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"Oh ge' a room." Jack groaned out as he grabbed another cookie. "Ya know there are other people 'ere don't chya?"
"Oh yea Jack… like you and Irena are any better." Charlie said rolling his eyes at his best friend.
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Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long, but I've been REALLY busy this last month with school projects and all that fun stuff. (rolls eyes) BUT I didn't forget about you guys REALLY!
I also just got a job too… but I'm not going to slack (At least not anymore than I have lately… :S)
ANYWAYS! Not like you all care, but I figured, why not get a good deal done on this story over the break! Sounds good to me:) Hopefully I'll have another update up before the 7th.
So HAPPY HOLIDAYS everyone!
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I just want to say, I am dedicating this chapter to Ruchie-Smooch for her birthday…which was actually a while ago when I first started this update… but yea… too many projects! HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUN!
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Disclaimer: -Sigh-…. That's all I've got to say. :(
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Hermione's eye's fluttered open slowly. She smiled as she looked up at the sleeping redhead she was cuddled up next to.
One week.
One week since she had brought Charlie the documents for the reserve.
One week since she had found out about Irena and Jack.
One week since her and Charlie had worked things out… again.
One week since she had spent a night alone in her flat.
One week of perfect bliss.
She sighed softly and Charlie shifted in his sleep. She glanced at the clock on his bedside table 6:27. She hadn't been up this early in… well, one week.
Well, in all fairness, you DID go to bed early last night.
Early? Since when is eleven o'clock early?
Well… compared to the rest of the week…. It's been after one o'clock every night this week that you've all come home from wherever you went to eat.
Oh, right…well I was tired last night. I mean, going to bed every day for a week after one, and then getting up at 7:30 every morning for work…
Hermione yawned slightly and looked around the room. She had concluded on her first night in his room that it was indeed Charlie who had decorated the flat. His bedroom walls were a dark, Gryffindor red, which matched beautifully with the black-framed bed. She yawned once more and Charlie stirred again. She smiled and pulled the dark red blankets off of her slightly. Rising slowly from the bed, careful not to wake Charlie, she crawled out of bed and slipped the blankets back over him. She smiled at him and tiptoed across the black carpet to the bedroom door. Hermione took one last look at the room she was quickly growing to love, and the man she knew she loved, and closed the door quietly.
She made her way down the spiral stairs carefully and headed to the kitchen in search of some coffee. She had to admit, she absolutely LOVED every room in the flat, but besides Charlie's room, the kitchen was one of her favourites. The guys had done a wonderful job in her opinion. She pushed the door open, bracing herself for the orange walls. When the sun shone through the windows and danced off the pots and shining silver countertops, the room could get very bright. As she entered, Jack turned from his spot at the sink and nodded slightly at her.
"Mornin'."
"Morning." She greeted cheerfully. Jack held the coffee pot he was holding up slightly and she nodded, he handed her a cup. "Thanks."
"Yea. How was your nigh'?"
"Alright, seems short."
"Ya went ta bed at eleven, tha's early 'round here… or did ya not get any sleep." He chuckled softly and propped himself up against the island. Hermione on the other hand tilted her head slightly, pondered his statement for a moment, and then went a bright red as his accusation sunk in.
"No-o!"
She took a long drink from her coffee and made her way to the fridge, avoiding all eye contact with Jack who was laughing freely at her redness. She ignored him and pulled the fridge open.
"Ya know how ta cook?"
"Kind of…"
"Well tha's better than me. I can't cook shit."
Hermione grimaced slightly but pulled a package of bacon from the crisper. "Well that's good because I wouldn't want to eat it."
Jack chuckled. "Well ya won't hafta worry too much about cookin'… Charlie definitely got his mother's skills in tha kitchen."
"You've been to dinner at the Burrow?"
"Nah. But when Char first moved out here, and fer like a year after tha', his mum used ta send stuff out here. That woman can cook."
"Yea, she's an amazing cook." Hermione looked around slightly. "Um, where are the frying pans?"
"Beats me."
"It's your flat."
"I told ya I can't cook shit… what makes ya think I know where the cookin' stuff is?"
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"There in the…the …." Hermione jumped as Charlie walked in the kitchen yawning. "The cupboard under the sink." He ran a hand through his hair, "Morning."
"Yea, 'parently it's a hell of an early one. You have a late nigh' too?" Jack said as he grabbed a cookie out of the cupboard. Hermione glared at him as she placed the pan on the stove. As she placed the strips of bacon in the pan, Charlie came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"What time did you get up?"
"Just before 6:30, about 10 minutes ago."
"Good sleep?"
"Of course."
"Good." He whispered, nuzzling her neck slightly.
"Oh ge' a room." Jack groaned out as he grabbed another cookie. "Ya know there are other people 'ere don't chya?"
"Oh yea Jack… like you and Irena are any better." Charlie said rolling his eyes at his best friend. He grabbed the cookie from Jacks hand as the dark haired man went to raise it to his mouth.
"Hey! Yer girlfriend's makin' ya breakfast. Gimme my cookie back!"
"No." Charlie pulled himself up onto the counter in the middle of the room and popped the cookie into his mouth, smirking at Jack.
Jack cursed and pulled the whole bag from the cupboard. Both men pulled out another cookie.
"Why don't you both try eating something healthy for breakfast." Hermione said as she snatched the cookies out of Jacks hands, placing them on the counter beside her. She turned back to the sizzling bacon.
"Touchy one in the mornin' ain't she." Jack said as he made his way out of the kitchen. "I'm gonna go see if Irena's up yet. Keep it clean in 'ere. 'member ya not the only one's that use this kitchen. Our food comes from in 'ere."
Hermione blushed again and Charlie threw a towel at him from the counter, hitting the door as it closed behind Jack. As the towel dropped to the floor Jack pushed his head back in. "Ya missed." He smirked and disappeared before his friend had a chance to grab another towel.
"Well, he'll be upstairs for a while now." Charlie said as he slid off the counter and walked over to the fridge. "Bloody idiot."
"He's your friend."
"Yea well, you're friends with Ron. So… now we're even."
Hermione laughed and Charlie placed a carton of eggs beside the stove grinning. "Be nice… he's your brother."
"Exactly, I'm stuck with him… you CHOSE to be his friend." Hermione slapped his arm. "Hey do you WANT me to drop the eggs?"
"What? You can't hold onto an egg when a girl hits your arm? I thought you were a dragon trainer?"
"Now you're mocking me? I'm guessing you want egg headadicts then?"
"What? You mean eggs benedict's "
"No. I mean Egg headadict's. As in keep-this-up-and-you'll-have-eggs-on-your-head."
"Ok, that was lame… even for you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Hermione only smiled and cracked two eggs into the now empty frying pan.
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"Good morning Miss."
"Hello Dana. How was your weekend?"
"Lovely Miss. I went to Alexandru's jr. tournament. It was absolutely wonderful. Thank-you for the weekend off Miss."
"I told you Dana, no one should be working on the weekend, and I don't know why that Ranglish woman would make you."
"You work on the weekend usually Miss."
Hermione smiled. "I'm different."
Dana laughed quietly. "In a very good way. How was your meeting this morning?"
"Fine Dana, thank you."
"Of course Miss. Oh, Mr. Rickmond asked me to see if you could have the report on his desk later today, if you're not too busy he said He seems a little bit distracted."
Hermione spun around, a smile flying onto her face. "Alin's back!?"
"Yes. He arrived this morning."
"Oh wonderful. Thank you Dana." Hermione placed her bag in her office beside the door and turned towards Alin's office.
"Oh… miss. This owl also came for you. From a Miss… um… Weasley." She whispered the last name and glanced quickly at Alin's office.
"Ooh from Ginny. Thanks Dana." Hermione took the note from the woman and sped towards Alin's office, shoving it in her pocket.
"Da?" Carmelia asked as Hermione approached her.
"Hm? Oh, I just came to see Alin."
Carmelia raised an eyebrow at her questioningly, but before she could say anything else, Hermione walked past her. Carmelia scowled at the witch and rose quickly.
"Well, well, well… look who's back." Hermione said, smiling as Alin looked up from his desk.
"Hermione, so good to see you!" He motioned at Carmelia to leave as he made his way around his desk. Carmelia scowled at the brunette again and turned on her heel. Alin pulled Hermione into a hug. "How've you been? I'm so sorry for just leaving last week… urgent business I had to take care of…"He trailed off and Hermione quirked an eyebrow.
"Nothing wrong I hope."
"Hm? Oh nothing for you to worry about. Now tell me. How did things go with… Weasley?"
Hermione flinched slightly but smiled. "Wonderful. We talked things over. It uh… it turns out Irena was, his… roommate's… girlfriend." She blushed slightly at her mistake and Alin nodded.
"Jack… they're still roommates, are they not?" He asked, going back to his desk, rifling through a small stack of papers.
"Yea… how did you know about-"
"Tess."
"Oh." Hermione fidgeted as Alin moved the papers in search of something else.
They were both quiet for what seemed like ages to Hermione. The only sound coming from the shuffling papers. After a while, Alin spoke, startling Hermione slightly. "Dana tells me you did wonders while I was gone. Considering I sprung my leave on you so fast, you really kept the office organized and in one piece. I used to return to a war zone when Ranglish was left in charge. "
"Well I had to get them to hide the few dead bodies before you came back, and replace the burnt curtains, but other than that, everything went smoothly." She smiled at him.
"Mhm. Good, good."
Hermione's face fell slightly.
Why is he so distracted?
"Alin are you alright?"
He didn't answer her. Instead he yanked the drawer to his desk open, moved some things around inside it, cursed quietly, and slammed it shut.
"Hm? I'm sorry Hermione, I just have to grab something from someone. I'll be right back. You can sit down if you want."
"Alright." She said as he dashed from the room. She looked around the office again. It took her a few moments to realize that the picture of Alin and his family when he was younger was missing. She walked around his desk to sit down. "Ow!" Her knee collided with the slightly ajar drawer on the desk. "Stupid door." She muttered, sitting down, rubbing at her knee. "Must have opened when he slammed the drawer shut."
I wonder what Alin's so worked up over?
Why don't you try asking him?
He's not here in case you haven't noticed.
When he comes back you can ask him… moron.
Shut up Don't call me a moron.
I am you.
Shut up!.
After about five minutes, Hermione got bored. She glanced quickly at the office door and then back at Alin's desk. She could see a small outline of what looked to be books inside the ajar door.
Maybe I can just take a quick peek and see what Alin keeps in his desk… and maybe there will be a sign of what's bothering him.
She pulled open the cupboard on his desk and took a quick peek in side. Her mouth fell open slightly, her assumption true. The drawer was filled with a large stack of books. She pulled the top one out and read the title.
'Fierce, Fiery, and Forbidden Pets.'
She raised an eyebrow and pulled out another book.
'The Dragons of the South.'
Hermione looked at the bookshelf across the room, then back at the books. All of the books in his desk were on dragons, and there were enough to fill the empty space on the shelf.
No wonder Alin knows so much on Dragons. He's got a whole stash of books about them.
Dana was right then when she said that he was a huge Dragon fan.
But why is he hiding them in his desk?
"Ahem." She jumped as Alin walked back in the room, a folder in his hand.
Hermione shoved the book back in her desk. "Alin! I'm so sorry. I sat down, and the door was open a bit… I thought I saw a book… I love books… and I… I know I shouldn't have looked… I mean I… You… I'm sorry."
Alin pursed his lips slightly but didn't say anything. He went back to his desk and Hermione rose quickly, walking over to the bookshelf. After a few minutes of silence, her curiosity got the best of her, yet again.
"Alin… why don't you keep the Dragon Books on the shelf too?"
He started shuffling through papers again, and Hermione had a sudden feeling that he was just looking for something to distract him.
"I mean, you obviously read them. You know so much about Dragons."
His papers stopped for a second but he didn't look up. "Too many memories."
Hermione's mouth opened in an 'o' and she looked down. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring it all up. I wasn't thinking. I should have known that… I'm sorry."
"Not your fault." He collapsed into his chair and put his hands to his face, rubbing at his temples.
Looks like he finally gave up.
Gave up what?
Whatever he was trying to do… avoid talking… trying to forget something.
"Are you alright Alin? You seem… distracted. And I know my looks aren't that distracting right now." She tried smiling at him but, like her last joke, this one didn't seem to faze him.
Alin stared at his desk.
"Alright. Either something is really bothering you," Hermione said, her voice going serious as she went to stand beside his desk. "Or I'm even worst at telling jokes than I thought I was."
"Hm?" He looked up at her and pulled his hands away from his face, shaking his head slightly. "I'm so sorry Hermione. I'm just a bit distracted today."
"Just a bit?"
He smiled slightly at her.
"My God! It's a smile! Praise Merlin he can still smile! Now, what's bugging you? Anything I can do to help?"
"No, it's ok. Just some things I had to deal with this past week."
"Well it's obviously bugging you, whatever it is." She leaned against the desk, her face serious again. "You want to talk about it."
He looked up at her for a minute, debating with himself again. He looked back down. "No it's ok. I'm ok. Don't worry about it."
"Alin. It's bothering you… and besides, if it's something to do with the office, I'm the Deputy Head. I should know about it. We can share the burden."
"It's a…" He looked down again, blushing slightly. "It's not really about the office. I really am sorry I just left like that… and said it was business. It's just… something came up."
"Oh. Well… it's ok. If something comes up you have to go. You can still talk to me about it. I won't tell a soul."
"I know you won't." He turned left and looked out his window for a few minutes. "I had to go to America for a bit… see my family."
Hermione's brow furrowed even more. "Is everything alright?"
He sighed deeply. "Yea… yea it will be."
Hermione looked at him sadly. He looked tired. Actually… he looked exhausted. She pulled herself up to sit on the edge of the desk. "Alin… why don't we go grab a coffee or a tea down the street, it's been a week since we last got together. We can talk about what's bothering you if you want… it might help to get it off your chest. Then you should go home and get some rest. Take the rest of the day off. And when was the last time you ate?"
Alin chuckled dryly. "A week? But coffee, and maybe a quick bite, sounds great Hermione. I've got a fair bit of work to catch up on, so after coffee and a talk I've got to come back here though."
"No you don't. I can do your papers. You need rest."
"I'm fine."
"No. You're not."
"Yes. I am."
"Alin. You're going home after!"
"But –"
"No."
"I have-"
"No. Home."
"I can't-"
"Home!"
"But I-"
"Home!"
"Fine!" Hermione got a smug look on her face as Alin crossed his arms. "Bloody stubborn witch."
"I'm very stubborn. One of my favourite personality traits actually."
"I wonder why."
Hermione smiled. "Ah you know you love it."
Alin laughed. "Not all the time." He sad patting her shoulder. "Definitely not when it's directed towards me."
"O, nu. Domnule Rickmond, este el. Charlie"
Alin's face darkened a bit as he looked at his secretary in the door. Hermione turned and looked, slight worry on her face because of Alin's sudden change in attitude. Her face brightened though when she saw the redhead standing beside Carmelia.
"Charlie!"
He stared in the room for a minute, and Carmelia looked between the brunette and the redhead curiously. After a few moments he spoke.
"Your secretary said you were in here Hermione." He watched as she leapt off the side of the desk and made her way over to him. His eyes kept darting to glare at Alin.
"Yea." She kissed him lightly. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see if you wanted to grab some lunch with me."
"Oh." Her face fell and she turned to look at Alin. "We were… we were just going to grab a coffee…"
Charlie's face darkened a bit. Carmelia smirked.
"We… uhh…" She looked at Alin who was returning Charlie's glare.
"I've got work I got to finish anyways Hermione. You go to lunch."
"No. Leave the work on my desk and I'll finish it later. You need to go home and get some rest. We'll grab a coffee another time. Go home." She turned to Charlie and smiled. "Just let me grab my coat and bag…" Se paused on her way out of the office. "Wait for me at the elevator."
"Mhm." He narrowed his eyes at Alin, who returned his look with a glare, and left the office. Carmelia's eyes followed him to the elevator and she smirked again as she looked at the retreating brunette.
Hermione grabbed her bags from her room and paused when she reached Dana's desk. "I'm going out for lunch Dana, but can you do me a favour please?"
"Of course Miss!"
"Can you go in Mr. Rickmond's office and make sure he gives you all the files he's supposed to do today. He's not going to want to give them to you, but I want you to make sure you get them, and put them on my desk for later. Once you get the files make sure he goes home. He's had a rough week and needs to get some rest."
"I will do my best Miss."
"Dana, just go in there, and don't take no for an answer. No matter what. He might threaten to fire you but don't worry… I'm the only one who has the power to do that." She sent a smile at the witch in front of her who nodded.
"So files on your desk and him sent home. Anything else."
"Nope. That's all. Just don't take 'No' as an answer Dana. He really needs the rest."
"Of course Miss."
"Thank-you so much Dana. And you can call me Hermione."
"I know Miss."
As Hermione passed Alin's office he came to the door. "By the way Hermione… the Ministry Carnival… did you get the memo?"
"Oh yes. Yes I did. It sounds very interesting. Am I supposed to do anything?"
"No. Just the Department Heads. You can volunteer to do some stuff if you want. But the Department Heads are mandatory participation."
"Well it'll be fun. What are you doing?"
"My own booth… won't say what."
"Why not?"
"I don't need it to get out… some of the employees might bring their friends." He smiled slightly and Hermione quirked an eyebrow.
"You know what… I don't want to know." She turned to look at Charlie who was standing at the elevator glaring daggers at Alin again. Hermione rolled her eyes slightly, still smiling. "Well. I'm going to go now. I'll see you tomorrow… since you're going home now."
"No I'm not."
"Goodbye Alin." She made her way over to Charlie and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him. That seemed to make him forget about Alin. They got in the elevator, and as she saw Dana make her way over to Alin she called back out. "HOME!"
"Why are you worried so much if he goes home or not?"
"He's had a rough week, he needs rest."
"And you know this how?"
"I can just tell."
Charlie grunted as they stepped out of the elevator.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing."
"Charlie…"
"It's nothing. What would you like to eat?"
Hermione pursed her lips slightly. "Doesn't matter."
"How about we go grab some chicken wings? I haven't had any in over a week."
"Sounds good."
"Great." He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side.
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Thanks so much to Blueraven01 for helping with the translations!
O, nu. Domnule Rickmond, este el. Charlie Oh no Mr. Rickmond. It's him. Charlie.
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Well… that's that.
Ok, I'm sorry, I know I'm a day later than I said in my other story I would be, but I tried. I had to work last night though, and I didn't get home till later. So I'm sorry it's been so long. But I made sure I finished it today, even though I'm supposed to be cleaning because I have a bunch of friends coming over tonight and my moms gonna kill me if she sees this room. :P
So, Happy Holidays, and hopefully (fingers crossed) I'll have another update done by the end of the holidays.
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And thanks a MILLION to all my awesome reviewers who have stuck in their through all the updates! I love you guys!
Totallypants: I'm SO glad… that makes me feel awesome that you like it that much. :) Yea… it's gonna be hard… also considering that I've never written any before… And yea, I like Jack… he's Charlie's best friend… so I hope you guys like him. What do you mean by a bit of a one???
Rose: Thanks, glad you liked it.
HotKat144: Aw thanks:) And yea, I like Scotty and Holly…. They're friends.
Erytha: Haha… you wanna punch Alin? LOL Don't worry…you can hurt him. And I'm not sure if I want to hurt anyone…
Siriusforeva: Thank you!
Romdevil: Yea, I have a lot of alerts too right now. :P And deadlines SUCK! But…if I didn't have them, I'd never get anything don because I'll procrastinate…and yea. LOL But thanks so much for the review…and yea, when I first mentioned Jacks character, I had just come back from POTC movie. :P
Daydreaming readhead: Conveniently devoured by a random dragon…Irena:??? HAHAHAHA You just made my day!! Yes, she can get on peoples nerves…I know this because I based her on the real life Irena. LOL. (I'll see what I can do) And yes…it does seem like Charlie and Hermione have a million and twelve problems. And more than likely more to come… :P And thank you for the review!
Snapehermionelover: Haha…no, I'm still running from the Ministry of Magic. :P And…to some extent… Irena is like this Irena… I just exaggerated her preparation time a bit… but other then that… she's just like her… and she ALWAYS looks at herself in a mirror… or window…or anything else she can get a reflection out of. Thank-you for all the good luck… and don't worry about Scotty, Holly, and Printesa… lol…
Iceangel89: Haha… the threesome… you have to read Snapehermionelover's review for Chapter 8. It was funny… lol. And yes, I know, YAY, I'm back:P FINALLY… yea… school, writers block… yeauch! But I hope you update soon too!
Harry1Potter's4Girl: Haha… thanks! I'm glad you had something to read…I know that feeling too…I'm waiting for a bunch of updates!
Mimi The Witch: Alrighty… one hit for Alin from you. :) I'm glad you liked the update!
Fireboltwiccan: Yes… they're back together! YAY! I know I took forever to update, and again, I'm sorry!
Wasu: Aww… thanks so much!! I wish I was bloody brilliant with my project… hmm.. but thanks so much!!
Sam's Firefly: Yea… as long as your not the one updating while you have a HUGE writers block :P
christy86: I'm glad you like it:)
ruchie-smooch: Yea I know….I wanted something better too. And there's not really a reason, I just wanted leather couches. :P LOL – And uh… What questions:P
Fantastic Fira: LOL… yea, I think Mrs. Weasley would have taught Charlie and Bill a bit of interior decoratig before they left home… maybe. :P And I know, it's not the best chapter, but I felt bad I hadn't written in while…
Witchbeth: Thanks. Keep up the reviewing:P
whedonist19: Thanks. :) I'm glad you liked it.
ErikandChristine: HAHAHA…. LOVE the idea… hm. And YES, you don't update either! SO here's my new rule… UPDATE!!! UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!!
Rupertgrintlovesmeandonlyme: Haha… well… two were birthay parties of my best friends, and one was afamily baby shower… so, I don't really think I could. :P But don't worry…I'm past the writers block…mostly… so now I can update more often:) Thanks for sticking around and updating!
CaramelBoost: Haha… yes, I'm going to have fun with Irena and Jack… (Insert evil grin) So many fun possibilities. And yes, soon. Soon enough…Haha… yes, I honestly can't WAIT for Scotty to come back into the pic. (Insert another evil smile.) I like your site, I'm already on it…. But I don't think my post worked the first time, oh well, I'll be Andromeda. :)
XLaceMeWithWindx: Thank you so much for reviewing this chapter. And I'm glad to hear my writing has improved, I hope it has. :) Don't worry, I tend to ramble too:P Thanks for the review!
Celeste Noir: Aww… thanks so much! Hmm… I'd have to think about the sharing… I mean, I already have to share him with Hermione :P
Fahzzyquill: Yup! I'm back! YAY! Glad you liked the update thanks a lot!
ladyBlue Wolf: When I first introduced Jack…. I had just seen one of the movies… so yea :P
starshine44: I know I know… I feel sooooo bad because it's been a while…I've just been sooooo busy!
emliy02: Oh my gosh! Thanks so much! I'm really glad you like the trilogy. I've tried to keep it entertaining! LOL Thanks for reviewing:D
blueraven01: Haha…no worries. I like long reviews, and I'm always open to constructive criticism. Yes, I did use an online translator. I know there was bound to be mistakes, some of the sentences I was able to type in and get, but the longer ones I had to make up by translating parts at a time. So I am sorry if it made absolutely no sense. Maybe I should ask you for my translations. :D I do want to make it as realistic as I can. I did a project last year in History (Or possibly Civics :P) and I chose to do it on Romania because I knew I'd end up doing it in my fic. So I know different facts about the weather and that. I'm REALLY glad you like the story…all of them! And no worries, Scotty's coming back REAL soon… and, well… that's going to be fun. :P Thanks for reviewing.
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COMING UP: Another carnival YAY! I like carnivals, what was Alin up to? And what's bothering him. Also, here comes the FAMILY! WOOHOO!