A/N: Hi, friends.
Holy shit, did I have some sort of prophetic thing with this chapter title. Because it's been one of those days. I'm slightly late here. I've been going steady since I got up. I'm exhausted already. Regardless, let's get going, k? Love you x
Ring, ring!
Someone's dying. Someone is going to die at my hands. Violently. Bloody. I wasn't dealing with this shit so early in the morning. I silenced my phone and went back to sleep before whoever signed their own death certificate this morning woke the baby. Then, someone would really be dying. And not by his hand. Still by my own. Why? Because getting Seven to go back to sleep would be next to impossible.
Bzz…Bzz…
God…Dammit.
"MC…" Seven groaned in my shoulder, "Make it stop. I don't care who it is. Just make it stop. Tell your phone to shut up."
It's not like I didn't know who it was. Or at least have an inkling of who it was, "Hello?"
"Good morning, sunshine!" Quinn always was a sucker for an early morning, "Wakey, wakey, MC."
"I…hate you, Quinn," I snarled. It's a shame flip phones fell out of style. Because the satisfaction of snapping my phone shut right now would definitely get my point across. Because suddenly, I'm a bitchy high school girl in 2005 with my Motorola Razr and an attitude.
"I love you, too," she chimed.
"What time is it?" I rolled over to the wrong side of the bed. My nightstand didn't have the alarm clock on it. That was Seven's side.
"That's the smell of 6AM, sweetie," Quinn told me, "You and I have a date."
"I didn't think it'd be so early…" I whined, feeling Seven's face between my shoulder blades. Not that I'm complaining. At least not about that.
"How long is it going to take you to get ready?" she asked.
"I don't know," I shoved my fist in my eye, "What level of ready are we talking? Publicly presentable won't take me long."
"No, no, no," Quinn stopped me, "I'm talking camera. I want to start this shoot at nine and be over by the time the rink opens up to the public."
Ok…It'll be only three hours of pictures then. That's oddly comforting, considering all the other photoshoots I've done for Quinn were all day affairs. But this still meant it was six o'clock in the morning. And I still didn't have that in me quite yet, "Again…I hate you, Quinn. The shit I do for you."
"And I love you for it." I had to hand it to her. Quinn's relentless optimism was something to be admired, "I know it's early. And I knew you'd be a little cranky, so I already brought you coffee. Hopefully, that'll make this all better."
"You're a saint, Quinn…" I grumbled into the pillow. But then, something dawned on me. And that something shot my eyes open faster than any espresso ever could, "Quinn, where are you right now?"
"Outside your place."
Oh, shit. My heart stopped. If Quinn's outside right now, then one wrong step and she's losing a foot. Or the hounds get released. Or lasers are deployed. Or worse, a team of specially trained people with a certain set of skills take her somewhere and skin her alive for getting anywhere near this place. I held the phone to my chest, "Seven…"
"Hmm?"
"Tablet, please," I requested, watching his arm flail backwards and feeling blindly for the tablet on his nightstand, "Thank you."
"Mmhmm…" Seven was cute when he was half asleep. I like him. But I needed to make sure one of my friends wasn't about to end up a pile of ash on our front lawn. I opened up the app for our security cameras and checked the front door.
Nothing. That's comforting. I put my phone back up to my ear, "You're sure you're at my place, Quinn?"
"I'm in your building," she told me, "I'm at your door as we speak."
She's at my office. I let out a heavy sigh of relief, "Ok…Why don't you head over to the roller rink? I'll be there soon. I don't know how camera ready I'll be, but I'll do my best."
"Look on the bright side, MC," Quinn pointed out, "I already have wardrobe figured out for you, so that's half the battle."
"You're a modern day Mother Theresa, Quinn."
"See you soon! Love you!"
Click.
Jesus Christ, Quinn…You can't scare me like that. I damn near had a heart attack and I'm not even out of bed yet. I threw my phone back on my nightstand and laid on my back for a minute. She's already at my office with coffee. I mean, God bless her for it, but I wanted to do this like I wanted a hole to the head. A little extra sleep would've been a blessing, but I don't get that luxury. I felt Seven's face nuzzle into my ribs a little more. Something tells me I'm not the only one that doesn't want me to go already.
"Care to join us, Seven?" I ran my hand through his messy hair, letting him use me as a pillow for as long as he wanted.
"I'd like to sleep a little more," Seven mumbled, "If that's alright with you."
"I would, too," I admitted, "Come on, Seven. Please? What about the whole, my suffering is your suffering and your suffering is my suffering thing? Isn't that what marriage is about?"
"We're not married yet."
"I know," I whined, "But don't make me do this alone."
"Of course not," Seven looked up at me, pulling my face closer to him, just to get a little something, something. He's the cutest, "Good morning, 606."
"Good morning, 707," I love him. And as much as this was going to pain me, "I'm going to go take a shower. Quinn's wanting to start by nine and something tells me that along with her bringing wardrobe, she's brought options, so at least I get to show up in sweatpants."
"Have I ever met Quinn?" he wondered.
"No," I shook my head, "Quinn didn't make it to the last Googleplex. She had something else going on that night. You'll meet her today, though, if it makes you feel any better."
"That's nice," Seven curled back up in bed. Lucky son of a bitch.
"No, no, no," I wasn't having it, "You don't get to go back to bed. If I don't, you don't."
"Damn, MC," he teased me, "Already such a diva type. I love it."
"Not even close," I shoved my finger in his face, "Don't start with me, Seven. I'm already on pins and needles. I don't want to end up lashing out at you out of nowhere today. I love you."
"I love you, too, baby," Seven snuck in one more kiss, "Go take a shower. I'll be here."
"Thank you," I could breathe a little easier. Maybe with Seven still being kind of out of it, he won't be anywhere near as manic as he usually is. Good. I love him, but I don't think I have usual Seven energy in me tonight.
I went into the bathroom and got started. I can get myself relatively camera ready when I get there. I'll throw my makeup bag in my purse and maybe bring my straightener with? No. I don't need to go that far. Do I? No. I could leave it here. Although, it probably wouldn't hurt to bring it with me. Just in case. Oh, I could feel it deep in the pit of my soul. Today…might actually be fun. If I stop being negative about it. It's not like all the other shoots I've done for Quinn were dumpster fires. Some of them were kind of fun. If I have a good team behind me, i.e., if it's just Quinn and me doing this shoot like a couple high school girls in our bedrooms, this will be just fine. The only difference is that my boyfriend is going to be off to the side while everything goes down. Along with…
Shit, I need to call Zen…I also need to tell Saeran where we'll be, so he doesn't think we're totally leaving him. I don't want to do this today. I really don't. I'd rather be sticking around home today. But like I said, the shit I do for Quinn. I do love the girl. She is a sweetheart. And she does deserve a good photoset for her blog, but…Dammit, why'd she have to pick me? And I know she has coffee waiting for me, but I'm thinking about stealing one of Saeran's Red Bulls. I'm sure that if I promise to replace it, he won't have a problem with it.
Regardless, when I walked into the kitchen, I wasn't expecting company quite yet. I knew where Seven was. He took the bathroom shortly after I left. Saeran was still in bed when I peeked on him. But it's not like I'd ever have a problem with this. Even though I haven't been living here long, I've lived long enough to know when our fortress was being broken into and when someone that isn't allowed here had managed to breach the walls. He's ok, though.
"Morning, Vanderwood," I took a seat at the island, thinking about getting something to drink. Coffee sounded like a good idea, but I knew Quinn had coffee for me already…I promise you'll have another one there by this afternoon, Saeran. I reached in the fridge and grabbed a blue can of Red Bull. It's going to be one of those days.
"Morning, MC," Vanderwood jumped a bit. I don't think he was expecting to see me, "You're up early."
"I got a photoshoot for a friend of mine this morning," I grumbled, reveling in the hiss coming from that can cracking open.
"You sound awfully enthusiastic," his sarcasm wasn't lost on me, "You want some coffee?"
"In an IV, please," I stuck my arm out.
"No," Vanderwood shot me down, "I'm not giving it to you through an IV. It doesn't have nearly the same effect. Don't worry about it, MC. You'll manage. You're pretty resilient. And once that Red Bull hits you, you'll be fine."
"I appreciate the pep talk," I already had half the can gone. I'm not going to give myself a heart attack today. I'm not that stupid. I can consume responsibly. It said to on the side of the can. I'll be fine.
"Hey, Vanderwood," Saeran came down the hall, "Did you call your guy about my Frute Brute?"
"Morning, Saeran…" I looked at him strange. I didn't think Saeran would be awake yet, let alone talking to Vanderwood about his Frute Brute.
"Oh…" he froze like a deer in the headlights, "Morning, MC…"
"Wait a second," I wondered, "Vanderwood's your cereal dealer?"
"Not exactly," Vanderwood clarified.
"Vanderwood's more like the middle man," Saeran jumped in, "What are you doing here?"
"I live here," I giggled, "I'm currently waiting on your brother. Seven's awake, too."
"Joy," Saeran took a seat at the kitchen table, "So, what kind of great, grand adventure are you crazy kids off to today?"
"I have a photoshoot for a friend of mine today," I told him, "Seven and I are going to be at the roller rink for a while. But…You know…I mean, unless you wanted to come with us."
"You think I haven't been approached by idol agencies before?" Saeran scoffed, "Hard pass. No, thanks. I'm good."
"Come on, Saeran," I teased him, "I'm sure Quinn wouldn't mind. Especially you. I love Seven. Don't get me wrong. But you're the cuter one of the two."
"Are you serious?" Saeran gasped, "If you're not, this is a shitty thing to do to me, MC. My whole self-esteem rides on your answer to this. I'm seriously the cuter one between Saeyoung and me?"
"Saeran…" Now, I felt bad, "Think about it…You two have the same face. There is very little deviation between you two. When I first saw you, I thought you were Seven. And there have been times where I've seen Seven and I thought he was you. I'm just happy you two haven't parent trapped me yet."
"Give it time."
"But you're adorable," I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, "We both know that."
"Thanks, MC," Saeran did his best to hide it, but I caught a smile on his face.
"Hey…MC?" Vanderwood called me over, "I, uh…Can we talk real quick?"
"Of course," I went to the other side of the kitchen. It's the weirdest thing. I don't think I've ever seen Vanderwood this twitchy. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was nervous. But what could possibly have Vanderwood nervous? This was the same guy that could probably tie me into a pretzel right here and now if he wanted, "Is everything ok?"
"Yeah," he nodded, "It's just…"
"MC!" Seven came down the hall. I see someone's woken up a little more since we last saw each other, "Are you ready yet?"
"Later," Vanderwood kept me quiet. Still…I couldn't help but wonder what the hell could possibly scare Vanderwood of all people.
"Yeah," I nodded, "I'm ready. What about you?"
"Are you sure you don't want me to pack anything?" Seven offered, "I have carrying cases for when I go on location."
"It's fine," I settled him. I knew Seven did this professionally from time to time for his cosplay pictures, but I doubt that Quinn's going to go too over the top with this shoot, "Really, Seven. I think I got plenty with me already. You don't need to add to this. Besides, you're just here to watch. And you're the guy with the keys to the rink."
"That's right!" he bolted, "I knew I was forgetting something!"
"And make sure you're medicated, Seven!" I called after him.
"Already got that!" That's good. I really do love my fiancé, but damn, he's a lot of work.
"What do you see in him, MC?" Saeran wondered.
"We've been over this," I rolled my eyes, "His cute butt and my biological clock. You can't tell me those don't go hand in hand."
"I don't want to think of your hands and my brother's ass…"
"Fair play."
"Alright, baby," Seven came back with his keys in his hand, "Ready to go?"
"As ready as I need to be for the time being," I kissed the top of Saeran's head, "Don't burn the house down."
"I'll think about it," Saeran smirked, "And I'll make sure you get your cut of the insurance money."
"I love you, too, Saeran." Oh, how I adore my future brother-in-law.
"Shall we?" Seven took my hand, "To the Sevenmobile?"
"Yes," I giggled, "To the Sevenmobile."
"It's cuter when you say it," he gushed.
Hey, Seven," I followed him out, "We need to stop at Zen's first."
"That's fine," Seven allowed, hopping into the driver's seat, "What do we need to go to Zen's for?"
"For Zen," I told him, "What else would I need to go to Zen's for?"
"I don't know," he thought, "Maybe because you're leaving me for Zen?"
"I'm not leaving you, Seven," I groaned, "I woke up in bed with you, didn't I?"
"You did," Seven kissed my cheek and pulled out of the driveway.
Ok. Maybe this isn't going to be terrible. I mean, Seven was good enough to leave any of his cases in our bathroom. And he promised he'd only be there to watch and not get his fingers into it. This might be a good day. And I already had some caffeine in me. Not to mention, I had coffee waiting for me at the rink in the first place. And now, we were on our way to pick up my best friend/my manager for my one time modeling gig that's not even really an official gig. It's just one of my friends asking nicely. Is this a win? Is this what a win sounds like? Because it sure as hell feels like one.
When we pulled up in front of Zen's apartment building, Seven decided to rev the engine, just to make sure someone knew we were here. To which I shot him a quick glare. Although, the big ass grin on his face made it hard to be mad at him, "Was that necessary?"
"I would've honked," Seven shrugged, "But I thought that would've been obnoxious."
"Jesus Christ, Seven," I held my face in my hands, "What am I going to do with you?"
"Hopefully marry me sometime in the next year…" Damn, he's hard to stay mad at.
"If you're not careful," I teased him, "I might just do that very thing."
"And you would've fallen into my trap," Seven clapped, "Yay! I won!"
"You're such a dork, Seven," I gave him a quick kiss, "I'm going to go get Zen. If that's alright with you."
"Who am I to stop you?" I love him.
I got out of the car and knocked on Zen's door. His ass better be awake or I'm going to be pissed, "Zen!"
Seconds later, Zen's door opened, "Morning, MC."
"Wow…" I looked at him strange while his arms wrapped themselves around my shoulders, "That was fast. And unexpected."
"Are you kidding?" he grabbed two big cases from behind him. Oh, dear Jesus, "I could hardly sleep last night. Of course, I'm up and ready by now. I know how these go, MC. I know they're not exactly something done in the middle of the afternoon. And if she's smart, she'd do this before the rink opens up for the day."
"She is…" Damn, Quinn. You are a professional. Although, I couldn't help but worry, "Uh, Zen…? What are the cases for?"
"What else?" Zen smiled, "Those are for you. You'll see what those are for soon enough. Let's go!"
"Yeah…" Oh, shit…And here I was worried about Seven getting a little too excited and involved in this project. But we have Zen the dark horse slapping me right in the face. Yeah…Mistakes were made. Big mistakes were made. And once Seven's caffeine of choice kicks in and his meds kick in and that storm cloud clashes with Quinn's, I'm screwed.