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Artwork by @softmushroombaby on Twitter
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"Would you rather fight a hundred chicken-sized zombies, or ten zombie-sized chickens?" Olivia asked as she was walking around, holding some redstone in her hand. Doing a little 'construction' to the house, she claimed that it will be beneficial for it.
"Just to be clear, you wouldn't have any weapons and armor. So you'd have to fight them with your hand." She finishes.
"That's easy, I'll take the tiny.. little zombies."
Jesse replied, as he repeatedly hit the empty armor stand with his wooden sword. Practicing his fighting technique has become an everyday thing now. Even though he usually doesn't get into fights, or had the chance to really use his sword on some mobs, that didn't stop him from practicing every chance he gets.
Everytime he picks up a sword, he can't help but feel powerful, he has to blame his Idol, Gabriel, for giving him that type of energy.
"A hundred of them, crawling all over you, with tiny hands." She said, carefully doing some hand gestures to represent little monsters crawling around. Jesse just shook his head and rolled his eyes. "All I'd need is, like, a shovel. I'm telling you, way too easy!" Olivia nodded before turning her head to look at her other friend, who was sitting on a chair, her nose stuck in her book.
"What about you, Y/N?"
Y/N didn't respond, they were so focused on her book. The book was written by the one and only Soren, such an honor to even hold the book. It talked about Enderman and their behavior. When Y/N was going for a walk, someone was selling it and she immediately jumped at the opportunity to get it. It may have cost her to use a diamond, but it was honestly worth it. She only got the book a week ago but she was already halfway done. Y/n didn't notice Olivia trying to get her attention until she had to yell out her name.
"Y/N!"
She suddenly snapped her head up from her book, staring at the girl with goggles. "Huh? What? Did you say something?" They asked, making Olivia shake her head in disappointment. "What would you rather fight? Hundred chicken-sized zombies or ten zombie-sized chickens?" She repeated.
"Oh, that depends. Fighting those chicken zombies would be cool, but fighting those small zombies would be so easy. Hmm, it depends on the situation.." She pondered.
"Just imagine, those big chickens and their big feet, or those little zombies just crawling up your body and chewing your feet." Olivia said, shuttering in disgust afterward. Y/N smiled at her, finding it funny how her body shook.
"Yeah, but all I need to do is just bring them to fire and then, BOOM! Big fried chicken that can last for months! But then again, little zombies would be so easy to deal with, I can just step on them."
A chuckle escaped from Jesse's mouth, making Y/N look at him with confusion. "What are you laughing about?" She asked. Jesse's green eyes glanced at Y/N before returning back to his armor stand. "You're taking the question way too seriously." He grinned.
"Well, excuse me for exploring my options! But overall, I guess I'll have to choose the chicken-sized zombies."
Olivia nodded in response before heading to the book shelf near her. " Sooo.. I've got a daylight sensor on the roof." Jesse hummed in response, sounding pretty uninterested in the conversation, more focusing on attacking his armor stand.
"And if I did this right, these lamps should turn on once it gets dark." She said before placing the last redstone, making a small trail. Jesse again, hummed as a response.
"I didn't want to just leave Reuben here with nothing while we're at the building competition."
Jesse suddenly stopped what he was doing and turned to Olivia, "He's coming with us." He said before putting his sword away. Rueben, who was helping hold the armor stand, stepped out from behind.
"Really?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course he is!" Jesse replied. Meanwhile, Y/N got up from their seat and headed towards the bookshelf, gently placing her book back from where she got it.
"Okay, I'm not saying he shouldn't come, I'm not! But don't you think it's a little weird that you take him with you everywhere you go?" Olivia questioned. "He kind of makes us look like.. I don't know.. amateurs."
Before Jesse could respond, Y/N cut him off. "I think it's cute, plus, who wouldn't want to bring this adorable little pig with us." She smiles, walking towards the pig and gently rubbing behind his ear. Rueben's curly tail started to wag as he leaned towards her touch. "Yeah, Reuben's my best friend"
"I thought we were your best friend"
"All of you are!"
Olivia let out a sigh, a small frown appeared on her face. "I didn't mean anything by it. I'm glad he's coming, I just don't want to give people one more reason to call us 'losers'. I'm getting tired of it. I'm tired of being a laughing stock." She sighs, walking across the room.
The two both frowned at her comment, understanding how she felt. They aren't exactly known to be the best at anything besides losing. Everytime they would compete at the endercon competition, they would always lose to "The ocelots' '. Who can't help but make fun of them every chance they get.
However, as always, Jesse tried to shed positivity to the situation. "We are not losers, Olivia."
"We lose all the time, it's what we do." She responded, looking back at the two.
"Okay... Okay! That might be true-"
"I can't remember the last time we've won anything."
"But if that's the case... it means we win at being losers." Jesse said, smiling. Rueben let out an 'oink', signaling that he agrees with him. Y/N and Olivia just stare at him, giving him a blank look, Jesse's smile faded a bit. "What? That was a good one!"
"All right, fine, have it your way." Olivia said, rolling her eyes. Can't help but have a small smile on her face.
"Uhh, do you guys hear that?" Y/N questioned, rapidly looking around, trying to figure out the sound. "What do you mea-"
Before Olivia could finish her sentence, a hissing sound came from under the trapdoor. The three of them got tensed, it sounded like a creeper. How was a creeper able to climb up the ladder? Those little stubs there make them impossible to climb things, and isn't it daytime? No mob should be out right now.
The hissing slowly got louder and louder, making everyone step back in fear. "Oh no" whispered Olivia, her eyes widening.
All of a sudden, A huge creeper burst through the trapdoor, letting out a 'BOOM'. Everyone fell back, screaming at the sight of the disgusting mob. Reuben let out a loud squeal, accidently tumbling down from the chest he was standing on. A chuckle came from the 'Creeper, the mask was pulled off and it showed Axel with a huge grin on his face. Once everyone realized who it was, the fear they felt quickly turned into anger and annoyance.
Axel continued to laugh at them as he climbed out from outside and into the tree house.
"Oh man, You guys totally freaked out! That was awes-" He was interrupted by Rueben running towards him and hitting him, head first, into his stomach. A small snicker came from Y/N, seeing the little pig angry was always amusing to her.
"That's what you get."
"Axel! What's the matter with you!?" Yelled Olivia, her face filled with anger as well.
"Great, now I'm gonna smell like a pig in Endercon, I thought we were buddies." Axel said, rubbing his stomach and stepping away from the upset pig. "Cool mask." Jesse replied, Axel looked at him, grinning once again.
"It is, isn't it?"
"Yeah, very convincing." Jesse said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "The look on your faces.." Axel said, laughing again.
"Yeah yeah, we get it." Y/N mumbled as she rolled her eyes.
"Did you bring the fireworks?" Olivia asked, changing the subject immediately.
"Of course I did, I even brought something for the little guy." Axel said, he then pulled out a little costume from behind him. It was a costume of an enderman, it was small enough for Rueben.
"You brought Rueben a disguise?" Questioned Olivia.
"We're going to a convention. Somebody's gotta wear a costume." He responded, he crouched down in front of Rueben and carefully began putting on the costume on him. After putting it on, Rueben immediately ran around the tree house, letting out many squeals of excitement before jumping on a chest and posed proudly.
"He looks so adorable," Y/N said, smiling.
"I agree, he looks awesome!" Jesse replied.
"It only took me like a million hours to build it." Axel said, obviously proud of the costume he made. "Alright Alright." Jesse grinned, he enjoyed the sight of his little companion being happy, even if it's something little.
"You definitely brought the fireworks right?" Olivia asked, repeating her question. as she head towards the trapdoor to head down the treehouse.
"Yes, I'm ready, just waiting for you guys." Axel said, following closely behind her. As Olivia climbs through the trapdoor, she looks up at Jesse. "If he was really your best friend, you wouldn't let him go outside dressed like that."
"The only thing more dangerous than putting a costume on a pig, is trying to take it off." Jesse said, smiling as always.
"Hurry up and grab your stuff" Axel said, ready to go down the trapdoor.
"We'll meet you downstairs okay? Y/N, you coming?" Olivia and Axel both turned their heads to stare at the girl. Y/N shook her head and leaned on the wall. "Nah, I'm good. I'm gonna wait for Jesse." She replied. Olivia nodded before heading down the latter, Axel followed behind, shutting the trapdoor on his way out.
As Jesse walked around the place, Y/N stared at him the whole time. Since Axel and Olivia went downstairs, it's been quiet between the two, but it was a comfortable silence. Jesse always had that effect, at least for her. Whenever the conversation dies down and the silence begins, it is never awkward or uncomfortable. Maybe it's because for how long she has known Jesse, it's impossible to feel weird around him.
"Gabriel the warrior, you think we'll ever be that famous?" Jesse asked, looking at her. Y/N snapped out of her thoughts, not really expecting him to start a conversation. She turns her head to look at the Gabriel poster he owns.
He owned that poster for a long time, and she's surprised that it didn't have a tear or any speck of dust.
"Who knows, it's.. possible." She shrugged. Jesse frowned at her, not liking her response, "Cmon, Give me an actual answer, what do you really think?" He asked again.
"Honestly, I don't know, I really don't know. Jesse, we're not exactly good at anything. We're labeled as 'Losers' by most people, and we have never done something so successful or outstanding. I know you're trying to be positive about this but I can't help but think that... maybe us being losers is who we are." She spoke, she didn't want to look at his reaction so she moved her gaze on him to the floor. Jesse stared at her with sympathy, honestly he didn't appreciate what she said but he understands where she's coming from. He let's out a sigh before talking towards her, once he got in front of her he placed his hand on her shoulder, resulting in her looking up at him.
"Y/N, I understand how you feel. I hate how we get bullied all the time, I hate how we get called Losers, but moping around and doubting ourselves isn't gonna change anything. In fact, that will make things worse. Listen, I know that it seems like everyone is against us but one day we are gonna rise to the top and show them that we are so much more. We just have to stay together, keep trying, and have patience. You got me?" Jesse gave her a gentle smile as he rubbed circles on her shoulders. Y/N looked at him with wide eyes, she took in every word he said. She takes a deep breath before exhaling. "Yeah, I got you." She nodded, smiling back at him. "Good, now c'mon, the guys are probably tired of waiting for us," Jesse said as he headed towards the trapdoor. Y/N giggles slightly, following close behind. Rueben squeals happily, jogging around Jesse before getting picked up by him.
The two of them climbed down the ladder, finally meeting up with Olivia and Axel. Once they reached the ground, Axel spoke.
"Let's roll."
"Yeah dude, let's roll." Olivia replied, placing her hands on her hips.
"Let's go," Jesse said. Everyone started walking ahead, passing through all the tall trees. It was quiet until the conversation started by Axel.
"I heard a pretty juicy rumor about the building competition, but you guys have to promise not to say anything,"
"Okay"
"Also, it's in two parts, each part more exciting than the last."
Y/N rolled her eyes. "C'mon Axel, just tell us already."
"Part one, the special guest at this year's Endercon is none other than Gabriel the warrior him-freaking-self." This made everyone gasp with their eyes widened.
"Whoa! What's part two?!" Jesse asked in excitement.
"Part two, according to my sources, the winner of the building competition is gonna get to meet him." This information made everyone get excited about the competition. "It doesn't mean anything if we lose, but if we win... oh man, this would make up for all the losing." Axel continued. "Meeting Gabriel would be a dream and an honor." Jesse said with awe. "Totally, he's awesome. It'd be amazing to meet him" commented Olivia. "I will literally faint if I saw him in person" Y/N said, making everyone laugh slightly.
"Reuben better be careful in that costume. The last time Gabriel saw a dragon, it didn't end well." Axel said, looking down at the pig.
"Saids the one who MADE him the costume." Y/N replied. Axel just grinned at her comment. It was quiet for a few moments before Olivia spoke up, looking around, confused. "Soooo, does this source of yours make posters for a living?"
"Huh?"
All of them stopped as they came across multiple posters being hugged on all over the trees. "Yeah. My source, uhhhh.. doesn't exist. You guys are my only friends." Axel Said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Guys, let's stay focused. We have a competition to win." Jesse said as everyone started walking away, passing all the trees filled with posters.
"We never win, and this year we've got Rueben with us. We basically got no chance" Olivia said, being doubtful as always.
"We're going to win, because-" Jesse started.
"What are you talking about?" Olivia interrupts.
"Because up to now, we've hated losing. But today, today my friends, we're going to start learning how to love winning..."
Silence
"That didn't sound as good as it did in my head..' Jesse said, losing a bit of confidence in his voice. Y/N tries to hold back her laughter, accidentally letting out a small snort. "Yeaaaah, Jesse, you can come up with something better than that."
"No no, I'm with that." Axel said, this made Jesse smile up at him. Olivia shrugged, giving a small nod. "Alright" was all she replied with. Another moment of silence passed by before Jesse continued again. "Wait a minute, wait a minute. We're thinking about this all wrong. The point of the building competition isn't just to build something, you have to do something to get noticed by the judges." Jesse explained.
"Sounds great, how are we gonna do that?" Y/N asked as she walked in front of them and stopped, this made everyone stop walking and huddled in a small circle.
"We don't just build something functional, we build something fun. After we finish the fireworks machine, like we planned, then we build something cool on top of it." Jesse said, the other nodded at his explanation, understanding what he meant. "Huh, that's actually a very smart idea! So, does anybody have any ideas of what we should build?" Y/N asked, looking at the others.
"If you want to get a reaction out of the judges, you build something scary. So, I say we build a creeper!" Axel suggested. "Ooh, not a bad idea Axel." She replied. Axel couldn't help but smile at the small praise that he got. "Wouldn't an enderman be better?" Olivia questioned. "I'm more scared of endermen."
"That's a good one. Honestly, I say we go with enderman. It's not everyday that you'll see an enderman so it would be much cooler to build one." Y/N explained. "Well, they both have their moments. Both pretty scary." Axel added.
"Then again, you scared the crap out of us with a creeper today." Olivia said, looking up at him.
"What do you think Jesse? It's two against one so far." The three of them laid their eyes at Jesse, who was also staring back at him. He hummed, thinking for a bit before making his decision. "Let's build an enderman."
Y/N and Olivia smiled at his choice, however this made Axel frowned. "Aww man, Olivia's thing?" he whined. The two girls looked at him with a raised brow. "Axel, are you seriously whining like a baby?" Y/N asked, a slightly teasing tone was heard in her voice. Axel's face turned a bit red from embarrassment and quickly shook his head. "No! I was saying awwwwwwesome" He said with a nervous smiled.
"Heh, nice save." She smiled, slightly punching his arm.
"You know, I think this is the first time we've decided on something before getting to the competition." She smiled, everyone else nodded in agreement. "Think we've got everything we need?"
"It wouldn't hurt to grab a little more." Jesse replied.
"Then lets get to grabbin' then!" Axel said with a huge grin on his face.
Jesse smiled back as he walked towards the three. "We're so prepared. We can't lose, cannot. Bring it in." He said, stretching his hand out between them. Axel was quick to place his hand on top of his, after that followed Olivia, the Y/N placed her hand on top of hers. Reuben quickly stood up on his back legs and placed his little hooves on top of all of them. "Ooooh, this is so exciting. We can do this, we can do this!" Y/N said, slightly jumping up and down. "'Dare to prepare!" On three. No. "Preparing is... daring"? Nope, that's the same thing. Forget it. Team on three. One... two... three.."
"Team!" Everyone yelled, raising their hands up in the sky before running in separate ways.
*
After gathering the materials that they need, they quickly headed towards the building competition. They had more confidence inside of them then when they first left the treehouse. They were feeling optimistic, they were able to put their minds together and come up with something unique, something they never tried before. If only they could've thought of this in the past competitions that they went through.
"We know what we're building, we've got all the stuff for it. We are so ready." Axel said proudly, everyone else smiled and nodded in agreement. "This year, it's going to be different." Added Olivia. "I'm not just ready to build, I'm ready to win".
"Nice pig, losers" A man said, walking past them. This causes the four to stop, all the confidence they had in them quickly goes down the drain. "Oh fuck off..." Y/N mumbled, frustrated because after all that working up to gain higher confidence, it disappeared by a little insult.
"Oh great, there's Lukas and the Ocelots. The rivalry counties.."
Ahead of them was a group of four people, three boys and one girl. They were all wearing leather jackets with a picture of an Ocelot printed on the back of it. They're Lukas, Aiden, Maya and Gill, mostly known as the Ocelots, aka, the gang's enemy. They would always pick on them for no apparent reason, they are the reason why the gang have so much doubt in themselves. The reason why they always feel worthless and useless. It isn't fair, they hoped that they wouldn't have to see them this year. But, of course, the Ocelots wouldn't want to ruin their perfect streak.
"Man, they've got matching leather jackets and everything." Olivia said in awe, "So cool" Axel said afterwards as they continued walking forward to the check in booth. Once they got closer, one of the members turned around. Aiden, the biggest jerk out of all of them. His green eyes laid on the gang, then a huge evil smirk formed on his lips. "Well well well, if it isn't the Order of the Losers." he mocked, this causes the other two: Maya and Gill, to turn around, smirking as well. "Great, the fail squad's here." Maya laughed. "Lukas, get a load of these losers." Gill said.
The leader, Lukas, did a quick glance at them before turning away. "Let's go guys.." He said before immediately walking away to the designated booth, the three of them followed after him. After that, the gang walked up to the check in booth where a woman was sitting behind. "Name, please?" she asked. "Axel. And, uh, how do you do?". She smiled and shook her head. "No, your team name". The four just stared at the woman in disbelief. Names? Since when did they decide to add team names into the competition? "Team name?... We are not ready for this.." Axel said.
"Hey, don't say that! I'm sure we can come up with a name quickly?!..uhh... like.." Y/N said, placing her hand under her chin, trying to come up with something creative. Unfortunately nothing came into mind. "Yeah, nevermind, I got nothing.." She said in a monotone voice. Olivia and Axel slowly leaned to the side, getting a better view of the Ocelots who were staring back at them, making small comments and laughing in the background. " So much for losing anonymously.." Olivia sighs, placing one hand on her hip. Y/N decided to take a look at where the ocletos were, she felt slightly intimidated by their evil grins. Except, Lukas was the only one who didn't have a menacing look. In fact, he had a look of sympathy on his face, this made Y/N confused. Lukas eyes soon laid on her specifically, his eyes widened a bit. Y/N realized that she was caught staring back and she immediately looked away, embarrassed. "Jesse, what nam-"
"We're the Dead Enders!" Jesse said proudly, cutting off Y/N's question. "Whoa, it sounds like a name for pirates." Axel commented, liking the name. "It's cool." Olivia added right after.
"Okay, Dead Enders. You guys are in booth 5." the woman said, pointing out to the booth that was right next to the Ocelots, great. Axel was the first one to head towards their booth but he got stuck in between the gate openings, it took him a while before finally being able to walk through. Some laughter was heard coming from the Ocelots.
Once they all arrived at the booth, Axel started at the booth next to them in shock. "Is that a freakin' beacon? They have a freakin' beacon!? Freakin' beacon!?" Axel said, his voice raising. "That's stained glass. They aren't just building a beacon, they're building a rainbow beacon." Olivia explained before sighing afterwards.
"We're gonna lose.." She saids in defeat.
"Our design is way cooler. A gigantic enderman is better than a fancy light." Jesse said, Y/N nodding in response. "Their difficulty score is going to be higher than our total score.."
"That may be true, but we got something cooler that they don't have.." Y/N started, placing a hand on Olivia's shoulder, Olivia looked at her with a slight confusion. "Oh yeah? And what is that?" She questioned. Y/N slowly leans towards her ears and whispers in a sing-along voice. "Fireworks!~"
Olivia stares at Y/N for a moment before turning her frown into a small smile, she gently pats the hand that was on her shoulder. "Yeah, you're right." She responded, her face slightly turning into a darker color, realizing how close the two were. Olivia looks up ahead to stare at the Ocelots again.
"We should probably stop staring at them.." Olivia said, but it was too late, the three jerks were already heading towards them.
"Hahaha. Look, it's the order of the losers, again." Gill said, pointing at them. Maya laughed as she stood next to him. "Good one Gill!"
"You already used that one.." Y/N mumbled.
"We're just looking.." Olivia said, quietly.
"There'll be plenty of time for you all to look at it after it wins and gets shown at Endercon." Aiden said, still having that stupid smirk on his face that was slowly pissing them off. "Actually, Aiden, we actually have a plan for once and now we have a higher chance at beating you at this competition.." Y/N replied, taking a few steps towards him. "Ooh, is that so?" Aiden teased, taking a step forward as well, their faces almost touching but none of them back down. "No matter what you guys do, you'll always be losers. Just pathetic, lonely losers.." Aiden grinned, his voice being slightly lower, as if trying to intimate her, clearly it didn't work. "Just you fucking wait Aiden, we're gonna beat your sorry ass as if it's the last th-"
Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around her torso and pulled her away from him. Y/N immediately whipped her head side to side, trying to see who was the one who grabbed her. "Hey! What the-"
"Y/N. Calm down" Jesse said smoothly, his voice being right next to her ear. Y/N stopped struggling, feeling a bit calmer knowing that it was Jesse. She took a few deep breaths, relaxing into his arms that remained around her. "Okay... Okay, I'm calm." Y/n said, Jesse looked at her with a worried expression. "You sure?" He said, his arms slowly getting tighter around her.
Y/N nodded "I'm sure, you can let go of me now..". Jesse paused for a moment, as if he was deciding on what he should do. Soon Jesse removed his arms from her.
A loud laugh was heard. "Wow, can't keep your little friend in control there, Jesse? So hilarious!" he mocked once again. "You're being extremely unpleasant.." Axel mumbled, a hint of anger was heard from his voice. Aiden just rolled his eyes, not taking anything seriously before looking down at the pig. "Huh, maybe not all of you are going to be able to see our building. Endercon doesn't allow outside food or drinks." His joke caused Gill and Maya to giggle behind him, with evil looks in their faces. Reuben jumped at the comment, letting out a small squeal. "Uhh.. You really shouldn't mess with Rueben." Jesse said, glaring at him.
"I do what I want. Besides, what harm can a pig do?"
"Keep talking and find out." Olivia responded, placing her hands on her hip, glaring at him as well.
"Stop wasting your time, Aiden! We've got work to do." Lukas said, coming into view, a look of disappointment was all over his face. Aiden looked back at the four, "You're lucky I'm busy.." He mumbled. "Yeah.. busy being an asshole.." Y/N snapped back. Before Aiden could reply back, a new voice was heard from behind them. Comes walking in is a girl with ginger hair, it was Petra, a very close friend to the gang. She was holding a picaxe over her shoulder, she gave them a friendly grin. "Hey Jesse, Hey Y/N. Guys" She said, nodding as a greeting. "Hey Petra," Jesse said back with a smile.
"Petra! It's good to see you again, where have you been?" Y/N asked, Petra just gave her a side shrug. "Oh, you know, here and there as usual." She said, giving her a wink.
"How's the build going?" She asked
"Only time will tell. But - we're optimistic." Axel replied back.
"Petra, I forgot to thank you for that nether star." Lukas said, walking towards all of them, smiling. "Hey Lukas. Not a problem" She responded with a smile. "You helped these tools?" Axel asked with a frown on his face. "For the right price, I'll help anyone." She confirmed. "If you need anything, you know where to find me'" She said as she walked away towards the forest. "None of us know where to find you.." Olivia said, confused.
"Exactly.." She said before disappearing into the woods.
Lukas walked towards the Dead Enders, standing right in front of them while giving them a nervous smile. "No hard feelings guys. If you're cool with Petra, you're cool with us." He said. "So why don't we just forget about all of this and, y'know.. Make this about how cool our builds are.." All of them looked at Lukas with a look of suspicion and confusion, it was silent before Jesse broke in.
"May the best team win," He said with a competitive smirk.
"Careful what you wish for," Lukas grinned.
"Forget that, we're gonna crush you." Y/N said, cutting in front of Jesse, her hands on her hips. Lukas lets out a lighthearted laugh, it was kinda attractive. "You're funny, I don't know if you know this but we're pretty good... Oh, wait, this is a joke, right?" He asked with a teasing tone.
"Nah, we're gonna destroy you, pretty boy," Y/N smirked before turning around and headed back to the booth. Y/N response left the blonde boy stunned, a small red hue appearing on his face. Once all of the Dead Enders went back to their booth, Lukas shook his head, discarding the feeling that he left before turning back to his teammates. "Let's get ready.."
"Ladies and gentlemen... Welcome to the Endercon Building Competition." The woman from the check in booth announced, now standing on a small platform. "The winners of this year's competition will have their build featured at Endercon!" Multiple cheering and applause were heard from all around. "The winners will also meet, in person, Gabriel the warrior!" The cheers got louder, everyone was filled with excitement.
The Dead Enders couldn't help but to cheer as well, smiling at each other. "Ocelots!" The four of them turned to the side, staring at the group who were doing a handshake together, yelling their own team name a few times.
"Whoa, handshake. We don't have a handshake." Olivia said, pointing at them. Jesse thought for a moment before raising his fist up. "We'll just make one up"
The four of them all raised their fist up, getting closer to each other, they all had nervous looks on their faces. "We'll call it the uhhhh...the warrior's whip!" He grinned proudly.
One by one, they awkwardly gave each other weird fist bumps.
"Aaaand just like that, I'm nervous again," Olivia said.
"Don't talk like that! We can do this! Just stick to the plan and everything will be fine," Jesse reassures them. "This year, the Dead Enders can't lose" Jesse extended his hand out, smiling. Olivia, Axel, and Y/N looked at each other before smiling back at Jesse, stacking their hands on top of his, Reuben joining in as well.
"Let's do this!" Axel said excitedly.
"Building...
Start...
NOW!"
Immediately every team in the competition went to work, building their own unique structures. The Dead Enders were working on their firework dispensers, soon their structure got bigger as they placed more blocks of wood, cobblestone and lines of redstone. As they were working, a certain Ocelots member who were standing on their structure decided to make fun of them
"Oh, no! A firework dispenser? I'm soooo scared!" Aiden acted dramatically, rolling his eyes. His team's structure wasn't so bad, it was almost as high as the firework machine. As Aiden was poking fun at them, Lukas, who was nearby him, was giving him a strange look, not approving of the bullying that he is doing. Jesse had his hands on his hips, glaring at Aiden once again. "You worry about your build and we'll worry about ours.."
The four of them jumped down from the structure, pulling out some black wool and placing them down. "I swear, one day, I am going to punch the hell out of Aiden.." Y/N mutters, anger clearly radiating from her. The three of them looked at her with worried faces, "Calm down Y/N, everything is gonna be fine." Jesse assured her. "Yeah, and if it isn't, I can help you punch him.' Axel said with a grin, this made Y/N smile a bit, letting out a small chuckle.
"Axel!" Scolded Olivia, staring him down. "What? I'm just saying..." Axel said, looking away. Y/N went over to him and placed her hand on Axel's arm, she smiled at him. "Don't worry Axel, I know you have my back." She said. This made him look back at her and a small smile formed on his lips.
"C'mon you guys, let's build the enderman." Jesse said, placing the wool down. Everyone else did the same, placing multiple blocks on top of each other until the structure was turned into an Enderman. After building it, they stood on top of the enderman, except for Y/N, because there wasn't much space left for her to stand on. She looks up at the building with a huge grin on her face. "Guys! This looks so awesome!" She yells at them, giving a thumbs up.
"You think so?" Axel asked, Y/N nodded happily at his question.
"And now- the moment of truth." Jesse said.
"Here goes nothing.."
Olivia flipped a switch which resulted in the firework dispenser going off. There were many fireworks of different colors, it looked beautiful. All of them stared at their masterpiece with awe.
"This looks so cool! We'll win this for sure." Olvia said proudly.
"Let's go! We did an awesome job!"
Y/N cheered, jumping up and down in excitement. The trio looked back at her and couldn't help but smile at her, finding her little burst of energy to be adorable. Jesse's eyes looked up to see everyone else from the other teams were staring at them, clapping and cheering as well.
"Guys, people are looking at us.." Jesse said a bit nervously. Some compliments were heard from the crowd that was forming.
"Good build, man!"
"Sweet!"
"Amazing structure!"
The Dead Enders smiled at all the attention they were getting. They weren't used to it, they were so used to the mean comments that being complimented made them feel great about themselves. Aiden, being curious, walked over to see the commotion. Once he realized that everyone was cheering for the rivalry team, he felt his anger rise up. His breathing started to get heavier, "What? It's just a bunch of dyed wool!" He hissed.
He quickly looked around before he spotted a block that was holding up some lava, a evil grin appeared on his face before punching the block. The lava quickly started spreading all over. "Whoops." He said sarcastically.
Rueben let out a loud squeal as he felt the lava reach his costume, it started burning him. He ran around, trying to take the fire out before sprinting towards the large woods. Y/N noticed what happened and yelled out for the pig. "Wait! Rueben, come back!"
"It was Aiden! That punk!" Axel snarled. Y/N snapped her head at Aiden who was backing away from the lava. "What is wrong with you! Are you fucking insane?" She yelled at him. Aiden didn't say anything. He just stared at her with his green eyes. Not like it mattered because she didn't wait for a response. After yelling at him she immediately ran towards the forest, calling out after Rueben.
Jesse called out for her, but it was too late for she was already out of sight. "Both of them are gonna get lost! I have to go after them!" Jesse yelled, extremely worried. "But what about our bulid?! It's about to go up in flames!" Axel said. Jesse looked over his shoulder to look at the two. "You guys stay and save the build!" He ordered before jumping down from the build, tumbling over Aiden while doing so. He quickly got back on his feet and ran towards the forest.
"Got it!" Replied Axel
"We've got it covered Jesse! Be careful," added Olivia.
Axel jumped from the build after Jesse did, landing on his feet. However, once Olivia jumped down she accidentally landed on his back, causing him to fall. "We'll meet up with you at Endercon!" She yelled after him. Axel got up, causing Olivia herself to fall down. Once they got up, they quickly started placing blocks to secure the lava.
*
"Rueben! Rueben, where are you?" Y/N yells as she walks around the dark forest. She lost sight of him and is now walking around the trees blindly, having no idea where she's going but is determined to find the pig. It was getting darker by the minute and the more Y/N kept looking, the more lost she got.
She stopped when she saw something on the ground, she kneed down to get a closer look. "Pig tracks... that means he's here somewhere."
A sudden rustle sound was heard behind her. She quickly turned around, not waiting to risk being attacked by a mob from behind. Sadly, she didn't have any protection on her, she forgot to bring her sword. As the sound got louder, her guard went up. She slowly grabs a nearby stone and clenches it in her hand. Whatever it is, it will feel her wrath.
Right as she saw a figure walking from behind a tree, and immediately threw the rock towards its direction. "Whoa! Hey!" the figure yelled, she recognized the voice. She took a few breaths, calming down. "Jesse?"
Jesse, who dodged the rock at the last second, stared at her with a look of concern and annoyance. "What was that for?"
"I'm sorry Jesse, I thought you were a mob or something. What are you doing here?" She asked him.
"I'm here to find you. Y/N, running off like that wasn't safe. I'm just glad that I found you, are you hurt?" Jesse asked, looking at her body up and down to make sure she wasn't hurt. "I'm fine Jesse, I'm fine."
"Found Rueben yet?"
"Not yet, but look." She points at the pig footprints, Jesse's eyes widened. "Pig footprints.."
Y/N nodded. "Exactly, which means he is close by."
"You're right, come on, let's search for him together." Jesse said before grabbing her hand and started leading through the forest. The two wandered around, calling out for Rueben from time to time. "Wait" Jesse paused. "I hear pigs."
They quickly ran towards the sounds, they soon reached a group of pigs that were just standing there, not a thought behind their blank eyes. "I don't see Rueben anywhere!" Y/N complained, letting go of Jesse's hand, walking through the pigs to clear a path. Jesse scanned through the pigs, letting out a small groan. "Stupid pigs.."
"Jesse, look, more pig tracks. He's here! I just know it!'' She quickly followed where the footsteps were heading. Jesse stared at her, he didn't expect her to be so determined to find his pet pig. Olivia and Axel so care about Rueben but not compared to Y/N. Ever since Jesse met Y/N, Y/N always had a liking for Rueben. They would always play around with each other, always snuggling with each other. That's one of the reasons why Jesse likes Y/N so much, everyone likes a person who gets along with their pet friend. A smile formed on his lips before following after Y/N, yelling for Rueben again.
"Rueben! It's getting scary out here!"
Jesse spotted some sort of black smoke coming from some tall grass. His heart dropped, he immediately started assuming the worse, he quickly ran towards it. "Rueben?! Reuben?! Oh no! You in there buddy?" He saw a glimpse of the ender dragon costume, he internally started panicking, his hand slowly reached out towards the left wing of the costume. "Oh, geez, please don't be toasted, Reuben.." He whispered to himself. He quickly pushed the wing aside, embracing himself for a horrendous sight. His heart went back to normal and he let out a sigh of relief when he realized that Rueben wasn't in the costume. He turned around once he heard quick footsteps coming towards him. "Jesse! Have you found him?" Y/N asked.
"No, it's just a false alarm." He said before stepping on the burnt costume to stop more smoke from coming out. "His costume," Y/N realized. "That means he's closer than we thought, there's no way he could've gotten that far!"
They continued on their search, they ended up entering a cave that already had torches on the cave's walls. "I wonder who put these here.." Y/N questioned, Jesse just shrugged, not saying anything. "Rueben? Let out an oink if you can hear me!" Y/N yelled, her voice echoing through the cave. It was silent until Jesse let out a startled shriek. "What? What's wrong?"
"Nothing! Nothing, it was just a spider.." Jesse said, calming down. Y/N shuttered in disgust, walking further through the small cave. "I hate spiders..." She mumbles. The two of them continued walking through and eventually ended up climbing to the exit. "Wait, do you hear that?" Jesse questioned, heading towards some tall grass. "Hear what?" Y/N followed right behind them. The noise sounded like small whispers, perhaps from a small animal. Jesse slowly took a few steps towards the noise, his hand reaching out and carefully pushing a few strains of grass away. A huge smile spread across his face once he saw who was behind the tall grass. "Rueben! There you are!"
The pig was hiding behind the grass, shaking in fear. Once he recognized Jesse and Y/N, he slowly got up and trotted towards them. Y/N smiled as she kneeled down and gave the pig a soft pat. "Oh Rueben, We were so worried about you. Are you hurt in any way?" She asked him. The pig shook his head and just leaned into her head as she pet him. "Hey, buddy. You want a carrot?" Jesse asked as he pulled out a carrot, the pig nodded as he walked closer to Jesse.
"Since when did you have a carrot?" Y/N asked, raising a brow
"While I was looking for you, I saw a carrot lying on the ground and I picked it up." He replied as he handed Rueben the carrot, who then happily started munching on it. Jesse looked over to Y/N again and gave her a gentle smile. "Hey, I just wanted to say thank you for helping me find Rueben, I really appreciate it." Y/N smiled at him and wrapped her arm around his shoulder, "Hey, don't sweat it. I'm just glad that cute Rueben here is okay." She said. Reuben, after eating the carrot, looked up at her and let out a happy oink. "Now, c'mon! I wanna get to Endercon already!" She exclaimed excitedly, but right as she turned around, there were Zombies walking out of the cave that they came from.
"Run!" The three of them immediately ran away from the ugly zombies, after a bit of distance, Jesse kneeled down. " Whew, I think we're good." A hissing sound interrupted his thoughts, besides him was a creeper that was ready to explode. Before the creeper could however, Y/N grabbed Jesse by his arm and forced him to run ahead. They continued to run before stopping behind a block of dirt. "Okay.. I think we made it." An arrow flew past him, landing right next to his head. A skeleton from up a hill was aiming their bow and arrow at them. "Can you please stop jinxing everything!" Y/N complained as they ran again. They quickly ran away from the mobs but they stopped, there was no way out, they reached a dead end. "What do we do?"
Jesse stood in front of her, pulling out his wooden sword. "Stay behind me. Both of you, I'll protect you." He begins swinging his sword at a zombie who got too close, he kept hitting it until it disappeared in thin air, meaning that it's dead. He took a few steps back, not letting his guard down. Y/N was in front of Rueben, making sure that no harm could come to him. "Be careful Jesse!" Her voice was laced with fear and worry. After killing a few zombies, his sword broke in half, he groaned as his sword disappeared too. "Stupid wooden sword!" He quickly backed up, almost bumping into Y/N, there were too many of them. "What do we do now?" Y/N asked, gripping his shoulders from behind. A spider, from nowhere, landed in front of them, making Y/N jump.
"I know it's bad, I'll think of something." Jesse said, trying to sound confident but failed greatly. Jesse was secretly panicking in his mind, he didn't want Y/N or Rueben getting hurt. Suddenly, an idea popped in his head, he looked over his shoulder to look at the two. "You're gonna have to have a run for itm okay?" Y/N looked at him as if he was insane. "No, I am not leaving you behind, Jesse." She said firmly. "Y/N, you'll be safer if you go! Please! Just go!" He yelled the last part, Reuben squealed loudly before running through the hoard of mobs, one almost catching him. Jesse continued to stare at Y/N, giving her a pleading look to go. "I'll meet you up at town, I prom-"
"For fuck sakes, Jesse, I am NOT leaving you behind. No matter what you say. We're doing this together!" Y/N cut him off, glaring. Jesse's eyes widened, not accepting her to yell. He sighs as he grabs her hands that were on his shoulders. "Then stay behind me.."
Suddenly, Y/N felt a huge pain on her arm, causing her to let go of Jesse and tumble down screaming. A spider landed on her and was able to get a hit on her, she continued to scream and she struggled to push the spider away. Jesse gasps, seeing Y/N getting hurt. "Get off her, you ugly eight-legged beast!" He yelled as he harshly kicked the spider away. The spider fell to the ground, Y/N took this chance to scoot away from the spider. "Ah! Fuck.. my arm.." She whined. Before Jesse could ask if she was okay, a spider also pounced on him. "Jesse! Ack!" She reached out to him but immediately retracted her arm back, hissing in pain. Jesse used all his strength to push the spider off, but he couldn't. Before he could do anything, the spider was soon stabbed on the side with a picaxe, making it fall down. The person holding the picaxe went over to the spider and stabbed it multiple times before it disappeared. Jesse blinked a few times, his vision cleared to see Petra was the one who saved them. "Jesse? Are you okay?"
He turned his head, Y/N stared at him with concern, clenching her injured arm. He quickly got up and picked her up on her feet. "Me?! What about you?" Before Y/N could answer, Petra got between them two. "Hurry, let's get out of the open." She said before running away, Jesse and Y/N rapidly followed behind.
*
"Jesse, I told you, I'm fine. It's just a little bruise. Focus on yourself, you got attacked too!"
"Y/N, you can barely move your arm. Plus, I'm not the one who is injured here."
Jesse refused to stay away from Y/N, he stayed very close behind her in case she fell down. Ever since Petra saved them both, they've been bickering non-stop. Y/N was complaining how Jesse should not be worried about her and himself instead while Jesse was complaining about the opposite thing.
"I just- I'm sorry that I wasn't able to protect you. If my sword didn't break then--"
"Like I said, it's not your fault. I should be apologizing for not helping you, I laid down there like a idio-"
Petra suddenly stopped walking and fastly turned around to glare at the two. The two froze, not liking the scary expression on her face. "Can you two please stop bickering? It's ticking me off. Now, Hurry up, There's something I want to show you two." She said, walking off again. Jesse and Y/N looked at each other before following Petra again, quietly this time. They reached the entrance of a dimly lit cave, Petra climbed down a ladder and walked into the cave. Jesse did the same thing, however once Y/N did, she was struggling to climb down. She felt a pair of hands on his hips, softly guiding her down. "Don't worry, I got you," Jesse said. Once Y/N got down the ladder, she gave him a quick 'thank you' as walked ahead, catching up to Petra.
As they both entered the cave, Jesse spoke. "Not that this isn't a really cool, dimly-lit tunnel, but.... How far away is this thing you wanna show us?" He asked. Petra chuckled slightly, " Careful, Jesse, you don't want to get a reputation of a wimp." Petra teased. "This isn't my first time in a cave, Petra." Jesse said as he stopped walking. Petra turned around and faced them. "Yeah, but have you ever seen--"
She pulled out a black skeleton skull from behind, showing it off to the two. Jesse and Y/N gasped, realizing what it was. "A Wither's skull?" Petra finished.
"Whoa, that's so cool!" Y/N said, flabbergasted.
"Fresh from the Nether." Petra grinned proudly.
"You two are the first people I've shown it to."
"I'm honored" Y/N joked, smiling.
"You risked your life for that dusty old skull?" Jesse asked, still staring at it with widened eyes. "No, I risked my life for the thing I'm gonna EXCHANGE for that dusty old skull" She said, putting heavy emphasis on the word 'Exchanged'. She continued walking deeper into the cave. "There's this guy I'm meeting up with at Endercon -- he's gonna trade me a diamond for it?" Y/N eyebrows furrowed as she listens to her explanation. "A diamond? Just one diamond? I would,ve asked for more." Petra shrugged at her response. "Eh, maybe I should have, but I'm not complaining. One diamond is enough for me."
"Okay, but why didn't he just go get the skull himself?" Jesse asked, clearly confused. 'He's.. not the kind of guy who has time to do something like that." She replied. Y/N looked over to Petra and a small smirk formed on her lips. "Well, I understand. To be honest, I would've been too scared to do it myself so OBVIOUSLY I would go and ask the most strongest, powerful woman to go retrieve it for me, with a reasonable price of course." Petra looked at Y/n over her shoulder and a huge grin appeared on her face, as well as a small blush on her cheeks. "Damn straight," She muttered.
"Wow"
They stopped walking again and Petra looked at Jesse once again. "Wow.. what?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "In a single day, you went to the Nether, you killed a WITHER skeleton... I mean we DID build a super-cool statue, but still, it's pretty sweet being you, huh?" He grinned, placing an arm on his hip. Petra stared at the two, carefully thinking of the thing she's gonna say next.
"You know," She sighs.
"You two can come with me" She said before walking off again.
Jesse and Y/N looked at each other, their jaws dropped and their eyes widened. Did Petra just offer them to join her with one of her trading-deals? They quickly rushed to her side. "I mean, if you two are too nervous, I'll totally get it." She assured them. "But I wouldn't mind a little backup."
"Are you kidding? We would LOVE to come with you! Right Jesse?" Y/N said excitedly, looking back and forth from Petra to Jesse. " Petra, We'd be honored to be your backups." He said boldly. Petra looks at the two with a strange look, thinking that they are making this into a bigger fuss than it has to be. "You guys don't have to make such a big deal out of it, I just said ---"
"'You two can come with me' I know! I was there, It was awesome!" Jesse exclaimed. Y/N giggled at the adorable excitement that Jesse showed. Petra gave him an uneasy look. "Kinda starting to have second thoughts here.."
They continued walking through the cave until they came across a crafting table and a chest that was placed against the wall. "You just keep a crafting table down here?" Jesse asked. Petra nodded, "Comes in handy. Since that wooden sword of yours got busted--"
"You're giving me a new one?"
"Even better, you can make your own. Just grab whatever you need, and while you're doing that.. Y/N, come here so I can check on that arm"
Before Y/N could reject her offer, Petra shot her a look that made her shut up and do as she's told. Petra guided her to a rock and sat her down, she went to her left side and carefully lifted up her sleeve. She stared at it for a moment before letting out a soft hum. "Yeah, it's a nasty one, but it'll go away in a few days."
"Hey, is all this stuff yours?" Jesse asked as he searched through the chest. "No, we're just stealing from whoever was dumb enough to leave this here." Petra replied sarcastically, making Y/N chuckle. "Of course it's mine." "Just making sure."
Once Jesse finished searching and headed to the crafting table, Petra went over to the chest. "I have a healing potion that can help you with the pain. It should help you feel much better in a few hours." After that, she ouled out a potion from the chest and handed it over to Y/N, who galdy took it and drank the whole thing. "Thanks, I appreciate it" Y/n smiled, Petra smiled back at her.
"Ta daa!" Jesse said, raising his new, improved, stone sword in the air. "See, Isn't it better when you make it yourself." She said, She carefully helped Y/N up from the rock and walked ahead of them again. "Now, come on, we have to get to Endercon"
They continued on the trail, walking around some railroad tracks. They finally reached the end of the cave, Y/N let out a small breath that she was holding. "Finally, some actual fresh air. I was starting to feel cramped in that cave."
"Check it out, Endercon is all lit up." Petra said, pointing at the distance. Jesse and Y/N looked to see their own building reconstruction at the front of Endercon, beautiful fireworks shooting all over the place. Huge smiles appeared on both their faces. "Oh my gosh, Jesse! Our build! We finally won, we won our first building competition!" She said, jumping up and down again before embracing Jesse into a hug. "You were right! We were able to do it! I'm so proud!"
Hearing Y/N joyful cheers made Jesse smile even bigger, he quickly hugged her back, holding her tightly. "I'm glad too, in fact, I'm proud of you.." He mumbled into her ear. Y/N chuckles a little bit as she digs her face into his neck. "Thank you for not letting me give up.." She replied, they continued to hold each other, not wanting to let go, especially Jesse. He wanted to savor every second of this. He liked holding her close, he liked seeing her happy, her little habit of jumping up and down whenever she's very excited, he found it very adorable. The feeling of her arms wrapped around his shoulder made him so peaceful and happy that he forgot that Petra was standing there, watching the whole thing.
A cough interrupted them, snapping Jesse back into reality. The two quickly let go of each other and just nervously looked at Petra. "Good build you guys, totally awesome.." She said with a small smile. "Yeah. It's about time we beat Lukas and his gang of jerks! What kind of stupid name is the Ocelots anyways?" Jesse said, poking fun at them. "Oh yeah! Speaking of which, I can't wait to rub it on Aiden's face that we won! The look on his face must've been hilarious" Y/n said aggressively. Petra looked at the two with a look of troubled and dismay, she sighs.
"Look, for Aiden, I understand where you're coming from. But.. Lukas may be kind of arrogant, but he has come through for me in tricky situations" Petra responded. Y/N and Jesse looked down in shame, they didn't mean to make Petra upset. Out of them three, Petra was the one who actually knows Lukas, so Petra's words about Lukas must hold nothing but the truth. "You might wanna get to know him.. Just in case. He's good at building, that's for sure. It's always useful to have a guy like that around... no matter what you might think of him personally."
Jesse sighs. "Yeah, you might be right.."
"I'm just saying, if you run into him at Endercon -- try talking to him."
Y/N nodded, "You know what Petra.. That doesn't sound like a bad idea.. Okay, I'll try talking to him, I promise." Petra smiles at her response, she looks over to Jesse again, who crossed his arm and scoffed.
"I don't need a lecture on the power of collaboration, Petra."
Petra frowned and then gave him a hard glare, not appreciating his tone. "How about a lecture on the power of my fist? It's short, but deadly." A bead of sweat dripped down from his face as he nervously walked towards the bridge. Immediately changes the subject, he said "C'mon-- let's hurry"
They walked through the bridge, under them was a large river that looked like it could stretch for miles, it looked so beautiful with how clear the water looks. "Remember what Endercon was like BEFORE it was cool?"
"Remember what WE were like before we were cool?"
Silence
"Some of us will never be cool."
"Ha-Ha.."
Multiple hissing sounds were heard, causing them to stop. In front of them were three creepers and a zombie. "Shit.." Y/N mumbled, they tried turning around but multiple mobs were behind them too. "Crap! There's nowhere to go!" Jesse yelled. The monsters kept getting closer and closer by the minute, causing them to panic slightly.
"Well, there's only one way off this bridge. Whatever we do, we do it together" Petra saids, stepping closer towards Jesse and Y/N. Y/N looked at Jesse and nodded, "It's your call, Jesse.." She saids.
Jesse looks at the monsters that were getting closer then at the river below. "Alright, ready? We're gonna jump!" The three quickly hurried to the edge of the bridge. "Ready? Set... GO!" He yells, in unison they all jumped off the bridge, and right as they did, the creepers started to explode. Monsters were falling all around them, the whole situation felt like it was going in slow motion, to them smiling nervously at each other to Jesse kicking a creeper towards a group of chickens. Poor chickens. To Y/N, it felt very exciting. I mean, it's not everyday you jump off a bridge to get away from some ugly monsters.
They all screamed loudly right before diving into the water, however, poor Jesse landed onto the water. Right when Y/N resurfaced from the water, ignoring the pain in her arm, she laughs. "That was fun, and the way Jesse just flops onto the water! Hilarious!"
Jesse groans in pain. "Owww! Burns, it burns!"
"Don't you know?" Petra looks at him. "You dive INTO the water-- You don't land on top of it."
"My mistake.." Mumbled Jesse, making Y/N laugh even more. Jesse shot her a small glare.
"Pull yourself together, and follow me!" She swam across, the two following closely behind the strong woman as always.