The bright lights of my LED computer monitor washed away any sleepiness after supper with the family. Which was good, because I had major work to do.
Desperation was calling my name.
Pulling up the Battlegrounds app and logging into my secret profile name, CurrerBFighting, I scanned the names of the players on my Friends list. They were all local players. Most went to Rock Valley High and a few lived in the towns nearby. They all thought I was some homeschooled freaky genius kid. It was the perfect cover. And possibly, it was exactly what I needed to get into this tournament.
Any participants in the tournament had to live within an hour’s drive of Rock Valley. I slowly searched through the list of names, but after an hour, I determined every name on my list was a dud. Not a single guy I was connected to either wasn’t man enough to oppose the Corrigan brothers or sucked hardcore at Battlegrounds. The situation was truly starting to look desperate.
The inbox icon in the upper right corner of the game wiggled and a dinging noise came through the speakers. Battlescar13’s chat box popped up on the bottom, his words appearing on my screen.
Battlescar13: Did you drop off the planet?
Regret flooded my gut. My pointer hovered over the chat box as I considered whether to reply. It didn’t seem fair to ghost my online buddy. But then again, I hadn’t known until only last week who that online buddy really was. And talking with a Corrigan brother online was like playing with fire.
Battlescar13: Dude — I can see your active status. I know you’re online.
An unbidden smile played at my lips. Touché. Maybe I could afford to at least reply one time.
CurrerBFighting: No, I’m still on planet Earth. Sorry for checking out. Had some personal stuff.
I stared at the chat box for a few seconds, my heart thudding painfully. It was so hard to combine the image of Gabriel and the guy I’d played Battlegrounds with for the last few months. The guy that had told me about his first gaming experience on a Super Nintendo, who’d swapped jokes with me on a daily basis, dreamed up plans to attend Comic-Con, and listened to me occasionally complain about my sister taking over the house with art supplies. It just didn’t seem possible that they could be the same person.
Battlescar13: That’s cool. Did you see my message about the tournament? You could dominate! Tell me you’re entering.
I shook my head sadly. He had no idea how much I’d love to dominate that contest. To rub it in Michael’s face that a girl could game and win that down payment he had planned for a stupid motorcycle. But at this rate, it seemed more likely that I was going to have to eat crow. Still, that moment wasn’t now.
If it had been a week ago, I would’ve jumped at asking Battlescar13 to be my partner. He was the best of the best. We worked seamlessly together. Half of my level-ups were due to the campaigns we’d done together. We’d reached expert status not that long ago, eliminating a squadron of Elvish lords with our warriors. But that was before he’d basically revealed his identity and ruined everything. Still, I wondered if he’d already entered the competition with his brother.
CurrerBFighting: I’m thinking about it. You entering?
Battlescar13: Yep! That prize money is so mine. I’ve got big plans.
I slunk into my chair. So that was it. Gabriel had joined already, and I was officially the last man standing. No partner for me. My plans were over.
I was done.
“Hey, sweetheart!” Mom stuck her head in the doorway to my room and shot me a smile. “Did you get your homework done?”
Despite twelve hours in surgery today, she still looked like perfection. Perfectly curled brown hair that fell attractively over her shoulders, lipstick that hadn’t budged beneath a mask, and the thick black mascara that made her green eyes pop. Mom was the kind of woman who made guys break their necks when she walked by. Confidence oozed off of her, which only seemed to make her spell more potent. It was hard to take her anywhere.
Dad once told me I reminded him of Mom when she was younger, but I couldn’t see it. My older sister, Trina, seemed to take after our mom more than me. She was the beautiful one. The soft, sweet, feminine one who rocked at art. I was the awkward, geeky girl hiding under the large t-shirts and baggy jeans. The only thing we all shared were the same shade of emerald green eyes.
“Yep, all done.” I leaned back in my ergonomic desk and gave her a tight-lipped smile. “AP History took a while, but it’s all done.”
“That’s my girl.” She studied me for a long moment, her brow furrowing. “Everything all right? You seem a little down.”
I sighed and rubbed the spot between my eyebrows. Leave it to the surgeon to notice every finite detail of her daughter’s life. Most parents would’ve happily been on their way, satisfied not to worm their way into the twisted workings of their teen’s mind. Not my mom. She had a special interest in it. Sometimes, I wondered if she wished she could slice right inside to my brain and see what was going on for herself. Typical surgeon attitude. Slice and dice until everything was clear.
“I’m fine, Mom.” I did my best to give her a bright smile, but I could tell I’d failed by the concerned expression on her face. “It’s just this stupid tournament thing for the club. No girl’s ever won it and there’s this jerk at school who thinks that girls shouldn’t game.”
Fire burst alive in Mom’s eyes. If there was one topic that riled her up, it was the suppression of women. She’d battled her way into a profession that for a long time had been dominated by men, so she took extra pride in that battle.
“You’re going to show him he’s wrong, right?” Her eyes flashed dangerously. “If anyone can do it, my baby girl can. Girls can game if they want to.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I said, patting her hand. “And the plan was to decimate him, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. I need a partner to join, but no one’s available.”
She frowned. “None of your friends can help? What about Lexi or Charlotte?”
Tilting my head back, I let out a belly laugh. Yeah, right. Lexi and Charlotte on Battlegrounds. It was hilarious. “It’s not exactly their scene, Mom. We’d be pulverized in the first round.”
Her frown deepened. “What about your other friends? Can’t they help?”
I wasn’t going to tell my mother that I had no other friends. Saying it aloud made me sound extra pathetic. “Everyone else already has a partner. No one’s available.”
“Really?” She reached for my shoulder and leaned on it to glance down at my computer screen. “What about this Battlescar13? Looks like he wants to play with you. See? He just asked you.”
She couldn’t be serious. I whipped my head around to look at the monitor. Sure enough, my online partner had messaged me again while I’d been distracted by my mom.
Battlescar13: How about we join together for the tournament?
Battlescar13: Pretty sure we’d kick butt...
A nervous laugh escaped my mouth. I shook my head and pushed my rolling chair away from the computer.
“Um...I’m pretty sure he has other people he’d rather be playing with,” I said to her, unable to hide the nerves in my voice. For instance—his big-mouthed twin brother. It didn’t make sense that Gabriel would try to partner with me, when he had his brother around. Wouldn’t they want to take on the tournament together? Crushing and conquering everywhere they went? Kind of like they did in hockey.
The two of them were infamous for their prowess on the ice. Like a deadly pair of gladiators in skates, I heard they actually made kids from other schools cry in the rink. Why would Gabriel want to break up the dynamic duo?
“I don’t know, sweetheart, sounds like he wants to play with you.” Mom squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t question it, just roll with your good luck. If he’s any good, you could show all those boys what’s what.” She got a proud look on her face and raised her fist. “Girl power.”
I cringed. “Mom...no one says stuff like that anymore.”
“I do.” She twinged my cheek. “Just do your best, Beth. I’m sure you’ll prove to them how wrong they were to underestimate you. Love you. Don’t stay up too late playing.”
“I won’t.” I blew her a kiss. “Night, Mom.”
As soon as she was gone, I swirled in my chair back to my computer. Battlescar13 hadn’t messaged me again. I had the feeling he was waiting for me to make a move. That sounded like Gabriel. He was kind of like a panther in real life. Stalking around, waiting for others to make a mistake first. Never showing too much of his own emotions or thoughts. He might have been a predator, but I was desperate. It was either this, or admit to Michael that I had to drop out. I hesitated over the chat box, then typed before I could stop myself.
CurrerBFighting: Are you sure you want to be my partner?
Battlescar13: Ya
I smiled at the monitor and those two little letters. Okay, so maybe I did have a partner? Honestly, this was just north of crazy. My first impulse was to jump on there and tell him I was all in, but my fingers froze over the keys. Joining the tournament was one thing—partnering with a Corrigan twin was another. Playing with Gabriel would make my life a million times more complicated.
My CurrerBFighting profile picture was of a teen boy with green eyes and blond, curly hair. I’d picked him out of the hundreds I’d googled in the hopes of finding something that resembled me in a way, but was most definitely a dude. This stranger’s identity that I’d borrowed had provided me with a security that felt like a comfort blanket. No one could breach it. No one knew that behind that picture was a girl, so sick of all the mocking and the bullying that she’d switched her identity so she could game in peace. It was a precious secret. When news got out about it, I’d lose the precious identity that had become like a second self.
Not to mention, the Corrigan brothers would torture me about it for the rest of eternity.
Dread bubbled up inside of me. There was a lot on the line here. Not just for all of girl-kind, but for my own sake. Partnering with Gabriel Corrigan felt like playing with fire.
And I was pretty sure I knew who was going to get burned in the end.
This wasn’t just a decision that could be made in the blink of an eye. It had to be studied. It had to be discussed. Swallowing down my nerves, I closed my laptop and stared at the shiny silver case.
Gabriel could wait a little while longer for his answer. There was a plan brewing inside my brain, but I seriously doubted my sanity at this point in time. There was only one way to make sure my plan wasn’t going to blow up in my face.
I needed to talk to a friend—or two.
Chapter Four
“Why did we have to meet here? What was wrong with the cafeteria?”
Lexi picked a cobweb from her shoulder with a slightly horrified expression as she and Charlotte lowered themselves into crosslegged positions in front of me and then set down their lunch trays.
I shrugged and looked around at the dark backstage area of the old theater. This was one of the quietest places at school. Hardly anyone ever came here, except for people like me, looking to escape the pressures of high school. It was the perfect place for a clandestine meeting that would affect the rest of my school career. No one could know what were about to discuss.
“I need your guys’ advice,” I said, glancing around one more time to be sure we were alone. A few abandoned props from the fall play and the heavy drapes of the stage were all that surrounded us. “I’m about to do something that could either be really brilliant or really stupid. I need you guys to talk me off a ledge.”
Lexi’s eyes grew wide with excitement. She gripped the top of her knees tightly, her petite little form hardly able to contain her energy. I’d always envied Lexi and her innate ability to be everything traditionally feminine. Her brown hair fell down her shoulders in fashionable waves, her makeup was completely flawless with a cat-eye eyeliner and shimmering cheek bones. If I’d attempted to contour my face like hers, I would’ve ended up looking like a clown. Somehow, she pulled it off every day. It was a serious skill that a lot of people took for granted.
“Please, please, please tell me you’re finally going to go after mystery online boy,” she said, baring her teeth in desperation. “I’ve been waiting for this day to come. I’ve got a makeover all planned...”
I grimaced hardcore. No way was Lexi coming anywhere near me with one of her ridiculously expensive makeup brushes. That sounded worse than utter humiliation at the hands of my high school enemies. No, she’d missed the target with that one, but she wasn’t far off on my plan.
“Actually, this is about the mystery online boy,” I said, smiling nervously at her. They knew quite a bit about Battlescar13, but I hadn’t told them his real identity yet. To them, he was still very much a mystery. “But I’m not going after him. Not really. I’m thinking about partnering with him for the club’s gaming tournament this year.”
Lexi’s smile dampened. She glanced over at Charlotte, as if to silently question my sanity. “So...you’re not going to date him? You’re going to game with him?”
“Yeah, pretty much.” I nodded and clasped my clammy hands together in my lap.
“I thought you liked this boy.” She pushed her bottom lip out into a pretty pout. “I was hoping you’d finally find someone so we could triple date. What happened? Did you guys even try to give it a go?”
I threw my head back and laughed hollowly. She’d better not hold her breath. I was pretty sure no guy would ever be interested in a gaming girl who lurked beneath a beanie cap and shuffled as silently as she could between classes to avoid anyone’s attention.
“You can still go out with us, even without a boyfriend,” Charlotte said, placing her hand softly on my knee. “Even if things didn’t work out with this mysterious gamer guy.”
I could tell from the concerned expression in her eyes she was worried Lexi had hurt my feelings. I smiled to reassure her and wiped a stray laughter tear from my eye.
“You guys have no idea what you’re talking about.” I wrinkled my nose as I tried to find the best way to deliver the news. There didn’t seem to be a way to do it softly. Best to just drop it on them all at once. “Turns out—the guy I’ve been gaming with online is Gabriel Corrigan.”
Lexi’s jaw dropped and Charlotte stared blankly at me for an entire ten seconds, before they both scrambled closer to me and started talking at once.
“A Corrigan brother?”
“Don’t you guys hate each other?”
“Why would you game with him?”
I chuckled and held up my hands to stop their tirade. “To answer your questions: yes, yes, and I didn’t know it was him until last week at the hockey game.”
Charlotte nodded solemnly, taking it all in. “Okay, that makes more sense. But why do you want to partner with him in the tournament if he’s so terrible to you?”
“That’s where this gets complicated.”
Expanding my lungs, I took a deep breath of air. Lexi and Charlotte had been my best friends for the better part of the past year. I knew I could trust them, but confessing my idea still felt risky. Would they think I was completely crazy?
“The thing is, Gabriel doesn’t know I’m me,” I said, placing a hand on my chest. My eyes darted back and forth between their confused expressions before I pressed on to explain. “You see, my gaming profile is a picture I stole from some random guy on the internet. He kind of looks like me, but he’s clearly a boy. I made up this fake background about a homeschooled kid. I was getting so much flack for being a girl in the gaming world, that this felt safer. People left me alone. I could game in peace.
“And then, I met Gabriel. But I didn’t know it was Gabriel, until now. And he wants to partner with me, too. If I don’t have a partner for the tournament, I can’t play. And if I can’t play, I can’t prove to them all that girls can game.”
I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth and chewed nervously on it as my friends exchanged looks.
�
��Let me get this straight,” Lexi said slowly, wrinkling her brow. “You’re going to use your fake profile to trick one of the Corrigan brothers, who have made your life miserable since middle school, into helping you win the club tournament?”
My head did an impression of a bobble head doll.
“And he won’t know it’s you?” Charlotte added.
“Not until the final round at the club, when we have to play in person and reveal our identities.”
Lexi bit her bottom lip. “But why doesn’t he partner with his brother?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m guessing Michael’s playing with someone else.” I squirmed in my seat, feeling the strain of waiting for their opinions. “Am I totally crazy? Is this a terrible plan? Tell me now, so I can forget all about it. I’ll just pull out of the tournament. In a few weeks, no one will even remember I dropped out.”
“No way!” Charlotte and Lexi yelled at the same time.
I leaned back, slightly taken aback at their response. They grinned at each other for a second, and then turned back to me.
“You’ve got to do this,” Lexi said, grabbing my knees and eyeing me with some crazy glinting in her irises. “You’re standing up for all of woman-kind, right now.”
“Bonus points for getting the ultimate revenge on your school bullies at the same time,” Charlotte squealed with a clap of her hands.
The air had gone right out of my lungs. I swallowed and tried to get my head straight. “So...you approve?”
“Yes!” Lexi bounced on her knees. “You’re totally going to catfish our school’s star hockey player. I can’t wait to see the look on the Corrigan boys’ faces when they realize it was you, all along. This is the ultimate!”
“I’m not catfishing him.” I frowned. “At least, I don’t think so.”
She held up a finger and arched a brow. “Are you hiding behind a fake online persona?”
“Yeah...”
Another finger went up. “Are you luring a target into a relationship with your fake persona?”
An uncomfortable feeling came over me. “Yes...”
Dare You to Catfish the Hockey Player (Rock Valley High Book 6) Page 3
