Claire looked around the room, wondering if anyone had recalled the objective to the game. Apparently, they were trying to toss popcorn and have their teammate catch it in their mouth, but that wasn't what was happening. Kai and Popuri were sitting with a bowl of popcorn between them, munching and chattering, not even attempting to compete. They seemed to have forgotten that a game was even taking place. Karen and Gray were sitting on opposite sides of the room, trying fruitlessly to throw for distance. They ended up tossing unpopped kernels at each other's faces and laughing. Ann, who was supposed to be judging the competition, had dug into the cake that Kai made her and she was sitting at the table with a thick ring of chocolate frosting around her lips, patting her belly in a satisfied manner.
"I think we're the only ones who are attempting to try," Claire gave her friend a shrug. She tossed a kernel of popcorn to Cliff, but he wasn't paying attention and it landed in his hair.
He gave her a rueful smile as he brushed out the popcorn and pouted at the other teams. Cliff's chuckles didn't make his stern expression very convincing. "Y'all are doing it wrong! You gotta pop it up in the air like this!" He tossed a kernel high into the air and caught it in his mouth to demonstrate. They all watched in mild amusement.
"One point!" Claire cheered, pumping her fist into the air.
Gray groaned. "Here come the bad jokes. He's officially buzzed." He looked over his roommate. "That was a pretty weak pun, you know," he heckled.
The young man sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess you're right. Let's see if I corn come up with a butter one."
Claire grinned at Cliff, biting back her laughter. She quickly formulated a pun of her own to contribute. "You shouldn't as-salt him with corny puns like that; they can be a bit hard to swallow." She popped another piece into her mouth and beamed at him.
He really enjoyed this carefree side of his friend, and seeing that she was enjoying his sense of humor and contributing to the jokes made him elated. Cliff let out a delighted laugh, his entire face lighting up. "Yes! We will win the hull contest at this rate!"
The joke fell a little flat, and Gray threw an unpopped kernel at him, booing. "Ann, disqualify these fools!"
Ann finished chewing her piece of cake and swallowed. They had been pretty entertaining to her, and she had laughed a little harder at the puns than she meant to. Then again, she was more than just a little buzzed. "Heck, no! They win! First prize to team Cliff and Claire." She wiped off her chocolate-covered fingers with a napkin and stood in thought for a moment. "We never did team names… How about team Cliff-air for short, or maybe Cliff-air-ee… Clefairy? Hmmm," she stroked her chin thoughtfully, "why does that sound so familiar?"
Gray buried his face in his hand, silently wondering if he was the most sober one in the entire room.
"Oooh, ooh, pick me!" Popuri took a deep swig from her cup, still occupied with the puns. She laughed a little too loudly. "Uh… corn! Y'all are corny!" she slurred, mimicking Cliff's accent.
Kai gingerly finessed the cup out of her hands and patted her back in a concerned manner. He placed the bowl of popcorn onto her lap. "Eat something. We're moving you to punch."
Karen shook her head. "I've had her on punch for a couple of hours now." The young woman's inebriated behavior had been surprising her a bit tonight; she was a little startled Popuri had gotten more than tipsy. She couldn't help but feel a little concerned.
Popuri grinned. "Punch with a punch!" She held up a small bottle that had been tucked into the folds of her full nightgown. "This peachy stuff you added earlier was great! Just a little here and there, not too much."
"No, Popuri. Too much." Ann stepped in and snatched away the bottle, much to Popuri's displeasure. "Trust me, you'll be thanking us later. Have some cake instead." She cut a slice for her friend and licked the frosting off of her fingers. "Kai makes the best cakes."
The young man grinned proudly. "Well, I'm glad you like it. I really pride myself on my fluffy cakes. They never collapse. You know, some people who don't have the touch really struggle with getting their cakes to rise-"
Thump.
Ann pounced on Kai and knocked him to the floor, knocking the bowl of popcorn that had been sitting between him and Popuri high into the air. The kernels fluttered around them like oversized snowflakes in slow motion as Ann pinned him roughly to the ground.
"You take that back!" Ann's furrowed brow and sharp voice were surprising, to say the least.
Confused didn't even begin to describe Kai. He rewound the conversation in his head as he stared at the woman on his chest quizzically. He wasn't completely surprised that he had been pounced on by the redhead; by process of elimination, he was the next target. However, he was clueless to the reason why. "What are you going on about?" In his peripheral vision, he saw Karen and Popuri snacking on the chocolate cake and rolled his eyes. So much for sympathy…
Ann bounced on his chest, and Kai let out a groan in discomfort. "I think someone doesn't want their Thanksgiving cookies this year! I was going to mail them out to you and everything…" she sulked as she stared at him.
Kai couldn't tell if she was joking or if her feelings had been genuinely hurt. He still failed to see how his admission of being proud of the cakes he made offended her so deeply. Either way, he was upset that his annual gift of delicious chocolate cookies was being threatened. "But I enjoy your cookies every year," he insisted with a slight whine. He would eat them in his quiet hotel room in a faraway city, a warm reminder of his favorite town. The napkins lining the tin smelled like Doug's kitchen and the cookies tasted like the closest thing he could compare to a home. The very memory of the flavor brought back a slight twinge of sadness that he didn't always live in Mineral Town.
Ann's blue eyes bored into his brown ones. "Why? Because they don't have to rise? Because they're supposed to turn out flat?" She punctuated her sentences with whaps to Kai's face with the end of her braid.
The young man could hardly focus on her words, as the hair in his face was not only annoying, but threatened to get into his eyes. "Yes. I mean, no! Wait, what?"
Without warning, Ann sprung up off of him and looked down at him with a combination of disgust, pity, and stifled laughter. "Exactly. You go sit and think about what you said."
Preoccupied at the thought of missing out on the famous chocolate cookies, Kai frowned. "But I didn't do anything. This isn't fair!"
Ann gave him a stoic gaze and folded her arms across her chest. "Sometimes… that's just the way the cookie crumbles…" The young woman turned toward her friend and snickered, an excited grin spreading across her mouth. "Did I do it right, Cliff?" Her whisper was far too loud to be inconspicuous.
Her friend looked up from his bottle of lychee soda. He wasn't expecting her to ask his opinion on her jokes. "Uh… sure." He passed the bottle on to Claire, who shot him a delighted smile and happily took a sip.
Gray leaned in between the two friends and whispered loudly into Cliff's ear. "Huh... seems like Kai's got the touch with more than just cakes. He sure knows how to get a rise out of Ann."
Cliff burst into laughter – partially from the joke, but mostly because of who had told it. Gray claimed to hate puns, but he often had the best ones. Claire had barely heard Gray's words and she found herself struggling to keep from spitting out her soda. She held the liquid in her mouth until she calmed down a little bit and she felt Cliff's warm touch on her back. His hand felt nice and she allowed herself to loosen her posture a little, letting her worries about Gray wash away; she didn't even care at the moment that he was sitting near them.
Ann watched her friends' expressions with amusement. "What's so funny?"
For a brief moment, a flicker of bewilderment flashed through Cliff's features and Claire felt his shoulder stiffen. The blonde looked at him curiously as his eyebrows relaxed and the beginnings of a smile spread across his lips. He looked up at Ann with very loving eyes, the same way that an older brother would gaze at his baby sister. "That's the way the cookie crumbles… Good one, Ann!" Claire had done the same thing countless times with her younger brothers – she could see that he was diverting the conversation to avoid conflict. Cliff's natural ability at this technique told her that this was nothing new to him and that the two had a close bond. Claire smiled; she was grateful that Cliff, who had been painfully shy not too long ago, had managed to form some close friendships during his time in Mineral Town. His increasing joy at living in his new home made Claire's heart soar.
Ann beamed. Within the past few months, Ann had been listening to Cliff's absurd puns when he was in a playful mood. She never thought of herself as very witty, but she had been eager to give a joke a try. She had been particularly proud of her joke, and their reaction to it had been quite satisfying. "That's right." Ann placed her hands on her hips and stood with a proud smirk on her face.
Her friends only laughed harder in response.
0o0o0o0
"Well," Kai yawned and stretched, "it's been a blast, but I've got a shop to open tomorrow morning." Popuri booed him, and he let out a sheepish laugh in response. "Hey, now! Despite what people think, I can be a hard worker. Besides, if I take tomorrow off, Doug will know something's up," he chuckled, running a hand through his hair.
"Fine, fine, get outta here, you party pooper," Ann grumbled, shooing him with a wave of the hand, as if his very presence at the party was an inconvenience to everyone in the room.
"Don't be like that, Ann. We can party again on my birthday, alright? Good night, ladies!" He bade each girl farewell with a kiss: a playful one on the nose for Ann, a soft peck on top of the head for Claire, a chivalrous kiss on the hand for a very lucid Karen, and an affectionate smooch on the cheek for Popuri. Claire was sure she wasn't the only one to notice that his lips lingered on the final woman for a moment. "See you in the morning!" Kai gave them one last wave and started to head out.
Gray followed him, eager to get some sleep before his shift at work the next morning.
"You, too?" Ann whined. "But we still haven't played Seven Minutes in Heaven yet," she snorted and bubbled into laughter.
The young man rolled his eyes. "Dammit, I hate it when that happens; that's my favorite game, too," he smirked at her and turned to leave.
"Wait! Aren't you gonna kiss us girls goodnight?" Ann hiccoughed.
Claire's heart stopped. Up until very recently, she would have given the world for him to agree to such an offer. Today, though… she realized she still wanted it a bit. Her heart ached at the thought of his lips on her, even if it was just a platonic kiss goodbye. She immediately shoved back these feelings. What good did it do to dwell on such things? Claire wished he would have just left without announcing it – she wouldn't have to wrestle with these conflicting emotions.
Cliff felt Claire's body tense beside him as she shrank back. He bit back a frown; surely Ann hadn't meant to cause any hurt feelings. The redhead set down her beer and let out a loud belch. No one in the room was very sober, but sometimes he wished that Ann would be a little more sensitive to other peoples' feelings. It wasn't as if she wasn't aware of the situation between Claire and Gray. Still, he couldn't completely blame his friend for having other things on her mind. It had been a very fun and active party, after all.
Gray shrugged, letting out a scoff. He hardly had the courage to kiss his own girlfriend, let alone a group of girls he saw as friends. He reached to tug the bill of his hat down, but forgot that he wasn't wearing it this evening. He swiftly folded his arms across his chest instead. "Eh, that's Kai's bit. I'm not the gentleman of the group; that's hardly a secret. 'Night." He turned toward the remaining roommate. "You coming, too, Cliff?"
Ann whined loudly. Now that Kai was leaving, half of the guests were looking to go. The party had been the most fun she had in a long time, and she wasn't particularly eager about ending it so abruptly. She looked around the room. Popuri already looked like she was about to fall asleep, and she wouldn't be surprised if the others weren't far behind. At this rate, the evening was going to end as soon as the men left. "Why are you trying to spoil the party? It's not like he's gotta go to work in the morning or anything," she insisted with a pout.
Karen took a long swig out of her wine bottle and pointed the vessel at her male friend. "Don't punk out on us, man." She raised her eyebrows at him.
Cliff had to admit that he was flattered that they all wanted him to stay. He had always thought of his presence as a bit of a nuisance to others; after all, he had been asked to leave a few towns while he was traveling. His heart began to pound at the notion that he may have found a place where his company was desired. There was no way he would leave the party so early – it had been far too long that he had experienced these genuine feelings of belonging and lighthearted mirth. "Ah, I couldn't leave if I wanted to," he allowed his smile to fill his entire face.
Gray's eyes locked onto the blonde who was seated next to him on the floor. The pair had drifted closer and closer together throughout the course of the evening they were practically touching at this point. With everyone a little intoxicated, this was an easy thing to let slide, but Gray had no doubt that his friend had strategized this a bit. "Oh, yeah? And why is that?" he dared with a smirk.
Cliff silently pointed to his lap. The yellow tabby was cradled in his crossed legs, purring in her sleep. The girls all cooed in unison at the sight and he moved his eyes to the floor; he could feel his face getting hot at all of the eyes on him. He knew everyone probably had their attention focused on the cat, but this feeling – this warm-hearted sense of being part of the group – he never wanted to stop feeling it.
Gray could see the happiness reflected in his roommate's eyes, and he had his own hunches on why Cliff's smile was so huge. "Suit yourself," Gray smirked as he left the room.
0o0o0o0
"So, then a big wave went through and hit us all over," Ann continued with her story. Karen let out a snort in her sleep from the far bed and the redhead lowered her voice. "Apparently, the wave stole the top of my bathing suit."
Her friends' eyes widened in horror, and Claire seemed as anxious as if the incident had happened to herself; she folded her arms across her chest. "Did you find your top? Or did you have to stay down in the water so you could hide? It sounds like something out of a nightmare!"
Ann hung her head. "We never did find the top. I didn't even notice until much later. We had played a few games and everything. Rick suddenly turned really pale and practically yelled, 'Hey, Ann, you're topless!'" She let out a sigh and frowned at the memory. There was a reason why she only wore one-piece swimsuits anymore…
"Hey, that's not so bad. They didn't even notice," Cliff shrugged. The room turned deathly quiet as both of his female friends gave him harsh looks and his face visibly blanched. He immediately realized his error. "Oh, man. I-I'm so sorry, Ann. I wasn't thinking…"
"How long ago was this?" Claire ventured, eager to steer the conversation back in a more comfortable direction.
"Maybe five years ago or so. You know, everyone I went skinny dipping with as a kid was there. Everyone's bodies had grown up except for mine." She lamented the fact that her body hadn't developed much since the incident and frowned for a moment before taking a swig from her bottle and belching loudly. "Seems my cakes aren't the only things that always end up flat…"
Cliff frowned; he could tell that his friend was uncomfortable, and he couldn't help but feel like he had contributed to that feeling. Perhaps an embarrassing story of his own would help even the score. "You ever go to the hot springs in Forget-Me-Not Valley?" he asked her.
She shook her head. "I know they exist, but I've never stayed in the Valley long enough to really make a day trip out of it."
"Ah, I see. Anyway, after a long day of hunting and foraging, I took a soak in the spring to relax. I started to doze off when someone tangled their hand in my hair and ran their hand down my back." He shook his head, as if doing so would remove the memory from his mind. "So, naturally, I grabbed the guy's arm and was preparing to break it…"
A delighted grin found its way on Ann's face; the story had worked as a perfect distraction. "Naturally, of course." She bobbed her head excitedly, eager to hear tales of how her friend beat up his attacker.
"Break h-his arm?" Claire's eyes widened. The action was hard for her to picture – she couldn't imagine breaking someone's bones, and Cliff didn't strike her as the aggressive type.
"I didn't know what he was planning," Cliff's tone became a little defensive as he played with his fingers nervously. He wasn't sure what kind of reaction he had expected from Claire, but he didn't think he was going to have to explain himself to her. "For all I knew, he was going to try to assault or mug me."
She had never really given much thought to the darker sides of being a lone wanderer. Claire recalled the timid, anxious Cliff who sat in the front pew of the church at the beginning of spring. Travelling alone wasn't always a freeing experience, as he had reminded her time and time again. Her heart began to pound uncomfortably in her chest. The thought of her best friend being attacked wasn't a pleasant one. "So, what did you do?" Claire was immediately reminded of her self-defense training that they issued the employees at the office back in the city. "I was taught to go for the nose and the eyes and run."
"It's a little hard to run when you're sitting down waist-deep in hot spring water," her friend let out a good-natured laugh, his protective demeanor falling away. His body language suggested that the ending of the story had worked in his favor. "But the good news was that I didn't need to. The guy was pretty annoyed, but he was a pushover…" He rubbed the back of his neck, ashamed. He lowered his voice as color crept into his face. "He… he thought I was a girl and was trying to hit on me. When I turned around and stood up, he was pretty surprised."
Ann collapsed into laughter. "He thought you were a girl just because you have long hair?"
He nodded, grateful that she had seen the ridiculousness of the situation as well. "He said it was wrong that a guy would have such pretty hair." He rolled his eyes, letting out a scoff in disgust at his assailant's ignorance. "He had the gall to ask me to apologize to him. Apparently, he thought I was tricking him or something."
"I still could cut you shorter for summer," Ann reminded him, and she felt a little guilty as she repeated the offer.
Claire ran a few fingers through his ponytail. "Aww, but I like it the way it is. It's very pretty. And soft." She stifled a hiccup as she absentmindedly withdrew her hand, a smile creeping across her face as her fingers still had the memory of his hair's silky texture.
Ann giggled as his reddened face. "I doubt he's going for pretty. Most guys don't take that as a compliment, Claire."
Her face immediately fell, but Cliff patted her arm. "I d-don't mind. I'll take it as one. Thank you."
Her heart gave a warm glow and she fought the urge to ask to touch it once again. "Well, hey, I've got a story." Claire distracted herself. She had a story she had been aching to tell someone since she moved here, but her timid nature kept her from sharing it. In her slightly drunken state, she had grown tired of keeping it bottled in, and she was eager to tell it. Her friends turned toward her to hear the story. "So, when I lived in the city, I had a few friends that enjoyed setting me up on blind dates. I'd agree to go along to keep them from pestering me. Most of the guys were pretty boring like me. Boring plus boring makes a painfully dull date," she pouted melodramatically. The worst parts of the dates were forcing herself to meet someone new in a public place full of people. She would spend a lot of dates in crippling anxiety, but she didn't feel that this was the best time to share this piece of information.
Cliff could tell from her body language that Claire was a little intoxicated – her actions and words were much looser than normal, and he was reminded of their evening at the bar together. He wasn't sure why he had been surprised by the fact that she had dated men in the city and it caused a rush of jealousy that left him a little disoriented. His envy quickly transformed into shame as he struggled to regain his composure. "You're not boring!" he interjected, his slightly raised voice causing Popuri to stir on the middle bed. He found an opened bag of pretzels and pulled it in front of his friend to encourage her to eat.
"Well, I'm glad you think so," her laugh came out a little more bitter than she meant for it to. She felt a mild wave of dizziness and straightened her posture, taking a deep breath in hopes that it would make her feel better. She looked down at the offered snacks. "Oh, no thank you. My stomach's actually a little upset."
"Eat something, Claire," Ann insisted bluntly, practically shoving the bag of pretzels onto Claire's lap. "You're drunk."
Her face flushed with embarrassment as she shifted in her chair. She had behaving more rashly than usual and she wondered if she had already made a fool of herself this evening. "I'm sorry…"
"Don't worry about it; all of us are." Ann gave her a rueful smile as she shoved a handful of pretzels in her own mouth. "Besides," she smirked, "none of us are as bad as Popuri. Keep going with your story. We don't think you're boring."
Claire gave Ann and Cliff an appreciative smile. If she had still been living in the city, it was likely her friends there wouldn't have let this topic of conversation begin in the first place. No one liked a complainer, after all… The young woman continued, relaxing a bit. These were her good friends, and she shouldn't feel ashamed to tell them a story about herself. "Anyway, there was a guy I met at the subway and we seemed to hit it off pretty well. He was… different than the others." She let out a sigh, convincing herself to go on. "He worked in a big firm in the city and was very far along in his career for someone so young. We started talking because we got into a conversation about how much money the subway could save by just making a few minor changes…"
Ann couldn't picture a less romantic atmosphere. "It was love at first sight," she proclaimed in a flat voice. She sniggered and nudged the blonde.
Claire gave her friend an embarrassed smile, noticing that Cliff was curiously staring up at the ceiling as if deep in thought. She suddenly felt a little self-conscious continuing the story. "Hardly... He asked me out on a date, and I agreed. I… I was pretty excited that I had actually set up a date without my friends' help, and I had a feeling things were going to go great." She looked at her companions. Ann was watching her with great interest, but she couldn't help but notice Cliff still looked a little distracted. Assuming he wasn't interested in hearing it, she continued for the sake of Ann. Most guys didn't care too much for this kind of talk, anyway, she figured. "Well, anyway… I was exhausted that night from work and I ended up staying home instead of going out on the date. I called him and we talked about rescheduling it, but that's just a small part of the story... I-I'm getting off track," she chuckled distractedly. "So, I was working my accounting job, but… um…" She hesitated, wondering just how much of this story she wanted to share. She swallowed the lump in her throat. Just the abridged version tonight… She let out a deep breath and felt considerably more relaxed as she had made this decision. "W-Well… I wasn't very happy there. I spent a few months trying to find work elsewhere, but it didn't really pan out. I got a call from a company that sounded really nice and when I got to the interview, guess who was there to conduct it?"
Ann's eyes glowed mischievously. "No way!"
Claire nodded. "He didn't seem too miffed that I cancelled our date; as a matter of fact, he was really friendly. He took me on a tour around the entire office and I noticed he kept standing right behind me. It was kind of awkward, because he was guiding me on this tour but refused to walk in front. When the interview was over, he offered me the job right on the spot, and he asked if I was interested in rescheduling that date. I told him that I needed to think about the job before I made any promises, and I stopped in the bathroom before I left. Then I looked in the mirror and…" Her voice faded as she frowned.
"Did he put a 'Kick Me' sign on your back?" Ann sniggered.
"Worse." Claire dropped her head forward and blonde hair spilled across the table's surface as she let out a frustrated sigh. "I had tucked the back of my dress into my underwear." Even after all this time, she still wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.
She didn't see that Ann's eyes had grown to the size of saucers. "He was totally checking you out!"
"I hope you didn't end up calling back someone who had that little respect for you." Cliff had been silent until now. There was a bite to his voice she hadn't heard before, but Claire noticed it sounded protective as well.
She lifted her head and found herself patting his hand. She appreciated the fact that he had been concerned. She sat up straight and exhaled deeply. "I didn't. I never saw him again. But I was so embarrassed." She folded her arms across her chest as she let the stress from the situation melt away. It had, after all, happened a while ago. "To make things worse, I was wearing my lucky panties." Claire found that she was smiling at this point. There was no sense being upset over something that had happened over a year ago. Not this part of the story, anyway…
Ann roared with laughter. "You have lucky underwear? I thought only kids did that! Are you wearing them now?"
Claire's face turned pink. "… Maybe…"
"I wanna see!" Ann tugged at her friend's nightgown.
Claire blushed deeply, but a grin spread across her mouth. "Let Cliff turn around first!"
He rolled his eyes as he complied and tried his best to ignore the giggles behind him.
The young woman was surprised at her lack of shyness as she hiked up her nightgown to show off her lucky garment. After all, Ann had seen her naked at the hot springs before, so this quick peek was nothing to be nervous about.
Ann let out a delighted laugh as she spied the cutesy teddy bear printed on the back of the underwear. "Wow, those are really cute! I love teddy bears! But ya gotta give the bear a slap for good luck, huh?"
"Wha-?" Claire cocked an eyebrow.
"LUCKY!" Ann gave her friend a hearty whack on the bottom and Claire let out a surprised squeak in response. She retaliated with a slap on Ann's arm, but her friend just gave her another whack.
Cliff wasn't sure why he had his eyes squeezed shut; he had turned away from them as it was. "Do I have to break you two up?" he asked with a chuckle.
Claire let out a giggle. Her heart felt free once again the way it did when she was playing with her friend on her farm. She suddenly realized how much she missed that carefree innocent feeling. "Ann's hitting me!"
"Only because you smacked me!" the redhead retorted, grinning at her friend's melodramatically offended reaction.
"Well, you spanked me really hard!" Claire pursed her lips.
Cliff turned around and attempted to hide the pleased grin on his face. Claire's blonde hair was slightly disheveled, and seeing her with a flushed face and pretend pout was almost too much. How could someone be so painfully beautiful and not realize it? She was more relaxed than he had seen her in a while, and he wanted to share in her joy. Cliff longed to hold her close to him and listen to the beating of her heart, letting her just how much she brightened up his own life, perhaps expressing this with a gentle kiss...
He was snapped back to reality by a snort from Ann. "It was for good luck!" she insisted with a smirk.
Claire gave her friend a smack on the bottom. "Well, then this is for luck, too! Twenty-two to go!"
Ann's eyes widened in horror. "No! Not that!"
"You aren't allowed to dish them if you can't take them!" her friend smirked, a glint of mischievousness in her slightly glazed-over eyes. "Cliff, help me hold her down!"
He blinked at the carnage before him, still trying to shake the fantasy of holding Claire. This was neither the time nor place for such thoughts or actions.
Ann shot him a threatening look before he could react. "If you agree to help her, then and I can't make any promises that I'll be merciful with next year's birthday spanks." She blew a raspberry at Claire and gave a triumphant grin, as if her statement had swayed Cliff's vote.
His eyes flicked between the two girls and he smirked at Claire's wriggling eyebrows. "Come on, Cliff! It's worth it! We'll go down together in a blaze of glory!" Her sapphire eyes glowed as she attempted to wrestle Ann to the ground.
He recalled earlier when Ann had tackled him and felt that she was due for payback. That, and he wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to join in the fun. Cliff dove into the pile of flailing limbs. "I regret nothing!"
"That blonde vixen has been your downfall!" Ann bellowed melodramatically as Claire got in another smack. She let out a shrill squeal. "Are you even keeping count, you jerk?"
"Nope!" Claire laughed wickedly, giving her another whack.
Karen rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed to see her three friends tangled together, shrieking, laughing, and slapping.
"Karen, save me!" Ann pleaded, half whining, half laughing.
The brunette yawned and blinked her eyes. "Slap her real good for me, Claire. My team's song was awesome and should've won." She rolled over and immediately fell back asleep.
Popuri let out a soft moan and turned over in bed. She sat up and let out a sigh. "Man, why does the good stuff always happen after I go to sleep?" She let out a less-than-dainty burp. "Keep it down, guys. My head is starting to hurt. Turn off the lights." She rubbed her temples and plopped back down on the bed, her pink curls fluttering around her as she did so.
Seeing Popuri so exhausted made them realize how late it was. Ann flicked off the lights as her friends made their way to the table and took their seats.
"You two!" She whispered threateningly as she pointed at them, "I'm gonna bang your butts so hard-"
Claire let out a sharp giggle and promptly covered her mouth, all traces of maturity gone out the window for the evening. "Wh-what did you say?"
Cliff bit the inside of his lip and let out the beginning of a snort. He exhaled deeply and stared at her, poker-faced. "She said she was going to bang your butt. You better make sure you're wearing your lucky underwear when she does, Claire." He kept his voice low.
The blonde broke into silent giggles and buried her face into his arm. He could feel her body wracking with laughter and it was marvelous. His whole face lit up and he smiled so hard his cheeks hurt.
"Y-You knew what I meant!" Ann's whisper was harsh as she wiped the tears of mirth from her eyes.
Cliff succumbed to laughter. His heart was filled to the brim with joy as he basked in his friends' company. None of them wanted the evening to end.
0o0o0o0
Claire woke up to the sound of a clanking glass bottle. She sat up straight, realizing she had fallen asleep at the table. Her eyes scanned the dark room. Ann was at her side snoring softly, her braid carelessly draped across the table like a discarded rope. Karen let out a loud snort at the sound of the bottle. The blonde looked to her other side. Cliff was leaned forward in his chair, resting his chin on his folded forearms, but she could see the moonlight shining in his blinking eyes. It seemed he had awakened at the sound as well.
The bottle rattled again, and Claire heard a moan from the middle bed.
"Goddess! Someone get that friggin' cat out of here; my head's throbbing!" Popuri slurred as she buried her head under the pillow. It appeared that the youngest party attendee had trouble handling her alcohol and she was a grumpy drunk.
Claire scooped the tabby cat under her arm and dropped her outside the door. Her body cried out for more sleep and she stumbled to the last bed available. The young woman let out a sigh in relief as she curled up on the mattress and she opened her eyes as Ann wriggled her way under the covers beside her, jostling the bed as she did so. Claire's eyelids felt heavy and it was all she could do to slur a "Good night, Ann" to her friend.
She was surprised to get a tender hug from the redhead. "'Night," she mumbled, falling asleep almost immediately.
Claire had just fallen asleep when she awoke to the sound of Cliff's whisper.
"Ann."
The redhead let out a moan. Now that she was in bed, sleep was the first and only thing on her mind, and any hindrance to that goal was immediately infuriating to her. "Whaaaat?" She stretched the word out into several syllables and the blonde beside her let out a soft yawn.
Claire opened her tired eyes and could make out Cliff's silhouette in the moonlight. He was sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "The guys locked me out and they're both out cold. Can you let me into my room?" Judging from his body language, he had debated coming back to ask Ann for this favor, and it was likely he was beginning to regret it.
Ann let out a tired whine. "The keys are… somewhere…" she murmured, rolling over. "Just give them to me in the morning."
He looked around the room and let out an exhausted sigh. He wanted to tell Ann that she wasn't the only one who wanted to get some sleep, but he didn't think that saying so would help in this situation. "Do you have any idea where in the general vicinity…?"
Even in the dark, Claire could see Ann roll her eyes. "Dunno, Cliff. They're somewhere. I took them out of my pocket hours ago."
Popouri gave an exasperated cry; Ann wasn't the only person whose patience had run out. "Go to sleep! Goddess!"
Karen rolled over in her sleep and let out a loud snort and Ann shot a jealous glare in the woman's direction. Every moment Cliff was standing by the bed was one less moment of delicious, delicious sleep. "Knock on the door." Her words were quickly becoming curt.
He bit his lip. "Don't you think I've already tried that?"
"Sleep on the floor, or sleep here at the foot of the bed," Ann whispered, letting out a yawn.
"You mean like Koro?" Claire's voice was groggy. The thought of cuddling with both friends to sleep sounded very nice, and just the thought was making her drift off a bit.
The thought of Claire's sweet pet mellowed her out. "Yeah… like a little puppy," Ann slurred, a sleepy smile spreading across her face as she rested her eyes.
Cliff was too tired to see the appeal in this. He knew that if he agreed, Ann would likely be kicking him in the face in a matter of mere minutes. All he could focus on was his own bed and his rosemary scented pillow. He could open the window to listen to the frogs outside and feel the cool night breeze. Most importantly, he could sleep in his underwear. How Ann and Claire were practically spooning was beyond him; it was far too warm out. However, if Claire had the bed to herself and had offered him a spot next to her, he knew he would be feeling quite differently. Cliff's stomach turned over in guilt – again, not the time or place, he reprimanded himself. He scolded himself for his drunkenness and the wandering thoughts that accompanied it. "But if you have the keys…"
"Find them and bring them back to me in the morning," Ann mumbled, pulling the blankets over her head. "Otherwise, you've been given your options." As far as she was concerned, the conversation was over and if Cliff wanted the keys, he was going to have to find them himself.
Claire rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed, battling the bed sheets Ann was tangling herself in. The blonde could make out vague shapes of the furniture in the dark and she tried to remember where she had seen her friend set them down. Ann had complained about them digging into her pocket when she was getting ready to arm wrestle Popuri and had taken them out at that point. "I think…" she closed her eyes and pictured the key ring, "try the table by the record player."
"Thanks, Claire," the relief could be heard in Cliff's low whisper. She watched in fascination as her friend silently yet quickly crept through the room, deftly stepping over empty wine bottles and snack wrappers. She caught a metallic glint in the moonlight and knew that she had given him the correct location. He tiptoed back toward their bed. "You're the best," he murmured quietly, and Claire's heart glowed at the sincerity behind his words as he softly patted her shoulder in thanks.
Her bedmate shifted and mumbled in her half-awake state. "I know… you guys sang all about it," Ann's words faded into the night. "No one brawls just like Ann…" She cut off her own slurred song with a soft snore.
Claire bit back a chuckle as she drifted off to sleep herself.
0o0o0o0
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in chapters. Longer chapter lengths, more content from scratch, and personal issues all have been contributing to the delay. I sincerely hope you enjoyed the chapter, though! We're finally at the end of the Ann Games. Kinda crazy that the last few chapters all took place during the course of one evening, huh? These chapters reminded me of my kid/teenage years at a slumber party. I'd love to hear what you think, and again I want to thank everyone for their support! :)