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royalbloodedbastards · 4 years

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chatzy // lucky f*cker

DATE: Friday, April 24, 2020 CHARACTERS: Casey and Alec ABOUT: A friendly (?) five-round competition. Cheating encouraged. Curses, not so much.

Casey didn't bother changing out of his joggers and company tee after work. Teaching children how to walk on a balance beam, Casey barely ever broke a sweat, so the clothes were about as clean as they were when he put them on. Besides, Casey wouldn't be surprised if he and Alec somehow found their way into doing some sort of physical activity. Casey felt the tall weeds smacking against his shins as he neared the lake. "Hey!" he called out to an Alec-shaped person 20 yards away.

Alec spun around, flat rock ready to skip in hand, and threw their hands into the air. "Casey!" they called back. They started to jog over to him, tripped over a stick, pedalled their arms through the air for a few seconds to regain their balance, then continued until they were close enough that they didn't have to yell. "What's up?" they asked, holding their hand out to start their handshake. "Come here often?"

"Not in the daytime!" Casey chirped back. He slapped his hand into Alec's, pulled them in for a bro hug, then tenderly laid a palm on Alec's butt cheek. He rested his head against Alec's, completely still and silent for a few seconds before pulling away. "Glad you could make it!"

Alec copied Casey right down to the seconds of silence, then laughed as they pulled away, handshake completed. "Me too! Here." They pressed the rock into Casey's hand without any other explanation. "No twister and oil, but still gonna be a fun time!"

Casey just blinked down at the rock in his palm. "Are we... Stoning each other?"

Alec ran their fingers through their hair to mess it up. "Kinda one-sided if we were, eh? Let he without sin." They grinned at him. "We can get stoned!"

Casey smiled and clasped a hand over his chest. "A person after my own heart. Please don't tell anybody, but—" Casey pulled his pen out of his pocket. "I took like, three hits before teaching my class today."

Alec mirrored him and pressed a hand to their own chest. "You say like you're only learning that now!" They leaned forward and lowered their voice to a whisper. "I'm going to tell everyone and get you fired."

Casey gasped and smacked the side of Alec's arm. "Don't you dare! Those children are grubs but their parents tip me so well." Casey held up his pen. "They're even sponsoring this afternoon, don't you know?"

"You guys are getting tipped?" Alec grinned at him and plucked the pen out of his fingers. "Thank you, parents! Think if I email them they'll sponsor my bad habits?"

"If you offer to take away their children for two hours, I think they'll sponsor anything," Casey half-joked.

Alec laughed. "I thought you meant like, threaten kidnapping for a second! Blackmail them!"

Casey clutched Alec's arm and guffawed. "That's so evil, oh my gods! How much money do you think they'd offer? Don't answer that, you'll go straight to hell." Casey shook his head and stepped toward the water. "Brilliant mind, Alec Masters, brilliant mind."

Alec shook their head vigorously. "No! I'm not condoning that at all." They winked at him. "Not at all."

Casey closed his eyes, smiled, and shook his head. "You smooth talker." He turned to gesture out toward the lake. "So what's the vibe then? A stoned swim? A baked boat race? Some fazed fishing?" Casey looked back at Alec, grimacing. "Please don't say fishing."

Alec looked out over the lake when Casey gestured to it. "Fishing? Gross, I left that behind when I was fifteen." They started heading back towards the water. "Can we combine them? Make our own game?"

"Yeah!" Casey agreed. "I love a good game. Or—that's not true. I love a good win. The game is secondary." He looked at Alec. "Are you thinking some sort of athletic competition?"

"I love a good win," Alec agreed. "No matter what." They picked up another rock and hucked it into the lake. "We should find a way to balance this shit out, you got crazy time powers and I'm lucky as all fuck." Laughing, they picked up another rock and tried to skip it, getting a solid few bounces before it sunk into the lake. "Some sorta middle ground, eh?"

"Interesting," Casey muttered. "We could play Russian roulette. I doubt you'll get the bullet and then I can just try dodging it."

"Huh. That's is an idea, but if you readily have a gun on you, I gotta go." Alec squinted at him.

Casey grinned. "Do you think I seem like the gun-totin' type?"

"Gimme a second to think on that," Alec joked, bumping their shoulder into Casey's. "I'm gonna go with no?"

"Damn, guess I bought those chaps for nothing then." Casey shook his head. "What about a tourney? Five game spread, half skill, half luck, winner takes all?"

“I’ll still admire you in them.” Alec continued speaking immediately after saying that. “Amazing. Ideas for games or are we making them up?

Casey smiled and nodded at the first part of Alec's sentence before continuing onto the next. "We don't have to make them all up, but maybe the tiebreaker—assuming we'll need one—should be a custom challenge. So we make sure the odds are dead even."

Alec messed their hair up again. “I like it. What’s the winner get?”

"Hm..." Casey looked out onto the water. "The chaps?" he joked.

Alec grinned at him. “I’ve never wanted anything more.” They tossed a rock into the water. “I’m kidding, please don’t actually give me them if I win.”

Casey laughed. "I'd have to actually get them if you did, so I can stand behind that." He shrugged. "Is there something that you want? Maybe the loser can grant some sort of wish or service to the winner."

Alec took a seat on the bank of the lake. “Yeah, sounds good. Winner gets a wish?”

Casey nodded and joined Alec on the ground. "Winner gets a wish," he repeated. "Better if it's not something of monetary value, I think. Might make it more special. Not to say that it can't have a cost associated, but more than just getting you something off Amazon."

Alec made a face. "Yeah, I can't afford anything of– what is it? Monetary value?" They laughed. "I was thinking more of the favour kind."

“Perfect.” Casey leaned back onto his elbows. For a moment he tried to think of something he could get Alec to do if he won, but realized the possibilities were too endless and shelved the thought. “Got any ideas for games?”

"That I could win? So many, you bring any cards?" Alec laughed at the idea someone could leave their room without a pack of cards in their pocket. "I mean, for you it could be dodging shit the other throws."

Casey tipped his head back and forth. "Could be..." Suddenly he clapped and looked at Alec, eyes widened. "Paintball gun. Sixty seconds each, fish in a barrel style. Nail the other player with as many balls as you can."

Alec's eyes widened. "Do you have a paintball gun? I'm so down."

Casey pumped a fist in excitement. "I don't, but I bet you fifty bucks my friend Cameron knows where to get one. Rhetorical bet."

"Awesome!" Alec scooped up another rock. "What do we do for right now?"

Casey shrugged. "We could race? Opposite shore and back? Or lap the lake on foot."

Alec looked down at the condition of their sneakers and judged they’d probably last a lap around the lake. “On foot, ready set go!” they blurted out, already launching themself forward to start running.

"Oh, fuck you!" Casey shouted after Alec, scrambling to get up. With his eyes locked on Alec's back, he took off in a sprint. Suddenly, Casey was very glad he decided not to change.

Alec laughed, losing a couple steps of speed as it took some breath from them. They continued on, jumping over sticks and large rocks as best they could without careening headfirst into anything. “I need the head start!”

As Casey veered off the path and the ground turned into stones and sticks, Casey closed his eyes and flipped a switch in his mind. When his eyes opened again, the earth was gliding below him in slow motion and each of Casey's bounding strides felt like flight. He watched carefully each time his foot hit the floor, aiming for the flattest parts of the earth too give himself the best leverage to spring forward. He could hear Alec droning ahead of him, but was too focused on his footholds to parse what the actual real-time words were. Casey just shouted back, "Cheater!" hoping it would come through even in hyper-time.

Alec glanced over their shoulder when they heard Casey say something and promptly tripped over a root. After windmilling their arms for balance they succeeded in not wiping out, but definitely lost their early lead. “Fuck!” they exclaimed with a laugh. “S’why I needed it!”

Seeing Alec's form crumple, Casey thought for a moment that he was about to witness his friend eat dirt. He snapped out of hyper-time and watched as Alec flailed, caught their balance, and then whiz by as Casey gained the lead. He laughed and yelled out, "I thought lucky kids don't trip!"

“Lucky kids don’t fall,” Alec exclaimed although they still had no idea how their powers worked. Determined not to lose any more ground, they fell silent and tried to grab for Casey in front of them to pull him back.

Once Casey had the lead, he stayed in real time to try to gain ground the "fair" way. That is until he felt Alec clutch onto the back of his shirt, pulling him back. Casey stumbled and found himself running alongside them. "Fucking cheater!" he yelled in a glee-tinged rage. "Unreal!"

Alec grinned over at him, hopping easily over the next root that came up. “Don’t be a sore loser!” they yelled back as they cut to the side, ducking under a tree in a shortcut they had spotted a few seconds earlier. Once they skidded to a halt on the beach a few minutes later, in the lead, they sat down, trying to catch their breath. “Fun!”

One moment, Casey was trailing Alec, fully engaged in hyper-time. Then, suddenly, Alec veered sharply off-course and even in hyper-time, Casey couldn't shift his momentum quickly enough to give chase. Cursing himself under his breath, knowing he had lost the race, he kept running anyway. Sure enough, when he arrived at the beach, Alec had already beaten him there. Casey used what little breath he had left in him to sprint forward and leap onto Alec, knocking them flat down onto the sand. Hovering over them, Casey pointed an accusatory finger. "You dirty, little bastard! I see your game!" His voice thundered, but Casey was smiling cheek to cheek. "You wanna play dirty? I can get dirty!"

Alec grinned up at them from the position they now found themself in and took a second to wonder how long it would be before they stopped finding sand around their cabin. They shoved Casey’s chest and laughed. “Threat or promise?”

"I fucking swear," Casey replied, panting. He pushed off the sand and collapsed onto his back, his chest heaving as he breathed. "You are so in for it," he laughed almost maniacally.

Alec rolled onto their side to face him, still grinning widely. They rested their cheek on their hand. “I’ll believe it when I see it. What’s next?”

Casey turned his head to look at Alec. "Just give me a minute to stop dying," he laughed. Slowly his breath returned to him and Casey propped himself up on the sand to look at Alec. "Alright, fine. Maybe this is a mistake, but since I picked something, you should pick the next thing."

Alec sat up as Casey propped himself up. They clasped their hands together. “I was hoping you’d say that. How biased am I allowed to get?”

"Fuck," Casey hissed, falling back onto the sand. "I already hate the sound of this. What is it?" He asked, afraid to know.

Alec laughed at his reaction. “Not that bad! Since I cheated and all.” They put the word ‘cheated’ in air quotes. “How about diving in the lake and seeing who finds the coolest stuff?”

Casey narrowed his eyes. "Okay, but are you secretly a merperson? Are you gonna try and drown me this time?"

“Yep! I brought you here to drown you!” Alec replied cheerfully. “Wanna check me for gills?”

Casey grinned. "Okay, well you know nothing turns me on like a good threat." He stood up on the sand and shook his legs out. "Is there a time limit?"

“Five minutes? Keep it short and sweet?” Alec started shaking sand out of their hair.

"Five minutes," Casey repeated. "Let's do it!" He kicked his shoes off and started pulling off his socks, making a small pile of them on the sand.

Alec followed suit and pulled their shirt over their head before running into the lake. “Starting now!” They dove down and opened their eyes underwater to search for anything out of place along the bottom of the lake.

"What the fuck!" Casey was still getting undressed when Alec ran off into the water. Quickly whipping his shirt behind him, he started toward the water, hopping out of his joggers as he went. Once he was in, he held his breath and dived deep, paddling toward the floor of the lake. He tried opening his eyes underwater to search for anything, his hands patting at the mud and sand.

Alec noticed a faint glimmer at the bottom of the lake after their third time coming up for air, and swam down to clear enough silt away to figure out what it was. A minute later, they emerged at the shore, holding a tiny chest, maybe half a foot long, over their head in victory. “Got something! Wanna open it?”

Casey was catching his breath on the sand after dropping off his third empty alcohol vessel. He looked over to see Alec emerging from the water, holding something of actual interest. "What the fuck," he sighed in exasperation. "How did you even find that? Yes, obviously. Crack that bad boy open, baby."

“Luck?” Alec chirped, sitting down on a log instead of the ground so all the sand didn’t stick to them while they were soaking wet. It took them a few tries but after slamming the clasp into the log, it sprung open and a collection of coloured glass marbles poured out into the sand. “Aw, fucking sweet. I love marbles.”

"Oh my gods," Casey gasped as the marbles spilled out onto the sand. "You're..." Casey held up a hand to block Alec from his field of vision. "You're a fucking cheater and you know it, with your lucky bullshit, but I can't even hate you because I think you're so cool, and that disgusts me."

Alec laughed and tried to push Casey's hand to the side so they could still see him. "What? How is it cheating if I can't control it?"

"Don't make me explain my logic, Masters." Casey dropped his hand and pointed accusatorially at Alec. "This is a purely emotional argument and I stand by it 100%."

Alec started gathering up the marbles to return them to the chest. "Should we put this back? I don't wanna get cursed." They slid off the log to kneel down. "But okay, okay! Your turn to choose, you can cheat now!"

Casey waved a dismissive hand at the chest. "It's marbles, how bad could the curse be?" Casey sat down in the sand, then quickly clambered up to his knees when he felt granules of sand find his way into his boxers. "Fuck. Okay. Uh..." He closed his eyes, tipping his head side to side. "I don't know. I need to catch my breath for a minute."

"If each marble is cursed it could be really bad," Alec offered as they closed the lid to the chest. They had one green marble still in their hand, and they held it out towards Casey. "A souvenir! Sure, let's take a break. You can brainstorm ways to beat me at a game. Mind map, maybe?"

Casey laughed and leaned away from Alec's hand. "Why would you say that every marble is cursed and then give me one? I'm not taking one unless you take one!"

"I said if they're all cursed!" Alec laughed and tossed the marble at Casey anyway. "I'm not risking bringing pirate treasure into the place I sleep! What if there's ghosts?" They considered the chest anyway. "But they are nice. Maybe I'll leave it here and see if it's disappeared by tomorrow. It could belong to one of the naiads, I don't want to steal it– but what if it doesn't belong to anyone, and we were meant to find it, and I'm spitting in the face of destiny by not keeping it? It's a treasure chest! That's some find, eh?"

"Okay," Casey laughed, standing up on the sand. "Just get this thing away from me because now it's just cursed in my brain. Like hashtag cursed." He walked over and placed the marble beside the chest. "And listen—I wouldn't have to brainstorm ways to beat you if you weren't such a cheater. I'm not over here, confounded by your skill, let's just make that clear."

"Sounds good!" Alec picked up the mini chest, walked to the edge of the water and hucked it back into the lake. They dusted off their hands and headed back over to Casey. "Whoa, okay, there was no cheating going on in that last game. No skill, either, but no cheating!"

"Uh-huh. How am I supposed to know you didn't run over here this morning and chuck that same box of marbles into the lake?" He shrugged. "Seems kinda convenient, don't you think?"

"Sounds like way too much work for me." Alec grinned at him. "Out of character."

Casey smiled. "Fine. I'll concede, it does seem like more effort than I can imagine you putting in." Casey walked over to his joggers and started dusting the sand off his thighs and calves.

Alec picked up the marble that they had left behind originally and threw it into the lake as well. "No loose ends!" They scooped their shirt up to pull it back on, only realizing after it stuck to them that they were still dripping water and now also covered in sand. "Aw, fuck."

Casey laughed seeing Alec's mistake. "Shit. I didn't think this through." He looked at his own clothes that he had strewn about the sand. "I mean... Guess I have no choice. Just gonna be sandy."

"We'll be smooth like rocks after it exfoliates us!" Alec sat down to put their shoes back on, giving up entirely on not turning into a sand dune. "Probably shoulda taken my pants off before jumping in the lake, eh? Too late now. I'm right tempted to just roll around and get as sandy as possible so I can stop avoiding it."

Casey laughed. "Okay, you can do that. I'm gonna wait." Casey spread his legs and held his arms out to the side, facing the sun in the hopes that it would dry him off faster.

Alec considered going through with it, but the sand was less appealing by the second. They stood up and joined Casey facing the sun instead, closing their eyes and focusing on the warmth against their skin as though concentration would aid in the drying process. "How many rounds is this competition out of?"

Casey shrugged, his eyes closed. "I don't know, five? Wait—" he looked over at Alec. "Did those two just count as rounds? Did we already start?"

Alec cocked their head to the side. "Did they not?"

"Well, if I knew they were gonna count I would have tried a little harder!" Casey argued. "Cheated a little more," he added with a smirk.

Alec grinned and shoved his shoulder. “You still got three more chances.”

Casey laughed and shoved Alec's shoulder back with a bit more force. "That's not how majority works, asshole. I only have three more chances if I win the next two rounds. If you win one more time, you already win by default."

Alec leaned when they were shoved but didn’t move their feet. “Easy solution! You just gotta win the next two rounds.”

"Alright, fine. Then I know what game we're gonna play." Casey dropped his arms and instead turned to stand completely straight facing Alec. "Ninja. One on one."

Alec huffed at the game choice, still smiling, and turned to face Casey too. “Times like this I wish I knew how to control my powers!” They shook out their arms. “Remind me the rules?”

Casey stepped away, just in case Alec tried to pull any funny business and start before Casey was ready. "We take turns. Single, one-strike movements, try to hit your opponents limbs. When a limb is hit, it's out. First person to lose all four limbs is the loser. Got it?"

Alec nodded, well aware of how this round was going to turn out but willing to give it a shot anyway. “Got it. You start?”

Casey smiled and in the blink of an eye, time skidded to a near halt. His eyes focused on Alec's leg—the closest limb to where he stood—as Casey aimed a sweeping kick at the back of their heel.

Alec tried to lift their leg up out of the way but started too late, and only succeeded in unbalancing themself as the kick landed. They winced as they hit the ground. “Can I get up or am I disqualified?”

Casey laughed. "You can take a turn to get up or you can try to strike me from the ground."

Alec grinned. “I dunno if I agree with these rules.” They kicked one leg forward anyway to try and hit his shin.

Almost too easy. Casey watched as Alec's leg swung toward them at a glacial pace. As they reached his shin, Casey just picked his foot up and set it back down after they had passed. Then, without waiting more than a second after Alec had reached stasis, Casey brought an arm down to try to take out one of Alec's.

Alec expected the next hit to come immediately, but without knowing where Casey was aiming, they still pulled their arm back too slowly and got caught on the wrist. They tucked their arm behind their back and grinned up at him. “Cheater,” they sing-songed as they lunged forward for one of his legs again.

Casey realized too late that he was overzealous in his previous attempt to take Alec out because it left him prone to a straight shot in the leg. But somehow, Casey managed to spring up as Alec lunged and hop away from their strike, landing in a more upright position this time. "Oh shit! Close call!" With a spin, Casey swiftly turned and went for Alec's remaining leg.

Alec gasped when Casey managed to dodge them and, with their momentum from the lunge forward, there was no chance of dodging Casey’s attack on their other leg. “What! That was such a good dodge!” they exclaimed, momentarily pulled out of game mode by how impressed they were. “That was awesome!” Realizing they still had one arm left, they tried to swing towards Casey’s leg without using any of their other limbs.

Casey watched as Alec came for his leg. He tried to lift his leg up over Alec's arm but underestimated how much force he'd have to apply. Casey felt Alec's hand clip his foot and cried out. "No!" He fell to one knee and assess his opponent. "Thanks. Guess your luck is rubbing off on me," he smiled. Then, after calculating his best move, Casey lunged forward to attack Alec's remaining arm.

Alec tipped backwards in a last ditch attempt to avoid Casey, but they were too slow and ended up both losing and sprawled out on the ground. “I got you once!” they exclaimed as they sat back up, rubbing their heel where Casey had kicked them originally. “That’s more than I expected! Good game.”

"Good game," Casey agreed. He held out his hand to Alec to help them up off the sand. "Your heel's okay?"

“Just bruised,” Alec replied cheerfully, taking Casey’s hand and pulling themself to their feet. “That was a sweet kick. And that dodge! Fucking awesome.”

"Dodges are my game, babyyyy!" Casey tapped Alec's shoulder as they came to a stand. "Can't get beat if you don't take heat."

"That's a fantastic motto! Rhymes and everything, full poet." Alec widened their eyes as a thought came to mind. "Did you kill at dodgeball when you were a kid? Not actual murder. Like, make your opponents cry. Emotional murder."

"Oh yeah, dodgeball was child's play. Way too fucking easy, it was almost sad," Casey mourned. "But also actual murder."

Alec laughed. "Dodgeball is child's play, that's kinda the point, eh? I can't think of it without getting flashbacks to grade 7 gym. A fuckin' time."

"Maybe we should make it adult's play," Casey suggested. "Could be our next round?"

"Adult's play," Alec repeated with a laugh. "Sounds like a sex shop. For sure, let's do it!"

Casey chuckled at the observation. "Great. Then we should change venues. And clothes, I guess, unless you wanna play wet."

“Guess we need a sorta ball, eh? Or more than one.” Alec sighed and tipped forward so they were leaning against Casey, chest to chest. “Where do you even get those?”

Casey smirked. "You trying to see my balls? Is that what this is all about?"

Alec laughed and wrapped their arms around Casey, resting their chin on his shoulder. “My Masters plan.”

Casey snorted, returning Alec's embrace. "You know, for a vegan, you're so fucking cheesy."

“I’m gonna choose to take that as a compliment!” Alec swayed side to side. “Are we gonna find a ball or just chuck rocks at each other?”

Casey lowered his arms to Alec's waist so they could slow dance more properly. "We could chuck rocks, but it'll suck a lot more for you when I peg you in the face with one."

Alec put their hands on Casey's shoulders and leaned back enough to grin at him as they followed his lead. "I can try and find the cursed marbles again, dive back into the lake."

Casey laughed as they swayed gently. "Why would they be cursed? If somebody was going to bury a treasure chest and lay a curse on whoever found it, do you really think they'd just fill it with marbles?"

"One hundred percent! Why wouldn't you fill it with marbles? What else is there to put?"

"I don't know, bones? Gold? Something more exciting?" Casey started turning them in circles as he spoke. "If I got cursed with a chest full of marbles, I literally would not tell anybody. That would be the lamest curse. I would rather let it kill me."

Alec snickered. "Maybe that's why. The true curse is the embarrassment that comes with."

Casey sighed longingly, looking into their eyes. "You just get me."

Pretending to swoon, Alec leant against Casey again. "Is the third challenge seducing me?"

Casey smirked. "Depends. Is it working?"

"Like a charm." Alec pressed their cheek into his shoulder. "But that doesn't mean you win."

"Are you sure?" Casey tipped his head to rest on Alec's. "'Cause I'm already holding a prize, baby."

"Oh my god," Alec whined under their breath. "You're so smooth, what the fuck."

"You've been hit by—" Casey thrust his hips to one side. "You've been struck by—" Then to the other side. "A smooth criminal."

Now, Alec was holding onto Casey for balance as they laughed, moving with him. "And he's talented too! Triple threat!"

Casey laughed. "Gotta have those smooth karaoke skills." He gasped. "Oh shit, we should have a karaoke party."

Alec gasped in unison. "We should– fuck! Yeah! I love karaoke." They laughed. "That can be our tiebreaker if you win the next round!"

Casey exhaled a sigh of bliss. "I am so down for that. How do we determine who wins? Won't we need an unbiased third party?"

“Aw, man, yeah. It’d be better with like, music too.” Alec took one of Casey’s hands and tried to spin him. “And karaoke’s meant to be bad! Trying to be good at karaoke goes against the laws of the universe.”

Casey lifted his arm up and spun through it. "Mm, those are some straight truths." Once he spun around, he lifted their hands to get Alec to do the same. "Okay, whether or not it's part of the game, let's make this happen for us because now I have the idea and my soul will never be at rest until we do."

Alec spun too and let go of Casey’s hands to flop back onto the ground now that they deemed themself dry enough. “We gotta! Can’t have you sticking around to haunt me ‘cause we failed to make karaoke happen.” Alec grinned up at him. “I bet we can set it up in the rec room, make it a whole thing.”

Casey clapped in excitement. "Yes! Oh my gods, are you friends with Blue? She would eat. This. Up." Casey clapped again on each word for emphasis. He joined Alec, siting on the ground beside his sweats. "Wow, look at us. Party planning committee. Who woulda thought? Not me."

Alec leaned against Casey as soon as he was seated next to them. “We got a lotta friends in common!” They laughed and twisted to flop over Casey’s lap, looking up at him. “I’m more the ideas guy than the planner. Are you good at actually getting stuff like this to happen? ‘Cause we can always rope Ime in, they’re right organized.”

Casey wove his fingers through Alec's hair and scratched their chin with his other hand. "Yeah! I organize Asian Dinner Club and I'm also doing a thing with Akira. A party's a straight shot, no problem. But definitely ask Ime anyway because they're just a legend and I would like them to be there."

Alec closed their eyes, their expression drifting from excited to content. "Aw, sweet, double the planning, half the work. Ime'll be down for karaoke night, they love watching people get embarrassing. Whatcha planning with Akira? They're so intense. Like, in a hot way."

Casey groaned. "Oh my gods, don't even get me started. Like... Oof." Casey shook his head. "We're planning a fight night. I think right now it's gonna be an elimination-style bracket, but we haven't really worked out the safety details of how to make sure people don't die." Casey squeezed Alec's cheeks together to push their lips into a pucker. "Aw. You're so cute."

“I’m guessing you agree,” Alec laughed. “But that sounds cool! I like the rhyme. Fight night.” They moved their mouth like a fish a couple times as Casey pinched their face, then snickered and lifted a hand to push his face away. “I’m cuter when my face is normal!”

Casey laughed and dropped his hand by his side. "Everybody is cuter as a fish," he disagreed. Casey scooped up a bit of dry sand and began sprinkling on Alec's chest. "Do you think we should have a theme? Or do you think 'karaoke night' is the theme?"

“There’s gotta be a theme. Pyjamas? Oh man, what about like, borrowed clothes, you can only wear shit you take from your friends. Vibe swap.” Alec traced a fingertip along Casey’s collarbone.

"Oh, cute!" Casey exclaimed. He scooped up some more sand and continued sprinkling it over Alec's chest. "Wow, that's a great idea. Huh... Except if we invite Akira, I have no idea what they look like with a shirt on," he snorted.

“They can borrow one of my cropped shirts,” Alec laughed, starting to trace spirals into the sand on their chest. “Maybe that’s close enough?”

Casey laughed. "Hot. I might ask you for one of those too." Casey scooped up another handful of sand and sprinkled it on their stomach this time to avoid ruining their pattern. Then suddenly, he gasped. "Oh my gods, you can wear my sporty spice outfit. Loved that text, by the way."

“We can swap outfits from that party! But you can wear real shorts.” Alec beamed. “I forgot about that text until I saw it again the next morning, I was some wasted. But I remember the outfit! It’s stuck in my brain. In a good way.”

"It better be," Casey grinned. "That was easily, like, top five hottest things I've worn." Casey started to scoop up more sand, then added, "Oh, but you have the wear the little white shorts. The outfit is a set. The cleats are optional," Casey joked with a wink.

“I’d never leave them out! The shorts were the best part!” Alec continued the spiraling pattern down to their stomach. “I dunno if your cleats would fit, which is a national tragedy. An international tragedy.” With a dramatic sigh, they finished their pattern and started tracing spirals along Casey’s chest. “I have the perfect pair of shorts I can lend you.”

Casey laughed and shook his head at Alec's sensationalism. Tracing their pattern, Casey spiraled his finger up Alec's torso. "Ooh, describe them to me. Paint me a picture."

Alec tapped their fingers above Casey’s heart in a moment of thought. “Nope!” they decided, grinning at him and dragging their fingers across his chest again. “It’ll be a surprise.”

Casey's jaw dropped in offense for a moment before closing back into a smirk. "Should I..." He narrowed his eyes in contemplation before shaking his head and laughing. "Fine."

“Should you what?” Alec chirped, lifting their hand from his chest to card their fingers through his hair. “You’ll like them, they’ll be funny with the shirt I wore to the party. Maybe I should offer to lend everyone my clothes for the party and start an army of short shirts.” They sighed. “But I only have three. I should buy more. But money.”

Casey shook his head. "Nothing. I thought I would surprise you back but the idea I came up with feels like an uneven tradeoff. Too inappropes." Casey put his finger on Alec's chest and resumed tracing it along the patterns on their chest. "But we could make some of my old t-shirts into crop tops. If you don't mind me stealing your look."

“Too innapropes?” Alec threw a look of clearly exaggerated offense at him. “That sounds even more fun.” They closed their eyes again. “That can be a different themed party, where everyone gets sloshed. ‘Short shirts and shoot shots’.”

Casey laughed. "It would probably be too intense for this kind of party, so maybe we'll just save that in our little back pocket for later. But yes—" Casey tapped on Alec's solar plexus. "Fucking love the sound of that. Short shirts and shoot shots. I want both of those things."

“Aw, I hate mysteries.” Alec drummed their fingers on one of Casey’s shoulders. “Imagine we call the party that and people show up ready to get wasted, but it’s really an amateur basketball league?”

Casey's eyes widened and he let out a laugh. "Wow! Oddly enough, that's exactly the kind of party the surprise would be perfect for." Casey shook his head and looked off into the distance. "Has anybody ever told you that you have a beautiful mind, Alec Masters? Beautiful, mystical, and chaotic."

“You’re killing me,” Alec whined, pressing the back of their hand to their forehead. Before they could continue complaining, their momentary frustration was erased by compliments. “Other than you, right now? Sure gotten the chaotic part a lot!” They started brushing the sand off of their chest. “My mind thanks you.”

Casey grinned. "Your mind is so welcome." Casey leaned back onto his hand so Alec could dust themself off.

Alec sat up as Casey leaned back and brushed the remaining sand off. They climbed into his lap, kneeling on either side of his legs, and rested their arms on his shoulder with a smirk. “Keep the compliments coming, it’s distracting me from how much I want to know the mystery.”

Casey hummed as Alec climbed up into his lap. He slid his hands up to Alec's waist and smiled up at them. "Wow, if it gets you on my lap, then I'll compliment you all day long, baby."

Alec laughed and started running their fingers through his hair again. “Aw c’mon, it wouldn’t even take that much. Not that I’m turning them down.” They traced the fingers of their other hand along where his neck met his shoulder.

Casey laughed and shook his head. "Okay, you say that, but I feel like we've said this to each other before and nothing has happened, so clearly it takes a little more than compliments."

Alec scanned his face for a moment then gave a lopsided grin and ducked their head to press a kiss to the side of his neck, an inch below his jaw. “And what do you want to happen?”

Casey's smirk grew into a full-on smile upon feeling Alec's lips against his neck. He wrapped his arms around Alec's waist and replied, "This." Then, Casey leaned back onto the sand, pulling Alec down with him so they straddled his hips.

Alec moved with him easily and leaned over Casey, one hand on his shoulder pressing him into the sand. “Smooth,” they commented, voice lower though they were still smiling, and leaned down to kiss him.

Casey just hummed back happily and slid one hand up to thread through Alec's hair as they kissed.

Alec broke the kiss for a second to move to lean on their elbows, half to get closer and half so their hand was free to tug Casey's head back enough that they could kiss along the underside of his jaw. They grinned against his skin. "Does this count as the fourth game?"

Casey tipped his head back to relinquish his jaw to Alec. He traced his fingers down their neck and along their spine. "Mm, depends," Casey teased. "How do I win?"

Alec hummed in thought as they continued their trail of kisses along Casey's jaw and down his neck. They released his hair and brushed their thumb along the other side of his jaw. "Not a clue."

When his fingers couldn't crawl any lower, Casey began sliding them across the rivers of Alec's ribs. "We'll call it a win-win."

Alec considered this as they dragged their teeth over his pulse. They pressed a final kiss to his skin, then sat up abruptly and grinned down at him. "I thought you were competitive.”

Casey shrugged, his hands falling to Alec's legs as they sat up. "There's no winners in love and war, right?"

Alec glanced idly around the lake. "Fair point. Wanna go back to my cabin?"

Casey smirked. "Would it make me sound too eager if I said I'd race you?"

With a laugh, Alec rolled off Casey and climbed to their feet. "Game four, race to my cabin?"

Casey reached over to grab his joggers and started pulling them back on. "If that's game four, I can't wait to see what game five is."

Alec waited for him instead of launching into a head-start this time around. "Assuming you're gonna win this race?"

Casey pulled his shoes back on, but just balled up his socks in his pockets and tucked his shirt into his waistband. "I don't know, are you gonna push me?"

Alec grinned at him. “Only if you’re in the lead.”

Casey shook his head, grinning. "Fucking ridiculous." He rose to his feet. "Alright," he announced, starting a slow jog. "Let's do this."

Alec immediately took off towards their cabin at full speed.

Casey waited until Alec was ahead of him to start picking up speed. With any luck, Alec would cramp up or run out of breath by the time they got to the cabin. Then again, Casey wasn't the lucky one. Casey slowly built up to a run, keeping at least two meters to the right of where Alec was running in case they decided to get tricky again.

Alec managed to keep up their pace until the cabin was only a minute or so away, at which point they slowed to check behind them as to where Casey was in comparison.

Casey had kept pace with Alec the entire way there. Right when Alec turned their head, Casey bounded forward to run right at their side. "Feel like cheating?" Casey taunted.

Alec huffed a laugh and tried to pick up speed again. “More with every second!”

Casey matched Alec's pace, running ahead along with them. "Sorry I have to do this! Casey prefaced before shoving Alec to the side and sprinting even faster.

Alec yelped and somehow managed to grapevine their way into keeping their footing. They found an extra burst of energy from the adrenaline, running faster to try and catch up. “Fuck off!” If they weren’t so focused, they’d be grinning, but it was still clear they were amused by the tone in their voice.

In one last mad dash, Casey burst into a sprint toward the cabin. Casey extended his hand out toward the door. As soon as they connected, he yelled, "Safe!"

Alec skidded to a stop before the door and slumped against it. “Close,” they answered, catching their breath. “Really close.”

Casey turned around to lean against the door frame. "GG." He smiled and extended a hand toward Alec. "Ready for round five?"

Alec slapped him a high five, then realized what he probably meant and grabbed his hand, tugging him inside after them. “Tiebreaker.”

Casey followed them inside, kicking the door shut behind them. "First to bust is the loser."

“Wasn’t a given?” Alec paused to lock the door behind them then reached forward to pull Casey closer.

Casey stepped on the heels of his shoes to swiftly pull his feet out as he moved toward Alec. "No cheating."

Alec turned once Casey was close enough to press him against the door. “No promises.”

Casey hummed as his back hit the wood. His eyes flickered over to the various game tables. "You ever get fucked on one of those?"

“More times I can count.” Alec slid their hands over his chest to his hips. “You interested?”

Casey feigned a sigh. "Well, I don't wanna be contrived." Casey's hands mirrored Alec's, grabbing their hips and pulling them in. "But I can't say I'm not interested."

Alec lifted one hand to touch his jaw as they leaned into him when pulled. They moved to speak into his ear. “You wanna get fucked on one?”

"Interesting," Casey replied, in a tone of voice that sounded genuinely interested. "Porque no los dos?"

Alec laughed and kissed him briefly. “Take turns?”

"Fuck yeah," Casey replied with vigor before kissing them again.

Alec pulled the tucked up shirt out of Casey's waistband and tossed it to the side, pulling his lower lip between their teeth as they pressed against him. "Yeah?"

Not wanting to break their kiss, Casey just responding by gripping Alec's thighs and hoisting them up into a carry. He moved across the cabin to set Alec down on a card table. "Hope this thing is strong," he mumbled against Alec's lips.

Alec exhaled a short laugh against Casey's lips but closed the distance again as soon as possible. "S'not a machine," they teased as they were lowered to the table. "Breaking promises."

"We can make the rounds," Casey chuckled as he moved to trace kisses along Alec's jaw.

Alec tilted their head back and grinned up at their ceiling. "Then we better get started."

#mus.casey #rel.casey&alec #frm.chatzy

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royalbloodedbastards · 4 years

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chatzy // blacklight party

DATE: April 11, 2020 CHARACTERS: Camp-wide ABOUT: Cyrus Rooke’s birthday party. No shirt, no shoes, get serviced.

#frm.chatzy #mus.jtt #mus.casey #rel.jtt&sadie #rel.jtt&malia #rel.jtt&rosie #rel.jtt&graves #rel.casey&graves #rel.casey&lulu #rel.casey&alec

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royalbloodedbastards · 4 years

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self-para // consolation prizes

DATE: Saturday, May 16, 2020 CHARACTERS: Casey and Ramona ABOUT: Casey gives Ramona a prize. Ramona gives Casey one in return.

“What is this?” Ramona asked skeptically as Casey handed her the doll.

“It opens,” he explained.

Ramona pried the doll apart, ripping its bright torso off its base. “You’re giving me drugs?”

“Yeah, it’s what the first, second, and third place winners got.”

“They got drugs?”

“Yes,” Casey repeated slowly. “Am I... Not being clear?”

Ramona rolled her eyes. “Okay. Well... Thanks.”

“Mhm!” Casey agreed. “Glad to see your burns are better, by the way.”

Ramona held out her arms. “Yeah. That healer was incredible.” Where Blue had scalded her with the shield, Ramona now only had faint markings and subtle scars. If somebody hadn’t known what had happened during Fight Night, they might have never noticed that anything was wrong with Ramona’s arms. “My legs have more scarring, but—” Ramona shrugged. “Comes with the business.”

“I feel that.” Casey nodded and smiled. “I’m a boxer. I’ve been... Pretty fucked up.”

“Why didn’t you participate in Fight Night?”

Casey shrugged. “Akira and I thought it would be a conflict of interest. Like it would be unfair because I helped plan it, so I’d know what would happen, you know?”

“Shame,” Ramona lamented. “I’d be curious seeing how your refraction powers fair in combat.”

Casey arched a brow. “Refraction powers?”

“That’s what you do, right? Light refraction?”

“Oh no, that’s my sister,” Casey clarified. “That was Lulu. She’s the one with the cool light powers.”

“No, your sister has photokinesis,” Ramona objected. “That’s different. You have refraction powers. That’s like bending light that’s already there.”

Casey stared blankly at Ramona. “No, I have super speed. Or super speedy reaction times, whatever.”

“Wow.” Ramona smiled. “Do you really not know?”

“Not know what?”

“I swear,” she huffed, shaking her head. “You New Athens people truly know nothing about your own capabilities.”

“Wait, no, say more!” Casey protested.

“You’ll figure it out,” Ramona called out, pocketing her doll of drugs and turning to leave.

“No!” Casey called out after her. “I need to know now! Give me the instant gratification!” But Casey watched as Ramona continued away, leaving him alone with only questions.

#mus.casey #mus.ramona #rel.casey&ramona #frm.selfpara #evt.fightnight

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royalbloodedbastards · 4 years

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self-para // a dangerous liaison

DATE: Saturday, April 4, 2020 CHARACTERS: Casey and Akira ABOUT: Casey has a wild proposition for Akira.

What are you doing, Casey? Are you insane? Do you want to die?

Three swift knocks on the bloodshot door. A minute later, it creaked open.

“What’s a fine darling like yourself doing at a wretched place like this?”

“I was in the neighborhood.”

A wicked smile. “Come in.”

The sobriety of the daytime exposed a smell in the Rat Cage that Casey hadn’t noticed the last time. An unknown musk blanketed the air, neither revolting or appealing, but couldn’t mask the hint of rancidness emanating from some unknown place. Descending into the basement, Casey noticed the smell would vanish and reappear—as if something that had died in the walls was moving within them, shadowing Casey’s every step.

“You’ll have to remind me of your name.” Akira’s voice echoed from somewhere above Casey’s head.

“I’m Casey. Casey Um.”

“Korean?”

“You guessed it.”

“I’m Japanese.”

“Japanese from Japan, or American?”

“I was born here.”

“Me too.”

“Shame.”

Casey finally reached solid ground. Just like it was during the party, the basement was only illuminated by the anemic, blue light of a Blockbuster sign leaning against the back wall. Casey turned to see Akira, bathed in that cerulean glow, floating down the stairs. Their eyes were locked together.

“What brings such a beautiful man to the Rat Cage?”

“Ha.” Casey smirked. “You lay it on so thick.”

“Just the stroke of my brush.” Akira waved a hand as he stepped down into the basement. “Who has time for subtlety?”

Casey had assumed Akira had put away his belongings for the party, but the room was still as barren as it was that night. “Where are your things?”

“No things. Easier to stay mobile that way.”

“Where are you going?”

Akira just smiled. “Did you come here to assess my internal decorating?” He stepped in toward Casey. “Or was there something else on your mind?” In the faint lighting, Akira looked more like a shadow than a human being. The light threw a blue halo around the outline of Akira’s body, barely spilling onto his face. As his dark silhouette came closer, Casey could make out the faint blue glint of Akira’s too-wide smile and the whites of his eyes.

“I wanted to ask you about something you said.”

“I say a lot of things.”

“About the fight club.”

Casey thought it couldn’t get any quieter in that underground cage, but then he heard Akira’s breath stop. After a too-long second, Akira turned away and started floating toward the light. “What about it?”

“I want to make it happen. Let’s do it for real.” Casey stepped toward Akira. “If you were being serious.”

“Deadly serious.”

“Then so am I.”

Akira turned back around to face Casey. There it is again. That smile.

“I misjudged you, Casey Um.”

“Misjudged me?”

“You have an effervescence about you. It’s easy to mistake for innocence. But here—” Akira lifted his hands. “I’m seeing an entirely new color in you.”

“I might surprise you.”

Akira laughed, low and raspy. “You already have.”

#mus.akira #mus.casey #rel.akira&casey #frm.selfpara

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royalbloodedbastards · 4 years

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chatzy // weed closet pj party

DATE: Friday, March 27, 2020 CHARACTERS: Chase, Jesse, Malia, Alec, Casey, Blue, L, Parker, Jack ABOUT: The Morpheus cabin hosts a PJ Party. Mammals smoke marijuana and Twister ends with a twist.

Chase made sure that all the lights were placed well and all the blanket walls were secure. He picked up a cat from the twister mat and flipped it onto its back so he could hold it like a baby. He unlocked the door and stood to the side, wondering if he should wait there and be a fake psychic that was standing there the whole time or step back so he wouldn’t be weird. He swayed a bit and then walked over to take his cookies from the oven.(edited)

Malia held her mug of hot chocolate in both her hands as she shooed Killer # 1 from pulling at the blanket fort. She followed Chase into the kitchen and smiled. "Any pronoun preference tonight? I don't want you to like, explain yourself if you don't want to."

Jesse was finishing washing the few dishes that had piled up over the day and didn't hear Malia's question to Chase between the sound of the water running and some vague daydreams. As he put the last plate on the drying rack, he turned around and absently pet Killer # 2 on the head, still in his own world.

Chase set the cat down on the counter, pulled the cookies from the oven, and then picked the cat up again as he turned the oven off. He grinned widely at Malia, heart full. “No, no preference. Thanks for asking. Say whatever feels right.” He leaned against the counter. “Did either of you want a cookie? They’re vegan and don’t have nuts, but they do have weed.”

Malia considered it, then glanced at Jesse. "Want to split one?"

Jesse tuned in to catch the last part of Chase's offer, once he realized he was being addressed. He smiled at Malia, shrugging one shoulder. "Sure, okay."

“I’m actually gonna put a note on them to only take half, so y’all might wanna take a quarter.”

"Oh shit, okay." Malia pulled off half a cookie and then held that half out for Jesse.

Jesse took it from her. "Thanks. Who're you expecting to come?" he asked Chase.

Alec let themself into the Morpheus cabin and wandered over to where the three were standing in the kitchen, looking around as they go. "Hey gang! Are there new sheets up in here? It looks swanky. Do those have weed in them?"

Jack doubted his decision up until the moment he knocked on the door, but he was determined to push himself. "Let yourself blow, Jack," he whispered. After waiting half a minute and hearing voices from the inside, Jack decided to let himself in. "Is this..." The room was much emptier than he expected. "Oh my actual gods," he muttered. "Why am I always so fucking early."

Malia brightened at the sight of Alec and waved her quarter of the weed cookie at them. "Hey! Yes they do." She walked over to Alec to give them a quick cheek kiss and noticed Jack in her peripheral vision. "Hey! You came!" She walked over to him. "I gotta say I wasn't sure if you'd come."

"Uh, yeah," Jack smiled. "Me neither, TBFH," he chuckled. "It smells like the inside of Martha Stewart's purse in here."

"Oh yeah, Chase made weed cookies." She held out her quarter for him. "Take this, I'll go get another piece for me."

Chase shrugged. “Um, it was more of a general invite? Alec said they were co–“ As if summoned, they were there. “Hey!” Chase turned his attention to them. “Sure do! But don’t have any eggs, dairy, or nuts.” He turned to Jesse again. “Uh, I dunno who else. Blue, maybe?”

"Uh," Jack took the quarter cookie in his hand, eyes wide. He hadn't been high before and had no idea this is how the night was going to go. But at the same time, the cooke did smell great...

Malia noticed his hesitation. "You okay?" she asked. "Oh my gods, did I just peer pressure you? I totally did, didn't I? I'm sorry, you don't have to eat this."

Jack laughed. "No, I mean, that's fine. I've just never... Done this before? I've always been curious but, like... Just have not."

Alec beamed at Malia, then bounded over to Chase and Jesse. They scooped up a cookie and broke it in half. "Oh holy mackerel, awesome! You're the fucking best." As they happily chewed away at it, they started petting the cat in Chase's arms. "Can I hold him?"

"Oh, okay." Jesse closed his eyes for a half second and exhaled when Alec came over, and then put on what he hoped was a polite smile.

"Ah." Malia tapped her lips. "Okay, eat like, half of that and check in with me in like, 20 minutes. We'll just pace you."

"Okay," Jack brought the cookie up to take a bite. His first was cautious and amounted to nothing more than a nibble. Swallowing the crumb down, Jack thought to himself, It's already quartered, it's probably not that much, and ate the rest of the piece in one bite. "Ugh. Butter makes everything taste so good."

Chase opened his mouth when Alec took the cookie and then closed it when they only took half. He smiled and held the cat out to drop into Alec’s arms. “I’m gonna go make a sign for the cookies. Can y’all stay here and make sure people don’t take more than half?”

Casey pushed the Morpheus cabin door ajar and poked his head inside. "Knock, knock! It's your friendly neighborhood drug peddler—I mean girl scout!" Casey held his arm through the door, showing off two boxes of Girl Scout cookies in a little plastic bag.

Alec gave Chase two thumbs up and hopped up to sit on the counter beside the tray of cookies. "You got it! I'll guard them with my life." They hugged Killer # 2 close to their chest. "If anyone tries to take more I'll sic Killer here on them." Jesse looked between Chase and Alec, then rubbed his temple and nodded.

Malia blinked as he watched the whole quarter go into Jack's mouth. "Or, you can do that, too." She laughed and sipped her hot chocolate, finding it finally warm enough to drink. "It'll be fun! Here, uh, I dunno if you know everyone here?" She walked back into the kitchen. "That's Chase," she said, kissing their cheek as she walked past. "And that's Alec, and that's Jesse."

Alec waves at Casey from the kitchen with the arm they aren't using to hold Killer.

Jack rubbed his hands together to get off the crumbs. "I don't know anyone," Jack half-laughed. He waved along as Malia pointed people out, being careful not to make contact. "Uh, hey. I'm Jack. Thanks for inviting me."

"Oh my gods, kitty!" Casey launched into the room, setting the girl scout cookies on some surface along the way. "Hi kitty," he sang. "You're such a beautiful little mammal!" Casey smiled up at Alec. "And you're a beautiful mammal too, of course."

Chase smiled at Malia and waved at Jack, then waved at Casey. “Hey Case!” He smiled at Jack. “Ah, Chase.” He shoved a thumb into his chest. “Make yourself at home. It’s real cosy here.”

Jesse has only ever had one interaction with Jack before, and he isn't too keen to remember it. Still, he smiles at him– this is a better place to meet than on a frozen lake. "Uh, hi. I'm Jesse." He rubbed the back of his neck. "But Mal just said that, sorry."

Alec held Killer out to Casey so he can pet him, and then they reach out a hand to pat the top of Casey's head too. "Aw! We should make a club. Founding three members right here. There's vegan weed cookies!" They wave at Jack as well. "Hi Jack!"

Malia moved back into the kitchen to pick up another quarter of a cookie. She popped it into her mouth and kissed Jesse's cheek, too. She wanted to tell Jack that she also invited her brother, but wasn't sure how either person would take the news at the moment, so she refrained. "Should we put on some music?"

Jack waved and smiled at all the greetings, not sure if he was supposed to respond or if everybody else had just convened before Jack arrived and agreed to be nice to the weird guy. "Uh, yeah. Let's put some music on please."

Chase sprinted upstairs to grab a pen and paper and wrote “STRONG: TAKE HALF” on it so that people would get the message. He took a moment to rummage around his room and then ran back downstairs so that he could put the sign next to the cookies and hold allergy medication out to Alec. “Thought you might need this.” He leaned against the counter and looked around. He raised his eyebrows and pulled out his phone. “Does anyone have any requests?” He put on Toxic by Brittany Spears.

"Oh my god," Casey crooned as he stroked the cat. "Cute mammals and vegan weed cookies," he repeated under his breath. His active listening turned off at first contact with the cat and the verbal response was just his way of saving the memory in case it came up again later.

Jack narrowed his eyes at Chase when Toxic came on. He whispered to Malia, "Is Chase... Gay?"

"Ooh, yes, put on—" But the music started playing before she could finish her sentence. Malia laughed, slapping a hand over her mouth. "What would make you think that?" she replied quietly, giggling again.

"Two of the best parts of life," Alec replied cheerfully, breaking off a small piece of one of the cookies and popping it into their mouth. They almost spit it out in their excitement when Toxic comes on and they immediately hop off the counter. "Chase, I would die for you!"

"Um, do you not hear and see what is happening in front of you?" Jack gestured vaguely in Chase's direction. "I mean, like, it's great. But..." Jack laughed.

Jesse exhaled a laugh at Chase and leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms over the pastel pyjama shirt he's borrowing from his brother.

Malia laughed again. "Oh don't worry, I see it. Jack, I think me and Jesse are the only straight people at this party right now."

Chase laughed at Alec and blew them a kiss before looking at Malia. “I can queue up a song that you want!”

Jack looked around the room, brows furrowed. "Um... Since when?" If what Mal was saying was true, then Jack had to fight the urge not to kick himself for coming out to these events sooner.

Alec picked up one of Killer's paws in each hands and made him dance along to the song with them.

Casey pulled a pen from his pocket and took a deep hit, watching Alec dance with Killer. "So debonair!"

Alec cracked up and let Killer jump down once he started to struggle. They sneezed three times in quick succession and picked up the allergy medication Chase had given to them a minute earlier. "That's what they call me!" @spexile

Malia laughed. "I mean... since always? But since we've all been aware? A few years." @spexile

"Oh my gods, are you allergic to the kitty?" Casey sat down to let the cat brush by him as he walked away.

Jack widened his eyes and laughed. "Ugh. Of course. So are there, like, no straight boys at this camp at all because..." Jack's sentence trailed off as he remembered who he was talking to.

"Nope!" Alec replied as they took one of the pills. "I'm allergic to all kitties! And everything else with fur. Do horses have fur, or is it hair? Maybe I'm not allergic to horses. I haven't really tested it out, I think they're some creepy."

Malia raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What do you mean?"

Chase took half of a cookie and nudged Jesse. “What’s up? You look like you’re leaving your body.”

"Huh?" Jesse blinked a few times and turned to Chase, breaking into a smile. "Sorry, zoning out. Everyone looks really nice, yeah? Especially for a pajama party." He ran a hand through his hair, watching Malia as he said this. @caitlin

"Oh my gods," Casey gasped, pushing Killer away. "That's so tragic, I'm so sorry for your loss. I mean, I don't have any cats or pets or anything, but I love being a pet uncle."

Chase smiled and leaned against the counter. “Yeah, not everyone just wears sweatpants to bed.” He looked at Malia as well. “I really like her robe.”

"Nothing!" Jack quickly covered up. His eyes scanned the room, looking for something to change topics to, but he came up short. "So, pajamas..."

"It's horrible," Alec sighed dramatically, their expression giving away how much they were exaggerating their distress. By the time Killer was out of sight, a grin had spread back across their face and they waved their hand. "I used to work in a pet store, I can handle a couple cats."

Malia gave him a knowing smirk. "Were you going to say something about my brother?"

"What? Why!" Casey laughed. "That's so masochistic of you but also feels so correct for your vibe and I love that for you."

"Um, what?" Jack turned red, unable to help the smile forming on his face. "I have no idea what you're talking about, shut up."

Chase sings along to Womanizer under his breath.

Chase also looked around. “Uh, if we don’t all want to stand, we can move to the couches?”

"Working around animals all the time's a dream come true, eh? But they fired me after four days." Alec laughed. "'Cause I was allergic to everything in the store except the fish." They turned to Chase. "I love couches, let's go!"

"Okay, I'm pretty sure you'd be super obvious to anyone, but I literally have a superpower about this stuff so don't play dumb."

"Oh my gods, you're incredible," Casey laughed, getting up to join everyone on the couches. "I want the side seat!"

"Ugh." Jack flushed. "Wait, what do you mean you have a superpower?"

Chase grabbed the tray of cookies to take with him so that the cats wouldn’t be able to get at them while he wasn’t looking. “Case, I put up the shamrock stained glass.” He smiled and pointed it out to him as they sat down.

Malia shrugged and finished her hot chocolate. "I have a superpower. I like, know who everyone likes, who everyone is fucking. All that good stuff. I used to think I was just really observant? But I'm pretty sure it's because of my mom. Oh my gods, but my brothers don't have it, before you like explode with embarrassment. Parker is so clueless and if Kieran did have the same thing I'm pretty sure he wouldn't care enough to do anything about it."

Casey gasped. "Oh my gods!" He went up to the glass to admire the details. "Oh my gods, wait, Chase, now that I'm not drunk, this is actually so good!"

Jesse waited for Chase to leave the kitchen before he followed. He paused to smile and shake his head at the twister mat in the middle of the room before taking a seat on one of the couches.

Alec veered away from the couches to go over to the glass as well. "Aw, shit, it is really good!" They looked over their shoulder to smile at Chase. "You have a new calling!"

"Wait, so, like... Can you tell if someone, like..." Jack didn't know how to phrase the question without sounding pathetic. "What do you think you sense with me and your brother, then?"

Chase set down the cookies and then turned to lean over the back of the couch to look at where his art was hanging near the window. “Aw, guys, you’ll make me blush!” He nodded sagely. “Drunk art is a talent of mine.”

L knocked at the door and smiled at Blue and Parker. “This was a good idea for a party!” Parker shrugged.

Malia hummed and turned toward the sink to start washing her mug. She had a huge grin on her face. "Well, I don't think you need a superpower to tell?" She glanced at Jack. "Let's just say there's a reason I left you two alone on St. Patrick's day."

Jesse got back up from the couch to get the door when the knock came. He opened the door and looked at Parker, then Blue, then L. "Oh, hey. Come in."

Blue nodded, taking L's hand in hers. She slapped Parker lightly on the back. "It is! I don't know why Parker is being so grumpy about it." When Jesse opened the door, she grinned at him. "Sup." She pushed Parker in ahead of her and followed after him.

L stepped in and gave Jesse a hug in greeting. “Hi! I hope we’re not too late!” She pulled away and took Blue’s hand again. Parker sighed and stepped in. “I’m not grumpy, I just don’t see the point in buying clothes specifically to sleep in.” He smiled awkwardly and looked at Jesse. “Um, hi.”

Jesse nodded at Blue and gave L a one-armed hug back before stepping away to give them room to enter. "No, no, not at all." He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled back at Parker. "Hey," he repeated. "What's up?"

Jack's sheepish grin fell off very quickly as Parker, L, and Blue all walked into the cabin. Breathing deeply, Jack pressed his lips together. After the jacuzzis he had mentally prepared himself for a moment like this, but now in person, his heart and brain still felt like they were operating miles apart.

Blue wandered into the living room and, of course, Jack was there. She immediately Did Not look at him and instead put her focus on Casey. She rushed over to him. "Fuck yes, we look so good!"

"Oh my god, trash babies!" Casey squealed and ran over to celebrate with Blue. "What is this recurring mammal theme tonight?" He turned to Alec and called out, "Watch out, we've got some allergens coming through!"

L followed after Blue and waved goodbye to Jesse. “Oh, Alec, do you need any antihistamines? I don’t have any on me but it’s probably not a far run to my cabin.” She teased.

His reaction was not quite what she expected, but looking at what he was staring at told her why. She took a deep breath and dried off her hands quickly. "Want me to go get Parker?"

Alec moved to sit on the back of the couch and pretended they were trying to lean even further away from Casey and Blue. "No! Keep them away! Also you guys are cute as all hell, aw." They shook their head at L. "I'm good, I'm good! Chase got me some already."

Parker shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “Um, nothing. Cool idea for a party.” He hoped Jesse hadn’t heard him bitching about it to Blue a moment ago.

"Oh, yeah, it was Chase's." Jesse cleared his throat and glanced back at the couches. "Yeah."

"Um, no, I mean, he can live his life. it's cool." Jack tried to sound casual but wasn't convinced that he did.

Blue gasped, clutching Casey as if in need of support to stand. "You're allergic, to mammals?"

“Oh.” Parker frowned but didn’t know how to retract his statement without sounding like a hypocrite. “Um, Mal said she was here?”

Jesse relaxed. "Yeah, yeah, just over there. Talking to Jack."

"I know, right?" Casey confirmed. "It pains my heart and I'm not even involved." Casey shook his head piteously toward Alec.

"I am," Alec responded mournfully. "Like, all of them. Wait." They scrunched their eyebrows together. "Not humans. Humans are mammals? Yes."

Parker felt the blood drain from his face. He looked over at Jack and made sure that was far away from where Blue was. “Um, did your brother choose the guest list?”

"I guess?" Jesse shrugged– he's not sure what Parker's really asking, and he has no desire to find out. "I think it was open invite, kind of."

Malia watched Jack carefully, then checked the time on her phone. "Well, okay, that edible is probably going to hit you in a hot sec. We can just chill in here for now?"

L nodded. “Humans are mammals because we make milk! I’m pretty sure you’re just allergic to, like, fur an dander though. But, actually, going back to the milk thing...” she squinted. “I guess you are... allergic to all mammals.”

"That was a gross sentence!" Alec said to L, brightly.Casey fiddled with the ears of his onesie. "Dude... That's so rough," he laughed.

Blue laughed and kissed her girlfriend's head. "You're so fucking cute." She turned back to Casey. "So, I was told there was weed? Where's that?" Jack nodded. "Uh yeah. I mean," Jack looked for a place to sit on the floor. "How do I know when it happens?"

“Ugh, okay.” He frowned again and looked at the two groups of people, and then made his way over to Jack and Malia when he made his decision. “Hey. Hi.” He smiled at them a bit.

"Oh, you'll know." She looked to Parker when he walked over and smiled. "You came! Hi."

L laughed. “I know! I regretted it as it was coming out of my mouth!” She smiled at Blue and tugged at one of her raccoon ears. “Says you in this.”

Jack smiled at Parker as he walked over. "Hey!" Jack noticed that the question he had just posed Malia was echoing now in his brain. How do I know when it happens?

Parker took a seat near Jack. “Hey,” he repeated and shrugged at Malia. “Yeah, Blue invited me.”

"That's cool," Jack mentioned a little too quickly. "Mal invited me." Jack felt a tingle slowly rise up his spine and a smile started forming on his face. "Yeah," he chuckled.

"And so did I! Jerk." She crouched down so she could look at the both of them more easily, smiling despite the weirdness between her and her brother right now. She watched Jack's smile slowly travel across his face and then looked back to Parker. "I was just telling Jack that he might start to feel this edible soon. He took a quarter of one so it should be fine, though."

"Ah, c'est la vie," Alec responded to Casey (on time) and stroked an imaginary beard to give the impression of wisdom. "You can quote me on that."

Blue giggled and pressed her mouth to L's neck briefly. She came back upright and slung her arm across her girlfriend's shoulders. "Very wise," she said to Alec. "I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that before."

Casey scampered away from Blue and L to give them space, taking a seat beside Alec on the couch instead. "Is this distance okay? You'll let me know if you get allergic to me?"

“Oh. Yeah.” Parker flushed. He’d mentioned Blue inviting him to get at Malia and hadn’t even thought of Jack in the moment. He frowned at her. “You gave him an edible?” He tried not to sound too judgemental.

"Thanks! I should put it on a t-shirt." Alec grinned at Blue. They slung an arm around Casey's shoulder and leaned against him. "I'll let you know by sneezing on you, does that work?"

Jack shrugged. "I took it, she didn't peer pressure me." With each wave of static rising up his back, Jack felt his smile grow wider and wider. "This is... Great." He laughed.

Malia sighed. "I gave him a quarter of an edible, and told him to eat half of that to take it slow. Jack," she smiled at him, more teasing this time, "decided to eat the whole thing. But I promise, it's fine. You look very chill, Jack."

"Yes, that's wonderful, right into my hand." Casey cupped a hand under Alec's chin, pinching their nose twice in the process.

"Ugh, shut up, I literally look the same." Jack grinned goofily.

L blushed and nodded at Alec, though she hadn’t really been paying attention to what they were saying. She took a seat on the couch. “Were you asking about something, babe?”

Parker squinted and then hummed in acknowledgement at Malia and then looked back at Jack, and then at the floor. “You do. I’m actually surprised you’re not wearing a power ranger’s suit, since it’s a pajama party.”

Alec scrunched their nose up after Casey pinched it and shook their head like a wet dog. "Gross!" they laughed. "Is there enough like, DNA in that to clone me if I do? I feel like I talk about cloning a lot. Maybe I just talk about everything a lot."

"Um, you told me that we were never gonna talk about that again." Jack pointed at the ground in front of Parker.

Malia tucked her hair behind her ear and stood. "I'm gonna go say hi to everyone else. I like, barely spoke to Alec since they got here." She winked at Jack and then lightly squeezed Parker's shoulder, even though he wasn't looking at her. She walked away from them and wandered over to Jesse, grabbing his hand as she moved to his side. "Hey."

"Yes you do, but so do I." Casey leaned into Alec's embrace and kicked his feet up onto the couch. He pulled his pen out of his pocket and took another hit before holding it out to Alec. "Do you want some of this? It's CBD."

Jesse had been caught between heading back to the kitchen or sitting by Chase on the couch, so he relaxed when Malia approached and gave him something to do besides examining the shamrock stained glass. "Hey," he replied, squeezing her hand with a smile and turning to face her fully.

Parker laughed and ducked his head. He looked back at Malia, smiling a bit as she walked over to Jesse, then shook his head at Jack. “No, no. I promise, my lips are sealed. It was just too perfect to not bring up right now.”

Blue dropped onto the couch and pulled L a little closer to her. "Oh, I was gonna ask about the edibles, but I think they're in the kitchen and uh, someone is in there." She looked around, frowning when she didn't see Parker. "I don't want to make it weird so I'll just— Oh! Casey," she rolled her head over so she was looking at him, now. "Can I have some too? Pleaaaaase?"

"Okay, but actually," Jack leaned it. "If I got like, not a morphsuit, but a headless one? Like a turtleneck with gloves? Would that be weird? Because I feel like it could be like, a thing?" Jack cackled. "Oh my gods. Wow. No sorry, I heard it as I was saying it."

Alec was beginning to feel the edible kick in. "Yell heah," they sighed happily and took the pen, settling against Casey more. "You are an angel and also so comfortable I never want to move again. But hat could also be the, uh," they waved a hand around. "–decor? Yeah, the decor speaking. It's so cozy in here!" Alec passed the pen to Blue.

Chase blinked out of his momentary suspended animation and looked at the people around him on the couch. “Oh, uh, Blue, the edibles are here.” He smiled and pointed at the coffee table. “Didn’t want the cats to be able to get at them.” He blinked again. “Also, hi!”

Malia could feel the edible hitting her slowly, and she smiled up at Jesse easily. "I," she said a little smugly, "stopped a potential disaster. Jack is safe and stoned in the kitchen."

L nodded approvingly at Chase not wanting the cats to consume drugs. She backtracked when she thought of who she might have seen in the kitchen. “Ah, good idea.”

"Yeah, Blue, just take it," Casey waved a hand nonchalantly. "Um, don't take my comfiness away and credit it to inanimate objects! I'd like full recognition for everything you're feeling right now, thank you." Casey pulled his feet onto Alec's lap and nuzzled his raccoon hooded head into Alec's neck. "If they're gonna be cute on that side of the couch, then so are we!"

Parker tilted his head to the side, a smile spreading across his face. “No, no, please let me hear about this thing.”

"Oh shit, I'm blind," she said, laughing. "Okay wait, I don't want your pen." She grabbed a half of a cookie and started to eat, then snuggled back into L's side. "It is a good idea. I have a lot of them, surprisingly."

Jesse didn't bother glancing at the kitchen to check, too busy smiling at Malia. He rested his free hand on the side of her arm. "I guess that makes you the resident peacekeeper."

Chase picked up the nearest cat since everyone seemed to be pairing off. He looked at Casey and then at Blue. “Are you guys matching on purpose, or was this a coincidence?”

"Ugh!" Jack cackled again. He wasn't sure if he could feel his face turning red or if that was just the high. "I was thinking like it'll be like a turtleneck but with the morphsuit hands. And I could just wear it under what I normally wear and it would just look like gloves, but then I could like, poke your face or hold your hand or something stupid like that, blah, blah. Ugh," Jack pulled his face down with his hands, half laughing, half whining. "What am I right now?"

Alec wrapped both of their arms around Casey fully now. "I take it back! You can have 110% of the credit." They rubbed their cheek against the top of his head. "You're saying we're not always cute? I'm betrayed!"

L moved so she could put her arm around Blue. “That’s not surprising! You had the idea about the solar panels!”

"Literally just a coincidence, I don't even know this woman," Casey called out to Chase, scowling at Blue. "And nooo, we are! Sh, shh." Casey gave Alec a reassuring stroke on the back of their head.

"Oh shit, you're right!" Blue laughed as she swallowed the rest of the edible. At Chase's question, she leaned over and flicked Casey's head. "Don't lie because I look better than you!"

Malia flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Oh, me? What an honor! Glad to be of service." She leaned a little closer to him as she laughed, lifting her hand to pull at his shirt. She thought better of it at the last second and lowered it again. "Everyone is on the couch, should we like, actually use the blanket fort?"

Parker felt his chest swell and pressed his face into the cupboard next to him to try to cool his cheeks down at least slightly. He pressed his palm into his mouth to keep from smiling too much and to keep down a small, strangled sound at how cute Jack was. He covered it up as a cough and nodded at Jack, face still against the cupboard. “Wanna hear something lame?”

Alec flopped backwards when Blue leaned over so they were half twisted and lying over the arm of the couch now, still somewhat entangled with Casey. "I hate it when you fight!" they said with a laugh to the two of them. "Not in front of the children!"

Jack sighed, smiling at Parker. "Please. Let me be the not lame one for like, two seconds," he laughed.

Chase laughed and put his hands up. “Woah, woah, calm down everyone, didn’t mean to start anything. This is actually a zero violence household, so I’m gonna have to ask y’all to cool it, you both look great in your fursuits.”

"Aye!" Casey flinched in exaggerated offense when Blue flicked him. "Don't you flick me!" Casey swatted Blue away, his other hand grabbing Alec's shoulder to keep himself steady. "I'm the good parent!" Casey protested to Alec and Chase. "She literally started it."

L pressed her hands to her cheeks and fake-sobbed.

Parker spoke quickly so he couldn’t stop himself. “I brought plastic gloves with me from work so that maybe we could hold hands on Saint Patrick’s day, but I didn’t know how to bring it up.” He leaned back on his hands.

"Sure." Before letting go of Malia's hand so they could move, Jesse ducked his head to lean closer to her so he could still be heard. "You really look amazing tonight."

Jack closed his eyes. His body was frozen still, but a huge smile grew on his face. "Wait... Are you... Being serious?"

Alec pretended to wipe tears away. "This is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but with raccoon fisticuffs on a chesterfield."

“Ugh.” The cabinet wasn’t even cool anymore. Parker sighed. “Yeah.”

“Yeah, and I’m finishing it.” Chase did his best to sound serious and not to laugh, but utterly failed when Alec spoke. “Not with a bang, but with the most Canadian sentence I’ve ever heard in my life.”

"Yo, I have no fuckin clue what you just said, but yes." Blue turned a exaggeratedly mean face to Casey. "You're going down, Casey."

Casey threw his head back laughing at Alec's lament and wrapped his arms around Alec's shoulders again. "Raccoons are very vicious, I can't help it. We fight to the death, we eat trash, and we loan out money for desert island real estate." Casey stuck a tongue out at Blue. "Try me, Nook."

"Do not insult me like that! Nook? The evil capitalist scum? You're really dead for that." She disentangled from L just to get close enough to flick Casey between the eyes, then moved back to her spot. "Try me again."

Jack felt like simultaneously melting and fizzing up like a bottle rocket. "You don't like..." He drew a circle on the floor between them with his finger. "Have them right now... Do you?"

Malia's face uncharacteristically flushed, and she turned her head a bit into his so the rest of the room wouldn't see. "So do you, and I mean it. You look sexy in stripes."

Casey gasped and sat frozen, mouth agape. "You just—Chase!" Casey turned his head toward Chase and yelled out. "Blue is bullying me again!"

"You brought that on yourself!" Blue shouted back, trying to hold in a laugh and keep up the bit.

Parker had never regretted not taking plastic gloves with him to a party more. In all honesty, he considered it, coming to the Morpheus cabin. He pulled his face from the cupboard and buried it in his hands. “No. I didn’t know you’d be here.”

Alec lifted their head more to look at L past the ruckus on the couch. "Did you know koalas have smooth brains?"

Chase tutted and wagged a finger at Blue. “Hey, hey. What did I just say? Raccoon or not, you gotta keep your paws off each other.”

L tilted her head at Alec. “What does that mean?”

Jesse touched her cheek , then remembered where they were and dropped his hand. His ears were warm, and the flush was quickly spreading to his cheeks. "Should we sit down?"

"Their brains are smooth," Alec repeated to clarify.

“What does that mean!” L laughed.

Jack pressed his hands into his face then laughed and shook them away. "That's okay! I'm like—I feel so good right now and I'm just really happy that you're here." Jack scooted closer and touched his index finger to Parker's knee.

Casey stuck out his tongue at Blue again, but he was smiling. He gave Alec's shoulder a squeeze before standing up and walking over to Chase. "Hey! Are we gonna play Twister?"

Malia glanced around the room. "I think I actually left something upstairs," she said quietly, brushing her hand lightly over his chest. "I should go get it now before a game starts or something."

Parker smiled so hard that his cheeks hurt. He touched Jack’s knee, careful not to make contact with his skin. “Me too.”

Alec held their hands out until Casey was fully out of reach, at which point they wrapped their arms around themself instead and turned their attention back to L. "You know how our brains are wrinkly, like coral? Koalas don't have wrinkles, their brains are right smooth! That's why they're bad at crosswords."

Chase tilted his head and then perked up a bit. “We should!” He stood and looked around. “Does everyone wanna play Twister?” He addressed the party.

Jesse didn't get the chance to agree before Chase spoke. He closed his eyes for a moment, then laughed and rubbed the back of his neck again. "Spoke too soon, I guess."

Jack savored the moment for only a second before hearing Chase's announcement. He dropped his head and laughed. "Ugh. Of course it's Twister." He smirked up at Parker. "That's like, a total disaster if I play, right?"

Malia's eyes closed in frustration. "Okay, well, maybe we can go get it later?" she asked him quietly.

L tilted her head, blinked, and then laughed. “Are you serious? About the smoothness, not about the crosswords.”

"Twister!" Casey yelled in repetition, throwing his arms up in the air.

"Fuck yes, Twister!" Blue clapped.

Jesse tucked a piece of hair behind Malia's ear and gave her a half-smile. "Of course."

Parker exhaled a laugh and shrugged. “I bet you could do really well, actually.” He shook his head. “Ugh, nevermind, I didn’t say that.”

Chase picked up the spinner and put it on the floor. “Okay, so, either if someone doesn’t want to play or if someone’s closest, they can spin the wheel for everyone else?”

"Deadly serious!" Alec exclaimed. Without sitting up they slowly slid off the couch, head first, so they could lie on the ground by the twister mat. "Sounds good, Chase!"

Jack laughed and rose to his feet. He pulled the sleeves of his sweaters down past his fingers and held his covered hands out to help Parker up.

It was physically painful to rejoin the party and sit at the Twister mat, but Malia managed, somehow. She pulled Jesse along with her so they were sitting beside each other.

Casey bounded across the floor to sit beside the mat. "Has anyone ever played this in underwear covered in oil?" He asked nobody in particular.

"Only you, weirdo," Blue said as she moved, pulling L along with her. "But that does sound fun."

"I've played it in a swimsuit covered in oil, does that count?" Alec asked, sitting up so there was more room.

“That’s very Greek.” L nodded as she followed after Blue.

"Um, I've never done it," Casey clarified. "I just think it sounds fun! Did you have a good time?" he asked Alec.

Jesse followed Malia easily and nodded his head towards the blanket fort before he sat. "Want a pillow?"

Parker took Jack’s hands through his sleeves despite not needing any help up. He stood there for a moment, the dropped his hands, heart pounding in his chest. “Um, were you gonna be spinner?”

"It was crazy hard, but fun!" Alec moved to sit up on their knees. "We did it on the beach with way too much spray on sunscreen. Slip-sliding everywhere."

"Uh, I guess." Jack's heart sank a little bit. A naive part of him was hoping he'd be able to play, but he wasn't sure how. "Do you think—" Jack turned to Parker. "If they have gloves, maybe I could play? I could just, like... Wear a scarf and gloves?"

"Oh," Malia didn't want to be not at his side for ever a few seconds. But, her ass would start to hurt, sitting here, so she nodded. "Sure, yes, thank you."

Parker blinked and then nodded quickly. “Uh, yeah, I don’t see why not!” He looked around. “Do you want me to ask?”

"Oh my gods, sunscreen, that's genius!" Casey clapped his hands in recognition. "I bet tanning oil would work too. Except for the radiation but whatever, beauty is pain, right?"

"Yeah, please. I like, just officially met half the people here and I'm afraid I won't remember their names," Jack laughed.

Chase crouched to pick a cat off the mat again. “Should I change?” He asked Malia and Jesse, since they seemed least likely to make fun of him and most likely to tell him the truth.

"Well," Malia looked over to Chase. "I love the shorts, but if you're in a compromising position it might be... a bit of a show, for us?" She giggled. "Up to you."

Jesse disappeared into the blanket fort and came back out with a pillow in time to hear Chase's question. He glanced between Chase's shorts and the twister mat. "Maybe, yeah, you might want to." He held out the pillow for Malia, then sat down next to her.

Parker smiled and reached out to touch Jack’s sleeve again. “Cool, I know...” He looked between Chase and Jesse and frowned. “I can ask Jesse.” He dropped his hand and walked over to Jesse and Malia as Chase left, figuring Jack would follow.

Chase bobbed his head and scampered up the stairs.

Alec laughed and leaned against Casey again. "But the tanning oil would rub off some places and stay on the other! Your skin would look right fucked up."

Jack followed Parker. The sensation of walking was very interesting to say the least. Jack found his mind drifting to several different places in the short span of distance between where they were sitting and where Jesse stood. Casey put an arm around Alec. "Okay, good point, good point. So then maybe the beauty is in the fun and laughter you share with your friends and then you just wear long sleeves the next day!"

Blue was leaning on her hands, her eyes mostly closed and lazily leaning in and out, lightly pecking L's lips every time she was close to their face. She wasn't paying attention to the rest of the room. "What did you learn about koalas?" she asked.

Jesse blinked when Parker came over and looked to Malia, remembering now something about a fight between them. He assumed Parker had come to speak to his sister, so he waited for one of them to speak with hopes that it wouldn't turn into an argument.

Malia accepted the pillow from Jesse and moved so they were practically touching while sitting next to each other. She looked up at her brother from her place on the floor and gave him a little smile. "What's up?"

“Um.” Parker cleared his throat and looked at Jesse mainly. “Do you have, like, gloves and scarves and stuff?”

Alec smushed their face into Casey's shoulder. "You're a genius. We could do that in my loft! Except I don't have tanning oil or money to buy it. I have vegetable oil?"

L was in and out of conversations. She smiled. “They have smooth brains! No wrinkles, and can’t solves puzzles because of it.” She nodded a bit, then looked at Casey and Alec. “If vegetable oil comes from vegetables and olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?”

Jesse rested one hand on the ground behind Malia so that even though his arm wasn't around her, there was still a semblance of it. He drew his eyebrows together. "Winter clothes? Uh, yeah, some. Why?"

"Vegetable oil is probably so bad for your pores but maybe, like, olive oil? Is that expensive?" Casey laughed. "Or bubble bath! Oh my gods, this Twister idea is getting steamier and steamier."

Blue laughed at L's joke, resting her head on her shoulder. She glanced around the room finally, not sure how much time had passed since she sat down. She saw Jack standing in the middle of the living room and stared maybe a little too long, then turned her head in the opposite direction, staring at the floor.

Parker shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Because Jack wants to play Twister?”

Jack smiled and waved awkwardly at Jesse from past Parker. "I'm a freak, I'm sorry."

"Oooooooh," Malia turned to look at Jesse. "Do you have rubber gloves? They might have more traction than fabric."

Alec laughed at L. "Olive oil is so expensive," they lamented to Casey. "But I have bubble bath! Oh! Oh! I have bath oil. Or, Ime did, but they left it behind so it's fair game!"

Jesse fully noticed Jack behind Parker now. "Oh. Right." He realized how that sounded and flushed again. "Yeah, yes, we have rubber gloves in the kitchen. And you said a scarf, too? I can grab that."

L tucked a piece of hair behind Blue’s ear when Jack walked into the room and cuddled up next to her more. “Are we waiting for Chase to get back?”

"Wow, this is like, the most intimate game of Twister I've ever heard of and I am so in." Casey squeezed Alec's shoulder. "I'll bring the scented candles and red wine."

"Cool," Jack nodded at Jesse. "Good thinking with the rubber," Jack mentioned to Malia.

Parker nodded and resisted the urge to take Jack’s sleeve again. “Thanks.” He felt weird being the only people in the room standing and took a seat next to Malia. “Hey, what’s up?”

"I'll get the gloves?" Malia offered to Jesse, then turned to Parker with a smile. She wasn't sure if Chase would want to sit there, but her brother was talking to her so she didn't say anything about it. "I'm great, how are you? Actually, hang on, let me go get the gloves."

"That'd be great," Jesse replied to Malia. He smiled at Jack but was careful to keep a decent bit of distance between them as he got up and moved past to go get a scarf from the closet behind the door.

Alec heaved a sigh and pressed the back of their hand to their forehead. "You can't say things like that and not expect me to fall head over heels in love with you!"

Jack glanced around the room while waiting for the scarf and gloves. For a moment, his eyes found Blue and he pressed his lips together in a terse smile before quickly looking elsewhere.

Malia stood and walked over the mat and into the kitchen. She found the gloves in the cabinet underneath the sink and brought them back to Jack with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

Parker opened his mouth to speak to Malia and then closed it again. He folded his hands in his lap and pretended not to notice Blue.

Jack's attention fell back to Malia and he smiled, taking the gloves. "Honestly, so good. Like... Great." He pulled the rubber gloves on with a loud snap.

Blue didn't know what to make of that facial expression, but she was more focused on Parker sitting next to him, clearly with him. She turned her head back to L. "He just gave me the weirdest smile ever? What the hell?"

L frowned and tilted her head “Maybe that’s how he smiles?”

Jesse returned with two scarves, one large and one small. "Uh. I didn't know if you wanted a big one or not." He held them out, carefully.

Malia nodded, briefly squeezing his hand once the gloves were on. "Great." She returned to her spot at Parker's other side and bumped shoulders with him. "Okay, hi, I'm good. How are you?"

"Uh," Jack opted for the smaller one. "This is probably good. So it doesn't, like, drag or anything. Thanks." He wrapped the scarf around his neck, tucking the excess into his sweater. He sat down beside Parker, his face wrapped in a hand-knit neck brace. "This is great."

Parker moved his hand to the space between himself and Jack and looked at the Twister mat. He shrugged at Malia. “Um, I’m fine.”

Casey let his head rest on Alec's and brought up the hand that was wrapped around Alec's shoulder to cradle their face. "Fall in love with me, baby. That's all I've ever wanted."

Jesse nodded at Jack and wrapped the end of the other scarf around his wrist absentmindedly. "Should I check if Chase remembers the game?" he asked Malia.

Malia was debating trying to press for more conversation from her brother when Jesse spoke to her. "Oh, yeah," she frowned. "He's been gone for a while?"

Jack's gaze fell to Parker's hand. He shifted his weight to sit more comfortably before letting his hand settle beside Parker's, so their pinky fingers stacked.

"Hmph," Blue sighed, looking ahead and not at Parker again. "Maybe."

Alec could feel a blush spread across their face despite themself and they grinned at Casey. "I see now! You orchestrated this whole thing to seduce me! Keep going, it's working– flattery is accepted 24/7 in this town. By 'this town' I mean my brain."

Jesse shrugged one shoulder, but he glanced at the staircase. "He might've fallen asleep. I'll go check."

Malia's frown deepened. "Fallen asleep?"

Casey laughed. "Yes, good, then my plan is working beautifully." He let his hand move up to the side of Alec's head, gently scratching his hair. Casey suddenly remembered that he had brought cookies, but couldn't recall where had placed them. He pouted slightly as he wracked his brain for the memory.

Jesse glanced at Parker and Jack before deciding how much to say. “Yeah. He hasn’t been sleeping well. I’ll be right back.”

Malia nodded as Jesse walked away. She knew Chase hadn't been sleeping well but it was concerning to realize that he was this tired. She eyed the mat, brow furrowed in thought.

Parker stifled a smile at touching Jack’s hand and moved so the tips of his other fingers touched Jack’s. He tried to make it so that the line of sight between Blue and his hand was blocked and acted Fully Natural. He looked at Malia and tilted his head at her. “Are you okay?”

L frowned a bit at the mat and extended her legs in front of her. “Have you guys played Twister with paint? It’s awful.” She smiled.

“I’m high as all hell right now,” Alec sighed happily, feeling as though Casey was slowly pulling their soul from their body through their hair. “L! That sounds like a dream come true.”

Jesse headed upstairs and knocked on the wall beside Chase’s door, even though the door was ajar. “You okay in there?”

Jack relished in the sensation of having Parker's hand on his, as strange as the method was. Both physically and mentally, he was buzzing.

Chase was curled up on his carpet, pajama pants cuddled to his chest when Jesse knocked on the door. He sat up with a start and looked down at himself, shook his head, and sighed. He pulled the pants on and ran over to the door. “Ha, yeah, sorry.” He smiled and started back towards the stairs.

Casey laughed at Alec's declaration. He didn't have as much of a head high as he figured everyone else did, but the sensation of playing with Alec's hair was really satisfying multiplied with the CBD tingle. "Oh my god, wait, paint twister actually sounds so fun. Or like pigment powder twister, like they do in Holi?"

Malia looked over and Parker and smiled. "All good."

Jesse put an arm out to stop Chase before he reached the staircase. He was going to say something about how Chase didn’t have to go back down, or how he could stay with him upstairs if he wanted, but neither seemed quite right. He sighed and patted Chase’s shoulder instead. “Want me to make some coffee to get you through the party?”

Parker wanted to take Jack’s hand fully, but was somewhere between not brave enough and not stupid enough to do so in front of Blue. He frowned slightly at Malia. “Okay.”

Blue was trying very hard to ignore Parker sitting next to Jack but was only halfway succeeding. She turned to L and raised an eyebrow. "With paint? That sounds terrible, I kinda love it."

L bobbed her head at her friends. “It’s super messy, but I think it’d be fun. I’ve never done it, by the way.” She tilted her head at Casey. “Is that a thing? Do people end up inhaling it?”

“Pigment powder. I love the alliteration. And that sounds amazing! But less slippery than paint? So lower stakes.” Alec looked around at everyone. “All of the hosts have fled the circle. Oh, hey Parker!” They waved at him considering he was the only one they had yet to greet.

Chase stopped and frowned slightly, then shook his head. “Nah, man, I can make it though a party.” He exhaled a laugh as though this was obvious and started down the stairs. “Were y’all waitin’ for me?” He asked once he was down. “Y’should’ve started!”

"Oh good points," Casey conceded. "Okay, yeah, paint is probably better. And if the colors are all good, probably more aesthetic too?" Casey followed Alec's focus and waved at Parker and Jack.

Parker looked somewhat less than pleased to have Alec bringing attention to him and flushed, glad Jack wouldn’t feel how sweaty his hand was. He coughed. “Um, hey.”

L nodded. “I think I wouldn’t do all the colours on the board! Because then you’d just get brown, right? I’d pick nice pastels or something.” She looked over at Parker when Alec and Casey waved, but thought she probably shouldn’t wave.

“How’s it going?” Alec asked Parker since it was clear Parker didn’t want a conversation. They laughed at Chase when he returned. “Howdy,” they replied in a poor imitation of his accent. “Yeah, w’all were waitin’!”

Jesse returned to his seat beside Malia, watching Chase carefully.

"Yeah, that's a good point. Wow, look at you, Apollo kid over here with the color consciousness," Casey snapped for L with his free hand.

Malia bumped Jesse's shoulder with her own and waved at Chase. "We were! Ready to start?"

Blue is pointedly not looking at Parker. "Who's spinning?" she asked the group.

"Well, we probably can't all play at the same time right? Maybe we could do teams and spin for our teammates," Casey suggested.

“Um, I’m fine.” Parker’s fingertips started to tingle, but he brushed it off as anxiety. “I hear you’re well? High as a kite, was it?”

"Ooooh, good idea." Blue nods. "Okay...." she scans the room. "Teams of three?"

"Close enough," Alec replied cheerfully. "I'm glad you pay attention!" They counted the number of people in room, then nodded. "So like, teams of three where one person spins and the other two duel to the death?"

Chase shook his head and mussed up Alec’s hair as he passed them to take a seat next to Jesse. “Sorry! Killer was bein’ real cute.” He looked around and bobbed his head. “That sounds like a good idea.”

"Don't even joke about death matches, Alec, because I will make it happen," Casey replied seriously.

L looked around. “Should the teams be random?” She suddenly felt like that could turn out terribly. “No!” She replied to herself. “I wanna be on Blue’s team!”

Also she was totally like “omg Casey I AM a color conscious Apollo kid!!!” on time

Blue laughed and pulled L closer. "Okay! And..... Chase, come join us!"

"In.... in Twister? How would that even work?" Alec glanced around the circle again. Their eyes settled on Jack and Parker's hands for a second and they smiled to themself, but it quickly faded and they drew their eyebrows together and pulled their phone out to text Parker.

arent u allergic to latex???

Chase scooted closer to Blue and waved goodbye to Jesse and Malia. “Godspeed without me, guys.”

Malia glanced between the two clearly forming couples on either side of her and Jesse. She put her chin on his shoulder. "We might have to split up," she pouted.

Jesse smiled at her and rested a hand on her back. "Did you want to play? Because I really just want to spin."

Malia laughed. "I also really just want to spin."

Parker checked his phone and made a weird face at Alec when he saw it was them that texted him. He checked the message and the color drained from his face as he realized his fingertips were not pounding in time with his heart but because they were starting to swell. He pulled his hand away and shoved it in his pocket. “Um, where’s the bathroom?”

"Seems it's for the best, then." Jesse blinked and looked over at Parker. "Uh, just over there." He pointed to a door under the staircase.

Feeling Parker's hand pull away, Jack looked down at his own. At took a second longer than it normally would to register the question being posed. "Uh..." Jack turned to Jesse for an answer.

Parker nodded and rushed to the bathroom so he could run his fingers under cold water.

Casey, ever eavesdropping, cupped a hand beside his mouth and called across the room to Malia and Jesse. "Give us your boyfriend!"

Malia sighed. At Casey's suggestion, she closed her eyes and smiled. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that!" she said to Casey. She ran a hand down Jesse's back. "Good luck," she said to him before scooting closer to Jack. "Where'd Parker go?"

Alec laughed at Casey and hopped to their feet. "I'll BRB!" They grabbed the allergy medicine Chase had given them earlier and put it on the ground outside the bathroom. "There's Reactine right outside," they said to Parker through the door ."Don't die!" With that, they hopped back over to Casey.

Chase looked at Blue and L and kept his voice low. “Who’s spinning? Also, should I use my powers to cheat?” L shook her head.

"Same to you," Jesse replied, also choosing to pretend not to have heard Casey. He moved over to sit by Casey and Alec. "Are you guys okay if I spin?"

Blue shook her head. "It's too obvious if you cheat in such a small room."

Jack nodded his head toward the bathroom. "To the bathroom." He folded his hands in his lap and smiled idly at the Twister mat. "This is great."

Malia giggled. "Still feeling good? I think you should be plateauing by now. I'm gonna spin, okay?"

"Yeah! Spin away," Casey chirped, scooting a bit to give Jesse room. As Alec came hopping back, Casey looked up at them. "Everything cool?"

Parker groaned quietly when he heard Alec outside the door and grabbed the allergy medication on the way out. He took a few and downed them with tap water before returning, hand still in his pocket. He sat between Jack and Malia. “We’re a team? Can I spin?”

Alec gave two thumbs up, one for Jesse and one for Casey. "Yep!" they replied to both. "We should get the Killers in on this."

"I just feel so calm. This is what Linda always talks about in my podcast. I just... Ugh." Jack sighed. His hands came up to the scarf to play with the knitting. "Your sister is spinning too," Jack mentioned to Parker as he came back.

Chase sighed and shrugged. “Pretend people are just really high.” L shook her head again. “No way!”

"Yes we are and absolutely not, I can't play twister in this outfit," Malia said to her brother. She grinned at him. "Sorry, deal with it."

Blue cackled. "Nah, we'll play fair." She wrapped her arms around L. "Okay but, who is spinning?"

Parker sighed. “Fine.” He smiled as Jack brought up his podcast. “The uterus one?” He pulled out his phone to text Alec quickly.

Pls dont mention it to anyone?

"The Power of U," Jack smiled. "Hosted by Linda Ballerini, expert in hollistic healing and women's health, thank you for joining us today."

L rubbed her cheek against Blue and smiled. “I can spin if you guys really want to play!” Chase hummed. “I am tall but not bendy. I have trouble touching my toes.”

Malia's mouth opened a little and she smiled. "Why do you listen to a women's health podcast?"

Alec winked at Parker, then realized that could be misinterpreted so they texted him back as well.

u got it!! u should also get new gloves for him tho if u guys are playing tweester together??

They laughed at how 'tweester' sounds for a couple seconds then put their phone away. "Are we against each other Casey? 'Teams' is misleading, eh?"

Parker smiled at Jack more and shook his head at Malia. “It sounds calming!” He checked his messages again and shrugged before putting his phone away.

"She's just so affirming and understanding and empowering. And her voice is like honey." Jack shrugged. "Helps me relax."

Jesse was getting more confused by each addition to the rules. "Wait, I thought we were playing as a team? Is it against each other?”

"Oh my gods, are we?" Casey thought about the logistics for a second. "I mean I guess if it's like every person for themself on the board then that makes sense," Casey shrugged.

"I was thinking like, the two non-spinners face off and whoever wins goes against the winner from another team! But we can also try and cram six people on the mat. That sounds hectic, in a great way." Alec nodded.

"Six people on the mat could be chaotic but also I love chaos," Casey suggested. "Or we could try to tie teammates back to back and have them play as a conjoined unit!"

Alec snapped their fingers. “I love that! Let’s do that.”

Jesse frowned slightly. “Or one from each team at a time?”

Malia still looked a little confused but nodded. "Okay, okay, fair enough." She overheard Alec and Casey's scheming and leaned over the mat. "Um, friends," she sing-songed. "How about, one from each team, when the first person falls the second person swaps in. Last person standing wins for the team?"

L smiled. “Hey, that way nobody has to just spin!” She nodded at Blue like this was the perfect solution.

Casey rolled his eyes. "I mean, Alec and my idea sounds way more fun but sure we can go with the rational thing." Casey leaned towards Alec to whisper, "Okay, so our game is gonna have bath oils, scented candles, and hand cuffs."

Malia shook her head. "Nope, no, I'm just spinning. Two people per team so it doesn't take too long?" She smiled sheepishly between Chase and Jesse. "Please?"

Alec grinned at Casey. “I have two of the three! Do you have scented candles?”

Casey shook his head quickly and put his hands up. "How is scented candles the thing that you don't have?"

Chase gave Malia a thumbs up. “I love not bending and stretching!”

“That’s a good idea,” Jesse answered quickly to Malia, then nodded and laughed at Chase.

Alec cocked their head to one side. “Huh, is that surprising? My cabin used to be full of explosives so I steered clear from candles.”

Satisfied, Malia moved back to her side of the mat. "Okay, Parker and or Jack, one of you get out there."

Casey blinked. "Wow. Amazing. Okay, no, yeah, I have scented candles."

Blue realized too late that Jack was not the spinner for his team and frowned. "Um," she scooted closer to Chase and spoke very quietly to him. "Hey, do you think this is a good idea?"

Parker looked from Malia to Jack and tilted his head. “Should I start? Not to brag, but I’m pretty flexible.”

"I," Jack slapped the floor in front of him, "would love to see that."

"Ew, Parker," Malia shook her head. "Go for it." She addressed the rest of the room. "Who has the spinner?"

“So now I’m thinking about it and being covered in oil with reduced mobility in a loft that has no railing and surrounded by fire is kinda fucking bananas?” Alec laughed. “Sounds thrilling! I’m glad I’m lucky!”

Chase chewed on the inside of his cheek, only now noticing Jack’s Lewk™️. “Um...” He looked at Jesse. “Probably not? Should... uh.” He tried to message Jesse through telepathy and looking at him.

L frisbee’d the spinner over to Malia.

Jesse glanced over at Chase and raised his eyebrows in question when he noticed his look. “Huh?”

Parker laughed and stood. Then, when he noticed nobody else was standing, he squatted so he seemed more ~casual~.

"You... Are incredible." Casey was at a total loss for words. "And also your cabin needs a visit from the fire marshall."

Chase looked at Jack, then at the mat, and then raised his eyebrows at Jesse in question.

Blue saw that Parker was up first and pressed her lips together. "Whatever," she muttered, and moved to stand on the mat. "Casey," she said to her friend. "Come on. Parker versus the raccoons."

Casey clapped, hearing Blue's challenge. "Yes! Let's go!" He stood up and moved to the edge of the mat. "Three competitors! Two species! One victor!"

Alec just laughed at Casey and waved a hand. “Go Casey! You got this!”

Jesse frowned slightly and shrugged one shoulder. “I think it’s okay,” he answered Chase.

Chase bobbed his head. “Alrighty. Spin, Malia. Raccoons should team up and get the human out for now! Then deal with each other.” He smiled. “No alliances!” L protested.

Malia laughed and spun the arrow. "Okay, left hand green."

Parker takes his hand out of his pocket and puts it on the mat, apparently Extremely skillfully.

Chase leaned over and spun the arrow. "Right foot red!"

Blue yawned as she put her hand down, a little off balance.

Casey feeling cocky, turned to face away from the mat, stretched his arms up overhead and leaned back, falling into a backbend with his left hand on green.

Alec whistles at Casey. "Holy shit!"

Parker put his foot on red.

Blue also whistles at Casey and stretches her foot out to hit a red circle. "Don't get too cocky, Case." she teased.

Casey, grinning cockily, slid his right foot over to land on a red circle. "I will be as cocky as I deserve, thank you."

Jesse spun the wheel now. "Uh, right hand green now."

Parker slid his hand over fairly easily to the green circle.

"Already there, baby!" Casey nudged his right hand over an inch to reach another green circle.

Parker put his hand exactly where Blue was reaching and it knocked her off balance. "Uuuugh," she groaned as she slipped out of place. "You screwed me over, Valentine!"

Parker blew Blue a kiss and smiled, hoping that this was a joking anger rather than a threatening one.

Casey tried to angle his head up so all the blood wouldn't rush into his brain.

L jumped up and took Blue's place. "I'll knock 'em dead, baby!" She was secretly glad that Blue was out before Parker.

Malia took the spinner back and twirled it around. "Okay... Left foot yellow."

Parker skillfully moves his foot to yellow.

L moves a leg next to Parker's.

Casey steps his left foot yellow, crossing his legs so that he's holding himself up sideways.

Chase took the wheel from Malia and flicked the spinner. "Left hand red!"

Parker moved his hand and leaned on his blisters. He inhaled sharply but managed to save it.

Casey calculated his next move in his head. With a quick switch, Casey managed to flip himself into an upright position on all fours, with his limbs in the appropriate places.

L moved one arm around but simply wasn't tall enough to reach the other colour. "Oof." She fell and sighed. "Sorry guys." She stuck out her lip as she crawled back to Chase and Blue.

"All good!" Chase patted L on the back. "You did better than I could've." He smiled. "It's all about having fun, anyway. Now we can watch them and mix up all the colors on the mat."

Blue booed. "This is rigged!" she protested, then pulled L close to her to kiss her cheek. "You were the cutest one out there."

Parker is also going After everyone to see which row he's supposed to do because I forgot that he was colorblind ok

L wrapped her arms around Blue and smiled. "Only because you weren't there!"

Jesse spun the wheel next. "Left foot red, now."

Casey deftly brings his left foot over to a red circle. "We're killing this, baby!"

Parker laughed at Casey. "Are you saying that to yourself?" He slipped as he twisted and hit his back. "Ugh." He rolled. "Jack, get in there." He smiled up at him.

"I'm saying it to my beautiful teammate and supporter over there," Casey nodded his head toward Alec.

Malia smirked at her brother. "Now that you're out you can spin," she teased him.

Alec cheered as Parker fell. "Whoo! Twister master Casey!"

It took Jack a solid moment to bring himself up to a standing position. "Oh my gods, okay. Ready to watch me fail?" He went over to the side of the mat and tried to visualize how he was going to take Parker's place.

Parker held up his hand to Malia. "I can't. Out on disability."

"Ugh," Malia swatted his hand away. "Fine, whatever. You ready, Jack?"

Chase whistled at Casey as well. "I believe in you, Nook!"

"Yep!" Jack called out from the mat. He crouched slowly and carefully placed each limb on a circle. "Oh my gods. Oh my gods. Ohhh my gods." Somehow, he managed to get into the correct position. "Oh my fucking gods, wait, am I doing it?" Casey laughed beside him. "Yeah man, that's it."

Blue took great interest in playing with L's hair now that Jack was on the mat.

Parker pulled his hand away, in fear of it actually hurting, and then grinned at Jack. "Oh, you're a natural!"

"Can you braid my hair?" L asked.

Malia spun. "Left hand yellow!"

Both Jack and Casey reached for the same yellow circle and for a moment, their bodies wobbled together on the mat. With clutch reflexes, both of them caught their balance, planting their hands on adjacent yellow circles. "Fuck," Jack hissed, chuckling all the while.

Chase bungled the colours up to throw them off, but did it too late

Blue couldn't help but watch as Jack got way too close to her friend's hand. She eyed the shared circle with suspicion then, finally, turned back to L. "Oh yeah, no problem." She ran her fingers through L's hair and started putting it into sections.

Chase leaned over to flick the spinner, then tossed it in Jesse's direction. "Uh, left foot green, I think it was?"

Casey saw that the easiest green circle was the one caught between them. Trying to move quickly, he launched his foot toward the circle. However, in his haste, he overshot the distance and accidentally kicked Jack's leg out from under him, sending them both toppling to the floor.

"Ow, fuck," laughed Jack.

"Sorry! My bad. Here—" As Casey brought himself up to sitting position, he offered a helping hand out to Jack. Jack reached out in response and before his high mind could perceive what was happening, Casey had grabbed onto his exposed wrists and pulled them both up to a standing position. Casey gave Jack a congratulatory pat on the back and turned to Alec, cheering, "Ay! Who's your man!" Behind him, Jack stood open mouthed, frozen.

Alec pointed at Casey and jumped to their feet. "You are! Wow, that was amazing! Did we win?"

Parker watched the interaction, opened his mouth to say something, and closed his mouth before anything could come out. He tilted his head at Jack and opened his mouth again, but didn't know what exactly he was supposed to say. He pushed himself up and raised his eyebrows at Malia. "Did you see that?"

"Hell yeah we did!" Casey ran over to Alec with his hands up for a celebratory high five. "Mammal power, baby!"

Chase smiled at Jesse, seeing nothing wrong with the interaction. "Good job! You won."

Blue watched them both wipe out with trepidation, and almost stood to interfere when Casey grabbed Jack's arm. But, nothing happened. Blue blinked and sat back.

Malia looked up from readjusting her robe. "What?"

Jack wasn't sure if he was having trouble processing what just happened or just having trouble processing. He looked back at Parker and Malia and stepped off the mat, his brain struggling to form a continuous thought. "Uh, sorry guys. I guess we lost."

Jesse smiled back. "I guess so. I got lucky with my team." He looked up at Casey. "That was really impressive."

Before Parker could say anything to Malia, Jack was back, so he just shook his head at her. "Nevermind." His heart pounded in his ears. "Oh, well. That doesn't matter, the teams were stacked. Alec, like, never loses games."

#frm.chatzy #mus.jack #mus.casey #rel.jack&parker #rel.jack&malia #rel.jack&jesse #rel.jack&blue #rel.casey&blue #rel.casey&alec #rel.casey&jesse #rel.casey&chase #rel.casey&jack

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royalbloodedbastards · 4 years

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chatzy // fight night

DATE: Saturday, May 9, 2020 CHARACTERS: Camp-wide ABOUT: The first and only Fight Night of New Athens!

#evt.fightnight #mus.casey #mus.akira #mus.ramona #mus.sefa #mus.jtt #frm.chatzy #rel.akira&casey #rel.ramona&blue #rel.ramona&tai #rel.ramona&graves #rel.jtt&sefa #rel.casey&lulu #rel.casey&blue #rel.casey&graves #mus.brad

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royalbloodedbastards · 4 years

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chatzy // rooftop rager

DATE: Saturday, April 4, 2020 CHARACTERS: Akira, Malia, Parker, Kieran, Jack, Alec, Ime, Blue, Casey, Rosie, Miranda, Graves, Jacob ABOUT: A birthday bash on Rat Cage rooftop turns into a series of scuffles and romantic rendezvous. TW: blood, mild violence

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

"Darling Gregory!" Akira clapped their hands together as they approached the manager of the warehouse above the Rat Cage. "Don't call me darling, Akira." "Sure thing, cutie. So," Akira leaned against a pallet of wood, "I was just wondering if the roof was structurally sound enough to support a small party of, say, thirty people?" "I don't want to answer that question." Gregory sighed. "Sounds like a fearful yes." Akira grinned wickedly.

SATURDAY NIGHT

"Welcome to the Rat Cage!" Akira held his hands out, at the first guests scaling the ladder to the roof of the Rat Cage. Akira had strung up a long rope of fairy lights that he had stolen from the rec room closet. Scattered on the floor and taped to the ducts were photocopied fliers that read:

AKIRA WAZ BORN: party at dark, rat cage. BYOB—BRING UR OWN BO(Y/I) TOY

Similar fliers were plastered all over the windows and doors of every building on the main promenade downtown. "Glad to see you got my message."(edited)

Parker stood at the bottom of the ladder and looked at his siblings and Jack. He bobbed his head from side to side respectfully despite not recognizing the loud music and smiled. To him, nothing wrong had ever happened at the rat cage and all he had there was a good time, so he was somewhat looking forward to this party. "Oh crap, do you think we were supposed to bring a present?" @spexile @ellis(edited)

“We are the present,” Malia replied with a shrug. She moved toward the ladder and made a face. “We have to climb this?” @caitlin @spexile(edited)

"Seems like it," Kieran responded. "This doesn't seem fire safety compliant." "Yeah, this is, like... Sketchy." Jack craned his neck looking up at the roof of the warehouse. "How did he even carry the speakers up there?" @caitlin @ellis

Parker didn't see too much of a problem until everyone else pointed it out. "Um, maybe it's a power or something? Or he strapped them to his back?" He shook his head, realizing that it was probably a rhetorical question. He watched their expressions. "Did you... not want to go up?" @spexile @ellis

Alec came to a stop behind the gathering of Aphrodite kids. "What's wrong? Oh, there's a ladder? Awesome!" They turned to Ime and gestured towards it. "S'just like home, eh? Knew all that practice would come in handy one day!" @caitlin

Ime grinned widely as they looked at the setup, tilting their head back to look up at the roof. They patted Alec on the back. "Oh, awesome, roof party. Let's scamper on up there. Unless this is a waiting line. You think they weren't on the list?" @brynnith

“Who are they a child of anyway?” Malia wondered out loud. She sighed. “No, lets go up. Let me go in front so one of you can catch me if I fall.” @caitlin @spexile

"Uh, can I go after?" Jack asked Parker. "Since my depth perception is... You know. In case I fall." @caitlin@ellis(edited)

Parker smiled and nodded, not looking behind him despite hearing more voices. "Yep! I can go after that. Catch you guys if you fall." He looked at Kieran. "Unless you're also doubting your climbing skills." @spexile @ellis

Kieran shook his head with a slight smirk, glancing back at Alec. "Alas, this is not my first roof climb." @caitlin @ellis @brynnith

Alec laughed at the ridiculous idea the Aphrodite kids weren't on any list. "Looks like a line, we'll have to wait our turn. I haven't been to a roof party in ages." They grinned at Kieran and gave him two thumbs up. "You're a master! Perfect technique!" @spexile @caitlin

Malia thought Kieran’s comment was cute and worth investigating later on. She put a pin on that thought, though, to focus on climbing. Carefully, she made her way up, hating every second of it. When she emerged on the roof, she wiped off her hands and found the guest of honor. “I see the devil is keeping us on our toes, huh?” @caitlin @spexile @brynnith

Ime wiggled their fingers in greeting to Kieran and sighed at Alec. "That's such a shame. I guess we know that we came here while the party's bumpin, though." @spexile @brynnith

"What's life without a little adventure?" Akira smiled as Malia crested over the edge of the roof. "Glad you could make it." Akira peered down to see who else was coming up. "No friends this time?" @ellis

Jack started ascending the ladder next. "Okay, if I fall off this ladder, please make sure they get me away from this warehouse before I die. I swear to god if I have to haunt this place..." Jack trailed off as he reached the top. @caitlin

"Oh, everyone is my friend," Malia replied, moving out of the way of the ladder. "I guess I'm just the most adventurous of them. Who knew?" @spexile

Parker exhaled a laugh at Kieran's comment, giving Alec a little nod of acknowledgement finally. He laughed at Jack and stood at the bottom as he began to climb. "I won't let you die." He waited until he was most of the way up the ladder and looked back at the rest of the group. "I think they're a bit dramatic about climbing a ladder." He shook his head before following Jack once he was fully on the roof. @spexile @brynnith

"I'm very impressed," Akira dipped his head. "Welcome," he added as Jack reached the roof. "Hi." Jack stepped forward a few paces to give some clearance to everyone climbing the ladder. Jack looked around at the measly decor. "Nice place." "Nice face." Jack grimaced. @ellis

Alec waited for the ladder to be free and then quickly scampered up. They waited at the top for Ime, gazing around at the new view. @caitlin

Malia's mouth opened in shock, and she covered her mouth so Jack wouldn't see her start to laugh. "Hey now, let's play nice on that one topic specifically." @spexile

Parker stood on the roof and looked around. "Uh, happy birthday." He smiled at Akira politely and then stood near Jack. "Hey, you managed to get up in one piece." @spexile

"Uh, yeah," Jack replied to Parker, turning away from Akira. "Let's hope it stays that way." As Kieran, Alec, and Ime stepped onto the roof, Akira welcomed the full group. "Make yourselves at home, everyone! It's an open floor plan, but if anyone's feeling particularly frisky, the air ducts toward the north side are a bit of a labyrinth." They winked. "I'm sure you'll get creative." @caitlin @ellis @brynnith

Ime managed to climb onto the roof rather quickly for someone in heels and smiled wickedly at Akira before nudging Alec's side. "Are you feeling creative? Want to figure out some air ducts?" They stretched their arms over and behind their head. @brynnith

Parker smirked and shoved his hands into his pockets as he looked around. "Some place," he said to nobody in particular.

Alec wiggled their fingers at Ime. "I gotta figure out my mood tonight first! Are you feeling creative?" They turned towards Akira and produced a root beer Dum Dum from the inside of their jacket. "Hey, happy birthday! You probably have a million of these already but I'm broke and know you like them and figured, thought that counts?" They offered it to them. @spexile @caitlin

Malia hooked her arm through Parker's. "I think it's.... versatile?" she offered, trying to not sound too judgemental. @caitlin

Parker nodded and exhaled. "Very different from the last rooftop we were on." He shrugged. "It's a nice idea for a birthday." @ellis

Ime flashed a smile. "I'm always feeling creative." They looked at Kieran, Parker, and Malia. "I like that you all match. Was that planned?" @brynnith @spexile @ellis

Akira pressed a hand to his heart as he took the lollipop. "The thought does, but this is also incredibly thoughtful," Akira winked. They pulled the wrapper off the Dum Dum and popped it in their mouth. Akira reached into their pocket and produced two more for Alec and Ime. "Care to join?" @caitlin @brynnith

Malia sighed. "They can't all be that nice," she said sadly. When Ime complimented them, Malia flashed a grin. "We're just naturally fabulous." @caitlin @spexile @brynnith

Alec beamed when their gift was accepted. "I would love to! You're a right good host, eh? Party snacks." @spexile

Ime took the Dum Dum graciously, a hand over their heart. "Why thank you." They rummaged around their jacket pocket and produced a D20, and held it out in the center of their palm to Akira. "For you." @spexile

"Well now," Akira sang. "What is this?" They picked the D20 up off Ime's palm and held it up in the light. "Incredible. How does one use this?" @caitlin @brynnith

Blue wandered over to the famous rat cage, holding her phone out with the flashlight on to guide their way. "This is sketchy as fuck, I love it so much." She grinned back at Casey. "Did you talk to them about the fight club?" @spexile

Alec scoffed when Ime produced the die and nudged their shoulder. "That was mine." They didn't actually look offended and looked back at Akira. "You roll it and there's twenty different options! Great for making decisions." @spexile @caitlin

Ime winked at Alec. "Oh, well, I guess it was, then. It also was at my apartment, so I just assumed." They shrugged without finishing the sentence and looked back at Akira. "Yeah, more style than flipping a coin. If you have less than twenty options you can make it in intervals of fives, fours, tens, the like." @brynnith @spexile

Also Ime responded to Malia totally on time with a wink. @ellis

Parker looked down at himself and then at Kieran and Malia. "I guess we do match." He looked at Jack again so he could be included in their conversation again. "Did you want any wine? Or are you afraid of not being able to climb down again?" @spexile @ellis

"Um, I'll be afraid whether or not I have wine." Jack snorted. "So wine would be great." Akira smiled at the little token. "Most of my decisions number far less than 20, so that's great information. Thank you," they smiled at Ime then looked to Alec. "And thank you again, indirectly." @caitlin @brynnith

"Ew, I didn't even think about climbing down," Malia groaned. "Oh my gods, wait, I meant to say it earlier but did you know that someone legit got like, punched at the last party here? I didn't even see it happen." She shook her head. "Um, also, I want more wine, too." @caitlin @spexile

"I heard that it happened, yes. I think I even noticed the fight developing, but I try my best to avoid fisticuffs in public settings, so I turned a blind eye," Kieran shrugged. Jack narrowed his eyes. "What... Why do you talk like that." @caitlin @ellis(edited)

Alec ran their fingers through their hair to mess it up. "No problem! Happy to be of assistance." They unwrapped the Dum Dum to start on it. "I love your roof. Something about being up high sparks joy, I feel like a cat sitting on the top of the wardrobe." @spexile @caitlin

Malia waved her hand. "Don't question it, Jack." @spexile @caitlin

Parker unhooked the reusable water bottle keychain from where it hung on his belt loop from when he was climbing up the ladder. He held the bottle out to Jack and frowned at Malia. "Really? I hadn't even noticed. Who was fighting?" He snorted a laugh at Jack. "I think it makes sentences more interesting." @ellis @spexile

"Oh my gods, it gets so much sketchier, you don't even fucking know, Blue!" Casey was almost galloping forward in excitement. "And yes! Oh my fucking gods—" He stopped in his track and grabbed Blue by the hands. "I went this morning. And one, Akira is actually really intense. Like, you'll notice it at this party probably, but holy shit—one on one? I thought I was gonna die and I have never been more turned on. Which brings me to number two—the fight club is on, baby." @ellis

Akira laughed. "Happy to provide you with a vantage point. I thought I'd shake up the elevation this go around, since the last party seemed to inspire... Chaos." @brynnith @caitlin

Blue whooped. "Fuck yes, Casey! I cannot wait to kick ass! Okay, you and I gotta fight, too. I swear one day I'm going to actually hit you." They were alternating pulling each other along to the warehouse. She looked at the ladder in confusion. "Up?" she asked, but already started climbing before getting an answer. @spexile

Rosie spread her arms to present the ladder to her siblings. "Bueno, time to make like monkeys. I fucking knew I wore pants for a reason," she announced, as though she ever wears anything but pants. @a general chris @electriclightparade

Ime unwrapped the lollypop. "Of course. What kind of birthday would it be if I hadn't gotten you a present?" They winked at Alec and nodded at Akira. "I heard that quite a lot that happened last time, so I showed up today so as not to miss out again." @brynnith @spexile

Alec looked around as they heard more people start to arrive. "Ime was devastated to have missed the chaos! They'll never miss a party here again." @caitlin @spexile

Casey shrugged. "The flier said rooftop." He waited until she was all the way up before climbing up to the roof himself. @ellis

Malia sighed. "I think it was Ben? But also, he had it coming because he cheated on his girlfriend so..." She looked at Jack. "Pass that to me when you're done." @caitlin @spexile

"You're in luck. I've been working on a little something and I think you can expect to see a lot more happening here in the near future," Akira teased. @brynnith @caitlin

Miranda looked up at the ladder, then down at her white pants, then shrugged. "Fuck it. Not like I paid for these anyway." She glanced between her two siblings, and when Rosie gestured to the ladder, she moved to climb up first. "No need to fight children, I'll go first." @brynnith @electriclightparade

Jack took a big swig from Parker's wine bottle just as Kieran took a swig of his flask of whiskey. For a brief moment, their eyes connected and neither of them liked it. "Here," Jack offered, passing Malia the bottle. @ellis @caitlin

"That's so vague and exciting! Wow." Alec looked between the two of them, then spun around to head over to the main other group. They pointed to Kieran's flask. "Whatcha got there?" @spexile @ellis @caitlin

Blue scanned the crowd on the roof, immediately saw Parker and his company, and frowned. She felt a little flush of anger and unscrewed her flask. "Who's the birthday boy?" she asked loudly. @spexile

Ime raised their eyebrows. "Is it a secret little something?" @spexile

Graves glanced at the ladder and whistled. "Starting the night off right, oh-kay!" He patted his pockets, checking for his flask(s), then watched as Miranda started up the ladder. "Watch your step Mont- no promises I'll catch you if you fall!" he called to her. He nodded at Rosie, "You're up next, hermana." @brynnith @a general chris

"It might be—" Akira was interrupted by a loud question. Akira raised their hand and Casey quickly grabbed Blue's arm to bring her over to where Akira and Ime stood. Akira smiled as they approached. "You're looking for me?" @ellis @caitlin

Rosie snickered and bumped Graves' shoulder as she skipped over to the ladder. "Going last 'cause you're scared, tumbitas? You better catch me if I fall, I'll be aiming for you anyway." She started to scale the ladder after Miranda. @electriclightparade @a general chris

Jack flinched at the sound of Blue's voice, but he quickly caught himself and took a deep breath. "Whiskey." Kieran held the flask toward Alec. "If you'd like to try it." @brynnith @ellis @caitlin

"Yeah I am, I've heard a lot about you from the president of your fanclub," she replied, baring her teeth in a grin. She regarded Ime with a head nod. "What's up?" @spexile @caitlin @brynnith(edited)

Parker nodded. "I guess so." He frowned, wondering how he missed that. He heard Blue and felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "Um, pass that to me when you're done?" He asked Malia. @ellis(edited)

Ime was rapt by the suspense. They nodded at Blue and took the lollypop out of their mouth so they could speak. "Not much, learning about chaos." @ellis @spexile

"Sure, thanks." Alec took it and took a sip before passing it back. They only made a slight face at the taste. "That's pretty good! Is whiskey your favourite drink?" @spexile

Malia regarded both Jack and Parker with interest, and then Kieran and Alec, and wondered how in the world she became the fifth wheel. She took a large gulp of wine. "Here you go. I think I need to make out with someone. Sorry, is that weird to talk about with you? Do you think the guest of honor would be down?" @caitlin @spexile @brynnith

Casey turned his back toward Akira and muttered quickly to Blue, "Wow, I can't believe you just exposed me like that, not cool." Akira didn't seem to notice. "Well, I'm throwing this party, in case you missed it." They smiled. "Feel free to dance, make love, wreak havoc. Maybe even all at once if you can manage." @ellis @caitlin

Miranda paused to flip Graves off halfway up the ladder. "Pendejo." She stepped off the ladder when she reached the top, she leaned her arm against the side of the ledge of the roof, acting like she had been waiting a century for the other two to finish climbing. "You're so fucking slow! Hurry up, I wanna drink." @brynnith @electriclightparade

Parker blinked at Malia and looked at Akira. "Um, kind of? I think they're talking to someone." He looked away so Blue wouldn't see him looking in her direction and sipped his wine. @ellis

"Um, robe guy?" Jack looked back at Akira. "I mean—their hands are literally on their hips holding open their robe. Like, that is definitely not accidental." Jack turned back toward Malia with a shrug. "I feel like your odds are pretty good." @ellis @caitlin

"It is," Kieran chuckled. "I suppose it's not one of yours?" Kieran took back the flask, screwing the lid on tight before pocketing it. @brynnith(edited)

Ime grinned. "I didn't know that you could separate the three." @spexile @ellis

Akira tapped his nose then pointed to Ime. "I love the way you think." @caitlin @ellis

Malia shrugged. "My odds are always good. I'll give it a few minutes." She glanced between Jack and Parker again and smiled, flipping into a more teasing tone. "Or do you want me to leave you two alone?" @spexile @caitlin

"Maybe I should've gone first so you could catch me," he laughed, pretending to rub his shoulder like it hurt. Once Rosie was climging the ladder, Graves unscrewed the flask he was holding and took a sip. He waved to Miranda, then flipped her off with a crooked grin, before screwing the top of his flask back on. Graves tried to stuff his flask in his already full pockets but quickly gave up. He held the flask between his teeth like a heathen as he started up the ladder. @a general chris @brynnith

Alec laughed. "It is one of my favourites! After wine. I just don't drink much." They gestured to themself. "Strictly 'no bring, only mooch'. Wow, that makes me sound like a terrible person to hang out with at parties." @spexile

Kieran laughed. "It does." @brynnith

Parker rubbed his cheek and shook his head. “Um, I don’t think it’s that easy to be alone here.” He took another sip of his drink before holding it out to both Malia and Jack @ellis @spexile

Rosie flipped Miranda off with one hand as she retrieved a small bottle of tequila from one of her many pants pockets with the other. "You could've started without us!" @electriclightparade @a general chris

Alec grinned at him. "Will you still hang out with me? @spexile

Jack took Parker's drink once again. "Yeah, you don't have to ditch us every time." He took a drink of the wine and held it out to Malia. "Unless you secretly hate us, then I guess go for it." @ellis @caitlin

Ime gave a small salute so they could do something cool back. “Fools hardly differ.” @spexile

Kieran smiled and shrugged. "I suppose we'll just be two terrible people to hang out with at parties." @brynnith

Miranda rolled her eyes, pushing off the ledge. "I could've, last time I try to be at least somewhat gracious." She opened her trusty bag of alcohol, pulling out a bottle of rum, already twisting off the cap as Graves reached the top of the ladder. "I mean, I'm all up for the change of scenery, but I'm actually annoying I can't show you the fucking human sacrifice lair in the basement. We barely got out alive last time." She said dramatically, before taking a drink from her bottle. @electriclightparade @brynnith(edited)

Malia rolled her eyes. "It's very easy to be alone on an open floor plan! Just go to the corner and radiate big 'don't bother me' vibes. And I'm not ditching you, just, giving you some space." She sighed. "I guess I'll stay while there's wine." She moved so she was at Jack's other side. @spexile @caitlin

Graves laughed as he brushed some dirt off his jeans. He blinked for a second, taking in the scope of the rooftop party. It wasn't until Miranda said human sacrifice lair that he tuned back in. "I'm sorry, I didn't know we were here to witness a sacrifice. Who's the volunteer?" He snaked an arm around Miranda, swiping the rum from her grasp, "gracias sis." Graves took a big swig. "Let's get this par-tay started! Woo!" @a general chris @brynnith

Miranda rolled her eyes when Graves stole her bottle, in turn reaching into one of his pockets and stealing one of his flasks. She scanned the roof, observing who else was there already. "Hm, that depends. Do you think we need a virgin sacrifice. If yes? Nos chingamos." @electriclightparade @brynnith

"Thank gods, I'm safe," he smiled another crooked smile and followed his sister's gaze. "See anyone fun? Who- uh who's hosting this anyway?" He traded her bottle for his flask, sniffing it to see which one she'd taken. "Fireball, sick - cheers!" He tapped the bottle with the edge of his flask, smiling when it clinked, and then took another sip. He wasn't pacing himself well, but hey, it was a party.

Miranda laughed, lifting her bottle to clink against his, taking a drink as she once again scanned the crowd. "Fun? Sorry, there doesn't seem to be any mirrors here right now, so that's an overwhelming no. As for host," She pointed out Akira from the crowd. "Them." @electriclightparade

Alec laughed. "Hey, I don't think you're terrible to hang out with at parties! But I don't think that about myself either. Did my loft give you a good warmup for the ladder tonight?" @spexile

Parker turned so that he, his siblings, Jack, and Alec made a big circle, making it harder for people Blue to jump in. "That's true, I guess." He smirked. "I knew you only liked my for my alcohol." @ellis @spexile

Rosie grinned at her siblings then held up her tequila. "Shots? I have enough to go around!" @electriclightparade @a general chris

"It did," Kieran nodded. "You know, as treacherous as a single construction ladder propped up against the side of a warehouse might seem, it's still an easier climb than maneuvering out of a window." @brynnithApril 5, 2020

Graves looked to the person Miranda pointed at and tilted his head, taking in the sight. "Now that is an outfit," he said to his sister. "YO! THAT'S A SWEET ROBE!" he shouted, waving an arm in Akira's direction. At Rosie's mention of shots, he nodded vigorously. "Fuck yeah, shots! Always shots! Monty, you ready? Shots city!" @brynnith @a general chris @spexile

Alec waved a hand. "So humble! I've never seen such roof-climbing talent!" They laughed. "And now it's becoming a habit." @spexile

Blue grinned at Ime, swatting Casey away. "I like you, too," she said. "Oh shit, name's Blue, by the way, shirtless guy. Happy birthday and all that." @caitlin @brynnith

Akira laughed at Graves's boisterous greeting. They gave a wave back before stepping away to some shadowy vantage point. @electriclightparade

"No, no," Kieran protested. "Twice is a coincidence. The next time I'm on your roof, you can call it a habit." @brynnith

Malia rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. I also like you for your spice cabinet." @caitlin @spexile

Miranda let out a laugh as Graves screamed across the roof, being jostled around slightly due to his arm around her. She looked back at Rosie when she mentioned shots, and grinned. "Do you know me at all? I'm so in." @brynnith @electriclightparade

Jack snorted. In a laughing sense not the other way. @caitlin @ellis

"So you're going to go on my roof again?" Alec sounded incredibly pleased by that. "Or are you going to never go again so it doesn't become a habit?" @spexile

Ime smiled. "Amazing. I love the lewk. Classic egirl aesthetic." @ellis

Parker flipped Malia off and held his hand out for his bottle. "Go make out with robe guy somewhere I can't see." @spexile @ellis

Malia laughed. "Give me the wine one more time and I'll stop embarrassing you." @caitlin @spexile

Rosie passed the mini tequila bottle to Miranda and immediately produced another one from a different pocket. "To having a fucking blast tonight!" @a general chris @electriclightparade

"No. I'm not embarrassed. You're just mean and maybe I want to save my wine for me and Jack," he joked. @ellis

Blue did a little bow, her arms out dramatically to either side. "You look hot, too, and I love the shirt." She couldn't help but notice Parker again on her way up, then took another gulp from her flask. "Casey," she said, holding out the flask for him. @spexile @caitlin

"Blue," Casey accepted the flask and took a big gulp. "So is someone gonna fight at this one or what?" @caitlin @ellis

"Thanks. It's actually impossible for me to have FOMO because the party only happens when I'm there, but, y'know." Ime shrugged and smirked at Casey. "I hope so. I missed the last one." @ellis @spexile

Malia narrowed her eyes. She thought of a joke but knew Parker would have a stroke if she said it. So she just rolled her eyes again. "Fine, but only because I like Jack." @caitlin @spexile

Miranda gladly took the bottle Rosie offered up, twisting off the cap as she looked over at her brother. "Do one of those have tequila in it? Or do you need a bottle from your amazing, wonderful, sisters?" She held her bottle out to Rosie. "May we stumble home and not remember shit." @electriclightparade @brynnith

"I think I could make it happen," Blue said with a dark chuckle. "If you really want. People might cry, though, because it's me. Should we get Akira to watch?" @spexile @caitlin

"I'm so glad," Jack grinned. @ellis @caitlin

"Watch? They'd probably participate." Casey looked around for Akira, but they were nowhere to be found. "Or... Not. Uh," Casey turned to point at the Hermes kids, "I bet Graves would be down." @ellis @caitlin

Parker stuck his tongue out at her but held his bottle out to her anyway. "One more sip." @ellis @spexile

Ime raised their eyebrows and exhaled a laugh. "That'd be a great birthday present, I think." @ellis @spexile

Blue followed Casey's finger and saw her girlfriend standing next to Graves. "Hold that thought," she said, taking back her flask. "BRB." @spexile @caitlin

"To getting fuckin' blasted tonight!!" Graves grins and takes his tequila flask out of his pocket in response. "I brought my own to save more alcohol for my amazing, wonderful sisters." He raised his flask to their tiny bottles, laughing as Miranda spoke. "I know I climbed up that ladder, but the more we drink, the less likely it is that I'm getting back down. I'll audible it. Bottoms up bay-bee!" He winks at Rosie and drinks. @brynnith @a general chris

Blue walked over to the Hermes kids, sliding in next to Rosie and draping an arm over her shoulders. "Hi babe and babe's brother and sister," she chirped. "What's up?" @brynnith @a general chris @electriclightparade

"To blacking out and falling off this roof!" Rosie finished with a laugh and took her shot. She pressed a kiss to Blue's cheek when she put her arm around her. "We're taking shots! Y'want?" @ellis @electriclightparade @a general chris

Malia grinned and took the bottle back. She took more than a sip. "Kay, see y'all later!" She walked off in search of the host. @spexile @caitlin

Miranda took her shot, throwing the now empty mini-bottle in a random dark corner of the roof. "Are we dooming ourselves to spending the night on this roof? I mean, I'm down." She watched Blue walk over, and grinned in greeting. "Hello, manita's babe." @ellis @brynnith @electriclightparade

Malia didn't see where Akira went, but she weaved her way around people until she made it back by the air ducts. They weren't kidding, it was a maze back here, especially in the dark, but she made her way through it and heard a faint muttering. "Are we doing a ritual back here? Should I turn back and pretend I didn't see anything?" @spexile

Parker gave Malia a little wave and stood a bit closer to Jack. He looked between him and Kieran and Alec. "So... Watch any good movies lately?" He cringed and took a sip of his wine. "I haven't watched much in French since I was uninvited to our family movie nights." @brynnith @spexile

"Hey!!! Blue!!!" Graves beamed when his sister's girlfriend joined their little group. "Those pants are sick. Want a drink? I have five flasks, pick a number." He raised an eyebrow at Blue, then looked at Miranda. "Roof would probably be as comfortable as the floor so....I'm in." @ellis @brynnith @a general chris

"We'll just see," Kieran shrugged at Alec's question, way back when it was still timely. He turned to face Parker and Jack after Malia left. "Alec and I watched Cléo de 5 à 7 the other week, which I thought was pretty excellent." "Wait," Jack interjected. "Do you all speak French?" @caitlin @brynnith

"Aw, we'll make it." Rosie took another swig of her bottle. "Even if we gotta lower us by rope." @a general chris @ellis @electriclightparade

Blue gave Miranda a hang-ten sign from the hand draped over Rosie. "Three," she said automatically to Graves, tucking her own flask in her pocket and holding her now free hand out for Graves' offer. "Thanks, kiddo. Hey babe, I have two questions. Well, I guess one, now, since your brother just gave me more alcohol." @brynnith @a general chris @electriclightparade

Alec turned in towards the group as well. "It's one of my favourites!" They tilted their head at Jack. "I do 'cause my step-mom's from Québec." @spexile @caitlin

"Oh," Jack nodded. "My mom's from Milwaukee, so..." @brynnith @caitlin

Rosie wrapped an arm around Blue's waist. "Shoot." @ellis @electriclightparade @a general chris

"Cool!" Alec grinned at Jack. "Where's that?" @spexile @caitlin

"Good choice," he passed her the flask without comment. "Gotta guess what it is." @ellis @a general chris @brynnith

Blue held the flask out for Graves. "Unscrew, please!" She turned her attention back to Rosie. "Would you encourage or discourage me from talking to Parker right now?" @electriclightparade @a general chris @brynnith

Parker shrugged and motioned and himself and Kieran. "Well, our mom's the goddess of resent and pettiness, so we get to speak French." @spexile @brynnith

"Hm, let's see." Rosie tapped her chin. "Are you pissed at him? In a serious way?" @ellis @electriclightparade @a general chris

Kieran snorted. "That's not inaccurate." "That... Checks out," Jack snorted. He turned back to Alec. "Um, Milwaukee's in Wisconsin. I never lived there though, it's just where my mom grew up." @brynnith @caitlin

Miranda took another sip from her bottle, her eyes bouncing from person to person as they spoke. "Oh, is there drama incoming?" @brynnith @ellis @electriclightparade

"Oop, I gotcha." Graved unscrewed it quickly, sneaking an amused look at Miranda. Once Blue was set, he took another drink for himself from a different flask, listening to the gossip. @ellis @a general chris @brynnith

Alec nodded their head along. "Wisconsin," they repeated, trying and failing to visualize where that was. "They have... cheese?" @spexile @caitlin

Akira emerged from behind a duct to approach Malia when they heard her calling. "No, no, not interrupting. I was just readying a little surprise for later." Akira stepped closer to the light so Malia could see him more clearly. "How are you enjoying yourself?" @ellis

Blue shrugged. "I might be a little annoyed, but I'm not planning on melting flesh, if that's your concern." She lifted the flask to her nose. "Smells like metal," she said, then took a sip. "Raspberry vodka?" @electriclightparade @a general chris @brynnith

"Nah, no concerns." Rosie waited for her to finish tasting the drink. "If you're just a bit annoyed, sure, why not?" @ellis @electriclightparade @a general chris

Malia's brows lifted in interest, but she figured they'd want to keep the surprise a surprise. "So far it's been pretty dull for me, I won't lie," she said with a shrug. "But I have faith you can make it more interesting." @spexile

"I guess? I don't know, I've never been there," Jack repeated. "But they probably get cheese?" @brynnith @caitlin

Parker smirked at Alec, wanting to make fun of them but also not really sure what else they had in Wisconsin. "Cheese... like Colby Jack." He sucked his cheeks in. "Um, but that movie sounds cool. What was it about?" @brynnith @spexile(edited)

Unlike him, Miranda didn't bother to hide the amused look on her face. She reached into her bag, and pulled out two more mini bottles of vodka. She reached up to rest her elbow on Graves' shoulder, looking only slighter ridiculous due to their height difference, and dangled them in front of his face. "Wanna take another shot? I'm bored." @electriclightparade @brynnith @ellis

"Probably," Alec agreed. Their eyebrows drew together for a moment as they tried to figure out what Parker was talking about, and then they realized the movie he was asking about was the film they had watched with Kieran, not one called 'Colby Jack'. "Oh! It's about a vain woman believing she has cancer and coming to terms with beauty being temporary."

"Well, he has a friend with him," she muttered before taking another shot from the flask. She eyed the crowd she was with. "Would you guys like to interrupt a conversation for me?" @brynnith @electriclightparade @a general chris

Jack shut his eyes and pressed his fingers to his temple. He wasn't sure if he was meant to laugh or cry. Kieran, hoping to pretend like the moment hadn't occurred, added onto Alec's description. "It's also a nice study on existentialism." @brynnith @caitlin

Parker wondered briefly if he should jump off the roof. "That sounds like your kind of movie." He laughed and took another sip of his drink before holding it out to Jack again. @spexile @brynnith

Akira grinned. "There are always ways to make things more interesting. How dangerously would you like to live?"

Alec understands the joke belatedly when wondering why everything became weird. "Oh! Colby Jack." They laughed. "I get it now." @spexile @caitlin

Parker covered his eyes with his hand and sighed. @spexile @brynnith

Jack clapped a hand over his face. "Oh my gods." Kieran just pressed his lips together and nodded. "Dairy humor." @brynnith @caitlin

"Bingo!" Graves answered Blue on time. He laughed when Miranda reached up to lean on his shoulder, and crouched a little to help her out. "A shot would be excellent," he elongated the word, for dramatic effect. "You are carrying me home tonight, right Monty?" @ellis @a general chris @brynnith

Malia tilted her head, appraising Akira. "Why don't you set the pace and I'll tell you if I want you to go further?" @spexile

Miranda laughed, shoving him off of her at his question. "Oh definitely. Look at all this muscle." She flexed, and while she had some definition, she definitely wasn't gunning for 'brawniest camper' anytime soon. "I'll get us down this roof in no time, Gravy." She turned when she heard Blue, intrigued. "I'm listening. What do you need?" @ellis @electriclightparade @brynnith(edited)

Alec laughed again at what Kieran said, shaking their head. "You guys are hilarious." @spexile @caitlin

Blue glanced over her shoulder then leaned a little closer. "I wanna talk to Parker without the white-haired boy having a meltdown." @brynnith @a general chris @electriclightparade

Akira turned his head toward the light to get a glimpse of the crowd before stepping in toward Malia. "Just say the word." Akira brought a hand up to the back of her neck, tracing a finger down her shoulder blade, across the back of her arm, and down past her wrist until he found her hand. With a soft tug, he stepped back toward the darkness behind the ducts, urging her to follow. @ellis

Ime glanced at Casey after rebooting and raised their eyebrows at him. "Do you think anyone's gonna start a fight? Or should we spill some oil on the roof and make everything just slightly more exciting?" @spexile

Rosie looked over to Parker and Jack and made a face once she understood. "Y'wanna get Parker off to the side, or the guy away from the group?" @ellis @electriclightparade @a general chris

Miranda pointed at Rosie when she asked her question. "You beat me to it. And I'm guessing just...sending a text is a no-go?" @brynnith @ellis @electriclightparade(edited)

Blue drank again. "Mmm, I think I'm finishing this," she informed Graves. "Parker aside." @a general chris @electriclightparade @brynnith

Jack snorted. "I mean... I like cheese." He shook his head quickly. "Nope. Sorry, shouldn't have—let's just move on. New topic." Kieran smirked and took another sip of whiskey. @brynnith @caitlin

"I could just go over and ask Parker to walk away with me," Rosie offered. "At this point nothing I do can come as a surprise, he's used to it!" @ellis @electriclightparade @a general chris

Malia thought that was simultaneously so strange and so hot and absolutely followed Akira into the darkness. @spexile

"Ugh, babe, you're so smart." Blue kissed Rosie on the cheek. @brynnith @a general chris @electriclightparade

Graves stood beside his sisters, listening to their conversation with Blue. He made a face as she finished his flask, but he just pulled another out of his pocket in response and winked at her. "Happy to be of service," he smirked, then drank. He wondered who else was here, but hadn't gotten a very good look at the group before doing shots with his sisters. @ellis @a general chris @brynnith(edited)

Parker didn't really know how to bounce back from this. He ran his hand down his face and groaned. "When's everyone's birthday?" He already knew Alec and Kieran's birthdays. @brynnith @spexile

Alec mouthed 'wow' silently, in awe, and was about to spring into action towards a new topic when Parker spoke. They gave him an odd look, but answered nonethless. "October third. Like, the Mean Girls day." @caitlin @spexile

Rosie kissed Blue before she leaned too far away. "Cool cool, now?" @ellis @electriclightparade @a general chris

"Fuck it, might as well." @brynnith @electriclightparade @a general chris

"That's definitely the easiest option. Go for it, Manita." She then handed the mini bottle to Graves, before unscrewing her own and taking the shot. @ellis

Akira led Mal through the darkness, the ducts buzzing deeply around them. They walked slowly, taking an almost grid-like route, each turn perpendicular, almost counted out. Then, without notice, Akira stopped and guided Mal slowly against the wall of a towering, silent duct before closing the distance between them. @ellis

Parker frowned at Alec's look. "Mean Girls day," he whispered after Alec, not really knowing what that meant. @spexile @brynnith

Alec squinted at Parker. "Why do you always repeat what I say under your breath?" @spexile @caitlin

Jack and Kieran pressed their lips together. They looked at each other in silence, once again sharing a moment of awkward solidarity. Kieran suppressed a small grin at the thought. "My birthday is the 18th of January," Kieran piped up. "In case you were wondering." @caitlin @brynnith

Rosie patted Blue's back then detangled herself from her girlfriend and headed over to Parker's little group. "'Scuse me girls and gays, I gotta grab Parker for a sec," she addressed to all of them. @spexile @caitlin

Graves grimaced as he unscrewed the mini bottle that was presented to him. "Okay, I- last one before I take a little breather." He quickly downed the shot and pocketed the bottle. "Sis, how do you feel about roaming the roof?" Graves moved to take a step forward and felt himself sway a bit. He laughed at his own drunkenness, his nose crinkling, then turned to look at Miranda, "Lead the way." @a general chris(edited)

Parker flushed and opened his mouth to respond, but then jumped on Rosie's opportunity to leave. "Oh, yeah. S'why I was asking, for the birthdays... Anyway yeah, bye." @brynnith @spexile

Casey has been drinking from a small water bottle of pure tequila that he brought and talking up some townies.

"Uh, bye." Jack was almost grinning in disbelief. "Wow." "When is your birthday, Jack?" Kieran asked. "Uh, it's August 11. '99." Kieran nodded. "Warm." "Uh-huh." @brynnith(edited)

Rosie laughed. "The fuck did I walk in on, Parks? C'mon." She lead him away from the group. "Heads up, I'm leading you to your doom. Yo, babe, I got him!" @caitlin @ellis

Parker followed along with Rosie and felt the sense of dread appear as his anxiety about his last situation faded. "Oh. Um, hey." He looked over Blue's shoulder so he could seem like he was looking her in the eye.@brynnith @ellis

"A Leo," Alec commented to themself. "Awesome. So Jack! I know like, nothing about you. Sick eye patch, you're like an intriguing pirate. Not drinking tonight?" @spexile

Miranda laughed as she watched her brother sway. He had beaten her on pre-game shots and it was definitely starting to show. “Okay, you drunk idiot. Let’s go.” She dropped her arm, from his shoulder and started walking in a random direction. “Anyone in particular you’re itching to talk to?” @electriclightparade

Blue turned around when Rosie hauled Parker over to her. She bared her teeth in a grin and then turned to Rosie, kissing her quickly. "Thank you, babe. I'll come find you." She took Parker's arm. "Lets go for a walk, Valentine." @brynnith @caitlin

Ime scampered up and rested their elbow on Alec's shoulder. "Hey, this shoulder still hurt?" They nodded at Kieran and Jack. "I like the 'fits." @brynnith @spexile

"Ugh." Jack folded an arm across his chest and pressed his fingers against his eyepatch. "I was—I mean, I was having a bit of Parker's wine. I don't—I'm not 21 yet soo I can't buy myself alcohol for these things." "Here." Kieran held out his flask. "It's whiskey." "Uh... Thanks." Jack took the flask hesitantly. He took a sniff, didn't like the smell, and took a sip anyway. He tried not to make a face. "Thanks. Um," Jack handed the flask back to Kieran. "Sorry, I think we've talked, like, twice. Remind me your name?" As Ime walked up to join them, Jack appended, "Thanks." @brynnith @caitlin

Rosie wiggled her fingers in a wave goodbye to her girlfriend and then headed back to Graves and Miranda. @a general chris @electriclightparade

Parker let Blue take his arm and followed along after Blue, tense. "sure thing, Byrne." He tried not to sound suspicious. @ellis

Alec laughed and wrapped an arm around Ime's shoulders. "A bit!" They gave Jack a sympathetic nod. "Not being legal here sucks." @spexile @caitlin

Graves leaned into Miranda just as she dropped her arm from his shoulder and almost tripped. He took a moment to steady himself and began to laugh. "I'm not drunk Mont- just a tiny bit tipsy." He held his fingers close together to demonstrate how much, still laughing. "I dunno, maybe Casey? I saw him talking to some randos. I gotta ask him about a uhhh about a thing." Graves steered them in Casey's general direction. @a general chris @spexile(edited)

"It's Bluebryn, you asshole," she said, but she said it casually so it was unclear if she was really angry about this. "Want some raspberry vodka? I also have tequila in my pocket." @caitlin

"Well, I turn 21 this summer, so..." Jack shrugged. "I'll get trashed, I guess." Kieran snorted. "Good to have goals." He turned to Ime. "Hi. I believe I neglected to shake your hand at some point." @caitlin @brynnith(edited)

“Right, cause that doesn’t sound sketchy as shit.” Regardless, she scanned the crowd, changing their direction when she stopped Casey in the crowd. Her attention was torn away for a second when Rosie appeared and grinned at her. “Welcome back. I think our brother is about to try and join a cult or some shit.” @electriclightparade @brynnith @spexile(edited)

Casey was in the middle of regaling some townies about the wonders of spicy noodles when he noticed a much more interesting group of people walking towards him. "If you'd just excuse me—" Pushing the strangers aside as if parting the sea, Casey made a beeline towards the Hermes kids. "Oh my gods, please save me from these white people. One of them just pronounced La Croix like a French word." @a general chris @brynnith @electriclightparade

Ime nodded sympathetically. "I legally helped with an autopsy before I could legally drink." They smiled at Kieran and held a up an. "Yes, I remember that, as I always will, like an elephant." @spexile @brynnith

Rosie slung an arm around Miranda's shoulders. "Sweet! Can't wait to witness that." She grinned at Casey. "Yo, my guy. When am I gonna get to try and hit you again?" @spexile @a general chris @electriclightparade

Alec shook their head. "Twenty-one. That's some old drinking age." They looked between Ime and Kieran with a wide smile. @spexile @caitlin

Parker laughed. "Yeah." He looked at her and then at her pocket and shook his head. "I have wine." @ellis

"Cool, fine, I guess we'll just get straight to the point." Blue dragged Parker to a relatively empty part of the roof while she drained her flask, and then spun to face him. "So are you just going to fucking ignore me forever?" @caitlin

Miranda let out a laugh as Casey came running over. “Fucking idiots, all of them.” Her head tilted when she heard Rosie’s reply. “Whose fighting who? Now I’m interested in this conversation.” @brynnith @spexile @electriclightparade

Parker rubbed his forehead and shook his head, giving her a small smile. "I'm not ignoring you." @ellis

Kieran chortled. "I've always wanted a pachyderm for a nemesis. Thank you for realizing a lifelong dream." Jack gave himself a tight squeeze and idly scanned the room, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. In the dim lighting, he couldn't see where Parker went. Jack exhaled and looked back toward the group. "Sorry, wait—did you tell me your name?" @brynnith @caitlin

"Cay-sey! Dude!" Graves punctuated each syllable with a finger gun because he's more drunk than he thinks. "We're fighting," he said, in response to Miranda. He gestured between himself and Casey, and then around the whole roof. "It's gonna be WILD." @spexile @brynnith @a general chris

"You literally pretend to not see me every time you see me, but okay." She angrily shoved the now empty flask into her other pocket and took her phone out so it would fit. Because she was drunk, and impulsive, and angry, actually, she turned her flashlight back on and shone it in Parker's face. "Please try that response again." @caitlin(edited)

Alec leaned against Ime as they laughed at Kieran's joke, despite having no clue what a pachyderm was. An elephant? It didn't matter. "That's Ime! My sibling, and best person on this earth." @spexile @caitlin

Casey cackled. "Oh my gods, you guys don't even know! Listen to this—" Casey held his hands out, as if to pause the conversation. "I talked to Akira... I think we're starting an actual fight club." @brynnith @electriclightparade @a general chris

"Fight CLUB!!" Graves yelled and punched the air. @spexile(edited)

Ime pressed a hand to their chest, not really understanding the word. "I'm known to make dreams come true." They flashed a smile and pointed at Alec. "And this is Alec. We're like those statues where one tells only lies and one only truths and you have to guess who is who." @spexile @brynnith Parker hadn't felt especially anxious until the light was shone in his face. He shook his head. "I wasn't, like, ignoring you. You just didn't come over to me." @ellis(edited)

Miranda almost face palmed when Graves spoke. “Holy shit, you’re so dumb and even more drunk.” She looked over at Rosie and Casey to roll her eyes but didn’t when she heard about the fight club. “Wait,” she turned to face Rosie. “Didn’t Akira mention that in the murder basement?” She now faced Casey again. “That shits actually happening?” @electriclightparade @spexile @brynnith

"No fucking way! I'm fucking impressed at that commitment. Here's to following through and shit." Rosie took another shot. "I'm so in." @spexile @a general chris @electriclightparade

"Because you always come over to me!" she snapped. "Or because now, when I'd come over to you, you're with," Blue lowered the light from his face so she could shove Parker, hard, surprising herself with how angry she actually was, "that fucking guy! You know, the one who almost killed my brother!" @caitlin

Jack snorted. "That's reassuring." Kieran stepped in towards Jack so the four of them were forming more of a circle. "Interesting dynamic. So who's the liar, then?" @brynnith @caitlin

Parker crossed his arms and frowned. Because he had drank a lot of his bottle very quickly due to being so awkward he felt somewhat more impulsive. "I'm sorry that I have to be the one to come over to you when I'm hanging out with the guy you maimed." @ellis

Casey looked around, but couldn't spot Akira. "You guys should fight me," he proposed to the Hermes trio. "You should all fight me right now and the first person who hits me, I'll take you out to hangover brunch tomorrow." @a general chris @brynnith @electriclightparade

Alec grinned. "Ime, of course! Except they aren't. My name is Alec." They blinked at Jack as realization dawned. "Holy mackerel, were you asking me for my name the whole time? I'm sorry! I thought you were talking to Kieran for some reason!" @spexile @caitlin

"Uh, no," Jack shook his head. "We know each other." "We do. Jack is—" Kieran quickly caught his tongue as he remembered the present company. "Jack is a friend." Jack looked at Kieran then quickly down at the ground. @brynnith @caitlin

Ime raised their eyebrows. "Quite obvious that Alec is the liar, they can't stop talking in circles." Ime raised their eyebrows and looked between Kieran and Jack. "Are you lovers?" @brynnith @spexile

Alec threw back their head and laughed. "Ime! Oh my god." They recovered and tilted their head at Kieran and Jack. "Do you know each other through Parker?" @spexile @caitlinracheljones

"Ew." Kieran rolled his eyes. "Absolutely not." "Just ew. No offense," Jack turned to Kieran, who was already shaking his head dismissively. "Yeah, we know each other through Parker." @brynnith @caitlin

Ime flashed their teeth in a smile. "Ah, okay. They were acting like Parker with you." They laughed a bit and then hummed at Jack and Kieran. "What were you talking about before I rudely interrupted?" @brynnith @spexile(edited)

Jack tipped his head. "Um... What?" Kieran clapped a hand over his mouth. @caitlin @brynnith

Alec tipped their head back to look at the sky. "Oh my god," they repeated, under their breath as they shook their head. "Ime." @caitlin @spexile

Miranda assumed her previous position of resting her elbow on Graves’ shoulder. Partly because she had no desire to punch Casey, and also to force her brother to have to bend slightly and not do anything more stupid while fucking hammered. Last thing she needed was to explain to Chiron how her brother fell off a roof. “See, a hangover brunch implies we actually get a hangover. Which of course.” She gestures to herself and her siblings, though not as long at Graves. “We’re pros so that’s not a huge concern for us.” @spexile @brynnith @electriclightparade(edited)

Blue's face flushed as she ignited with instant rage. She wanted to hit him, and she grabbed his bottle in an impulsive urge to use it against him. But instead, she held herself back and shoved him again. "Fuck you." @caitlin

Rosie nodded along for an appropriate amount of time to what Miranda was saying, and then lunged towards Casey to try and hit him. @spexile @electriclightparade @a general chris

Ime tilted their head. "Were you just introducing yourselves, was I not interrupting?" They linked their hands behind their back. "Is somebody going to fight tonight? Or am I at the wrong party?" @brynnith @spexile(edited)

"Honestly," Graves said, trying to shrug off Miranda's arm, "brunch sounds delicious." He took another, long drink from his flask of tequila, just as Rosie lunged at Casey. Graves hooted in amusement. "Rosie YES! Get that brunch!!" He bounced on the balls of his feet, getting hyped up and taking one more drink before pocketing his flask. @spexile @brynnith @a general chris

Miranda knew she’d never be able to contain Rosie, so she didn’t even attempt to stop her. “If you hit him, I want French toast in the morning.” She looked at Graves. “This is why you don’t get drunk at the pregame. If you didn’t, I would let you punch him.” @brynnith @spexile @electriclightparade

Parker held his hands up and took a step back. "Blue, are you kidding me right now? Leave me alone." @ellis

Jack pressed his hands to his face, exhaling deeply. "Okay... Why do I always end up feeling like there's a big joke in the room that only I'm not a part of? Is it me? Am I the joke?" Kieran stayed silent, his lips pressed together. @caitlin @brynnith(edited)

Casey's vision blurred as suddenly he entered hyper-speed. Except this time, he had already been hit. "Fuck!" What felt like a minute later, Casey caught his balance from the impact and turned around. He touched his fingers to his lip and found blood. "Oh my fucking gods. You hit me." He looked up at Rosie, smiling ear to ear. "You fucking hit me!" @brynnith @a general chris @electriclightparade

"No, no, not at all!" Alec shook their head immediately, concerned now. They launched into an explanation. "Ime meant 'cause Parker's always really weird with me about being friends even though we hang out sometimes. 'Cause I annoy him. And you guys just had a weird, like, 'dot dot dot friends?' moment. So they were saying it was awkward?" @spexile @caitlin

"No, fuck you Parker. I'm allowed to be pissed about it! If you hadn't just avoided me like a fucking coward we wouldn't be having this conversation!" Blue shouted back, her voice getting steadily louder. "Dude, I don't even— I just— Ugh, fuck! So you get some good dick and now you think I meant to do that?"

Ime tilted their head at Jack, actually unsure about what he meant, for once. "I wasn't making a joke. I wanted to know if people were..." They spun as they heard a scuffle happening. "Fighting," they whispered. @brynnith @spexile

Rosie jumped up and down in excitement and fist pumped. "Fuck yes!" She held out her hand for fist bump from Casey. "You owe me brunch!" @spexile @a general chris @electriclightparade

Miranda couldn’t help but laugh when Rosie made contact. “Wow, I don’t think that could’ve backfired any harder for you.” She dropped her arm and released Graves, now crossing her arms over her chest. She liked to think that she provided a great distraction. @brynnith @spexile @electriclightparade

Parker balled his fists. "Fuck off, Blue, I haven't even fucking..." He took a quick breath. "Whatever. I haven't been ignoring you. Sorry that I didn't come over to you so you could make fun of me while I sit there like a clueless asshole." @ellis

"Oh shiiiet! Rosie, damn hermana!" Graves' face broke into a huge grin when his sister's fist made contact with Caseys' face. "Damn Case," he laughed. His vision swam for a sec and the world turned a little off kilter, but he shook his head and it cleared. He didn't realize he was so drunk, but he definitely felt more impulsive. "Case, Casey, man. My man. My turn. Hit me, " Graves gave Casey a super bro-y sup nod, and raised his hands. "I'm ready." @spexile @brynnith @a general chris

Jack shut his eyes, and pressed his fingers against his temples. Kieran, at a loss for words, gave Alec a look and nodded toward Jack with a shrug. @brynnith

Blue unscrewed the cap of Parker's bottle and threw the contents into Parker's face. Wine soaked his head and shirt. "You're an asshole, Parker. You and that freak are perfect for each other." She turned, and then turned right back. "Oh, by the way! I've been telling you to buy ugly clothes so you'd look ridiculous." @caitlin

Casey cackled. "Backfired?! That's exactly what I've wanted! Oh my gods—" Casey stepped in to fist bump Rosie. "Fuck it, brunch and mimosas, god damn!" He turned to Graves. "Wait—what? I'm not gonna hit you!" Casey laughed. "The point is that it's a fair fight, I don't wanna just hit you to hit you." @a general chris @brynnith @electriclightparade

Alec gave Ime a distressed look. "Are you okay?" they asked Jack, running a hand through their hair. "It was just a bad joke. Us Tyche kids are known for those." @spexile @caitlin

Miranda was distracted from Graves being an idiot again by Blue screaming. She looked over just in time to see her dump wine on Parker, and covered her mouth to hit a quick laugh that bubbled out of her. She glanced over at Rosie to see if she noticed what was going on, slapping her brother to get his attention. “Oh, shit. There’s the drama.” @electriclightparade @spexile @brynnith(edited)

Akira led Malia back to the point where they met. "You can find your friends, I'll hang back." Akira squinted towards the crowd. "Though it looks like... There's fighting happening." Akira was caught somewhere between a grimace and a smirk. "Figures, right?" @ellis

Rosie threw her hands up in the air. "Fuck yes. Score." She laughed at Graves, but turned her head in time to see Blue cover Parker in wine. "Fuck." Her smile faded. "Shit. Fuck." She immediately started towards where Blue was headed. @a general chris @ellis @electriclightparade

Parker didn't process anything that happened until Blue had turned for the second time. He took a step forward. "If I'm an asshole then we're the perfect friends!" He was yelling now. He pushed his hair back. "You know what, fuck you for that. I look like a fucking jerk to my siblings who make me feel like a fucking idiot and I thought it was funny but you know what, it isn't! You're fucking mean, Blue." @ellis

Jack just shook his head, trying to ignore Alec's inquiry, but the sound of Blue and Parker's screaming had cut through the noise of the party. Or maybe it was that the noise had subsided to give them way. "What the fuck—" Jack stepped in their direction to get a better view. Kieran sighed, seeing what was happening in the distance. @brynnith @caitlin

After 20 minutes with Akria, Malia decided her hair was a lost cause. She was mid-tying it up into a ponytail as she glanced over her shoulder, following their stare. "Oh, shit," she muttered. "That's my brother." @spexile

Ime turned back when they realized that Alec was actually upset. "Oh. Yes, I did make a bad joke." They frowned, confused. "Did you want to hear a good joke?" They looked over when Parker started yelling and pulled out their phone. "I'm not on my game, missing everything." @spexile @brynnith(edited)

"Go," Akira suggested. "Before she spits on him." @ellis

Alec pressed their hands to their cheeks and turned towards Blue and Parker as well. "Oh my." @spexile @caitlin

"Better mean than a clueless douchebag and a terrible friend, you fucking prick." She spit at his feet, then spun on her heel to march away. She remembered that she still had his bottle in her hands. She turned back once again and threw first the bottle, and then the cap at him as hard as she could. @caitlin

Graves' grin only broadened at Casey's response. He nodded, trying to be solemn, "T'was a test. Y'passed. A fair and generous oppo-" He broke off in the middle of his sentence when he heard a scream. Seeing Rosie walk away, he put the pieces together, then looked at Miranda. "Should we uh, 'elp her?" He looked in Casey's direction, eyeing his face, to see what damage Rosie had done. His glance lingered a second too long over Casey's split lip, before he focused on the other fight brewing. @spexile @brynnith @a general chris(edited)

Rosie winced when Blue threw the bottle at Parker. "Fucking christ." She stopped a couple feet away from her girlfriend. "Y'wanna go?" @ellis

"Doesn't everyone want me to go?" she asked Rosie sharply. She headed toward the ladder. @brynnith

"Um..." As his attention shifted to the other fight, Casey stepped in toward Graves and Miranda. "Maybe we should let this one play out." @electriclightparade @a general chris

Rosie hurried after her. "I'll go with you." @ellis

Parker stepped out of the way of the bottle and spun to avoid the cap. His eyes stung. He wiped more wine off his face and pressed his palms into his eyes. "Fuck!" He sighed and tried not to notice anyone looking at him.

Miranda watched Rosie approach Blue, but didn’t immediately follow her. “Hang on a second.” She took a few steps forward, so she was closer just in case, but paused when Blue headed towards the ladder with her sister not far behind. “That’s a no.” She let out a sigh, first Macey, now Rosie. Thank god she wasn’t dating. “I’ll check up on her later, give Blue some time to cool off.” @spexile @electriclightparade

As soon as Blue stepped away, Jack made his way quickly to Parker. "What the fuck was that? Are you okay?" Jack spoke softly but quickly, trying not to sound harried. His eyes scanned over Parker's body for any cuts or bleeding. "I'll be right back," Kieran muttered to Alec before slowly heading over to his brother. @caitlin @brynnith

It was too late to stop him being spit at, and from blocking the things being thrown at him, but Malia hurried over anyway. She took her brother's hand and glanced at Jack, and Kieran approaching. @caitlin @spexile

Alec nodded at Kieran and looked back at Ime, eyebrows drawn together. @caitlin @spexile

"Um..." Casey looked between them. "Group decompression brunch?" Casey half-joked. @a general chris @electriclightparade

Blue shook her head without looking back at Rosie. She paused at the top of the ladder to blink away tears that were blurring her vision. "You shouldn't have to stop your night because of me." @brynnith

Ime kept recording and whispered to Alec. "Should I stop recording? Or should I get a tearful end?" @brynnith

Akira waited until Malia reached her brother before returning to the shadowy location where they had retreated to. He turned on his phone flashlight and swept the area, revealing several wooden crates packed full with small explosives. He sighed disappointedly before clicking the light off and starting back toward the main area.

Parker flicked wine from his hand and shook his head, grabbing his bottle. He crouched and occupied himself with looking for the cap. "Yeah, I'm fine." @spexile @ellis

Graves stopped mid-step when Miranda called for pause, like an obedient puppy. He looked over her shoulder at their sister, a worried look on his face. When it seemed like the fight was dissipating, he relaxed and turned to Casey. "Brunch! Even though I didn't punch you? I'd kill for some eggs and hash browns, honestly," he winked and raised his eyebrows at him. @spexile @a general chris

Rosie hesitated then touched Blue's back. "Duh, but I'm gonna anyway. Let's go smash some bottles or shit like that." @ellis

Alec frowned at Ime. "Stop recording. You should delete that." @caitlin

Malia quickly scanned the outfits of the two boys surrounding her, then glanced back to the party, then back to Parker. "Give me two minutes," she said to them. She gave Jack a look that he hoped he would understand to mean to keep him there. She then ran over to Alec. "Hey. Can I take your flannel? I'll buy you a new one." @brynnith @spexile @caitlin

Alec started pulling their flannel off as soon as Malia mentioned it. "Yeah, yeah! Don't worry about it." They handed it to her. @ellis @caitlin

Miranda wasn’t as quick to turn back to Casey as Graves was. She kept Rosie in her peripheral vision, and her smile was wiped from her face. “I was serious when I said I wanted French toast.” She butted in, but not fully paying attention to the conversation. @spexile @electriclightparade

Ime sighed and turned off their camera but didn't delete it. "I wish I got her throwing wine at him." @brynnith

"Aw, I'll take you out for brunch any time, baby, you don't have to kill for me," Casey winked back at Graves. "So group brunch it is, then!" Casey nodded at Miranda. @electriclightparade@a general chris(edited)

Jack wasn't entirely sure what Malia meant with her look, but he stepped in toward Parker after she left. "Are you hurt?" Kieran hovered right behind Jack, shooting dirty glances at anybody who came too close. @caitlin

Malia took the flannel and gave them a grateful look as she immediately rushed back to her brother's side. "There are air ducts over there, no one will see you, if you want to change. We can use the bottom of that shirt to dry your hair. Kieran or Jack, can one of you try to find some water to get this out of his face?" @spexile @caitlin

Blue pressed two fingers under her eyes, then shrugged. She smiled at Rosie a little. "Sounds fun." @brynnith

"Um, yeah, I can—" "Here." Kieran unzipped the small bag at his side and pulled out his hydroflask. "This is water, I swear." He handed it to Malia. @ellis @caitlin

"No." Parker said gruffly and frowned, but softened his expression when he remembered he was talking to Jack. "No, I'm fine. I'm okay." He sighed at Malia and shook his head. "It's not a big deal. I don't care, I'm just trying to find the bottle cap." @ellis @spexile

Rosie smiled back at her tightly. "Let's go. Your place or mine? Or somewhere else, I have glass bottles on me." @ellis

Graves' eyes widened for a second, before his face broke into a lopsided grin. He felt his cheeks warm as he replied, "Deal. No to the killing, yes to the brunch. You tell me when." He gave Casey a little salute, tapping two fingers to his temple. "Monty, I need...water, and sleep. Time to go home?" Graves started towards the ladder. Over his shoulder, he called to Casey. "You have my number." @spexile @a general chris

Malia took the hyroflask and cradled it along with the flannel. "You'll find it better when you get that out of your eyes." @caitlin @spexile

Miranda watched Graves make his way over to the ladder and low-key wanted to scream. “He’s gonna fucking fall off that thing, isn’t he?” She looked over at Casey. “But yeah, we’ll figure brunch out, especially since mimosas were mentioned earlier. We’ll talk later.” She then went after her brother to start attempting to get him down safely, Macey’s speed dial ready to go if it got to that point. @electriclightparade @spexile

"I'll help—" Casey decided the drama had subsided and ran over to help steady the ladder as they both went down. @a general chris @electriclightparade

Blue shook her head again. "Wherever you wanna go. Somewhere else, I guess." @brynnith

Rosie nodded and hung back as she watched her siblings go down the ladder. "Looks like my cabin's gonna be full tonight. Wanna swing by, grab some empty bottles, start a campfire by the woods and break shit?" @ellis

Parker felt strangely like he might cry. "Ugh. It doesn't matter, I found it." He sighed and stood up as he held the cap in his hands. "I might just leave. He wiped his face. @ellis @spexile

Once Parker stood up again and seemed like he wasn't physically injured, the sting of hurt from Ime's joke returned to the surface and Jack took a step back. "The apartment?" Kieran asked, taking Jack's place beside Parker. @caitlin @ellis(edited)

Alec shook their head at Ime. "You don't need that." @caitlin

Akira hovered at the corner of the lit area, watching carefully to see if anybody looked physically injured, but otherwise said nothing.

Malia recognized her brother's expression and didn't try to push, lest he get more upset and then even more upset for getting so upset. She silently made him switch his empty bottle for the hydroflask. "I'm done here, too." @caitlin @spexile

Ime hummed and shrugged. "You're right. This was not the fight I came for. You seem stressed." @brynnith

Alec pressed a hand to their forehead and shook their head again. "I feel bad." They made a face before speaking. "I think I need to stop sleeping with Parker?" @caitlin

Parker opened the hydroflask and took a sip from it. He held it out to Jack, Kieran, and Malia. "Does anyone else want water? I know I just finished that bottle, but I feel fine." He exhaled a shaky laugh. @ellis @spexile

Ime frowned and tilted their head. "Do you? That's upsetting. Are you sure?" @brynnith

Kieran took the bottle from Parker and took a sip before passing it to Jack. Jack brought the hydroflask up to take a sip, but stopped short. "Why does it smell like—" "It's my kombucha bottle." Jack lowered the bottle and slowly passed it back to Kieran, grimacing. @caitlin @ellis

"It is, isn't it?" Alec pressed a hand to their forehead. "I dunno. Isn't it kinda weird? If Jack likes Parker? I don't wanna upset him." @caitlin

Malia smiled at her brother's joke. "I think I'm okay." She glanced over her shoulder, making sure Blue was gone. "Want to head back?" @spexile @caitlin

Ime shrugged. "Aren't you sleeping with Parker's sister?" @brynnith

Parker sighed and shrugged. "Yeah, I don't care." He looked at Jack. "Will you come with us?" @ellis @spexile

Jack looked up at Parker, a little stunned at the request. "Uh... Yeah." He glanced at Kieran, who was very decidedly looking away. "I'll come." @ellis @caitlin

"Well, yeah, but less often." Alec watched the scene with Aphrodite kids and Jack over Ime's shoulder. "But it's not the same," they sighed. "Who's gonna rail me now?" They shook their head once again after speaking and looked sheepish. "That's not what's important. I hope he's okay."@caitlin

Ime shrugged. "Just ask him to rail you some other time. I won't bring it up again. Or go out with a bang." @brynnith

Alec shrugged and looked back at Ime. "Eh, it'll work out." @caitlinNEW

Malia smiled to herself and lead the group to the exit. @caitlin @spexile

Parker lifted his lips in a bit of a smile and then shrugged again. "You don't have to. I just don't want you getting, you know, shanked by a raccoon or something on the way home." He followed after Malia. @ellis @spexile

Ime poked Alec's cheek. "I'm sure it will. You always get lucky, no?" @brynnith

The smile on Jack's face didn't quite reach his eyes. "Thanks." Jack let Parker and Malia start ahead. Kieran locked eyes with Jack for just a moment, but still didn't know what to say, so he gave a small nod and followed after his brother. Once they were a few paces ahead, Jack followed too. @caitlin @ellis

Alec brightened up at Ime's words. "You're right!" They glanced around and noticed Akira standing by the edge of the lit area. "I gotta try to expand, eh? See you later!" They patted Ime's shoulder and headed over to Akira. "Heya, guest of honour? How's lurking going?" @spexile @caitlin

Akira was smiling, but their brows were furrowed. "Swimmingly. Lots to observe." They leaned back against a duct to face Alec fully. "Something about this place just really gets people going, huh?" @brynnith

Ime nodded at Alec and then sighed when they saw them walk over to Akira. They moved to follow the Aphrodite kids out and took out their phone to text Jacob.

😩 It's April first! 😩That means it's April fools 😝 and it's time to 😜 FOOL 🍆 around!!!!💦👅 April SHOWERS 💦💦💦 bring May flowers!!!🌺🌸🌼🌷😩😈 TRICK bæ into 👉👌 and you'll have a wHOLE YEAR of 🙌🙌GOOD LUCK 🙌🙌 😵💦👅🍆 IGNORE THIS MESSAGE AND NO TRICKS 🍆💦👌👈 for 10 YEARS 😩😩😷 SEND to YOUR 10 😈😈 SLUTTIEST 😩😩friends and you'll 😵 SPRING into a SEASON of 😵💦😈👄Pleasure 🍆👌💦😩😈

Malia paused at the ladder. "You go down first, I'll make sure it stays steady. Are your eyes bothering you?" @caitlin @spexile

Parker went down the ladder easily. "I'm fine. I'm just upset that I washed my hair for this." @ellis @spexile

"I would agree but people seem down to fight anywhere." Alec smiled at Akira. "Not that your place doesn't get people going. This is awesome as fuck." @spexile

"Parker," Malia said, her voice falling back into a gently exasperated tone, "you should be washing your hair anyway. What kind of Virgo are you?" @caitlin @spexile

Parker scoffed at Malia. "Of course I wash my hair anyway. I just meant that I washed it specifically before this, and now I have to wash it again. Stop calling me a Virgo." @ellis(edited)

"Glad you think so." There was a sparkle in Akira's eye as the smile on their face grew fuller. They stood up properly, taking a step toward Alec. "I take it you had a nice time then, despite the chaos?" @brynnith

She shook her head since it was too dark for him to see her rolling her eyes. "Hold the ladder steady," she said as she started to climb down. @caitlin

Jacob responds to the text once his ears recover.

Unsubscribe.

Alec grinned wider and lifted their chin. "I'm easy to impress." @spexile

Ime smiled at their phone.

No tricks for ten years 😩😩😷 so sad 4 u

Kieran did as he was told, holding the ladder and trying not to focus on the drop down. "Why always the roofs?" He muttered. @ellis Jack stayed a few feet back, waiting idly for his turn. He almost jumped when he noticed Ime standing nearby. Jack's immediate instinct was to look the other direction, but after a short moment, he turned back and walked in their direction. "So Alec and Parker are hooking up?" @caitlin

"Hmm." Akira furrowed a brow and crossed their arms, but a smirk still pulled at the corner of their lips. "I'm not sure how to take that. Are you saying I'm really not all that impressive?" @brynnith

Ime raised their eyebrows at Jack and they tilted their head. Their lips curled as they acted as though this was the first time they were hearing this information. "Are they?" @spexile(edited)

Alec laughed and ran a hand through their hair. "Not in the slightest. I'm saying I'm still having a good time." They tipped their head to one side. "But it could always be better." @spexile

Parker held the ladder steady for both Malia and Kieran. @spexile @ellis

Jack scowled. "Don't fuck with me right now. I'm not gonna flip a shit, I'm just..." He sighed. "I just wanna be in on whatever this is." @caitlin

Ime shrugged. "I think so. My sibling doesn't kiss and tell. I was making a joke to my sibling. I think the awkward boy likes you." @spexile

Akira couldn't help but smirk. "Funny you say that. And your idea of a better time?" @brynnith

As Kieran descended the ladder, he noticed Jack talking to Ime, but had already committed to going down. "Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," he muttered to himself. @caitlin @ellis

Jacob texted back after a few minutes.

Trix are for kids.

Malia stood at the bottom of the ladder and waited for Kieran to follow, and then frowned at him while he descended. "What's wrong?" @spexile @caitlin

Alec rocked back and forth on their feet. "You live downstairs?" @spexile

"Ugh." Jack rolled his eyes. "No fucking duh, he likes me." He walked away from Ime without another word and started descending down the ladder, his heart sinking in his chest. @caitlin

Kieran glanced between Malia and Parker, then up at Jack as he descended the ladder. "Doesn't matter," Kieran lied. Jack's feet hit grass and he gave an awkward smile at the others, not really looking Parker in the eyes. "Ready?" @caitlin @ellis

Malia was frustrated with this weirdness but decided this was secondary to Parker right now. She nodded at Jack and settled back at Parker's side. "Let's go." @caitlin @spexile

"I live downstairs," Akira repeated. "But looks like almost nobody's left up here." They shrugged. "If you're into that."

Ime frowned a bit and shrugged.

Where do you live? Don't worry, I'm just trying to rob you.

They followed Jack down once he was the whole way down. @brynnith Parker frowned a bit and smiled at Jack. "Yeah. If you don't want to come back with us, I can just walk you back to yours." He looked down. @spexile @ellis

"Was I hoping you'd say that? Maybe." Alec raised their eyebrows at him. "In the shadows here, or you gonna lead the way?" @spexile

"Um." Trying hard to ignore Ime, coming down the ladder just behind him, Jack tried to make the best decision. He sighed. "Yeah. I'd appreciate that, if you'd be cool with it." Kieran was preoccupied with a moth fluttering by. @ellis @caitlin

Read 04/05/20

Jacob sent the message after he had to correct the speech-to-text multiple times, then added his address to the next text and sent it. @caitlin(edited)

Akira chuckled. "Not to overstep on a first encounter, but I set up some special birthday candles for the party." Akira shrugged. "Didn't really get the opportunity to light them, but I'd hate to see them go to waste. If you wouldn't mind a little ambience." @brynnith

Ime grinned, not really noticing Jack, and left, possibly going to Jacob's,,,,,, who could ever be sure.

Alec took a step forward to close most of the distance between them. "Special birthday candles? What does that even mean?" They laughed. "But yeah, ambience, let's go." @spexile

Parker smiled at Jack and dipped his head a bit before looking at Malia and Kieran, slightly flushed. "Um, we can walk home with you guys first, it's on the way." @spexile @ellis

Akira found Alec's hand and lead them back to where the bigger ducts were. Before stepping into the dark, Akira let go of Alec. "Wait here." They stepped into the dark for a few moments. Then suddenly, there was a loud hissing sound and a fountain of sparks started spewing from some point in the dark. Then another. Then another. Akira laid each sparkler down on the ground in a big triangle before returning to Alec and pulling them into the center. "Surprise." @brynnit

Malia assessed the situation then made eye contact with Kieran, unsure if he'd agree with her but doing it anyway. "Kieran and I can walk back together while you two go to Jack's place, it's no big deal." @caitlin @spexile

Kieran hopped onto Malia's instinct. "I'll be up when you get back." He nodded at Jack. "Take your time." Then, without waiting for Parker to respond, Kieran turned and gave Mal a look of let's go before walking away at a slightly brisker pace than usual. @caitlin @ellis

Alec followed and waited without issue. As soon as the sparks lit up, their eyes widened and they gazed around, pulled inside the lights easily. "Whoa," they breathed, grasping the front of Akira's robe. "Some birthday candles." They turned to kiss him but changed their mind at the last moment and returned to watching the sparklers so they didn't miss a moment of the light or effort of the display. @spexile

Malia pressed the flannel into Parker's hands. "Call me tomorrow, okay?" she asked, then gave him and Jack a smile before turning and rushing to catch up with Kieran. @spexile @caitlin

Akira leaned in to kiss Alec before they turned away to watch the sparklers. Akira chuckled under their breath. "Don't worry about that. I've got a box of thirty." Akira wrapped a hand around Alec's lower back. "We can light them slow. One at a time."

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