The Game: League of Legends

***

Tap tap tap.

Tap.

Tap tap tap.

Kyungsoo looks up from his book, glaring across the room at his current, soon to be deceased, roommate Kim Jongin.

The boy smells like sweat and sugar-filled sports drinks seeing as he still hasn’t washed off from dance rehearsals two nights ago, and Kyungsoo does all he can to make the room smell at least bearable with his scented lavender candles.

The boy is slouching over, his hair messy. Kyungsoo thinks this is an attractive look for the younger teen, aside from the fact that he’s filling the room with this obnoxious sound.

Tap.

Tap tap.

Tap tap tap.

Kai’s fingers are flying across the keyboard, his fingers effortlessly attacking the keys in a series of fast and repetitive combinations. He uses the arrow keys, wildly scrolling through the world around him. Kyungsoo’s stare starts to get much more sinister as the tapping gets louder and louder.

Tap tap tap tap tap!

“Be quiet!” Kyungsoo finally snaps.

But Kai can’t hear him. He’s got this stupid headset on that’s blocking out everything around him, and every now and then he whispers frantically into it. Kyungsoo pulls the headset off and Kai swears at him angrily.

“ Kyung, you made me lose! Now I have to spawn back at the Nexus, God dammit.”

“Nexa what now?”

“What do you want?” Kai slams the laptop down with a grunt. Kyungsoo is immediately reminded why he wanted to fry the younger teen in the first place.

“Dude, stop tapping the keyboard so loudly!” Kyungsoo complains grumpily.

“I’m trying to read this cook book!”

“Whatever!” Kai snaps.

“I’m trying to play this game, all right? You basically screwed up this round so I’m gonna have to go on a new map.”

Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow. Map. What in the world was he on about?

Sometimes Kyungsoo thinks Kai could actually be permanently brain damaged. The amount of games he plays is really quite astounding, and Kyungsoo wonders if all the sounds that are constantly battering his eardrums through those headphones and the hours he stays up late to tapping away are the healthiest of life options. Probably not, for a normal, sane human being.

But it’s Kai, and he’s much fitter than Kyungsoo. Somehow.

TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP!

“Kai please for the love of God, stop tapping!”

Kai simply rolls his eyes and turns his attention back to the laptop.

“Oh, so we’ve already got a Garen and a Katarina. Well you guys I’m Malzahar,” Kai blurts into the microphone. He clicks the mouse a couple of times, and Kyungsoo decides that, whatever, he’s going to shuffle over and watch what all this stupid commotion is about.

“Explain it to me,” Kyungsoo says, poking Kai on the arm. He’s sitting with his head on Kai’s pillow, staring at the screen intently.

“You wouldn’t understand,” Kai says, waving him off.

“Basically I’m a Mage and everyone has to get to the Nexus and hack it before goes down.”

“What? Didn’t you say you ‘spawn’ by the Nexie thing?”

“Nexus. And yeah, but you have to destroy your opponent’s Nexus before they get yours.” Kyungsoo nods.

“So like, capture the flag?”

Kai gives Kyungsoo a pitying look; a mix of sympathy and condescension.

“This is League of Legends, Kyungsoo. You’d never understa- OH! Look’s like we’re on the Twisted Treeline Map, this is the best! You can do some epic battles with minions here man!”

Kyungsoo shakes his head.

“Yah! Kat should take mid and Garen should top.”

“What?”

Kai hushes the older teen, placing a finger on his lip. Kyungsoo trembles at the touch, trying to hide his blush. But Kai hasn’t seen it; his full attention is at the screen.

The picture is dark. Kyungsoo can make out what looks like cobblestone pathways and wild grassy areas, and he notices a tall pillar which seems to have a blue light glowing out of it.

“What’s that?” Kyungsoo asks.

“The Nexus.”

Tap tap.

Tap tap tap TAP TAP.

A pause.

“Don’t worry guys, just trying to explain it to Kyungsoo, he’s a total noob.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t understand these words but he doesn’t like the tone Kai employs.

“Who are you talking to?” he asks angrily.

“Oh, just Chen and Xiu.”

Kyungsoo glares, a pout forming on his plump lips. Kai is completely oblivious to this as well.

“They’re next door, Kai. Why don’t you just get up and walk next door?”

“Because it’s no fun.” Kai remarks.

A pause.

Tap tap.

“No guys, he’s wondering why I’m not ing with you over there.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes couldn’t possibly widen any more than they already have.

“What?”

“Jeez Kyung, learn the language!” Kai complains.

Kyungsoo refrains from punching him in the face. Instead, he picks himself up off the bed and walks into the kitchen, glaring at anyone who passes him by. He can hear Chen and Xiumin screeching into their headsets from the other side, something along the lines of ‘OP motherer’ and ‘damn I need to get to the turret’ and more cussing and basically stuff Kyungsoo can’t understand at all.

“Urgh!” he grumbles loudly, pulling a teabag and mug out of the cupboard. He slams them on the bench and boils the kettle, watching as Luhan shuffles in and out of the kitchen with a worried look on his face.

“What happened to you?” Kyungsoo asks.

Luhan whirls around, eyes wild.

“Oh God Kyungsoo, I spilt coke on Sehun’s keyboard! He’s going to flip his at me when he finds out he can’t play League of Legends!” Luhan says all of this in one breath, and Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow.

“Dude, Kai has like twenty laptops, just take one of those!”

Luhan looks at Kyungsoo like he’s a genius and flies out of the room. He has stars in his eyes, and he hums lightly as he skips rather gaily down the hallway and flops into his room.

“Thanks Kyungsoo!” he calls down the hallway.

Well, Kyungsoo reasons, Kai might just bite off Luhan’s head. That could prove interesting; at least, more interesting than those stupid tapping sounds that still resonate throughout the whole apartment.

TAP TAP TAP!

***

OK, so I know absolutely nothing about League of Legends or any online multiplayer games like it... this was a random spur of the moment chapter because all my cousin does is play this game with his friends. Like, with a headset on. He is Kai in this. Swearing into the microphone with constant bloody tapping that's slowly driving me INSANE!

I need to calm. Me every time he's playing that game: