Cherries and Chasing Thoughts

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Rain pattered outside the window making a rhythmic calming sound, the water dripping off the eaves making little plops as they hit the grass outside. Karl watched as the droplets slid down the glass window, catching on to others and dragging them down further, making a small pool at the bottom of the window. He kept observing as they raced. The cold air flowing in against his arm and shoulders as he propped up against it, the glow from the phone lit up the side of his face. He glanced down at his phone, pulling his eyes away from the unwelcoming weather outside. This was nothing new, it was just a typical day, but he was anxious to see something blink at him. He sighed softly, and slid his arm off the windowsill, his elbow and forearm leaving a slight fog of heat on the glass.

He turned and stood up from the couch by the windows. The rain hit the roof, and the clocks ticked loudly, echoing in his ears. The deafening silence was shortly broken by small dings from inside his office door.

He quickly walked over and swung open the door, feeling icy-cold air piercing through his soft purple sweater. The light from his monitors illuminated the room making it less dreary. A small message popped up on the bottom of his screen from his friend George asking if he wanted to join the stream. He smiled softly to himself, happy to have something to do, and typed out a quick reply saying that he would be joining soon.

He grabbed a water bottle, his headphones and turned on his room lights, getting ready for a few hours of chatting with his friends. He sat in his chair and clicked his mouse over to the join call button, no longer than a second later his little logo floated into the call. He was greeted by loud cheers from his friends, welcoming him warmly, earning a small smile on his face.

"Hey, Karl! Welcome!" his friend Clay said,

"Karl!" George announced, letting his viewers know who had joined.

"Hey! What are you guys doing?"

"Oh, we're just playing a bit of Minecraft, want to join us?" George explained.

"Oo yes sir" Karl nodded and quickly booted up the game. He logged on and saw his friends bouncing around on fences and chatting, the little pixels of their avatars moving across his screen. He giggled watching them goof around and joined in on the fun.

You see, Karl and his friends are 'streamers'. A career that many have attempted and very few have succeeded, Karl happened to be doing quite well with it. They all had their own form of making content for entertainment, whether it be streaming or creating different videos, but they always shared their fanbase when they got together. They were all skilled in some way or the other.

Streaming was how they connected in the first place. They met through different events and mutual friends and never would have gotten close if it weren't for the peculiar nature of their jobs.

He laughed with his friends for a while, the downpour still pounding out his window. A small bing, followed by a raspy voice startled him from messing around, and his stomach fluttered, which he liked to blame on being startled.

"Hey guys, I saw you in a call, what's up?" Karl's closest friend Nick said, his voice hoarse, evident from the absence of sleep. Karl's face lit up as a smile spread across his face. He responded;

"Sappy! We're on the server, isn't it late where you are though?"

"A bit yeah, I couldn't sleep. Can I join?"

"Sure Nick, I'm streaming though," George made sure he knew before letting him say anything else.

"Oo, okay Georgie~," Nick said, hoping to get some laughs from the viewers. Karl giggled along with him, and soon, he saw his avatar join their game. They chased and they giggled, as they fooled around on the server. They said goodbyes to their friends as they went to bed and ended their streams. Until it was just the two of them in the call alone. They didn't notice, but they felt a pleasant silence fall over the call, they paused for a moment. Karl's stomach flipped again, waiting for Nick to say something, but he just yawned loudly. Karl snickered in response to his exhausted friend as he looked at the time.

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