Cherry Blossoms & Bubble Gum

I Like That About You.

I don't want to talk about the competition, okay? I'm not going to go into great lengths of detail to describe every second of it. Because, frankly, it wasn't very exciting. All you need to know is: Tadashi and I both lost. I'm not saying we were the worst, trust me, we weren't, but we weren't the beat either.

And I guess that's just how the world works. Not everybody loves you, you don't always get what you want, and things don't always work out. But if our lives weren't filled with bad moments, then the good ones wouldn't be as cherished.

And trust me. There were some awesome memories made after the main event. See, here at what we call the Nerd Lab, we have a little party monster named Fred. I once saw him turn a funeral into a karaoke party with only a ball of tinfoil and three parrots.

This man might be an idiot but he's an idiot who knows how to party.

So it came as absolutely no surprise to me that once we'd pooled out of the giant building strobe lights had been hung in the trees. Colored tiles spread across the ground and a DJ table was spinning itself at the far end of the lawn.

Before we continue I would like to formally apologize to the guy who had to clean this up. Because I know for a fact that there was a huge mess on the grass the following morning. Cups, food, and an occasional student would litter the ground.

Here's a little known fact about nerds. When we party, we party hard. My best guess is that it's all the pent up celebration we have because we'd rather study than hear mindless music.

But tonight was special. It was, after all, the end of the quarter. So yeah, we got wild. There were beer pong games and probably a lot of French kissing going on in the shadows. I'm not gonna lie, it was all a bit fuzzy to me. Alcohol does that to a person. Especially when it's been caffeinated.

My mind was battling with all the ambrosia. Was I drunk and tired or hyper and bouncy? Was I moody or peppy? Was it morning or night?

Of course Tadashi, being the responsible one, limited my drunk ness as best he could. He would distract me with dancing and eating actual food and whenever I reached for more ambrosia he would slap my hand away. At the time I was pissed. But in retrospect I was grateful too.

As I reached for my fifth drink Tadashi grabbed both of my forearms. "Enough of this. Do you want to take a walk?"

I wanted to object. Really, I did. But something about his brown eyes glistening in the light of the full moon and the strobe lights made me nod my head.

Without any further questions we began walking walking away from the loud noises of the party. He put an arm protectively around my waist to keep me from accidentally walking into one of the many oaks littering the grounds.

I took a gum package from my pocket and, after only minor fumbling, opened it. Afterwards I offered a piece to him which he gratefully took.

"You know Hiro?" Tadashi asked after a minute of tense silence.

"You mean Hiro Hamada, your kid brother? The one who has the brain of a super genius? Hiro Hamada who I've known since he was born? Who's been the biggest buzz in the bot-fighting world since I left? Who you dragged to the lab last night and introduced everybody to? Nope. Never heard of him."

"How did you know he was into bot-fighting? I thought you'd left all that." Tadashi arched an eye brow suspiciously. I was almost offended that he thought I was bot-fighting again. Almost. I was to drunk to feel much emotion. "Go-"

"Don't you give me that, Dashi. I said I'd quit bot-fighting. I never said I'd quit going to matches. Also. . . Cass told me about how you two got arrested last night. And I thought I was a bad influence on the kid."

"You are." He staged plainly before pulling me closer to his chest. "But I like that about you."