Chapter Text
Noob shook their head vigorously. They were surrounded by trees, so many trees. They turned around at the sound of rustling in the bushes.
Shadows popped up from every corner. Noob turned to run away, but somehow, no matter how fast they ran, they went nowhere.
The forest got darker and darker and darker until only the shadows’ frightening faces could be seen. Noob scrunched their eyes shut, heartbeat so fast they thought it would burst from their chest.
They sat up, sweating, staring out the open window, curtains fluttering in the breeze. The room was moonlit, giving off a dreamy, calm feel, but Noob didn’t feel calm at all. Their nightmares were getting worse…what was happening to them? They’d been in this godforsaken place for a while…surely they should have gotten used to this.
The grueling rounds that happened every few days, though, could not be accustomed to. Noob felt dread every day, not knowing when they would be thrown into a round. They felt helpless and hated it. Noob was always babied or treated differently because they were the youngest, even though they were well over 18 and very aware. This confirmed their suspicions that them being the youngest of the group made them the most insignificant and useless. After all, pretty much every other survivor had abilities that could help the team in rounds-Builderman with his sentries, Elliot with his amazing pizza, Two Time with their dagger, and Shedletsky with his sword. Even 007n7 could use his c00lgui in dire circumstances, but Noob only had a Bloxy Cola and a ghost burger that they couldn’t even share.
Not that Noob used them, anyway…if they got reset every few days, there wasn’t really a point to eating. They wouldn’t be able to keep it down even if they tried, but still.
Noob got up and slipped on a hoodie, some baggy sweatpants and a few bracelets, not feeling very feminine or masculine.
They walked down the stairs, careful not to wake the others who resided in their cabin: Elliot and 007n7. They were nice. Noob had taken a liking to Elliot especially; he was also trans and experiencing dysphoria, so they had a lot in common. Elliot was also among the few survivors who didn’t baby Noob, and thus they enjoyed Elliot’s company. At times, Elliot was even capable of coaxing Noob to eat a slice of pizza, even though the thought of eating repulsed them.
They mostly wanted to be Elliot’s main focus of attention, even if only for a while.
They thought about this as they sat on the porch, their legs dangling off the deck, through the vertical poles holding the railing up. Noob laid on the porch, back against the wood. They closed their eyes, taking in the sounds of the forest, trying to calm themself, telling themself that everything was fine…
Noob opened their eyes to find Elliot sitting next to them, a smile on their face. “Ah-!” Noob yelped. Elliot laughed, a sound Noob enjoyed.
They sat up, eyes meeting. Elliot tilted his head. “Hey, Noob,” he said kindly. “You ok?”
Noob looked away.
“Another nightmare?”
Noob nodded. This had happened before, and they were glad that Elliot understood.
Elliot suddenly put his arm around Noob’s shoulders, causing them to tense instinctively. The tension released gradually, though, and Noob rested their head on Elliot’s shoulder.
This is so awkward, they thought. Elliot’s probably feeling uncomfortable…I should stop…
Noob’s thoughts disintegrated as they felt Elliot gently patting their head. They felt calmer, almost sleepy. They yawned, and Elliot held them as they drifted off again.
…
Noob woke up with a start, recalling the previous night’s events. Immediately they noticed that their posters were gone…and where was the art they’d put up on their wall?
They breathed a sigh of relief as they realized that they were in Elliot’s room.
Wait? What??
Noob tossed their legs off the side of the bed, standing up. They walked up to Elliot’s full length mirror and cringed, trying yet failing to run a hand through their incredibly messy hair.
“It’s okay. I get bedhead too.”
Noob whirled around, whacking their head on the mirror. “Agh,” they muttered to themself.
They saw Elliot sitting in a rotating armchair, looking sheepishly at them. “Your…bedroom door was locked, so I had to bring you here.”
Noob couldn’t remember locking their bedroom door before going downstairs last night-but then again, everything else was fuzzy as well. That was usually how it was after a nightmare.
“Oh,” said Noob. “T-thanks.” I hope I’m not fucking blushing! they thought. They were an easy blusher, their pale-ish cheeks easily flushing red when embarrassed.
“You okay? Last night you seemed pretty shaken…” Elliot said, looking at them with a concerned expression.
“Yeah…” Noob replied, although they weren’t quite sure. The nightmare flare-ups were getting worse.
They tried not to focus on that, deciding to attempt to start a conversation. “So…how’ve you been?” Noob asked, feeling dumb immediately because they asked pretty much the most general question anyone could ask.
Noob rubbed their eyes. Were they hallucinating? Elliot was moving his mouth, but no words came out.
Noob understood almost immediately.
Everything went black.