"You did what?" Dan's eyes are big, his mouth hangs slightly open. He is finally done calling with lawyers, managers, and anyone else who was on his phone list.

Al and I talked for a long time after I made my decision to participate in the tournament. I made it clear that I want to stay anonymous, no one can find out about this, or I will be screwed. We're telling our teammates I have a small holiday, and that's why I'm able to train with them.

Then I ordered Chinese food while I waited for Dan to finish his phone calls. And now he sits next to me on the couch. Some movie is running on the television, but neither of us is watching it. Steam rises from the paper containers on the coffee table in front of us.

"You said it yourself. I need to do something and what I'm going to is entering that tournament," I say, while I try to catch a small cube of tofu with my chopsticks. "And I'm going to beat the crap out of Joey."

Dan looks a little worried at me.

"I mean I will beat the crap out of his pixels." Eventually, I just stick one of my chopsticks right through the pesky thing. "Victory is mine!"

I'm not sure if I yell the last words because I finally caught the tofu, or to make a point.

Dan sighs and stirs his noodles. "I thought you were going to file a complaint against Joey. And what if you can go back to the hospital after tomorrow?"

"I don't think they will let me back in the program that easily. Morgenstern is in charge for now and for some reason he hates me." I put my head in my hands. "Plus I don't want anyone to know about those videos and if I will file a complaint, everybody will."

"This might make things worse, Elise. I don't think any of this will go away without you taking some action." He puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls me against his chest. "Real action."

"Don't worry, I've got a plan." I entwine my fingers with his, press my lips against his hand. Right now I don't think he's interested in my idea of 'real action'.

"Do I want to know what kind of plan that is?" Did he just read my mind? Dan tries to reach for his plate, but with me leaning against his chest that's almost impossible.

"I'll use a different name and I'm going to disguise myself. He won't know I'll be there until I hit him where it hurts." I'm determined to win that tournament, but I know it will be difficult.

My lack of skill during the games I played with my friends earlier this evening, scares me. I need to start training as soon as possible if I want to make it even through the first round of that tournament. And I don't want to think about the rounds that might follow. Joey has been gaming full time in the last years. He got paid for his skills and had the time to refine them. His sponsor gave him the best equipment, he could pick the best partners, while I just played for fun. True, my equipment is pretty decent, but if you compare it to the machine Joey has been playing with, it's utter

Deep wrinkles appear in his forehead. "If Joey finds out it's you, he will see this as a provocation. I don't understand why you're going to do this. It's not as if he's going to erase those vids if you win."

I take his hand in mine and I play with his fingers. "Don't worry, it's going to be fine. I've got it all sorted."

I feel Dan move restlessly under me. He isn't comforted by my words, but I can't involve him in the real plan. The videos will disappear, I'm pretty sure about that. Whatever will happen, the plan Al and I made must succeed. A plan that involves some distraction, some tricks, and some hacking. And of course, me beating Joey in that tournament. A smile curves my lips. Joey will be so mad if he finds out what we're going to do to him.

"Are you coming to the tournament to see me play?" I ask him.

I feel his shoulders slump. "I can't, Elise."

"If you're afraid someone will recognize you, don't worry about that. People aren't really looking at each other, their eyes are mostly fixed on the big screens that display what's happening in the game. " It's a stupid idea,  but I keep talking. Of course, he can't be there. If he shows up everyone will know I will be there as well. But I want him to be there, I need him to be there. He's my good luck charm

"That's not the problem." I feel his chest rise. When he exhales, his breath tickles my neck. "Next week I will be gone."

My heart skips a beat. "Gone?"

His head rests on mine. The way he strokes my hand with his thumb is almost apologetic. "The director wants to start rehearsals next week. Maybe we start shooting the first scenes as well. I'm sorry, I thought I told you."

The new movie... Of course, I knew this was coming, but I had forgotten it was this close. Time had passed fast during my short internship. I was getting used to Dan's presence. We hadn't been apart that much since I moved here. He was always around, cluttering my house with his books, messing up my computer when he was downloading French movies. Sometimes when I was studying, I could hear him practicing his pronunciation in the bathroom. He was always staring in the mirror when he was doing that. I had teased him with it, telling him he was vain.

Sometimes he went back to his house to pick up clean clothes, books he needed, or the mail. And then there were of course the interviews, photoshoots, and the first text rehearsals with his co-actors. But he never went away for more than two days.

I entangle my fingers from his and reach for my plate. I try to hide my disappointment, but I'm not sure why I feel this way. "That's okay. I don't think it's the tournament is that exciting for you anyway. Not much to see there, just me and a bunch of other gamers sitting behind a screen."

"Are you kidding me?" He pulls me back to him. "I would've loved to see you play, even if I have no clue what's going on. I know this is a big deal for you and I know you're good, but I'm not sure if I like this plan. I wish that you would call the police."

It takes effort not to snort. Call the police, what have they done for me so far? I never heard a thing about the heart or the first letters I gave them.

I lift myself up, turning my body to him. Strands of hair hang before his eyes. The weird chopped hairstyle he had when I met him is gone. "Do you trust me?"

Deep wrinkles appear in his forehead. He is silent for a couple of seconds, while his eyes glide over my face. "I trust you."

I stare into his blue eyes, they're still moving around as if my face is a book and he tries to read it. "I'm not sure if I get through the first round. I don't know if this is the best plan ever, but as far as I know, this is the only way I can stop Joey. I'm sick of those letters, of the phone calls, of the unwanted parcels."

I don't think I've ever been this honest about the whole situation.

And then his eyes stare straight into mine. He pulls me on his lap and cups my face with his hands.

"Hey," he says softly and he takes a deep breath. "Sans toi, les émotions d'aujourd'hui ne seraient que la peau morte des émotions d'autrefois."

The words roll fluent from his lips, they almost sound like a magic incantation.

"That sounds beautiful, what does it mean?"

He smiles. "Without you, today's emotions would be the scurf of yesterday's."

"Hmm, I think I prefer it in French," I say.

He pulls me closer and when our lips touch, my overactive brain almost spoils the moment. An idea pops in my mind, that turns everything upside down. I swiftly push the thought away, but it's like trying not to think about pink elephants. The words swirl around in my head like snow in a snow globe and when the chaos settles down one disturbing thought rests in my mind.

What if I'm wrong?
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AN: Thanks for reading! If you liked the chapter, please vote for it by pressing the little star :)

The quote in French comes from the movie 'Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain' or 'Amélie' for short.