"Harmless" Adventures with the Bad Batch

It's a Date

Hunter narrowed his eyes at Abby, as if daring her to deny it. She avoided the Sergeant's gaze, casting her own down at her food and keeping her head down. Tech, Crosshair, Wrecker, and Echo all smirked at her with frivolous and almost childish anticipation, finding the situation much too interesting to ignore.

"Who is he?" Hunter demanded.

"Her boyfriend!" Wrecker suggested excitedly.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Abby yelped defensively.

"Wait is this the kid you stayed up all night to talk to?" Hunter demanded.

"Maybe, maybe not," Abby muttered.

"That means 'yes'," Echo proclaimed.

"No, it means 'maybe'," Abby insisted with a faint blush dusting her cheeks.

Regardless of the Bad Batchers' incessant teasing, she was looking forward to the next day. After quickly finishing her dinner to avoid any more of their childish remarks, she retreated back to her room. Though it wasn't long before she had a visitor.  Knocking on the door interrupted her peaceful thoughts while she sat at her desk, sharpening her vibroblade. It was shocking how you could be so calm while playing with a weapon so lethal. 

 When she heard the raps at the door, she stored her blade back in her gauntlet before opening the door.  Echo was leaning against the doorframe outside, with a gentle smirk on his face. He was definitely looking better since Abby first met him on Anaxes. His formerly paper-white skin had tanned some so he no longer resembled a ghost, the jet black roots of his hair were beginning to peek out, more like a buzz cut, and his gaunt features were filling out more. His relationship with the Bad Batchers had also grown stronger through time, just as Hunter had predicted.

"Sup, Echo?" she asked.

"You're seeing Jesse tomorrow," he remarked. It wasn't a question.

"How'd you know?" Abby asked.

"Well Jesse blew up my comm with messages all above the lines of 'Buddy, I got a date, I'm so hyped'," Echo explained.

"Seriously?"

"Yup," Echo snickered. "Just think that you should know how excited he is. It really means a lot to him."

"Good to know. Thanks, Echo."

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The next day Abby was staring impatiently at the clock, waiting for the time to pass, which seemed to go at a ridiculously slow pace. She had dressed in a short sleeved baby blue top with a denim jacket and loose black pants that fell just below her knees. Her darker blonde hair was tied in a sloppy braid, which hung airily to her shoulders and jeweled hair pins held down the stray strands.

Once the clock read 11:40, Abby grabbed her leather shoulder-strap satchel and threw it over her neck so it draped down her side.

"Leaving already? You've only been staring at that clock since 8," Crosshair snickered.

"Shut it, Cross," she muttered as she pulled on a pair of black tennis shoes.

"Have fun on your date," Wrecker called enthusiastically as she headed out the door.

"And be back before dark or else we'll assume the worst and Hunter will probably kill that boy," Crosshair chimed in.

"Funny," Abby rolled her eyes before closing the door behind her.

She took the stairs from the Havoc Marauder two at a time, finding herself on an outdoor landing bay. She followed several signs to the streets where hundreds of towering skyscrapers and alien species were crowded as far as the eye could see. Consulting a map on her holopad for directions, she then made her way through the crowded walkways and paths to Coruscant Center.  It was a large and busy plaza where the city was most populated. Storefronts selling their various diverse wares, restaurants, grills, and bars serving some of the planet's finest meals, and only half-illegal alien smugglers, fearless pilots, and simple tourists found their home making business on the entertainingly packed square. The Senate Building and the Jedi Temple were within eyesight and neither were too far away.