Chapter 7: Of Outfits and Crowbars

3:04:37 AM, Aquacorde Town, Kalos

Collin woke up in a cold sweat.

He looked around the room, making sure that everything was still in place. Serena was still asleep, the bags were still there, and everything looked tidy except for Collin's bed, which was missing sheets and blankets for some reason. Collin figured that he had simply kicked them off while he was asleep.

For the next few minutes, he tried to get back to sleep, but for whatever reason he couldn't. Collin decided to take a walk, thinking that a nice stroll around the town would calm his nerves.

Collin put on his clothes, unlocked the door, and walked out to the lobby. From there, he opened the door of the small hotel and moved onto the street.

After walking for a little while, Collin noticed something strange. Most of the lights in the town were off, but Collin could see one house with the lights on. Collin thought nothing of it at first, then he noticed something very unsettling: the window was broken.

Collin wasn't sure if he should investigate further. After a bit of thought, he decided to enter. Collin grabbed a loose brick from the side of the house and climbed through the window.

The house looked like a tornado had come through. Objects were misplaced, cabinets were open, and the furniture was flipped over. The sofa was covering the front door, as if someone was trying to keep invaders out….

Just then, Collin heard an unsettling noise, the sound of an old woman yelling at what sounded like a rather large man.

Collin considered leaving, but some part of him drove him to climb up the stairs towards the noise.

''I am here to help people, right?''

Collin reached the bedroom. The door looked like it had been kicked in, and the sound was coming from the inside. Collin peeked around the corner and saw a masked man robbing the woman Collin heard downstairs.

Suddenly, Collin figured out a use for that brick he was carrying.

''Brick, I choose you!''

Collin moved in closer to the man and threw the brick as hard as he could. The brick connected with the back of the thief's head, and made a satisfying crack as it knocked the villain to the floor. The man stirred for around 3 seconds, then lost consciousness.

The old woman was completely speechless. First, her house was ransacked, now some young person had just saved her.

''Uh…nice house you got here…..'' Collin said awkwardly.

The woman said nothing, which made Collin a little disappointed. He was hoping for one of those reactions you would see in some superhero movie. But Collin found something that washed his temporary disappointment away: a crowbar.

Collin picked it up and felt the weight of the bar in his hands.

''It's time to save the world, Gordon Freeman style,'' Collin thought to himself.

After quickly checking the room for Gravity Guns, Collin decided that now was a good time to leave.

''Um…lady…you might need to call the authorities, like, now,'' Collin said to the lady as he left her room.

After a casual walk, Collin returned to the hotel room, where Serena was still asleep and peaceful.

''Gee, she sure is pre-'' Collin cut himself off, realizing that he was purposely watching a girl sleep, and from what Collin learned in Kindergarten, girls found that a little strange.

Collin stashed the crowbar in a slot on the outside of his bag, got back in bed, and went to sleep.

7:45:00 AM, Aquacorde Town, Kalos

The alarm clock sounded, and a drowsy Serena got out of bed to get ready for the day.

Serena considered waking Collin up, but she figured that he needed his rest. She took a shower, but when she got out she couldn't decide on what to wear. She decided to consult Collin on this matter.

She put on a bath robe and went to wake Collin up. She grabbed a pillow and proceeded to beat him over the head with it until he woke up.

''Wake up, sleepyhead!'' Serena yelled at Collin while delivering maximum punishment to his peaceful sleep.

Collin sprang to life after the tenth blow, and asked Serena what she was doing with that pillow.

''I'm waking you up, silly. I need help deciding what to wear,'' Serena said to Collin before hitting him with the pillow one last time.

Serena held up two outfits in front of Collin, then asked him which one he liked best.

''I..uh…hmm…well…I like that one,'' Collin said, pointing to an outfit that consisted of beige pants with a light yellow long-sleeved top, complete with a light blue scarf.

''This one it is then!'' Serena said, clearly excited about getting Collin's opinion.

Serena was about to finish the outfit with a hat, but Collin interjected.

''I think you look better without a hat, actually,'' Collin said to Serena, making her blush a little. Serena tried to hide her face by turning around, but Collin had already seen Serena's blush, which made him slightly red in the face as well.

Collin was mesmerized by the girl's flowing honey-blonde hair and happy personality. He caught himself fantasizing about her on multiple occasions, and this was no exception.

Collin was afraid Serena would pick up on his crush, so he instantly snapped himself out of his thoughts and went to get cleaned up.

''What an interesting guy….'' Serena thought to herself as Collin left.

I wasn't really sure what to do with this chapter, so I decided to give Collin and Serena a few opportunities to interact in interesting ways.

Plus, Half-Life references are always fun.