Video Games

Another Loss

WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS HINTS OF SEXUAL ATTRACTION/ROMANTIC FEELINGS BETWEEN TWO BOYS.  IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO READ THIS.  I WILL NOT BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR YOUR OWN DISCOMFORT OR UNHAPPINESS.

Brandon would not lose again. He lost to Sam every week, no matter what game they played. Well, this time, he refused to lose. His losing streak really had to end some time, right?

Wrong.

This week was no different from any other week. They had played Mario Kart on the Wii, and Brandon had actually come close to winning. That was, until Sam recovered and beat him to the finish line...for the 14th time in a row.

Brandon growled and all but threw himself backwards onto the carpeted floor.

"Why?! Why do I always lose?!" Brandon asked, his teeth clenched in frustration. Sam turned slightly to look at the brunette laying on the floor.

"Because I'm better at video games than you are."

Well that didn't help at all.

"Why does it matter to you so much, Brandon?" Sam asked, moving to lay beside his crush. Brandon was silent. Sam's tone was soothing his anger, though he couldn't tell why.

"I don't know...but I'm always losing to you..." he mumbled.

"...I'm sorry."

Brandon shot back up into a sitting position. He looked at the taller teen with a slightly horrified expression.

"Why?! Why are you sorry? You have nothing to be sorry for!" Brandon said, watching Sam look back up at him with his big brown eyes.

"Well, you were upset about something that's technically my fault. So, I apologized." Sam said, his eyes slightly sad.

Brandon felt bad. He'd made Sam upset. How could he do that to his best friend? How could he do that to the boy he loved?

Sam sat back up, refusing to look Brandon in the eye. Without warning, Brandon hugged Sam, wrapping his arms around the trumpet player and pressing his face to the side of Sam's arm. The taller brunette was startled, but relaxed into the hug after a second.

They both agreed that the games were over for the night.

\/(._.)\/

When Brandon pulled into the driveway of the Abbot household the following weekend, he could see Sam sitting on the front porch. That itself wasn't odd. What was odd was his hunched over posture, his face hidden in his hands, and his shoulders shaking jerkily.

Sam was crying.

Brandon jumped out of the car and went off to his friend. Sam hadn't noticed him yet.

"Sam?" Brandon tried to get the crying teen's attention. Sam jumped harshly and hastily wiped away at his cheeks. His eyes were red and his face flushed.

"Brandon. You're early."

Brandon sat beside Sam and watched him closely. The other wouldn't meet his eyes, which stayed firmly on his hands that were now clasped in his lap.

"What's wrong?" Brandon asked.

"I...nothing. I'm fine."

That was a lie if Brandon had ever heard one.

"Look, Brandon, forget it. Yeah, something happened, but I'll be fine. I promise. Can we go play games now?" Sam said, his brown eyes finally meeting Brandon's. It was quiet for a second.

"Sure."

\/(._.)\/

The screen was flashing a big, red PLAYER TWO WINS!!

"I won?" Brandon stared at the TV in disbelief. "I won! I won!"

He jumped off the couch. Though once he was standing, he didn't know what to do with himself, so he sat back down. Sam kept still, not reacting much to his friend's joy. He kept a small smile on his face, but that wasn't much for the usually lively trumpeter.

This did not go by unnoticed.

"Sam."

"Huh?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. What's wrong with you? You won, but now you aren't going to do anything about it?" Heyy, that's not suspicious.

"Sam, did you let me win?"

Sam's lack of response was all the answer Brandon needed.

"It meant so much to you...and...and I wanted you to be happy..." Sam mumbled. He bowed his head and contemplated his hands. Brandon looked at him curiously for a second.

"Sam..." The younger teen didn't acknowledge him.

"Sam."

Brandon got off the couch and kneeled in front of the other. He locked his eyes on Sam's, refusing to let him look away

"Listen to me. It doesn't matter if I win or lose. If I'm going to lose every week, fine. I am fine with that. What matters to me is that we get to spend time together. Okay?" Brandon said. Sam nodded.

They played video games for the rest of the night and during that time, Brandon didn't win once.

But who cared? He got to spend a whole night sitting next to his crush, watching Sam's face light up as he watched the screen.

What he didn't see was how much brighter Sam's eyes were when they would land on the other teen. And that's what mattered.