Charger adjusted the black cowboy hat on his head. He had it fitted just for him at the only place he knew did such things in the city. He smiled and gave himself greetings in the mirror. Honestly he thought he looked sharp and that the hat suited him well.
He made the mistake of stepping out into the living area where everyone was. As soon as he did Razor started laughing, then dropkick, then even Raid was trying to hide his laughter. The only one that wasn't laughing was Razor's "other woman": an 18 year-old genius who was in her last year of college. This girl impressed Charger because she started school at 13 and was almost done getting her PhD in Biology. On top of that she had the start of a promising modeling career. She was tall and very thin with fiery red hair and freckles all over her body. Her most stand-out feature, however, was the pair of almost white grey eyes that were staring at him now with that look she always gave him. It was puppy love, as far as he could tell, and while he hated how Razor treated this young woman, Charger had made it a point to resist the very idea of making any moves on her. He had already made his holomatter look way younger than he should have. He didn't need to make it any worse for himself.
Charger met her gaze and held it for mere seconds before he pulled the hat down to hide his face. "Shoulda known this was a stupid idea," He frowned "Forget you guys." He stomped out and went to his room, sighing as he put the hat on his dresser. What was the point of trying to enjoy himself if his teammates were going to insult him like that? What was the point of trying to enjoy himself if his teammates were going to insult him like that? What Charger didn't see was after he left Flaherty rolled her eyes and muttered "I gotta go." To Razor, who reluctantly pulled himself from his seat, knowing he had to bring her home now and knowing he was gonna get the silent treatment.
A few days later a surprise came to him in the form of Flaherty, Razor's "other woman" knocking on his door one afternoon. He couldn't hide the look of mild surprise on his face "Can ah Help you?"
"Actually you can." Her voice was deeper than one would expect it to be, slightly raspy. Charger knew from what she told him that she liked to sing, but sing what he'd never know. "Razor bailed on me for my senior show, did he tell you I'm a photographer on the side?" Another talent; this didn't surprise Charger, given the wit on the young woman in front of him. "An ya came t'me ta see if ah could go?"
"I figured you were my best bet, given Razor's….personality." She had that right. Razor was selfish and immature and horrible to women and Charger almost wanted to ask how she could stand him. Charger was even surprised Razor had allowed him to become friends with Flaherty.
Mulling it over, Charger rubbed the back of his head. "Ah Suppose Ah could help ya out." There was no harm in it right? If he acted miserable enough maybe Razor wouldn't get too jealous.
The smile the appeared on Flaherty's face made his spark drop in his chest. It was the kind of smile that made him turn into a flustered mumbling idiot.
Before the blush that had started could get any worse he said "alright alright get outta here" and shut the door.
Charger could hear her voice on the other side of the door "I didn't tell you when it was…."
He turned an even darker shade of red as he opened the door and she handed over the invitation with a giggle. Shutting the door once more, he could hear her footsteps fade away. Charger ran a hand down his face, leaning on the door and slowly sinking to the floor. Flaherty was going to be the death of him, be it because of some internal reason, or Razor finding out how the young woman had grown on Charger.
The days passed, Razor found out about Charger and Flaherty's arrangement and of course threw a tantrum but Charger calmed him down and explained that he was going and would stand in the corner like a good lil worker. He'd keep an eye on her and keep anyone from talking to her that Razor didn't like. It was only a half-lie and Charger found himself wanting to piss pound Razor more and more as their heated debate went on. Eventually Razor relented, with a snarl he said,
"you're lucky I've known you so long or you wouldn't have a leg to stand on." Normally humans meant this sort of phrase figuratively, but Razor meant it literally. The Challenger shook his helm and sighed.
"Yea I get it, if I was Dropkick ye'd have mah head." Charger rumbled, tense from what could have escalated to an actual fight.