Lancaster: The Rivalry 2 (Final)
            
            
                
                
                
                
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			AndrewJTalon
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The Beacon dorm room was a cozy chaos of gaming gear and snack wrappers, the glow of dual monitors casting flickering shadows across Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc as they sat side by side, controllers in hand. Ruby's silver eyes sparkled with excitement as she leaned into the webcam, her voice bubbling over the stream's opening jingle. "Hey, Roseheads and ArcFans! Yes, we're finally doing a stream together!"
Jaune, his blond hair mussed from a long day, grinned at the camera, his tone easy but curious. "Hey! So… how's the chat looking?"
Ruby's eyes flicked to the scrolling chat, her smile twitching into a scowl. "I…" She huffed, her cheeks pinkening. "Yes, he's hot! I know he's hot!"
Jaune blinked, tilting his head. "Pardon?"
"I-I mean…" Ruby stammered, her hands flailing as she backpedaled. "I think you look good! You have normal knees, just like me!"
Jaune's brow furrowed, his voice a mix of confusion and amusement. "I… sure?"
"ANYWAY!" Ruby barreled on, her voice pitching up as she waved at the screen. "We're trying some new co-op indie horror games, since that's DarkArc's big thing when he's not being a jerk in MMORPGs."
Jaune shot her a mock glare, his grin teasing. "I'm not a jerk… exactly… Also, you suck."
"I do NOT suck!" Ruby protested, her pout fierce. "You're just some weird power-fetish gamer!"
"And you minmax!" Jaune countered, leaning closer. "Seriously, do you have spreadsheets for your character builds?"
"NO!" Ruby squeaked, then mumbled, "Okay, maybe one!"
Later in the stream, the screen shifted to the eerie, yellow-tinged corridors of The Backrooms: Deep Investigation. Ruby's avatar crept forward, her voice tinged with unease.
"Okay, so this is… what do you call it, DarkArc?"
"Liminal horror," Jaune said, his tone slipping into nerdy enthusiasm. "It's an anthropology term meaning transitory spaces. Like hallways, or workspaces, or big empty spaces like malls and warehouses. They're places you don't live, and you don't feel comfortable in if no people are around. It's just… off, strange, if they're entirely devoid of sound or people. Your imagination begins to turn every little noise into a monster. It's designed to emphasize your dread. The genre's been flooded thanks to the success of the original Backrooms with a lot of bad knockoffs, but you can still find potential gems."
Ruby stared at him, her eyes wide. "Wow… that was hypernerd."
Jaune flushed, scratching his neck. "And? Um, is that bad?"
"N-No!" Ruby blurted, her cheeks reddening as she fumbled with her controller. "I, uh, I actually kind of like it."
Jaune's grin softened, his voice warm. "Thanks…"
In the game, the oppressive yellow walls of the Backrooms loomed, their buzzing fluorescents casting harsh shadows. Ruby's voice was a grumble. "Ugh… I hate this shade of yellow. It's creepy and gross."
"Yeah," Jaune agreed, his avatar scanning a corner. "I read it's unsettling because it matches the tone of a decaying corpse's skin."
Ruby's head whipped toward him. "How do you know stuff like that?"
"Mom's a doctor, wanted me to be one too," Jaune said, his tone casual but tinged with something heavier.
"Oh. So, uh, that didn't work out?" Ruby asked, her voice softer.
"No… Let's see…" Jaune steered the conversation back, his eyes on the screen. "The sanity meter is very important, so let's keep that in mind."
"Sure, sure…" Ruby murmured, her gaze lingering on him before refocusing.
They wandered through the first level, the game's eerie silence broken only by the hum of lights. Ruby's voice grew tense. "Eesh… why is everything arranged so spooky? Like all these chairs in rows—it's weird!"
"That's kind of the point," Jaune said, his avatar pausing to check a door.
"I guess so… When's a monster gonna appear? This is weirding me out!"
"Again, kind of the point," Jaune teased.
"Well, I don't think anything will be scarier than—" Ruby's avatar turned a corner, revealing a blank-faced mannequin standing motionless. "EEEEP!"
Jaune burst into laughter, his controller shaking. "Hahahaahaha!"
"You—You didn't tell me there would be killer mannequins!" Ruby wailed, her cheeks puffing out.
"Ahahahaha!" Jaune wheezed, wiping a tear from his eye.
"STOP LAUGHING! It was—It was surprising, that's all! Ten minutes of nothing and then BAM! Stupid mannequin!" Ruby's avatar swung at the mannequin, landing a hit… only for it to swing back, knocking her character's health down. "OW! How—HOW DID IT HIT ME?!"
"Ahahahaha…!" Jaune doubled over, his laughter echoing through the mic.
More time passed, the game's tension ratcheting up. Ruby's voice was a frustrated growl. "Ugh… I hate these stupid mannequins… they keep moving when I don't look at them! Like the Crying Angels in Professor Paradox…"
Jaune nodded, his tone grim. "I really hope there aren't any Grimm like that. That would be horrifying, and they're already pretty bad."
"I know, right? Geez…" Ruby's avatar froze as the lights flickered, shifting to an ominous red. "Uh oh. Uh oh, what—what's happening? What's happening?"
"Yeah, we need to get into shelter. NOW," Jaune said, his voice urgent. "There's a locker where I am!"
"Where are you?! Where did you go?!" Ruby's voice pitched up, her avatar spinning in panic.
"I'm over here! I'm in the locker!" Jaune called, his character safe inside.
"Well, where's my locker?! Where's the—" Ruby's avatar rounded a corner, coming face-to-face with a scribbly, squiggly abomination loping toward her, its form a nightmare of jagged lines. "AAAHHH! AAAAHHHH! AAHHHHH!"
"There's a shelter near me! Run! RUN RUN RUN—!" Jaune shouted.
Ruby's avatar bolted, her fingers mashing buttons as she hit a locker and slammed the interact key… only to eject Jaune's character, taking his place inside.
"WHA—ROSESCYTHE!" Jaune yelped, his avatar now exposed.
Ruby giggled awkwardly, her voice sheepish. "I didn't know I could do that—!"
The scribble monster lunged, grabbing Jaune's character and tearing it apart in a gruesome animation. "AAAHHHHH! AHHHH!" Jaune screamed, half-laughing.
"SORRRRRRY!" Ruby wailed, then froze as the monster yanked the locker open, killing her character in a flash of red. "AAAHHH! WHAT!? IT CAN DO THAT?! WHY?!"
"It saw you go into the locker," Jaune said, his voice deadpan but amused.
"THAT'S NOT OKAY!" Ruby protested, slamming her controller down.
"Well, we can always respawn," Jaune said, his smirk audible.
"Sh-Shuhuh!" Ruby huffed, her cheeks red as she pouted at him. Jaune chuckled and leaned in, meaning to kiss her forehead. Ruby though tilted her chin at just the wrong moment… And their lips met.
It was brief, and they both pulled back immediately with bright red faces. Ruby coughed. Jaune coughed.
"... STREAM'S OVER!" Ruby cried, turning and running out. Jaune watched her run off, blinking.
"I… Wait what?"
Jaune looked at the screens… And flushed harder.
"N-No! I'm not-WE'RE NOT A COUPLE-I-UNTIL NEXT TIME!"
He shut off the stream, taking deep breaths to calm himself.
"Geez…"
			
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