Challenge Accepted(A Barney Stinson/HIMYM Fan-fiction) BOOK ONE

Chapter Twenty-Three: Not Good Enough

"Hey Simon." Robin greeted, twisting her hair. 

He sat down beside us and I pressed myself tighter against Barney to create a distance.

"Wow, look at you. You got old."

"Yeah...you look great. You got hotter, like that's possible." He picked up the menu.

"Ugh, four bucks for a brew? What a rip! Good thing I'm packin'." He took a can out of his pocket, opening it up.

"So, Simon. Robin's a bit of a local celebrity here in New York. She's the lead anchor at Metro News 1." Lily told him. "Tell him, Robin."

"No. It's stupid. It's not cool like Simon's shirt." I raised my eyebrows at her.

"I'm sorry, Simon. Here we are nattering on about our big celebrity. What do you do for a living?" Barney asked. 

"Oh, I work at the Splish Splash Ottawa water slide park."

"Huh. A water slide park. That sure is different from what Robin does." Ted threw in.

"Yeah, it is. Because I save lives."

"How?!" I asked, my skepticism evident. 

"If I'm not sitting  in that stool at the top of the slide going Go...go...go...people die." I pinched the bridge of my nose.  Ted chuckled. "What, you think it's so easy? You try it." 

"Um...ok. Go-"

"You didn't put your hand up, kid just died."

"No, I didn't know-"

"Another kid just went. He died, too."

"Well sure, I mean if I was actually-"

"Another kid just went, now you got a pile-up and Robin's got something to report on the news. This just in, my friend Ted killed a bunch of kids today." 

"You are somethin' else." I told him. "But that's cool. You gotta pay the bills since that whole music thing didn't really go too hot for you there, did it?" 

"Well it hasn't yet, the band's still going. We're about four or five gigs away from really exploding."

"Of course you are."

"So, Simon, how did you guys meet?"

"Oh, I was in her video." He answered.

"Starred in it is more like it." Robin corrected.

"Once you win Mr. Teen Winnipeg, everybody wants a piece of the moneymaker."

"I'm sorry, I've seen Let's Go To the Mall about a thousand times, and you sir are not in it."

"I was in the other one."

"There's another video?!" He grabbed my arm, dragging me out the door.

~~~ 

"Ok...what the heck just happened?"  Ted asked when we got back to the apartment.

"Oh, come on, it wasn't so bad, was it?" She questioned. We all chuckled. "Look, I know it didn't go as planned, but I can't help it. I mean, he's still got it."

"Got what?" I asked. "Fleas? He keeps alcohol in his pocket."

"So he's not a snob. He's from a different part of Canada. The maple leave on the back of the pick-up truck? He's red province. He's from the deep north."

"And the thing is, we gave you so many opportunities." Marshall told her.

"I know. I'm sorry. But you guys just don't understand. The fact that he kept the band going, that's impressive. I mean, I gave up my musical dream."