Chapter 2 - The Infamous Bet

Nom Nom practically forgot all about the stupid(in his opinion)red panda from the YouTube Con, much to his delight since she was already a pain on the mind.

But one gently snowing morning in the San Francisco Bay Area, when visiting his favorite Starbucks, he would get more than he bargained for.

"Get me my usual," Nom Nom quietly ordered to his only female assistant, and she nodded.

"Double shot mocha with whip, no sweetener," the lady told the man behind the counter when he was ready to take the next order. Once he typed in the specific numbers to ring up Nom Nom's drink, he left the register to start making it.

"I'll take my usual, Miss. Thank you." A painfully familiar voice hit Nom Nom's ears, as his eye twitched and he slowly turned to his left. And standing right there, completely unaware that he was there, was Triple F, the same red panda from the convention.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Nom Nom growled through gritted teeth, as she once again thanked the woman behind the counter when she was handed her drink, and she then paid the right price.

But she still managed to miss Nom Nom when she turned the opposite way to leave, and she walked towards the exit with a confident little sway in her hips and tail, which irritated Nom Nom to another eye twitch.

"Here's your drink, Sir," Nom Nom's female assistant informed after paying and leaning down to give the said koala his coffee.

"Gimme that!" Nom Nom snapped and snatched the drink from her hands, and he stomped over to the female red panda, stopping her in her tracks with his nostrils flaring and his eyes squinted angrily.

"Do my eyes deceive me?" Triple F asked jokingly and raised her glasses higher on her muzzle, and then she smirked, "Why, if it isn't the infamous Nom Nom. Fancy meeting you again."

"I'M infamous?! My fans adore me! YOU'RE infamous, and you know it! You're just jealous!" Upon raising his voice, Nom Nom created a scene and most of the people of the coffee shop turned their heads or gathered around, most of them either knowing Nom Nom or Triple F.

"Why would I be jealous?" Triple F questioned calmly, and she puckered her lips to her straw to take a drink of her hot chocolate.

"Because I'm the best."

"How would you know that? You're so full of yourself, you don't even take the time to look up other trending cultures." The crowd oohed and aahed at Triple F's remark, making Nom Nom finally realize the large gathering of people and start to blush.

"W-well…I-I…"

"You what, Nom Nom?"

"I don't need to! I'm all I ever need!" Nom Nom shouted, throwing his drink to the ground in rage, splattering hot coffee and whip cream all over the floor.

"You're all you ever need?" Triple F repeated in disbelief.

"Yes!"

"Interesting. Why?"

"Because I believe in myself! I know I'm the most adorable thing on the internet-no! The world! And only an idiot would think otherwise!"

There was a long pause, as everyone stared at the red panda for a response. But she just stared back with half shut eyes and puckered her lips to think. She then adjusted her glasses again.

"Well, then I guess I am an idiot."

"What?" the koala growled, "You don't think I'm cute?!"

"No. And no offense, but I never do find guys like you cute," Triple F gently replied with a smirk.

"What do you mean, guys like me?"

"Guys who are selfish and heads are inflated from their ego." The crowd ohed loudly at that, and most of them had already pulled out their phones to record it all.

"Yeah, I'm full of myself. And you know why?"

"No."

"Because I'm confident that there isn't anything on Earth that could stop me from changing your mind."

Everyone gasped, covering their moths in shock as their wide eyes shifted between the koala and the red panda. Shock had even worn onto Triple F's face, as her eyes momentarily widened.

"What are you saying?" she finally asked.

"I'm saying that I could totally turn you into a fan," Nom Nom replied with a grin while boastingly crossing his arms.

"Of you?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Ok. Let's be hypothetical for a moment. If you DID manage to convince me otherwise about you, what then? I imagine you would turn this into a bet to get something out of it if you won, yes?"

"Correct! If I win, you have to follow me on ALL my social medias."

"And if I win—you have to openly admit to all of your fans that you were wrong."

It was Nom Nom's turn to let shock make itself apparent on his face, as he never thought a mere fanfiction reader would make a bet so spicy. But Nom Nom was also aware that the cameras were currently rolling, and he couldn't let his viewers down…that, and he didn't want to look like a chicken in front of everyone.

"You know what? You've got yourself a deal, Bookworm," Nom Nom informed while sticking a paw out to confirm the deal.

"Garnet," the red panda quickly corrected while taking Nom Nom's paw in hers.

"Huh?"

"If we are making a deal, we might as well be formal with each other, right? My real is Garnet." With that, Garnet shook Nom Nom's paw, sealing the bet. "I look forward to seeing you again soon, Nom Nom."

"Who says you gotta go now? In fact, who says you EVER have ta leave my side until one of us wins?" Nom Nom inquired with a grin while slinking an arm over Garnet's shoulders, making you blush and scrunch her face in embarrassment. The koala then used his free to call over his female assistance again.

"Go get my usual again, and tip the janitor to clean up the mess." After pointing to the coffee he spilled earlier, his assistant once again nodded and headed back to the counter.

"What are you doing?" Garnet questioned in disgust, and carefully removed Nom Nom's arm, as if it were a snake.

"Well, the point of the bet is to convince you that I'm the cutest thing on the internet, or to see if I can't. So, what better way to do that than to make sure we stay side by side the whole time?" Nom Nom casually explained.

"Where will I be staying?"

"With me in my mansion, of course."

"You're serious." Garnet stated matter-of-factly.

"Yup! Trust me, you're gonna love it there."

"OMG! I told you they'd all agree!" a female voice squealed, as Nom Nom and Garnet turned to see a woman showing her phone to a male friend of hers.

"Just because every reaction emoji is a heart does not mean they all think they look cute together," her male friend stated in disbelief while shoving the phone out of his face.

"Um, excuse me?" Garnet piped up while approaching the woman with the phone, "Who would think what looked cute together?"

"You two, duh! Look, I posted your pic on FaceBook, and so far, all my friends are lovin' you guys together!" With that, the woman smiled brightly and showed Garnet her phone, and she gasped when she saw a photo of Nom Nom with his arm around her while she was blushing.

"What's wrong, Bookworm? Famous life too much for ya? This is what I go through EVERYDAY," Nom Nom pointed out with an evil grin, and his female assistant gave him his drink once again.

"Just get me out of here, please," Garnet growled under her breath, her blush somehow growing darker and showing threw her red fur.

"Whatever you say, Bookworm. Riley, hail the limo!"

"Yes, Nom Nom!"

"Wait! What about my things? I at least need to acquire my computer!" Garnet quickly pointed out, but Nom Non still pushed out of the coffee shop as a purple limo pulled up to them.

"Acquired! I already had a few of my assistants head to your house ta get your precious laptop. Anything else you need, I've got it all at my mansion," Nom Nom informed as he and Garnet climbed into the limo, and he clipped himself into his booster seat.

"Really? Even my inhaler?" Garnet inquired with squinted eyes while sitting in the seat to Nom Nom's right, and she pulled over her seat belt and buckled it.

"What?! You're-?!"

"No, I'm not. I just asked to prove you wrong. If I really did have asthma, you wouldn't have been prepared."

…

"You're such a Smart Alec," Nom Nom grumbled in defeat, placing his sunglasses over his eyes and turning away, Garnet crossing her arms and doing the same. And with that, the limo finally drove away from the Starbucks, leaving many surprised, amused, and amazed people debating over whether or not Garnet was actually Nom Nom's girlfriend.

Good thing Nom Nom and Garnet weren't around for the debate.

But it seems the bet is already spicy enough, so how will it end?

Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!