The envelope was on the table the next morning, waiting to be opened. By the time Vanellope had gotten up, almost everyone else was crowding around the coffee table in the living room and chattering away. The "almost" was in the forms of Merida, Astrid, Audrey, and GoGo, who looked like they'd been woken up by all the noise and would rather be back in bed. Merida was talking in low tones with Astrid on the couch, occasionally broken off with a laugh between the two of them, while Audrey seemed more interested in her tea at the coffee table than the date invitation and GoGo was blowing large pink bubbles of gum, her eyes closed, in her reclining on a beanbag.
"Well, what's everyone waitin' for?" Vanellope said loudly in between a few yawns. "C'mon, someone open it!"
"It's definitely gonna be Penny," Alexa sneered. "So why bother?"
Penny only raised an eyebrow, while Vanellope rolled her eyes. Not even more than a day in and drama was still brewing. "Seriously? We don't even know yet, for crying out loud! C'mon, someone just take it so we can get this over with."
Without prompting from anyone else, Penny reached forward and snatched up the envelope. She paused dramatically, waiting until everyone's eyes were on her, before opening it and taking out the paper.
"Vanellope," she read. "I'll be your player two if you're my player one."
Vanellope stopped moving in shock for a moment, but then a huge smile spread across her face. "It...it's me!" She squealed. "I'm first!"
The others seemed a bit disappointed, Kay in particular looking like she'd swallowed a lemon, but then a few of the more outgoing ones gave her a smile.
"Aww, well...have fun, Vanellope!" Honey Lemon called.
"Yeah, but not too much fun," Mavis teased. "Save some for the rest of us!"
Vanellope giggled and skipped out of the room, eager to get ready for her date. She cockily waved the envelope in Alexa's face as she left-Vanellope wasn't usually one for gloating much, but Alexa was an exception.
Alexa rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she sneered, as some of the other girls tried to suffice their giggles.
"I mean…" Margo admitted in her confessional. "Most of us wanted to be first, so it was kinda disappointing, but…" she smiled. "And besides, we'll all get our chance, right…?"
"I can't believe it," Alexa grumbled in her own confessional. "What's so special about her, anyway? She gets her First Impression rose, and then he picks her first for a one-on-one? It's so unfair!"
"You should've seen the look on Alexa's face," Vanellope snickered in her confessional. "Pure gold. But, uh…" she gulped slightly. "I'm still kinda surprised that he picked me first. I hope I don't mess things up…"
Vanellope shook her leg anxiously as the limo turned yet another street. She really had no idea where they were going, and if she didn't find out soon, she felt like she'd end up yelling at the driver to hurry up.
Luckily, she didn't need to, because at last the vehicle slowed to a stop. Vanellope looked out her window, grinning widely when she spotted the flashing lights of the arcade, and Hiro waiting for her outside the door. Before even waiting to be let out, the girl hopped out of the car and bounced up and down a couple times, before running up to her date.
"Hey," Hiro greeted as he observed her energetic bouncing. "Good to see you again."
"Same to you!" Vanellope chirped. "This place looks pretty wicked!" She turned to him with a laugh. "Of course you'd bring me to an arcade."
Hiro shrugged. "Ah, well, you did bring your DS along, so...I figured you were into video games, right?"
Vanellope giggled. "Of course. You're pretty observant, Hiro." she said, nudging him slightly.
Hiro chuckled and held out a hand to the door. "Th-thanks...anyway, shall we?"
The couple headed inside, with the cameras following their every move, catching the attention of those who were already in the arcade. Vanellope took no notice of the stares and instead became more excited now that she was seeing all the games up close. This place was so much better than the arcades they had back home!
"Of course it had to be Vanellope." Kay rolled her eyes at the camera, blowing a strand of perfectly coiffured blonde hair out of her face. "First Impression rose, and all that. So predictable, but whatever."
As soon as they were ready, Vanellope took Hiro by the arm and wandered slowly inside, exploring all the different machines and trying to decide which one to try first.
Hiro tensed up a bit when she held his arm, but didn't really resist. "So, uh...what do you want to do first?"
"Oooh, I don't know," Vanellope replied. "All of these look fun-wait! How about that one?"
Hiro looked in the direction she was pointing. "Sugar Rush? Isn't that…?"
"Yeah," said Vanellope. "That's the game I like to play on my DS, but I heard the arcade version is so much cooler!"
Hiro smiled. "Ok, then let's go try it out."
They headed over and sat down, with Hiro inserting the quarters for both of them.
"This is gonna be great," Vanellope said excitedly. "I used to play tons of racing games back home-nobody was able to beat me."
Hiro took note of her cheeky grin and smiled back. "Is that so? Well, let's see if I can break that winning streak."
"Good luck," she giggled.
Much to Hiro's dismay, Vanellope hadn't been bluffing-despite claiming that this was her first time playing this arcade game, she seemed to know all the tricks and maneuvers, and she beat him by a landslide. There was no way he could win this race against her, she was practically at home here.
"I win!" she called happily, after winning for the second time. "Wanna play again?"
Hiro raised an eyebrow. "I don't know. I sure don't want to keep losing, that's for sure."
She giggled. "Oh, ok. We can do something else now. What other games are there?"
"I think I know a good one," Hiro smirked. He stood up and pointed to another machine in the corner, grinning at Vanellope as they walked toward it. "You may be an expert in racing, Vanellope, but let's see how you fare in my area of expertise."
Vanellope looked up at the game in surprise. "Bot-fighting?" A smile crossed her face.
Hiro grinned widely. "Yyyyep. This stuff was my childhood…" he lowered his voice and leaned over to Vanellope. "...and I don't just mean the video game either."
Vanellope's eyes widened. "Wait, you used to bot-fight for real?"
"Shhh, it's a secret."
She giggled. "Oh wow, Hiro. I didn't know you were such a bad boy," she said with a wink.
Hiro blushed a bit at this comment, but didn't let it deter him as he picked up a controller. "Pft. Don't try to distract me, Vanellope-I can win this game with my eyes closed."
"Prove it," she smirked.
Hiro grinned right back, but set his concentration on the game at hand-he hadn't actually been planning on playing with his eyes closed, but since the cameras were watching, he pretty much had to do it. It was okay though, because either way, Vanellope didn't stand a chance. He'd been through so many of these fights before that a video game version was a walk in the park.
Vanellope set down her controller in frustration when she lost for the third time. "Damn," she whispered. "You really can do it blind."
"One more round?"
"Nah, I think I get the point," she replied with a nudge. "You've got me owned in the robot department."
Hiro shrugged. "Guess we're just good at different things, huh?"
"That's a good thing, right?" Vanellope asked with another flirty smirk. "Balance. We'd make a good team."
"Heh. Yeah..."
Marys was sitting on one of the comfortable couches, not relaxing at all. She considered herself lucky that nobody was using the TV when she found it, as there was nothing else she could use to cure her current boredom and anxiety. She had no idea what she was supposed to be doing right now. She'd watched a few seasons of The Bachelor before, and they'd never really showed what the contestants were up to when the Bachelor was out on a date-she'd always assumed they were partying or talking crap about the women he was currently with, but none of that was happening. Instead, everyone was scattered about the huge mansion, lying around lazily or trying out one of the various recreational activities. One thing was for sure, though: everyone was bored out of their minds. Were they just supposed to wait here until they got back? How many times would they have to do that?
One of the other contestants-was her name Riley?-was lying on a beanbag nearby. A few times she had tried to call out to Marys, just to talk, but Marys had brushed her off with a shrug or a nod until Riley eventually gave up. Marys didn't really feel like talking to any of them, especially considering that they were all in this to get Hiro's attention. They might be all nice when he wasn't around, but who knows how they would be once he got back from his date.
Marys heaved a sigh. Jeez, the guy wasn't even in the mansion and she was jealous of the others. She honestly didn't want to think too much about Hiro being on a date with someone other than her. Maybe it was petty, since this is what he was supposed to be doing, and it was silly to get jealous over this guy she only just met, but...well, she couldn't help it.
Something about Hiro had just caught her attention as soon as she saw him. Maybe it was that nervous gapped-tooth smile, or the way he seemed to be shifting nervously despite the fact that he was the last person being judged around here...it was oddly charming. She'd heard about Hiro Hamada before, the boy prodigy, the inventor, someone she aspired to be like, but she'd never expected him to be this way in person, so...ah, what was it, exactly? She couldn't put it into words, she just felt like he was someone she wanted to spend time with. Someone she wanted to herself. Was that petty? Probably.
"Helloooo?"
Marys flinched at the sound of someone calling out to her. Snapping out of her thoughts, she looked up to see Riley again, along with a few other girls looking at her expectantly.
She flushed in embarrassment. "Um, sorry...were you talking to me?"
One of the others, an excitable redhead (Anna?) flashed her a smile. "Yeah. We were just gonna play a game of Go Fish, you wanna join us?"
Marys stared back at them in confusion. She didn't really feel like playing a game with her...competitors, but what other option did she have? She was bored as hell.
She shrugged and got up to join them. "I...guess so."
The game started off quietly, all of them taking their turns like clockwork, until Riley started getting all antsy again. "God, it's so boring around here."
"I know, right?" Another one (Tip?) agreed. "At least they could let us go online or something."
"Hey, come on, we've got all these games we can play, right?" Anna replied. "Don't spend time all by yourselves…"
Marys shrugged. "Well, I mean…" she mumbled. "I guess some people don't wanna hang out with the other contestants, since we're supposed to be competing, you know…"
"Yeah, but Hiro isn't here right now," Tip nudged her cheekily. "We can do whatever we want."
Despite her mood, as well as her uncertain feelings toward the others, Marys couldn't help but snicker at her comment. "Yeah, you're probably right."
It was quiet for a little while longer, and Marys mused. "I wonder how the date is going…"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She thought to herself. That's the worst subject I can bring up right now. Also, can't I quit thinking about Hiro for one damn second?
But the others didn't seem fazed by it. "Hopefully terrible," Anna joked, to which she received a shove from her sister. "What? I'm joking!"
She turned to the others. "I mean, we're all just trying to impress the guy, right? Forget about everyone else and let things happen the way they do."
There were murmurs of agreement. Marys nodded along with them. Anna had a point. They were all in this together, there was no point in hating each other. Things would happen however they would happen.
...She was still a bit jealous, though.
After about a couple more hours of gaming, the couple decided it was time to do something else.
"I'm kinda hungry..." Vanellope said.
"We can go get something to eat," Hiro suggested. "I saw a pizza place across the street while I was waiting. And an ice cream place too."
Vanellope grinned. "Life is short-let's just eat ice cream!"
Hiro laughed, and led his date outside the arcade at last. They headed into the ice cream parlor across the street, where they both got their treats (Vanellope got an excessive amount of toppings in hers), and sat down at a table.
It was quiet for a moment while they munched on their snacks. Vanellope licked her spoon thoughtfully, studying Hiro for a second, before she finally began to speak.
"So, uh..." she began. "I'm just curious, Hiro...why'd you pick me first?"
Hiro blinked in surprise, then shrugged. "Ummmm...I dunno. Guess you just seemed, uh unique?"
She giggled. "What do you mean?"
"You know," Hiro replied "All the others came in all polite and stuff, and you just go and pop out a DS." He laughed. "It was just interesting, is all. I just...wanted to get to know you better."
Vanellope shrugged sheepishly. "Awww. Thanks." Then she frowned for a moment. "Get to know me, huh? Ok, let's see...uh, I grew up in a pretty small town, I think there were only like, twelve other kids..." she chuckled. "It was one of those places where everyone likes to do the same thing, and the mayor was this crazy guy who tried to hold all these events like we were the greatest town ever-so there was plenty to do."
She frowned. "I...don't think the other kids really liked me though."
Hiro stared at her curiously. "How come?"
"I don't know. I guess I was kind of a troublemaker, but...they never really let me hang out with them. I didn't really act like the rest of them, so they treated me like I didn't belong."
Hiro winced. "Oh. Yeah, I know how that feels."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I mean...I was skipping grades all the time, and when you're the smallest kid in the class..."
Vanellope nodded slowly. "I bet they were all just jealous of you."
"That's what my brother said." He paused for a moment, then smiled again. "And hey, look at you-I bet all those kids from your hometown are freaking out right now, seeing you on TV, kicking my butt in Sugar Rush."
"Ha!" Vanellope laughed. "You have a good point. They were always mad when I beat them at the arcades..."
They chuckled, finishing up their ice cream at last and heading out the door.
Hiro checked the time and frowned. "Well, uh...I guess that's it. I have to go now."
"Aww," Vanellope frowned. "Well, I guess I'll see you soon, right?"
"Yeah. I, uh...had a lot of fun with you, Vanellope."
"So did I."
They stood there awkwardly for a moment, while Vanellope stared at him expectantly.
Hiro then blinked in remembrance. "Oh, sorry! Uh, th-this is for you."
He hastily pulled out the rose he'd been saving and handed it to her, as gracefully as he could manage after the previous awkwardness.
Vanellope giggled with relief and accepted the gift. "Thank you, Hiro." She gave him a small kiss on the cheek, causing him to blush a bit in embarrassment, and turned to leave.
"I, uh...messed up the rose line, didn't I?" Hiro chuckled, glancing at the camera slightly, still not used to the whole confessional thing. "Yeah, I guess this isn't really my area of expertise, you know...I mess up my words sometimes." He cleared his throat. "But...aside from that, I...think it went smoothly. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing her again."
"It was awesome!" Vanellope squealed in her confessional later. "I was afraid he'd think I was childish or that I was laying in on too thick with my life story, but...it turns out we actually have a lot in common!"
She fingered the rose in her hand thoughtfully. "Plus it doesn't hurt that he's super cool...and you know, cute." She giggled. "Now let's just hope I can beat the competition." She gave a wink to the camera, and that was that.
A/N: Don't forget to vote for which girl you want to see win! The poll is on our profile.
