"My arms hurt," Scarlet sighed as she, Briar, and Sadie sat at the table. They were having lunch. They tried to get Jordan to join them, but he mentioned needing to do something. So they ate some chicken without him, and Sadie had a mug of water while Briar and Scarlet had tea. Briar had been ecstatic to learn they could make tea in this game, and Jordan had taught her the recipe so they didn't have to wait for him.

"I feel you, hoeing up the ground is harder in real life then it is in Minecraft." Sadie stretched and Briar smiled.

"Yeah, but its worth it. We had our first batch of wheat grow in! I wanna make a cake, but Jordan doesn't have any milk." They had been there for three days at that point, and during that time Scarlet was well on her way to becoming good enough with the bow to go out into the world of Minecraft. Sadie and Briar had focused on learning the basics of the game, such as farming, placing blocks, getting used to closing and opening inventories, and the like. Once Scarlet well good enough with the bow, Jordan planned on having one of the other two teach her the ins and outs of living in this world. With that thought in mind, and the fact that Scarlet was getting bulleyes five times out of ten, Jordan decided that it was time to move on to the next girl.

The YouTuber poked his head into the room. "Sadie, you done?" The girls looked up, greeting him as Sadie nodded. Jordan waved to the other too before he gestured for Sadie to follow him. "Then come outside with me." Sadie grabbed her cup and drank it all quickly before she followed after him. Scarlet and Briar went back to their conversation, starting up an arguing about whether or not creepers were adorable or terrifying. Briar hated them. Scarlet loved them.

"What's up?" Sadie asked as she caught up to Jordan, who was taking them a bit away from the house and to a pit with a fence around it. Jordan opened the nearest chest and pulled out a glowing stick. Her eyes widened as he dropped it, and she picked it up before putting it in her hotbar. The stick was indeed enchanted, with Knockback I.

"You have a natural way around the sword," Jordan claimed as he retrieved his own stick and opened the fence gate. He climbed down into the pit via ladder and she followed, gripping the stick in one hand. "But you have a long way to go before you're ready to go out into the wilderness." He brought her to the middle of the pit. "Okay, back straight, shoulders relaxed." He adjusted her body in the way he needed, before he noticed how tightly she was gripping the stick. He chuckled. "Loosen up. All of the energy is going to go into that grip of yours instead of the swing."

"Easier said then done," she grunted as Jordan stood across from her. He smiled.

"Don't worry, the best this stick is going to do is knock you back a few steps." He spun his stick in one hand before he got in his own defensive position, and Sadie was envious over how easily he was able to relax. She took a deep breath and tried to match his statute, and he smiled at her before he moved forward and swung his stick down. By instinct, she lifted her stick and they clashed. Her arms trembling under the shockwave, Sadie tried to duck under his arm and strike him in the back. But Jordan swung his arm around and blocked the hit without even turning around, looking back at her before he slammed his foot into her ankle. She fell back with a shout, landing on her back on the dirt floor. She let out a soft wheeze as the stick landed beside her. Jordan winced as he turned around.

"I probably should've down a wool floor," he admitted. She glared at him, panting.

"You think?!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sadie couldn't sleep.

She was absolutely exhausted, but she couldn't keep her eyes closed. She listened to her friends' steady breathing, and once she was sure they were fast asleep she slipped out of bed. She crept out of the room, shut the door carefully behind her, then went down the stairs with a sigh. She needed some water. She'd like to look outside, but that was hard to do when all she saw was mobs creeping around outside. She shook her head with a sigh, before she reached the bottom of the steps and paused.

Jordan stared at her from the table. He had a cup of steaming tea in front of him, and his glasses weren't anywhere to be seen. He sipped the tea.

"Hey." She stared at him.

"What are you doing up?" She asked.

"Same as you, I'm guessing." She deflated and sighed.

"Can't sleep?" He nodded and she crossed to the kitchen, grabbing a mug and dipping it into the cauldron of water beside the furnace.

"I need to fill that up tomorrow," he sighed as she joined him at the table. "So, why can't you sleep?"

"Why can't you?" She countered.

"I asked first," he smirked. She rolled her eyes and slouched in her chair as she sipped from her mug.

"I got a lot on my mind," she admitted.

"Like what?"
"Stuff."
"What kind of stuff?"

She shifted, then sighed. "I... Don't think I'll be able to pick up the sword." He raised an eyebrow. "I'm not much of a fighter. The most physical activity I've done in the recent years was the tennis team at high school, but I've gone and graduated, so..." She sighed. Jordan stared at her sadly.

"You put a lot on your shoulders." She blinked at him. "Really, you do. I've noticed. You've taken on the leader position of the group, and the girls value your opinion and tend to follow you just about anywhere." She felt her cheeks turning warm and she ducked her head.

"Well, I..."
"You put a lot of unneeded pressure on yourself, too."

She wanted to tell him to piss off, but she knew he was right. "Why do you do that?" It took her a moment to answer, debating on telling Jordan to stuff it and go back upstairs, before she finally caved.

"Violet was sort of the leader of our little group. When she disappeared, we all started to cave," she admitted. "Someone had to step up, but Scarlet gets too emotional and Briar... She wasn't in any state. She and Violet were really close, they had been dating for five years." Jordan nodded and she pressed on. "So, the only other person was me. I knew that Violet would want us to band together and keep each other alive, so... I kept us above water. It was a lot easier once my family moved down to Kentucky. I had to drag Briar out of her house at least once a week and make sure she was eating and not completely dying, and I've stayed up laye numerous times talking Scarlet down from hysterics and panic attacks."

"Sounds like you didn't have a lot of time for yourself," Jordan commented, sipping his tea.

"I didn't," she sighed. "I didn't mind of course. They're my friends. My best friends. I dunno what I'd do without them."

"But it didn't give you time to mourn." She hesitated, before she sipped her water and decided to not respond. He stared at her sadly. "You should talk to Scarlet and Briar. You shouldn't have to burden yourself so much. They can share the weight, that's what friends are for."

"I guess," she muttered, but she already knew she couldn't. She had a feeling Jordan knew that too, because he looked at her with that knowing glint in his eye before turning his head away.

"As for the sword, don't sweat it. When I got here, I could barely swing it. I taught myself the basics, and then at that point I was able to get lessons from someone who knew more. Practice makes perfect, and you're gonna get there." He looked at her and smiled. "Maybe I can get you to my mentor. She'd love you." Sadie blinked, then smiled and looked down at her water.

"I'd love that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Sadie's head hit the pillow, she was exhausted. After the mentor comment, she and Jordan didn't talk much. They sat in a comfortable silence that Sadie had only felt with a few people, and after her cup was empty they bid each other goodnight as she went upstairs to try and sleep again. The water seemed to have helped. Or maybe it was the discussion she had with Jordan. Her shoulders did feel lighter and her brain wasn't all clogged up with buzzing thoughts and anxieties.

It wasn't until her eyes were sliding shut and sleep was taking hold that she realized something. Jordan hadn't told her why he couldn't sleep.