Vario slumped into the worn lounge chair at the back of the store, the soft hum of the fluorescent lights above mixing with the faint buzz of the city outside. He had thought the evening would be quiet. Maybe even relaxing. That idea had lasted all of three minutes.
The culprit of his doom sat glowing in front of him: his tablet, paused on the title screen of Overflow.
He had told himself it was curiosity. Nothing more. "I've handled worse chaos than this," he murmured, propping the tablet on his knees. His fingers hovered above the play button, trembling slightly.
But once the first scene appeared, he knew he had made a grievous mistake. His eyes widened. His jaw tightened. His shoulders stiffened.
"…What… what did I just watch?" he whispered, almost choking on the words.
Bella strolled past, a cup of soda in hand. She noticed the tense posture, the pale light reflecting off his flushed face. "Vario… you okay?" she asked cautiously, raising an eyebrow.
He shook his head slowly, a single bead of sweat rolling down his temple. "No… no, I'm not okay. I've made a terrible, horrible mistake. A catastrophic, life-altering mistake."
Nyx leaned over the back of the chair, her usual smirk in place. "It's too late for regrets," she teased. "Once you start, you're committed."
Vario groaned, running a hand down his face. "I should've stopped at the preview! I should've turned it off immediately! But no… curiosity got the better of me!"
Garruk, carrying a precarious tower of soda cans, passed by and peered down at him. "Overflow, huh? Heard it's… intense."
"INTENSE?" Vario barked, the sound muffled through his hands. "That's an understatement. That's… apocalyptic. Cataclysmic. Why did I think I could handle this? Why did anyone think I could handle this?"
Bella set her soda down on the counter and crossed her arms. "You realize there's no going back, right?"
"I know!" Vario snapped. "I KNOW! But I can regret it, can't I? That's all I have left!"
Nyx shook her head, laughing softly as she sat beside him. "Some things," she said with mock solemnity, "are meant to be admired from a distance… or never at all. You just learned the hard way."
Vario peeked between his fingers, grimacing. His ears burned with embarrassment and the uncomfortable realization that he might never recover fully from the images he had just witnessed. "…I regret everything," he said, voice hoarse.
The silence stretched, broken only by the faint hum of the lights and the soft sighs of passing customers. Vario's thoughts spun. Was it curiosity? Foolish bravery? Stupidity? He wasn't sure anymore. He only knew one thing: the memory would haunt him.
Bella nudged him lightly with her elbow. "You know," she said, "it could've been worse. At least you didn't share it with anyone."
Vario shuddered at the thought. "Don't even joke about that. That would have been… catastrophic on a global scale!"
Nyx leaned closer, whispering conspiratorially, "You're never watching Overflow again, right?"
Vario's head sank into his hands. "NEVER. I swear… NEVER."
Hours passed. Vario stayed in the same chair, occasionally glancing at the tablet as if it would suddenly change into something innocent, something safe. But it didn't. The glow was still there. The memory was still there.
Finally, he pushed it aside and sank deeper into the couch. "I am scarred… forever," he muttered.
Bella shook her head, stifling a laugh. "You survived. That's what counts."
Vario's eyes shot open. "Survived? I may have survived physically, but mentally… mentally I'm ruined!"
Nyx reached over and patted his shoulder. "You'll live. Eventually, you'll laugh about it. Maybe."
Vario groaned. "Eventually?! I don't want to wait eventually! I want a time machine!"
Bella smirked. "Sorry, no refunds on life experiences."
Vario buried his face in his hands again, muttering curses under his breath, the weight of Overflow pressing down like an unrelenting storm. And as the lights flickered softly above, he silently vowed—never again.
But deep down, he knew the curiosity that had brought him here would always whisper…
What if just one more scene…?