Chapter Nine:Just Blew It

Here is an extra chapter for the holidays. Normal posting schedule will resume next week.

...

Hiro felt a little overwhelmed as he tried to carry four bags of food. He just felt glad he'd discovered the sandwich shop close to the auditorium. That he he didn't have to go too far and risk getting lost again. It would be harder to find his way back than on previous occasions if he had. And with a handful of cash from his friends, he'd managed to purchase a decent lunch for all of them. But man did he wish he had something he could use to carry all of this stuff instead of hoping he didn't drop anything. At least he didn't have to bother with drinks. There were plenty being dispersed to the students at the showcase to keep them hydrated. There was no way he could have juggled the four sacks and a drink carton.

Okay, so maybe he should have asked one of his friends to go with him. His mistake. Those bags were getting heavy. The fact that he'd had to make their orders as specific as possible, especially Wasabi's, didn't help matters. Oh well. It was one way to work his muscles while on this trip. At least Fred didn't care of his sandwich did or didn't have pickles and onions on it, or radishes, for that matter.

Hiro took a moment to pause outside the auditorium. His arms were getting tired so he put the bags of food down on a convenient bench. He already felt ready to head back to Stark Tower and maybe take a nap. What harm would sitting down for a few minutes cause? It wasn't like they were expecting him back quite yet. And even if they were, chances were pretty good they'd lost track of just how long he'd been gone once they got going on putting their displays together.

Sleep had not been very forthcoming, even with Baymax playing the familiar sounds of home in the background. Still, he was tired and there wasn't any way to deny it. Maybe sitting down on the bench hadn't been that great of an idea. Hiro's eyes slid closed before he even realized what was happening. He had just entered a fantastic dream filled with swirling clouds and him flying on Baymax's back when someone called his name. His eyes flew open, heart pounding. He didn't recognize the voice right off the bat, or his surroundings for that matter.

Without thinking, Hiro thrust his hands out as if to ward off an imaginary foe. It took him all of three seconds to realize he'd made a horrible mistake as his eyes registered a very surprised teenage girl staring up at him from the ground. "Crap!" he uttered as he jumped to his feet to help her up. "I am so sorry!"

Kally couldn't help but stare up at him in shock. Here she'd just given up hope of running into this guy, only to find him dozing just outside the auditorium. And when she'd tried to gently wake him, he'd given some kind of strangled yell while pushing her to the ground like some kind of sleep-deprived ninja. It decidedly took her a moment to get her breath back, by which time Hiro seemed to have come back to reality, thrusting his hand towards her as a peace offering.

She couldn't help but look at his offered hand with a mix of surprise and confusion. His added inquiries about her current state also immediately went over her head as her mind tried to process what had just happened and how she'd been taken so off guard. It didn't happen often. She usually had some kind of inkling before anything went down.

Hiro reached out again as she stared at him like a fish out of water. He took her hesitant hand and gently helped her to her feet, looking more than a little embarrassed. "I'm really sorry," he apologized again. "I didn't mean to, you know, knock you over. It's just sometimes when I doze off I dream about things and well, I..." he rubbed at the back of his neck, looking a little more thoughtful now. "You know, I don't even know your name."

Kally looked into his brown eyes and saw heartfelt earnestness. She felt her own cheeks flame a bit, realizing he was still holding her hand. She quickly slipped her fingers from his, hiding her hand behind her back. "Kally," she responded as if on auto pilot, "Kally Carmichael."

For the first time since he'd woken that morning, Hiro smiled. "Nice to meet you, Kally. I'm Hiro Hamada." And though part of him had hoped to run into her again, he didn't mention it. He'd understandably hoped it would be under completely different circumstances.

At that exact moment, Hiro's phone buzzed. He jumped a little before reaching for it, looking a little reluctant as he answered it. "Uh, hey, Wasabi," he said in a hesitant tone. "Uh, no, I didn't get lost. I'm actually just right outside. Okay! Okay! You don't have to get so upset! I'm coming now!" He hung up and slipped his phone back into his pocket, once more rubbing behind his neck with one hand. "Um... looks like I gotta go."

Kally couldn't help but give him an awkward smile. "Babysitters?" She knew a bit about that from growing up.

But Hiro shook his head. "Not exactly. More like classmates. They just feel a need to look out for me on account of my age, I guess." He glanced up at her, realizing she was just about his same height, maybe half an inch or so taller. Why couldn't he put on a growth spurt already? "I mean we've been friends for a while now but they all know my aunt will kill them if I don't come back in one piece."

She gave him a quirked brow in response. "So I guess that means you need to deliver those," she pointed to the sagging bags, "as soon as possible." She winced in sympathy as he nodded, not missing his downcast expression. "Want me to go with you?" She didn't bother waiting for his reply as she picked up two of the bags.

"Uh," Hiro said but decided against discouraging her as he picked up the remaining bags. "Sure." He gave her a hint of a smile as he led the way towards the open doors of the showcase building. Maybe having her go along wasn't a bad thing. Seeing someone from the day before might even appease Wasabi's obvious hunger anger, not that he was really hungry, just upset that Hiro had taken longer than he thought necessary. So much for them getting caught up in their projects enough to lose track of time.

Kally didn't wait for further invitation as she navigated her way through the press of people. Thanks to her visiting the area where his friends were setting up, she knew her way back to them and didn't so much as deviate from her course as Hiro struggled to catch up. She did pause to wait when she was only a row away from his friends. "Sorry," she apologized when he finally caught up with her, only a little out of breath. "I'm used to walking fast."

Hiro simply nodded as he caught his breath. "It's okay. I could use the exercise." Her stamina would put any of them to shame, he thought. No wonder she looked so fit! Of course, having to walk all over campus helped a lot. He had his friends to drive him around when necessary. That and SFIT wasn't quite as large as NYU. Of course, the super hero work should make up for that but it wasn't worth worrying over. He plastered a smile on his face and took the lead.

Honey Lemon was the first to notice his return as she put down one of her beakers. "There you are! We were just about ready to send out a search party." He could tell by her expression that she was only teasing though. Her eyes widened, however, when she realized Hiro wasn't alone. "Oh, aren't you the girl from yesterday?"

Kally hung back, ducking her head a bit at the sudden attention. "Sorry," she apologized to the Latina chemist. "It's my fault Hiro took so long."

Wasabi turned around from making some adjustments to his equipment, moving around the protective glass. "It's about time! I'm starving!" He paused as he realized Hiro wasn't alone. "Oh, hello." He gave a funny little wave as he mentally backed up the bus.

Fred popped up from behind GoGo. "Oh, hey! You're like the girl we ran into yesterday when we lost Hiro!"

Hiro winced at his choice of words but decided not to comment as Kally moved awkwardly forward to shake hands with everyone in the group. "I'm Kally Carmichael," she greeted, cringing a bit at Fred's firm handshake. She laughed nervously. "I found your friend outside and thought he might need a little help." She held out the two bags she'd carried, which GoGo took from her.

"I hope you asked them to hold the mayo," Wasabi commented as he pulled out the items meant for him. "They always put too much on there." He opened the sandwich wrapping and nodded in approval. "Now that's more like it."

Hiro held out the other two bags for Honey and Fred to take. "Sorry it took so long," he hedged. "There was a long line and I did get a little turned around." He ruffled his hair in a distracted fashion, taking a moment to realize Honey was handing him back one of the bags. He looked inside only to realize it was the sandwich he'd ordered for himself, along with a bag of chips. He glanced over at Kally. "Um, did you want to split a sandwich or something? I got a BLT, heavy on the T." Baymax would be proud of him for doing that, he was sure.

Kally smiled at him, reminded of a small child looking for hopeful approval. And yet, despite that initial impression, she knew there was more maturity to him than he let on, just not the typical variety. "Sure," she agreed. She hadn't had lunch yet and felt a little awkward just watching them all eat while she hung around.

"Come here! Come here!" Honey urged, moving to clear a spot on her chemistry table.

Kally was about to protest, knowing how long it would likely take her to set things back up but had her concerns waved aside. She humbly accepted the half sandwich Hiro handed her, moving to the table to join the chemist and her friends. "Thanks." It was a little weird to hang out with people several years her age, and one her age, she corrected. It definitely didn't happen often. She was far too used to doing things on her own, with next to no support from anyone outside her foster parents.

They munched on sandwiches in companionable silence, Hiro sharing his chips with her as well. She secretly thought he looked in need of the nap she'd interrupted earlier but wisely didn't say anything. It was nice to just spend some time with someone her own age without judgment. And even though they didn't really know her, they accepted her as if they did. It was a nice feeling.

"So," GoGo spoke up, "I take it you're a student here. What are you studying?" She gave Kally a calculating glance before taking another bite of her turkey club.

Kally took a moment to finish chewing and swallowed before answering. "I uh work in computer programming," she answered, not sure how they'd take that. "I guess you could say I'm a computer engineering major."

GoGo nodded. "Nice. That's what Tadashi was going for. He was really good at programming. Well, that and robotics." She glanced quickly towards Hiro before clamming up. She hadn't meant to bring his name up and still wasn't sure how he'd react to it. Even with the craziness and all that happened, it could still be a sensitive subject. It was just sometimes hard to tell if it was going to be an exploding landmine or a dud.

Fred came to her rescue when he draped an arm around GoGo's shoulders. "So what're you working on?" he asked their guest. "I mean, Honey's got her chemical stuff, Wasabi's got his laser stuff, and GoGo's got her bike. Oh, and Hiro's got his microbots. What're you entering into the showcase?"

Kally had to blink at the unusual names. She felt sure they weren't their birth given ones but didn't bother questioning it. "I've been working on making an artificial intelligence," she admitted as she nibbled on the lettuce that had dropped from her sandwich onto the wrapper. "I'm showing a little program that's sort of like an interactive encyclopedia with built in motion sensors to give its users a sense of interacting with something more than just a program."

GoGo looked mildly impressed as she nodded. "Not bad," she admitted as she reached for a chip. "I wouldn't mind giving it a look later on. Is it all set up?"

Hiro glanced at his new friend as she shuffled her feet. "Um, well, mostly," she replied, looking down. "I mean all the hardware's set up but I'm waiting to insert the data chip with the program until tomorrow. You know, to keep it safe. I've had problems with others trying to mess up my stuff so... yeah."

"Oh!" Honey exclaimed as she came around to give Kally a hug.

The girl glanced up into Honey's eyes as surprise registered across her face. She blinked a few times, not sure how to react. "It's not like I'm unaccustomed to them being jerks," she admitted as Honey let go. "I mean, I had to keep a low profile even in high school."

"Tell me about it," Hiro groaned, remembering his high school days. If it hadn't been for his brother, he might not have made it out alive, mostly because of the bullies. Of course it had helped when he'd learned how to defend himself, something that was useful even now. "I had my fair share in high school. 'No one likes a smarty,' they'd tell me." Boy was he glad those days were over!

Kally nodded. "Exactly. It wasn't easy pretending not to care, but I survived. It's what I do, survive."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that with us," Honey announced. "We don't care if you're smart or not, how you look or any of that. Like minds need to stick together, right GoGo?"

GoGo nodded, Fred was still draped over her like a shawl. "Do you mind?" she glared at him as best she could given the situation. "I'm trying to eat here!"

Fred sort of lazily stood up, though he still seemed to slouch over. "Speaking of eating, you're going to tonight's welcome dinner, right?" he looked directly at Kally.

She couldn't help but feel a plethora of interesting emotions as her brain analyzed him. Despite his lazy attitude, she somehow doubted that was all there was to this guy. Beneath the casual facade was a calculating gaze. And though his arms might not be covered with rippling muscle, she could tell they were used to some serious physical labor. "Yes," she replied. She wasn't about to put down the offer of free food. "I think pretty much everyone will be there. Why?"

The mascot moved over to place a hand around Hiro's shoulders, his other arm over Kally's. "You should totally sit with us, right, little man?" He gave Hiro a friendly little nudge with one hip since his hands were both occupied. He followed up with a wink to his diminutive friend.

Red crept up Hiro's neck and face at Fred's unspoken suggestion. Sure he liked her, but he wasn't really sure what he thought about her yet. He barely knew her and here was Fred hinting and nudging at what could only be construed as romantic interest. They couldn't all be like him and GoGo. He tugged at his shirt collar, as if that would help release the sudden heat he felt. "Uh, sure."

Kally couldn't help but feel amused by his reaction, even though she also felt a bit embarrassed by the implied suggestion. "I'd like that. Maybe we can get to know each other a bit better or something."

Wasabi finished his sandwich with a flourish, carefully folding up his sandwich wrapper before depositing it back in the bag. "Well then, we should probably get back to work putting our stuff together or it won't be ready for tomorrow," he stated, glanced at GoGo and Honey Lemon.

The two girls had already finished their food and quickly discarded the trash, brushing crumbs off the table. It wouldn't do to have them getting in the way of the experiment and messing things up later. Realizing things were wrapping up, Kally decided it was time to excuse herself. "I really should be going. I still have to print off my reports and finish the final coding on my project."

Hiro gave her a bit of an awkward wave as she moved away from the table. "Okay, guess we'll see you tonight then."

She waved as she slipped back into the walkway and moved off.

Wasabi moved to stand by Hiro. "Dude, you totally just blew it," he announced, resting one hand on Hiro's shoulder.

Hiro glanced up at his friend in confusion. "What do you mean?"

But the physics student shook his head. "Never mind. Maybe you're still too young to worry about that kind of stuff." He removed his hand and headed back to his booth to finish adjusting his equipment.

Still looking confused, Hiro turned to his other friends. "What did he mean by that?" But none of them seemed willing to answer. Honey merely smiled as she moved her equipment back into place and GoGo shook her head as she buzzed past him to return to her station. Fred just let out a little chuckle before joining her.