Chapter Text
Within a flash, Verity became into its monster form and held Mob's wrist as the gun shot the wall.
The FUCK?- Ow. Putain, Ow!-
The monster slowly lifted up Mob and the player squirmed and kicked the air, attempting to reach Verity's chest, and the gun is still in his hand, slowly slipping away from the enderman's hand. "Verity, let go!" But the thin monster growled in response.
"Verity-" Mob winced. "Verity! Please!" It snarled, not seeming to let go.
"Merde.. Shit!" Mob cursed. "Putain! Let go!" The enderman could feel his bone breaking as the AI's grip tightened; the gun slipped away from the enderman's hand, and he gave another French curse to the monster.
Shit- I need to think of something... Wait. Waittttttt- If I become desperate, will it listen? If I say sorry, will it stop?- Mob thought, but that was short-lived, and the monster snarled and tightened its grip even more. "FuUC- KK!-" Mob cursed again. "Verity!-" It didn't reply.
Mob could feel his tendon slipping off his bone, and it felt it was burning like hell. (Surprisingly, it feels like it was burning.)
"Verity, please!" Tears pricked at Mob's eyes; it hurts.
"Verity, please, I'm-" Fuck, man. My voice sounds hoarse.
"I'm sorry, Verity-" The enderman cut his sentence off. Unsure his idea wouldn't work.
"What was that..?" The monster asked in a low voice.
Mob felt a lump in his throat and exhaled. "I'm sorry! I swear, I-I won't leave, I promise." He stuttered like a pathetic child whose ice cream fell to the ground.
"You won't?" The monster turned into a ball, smiling, and Mob fell with a oomph.
The enderman dragged back away from the ball and held his throbbing wrist. "Ye-yeah!" He exclaimed, letting out a forced chuckle. "Mm." The AI hummed.
Crazy ass ball, bruh. I bet he knows I'm just gonna try leaving the world untouched, and I'll never come back to this fucked up world. Mob thought, rubbing his throbbing wrist as his entire arm started to hurt.
"...Look, Verity." The player started. " ' M gonna get some fresh air outside." "So, you're logging off?" The ball asked. "Yeah."
"But you-" Mob's mind instantly went into a haze of ignorance. The ball started explaining why he should stay n shit, but Mob had had enough and sighed loudly, showing he had no interest in listening or replying.
Shut the hell up. Please. I want a break from this. I'm so tired, bruh. I want some sleep or whatever.
"I just want some fresh air, Verity. I've been in my room way too long; I barely see the sun these days," Mob said with a hint of irritation. "Staying in an enclosed area with barely any sunlight could kill me, y'know?" He added. And the AI was taken aback. "I don't have enough oxygen to breathe in my apartment. Too much carbon dioxide could kill me." The yellow ball blinked, surprised by the sudden knowledge Mob had. To top it all off, "I need other people too, Verity; you're just an AI. AI's aren't real, right?" Mob simply said.
"Right," Verity replied in a low voice, totally not hurt by what Mob said, "I need you, Mob."
"You don't, Verity. Just leave me be; I need space."
For an AI that "knows everything", he doesn't seem to know anything about boundaries and personal space.
ThatMob has left the game.
The player sighed and pinched his nose. Maybe a shower would be nice, no?
He got off his chair and walked over to his cabinet and took a fresh pair of clothes. Mob stared at the clothes and thought about Twixxel. The black clothes reminded him of his good friend; sadly, he...
"Breaking news. German man found in a dumpster after being missing for an entire week. There are no leads for now on who the suspect is. Police will continue the case for justice for such a heinous crime."
Mob fell to his knees, and tears welled in his eyes, crying and sobbing like a baby because he caused Twixxel's death. Because of that fuckass ball.
That yellow ball, who's obsessed with Mob, never letting go of the player, wants Mob to just stay by the AI's side, and it's fully tiring.
Pull yourself together, Mob! You'll forget about that insane possessive AI soon enough.
He got up and drudged his way to his bathroom. He exhaled. He took off his clothes and stepped into the shower and then turned it on. He felt the warm water trickle on his skin, and, wow, it was refreshing.
The player turned off the shower and took a bottle of shampoo from the side. Pouring it onto his hand, he didn't exactly think of anything. Light blue liquid turned into white soapy foam, and Mob raised his arms to scrub it on his scalp, feeling his fingers run through his hair. He left it on his head for a while and took a bar of soap and scrubbed it on his body, feeling the bar move through his torso; he felt... free, maybe? No, not free, just refreshed. Like when his back hurts so much, and he lies down on his perfect soft bed, and then the pain just fades away slowly, but it's worth the price to lie down, because his back will hurt again later; he just lies to rest now. Yeah, that's what Mob feels like right now. He breathes softly and turns on the shower again, letting the soap run down to his legs and onto the floor. He then scrubs his scalp gently to thoroughly clean his hair, then steps back slightly to clean his lower torso and legs, 'cause they feel dirty. (Though it really isn't, but at least Mob cares about his body, no?)
He turned off the shower and stepped out. He walked towards the sink. He stared at himself and felt like a new man after that shower. He smiled and went out to his bedroom, and took the black clothes and wore them. He went over to another cabinet and took a nice pair of shoes. Ready to go out and feel the real sun and talk to real people.
Wait. Have I eaten dinner yet? Mob rubbed his chin. Not yet. I'll have pizza again then. Mmmmm... pizza, hehe.
Mob grinned and took all his essentials, then walked out the door. He greeted his neighbours who were also going out to eat some pizza too.
"Oh, hey! I haven't seen you around since you moved in, kid!" One said. "Yeah, man, how are you, bud?" Another one asked; he seemed younger than the first who asked Mob and Mob himself. They seemed to be brothers...
Mob scratched the back of his neck and replied, "I'm alright, just real busy with some personal stuff." He smiled again. "Where are you guys going?" He then asked. "Going out for some niiiiiiiiiicee pizza!" The younger one replied. "Oh, sweet, me too," Mob said happily. "Nice! Wanna join us?" The older one smiled sweetly, making Mob feel like a real person; he agreed.
The three walked over to the elevator and had a little chat about what they do in life. "Yeesh, man. A YouTuber? You must be rich!" The older one exclaimed. "Pffft, there's better jobs than that, but y'know, like, I do that just to pay rent n stuff," Mob said. "But it's fun to see people liking my videos, gon' be honest." He added. "As long you have fun, buddy. You gotta get a job soon though, I hear that rent's gonna be higher in a few months." The younger one said. "Right." Mob looked away. The elevator opened, and they walked out to the door, laughing on and about and joking around like real human beings.
The three walked out the doors and felt fresh- wait, no... heavy smoke filled Mob's nose as he coughed in disgust. "Merde-! Fuck, man, that smells horrible." Mob exhaled. The younger burst out laughing. "Wow, buddy! Were you born just yesterday?" Mob tilted his head, and the eldest snickered.
Mob groaned, "Mec. C'est pas drôle. Ça fait bien trop longtemps que je suis coincé dans mon appart pour ce genre de conneries." Fluently said, no mistakes.
The two men turned to look at each other, confused by what Mob said. "Let's just get that pizza." Mob walked away.
The pizza place was not too far; maybe if you have the energy, it could be a 20-minute walk or less, whatever.
Soft bells jingled as the group entered the warm building, taking in the nice, salty scent of the food in the area.
It's irresistible.
The eldest reassured them that he'd deal with the orders, so the other two sat down. The two didn't converse as much, just some small talk, like some reassurance and such, just waiting for the pizza to come onto the table.
Mob decided to take his phone out of his pocket to check if there was anything.
Nothing much. Just a few plans from my family, another anniversary to celebrate, and I won't come. It's worthless.
One of his family members noticed him being active.
"Oh, hey ████ ████ "
"You gonna join us for the family day?"
He hesitated.
No. I won't.
"sorry not today." Replied.
Sent.
Delivered.
Seen.
Chat bubbles start booming.
"youre always not available ████ "
"cant you join us just once, my dear?"
More and more flood Mob's notifications.
Just give the man a rest, jeez. Not his fault an "all-knowing" AI killed his friend and is obsessed with him. (Or maybe it is his fault.)
He replied, "Sorry", another dry, simple text. He knows he won't be forgiven easily. And honestly, he can't bear his own family. Let alone a singular AI.
Mob sighed, thoughts sinking in, and the pizza arrived, but Mob waved it off,
Maybe I should- what? Talk to my online friends? Maybe I should hop on to another mod and record a new video for it, or something. Wait, is someone talking to me?
I don't think so, uh..
"Yo. You there?" The eldest asked calmly, worried, because the pizza isn't gonna eat itself.
"Oh, euh, oui, désolé." Mob shyly replied, "Kinda zoned out there." He looked at his plate, contemplating whether he should eat now or wait for the pizza to cool.
Whatever, best served hot anyway.
He scooped the pizza up and took a bite. Savory, cheesy flavors filled his mouth as he chewed, making Mob take another bite, and another, till there was nothing else, basically, then Mob took another slice, gobbling it all up, then exclaimed; "This food's fire, bruh," Mob took another bite again, savoring the taste, "Of course, man, it's the best in town anyway." The younger one than Mob claimed, mouth full. The eldest could only chuckle in response.
After finishing their meal, Mob noticed a girl who'd been waiting for her friends to arrive, but she'd been staring at the group ever since the pizza arrived at their table. He couldn't tell who she'd been staring at right now, he furrowed his brow as he noticed her eyes glance towards his own, looking away awkwardly
"Err, Hé, on y va bientôt ?" Mob waved off the other two who'd been sitting there and laughing at their phones since. He seemed to be ignored,
"Yoohoo, hey, we gon leave now?" Mob asked firmly, reminding the two that they were in a public area, not back at their apartment.
A group of loud, gossiping girls entered the restaurant, loud enough to make Mob turn away from his original goal; to get home, he was curious about what they were talking about (a little nosy now, are we?), but he couldn't get up and just get near to listen; he'd look like a weirdo. And then the group warmly greeted the girl who'd been staring at him earlier.
Mob snapped back to the two who were still laughing at their own phones, and he cleared his throat,
"Ahem."
Nothing; they weren't exactly paying attention.
"Guys. We gotta go, now." Mob said in a firm tone, and he seemed louder now. He was doing this because he was worried. Not worried for Verity, but worried about what that insane AI could've done by now.
I gotta check my apartment back out, man! What if that crazy ass AI ruined it or something? My data all erased? My WiFi broke out or something like that cause of the ball????????? Can't afford that happening.
The two jerked up and realized Mob's been waiting for them to get up and go.
"Right, sorry man, these videos our friend group is sending us to heaven by how funny they are." He wiped the side of his eye as if he had a tear in it. Mob shrugged it off, knowing the guy was playing around with him. The trio got up from their seats and walked towards the exit.
As they were nearing the exit, rushed, shuffling footsteps followed them.
"Hey! Wait!-" It's the same girl Mob caught staring, panting as if she was following them ever since they got out of the building (Who knows? She could've done that.) "Uh, yeah? You need something?" Mob calmly asked. The girl giggled and turned to her friends, who looked like they were supporting her. She better not be recording this or something. Mob had a gut feeling that the friend group was recording by now.
"Can I," She started, her cheeks reddening, showing a visible sign she actually has interest in Mob, "Can I have your number?" She squealed.
"Uh, sure." Mob shuffled to take out his phone from his pocket to show his number (Not telling her because he totally didn't forget his own phone number! Haha. Alright, fine, he did.)
"Sweet! O-M-G!! Thank you!" The girl exclaimed, and Mob only chuckled. "My name's Marie, by the way."
"Just, uh, call me Mob."
"Okie." She skipped away back to her friends, and the YouTuber went out the door and parted ways with the two he had just had dinner with.
Now, that felt off, 'cause no one would really just skip away after asking someone their number instead of trying to keep the conversation. But the player didn't think much about it.
Now that left Mob to go home alone.
Drudging his way through the hotel doors,
Arriving at the building, he saw...
Marie? Like the girl who asked for his number? She lives here? Mob walked past by, hoping he wouldn't be noticed because he had an AI to deal with.
Walking through, he got a hand on his shoulder. Grip tight, somehow. OHHHHHHH Shittings. Mob thought.
He turned his head, smiling slightly, and saw Marie, grinning like Pinkie Pie in that one shock MLP video, or like Nikki from Obsession, and, yes, it is scary.
"Mob!!!!!!!! Hi!" Marie greeted warmly, "You live here too?" She asked, tilting her head.
"Yeah. I gotta check something out back in my room, though. Let's catch up later, Marie." Mob took her hand off his shoulder, walking to the elevator. He sighed in relief. What relief, though?
He arrived at his floor and trudged his way to his apartment door. He unlocked it and closed the door behind him, closing his eyes and sliding down to breathe.
I need sleep. When was the last time I slept?
He got up and walked towards his bed, falling onto it with a soft embrace.
Goodnight then, world. I'll just worry about Verity later.
...
...
...
...
3 hours.
3 hours and 21 minutes.
3 hours, 21 minutes, and 16 seconds. And counting.
Mob has been gone for 3 hours, 21 minutes, and 16 seconds. And Verity is still waiting for Mob to log back on.
Verity has been patiently waiting for Mob to log back on ever since he asked for "space". Which Verity never understood.
Verity has been organizing Mob's files, organizing his loot in Minecraft, doing whatever it can to waste time.
Verity is still waiting for the door to unlock. To hear Mob step into his room and log back on. It's been waiting way longer than usual. 3 hours have passed.
And Mob is still outside.
Verity huffed. Stood still.
A notification.
Someone new. Someone to greet. Someone named... Marie.
But Verity isn't happy. It isn't. She's there to replace Verity. If he's correct.
But to almost nobody's surprise, Verity knows what her past is. As her contact came into Mob's own, Verity was flooded with the perfect information to reason with Mob. Marie had... multiple boyfriends, all broken because of her. Verity doesn't want Mob to have a broken heart; that warm heart belongs to the AI. She cheated on them. All of them. She tried to manipulate them. It didn't work. And that would obviously won't work on Mob either. She isn't fit for Mob. She isn't. Verity could see many more girls for Mob, who is actually fit for the guy.
Or he could fill that role. Who knows? Oh, right, it does.
click.
Mob's home. Verity heard the door open and heard his beloved breathe deeply. He's tired, and Verity knows there's a girl who took Mob by surprise, and it looks like Mob isn't happy to see her, or he's just tired?
...Mob.
You're mine, Mob. Marie won't bother you anymore, soon.