What's The Deal With This One Girl...

You spotted Sandra and Monique not too far away, so you went and approached them.

"Oh, hey Wyenn!" Sandra greeted, and Monique waved at you.

"Sup." You greeted, and sat down next to them. "So, I heard Ramona was talking to you."

"Julie introduced me to her. Doesn't she have the most ridiculous name?" Monique commented, and you simply rolled your eyes.

"I know, it's so 'Ramona Quimby, age 8.' And yet, Flowers." Sandra said, and then you spoke up.

"It's a cool name. Kinda makes her seem, like, a tough chick." You argued, and both Sandra and Monique were taken aback. "But anyway, do any of you know what her whole deal is? Scott's a little... obsessed."

"I think she had a boyfriend, so tell Scott to give up." Sandra shrugged.

"She totally does. Some guy back in New York." Monique added, which made you think.

"Time to go see Juls then." You thought, and got up, ready to head upstairs and talk with Julie.

One flight of stairs and a turn around the corner later, you had arrived in the hallway, where Julie and Stephen were talking.

"Yooo, Juls." You greeted, walking towards them.

"Wyenn." Julie said with a serious expression. She did this to everyone, it's nothing personal.

"I wanted to ask you about Ramona." You started, and you could tell Julie was already rolling her eyes. "I'm assuming you're the one who invited her."

"And you're right. She just moved to town, she got a job delivering for Amazon.CA, and she kept coming in to The Second Cup where I work..." Julie explained, and you listened carefully. "...why do you ask, Rowe?"

"Call it a hunch, but I feel like Scott is about to do something stupid. Like, really, REALLY stupid." You answered, and Julie sighed.

"Uh-huh. What else is new?" Julie said, not impressed. "Get to the point, Y/N."

"Alright, alright. I think that maybe, just maybe, Scott has a crush on Ramona. And Scott has a girlfriend already..." You said, and Julie's face darkened. "...who is also a high schooler."

"That son of a bitch..." She cursed, and then asked, "So, what do you plan on doing about it?"

"It's... complicated. On one hand, and as much of a dick move as this sounds, I could get Scott to leave Knives. He doesn't need a 17-year-old clinging onto him." You answered, you did feel bad about saying that.

"On the other, aside from Knives' heart being broken, I have the odd feeling like if Scott gets with Ramona, there's gonna be a bigger problem. Something that would have, like, severe consequences." You added, and yeah, the whole thing felt off.

"Easy. Tell Scott that I forbid him from dating Ramona!" Julie exclaimed, and you recoiled a little.

"Okay, sheesh!" You put your hands up, and continued, "What's the big deal?"

"I remember Julie said Ramona had a big breakup or something." Stephen explained, and that didn't ease your mind.

"...yeah. No one needed to know that, Stephen." Julie shot an annoyed glare at him.

"I'll take that in mind. Thanks, Juls." You said as you shot finger guns at her and clicked your tongue.

"Wyenn..." Julie repeated, grabbing your hood as you turned away, then forcing you to face her. "I'm serious. Don't allow Scott to hit on Ramona, especially now that he has a girlfriend."

"Dude, I'm sure Scott is officially out of his mourning period. Like Y/N said, he's going out with a high schooler." Stephen tried to argue, but you were already having a bad feeling.

Julie sighed, "Ugh... Y/N, point is, Ramona's too good for Scott, okay? Let's leave it at that. And for the record, I'm not even sure if she really did have a big breakup. She's kind of vague about it, so I had to piece it together intuitively. She just keeps mentioning some guy named Gideon." She explained, and then released her grip on your hood.

"I'll see what I can do." You promised, and Julie gave a curt nod.

"I trust you, Wyenn. Out of everyone Scott is affiliated to, you're the best at keeping him from doing dumb shit." Julie said, and while it did flatter you, she was still being a little harsh.

"I'll... take that as a compliment." You said, and turned around, making your way back downstairs.

- Later that evening -

After a few more hours of partying and fun, it was getting late. You and Scott walked to Wallace's house, with Scott just falling over the bed and sleeping. Meanwhile, you spent a few good minutes being awake.

And in that time, specifically when you were brushing your teeth in the bathroom, Wallace came into the house and proclaimed, "Guess who's druuuunk!"

"I guess Wallace." Scott groggily replied as he laid on the futon.

"You guess right!" Wallace responded, sat on the futon, and allowed himself to fall over Scott.

"Ow." Scott groaned, and you couldn't help but chuckle.

"So, how's Scott tonight?" Wallace asked, not getting off of him.

"I'm okay." Scott answered, and you couldn't help but think of the events of today. "I went to this part with Stephen Stills, Wyenn, and the others. I was... I-I saw the one girl and-"

"Girl. Okay..." Wallace interrupted, and you began listening in on the convo.

"I think I've been having, like, recurring dreams about her. I saw her at the library, and..." Scott explained, but couldn't finish, for Wallace was already getting bored.

"Library... Can I pretend we're talking about a guy?" Wallace asked, and Scott just kept going with his explanation.

"So then I'm at this party, and hey! There she is." Scott said, and you knew exactly what was about to come out of his mouth.

"There he is." Wallace corrected.

"I... I think I'm in love, but... something's bothering me." Scott continued, which was the first thing that Wallace paid attention to.

"Oh yeah?" Wallace asked.

Scott nodded. "It's... it's her shoes. She was wearing these shoes. These haunting shoes." He explained, and you raised an eyebrow at the comment. Not that it mattered, he couldn't see you.

"What'd they look like?" Wallace questioned.

"They looked... really... uncomfortable..." Scott answered, and that made both you and Wallace facepalm.

"Um... Not that you're an idiot, but how about you draw me a picture?" Wallace said as he handed a notepad and pen.

"Okay..." Scott replied, followed by sounds of scribbling. "They were something like that, I guess?"

There was an awkward silence between Scott and Wallace. You had a hunch Scott drew something stupid, because the first thing Wallace said after was, "These are Mr. Silly's shoes, Scott."

That aside, once you were done brushing your teeth and totally not listening in on the convo, you went back into the room, absorbed some video from the PC, and hopped into the VW.

"Well, shit. My hunch was right. It was gonna end up like that, huh?" You thought as you laid in bed.

So you weren't wrong. Scott's obsession really did make him fall in love with Ramona. "So what? He doesn't even know her that well, and I doubt Ramona is even interested." You reasoned with yourself.

And yeah, that was true. Ramona and Scott had a brief interaction, and you had one too. So how would either of you know her enough to even want to be in a relationship? But someone just worried you more.

"Knives..." You whispered as your heart sank. "...great, this just had to be your first relationship. You don't deserve this..."

You had to admit, while you did think that Knives had a bit of a one-sided infatuation with Scott, you still felt sorry for her. But then begged the question: was this for the better?

Knives was 17, Ramona was clearly older than that. So, this left you between a rock and a hard place. What should you do? Two choices popped into your head, and time just seemed to slow down at that moment.

- Leave Scott be

This really isn't your call, and you know it. This meant letting Scott and Knives break up. Sure, it will hurt, but at least Scott will get out of the watchful eye of the law and future controversy. In the long run, it would benefit him. Plus, you can always comfort Knives.

- Tell Scott not to date Ramona

Listening to Julie was never a good idea, but what would preventing Scott from dating Ramona bring? Knives doesn't have to get her heart broken, and you won't have to deal with potential future issues. You might not be sure about the latter, but it's worth a shot.

"...maybe I shouldn't poke my nose in." You said, and turned in bed, hoping for a good night's rest.

- The next morning or technically afternoon -

You exited the VW and stretched, looking around the room. Wallace made breakfast while Scott was still asleep, or just barely waking up, and you had nothing to do.

"I'm making baaacon! Are any of you two hungover or anything?" Wallace asked, and you just signaled with a thumbs up.

"You ask that like either me or Scott drink." You commented as you sat on the floor.

"What Y/N said..." Scott started, rubbing his head. "...I don't even drink."

"With Wyenn? I believe them. But you? Oh, right." Wallace sarcastically responded. "Well, anyway, bacon!"

And thus started the average morning. You, Wallace, and Scott ate some bacon and eggs, while talking of random things. Though let's be real here, you three had a lot on your minds that you wouldn't share with one another.

That is, until Scott spoke up. "Hey, Amazon.CA, that's the online bookstore or whatever, right?"

"Yup." Wallace replied.

"What's the website for that?" Scott asked, which made Wallace pause eating and you choke on a bite of egg.

You and Wallace paused to look at each other, with a face of "did he really just ask that?". You had to give him credit, you didn't use to think Scott was this dumb. Key words: "use to".

"...Amazon.CA" Wallace answered, and you facepalmed.

"Cool, thanks!" Scott said as he dashed toward the computer.

Clickety clickety click. A few seconds later, and Scott was browsing the website. "Okay, what exactly are you planning to do on this website you know absolutely nothing about? Are you struck with the sudden urge to read?" Wallace questioned.

"I'm not even sure if you even know how to read." You jokingly chimed in.

"Hardy har har." Scott sarcastically responded, "I have to order something cool. There's this-"

A sudden silence filled the room, and after a few seconds, Wallace asked, "...yes?"

"Oh, sorry I got distracted by the internet. I'm ordering a few CDs." Scott answered. "Is this your credit card info on here?"

Wallace facepalmed in annoyance, while you commented, "Real classy, Scotty."

"You've got mail!" The computer suddenly announced, and Scott was quick to turn his attention.

"Dudes! The computer claims I have mail!" He exclaimed, and clicked the new email.

"Whatever, Scott." Wallace replied, and just flipped through the newspaper.

"Dude, now I'm reading it!" Scott exclaimed, and began reading the message. "'Dear Mr. Pilgrim, it has come to my attention that we will be fighting soon. My name is Mathew Patel, and I'm a... hmm... this is..."

"What?" Wallace asked, looking up from his newspaper.

"I heard 'fight' and 'soon'. Is it a death threat?" You guessed, twirling your chain around your wrist.

"Maybe? But this is...!!" Scott repeated, a little louder than before.

"What is it?!" You and Wallace both yelled.

"This is boring, delete." Scott nonchalantly answered, and did exactly that, as well as ordered the CDs.

"Okay, I know that's a lie. Let me see that." You said as you moved over to the PC while Scott stood right in front of the door.

"Scott, are you waiting for the package you just ordered?" Wallace asked.

"No..." Scott replied, and Wallace gave him a questioning stare. "...maybe."

"It's not arriving today, dude. Try tomorrow early." You suggested as you searched the trash bin of the PC to read the email for yourself.

- DING DONG -

"Woo!" Scott jumped, and immediately opened the door. Lo and behold, it was Knives. "Oh, uh... hey."

"What's up?" Knives greeted, and your heart dropped to your stomach as you realized:

"This is the part where I tell Knives whether or not Scott's thinking on moving on to date someone else. Shit." You thought in a panic, and took a deep breath. "No, I can do this. Honesty is the best policy."

"Hey Knives!" You smoothly switched up your attitude, and casually walked over.

"Attack hug!" Knives shouted, and embraced both you and Scott.

You couldn't help but chuckle, and return the embrace. Scott, however, didn't. And you knew exactly why.

"Remember how we're hanging out today!" Knives said to Scott, looking over his shoulder and toward Wallace. "Hi Wallace!"

"Hey, Knives." Wallace greeted, not paying much mind to the conversation.

"Remember, how could I possibly forget?" Scott nervously replied, and you were everything except convinced.

"Hey, uh, Knives?" You began, and the black-haired girl faced you, her eyes shooting you a questioning glare. "Can I talk to you for a sec? Just you and me? Outside, preferably."

"Uh, sure." Knives agreed, and followed you out the front door.

Once you closed the door behind you, you braced yourself, and began, "So... me and Scott went to a party yesterday. And, uh... let's just say he found a special someone. A girl. That's right."

Knives' expression darkened, and her eyes widened, and her fists balled up. "Tell me more..." She hesitantly demanded.

"Well, um, he was telling Wallace that he thinks he's in love. He said something about Ramona's shoes being weird, but aside from that, he seems to like her a lot." You explained, and you could feel your heart tearing itself apart as you saw Knives' face go sadder.

"...is this your way of saying that you want me to leave Scott?" Knives asked, and your eyes widened, as well as your heart skipping a beat.

"...Listen, this isn't what I wanted for either of you. I'm not telling you this because I want you to break up or something like that. I promise that's not what this is. I just... wanted you to know what was going on. So you wouldn't, well, y'know. Get surprised." You explained yourself, rubbing the back of your head.

"I..." Knives stammered, her voice cracking a bit. She couldn't bring herself to say a single word, as her hands covered her mouth.

"I just wanted to look over for you. I know the kind of person Scott can be. And... well... I can't just stand by and see a girl get hurt." You confessed, and Knives' eyes met yours. "I'm sorry, I just... didn't know what else to do."

Silence. The non-sound that filled the air. Then, a soft sob broke it, and the dam that held back her tears. This is what you were afraid of. Knives crying, and there wasn't much you could do about it. What's the move?

- Comfort Knives

It's the least you can do, even though you don't have a clue on how to comfort someone.

- Tough love

Maybe you're being too soft. Maybe it's time you tell her to just suck it up. Shit happens, boo-hoo.

What are you, a monster? Of course you'll comfort her, idiot. You didn't even think twice, as you wrapped your arms around her, and brought her close.

"Shhhh, it's okay. It's gonna be okay." You whispered, and rubbed her back in an attempt to comfort her. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll be there for you, okay? If Scott doesn't wanna be with you, then that's his loss."

You could feel Knives wrap her arms around you, and bury her face into your chest. Her body was trembling, and her sobs were muffled, but you didn't care. It was clear she was a girl who was hurting. And what did you do?

You held her. You held her and made sure she was safe. You were the rock she needed right now, and that's all she wanted. You wanted to blame Scott for kickstarting this, but the fact is:

He couldn't have known. He's a clueless guy, neither he nor you knew Ramona would cause a chain reaction like this. But you can't change what happened. All you can do is be the good guy and be there for Knives.

"It'll be alright, I promise." You told her, and you could feel her hold on tighten. "This isn't your fault, you did nothing wrong. Scott just isn't the guy for you. You can do much better than that. But hey, I'll be there for you every step of the way. I'm not gonna leave."

"...promise?" Knives finally spoke up, and looked at you, her eyes full of tears.

"Yeah. I promise." You said, and wiped a tear from her cheek. "Don't cry. I'm here for you. Think of me as... your older sibling, or something like that. Just someone you can talk to, and vent out your frustrations."

+ Good Karma!

"O-okay..." Knives mumbled, and wiped her tears.

"Come on, let's go inside." You offered, and the two of you went inside, where you were greeted by a confused Wallace and Scott.

"What happened?" Scott asked.

"She just wasn't feeling so well. But, uh, how about we just hop into a place for a walk. Just us, and we can get to know each other, maybe talk about something, anything. How's that sound, Knives?" You asked with a caring smile, and Knives just nodded. "Okay, we'll be going."

Absorbing some video from the PC, you opened the portal to the Virtual World, and stepped in with Knives, not without looking back at Scott.

"Oh, Scott... by the way... I told her about the Ramona thing." You told him, and he immediately froze. "She knows, so just... go so whatever you want, I don't care. Just as long as no one gets hurt because of it. Okay? Bye."

With a wave, you entered the VW, and closed the portal, leaving a worried and frozen Scott. "Well, that just makes things easier for you, doesn't it?" Wallace asked, and Scott just gulped.

- In the Virtual World -

Knives had never been to VW before, and when she stepped into the portal, she was met with your virtual room. It was really something, considering that it had a nice bed, a table with a laptop on it, a bookshelf, and a couch with a TV and gaming consoles.

"Welcome to the Virtual World, Knives. This is where I go when I want to escape reality." You said, and took a seat on your bed, offering the spot next to you with a pat. "Come, sit."

Knives did exactly that, and sat next to you. The two of you were silent, but a silence that was quickly broken.

"Sorry for getting all teary-eyed like that. I'm not normally like that." Knives said, and you looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"No worries. Everyone has their moments." You replied, and Knives smiled a bit. "Besides, it's normal to be hurt. I'm sorry about, well, y'know. The whole 'telling you about Scott' thing."

"No, it's fine." Knives waved off. "If anything, I appreciate it. At least you were honest with me. It's nice to have a friend who does that. Besides, I have a lot of time to get over him, don't I?"

"Yup." You nodded, and the two of you chuckled.

"Hey, what is there to do around here? Is it just the bedroom?" Knives asked, and got off the bed, looking around.

"Nah, look outside the room." You instructed, and Knives did.

And the second her eyes laid upon the entire landscape of the VW, they went as wide as saucers, shining with amazement. The sky was blue, made of pixels, much like everything else around.

"So, wanna go have a look?" You asked, and Knives nodded, a bit dumbfounded. "Alright, come on. Let's go have some fun."

"Are we just gonna wander around aimlessly?" Knives asked, walking beside you as the two of you explored the VW.

"Nah, this place has a lot of places to visit. I control a lot of things in the VW. If we wanna have some fun, all I have to do is ask." You explained, and using video, you spawned a few ice cream cones.

"Here." You offered one of the ice creams, and Knives' eyes lit up with joy.

"Oh, thanks!" Knives said, and immediately started eating it. "So, you can do anything here? That's cool!"

"I'm glad you think so. It's my little escape from the real world. If I ever need a place to run away from everything, I'll come here. It's also useful to store important things, or make a new place to hang out, or just have fun." You said, and continued eating the ice cream.

"Hmm, it's like a whole other world!" Knives commented, and you had to admit, the pun was pretty good.

"Haha, yeah. It's basically the best of both worlds. But you know, I do need real people in my life. Not just a construct of the made of video signals. Otherwise, I'd have no social skills whatsoever." You joked, and the two of you laughed.

"But, seriously, can you make a place that looks like a forest, or something?" Knives asked.

"Hmm, yeah. Hold on, gimme a sec." You replied, and with a snap of your fingers, the terrain around you warped and twisted until the two of you were in a forest. "Told you, I can do anything here. Anything that'll make you happy."

"This is amazing." Knives said, and walked around the area, admiring the trees, and the sun shining through the leaves.

"Uncle Eugene taught me how to create these, and the rest was up to me." You explained, and walked alongside Knives. "It's a neat way to spend the day."

"Do you spend a lot of time here?" Knives asked, and you couldn't help but rub the back of your head.

"Well, no, not really. I do come here once a day, but mostly to sleep. Or play a game, or train, or simply escape reality. But that's just me. It's different for everyone." You replied, and the two of you stood atop a hill, overlooking a beautiful lake... that you made.

"Huh? Just once? But I would stay here forever!" Knives commented, a bit confused.

"Well, I have friends to hang out with. As much of a wild ride the Sex Bob-Omb crew is, I like hanging out with them. Things aren't boring, for better or worse, hehe." You explained, and Knives hummed in agreement. "But it seems you need a break from the real world. So, I'll help you relax. And, uh, I guess, hang out, or something."

Knives nodded in agreement, and the two of you just passed the time in the VW, doing anything that came to both your minds. The only thing you cared about was to help Knives relax, and have a good time.

While the two of you were in the middle of a tennis match, which Knives was surprisingly great at, you said something, "Hey, us, I hope you're cool with Sex Bob-Omb. Since, y'know, Scott probably broke your heart, or something like that."

"Nah, you were in the right to speak up." Knives waved off, and you couldn't help but smile a bit. "Could you imagine what would've happened if you didn't tell me earlier?"

"Yikes, I would've had some real bad karma, huh?" You said, and returned the ball. "Glad to help. 'Sides, it's a little too soon to be dating. Even I haven't so much as looked at a someone in a romantic sense, heh."

"Wow, really? No one caught your eye?" Knives asked, and hit the ball with great force, sending it flying toward your side of the field.

"Nope. I haven't found anyone I like yet. Or, rather, not in the right time." You replied, and hit the ball. "Maybe someday, though. Or not."

"How are you not bored without someone in your life?" Knives asked, and hit the ball again.

"When you have superpowers like mine, it's easy not to get bored." You explained, and knocked the ball back. "Conduits used to have it the hardest a few years back. But now, things are changing. For the better, thanks to my old man."

"Hmm, okay. You make a good point. I don't have anything as special as you, though." Knives said, and returned the ball, the match drawing to a close as she beat you.

"I don't know, you might secretly be a Conduit, just not knowing it yet." You theorized, making everything in the VW vanish. "We'll see another day, but for now, we should probably head back to the real world."

"Okay!" Knives agreed, and you created the portal leading back home.

Both of you hopped out the VW, and were welcomed by a by Wallace and a sleeping Scott.

"Uh... so, what's up with him?" You asked, pointing at Scott.

"He was waiting for the CDs he ordered this morning. But then I told him that it's the weekend, nothing's going to ship until Monday at teh earliest, blah, blah, blah. He's going to sleep for 16 hours." Wallace explained, and you hummed in acknowledgement.

"Wow, why's he so eager for it, anyway?" You asked.

"No idea, he didn't tell me." Wallace shrugged, and you raised an eyebrow. "You were in the VW the entire day, what about that?"

"Well, Knives needed a pick-me-up, so I was in the VW with her." You replied. "By the way, how long have we been in there?"

"About a good few hours." Wallace replied.

"Man, I knew time went flying in the VW, but not that much." You said, and sighed. "But hey, at least Knives is cool with us. That's good."

"You're a magic worker, Y/N." Wallace commented, and patted your shoulder.

"Heh, thanks." You chuckled, and turned to Knives. "See ya, Knives. Come by Stephen's house tomorrow, we're gonna need your high energy hyping us up."

"Gotcha!" Knives nodded, and smiled at you. "See you, then!"

"See ya!" You waved goodbye, and the girl left, heading back to her place.

"I'm impressed. You were able to stitch her heart together, after all." Wallace commented.

"I didn't fix anything, man. I just gave her the opportunity to recover. And that's all that matters." You said, and looked at the clock. "Well, time to head to work and do my shift. See you later, Wallace."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Wallace waved off.

- At No-Account Video -

"Holls, hey." You greeted as you came through the door, and were immediately met by Hollie Hawkes, one of your co-workers.

- Hollie Hawkes, your inexplicably hot co-worker -

"Wyenn." Hollie nodded. "Took you long enough."

"What, did I miss the occasional old couple who don't just change to online delivery?" You jokingly asked.

Hollie chuckled. "No, we didn't have anyone, yet. It's 4:00pm, Wyenn."

"Yeah, sorry for coming in a little late..." You said, a bit embarrassed.

"...What the hell are you wearing?" Hollie asked, and gestured to the sunglasses perched on your nose.

They were black, with white prints of the letter "Y" on the right lens and an "N" on the left lens. You took them off, looked at them, and responded, "I dunno. Found them while rummaging through the boxes. I wonder what the letters stand for."

"Pft, what? Like, something like, 'yes or no' or something?" Hollie jokingly suggested, and you thought for a moment.

"Nah, I don't think so. I think I'll keep these, though." You replied, and put the sunglasses away in your pockets. "Anyway, what's to do today?"

"I left you a few boxes of unorganized movies. Have fun." Hollie said, and grabbed a pistachio from the bowl she put on the counter.

"Am I to assume you're not helping?" You asked.

"Nope." Hollie nodded, and began cracking open the shells, one by one.

"Of course." You sighed, rolling your eyes, but not in the resentful way. "If you need me for anything else, just holler."

Hollie paused and looked at you. "You used that word specifically, because-"

"Yes. Yes, I did." You smirked, and got to work.

Hollie smiled and flicked a shell at you. "Smartass."

"And proud!" You called out, and opened the first box.

It wasn't that hard to sort the movies into the proper shelves. A movie was a movie, even if it was a B-list one. You were in the middle of sorting out a few horror movies when the door to the store opened.

"Y/N, customer!" Hollie called out, and you got up, dusted off your jeans, and greeted the costumer.

And it was like that for most of the day. You and Hollie annoyed each other in the playful way, and served the customers, all the while you had your mind on the show tomorrow.

Aside from work, nothing else interesting happened. So, you headed to Wallace's house, personal hygiene, Virtual World, sleep, you know how this goes.

- Sunday evening -

"Yo, it's the man of talent himself." You said as you entered Stephen's house.

"Hey Wyenn, got those sketches I asked you to bring?" Stephen asked.

"Finished them up this morning, here you go." You replied as you took out your sketchbook and tossed it to him.

Stephen caught it, looked at the page, and smiled. "The Sex Bob-Omb logo? With your powers being part of it?"

And yeah, the sketch consisted of a smiling bomb with a lit fuse. It was outlined in purple-blue colors, indicating neon. The bomb had pixelated blue wings, indicating video. The smoke with orange embers around the bomb and the concrete debris around the bomb were obvious enough.

"So, what's the location I'll be painting this baby on?" You asked.

"I'll get to that. But first, I gotta tell all of you something. I got us a show." Stephen announced.

"Oh yeah?" Scott asked as he tweaked his bass.

"Oh, YEAH!" You excitedly said, and clapped your hands.

"For the record, we in the industry call them 'gigs,' Stephen." Kim added.

"It's on Wednesday at the Rockit. This guy at work was like 'Steve, do you know anyone in a band?', and I was like-" Stephen tried to explain, but Scott cut him off.

"Great story, man." He interrupted.

"Scott, shut up. Stephen, continue." You said, and leaned forward a bit.

"Yeah, so I told him about us, and he was like 'cool' and was like 'well, do you want a show?' And I was like 'uh, sure.'" Stephen finished.

"Sweet." You commented. "Time to give the Rockit a little piece of Sex Bob-omb!"

"Wednesday night? I'll have to... I'm gonna have to pull some major tricks to get out of my house for this." Knives commented, thinking about her parents.

"Don't sweat it, I can help with that." You offered, and Knives looked at you, confused. "I know how to persuade people with the right words. You leave it to me, okay?"

"Uh, sure." Knives nodded.

"If it doesn't work, then nothing is lost. I mean, we totally kind of suck. We're not worth it." Scott said, a bit unsure.

"But Scott, she's our biggest fan." Kim commented, and Neil stood up from his seat, and rushed to his room, crying. "Other than you, Neil!" She added, but he was gone.

"Wyenn said they're gonna find a way for me to come. If they do manage to get me out, I'll bring some of my friends, too. They'd love you guys!" Knives said, trying to cheer the group up.

"Oh, that's what we can say. That you're in a study group or something." You said, and Knives seemed to like that idea.

"So, who are we playing with?" Scott asked.

"Or depending on how the band treats us, 'against' might be the more appropriate term." You added. To some degree, that might just be the case.

"Crash and the Boys." Stephen replied, and showed the band the poster for the concert.

"Awww, man? That one band with Crash and those boys? I hate them!" Scott sarcastically commented.

"We best get to practicing then, eh?" You said, and absorbed neon from the sign in Stephen's room. "Got the light show ready."

"Sure, let's jam." Stephen said, and everyone got ready for a practice session.

- Next morning, in the Virtual World -

You were in the middle of practicing the spray art of the sketch Stephen had asked of you, until you heard the familiar sound of skates hitting the virtual road of the VW.

"Ramona, what's up?" You asked as you got up and walked toward the pink-haired delivery girl.

"Hey, Y/N." Ramona greeted, and noticed the spray can in your hand, then at your art. "Nice paint job, I like the outlines. You planning something big or what?"

"Yeah, Sex Bob-Omb's got a show on Wednesday." You replied, and wiped the sweat from your brow. "At the Rockit, you should come. We'll need the hype, hehe."

"Hm, you've helped me make my job easier. Okay, I'm game." Ramona nodded, and smiled.

"That's the spirit. So, what brings you here? Need another boost pad to get where you're going?" You asked, and looked at the horizon.

"Mostly, yeah. But I also wanted to see you, to ask something." Ramona replied, and you tilted your head a bit. "Do you, y'know, think of me as a friend?"

"I like to think so, yeah. Why not?" You asked, and turned to her. "Is that a bad thing? I'll tone it down if I'm bothering you."

"No, it's not that. It's just..." Ramona trailed off, and took a deep breath. "I have a bit of a history, one that you don't need to know anything about..."

"Relax, I won't ask." You said, assuring Ramona. "You were saying?"

"I just want it to be known you're a friend. Just a friend." Ramona clarified, and looked down. "I don't know why, but I trust you. Can you trust me?"

"You've got my word, Ramona." You promised, and raised your right hand. "Now come on, you've got a delivery to make. Point the way, and you'll have a boost pad in a second.

"Thanks, Y/N." Ramona slightly smiled, pointing you to the direction she was heading.

"Hey, how about we spice it up a little this time?" You suggested, and Ramona raised an eyebrow.

"What do you have in mind?" She asked.

"First, boost pad." You said, snapping your fingers, and said object appeared on the ground. Then you created video wings, just like dad and Eugene could. "You, me, a race to the destination. What do you say?"

"Sure, why not?" Ramona smiled, and stepped on the pad.

"3... 2... 1... GO!" You counted down, and both of you zoomed off, racing to the destination.

Ramona was surprisingly fast in speed-boosted skates, but not enough to surpass you, as your flight speed was much, MUCH faster.

And unlike your father, you could actually maintain flight consistently instead of having to repeatedly dash forward.

You won the race by a fairly big margin, and landed on the ground, dusting your hands off. Ramona skidded to a halt and stopped, and seemingly impressed.

"Good match." Ramona complimented.

"Heh, thanks. To be fair, the new gen of Conduits can do a few things the old gen couldn't." You shrugged, turning off the wings. "Talk to you later?"

"Yep, see you at the Rockit." Ramona nodded, and waved goodbye, continuing her delivery as she exited back to reality.