BFDI AND II ONESHOT BOOK!

The "Totally Not a Date" Hangout: Penraser

Eraser invites Pen out to "just hang," but keeps dropping hints that it's actually a date. Pen is oblivious to the flirting.

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"Bro, please—that's exactly why I need your help." Eraser's tone was urgent, almost pleading.

Tennis Ball tilted his head, studying him. "I don't know... doesn't seem like it should be that difficult. He already seems to like you."

Eraser groaned. "But how do you know that for sure? Maybe he just sees me as a good bro, nothing more. Or maybe he does like me, but I'm not showing him anything back, so he has no idea I feel the same way." He crossed his arms, tapping his foot impatiently. "Advice, TB. Come on. It's not that hard."

Tennis Ball blinked. "Well... why would you think I'd know what to do?"

Eraser gestured at him with both hands. "Because you and Golf Ball are a thing! You obviously did something right."

"Well, sure," Tennis Ball said slowly, "but Pen isn't Golf Ball. They're completely different people. You know that."

Before Eraser could argue back, a familiar, sharp voice cut in. "What exactly is going on here?"

Both looked over to see Golf Ball standing behind Tennis Ball, with her usual air of calculated authority.

"None of your beeswax, bossybot," Eraser said, sticking his tongue out at her.

"Hi, Golfie," Tennis Ball greeted. "Eraser's trying to figure out how to confess to Pen. He thinks Pen might already like him, but he's not sure, and he's afraid of making it obvious in case he's reading things wrong."

Golf Ball's eyes narrowed slightly as she processed the information. "That is an unnecessarily convoluted approach. The most efficient solution is to eliminate uncertainty, tell him directly how you feel."

Eraser flailed his arms. "No way! I can't just blurt it out!"

"Then flirt with him," Tennis Ball suggested, "but keep it subtle. Maybe he'll catch on."

Golf Ball shook her head. "Flawed strategy. Pen's social perception is—how should I phrase this... limited. Subtlety will be wasted on him. Eraser, you will need to employ an approach that is unambiguously romantic, but still provides plausible deniability should your hypothesis be incorrect. That way, if you've misjudged his feelings, you can easily frame it as humour or casual banter."

Eraser blinked. "...So you're saying I should mess with him, but in a smart way?"

"I'm saying you need to engineer your interaction," Golf Ball corrected crisply. "Make your intentions structurally obvious, but not explicitly stated. It's a controlled experiment, one designed to prompt a clear reaction without committing to a declaration until you have sufficient data."

Tennis Ball leaned toward Eraser and whispered, "Translation: be really obvious without actually saying it."

"Why didn't you just say that in the first place?" Eraser muttered, though a smirk was already tugging at his lips.

"Thanks for the tips," Eraser said with a quick wave, turning to leave. But he wasn't done yet, Golf Ball's advice had given him a starting point, not the whole plan. He still needed more opinions. He already had an idea of what to do... now he just had to figure out where and how. Time to consult the next taken bro.

"Sup, Coinstar," Eraser called as he strolled over to Coiny, who was chatting with Pin.

Coiny looked up with an easy grin. "Hey. Not much, you need something?"