The Fake Haters

14. The Date

Bright

When I searched on the internet for places for dates, it said about parks and movie theatres. In fact, I know if I arrange a date in some cliche place, Win will surely hit me.

So I thought a lot about where we should go. Finally, I decided to take him to a bowling alley where we could play games for hours.

"Did you know that snails must get tickets to get onto trains in France?" Win asks, scrolling through his phone. I stop at the red light and give him a side glance.

"What stupid shit is that?"

"I am not making it up! See. Pets under ten pounds have to get a ticket... What if I take a cockroach with me?"

"Oh, shut up." I laugh at his words.

"But! Imaging having a butterfly as a pet, and you have to pay for a ticket! That's insane!"

"Imagine paying for a fly."

"AHAHA, I know right?"

The whole ride, we talk about how it'll be to put a leash on a snail to go for a run. And we decide it's not the best idea. I don't even know how we came to talk about these silly things.

Through that conversation, I get to know that fact about Win. He talks a lot. It doesn't have to be something interesting. Even the stupidest thing can become a topic for him. And I realise I love talking about those things with him.

We get down at the bowling alley and walk toward it. As we walk next to each other, I look at his hand, which is only a few inches away from mine. One side of my mind tells me to hold his hand. I badly want to, but I restrain myself from doing so because it'll be really awkward.

"I have never been to a bowling alley before. Really. I have only seen them in the movies, but I always wanted to try it." he says.

Win is talkative when you get to know him.

"Yeah, I assumed it'll be your cup of tea."

"Hehe. Then... you pay for the games. I'll pay for dinner. Is that okay?"

"First date is on me. It's fair, I guess."

"Noooo."

"Yessss. Now get in the line, cupcake."

"C-cupcake-"

It leaves him flustered in front of me. We wait in line for a minute or two and pay for two hours of playing. Then we walk to the bowling area, which also has a small restaurant connected to it.

We get lane number 8 to play, and I go on first. I have done this before, so I easily throw the ball, which makes me score seven as I make seven pins fall. When it's Win's turn, he looks so determined to compete with me and score higher.

"Sucker." he sticks out his tongue at me before throwing the ball.

It falls into the gutter, making him score a zero.

"Whaaaaa-"

"You suck," I say.

"Shut up. I'll outscore you somehow!"

"Good luck with that."

We do a few rounds, and halfway through, I've scored forty-seven while Win has scored only fifteen.

"This is so unfair. I think something's wrong with our lane! There's no way." he blabbers.

"Come on. Admit I am good at this." I wink.

"At least I am more handsome than you." he hmphs.

"I agree. You are cuter and sexier than me."

"Wha-"