Quirks

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.

*A/N* Welcome to this it's-not-really-done-but-I-feel-guilty-about-not-updating chapter :) Please still enjoy!

(Any ideas what movie I've watched tonight…?)

"Fuck!"

An ear-piercing scream came from the kitchen. Henley jumped to her feet in one fluid movement, Jack let out a yelp of his own and Daniel dropped the cards he was holding.

"You okay in there, Merritt?" Henley asked tentatively.

"No!"

"I'd say he's cut off a finger, but then again, we all know he never cooked a single potato in his life," Daniel muttered and gathered his cards off the floor.

"Good job compassion isn't a subject at school or your grades would've looked a lot worse," she gave back and edged closer to the kitchen. Her boyfriend rolled his eyes, shoved the deck of cards in his pocket and followed her.

"My school reports were a nightmare."

"Why do I not believe that?"

"Oh, for God's sake," Jack muttered, deciding they'd never stop bickering before, like, doomsday, and pushed past them. "Merritt? What happened?"

"There's a fucking mouse in here!"

A loud, barking laugh escaped Daniel, who had just appeared in the doorway. "Really, Merritt? A mouse? And I thought I was the neurotic one."

"Yeah, sweetheart, you kind of still are." Henley patted his shoulder and grinned.

"Says the one who freaks out if she loses sight of her gloves. Her gloves, Henley. A piece of garment."

She shook her head and argued: "You're the control freak who's got rules for everything."

"No, not rules," he bit back. "That'd be stupid. Do I look like the guy from Zombieland?"

Jack, who was searching for the little rodent behind the kitchen cupboard, looked up and replied slowly: "You totally do, Daniel. Sorry, but you… you do."

"Yeah, thanks. Don't compare me to that miserable guy and his weird rules."

"Why not, the resemblance is uncanny," Merritt muttered without stopping his anxious search for the mouse.

"Careful, okay, that… that hit close to home. The guy is stupid. I mean, come on, given a choice between an old rifle that has exactly two shots before you have to reload and a machine gun, he took the rifle. Besides, Merritt, let's, let's not talk about people who remind us of Zombieland, okay? Because you're on shaky ground there."

"Oh, am I really? And who would I remind you of?"

"You're kidding, right?" Daniel said flatly, starting to look for the mouse himself.

"Guys, seriously," Henley interrupted, raising her hands. "What the hell are you even talking about?"

"Zombieland?"

She frowned and then shook her head. "Nope, not ringing any bells."

All three boys turned to stare at her, even Merritt seemed to have forgotten his furry antagonist hiding in the shadows underneath the fridge for a moment.

"Jack," Daniel asked very calmly. "You don't think you could dig out a good movie of your infamous collection for a change?"

"Yup. Totally. Got it on Blu-ray."

"Good, we're having a movie night," Merritt ordered decidedly.

"Oh great, we're having a night in." Henley said with a sarcastic smile. "I mean, not like we've done anything else for the past sixteen months or so."

"It's a good movie, it's fun. Idiotic lead characters, but..."

"Guys, for how long are we going to ignore the fact we've been stuck in this goddamned flat for the last one and a half years?" Henley demanded, gave an exasperated shrug and collapsed on a chair. "I mean, come on. Don't tell me it doesn't drive you insane. Seriously, there are only so many bad movies we can watch and I swear if I see another fucking stage map I'm gonna be sick."

"Yeah, or if I see another deck of cards lying around in here."

"Or a lock, I mean, how many of those do you have?"

"Yeah, or if I have to suffer another stupid SM joke, come on, boys…"

"Or Henley's fretting, you are not our mother-"

"Is nobody going to mention that we're stuck here with the biggest control freak in the universe?"

"Nothing about Merritt's psycho stuff that he keeps pulling off with us?"

"What about the old married couple that we're stuck with?"

"Wait, are you talking about Danny and me or Danny and Merritt?" Henley interrupted.

"You and Daniel. No, Merritt and Daniel. No, both."

"What about the fact that you can't walk in anywhere without the fear of interrupting something you just don't want to see? I mean, get a room-"

"Let's face it," Daniel muttered. "We're the most neurotic bunch out there."

"Yeah, just look at Merritt and his mouse," Henley added darkly.

Merritt paled. "Oh no. Shit. What if it's got away?"

The other three fought valiantly to keep their laughter at bay (Daniel actually bit his lip bloody in the process). In the end, perhaps they were the most neurotic community in all of New York, but at least they could still laugh about their antics. And if they were honest, that was more comfort than they needed.

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