Like how most things start, it\u2019s all Dustin\u2019s fault.<\/p>\n
It is February and Dustin is no less of an internet cretin than he was yesterday, and no less of a nerd yesterday, so it\u2019s only natural that he stumbles upon Love Live! School Idol Festival on the internet. Aside from the appeal of cute anime girls dancing and swaying their hips, Dustin\u2019s always felt that his suite has needed a feminine touch. Okay, not really, because he enjoys stewing in his farts and the dirty bathroom (until Eduardo comes over and clucks his tongue and both he and Chris manage to get Dustin and Mark to assist with cleaning it, never mind that Chris never actually cares<\/em>\u00a0until Eduardo is around.)<\/p>\n But Love Live! is impossibly feminine, in this totally cool way that Dustin can appreciate and kind of wants more of. There\u2019s also, like, the hip swaying. And the cute anime girl stuff. But don\u2019t let anyone tell you that he got into Love Live! purely for shallow reasons, because he didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Anyway, so he sets up a Crunchyroll account, he watches a few episodes on his laptop to see how it is. And it\u2019s good\u2014it\u2019s really<\/em>\u00a0good. And Dustin doesn\u2019t really have any shame about liking shoujo\u2014though he probably should, people will call him a pervert. So maybe he has a little shame, but not enough to one day set up his laptop in their suite\u2019s common room and connect it to their tv via HDMI.<\/p>\n The first time he does this, Chris is out at a club meeting or a class or something, and Mark is in his room as usual, pondering over his laptop and ignoring Dustin, as he had been the last couple of days Dustin had been watching Love Live! So Dustin doesn\u2019t really care, flies through a couple of more episodes of Love Live! and lounges on their couch.<\/p>\n Chris comes in. He says, \u201cHey Dustin,\u201d as he usually does, when Dustin is conscious and doing things and Chris comes back from places. Dustin says hey back.<\/p>\n Then Chris glances at the tv screen, and maybe upon reflection Dustin would\u2019ve been worried about judgment or scorn or something. But Chris says, sounding very interested, \u201cWhat are you watching?\u201d<\/p>\n So that\u2019s how Chris gets sucked into Love Live!, too. It\u2019s not a fast process, because it takes about a week of him just finding Dustin already watching (or rewatching, as it\u2019s not a very long series) episodes on their tv, or eyeing Dustin sitting on the couch until Dustin decides, hey, wouldn\u2019t it be a nice time to watch some random episodes of Love Live? Chris always joins him when he\u2019s in. Dustin catches on quickly and is kind enough to not watch episodes without Chris around.<\/p>\n And he doesn\u2019t realize that Chris is actually as deep as he is until one day Chris makes a comment about Maki\u2019s character development, and an offhand remark about how she deserves more screentime. The realization hits Dustin right in the face\u2014or rather, the shoulder, where Mark has pegged a pen at him because they\u2019re being too loud.<\/p>\n \u201cOh my god,\u201d Dustin says to Chris, ignoring Mark. \u201cYou are totally<\/em>\u00a0invested.\u201d<\/p>\n Chris looks pained, like he doesn\u2019t want to admit it. \u201cThe animation is so weird,\u201d he says. \u201cThey look like MMDs when they dance.”<\/p>\n And that\u2019s how Dustin finds out that Chris has been looking up Love Live! MMDs and nearly tackles him from laughing. All those times in the past week Chris had been holing himself into his laptop with headphones, and Dustin thought he\u2019d just been looking up porn.<\/p>\n Chris grumbles and tells him to switch episodes on Crunchyroll.<\/p>\n Then, because where Dustin and Chris and Mark exist (okay, really, Mark), Eduardo gets roped in, too.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been about a couple of weeks since Dustin\u2019s first started\u2014Eduardo\u2019s been swinging by when Dustin has to study or is out at class or conked out somewhere, and Dustin has been watching Love Live! mostly in the afternoons, when Eduardo\u2019s classes are. And last weekend Eduardo had some sort of investor\u2019s club thing, so he hadn\u2019t been able to drop by when Chris and Dustin did a marathon of the second series and cried manly tears.<\/p>\n So it\u2019s around the next weekend when Dustin has decided, well, it\u2019s time to watch more Love Live! Chris is telling him about the video game, and they\u2019re both excited. Dustin is rifling through the episodes and picks one of his favorites when Eduardo comes in, carrying a box of pizza and stopping behind the couch in the living room.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019re you guys watching?\u201d he asks, sounding amused.<\/p>\n Both Chris and Dustin turn to him.<\/p>\n \u201cWardo,\u201d Dustin says. \u201cBefore you say anything, okay, a lot of people like this show, and it has a video game<\/em>. Go on, Chris,\u201d he pokes Chris. \u201cTell him.”<\/p>\n Chris rolls his eyes. \u201cIt has a video game,\u201d he says obediently.<\/p>\n Eduardo smiles at the both of them. \u201cI\u2019m not judging,\u201d he says, though there\u2019s definitely something teasing about his tone. \u201cWhat are you watching?\u201d he asks again.<\/p>\n So Dustin and Chris tell him about Honoka\u2019s plan to save the school, and the school idol festival, and the friendship and emotions<\/em>\u00a0and everything\u2014\u201cBut no spoilers!\u201d Dustin adds quickly. Eduardo looks bemused, but he sets the pizza down on the coffee table and joins them on the couch and agrees to watch an episode with them.<\/p>\n About three hours later, when the three of them are crying (more manly tears) and eating pizza on the couch, Mark comes out of his cavern. \u201cI smelled pizza,\u201d he says, sniffing the air, his eyebrows furrowed.<\/p>\n Dustin kicks lightly at the box on the table, sniffling against Eduardo\u2019s shoulder. \u201cWe saved a slice for you,\u201d he says through his tears.<\/p>\n Mark looks at him strangely, but takes it.<\/p>\n \u201cMark,\u201d Eduardo says. He sounds slightly more controlled than Dustin, and Chris if he spoke (Chris hates talking while he cries), but his voice is thick. \u201cHave you watched Love Live?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUh.\u201d Mark glances at the tv screen. \u201cNo? Is this the dumb thing Dustin\u2019s been watching for like, the past month now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not dumb!\u201d Dustin says indignantly.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it hasn\u2019t been a month.\u201d Chris\u2019s voice is surprisingly steady. He wipes at his face. \u201cYou should watch it, Mark. I think you\u2019d enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n Dustin snorts. \u201cYou\u2019re being optimistic,\u201d he says to Chris.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah Mark,\u201d says Eduardo. \u201cCome join us.\u201d<\/p>\n Mark rolls his eyes and goes back to his room.<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t stop there, though. Soon enough the three of them download the game to their phones, and Dustin is so confused but so enamored, so he reads up on some of the guides online while he plays to fully understand how it works.<\/p>\n (It\u2019s 2004? What? I can\u2019t hear you over the sound of Love Live.)<\/p>\n Chris is equally smitten, though he really just wants an Ultra Rare Maki\u2014he\u2019d looked them up, and she\u2019s pretty much his favorite, anyway. He reads over Dustin\u2019s shoulder on the nights that Dustin basically chains himself to his computer almost as badly as Mark does, learning about the School Idol Festival gameplay. It\u2019s hard at first, because it\u2019s like DDR with your fingers except more complicated and with cute girls; but soon enough Chris full combos Mermaid Festa vol. 1 on hard and laughs in Dustin\u2019s face when Dustin curses him out for it.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve seen Eduardo play, especially after that first night when they all got registered together. Chris and Dustin just assume that Eduardo\u2019s adapting to this game at the same pace as they are, until one day Eduardo comes over while Chris and Dustin are pseudo-competitively playing Love Live in the living room.<\/p>\n \u201cHey,\u201d Eduardo says, waving a hand as Dustin finishes a song.<\/p>\n \u201cFuck!\u201d he says, because even though he\u2019d gotten a full combo on Snow Halation before, he still has yet to get a perfect score. \u201cHi Wardo,\u201d he grumbles.<\/p>\n Eduardo looks amused as he pulls out his phone. \u201cHow are you doing, Chris?\u201d he asks over the couch.<\/p>\n Chris is bent over his phone. \u201cGive me a minute,\u201d he mutters, because he\u2019s still in the middle of Aishiteru Banzai.<\/p>\n Eduardo snickers and opens up the app on his own game. Dustin watches over his shoulder as he begins playing.<\/p>\n And Eduardo is like\u2026 really good. Like, ridiculously<\/em>\u00a0good. He\u2019s not doing a hard song, which Dustin had thought he was\u2014he\u2019s doing the B-Sides, the expert<\/em>\u00a0songs. It\u2019d taken Dustin and Chris a bit to find the B-Sides, so it was probably the same for Eduardo, but\u2014Eduardo is like, killing it. In the best way possible.<\/p>\n Eduardo plays like it\u2019s no big deal, though he still is by the time Chris finishes Aishiteru Banzai. \u201cWhat song is that?\u201d he asks them. \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve unlocked it yet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s\u2014\u201d Dustin is wide-eyed and watching over Eduardo\u2019s shoulder. \u201cIt\u2019s an expert song, man.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAn expert<\/em>\u00a0song? No way.\u201d Chris scurries over and crowds around Eduardo\u2019s left shoulder. \u201cHow is he not dead yet?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Dustin says, with that same awe in his voice.<\/p>\n The song finishes just then and Eduardo looks at the both of them. \u201cWhat?\u201d he asks. There is a faint expression on his face that reminds Dustin of Elle Woods\u2019 what, like it\u2019s hard?<\/em>\u00a0(So sue him, he\u2019s a sucker for feminine things for the sake of them being feminine, okay.)<\/p>\n \u201cWardo,\u201d says Chris, just staring at him. \u201cYou\u2019re like a wizard at this game, man.\u201d<\/p>\n Eduardo laughs, bashfully. \u201cNah, it\u2019s just a game,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t\u2014I only play when I get bored. Or when I\u2019m waiting for class to start,\u201d he muses.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d be playing now, but I\u2019m out of LP.\u201d Dustin looks at his phone with despair. \u201cWardo, do you have any extra money to donate? Gotta get those Love Gems.”<\/p>\n Eduardo laughs again. \u201cI\u2019m not giving you money for Love Live<\/em>, Dustin.\u201d<\/p>\n Dustin shrugs. \u201cHad to try.\u201d<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n So they play dutifully on their phones. It\u2019s really only Dustin who does, though, because after a week of intensity and then Chris\u2019s has exams and club meetings and things. Eduardo stops by as often as he does, more often now just for the sake of Dustin and Chris and Love Live, too. But he forgets sometimes, or Dustin makes him complete Expert songs or full combo some songs on Hard at his first try; so half of Eduardo\u2019s Love Live time isn\u2019t even on his own account.<\/p>\n Dustin gets to rank 50 several weeks later and there\u2019s an event. He\u2019s been saving up his Love Gems to Honors scout, and there\u2019s a UR Kotori scouting giveaway, and he needs<\/em>\u00a0her. He needs her like cheese on rice, and other metaphors. Eduardo\u2019s been playing a decent amount to stack up event points for him, and he\u2019s either gonna be spontaneous or pee his pants. So before he can think about it, he spends fifty points for an honors scout.<\/p>\n And he gets her.<\/p>\n \u201cHoly shit!\u201d he yells. The dorm\u2019s completely empty (except for him and Mark, who doesn\u2019t count as a person) so he doesn\u2019t care too much about being loud. \u201cHoly shit<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n The UR Kotori is beaming up at him. He could jump into his phone and kiss her, if, you know, he could.<\/p>\n Instead, he shouts again and tosses his phone up in the air, before rushing to catch it because if it breaks and his account dies, he\u2019ll probably cry forever. \u201cHoly shit,\u201d he whispers excitedly to his phone again, staring lovingly into Kotori\u2019s anime eyes.<\/p>\n It\u2019s too much to keep contained. Eduardo\u2019s bad at picking up his phone if Mark\u2019s not the one calling him; Chris is probably in the middle of class and will probably kill Dustin if he called him and humiliated him. So, eagerly, Dustin dives for Mark\u2019s door.<\/p>\n Mark never locks his door, mostly because he trusts Dustin and Chris enough not to invade his privacy (and also because whenever Eduardo comes over and goes in, Mark doesn\u2019t like getting up from his desk to open the door for him.) Dustin slams the door open and goes, \u201cMark, holy shit, guess wh\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n The faint sound of WILD STARS<\/em>\u00a0is coming from somewhere. Mark is sitting at his desk, scowling into his lap, where both of his hands are.<\/p>\n Dustin stares.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you playing Love Live<\/em>?\u201d he screeches.<\/p>\n Mark makes a growling noise. Dustin cowers a little, even though Mark isn\u2019t even looking at him.<\/p>\n \u201cWait a minute,\u201d Mark grumbles, not looking up from presumably what is his phone.<\/p>\n Dustin doesn\u2019t know what to say. Mark\u2019s been holing himself in his room no more or less often than before\u2014maybe a bit more than before, now that Dustin thinks about it\u2014but Dustin had always thought Mark was doing what he always does, making some program, changing the world or whatever.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t think that Mark was playing Love Live and hiding it from them.<\/p>\n He waits patiently as Mark finishes the song. He hears Mark curse under his breath, before looking up and scowling even harder at Dustin, like Dustin is the song he failed to full combo.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d Mark says, annoyed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2014You\u2019re\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n Dustin points at him.<\/p>\n Mark glares at his index finger. \u201cYes,\u201d he says, like he doesn\u2019t have his fucking iPhone in his lap with the sound of Love Live sounds going on. He shuts it to sleep and it silences immediately. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re playing Love Live<\/em>, Mark!\u201d Dustin squawks. \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you\u2014You know we\u2019ve been watching it for months<\/em>, when did you\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t see how that\u2019s pertinent information,\u201d says Mark, which is Mark-speak for a really damn long time.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen did this happen?\u201d Dustin demands. \u201cWhat rank are you on? Oh my god, did you know that Wardo\u2019s like, a genius at the game? Who\u2019s your best girl? Have you wa\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know how you expect me to answer all your questions if you keep firing them off like that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell I\u2019m sorry<\/em>, I\u2019m just trying to wrap my head around the fact that you\u2019ve been Love Live-ing without telling<\/em>\u00a0any of us!\u201d<\/p>\n Mark glares at him for a minute. Then he looks back down at his phone.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat did you come in here to tell me?\u201d he says, trying to sound irritated and failing.<\/p>\n And Dustin beams, because holy shit<\/em>, right! \u201cKotori came home!\u201d he says eagerly. \u201cI scouted an Ultra\u00a0Rare, so I\u2019m\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCongratulations,\u201d says Mark.<\/p>\n \u201cWho\u2019s your favorite girl?\u201d<\/p>\n This is when Mark turns back to his computer, placing his hand on his mouse\u2019s computer and clicking at whatever\u2019s on his screen. \u201cNot telling,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n Like everyone expects and Mark expects and hates, Dustin texts Chris and Eduardo excitedly about this development of Mark, which means that Chris comes home and knocks on Mark\u2019s door and catches him in the middle of a song (again<\/em>), and Eduardo comes over that night.<\/p>\n Mark is grumbly, but at least he joins them in the sitting room and lets them pester him with questions.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo months,\u201d he says, when Eduardo asks him how long he\u2019s been playing.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d he says, when Chris asks him if he\u2019s watched the anime.<\/p>\n \u201cNot telling,\u201d he says, again<\/em>, when Dustin asks him who his favorite girl is.<\/p>\n He goes back to his room to brood, and probably play more Love Live. Eduardo watches after him (as Eduardo does), while Dustin leans forward conspiratorially.<\/p>\n \u201cSo who do you think it is?\u201d he asks.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat, his best girl?\u201d says Chris. \u201cI don\u2019t know. Maybe it\u2019s Nico. Maybe that\u2019s why he\u2019s not telling us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with liking Nico,\u201d Eduardo says airily.<\/p>\n Dustin elbows him. \u201cThird year fucker.\u201d<\/p>\n Eduardo frowns. \u201cYou say that like it\u2019s a bad thing,\u201d he says. \u201cAlso you make it sound wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n Chris ignores him. \u201cMaybe he\u2019s embarrassed about it? Who would Mark be embarrassed by?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d says Dustin. \u201cI mean, I like the best girl, so it\u2019s obviously not Kotori.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Obviously.\u2019\u201d Chris snorts. \u201cI would say the same about Maki, but that does seem to be Mark\u2019s type.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou think?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d says Eduardo thoughtfully. \u201cMaki\u2019s probably not his favorite. I don\u2019t think any of the first year girls are his type.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think girls are his type in general,\u201d says Dustin.<\/p>\n \u201cGirls aren\u2019t my type in general either,\u201d Chris points out.<\/p>\n Dustin elbows Chris, this time.<\/p>\n \u201cWho do you think, Wardo?\u201d Dustin asks Eduardo.<\/p>\n Eduardo stares at Mark\u2019s closed door, where the sounds of Wonderful Rush are faintly blaring out. \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d he muses.<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n Okay, so it\u2019s still Dustin\u2019s fault that Mark gets into Love Live too. It\u2019s not that Mark\u2019s completely unaware that both of his roommates have this new obsession over some anime girls who sing and dance and wear short skirts. Mark rolls his eyes and thinks it\u2019s stupid, because obviously<\/em>\u00a0it\u2019s catered towards guys who have nothing else to jack off to except for Japanese animation. And Mark is above that. He really is.<\/p>\n But then one afternoon Dustin and Chris leave to go for dinner after Mark had mumbled, \u201cNo,\u201d from his desk because they weren\u2019t hungry and he still had a tuna salad sandwich in the mini-fridge. And then an hour later he had<\/em>\u00a0been hungry, so he stretched his legs and took a break by going to the mini-fridge, which was in the common room, along with their tv.<\/p>\n And their tv was on. Not only that, but Dustin\u2019s computer was still hooked up, so Love Live was still playing. Dustin apparently hasn\u2019t taken autoplay off, so it\u2019s been playing. Mark hadn\u2019t noticed because he had his headphones on.<\/p>\n So he\u2019d begun to watch absently as he ate his sandwich. And the episode wasn\u2019t that bad. And then it rolled to another one, and his suitemates hadn\u2019t come back yet, so Mark grabbed a beer and watched another.<\/p>\n By the time Chris and Dustin had come back (this is before they\u2019d gotten Eduardo hooked), Mark is back in his room and watching the rest of the anime. Not only that, but he\u2019s already done a thorough research on Love Live, found out there was a game, downloaded the game, and has chosen his best girl to be his first Rare card.<\/p>\n He knows he is already in deep. He blames Dustin.<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n Unfortunately, unlike coding or fencing, rhythm games are not something Mark is naturally good at.<\/p>\n \u201cFuck,\u201d he mutters under his breath as he misses a note. \u201cShit,\u201d he curses again.<\/p>\n He\u2019s playing Snow Halation on Easy.<\/p>\n It\u2019s fun<\/em>\u00a0though, is the thing. He hates the sound of the \u2018Good\u2019 chimes – they haunt him in his sleep – and the only song he\u2019s managed to full combo so far is Bokuro no Live Kimi to no Life. On Easy, mind you. But besides that, it\u2019s satisfying, and it doesn\u2019t take long before Mark is calculating and scheduling alarms for the next time he can play with full LP so he doesn\u2019t have to waste time doing other things, like coding or talking to his friends.<\/p>\n Who, speaking of, haven\u2019t noticed. That\u2019s good.<\/p>\n Mark isn\u2019t\u2026 embarrassed, necessarily. Really, he isn\u2019t. He\u2019s not going to go up to people on the street saying that he genuinely enjoys this thing with anime girls bouncing around in dresses, because, well.<\/p>\n He watches the anime once. He watches the anime again. Maybe he sniffs, but no one else is around so maybe it doesn\u2019t actually happen.<\/p>\n (Later, Dustin says, \u201cIf a Mark Zuckerberg cries and no one else is around, does he make a sound?\u201d<\/p>\n Chris actually laughs.<\/p>\n Mark groans. \u201cI hate how I actually enjoy that.\u201d)<\/p>\n From an objective stance, the anime is actually pretty well-written, aside from the annoying fanservice. From another objective stance, the game does well, and is catchy to play, despite the occasional lags. Mark bangs his knee against his deck from cursing so violently when he lags once, but Chris and Dustin are waiting for their LP to restore by playing Call of Duty, so they don\u2019t hear.<\/p>\n Look, okay. The thing is, Mark wouldn\u2019t care about something so much if he didn\u2019t care about the protagonist. They\u2019re the protagonist<\/em>. You think he watched Star Wars but hated Luke, or even Anakin? If he did, he wouldn\u2019t even have made himself sit through the first twenty minutes. Why would he waste his time on something if he didn\u2019t like the main character? That\u2019s what the narrative follows, what the story is trying to win you over with.<\/p>\n And, okay. Mark was pretty won over from the get-go. He does genuinely like every one of the girls, would probably easily defend any of them. And Honoka\u2014<\/p>\n She\u2019s a selfless leader. A good one.<\/p>\n Mark really likes her.<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n It takes Eduardo, Chris, and Dustin three weeks to crack him.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you going to tell me who your best girl is yet?\u201d Dustin asks. They\u2019re sitting in the computer lab, except while Dustin is working on something for his class, Mark is sitting at the computer next to him and playing Love Live on his lap. (He has his headphones on.)<\/p>\n Mark makes a disgruntled noise.<\/p>\n \u201cMark,\u201d Dustin says, but Mark doesn\u2019t look up.<\/p>\n Dustin actually whips Mark\u2019s phone out of his hand. Mark actually shouts. He stands up.<\/p>\n \u201cGive that back,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cNot until you tell me who your best girl is,\u201d Dustin challenges.<\/p>\n Mark sighs and rolls his eyes. \u201cWhy do you care? What does it matter?”<\/p>\n \u201cBecause you won\u2019t tell<\/em>\u00a0us,\u201d Dustin says emphatically. \u201cAre you embarrassed? Is it Nico? We want to know.”<\/p>\n \u201cFirst of all,\u201d and somehow Mark managed to snatch his phone back from Dustin, even though Dustin\u2019s about five feet away from him, \u201cthere would be nothing embarrassing if my best girl was Nico. Second of all, no.”<\/p>\n \u201cWardo loves<\/em>\u00a0Nico,\u201d Dustin says.<\/p>\n Mark doesn\u2019t care. \u201cThird of all, you\u2019re really lucky that I finished that song before you took my phone, or else I would\u2019ve deleted all of your homework.\u201d He returns to his game.<\/p>\n Dustin frowns.<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n \u201cSo,\u201d says Chris, from the couch. \u201cWho\u2019s your best girl?\u201d<\/p>\n Mark looks up from his desk. His door is open because it\u2019s no longer a secret that he\u2019s in as deep as the rest of them, and he can actually Full Combo songs on Hard now. Plus, Chris is rewatching the episode where they go to Maki\u2019s cottage. Again.<\/p>\n \u201cDustin put you up to this,\u201d Mark says.<\/p>\n Chris shrugs and shakes his head. \u201cNot really.\u201d<\/p>\n Mark fixes a look on him.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not that hard to figure out,\u201d he says, before returning to his game.<\/p>\n \u201cThat really doesn\u2019t help. At all.\u201d<\/p>\n Mark ignores him.<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n Admittedly, Eduardo\u2019s favorite room in the Kirkland suite is Mark\u2019s bedroom. Mostly because Mark is his best friend and there\u2019s\u2026 other stuff to go along with that, but also because Mark\u2019s window has the best view of outside and Eduardo has been on, is more used to Mark\u2019s bed. Mark always codes at his desk for his posture, which he\u2019s been retaining for fencing; but he also plays Love Live at his desk, too, usually hunched over, and lately rendering the whole posture aspect moot.<\/p>\n So, Eduardo takes his bed. He leans back against the wall and Mark\u2019s pillow, economics textbook on his lap. He\u2019s not reading it, though, because he still has about 40LP left.<\/p>\n Mark mutters something when he\u2019s done with his own song. He puts his phone on his table. \u201cI ran out of LP,\u201d he says to Eduardo.<\/p>\n Eduardo, who is in the middle of Takaramonos on Expert, makes a noise of assent.<\/p>\n Mark watches him for a moment, before getting up from his desk to watch over Eduardo\u2019s shoulder. He\u2019d never watched Eduardo play before but always assumed that he liked it enough\u2014though Mark and Dustin are the ones who log in every day, it slips Eduardo\u2019s mind at least once a week.<\/p>\n But, yeah, so Mark hadn\u2019t expected Eduardo to be playing an Expert song.<\/p>\n And he didn\u2019t expect him to be so good.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re playing on Expert,\u201d Mark says, watching Eduardo\u2019s thumbs fly over the screen.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u201d Eduardo doesn\u2019t look up.<\/p>\n Mark watches until Eduardo finishes. When Eduardo looks at him again, Mark is still staring at his fingers. With like\u2014wonder. Or envy. Or maybe mystery?<\/p>\n Eduardo clears his throat. That breaks Mark\u2019s daze.<\/p>\n \u201cSo Chris and Dustin tell me that you won\u2019t tell them who your best girl is,\u201d he says to Mark.<\/p>\n Mark blinks, then lifts a shoulder. \u201cIt\u2019s not that hard to figure out.”<\/p>\n Eduardo laughs a little. \u201cIt is,\u201d he says, before looking over his textbook to find out where he left off. He can\u2019t remember. \u201cYou\u2019re not the easiest person in the world to figure out, Mark.”<\/p>\n Mark shrugs. \u201cYou like guessing things.”<\/p>\n \u201cProbability isn\u2019t \u2018guessing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re pretty close,\u201d says Mark.<\/p>\n Eduardo watches him for a moment.<\/p>\n \u201cNozomi.”<\/p>\n Mark actually snickers a little at this. \u201cThat was\u2014no,\u201d he says. Then, \u201cIsn\u2019t she yours?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Eli\u2019s mine.\u201d Eduardo says this very casually. \u201cThen who? I honestly have no idea, Mark\u2014I don\u2019t know what kind of girls you like.\u201d<\/p>\n Mark casts him a long-suffering look, before relenting.<\/p>\n \u201cHonoka,\u201d he tells him.<\/p>\n Eduardo is surprised.<\/p>\n \u201cHonoka? Really<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know why you\u2019re so surprised.\u201d Mark goes back over to his desk. \u201cLuke\u2019s my favorite Star Wars character, of course Honoka would be my best girl,\u201d he says, like Luke and Honoka are the same people.<\/p>\n Eduardo stares at him, before shaking his head.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Like how most things start, it\u2019s all Dustin\u2019s fault.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[319],"fandom":[511],"rating":[675],"ship":[],"relationship":[609],"minorfandomships":[],"class_list":["post-328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-default","tag-crack","fandom-tsn","rating-teen","relationship-gen"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328"},{"taxonomy":"fandom","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fandom?post=328"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=328"},{"taxonomy":"ship","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ship?post=328"},{"taxonomy":"relationship","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/relationship?post=328"},{"taxonomy":"minorfandomships","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/minorfandomships?post=328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}