Come As You Are

Half-Up Sunrise

Today's the day, and it's about to be super-duper extra great!

That stray tuft of hair won't stay down, but it's no biggie — her 'do's always a little spiky. Colette tucks her headband on and flashes a smile in the dresser mirror.

Hehe, "spike-y".

She spritzes on a bit of fruity fragrance before doing a little hop. Okay, scrapbook? Check. Phone? Check. Wallet— actually, yup, she has everything.

She pulls her shoes on, looking back one last time and going out the front door. The early morning's still a little dark, a gentle coldness in the air. Butterflies dance in her stomach. She's tempted to break into a sprint. Well, why not?

Soon enough, she's on the bus on the way to work, and she checks her phone. 6:36am. In about twenty minutes, she'll arrive at the Park. By 7:40am to 7:45am, Spike should, too. She leans on the window, sighing. There's a little magic in leaving the house at these hours. Her mind settles into the comfortable routine of daydreaming about all of Starr Park's amazing brawlers, and her amazing job, with a really cool coworker... and the fanfic she's writing about Spike! And...

In almost no time at all, her stop comes by. As she gets down, she's greeted by Fang jogging up to the Starr Park gate.

"Ohmygosh— I mean, hi Fang!"

"Hey Colette!" Fang nods. He hugs his knee to his chest. "What brings you here so early? Doesn't the gift shop open at, like, 9?"

"Yup! Just like most other parts of the Park." Colette tugs her bag strap. "But I've been so excited for Spike's new promotional video!"

"Ah, the Dark Lord series, was it?" Fang asks, stretching his leg behind him. "Pretty cool! But hey, I'll be doing some sparring practice later in the afternoon too. Shouldn't be too far away from the shooting — it'll be at the Duels arena."

"Oh! Yippee! I'm sure you'll do great."

"Ha, you got that right!" He winks. It's kinda charming, the butterflies in Colette's gut decide. "You could come by, if you want. Watch my opponents get Fanged."

"I-I'll see!" She giggles. "Nice seeing you here!" Fang returns her smile before jogging inside.

The next half-hour goes by with Brawlers coming to the Park one by one. She watches each of them admiringly, crouched behind a potted bush. How she wishes she had Jacky's forcefulness, or Meg's smarts, or Barley's pleasant personality. Of course, the grandest entrance is Spike's, coming up at 7:42am. Colette bursts out of hiding as soon as his unmistakable round green form enters the gate.

"SPIKEY!! I'M SO EXCITED FOR YOUR FILM TODAY!!"

Spike rubs the back of his head, his ever-present smile widening a little.

"I'LL BE SURE TO WATCH YOU! I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN!!"

He clasps his hands merrily — a sign of gratitude. He even hops from one foot to another, which is so unbearably cute. Colette waves as he continues to walk in.

"Yes!" She softly celebrates.

Over at the gift shop, she spends the rest of her time restocking and fangirling to herself. She even has the Spike section of her scrapbook ready. Her iridescent heart stickers are gonna look so perfect around today's new photos. The door swings open.

It's the happiest brawler ever: Edgar.

"Hi, Colette," he mumbles.

"Hi," she replies. She slips a shirt onto a hanger. "Wanna restock the third aisle?"

Edgar blinks. "Oh — sure."

They finish a little early, thanks to Colette's advance work. "When's the next supply of porter plushies supposed to come in?" She asks.