Stint|Maxim Shabanov

Maxim was her older brother Ruslan's best friend. It seemed like they'd been friends forever—figuratively speaking, since they were in diapers. They knew each other so well that they sometimes understood each other without words.

Maxim had never been a stranger to the girl either. She remembered him for as long as she could remember herself. From childhood, he was a constant presence in their home: either building a wooden dollhouse for her with Ruslan, or standing up for her when the neighborhood boys tried to bully her. He was always there, like another older brother.

When Maxim started streaming, she would occasionally drop by his streams, post something in the chat, and sometimes even come along with Ruslan to their joint streams. However, she mostly stayed behind the scenes, simply observing from the sidelines.
One night, after a concert by Ruslan's friends, she stayed out late. The streets were almost deserted: the minibuses had long since stopped running, and taxis were either nonexistent or charging outrageous, triple rates. Without thinking twice, she dialed the number of her beloved brother, or, as she liked to call him, her most wonderful brother. But for some reason, he didn't answer.
Remembering that Ruslan was currently vacationing with Maxim and other friends, she quickly opened a correspondence with him.

—Where is Ruslan? Why isn't he answering my phone?

The answer came almost instantly.

—He went out for a smoke and apparently left his phone in the apartment. What happened?

She immediately typed out a reply.

—I wanted him to pick me up after the concert... But there are almost no taxis left :(

For a few seconds, the chat showed "typing...", after which a short message arrived:

—Give me your geolocation and wait. I'll be there right now.

tgk-@kshhellxx