YOUR POKER FACE NEEDS SOME WORK [tk]

[MATTHEW FUYU CHANG]

It was like a miracle, having his afternoon classes canceled. By some stroke of luck, both his teachers had canceled their respective classes in the afternoon -- one had gotten the flu, the other was at a conference out town, which meant that instead of staying on campus until eight like he always did, he could just get in his art studio hours in now and, for once, leave school before three. That was an entire five hours that he had to himself, that he wasn't really sure what to do with until he was halfway done with his texture work. Figuring that it would take about an hour to clean up his workspace and get back to Maple Hollow, Matthew put down his varnish and brush and took his phone out. He opened up a new text message to TK, typed in a quick message -- 'Afternoon free -- ready the games!' -- and hit send before turning back to his art supplies, starting to clean up. He hasn't seen TK in awhile, even though his best friend lives in the same building as he does, but with an afternoon free and being relatively caught up with his work, it's going to be good to get a few hours to just wind down and relax, and he couldn't think of anyone better to do that with than TK. He just hoped that TK wasn't busy or something -- his text message was a little bit presumptuous, sure, but at least he didn't live super far away so it would be a hassle to get there or come back if things were a no-go.

Given that most of the rest of the school was in class, the art building was rather quiet and a little eerie when he locked up his materials in his locker, carefully putting his canvas in so it wasn't touching anything that would harm his work. He slung his bag over his shoulder, pocketing his locker key as he did so and tugging his car keys free. The drive back to Maple Hollow was spent singing along with his radio (in a cool way, thank you) -- it's still pretty cold out, as March is wont to be up in the cold Canadian tundra, but at least there's some sunshine today. It could be a lot worse. He pulls on through and turns to his block, slows down a little unless he actually wants to run a little old lady over and drive sinto his building's lot -- it's empty, which isn't a surprise, considering, but he's glad that he finally has his choice of the parking spaces!

"Yo, TK!"

[/color] Matthew calls out, knocking on the door to his friend's apartment. "Are you in there? I'm coming in,"[/color] Matthew tries again, this time fiddling with the doorknob to find it unlocked -- TK has to be home, then, since he has no idea why anyone would leave their door unlocked when they weren't home. Indeed, he finds TK on the sofa with his laptop, earbuds no doubt blasting music to render him unable to hear the door. Matthew has to smile -- figures. He reaches over and tugs one free. "Hey man, at least pay attention if you're going to be going deaf."[/color]

[ sorry it's so short and shitty -- muse is iffy these days. x_x will do better for my next post! ][/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[TAKERU KENTO MATSUZAKA]

It was just one of those days. Takeru normally would have one of his dance classes in the afternoon but his teacher had to cancel for the day. This meant that Takeru had the afternoon free since he also had the day off from work and no classes to teach at the rec center. So at least for the afternoon he was completely free. In instances like this the first thing he'd probably would have done was call up his girlfriend but he knew she was booked up with classes all afternoon and then had dinner with her dad later. Sighing he drove home in hopes of finding something to do. He'd probably just end up practicing various routines all afternoon until his brother got home.

As if hearing his prayers Takeru got a text message as he was turning off his car from his best friend Matt. It was always nice to hear from Matt. The water was always so busy with things that they didn't get to hang out as much as Takeru would have liked but none the less the two were close. A bright grin grew on his face as he read the text message. Matt had the afternoon of, a rarity and one that should not be ignored. His afternoon had just turned around. He made his way home and wasted no time pulling out some of the video games that both he and Matt enjoyed playing. Neither of the boys were extreme gamers but they did enjoy them every now and then. Now it was just a matter of waiting until Matt arrived. Takeru left the door open for him and pulled out his laptop as he waited. Takeru chose to watch some dance videos so put on his headphones while he did so.

So leaving the door open probably wasn't the brightest idea. For all he knew a burglar could have come in but thankfully when he turned to see who had pulled out his earphone it wasn't a theif but Mattie himself. His look turned from one of surprise to joy when he saw his best friend. "Hey bro. Sorry, got distracted. Sweet that you got the afternoon off." he said with a smile before heading off to the kitchen. "Do you want anything to drink or munch on?" he asked getting and snacks to eat before the two got carried away with their fun.

[MATTHEW FUYU CHANG]

As TK wandered off to the kitchen, asking him about drinks and snacks, Matthew stole a quick glance at what the Earth student was doing on his laptop and was not surprised in the least to find a slew of dance videos open in a bajillion tabs. Matthew didn't get dancing -- he was pretty bad at it, at least the whole choreography and learning a specific dance type of thing, but TK was a natural and had always been, since the first few times Matthew met TK. "Popcorn! Maybe some soda, but mostly popcorn. If you got any, if not, I can run back to my place really quick and get a bag...or three."

[/color] Let it never be said that Matthew wasn't a classy dude, okay. Popcorn was like the food of the gods. (All right, truthfully, it had only been recently that he found himself on a huge popcorn eating kick -- even got his own kettle and actual kernals, not just bagged stuff, though the bagged stuff was still good when he was feeling particularly lazy, which was all the time lately.) "I'll pretty much take anything you've got, though, you know I'm not picky."[/color] Matthew remarked, his easygoing nature, for once, pulling through for him. He always felt a little awkward when he was at a friend's house -- even a friend that he was really, super close with, like TK -- and they did the whole 'good host' thing, because like...dude, no, we're bros, it's cool, I can take care of myself at this point, nooooo don't fawn over me! Matthew would always be a bit of an awkward turtle for sure, but the least he could do was not be so blatant about it at his best friend's place.

Turning his attention away from the laptop, lest TK caught him snooping, Matthew sat on the floor in front of the TV console and the gaming systems, digging through the games that they would play together all the time. You'd think that for two dudes, things like Call of Duty would be the forerunner of their gaming times, but frankly, FPS games always made Matthew's head hurt. No, they were more of the Mario Kart sort. Maybe Super Smash Brothers if they wanted to get really violent. There was also the slew of LEGO games that Matthew really enjoyed, but he mostly played those with Sandra and they tended to kill each other half the time anyway. Ahh...good times. "What are you feeling up for today? We can start with some Mario Kart and then work our way through?"[/color] Matthew asked, waving around the game wheel, not even sure if TK was there or still in the kitchen.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[TAKERU KENTO MATSUZAKA]

"Popcorn it is my friend." he said with a quick flash of a smile moving around the kitchen. He opened one of the cupboards and pulled out two bags of popcorn. He took one, opening and removing the plastic wrap before putting it into the microwave to get going. As that was heating up he opened up another cupboard to pull out a bowl to dump all the popcorn in. Popcorn was a delicious snack. He figured that two bags would get them through right? If not they had more. As the kernels were popping Takeru then headed over to the refrigerator to pull out some soda for the two elementals. He grabbed a hold of a six pack that was held together by one of those plastic...things. What was that called again? No idea. Not important either.

It wasn't often that Takeru was playing host. At this point Takeru didn't really see Matt as a guest. Just as welcomed as the Changs made him in their apartment they were just as welcomed in the Matsuzaka residence. He pulled out the first popped bag and put in the next. His attention turned back to Matt when he heard the water's voice. With he a smile he nodded an agreement with the game before opening up the bag into the empty bow. The popcorn fell out with ease as the second bag began popping. "We haven't played in a while. Awesome that you got the afternoon off. Did class end early or did your teach cancel?" he asked with curiosity as the second bag was nearly finished. Matt wasn't one to just skip a day of class because he wasn't up to it so there had to be a legit reason for all of this.

With the second bag done he poured its contents inside the bowl, then with the bowl and drinks in hand he walked back over to the living room and placed it all on the small table in front of the tv. He walked over to entertainment area and grabbed two of the controls and walked back over to where the two would be sitting, holding out one of the controls for Matt to take. "Let the games begin."

[MATTHEW FUYU CHANG]

A lot of set up went into preparing for an afternoon of video games, truth be told. Matthew usually liked to really take his time getting ready -- shower, eat a decent meal so he doesn't go hungry in the midst of it (no one has time to eat when there are drivers in front of him and he has red shells, thank you very much), make sure he's properly hydrated -- video gaming took a sincere effort of concentration and focus, Matt learned long ago, and he wasn't sure if he was properly prepared. Then again, he wasn't at all prepared to have the afternoon off, but hey -- sometimes, you just have to roll with the punches. Of course, he could list about a dozen things he could be doing, more important things, things like schoolwork and homework and work, but he wasn't going to think about that today. That was all he ever thought about, day in and day out, and for once, he just wanted to hang out, not worry about the crapload of work he has to do, and just enjoy his time off with his friend. It sucked, but it was more and more rare these days, so he was totally willing to settle in for an afternoon of popcorn, games, and TK, because hey, what are best buds for?

Matthew went about his business setting the living room up as TK bustled about the kitchen, dutifully getting out the Wii and setting up the controllers in their respective wheels, though checking the batteries to make sure they were charged first -- Matt knew firsthand just how agonizing it was to have to stop right in the middle of a heated battle on account of the controllers going dead. He heard TK addressing him over the sound of the popcorn popping in the microwave as he powered the machine on, the start-up screen flashing a pretty blue. "I haven't really had time like this in awhile, huh? But my one class was already canceled since the guy's at some conference in Toronto, and my second class this afternoon was canceled because my professor came down with some sort of sickness, so instead of being good and being productive, here I am!"

[/color] Matt shrugged, jiggling the Wiimote around just to make sure it was working well, popping in the game disc afterward. When TK came back, big bowl of popcorn in hand and some soda, Matt handed him the other controller, offering a cheeky grin in return for the popcorn and soda. "Thanks, man. And dude, I'm so rusty, you're probably going to kick my ass. I haven't played...probably since the last time we played, honestly."[/color] He couldn't even remember how long ago that was, that was how long it was. Though it probably didn't help that he didn't really have a Wii of his own, having opted for a PS3 when push came to shove. Multifunctionality, yeah![/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[TAKERU KENTO MATSUZAKA]

Everything was basically set. Popcorn was popped. Soda waited on the table. They each had their controls and the game was getting to go. It was time to play. It had been a long while since he's played in any video games, especially with Mattie. With his dance classes, work, and spending time with Charlotte he really didn't make the time for anything else. Yeah, when he actually sat down to play he could spend a few hours doing so lately he just didn't have the time do use. It was always something keeping him moving around. Not that it was a bad thing but sometimes a little gaming was good for the soul. At least he thought so.

Thus leading to today. This had been totally unexpected. Matt usually was off at school around this time. Takeru would probably be at home lazing around for a bit before putting in some dance practice since Charlotte had class all day. That had become the norm for the earth. Perhaps it was because both boys were always taking care of what they needed to do that the fates allowed them today to simply be teenagers for a while and not worry about the responsibilities that were waiting for them. No doubt that Matt most likely had a ton of homework he needed to get to, Takeru had his own stack and both boys would rightly get it all done but a few hours would not kill them right. How often did you get all your classes cancelled the same day. It wasn't very often. So if it was a crime that both boys were throwing responsibility out the window for a while then sue them. Right now neither really cared.

"Haha, then that would make two of us. Time has not been either of our friends recently. At least will be on equal playing fields." he said before taking a seat on the couch in front of the tv. The screen changed images as it was loading and Takeru took a bit of popcorn from the bowl and munched down. The start screen came up and eventually the racers were on screen. "I call dibs on Luigi." He was a like a little kid sometimes. Maybe it was the fact that Luigi wore green but he liked the guy. Yes, he was talking about a game character. "You can pick the track." Takeru was trying to familiarize himself with the controls again. It felt like centuries since he last played. "By the way. You never had a chance to tell me how things went with Shakespeare girl."Takeru remembered the day he had walked into the Chang residence and had been practically jumped by a very happy Matt because of the fact that had scored a date with a girl from one of his classes. With their busy schedules Takeru had never asked about how things had ended up going since then. For all he knew the two were already married. Okay, that was over-exaggerating a tad but none the less a lot could happen in a short time period. He had begun dating Charlotte when Matt and Sandra had gone to visit their family in Japan, so yes, a lot could happen.

[MATTHEW FUYU CHANG]

"Dude, I know you've got dibs on Luigi, you always get dibs on Luigi,"

[/color] Matt chuckled, watching as the screen flashed as they both began to choose their characters for the game. Naturally, he went with Princess Peach. Like any of those other suckers could step to royalty, for serious. He grabbed a handful of popcorn as they waited for the next screen to load, nodding when TK told him to choose the track. He always did love Wario Stadium, but Rainbow Road was just such a classic...though kind of a bitch of a course, too, if he was honest, but that was part of the fun of it, really. Plus, he always enjoyed that giant jump. Definitely no to the ice one -- Matt's coordination wouldn't hold up on it, and those fucking penguins always got in the way anyway. He seriously considered all the pros and cons of all the tracks, then just gave up and decided on Wario Stadium. The offchance that they crashed into the other computer players in the cross-jump was a fun possibility that he liked to entertain. As the loading screen appeared, Matthew chewed on the popcorn, drifting in and out of his thoughts before catching on to what TK asked him. Ah. Shakespeare Girl.

"Ah, Claire? Didn't really work out...we broke up right before Sandra and I went to Japan."[/color] Matt was over it by now -- good lord it had been almost a year at this point! -- but he just didn't like thinking about it much, and not for any reason other than it sort of pointed out to Matthew that he's just not very good at the whole dating thing. Maybe it was him. He never could get the hang of how to treat someone he liked to make them feel special, in comparison all his other friends, because the whole 'love at first sight/true love' thing seemed like a pretty big stretch for him. It just seemed pretty impossible to go into that without knowing the other person, like not knowing what their favorite color was or their favorite food or just, simple things. And then there was the added hassle that half the time, the people he liked were his friends, so either he'd be f-zoned permanently -- which he was okay with, because hey, that meant they were in his life in some way anyway -- or, if he acted on it, they'd end up not being friends and that outcome was kind of way worse to him. But he thought he knew Claire, though he knew her well enough to know that the prospect of spending a month and a half away from each other was really not okay with her, but he supposed he didn't.

And okay, she ended up being a little scarily possessive towards the end. So for all intents and purposes, he should probably be glad that he got out of that situation when he did. Still, though... "I'm way over it, but still, it just kind of sucks realizing that the person you really, genuinely had feelings for turned out to be crazy."[/color] All right, maybe that was a little harsh, but it was true. Still, he didn't want the topic to stay on his rather lackluster love life, so he instead changed it to TK's, instead. "What about you? How are you and Charlotte doing?"[/color][/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[TAKERU KENTO MATSUZAKA]

"That's...probably true." he said with a chuckle. Was it wrong that he had a favorite and was sometimes, okay most of the time but that was a different story. He watched as Mattie chose Peach and smirked. Game on. Sometimes their game times had gotten intense but nothing that got either of them in trouble. Takeru looked on with curiosity as to which track Matt would choose. A part of him was hoping he'd pick the Rainbow Road. It was definitely his most played ones. He liked replaying the challenging tracks. To be honest he still had trouble when it comes to the turns. Of course with his luck Matt would choose his least favorite track. He hated the damn fire. He'd get so distracted and not even see them coming. Perhaps this time would be different. Not likely.

"Aww, I'm sorry man. What do they say though, better to have love and lost than to not have loved at all." Not sure if that sounded very lovey-dovey. Since starting with his relationship with Charlotte it could probably be said tha the had become a bit of a romantic. Takeru had never been very good at talking to the girls, Matt could witness to that but Charlotte had come to change that. Now he spent most of the time thinking about how he can make Charlotte smile that beautiful smile of hers. He wasn't perfect and he still had to make sure that he didn't act like a total idiot around her. "It was probably for the best man. It just means that the girls are in luck now that you're available again." Takeru was an optimist. He tried to see the good in things and if things didn't work out between Matt and Shakespeare girl then it wasn't meant to be but he always saw things as a learning experience.

When the topic changed to him and Charlotte he couldn't hold back a smile. "Great man. I'm head over heels for this girl. I'm thinking on taking her on another trip to New York during the break, to celebrate our one year anniversary." To think that they had already been dating a year was astounding. His first real relationship and he had literally found the girl of his dreams. How often did that happen? "How did your last trip to Japan go? My parents want to take me and brother to visit our grandparents next winter." It had been a long while since he had seen his grandparents or visited Japan. He was actually looking forward to it. Of course it meant some time away from Charlotte which wasn't actually something he'd looked forward to. Then his focus turned from Charlotte to the tv screen. The game was starting, racers were set, and the countdown began. "Here we go." he said excitedly. Three, two, one and they were off.

(You can have Mattie win the first game)