The heroine suddenly fell silent and then suddenly she opened up with a new song, combined with a dance, and even Lydia couldn’t take her eyes off the lyrical cutie. The arena, which had been dry and barren with only a set of weapons off to the side, suddenly turned green and lush, a sunny field and Lydia didn’t understand what was happening.
As she sang, her words seemed to wrap around the hero, leaving him swaying in the wake of them. He picked up his own sword and pressed it against his stomach. As she sang, the hero suddenly cried out something Lydia couldn’t hear and drove the blade into his stomach, sinking to his knees, before collapsing to the ground.
She finished her song and dance, freezing. The crowd was silent before they began cheering and the medics came out to care for the hero who’d impaled himself. She blew kisses to the crowd who went absolutely wild, and Lydia rolled her eyes. Earplugs? check. Double check. Maybe she’d ask Mythos to deafen her before the match.
She left the arena to find Josh squatting against the lockers, his hands in his pockets, looking annoyed. “Josh, come on. Let’s go back to the car.”
He put up a fuss. “No! I have to speak to her! YOU go back to the car!”
Lydia realized he was standing next to the exit and she scowled at him. She grabbed him by the arm and they struggled for a bit, before the lyrical number one sophomore hero exited the stadium, humming happily to herself. Josh pulled aggressively away from her grip - somehow pulling away, to Lydia’s surprise - and running over to her. “Uh! Wait, hi. I’m… I’m Willow. I’m… uh. I’m the number one sidekick of the senior grade.”
“Nngh-” Lydia ground her teeth, looking annoyed.
“Oh? It’s nice to meet you, Willow.” She smiled at him, her hands down in front of her, fidgeting with her microphone. “My name is Melody.”
“Melody? That’s perfect!” Willow insisted. “You’re so beautiful, Melody. I- I think you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen!”
“O-oh?” Melody turned bright red, before suddenly looking up at him, looking a little spooked. “Oh. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m… I’m not actually… I’m not actually a girl,” the words seemed to explode out of them, and he stood awkwardly, fidgeting with his microphone. “I… I appreciate your kind praise though, I really get that a lot.”
Josh stared at him, confused, before Lydia began snickering behind him. “I but… really?”
“Um, yes, really. I’m sorry if I’ve misled you.” Melody’s long fingers continued toying with his microphone, silently staring down at it. One of his hands lifted to tuck his long brown hair behind an ear. “Oh but… we’ll be competing against each other in the exit exam, right? Good luck!” He straightened up, giving him a beautiful smile.
“Uh…” Josh stared at him, continuing to be confused by the whole thing.
“Willow, I think we should go to the car now, don’t you?” Lydia tugged his arm. Josh didn’t resist this time, he let her pull him away, and walk him out of the building.
"But... she was so..." Josh tried. "With the... long hair... and that dress... and voice..."
"I'm sorry that you fell in love with a trap." Lydia patted his arm.
Josh blushed crimson. "Don't EVER tell anyone about this... Ugh, I am having a TERRIBLE day! I think it's probably the worst day of my life."
"If it's any consolation, I bet the two of you would have had lovely babies. Oh, wait..." And Lydia burst into laughter.