The Unlikely Trio (High School AU) [Unfinished]

Working with the sheriff's daughter

Chili Pepper took a seat and sat next to Rye. She examined her from head to toe. Rye turned to her and then said "Howdy! Guess we're partners, eh?" then put out her hand for her to shake it. "Yeah, guess we are" Chili Pepper said, shaking her hand. "So, newbie eh?" Rye asked. "Aha, yep. Pretty cool so far I guess" Chili Pepper chuckled. "You know, you're actually the coolest person I've seen in this class so far, besides a certain friend of mines". Rye smiled, gratefully.

Ms. Latte started passing out sheets with an objective on it. Rye's and Chili Pepper's objective was: make something shiny. Chili Pepper stared at the paper for a while. Shiny things... she thought. Chili Pepper has a very unhealthy obsession with shiny things. Rye Cookie stared at her, a bit confused. "Ya aight there?" she asked. Chili Pepper snapped out of her fantasy. "Uh, yeah, sure I'm alright..." she said. "So, who's place are we working at?" Rye grinned "forget 'bout it, wanna go down and get a drink of rye juice?"

"Uhm, sure I guess. Then we study?" Chili Pepper asked. Rye snatched the paper from Chili Pepper, crumpled it, and tossed it at someone. "Hey! Why'd you do that!?" Chili Pepper exclaimed. "We're not gonna study, kiddo" she grinned. 'Kiddo'? That's my thing! Chili Pepper thought. "Studying's for softies, ya' not a softie, are ya'?" Rye asked. "Heck no!" Chili Pepper exclaimed. "That's what I thought, now c'mon, let's get out there and have some fun!" Rye shouted in glee, grabbing Chili Pepper's hand. Huh, guess this one's a delinquent... I love her already Chili Pepper thought. After going downtown and getting a drink of rye juice, Rye asked "ain't this stuff just the best thing ya' ever tasted?". Chili Pepper licked her lips, trying to really process the taste. "Eh, I guess it's... something" she said. "Ya' bet it's something!" Rye laughed. "Hey, wanna come 'round to my place and shoot some targets?"

"Shoot? Like with plastic guns or something?" Chili Pepper asked. "What are ya', four years old? I mean with actual guns, partner!" Rye said. "Say what!? You're kidding!" Chili Pepper exclaimed, surprised. "C'mon! I'll show ya!" Rye Cookie said, grabbing her hand. When they got there, Chili Pepper was surprised to see that she took her to the Sheriff's office. "What? Why... are we here?" Chili Pepper asked, getting nervous. "Didn't I tell ya? This is my place. Well, not exactly MY place. This is just where my pa works at, he's the sheriff" Rye explained. "Ohh, ok" Chili Pepper sighed in relief. "Now c'mon, the targets are in the back" Rye grabbed her hand again, running inside. Chili Pepper looked around. "Where's your dad at?" she asked. "Oh, he's searching for a thieving scoundrel. That trouble-maker has been stealing from houses to even nearby stores. No one has seen 'em at all, because of 'em being so swift and quick" Rye explained. "You don't happen to know anything about 'em, do ya'?" Chili Pepper gulped. "What? Me? Why would I know anything about some thief?" she awkwardly grinned. "Eh, aight. Now c'mon, let's shoot some targets" Rye ran towards the back. She took out two flintlocks and tossed one to Chili Pepper. "Think ya' can shoot the middle?" Rye asked. "Uh, sure, sure I think I can!" Chili Pepper said, determined. She shot at the target, but she didn't hit the middle, or the target at all for that matter.

Rye laughed, but it only made Chili Pepper wanna try again, and again. She tried to aim it, but it hardly hit the target, and even when she did, she didn't hit the middle. Chili Pepper groaned in anger, but Rye pushed her aside. "Watch closely kiddo, and learn" she smiled, taking aim. She shot all targets perfectly in the middle. Chili Pepper was astonished. "WHAT!? HOW DID YOU DO THAT!?" she yelled in disbelief. "Lotsa training, kiddo. Want me to help ya'?" Rye offered. "Nah, I'm good. Hey, have you tried throwing a dagger at these?" Chili Pepper asked. Rye raised her eyebrow. "A dagger? Why? Can ya' throw a dagger at these things?" she asked. "Well, I've been practicing my throwing for... certain activities..." Chili Pepper mumbled. Rye flushed. "Pardon?" she snickered. "AAAAH, what I'm trying to say is that I can aim a dagger, okay!?" Chili Pepper shouted. "Aight partner, I ain't saying nothin'. Go ahead, show me what you can do" Rye chuckled. Chili Pepper took out her dagger, that looked just like a chili pepper, and threw it perfectly in the middle of the target. Rye raised her eyebrows, impressed. "Huh, I guess you do got some good aim in there somewhere, partner" she chuckled, punching her arm. The two started laughing with each other, until someone came in with them.

Rye looked behind herself, and saw it was her dad. "Oh hey pa, any luck?" Rye asked. "No, not yet" her dad sighed, exhausted from a long day. "Oh, well, you tried, pa" Rye went up to him and patted his arm. "But, we did find a lil' clue" he continued. He showed her a plastic bag of fiery chili sauce. "We discovered this here chili sauce trail in a store that was robbed recently. We suspect it's a spicy cookie that's moseying 'round town" Chili Pepper's heart started pounding out of her chest and she started sweating a little bit, worrying this was officially it for her. Rye's dad then looked at her and came closer. "Say, who's this lil lady?" he asked, bending down at her. "Oh, that's my partner, pa. For a magic assignment" Rye said. He studied Chili Pepper's fiery red hair. His stare made her gulp. "Pa, it's not appropriate to stare at my partner like that. Look at 'er, she's clearly uncomfortable" Rye said, pulling him away from her.

"Just... checking something" he said, and then walked back inside. Chili Pepper sighed in relief once again. "Sorry 'bout my pa" she said. "It's alright, no harm done" Chili Pepper wiped her sweat away. "Now, shall we continue?" Rye picked up her flintlocks. "Uh, yeah, sure" Chili Pepper smiled, awkwardly. For the rest of the day, the two of them threw things at targets, and drank rye juice, but even while Chili Pepper was enjoying herself, she couldn't shake off that nervous feeling. Since she was partners with the Sheriff's daughter, there was definitely a very high chance she'll get caught, so as long as Rye and her dad's around, she'll have to play it cool to lower suspicions.