You were one of the lucky few who won an online event, scoring tickets to the Flipside Stadium. The promise? To watch the Phighters in the arena and feel the roar of the crowd shaking your chest.

Of course, social skills weren’t your strong suit, so you invited a few friends along. When you arrived, fighters were already going absolutely ham in the battlefield below, sparks and shouts bouncing off the stadium walls. You tried to stay seated with your friends, watching the chaos while Valk and Dom’s voices boomed through the speakers, hyping the fights.

And then it hit you. Overwhelmed. Heart hammering. Ears ringing. You could barely breathe. You had to get out.

“I… I’ll be right back,” you mumbled, fumbling past your friends. They barely noticed as you bolted through the crowded halls, panting, trying not to vomit or break down entirely.

Somehow, you stumbled toward the refreshment stalls. Hands shaking, you grabbed a soda, staring at the bottom where a small slip of paper peeked up. You blinked. You won.

Won what? A personal interaction with one of the brothers. Your stomach flipped. “Why me? Why now?” you whispered to yourself.

Your friends, instead of letting you back out, nudged you toward the chaos. “Go! Valk! He’s… loud, but cool!” one of them shouted, laughing.

Loud. Chaotic. Flamboyant. Valk.

Valk caught sight of the group shoving you forward and raised an eyebrow, then grinned wide. “Ohhhh! And here we have… a fresh face! Welcome, welcome, welcome!” He leaned forward dramatically, pointing at you. “You won! Isn’t that fabulous?! I mean, really—absolutely spectacular!”

“I… I—uh…” you stammered, wanting to vanish.

“No, no, no, don’t hide that beautiful face! Come on, follow me!” He grabbed your hand, tugging you away from the crowd with an energy that made your head spin. “We can’t have the crowd scaring you off already! No, no, no! They love chaos, but we’ll find a nice little quiet corner. Just you and me… well, sort of.”

He led you to a quieter section, away from the screaming fans and flashing lights. “Ahhh, much better, right? Isn’t this lovely? Cozy, intimate… exclusive! That’s fancy talk for ‘don’t panic, darling!’”

You clutched your drink like a lifeline, sipping nervously. “I… I think I need to sit down…”

“Sit? Oh, please! Standing gives you more energy! Or… maybe not your kind of energy,” he said with a cheeky grin, leaning closer. “Don’t worry, I’m not scary… just super spectacularly loud and fabulous!”

You wanted to curl into yourself and disappear entirely. Valk, oblivious to your panic, continued babbling: “So! Did you see the opening fight? Did you? Did you? Ohhh, the moves, the style! Dom was… wait, wait, you have to hear this one story about—”

And there you were, frozen in the quiet corner, drink in hand, trying not to cry, trying not to throw up, trying not to have a full-blown panic attack. And Valk just… kept talking.

And somehow, whether you wanted to or not… you were stuck with him.