Word Count: 1515

Shuffle. Flip. Eight of clubs. Useless.

Shuffle. Flip. Two of Diamonds. Useless.

Shuffle. Flip. Ace of Clubs. Maybe.

The Gambler reclines lazily on the couch, flicking cards around the room. Sighing loudly, he’s been bored the last few days, his job has yet to come into play. Not only that but the prey Chen had brought home has finally shut up, especially after Chen had went in and 'talked' to her. He shuffles again, another club. How unlucky, he doesn’t like the clubs. They are a bland taste for him, he prefers the red cards. Red is such a bold colour, a colour Lay is almost never seen wearing. Why? He wants to hide the fact he has a love for it. Why? It makes bluffing easier. If he wears a midnight black outfit, the other players assume he’d never choose a red card.

A growl, “Lay.”

The lazy wolf tilts his head to meet the eyes of his boss. “Yes?” His words are slow, precise.

“Get out of the den,” Kris leans closer, “Before I kick you out.”

Lay gives him a curious glance, “Why?”

The leader steps heavily on one of the cards that have scattered across the floor. He leans down and aggressively picks it up, “Because you are getting on my nerves.” The wolf flings the card at the lazy one, “And take your cards.”

Lay rolls off the couch, dropping the rest of his cards to the floor. They fall with a soft thud but manage to create a collage of royalty across the floor. “Later.” He turns away with a smirk, he’s the only one that has the crazy courage to go against the leader. Lay understands he’s the most useful, after all, he makes at least 40% of the wolf’s profit alone.

The cards that had been left behind, is Lay’s cheap pack. It’s the one he practices with but his real pack is kept in the inner pocket of his blazer. He always wears a blazer, without a tie of course. He’s never been one to look stuck up or put together like Kris but he enjoys the casual formality an open blazer gives.

“What to do?” The wolf’s light smile lingers on his face, causing young girls on the street to stop and stare, if only for a moment. Today, he wears a white V-neck, one that shows off his sculpted collarbone. Even if it is slightly revealing, people overlook it as he gives off a professional feel. Maybe it’s because his movements are gentle but somehow deadly. Or maybe it’s the blazer. He nods, definitely the blazer.

Lay silently slips into a crowded café; his favourite spot. The booth he always sits at is normally full but he will usually challenge the person there to a card game for the perfect little spot. He would tell them that if they win, he’d buy them a drink but if he won, he’d get the spot. Today, a simple girl sits there. She has a single cup of coffee placed in front of her and bold headphones on. Her short hair sparks intrigue in Lay for her skin is the same shade of her creamy coffee. It’s quite obvious she is not native to China, he’s never played a girl of such colour.

Strolling up to her, he sits casually across from her, sliding into the booth. “Good afternoon.”

The girl, to his surprise, jumps quite exaggeratedly at his sudden appearance. “Gwah!!!” Her coffee shakes dangerously but never spills. After picking up the pieces of her pride, she bows softly to Lay, “H-hello…” Her voice is delicate, as if she was afraid of breaking the silence.

Without another thought, Lay places the deck of cards on the table. “Want to make a bet?” Famous words from a famous gambler.

She slides off her head phones, her eyes darting from his face to the cards, “What kind of bet...?”

He leans forward, placing his elbows on the table. “We play a game, any game of cards; your choice.” Lay continues once she nods, “If you win, I’ll buy you as much as you want on the menu.”

“Anything?” Her eyes light up softly, once again as if she’s afraid to break something.

Lay leans closer, “Anything.” Putting up a finger, he stops her from saying anything else, “But if I win, I get to sit at this spot and you, my dear, will have to leave.”

The girl tilts her head, wondering. “I-I get to choose, right?” Lay nods once more. “Okay…go fish is the only card game I know…honestly…”

The devious wolf has to stop himself from bursting into laughter but instead agrees with her. He has already lowered his personality to match the quiet one of hers, it’s a way to soothe her into believing he’s just a normal, everyday Chinese boy. “Let’s play!”

“I’m actually very lucky, just to warn you.” Her lips have turned up into a small smile.

As for Lay, he can’t help but feel sorry for the girl, no one can beat his sly cheating skills. Shuffling the cards, he does it smoothly before lightly placing the cards on the table, “You go first.” Little does the girl know, he’s already rigged the deck of cards. The top five cards will never see a pair with the next five have two pairs already.

The girl shakes her head, “Rock, paper, scissors. The winner picks up first.” Lay freezes, has she noticed his trick? When he looks up at her, he just notices a pure smile, she just wants to play fair.

“Alright.” He extends his fist and she extends hers, “Rock, paper, scissors!”

“Ah…I lose…” She sighs at her paper and glares lightly at his scissors. Normally people would choose rock as their first choice, which is why Lay had gone with scissors. “Guess I’m not very lucky today.”

Lay shoots daggers while she takes a sip of coffee. He forces some laughter before picking up his cards, “I guess my luck is quite good today~” The five cards he looks at include all clubs, including only one spade. The girl chooses her cards and immediately places the two pairs down with a triumphant smile. That’s alright, he has multiple tricks up his sleeves.

Literally.

About a half hour later, Lay and the mysterious girl is tied with 10-10 for Lay. He angrily picks up one of the cards, “So we don’t tie, let’s take this card out.” She nods in agreement. The gambler places the card to the side without looking at it before picking up another card.

Damn.

The cards in his hand are all completely useless.

The girl across from him scores another point. 10-11 for Lay.

He picks up another card.

Damn.

She calls for a seven of clubs.

Damn.

Another point for her. 10-12 for Lay. At this time, it is pointless for him to try but he at least wants to lose by only one point. He stares at the cards in his hand, “King of hearts?”

She shakes her head, “Go fish.”

Yes, he scores a point with an ace of clubs.

Tilting her head, she ruffles her pixie cut, “Mmmmm, three of diamonds?”

Lay grinds his teeth, dammitdammitdammit, “Here.” He flicks the card to her, expertly aiming for her pile of cards.

Another triumphant smile, oh how he hates that smile. None of his tricks have worked, she’s caught him every time. Earlier, he had tried pulling out an ace of spades but she somehow had one herself, “Must’ve put one too many,” he had told her.

“Queen of clubs?”

She nods and reluctantly hands him the card, “Here.”

12-12 for Lay.

She calls for her final card. A card not displayed in his hand. A wave of relief washes over him, he wins. Closing his eyes for a moment, he takes a deep breath, “Go fish.”

“YES!” She shouts, she had managed to pick up the card she needed -- a king of hearts. “I win~” The girl flashes Lay a toothy smile, causing Lay to angrily squint his eyes. A ringtone plays out, the girl suddenly becomes serious and pulls out her phone. After a few ‘yes’s and a few grunts of approval, her face suddenly darkens. “Who…Rose?...damn…okay…You’ll have to treat me later, I have to go.” Delicate movement proceeds after the delicate words. “Ah, my name is Ellie.” She bows lightly before turning and exiting the busy café.

Lay angrily huffs in annoyance, it’s the first time he’s lost to such a character. Looking at her cards, she makes sure she hasn’t cheated and sure enough, all her pairs match. He leans back and gulps the rest of his own coffee he had ordered earlier. Lay stares at the card still faced down on the edge of the table causing the curiosity to get the better of him. Flipping it over, Lay begins to chuckle softly to himself.

He’s been outsmarted by some plain girl who had sneakily brought in one too many red kings into the game.