Author's Note: Okay, I'm back with an update. Sorry it's been delayed. I have been so dang busy with work and personal life etc... I feel like I haven't had much time to sit and just take a breath. I've even been editing this one when I've had a quiet moment at work lmao.
Hope you like it; this was really fun to write and was interesting to do one with solely the boys, rather than mixed together.
See you guys for another update soon. Hopefully the August chapter will get written up and posted sooner rather than later but y'know... that depends on me.
Hide & Seek | Toy Store
Uploaded by Gar Logan
28th July 2021
Length: 01:03:23
With an arm fully extended out, Gar beamed up at the lens of his camera as he had it trained on himself, with a few familiar faces trailing along behind him.
Dick walked along with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his straight shorts, ending just at his knees. Beside him was Wally, his mouth full as he gobbled up the last remnants of the nachos he'd grabbed on their journey.
Just behind them, Vic was chatting away to Roy about something as they followed the other boys in the same direction.
"Whaaat's up, guys! It's me, ya boy, Gar and welcome back to my chaaannel." He hollered, his toothy grin becoming even wider as he addressed his viewers,
Behind the group of guys, was a fairly busy shopping mall, with lines of stores open and bustling with families and couples and groups of friends, much like their own. There were people doing grocery store runs, parents dragging their kids around clothing stores and quiet teens heading for the bookstore to get their fill of novels.
The day appeared to be in full swing, with lots of people deciding to make use of the day and get out of their homes.
"So, as you guys can see… we're somewhere a little different today." Gar explained,
"As opposed to the house." Vic interjected, snorting over the location which had been the most common as of late.
Gar smirked and then refocused his attention on his audience, "We're at the mall which is about…" He tilted his head left and right as he considered, "40 minutes from the house? It's one of the bigger shopping malls and has more choices in stores."
"They still don't have a Hot Topic in here." Roy pointed out, peering across at a couple of girls that passed them by.
"Well, lucky for you, you don't need Hot Topic since you're not 16 years old anymore." Wally scoffed,
"Hey, they have some cool shirts, y'know." Roy replied, defiantly.
"Uh huh." Wally continued to mock, giving him a wink before turning away completely,
"So, since it's the middle of Summer, we decided this weekend would be a good time to do a cookout. The girls are back at the house, just chillin' and we've been sent out to grab the food for the grill." Gar went on as they shimmied around other customers strolling about the mall.
"Honestly, I'm so excited for food." Wally mumbled as he finished off his nacho snack.
"You just finished eating." Dick pointed out,
Wally lifted an auburn eyebrow at him, "Yeah? And I'm ready to eat again. What's your point?"
Dick rolled his eyes and shook his head at his best friend's eating habits. Vic snorted and patted his own belly, "I'm with him though. I need me a burger or some wings pronto."
"You know you've been tasked with cooking the food right?" Roy checked, giving Vic a side glance,
Vic blew a raspberry, "Obviously. I don't trust any of you guys around my grill."
Gar smiled up at the camera, "Well, whilst we will be getting the food soon… I also have another idea for while we're here."
He spun the camera around just as they approached a store. As soon as the lens settled on the storefront, it was clear that it was a child's playground. The toy store in front of them took up several units within the mall. The giant store letters saying, 'Puppet King's Toy Store' were vibrantly colored and lit up, with a plastic monkey hanging down from the 'Y'.
It was a picture of enticement for children, who would surely beg their parents to let them get something.
"The toy store is first up on our shopping trip. It's like… 1000 degrees outside and we need to grab some water guns for later." Gar informed the viewers,
"Yeah, I'm not exactly in a hurry to leave the safety of the mall's AC." Roy sighed, spreading his pale, freckled arms wide as he indulged in the cool air being blasted around the building.
"Water guns… cool." Wally grinned, throwing his now empty food box into a nearby trash can.
Dick smirked and folded his arms over his chest, "Something tells me the girls aren't gonna be exactly happy about our little side quest here, Gar."
Gar sent a wink over his shoulder at the ebony haired man, "Duh, that's why we're not gonna mention it to them."
A sudden beep sounded from Vic's back pocket and he reached back and withdrew his phone, squinting at the screen, "It's from Bee…" He paused and lifted his chin with a small grin, "asking if we've got the food yet."
Gar turned his head and stared expectantly at his best friend, who set to work tapping his reply before the 'whoosh' send sound echoed.
"What'd you say?" Wally laughed,
Vic shrugged, "I said that we're working on it but… the mall is busy."
Roy snorted and Gar's smirk reached from ear to ear.
With that, the group headed in through the automatic doors of the toy store. Gar's eyes lit up at the sight before, much like Roy and Wally's did as well.
"God, every time I come into a toy store, I'm thrown back to being like 10 years old, asking my mom to buy me a ton of crap." Wally admitted,
"I never really got that crazy about it." Dick murmured, peering at the aisles with curiosity rather than wonder.
Gar rolled his eyes, "That's cos' you were raised by Bruce Wayne who probably had a freakin' toy store in the manor."
Dick opened his mouth to retort but fell short and rolled his shoulders back, "I mean… I did have a lot of stuff."
"Exactly." Wally agreed, knocking his shoulder against Dick's in a good natured way.
Gar turned the camera around and panned it across from left to right.
Near the front of the store was a long line of cash registers with a fair sized team of employees for the day.
There were shelves upon shelves of bright, shiny new toys all being showcased in their mint condition boxes and wrappings.
There were some toys like stuffed plushies in big baskets dotted around the front and some candy in rows by the payment counters; strategically placed so that they could be picked up as last minute treats.
Several electronic toys such as planes and helicopters were hanging on string from the roof alongside some glow in the dark stars which were scattered across the ceiling as well.
Midway across the store floor, there was a large outdoor equipment display, suited for the season and working to get parents purchasing items for the backyard during the Summer break.
Beyond that, the rows of shelves split into two sections, reaching all the way to the back of the store, filled to the brim with all kinds of toys and playthings for young boys and girls. In another large space, there was another floor display, showcasing some kids' bikes and small motorized cars and quad bikes.
Bright colors were splashed across the walls, with large posters pinned up and displaying any deals and offers that people could take advantage of. There were Summer decorations plastered up as well including several smiling sunshine faces with sunglasses.
Gar suddenly gasped and spun the camera back around to focus the lens on him and the boys once more, "Guys! I have another idea."
"That's… new." Roy snorted,
Pulling a face, Gar flipped him off, "You're hilarious. No, I'm serious!" He paused and bit his lip, "We should play a super quick game of… hide and seek!"
Wally's eyes brightened and he perked up at the sound of that, "Oh my God, yes. I love these hide and seek games."
"Why? You always get found super easily." Dick mocked, smirking,
The redhead's mouth fell open and he put a hand to his chest, "Uh, excuse me? I'm great at this game."
"Tell me that when you win one of these." Dick replied,
"Oh, you wait, Grayson. Ima beat your ass and get found last. It is on like Donkey Kong, bitch." Wally vowed, rubbing his hands together as he considered hiding places.
"It'll need to be a fairly quick game, Gar. Otherwise, the girls will come down here themselves and drag us over to Walmart." Vic murmured, quickly peering down at his watch to check the time.
Gar waved his hand around dismissively, "We'll be done before you get a second text from Karen."
Vic exhaled but shrugged and grinned, "Fine. You're on."
"Any rules?" Roy asked, chancing a glance across at the staff members by the counters.
Gar followed his gaze and hummed, "Try to hide towards the back of the store. I don't want to piss off any of the staff, especially since we're wanting to buy the water guns once we're done."
Dick nodded his head, "Sounds like a good idea. Anything else?"
"Don't move hiding spots. If you pick one, you have to stay there for the whole game, otherwise it definitely won't be a short game."
Roy gave him a double thumbs up and then tilted his head, "Sooo… we good to start?"
Gar's eyes went skyward and opened and closed his mouth a couple of times as if mumbling to himself, "Uh… yeah. I think so. Go and hide." He paused before they dispersed, "Oh and remember to film your locations. Y'know, for the video."
With a couple nods and salutes, the four boys separated, each of them taking different aisles to conceal which directions they were heading in.
Gar smiled to himself and lowered his camera a little as a member of staff passed him. When the coast was clear, he brought it up again and spoke quietly, "And on that note, I'm gonna count and see if I can find these dorks." He took a deep breath, "1… 2… 3…"
[DICK CAM]
Dick offered the front camera on his phone an awkward half smile, "So, I'm kind of on the side of getting back to the house so we can eat." He paused and double tapped the screen of his phone, switching to his main camera, revealing the outdoor floor display area, "And with that in mind, I'm picking a fairly simple hiding spot. I'm assuming Gar will find me pretty quickly so… yeah."
He wandered closer to the display, which consisted of a large fake grass patch, acting as flooring to match the theme of a backyard and several other pieces of outdoor furniture.
There was a big trampoline towards the back of the display, with a picnic bench not too far from it, a vase with some fake flowers inside sitting in the middle as a centerpiece.
A rainbow colored playhouse, made entirely of plastic and appearing as though it would fit no more than 3 small children inside was across from the picnic bench. The playhouse had its own little table and chairs set, perched on the 'front lawn' of it.
There was a small swing set in the very corner of the fake grass patch, positioned at a diagonal angle, finishing it off quite nicely.
"I know you guys can already probably tell where I'm gonna hide but in case you can't, it's the playhouse. I'm gonna lay down in the playhouse."
Dick approached the playhouse until he was standing directly before the little grey door. His hand emerged from the edge of the camera's frame and he gave it a sharp tug which was followed by a thunk sound as it opened.
The camera jostled and moved, the image blurring as he slotted himself inside of the children's house.
He turned the camera on himself once he had settled and despite looking… a little squished, Dick gave the viewers a polite smile and raised his eyebrows.
"You guys can't see but… I've actually got my legs crossed while I'm laying here… otherwise my feet will be out the door. It's definitely not the comfiest, I will tell you that." Dick took a deep breath and shrugged, "But, let's see how long it takes for Gar to find me."
[ROY CAM]
Roy's entire face filled the screen as he focused his front camera on himself. A mop of ginger hair on top of his head, with strands flopping over his eyes as he lifted his shoulders to his ears, trying to be as small as he possibly could.
"Hey there, Gar's fans." He smirked, flashing his teeth, "So, I've chosen to hide in… a kind of obvious place? But, I'm kinda hoping it's obvious enough that he's like 'Oh, no need to check there. No one would hide there.' kinda thing."
He extended his arm a little, revealing the blank white wall behind him and then a brown fluffy fabric to his left, which he was partially resting his face against.
"I'm slotted behind a giant teddy bear that's in the back corner of the store." Roy snorted, "It's gotta be about 8ft tall… like this thing is massive."
He shuffled a little bit and rolled his shoulders back to make himself more comfortable, "We'll see how long it takes for Gar to find me back here."
With that, he gave the camera a broad grin and saluted with two fingers from his head and cupped his hand over the lens of his phone's camera.
[WALLY CAM]
The camera's image blurred and frantically jostled back and forth before the phone stilled and Wally's bright red hair and freckled face filled the entirety of the screen, "Hello there, Gar's subscribers. Wally here…" His lime green eyes darted around as he took step after step through the store, with it passing in the background whilst he moved, "So… I'm just searching for a spot quickly while Gar counts…"
He turned his head left and right, his brows furrowing in contemplation as he tried to scope out a place to hide which would be good enough for the duration of the game.
His eyes suddenly alighted on something and widened. Keeping his front facing camera trained on his boyish face, Wally scurried over to the spot he had just located.
"Okay… what do we think of hiding here?" He asked, double tapping his screen to turn the camera around.
Lifting his phone up, Wally revealed a strong shelving unit where there were a few rows of boxed up kids' scooters and bikes and roller skates. He shuffled around the edge of the shelf a bit more to reveal the slimmest of spaces behind the three boxed up scooters that were sitting up there.
"I can easily fit up there. It's one of the benefits of being skinny. I can wedge myself into small spaces." Wally huffed, trying to maintain his grip on his phone as he placed a hand on the wooden slats of the shelf which appeared to be just level with Wally's head.
"Damn it, I need both hands. One sec, I'm gonna put you in my pocket." Wally explained, the image going fuzzy as he slipped the phone into his pocket, the image getting steadily darker until it fell to the depth of his shorts pocket.
[VIC CAM]
Vic was hidden under a faint shadow, due to whatever it was he was hiding beneath. He offered his phone camera a toothy grin, "Hahaha… I think this is actually a pretty good spot. It's not super obvious but not super difficult either." He chortled,
His cobalt eyes shifted left and right as he kept watch for Gar or any of the guys who had changed their mind on their spots last minute. Vic poked his tongue out as he watched beyond the camera for another long moment before he refocused himself.
"So, I'm hiding under a big ass trampoline that's part of the store's outdoor display at the moment." He paused and double tapped his screen to flip the camera around, revealing a reduced view of the fake grass and picnic table. The brightly colored playhouse sat behind that and Vic chuckled quietly.
"Dick is over in the playhouse, I think. I'm gonna place my bets now and say that dumbass gets found first. He ain't even tryin' today." He clicked his tongue but stifled another snort of laughter,
He flipped the camera back around to himself and smiled brightly, "Now, I think this is an okay spot and I'm really hoping that I don't get found first because that'd be a bummer. Though, I don't know where Gar's gonna look first so we'll see…"
Vic gave the viewers a final wink and reached forward, hitting the button on his phone to stop recording.
Gar's cheeks were inflated and his brows were knitted together as he really thought about where the guys were all hiding. He paused at the very front of the store, his face briefly changing to one filled with caution as he eyed the staff that were stationed over at the cash registers.
"I wonder how bored they get on Sundays… we should ask them to join in on the game, poor dudes." Gar mumbled, before he took a deep breath and began wandering down the main aisle of the store, "Okay… where would they be… I don't imagine this place would have loads and loads of hiding spaces. Like we said before, it's not like… the biggest toy store."
Gar continued on, walking with purpose and peering behind aisles and shelves, just in case any of the guys were doing a 'hiding in plain sight' kind of thing.
Spinning the camera around in his hands, Gar held it so that he could record the store around him, rather than keeping it solely on his face.
"Oookay… let's have a look around…" He murmured, beginning a trek through the baby section.
He traipsed through various aisles with railings filled to the brim with baby outfits and sleepsuits, all hanging pristinely on the tiny hangers. They were lightly colored; greys and whites with a few pastel pieces thrown in as well to change the status quo.
Gar reached a hand out and pushed some of the clothes down the rail, tilting the camera to try and see if any of the boys were sitting behind the knitted items.
"It smells like babies…" Gar pointed out, "But… like… you know how babies have that… baby smell when they're pretty much new to the world? They smell like powder. This aisle smells like that."
As he continued through the bright, pale aisle, he panned the camera left to right, catching glimpses of car seats, boxed up and on extremely high shelves and other baby furniture. There were large boxes towards the end of the aisle which contained flat packed cribs and dressers; all the things that would be needed to complete a baby's room.
"God… some of the prices on these things are crazy… having a baby would be so expensive!" Gar scoffed, fingering a price tag on a baby stroller that was on display on a small podium at the end of the aisle, reading $800.
He made a noise from behind the camera, lifting it so that the lens was pointed down the main walkway, between the aisles again.
"Time to look somewhere else…" He hummed,
[ROY CAM]
Roy grinned and put his fist to his mouth in an attempt to stop himself from breaking into a fit of laughter, "Oh my God…" He paused and bowed his head before lifting his chin once again, "So, this little girl walked over and was just talking to the teddy bear that I'm hidden behind. She did this for like 10 minutes before her mom came over and was like, 'Lexi, what are you doing? Do you want this Barbie or not?' and she ran off. It was the best thing ever."
He snorted and the phone shook a little in the palm of his hand, with the mirth that racked his body.
"Also, from here I can see the outdoor display area where Vic and Dick are hiding out and… I saw the playhouse moving from where Dick was rolling around and his fucking foot went through one of the plastic windows but there was zero sound… so damn funny…"
Roy chuckled and wiped a tear of laughter from his eye and sighed heavily.
[WALLY CAM]
Wally zoomed in on his face until the screen was filled with his pale, freckled cheek, nose and one of his bright green eyes.
"Oh my God… I can see Gar through this small crack between the boxes I'm hidden behind." He whispered, tapping the screen of his phone to turn the camera around. Shadows passed over the lens and after a small amount of jostling, he managed to focus the lens of his camera out through the slim crack between the boxes.
Gar was walking around the aisles, bending at the waist and jabbering away to himself whilst carrying his large camera. His voice was only a faint echo but it was clearly getting louder as Gar approached the area that Wally happened to be hiding out in.
As Gar straightened up and peered around the store with narrowed eyes, he rubbed his chin and began his descent over to the scooter and bike section in which Wally was situated.
The camera suddenly spun back around to focus on Wally's face and his eyes were now impossibly wide and he was biting down hard on his lower lip, to force himself not to laugh.
"Shit. He's coming over…" Wally hushed, putting a finger to his lips, despite continuing to speak, "I swear to God if he finds me before he finds dumbass Grayson who hid in the most obvious spot in the whole store, I'm gonna riot."
Gar hummed a quiet tune to himself as he drew near to another section of the toy store. He panned the camera from left to right as he captured all of what stood before him.
There were stacks of boxed up roller skates and Heelys along the bottom shelf, the unit pressed up against the back wall, right beside the double doors that had 'STAFF ONLY' printed on them.
On the middle shelf, there were boxes upon boxes of scooters, all ranging in style. Some of them appeared chunkier and safer to ride whilst others looked sleeker and seemed to be more so aimed at kids who were a little older; at least, that's how they looked from the pictures on the front of the boxes.
A fully assembled blue bike was positioned on a small podium, showcasing what was being sold in the store.
The boxes with bikes inside were placed on the very top shelf, out of the way and only accessible for staff to retrieve if a kid was super serious about wanting a bike.
"Oh wow, I remember these kinds of scooters and I'm pretty sure I had a pair of Heelys when they were brand new and every single kid needed a pair." Gar laughed to himself, lifting the camera high so that he could get shots of all the items being showcased.
He made a thoughtful sound and the camera shifted a bit from how Gar was gripping the device, "I feel like none of the guys would climb these and the boxes look packed up there."
As if wanting to test his theory, Gar tiptoed closer to the lowest shelf and peered in the very back, confirming very little space and certainly not enough for one of his friends to hide.
"Nah… doesn't look like anyone's back there." Gar surmised but then sighed, "Damn, they're gettin' good at this because I can't think of a single place for one of them to hide yet. Everywhere I've looked so far looks really tiny!"
The camera's image blurred as Gar spun away from the scooters and bikes, "Huh… oookay… guess I've gotta look somewhere else then…" He murmured with confusion evident in his voice.
[WALLY CAM]
With a face almost as red as his hair from trying not to burst into laughter, Wally squeezed his eyes shut and clamped a hand down over his mouth, fighting the urge to blow his cover.
After a long moment, the area went completely silent, aside from the light hearted background music that was floating around the store. Wally paused, staying as still as he could and slowly removed his hand from his mouth, his eyes darting left and right, as if waiting for Gar to pop out and grab him.
"Oh!"
Wally's vibrant eyes became the size of dinner plates at the sudden exclamation that had come from Gar. His voice was louder, closer and Wally's stricken face revealed how close he thought he was to being discovered.
"I've always wanted a hover board. I'm gonna have to revisit this aisle on our way out when we grab the water guns…" Gar's voice faded and trailed off as he continued speaking to his viewers whilst wandering off down another aisle to continue seeking.
Wally exhaled after another pause and visibly relaxed, his shoulders slumping down with obvious relief. A cheeky grin filled the entirety of his face and he lightly fist bumped the air out of joy for not being found first.
"Fuck yeah, no way am I going out first. Been there, done it; wasn't fun, thank you." Wally babbled, the smirk never vanishing from his expression, even as he lowered his phone from his face and turned the camera off.
Gar huffed as he wandered around yet another aisle and he briefly spun the camera around so the lens was focused on his face.
"You know, the idea of hide and seek in a toy store started out as being a fun idea but… holy crap, it's hard to find these guys?" Gar stressed, shaking his head minutely, "I don't even know where to look. There are way more aisles than I thought and I'm here like… so where they at?"
He pressed his lips into a line and exhaled noisily, his forest eyes scanning the area he had just stepped into which, from the scene behind Gar, appeared to be the Barbie and Action figure aisles.
On one side, there were dark blues and greens, with boxed up plastic dolls with army gear and weapons; all types of items designed stereotypically to entice young boys. There were land rovers and tanks which were battery operated and looking extremely pristine in their mint condition packaging.
On the other side, was a harsh collaboration of pink shades including hot, baby, flamingo, watermelon, salmon and many more. They mingled together to highlight an intense display of dolls for young 'girly' girls.
There were several types of Barbie's, all with different hair colors, skin colors, eye colors. There were a plethora of Barbie dolls that were all of different themes and careers, lined across the shelves. There were Barbie Doctors, Barbie Teachers, Barbie Babysitters and plenty others to maintain the interest of any 5 year old girl with even an inkling for dollies.
Gar squinted his eyes and made a strangled noise, "God, there's so much plastic around me right now…" He paused and held the camera away from his face as he leaned down to check behind the small boxes.
He sighed, "Nope… I think I would probably see them if they were behind these… and I got bupkis."
Straightening up again, Gar blew his dark hair out of his eyes, which had flopped over his forehead.
"Onto the next aisle, compadre…" Gar murmured before he snorted, "The girls are gonna kill us when we get home like 5 hours after they sent us out."
[VIC CAM]
The camera blinked to life and revealed Vic's grinning face, his eyes were swirling with mirth and he sighed heavily as he rested his chin on top of his hand, laying down on his front with his head up to survey the area beyond the trampoline.
"So, a kid just walked past and dropped their football. As he bends down to pick it up, he sees me and flips his shit; rightfully so cos' there's just some dude lying underneath this thing." Vic scoffs, "And he jumps back and stumbles and I heard him like yelling for his mom."
He chuckled and briefly dipped his head to cover his face before he looked back up to the lens of the camera, "It was so damn funny but, I'm really hoping his mom thinks he's being stupid cos' if someone comes over here, it definitely looks fucking creepy with me just hanging out under here."
Vic paused and glanced left and right, "I think this is the only time I've ever wanted Gar to get a move on with finding me, just so I can roll out from under this thing and not look like some weird stalker."
Shaking his head, Vic cupped the palm of his hand over the lens of the camera, sending it into darkness.
Jigsaw puzzle boxes lined the shelves as Gar trekked through it, zooming the camera in to get a closer look at some of the scenes on the front of the packaging.
The shelves started out with small boxes, with approximately 6-8 puzzle pieces inside, directed at children of a very low age. As the boxes got bigger, so did the amount of puzzle pieces that were inside.
Soon enough, Gar was panning the camera across jigsaw puzzles that were of beautiful nature scenes and fascinating countries as well, all at a piece count of 1000 and upwards.
"Wow… I never knew there were so many different puzzles…" Gar paused and zoomed in again, this time on a few of the 3D puzzles that were nestled on the shelf alongside the normal ones, "Oh cool! This one is an Empire State Building 3D puzzle… and it even lights up!"
The camera shifted as Gar crouched down and slid the camera outwards and behind the boxes, trying to confirm whether or not any of the guys would be able to fit behind them.
"Mmm… nope… it's too small back there as well…" Gar huffed, "Damn it, this is hard so far. Well… either they've picked really good hiding spots or I'm just being a dumbass."
He pulled the camera back out so the image was full of jigsaw puzzles once more.
Gar hummed, the sound buzzing into the mic on the camera, "Huh… there's a jigsaw here and the picture is a library… I wonder if Rae would like that. She likes books, libraries and jigsaw puzzles." He mused aloud, debating the decision before he smacked his lips together and swung the camera away from it, directing it straight down the aisle again, "I'll grab it for her on the way out, once I've found all the guys."
[ROY CAM]
With wide eyes, Roy remained impossibly still as he stared down the lens of his phone camera. He firmly pressed his lips together and painstakingly turned his head towards the bear he was cushioned against.
"I can hear Gar in the jigsaw aisle…" He whispered, pausing for a second and listening carefully before continuing, "Hopefully he doesn't turn right out of the aisle. Otherwise, he'll know straight away that at least one of us is behind this giant teddy…"
He clamped his mouth shut as Gar's footsteps drew closer, the sounds echoing around the aisle.
Roy dropped his chin to his chest and waited in silence, anticipating the moment that Gar would yank the teddy away to reveal him.
Gar whistled a tune to himself and the camera swayed left and right as he wandered through the end of the jigsaw puzzle aisle. As he reached the end, he paused and turned to the left where the display areas of the toy store was.
For a long moment, he didn't shift at all until the camera suddenly flipped around so that he was filming himself, "Ooooh… this could be a place where I find someone."
He continued walking, leaving behind the aisle he had just been in, as well as the huge teddy bear sitting in the far corner, behind Gar's head.
"So, I'm heading towards the outdoor display area and I can already see a kids' playhouse." A grin slowly enveloped his face, "And you can bet your ass, one of the guys has definitely hidden inside it."
Gar's pine colored eyes sparkled under the fluorescent lights above his head, the look on his face shifting to one of smugness, knowing that he was seconds away from catching someone.
He began to tiptoe across the fake grass and his grin only got bigger, the closer to the playhouse he got.
[DICK CAM]
Dick's cerulean eyes casually shifted back and forth from where he was lying on his back, on the floor of the playhouse. His dark tresses flopped against his forehead as he drummed the fingertips of his freehand against his chest, his t-shirt wrinkled in places from how he was positioned.
He held his phone straight up with his other hand, the lens trained solely on him, only revealing a little of the fake grass beneath Dick's back.
Exhaling deeply, Dick chewed on his lower lip before quirking a small smile, "I've been in here for about 15 minutes and I've only just noticed… there are little glow in the dark sticker stars all over the roof of this playhouse." He murmured,
"Hm… I wonder if there's anyone hiding in this area…" Came Gar's voice, in a mocking, sing-song tone,
Dick froze and his eyes widened briefly before he smirked and let them slide shut, "Fuck."
Gar was beaming into the camera as he made his way closer to the child's toy, taking a moment to turn the device around so that the lens was facing the brightly colored playhouse, rather than his own face.
His steps were deliberately overdramatic, the loud crunch from the fake grass every time he took a step, swirling against the mic.
Continuing to move until he was directly outside the playhouse, Gar paused before he shoved the camera straight through the open window, revealing Dick who was lying there, completely sprung.
"Gotcha!" Gar crowed, the camera wobbling as Gar peeked in to see exactly who he had found first, "Dick!?"
Dick rubbed a hand over his face and chuckled, bringing his phone down and ending his own recording.
"Ya got me." He mumbled, before yawning behind his hand,
Gar laughed in disbelief, "What the heck, man? You're usually the best at this game!"
Dick grunted as he moved around in an attempt to escape the small structure he had been inside of since the game started.
He pushed open the plastic door and crawled out on his hands and knees. Slowly, he pushed himself up until he was standing upright and brushing his hands down against his thighs.
Dick tilted his neck to soothe any aching muscles from being confined to a space so small for such an extent of time, "Yeah, I know… I don't know… I guess I just wasn't trying today." He chuckled,
Spinning the camera around, Gar rearranged himself so that he stood in front of the lens, with Dick at his shoulder, also looking down the lens.
The jokester Youtuber rolled his eyes and smirked at his friend's response, "Uh huh." He paused, "Well guys, looks like I have just 3 more to find now."
"I probably had the easiest spot and it took you like 20 minutes to find me. What've you been doing, Gar?" Dick teased, folding his arms over his chest,
Gar's mouth fell into an 'o' shape and he twisted to stare at Dick, "Dude! I have been searching the aisles and have not found a whiff of any of you. It's harder than I thought it'd be."
"You'll kick yourself when you find them." Dick snorted,
"Can you give me a clue as to where the other guys are?"
Dick paused before he grinned, "No."
Gar pulled a face at him and waited only a moment before Dick noisily exhaled, being deliberately overdramatic.
He shrugged his shoulders and appeared nonchalant, "Well, you've technically gone past two of the guys already… I think." Dick peered in the direction Gar had come from, as if verifying it in his mind before he nodded to confirm.
Gar's brows furrowed and he used his free hand to scratch his chin, "Wha… which ones?"
Dick lifted a dark brow, "That you'll have to figure out yourself."
Gar sighed and rolled his shoulders back, "Hm… fine. C'mon… I'm gonna check the arts and crafts aisle."
Dick scoffed, "Unless they're hiding behind paint brushes, then I doubt you'll have much success."
Huffing, Gar lifted his nose indignantly, "Well, I've gotta be thorough so let's move it."
With that, Gar began heading away from the outdoor display area, with Dick trailing behind but not before casting a few glances over his shoulder; a gesture that apparently went unnoticed by Gar.
[WALLY CAM]
There was a mischievous glint in Wally's vibrant green eyes as he spoke into the camera of his phone. The grin he wore stretched across his whole face and he fidgeted for a moment before settling.
"Okay… so apparently Dick's been found… Gar just messaged into the boys group chat to let us know he's hunting the rest of us down."
Wally smirked, "I beat Grayson in a hiding space for once so with him outta the game, I'm sooo on track to win it."
He brushed invisible lint off of his shoulder and winked into his camera, "I'll see you guys once this thing is over and I'm found last."
An exasperated groan sounded from behind the camera, the image through the lens swaying left and right as Gar continued to traipse through the various aisles of the toy store, with Dick in tow this time around however.
"I can't find anyoneee." Gar complained,
There was a short snort, "You found me like 5 minutes ago, Gar. C'mon. Try a little more." Dick chastised, amusement filtering to his voice,
The aisle they were walking through came to an end and the camera swerved to the right, leading them both into what appeared to be a fancy dress aisle.
There were rows of bright pink, purple and blue princess dresses, there were several rows of superhero costumes for kids, complete with masks, capes and fake weapons and there were various career costumes such as a doctor, a firefighter and even a police officer.
Dick wandered into the frame and crouched down, pushing some of the costumes along the railing, a high pitched squeaking sound following immediately after.
His mouth made an 'o' shape and Dick leaned forward, stretching an arm right back beyond the costumes, to demonstrate just how deep the space was.
Dick clicked his tongue, "I should've hid here."
Gar laughed, "I thought you said you weren't feeling it today?"
"Yeah but this spot now seems way better than the playhouse."
"Technically, I still would have found you first. If you hadn't been in the playhouse, I mean."
Dick pulled a face and stood up straight again, "Guess we'll never know." He paused and tilted his head, "I don't think any of the guys are here though."
Gar exhaled noisily from behind the camera, "Yeah, I don't think so either." He made another sound and picked up the pace, marching towards the end of the aisle with Dick leading, just a little bit in front, obscuring the camera's image slightly.
[VIC CAM]
Vic's face was one of boredom. He blinked wearily into the lens of his phone camera and drummed his fingers of the hand pillowing his chin, against the hard smooth floor that he was lying on.
He puffed his cheeks up before slowly exhaling, letting the breath fall from his lips, "I really hope I get found soon, y'all." He scoffed, "I'm bored and I'm hungry. I can't tell y'all how many times I've played a round of DoodleJump or searched for Pokémon from this spot."
Making a face of discomfort, Vic scrunched his nose up as he rearranged how his body was aligned against the floor.
"I'm also gettin' tired of seeing peoples' feet go past me. Seriously, at this point, I'll be so glad to see Gar's face again and I never thought I'd ever say that." He paused before he let go of a quiet chuckle, "The girls are probably cursin' all of us right now. Karen's sent a few texts like 'the hell you guys at?'"
He grinned and ran his free hand across his face before putting it back beneath his chin. Vic paused and sheepishly eyed his camera, "Baby, if you're watching this video of Gar's; he made us do it and honestly I don't think we thought the game would go on this long."
Suddenly, Vic went completely rigid and his eyes went as wide as dinner plates. He pressed his lips together tightly and pointed towards the outside of the trampoline.
He fumbled to turn his camera around, revealing a bright pair of sneakers that were extremely familiar, once he managed to do it. Just beside them were a pair of dark sneakers that Vic also had a sneaky suspicion of who they belonged to, considering he lived in a house with both of them.
"Okay, I know you guys are probably like what the hell Gar, you've already looked here and found Dick. But, I'm retracing my steps and rechecking the areas I already looked in." Gar paused to take a breath, holding the camera up so it was facing himself and Dick, his expression one of pure determination, "I've been round this entire store and only found Dick so far. That means, I must have just missed the others somehow."
Poking his tongue out in concentration, Gar left Dick behind, so much so he disappeared from the camera's frame. He headed straight back to where he had had his first spot of luck.
He spun the camera around to show the playhouse. He slipped his arm in through the window but came up empty. Gar hummed and retracted his arm, side stepping until he was at the back of the playhouse, panning his camera from left to right in the hope someone was there but again, the spot was vacant.
Gar moved the camera back up and pointed it in Dick's direction, who had his arms folded over his chest and was staring back at the camera with raised brows, "Any luck?"
"No, dude and you know that cos' you know where the others are all hiding!" Gar complained, the camera jostling slightly as he moved closer to the dark haired man.
Just before he reached Dick, he bent over at his waist and directed the camera beneath the picnic table that was off to the side of the outside layout.
The loud sound of Dick scoffing drew Gar back to standing straight and pointing the camera directly at his friend, "What?"
"Gar, you can see under the picnic table." Dick reminded him, smirking,
"You never know!" Gar replied, indignant, followed swiftly by laughter from Dick.
[VIC CAM]
With his face still as stiff as before, only Vic's cobalt eyes moved, slowly sliding from left to right, watching Gar's shoes shuffle back and forth in the space beyond his hiding place.
"Mm… okay… I think I can move on from this area." Gar's voice was clear as he stood just past the trampoline that Vic was still lying beneath.
"Okay… well, what aisle do you want to go to next?" Came Dick's response, his voice void of anything that would give Vic away.
There was a pause.
"Well, is there anyone in this area?" Gar asked, waiting a long moment before he followed up with, "Damn it, Dick!"
A grin burst forth onto Vic's face and he quickly cupped his hand over his mouth to smother any trace of a chuckle that threatened to escape.
He stayed put for another long moment, merely riding it out until the sound of fading footsteps became audible across Vic's camera.
Once the footsteps were out of earshot, Vic exhaled loudly and his eyes fell closed, "Yo', that was close. I can't believe he didn't even look under here!" He snorted, "I honestly wouldn't have cared if he'd found me, y'know. I'm gonna have aches for days from being under this thing."
Vic squinted his eyes and chewed on his lip, "I wonder who's gonna be found next then… cos' by the sounds of it, Dick aint' givin' no one up."
Dick yawned and cracked his knuckles as he dutifully followed after Gar who had his brows knitted together in concentration, "So, where we headed now, Gar?" Dick queried, tilting his chin up towards a robot toy as they passed through another aisle.
"Uh… the plushies and teddy bears, I think, which is literally just down here. I didn't really get a good look at the area." Gar murmured, the camera shaking in his hand as he held it out in front of them whilst they walked,
With that, he spun the camera around so the lens was facing outward, revealing the back of the store, a long line of shelves stuffed to the brim with brightly colored plushies and teddies of varying shapes and sizes. In the very corner of the store, there sat a massive teddy bear, it's beady eyes staring at the camera, which was both intriguing and eerie.
Gar came to a halt, the image of the camera stilling as well, "Wait a second…" He mused, stepping closer to the oversized teddy bear, "Interesting…"
Tiptoeing to cross the space, Gar's breathing could be heard via the camera's mic, with small spurts of laughter slipping out here and there as he approached the bear.
Standing directly before it, Gar reached his free hand forward and dug his fingers into the caramel fur and yanked it away, revealing Roy huddled behind it.
The redhead snapped his head up and visibly jerked back, his eyes extremely wide, "Shit!" He cursed, a hand going to his chest in shock.
Gar chuckled victoriously, "Yes! Gotcha, man!" He hummed in satisfaction, "Finally, found a second person."
Roy slowly lifted his head and narrowed his eyes at Gar, taking a deep inhale before he grinned up at him, "You guys scared the shit out of me. I didn't even hear you coming."
"Stealthy as fuck, dude, that's why." Gar gloated,
Roy rolled his eyes and reached upwards, with Dick having wandered into frame and offered his friend a hand from the awkward position he was sitting in.
Once he was up on his feet again, Roy stretched his limbs out and turned around to rearrange the display, ensuring the bear was sitting as he had initially found it at the beginning of the game.
"Dude, were you behind there the whole time?" Gar murmured, as Roy and Dick took the lead ahead of Gar and began walking to another section of the store.
Roy scoffed and glanced over his shoulder at Gar, "Yeah, man. I swear, I was humming along to the store's jingle music for so long."
Gar snorted before gasping, "I was so close to finding you then!?"
The redhead grinned and nodded, "Yeah, you were close by but went the other way and ended up finding Dick instead."
"When I was by the jigsaw puzzles?"
"I think so, yeah."
The camera's image swirled as Gar twisted the device around so that his deadpan face filled the frame, "Guys, I've been the worst seeker this time around, oh my God."
Reverting back around, Gar repositioned the camera so that it was centered on Dick and Roy again, both of whom were smirking at their friend's apparent lack of skill with the game.
"Okay then, I've found two and I have two more left to find." Gar announced, from back behind his device.
The trio began to weave through the aisles again, Gar twisting the camera left and right in the hopes of catching a glimpse of at least one of his two remaining friends. Dick and Roy walked ahead of him, also looking over their shoulders whilst they chatted between each other.
"Wait." Gar instructed, pausing on the spot which caused Dick and Roy to both turn and face him, their expressions curious, "So, do you know where both Vic and Wally are?"
Roy smiled smugly, "Yup."
Gar made an exasperated noise, "C'mon, guys. Help me out here a little at least. I just need a hint."
Dick and Roy exchanged a look, as if debating the decision to give him one or not using just their facial features.
Finally, the pale redhead inclined his head and looked past the camera, towards Gar.
"Okay… I'll give you one… I would say, it will be harder to find Wally than Vic." He told Gar, rather cryptically.
"Really?" Gar murmured,
Dick rubbed his chin in thought and eventually nodded, "Mm… yeah, I'd agree. I'd say Wally has the better hiding spot this time around."
"Have I already gone past Vic?" Gar checked,
Roy scoffed, "Haven't you gone round the entire store?"
"Well, yeah."
"Then you have definitely gone past Vic."
Dick lifted his shoulders and tilted his head slightly, "Think… recently… you were close like 10 minutes or so ago…"
Gar hummed in thought over that particular piece of information.
[WALLY CAM]
"Okay…" Wally said in a very hushed tone of voice, "I'm pretty sure Roy just got found. I can hear Gar's and Dick's voices as well as someone else and it sounds more like Roy than Vic."
He fidgeted for a long moment, seemingly trying to adjust himself to get comfortable; a difficult problem when he had been sitting in the same spot for God knows how long.
"The guys sound pretty far away though so I'm gonna just… hang out here a little more." Wally sighed, shrugging his shoulders again and leaning back against part of the metal shelving unit.
The image of the camera swayed slightly as it matched Gar's footsteps and walking speed. The aisle full of brightly colored Lego filled the frame, on either side, filling all the shelves of the units.
Roy gasped as they approached the end of the aisle, where a Star Wars Lego set was sitting, nicely displayed on the shelf. He scurried over to it and grabbed the box with both hands, pulling it down to get a closer look.
"I really want some Lego, y'know. It's like creative puzzles but with blocks." Roy lamented, staring longingly at the boxed child's toy.
Dick lifted an eyebrow and placed his hands on his hips, "Roy, you're 24… not 4."
His friend huffed and shoved the box back up onto the shelf, "When I get around to buying the Lego set, you're not getting an invite to play, I hope you know."
Rolling his azure eyes, Dick snickered and shook his head, turning away and taking a left out of the Lego aisle, with Roy following suit and Gar trailing back behind the two, continuing to shoot his camera in every direction he could, in the hopes something would pop out to him through the viewfinder.
"Oookay… so we're back here again?" Gar stated, sounding confused,
The camera revealed the outdoor display area with the playhouse where Gar had initially found Dick and the picnic table, where Roy and Dick were slowly taking a seat on whilst they waited for Gar to notice… something.
"Yep, we're here again." Dick confirmed, his face giving absolutely nothing away.
Gar hummed and did what he had done before. He walked around in a circle, right against the edge of the display area, rigidly holding the camera so he was scanning all that he could.
There was a heavy sigh from behind the camera, "Dudes… I have no idea what I'm meant to be seeing here." He paused, and in a quieter tone said, "Maybe I should look back in the baby section…"
Dick leaned an elbow on the edge of the picnic table and looked pointedly at Gar, whilst Roy sat opposite with a knowing smile.
"C'mon Gar… you've gotta really jump on an idea here." Dick offered, his eyebrows rising slightly, trying to make the hint even more obvious to his friend.
[VIC CAM]
Big steel eyes stared into the camera of the phone, with Vic clamping his mouth shut in an attempt not to make a single sound.
"I think he's about to get it." Vic mouthed, his eyes shifting to look beyond the space beneath the trampoline where he was still situated,
Gar was silent for a long moment before he blurted, "What?"
Dick sighed whilst Roy threw his head back in defeat.
"Think about it, man!" Roy encouraged, staring at him.
The camera jostled as Gar wandered around one last time, trying to pick up on what was being given to him as information.
Just as he was approaching the swing set and slide that was perched beside it, he stopped suddenly and muttered, "Wait."
He adjusted his hold on the camera and straightened it to focus on the large trampoline that was placed at the end of the outdoors display.
"Oh my God, no way." He said, in disbelief, hurriedly crossing the space until he was standing directly in front of it.
The camera's image changed as Gar bent down at the waist and shoved the camera just under the trampoline, revealing a grinning Vic.
"HA! No way!?" Gar yelped, keeping the camera trained on Vic as he army crawled out from underneath.
"God, it took you long enough, grass stain." He chuckled, lumbering to his feet and brushing down any dust from his clothes after lying on the store's floor for so long.
"Dude! How the heck did I miss you!?" Gar asked, his voice still showing the shock he was apparently feeling.
Vic shrugged and smirked, "Honestly, I have no idea. You came around here a few times and only one time did ya find anyone and it was Dick."
The camera suddenly spun around and Gar's face filled the frame. He ran his free hand through his green tipped hair and groaned, "You guys… I am so dumb. Oh my God. I need to improve my skills with hide and seek, what the hell."
Vic gave into a full belly laugh and slapped a hand down on his shoulder, muscling into frame to beam at the camera, "Aw, it's okay, Gar… I'll try and make it easier for you next time, buddy." He drawled, ruffling Gar's hair in a very brotherly nature.
"Alright, Tin Man… let's not forget, you still came 2nd rather than 1st." Gar scoffed, rolling his eyes,
Vic snorted and shrugged, "I'll still take that, thanks."
"Which means Wally is actually the winner for once." Roy pointed out, his voice sounding faint from the other side of the camera.
Prompted by that, Gar twisted the camera back around so that the lens was facing Dick and Roy again, who had both risen from the picnic table and made their way over to where Gar and Vic were standing.
Vic slowly wandered into picture and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his bottoms, "Guess you need to work out where he is now, huh?" He grinned,
[WALLY CAM]
His mouth went wide as he yawned, squinting his eyes and baring his pearly whites as he did so. He smacked his lips together as the yawn ended and peered over the top of the box he was hiding behind.
Wally cleared his throat before he looked into the camera of his phone which he was still holding in the hand of his outstretched arm,
"Well, I've lost track of how long I've been sat here and I haven't heard the guys' voices for a little while…" He paused and cast his eyes through the slit between the top of the box and the next shelf, "Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing…"
He exhaled calmly and drummed his fingertips of his opposite hand against his knee, "Guess I'll just wait some more…" He paused and looked into the camera defiantly, "I'm gonna be so pissed if they went and got the food and left me here or something."
Gar dragged a hand over his face, looking completely disheveled and worn out as he held the camera up, with the lens towards him.
"Please, just tell me where he is guysss." Gar whined, his voice muffled beneath his hand,
Vic chuckled from off camera, "Gar, the point of this game is you find people, not us telling you."
Gar dropped his hand and furrowed his brows, "Yeah, but Wally is the winner! Finding him feels pointless if he's already won."
He turned the camera away from his face, directing it at the rest of the guys who were wandering ahead of him.
Roy grinned back at him, "That's your role, dude."
Gar made another unhappy sound, "Have I gone past him already?"
"Yeah, but at this point, that's still pretty vague since you've gone round like… 7 times." Dick murmured, eyeing the front counters where a few staff members were chatting amongst themselves, "I'm surprised no one's come up to you yet cos' I'd say you've looked either super lost or suspicious."
Gar scoffed at that and touched the lens of the camera, twisting it to improve the sharpness for a moment.
"Fine. Can you guys at least do hot or cold with me? I'm gettin' hungry and the girls are gonna be fuming by the time we manage to get back." Gar said,
"They're gonna eat all the snacks waiting for us to get back." Vic paused and he jerked upright, "My Doritos are in the kitchen! Damn it, Bee has definitely made her way through them."
Dick chuckled and then looked over at Gar, "Alright. We'll do hot or cold so you'll find him faster." He vowed, just as they exited the playdough aisle and found themselves back at the front of the store.
Gar took a deep breath, "Okay… if I start at the aisle I first went into…"
With that, he slipped between the guys and led the way, deliberately slowing his steps as he came up to the section of roller skates and skateboards.
"Mm… warm…" Roy said, nonchalantly,
Spinning around, Gar gasped, "Really!?"
The redhead nodded, his freckles more prominent on his cheeks from the way he was smirking.
Swiveling the camera back towards the aisle, Gar moved further along, one of his palms lingering against the boxes.
"Warmer." Dick coughed, from off camera,
Gar sped up somewhat, moving along until he reached the bicycle that was on display and boxes up on the shelves.
"Ya gettin' hotter, grass stain." Vic called,
"This is a way better way to do it." Gar murmured, the excitement evident in his tone of voice.
The camera shifted slightly as Gar altered his hold on it, his free hand still pressed against the boxes on the shelf, sliding it along as he moved.
He moved past the motorized cars that filled the majority of the middle space on the shelves, with Vic's quiet voice murmuring a quick, "Gettin' hot..."
Gar snickered from behind the camera and kept going, his hand sliding over numerous boxes until he reached the end of the shelving unit, briefly twisting with the camera in hand, showing the three of his friends all staring at him and waiting with apparent bated breath.
"Hot? Cold?" Gar asked,
Roy grinned, "You're super hot."
Gar turned back towards the unit, taking a step and examining what was sitting in front of him. He crouched down, the camera immediately recording boxes of skateboards which were lined up along the lowest shelf.
Dick forced a fake sounding cough from where he stood behind him, "Cold."
"Aw, crap." Gar muttered, immediately bouncing to his feet, the image on the camera blurring for a split second as he did so.
"Hmm… where else could he…" Gar trailed off in a hushed tone as he panned the camera from the far side of the shelving unit, all the way to the left until he reached where they were standing, right at the very end.
Suddenly, Gar zoomed in briefly on the 'end' of the unit, "Hang on…" He mumbled to himself.
With that, he tilted the camera upwards and side stepped until he stood in front of the edge of the unit, where the back of the boxes were visible.
As soon as Gar lifted the camera up so that the lens was directed at the space behind the boxes, Wally's shock of red hair appeared in the frame and he snapped his head up to grin down at Gar.
The apparent winner of their game burst into laughter and scooted forward until he was sitting on the edge of the shelf, with his legs dangling over.
"Dude! You were back here the whole time!?" Came Gar's shrill statement, his disbelief palpable.
Wally smirked and nodded, "Yeah, man! I heard you walk back and forth and back and forth…" The redhead drawled,
He turned his head and shot the other guys a mock look of betrayal, "You guys ratted me out!"
Gar jerked the camera to the right so that he could capture Roy, Vic and Dick as they all stood there. Vic lifted his index finger and turned his nose up at the insinuation, "Uh, no we didn't. We just… gave him guidance."
Dick smirked and nodded, along with Roy who followed in suit, struggling to keep his laughter at bay.
Gar turned the camera back to Wally who merely rolled his eyes and shook his head. He shifted a little more so that he was on the edge of the shelf, his fingers gripping the metal as he braced his arms, preparing to get down.
In a swift movement, he hopped down from the second level shelf and firmly landed on the soles of his feet. He couldn't help throwing his arms up as if completing a gymnastics sequence afterwards though, "Ooh and he sticks the landing!" He gloated,
Dick snorted, "It was barely even 2 feet."
"Wait a sec… I totally won, if all of you guys are here!" Wally gasped, suddenly realizing that he was the last to appear. His eyes went wide with the conclusion and a slow smirk slipped across his face.
"You did, dude. Well done." Gar stated, panning the camera so that it caught Wally as he turned to look at the others.
Wally sauntered over to his best friend, grinning like a Cheshire cat as he moved. As he approached, he threw a haphazard arm around Dick's shoulders and leaned heavily on him, "I'm sorry. Are you telling me that I have robbed the hide and seek king of his throne?"
Dick sighed and rolled his ocean blue eyes, making a loud 'psh' sound, "Hardly. I barely even tried this game."
His best friend released him and stretched his arms above his bed, "Uh huh, sure. Keep tellin' yourself that, loser."
Gar chuckled from behind the camera whilst Dick merely smirked and shook his head.
The camera pivoted in Gar's hand so that he held it up, with the lens focusing on himself as well as the guys who were standing just behind him.
"Okay… so we'll be back in a second, guys…" Gar murmured, slowly lowering the camera after something seemed to catch his eye.
Gar grinned and placed his hands together, taking a few small steps back from the camera which was now fixed in place via the tripod and at stomach level, adjusting to Gar as he moved into the correct position so that he could be fully visible from the waist up.
Behind him was Vic's shiny silver car, practically glowing under the fierce sunlight that was beating down on them; the group having exited the store and made their way to the parking lot of the mall.
"My God… I wanna go back in the mall where it doesn't feel like I'm melting." Wally groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and allowing his head to drop back against his shoulders,
"Yeah, yeah, I hear that so I'll make it quick." Gar promised, turning his attention back towards the camera, "Sorry for the abrupt cut off before guys… we finally got some attention from the staff so we had to stop, find the water guns and that puzzle I saw for Rae and headed out."
"We're now gonna go and buy the food for the cookout and it's like… an hour or so since we got here." Roy scoffed,
Vic snickered, "Do you know how many texts I've had from Bee, asking where we're at?" He paused, "They've progressively become more and more hangry fueled."
Dick chuckled, "Yeah, we should probably pick up some kinda dessert or ice cream as a peace offering for once they realize why we took so long."
Gar grinned up at the lens of the camera, "On that note… we're gonna go ahead and get the food and enjoy the rest of Sunday and watch the game that's on later too, assuming the girls don't hide the remote or rip out cables…"
Eyes widening, Vic snapped his head up, "Oh my God, grass stain, why would you even speak that into existence!?"
With a short snort of laughter, Gar saluted the lens and gave his audience one of his massive, boyish grins, "Thank you so much for watching this video… uh, I hope you guys are all keeping cool during this unbelievable heat…" He sucked in a breath, "If you did like this video, don't forget to give it a thumbs up and obviously, click the subscribe button if you're not subscribed already… otherwise, we will see you guys in the next one."
Vic offered a smile and a two fingered salute whilst Roy and Dick grinned and gave a small wave of their hands. Wally used both hands to blow kisses to his apparent fans.
Gar chuckled and held up his hand, making a familiar gesture with his index and middle fingers, "Peace!"
The sun was blinding, even through the lens of the camera from where it was hooked up to a tripod in the corner of the backyard, revealing the girls lounging around under the shade the back of the house provided them around the firepit area.
Kory was sitting cross legged on the grass, her hands back and supporting her whilst Silkie lay right next to her with his head on her thigh, panting in an attempt to cool himself down under the extreme rays of Summer.
Raven was positioned just on the other side of Kory, dark shades over her eyes that had a very gothic vibe to them, along with her sunhat that was placed snugly on her head, protecting her porcelain skin from the Californian sunshine.
Karen was perched up on one of the sun loungers, tugging at the crop top she wore whilst she chatted with Jenny who mirrored her position on the opposite lounger. The vibrant pink hair was scraped into a high bun on her head in an attempt to remove it from around her neck. She waved her hand repeatedly in front of her face; a futile effort to reduce the temperature she was feeling.
Wandering around the edge of the pool in the background was Donna, an icy drink in her hand; the ice cubes making a gentle tinkling sound as they swirled around the frosty liquid. She pushed her shades further up her nose as she slowly made her way back towards the girls.
The sky was without any clouds; completely clear, signaling how tangible the heat of the Summer day truly was. The crystal clear water in the pool was glittering under the sunlight, the tiniest of breezes making the water ripple slightly.
Karen sighed and patted her stomach, "I'm so full from all that food." She moaned, dropping her head back and looking as if she was about to drop into a food coma.
"Yeah, when the guys eventually got back here, they made up for their stupid game by cooking the best burgers." Jenny concurred, smiling.
"I can't believe how many leftovers we still had after Vic turned the grill off." Raven chimed in, looking up from the book she had in her hand; a thin one, she'd knock it out completely, given another hour of peace.
"Where are the boys?" Kory voiced, her brows knitting together as the thought struck her.
Donna snorted, "Uh… what time was the game starting?"
"Oh yeah… they're more than likely-" Jenny was cut off by the sudden chorus of battle cries that sounded throughout the house.
The horde of guys sprinted out of the house, donning just swimming shorts as each of them wielded a water gun.
"Run for your lives, girls!" Wally yelled, immediately shooting water at Jenny.
She shrieked as the cold water from the gun hit her square in her stomach and she jumped up so fast, the lounger almost toppled over, "Why you little-" Jenny laughed, taking off towards her boyfriend as he made a dash for it around the other side of the pool.
Vic was laughing heartily as he chased Karen who had been up and out of her seat, the minute she heard the guys making a ruckus. It appeared to be a case of her giving Vic as serious of a glare as she could, her hands near her hair.
"I swear to God, Sparky. You ruin this hair, you're paying for my next appointment." She told him,
He seemed to consider for a split second before he shrugged his large shoulders and aimed for her face with the water gun, "Worth it."
She screamed and took off running again, with him following closely behind but her yelps soon turned into laughter amongst the commotion of the backyard.
Silkie was excitedly wagging his tail and hopping from paw to paw, his excitement only increasing as Dick approached Kory with the widest of grins on his face as he pumped the gun in his hand, "Last words, Anders?"
Kory smiled and tilted her head before she lifted a hand and stroked Silkie's head, "Yes, actually…" She turned and put on an encouraging voice, "Silkie! Does Dick want to play with you, huh? Does he? Huh?"
Serving the purpose, Dick suddenly found himself manhandling Silkie who was jumping up at him for what could either be a cuddle or a wrestle but, needless to say, he was trying to give him ample kisses.
"S-Silkie… Bleugh… Stop… Down, bud." Dick struggled, turning his face away and losing track of Kory who seized her opportunity and sprinted away, with only her giggle echoing behind.
Donna held her hands up towards Roy and slowly backed away from him, minding her footing so that she didn't slip and end up in the pool.
"Listen, Red… you get me with the water gun, I'm gonna make your life hell…" She threatened, still moving and keeping a close eye on him.
Roy followed her movements, smirking and holding the water gun up like a weapon, one of his eyes closed so he could target her accurately, "Donna, you guys have said how hot it is all day." He sang,
Her face went deadpan, "Yeah and how cold is the water in there!?"
"Well, it came from the fridge so…"
"So pretty damn cold, I'll bet." Donna blurted, laughter slipping into her voice.
She slowly stretched her hand down behind her, reaching for something.
Roy chuckled, "If it helps, I don't want to do it, Troy."
Donna suddenly smiled wickedly, "Yeah, neither do I."
The redhead paused and dropped his stance, tilting his head in confusion, "Huh?"
With a yelp, Donna twisted the outside faucet and grabbed the hose, pointing it directly at Roy who got absolutely soaked in seconds. He yelled out and dropped the water gun on the concrete, the sound of it clattering against the stone fading out in comparison to Donna's howling laughter and Roy's shivering "S-So… c-cold!"
Raven scurried past the camera which had stayed still and not yet toppled over amongst the excitement, "Gar!" She squealed, a splash of water visibly shooting through the air and hitting the dark haired girl in the back, the cold droplets running down her skin.
She spun around, her face awash with shock and she suddenly laughed in a fairly menacing tone, "I am going to actually murder you."
Gar laughed and winked at her as he wandered into frame, rubbing the plastic water gun as if it had served him well, "Ah, these were so worth the $50 for all of em'."
"It's a good thing I put my book under the table before you idiots came trampling out." She muttered, blowing her damp hair out of her eyes.
"See, never underestimate your boys, Rae…" Gar shrugged before turning his attention solely towards the camera, completely missing as Raven wandered out of frame, with mischief in her expression.
Gar laughed and addressed his viewers, "Always expect the unexpected, friends. You never know when-"
He was cut off as a whole bowl full of water went straight over Gar's head, drenching his hair and his torso. Gar made a high pitched squeak sound and dropped his gun, his body going as stiff as a board.
"Rae!" He cried, hobbling off in an attempt to take cover.
Raven smirked and bent down, collecting the abandoned water gun and propping it over her shoulder, "What was it he just said?" She paused and snorted, "Oh. Right… expect the unexpected."
With that, she bit her lip and followed after, her quiet giggles mingling with the uproar of laughter from several others as well.