After lunch, the pink friend happened to wander towards the arcade room. Frankie said that Bloo spends the majority of his days there, only playing through the Galaxy Wars arcade mode since it came out. She has seen him play through the levels before, but this time thinking about it felt...familiar. She couldn't figure out why, but wondered whether Frankie's misconstrued memory sparked something. It wasn't like Cherry had ever told her about what she was really thinking. Thoughts of Bloo had been vaguely swamping her mind, but nothing unusual had stood out. The room was at an average capacity, but the blue friend was where the teen had mentioned. She watched silently while he remained focused on a level. Eventually his spacecraft had met its demise.

"Oh man!" He said while being slightly irritated. "Halfway through the same level and that one aphelion ship gets me every time! Come on, Bloo...get it together!"

"You sure the R-600 was fit for the job?"

He nearly jumped from the beanbag chair, only to notice Cherry leaning over the back of the empty chair beside him. He glanced at her, but still averted his eyes shortly after.

"C-Cherry! I...didn't see you there."

"It's my fault that I spooked you," she smiled. "But I also didn't want to distract you."

"Yeah...well, I appreciate that. So, what brings you here?"

"...Just curious." She moves to sit in the empty chair. "I've never played this game before, so I thought I could give it a try."

"Really?" He looked at her. "You want to learn to play?"

"I've always been watching." She looks away. "Don't call me crazy, but I've gotten word that I might be good at it…"

As seconds of silence went by, she returned her gaze at him.

"...You don't think so?"

"N-No! I don't think that at all!" He straightened out and smiled. "I didn't know you'd be interested, but I can teach you. It'll be easy!"

She smiled.

"Then I'll be in your hands."

The blue friend switched to the practice mode and passed the controller to her. He explained the basic controls and general strategies that will help combat enemies, depending on the character and ship she chose. After only five minutes it stunned Bloo by how fast she was picking things up.

"I'm impressed!" He complimented. "You're even faster than when I taught Berry!"

"You think so?"

"You sure it's not muscle memory?"

"Well…"

She didn't know how to answer that question. She figured it'd be a fluke more than anything, but hearing that she caught on quicker than her sister was a surprise. She didn't even know why she insisted on doing this after talking to Frankie. Just what hypothesis was she trying to test? Either way, the practice was starting to get repetitive.

"Hey, want to try out co-op?" He asked.

"Huh? Do you think I'm up to it?"

"I think you know what you're doing well enough. Care to take things up a notch?"

"...Ready when you are."

It's been around two hours since they began co-op together. Both of them were watching out for each other, attacking and defending whenever necessary. Bloo would sneak a glance at Cherry on occasion, feeling happy that she was doing exceptional enough to advance them forward. Both would sometimes react with the same expressions, only to fill the room with plentiful laughter. Sometimes even the pink friend would glance in his direction. He was always flustered around her before, but he had slowly grown more accustomed after the first few levels. Eventually his eyes met hers, matching smiles and all.

"You're really good at this!" He said. "You sure you haven't played this game before?"

"Trust me. I wouldn't have gone through practice mode for nothing."

But that's just it. She couldn't put her finger on it, but the scenery she was in felt somewhat familiar. Sitting beside him felt more than just fun...It felt right.

"If that's the case, then maybe you could try your hands at the previous games! The story modes are fantastic!"

"Have you played the story mode for this one?"

The blue friend paused for a few seconds.

"Ah...no, I haven't yet," he answered. "The game's been out for weeks, too, but I've just been hooked on the arcade and co-op modes."

"Wouldn't you want to play these games for the story?"

"I do, but…" He looks to the floor while scratching the back of his head.

"Bloo? Is something holding you back…?"

"...There is," he looked back at her, revealing saddened eyes. "But it wouldn't make sense if I told you…"

It wouldn't make sense…?

"Hey, Bloo!"

The two friends' expressions changed immediately after they heard Mac enter the arcade with his usual backpack and a duffel bag.

"Hey, Mac!" The blue friend returned. "You're here early!"

"Yeah. We were watching a documentary and it happened to end fifteen minutes early, so he gave us an early start for the weekend. Gave me plenty of time to head home to pack a duffel bag to stay over." He noticed Cherry as he moved closer to the beanbag chairs. "Oh, hey, Cherry! Trying out Galaxy Wars?"

"Oh, yeah," she answered, trying her best to maintain a smile. "It's really fun! I should've tried playing sooner!"

"Yeah, she's a natural, Mac!" Bloo cuts in. "You should see her play in co-op!"

"Actually, I'm going to take a break for now. I should think about the dinner plans." Cherry gets up and hands Mac the controller. "Care to fill in for me?"

"Sure thing." The boy turns to Bloo. "Will this be the weekend that we can play through the story mode?"

"I sure hope so! Just let me know when you'll be stopping by tomorrow!"

As she approached the exit, she didn't understand why Bloo would say that if he's been holding out from playing story mode for weeks...Was he really telling the truth? Was he forcing himself so that she wouldn't need to worry? Was he holding out because of her? Regardless she felt curious as to what he meant from before, but she didn't want to bring it up while his friend was here. It was weird. Something was tugging on her heartstrings, but not in a good way. The thought of it was making her head split. She couldn't explain it, but she felt the need to get out of there quickly. She had to run. She didn't know where she could go, but it just had to be far from the arcade.

Just...far from him.

She wasn't even focused on what could be in her path as she dashed down the hallway, not realizing that she ran past her other three friends. They all called out to her and she heard, but she didn't stop. She just kept her head down. At some point she would have to explain herself, but now wasn't the time. Knowing them, they're going to mouth their concerns to the others in the arcade.