I was listening to "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" while writing this. Green Day kept me going.
Maybe you should listen while reading. Just an idea…
xxxxx
"Lord, what fools these mortals be!"
-Uh, I forgot his name… Bill What's-it… Something about a sword, no, a vibrating arrow…
xxxxx
Nigel's last name seemed strangely appropriate for his current mood.
He paced back and forth, having unconsciously picked up the habit under the lieutenant's influence. HIVEmind had passed on disastrous news, though he hadn't seen what happened after the door slammed. Perhaps he was better off that way.
The small Alpha sighed. Every broom closet in HIVE was monitored 24-7. Part of a new program Nero had administered. Diabolus thought it was all very funny, and he warned Nigel not to do anything silly, which was unnecessary, because Nigel never planned on getting a girlfriend anyways. This was in marked contrast with Franz, who was helping with some bird as he stood there...
The only unmonitored broom closet was the one Agent Key had utilized, after busting the concealed camera. Key had done her job too well, and then messed it up completely. Nigel gritted his teeth. The girl had no idea what this meant for Nigel.
He opened the blackbox. 9pm. Franz wouldn't be back till after curfew. Cupcake and Fly were deployed elsewhere. Key had escaped the island upon realizing her mistake. Security was too busy to apprehend one crazy little runaway, who really didn't pose much threat to HIVE anyways.
That left one person to fix the damage. One person who didn't even have much of a snazzy title: "Second" Commander. Steeling himself, the deputy grabbed his blackbox and left the dorm.
xxxxx
"Well," muttered Annie, giving another futile pounding to the door. "This is an interesting turn of events."
"Yeah," said Otto absently. His mind was occupied elsewhere. His companion was sitting on an upturned empty bucket. She really was pretty, and sweet, too. They'd never really spoken until the day before, when he happened across her in the computer lab and asked her to go with him. She'd blushed, and agreed.
She was really smart, too. He couldn't think of anyone else with whom he'd had as many stimulating, hilarious conversations. Well, maybe one person...
He pushed the faint image of two green eyes out of his mind as Annie asked concernedly, "Otto?"
"Hm?"
"Are you okay...?"
"Oh, yeah." Otto groped for an excuse of spacing out. "How do you get your hair so... " He reached for a lock, stroking it caressingly. "...soft?"
"Oh." She blushed. "Just... regular shampoo and conditioner. Nothing special."
"Oh."
There was an extremely awkward silence. Otto didn't like awkward silences, although there was someone with whom he'd shared hours of comfortable silence, broken by a comment or two about this fact or that quote...
Shaking his head, he mentally dropped-kicked the thought out of his cerebellum.
Annie raised a quizzical eyebrow.
"Thought I felt a spider or something," Otto explained.
"Are we just going to sit here and wait for someone to need cleaning supplies?" asked Annie.
"I guess." Otto shrugged. Then he realized exactly what kind of situation he was in. Primeval instincts awakened in the fifteen-year-old. He could feel a certain heat building...
He glanced at her sideways. "Although there's another option, if we dare."
"What?" Annie asked innocently, though a smirk played on her lips.
Otto really can't be held responsible. He was a hormonal teen, trapped in a volcano with no extra-curricular stimulation, except water polo, which he totally stunk at. Before a thought flickered through either of their minds, Otto had her pined to a wall, one hand beside each of her shoulders.
He wasn't the only one to have undergone a split-second transformation.
"I do dare," Annie purred.
Neither noticed as her blackbox dropped to the floor, hitting something on the way and flipping open. HIVEmind's head swiveled to the activity, eyes in bug-out mode, and watched in rapture.
There's no telling how much the young AI's dwindling vestiges of innocence would have been defiled had the door not whipped open to reveal a shocked Nigel. Heart still pounding, blood still rushing, but slowing quickly, Otto moved away from the girl, who was also breathing hard.
"Uh, you're, um, free," Nigel mumbled awkwardly. Annie picked up her fallen blackbox, snapping it shut on an extremely disappointed looking HIVE mind.
xxxxx
Dr Nero was filing reports on his desk, trying to get them done as quickly as possible. He needed to get to bed. As vast as his endurance could be, he'd been exhausting himself as of late.
He was interrupted by the sight of HIVEmind popping up on his desktop screen.
"Yes, HIVEmind?"
"I have a question"
Dr. Nero was taken aback. A question?
"I've already asked Professor Pike, and he doesn't want to answer me. Maybe you know more than him."
Dr Nero smiled. "You know more than all of us combined."
"No, not about these kinds of things," HIVEmind replied seriously."
"Well, then, I'll do my best. Please make it quick; I've much work to be done."
"Dr. Nero, what happens when a man and a women love each other very much?"
Dr. Nero collapsed onto his paperwork.
xxxxx
Shelby pointedly ignored yet another crowd of adoring girls. She particularly tuned out the girly giggles erupting whenever the ever-polite Wing graced them with a "Good morning", sometimes drawing out a "Hey, Wing!" from the bold. Several girls would faint on the spot at the slightest glance from the heartthrob.
Wing frowned. "Why is everyone so weird lately?"
"They're not the abnormalities. You're the oblivious one. Look," Shelby said impatiently, "just stop acknowledging them, and they won't be so 'weird'. Ignore them. Please. For the sake of my sanity."
Wing gripped her shoulder, eliciting glares of envy from the bystanders. "Shelby, please stop."
Shelby did so, but did not turn to face him.
"Why have you been so grumpy lately? Is it something I've done?"
Yeah, it's everything you do, Shelby thought sourly, but she forced a carefree smile. "No, of course not. I'm just…" She wildly groped for a reason. "…worried about Laura. You know, she's been skipping meals and stuff. Pretty much been a recluse ever since Otto got with Annie."
"Yes. It can't be healthy. I wonder why that could be."
Shelby gently bonked him on the forehead. "Dude, you're totally oblivious."
Her happy mood did not last long. A black-clad girl with glossy dark hair sidled up to them, grasping Wing's hand.
Shelby froze in horror. This was totally unexpected.
No other girl had been brave enough to do that.
Not even Shelby herself.
Then comes this ditzy hourglass…
Her insides clenched, as something in the depths of her stomach growled menacingly…
"Hey, Ninja," she crooned. "Funny how such a hot guy could still be dateless a week before the dance." She swiveled him so they were chest-to-chest. "But that's an easy fix."
Wing's uncertain eyes flickered in Shelby's direction.
Shelby waited for him to turn her away. Try to be nice, though. Actually, on second thought…
Wing smiled uncertainly. "Well, yes, I'd like to, but—"
"Oh, perfect." Hourglass tugged him away. "I want to go tell my friends…"
"Wait! I didn't mean that!" Wing protested futilely, twisting around to look for Shelby.
The blonde was nowhere in sight.
xxxxx
There's a reason I rated this T. ;D
Hope Otto didn't freak out anyone who somehow wasn't yet bored to death…
Thought you guys might be interested that the HIVE book covers just got a brilliantly epic makeover. I saw them on amazon-dot-co-dot-uk.
Insert hyperfreak.
Please review. Could be one word. Tell me that the chapter was too short. Tell me what you think of Annie Dearest. Tell me I've been neglecting Wing and Shelby even though I have their own road all mapped out, and part of it written already…
Does anyone mind if this fic goes into July-ish? Cuz I've suddenly had an influx of ideas. Otherwise, I'll just keep it on time (as in within June)… but short.
Love ya!
:)pidge (um hm, newly accepted nickname)