Smile - CrankGameplays

4. Linger

He plucked another piece of pizza from the box and leaned back into the cushion of the couch, closing his eyes and letting the cheesy dough melt into his mouth. The taste of the pineapple and ham mixed so well with one another that he didn't know if it would be possible to stop grabbing more slices. Ethan internally smiled, realizing all he really needed in his life was this pizza. No one else, no girl for that matter. He just needed pizza, food in general.

"Let me be Yoshi you dick." Tyler mumbled with a mouth full of pepperoni pizza in his mouth, "Don't you dare."

Mark glared over at him, "Will you not get grease all over my controllers?"

"Sorry," he grinned, revealing the gooey mess in his mouth. "But seriously, let me be Yoshi..."

The three boys were crowded around the coffee table in their living room, all of them staring with wide eyes at the huge TV screen. They were playing Mario Kart, a Saturday night tradition where they put the homework aside and ordered in some pizza. Forget a little about the college life and relax in the comfort of their own apartment. Ethan sat on the floor and Tyler and Mark were placed on the rather uncomfortable brown couch. Two pizza boxes were sprawled out on the coffee table along with cups filled with Dr. Pepper, their phones placed in the corner to avoid them from using them while they were hanging out.

"Ethan, pick someone different." Mark winced, "You keep losing with Waluigi."

Ethan bit down on the crust and set it back down on his plate, "Fine, I'll be Boo."

The tall half-Korean beamed, "Perfect. Prepare to get your ass kicked... again."

As they were all choosing their desired ride, a single phone buzzed on the coffee table and all three boys immediately perched up, leaning over to see whose phone it might have been. It was the standard text tone ring as they all were a wee bit curious to see who might have been texting them. The phones were all were facing down so neither of the boys was able to see which phone it was.

"Nope," Mark smirked, "We're definitely finishing this game first before we look at our phones, okay?"

Tyler groaned and threw his head back, his Adam's apple sticking out of his neck. "Fine, dad."

The match was simple, composed of four races. Mark took first in the first two, Ethan first in the third, and Tyler first in the final race. Tyler was able to keep his standings up throughout the races and was crowned the winner of it all.

"That's right!" Tyler exclaimed, throwing another piece of pizza into his mouth. "Yoshi is such a badass!"

"You cheated," Mark mumbled, "Too much goo..."

Ethan couldn't help but laugh at his joke, "I gladly took fourth place and I'm somewhat okay with that." He also polished off another piece of Hawaiian pizza and washed it all down with the relieving tase of Dr. Pepper.

"Another round?" Mark questioned, staring side to side at the two boys next to him. "But this time I want to be Yoshi."

Tyler gave a grave and stoic expression, "As the winner of the last game, I feel like I should keep this Yoshi legacy going on."

"I'll still be Boo." Ethan yelped out, pressing the controls on the game menu.

As they argued with who was going to be who, another alert sounded off. Causing them to divert their attention back to their phones.

"Forgot about that." Mark laughed, "Don't mind me." He leaned forward and reached for his phone.

Tyler snatched up his and Ethan retrieved his, switching on the phone and seeing there were no notifications that lit up the screen. He pouted at the sight, not very surprised no one was trying to get a hold of him.