Chapter 37 - The battle off the battlefield

                                    

                                              
During that same rainy night Colette had a brilliant idea.
"Hey, Edgar," she said. "Let's set up Leon and Jessie on a date."
Edgar, who was painting his nails, sighed. "Colette, give me a break, ugh."
Colette smiled. "Remember our deal?" Edgar looked down, "We'll invite them for lunch tomorrow at the cafè and then leave them alone."
Edgar shook his head. "No, Colette. That's a bad idea. You can't just randomly set them up like th-"
"I already called the others! They will be on it first thing in the morning!"
"Gosh darn it Colette..."
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She decided to play matchmaker and organize a date for them at a cozy cafè in town. She enlisted the help of her friends Edgar, Max, Surge, Sandy and Bibi to make sure everything went smoothly.
She and Edgar told Leon to meet them at the cafè.
Bibi and Sandy told Jessie the same.
Everything was set.
But there was a problem.
"Ruin their date, at any cost."
"What date?"
"The one Jessie and Leon are having! Barley told me the best table at the cafè was reserved for them! And you know I always take my milkshare there!" Piper pouted.
Rico, Poco, Sprout, Bea and Emz got an order from the one and only Piper.
 After the found her passed out in the training field, Rico forced her to stay in bed and rest, despite her protests. Yet this didn't prevent her from continuing her plan.
"Don't worry, we got it, my love."
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Colette and her team arrived at the cafè early and prepared the table for Leon and Jessie. They decorated it with flowers, candles and chocolates. They also hired a violinist to play romantic music. They hid behind a nearby curtain and waited for the couple to show up.
Meanwhile, Rico and his team were lurking outside the cafè, armed with various weapons and gadgets. They had a plan: they would distract, annoy or scare Leon and Jessie until they gave up on the date. They had water balloons, stink bombs, firecrackers, megaphones and drones. They waited for the right moment to strike.
Leon and Jessie arrived at the cafè shortly after. 
When Leon arrived at the cafè, he saw Jessie sitting at a table. He  was confused and nervous. He didn't know what to do. He looked around  for his friends, but they were nowhere to be seen. They peeked just around their hiding spot, watching the scene with anticipation.
"Hi, Leon," Jessie said with a smile. "I'm glad you're here."
"Hi, Jessie," Leon said awkwardly. "What's going on?"
"Well, Sandy and Bibi invited me here."
"Uh, sure," Leon said. "But where are they?"
"Oh, they had some other plans. They said they couldn't make it."
"You need our help. We're your friends and we want you to be happy. And we know Jessie will be happy too. So we're going to help you whether you like it or not!"
Leon  felt a pang of betrayal. He realized Colette had set him up with  Jessie. He didn't know if he should be angry or grateful. He liked  Jessie, but he wasn't ready to go on a date with her.
He decided  to play along and see what happened. He sat down next to Jessie and tried to make some small talk, but he  was too nervous to think of anything interesting to say.
Jessie sensed his discomfort and tried to make him feel more relaxed, as a good friend would do.
Colette smiled from behind the curtain and gave a thumbs up to her team. Rico frowned from outside the window and signaled his team to get ready, and quickly he and his team sneaked into the cafè.