Chapter 104: Like a Fiddle

"You know, I’ve only ever seen this in movies." Aiden remarked amusedly as he stared at the old machine.

"Same here. But I clearly can’t play it on my own so..." Clarissa’s voice trailed much the same to which she arched a playful brow at him.

Chuckling a bit, Aiden retrieved a quarter from his pocket and flicked it upwards, the little thing spinning as he effortlessly caught it a moment after and said;

"Well, let’s hope we get declared soulmates."

Clarissa beamed upon hearing that, and Aiden put the quarter in, the contraption brightening up immediately as it let out a suggestive, baritone; Test Your Love~.

Placing both of their palms on the engraved space, the old arcade love tester’s lights brightened as it slowly began cycling through the ratings.

{Run for the Hills!}

"Hell of a start," Aiden joked and Clarissa giggled as the machine cycled to the next.

{Could go either way?}

"Boo~." Clarissa pouted, earning a chuckle from Aiden this time as a new rating followed.

{Promising...}

"That’s more like it..." Aiden commented to which Clarissa bounced on her feet in anticipation as the rating seemed to be increasing.

{Written in the Stars!!}

"I think it likes us!" the lady turned to look at the youth who currently had a light smile on his features.

Then the rating suddenly regressed at max speed, settling on the lowest possible rating.

{Dead & Buried!}

No sooner had Clarissa and Aiden seen it, they simultaneously remarked;

"Bullshit!"

Turning to themselves upon hearing that whilst holding each other’s gazes, the couple suddenly burst into laughter.

"And that, Your Highness, is why we don’t allow old gizmos to predict our compatibility." Aiden gently wrapped his hands around the lady’s waist, a relaxed smile touching his lips.

"Still a fun memory we’ll look back on though." she reciprocated the gesture, her smile warm.

"That, I most definitely agree with." Aiden replied.

Planting a soft kiss on her head a moment after, the youth then asked;

"Meet you by the claw machines in half an hour?"

"I’d love it. There’s a particular plushie that’s caught my fancy." Clarissa replied, a rosy hue on her cheeks.

Following a brief hug, the couple casually split up to meet with their respective cliques.

It was also why Aiden soon found Casper whom was finishing up his hoops, the last ball swishing into the net.

"I would make for a fantastic NBA player." the blonde-haired audibly muttered in pride.

"Mmhmm. I’m sure you would." Aiden sarcastically remarked.

Turning around to face his coal-haired buddy, Casper squinted, then folded his arms across his chest as he said in faux disappointment;

"You know, Aiden. I find your lack of faith, very disturbing."

Rolling his eyes at the reference, Aiden amusedly waved him off then asked;

"Well, did you beat the high score?"

"Nah." Casper shrugged in response.

"Then I think my lack of faith’s pretty valid." Aiden replied with a gloat.

"As if you could do any better," Casper challenged him, his competitive spirit blooming.

"Hmm... I’m pretty sure I could." Aiden confidently replied, his own arms settling into a comfortable fold over his chest.

"Alright hotshot, be my guest." the blonde-haired youth competitively grinned in response as he picked up one of the basketballs and tossed it to him.

"You guys wouldn’t mind a third contender, would you?" Kevin’s voice reached the duo, and they turned around to face him as he casually walked over, hands slipped into his pockets.

"Sure, why not?" Aiden casually replied to which Casper added;

"The more the merrier!"

No sooner had he said that, he placed a token into the machine.

Likewise, Aiden’s system updated.

-

[Quest Updated!]

⸢Exclusive Quests

› Buckets, Buckets Everywhere

└ Win the basketball challenge – [0.5 LP]

-

Shaking his head in amused resignation, Aiden settled into his stance and proceeded to rack up as many points as he could before the one-minute timer ended.

With the current high score being thirty hoops--one that was usually reset every day, and Casper’s former score being twenty-six, he at least intended to surpass that by a good margin.

By the time his run came to an end though, he’d only managed twenty-eight points... enough to surpass his buddy, but not nearly enough to reach the high score.

Thankfully, he didn’t need to beat the high score to complete his quest.

But when Kevin finally got around to his own turn, well...

-

[Quest Failed!]

⸢Exclusive Quests

› Buckets, Buckets Everywhere

└ Win the basketball challenge – [0.5 LP Lost!]

-

... he’d smashed right through the high score like it was no man’s business with a solid thirty-five.

"That’s payback for PE. See you later, bozos!" he shamelessly grinned as he walked backwards and disappeared into the lively crowd bustling through the park.

"Well... we can’t beat a star quarterback at precision, now, can we?" Casper tried to pretend he hadn’t lost to his buddy by giving a general commentary.

Not that Aiden was going to let him forget as he raised two fingers up;

"You lost by two points. My lack of faith is very, very valid."

"Fuck you!" Casper jabbed at his shoulders and then proceeded to retrieve the ticket anyway.

Considering Kevin hadn’t claimed it and they specifically needed to beat six major games at the fairgrounds to get the grand prize, things had still worked out for him as he claimed it in his name.

In any case, the duo had now beaten two attractions each, just like they’d planned. The rest would be covered by their buddies... they hoped.

That said, they soon moved to the next attraction, this time solely for fun.

"Muscle up! Muscle up! Muscle up!" Casper continuously chanted as they made their way over, eventually roping Aiden into it as well as the youth chanted alongside him;

"Muscle up! Muscle up! Muscle up!"

Upon arrival, Aiden happened to spot Damian, the President currently grinning from ear to ear as he and Flash from Midtown High trash-talked one another.

Upon spotting Aiden though, he pivoted, all of his attention turning to him as he said;

"Let’s have a match. You and me."

Without giving the youth any chance to speak, he then pointed at the High Striker contraption behind him.

"You’re a rather sore loser and a petty little shit, you know that?" Damian egged him on, a clear amusement painting his features.

"Buzz off, Damian." Flash waved him off like an annoying fly, then turned his attention to Aiden once more.

"So, are you in?"

"Or are book smarts all that you have?" he tried taunting the youth.

"What’s in it for me?" Aiden on the other hand demanded, clearly unperturbed.

"Whatever you could want on the fairgrounds that’s within my means. My father’s the General Manager, you see." Flash explained, a hint of pride in his tone.

Instead, Aiden blankly stared and responded;

"And?"

Flash’s expression faltered, prompting Damian to hide his laughter with a barely audible snort while Casper watched on in clear amusement.

Though he wasn’t particularly sure of the ins and outs, he at least had a vague idea of what had warranted this.

Realizing he didn’t actually have anything to offer him, Aiden then proposed a counter offer;

"Alright, let’s do it this way instead. You’ll owe me a favor."

"Don’t worry. It won’t be anything crazy, I promise. In fact, if you decide to dip later on, I won’t hold it against you." Aiden added before the youth could manage to speak.

Then he gestured with an open palm as he asked;

"So, what do you say?"

"And if I win?" Flash asked instead.

"You get to keep your pride from winning this challenge." Aiden casually replied.

Flash’s eyes twitched as Damian and Casper remarked in quick succession;

"Oooooo! That’s gonna leave a mark."

"Sick burn, Aiden!"

Knowing fully well that Aiden was right, Flash extended a hand, his lips twitching in annoyance as he replied;

"Alright then. Deal."

Upon gripping the youth’s palm, he tried squeezing it, only for him to be met without much resistance.

Within seconds, Flash had assumed that Aiden wasn’t athletic in the least and had just been bluffing as a ploy to not participate in the challenge.

Aiden on other hand, couldn’t help but smile to himself, inwardly shaking his head.

For one, he hadn’t needed to go about making a deal with the youth.

Not when his system had updated with yet another quest;

-

[Quest Updated!]

⸢Exclusive Quests

› Muscle Up! Muscle Up! Muscle Up!

└ Defeat Flash Johnson at High Striker – [0.5 LP]

-

The only reason he was doing this, was because he wanted to have connections with the little twerp before him.

Afterall, if his father happened to work as a General Manager overseeing things here, he could very well be his link to getting trial runs of his beverage business in here when they finally hit the market.

Which was why...

"Deal." Aiden replied, his gaze flitting over to the massive mallet resting beside the High Striker.

Then a faint, devious grin crept up onto his features as he looked back to Flash whom was starting to realize that he might’ve just been played like a fiddle.