A/N: [you don't need to read this first few bits unless you're interested about where I've been hiding] Can't believe it's almost been a year, but the last time I updated (May) was during my vacation, which was when I had been taking summer review classes for college entrance tests. Unlike standard tests like SATs, here in the Philippines there's a different test for each university so you can only imagine how stressful everything was. (Happy to report though, that out of the 3 schools I applied for, I passed all of them and got a full merit scholarship!)

Then of course it was my senior year in high school, which meant the teachers trying to catch us up on all our lessons for the entrance tests as well as well as for all our disruptions within the academic year. Aaaaand last January it was my 18th and my school team (which comprises 1/4th of the school since there are 4 teams and it's a school-wide event) won for the second time in a row this year - the first time it's every happened! Best gift everrrr and like I think I was too high on it that writing would have been unproductive haha.

But that aside, I have been writing stuff in bits & pieces here and there, and it's really the alert subscriptions and reviews that I see in my mailbox that keep me going. To be completely honest though, having watched a Pitch movie without Donald in it really put off my vibe. Personally, I try to be as canon as possible because I feel it gives a certain level of respect to the original thinking tanks that put their work into what I try to spin off as my own, so not having Donald back really sucked for me and prolly made me not like the sequel as much as I would've. And that said, I've made a lot more progress on my story Outlaws than this one.

So without further ado, enjoy this update (which is kind of a filler) and let me know if you still want more. Thanks for taking your precious time to hit the Fave/Follow button and to give awesome reviews!


Chapter 12.

Can We Dance?


I woke up to the dazzling, blinding light coming from the window. It hit me squarely in the face, and slowly, I sat up. I looked around me: Jesse was lying on one sofa, cuddling Colby; Hat was on the La-Z-Boy, snoring; Donald had his head leaning back, snoring open-mouthed with drool making a slow trail down his chin; the TV was still on, displaying the title menu of Jaws.

Hmm, they watched another movie after I fell asleep.

My stomach grumbled, and I ached for real food. I stood up, picked up all the empty bags and threw them in the trash. I looked at the guys again and giggled. Fishing for my phone in my bag, I snapped photos of each of them, at the most disgusting angles. I laughed once more, and proceeded to the kitchen to make breakfast.

In the fridge, I saw some eggs and milk which were going to expire soon, two cases of beer, a moldy platter of leftover chicken, some butter, and pudding.

I sighed and rolled my eyes - boys will be boys.

I looked around the cupboards and found some sugar, flour, salt, pepper, and hardly anything else apart from some bowls, plates, and other cutlery. I sighed and put my fists on my hips.

"I have my work cut out for me."

With The Vamps' Can We Dance playing on my earphones, I danced around while whisking the pancake batter with a fork, as there were no wire whisks.

"I talk a little shh when I'm drinkin', baby, I'm known to go a little too fast

Don't mind all my friends I know they're all crazy, but they're the only friends that I have

I know I don't know you but I'd like to skip the

Small talk and romance, girl

That's all I have to say so baby, can we dance!" I sang quietly, using the fork as my mic.

I then poured the batter on the pan, and looked for a spatula, finding one, I started singing again and flipping the pancakes, then I picked up the pan and spun-

"Ah!" I yelped, flipping the pancakes in the process as I jumped. The guys were seated on the breakfast bar, looking smug as ever.

Colby barked and wagged his tail.

"Holy shit you guys scared the living crap out of me." I said, and set the pan back down on the stove.

"Turns out you can move, Winters." Donald commented wryly.

I squinted my eyes at him. "Zip it, Walsh, or no breakfast for you."

He mimed zipping his mouth, and Hat urged him to shut up. I smiled.

"You're all good with pancakes? Coz there isn't much of a choice." I muttered, pressing and flipping the disks.

They muttered responses of agreement.

"Usually we just go to McDonald's or something, and I'm sick of it. I'm glad you're here." Hat said, smiling sincerely, then turned to go. "I'm gonna shower."

Jesse stretched, and yawned. "Me, too. Let me know when the food's done." He stood up.

"I'm not your maid, Jesse." I said, rolling my eyes,

He walked over and hugged me to his side, then kissed my temple in an endearing manner. "I know, slave."

I hit him and laughed, as he left while I continued cooking. I started frying the leftover eggs so they wouldn't be wasted. "Aren't you going to shower as well?" I asked, turning to Donald.

He shrugged, then yawned. I waved my hand over my nose, pretending he stunk. He then laughed, and sent me a look. I laughed too, and the grin I had on my face was plastered there for a while.

"Did Hat say anything to you?" Donald asked, rubbing the back of his neck. I noticed that this was his nervous habit.

I looked at him, puzzled. "Hat? Why would he say something to me? What would he say to me?"

He swerved his head from side-to-side, contemplating. "About last night." He finally said.

I gave him another curious look. "What about last night? I fell asleep-"

"No, not that." He sent out a nervous chuckle. "When he walked in on us here..." He said, looking down at the spot where he lay me down.

I flushed so hard and abruptly turned to the food. "Uh, no. Did he say anything to you?" I squeaked.

"No." He sighed. "He's gonna hold us onto this, you know. He is incredibly notorious for blackmail."

I gaped at him, then composed myself. "Well, I'm sure he won't try anything. It was completely innocent, and there's nothing going on between us... right?"

He froze. "Y-yeah. But how are you so sure he won't try to fool the others?"

"Because if he does, he won't get his breakfast." I smirked, setting the dishes of food on the breakfast bar.

After threatening Hat, he complied, and we were all happily eating. We sat in comfortable silence, and after a while, I spoke up.

"You boys are coming with me to the grocery later." I announced.

"But we have Trebles practice." Jesse said.

"And I have Bellas rehearsal, and I'm going to mass in forty-five minutes. I will meet with you guys here at five-thirty, and afterwards we can have dinner." I said, and placed my plate in the dishwasher.

"C'mon, Cate, you're already half-way there, making us breakfast. Why don't you get the groceries yourself and we pay you for your troubles?" Jesse tried.

"I told you I'm not your maid. You boys are coming with me whether you like it or not." I said, giving them looks and giving Colby his breakfast.

"Or what?" Hat probed.

"You starve." I said devilishly, then headed for Jesse's room. "I'm going to shower and get ready." I announced.

Packing my hair dryer back in my bag, I put on my taupe ballet flats then looked at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a navy blue sheath dress and pinned my shorter layer of hair to the side, with light, natural makeup. I walked back to the living room to see that they were cleaning up, and I smiled.

"I don't have time to go back to my dorm, so would it be alright if I leave Colby here then bring him back after dinner?" I asked Donald beside me, who was cleaning up more of yesterday's mess.

He looked up at me, and I noticed him freeze a little. Some emotion shadowed his face for a split second, and I looked confused.

"U-uh yeah, sure. I'm sure he won't be any trouble." He recovered, and I gave him a questioning stare before crouching down to scratch Colby's ears.

"I'll be back." I say to them and they mutter their goodbyes. I stand straight and smile at them, grabbing my bag. "See y'all laters."

After an exhausting rehearsal with the Bellas - who begged for 'juicy' details of yesterday's events (though I couldn't really give them anything as there was nothing of such interest since I left out the tickling and talking part) - I arrived at the Treble house. I knocked, and Jesse let me in. All the Trebles were there chilling.

"Sup, boys." I greeted, smiling.

"Sup." they replied in unison, and Colby jumped off Darren's (a newbie) lap and greeted me.

"I'm sorry, Cate, but the guys are here, so I guess you have to go shopping alone." Jesse said.

I shook my head amusedly. "Oh, it's no trouble. Or should I say treble." I fake-laughed by myself, and slapped my knee for effect.

"So you understand." Jesse said, hiding his relief as he held my shoulder.

"Oh, yeah totally." I smiled, nodding. Jesse broke into a huge smile. "All of you guys can come along!" I announced encouragingly.

They looked unpleasant, and the ones who didn't live in the house made up excuses: variations of "I have a thing" and "I need to do this" so they could leave.

I crossed my arms, leaned on the breakfast bar and had a questioning look on my face as I stared at Donald, Jesse, and Hat. I tapped my fingers to add to the drama, and I sighed and shook my head.

"Boys, boys, boys. Sneaky, sneaky boys." I tutted.

"We're sorry! Please don't kill us!" Hat cracked, pleading on his knees. He clearly remembered my earlier threats.

"Well, since you said please." I said amusedly, and he got up. "Of course I knew what you guys were up to. Did you honestly think I was that obtuse?"

"Of course not!" Donald chirped.

I sighed. "Ok, c'mon, get your wallets. I'm tired. Let's make this quick so we can get dinner."

"Where are we eating?" Jesse asked, pocketing his wallet and keys.

"I think you'll like it." I smiled.

"Woah! I didn't know these were available here!" Jesse said, enthusiastically gripping a bag of chips, then tossing it mindlessly to my already-full shopping cart.

I stared down at all the goods, which mostly consisted of junk food and other things the boys liked. Donald strolled up beside me with a full shopping cart of his own, and grinned.

I made a face. "You guys do know you're paying for this, right?" I asked.

"Yeah don't worry about it." Hat said, as he tossed a pack of gum in the cart.

"But I haven't even been able to get the real groceries. This is all junk." I said, grimacing while picking up a pack of beef jerky from the cart and examining it. "Hmm. Ninety-five percent fat free." I shrugged.

"Gimme that." Hat said, snatching the pack back greedily and taking the cart. "You can go ahead and get the other stuff."

I sighed, and rolled my eyes. "Fine." I said, realizing that they weren't gonna be very useful other then loading the carts with junk and unloading them into the cars.

I got a new cart and started filling it with meats, eggs, and all the other essentials. Once I finished, I called the boys up and we checked everything out.

"Three hundred sixty-three dollars?!" I gasped in shock. "Unbelievable! You guys spent so much!" I scolded them.

"Relax, Cate. We have money." Jesse laughed it off, taking his credit card out, along with Donald and Hat. "Split it three ways, please." Jesse said to the cashier, who nodded and swiped the cards.

I shook my head, and waited until the groceries were bagged. The boys pretty much carried everything, but I picked up the cooler full of frozens and led them to where we parked the cars.

"So, to the restaurant?" Donald asked me, holding up his keys.

I nodded. "You guys follow us." I said to Jesse and Hat, who nodded and entered Hat's car.

As Donald and myself slid back into his car, I sunk myself deeper in the passenger seat.

He chuckled. "You look pretty cozy there." He said as he started the engine and turned on the heater.

"It's cold and your seats are pretty damn comfortable, Mr. Walsh." I said contentedly, wrapping my scarf tighter around my neck. "They're heated, too."

He laughed again, and we pulled out of the parking lot with Hat and Jesse on our tail. As we drove, I gave him directions.


Review responses:

gossamermouse - ikr! thanks for being consistent in leaving reviews. it means a lot!

silverswag - yeah! i find movie marathon dates the most fun - especially with all the food. you just can't go wrong.

guest - thanks and hope you actually see this hahah

rosabelle charm - thanks for letting me know! hope it's not too disappointing/discouraging. Lemme know what you think!