Friendship!!

by Jason Spade Thu Oct 06, 2022 7:28 pm

The camera fades in to Ashley Riot, sitting on a bench outside and tapping away at her phone. She stays like take for a while, humming to herself, until Shou Rong walks into the frame.

"Alright. I'm here, what do you want?"

"Shou!"

Ashley pops up from her bench and hugs Shou Rong, who quickly pushes her away. Ashley continues like nothing happened.

"Since Riley got hurt, it's just gonna be us for a while! And she wanted us to get along so I thought I'd bring you out for a night on the town! C'mon, I know just the place!"

Ashley grabs Shou's hand, but Shou snatches it away. Unperturbed, Ashley simply grabs Shou's other hand and starts dragging them along until they make their way down a city block. Beaming, Ashley raises her arms and presents... A McDonald's. Shou is unimpressed.

"McDonald's."

"Uh-huh. You don't have these in China, right?"

"We do, actually."

Ashley is flabbergasted.

"Really?! Since when?! Oh, whatever, it doesn't matter. Come on!"

A few minutes later, Ashley and Shou are sitting at a table, with Ashley stuffing her face with a hamburger. Shou, who didn't order anything, simply glares at the Deathmatch Princess. Ashley breaks the silence.

"So like... What's the deal with fortune cookies? Does everyone in China know the future?"

Shou scoffs.

"Are you actually that stupid or are you just trying to piss me off?"

Ashley thinks about it.

"Well, my doctor said that I might get confused easy 'cuz of the brain damage. One time I zoned out while I was crossing the street and almost caused an accident!"

Ashley takes another bite of her burger. After a moment of loud chewing, she speaks again.

"What were we talking about?"

Shou's glare intensifies and they stand up to leave.

"No, wait!"

Ashley grabs Shou's arm.

"Come on, there's more stuff I have to show you! Just hear me out, Riley wanted us to get along! Do it for Riley!"

Ashley tries to give Shou Rong her best puppy dog eyes, but the effect is dampened by the noticeable smear of barbecue sauce on her face. Shou narrows their eyes, but sighs.

"Fine."

Some time later, we cut to Ashley and Shou standing in a large park, watching a group of teenagers playing football. Ashley is in the midst of explaining the rules of the game to Shou.

"...and usually they tackle each other, but these guys are just playing for fun so they play touch football instead! Since they don't have any protective gear and whatnot."

Shou, for their credit, seems to be actively listening.

"Why is it called 'football' if they're all carrying it with their hands?"

"Oh, 'cuz sometimes they kick it! It's called 'punting', I think. And sometimes they kick it through goal posts and get an extra point!"

Shou crosses their arms, nodding as they listen. One of the boys drops the ball and it rolls towards Ashley, who takes a step forward and raises her arms.

"Yoo-hoo! Hey, throw it over here!"

The boy, clearly surprised, smiles and tosses the ball. Ashley raises her hands to catch it and misses; the ball sails straight through her hands and hits Shou square in the face.

"Shit!"

"Oh no! I'm sorry, are you okay?! That looked like--"

Shou shoves Ashley to the ground.

"Get away from me! I knew this was a bad idea. Don't talk to me again unless it's about defending our titles."

Covering their bloodied nose with their hand, Shou Rong walks off, muttering angrily in Mandarin. Ashley stands and watches her partner go, a sad look on her face... That quickly morphs into a wicked grin. The scene fades to black.