Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney Animation. I wonder who's going to get owned in this chapter.


Chapter 2 – Never Up, Never In

It was almost like someone on a higher plane of existence was toying with him.

It wasn't enough that he had accidentally run into her on numerous occasions now.

It wasn't enough that he had spoken to her both as a regular person and as a superhero.

Nope. Now he was to the point where he was actively seeking her out.

He had a choice, of course. All he had to do was say no to Go Go, and they would have to find somebody else to go with them.

Peer pressure. Gotta love it.

You know, there was still time left. Maybe he could just pretend to talk to her. Or say that she had already left for the day.

He didn't know what to do.

...Maybe that's why Hiro had spent the last five minutes just staring at the door of her lab.

He let out a heavy sigh. It was hard to believe that it was only a few months ago that he didn't even know of Karmi's existence. But now, it was like having another shadow. Sure, she wasn't around every single day, but when she did pop up, he couldn't get rid of her.

What was he afraid of, anyway? That she would agree to come, they'd go out and have a good time, and maybe she would possible be able to join up with them more often? Gee, what a terrifying prospect that was.

Great, now he felt even worse.

It wasn't her fault that they keep stumbling into each other. It wasn't like he purposefully stayed after classes to meet her in the cafe. Or get grounded so they could have an argument on the steps of the campus. Or go on patrol specifically in that area of town. Or even have Aunt Cass take him out to the exact same restaurant she was working at.

It was the Irony Gods; he was sure of it.

Hiro dropped his backpack onto the ground. This was stupid. All he had to do was knock and ask her. That was all. It wasn't a matter of life and death, no matter how much his brain was making it out to be.

And unless one of her organisms mutated and was currently trashing the lab, she definitely was in there. He had been there long enough to hear her moving inside.

He raised his fist up to the door…

"So, have you asked her yet?"

His head snapped to the left so quickly he almost cricked his neck. "Go Go? Honey Lemon? What are you two doing here?"

Yup, the two girls were down the hallway, poking their heads right around the corner, the rest of their bodies hidden from his sight. Honey Lemon, being a full foot taller than her classmate, was much higher up the wall than Go Go. It was almost comical...if Hiro wasn't busy being mad at them.

"We were just making sure you're following through with your assignment."

"Yeah, and I was...making sure she was following through with your follow-through."

He shook his head at them. "You guys couldn't think of something better to come up with?"

"Well, that..." Go Go tapped her wrist. "And you got about five minutes. Ten if Wasabi's feeling generous."

"You guys can't wait for a little bit? I still have to-"

"Excuse me."

A new voice entered the fray, and Hiro quickly looked back in front of him. There was Karmi, exiting her lab, purse in her hands, lines under her eyes...and his knuckles precariously resting right above her eyebrows.

"Umm."

Karmi sighed, not even able to muster up any sort of aggression towards him. "Can you remove your fist from my forehead, please?"

"Sorry." He brought his hand down to his side, and then he remembered why he was there. "Hey, Karmi! I was just talking to-"

He motioned over to the corner where Honey Lemon and Go Go were, but quickly found they had abandoned their post. Karmi followed his gaze, smiling slightly. "Did the wall have anything interesting to say?"

"They were just here. Ugh!" Pushing his frustration aside, he remembered what he was there to do. "So...how's it going?"

"It's going." She rubbed her head absentmindedly. "Look, no offense, but I'm in a hurry, Genius Boy. So if you want something, make it quick."

"I...umm..." Oh great, now he was having difficulty speaking. "I wanted...to..."

Karmi was clearly not having any of his stammering, because she cut him off before he could continue. "OK, here's what I want you to do." She clapped her hands together, leaning them toward him. "Take some time to actually think about what you're going to say, and then get back to me, OK? Good night."

She started to walk off, and Hiro tried to get her attention back. "Wait, hang on!"

"I sincerely doubt anything you have to say to me is going to get me to stop." Karmi waved him off. "Good night."

She was almost around the corner when he yelled out again.

"Did you want to come out with us on Friday?"

Karmi's hand slapped the wall as she stopped her forward momentum. Her head came back from around the corner, a now confused look on her face.

"What?"

That wasn't exactly the response that he was looking for, but Hiro was just happy she stopped. "We're going out on Friday afternoon. Me, Go Go, Honey Lemon, Fred, Wasabi...the whole group. We wanted to see if you wanted to come along with us."

Throughout the entirety of this explanation, Karmi was slowly walking back to him, her eyebrows going lower and lower. It was hard to tell whether she was getting mad or was just generally confused.

"We were thinking about going bowling over at Pierre's, and we'll probably go out and get food afterward. Go out and relax for a little bit."

She finally reached him, stone-faced. Hiro's speech was speeding up the more she stared at him.

"Because, you know, all work and no play makes everyone really cranky. Or however that old saying goes. I think it might talk about some boy named-"

"Stop."

Hiro stopped.

"Bowling?"

Good. No physical violence. Yet. "Yeah, bowling." Hiro paused and pantomimed rolling an imaginary ball. "You know, knock down a bunch of wooden pins with a heavy weighted sphere with three holes in it."

"I...know what bowling is, thanks."

"Sooo...do you want to come?"

"Question." He thought he saw a glimpse of sadness in her eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "Why are you asking me?"

"Because." Realizing he needed a little more context, he continued on. "Because all we ever do is just work our butts off here. We need a break, even if it's just for an afternoon. And I...we...thought you could use it too." He threw his arms out as he stepped forward. "Besides, when was the last time you went out in the city and had a good time?"

Karmi looked away sheepishly, not responding.

"OK, let me ask this. When was the last time you went out?"

Still quiet.

"I...can't shorten the sentence any more, so you're going to have to help me out a little here."

"I haven't, OK!?"

Karmi's shouting stopped him in his tracks. Her glare had him back off a couple of paces, bringing his arms up for protection. After a moment, she let out a sigh. "Look, I don't know if you've noticed, Genius Boy, but I'm not exactly Ms. Popular around here. I don't get invited out for things."

"Wasn't bowling for everyone after the finals?"

"They stopped before I enrolled here. Couldn't tell you why."

Her face was sullen, for reasons Hiro couldn't parse. No matter. He still wanted to say his piece. "Karmi, if you don't want to come, that's fine. You don't have to. I just...thought I'd offer."

"I didn't say I didn't want to go." Karmi shifted her purse to her other side. "I just...I have to ask my parents."

"You have a curfew?"

"The curfew's not the problem." She deliberately avoided his questioning look. "I just don't think they would actually believe me if I asked them."

"Wow, that's...actually kinda sad."

"Oh gee, thanks."

Hiro threw his hood over his head and grabbed his backpack. "I sure everyone's waiting for me. Sorry if I kept you. If you want to take some time to think about it, that's fine. Just let me know what you want to do."

"I have a better idea."

Karmi closed the distance between them, grasping at his drawstring of his hoodie. She twirled it between her fingers for a second...

"Karmi, what are you-"

And promptly yanked on it, closing the hood around his head.

"Hey!"

He felt the palm of her hand slap the top of his head and her footsteps walking away. "Give me a call on Wednesday. I'll let you know then."

"Call you?" Hiro winced as he rubbed his now throbbing head. "How am I suppose to call you? I don't even have your num-"

He felt it before he saw it.

He slowly freed his head from the closed hood. On top of said hood had been placed a singular sticky note, with only one thing on it.

A string of ten numbers, separated by two dashes.

He looked up to try to ask Karmi another question, but the hallway was now empty. Hiro shook his head in disbelief, folding the note into his pocket.

"...So that's what it feels like."


AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes, Hiro, your pattern for leaving the briefest of messages everywhere for Karmi has finally backfired on you. You'll remember that he's done that three times now (once in Magnetism, again in Steps, and finally in Giving). Glad it's rubbing off on someone else.

Don't worry, Karmi's reluctance will be revealed in due time. No, I don't have any plans to actually bring Karmi's parents into the story...directly.

We still have one chapter to go before we get to the actual night out. We'll have to duck back to the Lucky Cat Cafe to do so, Baymax and Aunt Cass will make appearances, and there may also be karaoke in the shower.

But who's going to do it? MYSTERIES!

Read and review, if you wish. Until next time, everyone.