The King of L.A

Ryder & Cooper || Hit Me With Your Best Shot

“Never.” Ryder raised his eyebrows; he had to admit that he was competitive, even if it was just an air hockey game. It was a part of his nature, “I gotta say, you’re a pro, my brother. You’re a tough one.” The brunette tapped his friend’s back, happy that they could finally spend some time together.

Hearing the other’s offer, he nodded, “I’ll have a strawberry one! It’s a classic.” He smirked, following his friend to the bar. The arcade, games, milkshakes…it was a perfect spot for them.

Seeing the candy they sold at the bar, Ryder chuckled. Luckily his possibly future brother-in-law made sure he did his workout right so that he could enjoy all the goodies, “Chocolate’s a good one too. Do you wanna get anything else?”

“I’ll be up for the hoops. Get ready to practice your basketball skills.” Ryder replied, taking a seat at the bar, “Hey, but before that, I kind of wanted to talk about something. You know, a small chat between the games or something…” He said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He knew he had nothing to worry about, it was Cooper after all, but a part of him had always been stressed, and he couldn’t help it.

.

The comfort shown in a small tap on his back was enough to secure him in the environment. Brown eyes flitting between machines and trailing over other members of the arcade. He preferred settings like this, the dim lighting and shadows that crossed his face made him indistinguishable from another patron.

A question that had the same reaction as a kid in a candy shop with the chance to get anything he wanted. Frozen with his mouth slightly ajar, he drifted over the menu and then affirmed the selection by viewing what was on display. His milkshake was placed on the bar, which dragged his eyes to the cup and a choice was made. “There’s enough sugar in that to keep me going for the rest of the week, I think I’ll stick to that or I won’t sleep,” decided the naturally hyper man. He had to take a moment to be the responsible adult he attempted to be.

“Dude you’re just picking games I ace -- your boy played basketball in High School. Now if you’d have chosen Street Fighter, you might have won,” he jeered confidently, a small smirk in the corner of his mouth.

Like a knife in the atmosphere, the entire mood shifted. It was the phrase everyone dreaded “we need to talk.” 

Cooper had heard it many times in his life and it usually associated bad news. His Mom “needed to talk” about rehab. His agent “needed to talk” about work. Jesse “needed to talk” about a break. He felt his heart skip over itself.

His face was too much of a give-away. For a man bundled up with anxiety, that drove him to overthink every glance, word and feeling, he jumped the gun. He always presumed the worst in order to prepare himself for that fall.

In a flash he’d wiped that looked off his face and replaced it with a neutral one. He was an actor after all. “Uh, sure,” he nodded and forced a smile that didn’t even try to reach his eyes. “You wanna go grab a seat?” he offered, passing the man his milkshake as he spoke. Exchanging money with the cashier, he took his own and followed him over to a huddle of couches around a Nintendo set up. 

You know I can’t afford to buy her pearls.

I have choreography to this and everything.

You were in Budapest? Did I know this? I can’t remember.

Do you not normally just get assaulted in the morning by the boys on a regular basis anyway? Can’t help on the driving front, never learned myself.

You and me both, but I don’t think I can justify it.

.

No it was top secret. Mostly. I didn’t tell anyone because it was work. The mouse sent me over there, it was just for some discussions and a tour around set.

Surprisingly, they know the rule. J gets up early and keeps them entertained and I just skulk out when I feel ready to deal with the day. However, all rules went out of the window for their birthday. I’ll take it considering we then watched Simpsons in bed while J got the apartment ready. 

How about... keeping a friend company?

Ryder & Cooper || Hit Me With Your Best Shot

“Nah, get ready for the battle of your life,” Ryder smirked, stretching his arms in front of him, excited about their afternoon together. It was just them teasing each other, it’s how their duo worked.

Ryder’s eyes carefully followed the puck as they played, each hit more intense. While he was aware that he was in shape, this felt like a good workout. The brunette realized that his best friend was an air hockey pro as the dude certainly knew how to play.

He chuckled when he heard their plans for the day. The arcade had so many games there that it would’ve been a waste if they didn’t check them out. Ryder figured that the faster he would ask his question, the sooner they could celebrate and have even more fun.

Taking a deep sigh, he shook his head when Cooper scored again, “Alrighty. I give up. Damn you and your puck punching skills.” Ryder commented, “I need a milkshake.”

.

Cooper straightened his stance and was not at all shy about showing off the prideful smile. “You should have just forfeited that one,” he taunted. They’d had an air-hockey table and pool table in the basement of their house while growing up. It made a change to not be boasting at poor Blaine for once.

“Alright, they’re on me,” he announced. 

Navigating his way through the machines, he stopped next to the refreshment stand. Eyes flicked from hotdogs, popcorn, candy, slushies and then settled on the milkshakes. “You’d be wrong if you thought I was getting anything other than chocolate,” he turned to his best friend and ran his hand through his hair, a nervous tic that eased him in noisy and crowded places.

“You get next choice though on game, just go easy on me.”