It all happened so fast.

So fast that all of them failed to react quickly to it.

All their minds going ....

"He did... what?"

And Julianne specifically thinking....

Julianne: (thinking: Well... that's ma boy.... I guess...)

It was a truly bizarre moment.

Tiffany knew she'd lost, and of that, she had her own reservations, but this.... this was truly absurd.

It wasn't like the idea that using a tongue to play a video game was not absurd to her in spite of her inexperience, but still...

Rose was still stunned at what had happened. That was the last thing she could have ever expected him to do.

To be more precise, she was happy he'd won. Of that feeling, she was certain, but... a tongue?

Luke wasn't all too bothered, but... he felt just a bit amused by what Max had just done. Disturbed, but more so amused.

And Ken...

Ken: (thinking: Well... he is always full of surprises. And this moment has been no exception.)

As for Max...

.. he continued to gloat.

Max: (to Tiffany) Oh yeah! That's right! Oh yeah!

Tiffany: I... I don't believe it....

Max: Well....

He brought his face closer to hers, somewhat upsetting her.

Max: ... believe it! Oh yeah!

He fist pumped, much to the others' amusement.

Luke: Well... you did it.

Max: Yeah, and it was awesome, right?

And then Ken suddenly answered.

Ken: A tad bit unsanitary, but yes. Awesome.

His eyes then fell to Max's controller.

Ken: And I will no longer be touching that controller.

Max: Yeah, yeah....

Julianne smiled.

Max: ... I still won, though.

Julianne: That you did, sweetie, that you did.

Her sudden comment somewhat shook Max.

Max: Yeah, thanks... mom....

And Rose...

Rose: Yeah.... you did... great...

She still didn't want to make Tiffany feel bad, so while she said this, she hid her face.

Max: Thanks, Rose.

And Julianne, she slowly began to ponder to herself as to whether or not she should tell her son never to do that again.

On the one hand, if she did, his friends may become more averse to spending time with him when she was around, seeing as she may be perceived as more strict.

On the other hand, he had to learn to be  a proper gentleman sooner or later.

She there and then resolved to deal with it later.

After all, why not let him enjoy himself.?

Heck, why not enjoy herself as well?

These little contests they'd kept having were somehow entertaining even to the adult woman who'd never even considered playing that game before.

And lastly, Tiffany finally decided to accept defeat. Not because she was a sore loser, but rather because she could hardly believe how she'd lost. She was still in shock.

Tiffany: Yeah, .... good job....

Max playfully bowed....

Max: (like a gentleman) Why, thank you, Miss Chang.

His response only served to slightly bother Tiffany and amuse Luke more.

But that was besides the point...

Ken: I still can't believe you did that.

Max: Yeah, pretty awesome idea, huh?

Ken: Well... yes.... I guess so. But... how did you....

Max: Hmmm?

At that point, Max turned around the room, gauging the faces of all those who'd just witnessed what had happened.

It was there and then that he realised it.

His actions had perturbed them all. To add on to it, way more than he'd initially anticipated.

Max: Oh yeah.... Well....

His eyes returned to the T.V. screen and then fell to his controller.

Max: I figured I knew how the controller worked enough to do just about anything, and when I thought about how I could click that button faster...

Ken: You came up with the idea to use your tongue, imagining it would be faster...

Max: Yep!

He said that with pride and a smile on his face.

Ken: Oh brother....

Rose: Max....

Max: What?

Luke: Hey!

They all turned their heads to Max.

Luke: A win"s a win, right?

Max: Yeah.

Luke: So....

He continued with a generous smile on his face.

Luke: Good job, Max.

Max: Heh. Thanks.

Being a sports player himself, Luke knew that a game was a game. And as for Tiffany, he knew she wouldn't be too unhappy about this loss. After all, it was just a game. And in his mind, Tiff would remain Tiff.

And Rose, having heard this, then continued with greater confidence...

Rose: Yeah! Great job!

Max: Yeah, yeah. I'm awesome. I know.

Ken: Yes. I do believe congratulations are in order.

Max: Yep! Fastest reflexes in the team. Wooooh!

Now, before anything could even be said after that.

Ken: No. Actually, your reflexes are slower than Tiffany's.

The previously incredibly happy teenager then rapidly turned to a more solemn state.

Max: Wait. What!?

Needless to say, all the others were also quite perturbed.

Julianne herself remained silent.

And the others...

... all their eyes turned to Ken.

Luke: Huh?

Rose: Wait... but..... then....

Ken: This contest?

Rose: Yeah.

Ken: I thought it would be fun.

Max and Rose: For fun!?

Ken: Yes. Fun.

To Kenneth Stone, this was a series playing on a TV screen, and he just got to the best parts.

Simply put, he was happy with himself.

To Rose Wright, she was forced to question her very mentalities towards Tiffany and Max.

To Maximillian Hunter, this was a battle for his pride, ego, and even to some degree, his self-worth, and so...

Max: But then.... but... but... why....

Ken: I thought it would be interesting.

Max: You what!?

At that point, Tiffany stood up and stretched.

Ken: Yes. For fun. I'd already used my bionics to quantify yours and her own reflexes.

Max turned back to Tiffany.

Ken: Your reflexes are incredible. No doubt. Far above average even. But Tiff's? They're on a whole different level.

Max: Uh huh.....

With a certain amount of shock to his core, well....

Max: I see...

He was upset, alright.

After all, he'd just gone through all that heartache for nothing.

He still won, sure. But still....

Had Max's mother not been around, he would have perhaps done something. But in this case, he simply sat down and sourly kept his mouth shut.

As Ken took a sit down, he noticed an icy glance from the mother.

Sure enough, Julianne Hunter did not want to bother Max's friends... or to even intervene in his friendships, but still, she was his mother. And perhaps because she knew about how difficult it was for her son to have friends that she decided it would be necessary to lay some ground rules.

Said rule here being, leave her son alone.

She would, of course, later decide that she'd perhaps gone a bit too far. But still, she was his mother, and mothers do what mothers do.

Ken: (thinking: Oh no. What have I done?)

As for Ken, he suddenly decided to remain quiet, realising that he may have gone too far.

And luckily for Julianne, everyone else was too concerned with Max to pay attention to what had happened.