Groaning, I collapsed into the old plastic seat. It creaked and bent but held, nonetheless. Throwing my hands in the air, I eyed Bark in disgust. "I hate you."

Bark only laughed as he sat down across from me. "Give it up. You won't win."

Rather than respond, I flicked him my middle finger. I shook my head and looked around. The clamour of arcade games rose to a fever pitch before dying down as the machines began flashing and beeping all over again. The smell of hot chips and stale pastries filled the air. People milled about, strolling through the mostly empty bowling alley.

This place is one of the few attractions in Lambarra. An old run-down bowling alley with some arcade games. The crane game and an old pac-man machine seemed the most popular, but I was most interested in the one when you slam a rubber hammer down as hard as possible. What can I say? I'm a simple man.

Besides this place, there's the shopping district with some cafes, a restaurant or two, antique store, bookstore and your general convenience and clothing stores. Finally, there was a cinema with peeling paint and a broken door, that the locals seemed to love.

The crash of a heavy ball colliding with pins pulled my attention back to the game at hand. June had just bowled a seven and she didn't seem very happy about it. Groaning, she rolled her wrist. "Why did we come here again?" She whined.

Through a mouthful of salty chips, Bark answered, pointing at me. "J thought he could finally win at something."

Rolling her eyes, June huffed and watched Bark with disapproval. "Seriously? Don't talk with your mouth full."

Bark shrugged and tossed more chips into his mouth, eliciting a groan from June. Using her frustration as fuel, she grabbed another ball and bowled, knocking down two more pins.

"Yes!" She cheered, marching triumphantly back to her seat. Sitting beside me, June's brow creased as she peered at me curiously. "Hey, where's Evelyn?"

Shrugging casually, I grunted in response. "At home. She wanted to visit her family."

June opened her mouth to make a snarky response, but the glint of mischief disappeared from her eyes when a loud crash filled the bowling alley. Bark had bowled another strike.

"How does he do it?" June asked, her eyes widening in disbelief.

Cameras recorded each bowl and I pointed at a screen hanging above our lane, waiting for the replay. The screen glitched out for a moment before showing a grainy video of Bark. He stood at the end of the lane, spread his legs to shoulder width, squatted and tossed the ball similarly to how a child might.

Groaning, I threw my head back and rubbed at my temples. "How are you attracted to that?"

June's head was in her hands. She sounded genuinely upset when answering. "I don't know!"

"You're up," Bark called to me as he flopped into a chair; eagerly returning to his fries.

Shaking my head, I stood, collected my ball, and threw it down the alley. Eight of the pins fell, the last two standing neatly in one corner. Focusing, I waited a moment and tossed a second ball, completely missing both pins.

Waving a chip in the air, Bark frowned at me. "I thought you were good at this?"

My brows shot upwards as I exhaled through pursed lips. Pointing at Bark, I stumbled back to my seat. "I said I love bowling. Never said I was good at it."

Bark nodded, conceding my point. Moving past him, June bowled quickly. She was not enjoying herself and clearly wanted to be done as soon as possible.

"You didn't have to come with us," I told her as she sat beside me again.

Waving it off, June watched Bark closely. Her eyes were glued to him as he bent over, his cargo pants pulling tight, emphasizing his rear.

"It's not so bad," June whispered to herself.

Disgusted for about a second, I watched her in horror before laughing heartily. My gut shook with the noise and Bark glared at me as he narrowly missed a strike.

Her ears burning, June went bright red. "You look sometimes, it's the same thing!" She hissed.

Ignoring her comment, I shook my head and leaned closer. Teasingly, I whispered in her ear. "I'll give you ten bucks to slap his arse on the next bowl."

"What? No!" June yelped, flinching away and watching me in horror.

Shrugging, I smirked. "Your loss," I sang, reaching for Bark's chips.

June thought for a moment before suddenly pointing at me. "Counter-offer, you do it and I'll give you ten dollars."

Not even hesitating, I dropped a chip in my mouth and stood. Licking the salt from my fingers, I grinned at her. "Got your camera ready?"

As Bark approached the lane and squatted for his second bowl, I skipped closer, winding up for plenty of power. The moment he began to toss the ball, I sprang forwards and slammed my hand against his left buttock.

Bark squealed and jumped, stumbling onto the lane and falling on his rear. He glared at me from the ground. Though, I didn't notice. I deadpanned as his ball rocketed into the gutter, bounced back out and knocked over the last pin.

"I really hate you," I said in monotone, standing above him.

Bark's face was a mixture of confusion, anger and disbelief as he sprawled on the floor, unable to say anything. Behind us, June laughed so loud that for a moment she drowned out the noise of the arcade machines. Tears in her eyes, she grinned wildly and clapped enthusiastically.

Straightening up, I bowed slowly before marching back to the seats and making a show of eating Bark's chips. June was ecstatic. Bark was horrified that I was eating his chips. Everyone else in the bowling alley shot us disapproving looks before returning to their dreary activities with a dreadful lack of betting and arse-slapping.

After that, the game continued without anything particularly interesting happening. Bark continued to glare at me and eat his chips. June and I had lazy conversations between our throws.

"Seriously though, you're into Bark?" I asked, swallowing a particularly salty chip.

"Unfortunately," June replied, sighing with disappointment, maybe? I'm not sure.

"Any reason or it just happened?" I asked, spinning the ball in my hands before tossing it.

Waving her hands about, June tapped her foot. The resulting sound echoed off the floorboards before drowning amidst the torrent of noise in the alley. "Just happened. We've known each other since middle school and transferred to Viridian Boarding together. Somewhere along the road I looked at him and thought oh crap, I like him."

Chuckling, I grabbed another ball and pumped my brows. "What're you gonna do about it?"

June squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't know," she said painfully. "He's so dense we can have this conversation right now and he won't even notice."

Following June's gaze, I looked over at Bark to find him retying his shoelaces, completely oblivious. Honestly, I felt bad for June.

"Do you want some help?" I offered; unsure I could even do anything.

Sinking down in her chair, June pursed her lips. "It won't make a difference if he doesn't like me back."

Sighing, I turned. "Bark, do you have a crush on June?"

June's face went bright red, and she snapped upright in her chair. She meant to scold me, but her mouth just opened and closed soundlessly.

Tossing his ball, Bark faced me with a confused frown. Grunting in response, he moved to take his second throw.

"Well, there's your answer," I told June, once again flopping into my seat.

Waving her hands wildly through the air, June stared at me. Her lips pulled into a frown and her brows creased. "That wasn't an answer!"

"Best you'll get." Yawning, I stretched my arms across the long lounge seat. My leg bounced incessantly. "Hey, how'd he get the nickname, Bark?"

June's face grew taught, and she looked at the ground; suddenly fascinated by her bowling shoes. Her feet looked tiny next to mine.

My boredom was evident. Brows lazily creeping upward, I silently awaited a reply. June closed her eyes and took a deep breath before answering.

"He got that nickname a little after we met," she began, still watching the floor. "He hardly spoke and didn't have any friends. He was just constantly reading books or playing chess against himself. People joked that his bark was worse than his bite."

"Chess? I might be able to win that one," I interrupted absent-mindedly.

Her hands resting in her lap, June squeezed them into tight little fists. "Kids used to bully Bark at that school. He never reacted or seemed to care though. Even when we were young, he seemed empty, but," she trailed off and I noticed she was trembling. Her head hanging low, her knuckles white.

"Hey, it's your bowl," Bark called as he finally finished munching on his chips. Man does he eat slow.

Glaring at him, I scooted closer to June and gently rubbed her back. Shaking her head, her brown hair brushed over my arm, sending a jolt up my spine.

Taking a deep breath, June managed to stop her trembling. She raised her eyes, meeting my gaze. "One day the bullies came for me. They said some pretty harsh things and Bark lost it. He tore up the classroom and broke some poor kid's project. After that, everyone called him Bark because they feared his bite. He decided he liked the nickname and chose to keep it."

Hardly believing the story, my eyes flicked away, settling on Bark. The man was dragging his finger through the empty chip packet, trying to catch any remnants of salt. In the end, he gave up and overturned the packet, sending salt raining down into his mouth, eyes, nose, and all across his face. He sneezed and looked like a stunned man-baby.

"We are talking about the same Bark, right?" I whispered, thoroughly perplexed.

Laughing quietly, June nodded. She watched him with a sense of longing, fondness. "One and the same. I know he cares. He just doesn't show it often."

My head shaking, I sighed. That is not what I was expecting. Cannot say I'm terribly surprised though. I can definitely see Bark snapping and destroying a classroom. Hell, I wish I had been there.

Breathing deep and slow, June collected herself. Closing her eyes, she smiled earnestly. "I can wait a little longer."

My surprise melting in a comforting smile, I sunk into my chair. "Well, for what it's worth, I hope you don't have to."

Laughing in quiet agreement, June stood and bowled. Another seven. Not great, but hey, seven's a lucky number, right?

The day passing smoothly, we three stooges moseyed between stores, blowing our cash and enjoying the day off. So, it went until finally we returned to the motel. Playing card games and whatnot, we passed the time until it was ten pm and Evelyn still had not returned. Though, all her belongings were in her room. Also, she wasn't answering her phone. Yes, I remembered to text her this time.

Honestly, that girl is so much work. Not that I really mind. I just wish I didn't have to run so much. Sure, I run to stay fit, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it. Actually, I don't really run so much as lumber. So, you can imagine it was difficult for me to sneak out of the motel. Hence, why I enlisted some help.

As I disappeared into the night, June smiled sweetly at Josiah. "Excuse me, headmaster? J wanted me to tell you that he's gone to prepare his epic tale."