Chapter Text
“Good grief, Artful! You’re such a party pooper,” Devesto rolled his eyes playfully.
“Quit it, Devesto,” Artful scoffed.
“Come on, Artful! It won’t hurt you.. or anyone, for that matter,” Mequot reassured.
“I’m just.. not a big fan of casinos,” Artful sighed.
“Just this once, please?” Devesto and Mequot begged together.
“Fine, fine!” Artful replied, his voice tainted with annoyance.
The three began approaching a nearby casino. Artful stayed silent the whole way there. As much as he didn’t want to go to the casino, his friends don’t care in particular. Whatever, he’ll just.. sit around doing nothing but drinking a margarita or any other drink. There’s nothing interesting at the casino, anyways. There’s just stupid gamblers and drinkers, nothing more.. right?
“Come on, Artful! Just go in, no one’s gonna bite!” Devesto pushed Artful into the casino.
“We’re not gonna force you to gamble or anything, we just want you here for fun!” Mequot chimed in cheerfully.
“You’re acting like we’re gonna leave you without telling you,” Devesto shrugged.
“Alright, fine,” Artful groaned. Little did he know.. things would turn out a bit different.
[[ Here’s where the actual chapter starts! ]]
Artful sat on a golden stool with a crimson red cushion. He held his margarita, swirling it around slightly. He glanced around.. and of course, nothing new. Nothing ever changed around here, how sad. Artful set his drink down and began to zone out, not aware of somebody approaching him.
“Heyy.. ya there? Hello?”
. . .
“Hellooo? Chance to.. whoever you are?”
“AH! Oh.. wait, who.. who are you?” Artful was surprised by the sudden approach.
“Ohh, you are awake! I thought you were completely knocked out! Anyways, I’m Chance. And you are?” Chance laughed softly.
“I’m.. Artful.”
“Interesting name you got there! Now.. what are you doing here all by yourself? No friends accompanying you at the moment?” Chance sounded concerned, yet still kept his charming demeanor.
“My friends dragged me to this casino. They’re gambling and drinking around here somewhere. I chose not to join them,” Artful explained tiredly.
“You don’t want to join in on all the fun around here? You’re just gonna mope around here doing nothing interesting?” Chance put his arm around Artful’s shoulder.
“What could I possibly do that’s considerably interesting?” Artful scowled.
“There’s slot machines, pool, roulette.. and if you aren’t gonna gamble, there’s live performances, diners, and there’s even a retail shop!” Chance smiled, pulling Artful slightly closer.
“Yeah.. uhm, I’m still not sure if-” Artful began, only to be cut off by Chance.
“You’re a real bummer, Artful! Come on, I think you’d like the diner here!” Chance let go of Artful’s shoulder only to grab his hand and pull him towards the diner area.
“Chance, wait! Give me a moment!” Artful exclaimed hurriedly.
“To the diner we go, Artful!” Chance protested.
“CHANCE LET ME GO!” Artful tried pulling his hand back but Chance had a surprisingly strong grip.
“One meal isn’t gonna hurt you! Come on now, stop trying to run away from me! I don’t bite!” Chance continued to drag Artful towards the diner.
As the two arrived at the diner, Chance pulled out a chair for Artful. Artful looked at the chair, then at Chance. With a long sigh, he sat down.
“What would you like to eat or drink? I’ll pay,” Chance sat down across from Artful, smiling.
“I don’t know,” Artful replied coldly.
“Gosh, what’s up with you?” Chance teased, giggling. “Just pick whatever looks appetizing to you.”
“Fine, okay.. uhm, I’ll get the blanquette de veau and red wine,” Artful replied.
“Oh, what are you, French?” Chance was somewhat surprised by Artful’s flawless pronunciation.
“Yes, I’m French,” Artful said, his voice tinted with annoyance.
“That’s actually pretty cool,” Chance commented. “Anywho.. uh, waiter! Hey!” Chance waved his hand at a waiter, signaling them to come over.
“What would you gentlemen like?” The waiter asked politely.
“The blanquette de veau and a red wine,” Artful finally closed the menu after constantly looking through it.
“And as for you, sir?” The waiter asked Chance as they wrote down Artful’s order.
“Seared scallops and spinach and grape wine, please,” Chance said as he scanned the menu again.
“Got it.. anything else?” The waiter patiently waited for any further orders.
“That’ll be it for now,” Chance glanced over at Artful before back at the waiter.
“Alright.. your food will be brought over soon,” the waiter walked away and into the kitchen.
“Now.. Artful, might you tell me more about yourself?” Chance looked at Artful hopefully.
“If that’s the only thing we have to talk about, sure, I guess so. I’m.. quite a popular magician,” Artful began.
“You’re a magician? Got any magic tricks up your sleeve right now?” Chance asked excitedly.
“Oh, sure,” Artful got out a (prop) dollar bill from his breast pocket. He placed it on the table. Slowly, he positioned his hands on both sides of the dollar bill and moved his hands upward.. and the dollar bill began levitating.
“Holy shit,” Chance just stared at Artful, mesmerized by the magic trick.
“There’s more,” Artful clapped his hands gently and the floating bill caught fire just for a moment before disappearing completely.
“You really are a magician,” Chance said, obviously in awe.
“Did you think I was lying?” Artful giggled.
“Here are your drinks.. and your food. Enjoy your meals,” the waiter placed down the wine glasses and plates of food.
The two ate their food in awkward silence, even when Chance tried to engage in small talk. Artful barely glanced up at Chance as he ate, he felt that it’d be even more awkward if he said something while eating.
“You’re not the type to chit-chat while eating, are you?” Chance asked, swallowing his food.
“What else is there to even talk about? I told you I’m a magician, what else do I have to say?” Artful still didn’t look up at Chance, he simply stared down at his plate of food while eating.
“Well, I could tell you about myself,” Chance shrugged.
“If there’s nothing else to talk about,” Artful replied quietly.
“I’m ambidextrous, I have a pet rabbit and I know how to play the piano,” Chance smiled as he talked about himself. (What a loser)
“You’re ambidextrous? That’s actually sick,” Artful finally looked up at Chance as he spoke.
“Is me being ambidextrous really that special?” Chance laughed awkwardly.
“Being ambidextrous is like, a one percent chance, you idiot,” Artful chuckled.
“Hey, no need to call me an idiot!” Chance protested.
“Well, it’s not wrong, is it? You’re an idiot, are you not?” Artful teased.
“I’m not that stupid,” Chance rolled his eyes.
“Oh, but you are. How do you not know being ambidextrous is one of the rarest things somebody could have?” Artful remarked.
“Well, no one told me,” Chance retorted.
“How did you not know that already, though?” Artful inquired.
“I don’t know,” Chance supposed.
“Seriously, dude?” Artful joked.
“Okay, okay! That’s enough. I assume you’re done eating?” Chance pointed at Artful’s empty plate.
“Yeah, I am done eating, captain obvious,” Artful grumbled.
“Aha, okay! Are you gonna order dessert?” Chance asked as he skimmed through the menu.
“I guess I’ll order the flan,” Artful responded.
“I’ll get that too,” Chance decided. “Hey, waiter! Two flans, please! Thanks!”
“Hey, you’re not half as bad as I imagined you’d be,” Artful said thoughtfully.
“Oh really? What were your first thoughts when you first saw me?” Chance wondered.
“Well, I thought you’d be annoying. I don’t like the people here at the casino, really,” Artful admitted. “I think they’re all just gamblers and alcoholics and shit.”
“Not all of us are like that,” Chance clarified. “At least, I’m not.”
“Yeah, didn’t know ‘til now I guess,” Artful acknowledged.
The waiter came by to give them their flan along with the bill. Artful and Chance continued to chat as if they were best friends. Once they both finished their flan, Chance took out a fifty dollar bill and put it on the table. He then stood up and offered Artful a hand.
“Oh, what a gentleman,” Artful giggled as he held onto Chance’s hand as he stood up.
“Why wouldn’t I be a gentleman to such a magician?” Chance teased.
“Shut up,” Artful scoffed.
“Anywho, what’s your number? I mean that in a way where I wanna be your friend, y’know?” Chance pulled his phone out as he sat himself on a couch.
Artful seated himself next to Chance as he pulled his own phone out to exchange numbers with Chance.
“I’ll see you around, Artsy!” Chance gave Artful a playful nudge before walking off.
Chance was gone before Artful could say anything else. With a sigh, he stood up and stuffed his phone into his pocket and began walking around the casino, searching for his friends. They aren’t at the slot machines, not at the pool table, not back at the diner.
“Where could these dumbos be? Unless they..” Artful finally realized something. Devesto and Mequot had left the casino without telling him. Saying “you’re acting like we’re gonna leave you without telling you” really meant nothing. With a long sigh, Artful left the casino and only to see his friends waiting for him.
“Oops! Our bad, Artful,” Devesto laughed.
“This is why I don’t always go places with you guys,” Artful hissed.
“It was Devesto’s idea to leave without telling you,” Mequot admitted.
“Hey! You were in on this, too!” Devesto exclaimed.
“Alright, quit it, you two!” Artful shoved the two aside. “I’m heading home. See you two tomorrow, I guess.”
Artful began walking away from Devesto and Mequot, his mind clouded with thoughts. Did he seriously give his number to a stupid gambler? What was he thinking? Is he considered Chance’s friend now? He has no idea. It all happened quite suddenly. Will being Chance’s friend be the worst decision he’s ever made? Maybe. Maybe not.