Electric Hearts

Chapter 3

It was after a couple rounds when Neo and Hitoshi exchanged discords. Neo also joined Fathon Gaming's discord server since he made some good connections via the stream.
Hitoshi seemed friendly enough. He was very talkative, typing in the stream chat whilst playing the videogame. Although, he did boast quite frequently, his skills in the game backed his confidence. 

Neo wasn't sure how he felt about Hitoshi. Clearly Hitoshi spent more time on this certain videogame, as he has the skills to prove it. While on the other hand, Neo had just started playing. It's not like it was a hard videogame, just... intense at times. In tense moments, such as a clutch, Neo often got jumpy and usually ends up twitching his hand. This little habit of his cost his team many rounds. It didn't help that Neo didn't have very good aim either.

HirosKnight: god you suck Neo lmao

Neo frowned. He knew he was bad, but hearing someone else say he was bad made his blood boil. Couldn't they see he was bad already? There's no need to state the obvious! He was conflicted on whether he felt angry at his pride being attacked or whether he back down and apologize.

Why apologize? Because that's what overly conscious teens do. Neo would apologize for being an unskilled player and a weight for his team. He probably over-apologized, already nervous about losing his new found friends. At least, he considered them as friends. Maybe he wasn't considered a friend by them, but that doesn't really matter, right? Sudden worry bubbled up inside Neo.

No.... They wouldn't leave already, would they? What was this feeling of fear? Fear of being abandoned? I mean, Neo knew he was attention-starved, that was quite clear with his parents always at work, but to actually fear being abandoned by new friends? Was that the root to this anxiety? Or was it something deeper?

HirosKnight: Haha, since you're so bad, why don't I train you?

What?

Neo furrowed his brow. He didn't like the way Hitoshi said it, well, the vibe he got from the phrase. Humans often interpret the emotions behind words and phrases that aren't actually said, which can create problems in and of itself.

Hitoshi sounded like it was an honor to be trained by him, that he was some sort of god. A god blessing a poor peasant with the chance to become a king. Although Neo was socially inept, he still had a small shrivel of pride and that pride was wounded. Wounded by a small line of text on the internet.

On the other hand, this was a great opportunity to work on his abilities. He wasn't one to not accept offers, but that didn't mean he liked them. In the long run, it will be fine. Plus, they didn't have to keep in contact out of gaming, right? So, reluctantly, Neo replied.

N3oTech: sure