i hadnt planned on uploading 2 days i a row as these chapters take me a while to write but yall gave me such nice reviews. and the majority of them were just people telling me to update so lmao

so a few things:

*** there arent technically any shippy moments in this chapter but rather just some dumb comic relief and stuff. you can interpret anything as you want. i just don't want anyone getting upset because their otp doesnt happen, or because their notp sort of kind happens in a scene and so someone just absolutely ollies out. I can promise you no serious ship feels will be happening soon. but im not just writing this for me, you guys interpret anything as you want, you are completely free to do so as long as it isnt an explicitly adult character with jesse or anyone her age (im just having jesse, axel, olivia, lukas, aiden, etc as 18-24. so no, they arent technically minors, but there will be a lot of parental relationships in the future, so itll be weird dont DO it) or taking any found family relationship i have going on and trying to ship that romantically.

*** this chapter was HARD to write and idk why. im aware that it not really good lol

*** just so that petra isn't too op, in this story you get nether stars from just killing a plain old wither skeleton

*** when put together, axel and jesse become chaotic neutral

presenting in todays chapter: lukas is a moron


"…We know all the things we're building, and we've got all the stuff for it." Axel finished listing off all the reasons why they would win, despite Olivia telling him he could stop after the first four. "We are so ready."

"Yes, okay, all right, I know. This year will be different. I get it. Never do that again." Olivia groaned, fingers rubbing at her temples and her hat nearly pulled past her eyes.

"Uh, yeah…" Jesse set Reuben on the grass when she was sure Axel wouldn't start up again. "Sorry, I'm gonna need to agree. I had no clue when you would stop and why you wouldn't stop. Like, Reuben bit you."

"Yeah." Axel gave a short laugh, holding up his bandaged hand to inspect, "He did."

Jesse gave Axel a long-suffering sigh but still smiled fondly up at him, moving a few steps up in the line to the builder's guild section of the Con. They'd been delayed several minutes by the number of people waiting, and all Con goers around them including Olivia were getting antsy as they craned their heads to look to the Building Competition sign-up booth that lay past the entrance. Jesse had assured her it wouldn't close before they got there, but her friend still bounced her leg in place, biting her nails.

During Axel's improvised speech, which had just been him listing off different things, Jesse had dug into her pack, slipping out their tickets and passing them to her friends. They'd each saved up a week in advance just to enter the building square of the Con; the one section you had to pay to enter. Olivia speculated it was to keep foot traffic low around all the building being done, Jesse thought it was for safety reasons, and Axel said the Builders Guild likely just wanted the money.

Handfuls of individuals left front of the line as the attendant explained over and over that the area was in use for the Building Competition, requiring purchased tickets to enter. Jesse was endlessly grateful to Olivia for coming out here to buy their tickets two days beforehand. From where she stood, it appeared the ticket purchasing counter was almost halfway on the other side of the Con, crushed between the squabbling food stalls and merchant vendors.

Axel gave Olivia a reassuring pat on the back as they made it to the ticket booth, Jesse offering a smile. "See? We're fine. We won't miss sign-ups. "

They gave the tired-looking man their stamped paper slips without incident, aside from Reuben's wings slapping him across the face when the pig attempted to jump over the low gate as the attendant went to open it for them. Olivia had wanted to leave right then and there.

"No, no giving up. This year… This year, for sure. It will be different." Olivia muttered to herself as Jesse and Axel walked in front of her, the group passing a few crafting-themed food hutches getting ready to open and small tables selling cheap souvenirs. A bespectacled woman manning the much more official looking booth with banners for the Building Competition practically draping over her came into view as they made it through the area.

"This is happening. I'm not just ready to build, I'm ready to win. I am ready to win." Olivia said, voice rising in self-assurance.

Axel looked over his shoulder, holding a fist to the air.

"Say it, sister."

A man walked in front of them, forcing them to a halt as he passed. He flashed his gaze up for half a second. "Nice pig, losers."

Axel and Olivia glared after him despite their clear embarrassment, Reuben ducking his head in a whine. Jesse looked down, color painting across her face from one ear to the other.

A moment passed of them standing there feeling bad for themselves. Then with balled fists, Olivia huffed and shoved her way between the two, hooking her arms around theirs and dragging them off. Reuben slowly followed behind.

"Just ignore him, guys. What's one rude jerk to an entire Con full of people?"

Jesse perked up a little, "Yeah, you're right. He probably isn't even here to build, only to watch. We'll be the ones actually putting our talents together and making something!"

"Exactly! And then won't he feel like the loser when he sees us win." Olivia grinned after the retreating form of the man with a smug look. "…Or at least get another participation medal. Point is, we'll be building—creating, and he'll be on the sidelines."

"Uh, Jess, 'Liv, not to put a damper on you two or anything but…" Axel trailed off. They looked up and Jesse groaned, Olivia's face twisting up like someone had offered her a glass of spoiled milk.

"Oh yeah, that's great. As if I didn't need a second headache with Lukas and his bag of lackeys."

"Woah, look. They've got matching leather jackets and everything now. How did they afford a replica of that ocelot's face on each of them? No way they crafted it. Axel is that hand-stitched? Can you tell?" Jesse asked. They had all slightly crouched around each other as if they were hiding behind a tall bush.

"So cool."

"Axel!" Jesse slapped the back of his arm.

"Ow, hey! Come on. I didn't even do anything that time." Axel whined.

"Oh, yeah, like that hurt."

"I have tender biceps."

"Does this really matter, Jesse?" Olivia whispered.

"Canyoutell, if they got those hand-stitched? Their jackets?" Jesse hissed into Axel's ear.

"Uhh…" He squinted his eyes, holding his hands up to his face like he was adjusting binoculars. "Yeah, looks it."

"Who did they even get to do that?"

"No one from here, I can tell you that much for sure. That embroidery is next freakin' level! They pulled all the stops on those dumb jackets." Axel said, fake binoculars still up. If they were real, he would have broken them by now either from his growing excitement or just because of who he was as a person. Reuben was running in frantic figure eights between their legs, not sure what the problem was but wanting to feel included.

"The stitching of the leather is SUBLIME…" He quietly yelled through gritted teeth, looking down at Jesse with a pained expression.

"Okay, no, no." Jesse began, her voice turning accusatory as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "Axel, who taught you that word—"

One of the members nonchalantly turned towards the commotion, itching his nose before coming to a full stop. Eyebrow raised, he dropped his hands into the pockets of his jacket. His face took on an expression of derisive amusement. He elbowed the girl behind him for her attention, who swiveled to yell at him but soon had her mouth covered in silent laughter.

"Uh, guys." Olivia watched in mortification. Her voice went unheard as she tugged at her hat, hoping if she tried to pull down any further than it was it would swallow her whole.

"Guys!" Olivia jabbed her friends' backs harshly to get their attention. "We've been spotted. "

"Whuh?" Axel said smartly, looking up and then freezing. Jesse however was crouched to one knee, attempting to grab Reuben. She finally caught him by his harness with a triumphant "HAH!" and an embarrassing string of cooing as she stood up with a grumbling pig in tow, her smile dropping from her face like a ten ton anvil at the sight in front of her. Even the blonde, who had been busy signing them up, was staring. The lone girl of the other group subsequently broke down into hysterical laughter.

"Well, that was… quite a show! How do I write a check to your circus troupe? I'd hate to take advantage of a free viewing."

"Aiden, come on man." The obvious leader of the group said, though there wasn't much heart behind it.

"Hold on Lukas." He held a finger out, keeping his eyes trained on the group in front of him, "So do I just write it out to the Order of the Losers? I'm guessing that everyone will know who to take it to."

Lukas, thoroughly ignored, turned back to the sign-up booth, signing off a paper and handing it off to the bespectacled woman. She asked something before ducking under the counter and returning with a second sheet of parchment and inkwell. He seemed to sigh but took the quill from her regardless, leaning over the wooden surface to sign off a second sheet.

"Can I ask you what that specific act was called? No, no, don't tell me! It's the Dance of the fail squad, isn't it?" The bearded member slapped his knee in laughter, undeterred by the low quality of the insult.

The girl rose from where she was hunched over holding her stomach, "Good one, Gill!"

Jesse leaned on one leg, waiting for them to finish. She lazily glanced at Olivia, casting her a look of aggravation. The same expression was mirrored back at her with pursed lips and crossed arms.

Lukas finally lifted himself from the table, stretching his back out as he handed the quill to the cheery woman. He faced his friends, giving them looks of thinly veiled exasperation.

"Let's go, guys."

Jesse let loose a hard sigh from her nose, watching them walk past and enter through the gates.

"What a spineless little jerk." She mumbled, blowing a piece of hair from her face and clipping it back with the rest in annoyance. Axel and Olivia made general sounds of agreement. They stepped up to the table, receiving a polite smile.

"Name, please?" The woman asked, pleasantly enough.

"Axel, and uh, how do you do?" He smiled.

"Oh, I apologize. I meant your team name."

Axel and Olivia shared a look, turning their gaze to Jesse who was staring apprehensively past the well-dressed woman. The Ocelots had gathered a ways away behind the woman with blithe faces of scrutiny. She set Reuben down, rubbing her sweaty palms down the front of her overalls, the pig leaning against her leg, oinking affectionately.

"…Team name?" Axel repeated the words back like he was trying to pronounce the name of an exotic fruit. He looked down at the two girls with a sigh. "We are not ready for this."

"So much for losing anonymously."

Jesse mentally flipped through thoughts of team name ideas. However, the breakneck pace at which she'd become the center of attention sent her reeling; metaphorical pages of any ideas she had were scattered across floors upon floors of papers. A distant part of her found it a pretty accurate rendition of her mind.

She opened her mouth, then shut it tight with a snap of teeth when nothing came out but a prolonged "Uhhhhhhh." She was the idea girl, and now that they needed that part of her, her brain decided it was as good a time as any to deflate. She was aware of Reuben's cold snout pressing into her ankle, but not much else as she flatlined and stared ahead at nothing. She felt a few nudges from first Olivia and then Axel, the latter who leaned down to her in confusion.

"No name? You drawin' a blank?"

She nodded creakily, and the woman at sign-up suddenly smiled.

"No-names? Got it." She picked up her quill and scribbled on a piece of paper she had taken out after Lukas's group left. "I'll just write that down for you, and since you have the suggested amount of people on your team, there's no need for you to fill out any unnecessary paperwork.

"No! Wait, that's not—" Jesse started but was cut off. She could hear Aiden and the others practically heaving with laughter in the distance.

"All right, No-names! You guys are in booth five. Get cracking now, we have a few more groups left in line and the time for sign-ups ends in around thirty minutes." She gestured behind them, where a clustered line of people were waiting. A few of them were wincing in sympathy.

"Great," Olivia said to herself, sliding her hand down her face.

Not needing to be told twice that they could leave, Jesse grabbed Olivia and started shoving Axel towards the gate who protested at the manhandling.

"Hey, hey—AH!"

Stopping when he yelled out, she looked down and realized his middle was stuck between the tight gateway. Raising his arms he assessed the situation and grumbled to himself as he took hold of either side of the gate with both hands and shoved himself free, stumbling over his own feet but catching himself before he ate dirt. Olivia came up behind him, placing a hand on his back and glaring at the gang who were leaning over each other absolutely losing it. Jesse exited out after Olivia, lagging so Reuben could go ahead of her and she could fold in his wings in to be sure they wouldn't catch on anything.

"Hey, I'm really sorry, Axel." She said after catching up to grab the side of his sleeve.

"Don't worry about it Jesse, I know you didn't do it on purpose."

"Still…"

"Still-nothing. They were the ones who turned that situation bad, not you."

The laughter was just now dying off and the tips Axel's ears were a bright red as he looked down, Olivia steering him off towards where she assumed their booth would be. Jesse gave Axel an apologetic side-hug, which he returned and pretended to try to crush her, making her laugh.

"Like I said, don't worry about it."

"Careful, that golem will snap you in half one of these days if you keep hanging around it!"

Jesse lowered her eyes in a scowl, staring down the Ocelots as they snorted and began walking off.

Axel had slowly let her go, and she looked at him in worry. He gave her a reassuring smile but caught the uncomfortable and dejected look in his eyes

She glared at Aiden's tall form, from his dark pants to his green, double-buttoned shirt that reflected sharp light off the polished buttons like yellow flares. She hardened her stare until he turned around and caught her eyes. He and his group were taking off after Lukas, so she gave him a look that she hoped guaranteed ill will from her, pointing her fingers from her eyes to his. He smiled at her, belittling, before giving her a mocking wave accompanied by a wink. He stuck his hands in his jean's pockets, rejoining his friends with an obnoxious grin on his face. Her cheeks flared in a surge of anger and she almost rolled her sleeves to her upper arms and stalked after him. A warm hand clasped over her shoulder, stopping her. She turned to see Olivia shaking her head, Axel behind her. She gently tugged Jesse towards them, giving her a squeeze before letting go.

"It's not even worth it, come on."

Reuben pushed her calf with his head, seemingly in agreement. She looked away, not happy, but followed after her as Olivia busied herself with checking the booth numbers laid out in an increasingly confusing order. They took off walking into the maze-like space.

Outside every other building coop were cubbyholes, smithing tables, crafting tables, and communal furnaces boxed in by chests filled with basic ingredients. Canvas tents set up with stonecutters, anvils, and blast furnaces triangulated the grounds. Apprentice smiths from the guild manned them, taking stone blocks from participants and cutting them however need be, as well as repairing tools and occasionally smelting items for anyone in a hurry at the cost of two emerald chips.

The sweet smell of hay and stone hung heavy in the air with the residual morning fog, leisurely mixing into the dry Autumn air of midday and the raw scent of redstone and rock dust as competitors began preparing their supplies.

They zigzagged through the crowd, Olivia bumping into others and nearly falling over more than a few times the farther they walked into the sea of people. Axel offered to carry her on his shoulders and she responded that she would rather die.

She looked more stressed and frazzled by the second but was resolutely determined to find where they needed to be, refusing when Axel and Jesse suggested they split up. They stumbled through the heart of the Building Competition, people standing in long lines for chests labeled Uncommon Materials, Redstone, and Mechanical.

Four judges wearing bright yellow ribbons had congregated in front of a modest stage. They talked amongst each other, subtly looking over at booths of people who had rented out spaces to build but didn't plan on competing. She recognized one judge as the town's head blacksmith. He looked like he'd walked straight out of the smithy. Standing separate from the others, he conversed with gathered townsfolk, slapping someone on the back as he roared with laughter.

"It's like everyone in town is here. I thought they'd be over at the Con until the judging." Jesse said aloud, jumping when Axel came up behind her from where he'd trailed behind, poking her back.

"People like to watch people build. This year's a pretty nice turnout too, probably because of Gabriel."

"Man, it's crowded, though. I think I liked it better when hardly anyone showed up over here." Jesse complained, looking down every so often to check that Reuben was still following at her heels.

"At least it's sort of quiet as far as crowds go. Everyone seems like they're mostly chilling." Axel commented mildly.

It was then they passed Aiden of all people, who must have parted from his group as they went out to search for their own booth, meticulously selecting smooth stone from a Raw Materials chest supervised by an attendant. He appeared unaware he was holding up a short line behind him.

"Yeesh, what an annoying little weirdo," Axel grimaced, Jesse nodding in quiet agreement with him as they stopped to watch Olivia grab a poor custodian and ask a string of questions, gesturing wildly at the filled booths around them.

"Y'know, If Aiden had pulled that on Olivia he'd be dead right now," Axel said, and the air blew out from Jesse's closed lips in her failed attempt to hold in her sudden bark of laughter.

She managed to pull it together as Olivia faced them after she waved off the retreating employee, a questioning frown pulling at her mouth. She had a piece of paper that an engraved piece of wood had stamped a grid pattern of the building competition's layout.

Waving the paper in her hands to let the ink dry, she spoke, "What was that? Sorry, that poor guy barely knew what he was doing."

"Nothing! I was just saying… that uh, we would usually be in bed right now!" Axel said cheerfully, clasping his hands together.

"I heard my name followed by a bunch of giggles." She rested her palm against her hip.

"Jesse did not giggle, she—"

"Heeey! What'd that guy give you there?" Jesse asked loudly, pointing to the small square of paper folded in her friend's hand as she elbowed Axel in the ribs.

"Oh! It's a map of all the booths. We actually passed ours already." She moved to show it to her, flicking the edge of the parchment with the back of her hand. "Just look at this, the order is totally random this year! So stupid."

"So stupid." Jesse automatically agreed, elbowing Axel in the side again when he started to snicker under his breath.

They followed after Olivia, reentering the maze of squared-off fences. She would stop to inspect the map, backtrack, then turn left just to loop around and go the other direction. The ink was spreading through the paper, turning the lines fat and making it hard to discern what was what. Jesse and Axel had to stop her three different times from going in a circle around a singular booth.

They rounded a bend on a path they'd passed two times earlier, stopping when Olivia slowed down at the sign that read BOOTH 5.

"All right, corner booth!" Axel yelled, pumping his fists in the air. "First year we've got one!"

Jesse ran to the center of their area with Axel, unbuckling her pack and throwing it to the side as she pointed around, "There's shade for Reuben if it gets hotter later in the day, one of the booths we're connected to has been closed off, and it's close to the well!"

"Yeah, corner booth! Bring it in Jess!" Axel yelled, arms held wide as he bent his knees.

"Corner booth!" She yelled back, running and hitting him squarely in the chest like a bullet, making him take a few steps back from the impact before heaving her up and grabbing her in a bear hug and jumping, both of them chanting "Corner booth, corner booth!"

Olivia smiled warmly at them, the sun reflecting off her dark skin and making her face glow. Looking around, she whistled in appreciation. Taking a moment to inspect the ground with her foot, she stomped a few times.

"No foundation-ruining moister or weak roots as far as… I'd say at least eight-ish feet below us. I think. Just a nice, clean sturdy pack of dirt. This is fantastic—Reuben, hey! No digging!"

"Love me some good old packed dirt," Jesse said, hanging off Axel's side with an arm and watching Olivia attempting to grab Reuben.

"Run, Reuben!" Axel called, releasing Jesse as she let go of his shoulder and lightly landed on her feet.

She pushed her hands to the bottoms of her pockets, rocking on her heels as she stood next to Axel and watched Olivia catch Reuben, scooping the pig up into her arms to scold him, a finger held against his mouth as if he might try to interrupt.

"This has gotta be a sign, like I'm telling you. Life is finally cutting us some slack. No way we mess this up." Axel kicked at some crabgrass growing near them.

"Not a chance." Jesse shook her head, giving him a low-five when he held his hands out.

"Oh, you guys!" Olivia hissed, dropping Reuben who gave a surprised oink and advancing on them. She grabbed their chins and redirect their gaze to the booth adjacent to them, "You went and jinxed it. Look who our neighbors are!"

Lukas and his gang flooded into their building space, making a B-Line towards their chest. Aiden walked in moments later holding a shrunken, floating smooth stone block over his palm, bringing it up for Lukas to inspect. Their backs were turned to them as they talked amongst themselves, unaware of the three person party staring intently at their backs.

Slowly, the four carefully took out what appeared to be sheeted blocks of multicolored glass. A heavy looking empty beacon followed next, hefted out of the crate by Maya and Lukas who gently set it on the ground with audible grunts.

"I don't like the look of this…"

"Is that a freakin' beacon? They have a freakin' beacon?" Axel whispered in disbelief, "Freakin'—beacon."

Olivia moved to his other side, Jesse glancing at her as she took a step forward and shielded her eyes from the sun. "…That's stained glass."

"Really nice stained glass. How'd they get EnderCon to provide them with that, much less a beacon? They wouldn't even give us with fireworks; Axel, you had to go out and make them yourself!"

"Hold on, they aren't just building a beacon; they're building a rainbow beacon." Olivia paused, then looked down after a moment. "We're gonna lose."

"What're you worried about? We got this."

"Who are you kidding, Jess? We've got nothing!"

"Um, we have got a mascot! Hello!" Jesse pointed to Reuben with both hands. Reuben was attempting to eat the grass, pushing the mouth of his mask against the ground only for it to stop him short. He kept trying, whining in confusion. Olivia gave her an unimpressed look before turning away.

"'Liv come on. Being negative won't help any!"

"Jesse's right, you know," Axel said, joining in from behind.

"Our design is better! A creeper that shoots fireworks is so cooler than a fancy light."

"Guys. Their difficulty score? It's going to be higher than our total score." she stretched her arms out wide to demonstrate.

"But we've got something they don't." Jesse shook her hands to give her next word a bit of flair, "Fireworks!"

"Oh, we got fireworks all right. If you won't believe in yourself, believe in the fireworks. I spent weeks making these babies, so trust me when I say these are gonna be quality." Axel made a show of patting his very full pockets.

"Fine, fine." She sighed, rubbing a temple. "I know I'm being a downer guys, and I am sorry. Thanks for sticking with me through bouts of crippling self doubt all the time. But both of you together? Very annoying. Have I mentioned this before?"

"Yeah. It's in our job description, sorry." Jesse said, looking pleased with herself when Olivia lit up with a short giggle.

The nice air of comfortable rapport broke apart with a mocking laugh that grated on Jesse's ears. It soured the atmosphere all the way from the other side of the fence.

"Look, it's the Order of the Losers. Again."

"Nice one, Gill."

"And there goes my good mood again," Olivia spoke, voice hushed as she gave Jesse a shriveling stare. Olivia wanted to just walk away but was fully aware Jesse would not budge from her spot so long as the Ocelots were messing with them.

So she crossed her arms next to her stubborn friend, watching Maya beckon Aiden over, whose face split into a grin at the sight of Jesse.

"We're just looking," Olivia said, posture defensive. She heard Axel approach and stand behind her and Jesse like a brick wall. His borderline unreal height made her feel better despite the tense expression tugging at the large boy's face.

Jesse placed her hands on her hips, Reuben pushing past to settle in front of her. "Problem? Is there a rule against that?"

"No, but there'll be plenty of time for you all to look at it after it wins and gets shown at EnderCon." He jeered, sauntering forward and stopping at the barrier separating the two groups, lifting a foot to rest it against the middle paneling of the fence.

"You're being unpleasant," Axel commented, frowning.

Aiden ignored him. "Well, maybe not all of you. EnderCon doesn't allow outside food or drink."

When none of them rose to the bait, aside from a raised brow from Olivia and a cough from Axel, Aiden rolled his eyes.

"I'm talking about your pig!" He pointed both hands toward Reuben, as if he thought they'd forgotten he was there. "I'm saying he's food."

"Yeah, we got it," Jesse said after a pause, face impassive.

"Uh… You really shouldn't mess with Reuben." Axel said, unconsciously flexing his bandaged fingers behind his back.

"I do what I want. Besides, what harm can a pig do?" Aiden said, carelessly leaning his arms over his raised knee.

"Keep talking and find out." Olivia spat, fighting the urge to kick his foot from under him just to see him veer forward head-first into the fence.

"What, is it going to jump into a skillet and hope I accidentally burn my hand?"

"Reuben is not food." Jesse ground out, taking a step closer with a heated glare.

"Could've fooled me, he looks delicious." He said, sounding almost thoughtful.

Jesse wavered at his tone of voice. She blinked at him, brows pulling together as she spoke, "…That sounded like a weird compliment?"

"You'll have to eat me first, and I guess by extension have to compliment me as well." Axel pointed to himself with his thumb, puffing out his chest.

"Uh… Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Olivia said looking to Jesse, tone sarcastic with a hint of 'Boys are incredibly weird, specifically these two at the moment.'

Jesse gave her a look that said, 'Axel is weird all the time.'

"Oh, you want to start something, big boy? Try me and I'll get you thrown out from this competition faster than you can say slime balls, and then what'll happen to your team? Your girlfriends will be disqualified for not reaching the required group size and kicked to the road right alongside you." He leaned over the fence with his hands, bringing his face in and looking up at Axel. "Then again, I don't think a bucket of lard actually counts as a person in the first place. So your team never really qualified—"

"Shut up," Jesse said, drawing herself up in his space despite the height difference. He backed up a hair, but his smirk grew, eyes narrowing.

"What's that?"

"Jesse said shut up. Do you need to hear it again?" Olivia stepped forward, Reuben getting pushed to the back with Axel. "Well?"

He glanced between the two, smile faltering somewhat as he growled, "I dunno. Maybe."

Lukas had walked over amidst the back and forth, clicking their chest open and rifling through the contents. He dragged out a trail of tangled, reinforced yet thin redstone cables. Rubbing his forehead with a sigh, he kneeled down and detangling them one at a time. He watched the squabble with a disdainful stare, bundling the thick wiring into snug loops around his fingers.

"You have two girls sticking up for you?" Aiden said, tutting and shaking his head like it disappointed him.

"Yes," Axel said frankly, looking down at the two with a smile.

"Why don't you stop hiding behind them and face me one on one like an actual man would?"

Lukas intervened once he finished wrapping the redstone wire in an orderly fashion around in his hands, "Stop wasting your time, Aiden, we've got work to do."

Aiden looked back and Lukas, who stood and raised his eyebrows at him expectantly, gesturing to the stacked glass laying flat on the ground at the far side of their booth.

"You're lucky I'm busy," Aiden said, pushing off the fence with a scowl at Lukas's stern look.

Jesse tilted her head, leaning forward in fake sympathy with her hands tucked behind her back as she jutted her lip out. "Did you get in trouble?"

Olivia covered a laugh with a cough behind her hand.

Aiden fumed; any chance of him walking away gone. Maya opened her mouth, ready to hash out some biting remark while Gill looked torn between doing as Lukas said or staying with Aiden.

"Hey Jesse, guys." A gravelly voice abruptly cut through the rising animosity like an ax to rotting wood.

"Petra, Hey!" Jesse instantly broke her stare with Aiden, smiling in greeting at the redhead and receiving a casual upturn of thin lips in turn.

With her turquoise bandana that contrasted against her flat, red collarbone-length hair, Petra was always one to catch eyes. Her dark clothes highlighted her pale, freckled skin. A blue linen shirt covered by a protective chest guard made with what looked like a blend of fabrics, quilted firmly together into a durable padding interlined with strong cretan stitches, which hung loosely around her muscular frame, topped with a reinforced, black vest over dark shorts.

Leather boots that matched Jesse's came to a stop at a dark pair of shin and knee guards strapped over her legs, made with similar material as the chest guard; tough layered cloth. She wore a long black sleeve on her left arm that acted as a compression wrap, and a single fingerless glove pulled over her dominant hand to prevent blistering.

"How's the build going?" She asked, gently rotating a pickaxe over her shoulder from left to right.

"Only time will tell, but we're optimistic." Axel tilted his head into a shrug.

Aiden and Gill parted for Lukas, who approached Petra with a smile.

Next to Petra, his clothes seemed almost dull despite comprising more colors; Jeans, a striped maroon shirt, and his black leather Ocelots jacket. He made up for in his hair which looked like it was painstakingly done in front of a mirror every morning. A section of blond hair was styled back into a quasi-pompadour, leaving the rest combed back like Aiden's. It was exaggerated by his long nose and pointed chin. His short, sparse sideburns framed his face in such a way that they shaped his cheekbones to appear more pronounced than they were.

Jesse took a measured step back from Petra as Lukas approached in petty distaste. He didn't seem to even notice, but Petra did. She stayed silent, though.

"Hey, Petra, I forgot to thank you for that Nether Star."

"Hey, Lukas. Not a problem." She said easily, a hint of a friendly smile touching her perpetually disinterested face.

"You helped these tools? Why?" Axel asked accusingly.

"For the right price, I'll help anyone," Petra stated blandly, shrugging a shoulder at him. She looked to Jesse with a twitch of her lips. "If you need anything, you know where to find me."

Olivia watched Petra walk off, her eyes narrowed. She held the side of her palm to her mouth, "None of us know where to find you!"

"Exactly!" Petra called back, raising a hand in goodbye without turning around as she disappeared into the crowd just as quickly as she appeared.

Lukas returned his gaze to them and offered a friendly smile after watching Petra leave. Aiden was glaring at them from behind Lukas, Gill and Maya glaring at them from behind Aiden.

"Hey, no hard feelings guys. If you're cool with Petra, you're cool with us." He rubbed the back of his neck, presenting his hand to Jesse, "So why don't we just forget about all this and, y'know… make this about how cool our builds are."

Jesse bristled. Of course only now that he knows Petra is on friendly terms with them did he bother attempting any semblance of peace.

"We're cool with Petra, but you need to teach your friends some manners." She resisted the urge to invade his personal space and roughly point her finger into his chest with every word.

Lukas just laughed a little, his shoulders shaking with the noise. "Aiden's always like that. He's just trying to get into your head."

"Not just Aiden, all of them! Have you heard of the saying It's possible to be nice and win?"

"I don't… think that's a saying—"

"Sounds like something a loser would say," Aiden cut in, leaning on one leg and pretending to inspect his nails. Maya chortled quietly.

Jesse momentarily pondered the flint and steel in her pocket. Reuben shook his head no at her.

It was when Axel stepped forwards that all four of them stepped back. Olivia grabbed his arm and hissed something to him. Jesse just tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, taking a moment to mockingly inspect her own nails back at them. She had zero qualms with sicking Axel on then.

"Hey, hey," Lukas held his hands in front of him in a placating manner, "I told you, he doesn't mean anything by it—none of them do."

Olivia looked ready to say something—something not nice but the looks of it—before Jesse stepped forwards. She extended her hand without pause or hesitation, a fake amiable smile covering her face.

"Hey, may the best team win."

Axel appeared like he wanted to argue, but Olivia shushed him by physically holding his lips together with her thumb and pointer finger.

"Careful what you wish for." Lukas sent her an equally friendly smile without the fakeness of it.

"We'll see about that."

Stepping forward and taking her smaller hand, he grunted in surprise when she easily yanked him forward. He blinked, taken aback as her smile fell into a thin line

"We're going to crush you." She said matter-of-factly.

He was quiet for a few seconds, startled, before releasing her hand and laughing good-naturedly, rubbing his chin. "I don't know if you know this, but we're pretty good."

Jesse said nothing. She put her hands on her hips, staring him down.

"Oh, wait." He looked confused before his face broke out into a grin, "I get it. It's like a joke, right?"

"No. I'm serious." Jesse leaned forwards on her toes, voice low. "We're going to destroy you."

"Huh," He laughed a bit, his wide smile softening as his cheeks flushed, clearing his throat and looking off to the side for a second. He glimpsed back, corners of his mouth gently raised again, "You know, you're really funny. That's awesome. Hey, uh, good luck."

She looked him over in utter disbelief, eyes narrowed and brows pinched together. The top side of her lip was pulled up faintly with incredulity as she searched his reddening face for something, anything to indicate she was being messed with.

She looked at Olivia in confusion, lightly spluttering and attempting to gesture in the vague direction of Lukas. Olivia looked like she was barely holding it together. Axel was looking at the blonde in dawning realization, brows rising past his bangs. Reuben's head pivoted between them, confused but sure Lukas had done or said something unthinkably disrespectful to Jesse he hadn't understood. So Reuben did the first logical thing he could think of. He jumped between them, arms and legs spread like he was about to pounce, and screeched up at him.

Lukas reeled back at the pig that had appeared in front of him like a bolt of lightning. One second not there, the next there and shrieking at him with the promise of intended future malice. He'd bumped into Gill and the rest who had jumped out of their skins.

"See, told you you shouldn't mess with Reuben," Axel said, snorting.

"Wow, I-I don't think your pig likes me very much," Lukas chuckled nervously, backing up. He looked to them, having the decency to look marginally embarrassed. "So, um, I'll see you guys around? I mean we'll be building next to each other, but you get what I mean?"

He looked at Jesse expectantly, who said nothing. So Olivia quickly stepped in instead with an unconvincing, "Sure."

They watched Lukas walk back into his booth, friends following close behind. Aiden slapped the back of his head and Maya was laughing hysterically.

Olivia spoke up again after a long moment of silence.

"So," She said, "That happened."

"Shut up, Olivia."

The three stared after them. Olivia was still shaking with unshed tears of mirth and Axel looked absolutely scandalized. Reuben huffed, kicking at one of the fence posts with his hind legs, tapping the ground like a pint-sized bull. He jumped back and forth, making a weird hissing noise and acting like he was getting ready to fight them, just waiting for them to turn around and charge.

Axel slowly raised a leg away from him. "Um—"

Jesse was on Reuben before anyone could even blink, and the pig was instantly squealing and rolling to the ground in glee, demeanor changing so quickly it would give any onlooker whiplash.

"Oh my goodness! What a good boy! Ohh, big boy! My strong boy, so tough!" Jesse was cooing, her silly pet-talk-voice at maximum capacity as she ran the pads of her fingers over his chubby stomach and began tickling him, Reuben making squeaking noises of joy as he wriggled around on the ground, "Ohhh he likes the tickles, yes! He likes the tickles, doesn't he? Mean, handsome Ender Dragon came and scared them away didn't he? Yes he did! Yes you did!"

It was when her R's were becoming W's and she pulled him into her lap and started blowing air against his stomach that they intervened. Olivia went around to drag Jesse away as Axel attempted to pick Reuben up, but was bitten over his bandaged hand in his efforts.

"Ow! That's two times in a single day, Reuben!"

"We are! In public! You know!" Olivia whispered loudly, jerking at the back of Jesse's overalls with every word.

"Oh, come on, that was cute! He was like, totally ready to beat them up."

"You're taking a weird situation and just making it weirder, Jess," Axel said, cradling his hand.

"Hah! Funny. Like you wouldn't have done the same thing if Reuben hadn't beat you to it." Jesse said, lolling Reuben back and forth in her arms.

Olivia wasn't able to stop her burst of giggles, backing up with a grin when Axel whipped around to look at her, "Sorry, sorry, I'm just—I imagined you doing what Reuben just did, and she's not wrong."

"Is it pick on Axel day or something? Like, was I just not notified?"

"You're right, I'm sorry," Jesse said, smile gone as she stood with Reuben flopped over in her arms like a large sausage, sucking on a chestnut she'd snuck out of her bag for him. "Pick on Axel day was Tuesday."

Olivia futilely covered her nose and mouth with both hands, laughing loudly and backing up until her legs hit the chest and she was forced to sit, uncovering her face to lean forwards and slap at her thighs in quick succession.

"Okay, so you don't laugh at most of my jokes, but you lose it when I make the lowest possible effort in making one. All right, sure." Jesse said, unable to hold in her grin. Olivia's peels of giggles were infectious. Even Axel began to smile in spite of his best efforts to keep his frown in place.

"Yeah laugh it up you two. See how funny it is when I decide to not share my fireworks."

"Sorry, sorry," Jesse grinned, popping out a second chestnut from her bag and setting Reuben down when he began climbing out of her arms to reach it. She approached Axel, coolly pushing the shelled nut into one of the fists closed over his chest.

He snorted, looking at her and throwing it in his mouth, cracking it loudly between his teeth. Jesse recoiled.

"Ew! You can't just do that!"

He chuckled between spitting out bits of shell, "Yeah I can."

The woman who had previously been at the sign-up table's voice reverberated from multiple soundboxes stationed around them. Axel had jolted like he'd been stung by a bee, swallowing the chestnut whole. Jesse pounded heavily against his back as he coughed. Olivia made her way to them, face flushed with exertion and looking to the stage where the dark skinned woman was speaking into a small box.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and all others! Welcome to the EnderCon Building Competition!" She yelled, clapping alongside builders and spectators alike with a face-breaking smile.

She waited for the crowd to settle, pushing her round glasses up her nose, "The winners of this year's competition will have their build featured in the main plaza during EnderCon."

She signaled a hand in the direction of Keynote Hall, the glass dome rising above the trees in the distance, "The winners will also have the opportunity to meet, in person, Gabriel the Warrior!"

Axel whistled noisily with his fingers, Olivia and Jesse jumping with their arms over the other's shoulder and fist-bumping the air. Axel reached out and picked the two of them up, sandwiching them all together with an excited laugh, Reuben squealing and hopping around the trio wildly, excited by all the commotion.

"Ocelots!" They looked to their neighbors, going through the motions of a handshake; pounding fists and turning to the member next to them with a chest-bump, "Ocelots!"

"Woah, a handshake? We don't have a handshake." Olivia said, glancing between Axel and Jesse.

Axel set them down on their feet, scratching his chin with pinched eyebrows.

"We'll just… make one up!" Jesse shrugged, "We'll call it the, uhh…"

They looked at her expectantly.

"The um, the… the Builder's Bump!" She held out her fist, Axel went in for a high-five, and Olivia's own fist missed hers by a good inch. They tried again, this time Jesse going in for a fist bump, Axel a hand clasp, and Olivia a low-five. He ended up grabbing Jesse's fist as Olivia unintentionally delivered a stinging slap to their conjoined hands.

"Hm," Axel grunted dully, letting go and rubbing his abused hand. With a quiet "Ouch."

"Well, uh... we can workshop it…" Jesse tried, bringing her shoulders in close as she shrugged sheepishly.

"And just like that, I'm nervous again."

"Don't talk like that. We can do this! Just stick to the plan and everything will be fine." Jesse insisted, grabbing their arms and bringing them in. "We may not have a name, but still—this year, we can't lose!"

She held out her hand, smiling around at them with a look of determination as they brought their own in, clutching their hands together.

"Try for team again?" She asked hopefully. Axel and Olivia shared a smile, nodding.

"No death rattles this time, Reuben," Olivia said firmly. Reuben stuck his snout up and pulled away from the group, trotting over to the sidelines and sitting with an embarrassed huff.

"Okay! On three, together this time, one—two—three!"

"TEAM!" They raised their arms up, quickly dispersing and smiling proudly at one another over the small accomplishment. Any achievement, regardless of the size, was still an achievement.

"Let's do this." Axel nodded, Looking to the announcer who they'd tuned out as she held up a cow-bell.

"Building! Starts…!"

Jesse threw the lid of the furthermost supplies chest outside their booth open, grabbing wood and standing at the ready as the woman paused for suspense.

"Now!" She yelled, hitting the bell with a small mallet.


i wasnt very happy with this chapter, im still not. it could have used more editing and i'll probably come back and do that. it just feels very weak and messy between interactions if that makes sense?

shoot me a review and let me know what u think?