𝚂𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙰𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠 (𝙰𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚡 𝙾𝙲)

Chapter 19 - Stirring of Emotions

Something's not right. She's never lost her focus while shooting, even when she is talking someone's ear off.

Bayler watched the competition through wary eyes. He remained close to the back of the crowd by the very anxious Francis. Since he'd arrived, the Adventurer hadn't stopped rambling on about how crushed Gracie would be if she didn't win.

From behind Bayler's mask, he frowned. Amber's well-being was his prime concern. Knowing that he was likely behind her poor performance wasn't any better. She'd hate him... but maybe that was for the best. He could not, and would not, love her.

The final shot left Gracie's bow, and the crowd went wild at Amber's slim victory. If not for the splinter in the wood of that last arrow, Gracie would've instantly won. Nobody else seemed to catch the sabotage, at least. Just him. Beside Bayler, Francis burst into tears.

The crowd swelled around Amber. She gave them all a peppy smile and raised her bow above her head to display for all of them. Her name was chanted as high as Celestia, maybe even beyond. "Amber! Amber! Amber! Amber!"

Bayler didn't join them, but he did breathe a massive sigh of relief. That meant she was moving on to the next round. He was proud of her for pulling through despite some of the crowd's comments. One in particular had gotten a whack in the head by him.

The chanting died down as Takeda and Plauen took their positions. Amber split off from her fellow competitors to wade through her adoring fans. Her amber eyes seemed to be searching the heads of people... possibly for him. Bayler shrank back into Francis.

"You good, Bayler? What's up with you?" The man asked. He no longer had tears streaming down his cheeks. "Hiding from your girl or something?"

Bayler cringed. "Ah, no. I don't have a girl anyway. You must be mistaking me for someone else."

Francis smiled. "Everyone's seen the two of you together. It's Windblume! There's no need to deny any feelings you may have for Outrider Amber!"

Once again, Bayler cringed at Francis' lovesick words. "It's not like that. Rather, I think she's pissed off at me over something I did."

"Did you have a good reason for doing it?" Francis asked. "She'll understand no matter how mad she is! Women are confusing, Bayler. Trust me, I've had my fair share of experiences."

Bayler shrugged his shoulders. "More like I forgot to meet her somewhere because a buddy of mine got me too drunk to think about any of those things."

Francis sucked in a sharp breath. "Oooh... yeah, you might wanna apologize to that one and really make it up to her. It'll do you no good to keep avoiding her. Oh, look!" he pointed his finger at Amber storming over to him. "Good luck!"

A second later, Francis ran over to where Gracie was crying, leaving Bayler all alone with Amber. The Outrider jumped in front of him and looked into his eyes, silent. Her bottom lip quivered, and her hand gripped around her bow.

"Amber, I-" he faltered.

Amber bit her lip. Her eyes were sad and teary, like she was ready to burst into tears. However, when he didn't say anything else, she frowned and narrowed her eyes.

"I can't believe you! Kaeya was right!" she shouted in his face.

Before Bayler could explain, she threw one of her Baron Bunnies at him and ran past. He looked between her and the doll, confused, until he realized the doll was dancing. She threw a live Baron Bunny at him!

Panicking, Bayler threw it high into the air and pulled out his bow to explode it mid-air. He didn't notch an arrow, instead using pure elemental energy to blow up the doll. An array of sparks and red smoke floated where the Baron Bunny had been.