DISCONNECTEDEpisode 1: Incoming Friend Request
The screen glowed pale blue in the boy's dim bedroom. Midnight again. Discord chimed with a sharp "doink." He blinked.
Friend Request: StrayEcho#7714Server: Hearts2Pixels | 18+ Social + Gaming
He clicked.
User Info:– Profile Pic: anime girl with messy hair, sticking out her tongue– Status: "here 2 lose in Valorant n cry abt it"– About Me: 19 / she / not here for e-dating lol
He scoffed, scooted back in his gaming chair, and accepted the request.
"Yo," he typed, fingers moving too quickly.
Almost instantly, she replied.
StrayEcho:
"hey. u're the guy who dropped 30 in unrated n still said u were washed, right? lol"
He smirked. She remembered.
He:
"and you're the girl who ran headfirst into 3 ops and screamed at the wall?"
StrayEcho:
"true but u baited the spike and said 'not my job' after 😐"
He:
"you're welcome for the carry tho"
StrayEcho:
"typical. get carried by a sarcastic dick and still take credit 🤦♀️"
He:
"I like being a sarcastic dick. it keeps me warm at night."
StrayEcho:
"delusional. ur the kind of guy who'd rage at his own wedding vows."
He leaned back, staring at her messages. A little chaotic. A little mouthy. He grinned, typing without thinking.
He:
"what makes u think I'd even get married?"
StrayEcho:
"ur right. no one wants to marry a ragequitter 😌"
He should've hated the tone. But instead…
His smile grew wider.
They started queuing together nightly.
She talked a lot. Rambled when nervous. Sent memes at 2 a.m. with captions like "this is literally me when you ego peek mid and die first." He told her she was delusional. Called her silver aim "charity gaming." She shot back harder, meaner, more clever.
He made fun of her for having a Pusheen avatar.She made fun of him for owning three RGB mousepads.
They fought over map picks.Over anime tastes.Over what songs counted as "real music."
And yet, she kept inviting him.And he… kept saying yes.
But there was one thing the boy didn't admit:
He looked forward to her messages.Even when they pissed him off.Even when she laughed at him.Even when she called him a tryhard, a manchild, a tsundere freak.
Because she saw something in him that no one had in a long time—She stayed.
And that made him reckless.
One night, in a call, she joked:
"You know, you're kind of exhausting... But not in a bad way. Just—like—if ragebait was a love language, you'd be fluent."
He froze. Just a second too long.She kept talking, but it sat there. Lingering.
Love language.
That stupid phrase.
He responded the only way he knew:
"Spare me the Wattpad lines, Echo.""Try not to catch feelings just 'cause I bullied you in Icebox.""Go flirt with your immortal duo, I'm not your emotional support simp."
He spammed them in quick succession.A joke, but laced with venom.
She went quiet for a moment. Then typed:
"yikes. okay. nvm then lol."
That night, she didn't ping him.
Or the next night.
Or the one after that.
And for the first time, his Discord felt quiet.
Not peaceful. Not calm.
Just... disconnected.