Aerrow

I let the door to my room slam shut, then leaned against it. I closed my eyes and counted to ten.

How did I get myself into this?

Why couldn't I just tell him no?

I just cant say no to a dare. That small part of me that got such a thrill from besting the Dark Ace, that loved pushing my skimmer past its actual specs… that's what made me do it.

I mean, I cant lose. Not to Finn, of all people. I could out-fly, out-fight, and out-do him in just about anything. Well, anything but aim, that is. So I had to say yes. Its not like I really wanted to, after all. I mean, I think of Piper as a really great friend. And even if she's pretty… she doesn't deserve this, does she?

I guess I sorta have a problem with the whole thing. But if I hadn't said yes, Finn was going to mess with her head anyway, right? And besides, Piper kissing Finn?

How the hell would that work?

Anyway, Piper's a girl, right? Girls are a lot more touchy-feely than guys, so it shouldn't be too hard. Finn never DID specify anything about the kiss, just that it had to BE a kiss. So if nothing else, maybe she's the type to kiss someone on the cheek or the forehead or something like that. That's something girls do sometimes, right?

I frowned. This was going to suck.

"Finn…" I said to my empty room, "You are such an ass."

OOO

We were all doing chores. Sweeping up, cleaning our gear, polishing the brass, that sort of thing. Finn kept giving me suggestive looks whenever we passed by each other in the halls, and to my chagrin, my face flared with blood every time. I kept trying to keep the thought in mind that Piper was not one to be forced into doing something that she had no intention of doing… so it wasn't like it was anything bad, right? I mean, I pretty much figured that Finn getting Piper to give him a kiss was pretty much bust. So really, I didn't even have to try, right?

I know Finn is hardly one to take no for an answer, but he would never force her to do anything. So if I just lay low and ignored the whole bet, maybe he'd forget about it.

Yeah, right. And Dark Ace is my uncle. Right.

I groaned, picking up one of the crates of supplies that I was in the process of moving from one end of the ship to the other.

"You okay, Aerrow?"

Piper's voice nearly made me leap out of my skin. She was behind me and I hadn't heard her footsteps when she approached. "Uhh…yeah. Fine. All good."

I hefted the crate to my shoulder and started walking as quickly as I could down the corridor. This time I heard the pitter patter of her footsteps behind me as she kept pace with me. "Oh, good. For a minute there I thought you were going to be sick or something from that noise you made. By the way, what are you doing when you're done with those supplies?"

"Uh," I squeaked, wracking my mind for any excuse not to look her in the face and let her see how red I was. I was pretty sure that she could see my ears flaming, but then again, maybe they were camouflaged in my hair… "I-uh, that is… I-"

"'Cause I was wondering if you'd be able to help me clean up the lab. I cant move the table by myself and its getting pretty dusty back there."

"Oh… uh… is Junko busy?"

"I think he's straightening out the hangar. If its too much trouble, I-"

"I'll help you out, Piper." Came Finn's voice, unexpectedly.

"You will, Finn?" Piper asked, "That's a first…"

I faltered in my steps and I heard Piper quickly backtrack before she ran straight into my back.

"Yeah," replied Finn, "I just finished up my chores, so I have a little extra time. What do you need me to do?"

Oh, no. He wasn't going to pull something like that. My efforts to avoid the bet aside, he wasn't going to just waltz in and get a chance over on me like that. After all, she had come to me for help. It was my responsibility to fulfill her request, since it was in my power to do so, right?

I spun around, unceremoniously dumping the heavy crate into Finn's arms as I passed, not even sparing a glance as I stormed by. I snagged Piper's arm on my way. "Lets go move this table."

"Uh-okay…" she said, allowing herself to be towed. I could hear Finn in the hallway behind me, snorting with a laugh that he barely managed to turn into a fake sounding cough at the last minute.

"Ass…" I muttered beneath my breath.

Once we had reached the lab, Piper detached my grip on her arm and looked at me quizzically. "What," she began, "was all that about?"

I shrugged and ducked my head in an attempt to hide my consternation. "Nothing."

She stared at me for another few moments, then shrugged. "Whatever." She pointed at a large table set against the wall with the window. "I need help moving that. Its easy enough to clean around, but getting behind it is a pain."

I nodded shortly, and moved into position to move the heavy furniture. It really was heavy, too. It took a good deal of my strength just to budge it, and Piper was over there straining against the weight too. We eventually got the thing moved and Piper straightened with a satisfied smile. "Thanks a lot, Aerrow. I don't think I could have done it without help. Since you helped me move it out, I'll get Finn or Junko to help me put it back, okay? I don't want to harangue you all day."

"No," I said, perhaps a little too quickly, judging from the queer look she gave me. "Just come get me again. Its no big deal. I'm nearly done with all of my work anyhow."

"Great. In that case, how would you feel about doing some hand to hand training later on today? I'm in need of a good work out."

I wanted to say no. I didn't want Finn to think I was really taking this wager seriously. I mean, he was probably just having a few laughs at my expense. He's like that sometimes. As much as he acts like a complete dork a lot of the time, he really does have a clever streak that most of us never give him credit for. I'm pretty sure that he just wanted to stick me into an uncomfortable situation so that he could watch me squirm.

He can be a little evil like that sometimes.

Although I cant recall anything he's ever done that was quite to this scale before. And I knew… I just knew that he would be waiting for me to slip up and leave Piper alone so that he could have a chance at-

-Wait. What was I saying?

Piper isn't the type to do anything she doesn't want to do.

So what am I really worried about?

Its not like she'd actually….

…I mean…

Nah. No way.

But still…

"Sure!" I said suddenly, startling Piper, who had taken to peering at me in curiosity. I guess I had been staring at her while having my little internal monologue.

I raised one hand to the back of my head, scratching my scalp self consciously. "I'll just… uh, just let me know when you need help with that table again."

"Thanks Aerrow!" Piper called out after me as I left. I could hear the slight confusion in her voice, but she didn't say much else.

The door closed behind me and I sighed, eyes closed tightly. When I opened them up once more, Finn was smirking at me, leaning on the opposite wall. He tilted his head up in a mock salute. "So," he drawled, "Piper's all taken care of?"

"Its all good." I replied, narrowing my eyes. "What do you want?"

"Nothing," he grinned innocently. "Just making sure everything's under control."

He turned and strolled down the corridor, whistling an off-key tune all the while. I watched him go, confusion warring with the urge to throw something at Finn's giant blonde ego.

He was behaving like he wasn't even worried about me blocking his access to Piper a moment ago! What made him so damn confident? I mean, its not like he and Piper were ever anything more than antagonistic friends. He didn't have a chance.

Did he? I mean… sure, Finn's usually overconfident to a fault, but this wasn't anything like his normal antics. Speaking of his normal tricks, I don't usually get roped into those either. I bet that he was just reveling in getting me in on one of his games for once…

But still… he was acting way too cool for his own good. He couldn't win this bet. I doubt he'd even have a chance, but…

Dammit. There's no way. Finn's going to have to eat his words.

I'm winning this thing.

OOO

It was only a few hours later when Piper caught up to me for help with her furniture moving and a training session, but by that time I had managed to talk myself into a frenzy. I was a little wired and on edge because of that, and I seized upon the chance to relieve some of my excess energy. I was just glad that Piper was so good at hand to hand; there was no reason for me to hold back at all.

Each blow I tried to land usually hit upon thin air. Piper was always one of the quickest fighters, out of all of us, but to my credit I was making her work for it. The physical activity allowed me to take my mind off of the ultimate goal of the stupid bet.

I was so used to hitting nothing as we sparred, that when I did manage to land a kick, it took me completely by surprise. Piper went flying from the force of my attack, flying backwards and landing on the floor with a breathless huff. I stared at her, horrified. Normally, when we fight we all watch our punches, pulling if necessary, but I had let go with the full force of my frustration.

I darted over to her, slipping on the deck. It was slick with the sweat from both of us. I knelt down beside her. "Piper! Are you okay?"

She was sucking in deep breaths in an uncoordinated manner, deep huffing gasps escaping her lungs. I hovered over her for a moment before I reached down and helped her to sit up. "Hey, I'm sorry Piper. You okay?"

My only reply was a sharp glance and more heaving gasps. I noticed that she was favoring her left side and I winced. I must have gotten her pretty good.

There was nothing much I could do until her lungs decided to calm down on their own. I stayed with her, glancing around guiltily and being quite thankful that Finn and the others were occupied elsewhere on the ship. It was just me and Piper in the middle of that empty room.

Suddenly, the fact that we were alone ballooned into my mind, causing heat to flood my features again. I was glad that she was a little too preoccupied with forcing air into her body to look at me, because I was having trouble keeping my blush under control.

Why? I had no reason to be embarrassed. No reason to really feel as self conscious as I did at that very moment.

This really isn't fair, you know. I'm a fairly confident guy. I'm not supposed to blush this much, but it seemed like all day, that was what I was doing. This stupid bet… for what had to be the hundredth time that day, I admonished myself for actually falling for Finn's mind game.

Though it took a while, Piper eventually grew quieter. She pressed a hand gingerly to her side and looked up at me. "Ow." She said plaintively.

I winced again. "Sorry…"

"Is…ah…no problem." She replied, holding up an arm for a hand up. I complied, grasping her arm and wrapping my free arm around her back to steady her as she stood. "Just… hazard of.. the job."

I frowned. "I didn't mean to hit you like that, you know."

"I know. Its…ouch.. okay."

I sighed. "Let me make it up to you?"

She raised her eyebrows at my request. "How do you intend on that?"

"I dunno…"

She laughed, though her voice had a painful hitch. "Its okay, Aerrow. I'll just have to beat on Finn next time. He's not a good as you are."

I almost objected to that, but she had already commented on how odd I was acting lately. I had to let it slide. I mean, I cant keep Finn away from her all the time without seeming really… weird. Besides, I felt a rush of satisfaction when she compared my fighting skills favorably to Finn's…

…Its not like she'd kiss him anyway.

Dammit.

I shook myself out of those thoughts and smiled down at her. "Yeah, well, you know how Finn loves to practice." I rolled my eyes in lighthearted emphasis. "Here, why don't I help you to your room? You should probably rest for a little bit. I didn't hurt anything too badly, did I?"

"No, I'm pretty much in one piece. I do think it might be a good idea to take a rest though. I can get some reading in, too. By the way, did you like that book I gave you?"

"Definitely. It had a lot of pertinent info on their tactics…"

We left the training room, Piper leaning slightly on my arm, Our banter continued up until we made it to her quarters. I helped her to her bed, stopping just short of tucking her in. I looked around until I found the book I knew she had been reading and I took it to her. "Is there anything else you need right now?"

She looked at me with an odd expression. "No.. I should be alright. Are… are you okay?"

"Of course! Why do you ask?"

She shook her head slowly. "No reason…"

I stepped out of the room and made my way quickly down the hall. And sure enough, since he'd been all but stalking me since this morning, I ran into Finn.

His smug smile was starting to get on my nerves, and this was only the first day.

He glanced around. There was no one near us at the moment. He leaned in close enough to whisper to me conspiratorially. "Awesome move, Aerrow. Immobilize and go in for the kill?"

I grimaced. "Training accident."

He rocked back on his heels and quirked his grin a little wider. "Uh-hmmm. I see."

I opened my mouth to say something, but looking at his obvious amusement at my expense, I thought better of it. Didn't want to give him any more satisfaction. I made to walk past him.

"Hey Aerrow," he called after me.

"What?" I stopped and looked over my shoulder at him.

Stupid smug smile. Stupid blonde ego.

"Don't forget to write in your journal. That's part of the deal."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Whatever."

My teeth were grinding each other to powder the whole way back to my room. I threw myself down at my desk, my whole being a morass of frustration and competitive urges. My fatal flaw… I couldn't back down from a challenge. A legitimate challenge to my abilities. And somehow, though I still cant understand how, this stupid contest qualified as a challenge to my prowess.

I dug out a pen and a blank notebook and glared at it for about ten minutes.

My thoughts kept going back to that infuriatingly cool and confident smile plastered over Finn's face. I growled.

"Ass."

OOO

Okay. That went way off to the side of what I was aiming for. But either way, you sorta get the emotional and mental battle that Aerrow is going through-he cant back down from a challenge, but he doesn't want his best friend to get caught in the crossfire of said contest either. And there's the unacknowledged emotional tension on his part that I tried to get across… not sure if that was obvious.

Okay, since I promised I would post the poll results, here they are:

Aerrow - 40 percent

Piper - 33 percent

Finn - 13 percent

Stork - 13 percent

Junko - 0 percent

Radarr - 0 percent

And thus, the next poll begins. Each choice is a different character's POV, by the way… but this makes it even more blind than last chapter's poll! Keep an eye out, this is becoming fun!