Chapter 18 - He Is Mine Now

Katherine spent the evening trying to figure out how to re-enter the game server. The site had been down for the whole evening and she had gotten little work done after having the chat with Lily.

She was preoccupied with playing for the longest time until the server just stopped working. It was under maintenance, they said and the people playing had been informed long ago, but Katherine didn't remember reading such a notice. Anyway, she let it go and concentrated on her work. She was about to finish her work when she heard the front door open. She walked out of the room, hoping it was Lily but was surprised to see Angelina, her roommate standing in the doorway.

She was pulling her luggage behind her and frowning as she crossed the threshold.

"Help me carry this," she said breathlessly, her thin body heaving with the effort.

"Have your muscles atrophied?" Katherine replied as she set forward to help her. She was about to pick up the luggage when Angelina moved away and went inside the room without her. "Thanks for helping me," she found saying to no one in particular as her flatmate had already made her way to the kitchen.

"How do you eat like a cow, only plants!" The words didn't settle well with Angelina, obviously. She was very conscious of what she was putting into her body because it was what paid the bills.

"At least I don't look like a cow," she retorted with a roll of her eyes.

"Are you calling me fat?" Katherine asked, not at all offended by the insinuation. She considered herself gifted in the body department. She had the right amount of curves and assets to make her look good in anything she wore and she didn't envy Angelina for her wild yet restrictive lifestyle. She would rather lounge in pyjamas than strut around in high fashion clothes, almost naked for everyone to see.

"Yes," came the blunt reply. "Did you record Cage's show from last time? I missed it and I want to see it." Katherine shrugged and glanced at the television.

"I have it saved. Mind if I join you in watching?" Truly, she was a fangirl of another level.

"Sure, I don't mind." The two headed towards the living room. One sitting on the couch and the other placed on the foot of it, they switched on the television and turned to the last interview Cage Cavanaugh had gone to. They watched it silently until questions about what games he had been playing came into the conversation. Katherine perked up, trying to remember if she had listened to this segment or was too preoccupied with the beauty of the man to listen to his words.

The name of the game flew out of his mouth and Katherine froze. She was sure he would never play such a game. She knew him to be an avid gamer who liked multi-player games but yet here he was telling the world that he liked to play a puzzle game on a popular app. Surely, he had to be lying.

If it was true, everything she believed about Cage would fall apart. And she would never let herself think of that way about Cage Cavanaugh again.

"I'm going to play Detective Puzzles with Cage Cavanaugh." Her spirited flatmate bellowed startling Katherine. She had just weaned one friend away from their fantasies and thank god it was Lily who knew for a fact that she couldn't find the actor, but this delusional dummy meant what she said. Her eyes gleamed at the prospect of playing.

"Please tell me you don't think he really plays that game," Katherine groaned knowing the answer well.

"Maybe he got a paid sponsorship and has started playing the game. PC games aren't the only way one can stay with the title of gamer." The other reasoned. The argument was not a bad one, and if it had been anyone else but Cage Cavanaugh, Kitty would have vehemently agreed to the argument, but she was sure of what the actor liked to play. In her mind possibly apart from his Cellist of a mother, she was the one who knew him best. While she knew that it wasn't true, the illusion of importance made her feel a little better about herself. At least she wasn't delusional enough to think she would ever play her idol.

"You don't know his screen name," her voice was firm but Angelina didn't pay her any attention. She waved her hand in front of Angela's face, but the other swatted it away as if killing a pesky fly that was irritating her. Katherine deflated but didn't want to say anymore. What was this situation?

"Kevin Heart works," she said suddenly, uttering the actor's most famous character out in the open. "I just sent a game request!" Foolish. Foolish.

"You really think he'd use his character name for his ID?" If it was her guess, anything but the most popular character name in the industry, at that moment.

"What else would he use?" she asked matter-of-factly. "You wait and see, he is going to respond."

'Of course, he is,' she thought sarcastically as she saw the glowing face of her friend. She looked back at the television where Cage was still speaking passionately about his new film and thought of going to bed early.

"I'm going to head to bed," she said scathingly, imagining the stupid reactions the woman would give upon hearing back from some random stranger who would catfish her.

"Don't dream of Cage. He is mine now." The sticking out of her tongue aggravated Kitty. She ground her teeth together and breathed out the next words.

"Cage Cavanaugh will randomly select you among the masses that just rushed to ask him to play." The words were harsh, and Angelina recoiled. She gasped almost comically and then bit back spitefully.

"What in the hell is wrong with you, Kitty?" she asked, huffing. Katherine didn't talk back, but she felt miserable as she walked to her room, wondering how stupid she had been to befriend such a foolish girl in university.

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