Chapter 1

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Hey guys! Hope you're all doing alright~

The One Night Stand series goes on!
Before I bring part 3 though, I'd like to share this silly short story. I love exploring concepts through writing. I haven't written any fake-dating sort of scenario yet, and while this is not exactly that, it was a lot of fun thinking about how Zane would react to this kind of situation.
Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did ♥

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"Nooo!" Jay and Lloyd shouted in pain, earning themselves a few looks from the other gamers around the arcade.

"Game over," chanted the machine in front of them with a funeral tune that didn't sit very well with the boys.

Jay slammed his hands on the control panel before he bent his body over in defeat. Next to him, Lloyd bounced around, throwing his fists in the air while he screamed more expletives.

"We almost had them!" Jay whined.

"I know!" The other sighed. "Damn it, they're so fast! And so many! How are we supposed to beat that level?!" Lloyd kicked the side of the heavy machine, then clutched his foot in pain.

"Surely not like that," Cole laughed behind them.

Lloyd turned around and stuck his tongue out at the group of boys that had been watching them. Cole, Zane, and Kai were entertained by the scene.

"You think you could do better, boulder brain?" Lloyd mocked.

"No," Cole admitted. "But engaging in a fistfight with that thing will serve you nothing unless you wanna end up with sore knuckles, and probably a ban from this place," he chuckled along with his companions.

The defeated gamers pouted. All of a sudden, Jay shot his head up with the idea of the century.

"Oh, Zane! You can help us!"

"Me?" Said their friend.

"Yes! You're good with details."

Jay dragged Zane closer while Lloyd started the game again. The two of them took their places on the controllers.

"Just watch the guy in crimson clothes and a long beard, and tell us when he flickers, okay?" Jay commanded.

Zane stood between his two friends and fixed his eyes on the screen, vigilant for the signs Jay had mentioned.

A few steps away, Cole and Kai shared another laugh.

"And here I was thinking we were going to move to another machine finally," grumbled the dark-haired boy with a pitiful smile.

"We can, though. I bet they will still be here by the time we're done," Kai said.

Cole shouted at his friends that they were going to find a machine to entertain themselves as well. The group of dedicated gamers didn't utter a response, too focused on not dying for the umpteenth time that afternoon.

With a shake of his head, Cole followed Kai through the arcade. They didn't have to wander much as they found the basketball booth empty.

One thing that had helped the two of them to bond fairly easily was that Cole was a very physical and active person. He liked the most popular games where you had to stay still in front of a screen and push buttons to command the characters to do stuff for you, but he also enjoyed some less digital forms of entertainment. Kai definitely preferred the older ways.

"I'll never get how they can spend hours in front of a screen," Kai commented as Cole started the game and let the boy call the first shot. "What charm do they see in smashing buttons without rhyme or reason?"

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