roommates

4.

Wilbur and Quackity are sat on the floor of their room, the game set up.
"You know the rules, right?" Wilbur says.
"Um, I think so. But can you go over them so I can be sure?" Quackity says. He's lost a lot of trust in Wilbur, evidently, but is trying his hardest to forgive and move on.
He's trying to accept all offers of help or explanations he can to show that he trusts him enough with that, but it's not been proving very effective.
Still, Wilbur seems just privately glad that Quackity hasn't cut him out of his life for good, so he doesn't worry about it too much.

"Right, OK, so basically we have this grid thing, yeah? And little letters and numbers next to the squares, you know, the column and row names? So what you have to do is place five 'X's around the board in any place, and we take turns to guess the number and letter of the square. And if I guess one that has an 'X' on it, then you have to cross it off, and vice versa. The first person to get all five of his opponents' ships wins," Wilbur says, then pauses for breath. "Whoah, I said a lot."
"Ohhh, okay, I get you," Quackity responds. "So I just put the battleships or whatever anywhere?"
"Yep, basically."
"Okay, uhhh... Should we start?"
"Oh, definitely. Mark your battleships on," Wilbur says, passing him a pen. Quackity puts five 'X's randomly on his board, then passes the pen back to Wilbur, who promptly does the same.

"Should I go first?" Quackity asks.
"Sure."
"Okay, uhhh... C4?" he asks.
"Nope! My turn. Erm... E1?" Wilbur guesses.
"Nah. A7?"
This goes on for a few minutes, neither sinking any of the other man's battleships.
"Okay, uhh... B2?"
Quackity glances at B2.
"Shit."
"Whoah, did I get one?" Wilbur asks, pleasantly surprised.
"Yeah," Quackity says annoyedly, crossing out one of his 'X's. "You did."
"Woo! One down and four to go," Wilbur chuckles.
"Yes, yes, yes, okay Wilbur."

Ten minutes later, Wilbur's on a winning streak, sinking two more of Quackity's battleships while Quackity has only sunk one of his.
"C6," Quackity says confidently.
"Nope! E4?" Wilbur says.
"Goddammit, Wilbur how are you so good at this?" Quackity asks.
"People are predictable," he answers with a casual shrug.
"Oh."
They continue on with the game, Quackity getting more and more concerned as less and less spaces are available to guess, one of those spaces containing his battleship that, if sunk, will lose him the game.
His spirits are lifted a little by the fact he's sunk two more of Wilbur's battleships, making the amount he's sunk 3 and the amount that Wilbur has sunk 4. Two more to go, he thinks determinedly.
His last remaining battleship is on the square F5 and he's praying to dear God that Wilbur does not guess it.

Wilbur, however, is actually having a great time. He's only got one of Quackity's battleships left to sink and is positive that he's saved himself from losing the game as a whole, and being forced to take Quackity on a day out. He doesn't have much money anyway.
He focuses on what Quackity is doing- are his eyes flitting towards a certain square? Is he looking at a certain row then glancing back?
Yes, he is. He's glancing at the sixth row again and again, looking nervous. Sixth row is F. So it's somewhere in that row. But where?

"Uh, Wilbur? Your go?"
"Oh, yep, sorry," Wilbur says, snapping out of it. "Um... F5?"

Quackity angrily slams a hand down on his board, shouting, "Fuck!"
There's a silence.
"...so, I won then?"
"Yes, Wilbur," Quackity says. "You won."
He side-eyes Wilbur annoyedly as he collects all the boards up and stuffs them unceremoniously under the bed.
"Good game," Wilbur says, smiling softly. "You did well, mate."
"No I didn't," Quackity says stiffly.
"Oh, you did. I promise."
"Even if I had, what would it be worth? It wouldn't matter at all. You won anyway, didn't you?" Quackity says, getting up.
"And? You played well. You got three of my battleships!" Wilbur says in an attempt to cheer him up.
Quackity sighs. "Well, at least not everything is lost. We'll have our Uno game soon, and that'll be the dealbreaker for sure. Hope isn't all lost for me, I guess."
"Good mindset!" Wilbur says, beaming.
"I'm literally planning to beat you, but thanks, I guess."
"I know."