Gutterball!
Back in highschool, and surprisingly quite a bit in college, one of Elliot’s favorite things to do with a group of people was bowling. It was a great way to bask in the energy that socializing brought without actually having to socialize.
Instead, Elliot was free to kick everyone’s ass.
He had gotten dangerously invested in winning, coming by himself on more than one occasion and even watching videos on the physics of the perfect roll. In the early days of their friendship, Elliot and Winn had found a bowling alley close to campus. Initially, he terrified her, but eventually she learned to just watch the chaos and let Elliot bask in the joy of victory. It was bowling, it wasn’t something she bothered showing him up in. She learned very quickly not to engage in activities where Elliot could win, because he was the sort of competitive where it got unhealthy.
The only thing that kept Winn agreeing to bowling was that it was one of the very few things Elliot hadn’t found a way to cheat at.
A small part of her honored that he had to develop actual skill, but she also wasn’t above making sure Elliot was off his game.
Elliot knew this, and he knew what she was doing, and he hated that he was so vulnerable to such a dastardly attack.
Elliot’s shoulders slumped as the ball wiggled down the gutter, turning to shoot a glare at his, alleged, best friend.
“I thought you said he was good at this.” Danny said, winking at Winn.
“I am.” Elliot muttered as he took his seat next to Danny. Beautiful, perfect, Danny who was currently causing quite a bit of distraction as he sat there in the neon lights with his hair all disheveled and his face all smug.
“That’s three...uh...strikes in a row?” Danny asked slowly.
“Strikes are the good ones.” Val said, standing and stretching for her turn, “What’cha boy here is getting is gutterballs.”
Val skipped up to the lane, stopping to let Winn smack her ass before she grabbed her bowling ball.
“What I want to know is when all of you met to conspire against me like this.” Elliot said, crossing his arms as he leaned back into his seat.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Winn said innocently.
“Right.” Elliot snapped, shooting her a glare.
Danny fidgeted awkwardly, “Do I really look that nice?”
Elliot grinned, his grumpiness instantly dissipating, “You really do.”
Even in the neon lights, Elliot could see how red Danny turned.
“Although,” Elliot continued, “Getting Val to shake me down like that was the worst offender.”
“She wasn’t part of our scheme.” Win winked.
Elliot felt like his heart was trying to bench press a solid ton, “Oh….really?”
“Really.” Danny smiled, “She’s a good friend, she wasn’t too hard on you, was she?”
Elliot paused, “Nah. She sure as hell got all up in my head though.”
Danny laughed, “Yeah, oddly enough that’s a talent of hers. She’s got this way of making you realize shit about yourself that you didn’t even notice.”
Yeah, no kidding. Elliot thought as he watched Val head back to the seats, only two pins untouched in her wake.
“Your turn, babe.” Val said, pulling Danny out of his seat and stealing it, “Make momma proud!”
Danny flushed, “I really wish you’d be less committed to this bit.”
“Any score will be higher than Elliot’s, so no pressure.” Winn said cheerily from her spot, her eyes not leaving her phone screen.
Val wrapped her arm around Elliot’s shoulder as Winn’s comment had set him right back to pouting, but only momentarily as he felt incredibly grateful to her for inspiring Danny’s outfit change.
Val followed Elliot’s line of sight and then rolled her eyes dramatically, “You know, it’s not polite to stare.”
Danny crouched, watching his first roll slowly head down the lane.
“I tried not to, but I was fighting a losing battle.” Elliot mumbled.
“Wanna burn all his baggy jeans and replace them with yoga pants?” Val snickered.
“You say that like you’re kidding.” Elliot smiled.
Winn cleared her throat, “You guys realize you’re bonding, right?”
“And?” Elliot asked, “Is that so weird?”
The two girls blinked back their shock, exchanging confused looks.
“Yes.” They both said simultaneously, causing Elliot to laugh.
Danny walked over triumphantly, “Look, Elliot! I hit like, five this time!”
He’s so bad at this, “I see that.” Elliot said with amusement, taking the hand Danny offered to help pull him up, “You’re definitely getting better.”
“Should I go change so maybe you can catch up?” Danny teased.
Elliot frowned, “Just watch, Danny boy. I got this one in the bag.”
Danny rolled his eyes and sat down as Elliot made his way up to the lane, stopping to grab a ball.
Focus, Edison. Elliot silently chanted as he stared down the pins on the opposite end of the lane, Don’t think about Winn’s chicanery, or Danny, or Danny’s butt, and especially don’t think about the fact Val thinks you’re in love with him.
...Are you, though?
Not now, Elliot! Focus!
Elliot took a slow, deep breath, relaxing his muscles as he hurdled the ball with precision towards the center.
It was a strike.
Elliot jumped up excitedly, “Suck it, traitors!”
Winn groaned, “Great. He’s going to catch up and be intolerable!”
“What do we do?” Val asked dramatically, enjoying the gimmick all too much.
“I don’t know!” Winn said, slipping into the dramatics with Val, “I was going to bet our apartment for the night to the victors, the stakes are too high!”
“Thanks, you guys.” Elliot said flatly, “Can’t you just go to Val’s apartment?”
Elliot wasn’t stupid enough to not see what they were trying to pull. He’d either win having the apartment to himself or die trying. He wasn’t going to force a sleepover, mostly because he was being a good person but a slightly smaller portion of him liked that Danny’s sexual frustration was annoying to Valerie.
“Quick, what’s something embarrassing we can tell Danny to throw off his game?” Val asked.
Elliot rolled his eyes and stared at the lane, These idiots think they can fool me twice.
“Elliot is the something embarrassing, we’ll need something heavier if we want a night to ourselves in the nice apartment.” Winn corrected.
“You guys think you’re adorable,” Elliot said, hopping over to sit next to Winn triumphantly, “I’m unstoppable now, bitches.”
Winn groaned loudly as she went to take her turn, “I thought I had you.”
Elliot snickered gleefully, “But you don’t.”
“You don’t know that yet.” Val frowned, “We could still kick your ass.”
“That’s highly unlikely.” Elliot said, noticing that Danny was quietly watching Winn take her turns.
I wonder if all the noise is getting to him, Elliot thought as he wondered what he would do with the apartment to himself. It wasn’t much of a question, he knew exactly what he’d be doing as they had just put an entire slew of new shitty rom-coms on Netflix that he’d been itching to watch.
Winn didn’t score much, and as Val took her turns Elliot realized that if he kept up his mojo he’d definitely win, much to Winn’s chagrin.
Danny seemed distracted, both turns going straight to the gutter.
“Is he okay?” Winn asked, “Was the bet thing too much? I was just trying to help.”
“No,” Elliot corrected, “You’re trying to get me to lose. And failing.”
“Don’t worry,” Danny said as he walked back to the seats, “You’ve still got one more trick up your sleeves.”
Val’s eyebrows nearly touched her hairline as Danny flopped down beside her, “We do, do we?”
Elliot skipped up to the lane, cracking his knuckles dramatically as he grabbed a ball, “What? Is there a mid-night costume change? Did she exploit more of my weaknesses and there’s some weird getup in her bag?”
“No.” Danny said simply as Elliot positioned himself, “I want you to lose.”
Elliot’s ball dropped to the ground, slowly rolling itself away while Elliot struggled to compose himself.
“What?” He asked blankly, his mouth desert dry.
“I said I want you to lose.” Danny repeated, his gaze unwavering as Elliot somehow managed to turn around to face him.
Val and Winn shared surprised glances, looking over at Elliot with amusement.
“I...I mean…” Elliot stammered, his mind giving him absolutely nothing to work with, “I don’t mind letting them have the apartment to themselves...I can sleep on the couch.”
Danny paused, biting his lip, “That’s not what I was trying to insinuate.”
Elliot.exe is no longer working.
404 Error: File not found.
“I don’t think he’s breathing.” Val said, her eyes practically twinkling with amusement.
Winn nodded in agreement, “You broke him.”
Danny looked at him with concern, “Sorry. I’m...not good at being forward.”
Elliot attempting to reboot.
Dude, enough with the computer talk.
“It’s...okay?” Elliot managed, holding on to the bowling ball like it was his sanity before blankly dropping it onto the lane, pushing it gently so it would go.
“Your turn is over, you can sit down now.” Winn prodded with a satisfied smirk.
My legs aren’t working, “Yeah. Right. Okay.”
Danny patted the seat next to him and Elliot obeyed blankly, somehow finding it within himself to actually move.
“You okay there, sailor?” Danny asked as he scooted closer to Elliot’s side.
Elliot somehow managed to swallow, “That’s...Who taught you how to play so dirty?”
“You, dumbass.” Danny grinned, leaning closer so that only Elliot could hear him, “But who said I was playing anything?”
Oh god. Elliot coughed, his breath proverbially knocked out of him.
“You okay?” Val asked.
“I...uh...am I allowed to forfeit the game?” Elliot asked, “That’s automatic victory for you guys, right?”
~
Winn didn’t let Elliot forfeit, as that wouldn’t be a fair fight apparently, but after that Elliot wasn’t sure anything was a fair fight.
His hormones had never quite been so haywire before, except maybe when he was starting the treacherous first years of puberty, is this why some people wait so long?
Danny pushed the door to his apartment open, motioning for Elliot to follow.
Not that he needed it.
The door had only closed behind Elliot for a fraction of a second when Danny pinned him to it, hands tangling into his hair as he kissed him.
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