Valentine's Day: the day where love and romance spreads through the air. A yearly tradition that has been around for millions of years, and well into the year 201X. Though most people know it simply as Mid-February as per the name of the sale at the bodega. Speaking of which, last year's Mid-Feb sale KO had learned that his best friends in the whole world: Rad and Enid, were once high school lovers that went on only one date that ended as poorly as a Kardashian birthday party. Though in the alien stock boy's defense the advice he got from his school friends back then was awful, KO wonders what would have happened if Rad didn't take the macho jerk route like his middle-high school friends told him to.

But after a crazy fight style date set up by Cupid, the two declared that even though things ended poorly back then they care a lot for each other and they'd remain close friends forever. And as per Cupid, sometimes platonic love between friends shines as bright as romantic love. Which left our hero unsatisfied for a while, but he caved in eventually.

"Ah, nothing says Mid-February than a half-off sale at the bodega for all couples. Nothing says love like saving money." KO cheers as he dusted the shelfs.

"Meh." his coworkers Rad and Enid muttered as they lazed around waiting for any more customers to deal with.

"Oh come one guys, how can you be so gloomy on the most romantic day of the year?" KO questioned.

"KO, here's the thing about love. It's not just an emotion you get when you first lay eyes on someone, or something that can grow and develop. It's a war, a war that barely leaves any survivors. Even the greatest of heroes fall victim to love's cruel mysteries." Rad said dramatically.

Enid rolled her eyes at this, "Yeah, love is not all it's cracked up to be. Back then it was more simple, but as years went by and commercialism was done. Well you get the gist."

"So, you guys don't have a special someone like what my mommy and Gar have?" KO inquired with a despondent tone.

"Oh no, I was just gonna hang with Red and Elodie after work." Enid replied, "See if my old bestie and sorta-new bestie can get along."

"And not to brag, but I've been talking to this fine lady online and we've been steady for three months straight." Rad said.

"You don't even know what she looks like do you?" Enid commented.

"Nope, we're not there yet." Rad replied.

"What about you KO?"

The boy froze at the question, he turned comedically pale and he started sweating like Niagara Falls. He started shaking and he felt his heart pounding like a jackhammer. "U-uu-um-umumum-uhhh wha?"

"Well, you've been even more excited about this year's Mid-February sale than last year. Which is debatable, since you get excited easily." Rad said.

"I do NOT!" KO yelled with a blush.

"You threw a mini parade for a spider." Enid commented.

"He made it up the water spout, even with the raining trying to take him down." he recalled with a tear in his eye.

"Besides, with your power, kindness, and an inhumane level of adorability. You have to be braindead to not recognize, you're basically what every girl looks for in a guy." Enid complimented.

KO chuckled as he embarrassedly rubbed the back of his neck as a huge blush crept on his cheeks, "Well that's very nice, but I'm too young for that kind of stuff. Besides I have enough balls in the air with the bodega, school, training to be a hero, this book club I joined recently." He then pulled out a comedically large book that was about the size of the counter, "I have to read this by tomorrow." he plopped the book down, causing the entire store to bounce a little bit.

Rad inspected the book's contents, "Tomorrow of what year?"

"I'm sure that after playing the field till I'm at least 29-35 after I eventually retire from being a hero, maybe I'll consider the idea of courting some lucky maiden. Then after a good long while and I feel like I'd be ready to tie the eventually knot, can I think about having 1 or 2 kids of my own who will one day become the greatest hero to have lived since me, or the biggest threat to the world since climate change. But until then, I've got too much to do for that kind of stuff. Right now I just want to be a regular and normal little boy, who works at a convenient store and fights robots on a daily basis." KO finished his speech with a bow.

Rad cried a little from the moving speech, "That was beautiful." he gave a little clap.

"Respect little man." Enid said with a smile, but that smile morphed into one of teasing. "Although, I have to wonder. What's with the little bow tie you got?"

KO went wide eyed as he looked down, and there and behold a little black bow tie wrapped neatly around his the collar of his bodega vest jacket. 'Drats, forgot I still had that!' he quickly tore it off, "Oh that's probably nothing, mommy has to work late tonight so we had...umm, uh a pre Mid-Feb dinner at some fancy dining place and I guess I forgot to remove the tie, hehehehehe."

"Dude, you guys were at that taco place. I know because that was right next door to my favorite ninja store." Enid reminded him, KO gulped. She leered her eyes down at the adolescent boy, "Is there something you're not telling us?"

KO felt the burning stares of his best friends, he started sweating like a sprinkler and he felt the walls were closing in. "Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh, uhhh I GOING ON BREAK!" and before they can say anything, KO was gone like the wind. Leaving only a KO shaped cloud of smoke, and his two friends with confused/worried looks.

"What was all that about?" Enid asked.

"I don't know, you think we should follow him?" Rad wondered.

They then heard the door's open, "After the rush." The two took battle stances as they readied for coupon clippers, but the whole time they thought about what could be bugging their little buddy during Mid-February.

(With KO)

The boy panted as he was at a far enough distance in the forest to still see the bodega, he looked back to see the crowd cram into the bodega with a guilty frown on his face. "Sorry guys, I'll make it up to you!" he called out before he got a text on his phone.

Hey,

I have everything set up, look for a tree with a knife lodged in it.

See you there, sweety.