A/N: Before I begin this story, I just want to make a couple of comments:

When I started playing Runescape, I never thought it would involve some of my most intimate feelings and emotions. Because of the game, I've cried my eyes out, laughed till I fell to the floor, yelled at the computer screen with the most violent of curses, and felt some of the most tender of moments. And yes, I'll be the first to admit that playing the game has been a good waste of time. But, despite losing a few nights' sleep, I still wouldn't trade the experiences the game has given me. I developed friendships and even love. And I don't care what anyone says: The friends I have/had on Runescape are my friends in real life, and I'll never think otherwise.

As for the story I'm about to write, it's based on most of my experiences, but it's not word for word true. I may edit, cut out, or add more conversation than was actually typed by my fellow Runescape friends or me. I may even add situations that have never even occurred in my life. The point of this story, really, is to reach out to people who are placed in a similar situation that I'm in currently. Also, I want people to realize that although you're talking to people online, you're still transferring feeling and emotion, both of which are very real. Sure, people can lie about who they are online, but they can do that in real life too. Playing this game involves a lot more than people think. Of course, that's only true if you make it so. You can be totally reserved and introverted on the game, with the virtual people, or you can be earnest and really care about the game and its players. I go with latter.

Take what you want from this story. It's just a little piece of my life I felt like writing about. I will not divulge any real usernames or real life names (except mine, I guess), though, for the protection of my friends and their privacy. Also, this story involves some activity that is not permitted in the game. The creators of Runescape do not approve of this story and its content. I do not own Runescape or its characters; I'm merely using its entity to portray my story and message. Enjoy and believe.

Chapter 1- The Addiction Begins

I always thought Spring Break came too early. The weather was too cold, and nothing motivated a person to want to do anything. My family was never one to go on any big trips or vacations, so I usually found myself moping around the house, wondering what to do.

It was the Spring Break of 2008, my junior year in high school, that my life changed a little because of a game. I was lying in bed, dead bored, when my sister entered the room, rambunctious and enthusiastic. She jumped on my bed, quite close next to me, and asked obnoxiously, "Whatcha doin'?" I rolled my eyes and retorted, "Living life to its fullest, Sam, what do you think?" She laughed and slowly rolled off my now messy bed. She went to the computer and sat herself down at the shabby desk that lay under it. Her tiny fingers started to tap incessantly as she typed messages to those annoying Runescape people…

My brother, Seth, and my sister, Samantha, both were obsessed with the game Runescape. I always heard them discussing the terms relating to it, and it got annoying. I wondered what the big deal was. It was just a game, right? What was so addicting about it? I laid my head back down on the pillow and caught some badly needed sleep.

o.O.o

I only slept for a couple of hours before I woke up at 2 in the morning. I pushed the covers off of myself and proceeded to the dimly lit computer screen. I checked my e-mails, replied to a couple of them, and checked my Myspace to see if there were any new messages. There were none. I didn't feel like going back to bed, so I decided to do the unthinkable: play Runescape. I thought I might as well see for myself what all the hullabaloo was about. I liked RPGs, so I thought maybe the game couldn't be too bad. I typed in the URL and was brought to a very colorful, almost gaudy, web page. I clicked on Create a Free Account and made a new user.

I had the hardest time trying to find a name for myself. I thought back to my favorite game, Tales of Symphonia. My favorite attack with Lloyd had been Tempest, so I typed in Tempest adding Sphere, assuming Tempest would already be taken. It didn't fit. I frowned and grunted a bit, trying to think of another word to replace tempest. It was a wind attack in the game, so I decided Gale wouldn't be a bad replacement. The name fit, and I was well on my way to being a Runescape player: Gale Sphere.

Getting started was pretty hard for me. I didn't know what to do, and I'm not the best at following directions. For half an hour, I tried to get through the beginning course of the game, Tutorial Island, but alas, the game outsmarted me. I logged off with a "psh" and shut my computer down. I then headed off to read in the living room. I only got through a couple of pages before my mind finally succumbed to the power of sleep.

o.O.o

When I woke in the morning, all I wanted to do was try and play that darned game again. It was amazing how it piqued my interests. But I decided that I should have some life and do something in the real world, so I called up some friends to get a gathering assembled. I succeeded in inviting 2 of my best friends, and we decided to meet at McDonald's for lunch. I quickly ran up the stairs to my room, rushing to put together an ensemble before 12. It was 10:45 in the morning, and I knew it would take me forever to get ready. Sammy was there, playing on the computer. I mentioned to her, as I searched through my closet, that I had made a new account on Runescape for myself, and she asked, "Want me to help you level up, Mela?" "Sure," I replied quickly. "Do whatever you want; I don't care." She laughed while shaking her head, leaving me in peace to quickly put on a sweatshirt and pants. I checked myself in the mirror, gave Sammy a kiss on the cheek, telling her my username and password, and quickly ran down the stairs to put on shoes. I rushed to the door, opened it, and heard Seth from upstairs.

"Mela, Cam called, and he wants you to call him back as soon as possible."

I smiled and shut the door to pick up the phone on the kitchen table. After dialing his number, I paced around the room as I always did when I was on the phone, waiting for my friend to answer. "Hello?" I heard on the other line. "Hey, Cam, what's up? I was just on my way out." Cam laughed his usual, timid laugh. "I just wanted to know if we could hang out tonight. Maybe we could go to the movies?" As much as I wanted to say yes, I hated going to the movies with friends. I was a homebody, and I was already going out as it was, so… "Do you just want to come over and play some Symphonia with me? I don't really feel like going out tonight. Is that ok?" "Sure, sure. That sounds fine." I couldn't tell if he was disappointed, so I casually said I had to go. I turned the phone off and put it in its receiver.

Cam and I were really good friends. We hung out a lot, during and after school, so we knew each other quite well. He was pretty good-looking, but somehow I just wasn't attracted to him that way. I didn't feel any chemistry, but I didn't worry, since he never tried to put the moves on me. I was content with our friendship.

I headed out the door, and went off to lunch to meet my friends.

o.O.o

"I just can't get through to him that I don't want to be his girlfriend anymore…he just doesn't get it!"

For an hour, I listened to my friends complain about their love lives. My friend, Liz, had just broken up with her boyfriend, but he kept calling and calling her, not wanting it to be over. She led him on, though, whenever he did succeed in getting together with her to hang out, by kissing him and spouting out her sweet nothings. It was very tiring to listen to her complaints, for she, herself, created the problems. Adrianne and I looked at each other, bored of Liz's usual boy problems, and smiled esoterically. Although we both shared the same opinion of Liz's little slutty lead-on, we weren't compelled to share our true feelings with her. We saved our back talk for when we were alone.

Adrianne's dilemma wasn't too much better, though. In fact, her problem irritated me more. Adrianne, at the time, was going out with a guy named Nick, a guy I used to like back in the 8th grade. I confessed my feelings to him, but he refused to acknowledge my existence, let alone my feelings. I was deeply hurt and troubled, and I remember talking to Adrianne about what a jerk Nick was (she fully agreed). A year later, Adrianne went out with him, something that hurt even more. Nick was always rude to me, and he thought I was a bad influence on Adrianne. I avoided him and avoided thinking of him as much as possible, but he always came up in conversation whenever Adrianne and I were alone. It almost made me literally sick, thinking of those two together. I never did quite forgive her for betraying me like that. She always complained of his lack of romance or his harshness in words, even though she knew about his malicious temperament. It was beginning to get old to both Liz and me, so we quickly changed the subject.

As our lunch came to an end, Liz asked anxiously, "Mel, is there any love problem you have?" I thought a bit but couldn't come up with anything. I never was lucky with the guys; in fact, I hadn't had a boyfriend since the 8th grade, and that was with Leon, one of my best guy friends. Ever since then, I was picky in my choosing of boyfriends. But that wasn't even the problem. I just wasn't popular enough in school, and my average looks didn't add any extra points, either. I was considered plain, but smart and funny. Guys came to me if they had a question about sentence structure or book analysis; it was never for dates. I shook my head in response to my friend's question, grimacing at my pathetic lack of detail in my life. Nothing interesting ever went on. We said our goodbyes and went home.

Cam finally came over, late as usual, to my house around 5. We played video games until 7, and then we took a ride in his car, going to the empty parking lot at my church. We usually talked about school. Cam was a grade higher than I, so he often talked of his leaving for college, where he would go and when. But tonight was different. Tonight Cam changed the subject for once, asking me if I had done anything new recently. I chuckled and sheepishly told him of my new account on Runescape. He laughed as well, exclaiming how surprised he was that I'd try something so unorthodox.

"Well, I was just bored, so I made an account. But you know, for some reason, I'm really drawn to it. I feel like I should be on it. I dunno what it is about the game; it's just…something that has almost touched me, I guess." Cam burst out laughing at my sincerity. I laughed, too, to be good-natured, but I honestly felt something for the game, deep inside. It confused me, and I didn't like that feeling. Cam's laughter died down, but the light in his eyes told me he would never let me live down what I said. We talked a little more about the game, Runescape, and then Cam drove me back to my house, saying his goodbye. I took a shower before setting myself down at the computer to check my e-mail. Even as I was answering the mail, I couldn't help but think of the game…Runescape…oh, I wanted to play it. So badly! I signed out of my e-mail and resumed my training.

o.O.o

Sammy had certainly done her job with training me. By Wednesday, I was level 45, and I was beginning to get the hang of the game. I was still a noob when it came to traveling, but I at least knew what was at each city. As I kept playing, I realized that I did in fact enjoy the game and what it had to offer.

Runescape was full of life and color. Conversations filled the lower half of my computer screen, while virtual people ran around the rest of it. I traveled with Gale by clicking various places on the map located to the top right part of my screen. I came upon a spot where a castle stood and hundreds of people cluttered and conversed. It was incredibly busy! It surprised to me to find a gregarious group of strangers talking, joking, and laughing. I stayed in that place for what seemed an eternity, reading the words of people I didn't know and would probably never know. I came to learn that this area was known as the town of Lumbridge. It was the most well-known city of Runescape. I suppose I should have already known the name, but I hadn't completed the beginning course of the game; Sammy had. Oh, but what a magical place this Lumbridge seemed to be! I fell in love with Lummy right away, and I returned very often whenever I was bored or in need of company. Yes, I saw how silly it was to become attached to a virtual entity, but I didn't seem to care. I felt that the place would be very important to me in the future…

Sammy showed me where I could train, for I was still training at the cows. It hadn't occurred to me that there were higher-leveled monsters. I barely knew how to travel around Lumbridge, let alone a larger city. She took me to Varrock and into its sewers. She took me all the way to the skeletons, past the rats and scorpions. The skeletons and the few zombies that popped up were fierce to a low level like me, but with an abundance of food stocked in my inventory, I prevailed while I attacked. Combating wasn't very involved, but it was entertaining enough. Picking up and burying bones served to upgrade my Prayer level, but I hadn't a clue what a prayer could do when I first began. I kept on track, though. I was level 47 in fewer than two days. Seth came in my room and looked at the screen. He was impressed with my upgrade in levels, but he insisted that I buy new armor. He took it upon himself to buy it for me (he made me swear I would pay him back). I was wearing Mithril, and I liked its color very much. I didn't want to exchange my armor, but Seth adamantly insisted. He gave me Adamant armor, a subtle, dark green. It didn't match my hair at all, so Seth told me about haircuts given in Falador, and I went there to fix myself up. Sammy and Seth showed me the way (I was quite provincial in my travels, until I later completed the free quests) and took me to the humble hair salon, walking my character inconspicuously through the crowd. I talked to the hairdresser inside, and a booth came out of nowhere, covering me. The haircut selection didn't have great variation, but I soon found a cut that seemed appealing to me. I chose long hair with braids up front and mint green as the color. It looked pretty nice in my newly acquired armor. To my dismay, though, I realized the haircut would cost 2k. I decided this haircut would last me a long while, for 2k was expensive for a character in my situation. I was satisfied with my choice; I looked more sophisticated, not so much a noob. After my first haircut, I went back to the sewers to continue my combat training.

o.O.o

By the time Thursday came rolling around, I had quite a few friends on my friends list. One was a player Tcore, a person who came to be my best friend on the game. Before our friendship blossomed, though, we didn't talk very much. But I one day commented to him that a person had reported me, because I had stated I was Mormon. Apparently, talk of religion was not well-received in the game. After I finished my story, he became very excited.

Tcore: Ur mormon?!?!

Gale Sphere: Yeah, are you?

Tcore: Yes!!!

Gale Sphere: Wow, that's awesome! What a small world.

Tcore: Ya no kidding

From then on, we were more than friends; we were kindred spirits. That little breakthrough turned out to be the best thing that could ever have happened to me on the game. He introduced himself as Trent. He was only 12, but I thought he had pretty good insight for a kid his age. He lived far away from me, which was disappointing, but it always seemed like he was right by my side, anyway. We talked everyday and even trained together. One could always assume that if Trent and I were ever on at the same time, we were in each other's clan chats. We got along perfectly, and we felt a special connection. We trusted each other one hundred percent, and we still do. He's the best friend I've ever had.

I of course had made other friends, but there were only a select few with whom I talked consistently. My only female friend was Jess, or Lil Layla. She was 12 and pretty immature, but she always had a happy spirit, which was quite pleasing to me. I struggled to keep happy or even content. Her cheerfulness was contagious, and so we got along for the most part. We gave each other our e-mail addresses and messengers, so we talked more often than normally I would a Runescape friend.

I became friends with hundreds of kids, and even had many serious, thought-provoking conversations with some of them. But still, I thought of Runescape as just a game. It wasn't until Trent and I became closer that I realized how important the game was to me. I realized that I found more pleasure in speaking with Trent than I did my real life friends. It amazed me how much I cared for him. And it wasn't until I met someone else that I realized Runescape was more than just a game: it was a place of unlimited possibilities.

o.O.o

I stood again by the castle of Lumbridge, lingering and watching people move about from place to place. Gale seemed to be quite attractive, for guys constantly came my way, asking me out or complimenting my virtual, good looks. I laughed silently to myself, wishing I received the same kind of attention in my real life. Nobody seemed to want to get to know me, the real me. It was a bitter reality to deal with sometimes, but it'd occurred so many times in my life that the reality became a dull numbing in my heart; I hardly felt it. And after each guy explained why I'd want him as my bf ("I'm hot," "I can satisfy you," "I'll give you free stuff.") I politely declined, not wanting any type of dating to occur. It seemed to be common, though, in the game, to ask for a bf or gf. I'm pretty sure the creators of Runescape frowned upon the act, making it reportable, but it occurred nevertheless. I supposed it to be something of a ritual, though, for I thought, who would consider dating someone you hadn't met in real life? What was the point?

It had been an hour, at least, since I had logged on, and I was growing faintly tired of the lively business. I was a click away from leaving when a level 84 person, dressed humbly in a blue mage outfit, started conversing with me.

Mafia: Just standing there all lonely?

Gale: Me? Yeah, I'm just watching.

Mafia: Me too, lol.

I chuckled to myself, pleased at the stranger's boldness to make conversation. I wanted to chat more, but I was getting dizzy and confused from words constantly popping up on my screen from all the "noisy" people of Lummy. It looked like Mafia wasn't going to say anything further to me, so I quietly dismissed myself from his presence, heading south to the graveyard, which reserved a lone yew tree. I started to walk around aimlessly, when I realized the same Mafia was following me. I halted as soon as he spoke to me.

Mafia: Wait! Let me come with you.

Gale: Lol, why?

Mafia: You seem like an interesting person. Let's talk.

My brows raised in suspicion, but I welcomed his persistence. We stood in the graveyard silently a while before he began conversation. I was a little uncomfortable at first, because nobody had ever demanded my company on the game. It was usually I that initiated that sort of thing. It came to mind that he just wanted to corner me alone, in order to catch me in his web, but Mafia was different from the guys who annoyingly asked for my hand in dating. He was different and I knew it, I felt it.

Mafia: So…

Gale: So…?

Mafia: Lol

Mafia: What's your name?

Gale: …Mela.

Mafia: I'm John.

Gale: Oh, I like that name a lot.

Mafia: Lol thanks.

Our talking began, and we hardly ever took pauses. John immediately told me that he picked me out of the Lummy crowd as a gf "present" for his older brother, Anthony. Anthony liked my mint green hair, so he ordered John to keep tabs on me, convince me to become Anthony's Runescape girlfriend. I was amused by John's charming frankness, and I couldn't help but be interested in his older brother's request.

Gale: How old is he?

Mafia: 17.

Gale: Oh, so am I, lol.

Mafia: Cool.

It was two in the morning, and we hadn't had a dull moment in our conversation. I can't remember now the specifics of our conversation until we were saying our goodbyes, which occurred two hours later. John gloomily told me that he had to go to bed and crash. I was a tad disappointed, but I noticed my eyes were beginning to flutter helplessly; I had stayed up late every night of the whole of Spring Break. It took him a long 5 minutes for him to complete his goodbye speech, because he asked numerously if I would be online later that day. I assured him I would be, just for him. After innumerable promises, he seemed to believe me, and he quit typing. I said bye, expecting his Runescape personage to vanish, but he stayed visible in the same spot. It seemed to me that he was contemplating over something.

Gale: ?

Mafia: Just remember…

Mafia: Ily.

Gale: Ily?

Mafia: It means I love you…

Gale: Oh…ok.

I didn't know really what to say. Nobody had ever told me they loved me, not even on the game. I was a little disconcerted. I had just met John, and already he loved me? I decided either he was young with no idea of how bold his statement was, or he was joking, so I took it in stride. I typed in a smiley, signifying that I appreciated his sentiment, and he laughed with dot dot dots following closely behind.

Mafia: Good night, Mela. I love you.

Gale: Good night, John.

And with that, he disappeared. He disappeared, and my numbed heart seemed to flicker with warmth.

A/N: Alright, I read through it, and I made many grammatical errors, so I decided to patch it up. Hopefully, it's near perfect now. Please review, if you haven't already, and I'll be reposting chapters, cleaning up their content and whatnot. Thanks for reading. (^^)