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“A-and this is Bren. And Nat and Yu.”

Poor Arlo looked like someone had filled him with boiling water by the time he’d finished, but he managed a weak smile.

“Oh, my bad, eh?” Dustin said, clapping him on the shoulder. “You already know he’s Suveer ’cause he sucks at air hockey so bad.” He pointed to his friend with the flowing dark curls. “And she’s Brooke, the one that got away.”

Brooke rolled her eyes as she addressed the rest of them. “We dated back in, like, grade five.”

“And I still haven’t gotten over it.” He snapped his eyes shut and made a motion like he was plunging a dagger into his heart. “Come on, though. I’ve got a pocketful of loonies with Ireland’s name on them!” He waved them towards the arcade.

Brooke shook her head.

“I’m gonna go get seats.”

“Good idea,” Nat said. “We only need six right? Dustin can sit on his own?”

“Works for me,” she replied, and they walked towards the screen, Yu trailing in their wake.

“More loonies for us,” Dustin said with a shrug, lumbering towards the arcade.

Bren gave Arlo’s hand a squeeze as they were pulled by Dustin’s gravity.

“You gonna defend your man’s honor after he gets his arse handed to him?”

“Oh, you’re still dating me after I yelled at Dustin’s friends like that?”

Bren scooped his hand up to his lips and planted a kiss there.

“You were just trying to be polite, like. With force if necessary.”

Arlo groaned but there was a smile buried in it too. “Alright, if you still want to be with me, I guess I can defend your honor.” He paused as Dustin slotted three loonies into the silver coin slide. “You do have air hockey in Ireland though, right?” he asked in a whisper.

“Can’t be that hard, can it?”

The vents whirred to life and Dustin dropped a blue disk onto the table, where it wobbled a breath above the scuffed surface.

“Dustin’s, like, Brick but for hockey, you know that, right?”

Bren’s shoulders fell as the disc rocketed towards Suveer’s side of the table in the start of a furious rally. He recognized the manic glint in Dustin’s eyes, even if it was wearing a jersey instead of a hurling kit.

“Too late to back out now?”

Arlo tucked his chin down and puffed out his chest. “Make your choice. Live or die.”

***

“I’m serious! The director keeps trying to imply that Jigsaw might have a point, but his whole philosophy is intellectually dishonest. Like what some edgelord might come up with to try and sound deep.”

Bren shook his head as the door clicked shut behind the last of their group, their footsteps echoing in the nearly deserted parking lot. October was barely clinging on, and the chill in the air told A.J. that Bren’s first Canadian winter was poised to be a rough one.

“We’re just here for the traps, Robolad.”

“Except the traps kind of sucked this time, eh?” Dustin crammed a handful of popcorn shrapnel into his mouth. “Like, ‘Oh, no, my ponytail’s trapped in some cogs. This killer’s a mad genius!’”

“The practical effects were pretty good,” Yu added. ” I really believe that guy’s head exploded.”

A.J. sighed and looked to Nat for help. She made an I’unno sound and went back to her conversation with Brooke.

“I miss Rory.”