Chapter ten:
A different kind of game.
The next morning, Ja'far sat on the couch, with a grumpy expression. He hadn't be able to sleep at all, because of Sharrkan's kiss. What was that idiot thinking, kissing him out of the blue, especially since he knew it was his first! 'I'm so going to kill him.' It was a possibility that sleep deprivation didn't do Ja'far's delicate mental state any good. ''Good morning!'' Sharrkan called, as he headed for the kitchen.
'How can he be un-affected after, after...' Ja'far's delicate state no longer mattered to himself, as he threw his blanket off, and stomped towards the kitchen, where he found Sharrkan making a sandwich. He stood there, in nothing but a shirt and his boxers. Ja'far stopped in his tracks, all thoughts of pounding sense into the teen leaving his mind. 'I can't go trough with this.' he thought, as he scraped his throat, making Sharrkan look over his shoulder.
''Wow, you look terrible. Like you didn't get any sleep.'' Sharrkan commented, with a smile. ''I didn't.'' Ja'far said. ''That's too bad. We still have to study, seeing that we've got that presentation for miss Pisti tomorrow.'' Sharrkan said. 'How can he be so careless? I know he's stupid, but he does realise he's taken my first kiss for no good reason, doesn't he?' Ja'far wondered.
''I'm going over to Masrur.'' he said, before bolting to the door. ''Have you eaten breakfast yet?'' Sharrkan yelled. ''No, I have not!'' was Ja'far's reply, as he left, slamming the door as he did so. ''Mmm, something going on, nii-san?'' Alibaba asked, entering the kitchen. ''Nothing really. Your older brother just screwed up, like usual.'' Sharrkan said, as Alibaba took some coffee. ''What did you do this time?'' Alibaba asked. ''I think I traumatized my favorite, and only, student.'' Sharrkan replied, making Alibaba cock his head.
Ja'far, meanwhile, rushed over to the Fanalis' place as fast as possible. When he knocked on the door, Morgiana opened it. ''Good-morning, Mor.'' he said, sure he was red from embarrassment and running. ''Is Masrur awake?'' ''Not yet, want me to get him?'' she asked. ''If possible, yeah.'' he replied. She let him into the house, then said "Wait here." before going upstairs.
'So cute.' Ja'far thought, admiring an older photo. Both siblings looked so stern all the time, most people were terrified when they met Masrur, but Ja'far didn't know anyone nicer than these two. Masrur was definitely his best friend. ''He'll be down in a few minutes.'' he heard Morgiana say, when she headed back. ''Thanks. Want me to make you something to drink?'' he asked her. This place was basically like home, so it'd be no trouble at all.
She shook her head, he was their guest after all. ''No, but I did have something I wanted to ask.'' she replied, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks. ''Something you want to ask me? Of course, by all means.'' Ja'far said. ''I asked Alibaba-kun out for dinner. But I'm kinda nervous, so can you and his brother join me?'' she asked. Ja'far was slightly taken aback, he didn't want to see Sharrkan, and certainly not go on something that could be considered a double date.
''Ehrm, do you really need me to join in?'' he asked. She nodded, Ja'far was someone she trusted, and going with her brother might turn things awkward. ''I don't see why not then.'' he said, feeling somewhat honoured. And Alibaba was nice as well. ''Thank you.'' she said, just as Masrur entered the room. ''Morning.'' he said, moving a hand through his bed-hair. ''I'm going to go ahead, and grab some breakfast.'' Morgiana said, sensing there was something the teens needed to talk about.
''I'm not going to break in anymore.'' Masrur said, making Ja'far smile. Masrur's sense of humour was unique. ''I'm not worried about that. My ceiling collapsed, so if you were to go there, you wouldn't find me.'' Ja'far said, as they sat down on the couch. Masrur gave him a worried look, before asking, ''What?!'' ''Oh, I didn't mention? There was a freak accident, but I was unhurt, thanks to Sharrkan.'' Ja'far nearly blushed at the end of that sentence.
''Oh?'' Masrur replied, ''I crash with Sharrkan for now, but there's something making that somewhat impossible. I don't wish to talk about it, but I can't face him for the time being. Could, could I stay here?'' Ja'far begged. Masrur furrowed his eyebrows, it had seemed like they were doing so well. ''Sure. Something I can do?'' he asked. ''Right now, not really.'' Ja'far said. Masrur smiled, before saying, ''It's Sunday. Let's just do something fun, and get your mind off whatever is wrong.'' ''You're the best.'' Ja'far said, then suggested going to a cafe for breakfast.
When they arrived there, they met Sinbad and Judal, who were drinking coffee. Both Masrur and Ja'far wouldn't have noticed them, weren't it for Sinbad, waving like a toddler when he spotted them, asking, okay, yelling for them to join. ''Your shadow isn't here.'' Judal said, making Ja'far glare at him. ''I will have you know that Sharrkan is not my shadow.'' he said, before sitting next to Sinbad.
''Now, now, Ja'far. Judal doesn't mean it like that.'' Sinbad said, stretching his arms, before drawing his pale friend close. ''Sure he doesn't.'' Ja'far said, eyeing the teen, who smirked back. ''Now that Sharrkan isn't around though, how about an extra celebration?'' Sinbad asked, wiggling his eyebrows. ''Sin, you still can't move with that leg, so sports are out. And so is an arcade.'' Ja'far sternly said.
''I know, worrywart. I was thinking something along the lines of karaoke. I can lounge and sing.'' Sinbad said. ''No.'' Ja'far said, he wasn't one to sing, and neither was Masrur. Judal seemed bored with the idea as well, as he offered to go see some movie. ''I'd rather not.'' Sinbad said, pouting because none of them wanted to do karaoke. ''We could go and play Super smash bros brawl.'' Ja'far said, wanting to play Halo, but Sin wasn't into Halo.
''Neeeeeerd.'' Sinbad teased, but Judal seemed interested. ''Why not, I like it.'' he said. ''Super smash, huh. Sounds good.'' Sinbad said. 'What the-?' Masrur wanted to protest, but Ja'far nodded. ''At my place?'' Sinbad asked. ''Sure, do you have the game?'' Judal asked. Sinbad shook his head, but then Ja'far offered, ''I do. I can go and fetch it.'' ''Or we could play at your place?'' Judal suggested.
''Ehr, I'd rather not.'' Ja'far said, not wanting Sinbad to see the damage. Surely, he'd make a hullabaloo. ''Why not?'' Judal asked, leaning on an arm. ''Re-decorating.'' Masrur interjected, and clearly, Judal wanted to say someting, but decided against it, when he saw Masrur's expression. ''I didn't know you were re-decorating? Can I help sometime?'' Sinbad asked.
''Ehr sure, why not. I'll call you when we paint the walls.'' Ja'far said, he had been wanting to get a new color, and seeing that his ceiling collapsed, he might as well take the opportunity. ''I'd like that.'' Sinbad said, with a charming smile. ''So, Super Smash it is?'' Judal asked, ruining their moment, as his voice made them break eye contact. ''Yeah.'' Sinbad replied.
Soon enough, as Judal led Sinbad home, Ja'far and Masrur went to fetch the copy of Super Smash Bros Brawl. As they headed to Ja'far's wrecked home, Masrur had something he wanted to ask Ja'far. ''Didn't you take all your stuff the minute your ceiling collapsed? Or is all of that at Sharrkan's place?'' he asked. ''Ehrm, I didn't really bother grabbing most stuff. Just the more important things.'' Ja'far admitted.
''Should we take the rest?'' Masrur asked. ''Actually, we should, seeing how my house isn't that safe against burglars anymore.'' Ja'far said. When they arrived, they found Sharrkan playing ball with Alibaba. ''Ja'far! You're back.'' Alibaba said, but Sharrkan didn't bother to look, seizing the opportunity to score a point. ''Yeah, I've found a new place to stay over, so you can take care of Sharrkan again.'' Ja'far joked.
As Sharrkan objected loudly, (He was the one taking care of Alibaba, not the other way around) Alibaba's smile dropped. ''You're going to leave us, why?'' he asked. ''No particular reason.'' Ja'far said, as Sharrkan nodded in understanding. ''It's fine.'' he lied, before offering to collect Ja'far's stuff from their place. Ja'far nodded, before taking a few things from his own place, including the Super Smash Bros game, leaving Masrur and Alibaba to stare flabbergasted.
''What happened between those two, I thought they were getting chummy. How's Sharrkan supposed to coach him?'' Alibaba asked. ''Not a clue.'' Masrur said, until yesterday evening they seemed fine. And Sharrkan had protected Ja'far from walking with Sin and Judal. ''Maybe something happened when they headed home.'' he added. ''I suppose so. Nii-san mentioned something about traumatizing his pupil.''
''I still think we should help them out.'' Alibaba added. Masrur nodded, but then again, their charges were the most stubborn persons one could meet. ''Ehr, can I ask you something?'' Alibaba asked with a blush. Masrur nodded. "I'm going somewhere with Morgiana and I don't want to be as ridiculous as Sharrkan to try and take someone to Vegas. What does she like to do, or eat?'' Alibaba asked.
''She likes fish. Nothing fancy.'' Masrur said, charmed by the sweet way Alibaba tried to ask advice on how to take his baby-sister on a date. ''Understood.'' Alibaba said. ''She did ask Ja'far and Sharrkan to come as well.'' Masrur mentioned. ''Oh my god. Not Nii-san.'' Alibaba groaned, Sharrkan was soooooo going to embarrass him. He loved his big brother, but he was still a child at heart, and therefore, a hassle.
Just then, the subjects of their discussion came out of their respective houses. ''There, I have everything packed.'' Sharrkan said, somewhat awkward. ''Thank you.'' Ja'far said, sounding equally awkward. ''See you at school?'' Sharrkan asked. ''Yeah, school.'' Ja'far said with a strange smile, that didn't actually look like a happy one. The siblings waved Ja'far and Masrur off, before Alibaba whacked Sharrkan's head. ''What did you do, moron?'' he scolded.
''I told you, I did something stupid.'' Sharrkan said, as he rubbed his head. ''That really hurts.'' he added. ''You probably earned it, maybe this will help you think with some logic. You doing something stupid could be an endless list. Can you specify what you did?'' Alibaba asked. ''So harsh.'' Sharrkan said, why did everyone imply he was an idiot?
''I may or may not have kissed him?'' Sharrkan hedged. Alibaba blinked a few times, then a few times more. ''Sorry, come again? I thought I heard you say that you kissed him?'' Alibaba asked, wondering if his ears were terribly damaged, or that his brothers stupidity had gotten contagious. ''You heard me right.'' Sharrkan said. ''You. Kissed. Ja'far.'' Alibaba said, putting it as simple as possible. Sharrkan just nodded. ''Weren't you supposed to help him date Sinbad? And aren't you some kind of pervert for boobs? Wait, is Ja'far even a man?'' Alibaba asked. ''Yes, not really, and I think so.'' Sharrkan answered. ''Are you an idiot?'' Alibaba said, as he wacked his brother again. "No, but everybody seems to think so." Sharrkan complained.
Ja'far and Masrur had finally arrived at Sinbad's residence. ''Shouldn't we've dropped your stuff at my place?'' Masrur asked. Sinbad was surely going to ask questions, and if the so-called school king would hear what happened, he would take action. Like, rebuilding the house, or taking Ja'far to a hospital to see if the incident had caused any injuries. And Masrur was sure Ja'far would hate that kind of attention.
''Nah, we'll explain that I'm staying over for a few days. It'll be fine.'' Ja'far said. Masrur shrugged, Ja'far had experience with handling Sinbad. They rang the bell, then, Judal opened. ''Finally.'' he said, as he eyed Ja'far's bag and spotted a certain game. ''Is that call of duty?'' he asked. ''Ehr, yeah. Masrur and I were planning to play it later on.'' Ja'far said, as they entered the house. ''Why not play now?'' Judal offered, before leading them towards the living room, were Sinbad waited for them. ''Let's play.'' Ja'far said, with an intent look on his face.
As night fell, Sharrkan sat at his table, making his homework. But he couldn't really concentrate, as his mind kept turning to Ja'far. 'So the kid left eh, suppose he doesn't need my help anymore. Not that I was that much of a help, anyway. Why did I do that?' he thought, banging his forehead on the table harshly. ''Ouch.'' he muttered, as Alibaba turned his head.
''Something wrong, nii-san?'' he asked. Sure, he was annoyed at Sharrkan's stupid action, but they were still brothers. Besides, they had to patch up things fast, because the situation mustn't be allowed to ruin his first date with Mor. ''Nothing, thought I spotted a mosquito.'' Sharrkan lied. ''One more commonly kills those with their hands or a newspaper.'' Alibaba deadpanned, before offering a more sympathetic look.
''Just call him, talk to him, and apologize. Say it was the heat of the moment, the rush of winning the game.'' Alibaba said, as he sat down in front of his brother. ''It's not like he'll forgive me.'' Sharrkan said. ''Not if you don't talk it over. Look, Mor asked for you and Ja'far to join us for dinner tomorrow. If not for Ja'far, do it for us.'' Alibaba said, and to be fair, he didn't mind Ja'far's company at all. ''I'll give it a try, squirt.'' Sharrkan said, as he ruffled Alibaba's hair fondly.
The next morning:
''What did I do?'' Ja'far groaned, as he repeatedly banged his forehead on his desk, while his ominous dark aura seeped through the classroom. ''What's up with him?'' Sharrkan asked, as he and Masrur stared at him. ''He's intense when he plays Call of Duty.'' Masrur explained, just gaining a confused look from Sharrkan. ''What kind of explanation is that?!'' he exclaimed.
''A fair one.'' Sinbad's voice suddenly interrupted, making them both look up. ''Hi.'' the king said with a way too happy voice, for someone who had detention on monday. ''Hi.'' Sharrkan threw back, sounding somewhat disturbed, as Masrur just nodded. ''So, the intense Call of Duty explanation?'' Sharrkan managed to ask. ''Ah, yeah. We were supposed to engage in a game of Super bash, or something like that, yesterday. But, Judal had seen this game of so-called Duty that Ja'far had with him, and for some reason, all his other stuff as well? What was up with that again...?'' Sinbad trailed off, as he asked Masrur.
Masrur rolled his eyes, they had succesfully evaded that question before, but he should have known that Sinbad would't give up. ''Focus Sinbad, the story. What happened during the CoD?'' Sharrkan demanded. ''cod?'' Sinbad asked. ''Never mind, continue your story, your highness.'' Sharrkan said. ''Okay. So, Judal opted to play that, and Ja'far really seemed like he wanted too, so we started the game, and unlocked a whole new Ja'far. He beat us mercilessly, and that, game after game. Judal kept playing, wanting to win just once, but no. And the gloating, I'll never forget his interesting word choices when he shouts orders.'' Sinbad shook his head. ''I had pegged him to be more of a quiet gamer.'' he added.
''It's just a game. It's still the Ja'far we know, and you love.'' Sharrkan said, making Sinbad blush. ''Yeah, but..'' ''No but's, idiot-king!'' Sharrkan told him, before stomping towards Ja'far. ''And you! Stop being so melodramatic!'' he yelled, before picking Ja'far up, dragging him towards Sinbad, and pushing him towards his best friend. ''Make up.'' he commanded.
'He's snapped.' Masrur thought, as an amused Hinahoho watched them all. ''What the hell?'' both Sinbad and Ja'far demanded to know, but an amused Sharrkan sat down. Pisti came in, instantly grasping the situation. ''I know we won the game, but enough with the PDA for now. You had your time to celebrate.'' she said, as everyone quickly sat down. ''Okay, so the presentations! Ja'far, Sharrkan, Hinahoho, since you received the assignment first, tomorrow is the due date for your presentation. Have fun. As for today-'' her voice droned on, as she explained the process of coitus.
'Crap, forgot about that assignment.' Ja'far thought, as he looked over towards Sharrkan, who was either taking notes, or drawing. 'Maybe we could work things out. He has proven with that action just now that he's willing to go on, I suppose.' Ja'far figured. He quickly wrote something, before tapping Yunan's shoulder. ''Could you pass this on to Sharrkan?'' he asked quietly, not that Pisti would notice it. Hell, he could get up, and give it to Sharrkan himself, if he really wanted to.
''Sure thing, sweetie.'' Yunan said, before taking the note, and casually passing it to Sharrkan, who took it with a frown. Yunan just pointed to Ja'far, and Sharrkan nodded, before reading the note. He smiled, giving Ja'far a thumbs up. Ja'far nodded contentedly, they were really going to get him and Sinbad together this time.