Hamtaro, Carrot Tip and Stan all laughed as Boss turned and walked away, grumbling under his breath.
He was unaware as he turned that Bijou was in the bushes nearby. She darted out and ran to the tree, joining the other Hams.
Hamtaro smiled at the white hamster. "Oh, hi Bijou."
Bijou smiled back and waved her paw, a small blush creeping into her cheeks. "Bonjour, Hamtaro." she said sweetly in her French accent.
Hamtaro wasn't sure why, but something about the tone in her voice when she spoke made his face heat up a little.
Bijou realized this, and she giggled, blushing redder than before.
"Hey Bijou," Hamtaro began, staring at the blush on her face, "I think you should stay out of the sun for awhile. Your face is getting burned."
"Gyaaaah!" Hamtaro glanced around in confusion at his three friends, all sprawled out on the ground on their backs. "Are you guys ok?" he asked, helping each of them up again.
When he offered his paw to Bijou to help her up, the white hamster's face turned red, and she was forced to look away.
"What's wrong?" Hamtaro asked, blinking in confusion.
Stan sighed and crossed his paws, shaking his head. "For someone as clever as you can be, Hamtaro, you sure are like, clueless when it comes to these things..." he muttered.
Hearing this, Hamtaro frowned and turned to Stan. "What things? Tell me."
"Bijou's not getting sunburned, Hamtaro. She's blu-" Stan's voice was muffled as Carrot Tip put a paw over his mouth.
"Don't say it, Stan." she warned in a soft but firm voice.
Stan frowned at her. "Why not?" he demanded, pulling her paw away from his mouth. "Don't you think he should know?"
"No, not yet!"
"I should know what?" Hamtaro interrupted.
Carrot Tip and Stan both paused and turned to look at him for a brief moment, sweatdropping, before continuing their arguement.
Sighing as he got no answer, Hamtaro turned to Bijou. "Do you know what they're talking about, Bijou?"
Bijou hesitated. Should she tell him? "Well...I..." 'This is it, Bijou! Just take a deep breath and tell him!'
"Hamtaro...I..." she looked up at him, feeling the blush in her chees deepen, "...have no clue what they're talking about!" she blurted out.
Hamtaro frowned. "Ok. If you're sure..."
Bijou also frowned, slapping herself mentally. Why was it so hard to be honest with him, she thought, sighing inwardly. 'Ok, so I won't tell him now...but perhaps someday...I will.'
Hamtaro glanced skeptically at Bijou, confused by her pensive expresion. She noticed his stare and looked away, feeling her face go red again. Hamtaro frowned, a puzzled look on his face. "Heke?"
Carrot Tip stopped arguing with Stan and gave Bijou a look of pity. 'Poor girl. The guy she likes is too naive to realize it. If she would just tell him...it would make things a lot easier on them both.' she thought to herself with a quiet sigh. 'Hopefully one of these days she'll find the courage to admit how she feels.'
She was brought out of her thoughts as Stan placed a paw around her shoulders and said, "Penny for your thoughts?"
The orange and white Ham-Ham smiled and whispered in his ear, so as not to be overheard by Hamtaro. "I was just thinking about poor Bijou. Think she'll ever tell Hamtaro the truth?"
Stan shrugged. "Like, it's a possiblity." he replied.
"What's a possibility?" Hamtaro asked, but was not heard as Carrot Tip and Stan just smiled at one another. They seemed unable to break their gazes from the other.
Finally, Carrot Tip blinked, snapping out of it, and she moved away from Stan, blushing. Why was it that his smile was making her heart do flips? It seemed like his eyes mesmerized her, for he was all she could think of when she looked at him. It was all too weird for Carrot Tip to think about right now.
To her surprise, when she looked around, Carrot Tip found that all the other Ham-Hams had made it to the "safe" tree. When had they all gotten here? Had she been staring at Stan for that long?
The golden orange and white hamster jumped in surprise as a hamster took her paw. She turned around, expecting Stan, but instead she saw...
"Dexter?"
The grey and white hamster smiled and kissed her paw lightly. "We meet again, my sweet Carrot Tip." he said warmly, "Now that our game of Ham and Seek is over, would you mind taking a stroll to the park with me?"
"Um, well...I..." Carrot Tip began to protest, but the Ham in glasses wasn't finished.
"There's something important that I need to tell you. Please say you'll come with me."
Carrot Tip stared, speechless in astonishment at Dexter for a moment before nodding her head slowly. "OK...sure, I guess."
Dexter's smile widened. "Great! Let's go then!" he said, leading the girl hamster away from all the other Ham-Hams.
He wasn't aware of Stan watching him, a scowl on his face. The tiger striped hamster clenched his paws together and gritted his teeth angrily. 'Like, who does Dexter think he is, stealing Carrot Tip away from me like that?!' he thought angrily.
There was a pause as he just watched the two hamsters walking off, getting further away from the group.
A small smile began to form on Stan's face. 'Well I hope he doesn't think he's, like, won...I'm not giving up on Carrot Tip that easily! I saw her first!'
The orange striped hamster raised a balled up paw in the air. "Let the games begin." he said under his breath, a glint of determination in his eyes.
