It's the day before John's birthday, and things don't seem to be going according to plan.

His name is John Egbert and tomorrow is his birthday. He was more excited than he was letting on to his friends, though. His father had been very secretive for months now. And considering that the younger Egbert had just received his license at the start of the year, he held the high (and admittedly impossible) hope that his father was getting him a car.

A guy could dream, right?

Even without the impossible temptation of a car, he was looking forward to watching a couple of his favorite movies with his friends. Dave suggested National Treasure and Ghost Rider. Dave did! DAVE! Which is good, because for a second there, John had been worried that his best friend was going to bail on their now traditional birthday movie livestream.

I mean, it wouldn't have been a big deal if Dave didn't go to the movie livestream. It was just a livestream after all, they had plenty when it wasn't even anyone's birthday. But... Well... It was John's birthday! That only came once a year!

But Dave wasn't bailing, and had not only ok'd Nic Cage movies, he had actually suggested them. Jade and Rose were on board, too. And he wasn't sure, but maybe Dave's brother and his friends might show up, too? Maybe that's why he was so excited. As much as he whined to Dave about his brother being a jerk, he was always excited to make new friends.

He struggled so much with it at school. At sixteen (almost seventeen) he hadn't hit his growth spurt yet, and his baby fat still refused to leave his face (not to mention his small love handles). He had a bit of acne dotting his cheeks, and his hair was always an unmanageable mess. Basically, if his peers noticed him at all, it was usually to give him sideway glances and snickering with each other at his expense. He supposed it could be worse. They could actually go out of their way to bully him. But John was good at making himself scarce when it came to dealing with the more aggressive antagonists. It was almost like he could sense when they were coming.

But that's silly.

And so is the idea that he was nervous about his birthday in any way because of Dirk, Roxy, and Jake.

He'd spoken to them all before, in group and individually, all thanks to Dave's insisting. They were all siblings to his best friends and just like his best friends; all had nearly simultaneous birthdays... on the same days as his best friends...

...

Yeah, that was weird. But John had already questioned the hell out of that oddity to anyone who would humor him about it. No answers were ever really given besides a textual shrug of the shoulders. Their parents must have planned it that way or something, but what are the odds that they'd all meet online and become friends?

Maybe that was how they became friends. They met in a group made for people whose parents made sure all their children would be born on the same day so they can save on birthday parties or something. What a sad existence that was. It made John glad he was an only child.

Not that he was having any big parties lately, but back in the days of innocence and naïveté, the parties his dad threw for his birthday were always the most popular in his class, and not only because his dad made gourmet level cakes for the occasion, but rather because his father would always go all out to make his parties impressive, renting petting zoos and bouncy houses, magicians, and face painting. His father really did spoil him.

Speaking of his father, John was surprised his dad hadn't come into his room yet to make sure he was awake. He still did it even to this day, like clockwork. The businessman was still good at coddling his son, and though mostly annoying, it was strange to suddenly feel its absence. Disconcerting in a way that twisted at his guts with the niggling promise of adulthood.

With a frown, John buttoned the last button on his shirt, slipped on his shoes and exited his room. He was immediately assaulted with the warm, sweet scent of homemade buttermilk waffles. That was usually the breakfast his dad made John on his birthday.

Curiouser and curiouser.

"Dad?" the boy called out as he made his way down the stairs.

"Down here, son," came the reply.

John made his way into the kitchen, sitting at the counter as he watched his dad whirlwind around, checking the oven, the stove, the cupboards, and the pantry, then he rushed out of the kitchen and down the hall to his study, retuning 30 seconds later to continue checking every single nook and cranny for who knows what.

"Dad?" John asked, brows furrowing with worry.

Mr. Egbert spooked like he had completely forgotten John was there. "Goodness, son. Don't sneak up on an old man like that."

John just quirked a brow, because he hadn't been able to sneak up on his dad ever. Not once in his life.

"But this certainly is a pleasant surprise. I didn't have to wake you today. What has you up and about so early, John?"

John gave him another incredulously confused look," Early?" He glanced over at the wall clock.

Mr. Egbert followed his son's gaze and gasped, "Is it that late already? Well, no matter. Why don't you go sit at the table and I'll have breakfast served in two shakes."

John hesitated for a second, then hopped off the counter stool to sit at the breakfast table instead. "What's gotten into you today, dad? I've never seen you this all over the place before. Is something wrong?"

The elder Egbert sighed as he set a plate of a extra large waffles in front of his son, setting a pitche of warmed maple syrup next to it, "I suppose I should tell you now, since it won't make a bit of difference whether or not I tell you before or after breakfast."

John felt a knotting in his gut, "What is it?"

"You won't be happy with me, I'm afraid."

"Dad," John pouted, "What is it?"

"Now son, I need you to promise me you won't overreact."

"Dad!" John huffed, "Just tell me."

Mr. Egbert sighed, "Very well. I'm afraid that I got a call last night, and I need to go on a business trip today. In fact, my flight leaves in three hours, and I'll be gone for ten days."

"What?!" the piece of syrup dripping waffle plopped off of John's fork when he jerked it away from his mouth in shock.

"You're old enough now that I think I can trust you alone at home for that long. The pantry and the fridge are fully stocked, I left you with a debit card for my checking account. I'm expecting you to be mature and responsible about this. I'll be checking in on you nightly, so don't think you can spend this time gallivanting about."

"But dad!" the younger boy was up and rounding the table

"I left a list of numbers on the fridge in case of an emergency. That includes the hospital and a few of my more trusted work colleagues, like Mr. Higgins, and Ms. Rutherford. I know being left at home alone for the first time is a new and exciting experience, John, but I think you are old enough to handle it with grace and dignity."

"But dad, my birthday!" John whined.

Mr. Egbert sighed softly, "I know this must seem very unfair to you, John. It is very unfair. If there was another way, I'd gladly take that option. But this is really important. Please understand."

John didn't want to understand. He wanted to whine and grouse and maybe even throw a tantrum... But his dad was giving him enough credit to be the man of the house for ten days, the least he can do is act like it. "I understand," he muttered unhappily. And then found himself squeezed into a near back breaking hug, "Guuak!"

"I'm very proud of you, son. I'm just sorry that I didn't have time to make you a birthday cake."

Honestly, that was the only think John was grateful for. "Don't worry about it, dad. You can make one when you get back. A small one."

"You're right, of course," the older man nodded with a soft smile. "Now why don't we enjoy your early birthday breakfast and I'll drop you off at school today. Give us a bit more time before I have to go."

John managed a sheepish little smile and nodded, sitting himself back down to his now soggy waffles. He didn't care. Waffles were the only sugary sweet confection that he liked. And he could get away with eating it as a meal, how sweet was that?

They talked throughout breakfast. About the latest movies coming out, which ones John wanted to see the most, and then which ones Mr. Egbert would think were suitable for a boy's John age to watch. John countered this argument with the fact that he could watch any movie his father didn't approve of now, because he was responsible enough to be the man of the house. Mr. Egbert chuckled and ruffled his son's hair, calling him a cheeky scamp.

John was polite enough to not ask about the times he caught his dad just staring at him... wistfully. Yeah, that was definitely the right word for it. Like he was seeing something in him that wasn't there anymore. Something precious lost now and forever more. Like he was still seeing the John he was when he liked to play dress up in his dad's clothes and shoes. It was the weirdest thing.

The drive to school was a quietly animated one, and it seemed like all too soon they arrived at the front of the building.

"Okay, I... I guess I'll see you in ten days, dad...?" John tried to sound chipper, but the look his father was giving him turned his statement into a question half way. "Umm... dad, are you okay?" He seemed to be asking that a lot this morning.

Mr. Egbert seemed to remember himself, and it was all he could do not to reach across the car and yank his son to him, never to let him go. This was important. He had to remind himself of that, "I'm fine, son. I'm just... so proud of you."

John felt his cheeks warm, and it was all he could do not to roll his eyes. Still his same ol' dad, "Thanks dad."

"Oh, one more thing before you go, John." Mr. Egbert reached across to the glove compartment, popping it open and extracting a colorfully wrapped package from within. "I know it's a day early, but feel free to open your present from me now."

John's eyes widened, "R-really dad? I... Are you sure? I wouldn't mind waiting until tomorrow." This was a test to see if he was really overthinking this weird dad behavior. He was quietly pushing. His dad had been acting weird all morning, and now this. There were some very concise rule in the Egbert household. One of them was to never open gifts early.

Mr. Egbert nodded, holding out the gift to his son, "I insist."

John let is brow furrow for a moment, the shrugged it off and took the small wrapped box from his dad, making quick work of the gift wrap.

"Oh my god!"

"It's the latest model, I hear," the smile was readily evident in the older man's voice.

"Dad are you sure?!" John blustered.

"I think it's long overdue, to be honest."

"My own phone!" John cheered opening the box to his brand new iPhone. It wasn't a car, but in some ways it was ever better

"I took the liberty of charging it for you beforehand, and I added myself as a contact so you can call me anytime you might need me. It has unlimited texting and internet, but even so, I don't want you to let that little computer distract you from your school work, young man," the businessman tried to sound stern on the matter, but he was still smiling fondly.

"I promise, dad!" John reached across the car, and it was his turn to give his father a bone crushing hug, "This is the best gift ever! Thanks! I'll see you in ten days!" Like a tiny whirlwind he extracted himself from the embrace and was out of the car, stuffing the phone's box into his backpack and the phone itself into his front pocket. He waved cheerfully to see his father off.

Mr. Egbert found the will to keep smiling, fought the urge to pull his son back to him and never let him go. He wasn't ready. It was much too soon for his son to be growing up. But it was going to happen whether he liked it or not, and the most he could do was to let it happen and try to make things work out for the best.

"In ten days," he confirmed to his son, taking the car off park, "I love you son."

"Love ya, too dad!" John said in a quick, embarrassed mutter, blushing pink as he glanced around at his peers in close enough range to catch that display of familial affection.

Ah, youth.

John waved as he watched his dad go. That had definitely been weirder than usual for his dad... the way he kept looking at him. Almost like he wanted to cry. He had no idea his dad could be quite that sentimental.

Or maybe he was reading too much into it. Like he was putting too much stock about his birthday being a big deal and making him nervous.

He just couldn't help but feel like he had reached a turning point in his life... like something monumental was on it's way...

Oh well! It was only ten days! He'd be back before they both knew it.

John quickly whipped out his new phone once his dad's car was out of sight and he just as quickly punched in a well known number into the text message recipient bar.

To Dave: guess who, loser!

GT: Good afternoon strider
TT: Sup, English.
GT: How are you on this hum dinger of a day?
TT: Gonna be honest with you, it can be better.
GT: Oh? Whats got you so down in the dumps?
GT: No wait let me guess.
GT: Its all this brouhaha with your brother and the friend that he fancies.
GT: The one he thinks is like the whole lot of us.
GT: And has been trying to get us all to get along together?
TT: That would be the issue I am dealing with, yes.
TT: He's only been home from school for about two hours and I'm about ready to throw him off the roof.
GT: Come now, dirk he can't be that bad.
TT: He's not really doing anything annoying, but he's filling the apartment with his nervous energy. Pacing around, waiting for his boyfriend to catch up to his time zone wise so he can squeetext him the entire afternoon.
TT: I'm at my fucking wits end.
GT: I dont see what all this blasted hoopla is about anyways.
TT: I don't really get it, either. But Dave's fixed up his panties in a wad about it.
GT: Sounds chafing.
TT: It is. For everyone involved.
TT: I already told him the odds of this John kid being like the rest of us.
GT: The odds do seem rather low.
TT: Momumentally low.
GT: Right, but i suppose the heart makes us all think and do ridiculous things.
GT: The people in this chat not exempt
TT: Heh.
GT: And i personally think this john chap is a right stand up fellow.
GT: Even if in the end nothing comes of all this absurdity, at the very least we'll have made a new chum out of it all,right?
TT: I guess?
TT: I don't know. Something about this kid just rubs me the wrong way.
GT: I think i know what you mean, though not quite the way you mean it. Something about him just... tugs at all my strings leading to who knows where. it's the oddest thing.
TG: if you ask me that kid sets off all those buzzers because he reminds me of someone
TG: and you guys feel it too
TT: Hey Rox.
TT: When did you decide to grace us with your presence?
TG: just now
TG: all presents full of gracefulness to behold
TG: sup bitches
GT: Good evening roxy, my dear
TG: swoo-fuckin-oon
TG: heeeeeeey jakey bby
TG: but i aint wrong you know
TG: twinky mctwinkerson bugs the hell out of you because he reminds you of someone
TG: and you know who i mean
TT: We are not talking about that.
TG: oh my glob dirk
TG: calm your mammory glands
TG: so what tha means you gave up on me already di-stri?
TG: given up on her?
TG: toss in the towel shes done?
TT: That's not what I mean, and you know it.
GT: Say, are we talking about...
GT: You know...?
TG: yeh thats it
TG: sorry engs i know its a touchy subject
GT: It's fine.
GT: But i have to say now that you mention it maybe those are the strings young john is tugging on.
TT: We're not talking about that.
GT: Blast it all, strider. you're not the only one hurting here.
TT: That's not what I-
TT: Look, maybe the spazz reminds me a bit of... her.
TT: Actually he reminds me more of Jake.
GT: Me? I'm afraid i don't see it.
TT: What with his love of horrible movies.
GT: Excuse you, mr. strider. my taste in cinema is flawless.
GT: Yours needs a touch more culturing.
TT: But what I'm actually talking about is this:
TT: If Dave is right, things could be bad for that kid.
TT: Because he is way too much like her.
TG: you worryin the same thingll happen to him?
TT: As unlikely, we can't rule out the possibility.
TG: and yer answer is ta ignore it instead of maybe preparing for the unlikely?
TT: Roxy...
GT: My dear roxy's got an excellent point there, dirk.
TG: aw jakey
TG: prepping to swoon again over here
TG: imminent swoonage
TG: hold on to yer hats cuz here it comes
TG: 3
TT: Lalonde.
TG: im just messing with ya di
TG: unknot those panties already
TG: aint out to steal your beau right out from under ya
GT: Goodness me. *mops brow with a kerchief*
TG: snrk
TG: *double pistols and a wonk*
GT: But as i was saying.
GT: If there is even a remote chance that young dave is right, maybe we should be prepared for the worst case scenario.
TT: It would seem like I've been outvoted.
TT: But how do we prepare for the worst case scenario?
TG: i'unno
GT: You got me as well.
TT: Yeah. That's what I figured.
GT: This is quite the pickle we find ourselves in.
TG: maybe daveyll have some ideas
TT: I don't recommend telling Dave about any of this. He's on edge enough as it is.
TT: I'll keep a close eye on the matter.
TT: Things start going south, we'll be ready to act.
TG: yeah but how
TT: Leave it to me.

Dave's computer clock read 11:42pm. That meant it was 9:42pm in John land, and Egbert had already gone to sleep. He didn't even have an excuse, tomorrow was Saturday and his dad had just left him home alone for ten glorious days. Not to mention it was the eve of the derp's birthday. All signs pointed to John staying up till the break of dawn, but no. He was asleep. Offline for almost an hour now.

It made no sense… unless…

The unless is why Dave hadn't argued John's sudden need for an early bedtime, barely making a joke about Egbert forgetting his afternoon nap. He couldn't let the dork completely off the hook for leaving him hanging like this. That would have been too suspicious.

His heart was threatening to burst out of his chest and run a marathon. Somehow he managed to keep it inside, but he had no idea what to do with himself. He had messages blinking at him from both Jade and Rose, undoubtedly they were concerned about his reaction to John's unusual sleeping habits today.

GG: daaaaaaaave!
GG: dave, don't ignore me! :(!
GG: you better not be freaking out on me, mister!

TT: Do remember to breathe.
TT: I'm sure you're blowing this completely out of proportion.

He ignored both of them.

He wasn't freaking out! He certainly hadn't forgotten how to breathe (for more then 30 seconds). He was fine. He was calm, cool, collected, calm. Fuck, he already thought of calm.

He glanced at the clock on the corner of his screen. 11:43pm. Mother of fuck.

A movie. He'd just watch a movie. That should help the time pass by. He shot off quick "im okay gonna watch a flick" messages to both rose and jade and then he set his pesterchum to Away.

Of course he couldn't concentrate on the movie. All he could think about was John. Was he okay? Was it all starting for him over there in Washington? Fuck, he'd be going through it alone. Dirk had had to help him through his own shit on his birthday back in December, bitch hurt like a motherfucker. How could John's old man leave him in the crutch like this?!

No, calm down, David Elizabeth Strider. This wasn't helping him, it certainly wasn't doing anything that might help John. It was all more than likely that all this was just bizarre coincidence and John had just gone to bed early because he tired himself out wearing his big man shoes for the first time in his life. He'd just have to wait until the daylight hours for John to wake up and see what's what.

He glanced at the clock again.

11:51pm.

FUCK!

'I shouldn't have eaten those old fish sticks.'

Those were John Egbert's thoughts as he rolled off his bed and onto the floor in a miserable heap. He rattled a death groan and curled up into a ball. He had assured himself that the fact that they were kept frozen meant they were okay even if they had been bought over two months ago. You kept food in the freezer to make it last longer, after all. That was perfect reasoning, wasn't it?

His stomach would kindly request that John try to get away with that reasoning now. And added a hearty 'fuck you,' as a parting note.

It all started around 8 o'clock. He had felt tired to the point of dizziness, and despite his most valiant efforts, he couldn't stay up, couldn't even stare at the screen without things slanting to the side. He told his friends he'd be turning in early for the night, sent a similar message to his dad since he hadn't gotten a call from him yet, then crawled into bed. What a way to bring in his birthday, huh? He'd probably spend the entire day nibbling on crackers and toast and drinking lemon lime soda tomorrow. Just peachy. At least there wasn't a birthday cake waiting for him in the morning.

It had only gotten worse from there. Gradually, the dizziness gave way to fever and his stomach began to cramp up with sharp, hot stabs of pain. His throat hurt, his mouth ached, and his entire body started to feel too tight and confined, prickly, itchy, and weird, like he had ants crawling under his skin. He tried to scratch them, but his own touch became too painful to bear. All he could do was twitch and writhe in pain only because it was impossible to lay still.

His body grew too hot, then too cold. He found himself kicking off his bed sheets, then reaching down for them minutes later to bundle himself up with despite the coarseness of the fabric against his overly sensitive skin. It was like his body couldn't decide what its core temperature should be.

"Dnngh... nngh! Aa-aah!" Tears run down John's cheek, burning hot trails that felt like they blistered on contact It was hard to breathe, making each sound of pain that escaped him it's own laborious action.

It intensified suddenly, and his whole body feeling like it's on fire, millions of tiny white hot needles spearing into him at once, tearing a ragging scream from his bloody throat. It lasted for an eternity. It could have been seconds, it could have been hours, and just when John thought he might actually die from the pain it subsided, and it's sudden absence brought such an aching relief, John fpund himself purring...

Literally purring...

Maybe he would have thought that strange when he wasn't about five seconds away from passing out. His body felt like lead, still a little too uncomfortably warm, but quickly cooling. He thought he might have seen the sun rising when his eyes finally slid shut and his mind gave way to blissful dark.

The bliss was short lived.

5:48am.

The moment all hell broke loose in the Egbert household.

It started off with a quiet rumble, that John managed to sleep through, even as it grew louder. It wasn't until the house shook with a deafening boom that the young boy even startled awake.

John stumbled to his feet, nearly falling over three times before he managed to stay upright. His center of gravity felt off, or it could simply be the earthquake that had suddenly hit. Only... the small hairs prickling at the back of his neck told John that it was no earthquake that had woken him up.

He stumbled out of his room and his breath caught in his throat. Something had crashed into his living room. A large, purple... object. It looked like a luxury liner on a miniature scale, but it was in his living room and not in the ocean. The design of it was off, too. The word 'spacecraft' immedieately flashed in John's mind, but he shook that ridiculous thought off.

"Oi, there's the brat!"

Oh shit! There were people in his house. How hadn't he noticed them before?! They were dark, more so than just from the pitch black of the house. Their features were sharp, cheeks, eyes, nose, chin, all sharp angles and points that gave them an eerily inhuman look. Even the big one. There eyes glowed dimly in the dark, and John got the feeling that they saw him a lot better than he saw them right now.

He ran. It was instinct. Though apparently bad horror movie instinct, because he ran right back to his room. 'Jesus Christ, John Egbert, what is the matter with you? You should know better than this! What sort of movie connoisseur are you?!' Mental berratting would have to wait! The boy had to act fast.

He grabbed a jacket and his phone, forgetting his shoes, they'd take too long to slip on, already hearing heavy steps making their way upstairs. He opened the window and without thinking twice climbed onto the sill, reaching up to pull himself onto the roof's edge. No time to think, just act. No wait! thinking is important, too. Never forget to think!

Balancing his way to the smooth center of the roof, John dialed 911.

"911, what is your emergency?"

"Yes, hello! My name is John Egbert and somebody has broken into my house! They're after me right now, they've chased me onto the roof."

"Sir, I'm going to ask you to calm down. Please tell me your location."

"I just did that!" John yelled into phone, then rattled off his address anyways.

"Don't you fucking move, you brat!" a voice came from his left. From his window.

"Oh shit! They've found me! I... I have to go! Please send help!" John didn't wait for the answer, he hung up the phone and he took off down the other side.

This is gonna hurt, this is gonna hurt, this is gonna hurt!

John slid off the room, aiming himself to fall into the thick bushes in the backyard.

It was amazing how surprisingly little it hurt. John chalked it up to adrenaline. He didn't wait to try to figure it all out. As soon as he had his bare feet under him again, he took off, slipping on the dw slick grass, vaulting over the back fence (something else he could marvel over later) and down the streets that would lead to the woods.

He strained his ear to to hear if they were following him still, knowing he'd only slow himself down if he tried to look. All he heard was his own ragged breathing and sirens in the distance

He dialed his dad's number and it immediately went to voice mail.

"Fuck! FUCK! Dad where are you?! I don't know what to do! They're chasing me!" he hung up after that.

He was on the run, he could hear someone catching up to him now. Where to go? What to do? Think! Think!

He couldn't. As a last ditch effort he dialed the only other number he currently had on this new phone. He ducked under low hanging tree branches, turning left or right with no real sense of direction of where he was going. Away, was all he could think of. His heart failed him by another fraction with each ring that signified another second the call wasn't answered.

And then it was.

"Nnngh... Egbert, do you have any fucking idea what time it is? We didn't all go to bed at 8pm..."

"Dave! Oh fuck, Dave! They're after me!"

"What?" the voice on the other end was suddenly much more alert. "Who is chasing you?! Why?"

"I don't know, I just- AAAAH!" he screamed as he stumbled over a root and went flying, the phone falling out of his hand to fall to places unknown.

"Gotcha now, welp."

John's world spun, vision fuzzing around the edges. A dark figure loomed over him, and all he could notice was the eyepatch the man wore over his left eye, not fulling hiding a horrible scar.

"W-what...? Why..?"

"The why don't matter. Not to you. S'nothing personal, just doing my job. Hold still and I promise I won't have to hurt you as much." The man had something in his hand. It looked like a knife, meaning it was one.

It was a dream... It had a be a dream. The thought kept running through John's mind even as his heart was beating so fast, there was no real way he could be asleep.

"Wake up," he muttered, "WAKE UP!"

The man snorted softly, "Sorry, kid... But this is as real as it gets."

The man's friends had caught up with them by then, surrounding John on all sides.

"Let's get this over with already. We've wasted enough time here and it's too fucking early to be dealing with this," said the second tallest of the group, brushing a leaf off his black suit. Even in the dark, John could tell it was well pressed and tailor made. He picked up some odd insights living with his dad.

"No fucking kidding, ain't getting paid enough for this," eyepatch guy replied. "Now come along all quiet like, kid. There's a good boy."

"Poor little guy looks so confused," the short one said, the most sympathizing looking in the bunch. John thought surreally how funny it was that the midget was calling him little.

"That's not our concern," nice suit guy said.

And then the world flashed green and a mass of black stood beween John and his would be kidnappers.

"Sorry boys, not today!" A familar voice chirped with a giggle. The mass of black turned around to reveal a girl with long, black hair and... pointed things on her head... ears...? Wait, hhe knew that long mass of hair.

"Jade?!"

Jade winked, "The one and only. Now hold on, this might... tingle." That was all the warning she gave before the entire world flashed green again, and this time grabbed hold of John and pulled him along for the ride.

I can already tell that this story is trying to become much more than I ever thought it would be. What even is this chapter? Is that... Is that the Midnight Crew? Holy fuck, I think I just cameo'd the Midnight Crew. What are they doing? Why are they after John? Where did his dad go? And who are Dirk, Jake, and Roxy talkig about (that one should be a bit obvious)?

I'm trying on a whole bunch of new muses for this story. Slick and Droog being a few of them. This is my first time writing Jake, Dirk, Roxy, and even Rose and Jade. I hope I'm doing them justice.

Please let me know what you think so far! I'd really appreciate it. :3