Chapter Twenty-Two

It’s taken my family six weeks to unpack and organize our new house, but it’s finally in a state where I’m not embarrassed to have people over. I asked Kashvi and Sloane to come before our game Saturday because I knew we’d have the house to ourselves. Mom and Dad are spending the morning with Grandma, and Andrew is with his soccer team all day, which is perfect so I don’t have to worry about him hitting on Kashvi the entire time.

Sloane is curled on the couch with their feet tucked up under them, crocheting away. They’re wearing their usual dark jeans and T-shirt, but they’ve started on a new hat design—hats that look like fruit. The lemon hat is adorable, and I’ve already claimed a strawberry one.

Kashvi and I are on the floor on either side of the coffee table, beads and dice spread out all around us. I’m wearing my embroidered jeans again because it’s easier to sit on the ground in pants, and it’s finally warm enough for one of my favorite shirts—a black shirt with mushrooms and the phases of the moon screen-printed in gold.

“Is Sanjiv sad not to be here?” I ask as I string a few orange beads for a bracelet.

“Not in the least. He’s too busy sleeping,” Kashvi replies with a smirk. “And we already have plenty of dice pre-drilled, so there’s nothing for him to do.”

“How much more do you still need to make?” Sloaneasks.

“You’ll need to ask Quinn,” Kashvi replies. “It depends entirely on how many more pieces she decides to keep for herself.” She raises an eyebrow at me.

I duck my head in shame. “I’m sorry! But that necklace with the rose quartz and iridescent dice? It was too beautiful to sell!”

“And the d20 earrings? And those three matching bracelets?” Kashvi points to my wrist.

“I know, I know. I’ll stop! I promise I’ll stop—just quit making such cute stuff.”

“As if that’s possible. Oh!” Kashvi puts down the crimping tool she’s holding and claps her hands. “I can’t believe I almost forgot. Look what I found!” She rummages around her supplies and pulls a tiny plastic bag out with a flourish. It’s so small that I have to lean closer to get a good look.

“They’re halfling dice.”

I squeal and pick them up, holding them so Sloane can see as well. They are the tiniest, cutest set of miniature dice I’ve ever seen. These are plum with gold numbering, each no bigger than one of my fingernails.

“Aww! Kashvi, these are perfect!”

“I know, right? Not that I don’t love what we’ve been making, but this would open up so many possibilities we couldn’t do with the standard dice.”

I do a little dance, which basically means I scoot my butt around on the hardwood floors.

Sloane chuckles. “I love dice, don’t get me wrong, but this level of excitement might be over-the-top even for me.”

“But”—Kashvi points at me—“you can’t claim every piece with the miniature dice. I know we’ve had pretty good luck selling at the thrift store downtown, but we’ll never recoup our expenses if we keep everything we make.”

“Fine.” I glance down at my wrists, where I’m wearing a good amount of our merchandise. “They really are gorgeous.”

“Two different people stopped me at the comic fest the other weekend to compliment me,” Kashvi says, and starts working again. “I’m thinking we should drive back to that store to see if they’d be willing to sell our stuff on consignment. That would bring us up to three stores.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.” I can’t quite muster the enthusiasm I should have, though. I know the likelihood of running into Paige or Caden there a second time is extremely unlikely, but the probability isn’t zero.

“How are you feeling now about everything that happened?” Kashvi asks.

“What happened?” Sloane asks, and puts down their yarn and crochet hook. “I heard something about a run-in with someone from your old school, but I never got the full story.”

I sigh. I should have written a press release afterward and sent it to the whole friend group instead of regurgitating these horrible memories.

“I ran into my ex–best friend there. She had some pretty snide comments to make about my costume, and…” I don’t want to repeat the rest of what she said. That I was responsible for breaking up the last group and that I’d break up this one too. “She said she doubted I’d be able to make new friends here.”

“She’s lucky I wasn’t there,” Kashvi says, her expression vicious. “She would’ve been cowering by the time I was done with her.”

“I had so much I wanted to say, too, but as soon as I saw her, it all disappeared from my brain.”

“It always happens like that,” Sloane says. “I hope she didn’t ruin the trip for you. You did seem a little off.”

Sloane is definitely the quietest one in the group, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t picking up on way more than we realize. I still remember the way they watched Logan when he first saw me in my costume. I wonder what else Sloane has noticed.

I shake my head. “No, I had a great time. It was fun.”

“Good,” Sloane says with a nod, and goes back to crocheting.

“That girl clearly doesn’t know a thing if she thought you couldn’t make new friends here,” Kashvi adds, and picks up her crimping tool again. “Now let’s get back to work. We need to make at least twenty bracelets and ten necklaces to restock the stores this week.”

I focus on my bracelet, hoping Sloane and Kashvi will still be on my side after they hear what Logan and I have to say today.

“Quinn!” Sanjiv cries as I walk into the basement later with Sloane and Kashvi. “Who is your favorite Spider-Man? We’re debating.”

“Tom Holland’s, of course,” I say immediately, and lay my bag at my seat at the table. “But at least half of that is because of Zendaya.”

Mark huffs. “Have you seen the Toby Maguire dance, though?”

“No way, the correct answer is Miles Morales, and I won’t be taking questions,” Sloane argues.

I take a breath and let myself look to Logan. He lifts his gaze to mine and my body flares with heat. All the things that almost happened between us come back to me, and I see them reflected in his eyes. I don’t know how I’m going to sit at the table across from him and pretend everything is normal.

“Everyone ready?” Sloane asks, and the other conversations and chip eating stop immediately. I’m grateful for something else to think about. Unfortunately, Sloane doesn’t look nearly as happy as they usually do at the start of the session. Usually they’re vibrating with excited energy, but instead their eyes narrow on the laptop screen like it’s being personally offensive.

“Welcome back to our loyal viewers,” Sloane says, and I turn my attention to the end of the table. “We are Don’t Split the Party. If this is your first time streaming our channel, I’m your DM, Sloane, and we also have—”

They gesture to the right and go through quick introductions for each of us. “And finally our latest addition to the group, Quinn, playing Nasria, her intrepid and somewhat grumpy hill dwarf sorcerer. We’re so happy to have her gaming with us each week. I can speak for all of us when I say how much fun we’re having now that she’s joined.”

I blink and glance around the table. Huh? The others bob their heads enthusiastically, but something…doesn’t feel right. Why would Sloane mention that out of the blue?

“Uh, thanks, everyone. I’m loving it and so glad to be here.”

Sloane’s lips flatten into a line before they launch into their usual overview of what happened last time for any viewers who might have missed that game or someone who is new to watching. I try to focus on their words. It’s easier to sink back down into this world and character if I can push everything in the real world from my mind, but I’m struggling. Between the ever-present knowledge of this upcoming dating discussion with the group and Sloane’s weird behavior, I’m jittery with nerves. I want to interrupt and ask what’s happening, but I know the rules. We only talk about the game—everything else will have to wait until the livestream ends.

“As a reminder to the audience,” Sloane continues, “in our last session the party secured an agreement with King Thalun to hunt down and kill the dragon that is plaguing his lands. Thus far they have explored the nearby town to learn what they could about the dragon but were unable to persuade any townspeople to help on their mission. You’ve now decided to search the wilderness at the edges of the kingdom for any hints of where the dragon may be living.”

“Without more information, I don’t know how we’ll ever find this dragon’s lair. We could be searching for weeks,” Logan complains in Adris’s pouty accent.

I shake my thoughts away and focus on the game. “I bet you wish I’d chose the ranger class now.”

He laughs before pressing his lips into a more serious expression to mimic his elf character. “I’m more than happy to have a sorcerer in the party even if tracking isn’t one of your skills.”

“I’ll do my best to help.”

“Anyone who’s searching should roll a perception check for me,” Sloane tells us.

Kashvi rolls highest, at a 15.

“Okay, Lasla, as you come into a clearing, you discover a bloody and mangled mass in front of you. You also find long, thick gashes in the side of a tree. In the distance, the forest floor is trampled, and other smaller trees have been knocked down. Something shimmers silver in the distance.”

“We should all be very quiet,” Logan warns us.

“Could the shimmering be water?” Kashvi asks.

“I doubt you’re seeing an oasis,” Sanjiv replies.

“Lasla, can you take us all there so we can see more closely?” I ask Kashvi.

Sloane pauses, clearly milking the suspense. “As you all get closer, you find an object lying on the ground. It’s a flat disk, as large as your head and oval-shaped. It’s rock hard.”

“A dragon scale,” a few of us say together, as if we rehearsed it, and share nervous glances.

“We should go,” I tell the group. “This is plenty of evidence that the dragon must be nearby, but we’re in no state to encounter it right now.”

Sloane grabs the table and shakes it. We all jump. “Suddenly, the ground begins to quake. The trees tremble and birds take flight. Then an enormous silver dragon comes into view.”

“Oh, we’re screwed,” Sanjiv croaks.

“Hide!” Kashvi yells.

“Is there anything to hide behind?” Mark asks Sloane.

“There’s not a lot, but there is a clump of trees you could try. But everybody needs to roll a stealth check.”

We all hide behind the trees. Sanjiv shakes his head. “What do we do? Even at Level 4, I don’t see how we can take on a dragon and be alive at the end of it.”

“What if you tried speaking to the other animals in the vicinity?” Mark replies. “Maybe if we can gather enough animal allies, they could help?”

Kashvi nods. “And if we can escape alive, then maybe we can find people who live in the area and have been hurt by the dragon—they could join forces with us.”

“Um…what if we just talk to it?” I ask.

They all gawk at me.

“One wrong move and that dragon will decimate you, Nasria,” Kashvi says. “I’m craving another battle, but I only like the ones we can all walk away from.”

“I may have peed myself a little, but I don’t think the dragon will notice,” Mark says, making us all laugh.

“Dragons have an impressive sense of smell, so it just might,” Logan replies.

“Dragons are also intelligent,” I argue. “They can hold conversations. Why don’t we try to figure out what it wants or if there’s some way we can get it to move from this area? If it doesn’t work, then we can focus on gathering allies and killing it.”

“Unless it burns you to a crisp when you open your mouth,” Sanjiv says.

I frown. “Don’t you think there’s something not right about all this? Granted, I’m not the trusting sort, but I don’t trust this king. He’s up to something and I want to know what. It’s very possible the king is trying to get us killed.”

“You know,” Sloane says, and their voice is now deep and gravelly to mimic a dragon. “I am not blind. I can see you all hiding behind those trees like cowards.”

We all freeze like we’re actually standing in front of a dragon instead of sitting in a basement in Ohio.

“Welp, I guess we failed our stealth checks,” Sanjiv whispers.

“Adris,” I say quietly, turning to Logan. “Will you come with me to talk to the dragon?”

“Why me?”

“You’re the most charming and persuasive in the group, aren’t you? I’m not sure we want only the grumpy dwarf talking to the creature that can kill us in two nanoseconds.” I give him a small smile. “And didn’t you tell me that you’d trust me with your life?”

His expression warms, and this time I can tell it’s not just Adris looking at me like that. “I didn’t realize that comment would be tested so quickly, but I won’t rescind it. All right, let’s go have a polite chat with a dragon.”

The session ends with a fun twist—the dragon making a counterproposal for us to join with it and overthrow the king instead. Our group hasn’t decided what to do—especially since that would mean two characters would have to backstab their own father—but the twist certainly keeps us focused during the session. However, it’s hard to be 100percent absorbed in that when Sloane is acting so weird.

As soon as the livestream is over, Logan turns his attention to Sloane. “Is everything okay?”

It looks like I wasn’t the only one to notice.

“Yeah, seriously,” Sanjiv says. “I know they say to be scared of a smiling DM, but your angry face is pretty terrifying. At one point I thought you really were going to have that dragon kill us.”

Sloane sits back and plays with their hair. “The good news is we’ve had more new viewers these past few weeks than we have since the end of the last campaign. We’re up to fifty-five. It’s just…” They look at me and I wring my hands with worry. Did I mess up the game somehow? Another thought rises—were my worries about Paige and Caden justified? My eyes cut to Logan, even though I know he’s the last person I should be looking at.

Kashvi sits up. “What’s going on?”

“We have trolls in the chat room.”

Kashvi rolls her eyes. “Oh, that. I’m surprised it took so long for them to find us. What are they saying? Critiquing our role-playing skills?” She glances at me. “Or are they just annoyed that teenage girls are playing D he’s already seen.

He makes an angry growling sound in the back of his throat. “What the actual f—”

“They aren’t trolls,” I whisper to him, more tears threatening to come, and his face falls with understanding. He reaches for my hand, but I pull away. The last thing I need is for the others to figure us out at the same moment they’re reading these comments about me being a group killer.

Kashvi pushes her chair back, ready to stand as well, and Mark and Sanjiv are leaning forward with agitation. “What’s going on?” Sanjiv asks.

Everyone stares at me. It’s not hard to figure out the usernames. @Fighter_CM64 is definitely Caden. Fighter is his favorite class, those are his initials, and 64 is his favorite number. He didn’t even try to be creative or sneaky. Paige’s middle name is Lynn, so it isn’t hard to figure out who @PLynn_ is. The other two aren’t quite as obvious, but I’m guessing @Tr_xp50 is Travis, and maybe Makayla is @dicehaven.

Logan takes a small step closer, as if he can protect me, but I walk back to my side of the table. “The trolls are people from my old school. The ones I used to play with.”

Mark’s and Sanjiv’s eyes bug out since they haven’t heard about this before, while the others only look sad. I quickly catch the guys up, praying I never ever have to tell this story again. I’m tempted to make some edits, but I repeat all the details, including how Caden and I would flirt at the games and how they all turned against me.

“When I ran into Paige last Sunday, I blurted out that I was in a livestreaming game now. I’ve been scared this would happen, though I’m a little surprised they cared enough to go to this effort.” I push my unruly bangs from my face. “I’m sorry I brought all this to the group.”

“ Don’t apologize,” Sloane says firmly. “Those comments are clearly from an impotent, bitter ex and his lackeys.”

“He’s hardly even an ex. But he’s definitely bitter.”

“I’m so glad you got out of that toxic group,” Kashvi says. Her eyes shine with rage.

Mark takes a swig from his two-liter of Mountain Dew. “They’re jealous that their group will never be as amazing as we are. Ignore them.”

“Absolutely. And you don’t have to worry about anything like that ever happening with us,” Sanjiv assures me, and looks to Mark and Logan for confirmation. “This is exactly why we have our group set up the way we do—so none of this becomes an issue.”

Mark burps as if that helps to make his point. “I love not caring how I look or act around you. I’m not worried about impressing any of you.”

“That’s good, because you definitely aren’t,” Kashvi says, and everyone laughs. “But I’ll agree that I like keeping this one part of life simple.”

Logan’s gaze burns into the side of my face. I can feel it as easily as if he was touching me, but I can’t look at him.

“I don’t know,” I say. My voice is weak. “Caden turned out to be a jerk, but it’s not always like that. I just had bad luck with him.”

“I don’t know, this one can be a jerk sometimes,” Kashvi jokes, and wiggles her twin’s arm. He groans in response.

“The important thing is that we have a group where everyone’s comfortable enough to hang out and role-play without being self-conscious,” Logan says. I play with one of my dice bracelets to keep my eyes from his. “Whether people are dating or friends doesn’t matter—the end of any relationship can be hard.”

“Sure, but dating always makes stuff worse. All those feelings and hormones and jealousy,” Sloane argues with a disgusted eye roll.

“None of which we have to worry about, thank god. I’m hungry.” Sanjiv pushes his chair out from the table like the conversation is over. “Quinn, forget it ever happened.”

Mark stands and Kashvi follows suit. They start chatting about Spider-Man movies again like it’s the most important thing happening in the world, and I glance around the table anxiously. Is that it? We’re done with the conversation?

There’s so much more I want to say—so many more arguments I want to give them for why dating someone at the gaming table doesn’t have to be a disaster—but they’ve moved on. If anything, the chat comments have only further convinced them that their original stance was correct. Caden and Paige couldn’t have chosen a worse time to pop back into my life.

“I’m feeling nostalgic,” Sanjiv announces. “Who wants to play Mario Kart ?”

Mark hoots and pushes his chair back so fast it flips over.

“Calm down, killer,” Sloane says. “And save me a controller.”

I finally let myself look at Logan and find his eyes are already on me. His jaw clenches.

“Do you have to go?” he asks me quietly.

I can tell he wants to talk, but there’s nothing more to say. I want him, but I can’t give up this group. And the more I talk about it, the more it’s going to break my heart.

“I should go home.”

“Then I’ll drive you.”

“I drove myself,” I reply. “But thanks.”

I pack my things up quickly and shove them into the bag. I need to get out of here and spend a few hours rotting my brain with reality TV.

I say some quick goodbyes and take the basement steps two at a time. Footsteps run up behind me as I get to the first floor, and I gather my strength to face him.

“There’s nothing more—”

But it’s not Logan who’s running up behind me; it’s Kashvi.

“Hey, can we talk before you leave?” she asks.

“Um, of course.”

She pulls me into the living room, which luckily is empty. “Are you okay? You practically ran out of the basement.”

I’m tempted to word-vomit the entire situation with me and Logan. Kashvi’s been so great, and she doesn’t deserve a friend who isn’t completely truthful. But I’m too scared of her reaction to say any more. So instead I only smile and say, “I’m all right. Just a little shook up.”

“I’m so glad I met you. I love the others”—she lowers her voice—“but it’s so much better now that you’re here.” She wraps her arms around me and pulls me into a big hug.

I squeeze her back, grateful she can’t see my face.