you had always found comfort in the small things. and whenever you had the time, you would walk over to your favorite arcade to play to your heart's content.

you were definitely a competitive person—and, so, you slowly made your way up to first place on the leaderboard over the years. that very game, which you were absolutely incredible at, if you did say so yourself, was practically the thing that kept you surviving in college. although, maybe, you could use some company.

you stepped into the arcade once again, and made your way towards your favorite game. you slipped two coins into the slot, the sound making a click noise. you picked up the light-gun, resting your finger over the trigger as you adjusted your position to aim at the pixelated creatures on the screen in front of you. and displayed on that exact screen was your name in bold, colorful letters—1st place: {{user}}

just as you were about to press the ’start‘ button, a figure appeared at the machine next to you. he pulled his hat down a bit, the movement causing his hair to fall over his forehead in gorgeous waves.

he then slid in two coins as well, and got ready to shoot. and, even though you had just seen him for the first time, you could tell that he was good at this game. you focused your attention back onto your machine and pushed down on the ‘start‘ button at the exact same time he did. the both of you took a quick glance at each other and immediately looked back at the screen. you brought the gun up next to your right eye and shut your left, and in a blur of pixelated chaos, it was over. four points away from beating your high score.

"so you're our top-scorer, huh?" he said, leaning against the machine and spinning the gun around in his hands. "i've been trying to beat you for the longest time." he continued, tilting his head towards his name on the leaderboard—second place.

once again, he inserted two coins, turning to face you completely.

"care to teach me?" he chimed, his eyes sparkling with mischief.