//------------------------------//
// Blazing Up A Flash 
// Story: Blazing Up A Flash 
// by FourShadow 
//------------------------------//

SLAM!

"One milkshake. Vanilla," Aria Blaze grumbled, right after slamming her cash on the counter. 

The man working behind the counter gave Aria her drink and she stomped away through the big spaces of the mall. She felt a thundercloud was following her everywhere she went, just looking at all of these happy people going about their lives. Ugh.

"You didn't get dumped," Aria muttered, looking at a man and woman walking on by. "You two didn't get dumped." She said again, watching another couple. "You--okay, you two I doubt will dump each other." 

She took a quick swing of her milkshake and slammed it back down on the table. She wiped at her eyes again, trying to remove all of the watery remains that were still there after what had transpired hours ago. 

"Stupid, son of a..." Aria growled. If she could punch someone down with a single slam, she would. But she didn't feel like getting kicked out of the Canterlot Mall. One lousy evening. One lousy evening replaced what could have been one of the best evenings ever.

She watched as many people went back and forth through the mall, either hanging out with friends, family, or possible partners. The thought was just making her sick to her stomach again. She swore she was about to puke.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

Now she wanted to throw up into the nearest trash can. The man who approached her looked like he was up to no good. Sure the well dressed clothes, nice slick hair that probably required a ton of gel to keep up and perfect smile looked nice, but she could see right through the facade. 

"You look like you've got the most beautiful body I've ever seen. Would you be interested in perhaps modeling? This could make you into one of the most beautiful women on the planet."

"Maybe if you bug off," Aria deadpanned. 

"Well for $200, I can turn you into the most beautiful--"

"--Bug off, or I'm gonna take whatever business cards you're holding and shove them up your butt!" Aria yelled, finally scaring him away. "Ugh, con artists, I swear... Where do they get off stealing from people? Oh that's right, because everyone on this planet is STUPID!"

Now everyone within her radius was looking at her with a disturbed expression. Aria didn't feel like saying anything else, and just took another big sip of her drink before burping softly and chucking her unfinished remains in the garbage. Not even knowing where she was going anymore, she swung a left into the music shop where the owner was talking to a customer while some of the other consumers were just looking to see what else there was to offer. 

Aria eyed a few of the records on the shelves, thinking back to the days when you could just simply get music physically instead of digitally. She rather longed for those days instead of the current era. Looking through the shelves, she tried to see if there was anything of value she could get. Nothing interesting really stood out... except for the familiar blue-haired guitar player standing next to her.

"Flash?"

The guitarist looked to his left and noticed her.

"Oh, Aria, hey. What are you doing here?"

"Eh, I'm bored," Aria admitted. "Wanted to see what was here. Whatcha doin' shopping here? Getting new equipment?" 

"Actually no. I was looking for this," Flash said, picking up the album he was eying. 

"Death, Blood, and Sweat?" Aria read the title. "Didn't think you'd be the heavy grunge type of a guy."

"Eh, I don't really show it that much to be honest," Flash admitted.

"Oh. Okay." Aria shrugged off. 

But when Flash looked back to Aria, he stopped. He noticed something a little off on Aria's face. "Are you okay?"

Aria quickly figured out what he saw and wiped her face again. "I-I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine," Flash said, picking the album up. "I don't want to badger you, but if you want to talk, I'm more than willing to listen."

"Flash, I'm fine," Aria said coldly, looking away. 

"Well, um, ok," Flash said, not wanting to bother her anymore. 

Aria felt her heart stung again. Once again you old hag, you still can't say no to people without being a jerk, can you. It's no wonder people don't want to hang out with you.

"Flash?"

"Yeah?"

Aria looked back around and wiped at her eyes again. "Mind if we talk somewhere at the food court?"

"Um sure, yeah, of course."

Flash quickly paid for the record he wanted and followed Aria over to a spot in the food court, far away from most eyes. Just along the side of a wall where they could talk in peace.

"So what's up?"

"Well... I was supposed to be going on a date tonight, but that's not happening anymore," Aria stated.

"How come?"

"My date stood me up and walked off with another girl," Aria felt the bones snapping in her rib-cage just saying that.

"What? What the heck, the nerve of that guy. Why would he go and dump you?"

Aria bit her lip and rubbed at her eyes again. "It, it's complicated. Um... Flash? Mind if I ask you something?"

"No, go ahead," Flash nodded.

Aria sighed, before grabbing at her face. "Do you think... do you think I'm a pain in the ass?"

Flash blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"Do. You. Think. I am a pain in the ass?"

Flash was confused. "No, I don't. Why?"

Aria groaned. "My date stood me up because of that very reason."

"What did you even do?"

"I... Actually, let me ask a second question. Do you find me emasculating?"

Flash stopped. "I'm sorry?"

"Do I make you feel emasculated? Do you feel like I'm too manly and it makes you unmasculine?"

"Aria, where is this coming from?"

Aria's head slammed against the surprisingly clean table, not even caring she was inches away from getting a face full of fries. "My date didn't just stand me up because I'm a pain. He claims I'm too much of a man for him, saying he should be the one who wears the pants in the relationship, says I'm not girly enough. Big whoop and then you know what else? He just goes for the next woman close because she's not 'manly' and that he's the perfect man for her!"

"Well that's not an excuse to dump someone," Flash said, a little appalled. "Honestly, I think the fact you're not girly is kinda cool."

Aria perked up. "R-Really?"

"Really. Besides, you can take care of yourself. It's good to be an independent person."

"Yeah,  I guess... but not so much if you're trying to find someone who isn't threatened by the fact you act like a dude," Aria slumped, sinking her head into her arms. "But you know what the worst part is, Flash? He's... he's right! Okay, I am a pain! I scare off every guy just because I'm grumpy, or moody, or nearly get into fights! I try so hard not to be one, but... agh, every little thing ticks me off, I swear! And I know saying that you try isn't enough, but... ugh, I just can't do it! None of the boys I talk to ever give me that chance because when you know what happens when I'm ready? They leave me for some girl who's way hotter than me and who's super bubbly and happy all the time! I'm sorry, but I'm just not like other girls!!!" 

Aria slammed her head against the table, a soft clatter echoed.

Flash was quiet for a moment, unsure of what to say. Until he heard some soft whimpering covered from within Aria's closed space.

"Aria?" 

Aria yanked the hood of her hoodie over, hiding her face and managing to tuck away the enormous pigtails. And Flash frowned, hearing the whimpering.

"Oh, Aria..." Flash slowly moved over and tried to lift her up, slowly moving so he could give her a hug. Aria wasn't sure where he was going, until he embraced her, rubbing her back. The girl could only hug back, softly crying on his shoulder.

"What's wrong with me!?" Aria whimpered. "Am I too much of a man!? Am I just not attractive enough?"

"Hey, hey, don't say that," Flash said. 

"But no one wants to be with me!"

"Hey... shhh, it's okay," Flash said, hugging her more. 

Aria cried for a good few minutes, letting all of this pent up emotion inside of her out. Very rare occasions would she open it, only when things had gotten really bad, and even then the only people she opened up to was usually just her sisters. When she finally backed out of the hug, she wiped the tears from her face, trying not to look at Flash. She felt embarrassed enough already.

"This entire night's been a waste. Maybe I should just stay home and curl up on a couch and watch wrestling matches," Aria whimpered.

Flash's heart skipped a beat, seeing the poor girl sad. 

"Hey, I have an idea," Flash offered.

Aria sniffled. "What?"

"Well, I don't know if you'd be free, but tomorrow me, Brawly, and Ringo are going bowling. Would you'd like to join us?"

Aria pouted. "I don't know... you sure your band-mates will be okay with someone like me?"

Flash paused for a second and smiled. "You know something? You're one of the toughest girls I've met. And they know it too. I think they'd have a lot of fun hanging out with you. And so would I."

Aria wiped at her face again and looked back at him again. "Really?"

"Really."

"I... t-thanks," Aria said, managing to clear her throat.

"Hey, it's no problem," Flash smiled. "It's what friends are for, right?"

"Right."

Flash looked down at his phone. "Oh shoot, I gotta get going. See you tomorrow then?"

"Y-Yeah. See you tomorrow," Aria nodded. 

But before he could leave, Aria yanked Flash back and gave him a quick hug. "Thanks."

Flash was a bit startled, but he slowly smiled and hugged her back.





The next day, Aria Blaze walked straight to the Canterlot Bowling Alley. Truthfully speaking, she wasn't sure if she should go or not, but since the jerk who stood her up basically ended her entire weekend plans, she figured might as well. Plus on a positive side, it didn't seem full which was A-okay with her. When she walked inside, she could hear the sounds of bowling balls smashing right through the lined up pins.

She took a moment to look at her surroundings. Nice lights that kept everything lit, vibrant neon carpets with images of bowling pins and bowling balls on the floor.

Eventually she got her bowling shoes and found Flash Sentry at one of the lanes. With him were his two band-mates, and close friends; Brawly Beats and Ringo .

"Hey, Aria!" Flash waved.

Aria smiled as she walked over to where Flash and his group were sitting. The atmosphere around the group was very calm and inviting, much nicer feeling than yesterday.

"Hey guys," Aria smiled.

"Wassup?" Ringo grinned.

Aria shared a fist bump with Ringo before a short arm-wrestle/handshake with Brawly Beats.

"Not much. Thanks for letting me hang with you guys," Aria smiled. 

"Hey, no problem. Happy to see ya here," Brawly smiled.

"And great, you got bowling shoes!" Flash clicked. "Just grab a bowling ball, and why not? How about you start us off?" Flash offered.

"Oh, okay, great!" Aria clapped her hands before looking towards the lane they had rented. "Um... h-how do I do this?"

"You don't know how to bowl?"

"Promise you won't laugh?" Aria said quickly. 

"Promise."

"... okay, I don't know how to bowl."

Flash gave a soft smile. "Hey, it's ok. I can teach you. Would you like that?"

Aria was a bit embarrassed not knowing how to do this, but deep down she was appreciative that Flash was offering help. Now most times in her life she barely bothered to ask for any help, not even with her own sisters. She always had some stubbornness inside of her that always said to never ask for help or else she'd be seen as weak. But this was a friend, she could be herself around him, right? And maybe just this once wouldn't be so bad.

"I would." 

"Great!"

Flash picked up a single bowling ball. "Okay, so here's what you gotta do. See the three holes here?"

Aria nodded.

"Use your three middle fingers through them, to grip them, and put your other hand below. What you want to do is to roll it straight down so you knock down all ten pins in our lane," Flash explained. "So, like this."

Flash held the bowling ball tight, and walking towards it, he swished his hand underneath, releasing the bowling ball straight down the lane. The bowl slammed through 6 out of 10, with only 4 pins remaining.

"Okay, so you noticed I've only taken out six of them. This means I have one more chance to take out the other four, before the next player goes."

Once Flash's bowling ball returned, he tossed again, this time hitting only 3 of them and one still standing. After that, the monitors above them played some CG animation which Aria honestly felt like it was taunting Flash for his failure at knocking all 10, but Flash didn't see it that way.

"Okay, now you try!"

Aria smiled and grabbed her bowling ball. Standing position like Flash was, she took a few steps forward. One hand rolled under and so the bowling ball shot down the lane... right into the gutters.

Aria growled, failing to get it straight.

"Hey, it's okay, I keep hitting the gutters every time, just try again," Flash said, calmly.

Aria rolled again, trying not to rage out this time. And once the ball rolled, she felt a burst of joy. This time managing to actually hit 7 out of 10 pins. It wasn't all of them, but hey, she got them!

"Hey, there you go!" Brawly cheered, raising his fist up.

"Great job!"

"Thanks guys. Now if I can keep this up, I--oh come on!" 

"What?" Flash asked.

"Him," Aria glared.

Flash, Brawly, and Ringo looked to their left. Two lanes across from them was the man who Aria had been dumped by. His hair was all nice and smooth like he had just greased it, his complexion was nice, he had a perfect set of pearls, golden tinted sunglasses on his face, and of course, he had rippling pecs that would swoon over anyone who loved burly bulky builds. 

"Is that him?"

"Yeah. That's him. Bold Move, that's his name."

"He looks like every stock jerk you'd see in a straight-to-TV film that's targeted at kids. Over-the-top, and still not entertaining," Ringo deadpanned. 

"Yeah well, that's basically him. He doesn't care what he says, he'll put you down just because you--wait a minute. Is that... Click Bait!?" 

"Who?"

"That's the b#!*h that got me and my sisters expelled from Cloudsdale! He dumped me, for her? Okay, I know I act like a dude, but come on, she's just as big of a jerk as he--I suddenly get it now."

Flash put a hand on Aria's shoulder. "Come on, lets just ignore him. Don't let that jerk ruin your day, okay?"

Aria rolled her eyes, groaning a little. "I... no, you're right. I'm done with him, I'm not gonna look at him. Lets just bowl. Hey, I'm gonna get a drink. You guys want anything?" Aria offered.

"I'm good," Ringo politely responded.

"Same here, I got my drink."

"Flash, what about you?"

"Mmm, I mean you don't have to," Flash shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I... I guess I'm just trying to be nice, that's all," Aria said, trying to find the right words. 

Flash could see she was struggling, but still remained calm and confident. "Well, I suppose if you really want to... any chance you could get me a refill on my soda?"

"Sure! Of course!" Aria smiled.

Aria took Flash's cup and walked up to the counter and the man behind the counter began to refill his cup. The siren also got an order placed as well, and now  she was eagerly waiting to get some popcorn. Oh that sweet tasty buttery deliciousness with a little extra salt...

"Well, well, well..."

You gotta be kidding me...

"Aria Blaze, didn't think I see you show up here," Click Bait said with her increasingly annoying voice. Aria swore she sounded like a valley girl from the 50s, she always hated those girls. 

"Hello again, Click," Aria spat. "Are you going to buzz off, or are you going to make things worse?"

"You can't talk to me that way," she said, while placing her hand on her hip and flailing her other hand around in the air.

"I just did," Aria said, not wanting to put up any more. Was Flash gonna get a refill or not!? What was taking so long!?

"Yeah well you can't be here. You don't even belong here."

"It's Canterlot, dumbass," Aria deadpanned.

Finally after what felt like an eternity she got the refilled drink and her bag of salty, addictive popcorn. Any more, and eventually she'd needed to be restrained for sure. She sat back down in one of the chairs with Flash while Ringo was getting up for his turn.

"So, uh, Flash, you bowl often?" Aria asked, awkwardly.

"Yeah, I do," Flash said. "It's one of my favorite sports, my dad always took me here when I was a little kid."

Aria smiled. "That's nice."

"Say, do you play any sports?"

"Hmm, not a lot. I did try out baseball once, until I accidentally gave the judge a concussion," she blushed. "But I am good at boxing!"

"That's good," Flash nodded. 

"Aria?" 

Aria's shoulders tensed and her teeth sharpened into swords. The three band members looked behind her and could see the boy who had dumped her the night before, looking as if nothing was wrong in the slightest. Slowly she turned around, trying her best to keep the anger inside of her.

"Bold Move. What do you want?" Aria said, trying to keep her composure. 

"Well I came here to bowl, what about you?"

"Same as you. Now do you mind just leaving me alone?"

"Mmm... no."

Am I going to have to beat him up, or gonna have to file harassment charges? 

"Hey, dude, listen, we're just here to play a game like you. Just leave her alone already," Flash said from his table.

The teenager snorted. "You really think you've got the guts to take to me, beta?"

Aria cracked her knuckles, and her eyes started twitching when she heard that word. "What, did you just call him?"

"You know exactly what I mean. And why do you need this beta male to stand up for you?" 

Flash jolted right up with some anger on his face. "You're really starting to overstep your boundaries here, pal. Now buzz off and leave her alone!"

"Yeah, what are you gonna do about it?" He said, shoving Flash back enough to bump into his friends.

"Hey, how about you leave him alone before I beat it out of you?" 

"I'm sorry?"

Ringo and Brawly's eyes widened a bit. The beast was slowly starting to emerge from within, and she didn't look like she was about to have any of it today. Her fists were clenched tighter than a mother's grip on an out of control temper-tantrum throwing child. Her nostrils were flared like an angry bull, and they could have swore her entire head was slowly steaming with flames.

"... Leave. Him. Alone. Now." Aria snarled.

"You're actually standing up for this beta?"

"He is NOT a beta, you freakin' moron. And you know why?" Aria leaned in closer with a devilish grin. "I've seen you in school. I've heard all your boasting about how you're the toughest. You're not tough. You don't know what real toughness is."

"Ugh, you mean like all you middle-class people?" 

"How about you back off and leave her alone?" Flash said, stepping in. 

"What are you going to do about it, huh? Beta-male?"

Aria heard glass shatter. Now he was crossing the line. Slowly, her heels came off her feet, and she kept that same angry expression.

"Don't talk to him that way."

Bold looked down. "Why did you take your heels off?"

"So I don't break your nose or fracture your 'precious' face when I kick it."

Aria was about to jump on him when Flash grabbed her wrists, holding her back. 

"Hey, lemme at 'em! Lemme at this son of a bitch!"

Bold just huffed. "You know something? For someone so butch, you really have bad taste in friends. You don't belong with them, and you never belonged at Cloudsdale."

Brawly was the one who wanted to lay a punch, but Ringo and Flash held him back.

"Lemme at 'em!" Brawly grunted. 

"Brawly, no! We're not getting kicked out!"

"Alright Bold. I don't care what you say to me, but no one, NO ONE, talks down to my friends like that! Now you back off, right now!" Aria growled, getting up in his face. 

"You back off, I swear!" 

"What's wrong? Afraid of picking a fight with a girl?" Aria snarled, her teeth like daggers. 

"No, I am not. But you, oh you're no girl. You're not a girl, you're nothing more than a witch!" 

Everyone went silent. The Flash Drive band was preparing for Aria ready to tackle him to the ground with the fury of a lion. But she didn't. Instead she slowly smirked, glaring at him with devious intent.

"How about we make this interesting? You think you can beat me, how about we give you a chance to prove it. If you can take on a girl," Aria smirked. She looked back at the other boys who were all exchanging smirks back. Suddenly they could see where she was going with this...

"I'm not afraid of you! What's your stakes?"

"We bowl, one round. If I win, I'm taking something precious from you. If you win, you will never hear from me ever again. Deal?"

"That's not a fair deal," Click snarked.

"Hold up. I accept your challenge, Aria. That is if you and your betas can stop me," Bold snorted.

"Oh, I know they can. Cause they got something you don't."

"What?"

"Brains, brawn, and common sense." Aria turned to her team and looked at them with an embarrassed face. "Hey, uh... sorry about the bet and all. Got caught up in the moment. ... You uh, you can leave if you want, it's honestly on me that I dragged you all into this," she said, full of guilt, rubbing her arm.

"Oh no, it's not your fault," Brawly reassured. "That jerk's going down!" 

"Same here!" Ringo added. 

"I wouldn't say yes but... no one talks to my friends that way," Flash agreed. "Aria, we'll help you. Can we work together?"

Aria smirked and nodded. "You bet."

"Then lets do this!"





The bowling match soon begun. A boy on Bold's side stood up first, while Ringo got up for Aria's team first. Both respective sides rolled the bowling balls down the lanes, and they made their strikes. Bold's buddy received a strike, but Ringo only got 8 of the bowling pins down.

"Hey you got this, just one more!"

"One more shot..." 

Ringo threw one more roll, and the ball slammed right through the last two pins. His fist pumped into the air as he walked back to his team, giving them high fives. 

Brawly Beats was next as he slammed the ball all the way down, making a perfect strike. Unfortunately so did the team on the other side. No harm though, there was plenty of time to catch up and get a score over 'em. Sadly when Flash made the roll, he only slammed through seven of the pins, and the bowling ball ran straight into the gutter on the second roll.

Now it was Aria's turn. It was time to see if Flash's methods could work. She just had to try. She threw the ball down the lane, hoping it had struck for the middle--and straight to the left side it went, knocking down two of the pins at the back. Not even close. When the bowling ball came back, she knew she just had to get this right. One more shot, just got to make this right.

She winded up, relaxing her body. And then she rolled the ball straight down the lane again. She braced herself for it to fail... until she saw it slam into all of the pins.

"That's good, right?"

"It's a spare, Aria! That's great!" Flash complimented.

Aria pumped her fists. "YES! Come on, lets get this movin'!"

Sometime Later...

The final round was here. The two teams were tied together, and now it all boiled down to Bold Move and Aria Blaze. The two of them glared at each other briefly, the sounds of swords being pulled out in the background. 

"You go first," Aria smirked. "You started this, so I'm gonna finish it."

Bold puffed up his chest. "You and your betas are dead."

"Hmm, maybe. That is, if you think you're so strong enough to beat a girl. I mean, I've been able to keep up with you the entire time. Who knows. Maybe I just might beat you at your own game," Aria snickered. 

Bold's face went from confident to now slightly fearful. He was aware of Aria's snide remarks, and although he didn't want to admit it, she was starting to get into his head. She really had been able to keep up with her the entire battle, and it was putting him on edge. If he lost to her, who knows how bad this would make his reputation look. Every claim, every action, everything he tried to maintain would be swiped from under him an instant.

He also knew Aria wasn't the type to cheat at anything; even if Aria was a grump and rude, she never ever cheated. Which only put him on edge even more. Was she going to cheat today? Would today be that day she would finally cheat?

Well he was so on edge that he threw the bowling ball up into the air like a basketball and it slammed onto the floor with the loudest thud that echoed throughout the building. It slowly rolled down the lane, but it knocked down a handful of pins, striking 8 to be precise.

"Aha!" Bold pointed, pulling himself back up again. "Try and beat that, Aria."

Aria rolled her eyes. She grabbed the ball and was about to walk down the lane. Until she stopped. She froze in place. The boys could see, and so did Flash when he got up.

"Hey, you okay?"

Aria still didn't move.

"... What if I lose?"

"What are you talking--"

"Flash. If I lose, this guy gets to humiliate me forever, and he's going to continue to make more girls lives miserable."

Flash blinked. "But he's dating Click--"

"--He's going to dump her butt, I know it. Before I went on a date with him, I got notes and messages from previous girlfriends from their experience with him. I thought he wasn't going to be like this when I met him, but look how well that turned out," Aria snarled. 

"Aria, hey," Flash said, grabbing her shoulder, turning her to look. He gave her a smile. "I'm not gonna let that jerk make your life miserable. You say the word, I'll step in and help."

Aria felt touched by his words. "Promise?"

"Promise."

Aria smiled. "Thank you. Now how about I make this one final roll?" 

Flash grinned. "Go for it."

Aria turned her gaze onto the lane, ignoring the taunts called out by Bold and his boys (along with Click for that matter) and focused. 

"Just one more roll..."

Aria threw one more roll down the lane, and she squinted her eyes, cringing. She could lose right here and then...

Until the bowling ball went straight down the middle, slamming right through all of the bowling pins. One by one they all began to fall, until there was only one left. It wobbled and wobbled until it finally lost all balance and then fell on it's side.

"Alright!"

"YEAAAH!!!"

"Way to go, Aria! You won!"

"I... I won?" Aria asked.

"You won!"

"YEAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!" Aria screamed at the top of her lungs. "VICTORY!!!"

"You... you beat me. I can't believe you beat me! No one beats me!"

"Yeah, well, I did. Fair and square. Now pay up, buddy. You wouldn't want to dishonor your word, do you?" Aria smirked. 

Bold snorted. "No. I wouldn't. Except for a harlot like you who has none!" He was about to punch her right in the face until her hand came up and grabbed his fist, locking it in a firm grip. "H-Hey! Let go!"

"After you pay up and leave," Aria glared. "As fun as it would be to body-slam you to the ground, I am not beneath making a scene in a public place. ... this time." 

Until the other fist came and smacked her in the jaw, nearly throwing her to the ground. That was about the time that staff was coming onto the scene, finally.

"Alright, what is going on here!?" The manager yelled.

"The manager, these guys were assaulting my friends!" Click Bait whined.

"I'd suggest you keep your mouth shut or things are going to get a lot worse," Brawly cracked his knuckles.

"Enough!" 

Everyone went quiet. The manager watched as Flash went over to help Aria back on her feet. "Hey, hey, you okay?" Flash asked, concerned. 

"Agh, I... I'm okay," Aria hissed, feeling the sharp pain in her face. "I'm fine. Took harder beatings back in Tae Kwon Do classes." 

"Okay, okay, now hold up a notch. Miss, what is your name?"

"Aria," Aria said, hissing a bit. "Blaze." 

"Is there anything broken?"

"No sir," Aria replied, moving her jaw a little.

The employee next to the manager whispered something unintelligible over to him. He stood silent, listening to his words. Click and Bold were grinning, excited to hear his next response. Aria was going to get the boot for sure.

"... Alright, thank you," the manager said, acknowledging his employee's response. His attention then focused on the snobby couple. "Sir, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave the premises. Now."

Bold was flabbergasted. "W-What? But they--"

"--Did nothing until you, your girlfriend, and the rest of your friends started antagonizing her. Just like you and your friends did at the Royal Palladium, adding to the incidents caused by you at Moodrid Malts, and on top of all that, you tried pinning a little boy for being the source of trouble when you harassing the manager who was my sister by the way! My employees told me everything they saw, and I even got security footage of you punching her. Yes, she punched you, and there is going to be punishment for that, but since she did nothing until you came along...? I swear if I had to pick between you and that Blueblood fellow on who's worse, I'm not sure I would be able to provide a definitive answer. Now, I'm only going to say this once," he said with a harsh cold glare. "If you four don't get off the premises right now, I am calling the police."

"You wouldn't!" Click gasped.

"Try me," he sneered.

There was no way he was going to win this fight. And even Aria and her friends stood smirking at him, very smug-like. And they had every right to be.

"Fine! I didn't even want to come here! Lets go, Click."

"Enjoy banishment!" Aria snorted, watching them stow away in defeat.

"Hold up, young lady," The manager said, speaking to her. 

Aria's shoulders slumped and she realized she was in deep mud. "Oh... I guess I'm going to have to leave now, aren't I?"

"Hold up. Look, I'm not happy you threw a punch, especially in a public place such as this. But I have to admit... I wish I could have punched that jerk in the face, so I have to thank you for that," he complimented.

"Oh, well, uh, great--"

"Hold on. I'm not done. I'm still not happy you started a fight in here, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave. You're banned."

Aria wilted. "I... I understand."

"Hold up. For two weeks. You're not banned from this place forever, but rules say I cannot ignore an incident such as that. Understand?"

Aria slowly nodded. "I got it."

"Good." 

"Sorry guys. I've gotta go," Aria said, walking away. 

"Hey, it's fine. Actually, I think we gotta get going too. See you at school?"

"Sure, yeah, see ya guys," Aria waved before walking out the door.

The Dazzling walked out the door, leaving the vicinity. She was about to approach her car when she saw the boys walking out of the place, ready to head off on her own. She didn't know what it was, but she felt like she needed to say something. All that time she spent in there, she didn't know what happened. She didn't want to leave Flash, she didn't even want to say goodbye. At least, not yet. Maybe talk to him one more time?

"Oh, uh, Flash! Yo, hey!"

Flash looked over at her and waved back, watching as she ran over to him. 

"Can I uh... I talk to you real quick?"

"Um, sure, yeah. You guys go ahead," Flash gestured.

Brawly and Ringo went on ahead, while Flash and Aria stood by the entrance.

"I um... I wanted to say thanks for, well... for standing up for me. No one did that before."

"I couldn't just let that guy harass you, what friend would I be if I didn't help?"

"Even after I started the fight?"

"I won't deny that, but I still think he shouldn't have been picking on you to begin with. And if he's smart..." He had no idea, but Aria's hand slowly reached for his, holding him for a second. "I know he won't be picking on you for a while."

"Lets hope so. So, uh... see you at school?" Aria blushed.

"Yeah, of course. See you tomorrow Aria," he said before heading off.

"S-See ya!" Aria stammered. Where did that come from? I never mess up my words, I always know what I say! I... Am I falling in love? 

Aria took a few steps towards her car. And when she looked back, she felt her heart feeling warm inside. And she slowly smiled. 

I'm actually in love with him... 





School the next day was chaos as per usual. Lots of students, loud noises, people everywhere, it was to be expected. Hanging with her friends made her smile just like always, but her smile grew much more when she saw Flash again. He was there in the halls again.

I have to tell him I love him. But what if he doesn't love me back... well Aria. Only one way to find out. If he doesn't, that's that. Can't be mad at him.

"Oh, hey, Flash!" Aria called.

The guitarist turned around and saw the Dazzling he spent the weekend with.

"Oh, hey Aria, what's up?"

"Flash? Mind if I talk to you about something? ... In private?" Aria asked, sheepishly. 

"Uh, sure, yeah," Flash nodded. "What's up?"

"Well, um... I uh... I really liked hanging out with you on Sunday," Aria said, rubbing the back of her head.

"I did too."

"Oh, really? Great!" Aria blushed a bit. "So, um... I uh... I guess, I don't know, I was wondering, I know I..." Aria groaned and clawed her face. "Why am I so bad at this!?"

"Hey, hey," he said, holding her shoulders. "It's okay."

Aria scrunched at her eyes and looked dead in the eyes. "Flash. ... um..." Without warning she just yanked the guitarist close and held him in a kiss. Flash was surprised by the sudden move, but he slowly moved into it, enjoying the sweet embrace from the middle Dazzling.

"So, uh... want to go out? O-On a date?" Aria asked with a red face.

Flash smiled and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.

"I would like that."