Pre-chapter Conversation
"Oh man! This is nuts!" I panicked as I typed rapidly on my keyboard.
"I told you." Izzy sighed, watching me toil with great relish. "Ya should've waited til next year to do a Christmas fic."
"You never told me that!" I shouted, my eyes never leaving the computer screen. I paused from typing to grab my cup, only to find that it was empty. "More soda! And make it snappy!"
"Right away, Daddy!" Iggy said, taking the cup away.
"As much as I love watching you suffer, you're pushing yourself too hard, Boss." Izzy said. "You can't get it done before Christmas. Just admit it."
"No way am I giving up!" I retorted as Iggy brought me a fresh cup of cherry soda. I slurped as I took a sip. "Ahhhh… I'll get it done in time. Watch me!"
"Yeah sure." The elder Yaoi Brother rolled his eyes before turning to the camera. "Enjoy the chapter!"
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Otto's Christmas Quest
Chapter Two
The Mall
"Ugh! Can traffic be any slower!.?.!" Otto shouted irritably.
He and Twister were currently riding in the latter's car, a used Honda Accord. It was red and seemed to be falling apart. The paint was peeling, giving it a rusty look. The radio was staticy to the point of being impossible to listen to, making the trip even more boring. To make matters worse, an odd smell wafted throughout the vehicle. It smelled like rotting garbage mixed with dead fish. And that was with the air freshener in the car! All four windows were open in a futile attempt to let out the horrid stench.
The two boys were on their way to the mall that lay outside Ocean Shores. Or they would be if it wasn't for the massive traffic jam they were in. The highway to the shopping center was packed with dozens upon dozens of cars, each seemingly containing last-minute shoppers. The back seat of every car was filled to the brim with packages, boxes, and bags. On the other side of the road, people, glad to have their shopping done, were driving along peacefully. Those lucky souls didn't have to wait in traffic. The road was clear for them.
"Don't worry, Ottoman. We'll get there." Twister comforted, though he didn't sound too sure of that. He looked out the driver's side window and gulped as he noticed that everybody was going to the same exact place they were. "Eventually."
"Eventually!.? I need to get there NOW!" Otto moaned, sinking into his seat.
The car moved forward…a few inches.
"How much further is it, Twist?" The shorter one asked, not turning to his friend. Twister stuck his head out the window again and looked at an overhead sign.
"Five miles." He answered, pulling his head back in. Otto groaned. "We'll make it."
The car went forward before stopping.
"This is punishment for me not doing my shopping earlier. I just know it."
"Well, I did offer ya to come with me when I shopped for Keoni last month, but did you go? Noooooooo…" Twister mocked. "Ya had to go out with Lars."
"Aw come on! That's not fair." Otto defended, sitting up. "Sharkenstein's Midnight Snack was playing. I had to go see it!"
Traffic was starting to clear up a little bit.
"Right. So that you could cling to Lars the whole time?"
"I didn't cling to him the whole time…" The one in sunglasses denied. "More like half tops."
"And you made out with him the other half?" Twister remarked, giving Otto a defiant smirk. The latter was going to grin at the former, but changed his mind. He didn't want to give his best bro the satisfaction. Instead, he crossed his arms.
"Twist! I can't believe you'd think I'd want to spend eight dollars just so that I can make out with your brother!" He said in disgust.
"Right. Sorry." The one in the hat agreed. His smirk turned into a grin as he added, "Why spend eight dollars to make out with him when you can spend two hundred and do the mattress mumbo with him?"
"Right." Otto nodded. He gasped a minute later when he discovered his mistake. "Damn!"
"Bust!" Twister laughed as he moved the car about another foot or so.
"That wasn't fair, bro…"
"Yeah, I know. You already said that." The driver chuckled. "Those mind games Sam taught me really came in handy."
"That was a mind game?" Otto shook his head. "Let's change the subject before I wind up embarrassing myself any more."
"Come on, this is fun! At least tell me what you're planning to do tomorrow." Twister pleaded. The smaller boy shrugged.
"What's there to plan? I just go over to your house in the morning, give him his present, and spend the whole day doing the nasty."
"And what happened to Lars being complicated?" Twister teased as he changed lanes. Traffic really started moving now.
"Hey, it couldn't hurt to be simple about it." Otto answered. Twister held his chin with one hand while gripping the steering wheel with the other.
"Good point." He admitted as he weaved around the other cars.
"And what about you and Keoni? What are you two doing tomorrow?"
"Just enjoy each other's company." Twister replied simply.
"Huh?" Otto said in disbelief.
"Oh I'm sorry," Twister started, the smirk returning. "I've already lost my virginity, so I don't care whether or not I have sex with Keoni."
"Oh you're just loving this whole thing, aren't you?" The smaller one asked sarcastically as he crossed his arms.
"Maybe." The taller one grinned. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you and Lars."
"But…?"
"But, like I already said, ya don't have to give him a flashy gift just to get him in bed."
"Twist, we went through this. I'm not going to embarrass myself—"
"Again." Twister reminded.
"Again." Otto rolled his eyes. "—by just straight out asking him. I think I can do better than that."
"But do you really have to spend so much though? I mean, you could probably get him a new pair of roller blades for half of what that DS thing costs."
Twister switched lanes again.
"Nah." Otto shook his head. "Money is no object when it comes to the man I love."
"Blech! Did you get so mushy while I was gone those two weeks or what?" The one in the hat remarked.
"Very funny. But seriously, I don't care how much I have to spend on him."
"But since when was he into video games?" Twister asked as they finally reached the exit for the mall.
"Ever since we got together." Otto answered, feeling the force of gravity as the road curved sharply to the right. "He may have hated that Mario Kart game we had to play, but he tried out other games and he's loved them. Sometimes, it's hard to get him to go out with me."
"Sure doesn't seem that way." Twister commented as the road straightened out. "I mean, you guys went out more often in a few months than Reggie and Squid did in a year!"
He pulled into the parking lot. Needless to say, nearly every spot was filled with cars. Except, of course, for the handicapped spaces. The few spaces that were available were quickly taken up by other drivers. Twister groaned as he drove around like a shark hunting its next meal.
"We could've come a month early." He growled to his companion as he lost a spot to a faster driver.
"But then I wouldn't have had any money." Otto offered.
"Ugh!"
"So anyway, yeah we dated a lot. We must've went everywhere at least twice. The amusement park, Mad Town, the movies, especially the movies." He chuckled at that. "Sure, I've went everywhere lots of times, but they didn't even come close to feeling as good as the times I went with Lars." He sighed.
Twister gritted his teeth as he missed another spot.
"Hmmmm… I wonder what's he doing right now." Otto said to himself, ignoring his friend's increasing anger.
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"Oh man… What am I gonna get him?" Lars muttered to himself as he took a lick of his ice cream.
The twenty-one year-old brunet was about an inch taller than his younger brother. Like Twister, he was wearing a festive outfit. His gray hat was replaced by a red Santa cap. He was wearing a purple long-sleeved shirt that had a Christmas tree pictured on it. The shirt nearly covered his red shorts. He was also wearing a pair of white running shoes. He had a dark complexion and brown hair. Three strands covered his right eye.
He was currently standing in his old hangout under the pier, eating a rather peculiar flavor of ice cream. It was a pinkish purple concoction that tasted like peppermint. A green and red candy cane was sticking out of the middle. That's one thing he and his boyfriend, Otto, disagree on. While the younger member of the couple hated the holiday treat, Lars absolutely loved it. It annoyed Otto to no end when he tasted the cold confection whenever they kissed. Despite his protests, Lars still enjoys the treat. He lived for this flavor that's only available the twenty-five days leading up to Christmas!
It seemed that he was more or less suffering from the same dilemma his lover was. The question on the perfect thing to get Otto weighed heavily on his mind. Never mind that it was the last shopping day before Christmas, he wasn't able to think of anything to get in November! Needless to say, the constant dates he went on with the boy in the sunglasses didn't help things much. He tried to ask Otto what he wanted. He always tried to ease it into their conversations, but nothing ever came out. Every time he tried to ask the redhead, he would sink into those eyes of his and wind up making out with him.
And now here he was. On Christmas Eve, eating his favorite favor of ice cream, pondering what to get the boy of his dreams. It wasn't just what to get that was on his mind. He wanted to take his relationship with Otto to the next level. He wanted to feel the warmth of the other's body against his own. He wanted to show the other pleasure. He wanted to show the redhead how he felt. He wanted to know the joy of waking up next to him, the one he was sure he'd spend the rest of his life with. He had to give Otto just the right thing to let him know how he felt.
"Lars?" A female voice said. The brunet looked up from his treat to find the older sister of his lover, Reggie Rocket.
The nineteen year-old girl was about a foot shorter than Lars. Her purple hair went down past her shoulders. She was wearing her pair of red-rimmed sunglasses in her hair. She was dressed in a green shirt and a pair of jeans. She was also wearing a pair of sneakers.
"Hey." Lars waved her over.
"Ok, what'd you want that was so important, and why couldn't you be at home?" She asked with an irritated tone as she walked towards him.
"Well, you see…" He took another lick of the ice cream. "I need your help."
"Ugh… Are you actually eating that?" She asked, grimacing at the piece of food in his hand.
"What?.! Don't tell me you don't like this either!" He groaned, pointing at the ice cream. "It's bad enough Otto complains every time he sees me with a cone of it!"
"Ugh, didn't I ever tell you how Raymundo practically force fed the stuff to me and Otto when we were kids?" She replied, shivering.
"You might've run it by me once or twice." Lars nodded, taking another lick. Reggie gagged at the act.
"Look, did I come here to discuss your weird taste in food or did you actually want something?" She asked, rubbing her forehead.
"Yeah…" He answered, walking up to her. "I have no clue what to get Otto for Christmas."
"Is that all!.?" She said with relief. "Just get him a new surfboard and he'll be happy."
"I don't want to get him something so meaningless!" He protested.
"Oh great…" Reggie sighed. "I get to spend Christmas trying to help my ex-boyfriend find something for my brother."
"Is that a bad thing?" The brunet asked, starting on the cone. The purple haired girl thought about that one for a few seconds before shrugging.
"Eh. I got nothing better to do." She replied. "So why can't you get him a surfboard or something like that?"
"First of all, doesn't he have like a million boards?" Reggie nodded. "And second…" He hesitated, trying to think of the right way to phrase this. The girl, being impatient with him, decided to take a guess.
"You want to find the perfect gift so that you could have sex with him, right?"
Bingo. The brunet's shocked expression said it all for the elder Rocket. She got it on her first try.
"Look, this really isn't the best thing to ask me." She started, walking away. "Why don't you ask—I don't know—those weird Yaoi Brothers for advice?"
"Are you crazy!.?" He protested, following her. "Those shoobies are the LAST people I wanna ask for this kinda advice! As soon as I mention the word 'sex,' they'll be all over me!"
"Yeah, good point." She agreed. "Besides, I still owe them that picture."
"What picture?" He asked curiously. Reggie slapped her mouth as her eyes widened.
She had forgotten that Lars had no idea that the only reason the owners of the arcade agreed to help her teach the brunet how to play Mario Kart: Double Dash was because she promised to get a picture of him and Otto kissing for the first time, and it was apparent that she was about a few thousand kisses too late. She scrambled to think of something.
"Oh nothing." She finally said, waving a dismissive hand.
Lars didn't buy it one bit.
"No, I wanna know." He gave her a suspicious look. "What picture are you talking about?" Reggie gulped as she tried to think of something to save face.
"Ummm… Err…"
Her eyes shifted around the area. She blinked when she noticed a sign for a sale.
"Come on!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him along, causing him to drop his ice cream. "I know just the thing you can get Otto!"
"But my ice cream!" Lars pouted.
"Oh you could get another cone, ya big baby. Now c'mon!"
She continued dragging him through the strand.
Meanwhile…
"Finally… We…made it…" Otto panted as he and Twister reached the front entrance of the mall.
"Yeah…" Twister huffed. "I can't believe we had to park all the way in back of the lot…"
"Forget about it for now, Twist. We gotta find that DS!"
With newfound energy, Otto ran inside, followed by Twister.
The interior of the mall was incredible. It had four floors of shopping insanity. The sheer size of it can easily make a person feel small. For every store, there were two Christmas trees. Some very expensive looking decorations covered nearly every square inch of the place. From garlands made from pure gold to the life-sized wreaths, the shopping center clearly outdid the decorations on Otto's house.
There were people everywhere. A good number of them were running all over the place, presumably because they were pressed for time. A twenty foot line was in front of the gift wrapping station. An even longer line was assembled where Santa Claus was sitting. Security guards were standing by the entrance to every store, armed with pepper spray, tazers, and night sticks.
"Man, they don't kid around, huh?" Twister observed as they passed Macy's, which had guards that had tear gas launchers hung from their shoulders.
"Whaddya expect? It's Christmas Eve, bro. People get crazy." Otto said, looking around. "Ugh! Where do they keep the electronics around here!.?"
"Maybe there's a map around here somewhere."
"Let's find it."
They pushed through the many crowds, trying to find a directory. Of course, they were shoved around by the people that were trying to get to their next destination. It was like surfing without a surfboard. They were thrown back and forth as they searched for salvation. Otto and Twister swam through the ocean of bodies for perhaps a half hour before they finally found a map of the mall.
"Ugh… That wasn't fun…" Twister groaned, rubbing the bruise on his right arm.
"No kidding…" Otto agreed, rubbing the red spot on his left cheek, which he got from an angry mother after he bumped into her. He turned to the map. "Let's see… How do ya read this thing?"
"Guess we look under 'electronics' or maybe 'toys' since it's a game system."
"Worth a shot…" Otto nodded looking at the list of stores. "Aha! Here we go! Woah! Looks like they got lots of electronic stores here."
"Then that means it'll be easy to find that DS."
"Let's hope so, dude." The smaller redhead said, thumbing through the list. "Looks like the closest store is Target."
(A/N: Is it possible for a Target to be inside a mall?)
So the duo fought through the sea of people until they reached the department store. Tending to their new bruises, they dragged themselves all over the place until the finally came to the video games section. There were glass cases all over. They looked like they were for keeping games away from shoplifters. Of course, it was no surprise to the two boys that they were nearly bare, save for games that starred the Olsen Twins, Hilary Duff, and other such stars.
"Evil…" Twister shuddered at the sight.
"Suddenly, I don't feel so good…" Otto groaned.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I mean, the Olsen Twins? Who'd make a game like that!.? Not to mention who'd buy it?"
"Not that!" The smaller one snapped. "I meant that it doesn't look like they got a DS here."
"Well, let's ask somebody." The taller redhead shrugged.
They walked over the cashier's counter.
"Excuse me?" Otto said to the person standing there, a twenty-something guy with a bad case of acne.
"Yeah?" The clerk asked.
"Do you have any DSes here?"
The clerk gave him an odd look.
"Excuse me a sec." He replied, leaving the counter.
"Well, that was easy." Twister commented.
"See? What'd I tell ya, bro? Piece of cake." Otto bragged. Twister rolled his eyes in response.
Moments later, the clerk came back with three other guys who were snickering.
"Now, what was it you were looking for again?" He asked.
"Ummm… A DS?" Otto replied, having the feeling that something pretty dumb was about to happen.
Turns out he was right.
The clerk and the three workers with him laughed at the two boys. Their taunting chuckles grabbed the attention of everybody walking by the area. Otto and Twister flushed with embarrassment as they kept it up.
"I'm gonna regret asking, but why are you guys laughing?" The latter asked.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!.!.! You must be kidding!" One of the employees guffawed. "The DS has been sold out for a month! HAHAHAHAHAHA!.!.!"
Otto felt himself sinking down a deep hole as the laughing continued. His eyes widened in pure fear. His skin became a ghostly white as the words echoed in his mind. Twister had to shake him in order to bring him back to earth.
"S-sold out…" He repeated.
"That's right!" Another employee said, stifling his laughter. "It's only the hottest thing to come out since DVD players! HAHAHAHAHAHA!.!.!"
"Oh but don't worry." The third employee started. "We could put you down on the holding list." He pulled out a long roll of paper that had various names and addresses written on it. "You should get it by—oh I don't know—St. Patrick's Day! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!.!.!.!.!.!" All four of them broke down again and banged the counter as Twister dragged Otto away.
"Come on, bro. There's gotta be one store that still has one of those things."
"S-sold out…" Otto uttered, his mouth agape. "It's sold out… That thing's going to be impossible to find…"
"Don't give up! There has to be one somewhere." Twister dragged him into the crowd of people. "We just gotta check the other stores."
Unfortunately, the cameraman was way off. In every single store they went to, the situation was the same. They were laughed out by the employees. All they had to do was say the name "DS" and the whole place would erupt in laughter. From Gamestop to Sears, everywhere was sold out of the elusive system, the one thing that can allow Otto to show Lars how he truly felt.
The situation looked dire for them as they went to game store after game store, only to come out empty handed. One by one, their options trickled down. But they wouldn't give up though!
"Man… I give up, Otto." Twister panted, leaning against a wall. "There's no way we're gonna find this system."
"No way!" The auburn haired boy shouted. "We can't give up! Like you said, one of these stores must have this thing! It's just a matter of looking for it!"
"But Ottoman…"
"Muahahahahahaha!.!.!" A strange voice laughed evilly. The two redheads looked around for the source until their eyes settled on a cloaked figure. He looked to be slightly shorter than Otto. Including the cloak, he was wearing all black. From his slightly torn shirt to his boots, not one thing was a different color. The only thing that wasn't black was the gray zombie mask he was wearing. The passing shoppers gave him a wide berth.
"Dude, is that Eddie?" Twister asked.
"Yeah. I haven't seen him in a long time." Otto replied. "I can't believe he still wears that stupid cape!"
"I heard he turned Goth."
"I thought he was always Goth." The one in sunglasses muttered.
"I wonder what's he laughing about."
"Probably some stupid netherworld stuff."
"Finally, I, Eddie, Prince of the Netherworld, shall lay claim to that majestic system!" The caped boy announced, drawing his cape around himself. "The Nintendo DS. Muahahahahahaha!.!.!.!"
"WHAT!.?.!" Otto and Twister shouted in surprise. They turned to each other.
"He must know where we could find a DS!" Otto whispered.
"Yeah!" Twister nodded. "But wherever he's going must be close to selling out."
"No prob, bro. All we gotta do is figure out which store he's going to and beat him there."
"Are you sure about this?"
"Of course I am! After all, we're faster than him!"
Twister looked up.
"It looks like he's going straight ahead."
Both boys looked and noticed the odd boy's destination, a small store called "Electronics Boutique."
"Come on!" Otto shouted, running towards the store. "We gotta get there first!"
"Hey wait for me, bro!" Twister yelled, following him.
As Eddie made his way towards the store uninterrupted by shoppers, Otto and Twister weren't so lucky. They had to fight through lines of people who, as luck would have it, were going in the opposite direction they were. After several tense minutes of weaving around their fellow shoppers, they just opted to use Eddie's strange presence to their own advantage. They ran over to the side he was walking through and ran past him.
"What the—?" The caped one yelped, barely dodging the boys. He gasped when he noticed where they were going. "Are they trying to get the system of darkness?" He clenched a fist. "Not if I can help it!"
With that, he dashed after the two redheads. To the great shock of Otto and Twister, he caught up almost instantly.
"So, you two denizens of the Light World are after my prize, eh?" He puffed as he ran alongside them.
"Why whatever gave you that idea?" Otto asked, keeping his pace.
"Whaddya mean, dude? We're trying to get the DS before him!" Twister corrected. The other redhead gave him a cold glare in response.
"Nice going, big mouth!"
"Ha! There's no way you'll get the dark system before me!" Eddie said, pulling ahead.
"Oh no ya don't!" Otto shouted, increasing his speed.
"Hey! Don't leave me behind!" Twister yelled after them as he tried to keep up.
The race quickly became a one-on-one battle between the Prince of the Netherworld and Rocket Boy. They both sprinted towards their goal, never losing sight of their objective. Soon, people were walking on the makeshift racetrack. Otto and Eddie weaved and darted around the shoppers. They plotted the quickest route possible to get past the moving obstacles.
Eddie sidestepped to avoid a man that was carrying many packages while Otto just slid under him.
They even resorted to dirty tactics to stop the other.
Eddie grabbed a woman walking out of a store and knocked her onto the floor to deter Otto, but the redhead was ready. He jumped over the lady and grabbed one of the bags she had. Ignoring her orders to stop, he tossed it at Eddie, causing him to trip. He got right back up though to continue the race.
They were neck and neck when the game breaker occurred.
Both racers were about fifty feet away from the game store when Eddie tried the same trick he used moments earlier. He grabbed a guy that was walking out of a sporting goods store and knocked him over. Unfortunately for the caped boy, the maneuver caused a skateboard to roll out of one of the man's bags.
"Alright!" Otto shouted triumphantly as he hopped on and kicked the ground to increase his speed.
"Oh no!" Eddie cursed as the redhead rolled past him.
Otto laughed as he performed a couple of Ollies and grinded some of the benches until he finally made it to the store. Ignoring the angry people he nearly ran over, he dashed inside and ran up to the counter. He panted as he leaned against the glass case.
"Hello, welcome to Electronics Boutique. Can I help—Otto?" A familiar voice gasped. "What are you doing here?"
"Huh?" Otto looked up and felt his luck turning good.
Standing behind the counter was none other than Sam Dullard, his sister's boyfriend. The eighteen year-old stood at about five and a half feet. His wavy blond hair had grown out and went down the sides of his head. The eyes behind his square-shaped glasses were wide with shock and slight worry. He was wearing a red shirt and a pair of blue jeans.
"Squid? You work here?" The redhead asked, standing straight up.
"Yeah. I've been trying to raise money to buy Reggie a present for Christmas." The blond replied, nodding. "So, is this a social visit, or did you come here to buy something?"
"Oh yeah!" Otto answered. "Quick, before Eddie comes in here, I need a DS!"
"Oh, I didn't you know you were into video games. At least not since what happened this summer."
"Ugh, don't remind me. That week was a nightmare." Otto groaned. "It's for Lars."
"Oh ok." Sam replied. "Anyway, we got plenty left."
"Oh thank God." The taller boy sighed with relief. "I'll take one."
"Sure thing, Ottoman. I just have one question."
"Uhhh… Ok." Otto said strangely. "Shoot."
And that was when Sam dropped the bomb.
"Did you pre-order one?"
Otto's mouth dropped.
"Wha?"
"Outta the way!" Eddie shouted, shoving him out of the way. It seemed that he and Twister had finally entered the store. Noticing that he had broken character, the brunet cleared his throat. "I wish to purchase the system of great and ultimate evil, the DS. Muahahahahaha!.!.!"
"Eddie, how many times do I have to tell you? Don't do the whole Netherworld thing when you're in here." Sam scolded, shaking his head. "This may be a game store, but even that is embarrassing."
"Right. Sorry." Eddie apologized, pulling up his mask. "So can I get it already?"
"Sure. Got your slip and the last of your payment?"
"Yep." The caped boy dug into his pockets.
"Are you alright, bro?" Twister asked, helping Otto up.
"Ugh… Yeah, but he's toast!" Otto shouted, shooting straight up.
He was about to attack when he noticed the "prince" take out a piece of paper and a penny. To his great and utter shock, the brunet gave Sam the two items and was given a box that had the DS pictured on the side. From what Otto could tell from the picture, the system was gray and seemed to open up like a clam. The blond rang up the system and put it into a bag before handing it to the customer.
"Much thanks, oh kind peddler." Eddie bowed, putting his mask on. He walked away and was about to leave when he turned and said to Otto, "I pwned you, ya n00b! Muahahahahahaha!.!.!"
And he ran out. Otto stood there, mouth agape, while Twister raised an eyebrow, wondering how Eddie pronounced a word like "pwned," whatever that means. Sam, however, was shaking his head in mild embarrassment.
"Ugh, if his whole netherworld banter wasn't bad enough, he starts using Internet terms." He said before turning to his friends. "Sorry about that. You know how he gets."
"Uhhh… Yeah…" Twister said, turning to the counter. He gasped when he noticed the blond. "Woah! Sammy?.! I didn't know you worked here!"
"I thought I told you guys that awhile back." Sam said, holding his chin.
"What are ya doing here, anyway?"
"Present for Reggie." was the answer.
"Ohhhh…" Twister nodded in understanding. "So you waited til the last minute too, huh?"
"Actually, I already got her gift. I just like working here." Sam clarified. "So what can I do for you guys?"
"Well, we're looking for—"
"What the hell!.?.!" Otto demanded to the blond. "Are you nuts!.?.! That system costs a hundred and fifty dollars and you just gave it to him for a penny!.?.!"
"Well yeah." Sam shrugged. "It's weird but he pre-ordered it a few months ago and paid the entire amount except for a penny. He just decided to wait til now to pay that last cent and claim his DS." He chuckled. "Guess he wanted to piss off some poor sap who waited til the last minute to—Oh crap." He stopped himself when he noticed the rage in the redhead's eyes.
Otto felt his face go red in full blooded fury. His veins stuck out and threatened to explode. It looked like his dreadlocks were going to catch fire any moment. He raised his hands in a murderous fashion and inched ever closer to the blond. He was about to lash out at the other boy before he regained control and took a deep breath.
He knew better than to inflict bodily harm on his friend. Reggie would kill him as soon as she heard that the love of her life was put into the hospital. Or Mrs. Dullard would get to him first. Or maybe both of them would double team him. Either way, he'd be dead, meaning he would never have sex with Lars, at least not until he died, but who knew how long that would take? Reggie would probably take vengeance on Otto by keeping Lars healthy well into old age, just to make him suffer.
"Whatever." The boy sighed, getting out of his reverie. "Just give me my DS so I could go home and reflect on this whole thing."
"Wow. That's pretty big of you, Otto, but no can do."
Otto reached out, grabbed Sam's shirt and pulled him in close.
"Why?" He hissed through gritted teeth as he stared right into the clerk's very soul. He saw nothing but fear in those orbs. Sam struggled to get out of his grip, but Otto held on tight.
"Be-because y-you d-didn't p-pre-order it!" He stuttered. "We only have enough for those that pre-ordered it! It's store policy!" Otto's eyes flashed dangerously before he pushed Sam backwards, causing him to crash onto the floor.
"And I suppose no other place in the mall sells DSes, right?" The redhead growled. The bespectacled boy could only nod in response. "Let's go Twist." He turned and started leaving.
"But what about—?" Twister started.
"NOW!.!.!" Otto roared, stomping out of the store.
"R-right behind you." Twister said, turning to Sam. "Sorry about that, Squid. You know how crazy people get during the holidays."
"Yeah…" Sam coughed, standing up. "Don't worry about it. This was only the second time that happened today."
"Alright. See ya later then."
The taller boy started walking out when he heard a ringing sound.
"Huh?"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, which was black. He looked at the caller ID and noticed that it was a call from home. He immediately pressed Talk and held it to his right ear.
"Yeah?" The person on the other end told him something, causing him to gasp. "WHAT!.?.! Now!.? But I thought—" He was interrupted by the person on the other end. He sighed. "Got it. I'll get there as fast as I can. Bye."
He hung up and ran after Otto, who was halfway towards the exit. He soon caught up to his best friend.
"Come on. We gotta hurry back home."
"Why? What happened?" Otto asked, forgetting his rage.
"Never mind! Let's just get to the car!" Twister answered, breaking out into a run. Otto followed.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Post-chapter Conversation
"Finally! Another chapter done!" I shouted happily as I uploaded the chapter to the Net. I immediately opened a new page in Word and started typing.
"I loved the Sam abuse in the end!" Izzy cheered.
"Figures you would." Iggy remarked. Izzy glared at him.
"Keep it up, smart mouth."
"Anyway!" I shouted, preventing a fight from breaking out. "It looks like the mall yielded no results for Otto. Will he ever get a DS for Lars? What's Reggie planning to do with Lars? And what was that strange phone call about? Find out next time in (hopefully) the final chapter!"
"You got less than twenty-four hours, Boss." Izzy smirked. "There's no way you'll finish it in time."
"Come on, Dad! You can do it!" Iggy encouraged.
