Just a Game Ch. 01

It was a game at first--a stupid game they played to humiliate and gross each other out, and then it evolved into a sort of competition. It became a game of Chicken, and in the end, they both won.

Pete had known Dean for a while, but they weren't exactly friends before they became roommates. Dean was a friend-of-a-friend he saw regularly because they all used to play Magic: The Gathering on a regular basis. Pete's buddy Tony was the hub of the group, and games had happened on average once a month for years, but Pete eventually decided to get away from Magic, not particularly enjoying being drawn into the nerd scene, and also deciding that at 22 he was probably too old for that shit anyway. He'd had a couple of girlfriends who thought it was really weird, and even though they just failed to understand the game, he had been influenced by them and felt slightly disgusted with himself whenever he let Tony rope him into playing Magic again. The group kept on for a short while without him, but dissolved completely after two more of their regulars pulled out--one because of his job schedule, and the other because he and his wife had a kid.

Pete continued to hang out with Tony, the only one of the Magic crowd he still had a strong connection with--they had been friends since sixth grade. They watched movies, drank beers, talked about work, about women. When Pete lost his job due to massive layoffs, Tony began to pay for most of the beers.

Pete had enough unemployment compensation to last him several months while he looked for a new job, but pickings were slim, and having his income suddenly sliced in half was seriously affecting his ability to pay his bills. He was living in a small bachelor suite to begin with, and it couldn't possibly support another person--he confessed to Tony he'd probably have to move out and find someone to room with. That was when Tony mentioned Dean, who had recently had his hours cut and was also having trouble paying rent.

It wouldn't be ideal--Dean had a one-bedroom apartment, but it at least had more square footage than Pete's place. He tried to get used to the idea that he would probably have to crash on Dean's living room couch until his situation improved.

The first time Pete went to see Dean's apartment, he had to work hard to hide his displeasure. Dean was a hardcore nerd--his walls were plastered with posters. Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, World of Warcraft and other video games. He had collectible figures in glass cabinets, replica swords, many-sided dice, and cats. Three cats.

"Shit," Pete sighed as the cats circled around him, sniffing and rubbing against his legs.

"Oh... are you allergic?" Dean asked, standing awkwardly nearby as he watched his living space being critically evaluated.

"No, just... more of a dog person," Pete replied. He reached down to scratch one of the cats' ears. "I don't mind them, I guess. They seem okay."

"They're quite gregarious, but pretty mellow most of the time."

Pete raised his eyebrows a little, unsure what "gregarious" meant. He continued to look around, and spotted an antique-looking framed print of a tiger with Japanese script on it. He looked back at Dean appraisingly. He had black hair and very dark eyes behind his glasses, but Pete had never thought of him as being Asian. "You Japanese?"

"Half. My grandma sent me that for my birthday a long time ago. I can't read Japanese, and I can only speak a little, but I've always liked it I guess." He idly scratched the back of his head.

Pete nodded. Dean had a really nice TV, and a lot of movies and video games. He also had comics and action figures. "No offense, man, but did you design this place to repel girls?"

Dean laughed and flopped down on the couch, picking up a Rubik's cube from the coffee table and beginning to twist it idly. A cat climbed into his lap and started to knead. "No offense to you, 'man', but this is the 21st century. Girls can be nerds too. There are three of them in my Dungeons