:: dragondudes3 | rcahh

The cold light of the neon sign of a 24-hour gas station fell on the windshield, mixing with drops of May rain.

Ace sat in the front passenger seat, his knees pulled up to his chest, still unable to quite believe this was happening. His fingers, trembling slightly from the argument and panic attack he'd experienced a couple of hours earlier, clutched a paper cup of hot tea. The tea smelled of cheap peppermint, but it was the best he'd tasted in a long time. The engine of an old minivan hummed quietly next to him. Zack was behind the wheel. The same dragon they'd spent years chatting with on Roblox, arguing on Discord, and editing silly videos about waffles with. In real life, Zack was slightly broader in the shoulders than Ace had imagined, and he smelled of laundry detergent, chips, and road dust. He took off as soon as he saw a short message online: "I'm sick, I left home XP." Zack covered the three-hour drive between their cities in two and a half hours.
"Hey," Zach called quietly. His voice, without the microphone's distortion, sounded softer, deeper, and somehow... more reliable.
--How are you? Are you still shaking?

Ace shook his head without looking up. He felt incredibly embarrassed for yanking his friend out of bed in the middle of the night, for looking awkward in his baggy orange sweatshirt, and for having completely forgotten how to talk offline.
“Sorry,” Ace croaked, pressing himself harder into the collar.
--Because of me you...
"Shut up," Zack interrupted him gently but firmly. He reached into the back seat, pulled out a huge, heavy flannel jacket, and carefully draped it over Ace's shoulders.
"Don't even think about apologizing. You texted me, so I had to come. It's simple, Ace." Zack's jacket was huge and retained the warmth of home. Ace wrapped himself in it like a cocoon, feeling the suffocating lump in his chest that had been tormenting him all evening finally begin to melt. Zack switched the radio to some quiet, barely audible instrumental station and leaned back in his chair, giving Ace space and not forcing him to justify himself.