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Jay puts the beige candy into his mouth.
It wasn’t a juicy fruit flavor, but instead a bland and boring one. Matt must have picked up the wrong one again. Jay doesn’t really care. He’s just happy that Matt has given him so many candies today, probably to distract him from the sickness that was almost gone.
This candy was different though. It made him feel fast. It made him feel good. He needed to be fast to win the competition and get a show at the Rivoli. He needed to do this for the band. He needed to do this for Matt. He needed to do this.
No time to think, he had to focus. He breezed through Dam, and then Facility. The only thing that mattered to him right now was the game. His life depended on him winning. They were going to get this show. He was going to get them this show.
The levels went by in a flash. Jay really liked this candy. When he and Matt became famous, he’d buy hundreds of them. He’d be the fastest piano player in all of Canada, maybe even the world. He’d make Matt eat them too. His plans would come to him quicker. His plans would be better. His plans would be perfect.
He made sure to eat a few more of the candies as he went along. He felt his heart beat faster and faster. That was good right? He felt good so it must be good. This was all for the show, so it was ok.
He took another one while in the middle of Train. It slowed him down, but that was fine. Nothing could ever stop him. Nothing can stop him. Only death could stop him.
“It looks like Goldenguy is now ahead”
That didn’t matter. He could still win. If he just ate more, he could still win. Maybe Matt could feed him the candy. Yeah. That totally wasn’t a weird thing to think.
He noticed Matt had moved near to him. He looked worried for some stupid reason. Why was he worried? There was no way Jay was going to lose. There was no way he was going to let himself lose.
“Ok dude-“
“We got it man.”
“That guy over there is beating you. He’s like a full-“
“Doesn’t matter. I’m the fastest motherf-cker in the world right now. Just watch this.”
“Uh- ok we need a new plan.”
“It’s a day of miracles! I woke up sick and then I got healthy!”
“Yeah I’m just trying-“
“And you burned the RCA cables, then you got new RCA cables and you found out about the tournament!”
Matt stared off into the camera. Probably thinking about how fast Jay is. Probably thinking about how their lives will get better after the show. Another candy couldn’t hurt. He was so fast now. His heart was so fast. It was so fast that his entire body was shaking.
“We’re going to win the tournament, get a show, and you and I are gonna have a nice happy life together!”
“Did you say we’re gonna have a happy life together?”
“I’m just excited.”
“I’ll be right back. I have an idea.”
Jay hoped that the idea was to get more candies. He wasn’t going to run out anytime soon, but it would be nice to have more for tomorrow. And the next day. Maybe even for the rest of their lives together. They’d eat the candies every day at the break of dawn. They’d be the fastest band in the world.
“The lead looks insurmountable, but Cradle will be the tell, uh we’ll see if Goldenguy can win this home.”
No big deal. It’s no big deal. He’ll beat him. He just needs more candy. He eats another one. A chill runs down his body. It’s so cold. It’s so goddamn cold. Don’t you get warmer when your heart goes faster? It’s so fast right now.
“It’s f-cking freezing in here!”
No one else seems to be as cold as he is. Is there something wrong with his blazer? There has to be. Maybe he should look into getting it fixed. He eats another candy.
Fuck it. He grabs the bottle and shoves them all down. He chews them up and swallows them. He needs more, but this might be enough for now. His heart is getting faster and faster. That’s from his nerves.
He’s about to lose. He’s about to make Matt unhappy. He can’t let that happen. He has to win.
“It looks like we lost Goldenguy’s feed.”
Jay doesn’t know how that happened. Probably a faulty RCA cable. He uses that to his advantage. He has to win. He has to get them a show.
He beats Trevelyan.
He’s done it. He’s gotten them a show at the Rivoli. His heart is beating faster now. It’s happy. He’s happy. Matt’s going to be happy. Hell, maybe even Jared will be happy. His heart is going to beat out of his chest at this rate.
Matt walks up to him. He looks shocked. He’s probably so happy right now. His heart is probably going as fast as Jay’s. No, Jay’s is going faster than his. When’s it going to stop? Maybe it’s just a sugar rush.
Jay says something, but he doesn’t understand himself. He can understand Matt though.
“I’m going to get the prize. Just be quiet for now.”
Matt goes to talk to the host. Jay doesn’t feel good, even though he just won. His heart hurts. It feels like it’s going to explode. He feels like he’s going to die. He can’t die! He’s just gotten them a show at the Rivoli!
He can’t stand up anymore. His heart hurts too much. This isn’t the way he wanted to go out. He wanted to at least perform at the Rivoli first. Matt will have to figure out a show and a life without him. Maybe he’ll just die without Jay around.
Jay collapses. His heart still hurts, in multiple ways.
—
Jay’s in a world made of candy. No one else is here, so he’s free to eat it all. He’s afraid to. He doesn’t want his heart to die. If he eats too much, it’ll die and then the whole world will die. But the only thing that he can eat is candy.
Is he candy? He looks down at his hands. They start to melt into chocolate. He’s melting into chocolate. He’s afraid. He doesn’t want to die again. This time, he’s alone. He doesn't want to be alone.
He hears a burp, and wakes up.
He’s in the hospital. They’ve been here too many times. His heart feels normal again. That’s good. He never wants his heart to feel like whatever that was again. Matt’s here too. He’s really happy to see that his best friend is ok.
The candy was Speed. He had to have his stomach pumped.
Jay should be angry at Matt for this. He should stop being friends with Matt for this. He should move far far away from him for this. But he can’t find it in himself to do so. Him and Matt hug for a bit before they head home.
“Is the show still happening?”
“It’s actually a podcast called RiVaL1!”
“Guess that’s why it was being advertised in a gaming store.”
“Yeah.”
Matt buys some real candy for Jay. Little fruit gummies. They taste delicious. His heart beats slightly quicker than normal, but he’s not in any danger. He’s happy. That’s all he needs to be.