Take Me to the Arcade

Heather’s ideal Friday night was to stay at home and have the evening all to herself. The peace and quiet was the best part. She could read without any distractions, or watch a television show without anyone else judging her tastes. Not to mention she would much rather hang out at home with her small group of friends and play games instead of going out to a bar. She hated crowds and being approached by strangers.

Luckily for her, Heather was all alone in her apartment on this particular Friday after work. She had just finished up her last meeting of the day and had officially signed out, and so she flopped onto her living room couch with a contended sigh. She closed her eyes, the quiet hum of the refrigerator breaking through the silence. As much as she loved her friends, there was just something special about being alone. Heather found that she felt drained after spending several hours with other people. When she was alone, she could recharge and be left alone with her own thoughts.

Standing up from the couch, Heather walked into her kitchen and opened the fridge, eyeing the things she had left. There wasn’t really anything she could use to make a meal, and so she opted to order some takeout. She settled on her favourite Chinese place. They had the best chicken fried rice and spring rolls, and she was honestly craving them right about now. While she waited for the food to arrive, Heather browsed through her various social media apps. It helped pass the time until the deliveryman dropped off her food.

After preparing herself a plate, Heather sat back down on the couch and turned on the TV so she could catch up on her weekly shows. It was a simple joy to eat some of her favourite takeout while watching something that she had anticipated all week. Heather knew that this wasn’t everyone’s ideal way to spend the evening, but for her, it was something that she always looked forward to. There was no way anyone was going to ruin her evening, especially considering the hectic work week she had just endured.

As soon as those thoughts ran through her mind, a knock came from the front door. Heather had just finished off her plate, and the episode was almost over. She paused it, feeling slightly annoyed, before walking over to the door. She looked into the peephole, seeing that it was her friend, Jane.

“Hey, girl! How’s it going?” she asked once Heather had opened the door.

“I’m good, and also… confused. Didn’t you have plans tonight?”

“Yup, but I decided that I had to invite you too,” Jane explained. “We’re going to the arcade, and I knew that you’d want to come.”

“Okay, hold on. You should come in and explain.”

Jane stepped inside the apartment with a pep in her step. She turned to Heather with a smile, who only stared back at her with a confused expression. It wasn’t that she wasn’t happy to see her friend, but she really hadn’t expected her to drop by.

“So, care to explain what your plans are and why you want to invite me?”

“Didn’t you hear me? We’re going to an arcade. Don’t you love those kinds of things?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to drop everything and go,” Heather explained.

Jane looked apologetic. “Oh, I’m sorry! Did you have plans?”

“My plans were to stay here and watch some TV. I’ll probably read or play some games later, too,” Heather said.

“Oh, honey, no. Those aren’t plans.”

“Yes, they are! Staying home alone is perfectly fine.”

“Don’t you want to hang out, though? We haven’t seen each other for a while.”

Heather sighed. “We saw each other last weekend.”

“Exactly! That was so long ago!” Jane exclaimed. She then put on her best pout in an attempt to guilt her. “Please, Heather! I promise it’ll be a lot of fun!”

“That face isn’t going to work on me, you know.”

“Pleeeease! Pretty please!”

“I’m sorry, but my answer is no.”

Jane suddenly smirked. “What if I told you that Michael is going to be there?”

Heather rolled her eyes. “Why would that change my mind?”

“Because you have a giant crush on him, duh!”

“No, I don’t!” Heather felt herself blush despite her words, which made Jane snicker.

“See, you totally do! Don’t you want to come now?”

“Not really, but I know you won’t take ‘no’ for an answer, so… I guess I’ll go.”

Jane squealed in excitement and wrapped her arms around Heather in a tight hug. She jumped them both up and down, still locked in the embrace, and Heather couldn’t help but let out a loud sigh. She loved Jane, she really did. But being friends with an extreme extrovert was really exhausting sometimes.

Her perfect plans had been ruined, but at least she was going to the arcade.

***

The arcade was bustling with people when Heather and Jane arrived. The bright colours and loud music were a little overwhelming, but Heather liked the overall vibe of the place. There were so many different kinds of games to choose from, and the snack bar was actually pretty decent. Heather had been here a few times in the past, and she always ended up having a good time. She just didn’t like it when plans were sprung on her at the last minute, like tonight.

“Michael and the others are already here,” Jane explained. “Do you see them?”

Heather made a quick sweep of the area, and her eyes landed on a group of three people playing by a pinball machine. Michael was there, along with her other two friends, Jordan and Caleb, who were cheering him on as he played. Even though Heather didn’t like to admit it, she really did have a crush on Michael. She was too shy to say anything.

“Hey! I can’t believe you made it, Heather!” Caleb was the first to notice them as they approached, and he greeted them with a smile.

“It just took a little convincing. There was no way I was letting her stay home alone,” Jane said. When she met Heather’s eyes, she gave her a subtle wink.

Heather narrowed her eyes in response, but didn’t say anything. No one else seemed to notice their little exchange, so she decided it was best to not acknowledge it.

“Are you guys cool with playing at the pinball machines for a bit? Michael’s on a roll right now,” Jordan explained.

“Yeah, for sure,” Heather replied. She glanced at the boy in question. “How’s the game going?”

“Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever played this well before. Not sure what’s gotten into me, but I won’t complain,” he said, mashing the buttons on the side of the machine. His tongue was sticking out in concentration.

Jane leaned over towards Heather and elbowed her. “You should ask him to teach you how to play.”

“Why would I do that?” Heather hissed in her friend’s ear.

“Come on, Heather. If you don’t make a move, someone else is going to snatch him up.”

“Who?”

Jane shrugged. “I’m just saying. If you don’t tell him how you feel, how is he supposed to know? He can’t read your mind.”

“I don’t like him, though.”

Jane raised her eyebrows, clearly not believing it.

“Okay, even if I did like him, what makes you think he likes me back?”

“Trust me, he does.” Jane patted her on the back reassuringly. “I’ll make sure to get you guys alone.”

“Wait, Jane, you don’t—”

“Hey, do you guys want to play a couple of rounds of DDR? I bet neither of you can beat my high score!” Jane asked Jordan and Caleb.

“Pretty sure I’m the one with the high score, but you guys are on,” Jordan said with a smirk. The three of them ran off, leaving Heather alone with Michael.

“Um… That was kind of weird,” Heather said.

Michael shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. “You know how those three get with DDR. I’m not that coordinated, so I never bother playing against them.”

Heather chuckled. “You’re not that bad!”

“You give me too much credit. I basically have two left feet.”

“When you put it like that, I guess you have a point,” Heather admitted, and the two of them laughed.

While Michael was still distracted with his game of pinball, she took the opportunity to think about what she could say. She wasn’t sure if she should follow Jane’s advice, but it wasn’t like she had any better ideas. In all honesty, Jane was much better at flirting or even just carrying a normal conversation than she was, so maybe her advice wasn’t too bad.

“Hello? Earth to Heather?”

Michael’s words snapped her back to reality. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“I was just wondering if you wanted a turn on the pinball machine.”

“I’m not very good at it.” She waved her hands dismissively.

“I can give you some pointers, if you want.”

Heather felt her heart skip a beat at those words, and she almost couldn’t find the words to respond. What was even more impressive was that she wasn’t blushing like crazy at the thought of Michael teaching her something one-on-one.

“Oh! Sure, sounds good,” she said, trying to sound casual.

He gave her a wide smile, clearly pleased by her answer. As he started giving her pointers about the game, Heather found herself having a hard time concentrating. He was standing directly beside her, the length of his arm touching hers. She noticed that he had put on some cologne because he smelled really nice. Did he maybe do that thinking she was going to be here? There was no way…

“Looks like you’re still having some trouble,” Michael eventually said. His hand hovered over where she was pressing the button. “Is it okay if I show you?”

“Yeah, definitely.”

Heather felt her palms beginning to sweat when he placed his hand over hers. She could tell he was trying to keep a respectable distance from her, but it was hard to ignore the heat of his body behind her. This only made Heather more nervous. What if he was helping her because he liked her too? Was Jane right? Maybe he was only doing this as a friend.

“There you go, you’re getting the hang of it!” he said after a while.

“Thanks to you,” Heather said with a smile.

Once he stepped away from her, he suddenly looked nervous. “By the way, can I ask you something?”

“Of course. What’s up?”

“Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to go out for coffee sometime,” he said. “Just the two of us.”

“You mean… like on a date?”

“Kind of?” Michael hesitated, but then he took a deep breath. “Yes, I’m asking you out on a date. You don’t have to say yes, though.”

“Actually, I’d love to,” Heather said, relief flooding over her. She couldn’t believe Jane had been right.

“Really?” He looked surprised as he let out a breathless chuckle. “That’s great! I can text you the details later, okay?”

“I look forward to it.”

Michael smiled. “So do I.”

The rest of the evening was spent playing more games and having fun with friends. Heather was really glad she ended up going to the arcade with Jane. She wasn’t sure if Michael would have asked her out otherwise, so she was more than a little thankful.

Maybe making last minute plans wasn’t so bad after all.