-Saturday, 6:35pm, Downtown Parkerville, Buckler Dome-

Jake stared up at the Buckler Dome, where the musical group Hamster Wheel would soon perform. He hadn’t realized how fast the day had arrived, it almost escaped him until a notification on his phone, and Amy giddily reminding brought it back to his mind’s forefront. Speaking of her, she stood beside him, excitement growing each second, wearing a sweatshirt with the group’s logo stitched on the front. She turned to him with a wide grin.

“Ready?”

He nodded. “Yep.”

They moved forward, but a firm pair of hands suddenly gripped his shoulder, making him jump. His initial thought was trouble.

“Hold on.”

It was trouble in a different sense. The voice belonged to Amy’s brother, Andrew. The college student visited home for the weekend, and after hearing about the concert, he decided to drive them. During the ride, Andrew asked questions, more like an interrogation, until Amy shut it down, leaving an uncomfortable silence all the way through. Jake understood Andrew was looking out for his sister. They met a few times before, though always the others around. This was the first time he’d been alone with Amy and Andrew and the older boy’s overprotectiveness was felt. Jake imagined behaving similarly if Tina started dating. He made a mental note to tweak this experience for his own approach.

“Brats, call me when you are ready to leave, because I know you’ll be hungry. I recommend a food truck or a cheaper restaurant. Never dine in at the concession stands here, they’re overpriced and you might get sick. Whatever you do, call me when you are ready to leave.”

“We’ll definitely call you.” The light warrior reassured. “We won’t stay all night and lurk in seedy areas. This maiden won’t do that.”

“Maiden?” Andrew narrowed his eyes, then eyed the fire warrior who wanted to vanish just now under his glare. “Anything I should know?”

“Andrew!” Amy puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms. “Please don’t scare him!”

“You never called yourself that.”

She frowned. “Okay, I won’t say it again. You don’t need to be too overprotective. You might give Jake ideas for his sister.”

Andrew smirked. “Ha, I’m just kidding around.” He smirked at Jake. “Relax, you’re okay.”

Jake chuckled with unease. “Y-yeah. I never heard her say that before until recently.”

The older brother forcibly turned the boy around to face the facility. “Remember what I said about buying junk you might regret later? Alright? Good. Behave yourselves, I’ll see you after you call.”

The chestnut-haired girl nodded. “Definitely.” She turned around.

The spiky, raven-haired boy felt dread as the older boy leaned in and whispered. “No funny business, Ishida. Not a date, just friends, and she trusts you. Got it?”

“Y-yes sir.” He gulped.

“Good!” Andrew grinned, releasing the spiky raven. “Have fun.”

As Andrew walked back to his car, Jake let out a sigh. He understood being protective, but maybe tone down the aggression. Still, it gave him an idea down the road. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Amy grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the arena.

“Come on, Mister Dreamer.” Amy playfully scolded. “Fun inside, not outside!”

He chuckled. “Alright.”

Her smile fell slightly. “I’m sorry my brother has been stingy with you. He said something to you, right?”

“No funny business.” He repeated. “It’s not like this is a date, we’re two friends hanging out.”

“Right.” She paused, a frown marred her face. “Do you think we’re too young to date? Like, are we just kids pretending to be adults? That’s what my mom always says about people our age.”

He raised a brow. “Um… I don’t know.” Rubbing his chin, thinking it over. “Mom told me not to be too bothered about relationships, at least after the last girl. It's just a distraction from studies and things that actually matter. At least that’s what she said and I developed my own ideas from there.”

“It’s no fun being burned.” she agreed. “People say we need to move on to the next person, but do we need to quickly jump from person to person? There is no need to rush into anything serious.” She turned to the arena, then back at him with a smile. “We can have fun without all that pressure, right

“Who says we can’t?

“Then let’s go!” She grabbed his hand and dragged him toward the building. Jake eagerly followed, her excitement contagious as a smile spread across his face. He gazed at the back of her head, her hair bouncing with every step, and felt a calm he’d come to appreciate whenever he was around her. He wondered why. It could just be her nature or a side effect of the light crystal.

As they entered the building, an exuberant atmosphere struck them. Music reverberated through the walls, ramping up everyone’s anticipation. The crowd bustled around, their voices blending into the hum of energy, mixing with the scent of body spray and concession food.

Amy brought out her phone, raising it above her head and gestured for him to join in the shot. After taking a selfie, she submitted it to her social page.

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“Wonderful Time!” She chirped out.

“We haven’t found our seats yet, isn’t it too early to announce that?”

“But we can still show everyone we’re enjoying ourselves before the concert.” She gazed at her phone. “Especially our friends. Next let’s take a picture at the concession stand. Oh, and with that cutout of the group.”

“We could also be artsy and take one under the exit sign.”

“Yes,” Her eyes perked up at a few notifications, immediately she checked them. “Oh! Hee hee.”

“What’s up?

“Rei says we look cute.” A faint blush color her face. “She’s teasing us.”

Jake took out his phone when it vibrated. “Huh, Ryu says this place does not have good nachos. Wonder when he came here?”

Amy smirked. “Nachos are a source of life for him. So let’s go take a selfie.”

He nodded, but a sudden urge made him wince. He frantically looked around. “Before that, I need to find the bathroom.”

“Oh, okay. Let’s find one.”

They asked for directions and were pointed down a hallway. Jake walked off toward the restroom, while Amy leaned against the wall, waiting. She noticed there was a line, but it moved much faster than the line for the women’s. She checked through the messages from the others on her social media page. Tanya and Christina were teasing her, Blair wishing them a good time, and a few others wondering if they were a couple. She responded to clarify about them being friends.

She was being truthful about not wanting to pursue romance, if you can call it romance at her age. If she was ready to pursue someone, maybe after she graduated, perhaps the boys would have matured by then… some of them. Jake surely would stop that mindset by then, and she would be happy for the girl he ends up. Yet, that thought made a small pang of discomfort she couldn’t quite shake.

“Hey, there.”

Her thoughts were interrupted by a guy around her age, maybe a bit older, standing before her with a sly smile. She frowned slightly, glancing around to see if he was with somebody, but did not see anyone because of the thickening crowd.

“Hello.” She said cautiously, slipping her phone into her pants pocket.

“Name’s Logan,” he said, stepping forward. “You a fan of this group?”

“Amelia.” she replied, using the name a few of her Italian relatives often called her. “Yes, I’m a big fan.

“That’s a pretty name, I’m here with a few guys who are ecstatic about them. Me, I'm a fan too.”

“Well, you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t.”

“True, say.” He held out his hand. “My friends are by a bench over there. We can get to know eac-.”

“I’m here with a friend.”

“You can both come.” He smiled. “If she’s as cute as you.”

“It’s a he.”

“Oh.” His mood lowered. “Your boyfriend? Huh, he must be something to come with you for this.”

“No h-.”

“Amy?

Relief washed over her when Jake returned. She saw he looked curious at the situation, then smiled when he noticed her. For some reason, his presence made her feel safe, almost like a quiet flame reassuring her he was right there, possiblely a passive ability from the fire crystal.

The guy analyzed Jake. “Huh. Interesting. Have we met?”

Jake crossed his arms. “I don’t think so.”

“Hm… you do look familiar.” The guy glanced at Amy. “This guy, huh? You can do better.” He lightly chuckled before leaving.

Jake frowned, feeling suspicious. “Who was that?”

“Nobody to be concerned over.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She smiled, lightly punching his shoulder. “My hero scared the big bad wolf.”

His expression softened, a small laugh in response. “Huh, I’m sure you could’ve handled him.”

“I could, but how long he would linger here was my issue.” She sighed. “Did he look older to you? Maybe around Andrew’s age.”

“If he is, then he needs his eyes checked.” He narrowed his eyes. “We need to steer clear of him.”

“Yes.” Amy nodded, pulling out her phone. “This is nothing to be worried about. He’s gone and won’t bother us, hopefully.” She took out her phone. “We’re here to enjoy ourselves.”

“Right.”

From the time until the performance started, they wandered around, taking selfies and chatting. Though he was enjoying himself, Jake was looking out for that guy from earlier. He didn’t contemplate it before, but the comment that he ‘looked familiar’ bothered him. He wasn’t a familiar face, but maybe he saw the breakup video. The thought made him cringe, but the guy didn’t connect the dots immediately. Hopefully he wouldn’t figure it out until the end of the concert.

Eventually, they found themselves sitting on a bench, waiting for the show to begin. A thought came to mind, prompting him to face the light warrior.

“How is the project you and the others are working on?”

“Reinstar volunteered to assist us, light duty work, but she and Javo gave us tips on how to use the equipment. We should be done by early January.”

“Just in time for us to go to Galvania.”

“I know you’re excited, but let’s not talk about that. Let’s talk about what Hamster Wheel means to you. We never fully talked about why we like them.”

“I saw them on TV when I was at a friend's house one day. He thought they were lame, but I thought they were awesome.” He blushed as he scratched his cheek. “Don’t laugh, but a few of their songs are part of my Upbeat playlist I listened to right before a big soccer game.”

Amy looked surprised. “Really? I never thought you had something like that. Have you listened to them recently?”

“No, only for soccer.” He frowned. “The last time was during the semi-finales, though we lost big time.”

“I’m sorry, that sucks.”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “I should listen to the playlist again… or maybe not. It could be a crutch.”

“That’s up to you, or just make another playlist.”

“I should.” He nodded. “And you?”

“My friend Diana introduced them to me. Ever since, I listen to them as a pick-me-up.” She blushed. “I also made a playlist for when I am crafting.”

“That’s often right?”

“Not often, I don’t want to get tired of it.” She hummed, adding. “I tried to get Dwayne into it, but he wasn’t interested.”

“Your ex-boyfriend?”

“Yes.” She shook her head, frowning a memory. “He apologized recently.”

“Really?” Jake raised an eyebrow, surprised. “He broke up with you because of the rumors and bullying, right?”

“Yeah, he even wanted to restart our relationship.”

“Huh?” Alarm bells went off in his head, grimacing, he asked. “Did you?

“No, blockhead.” She puffed her cheeks, slightly upset at him, and poked him on the head. “Remember our conversation before? I wouldn’t even bring it up if I was with someone.”

“Oh.” He chuckled, feeling embarrassed. “Yeah, sorry.”

“Hmm hmm.” She nodded. “I told him we can be friends, but he shrugged it off. He didn’t want to be another guy in my circle, whatever that means.”

“Maybe he wanted you to pay attention to him? I don’t know.” He shrugged.

“The point is I have no desire to restart a relationship with him and Hamster Wheel was one of the things that helped me stay positive through everything that happened last year.” she said, giving him a small, shy smile. “Since Diana is absent, you’re my Ham Bud.’

“Ham Bud?” He snickered.

‘Don’t laugh!” she pouted. “It’s a great name!”

“Sorry, sorry. Okay, we’re Ham Buds.”

Amy nodded, feeling happy about his acceptance. “Thank you.”

They perked up at hearing the announcement that the concert was about to start. Immediately, Amy jumped up like an excited five year old. She grabbed Jake’s hand and led him to the line for seating.

“You don’t have to grab my hand.”

“I don’t want us to separate in the crowd.”

The boy grinned, letting him be pulled along. They moved through the bustling crowd, through doors and down the arena hall. As they emerged into the main arena, they were met with a surge of excitement, with the the crowd’s energy radiating around them with pre-show music. Camera flashes dotted around them, and Amy immediately took advantage, snapping a few photos. While they could still see, they navigated through the stands until they found their seats. After settling in, they waited for the concert to begin.