Down With Love

I glanced at my watch nervously. Eight minutes 'till her shift ended. Give or take a few minutes. Plus the time it took her to get back to the bus. So... fifteen minutes or so. I bit my lip. I'd already put two hours of consideration into the video games, spread out neatly into a fan on the table (another half hour had gone into their arrangement). Needless to say, I was nervous. To put it lightly, that is. Fuck, why was I so nervous, it wasn't like it was a date with her. But, on the other hand, it was my first time properly hanging out with her with her being single... Oh my god! Knock it off, Jimmy, this is NOT a date! You're just playing video games, like you do all the time! I mentally slapped myself. And then, I nearly jumped out of my seat. DRINKS! And I only had... I checked my watch- THREE MINUTES! FUCK! It would have to be beer then. I dashed to the fridge and pulled two out, but a new panic ensued- THE BOTTLE OPENER. FUCK. I spent a good two and a half of the three minutes racing around the bus, beers in hand, hunting it down. That is, until I remembered that these ones were twist top. Fate was on my side, though- I succeeded in ripping off the caps, tossing them aside, and slamming the beers down on the table next to the video games just as Anna stepped into the bus.

At first glance, she looked happy- I know I was ecstatic. But my excitement must have clouded my judgement, because as I walked over I realised she looked nearly as miserable as she had this morning. At least she wasn't crying, which was an improvement. "You ready to get your ass kicked?" I asked cautiously, my laughter nervous despite myself. Much to my dismay, Anna just shrugged. She shuffled across the bus and slumped down on the couch, feet propped up on the table, and went for the beer. She gulped down about half of it before I leaned over and gently pushed the bottle down. She looked up at me as she set it on the table.

"Bad day?" I asked softly, edging down to sit on the couch next to her. She moved over a bit so I could sit without half my ass hanging in the air, and nodded at me, her face miserable. "N'awwh, baby..." I cooed, wrapping my arms around her, although i seized up a bit at the fact that I'd let out the pet name without thinking. Anna didn't seem to notice, and just buried her face in my chest. She was shaking again, which I knew from last night meant she was crying. I stroked her hair, trying to calm her down. "Shhhh, it's okay.... do you wanna tell me what happened?"

"H-h-her!" Anna sobbed. "That fucking bitch!" she pulled away from me, but she was till crying, the tears causing her obviously non-waterproof mascara to leave lines down her cheeks.

"Who, what did she do?" I asked softly, taking a tissue from the box on the counter next to the couch and wiping the tears off her face.

"That awful slut, that he was seeing... she kept parading him in front of the merch booth, holding his hand, making out with him in front of me... smirking at me like she won some sort of fucking prize!" Anna was shaking more violently now, but it obviously was no longer because of sobs but because she was so furious.

"Awh, Anna," I pulled her in for another hug, but she pulled away.

She shook her head. "I'm too fucking pissed," she muttered. "You ready to get your ass fucking whipped?" she asked, grabbing for the most violent of the video games. "Because I know I'm fucking ready for some visualization tactics."

I chuckled, and ruffled her hair. "You're awesome, you know that?" I asked, smiling from ear to ear.

Anna looked at me. "Hold on. Was that just a heartfelt compliment?! From Mister Reverend Sullivan?! You wouldn't be sick, would you?!" She put her hand jokingly on my forehead, and I felt myself flush under her touch on my face.

"Probably," I joked. She chuckled, and pulled her hand away, but I was sure she lingered for a second... though it was probably just my imagination.

All too soon though- in my opinion- the moment was over. She got up to set up the video game she'd chosen before, and then went to sit on the other side of the couch, controller in hand. I sighed inwardly. Sullivan. It's video game night. Not a date, I told myself again. It wasn't the first time that day, and it obviously wouldn't be the last.

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"I WIN AGAIN!" I shouted, jumping up tin the air. "You fucking suck, Sullivan! EAT MY FUCKING SHIT!" I was looking down at him for once from my standing spot on the couch, and laughing in his face. God, if one thing could make me feel better when I felt shitty, it was video games night.

"Oh REALLY?!" Jimmy exclaimed, grinning, standing up so we were at the same height.

"REALLY!" I shouted, backing up in that ecstatic giggly nervous manner that you only do when you know someone's about to tickle you or something similar. I was right, about the tickling thing, and soon he was on top of me on the couch and we were in a full-on tickle war. "STOP!" I finally shouted, gasping for air.

"NEVAAAAR!" He shouted back, in a voice only Jimmy could pull off.

"What's going on in here?" I heard a voice call.

"ZAAACKYYYYY!" I screamed. "SAVE MEEEEEEE! IT'S SULLIVAAAAN! HE'S KILLING MEEEEEEEE!" From above Jimmy's hulk of a body, I saw Zacky's face appear. "HEEEEELP"! I shouted again desperately, trying to hold back my laughter.

"Uhmmmmm..... No." He smirked and bit into the sandwich he was holding. Eventually, Jimmy relented, and i crawled back up to a sitting position, breathing heavily, my muscles sore from laughing and squirming.

"Asshole," I muttered jokingly, hitting him softly on the shoulder, before leaning on him. He chuckled, and threw an arm around my shoulder. "Fucking dork," I added, but I was too tired to pull away.