𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄 ❀ 𝐂. 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐄 ➀

XV. 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗱

"Plus four!" I announced, slapping the card down on the pile. "And... yellow."

Cole grumbled something under his breath, drawing four cards from the deck. "For someone who just played this for her first time a few minutes ago, you're insanely good." He pouted. I scanned my cards, "Although, I don't know how anyone can be 'insanely good' at Uno. It's so easy."

"I learn quickly," I shrugged, placing down a yellow five. He countered with a red five, a smug grin across his face. "Changing the color isn't going to do anything for your odds, Cole." I placed a red skip card-- and he groaned.

"How do you have all the good cards?!" Cole watched as I placed a red three. For a few turns, we each went back and forth with red cards. Then, he had to draw. He picked it up, looked at it, and slammed it down on the pile. "HA! Plus four, noob!"

I smirked, "Not so fast."

"Wait, what?"

I dramatically dropped another plus four on the pile.

"WHAT?! HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD THAT?!" Cole started fake crying, picking up his eight cards from the deck.

"I was waiting for this exact situation," I snickered, "I knew you'd fall for it. Also... green." I placed a green seven.

Cole glared at me, "I hate you. With all of my heart."

Panic rose in my chest. Was he serious? This wasn't that intense of an argument-- by all the stars, it wasn't even an argument! Did he really hate me? My eyes widened, and I didn't even notice he'd placed a card.

Cole raised an eyebrow, waving a hand in front of my eyes, "Hey... Vee? You all good?" He pursed his lips, until he finally registered what he'd said. His eyes turned sympathetic, "Oh my gosh, Via. I was joking. I don't actually hate you. Oh my--" He took a deep breath, "I couldn't hate you-- come on! Really?"

Holy moly... I overreacted. A lot. I gave him a sheepish smile, lying straight through my teeth-- "I'm joking too, Cole. You really think I can't take a joke like that?" I laughed nervously, and he clearly didn't see through my façade.

"Via, I saw it in your eyes. You thought I was serious."

I cleared my throat, setting a green plus two on the pile. "Plus two. And also, Uno."

"We'll put a pin in this conversation," Cole shook his finger at me, returning to his hand of cards. "First, I have to stop you from winning." He drew his two cards, and grinned when I had to draw. He placed down a wild card, declaring, "Blue."

I smirked, and slapped my blue six down. "I win!" I held my hands in the air. He groaned and threw his hand on the table in frustration. I stuck my tongue out at him, "Take that, punk!"

"I'll get you back next time," he narrowed his eyes. "I promise you that." He cleaned up the cards, stuffing them back into the worn cardboard box we'd found the game in. He stood and stashed it back on the shelf. "Alright, what do you want to do now?"

I shrugged, "Want to--"

"Have a deep conversation about what just happened? Yes!" Cole smiled, but I did not return the gesture. I didn't want to talk about how easily I believed his joke and overreacted. I think that was going to be a bad habit I'd have to break.

I pouted, crossing my arms. "It's fine, Cole. It's not that big a deal."

Cole didn't seem amused. "Fine. Let me just be straight with you, I need to teach you how to respond to a proper joke. Better yet-- how to tell jokes from serious comments." I frowned and nodded. He let out a breath of air. "Anyway, you want to do some more training?"