Chowder was hesitant on going with a date with Panini, something he really did not want to do, he could imagine the scenario, him being chained to the seat of a chair, across from Panini, having talks about all sorts of gross mushy stuff. he had to pump himself up for this. he was doing this for the blurpleberries, those succulent blue orbs would make this worth it and at the end of the month he could stop pretending to like her.
The two walked through the city as Panini held out her hand, reminded Chowder of her hand holding privileges as he reluctantly took it. it felt so gross, her warm sweaty hand, the fear of cooties lingered in the back of his mind as she called out attention to the fact that they were holding hand.
The sight got an 'aww' from passersby as Chowder simply followed Panini, dragging his feet along as Panini kept conversating, which Chowder drowned out. He wished he had a rubber glove, imagining a bunch of Panini-faced bugs crawling on his arm.
"We're here" Panini said stopping as Chowder pulled his arm away subtly, hoping they could get this over with as he looked at the restaurant, surprised that the place she took him to was Carlito Con Queso's Mexican themed Pizza restaurant.
Chowder looked at Panini confused as she walked to the door, instructing him to follow as the two entered. He was honestly surprised she would bring him here. this might actually not be that bad, Chowder hoped he could slink off in the arcade. The two were escorted to their seat.
"So that will be two Pizza buffets, two soft drinks and 5 rolls of tokens" The waiter said placing the rolls on the table next to their plates and cups. The two kids quickly made their way to the buffet, stacking their plates with slices of pizza, bread sticks, pasta dishes and various sweet desserts. The two made their way back to the table.
"Wow Num Nums, just wow" Panini commented looking at Chowder's plate, which was basically a leaning tower of Pizza. Chowder, took one of the pizzas off his plate, rolling it up on eating the whole pie in one bite in his usual way. Chowder was way into the taste of the pizza as it seemed to get his mind of the pink Cabbit across the booth from him, eating her own food.
The two kept eating as Chowder was one his fifth pizza, setting half eaten pie back on his plate, looking at Panini, folding a slice and biting into it, greasy cheese dripping down her chin.
"You Know Panini, you don't come off as the kind of person who would come here" Chowder said, a bit confused that she chose this location for their date as she sipped her soft drink, turning to him, asking what he meant by that. Chowder went on, expecting her to pick some fancy restaurant where the atmosphere is boring, and the food is small and simplistic.
Panini simply chuckled, reminding him that they did not have much money plus she rarely got to eat at places like this. This got Chowder's interest as she mentioned that she rarely ate out and the few times she did Endive took her to fancy restaurants.
"How's the food at those places" Chowder asked, devouring some breadsticks, pouring a cup of sauce down his throat as Panini bit into her crust, saying it was alright, but she liked the food here more. Chowder felt a bit of relief as this date wasn't overtly romantic, there was candles, no fancy dresses.
It was this that made Chowder remember that Panini was still just a kid like him, getting excited for pizza and arcade games. The two kept eating their lunch and Chowder was actually impressed with how much Panini was capable of eating. after a good while that plates were empty as Chowder patted on his belly, letting out a loud belch that smelt of pizza as Panini sniffed the air.
"Ohh, I had my mouth open" she replied, fanning the air, finishing her soda. after eating their weight in pizza, the two headed to the dessert bar, Chowder reached for a cup of Thrice Cream, pulling it off as he held Panini's small hand on his waist as she cashed in her daily hug.
Chowder obviously felt awkward about it, waiting for the hug to stop, he really did not want to be her boyfriend and was trying to make the date tolerable and that took a sharp turn when she hugged him.
"You know what, I'm going to play some arcade games" Chowder said trying to get away from Panini as she held up his Thrice Cream cup, asking what to do with it, his mouth quickly sucked up the creamy substance like a vacuum as Panini was holding an empty cup.
Chowder made his way to the arcade section, looking for a game to play, passing 'Dragon Drop' 'Sneeze-ball' and 'Scissor Sisters' finding the game he wanted to play. the Arcade classic 'Chop Chop Evolution'. he walked towards the machine, putting his token in the machine. he pulled the controller which resembled a chef's knife.
The goal of the game was to move the knife in a chopping movement to the beat of the music that played. placed the tip against the counter of the cabinet, waiting for the music to begin before, rocking his knife in a chopping motion.
The music started as Chowder rocked his knife, holding the tip against the counter, slicing an imaginary fruit to the beat of the song, swiping it after every measure. due to his teachings in the kitchen, he was actually really good at the game, hitting every note flawlessly
"Chop, chop, chop, chop. swipe, chop, chop, swipe, chop, chop, chop chop, swipe" The Cabbit called with each motion, building up his score as the tickets started rolling from the machine. the motion kept going as Chowder was into the game, laser focused on his score.
Chowder did not even notice Panini standing behind him, until he heard the sound of soda being sipped through a straw. after the last fruit. he turned, seeing the Pink Cabbit with a handful of ticket.
"Nice chopping Chowder" she complimented, admiring him with her wide adorable eyes as he recoiled, almost dropping the plastic knife. he was still until Panini said a certain line, that if he kept if up maybe he'd be as good as her one day, making him turn to her.
"Excuse me, that run was flawless, flawless!" Chowder shouted out as Panini tugged her collar, instructing him to look at the high score, which he did. it bright letters it read 'P.A.N.' before looking back at the girl, pinching her straw.
"You?" he asked holding the plastic knife the her as she nodded, proud of her all-time high score, instructing him to look at his own score which was several hundred points below hers as he asked how.
"Well, presentation, you have no spin on your slide and your chops are... let me just show you" she said, standing next to him, holding the second knife as they entered 2-player mode.
The area was silence as the game started, the two started chopping. Chowder noticed right off the bat Panini was racking in more points, glancing at her wrist movement, specifically the spin she put on it. Chowder.
"How are you so good at this?" Chowder asked, trying his hardest to keep up with the pink Cabbit, they were playing Co-op so their scores would be added together but individually her score was way above his and Chowder had to know how.
"Let's just say Miss Endive is a demanding teacher" Panini replied, slicing the digital fruits with finesse as the level ended and the girl won, doing a cheer. the machine started spitting out more tickets.
"It was my dollop, so these Tickets are mine" Chowder declared, collecting the Tickets as Panini looked at him, saying they won them together. Chowder accepting defeat tore the strip in two, handing half of the tickets to her as they kept playing other games.
Chowder did not take getting beaten by a girl easily as he kept challenging her in an array of games. though they kept beating each other in various arcade games and building up their ticket piles, it was clear that Panini's pile was bigger as they walked to the Ticket booth.
Chowder placed his tickets on the stand, looking at the prizes he could afford. most of it was basic toys and knick-knacks. Chowder looked through, eventually settling on an official Carlito Con Queso reusable cup with reusable straw and a frisbee to use with Kimchi.
Chowder walked away with his two prizes, he turned to Panini; telling her it was fun, and He'd see her around as he left the Pizza place, his belly full of Pizza and Thrice Cream and his ego defeated from getting schooled in the games. he just wanted to go home.
Chowder looked at the hand Panini was holding earlier, the imaginary bugs still lingering on it as they looked at Chowder, repeating Panini's signature phrase in a high-pitched voice as he tried to wipe them off.
"Eww cooties" Chowder, said trying the scrub his arm, trying to get the bugs off as they crawled up his arm, asking for a kiss, calling him by his nickname. It was getting too hard to deal with as he slammed his arm in the fountain, the sound of the bugs being drowned out by water.
Chowder enjoyed the silence, pulling his wet arm out of the fountain, his sleeve sticking to his arm, but the cooties were gone. he sat on the fountain edge; just glad the date was over. he reached into his pocket, pulling out the blue blurpleberry she gave him, sniffing it as he popped it in his mouth.
All of chowder's cares melting away in that second, the sweet taste made him feel like he was floating on air, he laid on his back, looking up at the clouds as the face of Panini came into view, right above him as he jumped startled.
"Gah, Panini... What is it now?" he asked, rubbing his eye sleepy from all the pizza he had ate as she handed him a plastic bag from Carlito's. saying he left before she could give him his present. she mentioned she used her tickets to but him something.
"Just my way of saying you're the best boyfriend in the whole world" she praised, staring hearts at Chowder and he unwrapped the plastic bag. pulling out a cardboard box turning it around.
"A Limited-edition Holland Daze figurine with interchangeable utensils" Chowder said impressed as Panini simply smiled, knowing Chowder was a huge fan of the Aluminum Chef. This was without a doubt the nicest gift she had ever given him. Chowder looked, offering her the cup, apologizing that he drank out of it as she held it.
"I'll treasure it forever" she replied, hugging the dirty used cup
(This chapter was originally going to take place at a fancy place but i did not want to torture Chowder, and I wanted to focus that they were still kids so Carlito's seemed like the best date location. Holland Daze is considered the greatest chef in the chowder and Chowder is a HUGE fan)