Happy birthday, sweet sixteen. {OPEN!}

[Kid Blink]

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Blink shrieked, trying to run away.

[Tree]

Blink's scream was so piercingly high-pitched that Tree could hear it clearly from underwater. She cackled gleefully to herself and hung on as he tried to get away from her, hoping that she'd be able to hold her breath long enough to drag him down as well.

[Kid Blink]

With Tree around his foot like deadweight, as soon as Blink tried to run he tripped and bellyflopped hard into the shallow water.

[Tree]

Mission accomplished! Tree emerged from the water, drawing in a refreshing breath.

"Gotcha pretty good there, didn't I?" she observed proudly.

[Kid Blink]

"Awwwwhhhh, my bellyyyyyyy!" Blink moaned. His skin had turned pink from hitting the water hard.

[Tree]

Tree felt a twinge of remorse when she saw him pull his shirt up to reveal the stinging flesh on his stomach. "I'm sorry, Blink. I didn't mean to hurt you."

She reached out to touch angry-looking red splotch, but thought better of it and pulled her hand back. "Is it bad?"

[Kid Blink]

"Yeah, it is..." Blink said in a hushed voice. He looked over Tree for a second. "I think they might need to operate."

[Tree]

Well, he obviously wasn't hurt enough to stop being his usual flippant self.

Tree's hands flew to her mouth, covering an overdramatic gasp. "Oh, goodness no! You'll never survive! Them doctors, they ain't right in the head - they'll be pokin' you will all sorts of funny tools!"

[Kid Blink]

Blink sighed, shaking his head forlornly.

"Such a short life. I feel like I missed out on so much..."

[Tree]

"What could the great Kid Blink possibly have missed out on?" Tree scoffed, flicking some water at him as a mallard duck paddled serenely by. "A date with the mayor's daughter?"

[Kid Blink]

"Funny story..." he began, but stopped quickly. He put back on his melancholy look once more. "Dying without being kissed one last time is truly, truly tragic."

He tried not to look at Tree or smile.

[Tree]

"Oh, yes, well," Tree stammered, suddenly flustered. She wasn't a fool; she could see where this was going. And it wasn't that she was opposed - most of the newsboys were surprisingly handsome and Blink, in particular, certainly wasn't bad looking, even with his eyepatch. But she had spent most of her life dreaming about her first kiss and how romantic it would be, and she wasn't so sure that she wanted it to happen while she was soaking wet in the middle of Central Park.

[Kid Blink]

Blink was a cad, but he was harmless when it came down to it. He noticed quickly he hadn't exactly charmed Tree -- while hard to imagine, a possible risk he had realized when going in with this plan.

"Ah! A perfect candidate!" He didn't want to further discomfort her, so in a valiant display (or he thought as so), he seized the nearest duck and attempted to kiss it on the bill.

[Tree]

Tree giggled as the duck struggled and quacked indignantly, making several attempts to bite Blink's nose. "I think he likes you."

Now that the moment had passed, she was already starting to regret letting it go. She was sixteen now, damn it, and if she hadn't been kissed yet, it probably wasn't going to ever happen unless she stopped panicking whenever an opportunity arose. So what if it wasn't perfect? At least it would have happened. She resolved herself: if Blink offered her another chance for her first kiss, she wasn't going to back out.

((I've got to run off for a bit to take care of some errands, but I'll be back later! )

[Kid Blink]

((Have a good day! I'm about to head to bed haha.))

"Ouch! Motherducker!" Blink let the angry bird go. He turned back to Tree with a sigh. "The things I do for you Tree, honestly."