The Bond of Online Friendship

The following a bit different than my normal stuff. It's an idea had floating around for a while and almost didn't do. This is another submission for the 2019 Literotica Geek Pride Story Event. If people like this one I have few ideas to do more with these characters.

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Like a lot of twenty-somethings Sulivan O'Keef had a lot of online friends. These were mostly people he had never met in person, but they bonded over video games. Together they had slain hordes of undead, rescued kingdom and journeyed beyond the start. Some of these friends were closer to him than anyone he knew in real life. You don't bond with people like that and not become lifelong friends.

It was something his parents didn't understand. They had him late in life when they thought they couldn't have kids. His dad was a diesel mechanic for a trucking company who barely got his GED, and his mom was a desk clerk for the local hospital. Computers and the internet were very foreign concepts for them. All his games and online fun was a waste according to them, but they did indulge him.

That was how Sully, as he liked to be called, met his best friend in the whole world, Wendell. Sully had an uncle who was a lot younger than his parents. Uncle Rick like Sully was into computers and technology. While Uncle Rick didn't love video game as much as Sully, he scored them passes to E3 because of his job in electronics. For those that don't know E3 is one of the largest game conventions in North America. It took a little convincing, but after a lot of sweet talking on both Rick and Sully's part, they convinced Sully's stick in the mud parents to let them drive from Idaho to LA for the show. Sully had been sixteen at the time so going alone was not an option.

Wendell Collins had been in a similar boat to Sully, he was seventeen, and his mother worked in the entertainment industry in Atlanta. She did something for a tv studio and landed tickets to E3 for Wendell as a present. The two boys met at a competition on the show floor over a video game. A new developer was showing off a team game where players worked in groups of 3 on 3 to battle each other in giant robots. They had been paired up with some older businessman, and despite the fact, the older guy sucked they won several rounds together. By the end, Sully and Wendell were joking and laughing as if they had known each other their whole lives.

When lunchtime rolled around the two teens met up with Uncle Ray and Wendell's mom Sabrina. Ray couldn't put his tongue back in his mouth and spent most of the trip hitting on Sabrina. Sully couldn't blame his uncle when Sully saw Mrs. Collins; he thought she looked more like Wendell's older sister, not his mother. She had long black hair, deep dark blue eyes, and alabaster skin. Her stature was petite but curvy, and she definitely filled out her jeans and t-shirt in all the right ways.

After E3 the boys stay in contact like most of their generation, Skype, Steam, Battlenet, and whatever else was the gaming client of the day. They did talk on the phone occasionally, but almost all of the time they did their talking in chat messages.

At this point, the boys had been friends almost a decade, and Sully had just finished his master's degree in engineering and begun a job hunt. Wendell had gone to college too and was doing something in computer science. He had always been better at programming than Sully had been.

Sullviger007- Hey man, Got the good news today!

Wendevils69- They called you about the job?

Sully couldn't type fast enough to tell Wendell the great news. Idaho did not have a good number of engineering jobs, and Sully was undoubtedly looking to leave the state. He was especially ready to get out of his parents' house, both of them had retired in the past year, and they were driving home nuts. Dad still worked part-time, but he again spent most days in his recliner with a beer. They were getting more curmudgeonly by the day.

Sullviger007- Yeah, thank your mom for me. She really did me a solid by giving me a reference and referral. I have an interview next week. Do you think I could stay with you guys when I am in town? Still struggling to pay for the flight be out.

Wendevils69- Mom will kill you if you didn't stay with us. It's been way too long man. We can't wait to see you. Mom was so glad she could help. I told her how much your parents are driving you crazy. She couldn't believe your dad tried to make you work as a diesel mechanic. You know next to nothing about cars.

Sullviger007- I know right! Hey, I got to go tell some others and make some lunch. Tonight are you down with some game time?

Wendevils69- Same bat time, same bat channel. Talk later.

Sully tried hard to hold back his excitement, but it wasn't going to happen. He danced around the room in anticipation of his trip. If all went well, he could be moving to Atlanta near his best friend. When Sully hit six months without finding work in his field, Sabrina had relayed to Wendell that she knew a few people in the city looking for an entry-level engineering student. She went as far as writing a letter of introduction for him and giving herself as a personal reference. Sabrina knew how close the two boys were and encouraged their bonding. Sully planned on giving her as big a hug as Wendell when he got there.

The next week flew by so fast Sully couldn't believe it. His flight was a red-eye to Atlanta and put him at the airport around one am on a Thursday night. The interview was on Monday, and he had planned a week-long trip to spend time with his friend. Wendell had told Sully that his mom, Sabrina, would pick him up. Wendell apparently needed his beauty sleep as he put it.

Sully got off the plane half asleep, it was his first time on a plane ever, and sleep wasn't finding him on the plane like he hoped. He groggily made his way out towards the baggage claim where he was supposed to meet Sabrina. As he rode the escalator down to the baggage claim, he saw a sign. It was a large poster board sign being held up by a raven-haired goddess. The sign read "Looking for Sullviger007, Gaming guru extraordinaire." Sully couldn't help but laugh at the sign.

His big surprise was that Mrs. Collins looked precisely the same. She had no gray hair like his parents did now. At most he would have guessed she was about thirty, but he knew from his conversation with Wendell that she had just turned forty-two. Her eyes were bluer than he remembered and her smile was twice a bright. She was dress in casual attire being as it was one in the morning. Her jeans were tight fitting, her feet had on some running shoes, and she wore a Rolling Stones t-shirt.

She dropped the sign as soon as she saw him get off the escalator. At a full run she almost spear tackled him with a hug. Sully had grown a lot since sixteen and was now a tall six-foot drink of water. He was thinking and lanky but carried himself well. In college, he had also gotten into the track team which helped keep him reasonably fit since his primary hobby was sitting in front of a computer screen. Sabrina, on the other hand, was five foot six inches at most making him easily a head taller. She buried her face in his chest as she hugged him. Sully did his best to hold back the boner forming in his pants. It wasn't easy since Mrs. Collins was packing decent guns in the front. From his experience with the ladies in college, he estimated she had at least a D-cup or bigger.

"Oh my God," Sabrina said letting go and kissing him on the cheek. "You have gotten so big!"

"Hi, Mrs. Collins," Sully said while thinking in the back of his mind, sure, hug me any longer and you would really see how big. "Thank you so much for picking me up."

"Please," she said slapping him on the chest and starting their walk to the baggage claim carousel. "No need to thank me, and it's Sabrina sweetie. Mrs. Collins makes me feel so old."

"Well then, thank you, Sabrina," he said trying not to stare at her ass as she led the way. She had definitely been working out over the years. Her ass was tight and firm but looked like he could get a good handful if he tried. He shook his head to get those thoughts out of his head. This was his best friends mom for Christ sakes.

"What's your bag look like?" she asked him as the belts began to spin. He had been on one of the only flights coming in that night and night crews were usually in a rush to call it a night.

"Big hard case with a big sticker on it," he said watching for it on the bags as they began passing him. "You can't miss it."

It didn't take more than a minute or two for his bag to show up. It really stood out too, the sticker on his case was a huge neon pink 12 x 12 inch square, and he had written his name and phone number on it with a sharpie.

"What the hell is that?" Sabrina asked as he pulled it off the belt. She was laughing so hard she was almost out of breath.

"I have never flown before, but Uncle Ray said the more my bag stands out, the easier it was to locate and not get lost," he explained while amused by her laughter. "He also suggested contact info too, so I just combined them."

"Clever," she remarked as they strode out into the parking garage. "You look exhausted. I have the spare room all made up for you."

"Will Wendell be up or has he already gone to bed?" Sully asked her as they got into her car. It was a roomy black sedan, Sully was far too tired to take note of the brand.

"He was passed out a while ago," she said pulling out of their spot for the gate. "You just doze off, and I will wake you when we get home.

"Ok, Sabrina," he said, and that was about the last conscious thought that passed through his head.

The next morning Sully awoke in strange full sized bed in a good size bedroom. He vaguely remembered Sabrina stirring him after they got to the house and her leading him to his room. His suitcase lay beside the bed, so he changed into a fresh shirt and went out into the hall.

A smell of bacon and pancakes drifted down the hallway to him from where he assumed the kitchen was located. The door directly in front his was wrapped in fake police tape and had a metal sign on it read trespassers will be shot. Sully knew from their unsurmountable conversations; this was Wendell's bedroom. Sully in his eagerness to see his best friend opened up the door in hopes of surprising him and hopefully waking his lazy ass up.

The surprise was on Sully, unfortunately, this time. Wendel was not in his room, the bed was fully made, and everything was in pristine order. Wendell had changed a bit over the years it seemed because he was always disorganized. Nothing he ever did online was this neat. Sully had been expecting something that looked like a bomb went off and got the most OCD cleaned room he had ever seen.

Closing the door disappointed, Sully sulked down the hall in hopes of food and someone who needed their ass beat. He walked past a dining room, a living room, the master bedroom and finally into the kitchen. The house was a good size ranch with really big fenced in backyard. His parents' house felt tiny in comparison, not in rooms but in the size of them. If it weren't for the fact, his dad added an extra room in the basement for Sully would still be his childhood room which was almost a closet.

Sabrina was busy at the stove cooking with her back to Sully. She wore what looked like an exercise or yoga outfit with her black hair pulled into a ponytail. The fabric of her pants was squeezing around her ass in a way that made Sully think filthy thoughts.

"Morning," he said trying to not surprise her as she cooked.

"Good Morning Sully," Sabrina said looking at him over one shoulder. She gave him what looked like a forced smile. "Have a seat, breakfast is almost ready."

Something immediately felt very off to Sully. The way she looked at him was off, almost like he wasn't welcome or was being a bother. He took his seat and put his guard up. Sabrina passed him a plate with two big pancakes and three slices of bacon. Sully looked at the food for a long minute, and then something dawned on him, Wendell was not here for breakfast. Most of the reason had flown all this was to see Wendal and the dick didn't pick him up at the airport. It was like the guy was avoiding him.

Holding his fork in his hand, Sully looked a Sabrina, who was now sitting across from him with her own plate of food. She visibly flinched when he looked at her. If he didn't know better, she looked like she thought he was going to beat her or something. An odd feeling began to surround Sully like something really really bad was about to happen. It felt like he always expected Spider-man's spider-sense felt like in the comics.

Sully took a second before he spoke but when he did his voice was hushed, "Something is wrong, I think I felt it last night too but was too tired to notice. Where is Wendell?"

Sabrina stood with tears beginning to form in her eyes and dread was filling her face. She walked to the chair next Sully at the small kitchenette and sat down. Both her hands gripped Sully's hand that was not holding the fork. He now only noticed that his empty hand was balled into a fist and was noticeably shaking.

"Honey," she said with tears now flowing down her face. "I have something to tell you. I have been dreading this day for the longest time, and you may hate me after this, but I have to say it."

"Say what!" Sully barked trying not to look at her. "Just tell me!"

Whatever was going on was not good. A million terrible things flew through Sully's head. Did he imagine Wendell all these years, was this lady a serial killer who lured him here, was Wendell mad at him or some other equally lousy thing going to happen? Time stood still as he tried to focus on Sabrina's answer. She said something but Sully was so stuck in his head he missed it.

"Say that again," he asked now focusing on her words.

"Sweetie Wendell passed away," Sabrina said with full-on waterworks running down her face.

"No he didn't," Sully said adamantly. "I just spoke to him yesterday. Last week we spent my whole Sunday playing Overwatch. He can't tank to save his life. What the fuck are you trying to tell me? Did he die while I was in mid-flight? What the fuck is going on? Tell me now, or I swear I am calling the fucking cops!"

"Gggivvee me aaa sseccondd," Sabrina between sobs. She grabbed a napkin from the table and wiped her face before continuing. "Wendell died three years ago to cancer."

"Explain!" he demanded. "Then who the fuck have I been talking to for three years!"

"Me," she said in a whisper.

"You?" Sully said angry, confused, and betrayed all at the same time.

"Yes me," Sabrina explained her hand squeeze Sully's balled up fist hard. "It all started five years ago while you guys were sophomores in college. Wendell got sick and had to come home from the dorms. No one knew what it was at first, but it ended up being a form of pancreatic cancer. He didn't want anyone to know, you know how stubborn he could be."

Sully began to cry himself. He didn't fully understand, he was mad, and his best friend was dead. His plan now was to find out what happened, call an uber back to the airport and go the fuck home. He wasn't sure he was rational, but it was taking all his strength not to run out the front door.

Sabrina passed Sully a napkin for his eyes and continued her story, "Wendell did chemo, radiation and was lucky when he went into remission. We were both so thankful, but remission didn't last six months. His cancer came back in full force. The second fight wasn't as easy. Wendell got really sick, slept a lot and had trouble eating. He fought really hard, but he felt terrible that he couldn't hang out and play games with you as much. Wendel really did love you like a brother. He asked if I could fill in on a few World of Warcraft raids for him. So a few times I did, and then you would ask if Wendell wanted to play other games, but Wendell wasn't up for it. By that point, he was mostly bedridden and losing his fight. I was depressed and upset, so I found myself pretending to be Wendell more and more. It was better than being myself in all the misery I was surrounded in."

"By why didn't you tell me?" Sully asked with his voice a bit more calm. His emotions were going a bit numb.

"I tried so many times," Sabrina said beginning to cry again. "Do you remember the summer a few years ago when Wendell kind of disappeared for almost a month?"

"Yeah," Sully said starting to put two and two together.

"That was when we lost him," she explained. "He had been in the hospital for weeks. It took me weeks before I could gather the urge to log back on after he died. When I did, it was to let you know he was gone and what happened. Instead, you started giving me shit for disappearing for so long. I lost my nerve and fell back into pretending to be Wendell again. I felt like pretending to be him kept me from losing him again. I wasn't sure I could live through that."

"So is there really an interview with an engineering firm or is this some kind of crazy plot to get me here and kill me or something," Sully said trying to figure all this out. He kind of understood her reasoning but his temper was too high to see the whole picture.

"No Sully, she told him. "The interview is real, and after the praise, I gave them about you they will more than likely want to hire you."

"Ok, but why offer to get me out here in the first place? Why find me a job at all?" Sully asked trying to figure all this out. "You could have gone years more without telling me all this or at all."

"Because I am your friend," she said and choked back a little chuckle. "You're easily my best friend. Sounds crazy coming from a middle-aged woman. You sounded depressed and miserable dealing with your parents at home and find work seemed an impossible task. I wanted you to succeed. I told you things as Wendell that most people don't know about me. Some of the stories had gender changed, or small details changed, so it sounded like I was a man. I thought if I helped you that you might be able to forgive me and I could tell you in person about what happened."

Sully's brain jumped into some of the super personal stuff he had told Wendel. Stuff, even his parents, didn't know. What about the advice he asked Wendell about sex and girls? Wendell had always talked about his various lady friends and scores. If it hadn't been for some advice from him, Sully might still be a virgin. Sully had been a virgin going into college and Wendell had given him pointers on getting Kathy Temple to go out with him. Hell, he even gave him great tips on how to pleasure her in the bedroom.

"So who gave me the advice with Kathy Temple?" He said starting to get mad again. He pulled his hand away from her. "What was BS and what wasn't?"

"That was me," Sabrina admitted to him. "Wendell did pretty good with girls until he got sick. I gave him honest advice when he asked, so I tried to give you the same advice. None of It was BS, just not the whole truth. Do you remember when Wendell told you a story about sneaking into a college party at fifteen and losing his virginity to some hot blonde?"

Sully nodded in understanding.

"Well, that was true. But the blonde was a guy, and that's how I met Wendell's father. I was young dumb and boy crazy. That guy got me pregnant and took my virginity. My parents kicked me out, and if it weren't for my Aunt Rosa, here in Atlanta, I would have given him up to adoption or abortion. I made Wendell my whole life. Aunt Rosa helped me go to school and college. While Wendell's dad was a deadbeat, I did my best to be both parents. Wendell was my whole world."

Sully just sat there dumbfounded. Part of him wanted to hug her, part of him wanted to hit her, and another part was just grief stricken.