Lena Oxton smiled brightly as she pinned her shiny new name badge onto the front of her shirt. Today was her first day on the job as a Blizzard World cast member, and she couldn't be more excited. She had always loved coming here as a kid, and now she got to work here and make the magic happen! Well, she would have probably wanted to get a better job at some point, but as a summer job, this was perfect for her.
Her uniform wasn't much. In fact, it only consisted of a simple blue shirt with the park logo opposite to her name tag, but Lena felt proud to wear it. It felt a little small for her, but Lena didn't mind that. She'd probably grow into it.
She was soon given her first task for the day. Balloon duty in the central area of the park.
It wasn't a very glamorous job, but Lena knew that if she stayed positive and that a smile was on her face, she would get through it with ease.
She stood at the centre of the park, holding up a set of balloons in her hand, waiting for any potential customers or guests.
"Balloons!" Lena called out to the park guests. "Anyone want a balloon?" She then sighed. This was hopeless. No one seemed to want a balloon at all.
"Ugh," Lena groaned. "This is harder than I thought."
Just then, she heard a little girl's voice cry out, "Oh my gosh! Look, Mama! It's NOVA!"
Lena looked to one side and saw a young girl run over to a woman dressed in a white catsuit with goggles. She had long blonde hair in a ponytail and a large blaster rifle was slung over her shoulder.
"You are my favourite character!" the little girl cheered. "Can I have a picture with you?"
"No problem, kid," Nova replied. "I'll even sign it for you." She whipped out a pen. "What's your name?"
"Hana," the girl replied. "Hana Song!"
"Nice to meet you, Hana," Nova said, smiling. She scribbled out a message in the girl's autograph book, then posed for the picture. She then knelt down with the girl and the girl's mother took their picture with her phone.
As Lena watched this scene, she felt something tug her heartstrings. "Man, being a face character sure looks awesome." She had tried out for the job, but the problem was she didn't look like any of the characters, and the park was very strict about maintaining accuracy when it came to the people portraying their characters.
But, there was something about this that warmed her heart. Maybe it was the fact the little girl was happy, or that whoever was playing Nova was this compassionate towards others. She had heard many a tale of face characters being rude to the guests, but this one seemed a kind and gentle soul.
"Thank you!" Hana cheered, walking off with her mother as she saw the picture.
As the girl and her family walked away, Lena then noticed something about Nova. The character's face had gone from happy to bored in a second, like something in her mind had just switched off in a split second.
Lena knew that she couldn't have a face character be down on the job and as a cast member, she had to make the magic happen, as her supervisor had told her that morning.
She then walked over to Nova, smiling at her. "Hey, do you want a free balloon?" she offered, holding out her string of balloons to the woman.
Nova glanced at her, her blue eyes scanning her. "Do I look like I want one?" She remarked, rather sarcastically.
Lena shrugged. "Just trying to cheer you up, is all."
"I'm fine, you should get back to your own job," Nova replied, folding her arms.
"Aww, come on love, it's my first day," Lena insisted. "Please. It will make you smile."
"I'm not really the smiling type," the face character stated, looking way.
"You smiled for that little girl," Lena reminded her.
"That was just an act. It's my job to smile for the guests, just like it's your job to sell those balloons."
"This is supposed to be the happiest place in the world," Lena said. "C'mon, lighten up a little."
Nova sighed. "Fine, give me a stupid balloon."
Lena handed her one. "By the way, I just wanna say...you were my favourite character too," she said. "I used to love watching you on Starcraft. You were my hero."
Nova raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You're not serious are you?"
"I sure as hell am," Lena cheered. "You were so badass, with that rifle and blowing up those Zerg guys with ease." Lena then did a finger gun gesture, making 'pew pew' noises.
Nova rolled her eyes. "Did you really just do finger guns at me?"
"What, I'm gay, I always do finger guns with girls I like." She then winked at her.
Nova smirked. "I've had so many lesbians tell me that Nova helped them discover themselves. You don't surprise me."
Lena then blushed. "Wow... that wasn't the reaction I was expecting."
"At least you haven't tried to ask me out," Nova mused. "I don't date guests."
"Well, I haven't dated before," Lena remarked. "Well, not since high school. I was with a girl named Emily and she loved StarCraft too. We kinda bonded over that little... mutual thing."
Nova sighed. "Look, I have to go. I have this meet and greet thing to do over in the Nexus Zone." She looked at Lena. "It was nice talking to you, Lena."
Lena was confused how the blonde had known her name, but then remembered her name was on a tag for all the world to see.
"W-wait!" Lena called after Nova as she walked away. "When am I gonna see you again?"
"Meet me in the locker room when the park closes," Nova replied. "I'll probably be in a better mood by then." As she walked away, she waved at her. "See you later."
Lena nodded. "Yeah, see you later." And with that, Nova walked away.
xXx
That night, as the guests left the park, Lena went into the cast member locker room, looking around for Nova.
"Nova?" She called. "Are you here?" Not knowing the actresses real name, she had no choice but to refer to her by the name the park had given her, even if her new acquaintance seemed rather disinterested in her work.
As Lena walked into the changing room, she saw a woman with deep purple hair and yellow eyes putting her hair into a ponytail while looking in a mirror. She was wearing a pink crop top and black leggings.
"Hi," Lena greeted the woman, who she assumed was an employee.
"Bonjour," she replied in a strong, French accent.
"I'm, er, looking for Nova," Lena said, stuttering slightly. "The girl playing her, I mean."
The woman smirked and gave her a slight chuckle. "You found her."
Lena's eyes widened. "Wait what?!" She looked over at the woman again. She didn't even look like the character she had met before. "But you don't look a thing like her."
"Amazing what a little makeup and a costume can do," the woman remarked, going back to doing her hair.
Lena then noticed a blonde wig on the shelf under the mirror, the same shape as Nova's hair. "Ohhhhhh," she realised.
"I'm Amélie, by the way," the French woman introduced herself. "That's my real name. Amélie Diantha Lacroix."
Lena then picked up the wig and put it on her head. "So... you play Nova huh?" She inquired, brushing the wig's hair from her eyes.
She nodded. "Oui. I took several voice lessons so that I could hide my accent. It was difficult at first, due to my strong natural voice, but I've adapted over the years."
"Wow... I'd have never guessed you were really a French gal."
Amélie then noticed Lena wearing her wig, taking it off her head. "Hey! That's mine."
"Sorry, I just wanted to see if it fit me," Lena excused. "Don't you find it itchy? I mean you have a lot of hair."
"Sometimes, yes," Amélie admitted. "I've been considering dyeing my hair blonde instead. Probably easier that way."
"Nah, it looks cute purple," Lena replied.
Amélie smiled. "You're kinda cute yourself, Lena."
Lena blushed. "Amélie, can I ask you a personal question?"
"Well, we are co-workers. I don't see why not," Amélie replied. "Ask me anything you like."
"Are...are you...like me?"
"What do you mean, 'like you?'"
"I mean, are you..." She sighed in frustration. "Damn it. Are you gay?"
"Bisexual," Amélie corrected her.
"Oh... It's just I didn't know if you were when you mentioned about girls saying that Nova was the reason they came out as gay."
"Well, I like girls and boys. To be honest, it doesn't really matter. I don't think much about my romantic partners, in fact, I've had hardly any. I'm a bit of a closed off woman"
"So... ummm," Lena blushed deeper, rubbing the back of her head. "Would you like to go and maybe... grab a burger or something?"
Amélie smiled. "I'd like that actually. Any food has to be better than the slop they serve here."
Lena giggled. "Yeah, no kidding."
Amélie held her hand. "Come on, let's get out of this place. It's way too stuffy in here."
Lena smiled, holding her hand back. "Yeah, I think that would be best."
xXx
Author's note: Now I had a bit of an iffy stance doing this fic at first. You see, I was inspired by a pic by the amazing Widowtracer artist robohero (the same artist who inspired the scene from Forme Elancee), but when I asked her about doing this as a fic, she got a bit confused. She felt that this idea wasn't hers anymore, but I want her to know that this is not me stealing her idea. Hell, I wouldn't have gotten the idea for this fic without her pics. So if you see her Tumblr and like her pics, go out and support her beautiful and adorable pics.
See you next time!