Best Two-out-of-Three, Part 3

Timeline: October 11, 2381 – 1900 Hours

Location: Nova Nexus Arcade, San Francisco, Earth

Characters Present:

• Jean-Baptiste Dorsainvil
• Jacqueline Holder

Inside the Nova Nexus Arcade, light and sound crash together in a blur of colours and motion. Jean-Baptiste and Jacqueline’s skeeball rematch unfolds amid the din—half rivalry, half ritual. She wins the first round with composure; he rallies with quiet determination. Each throw becomes its own conversation, their laughter threaded between strikes and near-misses. When her eyes meet his between throws, the world seems to shrink to the two of them and the soft clatter of wooden balls on metal rims.

As the match winds down, Jacqueline edges ahead by a slim margin. Her victory is gentle, without gloating, though her grin is irrepressible. JB’s final throw clunks into the thirty-point ring, sealing his loss but stirring something deeper than disappointment. The brush of her arm, her teasing demand for payment—these small collisions speak louder than words. He offers a half-smile, a promise veiled in humour: he’ll pay up, but not here. Not under the fluorescent buzz of the arcade. It’s a promise that hums quietly between them as he goes to find her cotton candy, the night around them glowing faintly with possibility.

Best Two-out-of-Three, Part 3 (Official Post)

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