Disclaimer: I do not own Negima. That is Ken Akamatsu's brain child. The only things that I do own are my ideas, so please don't sue.

Author's Notes: Well, first thing's first. A big thanks goes out to all of my reviewers I had for the last chapter. I'm glad to see that it didn't turn out as bad as I originally thought. As for Lunar, if you're reading this, I'm always up for an idea. It just may take a little while for me to get to as I'm planning on going back to work on Negima: Fallout after I post this. But like I said, I'm interested. A big thank you goes to Dark Dragon Dave for the proofreading job, so if you want something to read between Workshops, take a look at some of his stuff. Kudos to Kafka'sdragon as well for this next idea, that being a Clyde/Makie date, well about 50 anyways. A shot while ago, I was writing up a story for Hydriatus' Operation Valentine I couldn't decide on what I wanted to do, so I wrote two stories instead. Now who's Clyde, you may ask? Well, that would be my OC from Negima: Fallout, of course! So if OCs aren't your cup of tea or if you are a Makie hater, this chapter probably isn't for you. If neither of those things are a problem though, enjoy the read.

Story Statistics:

Main Characters: Makie Sasaki, Clyde Metro

Supporting Characters: Howell Fitzwilliam, Yuna Akashi, The Cheerleader Trio

Story Length: 4000 words plus

Genres: Romance/Drama/Comedy

Extra Additions/Restrictions: None

Operation Valentine Mk II: Clyde's Calamity...Yet Again

"How in the hell did I get myself involved with this again?"

The thought rings through Clyde Metro's head clear as a bell as he continues walking down the sidewalk, albeit with a very lively gymnast by his side. The boy fades in and out of paying attention, not really sure what to do on a date as his grand total before today was a resounding zero. But the boy's attention is drawn rather quickly as Makie skips in front of him with a confused look on her face, slightly lifting the boy's feathered hat from his head to examine it.

"So, why are you wearing that outfit from the play, Clyde-kun?"

Chuckling nervously, Clyde looks over at the confused girl that he is currently strolling about with as well as holding hands and works on weaving together an excuse.

"Well, Makie, to be honest…it's comfortable. I've taken a shine to it."

"Aw, Clyde-kun addressed me informally!" Makie squeals, squeezing the blonde's hand tighter and causing both of them to blush. "But anyways…even if it is comfortable, you do know that the hat kind of makes you look like a pimp, right?"

"It's a cavalier hat! Not a pimp hat! And I'm only being informal because I'm used to it!" Clyde thinks to himself before another thought crosses the youth's mind. "That's alright though. I'm doing a good thing. Otherwise, Makie would be sitting at that table depressed and alone. I'm making her happy, so I guess I'm doing a good job."

"Plus she's cute…" Clyde mutters, crossing the line between thought and speech at an inopportune time. Sure enough Clyde finds himself nearly suffocating as he finds himself cheek to cheek with Makie via a bear hug.

"Aw, you're so sweet, Clyde-kun!" Makie beams, obviously having a better day than she was a half hour ago. "Say, I know a nice café that isn't too far from here. Let's go stop in for a bite!"

"Sure…we can…do that…" Clyde manages to wheeze out before both of the youths notice Asakura hanging on Connor and walking down the sidewalk across the street, only stopping briefly as the redhead ties a bandana on the young man's head.

"What the hell is Connor doing? He's supposed to be with Ku Fei! He's blowing the plan…but wait a minute…He's with Kazumi. Hey, she's more of a Negi and Nodoka security threat than Ku Fei. Hope he knows what he's doing though. I wouldn't want the cute female chinese version of Chuck Norris pissed at me, that's for sure…"

Clyde is quickly brought out of his thoughts as his date for the day gives his arm a tug, causing the boy to nearly fall on top of the poor girl. The blonde adjusts his feet and opts to move on, slightly taken aback by the girl's little outburst of strength.

"Hey, hey! I want to change first if I'm going into a café! Makie!"

"…so after that, I told Akira that we needed to…Howell! Are you listening!?"

The speaker, a black haired girl with part of her hair tied in a ponytail on the right side of her head smacks her companion in the arm, causing the white haired boy to turn and look at her, rubbing his arm in pain as he does so. Watching on and scoffing, a man behind a countertop goes back to cleaning glasses, leaving the two to their squabble.

"Yeah, you were saying something about…hey, a beetle!"

"Howell, I didn't say anything about a beetle! You weren't paying attention, were you?"

Noting the girl's frustration, the man behind the counter decides it's time to offer some heartfelt advice to the young man as far as his romantic endeavors are concerned…well, and to get his mind off of a potential insect infestation. Mostly insect infestation deflection of course. Health inspectors tend to frown on that type of thing, after all. Tapping the albino on the shoulder, the man leans in to talk so that only Howell can hear him.

"Hey, buddy…you know, if I was your age and I had a beautiful girlfriend like that, I would focus more on her. No need to worry about this place having bugs…which it doesn't. Maybe you should buy your girl a malt. I'm sure she'd appreciate that…"

The man trails off as he notices that the albino seems to be more interested in watching behind him. Muttering under his breath, the man continues on.

"Son, you seriously have a lack of focus. That's what's wrong with you youngsters today. You don't listen to what anybody says, even if they are trying to help you…hey, pay attention!"

The man brings his arms down hard on the counter top, making the youth's eyes snap back towards him. Shaking his head and with a slight smirk, Howell offers his rebuttal.

"I'm sorry about that, but I was just wondering…where did you get that toaster? It really does get the job done, what with all that smoke and all."

"Kid, seriously. I know you're just trying to brush me off, but I'm really trying to hel…"

"Holy crap! The toaster's on fire!"

Yuna's attention to detail is enough to make the man turn his attention to the appliance in question behind him, thus confirming that yes, the toaster is indeed on fire. Yelping in response, the man quickly scurries under the counter top to search for a fire extinguisher, not really feeling like watching his livelihood burn to the ground around him. Unfortunately for the owner and the patrons, the smoke from the now totaled appliance has done it's damage and activated the fire sprinklers, causing the albino boy to yelp in fear and try to hide under the lip of the counter top.

"Howell! Are you alright!?" A concerned Yuna asks, full well knowing of Howell's fear of water. Looking around for something to help cover him, the basketball ace finds nothing and out of concern opts to cover the rest of his body with her own. A good plan in theory, but unfortunately for the girl, a couple of drops manage to get through to Howell, causing the man to unintentionally shove the kneeling Yuna to the ground as he tries to better position himself.

"Sorry Turnips! I'm fine, I'm fine!" Howell assures the girl as he slides under a nearby table for better coverage.

Meanwhile…

"Thanks for the ice cream, Clyde-kun!" Makie happily chirps as she licks away at the aforementioned cone in her hand. Looking on at the gymnast's chipper demeanor, Clyde can't help but crack a smile himself as he shovels some of his frozen treat into his mouth, all the while being thankful that she was nice enough to let him change out of his Observer attire.

"You know, this isn't so bad. She's having a good time, other than the bleeding my wallet will be doing after today, I'm having a good time…plus distracting her from Negi to boot. Hell, everybody wins, I guess…"

The faint smell of smoke, however is enough to draw Clyde out of his thoughts. Looking around for the source, the blonde shakes his head as he notices what seems to be Howell distracting the store owner from a burning toaster behind him.

"Howell's trying to get the damn place burnt down…" Clyde mutters under his breath, causing the girl across the table from him to look at him in confusion.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Look over there." Clyde motions towards where Yuna and Howell are. "I'm not going to be getting my toasted club sandwich, it seems…"

Any and all thoughts Clyde has over the sandwich that never was are abruptly put on hold as water starts dripping from overhead, causing everyone in the establishment to go for cover, Clyde and Makie being no exception as they duck under their table. A few moments later, Makie shrieks in horror.

"My ice cream!" Quickly reacting, the gymnast reaches above the table, only to pull down a soggy cone. Tearing up, all Makie can respond with is, "Dang it…"

"Here you go."

Makie's tears are short lived as Clyde hands her his ice cream bowl. Grinning, the pink haired girl shoots him a thumbs up before resuming in her ice cream consumption. Satisfied with his handiwork, Clyde smirks in a victory of sorts, before a nearby thud draws his attention. Looking over to his right, the blonde notices Yuna sitting on the ground as Howell scurries away from her. Shaking his head and gritting his teeth, Clyde gets up from his hiding spot to 'defend' his friend. Knocking on the top of the table Howell is under, the albino peeks his head out from under it long enough to catch Clyde's stern gaze.

"Oh! Hello! What are you doing here?"

"Defending a friend." The blonde coldly replies as he grabs Howell by the shirt collar and drags him from under the table, causing him to yelp as water droplets hit him. Paying it no mind, Clyde drags the albino a few feet away, stopping in front of the countertop. Grabbing Howell's hair with his free hand, Clyde rears back and smashes Howell's face hard into the counter, causing him to temporarily forget about his water fear as he lies on the floor in pain, tasting the iron of his own blood from a busted lip. Deciding that the smash into the counter was a fair trade for now, the blonde turns his attention to Yuna and offers her a hand up.

"You OK, Yuna?"

Muttering profanities under his breath, Clyde rubs his still sore cheek as he walks down the streets of Mahora. Clyde's 'noble' deed apparently wasn't so noble in the eyes of Yuna, as the red handprint that is still imprinted on his left cheek will attest.

"I don't get it…an accident? Sure, that excuse works for Howell, but when it's my case in accidentally jumping him, I don't get a free pass? I'll never understand women. That's just terrific though…Yuna hates me now I'm sure…"

Clyde pauses for a moment before actually speaking his thoughts quietly to himself.

"…and Makie. That poor girl. I set out to make her feel better about today and I'm sure that I made her feel worse over getting in a spat about another girl…she's gotta hate me too…"

"I don't hate you, Clyde-kun."

Jumping slightly in surprise, Clyde quickly pivots around to see Makie, a half smile etched on her face. Stammering to say something for a few moments, the boy returns to silence as the gymnast puts a hand on his shoulder before asking the blonde a question.

"Clyde-kun…you like Yuna, don't you?"

Slightly sweating and blushing after Makie's accusation, Clyde quickly turns the tables on the gymnast with a question of his own.

"Well…um…you like Negi-sensei, don't you?"

"Ye…N…well, I think so." Makie manages to get out, the blush of her face dangerously close to matching the reddish pink of her hair. "I mean, I know he's only ten, but he's more mature than any ten year old I've ever known. Maybe in a couple of years…hey! No changing the subject!"

Clyde grimaces as the gymnast catches on to his diversion, taking a deep breath before responding.

"Well…let's say for the sake of argument that I do like Yuna. We could say that was ruined after today."

"Maybe not." Makie responds. "Part of the reason I came after you was to tell you that Yuna was sorry for hitting you as hard as she did. She's still mad about what you did to Howell…"

"I thought he shoved her on purpose." Clyde retorts. "How was I supposed to know that the guy was just responding to a fear of water? It's not exactly like Howell is someone I'm supposed to know everything about…wait, you said that was part of the reason. What else did you come after me for?"

"Well…I just wanted to say thank you for trying to cheer me up today. It didn't turn out the best, but I'm still happy that you tried."

Smiling, Makie tosses her arms around Clyde's neck and wraps him in an embrace, stepping back after a few moments as both of the teens are now the shade of a red crayon.

"Well…I suppose that I should get back to the dorms. I'll talk to you later, Clyde-kun."

Makie flashes a smile to the boy and makes her way back towards the dorms, leaving Clyde to his thoughts as she walks away.

"Well, I'm happy that Makie is alright, but I still feel bad about what happened. If only there was something I could do to make it up to her…but it isn't exactly like answers are going to be falling out of the sky…"

And as if on cue, nothing happens, much to the blonde's chagrin. Confused, Clyde looks about, looking for all the world like a complete dunce in the process.

"Right, right…what the hell was I expecting? Luke to fall from the sky?" Clyde mutters to himself before sprinting after Makie. "Hey, hold on a sec!"

"Hmm?" Makie mutters as she looks about, tilting her head in confusion as she sees Clyde running towards her. "Did you forget something?"

"Yeah, I did." Clyde replies looking down at the ground before lifting his head up to reveal a grin etched on his face. "I forgot you. C'mon, the day is still young!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Let's face it. If we just called it a day right now, you and I would just spend the rest of the day moping about feeling bad about ourselves." Clyde reasons, putting a hand on Makie's shoulder as he speaks. "Let's just pretend that earlier didn't happen, shall we? I really don't want to go home and mope, and I'm sure you don't either, right?"

"Well…" Makie ponders, shooting a suspicious glare at Clyde before grinning. "Why not? C'mon, they just opened a new amusement park like a week ago and I've wanted to check it out!"

Before Clyde has a chance to agree or disagree, he finds himself being dragged by the arm yet again by the gymnast. Shrugging it off, the blonde begins running to keep up, lest Makie rip his arm off due to her over eagerness.

"Okay, what should we do first?" Makie ponders, responding before Clyde can even get a thought out. "We could ride bumper cars, or we could go on the Ferris Wheel…or there's the Gut Smasher! Or the Pulverizer! Or the Heart Attack Deluxe!"

"Makie, that sounds a lot more like a McDonalds menu than an amusement park ride line up."

"Don't be silly, Clyde-kun! Of course they're rides!" Makie giggles, lightly punching the blonde in the shoulder. "Maybe since we're standing in the middle of it, we'll do the midway first."

"Hey, sounds like a winner to me." Clyde says with relief in his voice, thrilled to be missing out on riding the Heart Attack Deluxe, at least for the time being. After scanning the various games and booths for a few minutes, Makie's face brightens up as she walks towards a throwing game. Clyde, naturally and correctly assuming that he is to be the source of income for this little venture follows her.

"Step right up! Two balls for 100 yen! Five for 200 yen!" The carnie grins as he notices Makie making her way over to the counter. "How about it young lady? You want to give it a try? Knock the bottles over and get a prize"

"Hmm…well…" Makie ponders over the man's proposition, looking at the various prizes for display. After a quick scan, the girl's face brightens up as she notices a pink monkey among the stuffed animals. Nodding and grinning, Makie gives the carnie a thumbs up as Clyde puts his money down for the gymnast to try her luck. Rearing back, Makie hurls the first ball, narrowly missing the target.

"Good try Makie." Clyde offers up, all the while not being able to keep from smirking at the girl's enthusiasm. "A little lower next time and those bottles are toast!"

"I got it, Clyde-kun!" Makie smirks as she takes aim again. The second shot is lower as Clyde suggested, but a little too low as it bounces off the wooden shelf the bottles are sitting on and nearly ricochets towards the carnie's face. "Oops…sorry!"

The man nods and motions for the girl to take her third throw, ducking under the counter this time to avoid any projectile bouncing mishaps. Paying it no mind, the look of confidence on Makie's face is unwavering as she fires away again, this time grazing the top bottle with the ball and getting a hollow ping for her efforts.

"Almost got it…" Makie mutters under her breath as she readies herself for throw number four. Gritting her teeth, the girl fires off a shot that would make a baseball pitcher proud, hitting the bottles right in the middle of the formation. Strangely enough though, instead of cascading to the ground in a display of the gymnast's triumph, the bottles reward Makie with more hollow pinging and by staying in place. Staring at her still standing target in shock for a few minutes, the pink haired girl turns her attention back to the smirking carnie.

"Aw, too bad there sweetie. You were close too! You got one more ball left, so give it another try!"

"Hmm…" Clyde mutters as he watches on, stroking his chin as Makie lets loose with throw number five, rocketing the ball even harder than her last throw. Once again, the ball hits dead center in the bottles…and once again, hollow pinging and no fallen bottles is the result. Makie stares on in disbelief, the emotion turning to anger once the guffawing of the carnie reaches her ears.

"Hey! This game is fixed!" Makie shouts, causing the carnie to laugh even harder. The flustered gymnast looks back and forth between the laughing man and the pondering Clyde before responding again. "I hit that dead on and you know it! This game has got to be fixed!"

"Okay, you know what? I've had enough of this!" The carnie snaps, going from kind to cold in a split second. "You didn't win. You need to get the hell over it! Get out of here, now! I don't need some crybaby little snot ruining my business! Go on and get out of here! Take your dumbass boyfriend with you too!"

Makie's eyes tear up at the man's rather callous dismissal, but before she can do anything more, Clyde puts an arm around her shoulder.

"Hey, you know what? Forget this guy. Tell you what. Why don't you wait for me by the crepe stand? I have to run to the restroom."

"OK, Clyde-kun." Makie manages to get the words out in between her sniffles. "I'll see you in a couple minutes."

And with that, Makie walks away from the throwing game and the crooked jerk that is running it. Clyde, on the other hand is very much still there, apparently telling a little white lie about his restroom going activities. Leaning on the counter, Clyde motions for the man to come over.

"What the hell do you want? I told you and the whiner to get lost!"

"Yeah, yeah." Clyde dismisses the man's anger, not really caring that he is only adding to it at this point. "Now look. You know this game is corrupt, I know this game is corrupt, she knows this game is corrupt. Why don't you just be a nice guy and give her that stuffed animal that she wanted? If this game wasn't rigged, she would have knocked over enough bottles to have won it anyways."

"She had her chance and she lost!" The carnie sneers, standing up from the stool he was sitting on a moment before. "If you don't like it, you and I can take this out back and settle it!"

"Heh…challenging a teenager to a fight…" Clyde chuckles to himself before nodding in agreement. "Just be sure to take it easy on me. I don't want to get hurt too bad…"

"Wow! You won that monkey for me!? You're the best, Clyde-kun!" Makie gushes, nearly strangling the aforementioned blonde in a bear hug. "But how did you manage to get that? That jerk fixed the game, didn't he?"

"Oh, we came to an understanding." Clyde haphazardly replies. "You earned it, and he agreed. Now then, what do you want to do now?"

"Roller coaster!" Makie fires off a split second later. "Come on, it'll be fun! I hope I don't get sick like last time though…poor Akira…"

"Hoo boy…" Clyde sweats nervously, not really looking forward to the same fate that the swimmer apparently suffered some time in the past. Luckily for the blonde, his fears are put to rest as Makie lightly slugs him in the shoulder.

"I was just joking, Clyde-kun!" Makie giggles. "I wouldn't do that to Akira! I tilted my head to the other side just in time!"

"Um…"

"Um…sorry, Clyde-kun?"

Makie giggle nervously as the blonde is in the middle of getting acquainted with the nearest trashcan. Apparently the pink haired girl was fibbing as far as roller coasters and her stomach are concerned, as the gymnast isn't suffering from the same problems that her companion currently is.

"Not your fault, Makie…" Clyde manages to get out, slowly getting to his feet. "Truth be told, that was my first time on a roller coaster."

"Oh?" Makie chirps in response. "No wonder you threw up! You could have said something, y'know."

"I didn't want to be a spoilsport." Clyde retorts, happy that his vision has finally stopped spinning. "Let's go on something a little slower, should we?"

"No problem, Clyde-kun! Ferris Wheel slow enough for you?"

"Yeah, I think I can hack that."

Smiling, the pair wanders off towards the Ferris Wheel, both simultaneously groaning in frustration at the sight of the line in front of it. After a few moments of fruitlessly waiting for a line that is going nowhere in quite a hurry, Makie and Clyde are about ready to walk off when some familiar voices stop them in their tracks.

"Makie! Clyde-kun! Over here!"

Blinking at each other in confusion, the two look over their shoulders to see a girl with reddish orange hair jumping up and down waving her arms at them. Beside her is a girl with short black hair who is waving a bit more subtlety at the two. Shrugging, Makie and Clyde make their way over, paying no mind to the various patrons complaining that the two are cutting in line.

"Sakurako! Madoka! How are you guys doing?" Makie asks, giving a high five to Sakurako as she does so.

"Well, we didn't have anything better to do today, so we all came here." Madoka explains. "Misa's boyfriend works out here part time, so he got us a discount."

"And a VIP pass to go to the front of the lines!" Sakurako cheerfully adds, waving the said pass around in her hand for extra emphasis. "Say, you guys want to come ahead with us? I'm sure that Misa's boyfriend would mind…"

Sakurako trails off as she looks towards the controls of the ride, chuckling as Misa and her boyfriend are sharing a personal moment.

"…Yeah, I'm sure he won't mind! C'mon!"

"…Are they kissing or did they get stuck together?" Clyde asks, not really wanting to watch but being drawn towards the teens' make out session nonetheless. The teen's peepshow is over before it can even begin though as Makie drags the blonde onto the ride with her.

"What? I was right behind you!"

"Wow, who would've thought that Mahora would look so incredible from up in the sky?" Clyde ponders, thoroughly enjoying the view of the campus. "Being able to see something so beautiful from a Ferris Wheel…"

"Yeah, it really is something, isn't it?" Makie replies, grinning as she takes in the scenery as well. "When we all went to Kyoto a few months ago, I thought it was beautiful there, but this…wow. I can't even describe this. So amazing…"

"Are you two going to make out!?"

And as quickly as Makie and Clyde were lost in the scenery, as quickly as the two had escaped the pressures of life only to lose themselves in the bliss of the sky, they find themselves snapped back to reality by the bluntness of Sakurako's question. The two teens look at each other and face palm before Sakurako's voice cuts through again from the gondola below.

"…Because if you aren't, I'd be more than happy to switch with Mak…"

"Sakurako! Cut it out!"

"You're no fun, Madoka!"

"Well…she's high spirited…" Clyde notes, not quite sure how to react, opting to go with a shoulder shrug and a dumb look.

"She's a cheerleader, after all." Makie chuckles in response. Before the girl has time to say anything else though, the wheel comes to an abrupt stop, causing the gymnast's head to go crashing into Clyde's right shoulder.

"Hey! What gives!?" The pink haired girl demands, pretty sure that the Ferris Wheel isn't supposed to come to a bone jarring stop.

"Sorry!" Misa responds from the ground, causing the 3-A students to simultaneously sweat drop.

"…Misa's boyfriend is so fired, isn't he?" Sakurako ponders, doing her best to stifle a chuckle.

"Yep." Madoka replies, not really shocked that the ride was inadvertently stopped due to a Misa make out session. Seems to happen all the time, such as the time Misa's boyfriend was a roller skate repairman at the skating rink…but this is Makie's story, not Misa's story of accidentally costing her boyfriend jobs, so let's get back on track, shall we?

"Well…at least we get to enjoy that view that we're so in love with." Clyde offers up. "That's a plus, right?"

"Yep!" Makie agrees, taking the opportunity to look over the carnival. "I can't believe how small everybody looks from up here…hey, there's that rigged game! I wish I had something to throw at that jerk! He really deserves it! Wait a minute…"

Makie stops mid rant to take a closer look at the game. Pretty much identical to what she remembers, save for one small detail: that being the man hanging upside down from a clothesline behind the shack that the man was running the game out of. Looking closer, she notices that the man's feet and hands are tied by a rope and that his mouth has been taped shut as well.

"Clyde-kun, you didn't…did you?"

"What are you talking about, Makie?" Clyde asks innocently, causing the pink haired girl to motion down to the carnie in peril. "Oh, that. Well, the guy deserved it after all. The dude tried to pick a fight with me after you left! Please don't be mad."

Clyde's fears of the gymnast being angry are quickly diffused as he hears the girl start giggling. Taking the boy by surprise, Makie has the boy locked in a bear hug.

"Why would I be mad? You defended my honor!" Makie squeals as she keeps the pressure up on the hug, causing the blonde to see various stars and animals as he struggles to stay conscious. "Nobody has ever done something like that for me before! That is so awesome, Clyde-kun!"

After a few more seconds of Makie's death grip, she turns her attention back to Clyde to notice that his face is blue and that he is a little on the unconscious side. Chuckling nervously, Makie releases her grip on the boy, causing him to lean back in the gondola.

"Um…Clyde-kun?"

After about a five minute delay that as speculated led to Misa's boyfriend being fired, the Ferris Wheel comes to life again, much to the delight of both the current riders and the ever growing line. By the time their gondola has touched down, Makie has managed to wake Clyde out of his air deprived slumber. As the two walk from the ride, Makie nudges the blonde in the arm.

"Clyde-kun…sorry about knocking you out like that…" Makie starts, looking down at the ground as she walks. "That's a problem I have I guess. People always say that I act childish and maybe that's why Negi-kun…"

The gymnast abruptly stops dead in her tracks with her last words, both out of shock and embarrassment. Turning about and expecting to see Clyde angry about her bringing up another male in the middle of their unofficial date, Makie is instead shocked to see Clyde chuckling over the matter.

"Makie…you're fine just the way you are. I know it's hard to see that as the biggest critic of a person is themselves, but there isn't any worry for you to change. If it's meant to be between you and Negi, it will happen someday."

After firing off his words of wisdom, a thought crosses into Clyde's head.

"What in the hell was that, Metro? You've seriously got to lay off the sitcoms…"

Makie nods in understanding, a smile breaking out on her face as she does so. "That's good advice, Clyde-kun." The gymnast pauses briefly before continuing. "I hope you pay attention to it as far as Yuna is concerned."

"What are you talking about?" Clyde laughs nervously, rubbing the back of his neck for extra emphasis. "That was a good joke, Makie! I'm glad to see you're feeling better. Well, I suppose I should get out of your hair. Don't forget your stuffed animal! Bye!"

And with that, Clyde takes the monkey off his back quite literally and puts it in Makie's arms before making a run for it. However, the boy doesn't get hardly five feet before he feels something wrap around his right leg, causing him to trip a split second later. As Clyde grimaces in pain, he looks down at his leg to see just what in the hell tripped him up, confused as he notes that it looks like a simple ribbon. A pink ribbon. Following the fabric from his leg, he sees Makie standing a few feet away, the other end of the ribbon at her feet.

"Now come on, Clyde-kun. I'm not going to let you run away!" Makie grins, helping the boy to his feet. "There's still so much to do! The day is young! You're right about whatever is meant to be will happen, but that doesn't do anything about right now, does it?"

Clyde blinks in confusion, his confusion only increasing as Makie plants a kiss on his cheek. Before the boy can react, he finds his hand in Makie's, being swung up and down.

"Let's head back to the dorms and drop off the stuffed animal, then we'll see what we can do for dinner. Come on, it'll be fun!"

"Sure, why not?" Clyde agrees, walking with the pink haired girl back to the dorms. After a few steps, Clyde rummages around in his jeans pocket with his free hand, pulling out a card a few moments later. Looking at the card, one can see a certain basketball loving girl dressed up as a witch and sporting magic pistols. Clyde chuckles to himself as he looks at the card.

"If it's meant to be, it will happen someday…' yeah, I should listen to my own advice. But for now, it's best to live in the present. Who knows, maybe the present will be what's meant to be…"

"Clyde-kun, are you okay?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Clyde tucks the card back into his pocket and picks up his pace to match that of the gymnast's.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go, shall we?"

The Stat Line: Started 7/22/08, Completed 8/03/08

Musical Motivations: "Someday" by The Strokes, "Tonight Tonight" by The Smashing Pumpkins

The Follow Up: Well, another chapter is in the books. If you are still reading this, I hope that you enjoyed the read. It may be a little bit before you see more Workshop as I'm going to be putting in some work on Fallout, but don't fret. If you have an idea, send it in. I do stuff besides OC fiction, despite what Workshop has mostly been so far, so go ahead and tell me if you have a story idea. See you all around with the next Fallout and Workshops!

-Midnight