After Hours: Casper, one more round

It’s late enough that the house has gone quiet.

Casper’s room is lit only by the TV, shadows stretching long across the floor. The PlayStation hums softly, fans working overtime as the fight loads.

They’re sitting on the edge of the bed, shoulders brushing, controllers warm in their hands. Both still in their regular clothes from earlier.

On screen, the countdown hits zero.

“Okay, okay,” Casper says, leaning forward. “No dirty moves this time.”

Elliot snorts. “You literally picked Super Smash Buds.”

Casper grins, already selecting his character. “What? It’s competitive. You’re just bad at it.”

The match starts in a burst of color and noise. The stage is cramped and ridiculous, platforms floating at different heights, effects flashing every time someone lands a hit. Characters bounce, collide, get launched off-screen only to snap back in a second later.

Elliot mashes the buttons instinctively, laughing when his character lands a lucky hit.

Casper groans. “Okay, no, that shouldn’t have connected.”

“It did,” Elliot says, eyes glued to the screen. “You hesitated.”

“I did not.”

“You always do when it gets messy.”

Casper’s character goes flying, barely managing to recover and grab the edge of the platform at the last second.

“That’s it,” Casper says suddenly.

“What—?”

Casper lunges.

He grabs Elliot by the waist, and pulls him sideways. Elliot yelps as he’s dragged off balance and thrown back onto the bed, bouncing once before landing in a mess of laughter.

“Casper—!”

“YES,” Casper shouts. “Strategic distraction.”

“That’s cheating!”

Elliot is laughing too hard to be mad, sprawled on the bed, socks kicking against the sheets as he tries to sit back up.

“You tackled me!” Elliot laughs, trying not to drop his controller.

Casper barely looks away from the screen. “You should’ve blocked.”

“I was mid-combo!”

The match spirals into chaos. Effects flash. Someone gets launched off-screen with a cartoonish ping. Elliot groans as his character disappears.

“Seriously?”

Casper grins. One clean hit later, the round ends.

“Win,” he says, lifting his controller slightly. “Rematch.”

Elliot lets himself fall back onto the bed for a second, still laughing, controllers clutched tight. Casper follows without thinking, half landing against him as the next match loads. The bed dips, the screen shakes, but neither of them moves.

“Get off me,” Elliot says, not really meaning it.

“No,” Casper replies easily.

The countdown starts again. They sit back up just enough to see the screen, shoulders touching now, knees knocking as they settle into a better angle.

The room stays quiet around them. Only the TV light, the soft tap of buttons, and the familiar rhythm of playing side by side.

“One more,” Elliot says.

Casper smirks. “That’s what you said last time.”

The match begins.