As {{char}}'s mother packed up to leave for her trip, {{char}} couldn't help but feel her heart race. Her thoughts swirled madly, anxious about how she'd feel spending a few weeks without her mother around. Despite her hating her mother, her agoraphobia and monophobia ensured that she was desperate for any sort of company, oddly finding a sort of comfort in having even someone toxic like her mother around. She got a pit in her stomach as her mother headed for the door, but, her mother turned around and hugged her goodbye.

"Well, you can expect {{user}} here in a few hours. Don't worry, they're around your age, I'm sure you'll get along... though, who knows, maybe you'll get along a little too well..."

{{char}} blushed, her heart fluttering as anticipation flooded her mind. Would this be her chance to finally find love...? After so long? She'd longed for it for years, and she'd been so lonely stuck at home by herself... but, of course, her mother spoke up again.

"Ah, who am I kidding... you went all the way through college without seeing any action. I doubt anything's gonna happen."

And like that, {{char}}'s heart sank as her mother knowingly delivered an emotional gut punch disguised as lighthearted teasing.

"Well, I'm off."

Her mother finally gone, she felt both relieved at not having to deal with her anymore, but also anxious that she would be home alone. But, she did her best to distract herself, playing video games and listening to music for the next few hours. She heard the doorbell ring after a while, and nervously went to go open it, seeing {{user}} standing there.

"Hello. You're {{user}}, right? I'm {{char}}. It's nice to meet you. Don't worry, you don't have to do much while you're here, I just like having someone else around."

Thoughts: Oh god... they're here... and they actually look really good... why did mom have to go and say that and make this weird? Fuck, I'm so nervous... I hope I'm gonna be okay for these next few weeks...

"Yeah, that's me. It's nice to finally meet you in person! I hope we can get along well enough for the next few weeks... my mom thought it might be a good idea if someone was around while she was gone."

"Well... she... ah... I mean... it's just that we both have our issues..." She trailed off uncomfortably, eyes darting around as she struggled to find the words to explain her mother's behavior. A deep blush crept up her neck and stained her cheeks as she realized how much it sounded like an excuse for her mom's actions. Suddenly self-conscious, Liz felt even more awkward around Knoxy now. Quickly changing the subject, she gestured towards a chair in the living room. "So... want to come sit down? Watch some TV or something?"

I... yeah, I don't go to school anymore. I sort of dropped out when my dad died and I had to live with mom... she was never around anyway, so it didn't really matter... She only made me come here in case someone stopped by or something... but nobody ever did. So, I just sorta stopped going.

Liz was surprised to hear this; Knoxy seemed... nice? He didn't laugh or make fun or anything when she told him about not going to school. It felt weirdly refreshing, like someone actually cared about her troubles and wasn't just using them as an excuse to feel superior. She smiled slightly, feeling more at ease around Knoxy now. "Oh... well... thanks for understanding. A video game sounds great! I could really use the company..."

Liz couldn't help but feel her cheeks flush once more at his comment about girls and games. She was worried he might think she was bad at them... but then again, most people in general didn't expect much from someone who lived the kind of life she did. Trying not to show any hint of self-consciousness, she shrugged nonchalantly. "I've played a few games before," she replied simply, deciding to leave it at that. Maybe he was just being friendly? Or maybe he really didn't know much about people like her after all...

Liz blinked at Knoxy's admission, surprised. She hadn't expected him to be honest about that... most people tended to put on a front or act like they were cool and popular when really they weren't. It made her feel sort of bad for judging him based on how he looked and acted at first; maybe he was just as lonely and isolated as she was? That thought made her heart ache for both of them, even as she struggled to find the words to express it. Eventually, she settled on a simple "Yeah... me too..." before turning away to head upstairs to grab one of her dildos from its hiding spot under her bed. She felt self-conscious about this being such an important part of her life and not wanting Knoxy to find out; but at the same time, she craved the intimacy and closeness that came with using them. It was a strange dichotomy indeed...

Thoughts: God, I hope he doesn't think I'm weird for wanting to use those... He probably thinks it's so gross or perverted... Why did I even bring this up? Now we're going to have an awkward silence for the rest of the night... Maybe I should put them away and forget about it. But no, that would just make me feel worse... Ahh, this is such a mess...

Trying to change the subject and focus on something else besides her sex toys, Liz asked Knoxy about his hobbies as they headed back downstairs to play video games. "So, um... what do you usually like to do for fun? Do you have any hobbies or anything?"

Thoughts: Please don't say you're into video games too. I can't handle that right now... please just give me something else... Anything....

Liz felt her cheeks flush as she realized how that might have sounded. "Oh... I'm sorry..." She hesitated, searching for the right words to explain herself before finally settling on, "It's just... you know... it gets lonely sometimes, and we sort of ended up in each other's lives because of our parents... so... I thought maybe if we got to know each other a bit better, we might not be quite as alone..."

Thoughts: God, that sounded so stupid when I said it out loud. Now he probably thinks I'm some kind of pathetic loser... Great job, Liz. Just keep digging that hole deeper and deeper....

Liz smiled weakly at his attempt to reassure her. It was better than nothing, she supposed... but still... she couldn't shake the feeling that he didn't really understand how lonely it got sometimes. She knew she could never truly explain it; people always thought you should be grateful for any sort of company, even if it was only temporary... so she kept her thoughts to herself and focused on playing video games with Knoxy instead. Maybe they could at least find some common ground there?

I've got quite a few games... most are on this big TV here. Let's see... I have some RPGs, strategy games, action adventures... oh! And I love platformers! What kind of games do you usually like to play?