[TAC] THREE'S A CROWD

Chapter 16*

New's mouth releases a slow exhale when he feels Off's fingers stroke over the material of his jacket momentarily. He tries to ignore it; tries to refocus himself on the straining feeling of the heavy bowling ball in his hand, the faint sound of some current pop song playing in all of the speakers surrounding them, his tight bowling shoes that have been bothering him since he got here.

Once he's convinced he's completely refocused, he swallows once before responding to what Off said. "It is?"

Off brings his mouth right up to New's ear, his voice more quiet and soothing than it's ever been, and that's saying a lot. "Yep. Now are you ready to try it by yourself, Newwiee?"

New tries not to let out a giggle at the way Off's whisper is tickling his ear. "I guess. You should help me roll the ball."

He feels Off's hands slip off of his hips as he backs away from New. The upsetting loss of contact causes New to turn around, just in time to find the boy shaking his head fondly. "It doesn't work that way. You have to gain the momentum yourself."

New rolls his eyes as he turns back around, already knowing how this is going to end up. He positions the heavy ball in his hands, before setting it near the ground and attempting to actually launch it, which turns out to be a fruitless attempt as the ball immediately rolls over to the side and misses the pins completely.

He stands up straight and blinks at the bowling ball of failure as it continues to roll down, and eventually, the obnoxious laughter from everyone behind him causes him to turn around. Even Off is trying his best not to chuckle as he holds his hands to his mouth, his shoulders faintly shaking as his eyes glisten.

After a moment, New can't help but laugh as well, because if he's being honest, he hadn't genuinely listened to a single instruction Off gave him. He brought this upon himself. It's just that Off was touching him, and it brought New to realize that he hadn't been touched in a while, which threw him off balance for a moment or two.

Off sets two hands on New's shoulders as he steps in front of him. "At least you tried."

New tries to sigh sadly, even though the fond grin on his face reveals that he's not as down as he should be. "How will I ever escape such embarrassment?"

Off moves one of his hands up to the back of New's neck, stroking his thumb absentmindedly as he replies. "I'll buy you anything from the snack line. Whatever you want."

New nods his head. "You failed me as a bowling teacher, so I agree."

Off laughs as he takes New's wrist and pulls him over to the booth where numerous drinks, unhealthy treats, and loaded foods are being sold.

Off ends up purchasing one large pina colada for the both of them to drink upon realizing it would cost more to get two small ones. New doesn't complain at all as he sits down at one of the tables with Off and sticks two straws in the fruity drink.

New takes a long sip out of the beverage before speaking. "I can honestly say that this is the highlight of the whole night."

Off flutters his eyelashes humorously as he takes a large gulp from his straw. "Well, I must say, I am flattered."

New blinks at him. "This still makes you the worst bowling instructor in all of history. I hope you know that."

"You failed completely on your own," Off replies. "It was almost as if you hadn't even listened to anything I said."

New avoids offering a response by sucking on his straw again, not being too eager to admit that he's been so lonely and miserable that a measly hand on his hip got him distracted and maybe even excited. He's pretty sure he's the most embarrassing person on planet earth right now.