Survival Of The Fittest

((Marty and Joshua continued from Closing Time))

"Hey Marty, how long d'you think until they finally release Duke Nukem: Forever?"

It'd been a good hour or so since they'd left the prom, deciding to head their separate ways once they reached the cul-de-sac where Marty lived. Unlike some of their peers, they'd arrived to the Prom by foot rather then pay for a cab. Which seeing as the Prom hall was a good dozen or so blocks away from where Marty lived meant that the trip back and forth was a long one. And it was only made even worse by the fact that Marty didn't particularly feel like talking to Joshua at that moment.

Great freaking timing there Josh... Just as I'd mustered up the courage, YOU had to come along and mess things up!

"I mean... They've been making it for, like, ten years or somethin'... You'd of thought they'd nearly be finished by now, wouldn't you?" said Joshua, blissfully unaware of Marty's depression.

At least until Marty sulkily replied "I dunno, who gives a crap anyway... Not like it'll be any better than any of the others. "

Joshua slowed down somewhat when Marty said that, letting the smaller boy get ahead of him somewhat. He was used to Marty's sarcastic remarks. After all, most of the time he barely meant them anyway. Only... This time, he could sense that Marty really was sour about something for once. That there was a genuine reason for him to be angry with Joshua at that moment. That he'd actually said or done something that had deeply offended the smaller boy.

"What's the matter, man? Something bothering you?" he asked sincerely, hoping to not offend Marty even further.

Sadly, as Marty stopped and turned back to Joshua with a sudden look of anger on his face, he knew he'd done just that.

"Bothering me? BOTHERING ME? No, nothing's bothering me Josh, thanks for asking! I'm just cool thank you... Cool as a FUCKING cucumber!"

"Woah woah there, man! Chill out!"

"No, YOU fucking chill out, man!"

"LOOK! I'm sorry for whatever I did! I didn't mean it, whatever it was!"

"No. Of COURSE you didn't mean it! Thats because you never. fucking. THINK! Surely you noticed that I was talking Carol there, right?"

Joshua froze for a moment, thinking back to the Prom. Truth be told, he didn't actually notice who Marty was talking to at all. At the time he hadn't really taken any notice, seeing as from where he was standing it looked as though Marty was talking to a smartly dressed guy in a suit. It was only after looking back that he remembered that Carol happened to be wearing that exact same suit...

"Uh... N, no... I didn't..."

" You know how your always telling me that I should actually try talking to her for once? Well guess what, thats exactly what I was doing... Right before YOU came along and screwed things up!"

Joshua couldn't think of anything to say...

"I mean... When am I gonna get another chance to speak to her, huh? Sure, theres the trip and everything, but she'll be with all her friends by then! Plus, that'd make ME look like some creepy stalker who bumped into her during Prom... As if my rep wasn't bad enough already!"

Memories of what had happened years ago flashed through Marty's head. The new theatre, the people he thought where his friends... And of course, the aftermath when nobody would talk to him anymore.

"So yeah, thanks for fucking things up for me, AGAIN... Now then, if you'll excuse me......" and with that, Marty continued off without even checking to see if Joshua was still following.

Josh himself was so taken aback by what Marty had said. Not that he didn't understand why Marty was so angry with him, that was clear enough. Its just that he'd never seen Marty so passionately angry with him before. It was quite... off-putting, to say the least.

Even so, he still continued to follow Marty as he went along.

"Well... Why didn't you tell me to wait a while first? I'd of happily waited a while for you to work your magic on her!" He said, trying to cheer up Marty with humour.

No reply.

"C'mon man, I'm SORRY! I'll make it up for you somehow... Dunno yet, but SOMEHOW!"

Still no reply.

"We can still head back y'know! Maybe she hasn't left yet? You could make up some excuse like you forgot your wallet or something!"

At first it seemed like Marty would reply, but instead he just keeped walking. Eventually, Joshua gave up trying to get through to Marty alltogether.

They continued walking for what seemed like another fifteen minutes of awkward silence until they ended up at the dul-de-sac where Marty lived. Marty turned back to Joshua briefly, a sour look still on his face.

"I'm... sorry, man." Joshua apologized, not wishing for this night to end with the two arguing like this.

Marty on the other hand, just turned and headed into the cul-de-sac without saying a word.

Josh was about to say something else, when he stopped himself. There wasn't really any point anymore in trying to cheer up Marty after what'd happened. All he could really do now is hope that Marty will forgive him in the morning... And with this in mind, Joshua began to make his way to his own home...

That is, until he suddenly heard Marty calling after him.

"JOSH, WAIT!"

He turned around to see Marty heading back, a sorry look on his face.

"Look, uh... I'm the one who should be saying sorry here... Its my fault I didn't take the initiative earlier, not yours. And... Well, I'm sorry for being such an asshole to you and everything."

Joshua simply smiled. Seems he wouldn't have to wait until morning after all.

"Hey, its cool man... Friends often argue about things, right?"

Marty scratched his head and looked away briefly, obviously trying to hold off tears.

"Y... Yeah..."

"Besides, not like its the end of the world or anything right?"

"Yeah... Hehe, good point"

The two just stood there for a moment, not exactly sure what to say or do next. Eventually, Marty spoke out.

"Anyway, uh... I really ought to be heading to bed right now... So... Yeah, seeya in the morning an' stuff..."

"Yeah, same... Say! Tomorrow, do you feel like coming over to play some Street Fighter IV? I just got it the other day..."

Marty chuckled inwardly to himself. If theres one thing Joshua knew about him, it was that he was a master when it came to Street Fighter.

"Sure... But I get dibs on playing Zangief!"

"Aw, man!" said Joshua jokingly.

The two laughed briefly before heading their separate ways, each reminiscing on the what had happened during the night. Despite all their little arguments, or their drastically different outlooks on life as a whole, there wasn't really much that could separate the two as far as they where aware. They were the best of friends, closest of pals, tightest of buddies... And as far as they where aware of, nothing would ever change that...

Nothing...

............

((End of Pregame for Marty and Joshua))

((Maxwell and Vera continued from The Dance Must go on!))

Elsewhere, far away from Marty and Joshua, Maxwell himself was quite busy brushing his teeth in front of a mirror. It wasn't often that he brushed whilst visiting someone else's house, after all there are such things as hygiene and common curtsey to keep in mind. Luckily though, as it happened Vera let him use a spare pair she had that she barely used anyway. That was nice of her...

Still, he was nearly done now... It wouldn't be long now until he finally completed his set goal for the evening. Wouldn't be long before all the trouble he'd been through to get to this point would finally pay off. Vera's parents were out, and her brother was already fast asleep, which meant that they had the house more-or-less all to themselves. And of course, there was only wrong thing they particularly had in mind...

He almost felt somewhat bad about what he was about to do. After all, he lied to her about being a virgin, and seeing as she happened to be one herself he knew for a fact that within a short while she'd be in for a big surprise... After all, there wasn't really any point in pretending once the dirty deed was over and done with. After that, he could go back to being his old self again...

What he didn't realise, however, was that Vera had similar thoughts as well.

At that moment, Vera was busy having a cigarette on her bedroom balcony. She was dressed in a white dressing gown, readying herself mentally for what was to come.

Apart from her brief conversation with Sarah and Reiko, Vera hadn't exactly enjoyed dating a man whose only positive feature was the fact that he happened to be quite attractive. Apart from that, Vera was personally sick to death of his complete air-headedness and annoying personality. He reminded her too much of why she hated Hugh Grant movies.

Still... He said he was a virgin, so she lied to him that she was one too. Whilst she heavily doubt'd that he'd have any hidden depths when it came down to it, at the very least she could give him a good surprise when it turns out she isn't as inexperienced as she first let on... Perhaps then she'll finally have some fun tonight.

She smiled to herself as she took one last whiff of her cigarette. Yes, tonight would definitely be fun. No doub't about it...

((End of Pregame for Maxwell and Vera))