Author's notes: ... So hi guys? First of all I want to apologise for the utter inactivity. At first, lack of time was the problem. But then even though I had time afterwards, it became a serious case of writers' block. I have attempted several chapters before, but none of them amounted to much. In light of the nearing Christmas, I have decided to try again as both an apology for letting all the readers down and a semi-gift.

Thankfully, this attempt worked. While I'm still struggling with completing the other prompts (though rest assured, they will be completed. It just depends on when), I'm happy that I've at least managed to finish this half-written work.

This chapter is based off the idea that GoGo hides her imperfections and weaknesses because she is worried about disappointing or looking bad in front of her friends. I'm sorry if she appears OOC to readers, though the fact that she is not as unbreakable or stoic or eternally strong as she always appears to be appeals to me as an idea that she takes some time to build her confidence to the one we see in the movies (am I making sense i no longer know)

(On a side note: This chapter is a message to everyone who wants to try new things but don't dare to. Just do it. If it turns out unexpectedly fun, good for you! If it's not for you, don't do it again. Either way, it's a new experience.)

I apologise once again and hope this chapter doesn't suck too badly in comparison to my old ones.

Just in case it hasn't been established before, GoGo Tomago doesn't like trying new things. She doesn't like breaching her comfort zone after having settled within it for so long, because she lacks control in anything beyond that boundary. And GoGo Tomago doesn't like not being in control.

She especially dislikes doing so when her friends around, because if – when – she screws up, she looks doubly bad. In their eyes, she's strong, stoic and unbreakable. And she likes it to remain that way.

Besides, her competitiveness gets in the way of learning new things. It's pointless to try something new and expect to be good at it, but GoGo can't help it at times. The adrenaline of competing – of winning – occasionally overwhelms her common sense, and while she's mellowed out a lot after meeting Honey Lemon, Wasabi, Fred and Tadashi, the desire to be the fastest, the strongest – the best – is still there at times.

So, rants and ramblings aside, that's why she doesn't know why she agreed to go bowling with her friends. It sounded easy and fun when Honey Lemon told her about it, but when GoGo finally steps into the bowling alley, she's starting to get a little nervous. She's never bowled before – even Fred's tried it. Twice. And she doesn't want to look weak in her inexperience.

GoGo briefly contemplates bailing. But Honey's already paying, and she can't come up with a reasonable excuse in time. So GoGo tells herself to woman up and steels herself. She trails after Honey Lemon to change her shoes into something with more friction in its soles, and is lucky to secure a pair that is fairly close to the size of her feet.

"Sooooo," Tadashi steps up next to her. "Have you bowled before?" Unfortunately, GoGo's unlucky about everything else. She wonders if her inexperience is shining through her every move as she stands from her bent position after tying her shoe laces.

"What do you think?" She replies flippantly, arms crossed. Tadashi glances down at her contemplatively, a hand on his chin, and GoGo rolls her eyes at how stupidly good-looking he is when he does that.

"Let's go, guys!" Honey Lemon's excited squeal draws their attention away from the conversation. GoGo drags her feet unwillingly to where everyone has gathered. The bowling alley is fairly empty, and GoGo feels slightly relieved that there will be less people around to witness her imminent embarrassment. But the fact that her four best friends will still be around, and that they matter more than everyone else in the population combined, does not improve GoGo's mood.

The game begins, and GoGo is set as the last person to go. Tadashi goes first, and of course, he has to be the best bowler out of the five of them. Five turns in, he has bowled four strikes, and knocked over all but one pin in his third turn. GoGo, on the other hand, has pitched a whopping total of four gutter balls and only managed to break her losing streak by knocking over two pins at her fifth try. She attempts to shrug off her continuous failures, but she knows her face is flushed not from the heat (thankfully, the air conditioning was pathetic here and hence, she has a relatively legitimate excuse) but from embarrassment at her pathetic scores.

She's officially last out of the Nerd Lab's occupants. Even Fred has knocked down more pins than her, and his bowling method consisted of turning his back to face the bowling alley, bending down, then hurling the bowling ball through his legs. (A small part of GoGo wishes she wasn't scared of how she looked or appeared to her friends, like Fred. A larger part of her thinks that even then, she wouldn't want to try something so foolish-looking - however effective it might be).

After her sixth turn (she can officially add one to make a grand total of three pins if anyone were to ask her how many she has knocked down so far), GoGo sits down on one of the seats at the back of the bowling alley and sighs heavily. It's only been half an hour and she already wants the day to end. Closing her eyes, GoGo refuses to open them even when she hears someone sit next to her.

If it's Honey Lemon, she's going to ignore the blonde's attempts to comfort her ("C'mon, GoGo, you did manage to knock down another pin!). If it's Wasabi, she's going to turn away if he launches into another pedantic lecture about her bowling form. If it's Fred... GoGo stuffs her hands into her pocket just in case she feels the overwhelming urge to punch him. She's well aware that she is particularly irritated today, and even she doesn't think it fair for her to vent everything on Fred.

But GoGo can guess that it is none of those three. Because in her experience, whenever she's down, it is always Tadashi Hamada who will appear by her side - whether she likes it or not.

"So about that question I asked you earlier,' Tadashi muses aloud. "I guess it's a no?"

GoGo would have rolled her eyes behind her eyelids, but she is too tired to expend energy for a meagre show of annoyance that Tadashi cannot even see.

"Hey, are you rolling your eyes at me now?"

... Never mind. GoGo huffs loudly and settles for a flat "What gave it away?" in response to his prior comment. She hates that she's so ridiculously bad at bowling; hates that she's so caught up in this stupid game. But most of all, she hates how foolish she looks in front of the only people whose opinions she actually cares about (albeit to a certain degree); hates how she's a coward under all her stoic bravado and that she's actually terrified at what her friends will think of her after this. Lastly, she hates how Tadashi is probably staring at her with that concerned wide-eyed expression again even though she can't see it.

"C'mon GoGo," Tadashi insists. "Games are supposed to be fun!"

"Not if they end up making you look like a loser," GoGo shoots back as she finally opens her eyes, unimpressed. Tadashi remains silent at that, and GoGo suddenly feels guilty for being a spoilsport.

"Sorry–" she starts to mumble, but Tadashi cuts her off.

"Can't be helped, then," Tadashi says suddenly. He rises from his seat and GoGo gazes at him wordlessly, wondering if he is annoyed or even angry. When Tadashi simply fixes her a cheerful grin, she feels an abrupt wave of relief that she'd deny ever feeling.

Tadashi stretches out his hand. "I'll teach you how to bowl."

"... What?" GoGo squints up at him as she crosses her arms in her seat. Repetitive as that action may be, it's her protective hell no stance. "No."

"Why not?" Tadashi actually looks aghast that she has shot down his suggestion. GoGo snorts in reply.

"I'll just end up looking like an idiot."

"No you'll not." Tadashi's probably saying that because he's always been stupidly nice. But his voice is so full of conviction that for a fleeting moment, GoGo wants to believe him and drop her guard.

Then the moment passes and her eyes harden. Tadashi seems to notice this. He drops his outstretched hand and stuffs it in his pockets with an exasperated smile.

"We're your friends," he points out softly. "You know we'll never look down on you. Honey adores you, Wasabi respects you - however grudgingly, and Fred admires you. Even if he is equally afraid of you." The last line prompts a reluctant smile from GoGo. But there's someone else whose opinions GoGo wants to know about.

"What about you? Would you think I look like an idiot?"

The question catches Tadashi unexpectedly. His eyes widen and for a while, his calm confidence seems to falter. GoGo immediately regrets her words. That question is too personal and too sudden all at once.

(Even though she feels a little sting of disappointment at his hesitance, GoGo quashes that sensation).

"Never mind," GoGo mumbles as she stands from her seat. "You can ignore that." Clearing her throat to make up for the unusually tensed atmosphere, GoGo places her hands on her hips firmly. Tadashi is still staring at her with that mildly dazed expression.

"Well? When are we goint to start?"

"First of all, a bowling ball should weigh ten percent of your body weight," Tadashi announces. GoGo grunts in reply as she shuffles through the bowling balls set in a neat row, gingerly testing their weight from time to time. A part of her still regrets accepting the lesson. But a bigger part of her knows she'll regret not at least giving it a try. So GoGo eventually elects a purple bowling ball that's neither too light not heavy (though whether it's actually ten pervent of her body weight or not remains unknown to her). The fact that it happens to be her favourite colour does not miss Tadashi's notice.

"You were fated to be equipped with it," he teases brightly. GoGo's reply is to roll her eyes. This time, for Tadashi to see.

"Tacky." That comment causes Tadashi to give the bowling ball in her hands a quick appraisal.

"It's not that bad,"

"I was talking about you." GoGo grins as Tadashi lapses into an indignant splutter. For the first time since the outing has begun, she thinks she might actually be having fun.

"You're probably aiming to throw a straight ball, so make sure to keep your hand and wrist straight during your release," Tadashi demonstrates this motion slowly, and GoGo nods in reply, although she doubts that she will be able to pull it off successfully.

"Complete your shot by throwing the ball down the lane as it passes your ankles. Then bring your arm up to the height of your shoulders..." GoGo frowns in confusion at the further set of instructions. How is she supposed to keep track of so much when she's bowling?

"GoGo, it's your turn!" Honey Lemon's voice cuts the lesson short, and GoGo hesitates as she leaves her position. But before she takes her first step, Tadashi's hand lands on top of her head and he proceeds to ruffle her hair.

"Good luck out there, Tomago," he says dramatically, as if she's headed for war instead of her turn at a bowling game. GoGo can't fight off a grin and yet another eye roll as she socks his arm.

"Thanks a lot, Hamada," GoGo quips sarcastically in reply. She's surprised to find that she does mean it.

Trying to recall Tadashi's advice vividly, GoGo takes a few steps, kneels her right foot the way she's seen Honey and Tadashi do, and tries her best to maintain a straight line with her hands and wrist. To her surprise, she manages to knock down half the pins. While GoGo knows that's far from a good score (given how behind she is right now, she thinks she'd need a miracle - or two strikes, which is actually the same thing, really - to even catch up with the rest. But it's the best shot she'd made all day, so she ends her turn with a satisfied sense of accomplishment.

While she still throws gutter balls every now and then (one of them being Fred's fault because he chose the moment of her point of release to sneeze ridiculously loudly; causing her to lose her grip, fumble, and roll the ball straight into the gutter. GoGo fought the strong urge to hurl a bowling ball at him only she saw Honey Lemon's horrified expression), GoGo finds herself hitting more pins than before. While she is still far from good and bowling is still far from fun, she does find it less of a chore than before.

When the game ends, GoGo's still in the last position (one point away from Fred, much to her silent dismay). But surprisingly, she doesn't mind. Not when she sees her friends smiling by her side as they laugh and return to their shoes together (save Wasabi, who'd brought his own bowling shoes. By now, GoGo doesn't even find his eccentricities surprising anymore). Not when she catches Tadashi's eye and they both grin like they've enjoyed themselves.

GoGo feels somewhat ashamed at her overly unwilling and reluctant manner to join the game earlier, and her excessive worrying about how Tadashi, Honey Lemon, Fred and Wasabi would view her for how utterly pathetic she is at bowling. They're her friends, after all. She should have trusted them to not sneer at her even when they realise she's not as strong as she'd like (them, or herself, actually) to believe.

But still, when she sees Tadashi and Honey Lemon laughing together as the tall willowy blonde gathers her belongings, GoGo feels a twinge of something in her gut. She tells herself it's curiosity, really, as they head out of the bowling alley to grab dinner.

"Had fun today?" At a noisy cafeteria, Tadashi poses this question as he and GoGo wait in line to order their food. They've been sent as representatives for the entire group, because five was suffocating, four was excessive and three was a crowd (according to Wasabi). So they settled for two, because they needed someone good at communicating and some muscle to help said someone. Of course, GoGo knows which category she falls into.

"Maybe." She tries to keep her expression stoic, but her lips twitch into a smile and she knows Tadashi can tell it is a yes.

"Honey Lemon said she's happy that you sucked at bowling," Tadashi relays to her as the queue finally moves.

"... Thanks," GoGo turns to shoot a look of suspicion at the blonde, who is deep in conversation with Wasabi.

"Not her words exactly," Tadashi hastens to clarify. "But, well, she said you always seemed so invincible that she felt like she couldn't measure up as a friend." GoGo blinks, taken aback. "Like you were always protecting us. I guess that fact that you weren't that good with bowling shows that you're still human, huh?" Tadashi gives a soft laugh while GoGo remains silent.

"To be honest, I feel the same way as she did. You don't always have to remain that strong unbreakable presence. You can always be comfortable around us. You know that don't you, Leiko?" GoGo feels her face take on a rosy hue at the way Tadashi's voice softens when he's using her old first name. She chalks it off to the heat, even though their air-conditioning here is the direct opposite of the one at the bowling alley.

"Yea. Thanks, for today." They both know the today GoGo is referring to means more than just the brief bowling lessons. It means everything he has said and the reminder he has given her.

"And about that question on whether I'd think you were an idiot or not if I saw you do badly..." GoGo gives Tadashi a startled look, shocked that he actually remembers the question.

"I'd never think you're an idiot. I get bowled over by your presence!"

It takes an excruciating five seconds for GoGo to register that pun, five seconds to close her eyes and groan (because any further rolling of her eyeballs will lead to them dropping out soon one day), and another five to sock Tadashi in the gut as he doubles over with pain and laughter.

Yet absurdly foolish puns aside, and the fact that her fingers are still a little cramped from the bout of bowling, GoGo feels contented as she and Tadashi return with the designated meals and she settles into her seat next to him with all her friends by her side.