Agate sat at one of the dining area tables, of course still keeping up with the heavy 80s theme going on in the arcade. A smile plastered on his face as the wild music of the arcade ran wild in his mind. His leg bounced trying to keep up with the music. Clearly, he's lost in his imagination. Then a pretty strong hand grabs and shakes him, ripping him out of his daydream. In shock, he blinked a few times before a very generous pile of arcade coins is slap down in front of him in a very flashy manner. A toothy grin quickly wormed its way to his face as he looked at the shimmering pile. He turned to meet Carnelian's gaze. Which was one of pride and slight pain. He patted Agate on the shoulder.
"Be lucky I love you man. Spent the rest of my cash on you."
He stood up and gave Carnelian a big bear hug, small for Carnelian but huge for Agate. A smile plastered on his face. "Thanks man. You're the best."
He hugged back, practically turning Agate's bones to dust in the process. "It's nothing dude, don't worry. It's literally your 18th birthday, we gotta make it special somehow." He stopped hugging him and just patted his shoulder once again.
Jade quickly jumped into the conversation by grabbing them both and shaking the living hell out of them. "Stop being homies! We got games to play! Food to eat! People to give horrid scarring memories of having their asses handed to them in game-to-game combat!" She paused and took a deep breath before continuing, "And we have to find a stray schoolmate and call them mean names and bully them till they go running to mamma, grandma, great-grandma, and uncle Yosemite from downtown Chicago!"
Agate started laughing and pushed her hand off him. Carnelian looked at her in disbelief. "Jade sweetie you're scaring the children in this poor place." He pointed to the around five-year-old child who's looking at Jade in horror. She turned to look at the kid who jumped a bit, clearly startled. She then proceeded to bark at the poor kid, making him run away in fear and in tears. She turned back to Car who's holding back from laughing at that poor child.
"Good. All little kids should be scared when they're at an arcade. Don't trust a soul you ain't know!" She explained as she wagged her finger at Car who burst out laughing. Tears slightly rolling down his face.
"Okay man let's- let's go play games okay?"
Agate poked Car and gave him a cocky stare, "Um more like me and Jade will be playing games. Not you, 'cause remember."
He sighed and spoke in a mocking tone, "I got banned from playing here, yeah yeah yeah I remember."
Agate stood up, all his coins in hand, and quickly placed them all into Carnelian's hands. He then poked his chest with a prying finger. "And what did you do for that to happen?"
A sweet smile appeared on Carnelian's face, one of his on-brand eerie smiles. "Well since you know, I wouldn't test your likes."
He quickly removes his finger from his chest and nods, "Ah- your right! Well then let's go to my favorite game and scene of the crime!"
Agate grabs Jade and they both turn and make their way off as they both yell way too loud, "Bull Runner! Bull Runner! Bull Runner!" Carnelian follows, embarrassed as they loudly shame him.
They finally reach the "scene of the crime" and it's just a regular arcade game. "Bull Runner" is the name. The arcade machine has a pinkish color scheme with the main characters on the sides of them. On the right side is the hero of the story, a Red Bull with gold jewelry that decorated its body, and on the left side was a blueish-green wolf with an evil top hat. It would look like a lovely little arcade machine other than the fact that there are huge dents and fist markings on the sides of the machine. It's been like that since the retro arcade fair that the town had hosted here. Bull Runner, a game with very few machines made, as the main attraction.
Jade nudged Carnelian and pointed to the machine. He glanced at it and looked away, ashamed and embarrassed. "Look CarCar. It's your lovely handy work." She grabbed and squished his upper arm, "sometimes I forget just how big and strong and manly and cool and awesome and big you are."
He patted her hand but didn't answer. Agate grinned and took a good chunk of coins from Car and played with one in his hands. He glanced at Car. "Well, you know what time it is now mister man!"
Jade and Agate both yell in unison, "The monthly Bull Runners strength test! Or in normal people's terms! Does this damn game still work!" They both giggled as Car finally started chuckling.
"Yeah yeah yeah rub it in. That game is way too hard and y'all know it"
"That's what makes it fun silly CarCar." She taunted as she fiddled with his ear for some reason.
Agate put a coin in, grabbed the machine's joystick, and rested his hand on the buttons, "It sure does Jade." The game's intro started playing. The old narrating voice bellowed through, the adventurous music playing through.
On a happy farm, a happy cow lived, with his happy family.
"Now,"
But one day an evil wolf stole them all away.
"It's time for what we all were waiting for!"
So a vengeful rage filled Bowy's happy heart! Causing his happy body and soul to be filled with unruly strength!
He crouched into his gaming position and a grin climbed onto his face. "It's time I get this party started!" Jade watches ecstatically and Carnelian gets the tip book that they all made. They've only made it to world 10...and there are 30 worlds.
Please help Bowy get his family back from the 30 evil wolves that plague CowVillia! Each one in a different far-off land!
"To finally beat the hardest game in the goddamn world!" Agate proudly announced to his friends.
Please help Bowy! I'm the new hip-game Bull Runner!
~~~~~~~~~~
Agates' palms slip off the controls of the machine as the game-over sound emits from the machine, as the final boss wolf mawed Bowy into a bloody pulp. They made it to world 12 this time. The pen that Carnelian had used to aggressively write notes as Jade directed him in the tips that could be used in those parts, had run out of ink. The respawn screen appeared the countdown from 10 has started. Agate quickly puts his hand out for another coin.
"Dude we have this! Just one last coin!"
Carnelian exhaled, "Man I'm sorry but we're all out."
Agate quickly turned back to Carnelian and Jade. A look of shock and disbelief slunk onto his face. His sweaty hands slip from supporting himself on the machine and he falls to the floor. He leaned back as the game over sound played and its silly screen showed its sour face. The group of 30 wolves at a dinner table, each one with a full cow at their plate with the words "Thank you for the meal" proudly displayed.
A loud and hard sigh escaped Agate's face as he laid on the nasty arcade floor where a child most definitely puked and peed. He flailed around like a child as the taunting end music played in his ears. "I was so close! So close! Why does that fucker have damn wings!?"
Jade pulled out her phone and went to the Bull Runners info page and put it into his face. "Maybe if you read the lore you'd know that he has them 'cause he ate a thousand chickens and birds."
Agate looked up at the phone then back at Jade, "You gotta be shitting me."
Carnelian spoke up, "Naw man. That's why you should have used your chicken fryer skill. Why else do you think the world has so many chicken enemies plus give you an item that's super effective against them."
Agate quickly jumped up to his feet, turned to Car, and grabbed his shoulders. He looks at his hands in disgust for they're extremely sweaty. He leans in too close for comfort towards his face, his eyes wide and frankly stressed. "..I can see why you beat this fucking arcade game up Car. This game is evil as hell."
"I told you."
"Who- who would have thought it was a sane idea to do this! This game is basically cursed!"
"Some random people at a gaming company- now can you get your nasty hands off me"
"Oh right sorry." Agate let go of him and sighed for a long time before chuckling a bit. "God that was irritation and like- exhilarating in a way."
Jade smiled, "Se now aren't you glad that I introduced yall to this game when I did?"
They both looked at her and nodded.
"See now that's the only correct answer you two! Now! It's time for the rest of the day! For it's your amazing day of birth!"
Agate made a little squeal as he childishly clapped his hands together as the three of them walked out of the arcade. The day awaited them, and they surely made use of it. They we all around town to treat Agate to every little thing their poor 19-year-old spending money could get them. Food, drinks, candy, ice cream, and even the stray weird thing Jade thought would be a good thing to buy, but only to taste it and have her face recoil in disgust. Agate was smiling and laughing the whole day away, his cheeks were red and sore from how much fun he was having. His heart was beating so fast that it was practically jumping out of his chest. The only thing that could make this birthday better would be if his boyfriend was found. That thought ruins his whole day, he tries his best to brush off that thought but how can he forget about it entirely...It's impossible.
~~~~~~~~~~
The three of them are relaxing at the diner that they met up at yesterday. Jack welcomed them in with open arms and sat them down for a bit. Agate looked extremely happy, with a small smile present. Jade tilted her head at him and poked his nose.
"You had a good day Pebble?"
He nodded and fiddled with his hands. "Yeah. I didn't think it could be this fun."
She grabbed his nose and shook it a bit, he quickly pulled out from her grasp. She bellowed, "Of course, it would be this fun Pebble! It's your 18th birthday!" The diner was empty, Jack had put the diner sign as closed, just for the three of them, she lowered her voice and gave a soft smile. "It's supposed to be special you know?"
Agate's eyes started to shimmer, he was holding back tears as Carnelian put on his shoulder. "Plus, we thought that we'd take this time to like- you know." Carnelian's ears started to turn red slightly when a slice of cake with "Happy 18th" written on it got sat gently in front of him. He looked up to see Jack and Stone there. Stone with his usual sloppiness and a silly smile on his face with a thumb up in the air. Jack with a soft smile, patted his shoulder.
"He was trying to say that they'd like to apologize," Jack explained.
Stoned jumped in, "Yeah. They came up with all of this and you know? We wanted to celebrate with you on your own today. Like we may be old adults but that doesn't mean we don't want to have fun with the youngins we see as basically our kid-" He got cut off when Jack elbowed him in his stomach. An embarrassed look crossed his face.
"Ahem. Don't mind him. He's just- he just smoked too much of that marry today and I should put him to bed after we're all done here." He finished as he sat down next to Jade who scooted for the larger man. Stone regained his composure slightly and he dragged an extra chair up to the booth.
"Man you're so mean Jack. At this point I won't have any muscles to support my middle section cause you keep beating it so damn hard."
"Mmhmm yeah sure."
Agate looked down at his slice of cake and smiled. The fun banter of the diner owners going at it and his two friends just joking and having fun was enough to warm his heart. He smiled as tears fell from his eyes, landing in his hands as he quickly wiped them off his face.
Jack looked at him, worried. "You alright?"
He nodded and Jade answered for him, "He's just really damn happy that we're so cool. Also Pebble...look at me and Car for a second please."
He followed her request, and they both looked at him clearly upset. But not at him, more like at themselves.
Carnelian spoke first, his eyes shifting from Agates to the table, to the cake, and back. "I'm really sorry...I- I should have paid more attention to everything...and I didn't. And I hurt you..." He made direct eye contact with Agate, "I hope you can forgive me for what I did...I really feel bad... genuinely."
Jade quickly jumped in, tapping the table to get Agate's attention. "Me too. Like I feel like shit about what happened. Like if I were you, I would have cussed me and Car out right there and then in the middle of the dinner." Her ears started to get extremely red, "But! I'm like, super sorry and, I just hope you can forgive me, like- like what CarCar said." Her eyes were sparkly, tears were just barely being held back.
Agate looked at them both and gave Stone and Jack quick glances. They just did slight nods, Stone's more obvious than Jack's. Agate chuckled and nodded, taking two forks and giving the two of them part of the cake. "Of course I forgive you. Well, not of course but you know what I mean."
They both nodded, Jade had tears start down her face. Stone stood up, grabbed his phone, and put on the most obnoxious version of happy birthday he could find. "Now that yall little goobers had your little kissy kissy make up session it's time for the main event! Now get ready yall!"
Agate quickly hid his face behind his hands as the four of them all sang happy birthday to him. Jade and Stone are out in the walking section of the dinner doing silly dances as they repeatedly sing the song that obviously is slowly getting on everyone's nerves, while Carnelian laughs and Jack looks on in horror and awe. Agate just laughed and laughed the entire time.
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