The staffers knew there would be a crowd at each match that Dayzees played at, so they gave him a giant section to accommodate the spectators. The stage also featured the other top-eight player matches. I was enthralled for Darren.

“How do you feel about playing in front of a large audience?” I asked.

“A little nervous, it’s like that anxiety you get before public speaking, but I’ve been having that every time I played a match. I’ve been feeling better by the second game,” Darren said.

“Well, I don’t mean to freak you out, but you know the Dayzees will draw a crowd, right?”

“Yeah.” Darren’s lips curled down and he shrugged. “I’m ready for it. I don’t expect to win, but I’ll give him my best,”

“Don’t count yourself out yet. He might have a bad game or two, and you can capitalize on it. We’ve gotta believe!” I shouted as we approached the large station set up for an audience of thousands. It was mostly filled. Wyatt was already sprawled over two chairs, I assumed he was saving one for me, but I couldn’t be sure.

I felt like I was walking Darren down the aisle for a wedding, as Dayzees waited at the altar. Although inching closer to the setup, it felt more like giving Darren to the slaughterhouse.

Heading to where Wyatt sat, he scooted to the single-seat and left me the other.

“You nervous, man?” Wyatt asked.

“Hell yeah. So far this tournament, Dayzees has gone 2-0 each match.”

They were playing on a screen that was wide enough for everyone to see. Darren and Dayzees plugged their controllers in and were on the character select screen. Dayzees selected Rabid-Savage and Darren chose Solar-Flame.

“He should have gone with Aqua-Axe,” I whispered to Wyatt.

“Let him do his thing.”

The match started, and Rabid-Savage lunged at Solar-Flame, clawing him to the edge of the stage. Darren dodged a swipe finally and blasted Rabid-Savage to the other side with a jet of flames. I wanted to desperately look at Dayzees’s face. He was surely panicking. Darren wasn’t going down without a fight. The match was much more even than I thought it would be. If Dayzees landed a combo, Darren landed one in retaliation but just one number lower. Both their health bars were evenly drained, Darren was on the ropes, but Dayzees wasn’t far behind.

Rabid-Savage expanded his claws, front-flipped, and sliced Solar-Flame in half.

“Game one, Dayzees,” the moderator announced, and the rest of the crowd watching clapped and cheered

Don’t clap for this villain. I was pissed off.

Darren switched it up for game two and selected his faithful, Aqua-Axe. Dayzees stayed as Rabid-Savage. Before the next match began, Dayzees said something that made Darren turn his head and glare. The moderator said something that made Dayzees shake his head in irritation.

“That was weird,” I whispered to Wyatt.

“Yeah I didn’t catch any of that.”

The second match started. Darren was playing the highest level of gameplay I had ever seen from him. His Aqua-Axe kept knocking back and crushing Rabid-Savage, keeping him at a good distance. People clapped for Darren’s impressive combos.

No way, no way, oh my gosh, I don’t believe it. Darren is in the lead!

“Whoa!” the crowd collectively gasped.

Aqua-Axed sliced Rabid-Savage in half.

“Game two, TruthOrDarren.”

“Let’s go!” I shot out of my seat and punched my arms at the sky. My body flowed with adrenaline. I couldn’t imagine how Darren must have felt. He impressed me. He really did.

“This is a joke!” Dayzees screamed.

I stopped my celebrating and focused on the stage. Something was happening. I couldn’t hear much, but Darren and Dayzees were mouthing off at each other. Darren dropped his controller and marched toward Dayzees with his chest out, staring down at him.

“What the hell is going on?” I asked Wyatt. “Should we go over there? It’s looking kind of serious.”

“I don’t know. They’ll figure it out.”

Dayzees ran his mouth a mile a minute, I did my best to try and read his lips, but I could only see him dropping “f-bombs” here and there.

The moderator tried to put his hands in between their abdomens, attempting to create some sort of barrier, but it wasn’t enough. Maybe the moderator was just trying to remind them where they were while also trying to calm them down. Staff members approached the stage while Darren and Dayzees hollered at each other only a foot apart.

Darren shoved Dayzees.

It wasn’t just a push. It was a full-on “you’re-going-down throw,” and Dayzees flew from the station and crashed on his ass. After the look of shock faded on Dayzees’s face, he realized he wasn’t seriously hurt. He was laughing it up.

People pulled out their phones and started recording the whole scene.

“TruthOrDarren has been disqualified from tournament play!” the moderator shouted.

The security was trying to swarm Darren, but Darren held his hands up and yelled, “Don’t worry, I’m leaving! I’m leaving! I’m sorry!”

I turned to Wyatt. We were both looking at each other with our eyes wide, and our jaws dropped. “Wyatt, go to the other side. You might have to play your match soon. I’ll go get Darren to make sure he’s okay.”

“What about you? Don’t you still have a match this round?” Wyatt asked

“Yeah, I still have to play, but honestly, I need to go check on him. I have no idea what happened, do you?”

“No, not really. I haven’t seen Darren behave like that since middle school. Used to be a real sensitive hot-headed dude. Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?”

“Yeah, you should play your match. I’ll catch up with you later,” I said, chasing after Darren.

Weaving through the crowds wasn’t easy, especially at the speed I wanted to go. If I could, I’d be running like a track athlete, but there were too many people around. Darren had a massive head start to wherever he was going. I pulled out my phone and kept trying to call him, but he didn’t answer. Fortunately, I was able to tail the staffers going after him.

The chase headed towards the exit of the convention center. I spotted Darren way up ahead by the glass doors, where people were still coming in and out. All eyes were on him, and everyone walking around stopped to watch.

Before going out the doors, Darren turned to everyone, red-eyed and upset. He shouted, “There’s no need to follow me, penalize me, or do anything! I get it. I fucked up! I’m heading out anyways, and I’m not coming back!” Darren shoved the doors open and headed out into the busy streets of Chicago.

All of the staffers stood around, wondering what to do. I walked around them and rushed out the doors.

“Darren!” I hollered his name while people slowed down to look at us.

Darren was leaning against a light pole with the pedestrian “walk” light. His head and body quivered while sniffling sharply. After I yelled his name, he didn’t move. I had to pull him off the pole. His eyes were puffy, and tears were streaming down his face.

“Gordie, I’m r-r-really s-sorry,” he forced out.

“What are you talking about? What happened back there?” I asked.

“I get it!” he screamed, “you want to know, the whole world wants to know! Well, fine! I guess I need to tell everyone then!”

“Snap out of it. There’s no need to yell, dude. Why don’t we go back to your car so we can mellow out for a second? You don’t have to share your business with strangers on the sidewalk.”

“No! It’s important I do it here. I think I need to reveal my problems out in the open! Because if I do, how much worse can it get?” Darren used his fists to clear the tears that flowed down his cheeks. “You want to know, the whole world wants to know, and I won’t let it be used as power against me! My mom is a stripper! Okay? Are you happy now? You know, so you can tell everyone, and all of you can cast your judgments and make fun of me all you want! But guess what? I’m older now. I’ll be more calloused from this point on. I won’t let it get to me anymore because now all these strangers know! Yes, my mom is a stripper! But honestly fuck anyone who judges her or me. She makes good money doing it, and she has been able to provide me with a wonderful life! I don’t have a father to help with shit. It’s only been her and me. How can you judge someone when you live in an area where the rents keep going up, and you have to make ends meet while giving your child the best life you can give them!”

Some of the people around us slowed their pace to watch Darren, but they all kept walking. I was relieved that no one pulled out their phone to record.

“So I get it. I get it if you think my family is dirty and don’t want to be my friend anymore. It’s happened before, and I’m sure it will happen now! The only thing I have to say is get a ride home yourself, Gordie. Oh, and, fuck you! I’m not going to be your puppet in the stupid tournament scheme you have going!” Darren pushed me away, which set off a mental bomb in my head.

He started to storm away, but I immediately caught up with him, wanting to do nothing more than slap him in the face, but I clasped his shoulder and spun him around. “Darren! Look, I’m glad you told me about this. I really am, and I want you to know that I don’t care! I don’t care at all. If you call this your family secret, it doesn’t change my opinion of you or your mom. I’m sure she’s a wonderful person, and I really want to meet her still.” I took a deep breath. My heart was thudding twenty miles a minute. “I say she’s a wonderful person because she raised you, and you’re one of the best guys I’ve ever met. I’m sorry if you feel like I pushed you into doing this tournament thing, but I just thought it would be fun, and it gives us a chance at a dream career where all we do is play our favorite game and get paid. And uh, I get if you’re mad at me, I guess, but you could have said no to me from the start, but I won’t dive into that. The point is, I’m still your friend, okay? I’m not going anywhere.” I started to get choked up, and tears rushed to my eyes, but I pushed on. “You’re my best friend, alright? I understand if Wyatt is your best friend, but… I guess it’s pointless getting into those semantics, and my head is spinning. But! I wanted to convey that you’re my best friend, no matter what your mom does for a living, and goddammit, I love you like a brother.”

I pulled Darren in for the tightest hug I could give. We were both crying and shaking.

“I’m sorry for blowing up, Gordie.” He pulled away for a second, his face no longer looking possessed by anger. “During my match with Dayzees, he kept calling my mom a whore. I’m sure he didn’t know anything about my mom, but that’s always been a sensitive spot for me, and just the way he said it felt demeaning. It brought me back to some horrible memories from middle school, so I snapped.”

“I understand. I probably would’ve snapped too if I was in your shoes.”

“Did you end up playing your fourth-round match? How did you do?”

“Damn, I should go back inside. Watching the end of your match was going to make me late anyway. I think I might be pushing my luck now.” I wiped my brow and looked back at the convention center.

“Hey man, don’t worry about me. Go back in there and play your match. I’m good.”

“Are you sure? What are you going to do?”

“Hell yeah, I’m sure,” Darren said, flashing a genuine smile I didn’t expect. “Someone needs to keep an eye on Wyatt anyways.”

“Should I just call you when we’re done or something?”

“Yes, that sounds good. Now you really ought to get going! Hurry!” Darren patted my back, and I sprinted back into the Convention center.