Chapter-3 (Loser)

"I'm home," Steve said as he dragged himself inside the house, his face as lifeless as a zombie's. At the moment, all he needed was a good night's sleep. But there was another surprise in store for him. A loud crashing sound, followed by two people cursing each other, energized him enough to flee to the living room.

To say he was surprised would be an understatement; he had always enjoyed watching his friends kill each other over a game. 'Wow, she wasn't lying,' He began to wonder. "You set a new record for loudness, Matt." He clapped his hands and said to the blondie to get his attention. "You as well, San." He said this while averting his gaze from the other. They both stopped fighting and exchanged a puzzled look.

"And since when you became sarcastic." San said with crossed arms.

"When did you arrive?" Ethan suddenly appeared from the kitchen, holding a spatula. "You appear to be tired." "What exactly did you do?" He said as he took out the apron. The other two tossed their controllers and sat beside Steve like two babies getting ready for bedtime.

"It's not what you think it is." He averted his gaze, looking somewhere other than at them, eliciting a suspicious look from his roommates. "I mean, this will be the longest five months of my life." "But not bothersome," he added. To appease them, he forced a fake laugh, and received a loud and disappointed 'OH' in response.

"Wait, what's that strong smell?" Matt said, his brow furrowed. Ethan dashed back into the kitchen to check the pasta he had left on the stove that he had forgotten to turn off. "I believe we should place an order." He said this while staring at the burnt pasta.

Matt and San grabbed their controllers once more to compete. Ethan began looking for the nearest restaurant to order dinner, while Steve returned to his room, not feeling hungry. Switching back to his zombie mode, he collapsed on his bed, grateful to Ethan for cleaning the room. He rolled onto his stomach, burying his face in the pillow, and groaned at the memory of his first date, which had left him exhausted.

"Pretend relationship begins now," Steve said, an evil grin on his face. He was really looking forward to playing this new game, or so he thought. After finishing his drink, he stood up and grabbed Monika's wrist, causing her to flinch and choke on the last piece of fries.

"What exactly are you-" She couldn't finish her sentence as he dragged her out of the restaurant and began running like a giddy kindergartener. They were running hand in hand, as if they were two lovers fleeing society. "There's no one following us; we can use the car." She yelled as she ran out of breath. 'Oh my God, what did he eat this morning?' she wondered.

"Don't be such a bore, old sport, we're almost there." He yelled back, his head straight. Monika simply rolled her eyes at his remark and continued running with him. "here" He came to a halt outside the basketball court, still holding her hand, and they went inside. Some high school students were present on the court. 'What on earth is he thinking?' Monika paused to catch her breath. All eyes were drawn to the new phony couple who had just entered hand in hand.

"Let's play, or you can watch me play." He exclaimed; his excitement visible in the way he raised his fist in the air. "What? You didn't like the concept?" He inquired; his gaze drawn to her blank expression.

"I'll play as well." Steve was taken aback by her sudden enthusiasm for basketball. He had not anticipated this. She simply winked and began to bop the ball. Kids from the previous game cleared the court for them and sat on the bleachers cheering for both of them. It's not every day that you see a couple competing against each other.

The first lap began with a whistle.

"I'll go easy on you." Steve attempted to obstruct her path.

"Don't make decisions that you'll come to regret later." She continued forward, with Steve taking backward steps in front of her. When she got to the 3-point line, she shuffled the ball a few times before throwing it in. And, as the saying goes, "don't let your guard down." With the first basket, the crowd yelled "fight!"

"It's not fair." He yelled, "I'm taking the ball!" The match resumed, and his height helped him because Monika couldn't attack or block him from behind. He ran quickly to throw the ball, but it appears that he was not fast enough. Monika snatched the ball from him in mid-air, leaving him speechless, and dashed to her side and 'basket.' The crowd cheered once more in support of Monika, leaving a stunned Steve to process what had actually happened.

"I used to be on the team in high school." She said this while dancing in tiny. Steve rubbed his chin, suddenly regretting his decision to play basketball.

The one-on-one match ended with a score of 11-6 after 30 minutes. There was a lot of heavy breathing and loud cheering on the court. People in the audience rushed forward to congratulate the winner.

"Oh, come on. "I'll get you some ice cream." Steve sighed and rolled his eyes. If he had known he would lose to his date, he would never have planned it in the first place. Steve sulked his way out of the court and continued to sulk even during lunch at the nearby restaurant. Monika took advantage of the situation by taking pictures of him.

"How come you didn't tell me?" Steve whined about losing the game on his first date as he walked slowly behind Monika, who was giddy with delight.

"You never asked." She came to a halt to check if Steve was still following her. "You should eat your ice cream before it melts." She waited to walk alongside Steve as he walked slowly without looking around and bumped into her.

It is said to always look around while walking.

Coming back to his senses he saw a big white stain on his shoes that didn't match with his blueberry ice cream he was holding. He glared at her, and in an instant, he was chasing Monika down the sidewalk, who was screaming apologies. The date continued with them chasing each other around the park, laughing and running until one of them ran out of breath and gave up.

"I'm not going to play basketball with her again." Steve buried himself beneath the sheets and slept, drowning himself in false tears. Although he had always wanted to go on a date, he had never actually asked anyone out, and he swore he would never ask any woman for a date again.