Chapter 1

Sister (Lia): Heyyy, what are you doing glued to your phone over here? Playing Evade alone again? Aww, does my baby brother have no friends to play with? 🥺

Brother (Jake): -rolls eyes- Lia, I’m 17, stop calling me that. And yeah, I’m playing alone. Not like I have a choice.

Lia: Wait, what happened to your usual squad? Where’s Leo? I thought you two were attached at the hip.

Jake: mumbles, staring at the screen Leo… he and Maya. They’ve been seeing each other for a month. Behind my back.

Lia: -face drops- sits down next to him Wait, Maya? Your bff Maya? And Leo ? Jake, that’s… that’s so messed up. I’m so sorry, bub. ruffles his hair gently

Jake: -shrugs voice quiet- Yeah. Found out yesterday. Don’t really feel like talking to anyone else right now, so I just… play.

Lia: I get it. But being alone won’t make it hurt less, y’know? -pulls out her phone- Hey, how about this — my friend group has a Discord where we play Evade and other stuff all the time. They’re all super chill, no drama. Wanna join? You can meet some new people, and we can even queue up together later.

Jake: -looks up at her- a little hopeful Really? You’d let me join?

Lia: Duh! You’re still my baby brother, remember? Gotta look out for you. -taps his phone- C’mon, I’ll send you the link. My friend Sam is obsessed with Evade — he’ll teach you some crazy tricks.

Jake: -smiles slightly- Okay. Yeah, that sounds… nice. Thanks, Lia.

Lia: No problem, bub. Now let’s see if you can actually keep up with me in a match — I bet I’ll jump-scare you first!

..

[GC: Snack Pack & Chaos]

[Lia adds Jake]

Lia: y’all STFU for a sec — this is my baby brother Jake!! say hi 👋

Sam: OMG LIA’S BABY BROTHER??? welcome welcome!! you play evade right??

Jake: hey everyone 😅 yeah, I do!

Tom: -already typing frantically- OKAY BUT SERIOUSLY — CHICKEN COMES FIRST. GOD CREATED THE CHICKEN TO LAY THE EGG. IT’S SCIENCE.

Leo (not Jake’s ex-bf — different Leo): TOM YOU DUMBASS. SCIENCE SAYS THE EGG CAME FIRST BECAUSE THE FIRST CHICKEN HATCHED FROM AN EGG LAID BY A NON-CHICKEN BIRD.

Tom: THATS NOT A REAL CHICKEN EGG THEN!!!

Leo: YES IT IS!!! THE EGG HAS THE CHICKEN DNA!!!

Chloe: -sending crying-laughing emojis x10- y’all are arguing at 2pm on a Tuesday about this AGAIN

Sam: -sending a meme of a chicken and egg fighting with spoons- this is us rn lmaooo

Tom: LEO I WILL BLOCK YOU

Leo: DO IT COWARD. ILL JUST MAKE A NEW ACCOUNT TO TELL YOU YOU’RE WRONG

[Chat is spamming with emojis, gifs, and more chicken vs egg takes — Jake is just sending a single confused face emoji]

Lia: types in all caps followed by a voice note

LIA (voice note): ALRIGHT!!! SHUT UP THE BOTH OF YOU!!! MY BABY BROTHER JUST JOINED AND Y’ALL ARE ACTING LIKE 5 YEAR OLDS ARGUING OVER CRAYONS!!! Tom, Leo — take it to DMs or I’m kicking both of you. Now someone actually talk to Jake before he thinks we’re all insane!!!

[Chat goes silent for 2 seconds]

Chloe: welcome again jake!! ignore these two — they do this every week 😂 you wanna queue up for evade in 10 mins?

Sam: yeah count me in!! and jake — just so you know, the egg comes first. tom’s just delusional

Tom: CHLOE SAM IM GONNA—

Lia: sends a GIF of a teacher pointing to a “QUIET” sign don’t even start, tom.

...

[VC connected — everyone’s mics are on, background sounds of game music and soft chatter]

Lia: Alright alright, mics check! Can everyone hear me? Jake, you there buddy?

Jake: Yeah, I can hear you. This is my first time in a group VC like this haha.

Lia: Aww, it’s chill! Okay let’s do proper intros since we were being crazy earlier. First up — this is Chloe, my amazing girlfriend who’s currently shoving chips in her mouth.

Chloe: muffled, then clear Hey Jake! I’m 21, and yes I am eating chips — they’re sour cream and onion, don’t judge. Lia steals mine all the time.

Lia: laughs Guilty. Next is Sam — he’s the Evade god here, 20 years old and has way too many hours in the game.

Sam: What can I say? Gotta perfect those trick jumps! Sup Jake, 17 right? You’re gonna pick up the game fast, I can tell.

Lia: Then there’s Tom — 22, the resident “chicken comes first” conspiracy theorist.

Tom: mock-offended It’s not a conspiracy! It’s facts! But hey man, welcome to the crew.

Lia: And last but not least — Leo, 21, who thinks he’s smoother than he actually is.

Leo: chuckles, voice dropping a little Smooth enough, Lia. Hey Jake… nice to finally hear your voice. You got a nice laugh, y’know that?

Jake: flustered Oh uh… thanks? That’s… cool.

Leo: So, you free to play some matches later? I could teach you a few things — I’m pretty good at covering for teammates. winks even though no one can see

Tom: immediately copies Leo’s soft voice “Oh Jake, nice laugh… I could teach you things…” snorts DUDES, DID YOU HEAR THAT? HE SOUNDED LIKE HE WAS TRYING TO SEDUCE A HOUSEPLANT!!!

Leo: exasperated TOM, SHUT UP!!! I WAS JUST BEING NICE!!!

Tom: NICE??? YOU SOUNDED LIKE YOU WERE GONNA ASK HIM TO GO ON A PICNIC WITH ROSES AND SHIT!!!

Chloe: crying-laughing TOM PLEASE — “seduce a houseplant” I’m dying!!!

Sam: laughing too Leo, bro, you gotta work on your game. That was worse than when you tried to hit on the barista last week.

Leo: I HATE ALL OF YOU!!! ESPECIALLY YOU TOM!!!

Lia: -sighs but smiles- Here we go again… Jake, this is what normal looks like for us. Ignore them — Leo’s actually a good guy, he just gets flustered when he likes someone.

Jake: -even more flustered- Oh… uh… okay?

Tom: -yells over Leo’s complaining- HE LIKES YOU JAKE!!! HE THINKS YOU’RE CUTE!!!

Leo: I WILL THROW MY PHONE THROUGH THE WINDOW!!!

[The chaos dies down a little as Tom and Leo finally take a breath]

Lia: Alright, let’s give Jake a chance to actually talk! C’mon bub, tell us about yourself.

Jake: fidgets with his phone case Oh, uh… yeah. So like Lia said, I’m Jake, 17. I’ve been playing Evade for maybe a month now? I really love it — there’s something about running from the entities and figuring out the maps that’s… I don’t know, relaxing? Even though I’m terrible at it. Last match I ran straight into a wall trying to escape the Figure and got caught immediately.

Sam: laughs warmly Dude, that’s literally all of us when we started! I’ll teach you how to navigate the dark maps without faceplanting — promise. Hey, quick question though… you got a boyfriend or girlfriend? Just wondering if we gotta watch out for anyone when we drag you into our late-night game sessions.

Chloe: chuckles Oh please, he’s still a baby — of course he—

Jake: cuts in quietly I… used to. But it was a long story.

[The VC goes suddenly quiet — even Tom and Leo stop bickering]

Leo: -voice soft, serious now- A long story? Jake, if you don’t mind… what happened? You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.

Jake: takes a shaky breath, voice starting to crack It’s… it’s still pretty fresh. We’d been together for almost a year. And my best friend — the one I thought I could trust with anything — they… they were seeing each other behind my back. Found out yesterday when I walked in on them.

[You can hear him sniffle]

Jake: I just… I thought he cared, y’know? And that my friend would never do that to me. I feel so stupid for not seeing it sooner.

Chloe: gentle Jake, honey, you’re not stupid. People who do that are the ones who’re messed up. We’re so sorry that happened to you.

Sam: Yeah, man. That’s garbage. No one deserves that.

Lia: voice tight with anger on his behalf, but soft for him Bub, I’m right here if you need to cry. It’s okay — let it out. We’ve all got your back here.

Leo: quietly Jake? You still there? I… I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but you’re gonna find people who actually treat you right. People who won’t hurt you like that.

[Jake’s still sniffling a little when Leo speaks up]

Leo: Jake? Hey… if you want someone to lean on, I’m here. Seriously. Anytime you need to talk, or just distract yourself from… y’know. I’ll be there.

[A beat of silence, then Lia’s voice cuts in — sharp but with a playful edge]

Lia: sarcastically Oh wow, Leo. “Someone to lean on”? Real smooth. Not my brother though, you stupid ass player. Hands off my baby bub.

Leo: defensive but grinning I’m not trying to hit on him! I’m just being nice!

Tom: chimes in, also sarcastic Ohh Jake, do NOT ever trust that sweet words of that DUMB shit — he is stupid! Remember when he tried to “lean on” a lamppost last week and fell into a puddle?

Leo: THAT WAS A SIDEWALK SLIP!!! AND IT WAS RAINY!!!

Lia: laughing now A sidewalk slip? Leo, you literally hugged the lamppost like it was your long-lost lover before you ate shit.

Leo: LIA, YOU SAID YOU’D NEVER BRING THAT UP AGAIN!!!

Tom: yelling over him HE ALSO CALLED A PIZZA PLACE AND ASKED FOR A “MEDIUM PEPPERONI WITH EXTRA LOVE” — THE GUY ON THE PHONE HUNG UP ON HIM!!!

Leo: I WAS TRYING TO BE POLITE!!! TOM, I SWEAR TO GOD I’LL LOG OUT AND LEAVE YOU TO PLAY ALONE WITH THE FIGURE!!!

Lia: joining in the yelling AND YOU STILL THINK THE EGG COMES FIRST, YOU MANIAC!!!

[The VC is now a mess of overlapping shouts and laughter — Jake can’t help but let out a small, real smile]

Sam: covering his ears OKAY, THAT’S ENOUGH!!! MY EARS ARE GONNA BLEED!!!

Chloe: yelling over the chaos EVERYONE SHUT UP BEFORE I MUTE ALL OF YOU!!! LIA, YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE ADULT HERE!!!

[Jake lets out a quiet laugh — the first real one since yesterday. Everyone pauses for a second when they hear it]

Jake: softly It’s… it’s okay. I don’t mind. It’s nice hearing you guys argue about stupid stuff. Makes me feel better.

Lia: immediately switching to soft mode Aww, bub… well, we’ll argue about stupid stuff anytime you need it. But first — Leo, hands. Off. My. Brother.

Leo: grumbling I didn’t even do anything…

Tom: snorting Sure you didn’t, lover boy.

[Chloe checks her phone and gasps]

Chloe: Guys, it’s literally 1:47 AM!!! I have a class at 9 tomorrow — we need to log off NOW.

Sam: Shit, really? Time flew by. Alright, let’s wrap this up.

Lia: Yeah, bub, you should get some sleep too — you got school, remember? Thanks for joining us tonight, Jake. You’re always welcome here.

Jake: Thanks, everyone. Seriously. This was… way better than playing alone. Goodnight, guys.

Chloe: Night, sweetie! We’ll queue up again tomorrow after my class!

Sam: Night, Jake! I’ll send you some Evade tips in the GC before I crash.

[Just as things start to calm down, Leo and Tom start up again]

Leo: Night, Jake. And hey — if you need that person to lean on, I’m still here. winks

Tom: sarcastic Oh wow, romantic. Night, Jake — don’t listen to this guy, he can’t even lean on a lamppost without falling.

Leo: At least I don’t think chickens poofed out of thin air, you caveman!

Tom: IT’S SCIENCE, YOU BRAIN-DEAD EGG LOVER!!!

Lia: yelling as she’s logging off I SWEAR TO GOD, IF YOU TWO ARE STILL ARGUING IN THE GC IN 5 MINUTES, I’M KICKING BOTH OF YOU!!!

Leo: laughing She’s just jealous I have better game than her!

Chloe: muttering as she mutes them I’m already muting you both. Night, idiots.

Tom: Night, Chloe! Night, Lia! Night, Jake! And Leo — the chicken came first!!!

Leo: EGG!!!

[Jake logs off with a smile on his face, still hearing Leo and Tom’s shouts fading in the background]

to be continued ~

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