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“This is stupid,” Weiss muttered, looking down at the VR gear in her lap. She still wasn't sure why she'd thought it was a good idea, but she'd had so much trouble trying to relax and make friends at college, and when she saw the advertisement for the first ever fully immersive VR online game, she'd decided to give it a try. It was stupid, she didn't even like video games, but before she could think things through she'd bought a top of the line VR set and had the game ready to go.
With one last sigh, and a quick check to see if her door really was locked, she put the gear on. At first it was dark, but a moment later the menu opened, and she soon found herself building an avatar. The system actually used 3D scans of the player as a basis, and while she could change things she left the basic looks alone, just focusing on picking out the perfect dress and accessories to wear. The final result was cute, and it even had a cool rapier.
Before long she was immersed in the game, running around and fighting the monstrous Grimm and saving people. It felt good, but the only real people she'd interacted with were men who spent the whole time flirting with her. She'd been hoping to make friends, not be endlessly hit on, so to avoid more of that she headed deep into the wilderness, which turned out to be a bad move for a newbie like herself.
“Great, just great,” she muttered as she hid behind a rock, peeking out at the giant, spine covered monstrosity keeping her pinned down. She couldn't beat something like that! She'd only been playing for a few hours… she barely had a handle on casting spells, and none of them looked like they'd be able to hurt it.
It apparently heard her, as it turned sharply her way and began lumbering closer. Jumping up, Weiss turned and ran, but its legs were so long that it easily caught up to her. Just as she was sure she was about to learn what dying in World of Remnant was like a figure dressed in red and black blurred past her.
Weiss stumbled to a stop, jaw gaping as she watched the player, a girl around her size and age if her avatar was accurate, cutting the giant monster down to size with a few quick chops of her scythe. Once it was dead she posed dramatically for a moment, red cap cluttering in the wind, before turning to look at Weiss.
“Hey!” she chirped brightly. “Are you alright?”
“Y-yeah,” Weiss stuttered, before clearing her throat. “I would've been fine.”
“Sorry, it's just… you seem a little low level to be in this zone,” she said. “Did you get lost?”
Weiss checked the player's name, and then nodded stiffly. “I'm new to the game, and I was trying to get away from some people in the start area. I guess I didn't know how dangerous it could be out here. Thank you, Crescent Rose.”
The woman giggled merrily. “Yeah, there's a lotta jerks, but there's nice people, too! Why don't you Friend me?”
“How do I do that?” Weiss asked, a little embarrassed.
Crescent Rose didn't tease her for not knowing, simply talking her quickly through the menus until she'd added her to her friends list, making her her first. Weiss decided not to mention the depressing truth that she now had more online friends than real ones.
Weiss had expected the more experienced player to go do her own thing, but instead she decided to help her out. By the time she logged off that evening Weiss was not only much higher level, but also much more comfortable with the game, and eager to return to it. Even better, she considered Crescent Rose to be a real friend.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, and Weiss continued to grow closer to her new friend. She learned her real name, Ruby, and even got her real life contact information. They not only adventured together in World of Remnant every day, with Weiss eventually catching up to her in level so that they could quest together, but they also communicated with their phones day after day, until Weiss couldn't imagine not telling Ruby everything that came to mind.
One thing was lacking in their relationship, though. Ruby was very touchy feely, and in the game she'd gotten Weiss into the habit of frequently high fiving her when things went well, offering a hand up when one of them fell, and even hugging when they first met everyday. Weiss had never been much for physical contact, her family being distant at best, but she'd found herself enjoying the physical affection. Unfortunately, they couldn't actually touch each other; the VR system created a distant, blunt echo of the nuanced sense, enough to make her know she was being touched, but leaving her craving the real thing.
“Hey, Weiss,” Ruby said one day, her voice conspicuously casual. Ruby rarely did casual, babbling cheerfully about even the most mundane topics, and the tone instantly drew Weiss's attention.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the best moment to be distracted, a truth that was driven home when she almost lost her head a moment later to the Manticore they were fighting. “What?”
Ruby blurred, activating her super speed power, slashing the monster up and drawing its attention. When it turned away from Weiss she jumped back, and when she did Weiss blasted it with a powerful ice attack. They then both struck as one, finally finishing the area boss off.
“You live in Atlas, right?” Ruby asked causally.
“Yes,” Weiss said.
“Well… I was thinking… I'm gonna be visiting that area soon, and, well…”
“Just spit it out!”
“How would you like to meet up?”
Weiss froze for a moment. “Meet up?”
“Yeah,” Ruby said excitedly, before looking down at her hands and poking her fingers together nervously. “We've been friends for a while now, but we've never really seen each other, you know? You don't even use social media.”
“So you want to… meet up?” Weiss asked nervously.
“Yeah!” Ruby said. “It'd be fun.”
“I- okay,” Weiss said.
“Yes!” Ruby shouted, jumping into a hug. Once again she couldn't truly feel it, but Weiss savored the virtual closeness all the same.
They made plans after that, and so a week later Weiss was sitting nervously in a nice cafe waiting for Ruby to show up. She was recognizable, as she hadn't made any real changes to her avatar's appearance. What about Ruby, though? She was really good with computers, so she'd probably made an avatar that looked nothing like herself.
Then a girl around her own age walked through the door, and Weiss felt her jaw drop. She did look a little different from the computer version, but the details actually made her more beautiful. The silver eyes and black and red hair were real, and just staring into those eyes made Weiss's heart beat faster.
“There you are!” Ruby called, running over. “Wow, your hair is real, and that badass scar, too! I thought you'd added those in the editor. You look… wow!”
“You look beautiful as well,” Weiss said before she could stop herself.
Ruby blushed and grinned, pausing in front of Weiss for a moment, before darting forward for a hug just like she did in the game. Weiss reacted as normal, putting her arms awkwardly around her back, but this time was different. Ruby was soft and warm, and her heart sped up even faster at being able to really touch her best friend for the first time.
As they held each other in the small Atlas cafe, Weiss wished that moment could last forever. Little did she know, it was only the first of many, many happy memories they would make that trip, and during the lifetime together that followed it.