A few weeks later.

Johnny and I were shootin' the shit talking about fighting games one evening. Turns out we both enjoyed them but I could rarely get any of my friends to come over for locals and Johnny was pretty honest about not knowing anybody interested at all. I said I would love to have a go with him if we could arrange it and he paused for a few seconds before inviting me to his house. Amazingly he lived just a few blocks away in the same suburbs I did, barely a fifteen minute walk away.

I thought hard, both about going over and about axe murderers. In the end, I decided he seemed trustworthy enough and agreed to play some KoF 98 at his place a few days later

On the day we arranged I wrote my “just in case” will & testament and set off. It was a pleasant day for a little walk. The house at the address Johnny gave me was easily the nicest in the neighborhood. A big two story stone place.

I rang the doorbell next to the big glass door in front and waited. It didn't take long for the door to open, revealing my new-old friend inside.

Johnny had a smile on his sharp featured face, framed by his blond hair hanging down to his neck. We fist bumped and went up to his room upstairs. I could tell his parents were loaded by the huge TV in the living room and the expensive looking paintings on the walls leading upstairs.

His room wasn't much different from mine though, a little cluttered with the bed in the middle and posters on the walls. He only had one chair so I sat on the bed while he got the controllers ready. His Orochi team won quite a few matches but my Iori team managed to even things out... as long as you ignore his wins with Athena team.

Things round down and we said our goodbyes. I walked out of his room and down the stairway slowly, still enjoying our time together. I was still thinking about how nice his house looked while I made my way through his living room.