Crush Culture [M.Wheeler]

[20] ARCADE

"Hey, Nori, do you copy?" Mike asks on the walkie talkie. Nori empties out her piggy bank, the runs to it. "Yeah, I
Copy." She nods.

"What's your haul? Lucas and Dustin have six bucks total. Over." He states. "I have.." She pauses for a moment, counting.

"I have six quarters. Over." She responds. "Alright, call Will. I'll meet you at the arcade. Over and out." Mike says, shutting off the walkie talkie.

***

Nori arrives at the arcade, spotting Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Will on their way in. "Hey, guys! Wait up!" She calls.

"Tiny!" Dustin waves. Nori chuckles, catching up to the boys. The thing was, Tiny wasn't so tiny anymore. Actually, a lot has changed. Though, technically, the boys shouldn't be calling her Tiny anymore, the name simply stuck. Mike continues to call her Nori, of course, as he knew she liked that nickname best.

Mike was still taller than her, yet she now stuck around Dustin's height, having grown drastically over the past year. In fact, some one could say that she may grow taller than Dustin if you'd give it a few weeks.

They walk into the arcade, setting up at Dustin's first game. "To slay the dragon, use the magic sword." The game character says, pointing to the side.

"Oh, Jesus! I'm in uncharted territory here, guys." Dustin comments. "Down! Down! Down!" They all exclaim. "I'm going! I'm going!"

They continue to scream which direction he should go to avoid the dragon, until finally, he is defeated. "No! No! No! I hate this overpriced bullshit!" Dustin screams, slamming his hand down on the game.

"Son of a bitch! Piece of shit!" He continues. "You're just not nimble enough. But you'll get there one day." Lucas says cockily. "But until then, Princess Daphne is still mine." He smirks.

"Whatever. I'm still tops on Centipede and Dig Dug." Dustin argues. "You sure about that?" Keith asks, having listened in on their conversation.

He smiles, holding his cheese puffs in his hand. "Sure about what?" Dustin turns to him, raising his eyebrows. Keith doesn't respond. He only take another bite from his cheese puffs.

"You're kidding me. No, no, no." Dustin pushes through, running as fast as he could to the game. "Hey, Keith." Nori says, walking up to him while the other boys crowd Dustin.

"Um, hello?" He responds in a questioning tone. "I just wanted to let you know, you have cheese puff powder in your hair." She sends him an innocent smile, then follows the others.

"No! No! No!" Dustin yells, noticing that he was now second place. "751, 300 points." Will reads in disbelief. "That's impossible." Mike comments.

"Who is Mad Max?" Dustin asks, turning around to Keith. "Better than you." Keith shrugs. Dustin flips him off. "Is it you?" Will inquires.

"You know I despise Dig Dug." Keith scoffs. "Then who is it?" Lucas chimes in. "Yeah, spill it, Keith." Dustin sneers.

"You want information, then I need something in return." He states. All of them look to Mike. "No, no, no. No way. You're not getting a date with her." Mike refuses.

"Mike, come on. Just get him the date." Lucas attempts to convince him. "I'm not prostituting my sister!"

"But it's for a good cause." Lucas argues. "No, don't get him the date." Dustin cuts in. "You know what?  He's gonna spread his nasty-ass rash to your whole family." Dustin snaps.

"Acne isn't a rash and it isn't contagious, your prepubescent wastoid." Keith educates, causing Nori to laugh. "Tiny, come on, who's side are you on here?" Dustin squints his eyes.

"I'm just saying. That was funny." She puts her hands up in defense. "See? Even your friend likes me better." Keith smirks.

"Woah, Woah. Hold it there Keith. I most certainly do not like you better. You smell like rotten eggs." She shakes her head. "Ha!" Dustin claps.

"Nancy wouldn't wanna go on a date with you. You make, like, what? $2.50 an hour?" Dustin fires. "Nice perm." Keith comments.

"Gonna make fun of my hair?" Dustin raises his eyebrows. "No one makes fun of his hair." Nori shakes her head. Suddenly, Nori turns around, finding Mike following Will outside.

She curiously parts after him, walking out. "You guys okay?" She asks. "Yeah." Mike nods, leading them inside.

authors note

Sorry for the short chapter. I promise there's more <3