*grabs you by the shirt* can I request Aiden seeing Jesse for the first time. I wanna see this man fumble in front of them. I beg
Another late summer, another EnderCon.
Oak Creek went from quiet to bustling within hours as demonstrators and merchants and coordinators and attendees all flooded in for the convention. This year was a bit lamer, in Aiden’s opinion. No Order of the Stone appearance, just the building competition. The only thing that could change his opinion is if they won this year. They’d gotten so close last year, second place, but lost out to a veteran team. As if that was fair. He was sure they got extra points for being favorites.
But none of that mattered now. They’d announced that was their last year of competing. A win was more than in sight; it was practically in the bag. They had only lost by two points to one of the greatest teams. Admittedly, though, he was still anxious. There was another veteran team here. Though these three had never won.
Hopefully, it would stay that way.
He shook his head and leaned into the nearby fence. Lukas was going over the blueprints again. The theme for this year was “Colorful”. Where others would have likely went for some statue. Lukas decided on a fireworks dispenser. Not just any though. One that shot up one rocket of each color in succession that made them pop in an almost rainbow fashion. It was going to be insanely hard to get working correctly. But it was nothing they couldn’t handle.
They’d already got it working on a smaller scale weeks ago.
His train of thought was derailed by a commotion behind him. He turned himself so he was still leaning into the fence but could now view the booth behind him. He didn’t recognize the group that’d, literally, stumbled in.
The bulkier man with black hair and beige skin—wearing a green sweater and orange shorts—was on the ground. A shorter woman with curly black hair tied into two pigtails with rich brown skin—wearing a red vest over a white t-shirt and black slacks—stood over him with her hands on her hips. A third woman with umber brown skin and black hair that fell in tight curls—wearing overalls over a yellow and white cropped shirt—was reaching her hand out to him laughing.
It was the nicest thing he’d ever heard.
“Come on, big guy, let's get you up.”
The two women took hold of his hands and pulled him up with a heave.
“Thanks, guys.”
The woman in the overalls patted his back while the one in the vest shook her head. Aiden couldn’t keep his eyes off the former. Her gaze met his and his breath hitched. Her face broke into the brightest smile.
“Hi!” She said with a wave, making her way over. “Are you competing too?”
His voice seemed to catch in his throat.
“Ye-yeah.”
“That’s awesome!”
The woman in the red vest and the man approached then. The former scrutinized him.
“Did you guys compete last year?”
He nodded.
“Yeah.” He said, “I don’t think I saw you guys.”
“We couldn’t compete. Our team was too small.”
“Not anymore!”
The woman with the overalls beamed, hands on her hips. He couldn’t help the smile. The woman in the red vest smiled fondly before redirecting her gaze to him.
“What place did you guys get?”
The man beside her stuck an elbow gently into her side.
“Olivia, do you not remember these guys? They got second place. Against the Nether Stars.”
‘Olivia’s’ eyes widened
“Was-was it these guys?”
“Yeah, dude. They lost by only two points.”
She bowed her head and rubbed at her neck. Aiden couldn’t help the smirk. It was nice to have his team recognized as some of the best. The woman in the overalls leaned against the fence next to him; her arm brushed his. His smirk slipped and his stomach twisted.
“You got second place?!”
Her eyes were wide and she was grinning. He couldn’t find his voice.
“Uh, yeah. We-we did!”
She settled her chin in her palm, smile softening and gaze half-lidded.
“That’s so cool~”
He couldn’t respond and his face was getting hot. He was almost glad to hear his name get called. He whirled around to Lukas who had a stern glare on him; Maya and Gill on his heels.
“I told you to pay attention. What—“ his glare softened as he looked upon the woman with overalls. “Oh, hi. Haven’t seen you before.”
“Hi!” She said, “I heard you guys got second place last year! That’s awesome!”
Lukas chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.
“It was nothing.”
Aiden couldn’t help the eye roll. It wasn’t nothing. They’d worked hard for weeks.
“Humble!” The woman with the overalls exclaimed, “I like that!” She extended her hand. “I’m Jesse! And this is Olivia and Axel!”
Lukas took her hand.
“Lukas! This is Maya, Gill, and Aiden.”
Jesse beamed.
“It’s nice to meet you guys!”
A megaphone crackled and squealed to life, startling them all, and then the announcers voice began rattling off the greeting.
“Ooh!” Jesse jumped giddily. “They’re starting!” She turned to Aiden with a smile and patted his shoulder. “Good luck!”
He stuttered horribly.
“You too—“
She grinned and the trio made their way into their booth. He couldn’t quite get his heartbeat to slow or breath to even out. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her either.
An elbow to his ribs shocked him out of his stupor and he whirled on the culprit. Lukas was grinning and not in a good way; in the teasing way Aiden absolutely hated. Maya and Gill had similar expressions.
“You gonna be able to focus with them so close?”
Aiden’s eyes widened as they cut over to Jesse and then back to Lukas. His face felt impossibly hot now.
“What?! Of course!”
Maya and Gill coughed and snickered and he sent a glare their way. Lukas was still grinning and Aiden was about three seconds from slugging him until he patted his shoulder.
“Alright. Let’s get this done then! I think we got a really good chance!”
His anger slipped and he found himself smiling and nodding. They all found their positions in the next moment and were awaiting the countdown. His eyes drifted to the booth next to them. Jesse was jumping from leg to leg and shaking out her arms. Her eyes cut over to him and she beamed, giving a thumbs up.
His heart stuttered in his chest and he forced his gaze away with a shake of his head. Contrary to what Lukas thought, he would not let her get in the way of them winning.
Can we learn more about nighttime and daytime terry?
Terry raises a finger and stares before stating.
“Well um… Day works in a library wears a vest and umm…Well i guess i’m wearing the stupid vest right now. They are also a giant Neeeeeerrrrrrrrrrd As for me Dude i can do some kick Tricks wherever i go~ and nothing gonna stop me. I’m also the cool one~”
