Chapter Two: Getting Closer.
Morning soon came, and I awoke with a start.
I was going to start my microbot project, and I needed help from everyone in the team, including... well, you know already.
Tadashi was going to help me with this project, and I was extremely thankful for this. Tadashi was probably even smarter than me, and he always corrected me when I went wrong. I never truly showed how thankful I was though. I was like that. One by one, the team arrived at the garage. First Fred, then Wasabi, then GoGo and, as if it had been building up to her, Honey, who looked even more stunning than usual.
"Hi, Hirro!" she beamed happily, rushing over to me and grabbing me in a friendly hug. I squeaked out a faint "H-Hi, Honey!" and gave her a nervous hug in return, my heart fluttering wildly with the contact. She quickly pulled away and smiled at me, looking right into my eyes without any trace of nerves showing through. I liked that about her, she was so open and not at all afraid to show how happy she was.
"How are you? I got some ideas for your microbot things and how they could be decorated!" she chirped happily, pulling out her notebook from her bag and showing off her sketches of the colours she'd chosen. Predictably, they were pink and yellow, a sort of pinky-red and some other bright colours. She showed me these eagerly, and I couldn't help but laugh as I looked up at her.
"I'm great, I just... I think I'll stick with... black, so they're cheap to produce, okay?" I asked her, offering a quick smile. She giggled and nodded, quickly kissing me on the cheek in a big-sister sort of way. It still made my heart explode.
"Of course, Hirro! I just wanted to help!"
"I don't mind you helping... Honestly, it's great that you want to," I replied softly, smiling nervously up at her again as she put her notebooks away and went to talk to the others.
She truly was a blessing to me.
-
"I have an idea!" announced Fred suddenly, making me jump as I tossed another microbot into a bin full of hundreds of others. It missed the bin and landed on GoGo's head instead.
"Hey! Watch what you're doing, doofus!" she said, although she gave me a grin and tossed the bot in the bin for me. Tadashi and Honey laughed, and Wasabi looked up from his calculator, counting the bots going in.
"What is it, Fred?" I asked, setting the machine putting the bots together on autopilot.
"We should totally have a sleepover tonight! Movie night, have some fun, make a pillow fort, right?" he asked. GoGo shrugged and smirked. "Sure, I could go for something like that. I'm not busy."
Tadashi nodded too. "That sounds like fun. Who's hosting it, Fred?"
"I'll host it!" burst out Honey excitedly. "I've got my own little house on the edge of town, we could totally hang out there and have a super-amazing sleepover!"
My stomach instantly did a backflip, and I swallowed nervously. "That sounds great. I would love to join in."
Honey grinned and bounced over to me, ruffling up my already untidy hair. "You'll be the focus of it Hirro, you're the one getting into the university, remember?" she asked. I laughed and lightly pushed her hand away. "Okay, okay, I'll come!" I replied quickly, hoping my cheeks weren't as red as they felt.
"Fantastic – Come on guys, let's finish the first batch and get prepared for the sleepover," said Tadashi, smirking and giving Honey a light punch on the shoulder, which she blushed and giggled at, rubbing her arm lightly. For some reason, I didn't like seeing that... Were they dating? Why was Honey blushing? Did she have a crush on him? I phased out for a few moments, and then I gasped and jerked back to reality when I realised Honey was right in my face, and the others were looking at me strangely.
"Hirro, what's the matter?" she asked softly, just a few inches from my face. "You just... blanked and looked scared."
Instantly I felt deeply ashamed of myself, and I quickly shook my head. "I'm okay, nothing's wrong, I just... remembered something," I lied weakly.
"Okay, Hiro, we're here for you if you've got something you need to talk about," said Wasabi with a small frown. I backed away from Honey and gulped.
"I'm okay guys, seriously, don't worry about it," I repeated, lying through my awkwardly gapped teeth. I could feel Tadashi's confused yet suspicious eyes on me, and I was determined not to look at him.
I began to realise at that moment that I had a problem. A big problem.
I was jealous.