Michael did not like loud sounds at the best of times, and the Roseville Summer Celebration, he concluded, counted as part of the best of times. School was freshly out, vacations were underway, and summer was in full swing. It was a day surrounded by fun and games, for him not only a celebration of the season, but for his independence too. Now Mike was free to have slack off, to play all the video games he wanted and stay up all night until the sun rose the next morning.
But Mike cared more for what the day represented more than what was in store for him. He'd always had sensitive hearing, and anything close to a yell would have him covering his ears in pain. As much could be seen at any number of pep rallies (of which he tried desperately to avoid), concerts, fighting and shouting, and any other place where loud sounds could be found. Without fail, Mike would grab his ears and groan about how much his head hurt. Nobody paid him much mind, except for his best friend Lucy. She was always sure to call him out for being a baby.
What the Summer Celebration brought out was something Mike feared that others found great excitement in - the fireworks display. The setting sun acted as a ticking clock, sinking lower and lower in the sky until finally his time was up. Everyone would gather around and watch the multicolored explosions light up the night sky, illuminating them all in a dazzling glow. And Mike… Mike would cover his ears and close his eyes, crying to himself, hoping the dreadful affair would let up soon.
This wouldn't last forever, though. Mike's parents caught on when he was about 8, and got him some earbuds to soften the blow. And they worked, mostly. The fireworks were still awfully loud, but it was far better than going without. Just as he had for the last 6 years, he stuffed the earbuds in his scarf and headed out with his family to the local park to enjoy the festivities with the rest of Roseville. Upon arrival, the parking lot was packed. The festival area wasn't any different. As they walked through, Mike saw the same faces he did every year. He even spotted some of his classmates mingling with each other, prattling on about all the fun things they had already done, and the fun things they'd yet to do.
For Mike, he really only associated with a handful of others, and one of them was a handful in themself, Lucy. In fact, it wasn't long after Mike and his family entered the celebration proper, and Mike went off on his own, when Mike felt a sharp pain in his arm. He gasped and looked around to see a very frustrated looking Lucy, and just for the briefest moment when he laid his eyes upon her, a tinge of nervousness. This was quickly covered up by her annoyed chiding. "Where have you been, jerkface? I've been looking all over for you."
"Guh! Sorry, Lucy." Mike winced a bit as he rubbed the sore spot on his arm. "Haley's dress wasn't dried yet, so we had to wait. Plus, Chris was still napping and my parents didn't want him to be asleep for the fireworks."
"Tch!" Lucy sucked her teeth and folded her arms. "Such lame excuses."
"It's true!" Mike fired back. "What did you want me to do? Walk here on my own?"
"You could've called me, you know." Lucy leaned in to give Mike a closer look at how angry she was. "I would have asked my mom to get you."
Mike put on a sly smile. "You… you wanted to go together, is that what you're saying?"
Lucy's eyes went wide and she backed off immediately. "N-no! Just so I wouldn't have to waste my time looking for you!"
"Ah." Mike replied, a little deflated. They both started walking. "Well, I'm here now. What are the stalls like this year?"
"They got some new games!" Lucy said, semi guiding him towards the main area.
"Games I'm going to totally beat you at, again." Mike teased her.
There were a lot of ways to get under Lucy's skin, and telling her she would lose a game or competition was the fastest way to set her off. "You cheat, jerkface!"
"Just like you at Super Boxer Champions?" Mike asked, trying to contain his laughter.
"Noooo! Not like Super Boxer Champions where I use legitimate moves that were intended by the developers." Lucy shot back.
"Well who knows? Maybe this is the year you beat me." Mike smiled earnestly at the khao manee, making her turn away before he could see her blush. "You are really good at them, after all. No one else comes as close to beating me as you!"
"Whatever, idiot." Lucy said, still facing the other way to hide the smile she was fighting back. "I'll be the judge of that."
Things went back to being cordial between the two as they navigated around the stalls and other patrons. More than once Lucy grabbed Mike's arm to keep from getting separated, which Mike took note of, but never mentioned to her. Besides, there was so much to see. Local and nationwide businesses alike had set up shop to advertise and sell their wares. Mike and Lucy's eyes glazed over at the boring insurance and home repair type stalls, but they both found interest in the local game shop stall, as well as one that had a lot of funny costumes. They giggled and laughed at each other as they tried on funny masks and outfits. At one point, they independently tried on some royal wear, with Mike being the king and Lucy the queen, which caused her to blush profusely and hastily remove the costume.
It wasn't just businesses and toys, either, there were many food stalls and trucks lined up and down the strip. The smells from the greasy food were amazing, and left both of them scrounging for change. They scraped a few dollars together, and decided to share a funnel cake covered in fudge. While they ate, they found a secluded bench in the shade to sit on.
"Man, today's really been fun!" Mike commented, smiling at all the people walking past.
"Yeah." Lucy said softly, smiling up at Mike. "It really has…"
Mike looked at her with a smile of his own, and Lucy quickly looked away. "Oh, Lucy, you've got something on your face." Mike said, lifting one of their last napkins.
"Huh?" Lucy asked, looking back at him. She was met with a faceful of napkin, and was too embarrassed to move. Mike gently wiped away the syrup and crumpled up the napkin into a wad.
"There, got it." He said.
Lucy's entire face felt like it had been held to a fire. "I… y-you… I c-can take care of that myself, butthead!" She sputtered, barely able to calm her nerves and racing heart enough to speak. Mike looked back at the crowds with a smile, chuckling quietly to himself. "What are you laughing about?!" Lucy demanded to know.
"Nothin'." Mike lied, though he was thinking about how flustered she was whenever they got close. It was comforting, like a reminder that she did still have feelings for him even though she wouldn't say it. "It'll be dark soon…" Mike commented, looking above the trees to see the sun had lowered. "Wanna go play some games now? I'll beat you to the game stalls!"
Lucy, who was relieved that Mike had changed the subject, leapt to her feet. "Oh, you're ON! I'm gonna wipe the ground with you."
They ran off together, with Mike lagging behind a little just so Lucy could eek out a victory. He had a plan, a plan to let Lucy win some games. It was dishonest, but he wanted to see her smile more. It would also be funny to see Lucy's victory dance, or maybe the look of shock and disbelief on her face whenever she won. There were a lot of games to choose from, and just as Lucy had said, there were even more games than previous years. There were the standard ones, like a bean bag toss or bobbing for apples (which Lucy wouldn't go near, so they never played) mixed with new ones like throwing a baseball to knock over bottles, a hammer game where you hit a platform to send up a piece of metal to hit a bell, and even some electronic games like whack-a-mole.
Lucy and Mike went down the line, going one after the other to test their skills. At the beanbag toss, Mike's aim was off, and some of the bags didn't even hit the wooden board with the hole in it. Lucy took the victory and laughed. "Looks like it's over for you before it's begun!"
Mike just smiled and nodded. "Good job, Lucy, but that's just ONE GAME! You can't expect me to win all the time."
"We'll just see about that!" The white cat said, sticking a finger in his face.
They raced to the next game, the one where they had to throw a baseball at a stack of bottles. Lucy aced it again, sending the whole stack tumbling down after a few throws. Mike didn't fare as well, only managing to take out two bottles from the top. "Lucy two, jerkface ZERO!" She said as she put on another victory dance in Mike's face. Mike could only smile, her victory dance was really cute.
"You got me, Lucy. Maybe I'm just having bad luck today." Mike laughed, rubbing the back of his head.
"Or maybe you just suck!" Lucy gloated. "Now I know I'm gonna wipe the floor with you in the sackrace!"
Mike nodded and Lucy grabbed his hand, pulling him through the crowd toward the field where the race was being held. They got lined up with the other racers, with them standing next to each other. "Now witness my awesome bouncing skills." She hissed.
"Gonna be hard to do that with you behind me!" Mike teased.
"Grrr!" Lucy gritted her teeth. She wasn't going to let Mike take this win, either. He would lose every game tonight, and she would forever be the victor.
The popgun was fired, and off went the racers. Mike pulled out ahead quickly, leaving the others in the dust. He looked back to see Lucy hopping as fast as she could with a look of frustration on her face. They were halfway to the end, and both of them were outpacing the others. Mike looked back around and slowed down a little to let her catch up. Lucy came up upon his side and stuck her tongue out as she passed. "See you at the finish line, Mike! Don't keep me waiting."
Mike put on his game face, but as soon as Lucy was looking back around to the goal line, a smile cracked on face. She was having so much fun, and it filled him with joy. Her taunting didn't bother him in the slightest. Even if he wasn't losing on purpose, he would still be happy she was having a good time. Lucy meant everything to him, and he would protect her smile even at the cost of himself. Maybe it was selfish of him to do so, Lucy deserved to win fairly, but it wouldn't be all bad if he gave her the win just for one night. Besides, he would go back to smoking her after all this was over.
Lucy won again, and danced around as Mike made his way to the finish line. "Hey Mike, what took ya so long?"
"Oh, how long have you been wanting to say that?" Mike asked, folding up his sack for the next racers.
"Hmm…" Lucy tapped her chin in mock thought as they walked to the next game. "Since… forever! And I've got a feeling I'm gonna be saying it a lot from now on."
"Yeah, maybe in your dreams!" He laughed. "I'm gonna get you on these next ones, though!"
And Mike was true to his word. At the hammer game, he struck big, far surpassing Lucy who seemed to have a little trouble swinging the hammer. He beat her at the whack-a-mole game too, but let her take the victory when they played a dart game. Things went back and forth, the sun setting lower and lower on the horizon until just a dash of sunlight clung onto the sky. The final game was a dunk tank game, where Mike's throws were far off, and Lucy managed to hit the little metal target after a few tries.
"Well, that's all of them." Mike said, looking down the darkened row of stalls. Now that night had fallen, everyone was shutting down everything in anticipation for the fireworks show. Even the busy crowd had dispersed, with just a few stragglers buying some snacks and drinks before the lightshow began.
"Totally whomped you today!" Lucy gave Mike's shoulder a playful punch. "It's like you weren't even try… ing." Lucy faded off as her face fell. She thought back to all the games they played that day. All of her wins came easily - too easily.
"Well I was! And you beat me almost every time!" Mike said quickly with a nervous laugh, hoping it would be enough to convince her.
"Michael." Lucy said gravely, suspicion growing in her mind like a shadow. "Did you try?"
"Whaaat? Yeah! Of course I did!" Mike said, looking anywhere but her hurt face. "Why would I let you win?"
Lucy huffed and grabbed his cheeks with both her hands so he was forced to look into her eyes. "Look me in the eyes." She said shakily. "And tell me you didn't let me win."
"Lucy, this is ridiculous!" Mike tried to pull away, but Lucy wasn't letting him off the hook.
"You're supposed to be honest with me!" She choked. "Tell me the truth!"
"Fine!" Mike said. "I might have let you win some of the time…"
Lucy scoffed in disbelief. "I can't believe you!" She pulled her hands away, just to shove them into his chest, sending the korat stumbling back. "You JERK!"
"I only wanted-" Mike started, but he was cut off by a slap to the face. This sent him reeling as well.
"I don't want to listen to ANYTHING you have to say!" Lucy yelled. "Just! Just go away!"
Mike sighed and hung his head, ears pinned back. "Sorry…" he mumbled. Without another glance, he turned away and walked slowly to where the crowds were now gathering, looking for his family.
Lucy herself balled up her fists. "Ugh! That idiot!" She grumbled. She stomped off, looking for her family as well.
Mike did eventually find his family, all sitting together with a blanket and some chairs. "Where the heck did you go all day?" Haley asked, looking at her big dumb brother.
"Don't pester your brother, dear." Their mom said. "He was spending time with Lucy. Isn't that right?"
Mike looked up at her with a tinge of sadness. "Something like that."
"Show'll be starting soon." Their dad said, looking at his light up watch. "Get ready."
Mike sighed and reached into his scarf to grab his earbuds, but his first few attempts came up empty. The boy made more of an effort to search deeper in it, but still came up empty handed. 'Oh no!' He thought, and pulled his scarf off.
"What's wrong sweetheart?" His mom asked.
"I- I can't find my earbuds!" He panicked as he searched frantically. "They must have fallen out when I was doing the sack race!"
"Maybe you can go look for them." His dad said, reaching for their flashlight.
"The show is gonna start soon…" Mike sighed. "I'll just… go wait in the car."
"Are ya sure, son?" His dad asked. "Haley can go with ya-"
"It's fine…" Mike said, walking past them. "The car should dampen the sound at least."
His mother frowned. "Do you want one of us to sit with you?"
"I'll be okay." Mike smiled back at them. "Just enjoy the show."
"Okay, dear… but we'll be here if you need us." his mom said as he hurried off to their car, doing his best to navigate all of the other families strewn about the field.
Meanwhile, Lucy was reconvening with her family. She sat down on their blanket without a word and pulled her legs to her chest. She looked down, still thinking about how much she wanted to punch Mike's stupid face. "There you are Lucy!" Her mom said. "Were you with Mike all this time?"
Lucy stayed silent and lowered her head. "That means yes in Lucy, I think." Jordan smirked.
"Shut up." Lucy growled at him. She was not in the mood for his teasing, let alone about Mike.
"Aww, what's wrong, champ?" Her dad asked. "Did you and your friend have another fight?"
"A fight he started, probably." Sam chimed in. He had a deep distrust of Mike.
Lucy scoffed. "Yeah. He let me win a bunch of those games!"
"Isn't that sweet of him? He just wanted you to have a good time too." Her mom said.
"He just wanted to be a jerk." Lucy mumbled.
"Figures." Sam muttered.
"Well did you ask him?" Her dad asked. "Maybe he had a good reason to let you win. I think I recall he beats you a lot of the time."
"More like everytime." Jordan commented, and he was greeted by a punch to the shoulder by his sister.
"I know he cares about a lot, dear." Her mother said. "Maybe you should go talk with him."
Lucy looked up to her whole family looking at her expectantly. She went bright red from all the attention, and partially because she was starting to feel a little bad for lashing out at Mike, and partially because she wanted all of their eyes off of her, she got up. "Fine."
Lucy ran off just as the fireworks were starting. She used what little light they gave to find Mike's family. Along the way she saw a few annoyed looks from the other fair goers as she blocked their view, but Lucy didn't care. In fact, the only person's opinion she truly cared about was Mike's. She wondered why she was so fearful of her feelings for him, why she didn't just be honest.
Mike's family were sitting near the back of the field, having gotten there late had also come with the downside of all the best spots already being taken. When she got closer, Lucy could see Mike was not with them, and a little bit of fear grabbed her heart. Was he okay? Did he get lost? Run away? Lucy stood in front of the family of korats.
"Where's Mike?" She asked.
"He went back to the car." His mother said. "Why? Is something wrong?"
"No, I just needed to talk to him." Lucy said back, already taking off toward the parking lot.
There were cars as far as she could see, but she was very familiar with Mike's family's car and was able to find it with little issue. She ran up beside it and looked inside the back seat to see Mike sitting anxiously, wincing at every loud blast from the multicolored explosions. Lucy knocked on the window, causing Mike to jump up in surprise. He looked around to see the cause of the noise, and when he saw her he blinked a few times, as though he didn't believe she was really there.
"Open the door, Mike." Lucy said, pulling on the locked door.
Mike scooted over and opened it, and Lucy climbed inside. "Lucy! What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same." She said.
Mike lowered his head into his hands. "I lost my earbuds. I have to sit in here or else it'll be too loud." A barrage of fireworks went off, shaking Mike. He covered his ears quickly. "It… it's still too loud. It hurts."
Lucy sighed and scooted right up next to him. He really was a pitiful sight. She put an arm around him and cradled his head in her lap.
"Not a word to anyone about this."
"I promise." Mike whispered. "I'm sorry for letting you win earlier. I just wanted you to have fun. I… like seeing you smile."
Lucy blushed bright red, and she was thankful Mike's head was currently in her lap so he couldn't see it. "Creep." Was all she said in reply.
"I didn't mean it in a creepy way!" Mike winced as more fireworks exploded. "I won't do it again, though. I promise that, too."
After more silence, Lucy swallowed some of her pride. "Well, for what it's worth, jerkface, I always have fun when I'm with you, even when I lose."
Mike smiled up at her. "Really? It means a lot to hear that."
"Hey! Don't get any funny ideas!" She huffed. "I'm still mad at you!"
"I know." Mike said.
Lucy said nothing. She only continued to gently rub Mike's head. They both sat in silence, with only the sound of fireworks breaking it. After a few minutes, Mike spoke up. "You don't have to sit here with me, I'll be okay. I don't want you to miss the show."
"It's the same boring show every year." Lucy said, rubbing Mike's ears. "I'm fine missing it. Someone has to watch you."
Mike smiled warmly. "Thank you, Lucy."
"And try not to lose your earbuds again next year, idiot. I won't do this again." She said, though she knew this was a lie. A long time ago, long enough for her to forget when, she made a promise to protect and care for the korat if he ever needed it.
"I'll try my best." Mike said.
The two sat alone in silence again, Lucy cradling and caressing Mike's head as the loud booms and explosions rattled his eardrums. Mike fo7nd Lucy so hard to read. She said one thing to him, yet acted another. Mike once heard that actions speak louder than words. It was so refreshing to see this tender side of her, and Mike considered losing his earbuds more often, but he knew that wouldn't be fair to her.
The fireworks show came to a bombastic finale where the pyrotechnics fired off a ton of rockets at once. Lucy held Mike's head close, and the boy closed his eyes, trying to focus on Lucy's soft embrace rather than the pain in his ears. And just as quickly as it had started, it was over. Mike breathed a sigh of relief and sat up. The two cats sat awkwardly, wondering what the next move was.
"I better get back to my family." Lucy said, scooting to the door.
"Wait, Lucy." Mike took her hand. Lucy stopped dead in her tracks. "I just want you to know… I really appreciate you. If you ever need anything, let me know."
Lucy's eyes were wide, and her face was on total fire. Even Mike could see how hard she was blushing in the low light. Her lips curled downward into a frown, and she jerked her hand away. His little stunt was rewarded with a bonk on the head. "Well you can start by not touching me, jerkface. Who are you, Paulo?"
"Guh… sorry." Mike pulled away from her. "Goodnight, Lucy."
Lucy opened the car door and hopped out. "Goodnight, Mike." She shut the door, and as soon as she had walked out of sight of the car windows, she rubbed the hand Mike had taken and smiled. He always said the obvious, but it was nice to hear it every time. Perhaps one day she wouldn't be so nervous when he did.