Chapter 1

It was a typical warm, sunny day in Lazytown. There were only a few clouds in the sky, which was a beautiful blue. The sunshine was comfortable, keeping you warm without being too hot. The town was filled with the sounds of people enjoying the sunny day. Stephanie and her friends were out playing soccer, while the Mayor tended to his flowers in the front yard. The kids were so absorbed in their game, they didn't even notice someone was walking towards them.

"Um, excuse me?"

Stephanie was the first to look up. Standing there was a tall, pretty girl with light brown hair that hung down her back. Her face was friendly, with light freckles speckled across her nose and cheeks, and her green eyes were large and sparkled with life. She was wearing a skirt with a pattern of bright flowers that brushed her knees and a light green t-shirt that brought out the color of her eyes. On her feet were white sandals that added an inch to her already tall frame. She appeared to be in her early twenties. She was carrying a large suitcase in one hand and was looking at the children with an aura of uncertainty.

"Hi!" said Stephanie brightly. "Who are you?"

The girl smiled nervously.

"My name is Fiona. I'm here to stay with my cousin Bessie. Do you know where I could find her?"

By this point all the kids had stopped and were watching the girl with curiosity.

"Sure we know her," Ziggy said. "We'll take you there!"

Fiona smiled in thanks and followed the children as they led the way.

Soon Fiona was putting her stuff away in her room at Bessie's house. Fiona was Bessie's youngest cousin and had never been to stay before. She was looking forward to spending time someplace new, although she was unsure if she would make any friends her own age. At least the children she met had seemed nice; at the very least she'd have some friendly faces around town.

Back in town, the kid's had resumed their soccer game. Stingy stole the ball from Trixie and tried to kick it into the net. Unfortunately he severely misjudged his kick and the ball flew way out of bounds. The kids groaned in unison over the lost ball when suddenly Sportacus appeared and leaped in front of the ball. He handed the ball back to Stingy as the kids clapped and cheered.

"Thanks, Sportacus!" said Stephanie with her usual smile.

"Anytime," he replied.

"Play with us!" Ziggy begged.

Sportacus laughed. "Sure, I'd love-" He stopped mid-sentence.

Stephanie waved her hand in front of his eyes. "Uh, Sportacus? You there?"

Ziggy followed the direction of Sportacus's frozen stare. About 30 feet away from the group, walking down the street, was Fiona. She had changed into shorts and a t-shirt, and her hair had been pulled back into a pony tail. Her sandals had been replaced by sneakers.

Sportacus kept staring at the young woman with a dazed look on his eyes. Suddenly he was broken out of his spell…Trixie had stomped on his foot.

"Who is that?" Sportacus asked, trying to keep his tone light.

"Bessie's cousin. She's here for the summer," replied Stephanie, eying Sportacus curiously.

"Hey Fiona!" called out Ziggy. With a bright smile, Fiona started to walk toward the group.

"Hello!" she said as she walked up to the group again. "Thanks so much for helping me find my cousin's house earlier."

"Anytime," replied Stephanie. "This is our friend, Sportacus! He's a superhero!"

Fiona smiled shyly at Sportacus and extended her hand.

"It's very nice to meet you." Sportacus took her hand gently, and returned the shy smile.

"Welcome to Lazytown."

The children just started at the two, confused at Sportacus's sudden shyness. Ziggy decided to break up the awkward moment and invited Fiona to play soccer with them.
She agreed, and turned out to be quite an athlete. Even Sportacus couldn't get the ball from her, though he seemed reluctant to try to hard. At one point Stingy lunged for the ball, tripping Fiona in the process. She stumbled forward, but Sportacus was there in a flash to catch her. She landed in his arms, and her reaction was to put her arms on his waist to sturdy herself. She could feel his muscles through the fabric. She slowly let her eyes rise up to meet his. Their eyes locked for just a fraction of a second, but it felt like forever to both. She slowly separated herself from him.

"Thank you," she mumbled shyly with her head down. She was afraid to meet his eyes again, unsure of the spark that had happened before.

"You're welcome," he replied, also not meeting any ones eyes.

The group went back to the game. Things become normal again, but two of the members were playing with slightly faster heart rates then they had before…

Late that night, Fiona lay in bed reflecting back on her day. She had had a great time; the children in town were much younger then herself, but they were sweet and energetic. Fiona had always loved kids, and she was glad to have made friends. She sighed and settled down more comfortably in her bed. Her thoughts turned to Sportacus, thoughts she had been trying to push away all day. He was kind and helpful, and his eyes were the most incredible shade of blue Fiona had ever seen. He was in interesting person; the kids had called him a superhero. He was physically strong and very quick, yet he did not seem to possess any "super powers." Fiona smiled as she remembered the feeling of being caught in his arms. She struggled to come up with the way to describe what she felt; the best she could come up with was safe. Fiona quickly tried to change her thoughts to something else. She had been hurt by a guy recently and didn't want to go through that pain again. She had already run from a broken heart once, she didn't want to do it again.

Fiona was not the only one laying awake. Above the town, Sportacus was also lying in bed awake. He was confused by the events of the day. As long as he remembered his life had consisted of protecting others and keeping them active and healthy. He was content. He knew what to expect from life. Suddenly this young woman appears, and he can't stop thinking about her. He had never felt anything less then completely self assured; suddenly he's feeling self conscious and afraid to speak lest he sound stupid. Sportacus was confident when it came to sports, but now he was unsure of this new feeling. He had never had a girlfriend before, had never felt affection that was anything more than friendship; had never had any physical attention other than the hug of a friend.

While Fiona and Sportacus lay awake pondering new emotions, Robbie Rotten was snoozing in his bed, dreaming of ways to get rid of Sportacus. His loud snores echoed throughout his lair. He gave a loud snort and woke himself up. As he tried to fall back asleep, he went over more schemes in his head. "Every plot of mine has failed miserably," he thought. "What I need to do is find his weakness."

Back up in his airship, Sportacus finally fell asleep, dreaming of his weakness…