Page 47 of Forgiven

“Wow,” he said again.

“Cat got your tongue?” Dylan asked.

Callum nodded.

“Go into solo player mode, pick a song and play,” Dylan instructed.

Callum did as he’d been told, but as the music started and the red and blue blocks started flying at him, he felt embarrassed. He had to look like a right idiot, flailing his arms around. He stopped trying and let his arms hang by his sides. Within seconds, the game play area melted into a ‘level failed’ message.

“Uh, you didn’t even try,” Dylan said.

“I feel stupid.”

“Why?”

“I mustlookstupid.”

“And you think I care, darling? I play this game all the time.”

Callum was pretty sure Dylan played it whilst he was alone in the flat, but he chose not to say it out loud. He let go of the controllers, knowing the safety straps would stop them from falling to the floor, and went to remove the headset.

“Hold it,” Dylan ordered.

Callum stopped.

“I tell you what, I’ll go and get us some take-away while you play the game. How does that sound?”

“Okay,” Callum replied uncertainly.

“I’ll be about half an hour. There’s a great pizza place but it’s a few streets away. Any requests?”

Callum opened his mouth and then shut it. He had been about to ask for a meat feast, but that was likely to lay himself open to all kinds of remarks. “Anything,” he said instead. “I’m not fussy.”

“Hmm…what are your thoughts on anchovies?”

Callum pulled a face.

“Pineapple?”

“Doesnotbelong on pizza.”

“At last! We have something in common. I knew I liked you for a reason. Be back soon.”

Callum didn’t move until he heard the door shut, then he started the level again. It was easier now that he was alone. His inhibitions dropped away from him and he focused on slicing his beams of light through the coloured blocks. He’d selected easy mode, which was fun but not a challenge. He managed to hit every block the second time through the song, so upped the difficulty level.

He had to move his body a little more on standard mode. The blocks came faster, the patterns were slightly harder. As they were more in time to the music, it actually made the level easier. He had to stretch to hit blocks when they were right at the sides or up high.

He upped the difficulty again and found himself moving even more—only to reach the blocks, he wasn’t actually dancing or anything. The pace of the blocks was almost frantic, and he quickly bombed out of the level. He tried again and again, quickly losing track of time as he became determined to get to the end of the level. Once he’d finished it, he set himself a goal to hit all the blocks in the right direction.

He wasn’t sure how many times he played it through. Being within the virtual world meant he was completely absorbed in what he was doing. He’d worked up a sweat, his heart beat faster and adrenaline made him buzz. He’d learnt the words to the song and was singing along to it. He was moving more now, his body reacting to the music as well as the blocks that flew at him. It was fun.

It was only when his stomach rumbled that he wondered how long he’d been playing. When he got to the end of the level, he stopped and carefully took off the headset. Dylan was sitting on the sofa. Callum glanced around, but there were no pizza boxes in sight. He hadn’t smelt any food either, but he’d needed to be sure.

“You never left, did you?”

Dylan shrugged. “You look like you’ve been having fun.”

Callum scowled. “You tricked me.”