Chapter Text
Tai was having what seemed like any other normal day on the server, mining the materials he needed to complete his base. It was always so annoying to run out of materials mid-build, so he decided to stock up on everything he needed.
He wasn’t really paying attention to anything around him except the fact that he really wanted to finish mining the stupid materials. Before he knew it, some time had passed and his communicator went off.
N00b
“Hey, are you coming back anytime soon?”
Tai
“No, I really want to finish this, and it might take some time. Also, I’m pretty far from spawn.”
With that, Tai put away his communicator. He continued mining, remembering he had a bed in his inventory. He was going to sleep here and simply continue his grind for the materials.
-
Before he knew it, two days had already passed. He had finally gathered all the shulkers with the materials he needed, and he could finally go back to his beautiful base and connect with his friends.
He was on his way back, and it was quite a long journey. Luckily, he had some space in his ender chest and put some of the heavy shulkers in it.
While he was walking back, he came across a big field of sunflowers- an abnormal amount of sunflowers, if you asked him. Did sunflowers even spawn in fields this big? Did someone make this?
He shrugged it off while making his way to the path that ran between all the sunflowers, beautifully made with what seemed like lanterns hanging from poles. He was definitely going to blow this place up after bringing the materials back.
The path he was taking seemed like it was never-ending. It kept going and going and going, and at some point his mind started to wander to a certain person from his past.
Someone he didn’t want to think about at all.
He started walking faster, trying to force his head out of the stupid thoughts and memories it was gathering. The path was so long that it was already turning night again.
He started to wonder why he had never noticed this path on the server before.
Who made this?
He was starting to get really annoyed by his mind and the sunflowers. He couldn’t wait to blow this place into bits and make sure all the sunflowers were gone.
-
After a long time, he finally reached his base but noticed his teammate was nowhere to be found. Tai sighed and decided it had been too long of a walk to bother thinking about it.
He took out the shulkers and put them in a chest by the unfinished area of the base, then decided to take a nice, warm shower. It had been a while since he last took one. He also really smelled like sweat.
He could always shower and go find N00b after that.
-
The sun was already rising through the curtains of his room. It turned out that a warm shower after lots of labor made you very tired. He didn’t even have time to go find N00b yesterday.
If it had been anything serious, N00b would have messaged him, so Tai wasn’t all that worried at the moment.
He decided to give himself a slow morning instead of forcing himself awake. He stayed in bed a bit longer and let his eyes and body rest.
After a while, he got up and noticed some warm breakfast on the table next to him.
He thought to himself, Isn’t N00b just the sweetest teammate ever? He grabbed the food and started eating, quite surprised by the cooking skills his teammate had.
After a while, he finished and decided to start his day.
He decided he didn’t really feel like jumping anyone today, so he put on some comfortable clothes- sweatpants and a shirt. Nothing too fancy, but something that made it easy to put armor on quickly, since it was still dangerous around here and people could jump you at any time.
He looked around the base and still noticed N00b wasn’t home. He must have already gone out.
Tai put on his shoes and decided to go outside and walk around spawn. Before he knew it, he saw some people crowded around something and was a bit confused about why.
He stayed back to see what it might be from a distance, not feeling like getting jumped at all. He noticed Lopez walking toward it and decided to ask her.
“Hey, Lopez, do you know what the crowd there is about?”
She looked over at him. “Oh hey, Tai! Yeah, it’s this new guy who joined a few days back. He’s like the nicest person ever! You should come meet him. Even Jude likes this guy– and Spongs!”
Tai was honestly pretty surprised. Someone who got along with Jude and Spongs? This guy must be the best. Tai decided to walk over with Lopez, feeling pretty excited to meet the new guy on the server.
He walked closer and closer and finally caught a glimpse of the back of the new guy.
Long yellow hair.
Not blonde.
Yellow.
The type of yellow that screamed sunshine.
The type of yellow that demanded your attention.
The type of yellow that hurt.
Tai froze.
His head started spinning. Everything started spinning.
He started panicking.
His gut told him to run- to run as far away as he could. To destroy anything that got in his way. He wanted to run.
But his legs weren’t moving.
He started feeling sick to his stomach. He hated the color yellow more than anything. He wanted to tune the color out so badly.
Tai was in far too many thoughts to realize that Jude was talking to him.
“Tai? Taiiiii? TAI!”
He finally snapped out of it.
Tai slowly turned to look at Jude. “Yeah… sup, what?”
He sounded lost. His voice was shaking.
“What’s up with you, man? Why are you acting like you’ve seen a ghost?”
Tai looked around and noticed he was alone with Jude, realizing he must have zoned out for quite a while if he hadn’t even noticed that everyone else had already left. He also noticed Sharpness and N00b standing not too far away.
“Why were you so stressed? You were really zoned out,” Jude asked.
Tai just shook his head.
“I’m fine, don’t worry. That new guy… what’s his name?”
Jude looked at him. “What? Little old Tai is interested in someone now?”
Tai frowned slightly. “Me? Never. I hate the color yellow, and he reeks of it.”
Jude grinned. “His name is Rejoicin. He said to call him Rejoice, though.”
Tai felt like throwing up. He never wanted to hear his name, see his face, or let alone be in the same room as him. Yet it all seemed to be tumbling down.
His worst fear was becoming reality right at that moment.
N00b noticed he was feeling off and handed Tai some water, not asking any questions because he knew it would only make Tai spiral more. He would ask later when he felt it was the right moment.
Meanwhile, Jude and Sharp were already bickering with each other again like they always did. Well, it was more like Sharp was flirting without even realizing he was flirting- because he was honestly stupid sometimes- and Jude was trying to counter him.
Tai watched them.
Usually, he would say something, but now he didn’t have the energy. He didn’t feel like saying “Sharplow.”
There was a good reason why Tai was actually obsessed with their relationship.
It was because Jude and Sharp reminded him of himself and Rejoice before everything happened. Before he was backstabbed and left to die by the other.
When looking at Judelow and Sharpness, he saw everything he and Rejoice could have been.
Everything they could have done together.
Everything they had missed.
Sometimes he would feel jealous.
Not because they were always together like this.
But because they had worked everything out after their betrayal. They had actually fixed their relationship because they cared for each other like no one else.
And that hurt Tai even more.
He finally calmed down and decided to just go about his day with the ache in his heart. He hoped he wouldn’t run into him at all.
-
His wish didn’t last long.
Or maybe the gods in the sky hated him.
Because an hour later, while he was crafting some TNT, he ran into a certain yellow-haired person.
Tai didn’t dare speak- not because he was scared of the person in front of him. That would be pathetic. But because he never wanted to see his face again.
Yet here he was.
In front of him.
They looked each other in the eyes.
Blue and red eyes staring into pure white ones.
Tai didn’t know what kind of face he was making, but he definitely saw the person in front of him laughing. Smiling like a sinister person.
Tai felt his stomach turn.
In a situation like this… was he seriously smiling?
He knew Rejoice was crazy ever since the incident. The guy had been laughing like a maniac at the time. That was also how Tai found out that his personality as a sweet, caring friend had only been a facade for his sinister, psychotic self.
Rejoice wasn’t sweet at all.
He was far from it.
He liked hurting people for his own pleasure. He loved seeing someone bleed, seeing them get hurt.
Tai would know that better than anyone.
He noticed that Rejoice was coming closer, inching toward him.
In a split second decision, Tai decided to run.
Run as far away as he could.
He wasn’t sure what Rejoice was capable of doing.
Tai turned on his heel and bolted away, not looking behind him and not sparing any time for failure.
He ran what felt like forever.
He ran between trees, up hills, and through water.
He ran like this was his last chance at survival.