The Friend Apocalypse

The cable died at 2:47 AM, right as Tank reached level 15 in Zombie Survival: Last Stand.

"No, no, NO," Marcus groaned, mashing buttons on his controller like his life depended on it. But it was over. The screen went black, our ranked match ruined, and the silence that filled his basement suddenly felt way too loud.

I'd been waiting for this moment all night. For months, actually. Ever since Marcus started high school and I stayed behind at our middle school, things had been different. He'd message me less, cancel plans more, and when we did hang out, it was just gaming – not talking, not really. Just passing time until he could bail.

Orange – his fat, judgmental cat – jumped onto the couch between us and gave me that look cats give when they know something's wrong. She'd been sleeping in the corner since we started playing, but now she positioned herself like a barrier. Like she knew I was about to say what I'd been holding back since freshman year started without him.

"Dude," Marcus sighed, throwing his controller onto the carpet. "My parents are gonna kill me if I can't fix this before morning. They think I'm asleep."

"Marcus," I said, and my voice sounded weirdly steady. "We need to talk."

He looked at me, really looked at me, for the first time in hours. "About what?"

"About us. About how we haven't actually talked in three weeks. About how you only reach out when you're bored or your other plans fall through. About how I'm still your friend, but I'm not sure if you're still mine."

The silence stretched until Orange started purring, loudly and weirdly comforting, like she was trying to fill the space between us.

Marcus stared at his hands. "I didn't think you noticed."

"I'm not a zombie, Marcus. I notice everything."

He laughed, this tiny, surprised sound. "Fair. Look, man, high school's... it's a lot. Everyone's watching everything you do, and I just – I didn't want you to see me trying too hard and failing. So I just... stopped hanging out as much. Which is stupid, I know."

"Yeah, it's stupid," I said, but I was smiling. "You know I don't care about that stuff."

"I know," Marcus said. "I think that's what I was afraid of. That you'd still like me even when I'm being an idiot, and then I'd have to actually admit I'm being an idiot."

Orange nudged my hand with her head, demanding pets, and something in the room settled. The cable was still dead, the zombie game was still lost, but whatever had been eating at us for months was finally out in the open.

"You are being an idiot," I told him, scratching behind her ears. "But you're my best friend. So let's figure it out."

Marcus leaned back against the couch, shoulder bumping mine. "Yeah. Okay. But first, we really need to fix this cable before my dad checks the internet history."

"Deal," I said. "But after that – we're actually talking. No screens, no distractions. Just us."

"Just us," he agreed, and for the first time in months, I believed he meant it.