Valarie

You came,
a heart like my own.
Carrying the same flame
and there we stood as one.

Either I am a very bad influence and a very good influencer or Javi has always been as crazy as I have been. In the words of my father, waffles for breakfast is completely unacceptable. But as Aria once said, “Waffles don't need time, place or etiquette. They exist and it is our sole responsibility to eat them.”

A dead girl always wins over anyone, and that’s the exact reason why my bed is covered in crumbs. Javier plucks another waffle from my plate but I don't argue. This is the first time in a few days either of us have an appetite. 72 Hours is either making us paranoid, or it’s a healthy distraction. Either way, we feel better somehow.

I have no idea if it will last. We have three days of playtime, what do we do after that? What do we do after ending the only connection we have with Aria? How about trying to move on?

I quietly snicker at the thought and Javi looks at me like I’m crazy. I shake my head, telling him I’m fine before focusing my attention back on the screenshots from the game. We barely hit twenty hours of playtime before Javi thought we used up too much of our time. Only three clues, which we think are important, are impossible to crack. But we have been staring at it for hours now.

The answer to your future lies in your past.

Remember everything begins to end? But back to the beginning you go. 

Hidden truths are not as distracting as lies. This is not a lie.

Both Javi and I were too dazed to remember the flashing images in the beginning. I remember close to nothing, but Javi recalls seeing a picture of some kind of document covered in blood at the side, a black crown which seems to fade away in dark vapors at the top and a glass elevator. None of which make any sense when put together.

It is not quite famous right now, and people are only attracted to trending things. Which explains why we found no posts, videos or blogs about it when we searched it up.

The game is designed in such a way that we aquire a clue for the final level after each level we complete before it. Javi and I completed three levels in which we had to figure out who the murderer or thief was. The first two were quite easy but we could not find Faiza's killer in the third one. A timer seems to have been triggered when we got a hint to solve it.

We assumed all the levels have to be solved before a particular time so we can reach the final level. Thankfully we didn't miss the clues that come after the levels. Javi even insisted on writing them down in a book. After missing the images, he does not want to lose anything else.

“Did you find anything?” Javi asks stealing half of my last waffle. I glare at him, willing him to return it, but he grins and takes the other piece too. He stuffs them in his mouth before I can fight him for them. I settle for punching his arm instead.
He mumbles something in annoyance but I ignore him. “No, and I don't think we are going to.”

He opens his already filled mouth to argue but he shuts it again knowing I’m right. He glances at the other bed in the room, the boxes still not moved. A light purple hoodie hangs from the edge of the bed, it was Aria's favorite. She could never let it go, and now I can't.

“Did you notice the players increased?” I ask as I check the description of the game online. Everything seems quite normal, with no hidden meanings. Which makes me overthink every word.

“Not by much, don't worry.” He says but I notice the hesitation in his words. If more people die after three days of playing the game, it will prove we are not crazy. I have no idea if that would be a good thing or bad.

“Maybe we can set up blogs or something to tell people not to play 72 Hours. I’m pretty sure the loading screen is enough to scare them off, but we could do it anyway.” I offer. There is no information about it online, so our blog would be the first thing new players would see. Hopefully it will help an overthinker such as myself.

“‘Make me your villian.’ It sounds so ominous. Is the game creater threatening us, helping us or is he giving us a clue?” Javi adds unhelpfully. That's the same thing I've been wondering since we got our second clue. The loading screen is how the game begins each time, maybe something is hidden there? Fine, I’ll make him my villian. It's the least I can do after I lost Aria.

At this moment I'm thankful he exists. Even if Aria's death and the game would be a coincidence, I have someone to blame. Maybe it’s out of sadness, anger, pity or all three that I decide a blog might make a difference. I've made you my villian Kylo. Now suffer the consequences, whatever they may be.

“Probably all three.” I shrug and he goes back to staring at screenshots. Instead of doing the same, I get started on the blog. Hours pass by but I don't notice, neither does Javier. When my mom knocks on the door to inform Javi one of his friends was here, both of us were surprised at the time.

We murmur awkward goodbye and take-cares. I stare at the closed door for a few moments before going back to updating the blog. I post it on a few of my socials before my phone turns itself off due to low battery.

I stiffle a yawn as I lie back in my bed and stretch my feet. The bed on the other side brings back too many memories threaded together by two young stupid girls who thought they had forever, but I still can't stop looking at it. And that is when I notice it.

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