Housemates (boyxboy)

Chapter 33

A crisp high-five was on the line. I couldn't lose and I wouldn't.

Carefully scanning the screen of character choices, I debated which one I should use. I dabbled in a few different types and thought about who would be best against Arlen's choice of character.

Kirby.

I looked at him, squishing my eyebrows together.

"You must not be good," I said to him, regarding his choice.

He looked back at me with a smile. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I sighed. "You only choose Kirby if you don't really know how to play. He's a safe choice."

Arlen simply shook his head. "Looks like I'll be proving you wrong, then."

"We'll see about that," I replied. "I could go random and still beat Kirby."

He laughed at how I tried to provoke him. "Go ahead."

The loading screen appeared after we pressed start and I waited in anticipation to see which character was randomly selected for me to battle Kirby with.

Once the battle screen readied, I laughed once I saw the result. Donkey Kong.

"You're done," I said. "It's over."

Arlen raised an eyebrow. "Is that your main?"

"No," I said, staring at the screen as our fight began. "But you're still going to lose."

Arlen's concentration heightened as he focused his attention on the television and kept his lips pursed in a straight line. He refused to talk and began mashing buttons alongside me.

We played a two-stock battle, meaning we each got two lives and it surprisingly went on for a while as the two of us fought hard not to lose.

And finally, there was a winner.

I dropped my controller on the ground and Arlen glanced over at me with a wide grin on his face as a giant Kirby appeared on the screen as the winner.

"Do you take back what you said about Kirby?" he questioned me.

"Not yet," I told him. "You have to play against my main first."

"Sure," he said. "Let's do it."

Again, Arlen chose Kirby and I scrolled across the screen, searching for my character. As I was about to click it, Arlen pushed a button on my controller, choosing a random character and he quickly pressed start.

"Hey!" I said, unable to hold back my laugh.

Arlen laughed too and another round started as I was forced to play as Wario.

Reaching over, I pressed random buttons on his controller as he had done to me, and he quickly jerked it to the side in an effort to keep me from messing him up.

"Quit it," he said, grinning.

"No," I said, reaching over again.

He moved his controller to the side and grasped mine instead, moving my character off of the screen, sending him off the map. I cursed and pulled my controller to the side, causing Arlen to lean into me as his hand still held onto it.

Looking to the side, I noticed how close his face was and apologized, pulling away. But Arlen didn't move.

"Cade," he said, his eyes meeting mine.

"What?" I asked.

Though, he wasn't able to finish his thought because the front door suddenly opened as Alec walked through.

Alec's eyes quickly scanned the two of us and a small smirk grew on his lips.

"What's going on here?" he asked and Arlen pushed himself away from me.

"We're playing Super Smash Bros," I replied. "Want in?"

Alec grinned. "Of course I do."

He slid in next to me and grabbed a spare controller as the three of us readied up another battle. Halfway through it, footsteps sounded down the stairs.

I couldn't look back to check who was joining us, but I didn't need to.

Cold fingers touched the back of my neck and I squirmed from the feeling, keeping my eyes on the screen. Though, he leaned closer, whispering in my ear.

"Cade," he whispered, sending warmth to my stomach and shivers down my spine.

I was tempted to end the game and sprint up the stairs after Zion, but I couldn't. Not when Arlen was still here.

"Move it, Zion," Alec said as he dodged my attack. "You're distracting me."

"I'm not trying to," Zion replied, sliding his fingers down my back.

I quickly met his eyes and he smirked, licking his lips as he took a seat on the couch across from me.

Shit.

I couldn't concentrate anymore.

My character was instantly obliterated and my last life was lost as Zion folded his arms across his chest, nodding his head.

Moments later, Alec stood up, cheering for himself.

"I won," he declared. "And now I must retire."

"Yeah," Arlen said, standing up as well. "I should probably get going."

Walking Arlen to the front door, I couldn't stop thinking about Zion and his touch. It was as if Arlen couldn't leave fast enough.

"Thanks for having me," Arlen said, turning around once we reached the front door.

"Yeah," I said quickly. "We'll play again soon."

"Okay," he said, his eyes lingering on mine briefly before he turned and walked out of the door.

Walking back to the living room, my eyes met Zion's and he tucked his hair behind his ear.

"What?" he asked as I stared at him.

"Let's go."

"Go where?" he asked, smirking again.

"Zion," I said, growing inpatient.

He laughed, pushing himself off of the couch.

"Run."

I didn't need to be told twice. I sprinted up the stairs as quickly as I could, hearing Zion's footsteps close behind me as I turned into his room.

Quickly following me, he pulled the door closed behind him as the two of us breathed heavily, looking in each other's eyes.

"It's time for another punishment, huh?"

———
thx for reading (: next chapter will be mature