7 Minutes In A Cleaning Cupboard
"Seven Minutes In Heaven?" Charlie asked, eyebrows raised, "Who's stupid idea was this game!" He exclaimed, looking at Wen who was also stuck in the closet with him.
"Stella. Isn't it always Stella? She has a tendency for making us play these stupid games, no one really wants to play." Wen complained, "This bucket's uncomfortable." He moaned, glancing briefly at the bucket he was sitting on.
"Who's stupid idea was it to play 7 Minutes In Heaven in Stella's cleaning cupboard of all places!"
Wen groaned, "Do you even need to ask?"
"Stella." Charlie answered with a moan.
Flashback
Each of them flopped out on Stella Yamada's basement floor with a groan.
"Tell me again why on earth we needed to come up with new dances for our songs?" Mo whined, hands covering her face.
It was rhetorical, of course, but Stella still answered, the same she had been doing every time one of them asked, "Because our fans keep doing the Determinate slide in every song we don't have dance moves too, that totally does not work with every song!"
Mo groaned again, "And why did we have to do it, today of all days?" She moaned, after working a four hour volunteer shift down at the clinic.
"Because Olivia here couldn't do any other day." Answered Stella, again.
Holding her hands out in defence, Olivia looked around, "Hey, don't go blaming me for this! All I wanted was a little fun with my friends, geez, we never knew you would be making us dance like lunatics for three hours straight!"
"Fun? You wanted fun!" Sitting up, Stella glared at them all, "We're in a band people, we are the voices of people who are too small to make a change. We make a change for them. We can't go spending our Sunday's having 'fun', we need to be professional!" They all knew she was far too passionate with this band thing. Way more than anyone else. Not that they were not passionate, but three hours of straight, wacky dancing? Not on their itinerary.
"Come on, Stella. We don't need to do this. We rehearse a lot as it already is." Wen moaned.
With a sigh, Stella gave in, after all, she had tired herself out too, "Fine. You guys want fun, I'll give you fun."
None of them knew what was worse, three hours of dancing, or the fear those words brought to them. After all those words where what started the Truth or Dare last month. That game of truth or dare that got Charlie in trouble because his house was covered with flour, feathers and eggs (not to mention his mother, who was first to walk through the front door when they had expected his brother). That game had Wen forced to tell them the utterly embarrassing truth of why he ended up in detention on that fateful day. It made Olivia prank call Ray stupid Beech and Mo's father. It ended up giving Mo glass in her foot from the fully clothed dive into Charlie's pool that she had to do, which, in turn, ended up getting Scott into trouble when he had to take her back home to an already ticked off Mr Banjaree who was not too happy about being prank called.
No, those words never were a good thing.
"Let's dance!" Olivia said, pretending to be enthusiastic. Anything other than play a stupid game Stella had in mind.
"No, please God, no. I will play any stupid game as long as I never have to use my legs again." Mo rubbed at her exhausted legs.
With a grin, Stella said, "See, Mo's in! Who else is with us?"
"I guess I am." Charlie added, knowing he would do anything if it meant more time with Mo. Besides, the game could not go that disastrous, could it? They were at Stella's house after all, not catastrophe at his home.
"Sure." Scott agreed, not one too bothered about anything Stella was up to, unless it got him stuck doing something with Mo. They all knew that would be awkward after they split up a couple of months ago.
"Depends on the game." Informed Wen.
"I'm taking that as a yes." Stella told him, "Olivia? You in?"
The blonde groaned, "Fine!" She sat up, "What 'delightful' game have you got us playing?"
Freezing, Stella looked around her, forgetting to actually come up with a game they could play. Her eyes locked on the closet in the basement, full of cleaning supplies, "7 Minutes In Heaven."
A collective groan left their mouths, "How old do you think we are? Nine!" Wen exclaimed.
"Hey! It's up to you what you do in heaven, just think, seven minutes alone with Olivia?" That had him. Hook, line and sinker.
End of flashback
"'Seven minutes alone with Olivia', yeah, I wish, instead I get stuck in here with you!" Wen groaned.
Charlie held his hands out defensively, "Hey, this was not my ideal dream of who I wanted to be in here with."
Rolling his eyes, Wen smirked, "Still have a thing for Mo, then?"
"That obvious?" He asked.
Wen only nodded, "To everyone but her, apparently."
"Ignorance is bliss." Commented the drummer. "What are we going to do for another," Charlie's eyes fell onto the egg timer on the shelf, "five and a half minutes?"
"Not make out, that's for sure!" Wen scoffed.
Charlie laughed as a reply, "Fine then. This or that."
"Okay then, you first, but you need to provide a valid reason why you picked one or the other." Charlie nodded in agreement.
"Deal. Okay, easy one, Night or Day?"
Wen bit his lip, "Seriously? That's easy?"
Raising both eyebrows, Charlie laughed, "Yeah, it's simple."
"But I like getting to sleep at night, and we have school during the day, but I get to see you guys during the day. Although, during the night, I have to be at home with Georgie, Dad and Sydney… Day. I pick Day because I get to spend time with all of you guys as a band."
Charlie laughed at his mini rant, "Okay, then, you pick daytime."
Looking around at the things in the cupboard, Wen asked, "Mop or Broom?"
"Seriously? You ask THAT!" Charlie laughed, "Mop, because it actually cleans, the broom just sweeps stuff away until it's out of sight. Olivia or the band."
Wen groaned, "The band, because I get Olivia and all of you guys…. Tall or short?"
"What?"
"Would you rather be tall or short?"
Charlie thought for a moment, "Short, because at least I'd still fit into a house, even if I could easily get lost in it. Old Disney or Old Dreamworks?"
"Old Disney." Wen answered without fail, "The Lion King, man. No more needs to be said." And then he burst out singing, "Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase!"
"Hakuna Matata," Charlie joined in, much to Wen's surprise, "Ain't no passing phrase!"
"It means no worries, for the rest of your days!" Wen shouted again.
Both looked at each other, and in sync sang, "It's a problem free, philosophy, Hakuna Matata!"
Mo's eyebrows raised, a smirk grew on her face, "Are they serious?" She asked.
All three burst out laughing and stood to go and open the door, "Shall we?" Stella grinned, her hand on the door handle.
"No." Scott said, they froze and looked at him, watching him pull out his mobile phone, typing in the passcode and opening the recorder. He placed it by the door and pressed record, before leading the girls back to the floor.
"That's evil!" Exclaimed Stella, smirking, "Why didn't I think of that?"
They gave it a good minute of recording before stopping it. "Now you may." Scott told them.
Giving the hand count of 1... 2... 3... The three girls yanked back the door, bursting into more laughter as they did so.
"Are you two serious?" Stella grinned.
Rolling her eyes, Olivia added, "We give you seven minutes in Heaven and this is that you chose to do? A seven minute rendition of 'Hakuna Matata'?"
"Actually," Wen held his hands out, "We were going to start 'Circle of life' after this."
"Get out of there you dorks!" Mo pulled Charlie by the hand.
Glancing at the timer on the top shelf, Charlie said, "But we've got two minutes left." He put on his puppy dog eyes, and pouted his lower lip.
"Unless it is two minutes of kissing time, you're out!" Stella told them, an eyebrow raised.
Nervously, Wen looked to Charlie, quickly shaking his head, "No! We're good." He stood up off of the bucket, relieving himself of the uncomfortable feeling finally. "So who's next?" He asked.
The bottle spin round and round. Wen prayed that it landed on Olivia, his eyes shut tightly. Waiting. A wolf whistle filled the wait. Peeling open his eyes, he followed the bottle's path. Olivia.
"You have seven minutes. Strictly PG things." Spinning the dial on the timer to seven minutes, Stella's hand passed it to the couple before they retreated over to the door.
"Well." Wen nervously said, opening the door first, "Ladies first."
A faint blush crept over Olivia's cheeks as she entered the closet, he followed behind her, putting the timer on the shelf and closing the door. The room was tiny. Olivia could have sworn it looked bigger when it was Wen and Charlie in here. Her heart thumped heavily in her chest. Both of her palms began to sweat. Olivia wondered if that was even a real thing, she always thought it was just something they put in her books to make someone seem more nervous. Well, it was applicable, no one was more nervous than Olivia was right now.
Then all her nerves were lifted away, as lips connected with her own.
"Wow." She commented, as he pulled away from her.
Nervously, Wen scratched the back of his head, "I could see how panicked you were getting, thought this would be a good ice breaker."
"Using a kiss as an ice breaker? I could get used to that!" She laughed, relieved at last.
Wen only kissed her again, "You should start getting used to it." He said, when they pulled back apart. "So, me and Charlie say and played this or that, what do you want to do for another four minutes?"
Olivia responded with another kiss, "This, this is good."
"How long's it been?" Mo asked, looking to Stella with another timer.
"Six minutes." Stella responded.
Standing up, Mo got out her phone, a chorus of 'what are you doing?" following in her wake. She turned the camera on, and set the flash up, ready to press the button. Throwing back the door, she pressed it. The two love birds stunned for a moment pulled apart.
"Really, Mo?" Olivia asked, standing up with frustration; she was just starting to really like that!
"Sorry, but that opportunity was just too good to pass up!" She giggled, showing the picture to Stella, Scott and Charlie.
The timer sounded, and both of them sat back on the floor.
"Olivia, your spin." Stella told her, and Olivia did so.
The game seemed to go on forever, everyone moving swiftly in and out of the closet. Olivia had spun Stella, not as good as getting another seven minutes with Wen, but still. They had spent their time remembering and comparing old children's TV shows they used to watch. Stella then spun Charlie, who, was less pleased. He admitted to her in the closet that he was more pleased to get the chance to spin again so he got stuck in here with Mo. Stella then made it her mission to stick them both together.
He spun Scott. Both Stella and himself were furious. The seven minutes were spent in silence, both looking at their phones, trying to do anything but talk to one another. Even though they were friends, Charlie could never forgive him for treating Mo like that. He silently swore to himself that when (if) he ever got to be with Mo, or had a girlfriend just as amazing, he would not risk it for anything. Nothing was worth losing someone as amazing as her.
Scott's turn to spin, he gladly did so. Stella gulped as it landed on her. Inside himself, Scott swore he gave a jump for joy. Although, this seven minutes were probably to go like his seven minutes alone with Charlie; in deathly silence. Or worse, not happening due to Stella's refusal.
Much to his surprise, they both sat in the closet for a few moments in silence, just as he went to take his phone from his pocket, Stella spoke, "I don't like you." She said, cold, simple.
"Thanks?" Was all Scott could respond with.
"You're not even going to ask why?"
A part of his heart broke into pieces, his spirit dampened; being madly head over heels with Stella Yamada was one thing, but her not loving you back, hating you in fact, was another. "Fine," He gave in with a sigh, "Why do you hate me?" Did he just… choke on the word hate? His eyes went wide, Scott Pickett does NOT choke on words! He's cool, calm, collected.
"You cheated on Mo, and then begged for her back, and threw her away once again."
"Stella, we both agreed that splitting up would be the best thing for us. It was beginning to effect her more than you know." Scott informed her, a hand rubbing from his forehead backwards.
"Her grades dropped, I know." Stella told him, her eyebrows raised, "And that's your fault because, instead of letting Mo get on with what she had to do, what she wanted to do, you had her skipping class and going to lame parties all night."
Rolling his eyes, Scott shook his head, "No. That's not why I broke up with her. I broke up with Mo because I care about her."
"She cried for weeks afterwards!" Yelled Stella, "Don't even pretend you care."
"She was getting sick, Stella." Scott told her, looking her dead in the eyes, "All the lying to her father, the stress of trying to keep it secret from him was getting to her, and Mo, being the person she is, kept on like nothing was happening. I only knew when I saw her grades slip, that and the aspirin constantly at her side. She had begun having really bad headaches. She didn't look right, remember?"
A small tear slid down Stella's face, and if anyone had asked about it, she would tell them it was dusty in there, swiftly she wiped it away, "So you broke up with her, for her own sake?"
He nodded, "She needed to get better. It doesn't mean I love her any less."
"I'm sorry." Stella muttered, now it was not often that you heard her mumble those words.
"You? You're sorry?"
The timer went off and the door opened, "Time's up!" Mo smiled.
Scott smiled back, happy that for once he had gotten a little bit closer to seeing the real Stella Yamada, and she had just saw the real him. He was finally in her good books. It was not quite love, but it was a start.
Stella turned the bottle, watching where it landed… Charlie, again? "Seriously? I've already been stuck with him for seven minutes, can we bypass the whole 'Seven Minutes' thing and let him have his spin?"
No one bothered to protest, after all, it was Stella's idea to play the game, she could make the rules up.
He restrained himself from shouting YES off the rooftop as the bottle landed facing Mo. He was ecstatic, which everyone (but Mo) could tell.
"Can't I bypass my seven minutes with him too?" Mo quipped, smirking. "No? Thought not, but if you end up singing anything Disney, no anything at all, I am leaving."
Considering himself officially warned, Charlie walked into the closet, setting the timer for seven minutes as Mo walked in. A wink was passed to Stella as he closed the door.