Cassian PoV
I played a couple rounds against Toren. The kid tried his best to beat me, but he had no chance against the race car pro. He pouted and grumbled as I won again and again.
Toren grumbled. "This no fun. You too good."
I smirked. "Well, maybe next time, you can bring a friend and play against him or her."
Damien steetched his arms and smirked. "Don't worry, little buddy. I'll avenge you."
He sat next to me and put a quarter into the machine. He took off and was neck and neck with me.
I grumbled as the last lap came around and Damien ended up winning by a hair. "Dang it."
He laughed and patted my back. "Maybe next time, Cass. Try to keep up."
I rolled my eyes. "Just a fluke, just like with Capumon Clash. I won that overall."
Damien smirked. "Oh, really? Well, let's see about that." He put another quarter in.
After a couple rounds, we were tied. I was starting to sweat. This was starting to get intense. "No way I'm losing to you."
"Likewise," he said, smirking. "I'll beat your ass, just like I did in our previous competitions."
I turned and saw Shelly and Toren were gone. They'd wandered away at some point. It was just us two in the arcade.
"Where did they go?" I asked.
Damien shrugged. "I don't know. They must've gone off to play some other games. I'm gonna go find them."
"Alright," I said. "I'll stay here and wait for them."
He nodded and walked off. I sighed and leaned back in my chair. I needed a break from all the competition, anyway. But I wasn't going to just let him wander off without me. I stood up and followed him.
As we searched for Shelly and Toren, I noticed that the place was a bit more crowded now. The lights were dimmer, and the smell of popcorn was stronger. The sound of machines and games was louder, and the laughter of people was more pronounced.
Damien sighed. "I hope Toren will be fine. I heard he doesn't do well in crowded places."
"Maybe Shelly took him back to the car?" I said.
"Hey, not a bad idea! Guess there is a brain in there somewhere."
"Oh, come on, don't start with that," I said, rolling my eyes.
He snickered. "Just teasing."
I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help but smile a little. It was nostalgic to be here, and even more so to be with Damien and not fighting, Maybe we could be friends again.
As we walked, I saw a pair of old friends of mine.
"Hey, Cass!" Ronald said, leaning in. His spiky red hair poked my cheek. "How's it going?"
"Not too bad," I replied, nodding. "You?"
"Pretty good. Hey, listen, we're having a party at my place tomorrow night. You should come."
"Latisha is gonna be there. She's been asking about you," King said, nudging me.
Latisha? She was my on and off girlfriend. She had curly blonde hair and blue eyes and was a real wild girl. We'd been going back and forth for a while now. She'd dump me, I'd dump her, we'd get back together, and so on. It was a vicious cycle. And, as much as I didn't want to admit it, I was tired of it.
Ronald glanced at Cassian and blinked. "Hey, Cass, why are you hanging out with your weird cousin? Did you lose a bet or something?"
Damien walked off, looking around as if he hadn't heard him.
I grumbled. "I came here with him and a girl."
"A girl, huh?" Ronald said, grinning. "Who's the lucky lady?"
I blushed. "It's not like that. She's just a friend."
"Sure, sure," he said, winking.
"Anyway," I said, changing the subject. "I'll see you at the party."
Ronald grinned. "Great! See you there, man. Just leave the weirdo at home, though, okay?"
I sighed. "No need to tell me that, Ronald. See ya later."
I walked off and caught up with Damien. He looked sad, his face turned down and his eyes distant. I felt a pang of guilt. I hadn't meant to hurt his feelings.
"Hey, you alright?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, but his voice was flat. "Go hang out with your friends."
So, he had heard them.
"Look, Damien," I said. "I didn't mean to hurt you."
"It's okay," he said, his voice still flat. "I'm used to it. You and your friends always thought I was weird."
I sighed. "Yeah, but that's because you are. Even you don't deny that. You're a bit odd. But, I didn't mean it like that. It was just...a joke."
He sighed and waved his hand. "It's fine. Not like we're still friends, anyway. Let's just go back to the car."
I sighed and nodded. "Alright."
We found Shelly and Toren in the car like I thought. Toren looked to be panicking as he was rocking himself back and forth. Shelly was humming a lullaby to him in an attempt to calm him down. Zara sighed as if she were to blame. Maybe she felt guilty for taking a break from watching them.
"Little buddy, what's wrong?" Damien asked, running over.
"He was having fun until it got more crowded and noisy," Shelly said, sighing.
"The kid doesn't like noise? Isn't he noisy himself?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Damien sighed and turned to him. "Toren, it's alright. We're outside now. You're safe."
Toren looked up at us and his green eyes were wide with fear. He was breathing heavily. He hugged Shelly. "I'm sorry, sis. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to freak out in there."
"It's okay, sweetie," she said, rubbing his back. "Your little ears are just too sensitive. Let's go home and get you to bed."
Damien sat down next to him and patted his back. "Yeah, let's go, little buddy. We'll get you home and you can sleep. You'll feel better in the morning."
Toren nodded and closed his eyes, leaning into Damien. Damien wrapped an arm around him, holding him close. "It's alright, little buddy. I'm here. I'm here."
I sat down in the middle seats and looked over my shoulder at them. They looked like a family, with Shelly being a mother and Damien being a father. It was a touching scene.
Damien sighed and closed his eyes, too. "I'm sorry, little buddy. This was supposed to be a fun day out. I didn't mean for you to have a freak out."
Shelly sighed. "It's fine. We just have to be more careful next time. He needs to be in quieter places."
Damien nodded. "I'll be sure to find a place that's quieter."
"But Big M was pretty loud too," I said, "Why didn't the kid freak out there?"
"He can take some level of noise. Honestly, I'm not sure what his limits are. We didn't go out much after mom and dad died."
I frowned and I stared at the kid, his eyes now closed. He looked so small and vulnerable, his face pale and his lips trembling. I felt a pang of sympathy for him. I didn't know what it was like to lose my parents. Even though my dad went into exile and my mom was tough on me, I still loved them. I couldn't even imagine it. And to have a condition like his? That must have been tough. No wonder Shelly was so protective of him. She was his only family left.