**Author Note: This is another one that hits somewhat close to home for me (Master). As someone who also spent time with people that weren't meant for him instead of his best friend, I am grateful that I finally figured things out. Though the circumstances were very different, the elation at the end is very much real.
~~ Denver, Colorado, May 2061~~
Every day after school they gathered, starting in freshman year. Each semester they rotated the GM. Dungeons and Dragons. It was mainstream so they didn't face the same stigma their parents or grandparents did but it was still not always accepted. They were known as geeks and nerds to the rest of the school. Their final semester, it fell to Eleanor to make it a good one. She joined their group the sophomore year, a quiet, almost unassuming woman who didn't appear to develop the way the popular girls did so became just one of the guys.
The last session of the year, the final battle, a massive ancient green dragon, and they were in the library. The dice clattered, and bounced, breathless anticipation at the number. Finally, it rolled to a stop on the velvet at the bottom of the dice tower. "NAT 20!" Screamed Newman, pumping his fist, then he blushed and sat down at the look from the librarian. She just shook her head and returned to her reading.
"Excellent work Forge has managed to make the killing blow. Your team has managed to slay the dragon that has laid waste to the countryside. Would you like to describe it?" He blushed and shook his head, "Alright then, the treasure is yours." The group cheered together and Eleanor pushed her thick coke bottle glasses up. "That's the end of the campaign. Your characters all retire to places of warmth and joy, relaxing for the rest of their lives. Luckily we graduate in two days." The group gathered around to shake hands, Eleanor giving Harry a sweet, shy smile as she did so. "Did you have fun, Harry?"
"You know I always have fun hanging out with you guys. You're a great DM, Eleanor. Exciting stuff, really," he said with a definitive nod. He started picking up his papers, dice, and Player's Handbook and stuffing them in his bag. "Hanging out with Cindy and them tonight?" he asked.
"Nah, doing family things," she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Excited to graduate?"
"Yeah... It'll be nice to finally be out from under this place," he smiled at her. Neither Harry nor Eleanor had particularly had any problems with any of their courses or teachers or, for the most part, even the other students. But neither one ever settled into the "high school life" either, so they never really fit in. Well, except with the group that hung out after school in the library.
A beep from outside interrupted any further conversation, impulsively Eleanor wrapped her arms around Harry and hugged him. "See you soon. Stay in touch," she half-asked, half-ordered before grabbing her backpack and darting from the library to her ride.
He shouldered his pack and walked out to the bike rack to unchain his bicycle. The ride home was typically uneventful and when he arrived, he climbed the stairs to his room. Slinging his pack off to the side of his dresser where it usually sat on the floor he suddenly felt tired. He collapsed on his bed and almost immediately fell asleep. His parents checked on him but did not wake him for dinner, instead, setting aside a plate for him in the microwave with a note.
It was nearly ten o'clock when he awoke, rubbing his face and looking around blearily. His growling stomach told him that he should go seek food or it would revolt, so he walked down to the kitchen. Smiling softly at the note, he warmed up the food in the microwave and took it back up to his room, turning on his computer. He took a couple of bites as it started up and launched the integrated development environment or IDE that he used to program and he began once again to work on his project. He had started six months ago developing a piece of software to optimize energy inputs into a house that could be loaded into a smart device to manage utilities, thus helping to save a customer money. It wasn't even close to finished yet, but he plugged away at it anyway.
By the time he was tired again, it was two in the morning and the barely touched food was cold. He crawled back into bed and was snoring almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Thankfully, it was the weekend and he could sleep in. His dreams, as they typically did, involved slain dragons, chests of riches, and grateful fair maidens, though always with black hair.
++++++++++
The graduation went off without a hitch, and they all promised to keep in touch. Eleanor gave each of them a hug, Harry getting his last and it lingered for a moment, "Good luck," she murmured before walking away. She had informed everyone that she would be working at the local gaming store while going to college.
The gaming store stayed fairly busy and grew, changing from the little single-story brick building to a much larger two-story with gaming rooms upstairs. Eleanor was always smiling and happy, to help grow the place she encouraged artists and authors to come and sign. Two years passed, and she kept in touch with Harry on social media. Occasionally he would drop by to have a coffee and cookie with her.
Harry began taking courses online from Colorado State for their Bachelors in Computer Science program, like Eleanor, with a full-ride scholarship. Almost every spare moment he had, however, was sunk into working on his software. It was midway through the sophomore year of his undergraduate program that he completed it. He still didn't know how it happened. He had put out some feelers online through some startup mills to see if there was any interest in helping him launch it as a product. Within a week, he had a phone call from Google's Acquisitions Department. He met them at his house initially, almost immediately after which, his father called a lawyer friend of his to begin representing him.
About a month and a half later, Harry was staring at his computer once more. Only this time, instead of staring at his IDE, he was staring at his bank account, a new one that his father and lawyer had helped him set up. "That's... a lot of zeroes...," he breathed to himself, eyes wide.
"Harry, dear! Come down. I have some people I want you to meet," his mother called. He rolled his eyes and locked his computer, standing up and trudging out of his room. He went downstairs and turned into the living room before he froze. There were two women he had never met before sitting on his couch. His mother, in an easy chair, gestured to the older one, about her age. "This is my friend Annabeth Phelps, dear. And her daughter Rebecca. Do you know Rebecca? She went to Knightsbridge."
Rebecca's smile matched her long red hair, sunny and warm though, to his eyes, it seemed almost forced. "No, mom. I don't believe I do. But I didn't get out much to games and such either...,"
"Pity... Well, I'm talking with her mother. Perhaps you'd be a dear and take her to get ice cream or something? Feel free to take the car...," she gestured vaguely toward the small table by the door where she and his father typically put their keys.
He looked back to Rebecca, who was still smiling at him. It made him feel funny, and he wasn't sure it was in a good way. "Sure, mom. I guess." He waited for her to stand, then murmured, "Shall we?"
She smiled and followed him, her eyes briefly flickering, at least he was somewhat attractive, the money would help though. She hooked her arm in his and started talking about topics that her mother had carefully coached her on. Her voice was soft, modulated, and pitched perfectly, but still sent chills down Harry's spine.
The first dates at his mother's insistence weren't bad: nice restaurants, not too ritzy, and proper gifts. However, as time ran on he discovered how little Rebecca and he had in common. His mother of course wouldn't listen thinking it was just nerves from dating a pretty girl. Weeks passed into months and their first fight happened. The necklace he purchased for her for Christmas was a lab-created sapphire and not a real diamond. She screamed and threw it at him. He stormed off and found himself wandering the streets.
Laughter and a warm glow came from a gaming store, Harry found himself drawn into it and heard a voice he hadn't heard in almost a year, "Come one, come all and watch the dice fall. First up, we have the daring duo, the troublesome twins, Fred and Flint Rise, our very own authors of Bedlam and Barns. Roll the dice and get a prize, those that get a nat 20 will get a free signed copy of their RPG Book."
His head cocked to the side as he slowly moved toward the door. "Can't be...," he murmured. Peeking in, he was shocked to see that it was. Dark hair cascaded down over Eleanor's shoulders and her coke bottle glasses had been replaced with much thinner versions. The store was packed and she was standing on a small platform with a microphone and a single speaker to be heard. He crept inside, standing in the back to watch.
One of the men in the back cat called, "What would we need for a date with you, Ellie baby?"
Eleanor laughed, "Lawrence your wife would kill you, behave." The crowd laughed at the good-natured playfulness. Then lined up and the dice started rolling. The small camera displaying the numbers on a projector behind her. "And we have our first winner!" She bounced and clapped her hands, getting laughter and cheers as a young boy about twelve stepped up beside her. "Well done, young man. Are you happy?" The boy nodded eagerly and Eleanor patted him on the back. He quickly raced over to stand by the table beside the two doing the signing. One massive, the other tiny.
The next hour passed both slowly and quickly with laughter and sparkling eyes. Eleanor was the life of the party and encouraged them, cheering for them no matter what the dice fell. It was another hour before the crowd thinned out and people made purchases slowly vacating the store. Her eyes caught Harry and a broad smile crossed her lips, "Harry! I haven't seen you in forever!"
Harry's lips settled into an easy smile and he spread his hands. "You still don't. I'm having an out-of-body experience. Isn't it wild?" he asked jokingly.
"Well give me a hug anyway and we can find your body later." She said, hopping off the stage to wrap her arms around him, "How have you been? Are you still doing alright with college? Have you seen the latest Star Wars movie? I can't believe they actually tried to make Darth JarJar."
"Whoa... Whoa... Is this the Spanish Inquisition? Slow down," he chuckled, hugging her back. Finally, when she loosened her grip he looked back into her eyes. "It's good to see you. You're looking amazing. How have I been? Um... busy. Like really busy. Like... I took a sabbatical from college, busy." At her shocked expression, he blushed. "You... uh... remember what I was doing in high school after club and homework?"
"Yes, you were working on developing a stronger security system for computers that wouldn't just rely on mutating algorithms. And something about optimizing utilities for homes." She smiled at him, but her eyes were still worried, "Are you happy?"
