Gortoz 'A Ran - ch 74 - The strings that hold me up

Story by MrGimp21 on SoFurry

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#75 of Gortoz 'A Ran


Arryn21: FFS, stop messing about! You're so f'cking annoying DoomDeathLord96: LOL!!! ur really a girl? Arryn21: ... Yes, which is why my character is a girl too DoomDeathLord96: OMGWTFBBQ Arryn21: dude... DoomDeathLord96: ASL? Arryn21: stfu, gtfo DoomDeathLord96: do u even kno what that means? Arryn21: of course, shut the **** up and get the **** out DoomDeathLord96: lolololol censored oh noes Arryn21: Getting real tired of your ***** DoomDeathLord96: LMFAO Arryn21: ... DoomDeathLord96: I bet ur not even a real girl Arryn21: orly? DoomDeathLord96: yarly Arryn21: stop f'cking teabagging my character when she's resting... DoomDeathLord98: Ur some 46 year old fat guy living in their parents basement, living on a diet of Cheetos and Mountain Dew Arryn21: and I bet you're some twelve year old kid who's balls haven't dropped yet and jerks off at in game-screenshots of females in skimpy armour

And then I forgot I was on a PvP server and accepted a dual with him before he got annoying... So I got my ass kicked by a level sixty one battle mage before I could report his ass to an admin... "Son of a bitch..."

Conquest of Sepherene is a great, free-to-play MMORPG game, if there are no people around annoying the fuck out of you, that is. I've played it for about five years now and my character is a level fifty nine female archer. A character I've spent many hours with, carefully put together during character creation. She's a panther, because tigers aren't available. But the game has also other races and fantasy creatures, like Humans, who look like hairless apes. High Elves, who look like hairless apes with pointy ears. Dwarves, who look like hairless apes, except they're fat and small and several others races I can't be bothered with. I gave this game a rest ever since I hooked up with Terry but now that I'm single again, I was looking for ways to keep myself busy. Sooooo I started playing again...

Once that asswipe killed me, I respawned in the nearest city. I fucking hated that guy because now I had to run all the way back to where I was in order to continue my quest and I ran out of scrolls to summon a horse... So I toggled auto-run on and just watched how my character was running her ass off... After a while, I heard a knock on the door and once I yelled to come in, I noticed the door opening up and saw that Blain came in my room... 'Hey babe.' 'Oh hey, Blain, how you doing?' 'Yeah, I'm good, you?' 'Meh, I'll manage...' 'Still feeling bad about your break-up, huh?' 'It's been four weeks now so uh...' 'Hm... So now you moved on from watching crappy romantic movies to MMORPG games to fill your days...' 'Pretty much, yeah...'

Blain stands next to me and frowned when he saw I was playing an MMORPG game. He just watched how my character was running along while every once in a while, I was killing some monster that happened to show up... 'What game is that?' 'Conquest of Sepherene, you ever played it?' 'Nope...' 'This game is so awesome! The depth of customisation is amazing! Lots of things to do and it even has mini-games like fishing and stuff!' 'Oh wow, that's awesome!' 'Yeah! So many quests and giant monsters to defeat!' 'Oh gee, that really does sound amazing!' 'I know, right?! And the best thing is, it's free-to-play!' 'Like, oh my god!' 'Haha!' 'Can I see?!' 'Sure!'

He moved closer to my keyboard and all of a sudden, pressed Alt+F4 to shut down the game... 'Nooo!! Why'd you do that?!! That was such a dick-move!' 'Because I'm here to take you out. And because your twenty-three years old and spend your entire Friday evening playing MMORPG games.' 'B-B-But you're practically the reason why I'm playing MMORPG games!! You introduced me to it!!' 'Yeah but come on, dude...' 'Psh... What else am I supposed to do then? I got no one else besides you... And I mean... You got a life of your own as well... With your own friends...' 'That doesn't stop me from seeing you whenever I can. And it looks like I got here just in time to drag you away.' 'Heh...' 'Listen... I told you before and I'll tell you again. You can sit here all you want but that definitely will not make you feel any better about it. Let's get out of here, man...' 'And do what? Go to a club, get wasted and try to score some pussy like last time...? No thanks... I don't think I'll ever try that again with the way things went...' 'Actually, I was thinking about going to the funfair.' '... There's a funfair?' 'Well yeah, like every year. Encase you haven't noticed, there are big advertisements throughout the city. I just thought that you and I could go there, you know, like old times...'

I looked at Blain and well... I realized that he's always been there for me... Sometimes, he did or say things I didn't like but in the end, it was for my own good... Just like he was there that Friday evening to drag me away from my desk and go out to have some fun together... Blain tried to prevent that I fell back in my old ways and socially shut myself down from the outside world, like it happened before... I wasn't too happy about it but still... It just goes to show how much he cared for me... But what mattered to me was that Blain was there for me when I needed him the most... 'Heh... It's been so long since we've been there, hasn't it...?' 'Way, waaay too long...' 'Hm...' 'Come on, man, let's go... I'll buy you a hotdog when we get there.' 'Okay...' 'Awesome...' 'But that was still a dick-move to shut the game down like that! My progress probably isn't saved now...' 'Boo-fucking-hoo. Let's go!!'

It was around seven o'clock in the evening when Blain and I left the house. We drove to the place where the funfair was always held every year. It was located just outside the city near Blackbriar, several kilometres north-west from Ravello. There was a huge parking lot and a giant grass field for large scale events, like a funfair. Blain and I made it tradition to visit the funfair every year when we were little... So many things have changed for us but one thing never did... Once the two of us saw something exciting, like ferris-wheels, bumper-cars and bodyshaker rides , it didn't take long for us to act like fucking retards...

The place was so crowded and I had a hard time finding a parking spot but once I managed to, we still had to walk for quite some time before we got there. And once we arrived, I forgot how big the funfair truly was... Everywhere you looked, you saw all the rides... A giant ferris-wheel, bumpercars, arcade games and slot machines, a shooting gallery, hell, even a mini rollercoaster... There was so much to do and we just couldn't figure out what to do first... So we ran to the first thing we saw... The bumper cars... Once we bought two coins, we impatiently waited for the round to end... So once it did, Blain and I ran all over the place in search of an available car but every time I spotted one, someone else got to it first... Until Blain found one and yelled for me to come. So I ran up to him and I sat down next to him... Blain held the coin in the slot and eagerly waited for the buzzer... 'Okay, you remember how we used to do this, right? Stay clear of other cars, drive around them first and when they're all piled up, go flat out on them. Do not let anyone escape unharmed.' 'Dude, there are little kids in there too!' 'Then I hope for their sakes that mommy and daddy have good health insurance...' 'Haha! Wow, you're cruel! You've been playing Carmageddon way too much...' 'Didn't we all...?'

All of a sudden, the ear deafening noise of the buzzer rang and Blain gave me smirk before dropping the coin in the slot... He went flat out on the accelerator and the car, well... Was insanely slow... Just like everyone else... As techno music was blazing out of the large speakers, the two of us were just slowly driving away from everyone else... Blain made a turn at the far end and we drove back to the pile of cars who already bumped into each other... Once we bumped into another car, it lifted us from our seats but nothing as intense as I once remembered it... 'I remember these things would go a lot faster.' 'We're either used to driving real cars instead or gained more weight that it barely has an impact on us.' 'We were practically flying out of the cars back when we were little!' 'Yeah but that was before they installed seatbelts in these things.' '... Where's the thrill in that??'

All of a sudden, we got hit in the back that shook us up pretty bad. Some teen brat with her boyfriend were laughing at us and drove off... We watched how they drove off, bumping into other people while laughing all the way... Blain and I looked at each other for a moment and I knew the two of us were thinking the same thing... 'Reminds you of something, doesn't it?' 'Reminds me of us when we were younger...' 'Hehehe...' 'The only difference is that they're driving and we're not. Come on, Blain! Step on it!'

Blain floored the accelerator and there we were, going around in circles, bumping against other people. Bumper cars didn't seem so exciting as I remembered but then again, I wasn't in the driver's seat. Blain seemed to have the time of his life judging by the smirk on his face every time we bumped into another car... That smirked got wiped off of his face when the loud buzzer went off and all the cars came to a complete stop. The whole round lasted for like, five minutes or something but nevertheless, it was fun... Blain and I switched seats and I already held my coin near the slot while other people got in the bumper cars... Once the buzzer went off again, techno music was blazing through the speakers once more and I quickly dropped my coin in the slot... And so, we went off... Needless to say, we got shaken up pretty bad once I was behind the wheel. Not that I'm a bad driver but because the whole area was too damn crowded. And okay, perhaps my bad tactics as a destruction derby driver also had a part in that... I tried my best to steer away and just when I was about to get away, someone bumped us again and we got caught up in the pile of cars again... Once the round ended, Blain and I got out and it took a moment before we could see straight again...

The moment we noticed the bodyshaker, Blain and I went up to it, bought a coin and took a seat. The ride itself isn't really that spectacular but it is a lot of fun. You basically take a seat, get strapped in and the ride itself goes around in circles, while the cart your sitting in circles the opposite direction. I've always had a lot of fun but Blain seemed kinda reluctant... And I knew why... 'Oh man, if I ever had a regret in my life, this has to be it...' 'Hehehe... Come on, it's not that bad...' 'The kid next to you never puked on you before, Ceylan...' 'Hm-mm... Let's keep it that way.' 'That penetrating sour scent...' 'Yeah, okay, lets stop right there.'

Blain looked at the kid sitting next to him for a moment and then stared right back at me. All I did was smiling... Then the ride operator walked passed as we all handed him the coin we purchased. The roll bars came down once he was done and came by again to make sure everyone was strapped in. All we did was going around in circles, nothing too exciting but Blain kept his eyes on the kid sitting next to him. But like us, the kid next to Blain wasn't that impressed with the ride and just stared ahead... Once Blain realized the kid next to him wasn't panicking or was about to throw up, Blain took my hand and we raised them in the air, making retarded sounds as we did. Of course we were making an ass of ourselves but we didn't care... It was all in good fun and it didn't take long before everyone else on that ride started to join us...

At some point, we came across a shooting gallery. I've always loved those but I'm not exactly a marksman. Nevertheless, you always won something so it was worth it. I already saw a gigantic koala plushie hanging and just knew I had to win that... Blain and I approached the booth where a guy was yelling his prices around in order to attract some people. I paid five dinar to the guy to shoot ten times. He inserted a clip with ten iron pellets and cocked it. Once he handed it over to me, I looked at Blain and smiled... He knew I wanted to win that koala... I've always wanted a gigantic plushie but my shooting skills are absolutely dreadful... Nevertheless, that doesn't stop me from trying...

I took my aim and gently squeezed the trigger but of course, I completely missed the can... The bolt of the rifle was very heavy to pull back but once I managed to, I took another aim and completely missed once more... After several shots, I looked at Blain and smiled nervously... Knowing I totally blew my chances at winning that koala plushie and only four more shots to go, I simply just shrugged. Blain smiled and got behind me... His hands guided mine as he helped me taking my aim... 'Easy, relax. Place the butt of the rifle firmly against your shoulder.' 'Like this?' 'Yeah...'

With just one hand, he pulled the bolt of the rifle to load another pellet in the barrel as I could feel his warm breath in my neck... 'Align the iron sight with your target...' 'Hm-mm...' 'Take a deep breath and hold it...' 'Okay...' 'Gently squeeze the trigger when you're ready...'

His hands were going over mine, guiding me through every step he said... His finger was gently going over mine and slowly squeezed it... The rifle went off and to my surprise, a can fell down... I smiled at Blain as he winked back at me and with three more shots to go, he helped me to get the rifle back in position again... Three more cans fell down but that wasn't enough to win the large koala plushie... Instead, I got a small one of a cat instead... I smiled nervously when I gave it to him and well, it was so cute to have seen the way he smiled... He hesitated for a moment but got out his wallet and paid the guy behind the counter five dinar. He got Blain a rifle and shot on the moving targets, which is really difficult. He really took his time but he got all of them and actually won that big koala plushie... And to my surprise, he handed it over to me... 'You've always wanted one, right?' 'Awww... Thank you... That's so sweet of you...' 'Hehehe, you're welcome...'

Blain and I went back to the car where we placed our plushies in the trunk. It barely fitted but I still managed to close it... The two of us headed back to the funfair and after we've been on several rides and recovered from our laughing fits, Blain bought us hotdogs, like he promised me. A toasted hotdog bun with a warm sausage and fried onions covered in ketchup and mustard... Fucking expensive for a small one but really good... It didn't really satisfy our appetite so I went back and bought us another one, along with two cans of coke. I shit you not, eight dinar fifty... Anyway, we sat down on a bench up ahead and enjoyed our hotdogs while watching other people having fun... 'These hotdogs are great.' 'Yeah, they sure are.' 'You know, the first thing I did when I got back from Sercia was to stuff myself with junk-food. Honestly, people say its bad for you but man, it really did me good having several hotdogs and cheeseburgers after spending two years in that fucking sandbox.' 'Hehehe...' 'I don't care if I'm getting fat, its what good food is all about.' 'Haha, keep it up and you'll have bigger tits than me in no time.' 'Hell, everyone has bigger tits than you.' 'Haha, fuck you, Blain...' 'Hehehehehe...' 'No, but seriously... You look good... Don't get fat again...' 'Thanks... Your tits are fine too, don't worry.' 'Gee, thanks.' 'Hehehe...'

Blain was taking a bite from his hotdog when I looked at him and the moment he looked back, he kept chewing as a smile slowly appeared on his face... The corners of his mouth was covered with ketchup and mustard but nevertheless, he kept looking back... I smiled back at him when he wasn't averting his eyes... 'What...?' 'Nothing, I just, you know...' 'It's okay, tell me.' 'You wanna hear something funny...?' 'Sure.' 'Don't get mad at me.' 'Of course not.' 'Back when I was stationed in Sercia, all the guys had pictures of their girlfriends with them.' 'Hm-mm...' 'The guys were showing off to each other aaaaaand... I had one of you with me... I told them that you were my girl... I-I mean not as my girlfriend but... You know, just my girl... Because, well... You are.' 'Awww... That's so sweet...' 'It's one of those rare pictures where you actually look feminine.' 'Pfff, haha! As if! I'm always feminine, you dunce...' 'Haha!' 'Which one did you took with you?' 'Uhm... The one I took where you sit by the lake, staring in the distance...' 'That was taken a long time ago...' 'Yeah, you were seventeen at the time... And I was messing around with that disposable camera.' 'Hmmm...' 'Anyway, uhm... I often looked at it and was wondering if I would live long enough to ever see you again...' 'Heh... Yet here you are with me...' 'Yeah... But that picture didn't do you justice, to be honest...' 'Oh...?' 'I kept staring at it but seeing you again after such a long time made me forget how beautiful you really are... It made me forget how lucky I actually am...'

That was one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me... I didn't really know how to react... All I did was staring down at my hotdog having a nervous smile on my face, already feeling that my cheeks were turning red... I was so embarrassed and yet very surprised to hear that, especially coming from him... In all those years I've known him, Blain always was shy, insecure and sensitive... And as time went by, he was shaped by everything that life threw at him... But one thing never changed... Despite his rough exterior, I still recognize that sensitive little boy he once used to be and that'll never change... I just see it whenever I look in his eyes... 'That is so sweet of you to say...' 'It's just... You know... I just wanted to tell you that...' 'Heh... I really missed having you around...' 'Hehehe...' 'After everything that was happening, I couldn't be more happy spending time with you... And uhm... Maybe I'm actually the lucky one here... For having someone like you as a friend...' 'A friend who buys you hotdogs and ice-cream?' 'Hehehe, noooo... Someone who understands you and accept you for who you are because... Not everyone does...' 'Noooo, not everyone does...' 'People you used to call friends abandon you when you need them the most...' 'Yeah... We've all been there...'

It stayed silent for a moment as the both of us were thinking things through... I took a swig from my can of cola and the fizz was bubbling in my stomach, causing me to oppress a loud burp... But once that settled down, I kept looking ahead until Blain broke the silence... 'You know... When I got back from Sercia, I wanted to pick up where I left off... To see friends that I haven't seen in well over two years, thinking that everything will be back the way it used to be...' 'Yeah...' 'You come home after such a long time and think that so many things have changed. But in fact, the only thing that changed is you... They know its you and yet they don't recognize you...' 'Heh...' 'People move on with their lives while you stopped dead in your tracks... Coming back felt like I had to run to catch up with all of them...' 'But that you're not fast enough and end up alone...?' 'Exactly... Friends come and go but... I never expected it to go so fast...' 'People don't know how to deal with it... They don't know what to say or what to do...' 'But that's just it...! What I need is to go out and have fun to help me remember that I got back for a reason...!' 'I know...' 'And they simply don't understand that... They wanna hear exciting stories and shit, thinking that staying there was a fucking walk in the park or something...' 'Heh...' 'And well, people tend to avoid the things they don't understand so... Might as well be... I'm better off without them anyway...' 'Yeah...' 'I mean, uhm... What I'm trying to say is... You've been there all along for me and uhm... I just wanna say thank you...' 'Hehe... Always got your back, you know that...' 'Yeah, I know...'

Blain stared at his hotdog and seemed reluctant to take the last bite, like he lost his appetite all of a sudden... Nevertheless, he took the last bite and washed it down with cola... He sighed quietly and had a weak smile on his face the moment he faced me... But then he kept staring down while gently swirling his can of cola... There was a question I hesitated to ask but it was on my mind ever since he came back... And I was dying to know the answer... 'Blain...?' 'Yeah...?' 'What about Terry...? Do you still see him...?' 'Hardly... Too busy with his girl and all...' 'I see...' 'Why is that?' 'No, no reason... Terry and I had a bad break-up so its probably best that I don't see him anymore... But that doesn't mean you can't see him whenever you want to...' 'It's a bad idea to start a relationship within your own group of friends. If shit hits the fan, people will fuck you over and start taking sides.'

He's right... That's exactly what happened... If only I knew that a long time ago... With the way things went, I was ashamed to ever let it get that far, knowing that I was the cause of pretty much everything... 'I never asked how you felt about it...' 'About what?' 'About my relationship with Terry...' 'Oh...' 'Heh...' 'Does it really matter what my thoughts were?' 'Yes... Seeing as you and I have been... Well... You know...' 'Hm... It's not that I can claim you or something... I can't tell you what you should and shouldn't do... You're capable of making your own decisions and I've got nothing to say about it...' 'Is that how we've always managed...? For us to simply stay neutral...?' 'Things never changed between us, did it...? Even when you and I became "closer"...' 'But that was a long time ago...' 'Exactly, so why should it change all of a sudden...?' 'Heh...' 'We all make our own decisions and others have nothing to say about it. You and I have been friends for fourteen years now but that doesn't mean I get to say how to live your life. But don't make things unnecessarily complicated...' 'That's exactly how I feel about it...'

I took another swig from my can of cola and took the last bite of my hotdog. After I wiped my mouth with a napkin, I tossed it in the bin next to me. I looked down on my can while thinking about his words... It made me think about the things that happened between us a long time ago... And at some point, I looked at Blain once more, realizing my question still wasn't answered... 'But that still didn't answered my question...' 'Of course I didn't like it, I mean... Just because you and I never had a relationship doesn't mean I liked the idea of you hooking up with my best friend...' 'Heh...' 'I didn't even think it was possible for you to fall in love with him, with you "rooting for the home-team"... I thought you were just gonna kick him in the nuts if he tried to hit on you.' 'Well, I uhm... I go both ways... It's not likely but its not impossible...' 'Yeah... I just honestly hope that things will never change between us, whether you have a relationship or not...' 'Or let the things that happened between us have influence on our relationship with someone else...' 'It's highly unlikely that I'll ever have a relationship with a girl but yeah, pretty much...' 'Hehe...' 'You and I are very close friends, Ceylan... We've always been looking out for each other and that'll never change... Even if you are in love with someone else...' 'Heh...' 'And what happened between us was fun while it lasted... But that was a long time ago and it had to end at some point so that the both of us could move on...' 'Do you regret it...?' 'Hm?' 'Do you regret that we ever did...?' 'No, not at all... Do you...?' 'Can't say that I do, no...'

I took the last sip from my can of cola and tossed it in the bin while letting out a burp that couldn't be oppressed caught me by surprise... Blain looked surprised at me and started to laugh while I felt a little embarrassed... We used to have these burp contests when we were little but times have changed... I'm a grown woman now and I'm supposed to act like it... Nevertheless, you can never go wrong with childish humour... After Blain finished his can, he crushed it with just one hand and threw it in the bin next to me... All I did was looking at him and wondering why being in love with someone can't be as easy and simple as my friendship with him... 'You know, Blain...' 'What...?' 'We haven't been in the ferris-wheel yet...' 'Oh yeah...' 'Come on, let's go...'

I took his hand and the two of us headed towards the ferris-wheel where we bought a ticket... We took our seats when it was our turn in one of the gondola's... It stayed quiet between us ever since while enjoying the view and looking at each other every once in a while... The ferris-wheel stopped at its highest peak to let other people exit the ride... The sun was already starting to go down and I could see the city's skyline in the distance, surrounded by the meadows and the few farms scattered across the countryside... The clouds in the sky turned golden orange while the last rays of sun were shining down on us... It was such a beautiful sight to have witnessed it... Blain had his arm around me and I placed my head on his shoulder while staring at the beautiful scenery in the distance... We only stayed at the top for several minutes... But that short moment we had with each other was one of the most beautiful things I've ever experienced... For the first time in my life, I felt liberated... Feeling peaceful and free... No longer was my mind occupied with thoughts... Simply because there wasn't anything to worry about anymore...

Blain and I slept with each other a long time ago back when we were still teens... We were young and impulsive but it simply happened... To me, it happened for a reason... A reason that I still didn't know up until the day we went to the funfair... There always was something special about him... I can't say it was love... More like the desire to be affectionate and I forgot what it was like... To just simply hold someone, knowing they really care about you... I felt something that day I haven't felt in quite some time... I didn't know how to place it... But it's a wonderful feeling... In all these years that I've known him, things never changed between Blain and me... Not even after we slept with each other... Some might think it's a great advantage, to have sex with a friend and have a lot of fun together, only to carry on like nothing ever happened... Maybe it really is an advantage, when there are no strings attached whatsoever... And maybe one day, someone will be able to cut the strings that hold me up...