3 The People One would Love and Care for (2.0)

Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day, skipping it would result in the person to feel tired even before the end of the day. That is why it is always important to start the day with a proper meal so that one would feel energized for the rest of the day.

There in the dining room, sat two people readily waiting for their breakfast to be done cooking. One of them busily browsing through his phone, leaning his head onto his arm while the other is happily drawing on a piece of paper, humming a nursery rhyme her mother taught her earlier. The table they sat at has the capacity of housing four people, the two chairs were currently occupied, while the other two remained empty.

"Breakfast is ready!" A woman fashioned in an apron walked through the doorframe, carrying with her fried rice and bacon. Seeing that only two of the three people were there, the woman grew irritated. As she set the dishes down, the woman ordered the eldest to fetch the only person missing.

"Uhh~! Katie, could you go wake up Hatch?" The eldest didn't even look away from his phone and decided to order the youngest one.

"Okay~" To which the young girl happily obliged. She carefully stepped down the chair and skipped towards upstairs, to wake up her older brother. Leaving, she missed the argument between the older woman and the eldest, only ending when the woman took the boy's phone away.

Upstairs Katie, the young girl knocked on a door, calling out. "Hatch, Ha~tch! Ha~tch!"

Every time she called out to the person occupying the room, she would place her ear on the door. Hearing nothing, Katie decided to open the door, worried that something was wrong. She tiptoed to reach the door, barely even twisting it.

What she witnessed inside was, a very messy room, as if a hurricane went in and made sure every corner of the room was devastated. There, on the bed, a lump could be founded. Impulsively the young girl thought of something reckless and went with it. She jumped onto the lump.

"Wake up!" As Katie hit the bed, the sleeping figure practically screamed in panic, cold sweat covering his entire body.

Hatch awoke to something pinning him to his bed. Panicked, being reminded of something he could not remember. He saw her little sister sitting on the floor, worried that he might have launched Katie, so tried to check if she was injured. Only to be met with sparkling brown eyes and a goofy yet innocent smile. He couldn't but smile at his sibling.

"Again! Again!" She practically screamed. Then Katie remembered why she was there in the first place. "Ahh! Right, Mom wants us to eat breakfast together!" And with that, she raced to the dining room as Hatch followed suit. As energetic as always, he thought as the young girl dashed down the stairs

…

If Hatch were to describe breakfast, then it would've been a nightmare. After Katie had finished eating breakfast and went back to the living room to play. Hatch got an earful for staying up so late and suddenly punching the wall with no consideration to his family. As punishment, he was forced to give up his phone, as it was the source of his outburst for the last month.

And there on the sidewalk, one could spot Hatch kicking pebbles out his way, as he begrudgingly dragged his feet on the sidewalk. After finishing breakfast, he decided to head over to his friend's house.

On his way, he would be greeted by passersby specifically his group mates in Mobile Legends. Though there was one particular person that made him fully stop, in fact, his heart may have skipped a beat or two. A girl around his age waved at Hatch as she was walking her dog. The girl's dark hair was tied in a ponytail and sported comfortably loose clothes. He couldn't help but feel flustered seeing Emily dressed casually as Hatch normally sees her in a uniform.

"Oh! hey Hatch! Headed to Jake's house?" Don't stutter, don't stutter, for the love of Freya don't stutter.

"H-Hey Emi! Uhh~ Yeah yeah." If a psychic were nearby, they would've been deaf for how loud Hatch internally screamed.

"Oh cool! Hey! Since it's summer, why don't we hang around every now and then."

"Y-Yeah sure…" And with that, they said their goodbyes, specifically Emily and headed on their merry ways. Emily and Jake have been his best friends since middle school, and despite the number of times Jake had set the two up, Hatch would always end up a stuttering mess.

Hatch himself isn't particularly versed as to why he even likes Emily considering the number of popular people he actually knows, all he really knows is that Emily is the sort of 'down-to-earth' kind and he's definitely head over heels for her.

As Hatch approached his destination, the blinds on the front window shut close. And the front door bursts open revealing a teenage boy with a tall complex. The teenager rushed Hatch and placed his hand on Hatch's shoulder. His expression is the mixture of pity, anger and discourage.

"You stupid idiot." And for the second time for the day, Hatch was scolded for his mistake, a romantic one but a mistake nonetheless.

…

Bored is a simple feeling you get when you have nothing to do. Since Hatch had his phone taken away, he could only watch as Jake played as Esmerelda and demolished the enemy team.

"So, what you're saying is, you got sick of losing, got mad and woke everyone up, now you don't have a phone for the rest of the day. Dude, you seriously need to get your anger checked!"

"And you should keep your voice down."

"Irrelevant! I need my loud voice to scream at all the haters and to demolish the other team by manipulating my teammates! For I am a 4-D Chess Mythic Legendary! And you are but a Grandmasters!"

"Oh, shut up" Irritated on how often Jake would brag of his rank, Hatch decided to watch TV and with a few more small talks, Hatch decided to go back home. Jake argued at first, saying it was still too early to go home and usual persuasion tactics but this time, to no avail.

Playing a Ranked Game, Jake couldn't stop the boy from exiting his house. As he walked farther away from his friend's home, the cheerless howl of the teenage boy grew silent.

Like before, he kicked whatever object stands in his way until a somewhat rough voice called out to him.

"Oy! Hatch, catch this!" The young adult threw him something familiar, and with his slightly fast reaction, he was able to catch it. What he was holding in his hands, was something he was very familiar with. His phone. Hatch was about to thank the guy, he was already past Jake's house.

A roguish smile formed on his face as he couldn't help but be thankful to his big brother. Ralph may be a jerk sometimes but he's always reliable when it comes down to it, Hatch thought.

Seeing that he could play again, Hatch headed back towards Jake's house. But as he walked back, Hatch couldn't help but be thankful for his family and friends.

Katie, the ever-sweet little sister who was cute enough to stop a terrorist attack. His Mom, who may act strictly at times but cared for them deeply. Ralph, the annoying big brother who is always there whenever he needs them the most. Jake, the best wingman he could ever have, always there to support him. And Emily, the kind girl Hatch wishes to be with one day. All of them were important to him, as they were people who would help him in his greatest crises.

But there would come a time when they wouldn't be there to support him, a day when the people he cares about wouldn't be able to reach him and pull him out of his problem. And that day has finally arrived. Headed back to Jake's house, a mysterious yet familiar force opened up a portal underneath Hatch and slowly the swirling dust came and engulfed him. As it devoured him, a thunderous laugh rang in his ears.

"The start of my conquest begins today! Ready yourselves puny microbes."