Under the Starlight: CHAPA X BOSE

7: Shoot

"What?" Bose could see Chapa's face had fell, he hadn't realized he said what he was thinking out loud.

Not thinking, he did what anyone else would do if they were caught in a situation like he was in; Play it cool."What?"

Chapa knew for sure she heard what he said about her... "What do you mean what?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by what? I said you were doing the face again..." Bose answered.

"Noooo. You said something after that I'm pretty sure." Chapa could see Bose was trying his best to avoid eye contact like he usually does in uncomfortable situations.

"Huh?"

Chapa scoffed, "Huh?!"

"What! What did you hear me say exactly?" Bose said looking in Chapa's direction. He saw her laugh under her breath and his heart skipped a beat. He hoped she wouldn't hold this against him.

"Ohhhhh. Okayyyy. I see how it is. Reaaall funny." Chapa wasn't upset, she just knew he wouldn't own up to what he said and she was for sure going to use this to her advantage.

"How about we just go, yea?" Bose stood up dusted off his pants and tucked his chair under the table.

Chapa stood up and grabbed the bag of snacks, "Sure! How about we start on some rides actually? Oh! I saw one on our way here we could try. It was one of those with the little cars on a loop and they play cool music and it goes forward and backwards." She turned to Bose and stared, "You know, something light and cute."

Bose curled his lips and thought to himself, 'There it is'. Chapa would go all night teasing and taunting him about his slip up. He felt slightly relieved her nature hadn't changed since he said that, he was afraid it would get awkward. "Haha! Ooooohh I don't know about that one.. Going back and forth can get pretty intense and we just ate." He could play her game too, it was one of the charms of their friendship.

Chapa started walking towards the crowd of people while swinging the bag she was carrying. "Okay, what do you want to do then?" She was serious this time, the night had just started and it was time do get to the real fun.

"First of all: give me that." He took the bag of snacks from Chapa's hands and she looked at him confused. It just wasn't like him to do something like that. He said it in such a comforting tone that Chapa was a bit taken aback. "Second: how about those." He said pointing to some carnival games.

They had everything. Ring the bell, Ring toss, Basketball hoops, Balloons and Darts, the Milk bottle games, and so much more in between.

"Ohhh no way, you're not ready for me." Chapa ran off so fast Bose could swear she had two superpowers.

They started off at the basketball hoops. The goal of the game is to score three shots and win.

"Basketball?" Bose was not at all an athlete, especially when it came to basketball and Chapa knew that.

They walked to the edge of the stand and looked up, it felt as if the nets of the hoops were longer than the height of the two of them combined.

Chapa lifted her wrist to the Carnie so he could see their bands. "Yep, you wanna go first, or should I show you how it's done?" She said with a smirk in between.

Bose stepped aside, leaned over the counter and grabbed a basketball. He handed it to Chapa. "Yea I'm gonna give this one to you. You know I'm not all that good at sports."

Chapa didn't fully take the ball, she only pushed it back towards Bose. "Awww, Come on now give it a shot."

More teasing. Might as well make the best of it Bose thought. "Alright." He gave a nod to the Carnie who seemed to be very interested in their conversation, "I'm ready."

"You have 6 shots, you need 3 to win a regular sized prize and 6 to win a large one."

Bose nodded, and took his first shot. He missed, he knew he wasn't gonna do well so he just went at it to get it over with. By his last shot, Bose managed to make 2 out of 6.

"Good job buddy," The Carnie grabbed the ball and handed it to Chapa, "Same rules; 6 shots, 3 to win."

Chapa started dribbling the ball lightly against the counter top. Bose wondered if she was any good at sports. He knew she was athletic as she's one of the fastest runners on the team. He knows she could be an acrobat or gymnast if she tried. What with all the flips and tricks she does when they're fighting crime. He thought back on the time she made up a Clik-Clok dance and wow... She's also an outstanding dancer. Actually there were so many things Chapa was good at he wondered if there's really anything she couldn't do. He watched as she furrowed her eyebrows in concentration and she took a breath in and out. She took her first shot and in it went.

"YES!" He shouted, he gave a small smile at the worker behind the counter and went back to watching Chapa shoot the rest of her shots. She had taken all 6 of her turns and managed to make them all in. The man behind the counter handed them their gift and spoke out. "Ah looks like the girlfriend is the one winning the gifts now eh?"

There it was. Chapa thought. She could feel her face burning. That word again. Did it really look like they were dating? They had only just started the night and they've been told something similar twice already. What is she missing that everybody else sees? Of course she can't complain the goal IS to look like they're a thing... But it's weird. They're only being themselves.

"Haha yea... Here you go then. Boyfriend?" Chapa shoved the prize teddy bear onto Bose, gave an awkward chuckle and continued sprinting her way up to a ring toss ahead.

"Whoa whoaaaa what's the hurry?" Bose was struggling to keep up with the large bear covering half of his face.

Chapa turned around swiftly, "Can I just ask you to be completely honest with me?"

Bose didn't know what warranted this reaction, but he was curious. "Uh... Sure."

"We're being our usual selves, right?"

Bose gave it a thought, "What do you mean? Other than the fact that my face looks like a whole different person."

Chapa sighed a little, "Like if we were with the rest of the crew, and we left out the whole fake dating plan, would we be doing what we're doing now? Or saying what we're saying?"

"What, playing carnival games at a fair? Yea we play games together all the time." Bose could see Chapa's face still in confusion. Something's weighing on her head.

"Right..." She said, "Well onto the next."
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END OF CHAPTER 7
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GUESS WHO'S BACK!