HER – BOLD

There was an awkward silence in a small room. Emma and Jared sat atop the couch, his arm wrapped around her shoulder, while Aya and Tyson sat down on the floor, leaned against the couch and each other. Next to them was a table with some snacks and drinks, while on the other side of the room was a TV.

“… as I thought, your have shit taste in movies.” Aya mumbled, sighing.

“You should have really gone with some porn instead.” Emma added.

“Gotta agree here.” Jared nodded.

“What’s wrong with it?!” Tyson exclaimed. “It’s Saw! It’s a staple horror movie for group viewings!!”

“Were you just too scared to watch it alone?” Aya asked, grabbing some chips.

“I bet he was.” Emma said.

“Could be.” Jared agreed.

“Oi, do you guys have some mental connection that I’m unaware of, huh? Is that how you decided to unanimously gang up on me?!”

“Why would we need a mental connection?” Aya said. “The strong always pick on the weak, it’s the order of the world.”

“I didn’t know we went back in time.” Tyson said, sighing. Aah, his shoulders tensed so much, Aya thought, forcing back a chuckle. So he’s really embarrassed…

“Well, considering the movie we’re watching, we kind of did.” Jared said, grabbing a beer off the table.

“’s that so?” Tyson suddenly mumbled and laughed lowly. “So you guys absolutely hate the movie I chose, huh?”

“Yup.”

“Pretty much.”

“Naturally.”

“Then, by all means, you should rejoice!” he got up and walked over to a shelf, taking out three movies. “I have first three parts here!! And we’ll be watching them all!! Ha ha ha!!”

“… are you drunk already?” Aya asked.

“He drank only one beer. It’s impossible, right?” Emma said.

“I didn’t think you were this light of a drinker, Ty.” Jared mumbled.

“Ah, speaking of Ty!” Tyson exclaimed. “My name is Tyson!! It’s high time you guys actually used my name when talking to me!!”

“What’s wrong with Ty?” Emma asked.

“What’s wrong is that it’s not my name!!”

“Nobody cares.” Aya said.

“Really?! Then you won’t mind if I start calling you ‘Ay’, huh?!” Tyson said.

“If you dare---”

“That’s a great idea!!” Emma exclaimed, startling Aya. No, it’s not!! Shut up!! “That way, you guys can be known as ‘Ty and Ay’, ha ha ha!! It’s brilliant!!”

“Aah sweetie, you’re really smart, ha ha!” Jared said, laughing. “Ty and Ay! Has a great ring to it!”

“… repent.” Aya mumbled, glaring at Tyson.

“Repent my ass.” Tyson said, snickering. “Hello. My name is Ty. Pleased to meet you… Ay.”

“… so, you won’t believe what happened on our first date!!” after glaring at Tyson for a moment, Aya turned toward Emma and Jared and exclaimed with a half-baked smile on her face. “We were sitting on this bench in a park, right?”

“Wait!! Shut up!! Please, Ay don’t-- I mean Aya!!”

“And it started to get kind of chilly, so he’s like ‘hey, wanna huddle up?’,” ignoring him, she continued while Emma and Jared listened attentively. “And I was like ‘sure, why not’. So we get to talking, and he starts pulling me closer, you know? I figure, he probably wants to make out, so I play along. Anyway, we finally musters enough courage and kisses me,” she said, her smile beaming. “And, the next thing I know, there’s something poking me down below.”

“It wasn’t poking you!! Don’t lie!!” Tyson exclaimed. Emma and Jared stared for a moment in confusion before it dawned on them.

“Ha ha ha, I can’t believe this, ha ha!!” Emma was the first one to burst out in laughter, followed by Jared.

“Oh bro… oh Ty…” was the only thing he managed to say.

“… thinking back,” Tyson said. “I should have used up all those seconds I had on the bus. What the hell was I trying, playing the nice guy?!”

“Yeah,” Aya said, sighing. “Your loss, Ty.”

“Well, the cat’s out of the bag, so whatever,” Tyson sighed, sitting back down next to Aya. “What the hell do I have to be ashamed of for getting a boner over how hot my girlfriend is?” he spoke with such confidence that the air around them stiffened while the laughter stopped. What the hell are you saying so casually?! Aya’s cheeks flushed red, as she bumped his shoulder slightly. “What? I don’t care, I already said. You’re hot. Deal with it. As if that was the last time I got a boner over you.”

“… wow, I didn’t think you were this bold. Respect!” Emma said, giving him thumbs up.

“… ai, ai, I’ve still got ways to go,” Jared said, sighing. “I should learn from you.”

“You learned far more ways than me,” Tyson said, sneering. “Much darker too.” he glanced at Emma and winked lightly.

“… you told him?” Emma mumbled, staring at Jared.

“… you had to drag me down with you, huh?” Jared said.

“Well, you know what they say… no man left behind!” Tyson exclaimed, laughing, as he shifted his focus back onto the movie, while he lowered his arm that was wrapped around Aya’s shoulder.

“Really now?” she said, glancing at him.

“What?” Tyson looked at her, seeming confused. “It actually hurts. You’ve been pinning it ever since we sat down. I have to get my circulation back.”

“… by touching my ass?”

“… oi, what the hell do I have to do to change your opinion about me?!”

“… don’t touch my ass.”

“I didn’t!!”

“You were planning to.”

“The hell I did!!”

“So you don’t want to touch my ass?”

“Of course I d—stop playing your mind games with me!! Just watch the damn movie!!” Tyson said, flustered. Ha ha, I don’t think any one of us here even knows what’s going on in the movie, though…

“You can if you want, you know?” Aya said after a short silence. With Emma and Jared above them having heated discussion, she lowered her voice somewhat and leaned closer to Tyson’s ear.

“… you’re really like a succubus, aren’t you?”

“How come?” Aya asked.

“No matter how good of a time I’ll have,” Tyson said. “The price to pay will be too grave.”

“Ah, I suppose I am, then.”

“At least try and deny it!!”

“Why bother? It’s the truth.”

“So… uh, what would be the price, then?” Tyson asked, scratching his nose nervously.

“The price, huh?” Aya mumbled, inching even closer and gently biting his ear. “You’d have to take me out on a second date.” she whispered as Tyson’s entire body trembled for a moment. “Wow, your hand is really cold.” Aya exclaimed softly.

“And your ass is very hot.” Tyson said, smiling widely, clearly proud of his pun.

“… that’s it. Get your hands off. Both my ass and me.”

“What?! I thought it was good!!”

“Who gives a shit what you thought?”

“Oi, that hurt!!”

“I can still feel your fingers crawling around,” she said. “So, will you take it off or should I?”

“Tsk,” Tyson clicked his tongue, retreating his arm. “Your jeans are too tight anyway. I could barely feel a thing.”

“That’s what she said. Oh, no, wait, that’s what I’ll be saying.”

“… ah, well, at least you thought about the two of us having sex,” Tyson mumbled, sighing. “It’s something.”

“…” … I should really stop try-harding… I’ll just blow his hopes up in the end…

HIM – THE GOD’S TEST

Midnight nearly dawned as the clouds in the sky shrouded the moon. Inside a small room of a small apartment of a small complex building, two of the four – Aya and Jared – were happily snoring, stuck in their dreamland. On the couch, Emma and Tyson sat, still drinking, as they watched some shitty late-night TV show while talking.

“… she’s really something, you know?” Emma said, smiling. “You lucked out big time.”

“Tell me about it,” Tyson said, chuckling. “Every day with her feels like a roller coaster ride.” Better not say she’s got me wagging my tail like a dog most of the time… preserve the last shred of dignity, preserve…

“I can imagine. This is the first time I’ve seen you genuinely interested in a girl.” she said. “I’m glad you finally found someone.” … let’s just not comment on that one. He thought, smiling back before replying.

“I never knew that asking a girl out could be that scary.”

“Eh, it’s not the asking part that’s scary,” Emma said. “It’s waiting for the answer. If you know that the answer is ‘yes’, would you still be afraid to ask?”

“You got a point there,” he said. “Anyway, how are things between you and Jared? Besides really deep, I mean.”

“… ugh, shut up,” she slapped him lightly, grunting. “But, they’re really… nice, you know? You’d think the fire would be put out after so long, but we somehow manage to keep it going.”

“Glad to hear it,” Tyson said. “You really had me worried a few times.”

“Oh? So you do actually care about us~~”

“Of course I do, idiot,” Tyson said. “You’re my best friends, after all. Besides, if you two broke up, I’d be also taking on the blame seeing as I was the one who got you two together in the first place.”

“… that time was kind of similar to this, wasn’t it?” Emma said, lifting her head up and taking a deep breath. “Except, both Jared and I were so drunk we were barely able to keep our eyes open yet you remained sober.” I’m fairly certain I was also piss-out drunk, though… “Back then, you really surprised me when you suggested it.”

“Hm? How come?” Tyson asked.

“Well, truth be told,” Emma said, some reluctance in her voice. “Back then, I didn’t like Jared… at least not like that.” Eh? “At that time, and for a long while before it, I was actually crushing on you, hard. And I mean hard.” Oi, oi, back up!! Back the fuck up!! “So, when I saw how strongly you were pushing us together,” she continued, smiling somewhat bitterly. “I figured you realized my feelings for you, and it was your way of saying ‘no’.” I told you to back the fuck up!! Why do you keep going forward?! “So, I said yes and started going out with Jared. Aah,” she exclaimed, burying her head into her hands. “I can’t believe I told you I used to like you. I seriously thought I’d take that to my grave…” OI GOD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!!