HE SOLD ME WITH THE ACCOUNT

My online boyfriend kept asking for a photo, but I was always too shy to send one. To play alongside him, I ground my way from a Goldranked rookie to a hundredstar support.

Then one day, I came across an account listing. [Need money to buy my girlfriend a gift.

Selling my game account.] Someone had commented underneath: [You've still got a levelthirty couple bond on this account.

Does your girlfriend know?] He replied: [She's just someone I play with. I keep asking for photos, and she won't send any. She's definitely ugly.] I froze when I read that.

I was the one linked to him as his girlfriend. Half an hour later, he messaged me from a new account. [Babe, I'm not using that account anymore.

Add this one.] Chapter 1 [We've been dating for six months, and she won't even send me a photo.

She's definitely ugly.] I stared at the reply for a long time, unable to untangle what I was feeling. The person who'd posted the listing went by WeightlessFlight.

The body of the post read: [Quitting the game. Selling an account with a couple bond, a full collection of rare skins, and a linked hundredstar support.

Selling to buy my reallife girlfriend a gift. Serious buyers, DM me.] That hundredstar support was me.

Six months earlier, I'd been a beginner who could barely find her way around the map.

Zachary Perkins said he liked enchanter supports, so I memorized ability cooldowns, learned to work around enemy vision, and stayed up late watching replays.

Climbing from Gold to a hundred stars, I'd taken countless lethal hits for him. Now he'd sold his account. And me along with it.

Someone in the comments asked: [What about the girl linked to it?] Zachary replied: [She comes with the account.

It's not like she'll know who's playing.] I'd just taken screenshots when a friend request popped up on my phone. [Babe, I don't feel like using the old account anymore.

Add this one. I'll still carry you.] I hit Decline without hesitating. I turned off my phone, pulled the covers up, and finally cried out loud. This was my first relationship.

I'd already known Zachary went to my university. I'd wanted to surprise him by meeting in person. He'd humiliated me first.

At eleven that night, I turned my phone back on and logged into the game. The couple icon was still lit. Our bond score was 23,600.

The button to unlink us was in the lowerright corner. I was about to tap it when an invitation to queue together arrived from his old account. I should have backed out.

Somehow, I hit Accept instead. The other player locked in a strong jungler. I picked my usual support. Three minutes in, he left me the kill on a lowhealth enemy.

At six minutes, when the enemy mid laner and jungler closed in, he turned back and took the full chain of crowd control for me.

I typed: [Don't worry about me.] A low voice suddenly came through my headset. “You go first.

I can trade kills.” Later, I used Flash half a second too late and cost him a key objective.

I apologized automatically. “My fault.” “No.” His voice was calm. “I misjudged when to go in.” For a moment, I said nothing.

When I'd made the same mistake before, Zachary would switch to the public voice channel and say, “Does our support even know how to play?

How did someone this clueless get to a hundred stars?” He'd forgotten the three months I'd spent solo queuing at the start. He'd forgotten every star after that, too.

I'd earned them myself, learning team compositions, tracking cooldowns, and fighting for vision.

At twenty minutes, I spotted a gap in the enemy marksman's positioning and initiated a team fight.

The account's new owner followed up immediately, got a triple kill, and took down the crystal. On the results screen, I had the secondhighest rating in the match.

Chapter 2 He didn't say, “Sit back and let me carry you.” All he said was, “You started that last fight really well.

Nicely done.” “Thanks.” Before I left the lobby, he sent me a message. [I'm not using my old messaging account anymore.

I've sent you a request from the new one.] I opened my messaging app. There were exactly two red dots in the pending list. Distracted, I tapped Accept All.

By the time I saw who they were, it was too late to undo it. The first contact was listed as Philip Foster. The second was Zach.

Zachary messaged me almost the instant I accepted. [Babe, I knew you couldn't let me go.] I was about to delete him when Lydia Watts pulled back the curtain around my bed. “Madeline Robbins, if we wait another ten minutes, the dining hall will have nothing left but vegetable broth.” I switched off my screen and followed her downstairs.

Halfway there, a guy carrying a basketball stopped me and asked if he could add me. Before I could answer, Lydia stepped between us. “No.

She has a boyfriend.” The guy left, embarrassed. Lydia bumped my shoulder with hers. “That new hairstyle after orientation really made a difference.

Hey, your online boyfriend goes here too, right? You've been dating for six months.

How come you've never told me what he looks like?” “Just… average.” “What department is he in?” “Let's eat first. I'm hungry.” The word boyfriend felt like a thorn.

It hadn't gone in deep, but it was always there. Lydia didn't press. She just muttered something about how secretive I was. The dining hall was packed.

I was weaving through the crowd with my tray when my shoe hit a small patch of water and I lurched sideways. One hand caught my arm just in time. Another steadied my tray. “Steady.

Don't move.” I froze. His voice sounded almost exactly like ThresholdTide's had in my headset the night before. I looked up into a pair of lightcolored eyes.

The guy had pushed the cuffs of his gray sweatshirt up to his wrists. A small silver stud sat in his ear. “Are you hurt?” he asked. “No.

Thank you.” “You're welcome.” Lydia hurried over carrying two bowls of soup, and I quickly went with her. After we sat down, I looked back.

He was still standing where I'd left him, as though he wanted to confirm something. In the end, he said nothing. I opened my phone.

Philip Foster's profile icon sat quietly in my contacts. There were no photos, and his feed was empty, too.

I typed a message. [Was that you in the dining hall just now?] After hesitating for a few seconds, I deleted it all.

That afternoon, we had an interdisciplinary firstyear project class. It brought Journalism and Communication students together with Finance students for a campus project.

When it was time for the Finance students to introduce themselves, Zachary went to the front in a namebrand streetwear jacket and connected his phone to the projector. “Zachary Perkins.

I stream games, and I've got a few highranked accounts.

Skillwise, I'm pretty much at the level where I could get paid to boost people.” A series of match screenshots flashed across the screen. The third was from WeightlessFlight.

The avatar, the skins, the hundredstar badge—even the little moon decoration on the couple profile hadn't been fully cropped out. I stared at the image. My stomach went cold.

Zachary followed my gaze and looked over at me. He paused for two seconds.

Then he walked around two rows of seats and sat beside me. “Maddie, do you want to play this?” I looked up at him. He smiled as though we'd known each other for ages. “Add me.

I'll help you rank up.” Lydia answered for me. “No. She has a boyfriend.” His smile faded a little. “What department? Does he go here?

Have you met him in person?” “What's it to you?” Chapter 3 I put away my laptop. “I don't play.” The classroom went quiet for a moment. He wasn't embarrassed.

Instead, he leaned back in his chair. “You've got a temper. That's fine.

We can take our time getting to know each other.” After class, Lydia and I had just reached the door when my phone rang.

A message had arrived from Zachary's main account. [Maddie, what do you want for breakfast tomorrow? I'll bring it to you.] I didn't reply.

The next morning, there was breakfast on my desk anyway.

A note beside the paper bag read, “For Maddie.” At noon, he saved a seat by the window ahead of time and set a shoebox at the edge of the table.

Someone nearby recognized the limitededition sneakers. Zachary smiled and announced the price.

That afternoon, he brought over a gift box from a luxury brand. “A little gift to say it's nice to meet you.” I didn't take it. “We barely know each other.” “Take the gift, and we can change that,” he said. “Don't read too much into it.

I'm just trying to make a friend.” I looked at the watch on his wrist, more confused than ever. One pair of his shoes cost as much as he'd gotten for the account.

Why had he written this in the listing? [Reluctantly selling my couple account to buy my girlfriend a gift.] That evening, I'd just finished editing a gaming highlight clip when a message from Zachary popped up in my chat app. [Babe, sorry.

I've met my true love at school. Let's break up.] I stared at the words and typed a reply. [What's your true love's name?] It failed to send.

Beneath the red exclamation mark was a notice. [Only accepted contacts can send messages.] Three minutes later, the chat with Zachary's reallife account lit up again.

He had sent: [Maddie, are you free tomorrow?] I took screenshots of the two conversations side by side and sent them to my best friend. She was furious.

She immediately hired people to take turns insulting Zachary from eighty different accounts. At first, he thought someone was playing a prank on him.

By the fourth day, he couldn't take it anymore. He sent my best friend $750 with a note: [Stop it.

Hush money.] Lydia forwarded every cent to me and added: [Voluntary compensation to settle a dispute.

I've kept the relevant evidence.] For the first time, I felt as though those five hundred and twenty days could be cashed in.

Philip and I were getting better and better at playing together. Then, after a match one day, he said, “There's something I haven't had the nerve to tell you.

I'm not the account's original owner.” I looked at the screen without answering. “I won't use the games we've played together to excuse what I did wrong.

When you're ready, I'll tell you the whole story.” At last, I asked, “That was you in the dining hall that day, wasn't it?” The voice channel went quiet for two seconds. “Yes.” “You recognized me, too?” “You weren't ready.

I had no right to reveal who you were.” I rubbed the headset cord between my fingers, thinking about where we went from here.

Just then, a guild announcement popped up. [Inperson meetup this weekend. We've added a couples' team tournament.

First prize: $1,500.] People in the group immediately tagged me and the old couple account.

Philip messaged me privately. [Want to enter?] Three more messages followed. [You can cancel at the last minute if you're uncomfortable.] [You can leave even if you're already at the door.] [We can just be regular teammates.] I thought about it, then replied without any more hesitation. [Let's enter.] On the day of the meetup, Lydia picked out a dark, cleanlined long dress for me. “Scared?” “Yes.” I picked up my bag. “But I'm going anyway.” I was outside the private room, about to push the door open, when Zachary's voice came from inside. “Late?

You think Moon's coming? Dream on.” Someone laughed. “You dated her that long and never saw a photo?” Chapter 4 “No. She kept hiding.

What other reason could there be?” Someone else chimed in. “She's got to be too ugly to show her face.” Laughter erupted. “That's why I sold the account,” Zachary added casually. “It was just an online relationship.

Who actually takes that seriously?” I gripped the door handle.

Five hundred and twenty days of chat history, that reply calling me “definitely ugly,” and the sound of him calling me Maddie in person all flashed through my mind at once.

Then I pushed the door open and walked in. The light fell across my face, catching the faint mole on the tip of my nose. Someone's cup stopped in midair.

Zachary turned, his smile freezing on his lips. The room, so noisy a moment earlier, went utterly silent. “I'm LateMoon.” The person who'd laughed the loudest lowered their head