It was early in the morning when Erin walked to the door, dressed in her pajamas. The clock on the wall read 5:13, but her body felt like it was the middle of the night, when she should be asleep. Outside, another knock came again. Erin reached to the door and opened it, seeing that Mason stood out on the deck. He looked exhausted; his hair was shaggy and he hadn't shaved since yesterday morning. Waiting in line for Sword Art Online took the crap out of him. Although, the thin line of stubble on his chin was kind of cute...
"I got em!" He said, and held up to copy's of SAO, his face bearing a stupid grin. "Seventeenth in line, and I only had to fight one guy!" He joked. Erin laughed, and moved aside, allowing him to step inside the kitchen area.
"Nice, Mom's upstairs, dad's still asleep, he got home late, so we've got free reign to jump into the game whenever we want." Erin said. Mason unzipped his jacket, and hung it on the coat rack, exposing his grey T-shirt, which was a little small on his chest. Yep... definitely cute. The two of them went from the kitchen and into the hallway, stopping a door short from Erin's room. She opened the basement door and descended the steps, turning into the large room. The heater in the room was running, and the carpeted floor helped the cold of the morning to leave the space. On a long desk, Mason had set his desktop up right beside Erin's last night before he left to wait in line for the game. Beside either computer was a NerveGear headset, which Erin had found was slightly big on her head. "I'm gonna go change into my sweatpants, I've been wearing these stupid jeans for too long."
Mason ducked into the bathroom with his back pack, and Erin went over to her computer. The couch had already been beside it, but they had put down a mattress for Mason to lay on while they were in the game. She eyed the NerveGear apprehensively; she was nervous about this to say the least. Sword Art Online was only her second MMO, and it was her first Full Dive. As footsteps sounded from the stairs, Erin saw her mom enter the room, holding her cup of coffee. "Hey."
"Morning, Baby." She said, and leaned against the doorway. "I made some coffee, do you or Mason want coffee before you start?" Almost on cue, mason emerged from the bathroom with his new sweatpants. Mom smiled at him and lifted an eyebrow. "Coffee?"
"No thanks, Momma Haley, I had at least three cups while I was waiting in line."
"I'm fine, too." Erin said. Mom smiled and left, leaving the two alone.
"You ready to dive?" Mason asked. He set his backpack under the desk, and picked up his NerveGear. Erin nodded and picked up her own, positioning herself on the couch. "3... 2... 1."
"Link Start!"