The Big Adventure - Chapter 2

As Darcie stormed out of Chuck's, her heart raced with a mixture of anger and fear. She knew that Dottie wasn't going to stop pursuing Pee-wee, no matter how she warned her. But she couldn't back down now; she was going to protect her precious Pee-wee at all costs.

It didn't take long for Darcie to return to her and Pee-wee's neighborhood. She walked down the sidewalk, seeing Pee-wee and Francis talking.

"Today is my birthday, and my father said I could have anything I want," Francis said, eyeballing Pee-wee's bicycle.

"Good for you and your father..."

Darcie couldn't help but giggle as she walked over to where Pee-wee and Francis were.

"Morning, Francis," she said, smiling.

"Darcie! You look lovely today." Francis said, eyeing her.

"Thank you. There's no sense in not looking my best!"

"Maybe you could help me..."

Darcie rolled her eyes; Francis was always scheming. "What is it?" she asked, humoring him.

"Well..." he turned his attention back to Pee-wee. "Pee-wee... guess what I want?"

"A new brain?"

"No... your bike."

Darcie gasps, not expecting Francis to want Pee-wee's bike. Pee-wee, on the other hand, falls to the ground laughing.

"Darling, I think he's serious," Darcie says, wide-eyed, her eyes never leaving Francis' face, as she searched for reasons to believe he was kidding.

"What's so funny, Pee-wee?" Francis asked.

Pee-wee got up from the ground and looked at his arch-nemesis.

"It's not for sale, Francis!"

"My father says 'everything's negotiable', Pee-wee." Francis pulled out a fat wad of bills and dangled it teasingly.

Darcie couldn't help but eyeball the money, and Francis saw. He brushed the money right across Darcie's face.

Pee-wee rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't sell my bike for all the money in the world; not for a hundred billion, million, trillion dollars."

"Then you're crazy!" Francis replied.

Pee-wee responded: "I know you are, but what am I?"

"You're a nerd."

"I know you are, but what am I?"

"You're an idiot."

"Hey!" Darcie interjected, glaring at Francis. "Don't you dare call my sweetie that!!"

Francis chuckled, not backing down. "Don't be so sensitive, Darcie. It's just a harmless joke."

"A joke?! Calling someone an idiot is not funny in the least! Especially my sweet Pee-wee." She gently pinches Pee-wee's cheeks, a look of love and affection on her face. Pee-wee seemed to blush.

"You two make me sick," Francis said after a few moments.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Darcie replied with a smirk.

Francis just shook his head, turning his attention back to Pee-wee's bike. He looked at it longingly. "Pee-wee, listen to reason."

Cupping his hand against his ear, Pee-wee pretends to listen. Darcie covers her mouth with her hands, trying not to giggle.

"Come on!" Francis begged.

"Shh! I'm listening to reason!"

"Pee-wee..."

"That's my name, don't wear it out!"

"Remember the first time I saw your bike?" Francis began. "You were riding past my house and I came running out and told you how much I liked it even way back then?"

"I love that story..." Pee-wee replied. "Look, Francis, it's not for sale." Getting on his bike, he gestured for Darcie to join him -- pointing to a new modification to the back of his bike, a set of pegs for Darcie to stand on.

She got on, holding onto Pee-wee, noticing a jealous stare from Francis. They took off on the bike, giggling.

"You'll be sorry, Pee-wee Herman!" Francis yelled after them. They didn't hear a thing.

As they rode away, Pee-wee and Darcie couldn't help but feel glad they didn't have to deal with Francis anymore. Francis was a menace to their happiness, always causing trouble and trying to ruin their fun.

Darcie leaned forward a little, kissing Pee-wee on the cheek. "Darling..." she began. "I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it, Darce?"

"What were you and Dottie talking about on the phone earlier? I went by Chuck's Bike-o-Rama to look at some stuff and see if your horn was ready, and you two were on the phone."

Pee-wee couldn't help but feel warm inside as Darcie's lips gently grazed his cheek. He loved it when she called him 'darling' - it always made him feel special.

"Oh, Darcie," he began, trying to sound casual. "Dottie and I were talking about other customizations we could do to my bike sometime!"

Darcie knew now that either Dottie or Pee-wee were lying. "Oh. Okay," she said, not letting on that she was suspicious. She remained quiet for the rest of the bike ride, hopping off when they reached the clown statue out front of Mario's Magic Shop.

As she helped Pee-wee chain his bike up to the statue, he noticed how her demeanor had changed.

"Darcie... is everything alright?" he asked, concerned.

Darcie glanced at him, her eyebrows furrowed. "What? Oh... yes, of course. Everything's fine. Just a little worried about some things, that's all."

Ignoring the suspicion in her voice, Pee-wee asked, "And what's that, honey?"

"It's nothing..." she replied a bit dismissively, as they finished chaining the bike.

Darcie couldn't help but feel a growing sense of unease in her chest. She tried to brush it off and focus on enjoying their time together, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The conversation she had with Dottie earlier, and Pee-wee telling her something completely different wasn't setting right with her.

As they strolled hand in hand towards Mario's Magic Shop, she couldn't help but cast occasional glances at Pee-wee, trying to read his face for any signs of guilt or deceit. Her mind was racing with a million questions, but she held them back, choosing instead to enjoy the moment. After all, Pee-wee was the love of her life.

The chime on the door to the Magic Shop rang as they entered, and Mario greeted them. "My good friend, Pee-wee!" he exclaimed. "And he's brought his lovely girlfriend too! What a surprise!"

"Hi, Mario!"

Darcie gave Mario a shy wave. "Hi, Mario..."

"Just browsing today, Pee-wee?" Mario asks.

"Well, sort of. I wanted to stock up on some supplies."

Mario hands Pee-wee a bag. "Help yourself."

Pee-wee began browsing, and Darcie went off on her own on the opposite side of the store to browse too.

As Darcie wandered amidst the various magical objects in the shop, she couldn't help but keep thinking of the incident with Dottie, and how Pee-wee told her something completely different. She tried to distract herself, examining a particularly interesting crystal ball, when Mario approached, breaking her from her thoughts.

"You like that crystal ball, huh?"

Darcie nodded, looking it over.

"It's real. It's said to contain the power to unlock one's deepest desires and give insight into the future."

Darcie's eyes lit up. "How much do you want for it?"

"Take it. It's on me."

Meanwhile, Pee-wee had been playing with a ventriloquist doll, drawing a stare from a woman who was in the store. It was a little obvious she didn't approve of his antics. Darcie happened to see the way she looked at her beloved with annoyance and decided to confront her.

"What are you lookin' at?" Darcie asked, stepping closer to the woman.

The woman looked Darcie up and down, then mustered the courage to speak. "I don't think it's appropriate for a grown man to be playing with dolls."

Darcie's eyes narrowed. "And I don't think it's any of your business what he does. Pee-wee is allowed to have his fun."

The woman's face reddened, and she muttered something under her breath.

Darcie was ready to confront her again, but she hesitated, glancing over at Pee-wee, who was oblivious to what had just happened, continuing to play with the various magic items.

The woman again gave him a dirty look. Pee-wee, however, put on a pair of x-ray glasses and looked at Darcie.

Darcie blushed, giggling. "You don't need those x-ray glasses, Pee-wee. I'll show you what's under these clothes later." she teased.

Pee-wee chuckled, taking off the glasses and winking at Darcie. "Oh, I know what's under there, sweetheart," he said, echoing her playful tone.

"Uh, Pee-wee..." Mario interrupted. "I got some new items you might be interested in." With a snap of his fingers, Mario disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Okay... that was cool," Darcie said, walking over to where Pee-wee had been playing with the magic items. They both went over to the counter, looking to see where Mario had disappeared to.

After a moment, he came out of the backroom, carrying a box of stuff.

"A box for Pee-wee!" Mario said, sitting it down, and pulling items out of it. "A new and improved squirting flower!" Mario squeezed the flower, making it squirt water.

Pee-wee wasn't impressed, beginning to fake snore, much to Darcie's amusement.

Mario then pulled out a tube. "Fake blood, or is it?" he asked, putting some on his hand.

"Ick, no..." Pee-wee replied, making a face.

"Ooh! Fake blood! I'll take that!" Darcie made grabby hands at it, and Mario handed her the tube. She squirted a little onto her hands. "Oh, this does look pretty real. Look, Pee-wee!" She held her hands up to his face.

"Gross!" Pee-wee couldn't believe his eyes.

The fake blood was nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. He shuddered at the thought of what it would be like to have his own blood splatter all over him. Darcie must have noticed the look on his face because she quickly wiped the blood off her hands and grinned at him.

"Don't worry, Pee-wee, it's just pretend. You'd have to hurt your hands pretty badly to bleed like that." She playfully jabbed him in the arm.

Mario pulled another item from the box. "Super stink bomb?"

"Have some."

"Shrunken head?" Mario pulled out a shrunken head from the box.

"Nope."

This time, Darcie made a disgusted face. "Why do you have that?!" she asked.

Mario shrugged, casually placing the shrunken head back in the box. "It's just something I have. It's all in good fun."

Pee-wee and Darcie exchanged a smirk. Mario sure had a penchant for the bizarre.

He bent down and picked up a full-sized head. "Regular sized?"

"No."

"Is that real??" Darcie asked, confused.

Mario chuckled. "Of course not, Darcie. It's just a prop." He placed the full-sized head back on the ground and then pulled up a huge head, nearly as big as he was.

"No!!!" Pee-wee yelled, pretending to be a little frightened by it.

"Trick gum?" Mario pulled a pack out of his pocket.

"Okay!"

"Headlight glasses?"

"Yeah!" Pee-wee took the headlight glasses.

Darcie looked at them. "Oh, those will be good for late-night bike rides."

Pee-wee excitedly put on the headlight glasses and zipped around the shop, their light shining brightly, illuminating the various magical items.

Darcie giggled, covering her eyes playfully. "You're going to get us in trouble, Pee-wee," she scolded, but there was a twinkle in her eye.

Mario chuckled, watching the scene unfold. "Alright, alright, no need to play with those, Pee-wee."

Pee-wee put the headlight glasses into his bag with the trick gum.

Mario grabbed something else from the box. "Direct from Australia, the boomerang bowtie!" The bowtie looked a lot like Pee-wee's own but was a shade of powder blue.

"Does it come in red?" Pee-wee asked.

Almost as if he had been expecting the question, Mario pulled a red one from his pocket. Pee-wee took it, giggling, placing it into the bag as well.

Leaving the shop hand-in-hand, they strolled back over to where Pee-wee's bike was chained to the clown statue. Pee-wee patted it on the seat. "I'll be right back!"

Darcie playfully rolled her eyes at Pee-wee's antics towards his bike. However, her demeanor changed to one of dread when she realized they were heading to Chuck's Bike-o-Rama.

"I have to pick up some things for my bike over there," Pee-wee explained, noticing Darcie's curious expression. She raised an eyebrow, but didn't argue.

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