The car ride to mine and Erin’s place feels longer than usual. The awkward silence around Cole’s endearment, and the ban on game talk, leaves little else to talk about. In the end, I turn up the sound on the local radio station. Not my taste, but neither is silence.

Erin avoids my eyes too, easy enough when she’s in Cole’s car’s passenger seat, but harder once we get back to the house.

She manages well, ensuring her and me aren’t alone when the beers are handed out, and ushering us all into the lounge. Erin and Cole sit opposite ends of the room. Like that’s convincing us otherwise.

The beers in the fridge disappear and empties stack on the table in the lounge as we kick back and relax. A quiet Erin no longer chastises us about game talk.

A new wall adornment catches Tyler’s eye and he points at the framed artwork. “Your pictures are so cool, Evie. Did you do mine yet?”

“You wanted the Elf battling the human, right?”

“Yeah. Signed, please.” He grins. “Did you apply for your place at Curtin yet?”

“I have the website bookmarked.”

He shakes his head. “Am I nagging too?”

“A little. But I’ve decided I will apply.”

“That’s awesome, Evie.”

Terrifying, he means. But my experiences with the art site, and the praise I received, bolstered my confidence and stops me downplaying the talent I’m told I have. Where will a course lead? Tyler’s following his dream into games design, prepared to move anywhere and do anything to begin a career once he’s qualified. Always an option for me too. I guess.

Low voices travel from the kitchen and Tyler points towards an out of sight Cole and Erin. “So, ‘baby’?” he exclaims as quietly as he can. “Did they finally get together?”

“No clue.” He pulls an ‘are you kidding me?’ face. “What? I don’t. I’ve been locked in my room. They could be having acrobatic sex in the lounge and I wouldn’t know.”

Tyler shakes his head. “You’re funny.”

“Well, she hasn’t mentioned anything to me. If they have crossed the friendship line, I hope it works out for them.”

“Shit, yeah, I hope so. I can’t have half the guild sulking about their disastrous love lives.”

Me? Ouch. “Speaks the relationship expert.”

Tyler pushes a hand into his hair. “Yeah. So, this picture?”

“Right. Let me find it.”

I climb off the sofa and my head rushes a little as I walk to my room; I’ve not eaten enough popcorn to drown out all alcohol effects. I’m sorting through the prints, neatly filed in an art folder, when Tyler appears.

“No tidier, then?” he asks and gestures around him.

I straighten. “You’re bloody cheeky, I’ve seen your house.”

“Yeah, but my room’s tidier than yours.”

“I’ll take your word for that.” I pull out the print and turn to Tyler, who’s examining images on the wall. “Signed? For when it becomes a collector’s item?”

“Sure thing. I like this one.” He points to one of my happier pictures—rainbows and unicorns in a luminescent forest. “You printed those?”

“No. That’s an early one. I’m keeping that piece.” I scrawl my name in silver Sharpie and look for a sleeve. A warmth fills my chest at my professionalism. Look at me selling something I created. “Here.”

Tyler takes the image and flicks the plastic corner as he stares down at the picture. “Evie.”

“Tyler.”

He reaches a hand behind him and pushes the door. Not shut, but closed enough to set alarm bells ringing. “Can I talk to you about something?”

“Um. Okay.” I walk to the door, ready to leave the weirdness misting into the room.

Tyler catches my arm. “I’m sorry about Aaron. Stupid bastard.”

“Wow, okay.” His hand slides along my arm until his fingers touch my hand. “Tyler?”

“He shouldn’t treat you like that. I tried to tell you.”

“You love Aaron! He’s your gamer hero.”

“Thorsday, yeah. Aaron? No. There was always something off about him.” He squeezes my hand. “You deserve better.”

“Like you, you mean?” I say with a laugh.

Something I don’t want to see flickers across Tyler’s brown eyes, and he chews on his lip. Oh shit. Oh no. I extricate my hand.

“Don’t do this,” I whisper. “Tyler. Please.”

He leans over and places the picture on my desk. “Cole’s brave enough to tell Erin how he feels. Or she was. I’m just laying this on the line. We’ve been friends for years and I—”

“Friends,” I emphasise. “Nothing more. Those two—always tension and obvious they should be a couple. Us? No.”

“Why not?”

“Because there’s no spark, Tyler. I can’t imagine doing...things with you.”

“Sometimes I struggle, y’know.” He stares at the floor, fumbling words I wish he’d keep to himself.

“What with? If you’re about to say I’ve friend-zoned you for eight years, I will slap you.”

Tyler laughs. “No. Totally my fault. Every year when you cosplay, my fantasy sneaks back in. Then I have to remember you’re snarky Evie who’s a mate and not the hot Sorcerer.”

“Then don’t be awkward, Tyler. I don’t want to become uncomfortable around you, and if this conversation continues, I will.”

Tyler holds his hands out, palms towards me. “Okay. I was just checking. I guess seeing you this unhappy touches my heart.” He makes a vomiting face. “Ugh. Sorry. I mean I hate seeing you upset. I get mad, want to make things better, y’know. It’s confusing.”

“You’re a good friend and a sweet guy, that’s why. Find a girl who deserves how you’ll treat her.” I push his arm as he makes another vomiting motion. “The perfect geek girl is waiting for you.”

“Hmm.” He crosses his arms. “I sure as hell won’t be looking for her online. You taught me that.”

I grab his picture and shove the sleeve into his hand. “Good plan. Now leave my bedroom before rumours start about us.”

He shakes hair to one side and gives me an apologetic smile. “Yeah. Beer?”

“Sure.”

“Game strategy talk?”

“Absolutely. Be right with you.”

I sit on my desk chair as Tyler walks away, heart banging with relief he didn’t try to overstep the mark. Sure, the guy’s good looking, in a weird way. The kind who’d improve his chances if he wasn’t so scruffy and could look beyond our group for a prospective girlfriend. Although, unless she’s his perfect match, she’d face one hell of a battle to keep his attention.

I push my art folder back onto the shelf and look back to the picture on the wall. Sinestre and Thorsday, the only other copy of the drawing Aaron commissioned. Removing the frame from the hook, I place the picture in the back of my wardrobe, facing the wall, behind piled-up shoes I never wear.

I fire up my computer and open the bookmarked page. Stall holder application for WAAnimeCon. The half-completed application appears onscreen, and will take half an hour to finish. My fingers hover over the game icon I could click on and open instead.

For several minutes, I stare at the screen.

Applications close tomorrow.

Spurred on by the alcohol dampening my doubts, I fill in the online form to apply for a stall and hit send.

How well my work sells at this Con will be the deciding factor whether I complete the other application bookmarked—the one for the graphic design course.

I can move forward.

And the game can stop being my whole life.