Since it was a small arcade inside of an aging mall at the edge of the city, Luke didn't have that many regulars.
Faces passed through everyday, it was all a bit of a blur. Various kids who'd spend all day earning tickets for plastic rings and little army men and the like, teens who'd just loiter around, and adults who'd play the older games every so often out of nostalgia. They all seemed to blend together, the dozens who visited his arcade.
He did recognize some faces, and fewer names, like the little girl with the baseball cap (she'd always save her tickets for something big, like a teddy bear or such, instead of spending them on candy or other little things) and her adoptive dad, Clementine and Lee. And then there was the slightly grumpy fisherman, and his wife and son. Kenny, Katjaa, and Duck. The stern woman whose husband always wanted to come in, and despite her reluctance she'd always wind up playing the dancing game with him (Alvin and Rebecca, he'd always win, but she'd still have fun). Carlos and his daughter Sarah, who came every week to play skeeball (unlike Clem, Sarah liked to spend her tickets on candy alone).
Luke had his few regulars, the ones singled out, that he'd wave hi to and chat with when business was slow. He even considered a few of them friends.
And then there was him.
The guy who came in every night, half an hour before closing time, who always went directly to the pinball machine in the back corner of the arcade. He'd always play until the arcade closed, he never spent any tickets he won, and he'd never talk to Luke. Every time Luke had to tell him it was closing time, all the guy would do was nod, finish his game, stuff his tickets in his pockets and walk out. Sometimes he'd give Luke a nod goodbye, but most of the time there wasn't ever any contact between the two, much to Luke's dismay.
He didn't know much about the stranger, but what Luke did know was that he was fantastic at pinball. All the high scores were his (under the name 'Nick'), and they were nearly impossible to beat.
Luke also knew that he was pretty damn attractive.
But, despite the fact that Luke had seen him every night for the past year, since the arcade opened, conversation never really extended beyond "Um, hey, we're going to be closing soon, so...".
But one night, that'd all change, Luke had decided.
He was going to talk to him.
It had been something he had rehearsed over and over in his head, how he'd talk to him and how he'd react and all the other little possibilities. He was fully aware he was acting like a nine year old with their very first crush, but he didn't really care.
Every time the bell jingled over the door, signaling someone's arrival, Luke immediately looked to the door, expecting to see him sauntering in, heading for the pinball machine, baseball cap on his head and hands shoved in his pockets, even though Luke knew he wouldn't be in until at least nine thirty.
Luke settled for restocking the prize counter, where he could keep busy and have a good view of the entrance. He did make his hourly rounds as usual (making sure all the games worked, and no one was being destructive), but he did it all quicker than usual.
Although Luke had been a pretty popular guy once upon a time, he was a bit terrible with talking to people he wasn't close too, especially attractive people who caught his eye.
He spent most of the day rehearsing what he was going to say, over and over in his head. He had pictured the scenario before, but now nothing seemed good enough since it was going to be a reality.
'Hey, Nick, is it? I'm Luke, I work here and all,' (Not gonna work, he knows I work here for God's sake, he's seen me here every night for the past damn year.)
"..."
'Uh, yeah, we're closing soon. Nice high score by the way, you like pinball? (That'll be too dumb, of course he likes pinball, that's all he comes here for.)
"Luke."
Hi, I'm Luke and I really like your face and amazing pinball skills, wanna make out? (Oh, god no. Just no.)
"Luke!"
He snapped out of his thoughts in an instant, and finally noticed the small girl on the other side of the counter.
"You were pretty zoned out," Clementine said, setting a rather large, neatly folded pile of tickets on the counter.
"Yeah, I was just thinking way too much 'bout somethin'. Anyways, what can I do for you, Clem?" he replied, standing up from the stool.
"I finally saved up enough tickets for the backpack!" she said, grinning. 1,500 tickets, the backpack was one of the most expensive items at the prize counter, and one Clementine had wanted for a long while.
"Awesome! Y'know, I think you're the first ever to get a backpack from here, you do like saving up for the big prizes " Luke said, as he took the tickets off the counter and turned to feed them into the counting machine, to make sure it was 1,500 tickets. Knowing Clem, he had no doubt it was, but he wanted to see if she had any extra she could keep.
"Yeah, getting the smaller stuff seems kinda pointless. I'll just eat the candy or lose any of the rings or little toys, but I could actually use a backpack."
He nodded, and the total came up to 1,525 tickets total.
"You can get something else if you want, the backpack's only 1,500, or I could give you the extras."
"I'd like to keep the extras," she replied.
Luke turned to the wall behind him, where the various larger prizes hung or sat on shelves. The purple backpack in question was near the top, as it cost the most, he'd need his step-ladder to get it. He knelt down to get it, where it hid under a shelf behind the counter.
"So, what were you thinking about?" Clementine asked.
His head shot up so fast he nearly slammed it on the shelf overhead.
"Um, just a guy," he said, trying to keep his voice neutral, even though the idea of talking about the pinball player was all too tempting. He unfolded the step-ladder and set in down, climbed up, and grabbed his pocket knife out of his pocket.
"A guy? Why?"
He began to work on cutting the twist ties that held the backpack to the wire frame on the wall.
"'Cause I kind of, um, like him," Luke said, feeling entirely like a little kid having his first crush. "I really like him."
"Like a crush?" she asked.
"Yeah, like that."
"Ohh, tell me about him," she said, her smile evident in her tone.
"I sort of know nothing at all about him."
He managed to get the backpack down, and got down from the step-ladder. He handed it to clementine, and then ducked under the counter to grab a roll of tickets, to give her her extras.
"But how can you like him if you don't know anything?"
"Well, I mean, I know some stuff. He comes in every night and plays pinball for half an hour, he's got kinda long black hair, he usually has a baseball cap on, and his name might be Nick. He's the only one who plays the pinball machine really, and all the high scores say 'Nick', so I'm guessing that's his name. And he's got the nicest blue eyes ever, and we never talk, but tonight I decided I'm gonna talk to him, no matter what. But the thing is, I haven't talked to anyone I've liked in a long time, so I don't know how to go about it, so-"
"Luke, you're rambling," Clementine interrupted, "You've got nothing to worry about, I'm sure it'll go fine."
"Thanks, Clem." Although she was just an eleven year old, Luke considered Clementine one of his closest friends.
"Yeah, he might like awkward dorks like you," she teased, grinning mischievously.
"Hey!" He pushed the brim of her hat down so it slid over her eyes, and laughed.
Bells chimed over the door and he glanced over, ready to greet the person walking in.
But, of course, it was 'Nick'.
Luke's first instinct was to duck under the counter and hide there for all eternity, but then he remembered that the counter was glass and therefore clear, so that wouldn't do much good. He settled for swallowing nervously and giving an awkward nod.
Pinball guy returned the nod, and then moved to go to the back of the arcade.
Luke leaned over the counter, towards Clementine.
"Clem, that's him," he said, keeping his voice low.
She turned to look. "He's not that cute, but to each his own, I guess."
"Sometimes you act too smart for an eleven year old," he replied.
"Clementine, you about ready to go?" a new voice broke in.
Luke straightened up, and remembered he was supposed to be giving Clem tickets. He slid over twenty-five he had counted out to her.
"Yeah, Lee. Are we still gonna go to the cookie store?" Clem asked, sliding her new backpack onto her shoulders.
"Of course," Lee replied, smiling down at his daughter. She reached over and held his hand. (When was her age, there was no way Luke would have held his mom's hand in public, but apparently Clem had no such reservations.)
"Bye guys," he said, as the headed to the exit.
"Bye Luke, and good luck! I'll come by soon so you can tell me how it went!"
"Alright!"
He spent a few minutes behind the counter, checking everything was in place, so he wouldn't have to do it later. He wiped the counter down, getting rid of the smudges various kids had left on the glass throughout the day, and he opened up the ticket counting machine, packing all the used ones in a bag to recycle later. After, Luke glanced up at the clock on the wall behind him. 9:50.
Okay, part one of the plan was about to go in motion.
One of the skeeball machines, that resided a few feet away from the pinball machine, needed tickets to be reloaded. He had purposely avoided stocking it back up that morning, so he'd have an excuse to get close to him.
There was no one else in the arcade, as it was about ten minutes to closing time.
Luke grabbed a fresh roll of tickets and his keys from the cabinet under the counter, and headed to the skeeball machine in question. Once he arrived, he unlocked the compartment for the tickets, and glanced awkwardly over at pinball guy. He began to load in the tickets.
Part two of the plan, go.
Time for conversation.
"So, you really like pinball," Luke said, breaking the silence.
I did not just say that of all things, oh no...
"Hmm?" pinball guy said, risking a look away from his game for a moment, to glance over at Luke.
"I mean, you come every night, and that's all you play, you must really like it."
"Yeah, I do," he replied, "Liked it ever since I was a kid, it was all I'd play at arcades. Still is."
Luke tried to hide his smile.
"Pinball is pretty great, but my favorite here has to be air hockey. Don't get to play it that often though, cause it's for two people and I work the whole day, but it's always been my favorite."
"Never been a big fan of air hockey."
"Ah."
Luke locked the panel up once he finished reloading the tickets, and slid a quarter into the slot. He'd play a game and make sure tickets came out properly. He tossed a ball, it landed into the thirty point hole. Three tickets slid out.
"I'm Luke, by the way," he said, after a moment.
A chuckle came from the other man.
"I know," he said.
Luke frowned.
"How?" he asked. He tossed another ball. Fifty points, five tickets.
"You wear a nametag, man," he said.
Luke let out a chuckle himself.
"And it's Nick, isn't it?" he asked. Ten points, one ticket.
"Uh yeah, how'd you know that?" he said, awkwardly.
"I can read minds," Luke replied. He looked over at Nick, who was looking at him, fully confused. "I'm just kidding'. All the pinball high scores say Nick."
Nick grinned, and turned back to his game, as did Luke.
"It's about closing time, isn't it?" he asked.
Luke looked over at the clock on the wall. "Yep, two 'till ten."
"Alright."
Nick wrapped his game up shortly, and collected his tickets. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked as if he was about to leave.
"Oh, um, Nick, I noticed that you never spend your tickets," Luke said.
"Yeah, army men and plastic spider rings don't really interest me," Nick interrupted.
"Heh, yeah, anyways, I was just pointing that out because I do recycle all used tickets, so if you're just throwing them away I can recycle them for you instead, if you want," Luke finished.
Nick thought for a moment, before smiling.
"Nah, I'm saving them up for something," he said, and with that, he headed to the door, "See you tomorrow night."
Bells chiming over the door signaled his departure, and Luke turned back to the skeeball machine.
As he finished the game, as he wiped down all the machines, collected all the dollars and quarters, and mopped the floor, he could not stop grinning.
He did it.
He had finally talked to him.
A/N: So this is going to have multiple chapters, as of now I'm not quite sure if it's going to be a collection of chronological oneshots, or if it's going to have a plot. Either way, most chapters will be taking place in the arcade, hence the title, and they will be centering around Luke and Nick, with a side of Clem and some others! So yeah, feel free to tell me what you think of it or anything you'd hope to see in future chapters!
-Ash