{Thriller era – 1983}

"Come on! Come on Paul! You can beat this guy!" I call loudly, my hands cupped around my mouth to amplify my voice, "Come on!"

Paul is currently in an arm-wrestling match with some random guy that's here in the bar with us. He does look stronger and tougher than Paul, but looks can be deceiving ... right?

"Michael, would you shut it?" Paul laughs, strain visible in his reddened face from resisting the urge to lose against this guy, "You're putting me off, man!"

Chuckling quietly to myself, I continue to watch in silence as the men arm-wrestle. It's been going on for about five minutes now; surely one of them will give in and lose eventually. They both look exhausted!

Finally, Paul seems to find a spark of strength within him, as he presses the guy's arm down against the table forcefully, successfully winning the game. The people watching – including myself – are cheering for Paul, whilst the supporters of the other guy taunt him for losing to a "weakling" like Paul.

"Good game, my man!" I grin at my friend, patting his back roughly to congratulate him, "You'll be getting all the girls with that strength of yours!"

"Well, perhaps." He smirks, flexing his muscles – or, at least, the ones he has – then scans the room.

This, in turn, leads me to do the same, until my eyes fall upon a gem. A diamond. Such a beauty, if I ever did see one. Her golden curls fall down her back perfectly; her blue eyes catch the light wonderfully. She's wearing a red dress that comes just above her knees, accompanied with a matching hair bow – one that isn't childish; rather, it's incredibly elegant.

Paul seems to spot her too, then he shifts his gaze to me, whilst I shift mine to him. We both seem to have the same idea – get the girl.

"Okay, easy, Mike." Paul's tone is cautious, "Let's just decide here and now ... I saw her first."

My eyes widen, my eyebrows furrowing, "Excuse me? I saw her first! By miles!"

He raises his arms in surrender, "Uh, Michael, we're not gonna fight about this ... okay?"

I laugh a little, "Paul, I think I told you: I'm a lover, not a fighter."

"I've heard it all before, Michael," he snickers, starting to walk towards the girl, "So let's just see what she thinks of us both, shall we?"

A frustrated expression on my face, I follow after him, "Sure. But we know it'll be me, Paul!"

He shakes his head, "That's real cute, but I doubt it." He reaches the girl, before standing opposite her, "Say, what's a beautiful girl like you doing in a place like this?" he asks her.

She smiles, revealing her sparkling teeth. They're pure white – is there anything bad about this girl? Surely not.

"Well, I'm just exploring the game," she starts, "The options I got," she reiterates. Her eyes flit between Paul and myself, before she fixes her gaze on Paul, "There's some good game here." Then, her eyes avert to me, "Very good game."

A typical bad-boy smile plays on my lips as she looks at me. I decide to speak for the first time, "You like the game here? Well, it's not always this good. I don't come every week."

She laughs, so I presume she's laughing at my comment. However, she proves me wrong when she remarks, "Your voice is rather high-pitched, isn't it? That's cute."

I feel my cheeks warm up slightly, as I look at Paul for his reaction. He looks envious of me because I've been called "cute" by the girl we're fighting for.

"It's high-pitched alright. Like a mouse is talking," Paul comments, nonchalantly sipping his drink.

The girl laughs again, "Oh, you're funny! Real funny!" After letting her brief laughter subside, she changes the subject, "So what are your names?"

"Michael," I introduce myself, before pointing at Paul, "And this is my slightly-less-awesome friend, Paul."

Paul rolls his eyes, but I know he finds that funny too. The girl smiles, "Lovely names there. My name is Stephanii; spelt with a double "I" to make it seem exotic like Hawaii. Still never found my name on any of those personalised key chains."

Paul and I chuckle, before sipping our drinks. Being a gentlemen, I offer Stephanii one, "Stephanii, can I get you a drink?"

She nods, "Thank you Michael. That would be so kind of you!"

"Great." My hand reaches into my pocket, taking out some money, before throwing it at Paul, "Paul, get the girl a drink, heh? Atta boy."

Paul scowls, pushing the money back into my hands, "Get it yourself, man. I'm fine staying with Stephanii here whilst you go get the drink."

Heaving a sigh in frustration, I make my way to the bar to ask for a drink. After paying for it and receiving it, I head back over to Paul and Stephanii, handing her it. She thanks me, before sipping it.

"So ... " Paul reaches a subtle arm around Stephanii's waist, drawing her in towards him. He then smirks at me triumphantly, before looking back at her, "You wanna dance with me? On the dance floor?"

Stephanii eventually notices Paul's arm around her, so she stands up, taking his hand and dragging him to the dance floor with her. They immediately start dancing, leaving me sat at the table alone like an idiot.

Paul might just win this. He might actually get the girl. I can't let that happen! But the thing is, she's practically putty in his hands right now; they're dancing together on the dance floor, without me in sight. He may actually have this.

I've got to beat him. That girl is too perfect for me to avoid.

I stand up from my seat at the table, making my way to the dance floor where the other two are. Once I've reached them, I tap Paul's shoulder, making him turn around and notice me.

"Hey, Michael!" he greets cheerfully, dancing around madly to try and amuse Stephanii.

"Hi." My arms fold in disapproval, "So this is your girl now?"

He stops moving around, instead focusing on me, "Listen, kid. Just cos I beat you, doesn't mean to say you gotta get all moody and stuff. Just accept the fact that the stronger and wiser man won."

"Stronger and wiser? Please," I scoff, swatting the air with my hand, "You wouldn't know what wise was if it came and said "Hey, I'm Wise!"."

Stephanii then intervenes, waving her glass in the air, "Paul, my glass is empty. Would you get me a drink of water please? I don't want to get drunk tonight."

Paul beams at her, obviously desperate to please her in any way possible, "Of course. I'd be delighted to." He walks off the dance floor, leaving her and I on there, not really moving at all.

"So ... I see you're enjoying Paul, huh?" My question comes out in a slightly awkward tone, for some unknown reason.

Stephanii shrugs, still moving to the beat of the song that's playing, "He's a nice guy, I guess." Her eyes appear to explore my body, stopping at my hair, "Say, can I touch your curls? They look lovely."

An inviting smile spreads across my face, "For sure." As she touches them, my eyes look down on hers, "I like keeping these curls for the girls."

"Well this girl loves the curls," she answers, her fingers running softly through my hair, "They're so fluffy and smooth."

"Smooth," I repeat, my eyes not moving from hers, "You like smooth?"

She nods, a playful grin tugging at her lips, "I love smooth."

She pulls her hand away from my curls, but her eyes remain on mine. Slowly, she starts to lean in towards me, so I close my eyes as she does, anticipating the moment our lips meet.

"I got your water!" Paul's voice causes Stephanii and I to pull away from one another, having shared no kiss, "Here ya go, Steph."

She gives a closed-mouth smile, taking the glass from his hands, "Thank you Paul." After taking a sip, she exhales, much like a sigh, "So, how about we all dance now?"

Paul and I nod a little too enthusiastically, but he answers, "Sounds great. Come dance with me, Stephanii." He takes her hand, starting to dance with her again, leaving me out once more.

Stephanii and I were so close to kissing! If we had kissed, I would have won! I curse Paul for coming back at exactly the wrong moment!

Growing a little worried, I watch as Paul and Stephanii's dancing becomes a little too ... intimate. Paul can't win this! He's touching her thigh, moving his hand up and down slowly through her dress. It's getting a little far-fetched now; he looks a little too desperate for her.

There must be a way to get Stephanii to notice me again; she seems to be all over Paul now – and enjoying it, too. This seems so petty, fighting for a girl, but at the end of the day, Stephanii is beautiful – absolutely beautiful.

Then, I realise luck must be on my side – I notice movement in the front of Paul's pants. Is he seriously getting turned on over Stephanii? This is hilarious!

I make my way over to him, whispering in his ear, "Paul, you kinda have a little something going on ... at your crotch."

He looks down subtly, widening his eyes, "I'll be back," he whispers to me, before looking at Stephanii, "Just going to the bathroom. I won't be long at all!" With that, he dashes off the dance floor, to the men's room.

Now's my chance.

"So, Stephanii ... " I take over Paul's place, dancing with her myself, "What do you think of Paul now?"

"The way he touched my thigh kinda scared me. I had to pretend to enjoy that. But apart from that, he seems nice enough," she answers honestly, setting her water down on the nearest table.

"Ah, well, I'm not like that. See, I let the girl decide what goes down. Unless she decides I'm gonna dominate, I let her decide it all." This is my chance to flirt as much as possible whilst Paul is gone, so I'm going to take it, "Cos, y'know, I like my girl to be happy."

"And what do you think of me?" She shifts her gaze to me once again.

"Well, I think you're beautiful. And I also think you deserve a nice guy. A sweet, cute, loving, funny guy. One that'll love you endlessly and take you anywhere you wanna go. Someone that'll respect you and stick by you, no matter what. That's what you deserve, Stephanii." Her eyes are sparkling right now; it's gorgeous, and I'm hoping it's because of my words. In attempt to appear cute, I give her a shy glance, "A-And what do you think of me?"

"Aww," she coos, wrapping her arms around my neck, "I think you're adorable, yet incredibly handsome. You seem like a really nice guy, too. Any girl would be lucky to have you."

"Would you include yourself in that? Cos these curls can be for you, if you want them to be," I chuckle softly.

"You're so cute," she breathes, ignoring my question, before yanking hard at my curls, forcing her lips against my own.

Immediately getting into the kiss, I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling our bodies closer together, as she rests her free hand on my cheek. My hands caress the small of her back, as my tongue slips into her mouth. Her tongue returns the favour, allowing us to French kiss, with passion. The feeling I'm experiencing right now is overwhelming; pure ecstasy. I never want this moment to end.

Sadly, it must, as soon, we both separate our lips, our eyes capturing each other's intently.

"The girl ... is mine," I mutter to myself, before leaning in to plant a final soft peck upon her lips.

I feel a tap on my shoulder, so I turn around to see Paul standing, confused.

"So ... what did I miss?" he asks.

Laughing quietly to myself, I tell him.

"Paul, the stronger and wiser man did win after all."

~~

Longest one-shot based on a song so far? Eh, I'm sorry the ending line kinda sucked; I didn't exactly know where to go from the kiss. But anyway, this'll be my last update for a while; I'm going to Portugal tomorrow where there'll be no internet! :'(