Wanted [REWRITE]

Chapter 9 - Maybe Everything's Okay

"And there you go."

Hiro's words echoed in your ears as you stared at the small object in front of you. Here it was, in all it's completed glory. It had taken over a week from start to finish, but you had done it. Your own robot, built from scratch, was in your hands.

"That's everything?" you asked, not taking your eyes off the bot.

"Well, yes and no. It's built, but we need to test it out just to make sure everything's working internally. And you need to get more comfortable with the controls before we do anything else with it," he told you.

"'Anything else'?"

Hiro smirked. "Ever been to a bot fight?"

"No. . . ?"

Hiro reached into the box under his desk for Megabot. "You'll love it, I can already tell. Bot fighting was my thing once I graduated high school. I went all the time--it drove Tadashi crazy, but that's beside the point--so I know all the tips and tricks, and I can tell you everything you need to know for your first time."

His words intrigued you. You could imagine the thrill of bringing your own robot, putting it up against someone else's to test your skills. You wondered what it might feel like if you win. Even though you were a beginner, you felt like with Hiro's help, you stood a pretty good chance. He was the prodigy, after all.

"So are you ready?" Hiro asked.

"What?" Did he mean going right now? You weren't quite that confident yet.

"To test it out," he clarified.

Oh. Yeah, that made more sense.

You set the bot down on the ground in front of you, gripping the controller in your hands.

"Just try walking for now. See if you can bring it over to me."

Your fingers made the commands easily enough, and you watched, half in awe, as the robot obeyed. Its legs moved one at a time, the way they were supposed to, in a somewhat straight line across the floor. Once the robot reached Hiro, you made it sit down.

"Now bring it back," Hiro told you. "Remember, the controls will be backwards when it's facing you."

The robot stood back up and took a few steps in your direction. Even though it was just walking in a straight line, it threw you off a bit that you had to move the control stick to your left to move the robot to your right, and vice versa. But the small machine made its way back to you relatively easily.

"See? You're a natural."

You finally tore your eyes away from your creation to look at Hiro, and you saw that he had a small smile on his face.

Before you could even think about what you were doing, you surged forward and wrapped your arms around him. Hiro shot a hand out behind him to keep you both from toppling over, but he didn't hesitate to place his other arm around your back.

"Thank you," you breathed.

He let out a small chuckle. "Don't thank me. You're the one who did all the work."

"And you're the one who told me how. So thank you."

"Any time."

You pulled back just slightly and caught his gaze. Once your eyes met his, you forgot where you were. The world faded around you until the only thing you could focus on was Hiro. Hiro was mere inches in front of you, so close that you could see the flecks of gold in his brown eyes.

You watched as those eyes flicked down to your lips for a split second, and a dozen butterflies fluttered in your stomach.

There were two ways this could go. One: you follow the heat of the moment and kiss Hiro, with no idea what consequences that would bring--good or bad. Two: you pretend you don't notice the tension in the room and gracefully change the subject.