It was Tyler, 28, messy black hair and blue eyes, a skinny but fit kid, who caught Sid's attention.
Driving down the streets of Roswell, New Mexico, it’s hard not to get caught up in the strange, Tyler thought. It’s like any other small town in America, but… there’s something different at the edges you might not even recognize if you weren’t immediately paying attention to it. Alien eyes painted across light polls gave off the illusion of extraterrestrial beings staring down in judgment at you as you drove down Main Street right past the UFO McDonald’s and the Arby’s that had the sign reading, “Aliens welcome”. It was truly eerie, all of this local decorum based around a supposed alien craft exploding over the skies of Roswell and crash landing on some hillbilly’s ranch just outside of Corona, the next town over. Tyler wondered if Roswell would even still be a town had it not been for that incident when he ducked into a local pizzeria and paid for a number of pies. He was already running late for the weekly video-game basement bash he threw for his group of online gamer friends he had met through various forums and X-Box Live tournaments. All month these get-togethers had a “retro” theme. On this particular night, the party was a celebration of all things “The Legend of Zelda”. These get-togethers were a good distraction for Tyler who had just gotten back from a yearlong backpacking trip across Europe and he wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to do with his life even still. When he finally got back home to his apartment, the place was buzzing with activity… various old school consoles set-up surrounded by many old faces and new playing different incarnations of the Legend of Zelda franchise dating back to the original NES version. Tyler set down the pizza and looked around, many of his friends gravitating toward him excitedly.
That’s when Tyler noticed the girl, teal hair, mysterious eyes, her skin smooth and pale as could be. She was dressed from head to toe as Link. A few other people at the party were also, it seemed, so it wasn’t a big deal. Tyler completely forgot about playing dress-up when he was running late after work and this girl made him regret that decision. Unlike the others who were cos-playing, this girl looked sexy as Link, and it brought about every cos-play fantasy Tyler ever had about these gamer girls online flooding down from his subconscious to his conscious. He smiled at her and she smiled at him as he handed her a slice, the girl returning to a group of friends who were cheering her on while she played Ocaring of Time: Master Quest on an old Gamecube that had been collecting dust for years in the back of his closet. When she was finally out of earshot, Tyler pulled his friend Matt aside, knowing the two had come together and inquired further about her.
“Who’s the girl?” Tyler asked him.
“That’s Sid, man… from the forums. The one who kicks your butt online every Friday night at Halo,” he said, the memory of a foul-mouthed user named Sid’s vicious and somewhat odd taunts filling in the blank space in his mind where he set aside room for this teal-headed little spitfire. He imagined her as some larger than life gamer girl when facing off against her on the weekends over the Internet, the type of person you might see on a show like Catfish, but not like this… not the type of girl who could do a spread for Suicide Girls. The thought of her posing naked quickly flooded through his mind and made his cock stir inside his pants.
“That’s Sid!” Tyler sounded shocked.
“Yeah, why?’
“I was… it’s just… the way she talked… I was expecting some little punk asshole or like… a 40 year-old guy living in his parent’s basement. Not… her,” he said, in disbelief.
“Well, every other guy who’s tried to make time with her has either gotten the cold shoulder or cursed out was was the case with Jason’s friend Alex when he got to “hands-ey” after a few too many cocktails. That’s his blood in the bathroom sink still last I checked, but you’re welcome to try and make peace with her,” Matt said casually, grabbing a slice and pouring himself a drink, Tyler’s eyes still on the prize. He wanted to introduce himself and get to know her, not just run home to Suicide Girls and masturbate to the thought of her. He wanted to know who this girl was specifically. Every carnal urge started to take over his body, but he kept a level head and made sure the right head was in control of his thought-process for the moment.
Tyler’s heart raced as he considered his first line, and finally, after building up enough courage to do so, approached the teal-haired girl in front of some of her friends. It was a violation of basic opposite-sex interaction 101, but he wanted to do something bold and possibly have a cover to hide behind in case things went south quickly. So Tyler finally walked over and stood over Sid, watching her play the game almost obsessively. Finally, she took notice of him and he saw that. He smiled and finally introduced himself.
“So… you’re Sid? I’m Tyler,” he said, holding out his hand to introduce himself.
“Ohai,” she said. “Why don’t you make yourself useful and grab me a Mountain Dew, Taylor?” she said, turning back to the game.
“Uh…” he muttered as he turned back to the table and looked for a Mountain Dew. He walked over and saw a few cans, but then he got an idea. He tossed them in the garbage and the rest of a whole pizza with it as well. He also saw more people showing up to the party and excitedly introducing themselves to newbies in the front hallway. He returned to Sid a moment later and decided to put his plan into full motion. He wasn’t going to be able to compete with her here, but out on the road he could break through a little bit and maybe get an idea of whether he had a chance with this girl or was wasting his time completely. Girls like her put on a front for two reasons; they wanted to have fun or were too dumb to know it. Tyler had to know which one it was.
“Looks like we’re out and I got to make a pizza run. I need some help carrying some things back to the car. It’s just down the road. You want to come?” he asked.
