Hey, I'm sorry for the last chapter and this one! I have a severe case of writers block. Okay, this chapter is basically just a filler since I can't go straight onto the Battle of Red Hook.
I yawned, sitting up, and rubbing my eyes blearily. I stretched my back and heard several pops, sighing. Then, the music came. I blinked and the room became clearer. I cocked my head for a second before identifying the music as coming from downstairs.
I yawned again and pushed myself up before trudging outside. I looked over the railing but couldn't see anything. I shrugged and made my way into the kitchen. I blinked and swore when the cupboard showed up empty. I turned to the fridge desperately
and sighed when it yielded two packets of bacon and some eggs. I shrugged and turned on the stove before placing a frying pan on top. I chucked the bacon in and cracked all the eggs before starting to mix them.
Slowly, the kitchen started to fill up, the first being Vladd. He nodded and sat down, immediately putting his head down and closing his eyes. I chuckled and scooped all the bacon out and depositing the eggs in before placing a plate in front of Vladd and
setting the rest of the table. He grunted in thanks and I shook my head as Luke and Natalie walked through.
"Hey Luke, Natalie." I called, holding up a plate. "You guys want breakfast before you go kiss or something?" I asked cheekily. Luke choked and Natalie blushed. Vladd looked up and laughed as the Ticks came stumbling in. They brightened up at the sight
of food and all launched at me, wrapping their arms around me in a vice hug. Luke laughed.
"Karma Rea. And we'll pass. Save some for when we get back." He said before leading Natalie away.
"Use protection!" I called before giggling.
The door opened and I grinned, lunging for Moose and wrapping my arms around him. He patted my back and picked me up, squealing, as he followed Luke.
"Alright guys, let's show these newbies why we call this the Vault." Luke called out to the twins. They nodded and hurried over, slapping hands with Moose and kissing my hand. Until they saw Natalie. Suddenly, the attention they showered on me moved
to Natalie and I grinned at her while they started arguing over why the second got to kiss her twice. I rolled my eyes and cleared my throat.
"Okay, I got it." "Good, now-" "But you're still beautiful." "Paray, paray, paray." I blinked as they both turned to us.
"Ladies and gentleman. Our most prized possessions." They clocked a remote and suddenly, the walls lit up, showing millions of shoes, shirts and hats. I gasped and made a beeline for a pair of bright rainbow custom Nike Dunks. Luke chuckled and I
snatched my fingers back.
"Those shoes are my favourite, the Back to the Future ones. My mother uses to wear them." He said. My eyes widened and I took a step back. The twins chuckled and I moved next to Moose.
"Rea." He said quietly, holding a pair of shoes. "Limited edition Gun Metal Nike Dunks." Moose said in awe, holding the shoes. "Dude, I've always wanted these." I giggled and placed my hands over his, pushing them down.
"Luke's lucky shoes?" The twins asked, wagging their fingers. "Oh yeah. Smart boy." One of them said. Luke chuckled as Moose put them back down.
"If you want them. Around here, you gotta earn your kicks." He said, standing up. "C'mon, there's someone else I want you to meet. I think you might like him Reanna." He said, walking back the way we came. I followed bemusedly, tugging Moose along.
We came to a wall and Luke pressed a panel on the side. I jumped back as it hissed and Luke chuckled.
"Behind door number two, is the graffiti room." He said, leading us into dimly lit, mostly green lights, room. I stared at all the equipment in awe.
"Damn, this place is so…Oh my god, it's awesome." I said breathily. A little tinkering sound brought my attention to a dude wearing paint splattered jump suit and bug eyed goggles.
"Hey, who's that?" Moose asked. Luke turned and nodded.
"Oh that? That's Jason." He said. "He is our electronic guru. I'm talking LED lights, electronic billboard hacks and basically anything to do with lights and stuff." He said, moving forward. Jason turned around and moved over to the table, catching sight of us.
"Dude, excellent timing." He said, slapping Luke's hand. "You know how I have been working on that portable lighting system? Well, I can't figure out how to get it to stick!" He complained. Moose lit up and he moved to stand near Jason.
"Hey you got any electrical tape?" He asked, fingering one of the lights. I hid a smile as Jason nodded and handed him a strip.
"Check this out." He said. "Just wrap it around, snug fit and…" Moose taped it to the light, wrapping it snugly around, before pegging it like a dart at one of the metal cables. Jason leapt up like he'd been shocked.
"Yes! Oh yes!" He shouted, clapping his hands. He grabbed Moose and looked at Luke. "Oh I love this kid! It's the LED to the battery to the magnet." He slapped his forehead as Natalie took one, wrapping it and throwing it.
"They're beautiful." She said. "Like neon fireflies." I nodded and threw one of my own. I grinned, crouching down to examine it.
"Neoflies." I said in unison with Jason. He looked at me and grinned.
"Yeah, Neoflies. I like it." He said, beaming.
A neofly covered cylinder moved around the table, from one to another. I grinned from my place at the top, in between the Ticks. I watched as Shonnie threw a piece of sausage in the air before catching it and shook my head. I grinned and stole a piece
before throwing it in Terence's open mouth, causing him to choke. Shonnie and Anala burst out laughing as I thumped his back. He glared at me before aiming a piece of mashed potato at me. I ducked just as a whistle pierced the air. Terence stopped and
I took the opportunity to snatch his food, stuffing it in my mouth. He pouted but stopped as Carlos leant on his leg.
"Listen up." He started. "The World Jam is right around the corner. But to get there, we got to get through the two qualifying rounds." He said, everyone nodding in agreement. "Which means-" He got cut off by Luke.
"Which means we got our work cut out for us." He paused for effect before fixing all three of us newbies with a look. My heart sank. "Moose, Reanna, Natalie? You guys in?" He asked. I sucked in a breath, lowering my head. Moose glanced at me and
threw an arm around my shoulders, leaning in to my ear.
"Go upstairs Anna Pop. I'll talk to them." He said. I heaved a sigh of relief and stood up, not making eye contact with anyone, but scooped up Bubby and hurried up the staircase. I dimly heard the Ticks ask after me but they were interrupted by Moose.
"Dude, I dunno. I have uni and it's hard enough for Reanna to be around you guys when you dance. Dancing is a really touchy subject for her. And I kinda have to go to school, I mean-" Luke cut him off.
"We'll figure something out with the both of you. It won't take much for us to convince Reanna to dance." He said. Suddenly, pounding started, joined by occasional shouts of 'Pirates'. I gritted my teeth and put Bubby on my bed before walking back down
to a tremendous cheer. Apparently, Moose and Natalie accepted. The cheering shut down as soon as I appeared. I ignored everyone and stared at Luke.
"Dance isn't something I can just go back into. Personal reasons Luke." I said. "I'm sorry. But, if I could talk to you for a second, I think we could figure something out." I said, moving away. Luke glanced at Moose, who nodded, and he followed me out.
"So what did you have in mind?" He asked, crossing his arms. I leaned against the wall.
"I'm majoring in Music and Creative Arts Luke. I can mix some mean as tracks for you guys, plus help with costumes and stuff." I offered. He frowned, thinking about it. I waited patiently and hid a grin as the Pirates all leaned around the corner to watch us.
Suddenly, Luke grinned, spinning me around and presenting me to the crew.
"Pirates, meet our new resident DJ!" He said triumphantly. I grinned and laughed as the Ticks shot forward, wrapping me up. They were followed by Moose and Natalie who were followed by Anala and Jason. Luke broke up the group hug soon enough though.
"Alright, alright. Let her breath. Now, get some sleep. We're starting early tomorrow." He said, heading to his room. I grinned and tore myself away from Shonnie and Aja's vice grip.
"Um Luke?" I called. He stopped. "What about dinner?" I asked, amused. He turned around and retraced his footsteps with a straight face, walking past us to the kitchen.
"I knew that."
I smiled sadly, watching form my spot near the wall of boom boxes, as the Pirates trained in small groups. I ducked my head and brought a snippet of Flo Rida over to the mesh screen, mixing it a little faster and with some Chromeo. I grinned as Jason and
Moose stole the spotlight with a little canon combo they'd been working on. All in all, the room was a big mess of flailing limbs, music pounding and dancing. I grinned and sat back, just watching. A little ping suddenly alerted me to the completed download
of the first track.
"Hey Luke!" I called. He paused form teaching a little bit to Natalie and I beckoned him over. He squatted next to me and I held out the disk.
"First track is done. But what I wanna know is who does this work with the crew you're battling?" I asked, gesturing to the whole room. The Pirates were taking a break, sitting around, and drinking water and stuff. Luke chuckled and shook his head.
"Ho no, no it doesn't work that way. You mean the crew we're battling." He corrected. I beamed and ducked my head, catching sight of my watch.
"OH my god!" I screeched, jumping up. "I have to go, my class is starting in fifteen minutes." I babbled, haphazardly pushing all my crap in my bag. Luke chuckled and helped me push everything in.
"It's fine. I'll drive you." He said. I sighed and nodded.
"Cool, thanks. Can you load my stuff? I gotta get changed." I said, racing upstairs. I frantically picked through my bag and pulled out some black tights and an oversized shirt. I quickly pulled them on and slipped some high heeled boots on. I raced down
the stairs, finger brushing my hair and tried to locate my girl.
"Hey Anala!" I called. She looked up and over at me and grinned, standing up. I grabbed my bag from Luke.
"Do you have a belt?" I asked. She nodded and hurried into a room near the kitchen, reappearing with a thickish black belt. I slid it on gratefully and hugged her.
"Thanks so much." I called over my shoulder, practically dragging Luke out.
As I said, this is a filler. The next chapter will be cutting straight to the Red Hook Battle. If something isn't to your tastes, either let me know via review (politely) or just don't read it.