Chapter 7 - Tank Ownage

To be attractive, successful in life, and have lots of friends must be the ingredients to being a horrible gamer or at least that was the only reason Maggie could think of to explain the epic fail that was Tank’s gaming skills. He’d been through the tutorial, she explained the game mechanics, and even told him step by step what he had to do, but the guy still was dying over and over and over…and over again!

They had been playing for nearly three hours and Tank was still under level ten. He was playing a paladin named...Tank. The class was her idea and the name was his.

“This seems kind of lame…all we’ve been doing is running around in circles,” Tank said after turning in a quest and finally getting into double digit levels.

“Well you’re a noob, it’s what you do,” Maggie told him pointedly. “If you would stop dying, it’d go a lot faster,” she added for emphasis.

Tank gave her an irritated look. “Maybe I’ve got a bad teacher,” he shot back with a hint of a smile that tweaked her irritation.

“I’m at the top level and have nearly all the epic gear! My guild is in the top three ranking for raiding time! I am not a bad teacher. Maybe you’re all brawn and no brain,” she replied crossing her arms with a harrumph.

Tank started laughing. “Sounds like I touched a nerve,” he teased.

Maggie glared at him. “No you didn’t and you’re about to die…again.”

He looked back at the screen as his toon fell and went back to the familiar territory of the graveyard.

“You’re a paladin while you’re soloing don’t forget to heal yourself,” she explained once more.

“Geez, basic training wasn’t hard as this is,” Tank complained.

They took a break to eat lunch, and Maggie couldn’t get over how strange it was to have someone to talk to about her gaming, even if he was horrible at it. He wasn’t judgmental either. Oddly, it also made her miss Hannah. Despite all her nosiness and being a general pain in the butt, Hannah usually didn’t make fun of her or tease her all the time. Even when she did, it was friendlier than to put Maggie down.

“So is gaming all you spend your free time doing,” Tank asked, She looked up at him, surprised she almost forgotten he was there and nodded.

“You should get out more, get some vitamin D.”

Maggie shrugged, “I’m not the outdoor type,” she told him.

“When was the last time you tried anything remotely outdoors,” he asked sounding genuinely concerned and not condescending.

She scrunched up her face in thought, honestly trying to remember when was the last time or if she ever did anything outdoorsy. Maggie shrugged again not coming up with anything. “Not my thing.”

“How do you know if you’ve never tried it? Okay, how about I make you a deal Maggie. After lunch, I’ll play the warrior class as you suggested. If I can get better at gaming then how about you take a hike with me,” Tank suggested.

Was he serious? He looked serious and she did so not like that look on his face. That was a very bad idea, tramping around the woods; probably they’d get lost then eaten by a bear or something, never to be seen again! “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not? Not afraid are you?” Tank asked. There was a hint of challenge in his voice.

“No it’s just a bad idea. We could get lost.”

“Right, I get it. You’re terrified to step outside of this house. I really didn’t think you were one of those types of women,” he said with obvious mock disappointment.

Maggie narrowed her eyes at him. She wasn’t sure what type of woman he was talking about, but she was sure she wasn’t one of them! “I am not!”

Tank grinned at her. “Then prove it, let’s go on one little half hour walk.”

“I don’t have to prove anything to you,” she insisted.

“Then I officially label you a scaredy cat,” Tank goaded.

Maggie crossed her arms with another harrumph. “Shut up.”

“I can practically see you trembling with fear,” he teased her.

“Will you stop,” she demanded again as she glared at him refusing to let him goad her into taking a walk with him out there!

“I think you’ve even gone paler.”

“This isn’t going to work so you should just stop,” she demanded.

“Or maybe it’s just that you’re turning yellow, like a chicken,” Tank went on then had the audacity to make clucking sounds.

“Are you like three or what?”

Tank just kept making chicken sounds.

Gritting her teeth, Maggie glared at him. “Fine,” she shouted. “Alright, I’ll do it now will you stop that!”

He stopped then gave her a large, breathtaking grin. “I knew you’d see it my way eventually.”

She so hated him right now. “You have to get a whole lot better at gaming,” she told him and proceeded to tell him exactly what he needed to achieve for her to go on that ridicules walk. Maggie was sure there was no way in hell he could improve that much, even if he did play a warrior class.

So after lunch, they deleted Tank, the paladin and created Tank, the warrior. Maggie tried hard to keep an evil smile on her face. He was going to crash and burn then she was going to laugh her ass off! Tank not only had to reach level ten, die five or fewer times only, and to complete a group mission successfully without getting kicked or flamed. Impossible.

So impossible that as Maggie stared at the screen an hour later in disbelief. She swore he must have some divine intervention on his side. Tank was nearing level ten. He hadn’t died once yet and was actually in a small party with two other players doing quests. Damn you Hannah, she swore silently. This had to be her doing. How could her friend betray her like this!

“This isn’t possible,” Maggie grumbled as she watched him.

“Anything is possible if you put your mind to it,” Tank said then winked at her.

Her stomach did a somersault on top of itself. Maybe his narcissism was causing her an ulcer, she wondered to herself.

“It also helps that my two new friends actually explained things in a way I can understand now,” he added Maggie clenched her jaw tightly then groaned as Tank not only went up another level but was invited into a guild. She swore she could literally see his ego grow! Why did fate decide to go on a warpath with her life, it may not have been glamorous but damn it, she wasn’t hurting anyone. Maggie started to wonder if she should even the odds. Perhaps something like: opps I pulled out the power cord by complete accident, my bad!

She sighed and discarded the idea as quickly as it came. As tempting as it may be she couldn’t go that way. Maggie’s alignment was too good for such things. Anyway, Tank would probably see right through it and never let her forget it.

“I’ve only got one more level and three more quests to go before I start the group quest,” Tank announced happily.

“Why are you so happy to go walking in circles for half an hour in bug infested woods?” She demanded, crossing her arms with a grumpy face.

“Oh are you going to be a sore loser?” he teased not looking away from the screen.

“I’m not a sore loser,” Maggie insisted. “Any rational person would dislike losing,” she told him pointedly.

“So you admit your losing then, well that’s a step in the right direction.”

“I’m not admitting anything…I….I’m simply stating a fact,” Maggie crossed her arms even tighter against her chest ignoring his laughter and trying desperately to stop the smile that was threatening to break out on her face.

Tank reached level ten, hadn’t died once, and was now ready to start his first group quest. “Now let’s see how you do here,” Maggie said rubbing her hands together with evil diabolical laughter. She was sure he wouldn’t be able to stick it out. Group quests could get confusing especially when you have a bunch of noobs together and new leaders can be a little kick happy a lot of the times.

Tank gave her a curious expression of disbelief. “You can be downright scary when you want to be,” he told her with a hint of a smile.

“I have my moments,” Maggie replied with a shrug. Time for you to finally crash and burn, she thought but frowned seeing his new guild jumped to his aid and started recruiting a party for him.

“Hey that’s not fair,” Maggie demanded, leaning over and gawking at the screen. This was so not happening. How could everything be going wrong?

Tank gave her a look clueless yet smug look. “What’s not fair?”

“That’s two level thirty-five’s in your party,” she exclaimed with righteous anger. “They are so going to just pwn this quest for you! That’s not fair!”

He started laughed and shrugged. “It is too fair! Besides you didn’t say anything about the type of party that I had to be in, just that I had to do a group quest which is what I’m about to do,” he said with a cocky expression.

Maggie turned her attention to Tank glaring at him wondering if she should strangle him for being so cocky and messing up her perfect little life when she realized that their faces were about an inch apart. How the hell did that happen? She shot backward and back into her chair. “You play dirty,” she snapped trying to regain some control over herself.

“Nope I just play to win,” he told her with a grin that made her want to smile in reply but also throttle him.

Maggie couldn’t believe how Tank went for a total loser at playing games to become actually rather good, for a noob. They not only finished the quest in fifteen minutes, but Tank was showered with praise from the two higher levels.

Oh fudge me, Maggie thought irritated.

Tank leaned back in his chair as the loot was split up among the lower levels. “That was more complicated than I thought it would be,” he admitted.

Maggie did that horrible sound of a mix snort and laugh with an eye roll. “This is noob stuff, wait till you get to the legendary raids, now that’s complicated, especially if you fall in with the cheerleaders and jocks of the gaming world. The pros take gaming very serious.”

“Like more serious, than sneaking a computer away just so they can play?” Tank asked with a mocking tone.

Maggie gawked at him then snapped her jaw shut with a quick glare in his direction. “Way more serious, like they take it as life and death serious,” she told him. “They know every class detail down pat, they have theirs and the mob’s damage, crit, and defense modifiers down to a pat! They can spend hours strategizing about how to do a raid, they typically only raid with other pros and look down on us non-hardcore gamers. Basically like I said the cheerleaders and jocks of the gaming world.”

“So where do you fall in, in the social cliché of gaming?”

With another shrug she replied, “I’m no cheerleader, but we could sit at the same table at lunch.”

For some reason that made him smile. “And me?” he asked looking honestly curious.

“Well at first you were the freaky kid that gets shoved into his locker,” she told him and when he cringed she couldn’t help but laugh.

“And now?”

“Well you’re still the new kid but you’ve got potential and you’ve made a few friends. You’re still a nobody and you can’t sit at my table at lunch but who knows what the future may hold,” Maggie told him honestly.

Tank laughed getting up from the chair. “We’ll see but for now we’re going on a hike,” he said waving his hand towards the door.

“Now,” Maggie asked horrified at the idea.

“No time like the present,” he shot back.

“I don’t want to go now,” Maggie complained in a slight whine then smiled. “You never said when we had to take that hike, I’ll meet you back here in oh say in a year,” Maggie offered her smile growing.

“Nice try Maggie, but we’ll be taking that hike now,” he told her pointedly.

Maggie frown at him. “You can’t make me.”

“Oh yes I can,” he told her back obviously taking up her challenge then took a step towards her.

Maggie swallowed nervously but lifted her chin up with determination she didn’t feel. On the inside she wanted to run screaming.

“Now you can get up and walk with me willingly or I’ll grab you and pull you along,” he told her as he took another step.

“That’s abduction and you’re a cop, it goes against your nature,” she shot back, some nervousness entering in her voice. She literally shrieked as Tank attempt to place his hands on her shoulders and she rolled out of the chair making him laugh so loudly it echoed off the walls.

“See I can to make you Maggie, all I have to do is herd you out the door…unless you want me to touch you that is,” he teased.

“Fine, I’m going! Just keep your grubby hands away from me,” she said, glaring at him. “When this is over I’m going to sue you, Mister,” she threatened him as she put on her shoes.

“On what grounds? That I threatened to place a hand on your shoulder? I don’t think the judge will take you very seriously,” he laughed.

She grumbled in a complaint, knowing he was probably right, no one ever did take her seriously.