How the game is played...

[ishara.livejournal.com]

Title: Some guys just have all the luck
Characters: Mainly Alec and Sketchy, other characters mentioned.
Notes: JPF Contest #2 Entry, Set during the episode "Fuhgeddaboudit"
Rating: General, posssibly PG for innuendo.
Author: Ishara
Words: 830
Disclaimers: I don't own Dark Angel or any of its characters, no matter how much I may wish that I did.




Maybe it was some quirk of his feline DNA, but Alec enjoyed toying with people.
Like Sketchy for instance - Alec could've run this table from the beginning, and finished the game before Sketchy even had a chance to pocket his second ball, but that would've been boring, and if he did that, Sketchy would realize he didn't have a chance, and wouldn't wanna play anymore. But if Sketchy didn't wanna play anymore, Alec would have to find some other sucker to win money and favours from. So with this in mind, Alec had generously allowed his pal to pocket the all but two of his balls, leaving Alec with 5 balls still on the table. That was okay, Alec was confident he could win.
Besides, he reasoned, with his innate superiority, it was only fair that he handicap himself to some degree.

Sketchy lined up his shot, choosing the easier of two options. His cue connected with the whitey, which rolled across the velvet and nudged his second last ball home. Strolling around the table, Sketchy shot Alec a triumphant smirk - he was gonna win this time, he just knew it. The next shot was tricky, but totally do-able. He leaned over the table, angling his head this way and that for a moment, made a minor adjustment to his position, then lined up his shot, drew back his cue, and began propelling it forward.

"Whoah!" Alec crouched, dropping into Sketchy's line of sight, "Mia's checkin' you out, Sketch-Meister!"

Even as his cue made contact with the white ball, Sketchy knew he'd fudged his shot, knocking it a little too hard. He watched morosely as the white ball clipped one of Alec's stripes before barreling into his own blue solid, sending it spinning out of control to bounce ineffectually off the rail.

"Guess some guys just have all the luck," Alec drawled as an ironic afterthought, chuckling as Sketchy shot him a brief peevish look before glancing over his shoulder to scan the crowd for the pretty brunette dispatcher, who gave him a sunny smile, then turned her attention back to Original Cindy.

Alec prowled around the table, still smirking as he chalked his cue, and leaned over the table.

"Was Mia really checkin' me out, man?" Sketchy asked, dragging his gaze away from the pretty girl, and swinging back around, to eye Alec with an expression half speculative, half suspicious. "Or'd you just say that to psych me out?"

"Buddy. She was totally giving you the eye." Alec lied without missing a beat as he carried off his shot perfectly. He grinned at Sketchy as he changed position again.

The symmetry of the table was beautiful, each ball perfectly aligned in such a way that he could clear his balls off the table in two moves. He had no doubt about his prowess - he was an X5, not only could he work out the exact angle and pressure with which to strike the white ball, but he also had the dexterity necessary to pull off each shot flawlessly, running the game to its conclusion.

"Seriously?" Sketch asked as Alec executed another perfect shot, pocketing two balls, "Huh."

"Seriously. You should make a move, my man - girl like that doesn't come along every day..." Alec's eyebrows drew together slightly, a perplexed expression playing over his features. So why do I feel like I've met her before? he pondered, then gave a slight shrug, grinned and strutted around the table to line up his next shot.

"Got that right," Sketchy watched Alec pocket his last two striped balls, "Yeah. Yeah, maybe I will."

Alec gave Sketchy his golden-boy grin as he repositioned, getting ready to shoot the eight ball, the money shot.

"Speaking of attraction," Sketchy commented conversationally as Alec drew back his cue, "I think Normal's got the hots for ya, Man."

Alec's head whipped up, his cue striking the rock with considerably more force than intended, causing the white ball to totally overshoot its target, hitting the edge and rebounding to neatly knock against Sketchy's blue solid with a loud crack, which sent it careening into the pocket. "...Say what!?"

“Ohhhyeah!” Sketchy jumped up, whooping with glee and spontaneously doing an immensely dorky dance around the table with his cue, while Alec stared at him with a dumbfounded expression, "Now that was a beautiful shot!"

Alec rolled his eyes at Sketchy’s antics then scowled at the table.

"Seriously though, Man," Sketchy leaned over the table, setting his sights on the eight ball, "He dreamed about you shirtless - and wiping your sword clean? Dude."

The eight ball spun home, dropping into the pocket neatly followed closely by the white.

"If you wouldn't mind payin' up now, Man,” Sketchy straightened, a wide smirk spreading across his face and waggling his eyebrows comically. He held out a hand, rubbing his fingertips together, “Think I might just go buy Mia a drink - 'cause I'm feeling lucky tonight."