The cool morning air smells sweeter today. The sleepy weight in his legs feels a little lighter.

It's payday.

Edgar walks through the gates of Starr Park thinking of Clans of Clash gems. Or maybe he shouldn't spend his money on games this time. He can't think of anything else he wants, though. He pushes on the gift shop door to no avail before bringing out his keys.

Huh, Colette's not here yet. Guess he could start restocking early.

He turns on the air conditioner and takes out boxes from the storage room. Beanies, tumblers, t-shirts, plushies. The room is quiet as he fills the racks and shelves.

"It starts with one thing, I don't know why, it doesn't even matter how hard you try," he softly sings. Does he really need gems in Clans of Clash right now? He's actually been pretty well-off lately. Maybe just a small pack, for the dark elixir pump upgrades. And then he could look at that Cool Obsidian Black nail polish shade Emz recommended, for a change. His Cold Obsidian Black bottle is almost out anyway.

He wiggles a Squeak tumbler in his hand before placing it on the shelf. If he had one of those, he'd fill it with Monster.

"Not that you knew me back then, but it all comes back to me in. The. End," He grimaces at a Spike t-shirt before hanging it up.

He wants to bet there's been at least one kid traumatized by that hollow, creepy face.

In any case, he's glad with his Clans of Clash base. A bunch of players even failed their raids on him last night. That always brought a smile to his face. Soon enough, he should reach the next Town Hall level.

"I put my trust, in you, pushed as far as I can go," he mumbles, "for all this, there's only one thing you should know..." He inhales.

"RAWR!"

"GRAAAAAAAAAH!" Edgar screams. He looks to see Colette's gleeful face behind him.

"Hahahaha, I'm sorry!" She laughs.

"God! I never should've come early!"

"Noooo, It was very nice of you to do that," Colette giggles, holding a drooping sleeve end over her mouth. Edgar huffs, picking up the hanger he dropped.

"No. How were you so quiet?"

"I'm sneaky. Like a fox. Grrr." She looks around the room. "What else is left?"

"Uh, you can stock the plushies. And the pens and bags."

"Okiee."

They stock the room in relative silence. The sunshine pads across the floor and they end up behind the counter when they're done.

"You have any idea what you wanna buy with payday money?" Edgar asks.

"Oh, yes! Look at what I'm gonna order tonight!" Colette says excitedly, whipping out her phone. She clicks and scrolls, and before Edgar knows it, he already regrets asking.

Green and purple rubber shoes with a very specific face on them.

"Spike Airs!" She says proudly. "Aren't they just cute?"

"Oh! Yeah." He says. "Totally." He smiles. It feels clumsily drawn by a three-year-old on his face.

"They're gonna make me look sharp. Hehe. Geddit?" Colette takes the screen away from his face. It hurts like a punch to the chest every time.

"Haha, yeah. They'd look good on you. Hope you enjoy them." Edgar says in his warmest voice. It's not her fault he's grown to hate the cactus.

Besides, he thinks with burning reluctance, they do fit her wacky style.

"Thanks!" She stretches. "Well, what do you wanna buy?"

"Maybe just some gems for Clans of Clash."

"Oh. What do you use those gems for, anyway?"

"Clans. Duh. Kidding." Edgar unlocks his phone, revelling in her small exhaled puff of amusement. He opens the game. "This is my base. These are gold mines. And these are elixir mines. Together, they make me rich."

"Wow. Then why need gems?"

"'Cause the mines work over a certain period of time, and I'm greedy and impatient, so gems let me buy resources quick. Dark elixir, in particular, is something harder to get. Also, gems and the resources can help me upgrade the mines." He swipes around. "I mean, the game isn't all about money. I'm in it for the battles. But gold and elixir help me build my armies, and upgrade my base for a stronger defense."

"I see. That's pretty cool!"

"You think?" Edgar asks, looking up at her then immediately cringing at how awkwardly earnest he sounds.

"Mhm!"

"Cool," he smiles. He checks his home screen quickly before returning to the game. Twenty minutes before they open. "You wanna try a battle?"

"Bring it on."

-

Edgar doesn't think he's a completely evil man. But it was funny, watching Colette try to figure everything out from scratch on his phone.

"I can't believe you let me take five minutes trying to learn how to deploy troops." Colette complains in between customers.

"That's not my fault."

"Yes it is. And I can't believe you didn't tell me how to take care of my angels. My poor, innocent angels!"

"I'm so freakin' sorry," Edgar tries not to laugh, which makes him want to laugh even more. "At least now you know."

"Air defenses are evil." She pushes the cash register tray closed. "It's your loss anyway. It's not my game."

"Yeah, I know." It was worth it to see Colette have fun. Kind of.

"I'll download it."

"You will?"

"Yup," she raises her nose in the air. "I'll get better. And one night, while you're sound asleep, I'll be coming to raid you."

"No, don't do that! What a scare!" Edgar worries sarcastically. Colette shoves him lightly.

"Oh, hush! You know, in exchange for this awful experience, you should come with me to my favorite Starr Park ride before eating lunch." That's something he doesn't know.

"What's your favorite Starr Park ride?"

And that was how Edgar ended up on a Mr. P boat, floating slowly on a fake lake at noon. Colette's boat paddles past him.

"Really, Colette? This is your idea of fun?" She turns to look at him with that wide grin.

"Maybeeeee." Edgar rolls his eyes. He cycles on the pedals and the boat splishes across the water painfully slowly.

Why?

Is it 'cause the boats are cute? Is it the challenge of manually moving yourself along? The boring, turtle pace?

Colette meanwhile, travels along surprisingly faster than turtle pace. He'll never know where she gets the energy.

"Wow, I thought a parkour-er — err, parkour-ist? Parkour athlete like you would have some more vitality."

"I could do it if I wanted to," he snaps, folding his arms and glaring at her. "This is just lame." She narrows her eyes and travels straight to his boat. He involuntarily freaks out when she bumps it head-on.

"Do it," she dares him, stubborn black eyes shooting bullets in his head. "Show me what those legs can do." She smiles. "Or else you're lame."

He doesn't do it because she said that. He's not Marty McFly, and he knows he's so hardcore. He doesn't do it because the mini boats are fun, 'cause they definitely aren't. It's noon, he's getting hungry, and the boat is the slowest stupid thing he's been on. But she laughs like a maniac when he cycles wildly, taunts him when he screams as he tries to avoid hitting a wall, and squeals when she overtakes him in a boasting show of grace and skill. He curses under his breath as he narrowly avoids a corner, then looks up to see Colette, crouched in her boat, pale hair sparkling in the sun, eyes in crescents as she laughs like he's the funniest thing in the world.

He likes that.

He frowns and tightens his grip on the dumb steering wheel as he continues paddling around.

"Tired?" Colette asks.

"Yeah, tired of these baby boats." Edgar says with a little less bite than usual. "Baby frickin' boats," he adds, trying to make up for it.

"Two more minutes!" She sing-songs. He drags out something between a sigh and a groan as he continues cycling. His heart spazzes feverishly.

Fine. Maybe he can't keep avoiding his feelings for Colette. It's been bad before, but there's no way he's getting this rush even at two kilometers per hour. The thought almost makes him want to jump into the water, but he's just slightly better than that.

Two minutes later, she reaches out from above to help him out his boat. He sulkily takes her hand just 'cause he didn't have time to weigh the options.

"Thanks for riding with me. I hereby declare you: not lame."

"Tch, I told you so." He stuffs his hands in his pockets and looks away. "And it was like, one percent fun, I guess."

"Awwww," Colette coos, undoubtedly with that mirthful gaze. He's so ready to jump into the water now.