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Seven hours.
Seven hours has passed since the contest at started; during that time, it has rained lightly, the sun has set, 6 'accidentaly' burned 7, 7 also accidentally burned 6, Pi's group of irrationals had attempted to rob 5's house, the equation playground's seasaws caught on fire, and a random yellow bird flew 4 over it and then dropped him inside said fire.
Yet despite everything, both numbers had refused to look away from eachother, not wanting to bare the title of loosing to their neighboring value.
2 stares at 1, their eye twitching slightly. "Yknow 1- uh- we've been doing this for a while-" their voice is strained slightly, "don't you think we should stop? End this thing on even terms, ey?" they finger gun, trying to come off as friendly, but it only infuriates 1.
The moonlight shines over the even, leaving the odd in the dark, glaring at the other. "This game could stop at any second, 2!" 1 replies cheerfully, "You can blink, you can lose, and then we can go home!" her tone drops as her smile widens. Despite her composure, she's frantically anticipating for their loss on the inside. Anticipating for 2 to break character.
"It's been hours 1 let's just end it-"
"Then blink." the odd interupts the even, her tone is arrogant and her stare is haunting. She doesn't even seem close to blinking. So with that said, 2 can't give up yet either.
The stars gaze down upon the integers, watching their pointless contest. Minutes pass by, 2's eyes begin to squint more and yet they're not close to blinking. 1 dawns an irritated expression, "2. You clearly need to blink! Just give up already." she says, internally seething.
"Nope- no way-! OW!" 2 flicnes and blinks as 1 kicks their ankle, officially loosing the contest.
1 smiles proudly, carrying a smug expression "Well won't you look at that! It seems I won- hah!" she leans against 2's side. "It's no surprise, really, you're always going to be in second place of course!" 1 mocks their opponent.
2 pushes 1 off of them, "Won?? You didn't win at all! You cheated!"
"...Are you going to ignore the pun I made? Thought that was your thing."
"Why- why are you making things about a pun? Whatever, You won! Congrats!" 2 crosses their arms, showing clear dissapointment, "We're done with the game and it's getting late. I'm going home."
2 walks in the opposing direction, the moonlight following after them as 1 watches, alone and aimless. She had won, and yet she barely had the chance to gloat about it. They lost and they're not even mad enough about it. They just move on."Fine! Walk away! You always were a sore loser." she yells out to them.
2 freezes in their footsteps, the cold night air crawling up their back. They turn back to meet 1's gaze. "I- I'm not a sore loser!" they stutter, screaming back at 1. "If anything you're the sore loser! You just can't accept it when you lose- you can't keep things even!" they point at her, shaking slightly as the night grows colder.
1 chuckles, "I dunno! You're sounding like a sore loser right now!" they step closer to 2, their tone teasing.
"I do not!"
"You do!"
"I- I do-... Wait do you actually think I'm a sore loser?" 2's tone softens immiediatly, twiddling their fingers.
1 glances from side to side, "...Yes!" she says with a smile.
"Oh." 2 replies blankly, "Sorry about that then- mate-" they rub the back of their head, "I didn't mean to come off like that- by the end of the day we're still friends and there's no hard feelings- Right?" they feign a grin, trying to lighten the mood. 1 simply just stares at them, carrying dull eyes. "...We are friends, right?"
Friends, the word floats around in 1's head. And for some reason, it disgusts her. "Don't apologize! You're Not meant to apologize!" she yells at them, "You're meant to feel insulted! You're meant to get defensive! I clearly lied and you don't care! I cheated and you don't care enough to do anything about it!" they step closer to 2, too close.
2 raises their hands up in surrendor, "Geez- sorry I just- I Just didn't wanna upset you-" they look away, sweating slightly.
"Get mad at me."
"...Huh?"
"Get mad." her eyes pierce into 2's.
2 softly pushes 1 away, just trying to laugh of her request. "Uh- Do you want me to be mad?"
"You need to be mad."
2 steps away from her, glancing side to side before meeting her gaze again. "Well- it was pretty scummy of you to kick me! You could of just waited- or just- end the game when I asked you too! I would of let you won yknow?" they facepalm before looking back at 1, their expression blank. "Actually on second thought-" 2 finger guns but quickly pulls away because 1 does not deserve banter, "I'm not surprised you'd do that! You're just scummy in general. Wow. You should work on that you know-" 2 concludes. They start to walk off, heading home.
1 rolls their eyes at the remark, but quickly tries to catch up with 2 once she noticed they left. "I said get mad, 2! You sound more concerned than anything!"
"I really shouldn't of agreed to that starting contest-"
1 blocks 2's path, standing in front of them. "WE are the most powerful- the strongest- the most talented integers that roam on this planet- we're ones of a kind! We rank above EVERYONE else! We're literally on top of the world!" 1 exclaims, inching closer to the other. "But despite being so strong- you're incredibly weak willed! Will it pain you to show the slightest bit of anger?" they turn away from 2 and instead begin to pace around them. "It doesn't matter what I do to you! It doesn't matter if I win, it doesn't matter if I cheat, it doesn't matter if I belittle you or boss you around- NOTHING matters! You just take it!" she turns her back away from them, closing her eyes, before continuing her rant. "I just don't get it- I can't get it- I could burn your house down again or rip your own arms off or screw things up for you some other way- and you'd still call me your FRIEND because something is just wrong with you! When is it going to hit you that we are NOT FRIENDS-" 1 turns back, yelling at 2, but instead she cuts herself off.
They left.
Dwelling alone in the night as the grass slowly drifts along with the breeze. 1 stands still, abandoned. 1 scowls, how did they not see or hear them leave at all? How could they one up her? How could she let herself be weak enough to ignore them? Thousends of thoughts flood her mind but eventually, she takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.
Why does she care so much about 2 leaving?
She hates them, 2 might not get it yet but they're meant to be rivals. So if anything, she should be relieved they're gone! But instead, they just feel aimless. 1 sits on the grass, it's fairly wet because of the morning rain.
1 couldn't think of a single positive thing to say about 2; they're too arrogant yet too apologetic. They're too strong, almost as strong as her, yet they're too subserviant. It's frustrating standing around them. And yet 1 still needs them here.
She hates 2, she knows she does, but it doesn't feel normal. Why can't they hate them normally? Why can't they feel relieved when 2 leaves, why does she have to make it clear how better she is than them when they just don't care? Why couldn't they hate her the same way she hates them?
Why do they still treat her normally?