Pistols and Canines
"Jade! Stop dallying otherwise I'm jolly well going without you!" Jake English called upstairs from the entrance hall.
"Wait just one more second!" Jade Harley yelled back as she came running down the stairs. Her rifle was strapped across her back and she was wearing her shooting range clothes- which she referred to as her Iron Lass Suit (the colours matched those of the classic Iron Man suit).
At the bottom of the stairs, Becquerel (the household good dog, best friend) came over and nuzzled Jade's leg, looking up at her with a lolling tongue and wagging tail.
Jade knelt down and ruffled his ears, allowing him to lick her hand before she straightened back up.
"You weren't really going to go without me, were you?" she asked Jake, pouting.
"Of course not, lass, don't be ridiculous." chuckled Jake "Are you ready to leave?"
"Yup!" beamed Jade, before she and her brother went out to the car.
On their way to the shooting range, Jake decided to approach a rather sensitive topic with his little sister. He would be cautious about it though, and began with another topic of conversation.
"So...you all sorted for prom?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Mhm! I'm wearing my three in the morning dress and I'm going with Dave. He'll meet up with John when we're there." smiled Jade.
"And...are you meeting up with anyone at prom?" Jake said casually.
Jade didn't say anything, feeling her face grow hot. She suddenly became very interested in the zip on her rifle case.
Jake sighed almost inaudibly but didn't press the point. So Jade hadn't yet told Terezi about how she felt. Was it lack of confidence? Motivation? Whatever the reason, Jake wanted to find a way to help her. It was his duty as both a big brother, and as a gentleman.
They got to the shooting range and went to their usual practice site. The siblings loaded their first rounds of ammo into their firearms: a rifle and two pistols and that's when Jake suggested his idea.
"How about a little friendly fire competition? It's been a little while since we went head to head."
"What are the conditions of this competition?" Jade looked at him.
"Three rounds of bullets each, highest score overall wins."
"Ok, what are the stakes?" asked Jade, interested.
"The loser does whatever the winner asks of them." grinned Jake.
"Fine, bring your best shot." challenged Jade.
"Count on it." nodded Jake.
Jake took his aim first. The targets were large foam blocks with targets painted on them, they went from 10 to 7 to 5 to 3 and each score was represented by a different coloured band.
Jake fired his first round of 30 bullets, alternating between his left and right pistols and coming up with a score of 261.
"I'm laying down the proverbial gauntlet, little sister." he said confidently to Jade.
"Let me fire my first round before you get cocky." Jade stuck her tongue out at her brother as she took her place before the targets.
Jade also fired her first 30 bullets, but only came up with a score of 143. She put it down to the adrenaline and the fact she'd never beaten Jake in one of their sibling face-offs.
"If you like, I'll use the moving targets for the next round?" offered Jake.
"I'm just getting warmed up, but if you want to go ahead." Jade shrugged, secretly grateful her brother was giving her the chance to catch up.
For his round 2, Jake attached a fresh set of blocks to the conveyer belts on the wall and set them to a moderate speed. It had been a little while since he'd practiced on those but now was as good a time as any.
Turned out his was a little rusty and he only got 137, bringing his total score to 398.
On the other hand, Jade, staying with stationery targets, had a very successful second round with a score of 255, making the siblings tied.
"Ah, so the last round is the decider. Jolly good." observed Jake.
"All to play for. Who knows? I could actually win this." Jade realised in surprise. She'd never come this close.
"That's the spirit, Jade! Positive thinking and all that malarkey!" encouraged Jake, causing Jade to giggle.
Jake went back to the stationary targets for the final round and was back on nearly top form with 215. Jade gave it all she had for round three and scored a pretty solid 200 points. It was going to be very close.
"Alright, my final score was...612." Jake announced once he'd finished jotting down his points.
"Mine was...598. Aww I was so close!" complained Jade.
"That's a new personal best for you though isn't it?" Jake reminded her.
"Oh...yeah it is! Alright!" smiled Jade, punching the air.
"It's also the closest you've ever come to beating me, well done I'm proud." smiled Jake.
They packed up and went back to the car, stopping for something to eat on the way home at their favourite cafe.
"So, what do you want me to do as your prize?" asked Jade, as she sipped a large vanilla milkshake.
"Well...firstly, do you promise you'll do it?" Jake looked at her.
"Of course! You won so I pinky swear." Jade held out her hand with her little finger extended.
Jake linked his pinky with Jade's and didn't let go as he said "Tonight, I want you to tell Terezi how you feel about her."
"WHAT?!" Jade's face went bright red.
"Please Jade? I know you want to and I know it'll make you happy if you do...and that's all I want for my little sister. I want you to be happy. So please?" Jake coaxed.
"You dork..." sighed Jade, hugging her brother tightly before mumbling into his shoulder "F-fine...I'll tell Terezi tonight."
Jake smiled and the pair of them finished their food and paid. When they got home, Jade got changed and sat down with her laptop. Ok, she was really going to do this...
There was always the chance Terezi felt the same.
Right?