"I don't want you hanging with that girl anymore." That was the first thing Megan heard her dad say after leaving the Lucky Cat cafe.
She could only stare in surprise. "What?"
"The girl from High Voltage." Diego explained. "She's dangerous."
"Dangerous?!" Juniper couldn't even hurt a fly!
He frowned. "Megan, you saw what she did to the city. I don't know why the law thought to give them a pardon, but you can't trust High Voltage."
She felt her blood boil at how callous her dad sounded. Okay maybe he's right that she did a few cases of property damage but she's good now! "The monster thing wasn't her fault." Megan slowly explained. "She wants to get better now."
"I find your optimism sweet, Megan." He ruffled her hair. "But once a supervillain, always a supervillain."
Maybe she'd agree with her dad once, but she knew Juniper now, the sweet, soft, caring girl that just wanted a normal life after going through so much. "Dad. She's not a bad guy! Ari hangs with her all the time and she's fine."
"Then how'd she get that scar on her eye?" She froze, in shock her dad brought that up so callously. "That girl nearly blinded her."
She felt the same rage she felt when Jimmy brought that up. "It was an accident!"
"People don't accidentally claw people in the face!" Diego snapped.
A growl came from her throat. "Even if it wasn't an accident, she feels really sorry about it!"
Her dad narrowed his eyes. "I'll say this once again Megan, stay away from Juniper. Are we clear?"
"But-"
"Are we clear?"
He wasn't going to budge, and she didn't have the energy to argue back at him. "Clear." She mumbled.
Her dad calmed down, satisfied with her response. "C'mon, I'll make you your favorite fries at home."
"Yay…" Megan would normally be happy with the idea of fries, but the mood was ruined at this point.
Does Dad really think Juni's gonna hurt me? She wouldn't! Her friend didn't wanna hurt anyone anymore. She's not a villain or a monster. She's very sweet, and lovely, and the way her eyes sparkle with happiness is cute…
Her eyes widened. I referred to her as cute again?! It had been a regular occurrence, since way back to the dance even! Uhhhg, I have it bad for her, don't I?
Ohhh I do… this is bad…
Teen Dorks Squad group chat:
Meg: I have sad news : (
Karms: Who died
Hiro: WJISAAksAKOosko NO ONE
Ari: June killed my pizza slice
June: I SAID SORRY
Meg: My dad said I can't hang out with you anymore Juni
Rach: Why is your dad like this
Meg: idk and never ask me that again
June: Sorry I got you in trouble
Ari: It's not your fault Diego is stinky
Hiro: A R I
Meg: Yeah my dad stinks. We need to be more secret hanging out
June: …
June: You still want to hang out with me?
Meg: Of course you're great
Karms: Awwwww
Hiro: I think you caused a feels reaction
Rach: lel
The robotic genius pocketed his phone, and turned to Ari. "You can stop squeezing Juniper now."
"Never!" She continued to squish her friend in a bone-crushing hug.
"I'd like to voice my opinions here…" Juniper yelped. "Help."
Luckily for her, Baymax pulled Ari off. "Ari, remember to let go of a hug when someone asks you to."
She blushed. "Sorry June."
"It's okay." The blonde waved it off. "I mean, I'm surprised you're still chatting with Hiro, don't I make things awkward with your other friends?"
Hiro shrugged. "Not really."
"Really?"
"Yeah, they're chill." Even though Gogo and Wasabi were still more skeptical, all of them had warmed up to the idea that High Voltage were actually trying to reform. But all of them were in agreement to be wary of Momakase, forced into it by Diane or not, she still willingly followed Obake's plans.
"Hiro." Baymax poked his shoulder. "Are you alright?" The robot noticed he was lost in his thoughts.
"I'm good." He rubbed the back of his neck. His phone chimed and he looked to read the next group chat message. "Aw, Megan."
She had texted something sappy and sweet that was going to make Ari hug her friend again. But as he looked up to face the blonde, he noted she was quietly reading the text, her face a pinkish-red.
"June?" Ari called to her.
"Busy." She held up a hand, it looked like she was privately messaging the reporter, pushing her chair back and facing away from the two.
That's when an idea came to Hiro's mind. "Hey Ari?" He scooted over to his sister. "You've been hanging with Juniper and Megan a lot lately, right?"
Ari nodded. "Yeah, they're a lot of fun!"
"Don't you think she's been acting a little… as Fred would put it 'OOC' when around Megan?" He gestured to the blonde, who was fiddling with a lock of her hair one hand and her cheeks still tinted pink.
"Oh finally you noticed." Ari smirked. "She's got a little crush on Megan, it's so cute I wanna cry from adorableness."
Little crush? Wait… "No, Megan's the one with a crush." He pointed out. "She gets all blushy when talking about Juniper nowadays, she even talked about her a lot after the dance too."
"Really? That means-" Both of them stared at each other and their lovebird friend. "Ohhhhhh."
Baymax blinked. "I do not get it."
"Well Baymax." Hiro flashed a smirk. "It seems Juni and Meg are crushing on each other."
"But neither of them know the other feels the same." Ari stage-whispered.
"Which means-"
"We have to bring them together." Both of them chorused.
The robot blinked once more. "Oh."
They devised their plan in hushed whispers. Ari was surprised her brother had such clever matchmaking skills. Then again he started reading Karmi's stories, so I'm not surprised. The plan was to get the two to meet at a certain place, try to convince them it was a good time to confess and viola, sparks would fly!
It would be a piece of cake to persuade Juniper. Or well pie, I like the pies Aunt Cass makes.
"Well, I'm probably going to go for a walk." Hiro stood up. "Let's go, Baymax."
"Yes. Walking can help strengthen your muscles and improve lifespan." The robot pointed out. As he rambled, Hiro winked at her and she winked back.
"Uh, enjoy your walk Hiro." Juniper waved to him, she hadn't noticed them scheming at all, too buddy chatting with Megan.
He waved back. "Thanks! See you later."
"Goodbye." Then the boys were out the door.
Ari smirked. "So, June." She leaned closer to her friend. "Are you still texting Megan?"
"Um…" Juniper extended her arm out to keep the phone out of reach of Ari's smaller ones. "Yes?"
The bandana girl hummed at that. "And how do you feel about her?"
Juniper frowned in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"
"Be honest with me!" Ari huffed. "You think she's pretty, don't you?"
Her friend looked red as a peach. "Ari!"
"I'm not gonna say anything to anyone, besides, Megan isn't my type anyways." Ari nearly snickered seeing the flustered expression on Juniper's face.
"If you'll stop teasing me, then yeah I might have a little crush on her." Juniper admitted. "That's not awkward for you? I mean you used to have a big crush on me."
There was a slight pang in her chest at the mention, but it didn't bother Ari as much as it used to back when she got rejected. "Exactly, I used to have a crush on you, now we're just friends and I wanna see you happy."
Juniper teared up a little at that. "Thanks, but I doubt Megan would wanna date a criminal."
Ari frowned, she wished the dancer gave herself more credit. "Well she cares about you a lot."
"Well maybe she shouldn't." Juniper turned away. "She deserves someone better…"
"June, don't be mean to yourself again!" Ari exclaimed. "You're one of the coolest and bravest people I know! Megan does care about you, even if it's not in the romantic way, you deserve happiness!"
A small smile came on the dancer's face. "You really think so?"
"Honestly! And you know what? I think-"
"-You two should talk about it."
"Hiro no." He groaned at Megan's response. He thought the reporter would be all for communication since she was blunt as a rock, but when it came to Juniper, for once Megan was shy about her feelings. "She already has enough on her plate, adding my feelings into the mix isn't helping anyone!"
Baymax tilted his head at her. "Why do you think that?"
She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look, Juniper's still recovering from Sycorax and what happened with that Voltrax lady, I'm just going to make her feel worse."
"Even if she likes you?" Hiro raised an eyebrow.
Megan blinked. "What?"
"You make her happy." He explained. "She has this dorky look on her face when you text her, the same one I see Gogo have whenever she talks about Honey Lemon."
"Really?" Megan's eyes gleamed, but she shook her head. "It's too soon! No way she feels exactly the same as I do."
"Perhaps you are jumping to conclusions." Baymax pointed out. "You will not know the answer unless you talk about your feelings with Juniper."
"Thank you Baymax!" Hiro gestured to the robot.
"Talking about your thoughts and feelings will save you stress and anxiety, Hiro himself has made this problem multiple times when talking about his feelings would have saved him that."
He sent the healthcare companion a glare. "Traitor…" Megan snickered at the look on his face.
"Okay, I'll think about it." She decided. "Not like I can invite her over since my dad... "
That was going to be a problem, luckily Hiro had a solution for that! "Well, Torii Gate Park is really nice, perfect for a place to confess."
"Gee, thanks Hiro." Megan sarcastically rolled her eyes. She appreciated his help but he was pushing it a little!
Baymax didn't notice her sarcasm and flashed her a thumbs up. "You are welcome."
Ferns and Nerds group chat:
Sara Ferns: games,jpeg
Sara Ferns: Out here living my best life!
Fredzilla: Your taste in games is mediocre
Sara Ferns: THEN PERISH
Wasabi: Plz no perishing
Hiro Hamada: Fred why would you say something so controversial yet so brave?
Sara Ferns: I HATE ALL OF YOU
Sienna Kline: What's wrong with Dog Island?
Fredzilla: too many sidequests and i hate fishing in that game
Honey Lemon: Dog Island is an awesome game! :C
TheLittleMermaid: what's Dog Island?
Mikan Ferns: *dramatic gasp*
Hiro Hamada: this rly long game where you have to play as a dog on dog island and do all these complicated things for (1) stupid flower
Hiro Hamada: I could never finish the game bc it took FOREVER
Sara Ferns: You shut up it was to save player the character's sibling! It was a masterpiece!
Fredzilla: it was not
Sara Ferns: IT WAS
TheLittleMermaid: Still confused
Mikan Ferns: I'll tell you in DMs
Later that evening…
A certain wavy-haired but short blonde adjusted her pink blouse. "Wow." Gogo commented. "Dressed for any occasion?"
Sara shot her a look. "Yes, I'm off to my first date with Wasabi, you know this by now!" She had told her and Honey Lemon the other day she had a date planned with Wasabi.
"Aww, I'm so glad you two are going on a date!" The chemist was jumping for joy.
Gogo agreed with her. "Yeah, nice to not see you pine like a lovesick puppy."
"Thanks Gogo." Sara deadpanned.
She sent Sara a glare. "Just be sure to treat Wasabi with respect or else..."
She flinched at the intense stare. "Got it." Yeesh Gogo can do a mean shovel talk. "I'm just gonna go…"
"Gogo, that was mean!" Honey Lemon glared at her.
"Mayoi!" Andre gave Sara a little wave as she picked up her back.
She waved back at the little guy. "I'll tell you guys how the date goes!" Then closed the apartment door, and went off to her date.
It wasn't a tense walk since they were just going to have a small date in his apartment, which was weird to her since most first dates (in her experience) were at a restaurant.
Maybe he just didn't feel like going out. She figured. Can't blame him considering things have been crazy in the city lately.
Eventually she got outside his student dorm and knocked, then felt her face flare up as Wasabi opened the door. "Hey Sara." That smile of his was so warm it could melt ice. "Uh, you okay?"
"I'm g-good, just nervous." Sara squeaked, why did she have to blush so much?! "May I come in?"
"Of course." He opened the door and invited her in. She noted his room was tidy as last time she visited, which was before the whole monster thing. "I uh… rented some movies."
"A movie date?" She grinned. "Oh I am loving this! Any popcorn though?"
He gestured to an uncooked bag on his bed. "Not yet."
"Eh, it's fine without popcorn." Sara reassured him. "Those kernels get everywhere, we can have popcorn at the theater."
Wasabi looked a little relieved at that. "Thanks." He sat down on his bed, getting a tablet and propping it up on the nearby table.
Sara sat next to him as he wrapped a blanket around them. "Is now a good time for a kiss?" She calmly asked.
"I'd say so." And then she squeaked as Wasabi gave her a small kiss on the lips, but it was so enjoyable. "Oh, wow."
Wasabi chuckled at her reaction. "So does this make us boyfriend-girlfriend now?"
"Eh, let's just date for a bit to see if it's something we both want." Sara gestured. "Better safe than sorry and make all our friendships awkward."
It was the hardest part of having the same circle of friends that went to the same college. Makes me wish I could hang with Josh and Tabby more. But even if it didn't work out with Wasabi, she'd still cherish the time they shared together.
"I'm fine with that." Wasabi nodded. "Uh, so what movie do you want to see first?"
"Well, I haven't seen the Cinderella movies in awhile…"
Meanwhile with another crushing blonde…
"You should confess your feelings!" Easier said than done Ari… Juniper flicked through the tv channels in a bored manner. She was in the living room by herself, and considering how nosy the others were, the alone time was good.
Not that she was suspicious of anyone in the household, but she didn't trust any of the Fern kids with the stuff on her mind.
"Ari's right, I am acting paranoid." She mumbled, but she figured the three siblings would merely tease her if they knew about her emotional dilemma. Sally was her mama's friend, but she didn't know the professor too well. Steven was kind, but she didn't want to burden him with what was on her mind.
She was so caught in her thoughts she didn't notice her mama entering the room. "Juni?" Barb sat beside her. "Are you okay?"
"M'fine." Juniper tried to shrug it off, but a look from her mama stopped that. "Er, how'd you know I wasn't feeling well?"
"Mom senses, now what's the problem?"
She sighed. "Okay, you know Megan, right?" Barb nodded. "I have a little- I mean not really little but uh… I like her a lot."
"I'm not surprised." Her mama hummed. "You really enjoy spending time with her. So when are you inviting her over for dinner?"
Juniper blushed. "Mama!" She placed her hands to her cheeks as Barb laughed.
"You don't have to fear anything from the Ferns, Steven might even joke when's the wedding!"
"Mamaaa!" Her face was redder than strawberries. "She doesn't even know how I feel yet."
The older woman hummed. "Well I haven't dated in a long time, but I do know some advice." Barb told her daughter. "Do you two have anything in common?"
"Um… we don't like the writing of those magic cat books." Juniper fiddled with her hair. "And we both like the food at the Lucky Cat, and-" She paused, hands still twirling locks of blonde hair.
"Go on, you can tell your mama anything."
"We both… danced a little before things went bad at that dance." Before I ruined it. "Like it was before Ari and her brother got back from talking, she's pretty good."
Barb raised an eyebrow. "Pretty, hm?"
Juniper groaned. "Mamaa! Besides, I don't think she even likes me the same way."
"I'm sure she does." Barb reassured her. "Who wouldn't want a sweet and beautiful girl like you in their lives."
"People who don't want criminal girls in their lives." She bit her lip. "I already got Megan in trouble with her dad by just being her friend, who knows what would happen to her if we were more than that. What if..."
"Juni, I'm sure Megan's father wouldn't do anything to hurt his bond with her, from what I've heard, he just cares about her a lot." Barb reassured her. "She still wants to be close with you despite that, right?"
"...Yeah."
Barb smiled. "Then I'm sure Megan does care about you that way." She pulled her daughter into a side-hug. "Romantic love is an elusive thing Juni, I thought I had it but then I didn't, and some people like my friends are lucky to find it. Don't let your fears prevent you from trying." She advised. "They always say you don't know what you've got until it's gone, so at least try. And if it doesn't work out… I'll be there for you."
Her eyes burned like she wanted to cry from joy, but Juniper just shook her head and buried her face into her mama's shoulder. "T-thanks Mama, you're the best."
"It's no problem, sweetie."
Before she could get any more thoughts out of her system, her phone rang. "Is that…?" Barb raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, it's from Megan." Juniper nodded, and showed off the text.
Megan: Hey, not sure you if you're busy tonight
Megan: But… do you wanna meet at Torii Gate Park right now?
Megan: My dad's at work so It'll be easy to sneak out of the house.
She didn't know how to respond. "Hey, Mama!" She did when Barb took her phone, texted something, and handed it back. "What did you do?!"
"You're welcome." The older woman smirked, and she looked down at her phone.
Juniper: Sure, I'd love to : D
Megan: Awesome! See you soon!
"...Mama, how do you know how to type an emoticon?"
Barb chuckled. "Oh, I have my ways."
She wanted to grumble or complain, but a part of her did want to see Megan. "Thanks."
Barb smiled as she got up. "Well, I don't want to keep you busy from your date, be back at a reasonable hour, though!"
"It's not a-" Juniper lifted a hand to argue but lowered it down. Was it a date? Did Megan feel the same as she did?
Well, she wouldn't know by just sitting in the house and fussing about "what-ifs," Juniper was a lot of things, but being a coward wasn't one of them.
"Don't worry, I'll be home before it gets too dark."
Hopefully she'd end up with her feelings resolved by the end of this night.
AN: They're slowly starting to realize their feelings hhehehehehehee, next chapter is the confession scene! hoped you liked all the silly shenanigans
except Snooze, I'm taking away his antagonist privileges' for this, oh wait, I did!