The bell above the café door chimed.
Raxian didn't greet anyone.
Didn't look around.
Just walked straight to their usual booth and dropped into the seat like gravity had decided for him.
Jake blinked.
"…You look worse than yesterday."
No response.
Tess glanced up from behind the counter immediately.
She read people fast.
Especially him.
Marcus noticed too.
He always noticed shifts in atmosphere.
Bruce lifted his cup slightly. "Rough night?"
Silence.
Raxian's jaw was tight. Eyes darker. Shoulders locked.
Jake leaned forward. "You queue again?"
A muscle in Raxian's cheek twitched.
"That obvious?"
Jake whistled softly. "That bad?"
Raxian didn't answer.
Tess appeared beside the table without comment.
Set a warm cup in front of him.
Something cinnamon-heavy. Sweet but not childish. The thing she made for herself when she'd had a bad day but refused to admit it.
Marcus watched her do it.
Smirked.
Tess caught the look.
Immediately looked away.
Jake's eyes flicked between them.
Oh no.
He opened his mouth—
Ava's hand landed lightly on his wrist under the table.
Jake blinked at her.
She didn't even look at him.
Just sipped her drink calmly.
Message received.
Jake leaned back.
Bruce exhaled. "First Monday survived."
Marcus nodded lazily. "Barely."
Bruce shifted focus. "So. Transfer girl."
Jake perked up instantly.
"Oh she just had an off moment yesterday."
Tess and Marcus, in near perfect sync:
"No chance."
"No way."
Jake looked offended. "You don't know that."
Bruce patted his shoulder gently. "You're chasing the impossible."
Jake clutched his chest theatrically. "Et tu?"
Ava didn't react.
Logan, seated closest to her, lifted his gaze slightly from his book.
Just slightly.
That alone meant something had registered.
Raxian hadn't touched the cup.
Steam curled upward slowly.
Jake noticed.
"If you're not gonna drink that, I will."
No protest.
Jake grabbed it and downed half in one go.
"Damn, Tess, that's good."
He finished it completely.
Stood.
Tossed the empty cup neatly into the trash bin across the room.
Swish.
Raxian's fingers were digging lightly into the edge of the table.
Jake returned to the seat.
"Okay. You definitely woke up on the wrong side today."
No reaction.
Jake leaned closer.
"I've never seen you this tense."
That got something.
Not words.
Just a look.
Sharp, brief, gone.
Marcus leaned back slowly, studying him.
"This isn't just promo tilt."
Bruce nodded faintly.
Ava finally spoke.
"Did something happen?"
Simple, calm.
Raxian stared at the wood grain of the table.
His reflection faint in the polished surface.
test me?'s message replayed in his head.
skill comes with experience.
keep practicing.
Practicing.
He'd given eleven years.
Jake nudged him with his elbow.
"You're not seriously letting her get to you, right?"
That did it.
His hand curled.
Knuckles whitening.
"She doesn't even remember the match," he muttered.
The table quieted.
Jake blinked.
"Oh."
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
Tess understood instantly.
Ava did too.
Logan's eyes shifted slightly toward him.
Bruce exhaled softly.
Jake leaned back.
"…Ouch."
Raxian stood abruptly.
"I'm fine."
He wasn't.
Everyone knew it.
Even Jake didn't argue this time.
Ava watched him closely.
Not with assessment.
Tess glanced toward Marcus.
He didn't smirk this time.
-
His phone wouldn't stop lighting up.
Jake:you alive?
Bruce:rough day?
Raze:You spiraling again?
Ava:You don't have to respond. Just checking.
He flipped it face down.
Silence.
The only light in the room came from the monitor.
EGO's private chamber glowed softly in blue and gold.
His avatar stood in the center of the room.
Not playing a Gameboy this time.
Not sitting.
Just standing there.
Looking directly at him.
Golden eyes steady.
Measuring.
Raxian leaned back in his chair.
Stared at him.
"You too?" he muttered.
The avatar didn't move.
Didn't emote.
Just held his gaze.
Uncomfortable.
Raxian reached forward.
Minimized the client.
The chamber remained visible in the background.
He stood.
Walked to his bed.
Dropped onto it without changing clothes.
Didn't even turn the lights off.
The ceiling above him was plain.
White.
Cracked faintly in one corner.
Usually by this hour he'd be mid-queue.
Hands moving.
Pulse steady.
Locked in.
Now the room felt wrong.
Still, empty.
What was the point if he couldn't climb?
Diamond had been the line, the milestone.
If he hit Diamond, he wasn't just a kid grinding in a closet setup bought by a man who was never home.
He was something.
If he hit Diamond, it meant it mattered.
He'd had losing streaks before.
Broken a keycap or two.
But this—
This wasn't anger.
This was… doubt.
skill comes with experience.
keep practicing.
Eleven years.
How much more experience did he need?
His phone buzzed again.
He ignored it.
The monitor dimmed slightly as the system went idle.
His avatar moved.
Walked slowly to the edge of the bed in the private chamber.
Sat down.
Looked forward.
Mirroring him.
Raxian turned his head slightly toward the screen.
Their eyes aligned.
"You think I can't climb anymore?" he whispered.
The avatar tilted his head, observing.
Pulse steady.
Unlike his.
Raxian swallowed.
His chest felt tight.
Not because of the smurf.
Not really.
Because if he couldn't climb—
Then his dad was right.
Talent only went so far.
Potential only mattered if it turned into results.
The ceiling didn't answer him, the room didn't answer him.
The avatar just kept watching.
And for the first time in years—
He didn't queue.