An Attempted Festival Date

      “You know I wouldn’t mind ONE DAY without SOMEONE trying to RUIN EVERYTHING!” Raquel shouted as a reptilian creature crashed into a stall.

      It was spring. The city was having a spring festival, as most places do. But whenever the city does something there is always some monster or some evil McEvil trying to destroy it. Today, as it seemed, was no exception.

      The two girls stood by as people began to scramble out of the park, or at least away from the monster who was trying to destroy everything. Raquel grabbed Eriko’s hand and pulled her out of the way of a folding chair. “I’m so stupid, sorry for bringing you here,” she apologized.

      “Don’t apologize,” Eriko started, “you meant well. Child at three o’clock.”

      Spinning around, Raquel managed to catch the rouge child… but fell on her ass in the process. The mother of said child ran up to them, took her child back and ran off without a word. “A thank you would be nice! Asshole!” Raquel shouted after them.

      Eriko slapped her girlfriend’s shoulder. “Not everyone is as calm as we are.”

      “You mean two teenagers who are so done with the ridiculous amount of superhero fights that happen at these sorts of functions?”

      “Okay you don’t have to phrase it like that.” Eriko rolled her eyes. “More like Gen Z things.”

      “Oh God I don’t know what’s worse.”

      “You girls need to move!” Shouted a third voice.

      There was a teenage boy in a basketball jersey, some jeans and a motorcycle helmet. But the girls stared at him, unimpressed. “Thanks Matthew!” Eriko shouted back.

      “Shh! Not so loud!” He shushed.

      “You’re the sidekick, shouldn’t you be kicking ass and failing at it?” Raquel questioned.

      “Not all sidekicks suck a-”

      He was cut short by a reptilian creature picking him up and throwing him a good twenty yards. It stood up and turned towards the teenage girls. “Shit!”

      Raquel picked up Eriko and ran off with the creature giving chase. When did I get so weak? Now’s not the time! The hell do I go? “Eriko, you’re smart, what do I do?”

      “Run you useless lesbian!”

      The reptile swiped at Raquel’s back, but she managed to doge by jumping over a table. “Hell yeah! Oh fuck my knees!” She moaned.

      “Less talking, more running! I’ll guide you!”

      Raquel followed her girlfriends lead, going around stalls and tables while the creature took stops to fight the sidekick who was obviously Matthew Derringer. At least until he showed up. A man in all blue with a white cowboy hat and a lasso. His spurs jingling with every step he took towards the monster. The superhero took one look at the girls and nodded before running into battle.

      But Raquel kept running. She kept going as far as her legs would allow her to go, and as long as her arms could hold Eriko. Until she gave out near one of the baseball diamonds. The fight was far away now, back to where the festival was being held. Eriko flipped Raquel over and laid down in the dirt next to her. The girls dripped hands and laid there catching their breaths.

      “I’m sorry,” Raquel apologized.

      The prim girl squeezed her girlfriend’s hand. “I already told you, it’s fine.”

      “No, it’s not fine,” Raquel spat, coughed, and wheezed, “I wanted to do something nice, and it got messed up. Whenever I do something nice for you it gets messed up!”

      “I don’t mind.”

      “Exactly- wait. Seriously?”

      Eriko shrugged. “I don’t care. I wouldn’t have gone outside today anyway if not for you.”

      “That’s not the point,” Raquel sighed.

      “Then what is the point?”

      “The point was that I took you out on a date. Not just walking to school and ignoring everyone who tries to talk to us, but a date date. I was going to impress you with stupid festival games and maybe win you a prize I could have easily bought.”

      “You’re overcompensating again.”

      Raquel turned her head to her girlfriend. “I’m not overcompensating.”

      Eriko turned over and leaned on her elbow. “Ok then. Internalized homophobia.”

      “It’s… it’s neither of those.”

      “Let me get this straight-”

      “Pfft.”

      “Don’t,” Eriko warned, then continued with her observation, “You wanted to do the stereotypical festival date and do all the things the ‘guy’ would do. You want to prove that you can take care of me and not have me worry about you. Did I get that right?”

      “I said none of that, babe.”

      “You heavily implied it. Besides you don’t need to compensate for anything just because you aren’t a guy or I’m not a guy. I love you, you pretentious idiot.”

      Raquel looked back up at the sky. The clouds were dancing in the wind and the faint sounds of people screaming, reptilian sounds, and fighting making their way to her ear. “Wait, so you love me? For my personality?”

      Eriko sighed, but caved in. “I know, I was surprised too.”

      “If someone passes by they’ll think we’re fucking crazy,” Raquel wondered aloud.

      “What? Two lesbians laying on a baseball diamond while some giant lizard fights The Longhorn Rancher not even a mile away?” They laughed and Eriko laid back down in the dirt, shifting closer to Raquel’s side. “I don’t really like festivals.”

      “Who doesn’t like festivals?”

      “Introverts like me who prefer a good book over ninety percent of the population.”

      “There you two are!” A shadow came over the two girls, and a man blocked the sunlight. “I knew I saw your faces.”

      “Hey dad,” Raquel joked.

      “I’m not your pa, though at this point I might be,” said the superhero. He took off his white cowboy hat, revealing his cow skull mask. “On a date?”

      “I guess?” Eriko answered.

      “I suggest you ladies go home. We caught the lizard but these sorts of things are a ‘kick me’ sign for villains,” he advised, "Oh and don't get pregnant." With that he walked off back to Matthew Derringer who was dragging the reptile over to his superior.

      Eriko stood up first and helped Raquel onto her feet. While Eriko dusted herself off Raquel took a puff of her inhaler. And as they began to exit the park they rejoined hands. “Next time, can we just go to the library?”

      “What are you? A nerd?”

      “Yes.”

      “So am I. Can we make out in the biography section and make all the homophobes turn in their graves?”

      “Raquel, you read my mind.”