Hello, hello~! It's been a while since I worked on this...whoops. But I combined 2 chapters to make, well, a longer chapter. There's not much to say right now, so enjoy!

The first signs of morning made their way through Ike's bedroom and filled the entire room with its light. Ike was already half asleep, but the sunlight in his face made it significantly easier for him to snap back into consciousness. He opened his eyes and briefly took a look at his surroundings. Clothes on the floor, pair of cleats in the corner, the faint smell of Taco Bell wafting throughout the room- yep, it was his bedroom, alright. Ike slid out of bed, trying to remember how and when get got back into his room. He dragged himself out the room in search for the rest of his friends.

"The last thing I remember..." Ike yawned and nearly bumped into a wall. "Is eating pizza and getting cheese on the carpet..." He peeked inside Soren's bedroom, only to see Roy slumped over in a corner, snoring loudly. Ike sighed, snuck into the room and began shaking him. "Hey. HEY!"

"I'm up!" Roy snorted and slumped down even further. His eyes snapped open and looked around frantically.

"Mornin'." Ike smirked and walked back out of the room. Roy got to his feet and began following him.

"Where's everyone else? More important, where's your bathroom?"

"Don't know. First door on the right." Ike stopped briefly. "...You smell something?"

Roy sniffed the air and began smiling. "Mm...Smells like bacon." He sighed happily and slipped away to find the restroom. Ike began walking in the direction of the scent, almost as if he was in a trance. If there was anything he loved more than pizza, it was bacon. Actually, Ike loved food in general. He'd eat pretty much anything as long as it wasn't poisonous.

He followed the smell into the kitchen, and stopped right before he ran straight into his sister who was too busy trying to scrape bacon off of the frying pan to even notice he entered the room.

"Uh...Mist?"

"Oh, Ike! Thank goodness! Can you help me out with something real quick?" Mist looked over her shoulder and began scraping harder at the pan. "Can you call Titania? She didn't come back home yesterday and she was supposed to help me make breakfast- well, make Soren breakfast because, y'know, he kinda sorta hates everything but he can't just stop eating because he'll like, die. And then I'd cry, you'd cry, we'd all cry. Marth would be a total wreck and-"

"Yeah, sure whatever. Hey, speaking of Soren, where'd he go?" Ike rolled his eyes, barely listening to her.

"Soren? Living room! On the couch sleeping with Marth. Well, not sleeping with Marth, but just sleeping with him! Last night, Marth was crying so Soren came out her to comfort him and then one thing lead to the next and they fell asleep and it was kinda cute! I have pictures if you wanna see 'em!"

"Mist, I don't- ...Actually, send me those later." He tiptoed into the living room, careful not to wake them up. When he got close enough to Marth, he began poking him. "Dude. Wake up."

"..."

"Marth? C'mon.!"

"Mn..?"

"Marth, wake up!" A soft blow to the cheek jolted Marth straight out of his slumber. Marth yelped as he rolled right off the the couch, and onto the floor.

"Rise and shine, twinkle toes!" Ike beamed as he plucked Marth's cheek.

"W-Wha…!?" He squinted at Ike and began rubbing his eyes. As if on cue, Soren rolled off the couch and plopped right on top of him, limp and still fast sleep. Marth nearly screamed as he tried to push him away. "S-Soren?! Is he dead?!"

"Dead...unconscious...or just tired." Ike shrugged and plopped down on the couch. "Apparently, he was sitting here with you all night. But on the bright side, the project's done!"

"Soren…?"

"Don't bother. Once he's down,, he's out like a light."

"Oh." Marth ran a hand through Soren's hair, glancing down at his face. Soren let out a yawn as he curled up slightly, keeping a hard grip on his shirt.

"Quit moving…."

"Soren, wake up."

"Shut up...I'm tired…"

"Fine, fine. Just don't drool on me."

"You're here, Roy's using the bathroom, Mist's in the kitchen...yep! The whole gang's here." Ike put his feet up on the arm of the couch.

"Oh joy." Marth deadpanned. "Hey...what's that smell?"

"Huh? Oh, breakfast probably. At least I think that's what it's supposed to be."

"Who's cooking? Your mom?"

"Yeah- Wait, what? Titania's not my mom! She's not even here!"

"Riiiiight. What time is it?"

"Um…" Ike stood up and walked back into the kitchen. A few seconds later, he ran back into the living room with a disgusted look on his face. "Geez, that looks terrible! I'd rather eat dirt this morning! Aaaand...9:30."

"Crap!" Marth began shaking Soren violently. "Soren! Get off!"

"Feh..." Soren frowned and slowly got to his feet. It didn't take long for him to fall over face first onto the couch. Exhausted, the only sound he could make was a loud, muffled whining.

"Seriously, I'm going to be late for practice!" Marth stood up and dug in his pockets. His eyes widened in horror as he checked his back pocket. "Where's...where's my phone...?"

"Soren's room, I think." Ike sat down next to Soren and began pulling on his hair, only to recieve short grunts in response.

Marth nodded and sprinted back towards the room. He briefly scanned the room and let out a sigh of relief upon seeing on the table where he had left it. He swiped it off the table and headed out the room, checking his messages. A few from Elice, one of those chain messages, a message from...Merric?

"Must be important if he actually texted me." He murmered to himself. Almost immediately after opening the message, a smile spread across his face,

нey! ѕorry aвoυт noт ѕĸypιng wιтн yoυ ιn a wнιle! ι've вeen really вυѕy laтely...тoo мany reѕearcн paperѕ... orz

вυυυт on тнe вrιgнт ѕιde, we нave a вreaĸ тнιѕ weeĸ!

ѕo yoυ ĸnow wнaт тнιѕ мeanѕ, rιgнт?

Marth eagerly began typing a response. If it were possible, he would have been floating in air by now. He had to tell someone, anybody about it to at least help him calm down. His brief happiness soon subsided, and was replaced with worry. Who's picking him up? Where was he staying? Did Elice know? He erased his response and began thinking of another reply. Before he could start over, a new notification appeared.

нey, reмeмвer pracтιce? тнaт'ѕ lιĸe ιn a coυple мιnυтeѕ.

"The hell? Who's number is this?"

acтυally, donт coмe. eaѕιer for мe~

υnleѕѕ you need a rιde? cмon prιnceѕѕ. ;)

"...I swear-" Marth angrily shoved his phone back and stormed out the room, past the kitchen before Mist could even get a single "Hiya!" out, and past Ike and Soren.

"You're leaving now?" Ike watched Marth as he nearly yanked the doorknob off. "You want me to take you for lunch as usual?"

"I'll let you know before practice ends!" Marth called over his shoulder. "I'll...call you later!"

"Dude, what's your-"

The door had already closed.

Roy idly sat in his car, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel with one hand and rolling his window up and down with the other. The sound of a door closing caught his attention. He smirked, not even turning back before starting his car and speeding off.

"Roy-!"

"Later, Princess~!"

"You asshole!" Marth began running after the car, glaring and gritting his teeth. Roy slowed down, but not enough for him to catch up. The redhead stuck his head out of the window.

"C'mon, Marth, get in the Prius!"

"To hell with you! I can run there at this rate!"

"Suit yourself." Roy sped up again.

"NO! Okay! Stop!"

He stopped the car completely, stifling a laugh. Marth stomped over to the passenger's side, threw open the door, and plopped down in the seat. His breathing began to slow down as he closed the car door.

"Seatbelt."

"Fuck you."

"I'm not moving until you put your seatbelt on,"

"..." Marth huffed and put on his seatbelt.

"Thank you very-"

"Just drive."

"Now, now, Marthy~ Keep in mind, I'm driving. I basically have you under my control while you're in my car."

"Drive!" Roy immediately slammed his foot on the gas. On instinct, Marth clutched onto his seatbelt.

"STOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOP-"

"My car, my rules!"

"Slow the hell down before we get arrested, you moron!"

"C'mon, who's gonna be on the road at 9 am on a Saturday?"

"EVERYONE?!"

"Tch…" Roy frowned and let up on the gas pedal. Marth let out a sigh of relief and let go of the seatbelt. He shot him a glare briefly before pulling out his phone again to rethink his reply to Merric. Roy snickered and began looking for a radio station. Of course, to Marth's dismay, he chose the only station where they played irritating pop songs 24/7. Marth spoke up before the song could even begin to annoy him.

"How did you get my phone number?"

"Changing the subject, are we~?"

"Look, I'm not going to argue with you. Especially not in a metal death trap. I just have a few questions."

"Fine. Phone number? It's in Ike's phone. I lost mine last night, and he gave me his to call it. Nice guy, actually!"

"...Alright. Second, what is it that you want from me?"

"Well, you already seemed to dislike me since I showed up so clearly I'm doing something right~"

"That's not what I asked." Marth rolled his eyes.

"I told you, I want to win. And if I have to take away some things, I'll be happy to oblige."

"Why me? There are other skaters in the division."

"Because you're the best. That's not gonna cut it. You're the only thing standing in my way. I want to win. Does that help, Princess~?"

"So you're going to destroy me peg by peg...to win a contest."

"That's so negative….Wait. You know how they say 'Know your enemy'?" Roy smirked and glanced towards him. "Well, Mr. Lowell, that's my purpose."

"Oh really?" Marth turned to face him. "Tell me, Roy. Who am I?"

"Easy. Marth Lowell: Age 17. Youngest sibling of 2. Your father is a pretty powerful man, I hear. You've won 8 competitions, 3 of them regional. You started skating during your freshman year and have not had any break from it since. You wear a size 7 in skates and a 6 in regular shoes."

"Th-That's-"

"Lemme finish. You've known Coach since you were kids, so there's not much of a chance of me being more favorable in her eyes. Miss Lyn seems to like you too. You're an obedient little thing-you've never gotten below a B in your life, never cheated, never stolen anything. So in summary, a goody two shoes. "

"..."

"Spot on, huh~?"

"You're a creep…"

"I prefer to think of myself as an adept researcher."

"Oh, you mean stalker?!"

Roy came to a stop and peered out of the window. "The stadium's not open yet…."

"Stop changing the subject!"

"Don't be so loud." He sighed and turned back to face Marth. "Loud doesn't suit a pretty voice like yours."

"Great. A stalker and a flirt. What else are you, a deranged mass murderer who kidnaps children for his underground demon fortress as slaves?"

"That's...gross."

"Perfect for a gross person like you!"

"Marth. Listen. Calm down."

"I am calm. I'm perfectly fine."

"Look at me." Roy reached over and grabbed him by the chin. Marth slapped his hand away and turned to glare at him, the corners of his mouth twitching in a half smile.

"Yes, Roy?"

"I'm not going to do anything, I swear. I just want to win. Who knows, maybe we'll be friends afterwards!"

"Oh...That's a great idea~!" Marth chuckled and opened the door. "Over my dead body!"

"Hey! Where 'ya going?"

Marth kicked the door shut with his heel and began to hike up the street, not bothering to grace Roy with a response. He glanced around at the surrounding buildings in an attempt to not make eye contact. He could hear Roy driving beside him, yet he only walked away at a faster peace.

"Marth!"

"Maybe that breakfast place is open. Norne might be working today and I could swing by…"

"Dude…"

"At least, I think she's working. If not, maybe Elice can drop off something to eat."

For a while, he couldn't hear Roy's voice or the low humming of the motor anymore. His brief moment of peace was interrupted by the sound of sporadic breathing approaching behind him. Marth said nothing, he only began to walk faster.

"If I'm lucky, she'll remember to bring me a drink with little to no-" His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden feeling of something grabbing his hand and pulling back on his arm. Roy stared at the back of his head before murmuring,

"I'm not going to do anything."

"You do realize that sounds very…threatening right?"

"Gimme a chance, Princess."

"Is this harassment? I think this is harassment."

"You're awfully thickheaded, aren't you, Marth?"

"You finally used my name! Bravo! Maybe you're not an idiot after all!" He offered a sarcastic smile.

"You're only making this harder for the both of us."

"Screw off." Marth jerked away from him, but still couldn't escape his grip. "Let go."

"You're making a scene!"

"I'm making a scene?! Listen, I do not like you. I will never like you. I'm trying to go along my merry way, get to practice on time, yet here we are, arguing in public because your target of interest won't fall for your charms? You're out of your mind!"

"Quiet down! Do you want people to stare?!" Roy pulled Marth to the side, lowering his voice down to a whisper. "Consider yourself lucky that I didn't crash the car into a goddamn Starbucks on the way down here!

"I swear, one of these, I'm going to call the cops and I will never have to see you again and oh, what a happy day that will be!" Marth slapped his hand away and stormed off, only to turn back around and mumble, "I left my phone in the car…"

"Hurry up." Roy unlocked the doors and shoved the keys into his pocket. Marth quickly retrieved his phone, closed the door, and began walking.

"Come on, if you're so set on beating me, then show me that you can do it. I'm dying know."

Roy smiled slightly and followed after him. "Very well, Mr. Lowell. You've made quite the rival today."