DOMINO - Eustass Kid x Reader

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR: Pop

From where I was standing it certainly seemed like the point of the dart at least grazed the rubber of the balloon, but it didn't pop.
"Fuckin'..." I heard Killer cuss under his breath before snatching up another, but it had the same result. No pop.

"Harder than it looks, ain't it, buddy?" The vendor chortled, unable to sense the grumpy glare Killer was no doubt shooting him from under his helmet. The third dart was a success, but that was possibly only due to the fact that the balloon he had aimed for was looking weak and partially deflated.

After yet another fail, and with one dart left, Killer clenched his fist.
"This crap is rigged." He stated, a grit to his voice that I didn't usually hear. He was pretty calm and collected most of the time, but I could understand. It didn't seem all that fair.

The vendor smirked and pulled his own dart from his pocket, tossing it towards the board and shrugging when one of the balloons burst with a loud bang.
"Looks pretty fair to me, pal."

The dart he used had a different coloured tip...

I kept silent for the time being, choosing to focus on the man's face as Killer agitatedly requested another round. His face looked oddly familiar, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why.

"Uh, I think I'm just gonna watch instead...Not that I think I'm better than Killer, but, um, if I get more than he does at this point I think he might gut me..." Heat leaned down to whisper to me, and I nodded in agreement, wincing as Killer all but smashed his fist through the counter as he put down more of his cash.

"This is bullshit!" He finally exclaimed, after his third round of attempts had failed, his hand flexing before he reached for one of his scythes. I jumped into action, grabbing his arm and standing up on my toes so I didn't have to yell into his ear. Or at least the side of the helmet it was under.

"Easy, big guy. We don't want to cause trouble, do we?" I warned softly, feeling his tension slightly decrease under my touch. Turning to the vendor, I whipped my coin purse out again and placed my money down. "Five tries, please. Maybe I could at least win one of the smaller soft toys if I'm super lucky."

Was I putting on my fake charm again? Absolutely I was. There was something dodgy about the vendor, and not just in a regular carnival vendor kind of way. I knew I had seen his face before, and usually that didn't point to good things.

Raising a brow, the man pulled out another five darts, laying them down in front of my in a manner that was much more gentle than he had for Killer. Looking down at them, I noted the colour of the tips. Different than the ones Killer had used, but the same as the vendor's.

"I wish you the greatest of luck, little miss!" He gave me a wink, and I willed away the disgusting crawl of my skin as I lined up a shot. The flick of my wrist was followed by a sharp pop, and even though I knew it was going to happen I acted surprised, jumping up and down and clapping my hands.
"Oh, yay! I got one!"

Sorry, Killer. I'll explain later. I want to win something without you causing a scene.

Two, three, four, I didn't miss once, even though I tested my theory by purposely aiming for the gaps. I was positive there was a balloon or two I didn't even come close to that popped.
"What a woman! Be still my heart!" The vendor flirted, leaning on the table a little too close to me that I would have liked. Though I couldn't complain. It gave me the right angle to spy a faint tuft of white hair poking out from beneath his cap. "One more and you're a big winner!"

The last shot was easy. Too easy. There was definitely a major difference between my darts and the ones that had been given to Killer. One that made my fingers tingle. When the final balloon popped with a bang, startling a few passers by, I jumped up and down on the spot, whooping loudly.
"Yes! I'm so good at this! Heck yeah!"