After eating and washing the dishes, the two went into the living room to play video games.

"Hey, do you really want to play Resident Evil?" Ethan asked, settling down on the couch.

Mike was standing there with the game in his hand, very excited.

"Yes, yes! Very!" He said, jumping up and down, but his expression changed to a sad one. "Oh, but you'll have to watch, won't you? We can play something else". Mike replied, bending down to go through the game box.

"No way! You can play, I'll watch. My arm still hurts!". He said, stretching out on the couch.

"Really?" Mike asked with a big smile. "Thanks, bro!". He said, putting the game on the Playstation.

"Man, look at this graphic. I feel like I'm inside the game, holy shit". Mike said, impressed with the quality of the game.

Ethan looked at the image and couldn't see any beauty. The graphics were terrible, full of pixels, all square. It was almost uncomfortable to look at. Ethan had come from a younger generation, where video games were in 4k, so that resolution was terrible for him.

At the very beginning of the game, Liam, the main character, has gone to an island in the interior of Spain to rescue the kidnapped daughter of the president. When he arrives in the island village, he realizes that the locals did not like outsiders and were trying to kill Ethan.

Mike began to sweat with nervousness, as he was being chased all the time in the game, while Ethan just stared blankly at the screen.

Suddenly, Ethan's cell phone rings.

It was Jessica.

Ethan stared at the cell phone for a few seconds, not knowing whether to answer or not. Mike was very focused on the game, so he didn't notice that Ethan's cell phone was ringing.

Ethan continued to stare at the phone in silence, until it stopped ringing by itself.

"Are you busy, Ethan?" Jessica sent him.

He chose not to answer.

"Call me when you can!" She sent another message.

He didn't answer.

"Who's calling you? It's Alice, is it?" Mike nudged Ethan with a laugh, causing him to put the phone down.

"It was just...". Before Ethan could answer, Mike took the cell phone from his hand and read it, thinking it was Alice.

"Jessica? Whoa, what does she want?" Mike asked, confused.

"Yeah... I don't know, she's probably just wondering how I'm doing because of my arm!". Ethan answered, looking at his cell phone.

"You better call her, huh?" Mike replied, pausing the game.

"Huh?" Ethan replied, confused.

"To tell her it's okay. She's a good friend of yours, she's worried sick about him!" Mike replied, with a gentle smile on his face.

Ethan stared at him for a few seconds and then said:

"Right! I'll let her know and be right back". Then Ethan got up and went to his room.

He locked himself in the dark room, took a deep breath, and called Jessica. He could feel his heart racing a little because he was nervous, but he needed to get it over with.

His plan was to treat Jessica badly, because then she could give him a chance to go out with Mike, and with Ethan's help, Jessica could awaken feelings for Mike.

"Hello? Ethan?" Jessica answered.

"Hi Jessica. What did you want?". He answered, serious.

"Oh, it's no big deal... I wanted to talk about these last few days.". She said, shyly.

"If it's not a big deal, why did you want me to call?". Ethan replied, dryly.

"Oh, I just wanted to talk to you...". Jessica replied, down.

Ethan felt his stomach turn.

"I have something to take care of, just tell me what it was!". Ethan said, looking at his arm, trying to distract himself, and feeling the shadow particles appearing.

"So tell me, Jessica!". He replied.

"I wanted to apologize for the last few days. I think I was childish with you...". Jessica said.

Ethan closed his eyes tightly.

- What the fuck! - He thought.

"You know... I felt a little jealous of you with Alice. I got mad because you guys were laughing, and you looked so happy...". She continued.

"So what?" Ethan replied, dryly.

"I wanted to say that... I really like you, Ethan!".

Ethan took a deep breath, focusing on the rational and said:

"Jessica, I'm sorry, but I think you got things mixed up!".

"What?" Jessica said, her voice shaking.

"I don't like you, Jessica. I'm sorry!". He replied seriously, putting his hand to his mouth, trying to control himself not to talk nonsense.

"Oh... I get it. I'm sorry, Ethan. I won't bother you anymore...!". Jessica replied, holding back her crying.

"Okay!" Ethan replied, hanging up the phone.

He felt a lump in his throat, as if he wanted to scream.

Ethan stayed in the room for a few more seconds, quiet, leaning against the wall, thinking about Jessica's sad voice.

He opened the door and walked to the bathroom to wash his face. He quickly bent over the sink and splashed water on his face, trying to relax a little. Guilt began to weigh on his conscience, but he knew that it would be the best thing for her. Even if she wanted to stay with Ethan and Alice, it would be too dangerous to keep her close to the two of them, because they were not normal.

Ethan slowly raised his head, and as soon as he looked in the mirror, he realized that something had changed. His necklace, which had once been black, had returned to its original color. It was silver again.

Ethan pulled it off his neck, trying to figure out what had happened, but it was in perfect condition. It even seemed to shine brighter.

It was as if Ethan had bought another necklace.

"Hey, Ethan, did you tell Jessica?". Mike shouted from downstairs.

"Yes I did! I'll be right down!". Ethan yelled back, pulling himself together.

He walked downstairs and saw Mike, standing on the couch, trying to kill a giant, hideous zombie.

"I can't stand being bad at this game anymore, man, it's just impossible to get past this part!". He said, irritated.

Then Mike's cell phone rang. Mike jumped up from the couch and went to answer the phone.

"Hi dad, what's up?". Mike said, pacing back and forth, "Oh really? But I didn't even stay here that long...". He said as he put the remote control on the table. "Okay, I'm coming back.

"Dude, my dad called. I'm going to have to take care of Sophie now, because my aunt won't be able to take care of her." Mike said, frustrated.

"Man, that sucks, bro. But you're coming over to the house some other day." Ethan replied.

"Okay, but that was cool. This game is really cool. I'm still going to beat it!". Mike said, putting on his jacket.

"Hey, Mike, you can have it!". Ethan said, handing the game to his friend.

"What? Are you kidding me? No, come on, man. No need!" Mike replied, clumsily.

"You can stay, bro. I don't even play that game!". Ethan insisted, pushing the game into Mike's hands.

"Oh man, thanks! I'll be playing this all weekend!". Mike said, jumping up and down like a child.

"Don't forget to ask Jessica out!". Ethan replied, with a fake smile.

"That's right! I almost forgot about that... I'll call her today!". Mike replied, heading for the door.

"Yay! Let me know how it goes!". Ethan said, going to close the door.

"Bye Ethan! Thanks again!". Mike replied, heading home.

Ethan closed the door to the house and watched Mike walk away, walking away. Then, when Mike was already a long distance away, Ethan turned his back.

- FUUUUUUUCK! - he shouted, throwing everything out.

---

 

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