"You still haven't lost it, have you?" Otter slung his arm over Larry's shoulder as Larry shrunk in embarrassment. At least Otter and the some of the other boys stopped using his horrible Delta name, 'Pinto'. The two friends, along with Boon, Flounder and Bluto, were walking to the student cafeteria when the subject of Larry's love life came up.
"No. Well sort of, but I don't count- "
"Ah, come on. Give Kroger a break, Katy and I are trying to set him up." Boon came over to Larry's other shoulder and clapped him on the back. Katy had been essentially pawning off her friends to Kroger with a zero percent success rate. They would either be completely uninterested or he would bring them to a Delta party and lose them in the heat of slamming down booze and rock n' roll music.
"Well, we need to find you a girl to get your feet wet. Who knows, you could be a homosexual and never realise it," Otter smirked at his attempt to scare the freshman as the gang sat down at a booth close to a window next to the entrance. The cafeteria was moderately filled today, more students were inclined to sit outside on stone benches and steel tables with folding umbrellas. The boys decided to dwell and hang out before getting their food, unlike themselves and especially Bluto.
Bluto was quiet and didn't focus much on the conversation at hand. He usually didn't speak that often, but he liked to join in the fun of goofing on the pledges. He had been right into pushing around Pinto until he looked outside. Bluto was fixated on a girl sitting on a stone bench. He liked girls, sometimes he was lucky and got some, but he usually didn't take much notice when he was interested in something more important. He watched her as she opened a book on her lap and moved some of her long, black hair that hadn't been pulled back in her semi pony tail. She looked sweet and shy, a girl that he wouldn't normally bat an eye at. However, Bluto couldn't take his eyes off her.
"Okay boys, the mission at hand: find Pinto a date for the party tonight. Any girl will do fellas, just pick the first one you spot... Bluto, what are looking at?" Boon followed his gaze to the girl on the bench before Bluto look away. He knew that it will be too late to keep her for himself, considering the statement Boon just said. "Wow, look at her."
"Nice job, Bluto." Otter stated when everyone adjusted their position to check her out.
"That's Alice Dennings. She's in my philosophy class," Flounder piped up, feeling left out.
"Stuck up and beautiful? She's quite a catch, Kroger. Go talk to her." Boon pushed Larry to shove him out of the booth. Before Bluto could even think about protesting, he looked back at the girl, Alice, as Kroger left the cafeteria. At least, for two seconds, the idea of Alice being available to him was still alive. He watched as Larry walked up to her and sat down next to her. Despite his bad reputation with dating, he was surprisingly skilled at picking up girls, one-on-one. Kroger said something and they both nervously laughed, causing Bluto to also grin. She had a wonderful smile, he bet her laugh sounded like a waterfall. Or you know, some other romantic bullshit.
"How's he doing, gents?" Hoover slid into Kroger's seat next to Boon and watched with the rest of the Delta's members.
"He seems to be working her, but it's anyone's game," Otter filled in.
"Nah, I have faith, he's got it." Boon stuck up for his protégé as Bluto slightly crumbled at their comments. Despite loving the little guy and being ready to let Pinto have Alice, he wished that it would work out the way it always did for Pinto. Larry steadily leaned in to talk to her and Bluto did the same, as if he could actually hear her speak. Hoover was the only boy who seems to notice Bluto's intense stare.
"Hey Bluto, let's get some chow." Hoover was despite to get Bluto away from the table to find out if his suspicions were correct. Bluto shook out of his daze only for a moment to answer Hoover.
"Yeah, just a second." Bluto was to entranced in Alice to realized that what he had just said was extremely out of character. He barely noticed Hoover and Otter's stare, but they all eventually went back to watching Larry and Alice. They both stood up from the bench, Alice flattening her black button up tucked into her yellow skirt. They both sheepishly smiled at each other and she said something that made him laugh. Shit, he thought. Bluto looked down as Pinto and Alice parted ways, embarrassed and rejected. Without looking at Hoover, Bluto moved out from his seat. "Alright, let's get something…"
Bluto trailed off as he went towards the sandwiches, Hoover followed suit to cover for his obvious change in mood. Just as they left the table, Larry came back into the cafeteria and imparted his good news. Flounder and Boon congratulated him and Otter gave him props, but was still concerned about Bluto. As Bluto grabbed mountains of different food items, he re-evaluated his feelings. Pull it together Blutarsky, he scolded, he asked her fair and square. He slowly started to come back to his normal self by the time he got back to the table. He clapped Pinto on the back and sat down beside Flounder again and started to join in the roasting once more. Digging in, he looked back up the stone bench, to find Alice had left. He smirked, vaguely remembering the feeling, and then turning back to his mashed potatoes.