Brawl Stars: Backstage Pass

Part 7

Fang knocked on Janet's door. A little girl with short pink hair answered.

"Fang!" Bonnie squealed, jumping into his arms. "You're here to see Janet?"

"Yeah. Is she home?" A week ago, a very awkward moment transpired between them. Janet had run off, and Fang didn't hear from her since. So much had happened since then, and Fang needed to talk to her.

Bonnie wrestled herself out of Fang's strong grasp and yelled, "Janet! Fang is here to see you!" Her voice was practically a shriek. "Say hi to Clyde when you're done!" she added cheerfully before disappearing upstairs. Fang waited for at least a minute. Finally, Janet came down. She was wearing a Starr Park t-shirt and pink pajama pants. Her hair was in a ponytail, as usual. She gestured for Fang to follow him into the living room. They sat together on the couch.

"Um, I just got off my shift at the cinema. Here, I brought you popcorn." He pulled a paper food container out of his backpack. "Sorry it's in a box instead of a bag. I needed to have a lid on it so it wouldn't spill."

Janet gratefully accepted the gift. "Thanks, Fang."

Fang took a deep breath before saying, "So... about what happened last week."

Janet whined, "I'm so, so sorry about that! I don't know what I was thinking. Please, forget that happened."

"But I couldn't forget." He paused before saying, "Colette asked me out the other day."

Janet's eyes widened. "What? That's amazing! You... you said yes, right?"

Fang shifted his gaze downward. "No. I couldn't. When she asked me out, I felt no excitement. I had been waiting for that moment for so long, but when it finally happened, I couldn't remember a single reason why I wanted to be with her. She's amazing- don't get me wrong, but I couldn't really visualize us being more than friends. She... just doesn't feel like someone I could be serious with."

"Oh, Fang... I'm sorry."

Fang sighed and shut his eyes. "Did I tell you about how I first met Colette?"

It was Fang's second week working at the cinema. He was still pretty new to Starr Park, but, strangely, he could remember little about his life before then. This place... why would anyone want to leave? Not that Fang thought much of it. He was already bored of his job. The most action he got was when he took out the trash; he enjoyed throwing the bags into the dumpster to practice his moves. But then, there was the day Colette came. She was catching a movie with Edgar. Fang could remember the details so vividly: the puffy-sleeved cornflower-blue dress Colette was wearing, the lavender scent of her lotion, and even the movie she was seeing. It was a horror film that took place on a train starring Lola. This was before Fang met Lola, so she seemed larger than life at the time. Colette's voice had pulled Fang from his daydream.

"Edgar, let's get some snacks!"

"Ugh, do we have to?"

Colette and Edgar were walking toward the concessions where Fang was. His attention was caught immediately by Colette's beautiful smile and huge, wide eyes. He forgot everything at that moment- all his attention was dedicated to Colette. In a haze, he took their orders and filled two bags of popcorn and two cups of soda. Fang waited an hour and a half for the movie to finish and watched Colette leave the theater. She dragged Edgar to the arcade, talking nonstop about a new game about Spike. She just had to play it before they left, she was saying. The entire night, all he could think about was this girl. He found out later from a coworker that her name was Colette and that she worked at the gift shop. He visited her there for the first time the next week. To his shock, she remembered and recognized him. Colette knew everything there was to know about Starr Park, so she showed Fang around and introduced him to some brawlers. That was how he met Lola and got his first role in a movie. He didn't see Colette often after that; he usually only talked to her when visiting the gift shop. Each time he did, though, he fell a little harder for her. It took him several months to admit to himself that he had a crush on Colette. It took him even more to tell Lola that he liked someone and eventually confess to Janet. Now, though, that longing was gone, and he knew that friendship was all that could ever happen. If he and Colette got together, it would either dissolve quickly or end in a disaster.

Fang finished his story. Janet had been listening attentively.

"I... had no idea you liked Colette for that long. How did she ask you out? What did you say to her?"

"Apparently, Edgar tipped her off and told her I liked her. She came up to me and said that she'd be willing to go on a date and see where that took us. I was honest with her- said that I was infatuated with her at first but couldn't picture a relationship."
"And... how did she take it?" Janet asked delicately.
"Oh, she took it very well. She said, 'Okay, I still love you'. I told her she should ask Edgar out. They both obviously like each other but won't admit it."

Janet asked, "What made you realize how you really felt about Colette? I mean, I know when she asked you out, it didn't make you happy, but is that really what broke you out of your infatuation?"

Fang thought for a moment before he answered. "I've been thinking a lot about our kiss. It made me feel something I've never felt with Colette. Janet, I do really like you, and I think we could be great together. We're both ambitious and have always supported each other. So, what do you say?"

Janet smiled. "What do you think?" She pulled him close and kissed him once again, and this time, they both knew exactly what they were doing.