Yes, I am still working on these. Almost half way!

21. Mischief
Alicia Blade
1,114 words

"What is wrong with you today?" Mamoru cried, unable to hide his irritation any longer.

Motoki seemed unfazed, however, his mood just as sulky and listless as it had been since Mamoru had sat down at the counter nearly five hours ago. Mamoru had first thought he must be imagining things—Motoki was never in a bad mood. Then he thought he definitely wasn't imagining things, but it was probably something trivial, so he'd attempted to take Motoki's mind off of whatever it was by ordering more food and coffee than usual and keeping his friend busy with work. But the clerk only sighed and moved about at a snail's pace and messed everything up. He overcooked the bacon, undercooked the eggs, and only filled Mamoru's coffee cup half way before seemingly losing interest and motivation and setting the pot down on the counter for Mamoru to finish the job himself. More and more uneasy, Mamoru had set to the task of bringing up every different topic of conversation he could think of: sports, politics, religion, the latest hit TV show, pop group, and Broadway musical. Nothing elicited more than a grunt of agreement or an unconcealed sigh.

"Nothing," Motoki murmured, his eyes peering sadly at the tile floor.

"Oh, please. You've been moping around like some poor lost soul all afternoon. You're never like this. What's going on?"

"You don't want to know."

Mamoru rolled his eyes. "You're my best friend," he mumbled with that feeling of unease that came with any confession of fondness, "of course I want to know."

"It's a girl problem."

"Never mind, you were right. I'm sure you can work it out on your own."

"I want a girlfriend."

Mamoru groaned. He should have known that being nosy would inevitably lead to talking about girl problems. And he hated talking about girl problems.

"Oh, please." The sarcasm couldn't be helped. Sure, Motoki had only ever had one girlfriend since they'd been friends, but that was due to a lack of effort on Motoki's part, nothing more. Well, that and maybe an abundant amount of ignorance regarding dozens of girls' affections for him. "Is that really what's been bothering you all day? For God's sake, Motoki, if you want a girlfriend, go get one."

"You say it like it's so easy."

"It is easy. You pick a girl you like, buy her dinner a few times, and voila, you have a girlfriend. There. Problem solved, next question."

Motoki sighed and folded his arms on the counter, resting his head on them and pouting. "But how do I find one I like?"

"You just pick one. If it turns out you don't like her after all, you break up and try again. This is dating, not rocket science. Now cut out the whining and the excuses. If you really want a girlfriend, you can get one."

But Motoki did not perk up or nod or even put up further argument, just huffed and pouted some more.

"Fine, I'll help you," Mamoru said with the utmost irritation and spun around on his stool to survey the arcade. A handful of kids were loitering by the crane games, an elderly couple was sharing a banana split at the other end of the counter, three high school boys were challenging each other at DDR, and one booth was occupied by five girls that were all too familiar. Mamoru smirked. All single, all pretty, and Makoto and Minako undoubtedly had crushes on Motoki anyway. "There," he said, pointing. "Five available girls. Pick one."

Motoki creased his forehead and peered at the chattering girls. "Usagi's friends?"

"Sure, why not? They're nice and fun to be with and you already know them, right? What else do you want?"

And to his complete astonishment, Motoki looked as though he might actually be considering it. In fact, after a moment of contemplation, Motoki even looked pleased by the idea. And it was then that Mamoru began to wonder if maybe this was a very bad idea after all.

"But then, they are younger than us, and therefore slightly on the immature side, and you may not have much in common with—"

"No, no, you're right. How come I never thought about it before?"

Well, at least the sulking and pouting was done with.

"So, just ask her out to dinner, you think?"

Mamoru rolled his eyes. "That's all."

"Do you think she'll mind if I do it in front of her friends?"

"Nope."

"Okay, I'm going. Wish me luck."

"Whatever."

He watched as Motoki threw an unused dishrag down on the counter—with conviction—and walked out toward the girls. Shaking his head, Mamoru leaned back on his elbows, wondering which one Motoki would choose. He figured Makoto was the most likely, as she was such an excellent cook, but Minako stood a good chance too as she was so bubbly and happy, and Motoki definitely liked bubbly and happy.

"Hi girls!" he greeted and was met with a round of cheery hellos. "Hey, um… Usagi-chan, I was wondering if I could ask you something."

Mamoru blanched and tumbled off his stool with a startled yelp. Motoki and the girls turned to him in surprise as he fumbled to climb back onto the seat.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine! I'm fine!" Inhaling a breath to steady himself, Mamoru glanced at Usagi who was watching him with equal parts concern and mocking. He took a moment to give her his best unhappy glower, before strutting toward them, grabbing Motoki harshly by the arm, and dragging him back to the counter, loudly proclaiming, "I just remembered I have something very important to discuss with you!"

"What are you doing?" the clerk hissed once they were out of earshot of the girls. "I was just going to—"

"No! She is off limits!"

Motoki blinked, then straightened his back and suspiciously quirked an eyebrow. "And why is that?" he drawled.

"It doesn't matter, she just is! And besides, I… I…" Mamoru resigned himself. "I know this girl from school. If you want a girlfriend that bad, I'm sure I can hook you up with her. I think you'd really like each other."

At first Motoki said nothing and Mamoru found his anxiety growing with every silent moment, strangely terrified that Motoki might be really set an Usagi. But then his friend shrugged and smiled—albeit teasingly. "Fine," he said, and moved back toward his haven behind the counter, leaving Mamoru to release a huge breath of relief. "By the way…" Mamoru swung around to see his best friend watching him with a proud grin. "…you totally walked right into that one."