Locking In With My Life System

There was one staggering advantage that Aiden had.

This was his home.

The house he grew up in.

The house he knew like the back of his hand.

Simply put... there was no hiding from him. Not even in the dark.

It was also why, no sooner had Theo switched the light back on, Larry, who had hidden behind the curtains, struggled to hold in his laughter, as did the rest of the gang frozen around the room.

The reason?

Aiden was already behind him, his arm raised and frozen right as he’d wound up to give him the Asian parent special on the ass!

Then there was that gleeful grin plastered on his features, his olive-green irises glinting with such sadistic delight, it practically remained locked on the spot his slip-on was about to land on.

Theo, having covered his mouth to hold in his laugh, switched off the light even as Larry’s eyes kept pleading.

Multiple thwacks resounded across the living room in rapid succession, each one louder than the last!

Larry yelped like a sissy, his voice coming in a mix of pained laughter as Aiden’s purposely lowered voice calmly carried across the room with a hint of amusement;

”I never knew you could make that sound. Interesting, Larry. Very interesting...”

Casper, Benjamin and Clyde were practically about to burst, their faces flushing red as they scrambled to another location in the medium-sized room to hide!

Theo switched on the light five seconds after, revealing a frozen Larry reaching to touch his behind whilst clutching at the windowsill for support, every inch of his back and butt peppered with red marks.

Even then, he had gone into a fit of breathless laughter, his face half-smothered by a wince whilst mouthing a silent ’ow’.

Aiden, on the other hand, had gone ultra-instinct, his upgraded Agility affording him the speed needed to prey on his next target.

This time, it was Benjamin, whom he found hidden behind the couch whilst staring up in horror.

Looming over him like a guillotine was Aiden, who was standing on the couch, both of his slip-ons dual-wielded like a trained assassin and a wicked grin frozen across his features.

Already aware of his inevitable fate, Benjamin couldn’t help but remember that one viral meme of that one popular actor playing Vincent Van Gogh as he stared at the sky in panicked distress.

The lights went off and Aiden pounced on his chubby friend!

The barrage of rubber against flesh rippled through the room, Benjamin letting out high-pitched yelps of his own as Aiden remarked in that low, sadistic tone;

”What was that about an emergency copter extraction a couple months back? Funny. I think you might need it at this rate though.”

Clyde, Larry and Casper were practically wheezing where they were frozen, their laughs silent, same as Theo, who was currently clutching his stomach.

Then he switched on the light again and this time, Benjamin was frozen on all-fours, clearly in an effort to scramble away as a grimaced laughter remained plastered on his features.

Judging by the involuntary arch of his back though, it was clear to everyone just where Aiden’s assaults had landed.

Yet again, the coal-haired youth had seemingly vanished from his prior spot.

Now he was frozen midway between attacking Casper, who had backed up against a wall, and Clyde, who was hiding under the table.

Unfortunately for Casper, Aiden’s gaze was laser-focused on him, prompting Clyde to believe he wouldn’t be the next target just yet.

However, when Theo switched off the lights again and turned them on five seconds after, Aiden’s arm was once again wound back, frozen in motion just as Clyde had proceeded to leave his spot.

Unfortunately for the bespectacled youth, he’d been moving backwards from under the table, giving an already sadistic Aiden the perfect view of his gluteus maximus.

This time, Larry, Benjamin, Casper and even Theo audibly choked on their laughter, all four immediately suppressing it in silent wheezes.

Clyde, on the other hand, tried to dive back under the table as Theo switched off the lights, only for a fusillade of durable slip-ons to mercilessly assault his lower extremities!

”Scrambling like an egg only to get folded like an omelette, eh, Clyde? Hmm... I should probably cook that tonight. You guys would like some too, right?” Aiden asked mid-whooping.

At this point, the gang had lost it, sharp, wheezing chortles caught between quiet gasps for oxygen absolutely sending them to orbit.

Honestly, there was something so hilariously terrifying about the little remarks Aiden was making as he picked them off one by one.

More so when they were certain he was doing it on purpose. Still, they’d tried to avoid his assaults because... well... no one wanted to have their asses whooped.

Casper especially had tried to latch onto the vertex of the walls like a wall crawler in an effort to climb up and hold position close to the ceiling just to keep himself safe.

Afterall, he was more than assured that Aiden, being the kind of person he was, wouldn’t actually want to beat him when he was high-up for the fear of having him fall and injuring himself.

Besides, where else was there to hide in the living room that he wouldn’t have caught them anyway?

Unfortunately for Casper, Aiden understood his thought process just as much as the blonde-haired youth understood his.

It was also why a slip-on had already come flying for him just as he began climbing, slamming right into his gut and disrupting what would’ve been an otherwise successful plan.

Theo switched the light on at that exact moment, Aiden frozen in his throwing form with his lips pressed against themselves, an impish delight in his eyes as he watched Casper fall butt-first onto the floor.

This time though, Larry, Benjamin, and Clyde didn’t even bother to keep their laughter restrained, effectively disqualifying them as they pointed at Casper whilst wheezing for air.

Theo was in the same boat as the trio as tears formed on his eyelids. Then he switched the light off again a couple seconds after.

This time, Aiden was upon Casper in an instant, effectively cornering the blonde-haired youth who had nowhere to run to anymore.

Still, he waited for the lights to come back on, looking down on his buddy from above like the sadistic villain he was roleplaying, his slip-on tightly clenched in his palms.

Amongst all his buddies, Casper had been the one whose hands he’d suffered the most at Flashlight Tag.

It was also why he was relishing the moment as Casper looked up at him sheepishly and desperately remarked with gestured arms;

”Ei! Aiden, amigo! How’s about a truce, huh?! Let’s forgive ourselves, let bygones be bygones, eh?!”

”And next time we play, if I happen to win, I won’t target you either. Sounds like a good deal, right?!” he offered with a big grin, his expression hopeful.

Yet, before the trio could intervene, Aiden raised his arm up, his smile fiendish and a happy lilt to his voice as he replied;

”You want forgiveness, Casper? Get religion!”

Theo switched off the light and Aiden unleashed a blitzkrieg of attacks against his buddy whilst equally declaring;

”You know how long I’ve been waiting for this! I saved you for last, homie! I was planning to helicopter barrage your ass from the very beginning!”

The rest of the gang burst into another wave of unrestrained laughter, all of them practically keeling over and collapsing to the ground whilst laughing.

Even after Theo switched on the light whilst clutching at his stomach, Aiden continued to assault Casper without restraint!

”Timeout, timeout!” the blonde-haired youth immediately called out in defense, his hands raised above his head as he himself continued to laugh in between winces and mild flinches.

”Hey! Are you guys gonna help me or--OW!” he tried calling out to his buddies amidst the constant thwacks and whacks.

Even then, no one came to his rescue, all four currently dying of laughter as Aiden continued whooping Casper.

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[Quest Completed!]

⸢Exclusive Quests

› Belt to ass!

└ Put belt to ass! – [0.4 LP Awarded!]

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Having played a couple other games in the form of arm-wrestling, Jenga and a very dumb set of ’Would You Rather?’ questions, the gang was currently seated in the living room, dining on the delicious omelette Aiden and Benjamin had prepared as they discussed a couple mundane things.

”Say, Theo? Which colleges are you planning on applying to?” Aiden curiously asked the youth a couple minutes later.

Naturally, the others turned their attention to him, their expressions just as curious.

”Honestly, I don’t know,” he shrugged in response, his answer surprising everyone as he continued;

”I haven’t given it much thought, if you’ll believe me. Just figured I’d apply to a couple and go with whichever decides to grant me a full scholarship... though that’s easier said than done, even with my grades.”

”I’m not the only student with straight A’s and a perfect CGPA vying for such opportunities afterall.” he casually added whilst taking a bite of his food.

To that, the gang bobbed their heads in understanding, to which Aiden then said a moment after;

”Well, if you’re gonna be submitting applications, why not try Pacific Heights? It’s where all five of us are gunning for?”

For a moment, Theo mulled it over.

Then he bobbed his head once in acknowledgement and said;

”Sure. I was already thinking of also applying there anyway. Apparently, they’re the driving force behind next year’s academic decathlon too.”

”Safe to say, if our school’s team happens to reach the finals, it’s bound to be a huge boost to our portfolios...” Theo resumed eating, his cheeks slightly puffy as he reached for his glass cup.

”There’s also a very high chance that they award a fully funded or partial scholarship to the best performing students. Same as other universities had in previous years.” he concluded and proceeded to drink some water.

Upon hearing all that though, Aiden’s gaze flickered.