
”Look down the hallway,” Derek said quietly.
So, Avery did. And at first he saw…nothing. Wow.
Just as Avery opened his mouth to tell Derek, I don’t see anything, a head popped out from a doorway. Avery blinked, looked down the other direction, then looked back.
“Uh. Somebody stuck their head out of their dorm..?” Avery muttered. Derek sighed. “Come closer, Avery.”
“What do you mea—he hung up?!” Avery glared at his phone, then started trudging over to where the person was. If his estimation was correct, that dorm was right next to his own..
As he got closer, the person’s features sharpened: dark hair thrown into a low ponytail, tired eyes, and a very thin frame. The person managed a small smile when Avery was within about five feet.
“Avery.”
Avery stopped, eyes wide.
“..Derek?”
The two stared at each other. Avery recalled staring at d3rLord3 as his character fell further into the abyss. He remembered staring at d3rLord3 on that final platform, arguing.
Last night, d3rLord3 had pushed TheMostMayo off of a platform to protect him from the evil entity in the world.
Today, Avery stood in front of Derek, somebody who shouldn’t be alive. He stood in front of the real d3rLord3, the person he’d spent hours searching for. Behind the seemingly fearless Minecraft avatar was a man who had clearly seen better days, barely able to hold himself up as he leaned on his doorframe.
“It’s..It’s you.”
”Indeed it is.”
Avery took in Derek’s current state. “You, uh, don’t look too good,” he blurted out. “I mean, you look great—wait, no, I—fuck. You look different to what I imagined?…”
Derek chuckled. “And just what did you expect to see?” Avery looked away sheepishly. “Uh…I don’t know. I kinda expected to see you as your Minecraft skin.” Derek raised an eyebrow at that. “Really?”
Avery covered his face with his hands (being mindful of his glasses). “Yeah. That doesn’t matter now, though. You need to sit down.” He walked toward Derek and awkwardly held his arms out. “Are you..uh..good to walk to a chair? I can help you out.”
Derek glanced at Avery’s outstretched arms. “I could use some help,” he admitted. Avery nodded and let Derek lean on him. Avery had expected the other man to be heavier, but he was worryingly light.
Avery practically carried Derek over to his bed. He could feel Derek shaking, though he couldn’t tell from what. Avery helped Derek lower himself on the edge of the bed, then went to shut the door.
When Avery returned to the bed, Derek patted the space beside him. “Tell me more about what you expected to see. We can get to know each other better.”
Avery bounced over to the bed and sat himself down. “You already know everything about me though..” he mumbled. Derek sighed. “I still want to hear about you. We can do an exchange of sorts.”
Avery shrugged. “If you say so..” He shifted in his spot and fidgeted with his fingers. “So, first of all, I really like..”
They ended up talking late into the night, with Derek occasionally getting headaches from the remnants of the king and Avery bringing over some food for him.
Avery got to know about Derek, while Derek got to listen to Avery talk about his exciting rounds in Skywars.
Quite the exchange indeed.