"Lindsey Lindsey Lindsey Lindsey!" squealed Kirstie, pointing at the phone and jumping up and down.
Avi rolled his eyes.
"Hello?" came Lindsey Stirling's voice over the phone.
"Hi-i-i-i-i!" Kirstie shuddered, like she always did when she was excited.
"Hey, you're Kirstie Madlon…Madon…M-" Lindsey tried to sound out Kirstie's last name.
"Kirstie Maldonado," Kirstie interrupted, barely containing her excitement.
"Right. So, what are we thinking here?" asked Lindsey. "Some sort of collab, but I'm not sure what, you know?"
"Well, why don't you come over and we'll brainstorm?" asked Kirstie.
Kevin sighed. It was usually not Kirstie who invited people to his house without asking first. That might be Scott.
"Sure!" Lindsey was also clearly anticipating the collaboration.
Kirstie gave her the address of Kevin's house.
"Great." Lindsey's voice crackled as she moved the phone to her other ear. "I'll be there in… ten minutes."
The phone beeped.
Kirstie set it down. "Ohmygosh! Lindsey. Stirling. Here!" she exclaimed.
"What's the big deal?" asked Avi, rolling his eyes once again. "She's just a random instrument person."
"Instrument person?" asked Scott, looking up from his and Mitch's clapping game. "Is that, like, someone under your level or something?"
"It makes sense," Avi said. "Because, like, we're voice people and she's an instrument person. No?"
"Well, I guess I get it, but you said it like you were royal, and whoever plays a lowly instrument is a peasant," Scott replied, laughing.
"Lindsey's a queen, too," Mitch said. "She's amazing."
"Right," Avi said. He wasn't really into Lindsey's music. "If Lindsey Stirling is a queen, then what does that make you guys?"
"Um, Kirstie and I are queens, and Scott's our pet…" Mitch regarded Scott, trying to match him up with some epic animal. "Cat-with-wings named Veronica. And you guys are our servants." Mitch giggled.
"When did she say she was gonna be here?" asked Kevin.
"Ten minutes," Kirstie answered.
"Make that about seven minutes," amended the beatboxer. "Pull yourselves together, girls, Avi."
"Veronica?" asked Scott, nonplussed.
"Yeah, cause Kirstie's Eliza, and I'm Idina-" Mitch began.
Scott scoffed. "Idina? Seriously?"
"Don't even wanna hear it," Mitch said, making the cut-off motion with one hand. "I'm Idina, and you're Veronica. And we stole our servants from their parents, even though… they're both older than us? Moving on! Kevin is Colin, and Avi's Delius."
"You actually think about stuff like that?" asked Kirstie. "And why can't I be Veronica?"
"Because you just don't look like a Veronica to me." He turned to Scott. "You know what I mean?"
"Well neither does Scott, of all people," Avi said. "A cat with wings named Veronica. What the heck, Mitch."
"Yes he does!" Mitch exclaimed, making a square with his hands and looking at Scott through it. "Like, if I were to name him again, I'd name him Veronica."
"I kinda see what you mean," Kevin said, peering at Scott.
"Oh! And Kirstie, Wyatt is our squire named Pip," Mitch concluded.
"When do you make things like this up?" asked Kevin, interested.
"Well, one time I had a dream, and, like-" Mitch began.
Kirstie rolled her eyes. Mitch's dreams were crazy and long, and he remembered every single one, which he would say loudly every morning to them.
"Like, Kirstie, you and I lived in this palace. And I was Idina, and you were Eliza. And we had servants, but I made up that they were those two later," Mitch said. "So we lived there, and you were going to be the queen because you're older, and I was just gonna be the princess. And it was upsetting. I think is was induced by Frozen."
"You… are a girl in your dreams?" asked Avi. He had the weirdest friends.
"Well, sometimes," began Mitch. "But then other times I'm me, and sometimes I'm watching myself and Scott through Wyatt's perspective in my dreams. Oh! I had this dream the other night, I was dying in the hospital."
"Okaaaay," Avi said. "You officially need a therapist." He laughed.
"Do not!" Mitch exclaimed. "Everyone has dreams where they're dying, even oh-so- perfect Avi." He rolled his eyes.
"Mitch, you're weird," Scott said. "And amazing."
"Dawww! Thanks, V!" Mitch beamed at Scott.
"Uh, 'V'?" asked Kevin.
Mitch sighed, rolling his eyes again. "Veronica?"
"Oh, sorry, your highness," Kevin smiled, suppressing a giggle.
"Hey, I-" began Kirstie, but she was interrupted by a knock at the door. She sprang up and ran, swinging the door open. "Lindseeeeeey!"
"Hey, guys," Lindsey said, walking into the room. "Right, so I know you're Kirstie because you're the only girl."
Mitch rolled his eyes. "I'm a girl, too."
"You've gotta be Mitch," Lindsey said, her eyes coming to rest on Mitch.
"Yeah! How'd you know?" asked Mitch, surprised.
"I've been watching stuff about you to prepare for meeting you in real life," said Lindsey, bashfully.
"Cool," Scott said, clearly in awe.
"Lindsey," Mitch said, stepping out and holding his hands out in front of his friends in turn. "This is Kevin-"
Kevin waved.
"And Avi-"
Avi was still sticking up his nose at 'instrument people'.
"And Veroni-" Mitch began, a smile spreading across his face.
"Scott!" Scott introduced hurriedly, shaking Lindsey's hand. "I'm Scott."
"Nice to meet you guys," Lindsey said. "As a group, you've got quite a charisma, gotta say."
"Cool, whatever," Avi said.
"Avi's being a buttface, so just ignore him," Scott said, pushing Avi.
"Hey!" Avi said in a super low, mock-threatening voice, super-frowning at Scott.
"Now don't fight, sweeties," Mitch said, standing on tiptoes and attempting to pat his friend's heads.
"If you don't stop doing that, I'll literally pick you up and drop you outside, where the scary people live," threatened Scott, his face turning pink as he tried not to laugh. "Oh, and I'll dump Wyatt out after you!"
"I bet you can't even pick me up," Mitch challenged.
Lindsey stood, watching them, as Scott easily grabbed tiny Mitch and lifted him nearly a foot off the ground.
"Whatever," Mitch said, grabbing his glasses. "But you can't put me anywhere near the scary people without a fight from me and my groupies here." He slipped on the glasses slowly and commercial-like while gesturing around at the rest of Pentatonix.
While Avi and the two were talking nonsense, Lindsey looked to Kevin and Kirstie.
"No, cause it goes like, um…" Kirstie looked up, thinking. "Get ready, it goes: Everybody wants to try to box me in, suffocating every time they lock me in, painting their own pictures and they crop me in, but I will remain where the top begins." She was rapping Nicki Minaj. "Cause-"
"I am not a word, I am not a line, I am not a girl that can ever be defined," Mitch interrupted, adding a melody to the rap. Then he took the higher harmony as the two sang together.
"I am not fly, I am levitation, I represent an entire generation!"
"Yay!" Kirstie clapped. "We did Nicki Minaj!" They high fived.
"Wait," Lindsey, said, already amazed by their sing/rapping. "You didn't, like, arrange that earlier?"
"No," Mitch shrugged. "I mean, we both know the song, but I've never sung it with Kirstie before. I didn't even know you could rap that fast, Kirstie."
"We can probably do it better," Kirstie said. "Thanks a lot for the backup, Kevin." She spoke sarcastically while rolling her eyes at Kevin.
"Sorry! I just wasn't expecting you to guys to go that fast," Kevin apologized. The beatboxer had been enjoying his friends' singing instead of adding the necessary percussion. "In fact, I wasn't expecting Mitch to rap at all. I thought he was preoccupied."
"So. Why is Lindsey here again?" asked Scott, completely forgetting.
"Collaboration," Avi said mechanically.
"Right!" Scott said, looking extremely excited, his blue eyes sparkling. "Did you bring your violin?"
"One of them, yup. The travel one," Lindsey answered. "Should I go get it?"
Scott nodded. "Yeah." He waited until Lindsey was gone. The second the door closed, he turned to the rest of Pentatonix and clapped his hands together. "Lindsey Stirling in one word, guys."
"Bubbly," Kevin said.
"Amazing!" answered Kirstie.
"Comfortable," said Mitch.
"What?" asked Kirstie.
"Well, you know, we're really weird people. Like, really, really weird people. And she doesn't seem to mind at all," Mitch explained. "In fact, I think she likes us. And by us, I mean me. And maybe Kirstie."
"What makes you think that?" challenged Kevin, smiling.
"Because Kirstie and her seem kind of similar, so they relate on a lot of levels," Mitch began. "I know she likes me because I'm awesome, kind, shorter than her, and I seize every moment I can to let myself shine."
Avi rolled his eyes, but he was also smiling. "If we're naming every single one of the many characteristics of the Magical Mitch, let me add sassy and mildly annoying at times to the list."
"Hey!" Mitch said, throwing himself at Avi. "Sassy's a good thing!"
"Hahaha!" Avi laughed as Mitch, who must have weighed at least fifteen pounds less than him and was a good three inches shorter than him, attempted to push him over. "I really would like to see you try to get me down."
"It's not fair!" Mitch said, pushing as hard as he could. "Uh! Come on!"
Avi braced himself against the couch. By now, Mitch was basically leaning his full weight on the bass. Avi simply sidestepped and the younger, smaller teen went tumbling head over heels into the couch.
Mitch was upside down in a heap on the floor when Lindsey finally got back.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Talk to Avi about that," Mitch said, pressed up against the couch upside down and sounding very uncomfortable. He somersaulted himself over the right way up.
Lindsey looked at Avi. "Yes?"
"Oh, looks like poor little Mitch tripped again," said Avi in a false voice, laughing his head off. He knew that Lindsey knew that he was lying, but they were all laughing. He was doing it mostly to make Mitch furious.
"I did not!" Mitch stood up.
Avi looked to the others shaking his head. "He does it all the time."
"You okay?" asked Lindsey, giggling a bit as she patted Mitch's head.
"Fine," Mitch smiled, taking everything in stride, just to make Avi mad. "It's always fun to get thrown around by Avi!"
"Guys! We're losing time fooling around," Kevin said. He always liked to have fun with his friend, but Lindsey was only here for a while. Of course, they could always see her tomorrow…
"I guess you're right," Kirstie sighed.
"Actually," Lindsey said. "Could I just take this time to get to know you guys? We can start actually thinking tomorrow."
"Great plan!" Scott said. "I'm not feeling especially music-y today anyway."
"Why?" asked Avi. "You're always singing Wicked, or Rent, or something with Mitch."
"Sore throat," Scott said, sighing. "Not every day can be a good day, I guess."
"Great. So, where do we start?" asked Kirstie.
"Well," replied Lindsey. "What do you guys do when you don't have a guest?"
"We do educational things," Mitch said, nodding knowingly.
"Ha," Kevin said. "The trio fools around. Like, all the time."
Scott shrugged. "Kinda true."
"Oh my god!" Mitch exclaimed. "So, I was bored yesterday, and Scott and I watched My Little Pony. It was, like, the best show, but I probably won't watch it again."
"Mitch. You are nineteen and you watched My Little Pony?" asked Kevin, sighing. "I know you're the youngest, but still…"
"Well, he watches Spongebob." Avi shrugged.
"It's a really good show. It's like our life, but we're pink and blue and we look like cats," Mitch said. "It's literally just like us."
"After we saw it," Scott said. "We matched one of each of us up with one of the main six ponies based on character. Lindsey can be the last one."
"Great," Lindsey said.
"Let's get this over with," Avi sighed.
"Okay," Mitch said. "So Kevin is Twilight Sparkle."
Kevin covered his face with both hands. "Oh my god. Twilight Sparkle. Just- that name."
"Because he's really smart and he came from a really smart school," Mitch said. "Then Scott is Pinkie Pie, because he's fun-loving and crazy. Kirstie, you're Fluttershy cause you used to be shy before you were famous."
"Mitch is Rarity," Scott said, laughing. "Because Rarity is super girly and wears fancy clothes and she hates getting dirty-"
"I don't mind getting dirty," Mitch said, winking.
Scott rolled his eyes.
Lindsey laughed profusely. "Mitch, you're one heck of a character," she said.
"You bet," Mitch said, switching back to a completely oblivious, innocent smile.
"Also," Scott continued. "Rarity whines a ton. Like, until she gets what she wants, and they're both uber drama queens."
"Yeah," Mitch agreed. "Avi, you're Applejack, because you're super honest. Like, to a fault. Also, you're really steadfast and you help the other ponies out."
"Which leaves Lindsey with…" Scott said, pausing for suspense. "Rainbow Dash! She's very competitive and spunky!"
"I could do that," Lindsey said. "You guys are really fun to be around."
"Thanks," Kevin said.
"If only Avi weren't racist," Mitch said, shaking his head.
"I am not!" Avi exclaimed. "I'm not racist!"
"He's prejudice against instrument people!" Mitch accused, pointing at Avi, grinning.
"I didn't know how much fun Lindsey would be," Avi said. He rolled his eyes and recited. "I'm sorry for doing whatever I did, and now I'm a better person thanks to my dear friend Mitch."
"Good," Mitch smiled. "Now where were we? We're fun to be around?"
Lindsey nodded. "I really haven't had this much fun in a while."