Paige sits on the side of the sidewalk, waiting to see the Squeeze's colorful RV to pop into view. He hums to himself and fidgets with his backpack, bright smile on his face.
He was dressed in one of his favorite light blue hoodies and a dark green shirt with a lighter strip going across it. His pants were a plain denim and his sneakers white. It was an all around general outfit.
But Paige had wanted to bring a bit of flourish to this... meet up? Hang out? D... d...
Paige shakes his head.
Whatever this was, he wanted to look a little better than he would normally. For absolutely no reason, of course.
What brought the ensemble to a higher level were the accessories, his rare Eevee bag being one of them. The other was a cute brown teddy bear hat on top of his head. He hoped it wasn't too childish... it was one of his favorite hats!
Paige doesn't have to long for the cool RV to make its appearance. He stands as it gets closer. It rolls up and stops right beside him.
"Hey, kiddo!" Dani greets. "C'mon, get in!"
Paige nods brightly, opening the back of the car, only to be greeted by OJ, hand outstretched.
"Ah, you got to it before I did," OJ chuckles. "Well, that's quite alright. Come," he flips his hand palm up. "Let me help you in."
As opposed to Paige's basic casual wear, OJ seems to be almost in business casual. He's got a dark brown cloth coat on, a light red shirt under it and a cozy looking dull orange scarf on. His pants are nice black slacks and he's got on a light brown over the shoulder bag.
From this angle, OJ is taller than Paige. The way he holds himself is so... Paige can't even describe it. But either way, it's making his face really warm.
"O-okay!" Paige blinks with a dumb smile. He takes the other's hand and lets himself get effortlessly pulled into the RV. "Strong..." he mumbles.
"Hm?" OJ asks, crossing over his lap to close the door behind the other. "What was that?"
Paige was going to explode.
"Nothing!" he says quickly. "I just... was thinking outloud is all!"
"Ah, alright." Oj smiles.
"So!" Dani claps. "What's the plan again, kids?"
"You drive us to the Pizzaria where we all share a three way split pizza," Orville starts.
"Then we take a couple of trains to get to Brooklyn," Paige continues.
"And then we can be tourists for a bit," OJ jokes.
Paige laughs and ribs him. "We'll miss the rest of the trains to the park if we do that!"
"Joking!" OJ laughs back. "But yes, we take a few more trains to get to Coney—"
"Conely?" Dani breaks in, a grin in her voice.
OJ chuckles. "Conely Island." He glances over at Paige with a sly face. "And then we can be tourists for a minute or two, surely?"
Paige laughs and nods. "Of course! We can do whatever we want when we make it to the park."
"Excellent," OJ says, a self assured smile on his face.
The ride to the pizzeria isn't too terribly long, and soon the four of them are eating their shared pizza. Paige actually finishes his slices this time ("Sorry about leaving a mess last time, Mr. Antonio.") and then, the two teenagers bid the adult Squeeze's goodbye. They make their way to the nearest train station on foot, as they would be going from now on.
"I haven't been on the train in a while..." Paige murmurs as they buy metrocards for the day. "I don't even think I was a teenager yet."
"That is quite some time," OJ blinks. "But worry not, I know these stations and stops like the back of my hand. We shouldn't get lost as long as we stay on course."
"You know all the stops?" Paige gasps. "Like, all of the Bronx or all of the boroughs?"
OJ looks away humbly. "All of the boroughs," he confirms.
"Woah!" Paige smiles. "That's amazing!" OJ just rubs the back of his neck shyly.
"The next train will be arriving soon," announces over the intercom.
"Oh, we should probably get upstairs," OJ says, grabbing Paige's hand. Paige lets OJ take him up the stairs, him holding onto the rail.
"Train now arriving," drones the announcer again. And, true to their word, there's a train pulling in. People shuffle in and out, the pair of them snaking their way in with OJ at the lead.
"Good thing we were just in time!" Paige says as they both take a seat.
"Now we just transfer a couple of stops from here, which will take us to Brooklyn," OJ rattles off, curling a finger with the other with each thing he says, "And then we transfer twice more. And then we should be there!"
"Yippie!" Paige cheers quietly as not to disturb the other riders. "So, did you bring anything to do? We've got a lot of waiting to do!"
"I actually brought an activity I thought both of us could do," OJ smiles, reaching into his bag. He pulls out a fairly large iPad and opens it up with his finger. "Have you ever heard of a game called Flow Free?"
"The little bridges game, right?" Paige asks. "Where none of them can cross each other?"
"Exactly." OJ navigates to a folder on the second page before opening up none other than Flow Free.
"Oh, cool!" Paige smiles. "I think I might remember some of these, actually."
"Perhaps," OJ smirks. "But not the ones I have."
True to his word, OJ taps on a button that was not there for Paige when he played forever ago. "What's this?" he asks, leaning over on the other to get a better view.
OJ chuckles. "This is all the DLC that came out in the years since you've last played," he informs. "So many stages have been added! That'll get us from here, to the park and back, I can assure you."
"Awesome!" Paige grins. "So, how are we gonna do this? Back and forth with each round?"
"Mmm... I had an idea that might be a bit more fun," OJ says slyly.
"Oh?"
"We can do that, but also keep score."
Paige tilts his head. "What do you mean? Won't we have the same score by default?"
"Not if we give up and let the other try after getting frustrated," OJ suggests. "I've done it before with my moms with other games."
"Ohh..." Paige nods, then stops. "But, wait. You've had these for way longer than me! You probably know all the answers!"
"I don't, actually." OJ scrolls for a little bit before he gets to a page that is only a bit lit up. "I come back to this game very rarely, so I've only really completed a couple of the new ones." He turns to Paige. "We should have plenty of them left."
"Oh, okay!" Paige nods again, fully getting it this time. "We can keep score in the notes app with little tally marks!"
"Oh, I love tally marking," OJ sighs. "Can I do it for us both?"
Paige has to stifle a giggle. He knew OJ liked doing the tally marks. That's why he suggested them in the first place, he knew OJ would be happy to do them.
Ah... he was so cute when excited like this.
Paige blinks and quickly rubs at his face a bit, trying to get the blush he knew that was there to calm down. He couldn't be getting all air headed about OJ now! They were on a... They were hanging out!!
Paige gets it off of his mind by playing the game with OJ, transferring trains when they needed to. Before they knew it, the announcer is droning over the intercom, "Coney Island, last stop, Coney Island."
"Oh!" Paige smiles, lifting up from leaning over on OJ to see his progress in the level. "We're here!"
The walk to the park proper is made with oohs and aahs from Paige as he takes in all the changes from when he was last here. The place had gotten quite the facelift since forever ago, pretty mosaics showing the new rides all over the walls. The boardwalk was mostly the same, but it was the park itself that was the interesting place.
"Here we are, Paige!" OJ grinned. "Luna Park!"
+++
The two teens enter the park proper, getting a lay of the land. While Paige looks up and around, OJ glances up and down from the scenery to a map.
"Alright..." he mumbles. "I think I can tell where mostly everything in this area is..."
"Ooh!" Paige gasps, grabbing OJ's arm and shaking him slightly with one hand, pointing with the other. "OJ, look, look! That carnie game has Pokemon as prizes!"
"Carnie...?" OJ repeats, sounding confused as Paige jumps up and down.
"Can we play? Oh my gosh, I remember when I was little and too short to play... but I can play now!" He keeps rambling. "The prizes were so big to me then! And then—and then I would get on the frog hoppy ride and I would be so pumped up! Because it just kinda threw you up and down, you know? And then I—"
"Paige!" OJ laughs, putting the map away. "While I would be remiss to stop you from continuing, we can walk and talk, no?" He smiles brightly. "After all, how am I supposed to win you a prize by just standing here?"
"You're going to win me a prize?" Paige gasps. He moves his hand down and grabs OJ's. "Oh my gosh, c'mon then! What if they run out?"
OJ giggles as the two rush to the game, one of the dart throwing games.
"Step right up, step right up!" the person manning the booth says. "Care to try your luck?"
"Yes!" Orville nods, clapping his hands together. "How much for a round?"
"Three bucks, kiddo."
"Huh?" Paige questions, lifting up his banded wrist. "Didn't you say we exchange points for stuff?"
"Ah, yes," OJ says, handing the booth handler the money, "But these games are technically not a part of the park itself. They're their own and require money to play."
"Ohh..." Paige looks off to the side, a bit snide. "Sounds like a con."
OJ bursts into a laugh, nearly dropping his acquired darts. "Paige! Don't say that in front of the handler!"
"Oh ho ho!" the handler laughs. "Worry not, kiddo. I've been called way worse."
"If you say so, sir," OJ says, still a hint of apology in his voice. With that, OJ places the three darts side by side as he tries to aim his throw with the fourth one. He tosses it after a moment of just staring, throwing his whole arm in an arc sideways.
It's a swing and a miss.
"Aw!" Paige pouts. "Try again!"
OJ nods and does.
Swing and a miss.
And then, twice more, swing and a miss.
"Ouch," the handler laughs. "Wanna try again?"
"Hmph," OJ huffs, digging out some more cash. "Give me two more rounds."
"Oh! Not feeling very lucky, are we?"
OJ shakes his hand. "Two more rounds," he pouts. "I'm trying to earn something for Paige, here. It just makes more sense to have left over if I want something else, no?"
The handler shrugs. "Whatever you say, kid." They hand over the darts.
"You know, it's okay if you can't win something for me," Paige says honestly. "I'm just happy to be here with you, so I don't mind if we just ride some rides and call it a day!"
OJ smiles at Paige, but then gets serious. "I told you I would win this for you, and I intend to keep my word." He takes a deep breath and lines up for the shot.
And whiffs five times in a row.
"UGH!" he groans, stomping into the ground and shoving his hands in his hair. He scrubs at it as he stomps, growling all the way.
"Hey, it's ok!" Paige says, holding his arms up in a placating manner. "Really, if it's a money thing, I can pay you back what you lost. It's only like 10 dollars, right?"
"It's not the money!" OJ huffs, crossing his arms and looking away. "I really wanted to win you something..." he grumbles. "I'm usually so good at these..."
"Maybe I can try?" Paige says, looking down at the single dart left. "You have one more play left."
"Be my guest," OJ sighs. "Maybe you'll have some better luck."
Paige nods with determination. He picks up the dart, aims, and throws.
POP!
"Woah-ho!" the booth manager whoops, ringing a loud bell. "We've got a winner here, folks!"
Paige smiles wide. "Oh, cool!" He turns to OJ. "OJ, I won!"
"I see!" OJ says, dumbfounded. "And in one throw, too!"
"Which prize do you want, kiddo?" the manager asks, picking up a long stick and pointing at the many, many plushies that hung on top of the booth.
"Oh, um..." He looks over them all, then looks back at OJ. "You choose!"
"Me?" OJ blinks, pointing to himself.
"Yes! It was your round, after all."
OJ stares for a minute before his face melts. "Oh Paige, you're just the kindest aren't you?" Paige's smile turns shy as he rubs the back of his neck, giggling a bit. But OJ shakes his head. "No, it was your win. I insist you choose a prize for yourself."
"Okay..." Paige drones temptingly. "If you're suuuure...."
OJ nods. "I'm sure."
"Okay, then!" Paige grins. "That one, please!" he says, pointing to a more hidden one in the corner.
The manager fishes it out. "This weird gray dog?" they ask as confirmation.
"Yep!"
"Oh, there's no way..." OJ gasps.
"Oh hey!" the manger laughs as he hands the shiny Eevee plushie over. "The thing matches your backpack!"
"It does!" Paige nods happily.
"That's incredible, Paige!" OJ congratulates. "I didn't even notice this back there!"
"Heehee!" Paige giggles. "Even I can have a sharp eye sometimes!"
"And you would've given that up for something of my choosing?" OJ asks, wonder in his voice.
Paige shrugs. "It's just a plushie. It makes me happy having it, yeah, but I don't know. I think seeing you happy would be an equal trade."
OJ's grin is shy as he looks away.
"Hey, kiddo," the handler butts in, "You want a free shot?"
"Huh?" Paige blinks, turning to them. "Why?"
"You're the first one I seen this whoooole year make a good shot, let alone popping a balloon. I'd think my boss wouldn't be too upset if I lended you one." They smile and cover half of their face, mock whispering. "I'll even let ya get a second prize if you can hit it twice in a row!"
"Then OJ can get a prize after all!" Paige claps happily.
"Oh, you really don't have to..." OJ says kindly. "We can go."
"But it's free!" Paige argues. "I might as well try, right?"
OJ sighs. "Yes, I suppose. But don't gets discouraged if you—"
"Winner!!"
OJ blinks.
"Okay!" Paige smiles wide and turns to OJ. "Which one do you want now?"
"I-I..." OJ breathes. "Ah..."
"OJ?" Paige blinks, pulling into himself. Did he make OJ feel bad by winning twice in a row? "Are you okay?"
"Yes!" OJ gasps, shaking his head. "Yes, yes, I'm quite fine. I just... was surprised! Even when I win at this game, it normally takes me a good couple of shots between wins!"
"I guess I'm just lucky!" Paige grins, giving a peace sign. "Now c'mon! Pick one, pick one!"
"Okay, okay!" OJ laughs, releasing the tension. "Um... let's see..." He looks over all the plushies like Paige had just done a minute ago before gasping and pointing. "That one, please!"
"This weird blue one?" the handler asks, tapping at the Cyndaquil hanging up.
"Yes, please!"
"Here you go, kiddo." They hand the plush to OJ and he smiles before looking Paige in the eyes.
"You know, Paige," he starts, hugging the plush to his chest, "I always did think I could see some Cyndaquil in me."
Paige's smile becomes slightly strained and confused. Why did that sound so familiar...?
......Ah!
Paige's eyes widen.
That was exactly what his secret admirer had said on his last note!!
OJ's smile softens.
Paige's face heats up beyond belief.
There was no way.
There was no way that OJ was...!!!