Reviews :

Jay Sketchin : YES LOL! I'm glad you guys got a kick out of that. It's one of my favorite things to do, to sprinkle the title of the story in random places, or break the 4th wall lol.

Nikki Firesong : Nikki! HI! I certainly missed having you around. Congratulations on your blossoming relationship with Emma, I'm positive things are going great, that's wonderful! Thank you so much for all your support and kind words. Also a huge congrats on getting your degree, I'm sure that must DEFINITELY feel nice! You've earned it, so great work! You're most definitely right on your theories about Turbo. He's good at hiding it, but Berri definitely gets an accidental and nasty view of his bad past. She learns quick why he is the way he is, but it only really deepens their (secretive) love for each other. So, although it's a massive struggle through the story, it's all for the greater good, a learning process! Reality just hits Berri square in the face, so it's a lot to overcome for everyone. Also, the Twilight books came out when I was in middle/high school... Your girl definitely was at every single one of the book releases right at midnight lol! It's extremely cheesy to me now, but it'll always be my guilty pleasure, and brings back fond memories of my angsty teenage years haha. Thanks again, hope to see you around more! You're the best!

Romantic Sapp : LOL You're not wrong! Nox is a bit more rambunctious and flighty, when it comes to romantic advice - though I'd be lying to you if I said that Turbo didn't allow Nox to weigh in, due to Berri's firecracker nature haha.

Burgie : VERY TRUE. I'm glad everyone's sort of catching on. Turbo goes into panic-tastic mode the second Gunner swoops in haha

Snake557 : Thanks friend! Hope you're well!


Song Listened To :

Cross My Mind (Writing Demo) by ARIZONA (this is a 'seamless' song! It's perfect to write or read to, if left on repeat! FYI)


*Chapter 64*

In a flicker of her refreshed, giddy silver circuits, Berri's bare feet gently came off of Turbo's teleportation pad. Amidst a late, Sunday morning, Arcade's only closed day, Berri and Turbo had agreed to have a redo on their little hangout. Per Turbo's previously daring and flirty request of her only bringing herself and her guitar, Berri dutifully took note of it and told no one where she would be laying off to. With Turbo kindly, and secretly, giving Berri access to his teleportation pad via the one in her bedroom, she was thrilled that they were practically next door neighbors, in this aspect. Berri wore a comfortable pair of slick, black leggings that hugged all the way down to her ankles, as well as a lazy, faded blue Dead Zed t-shirt. With her hair long, straight and clean down her back, from her previous morning shower, she was fully prepared to spend a comfortable day tucked away in Turbo's loft, the day before she were to officially start back at Academy.

Amidst her and Turbo getting a little bit more comfortable with trust inside their blossoming friendship, Turbo had kindly offered Berri an equivalent of a key to his loft. With a shred of nervousness, Berri approached the sleek wall that so secretly hid Turbo's massive front door. She looked up to his door, right up until the crease of the ceiling, and with a readied inhale, she allowed her silver coding to illuminate her palm. With a tender push, she eased her hand to the center of the wall, and with a beaming smile of pure glee, she flinched as the door gently grumbled in it's shifting and softly slid open, secret access for no one but herself. She inhaled a shaky breath and felt her heart flutter, though as she gently stepped inside, she slowly furrowed her eyebrows in a reel of very slow realization that hit her retinas. Just as her brain tried desperately to keep up and try to understand just what was different, her footwork came to a gentle halt as Turbo's door slowly sealed shut behind her.

Berri crossed her arms, froze amidst the quiet and let her eyes scan the area. As if playing a 'spot the difference' game, she beamed a curious smile and very quickly understood that Turbo had done a very real amount of cleaning up, as well as rearranging. Turbo's whole kitchen, though usually just stationed to the left of his entrance, was now much larger and expanded inside the dimensions of his old format of a kitchen, and now extended into the dining area of his lofty home, just near the sleek, hidden garage side door. His dining room table had shifted to the center of the massive, sprawling tiles, and it looked like it had nearly doubled in size. A much more welcoming sight to be seen, she gawked a little and lazily began to mosey about his new, gorgeous kitchen. Outfitted with now two islands, similar to the palace's main kitchen, she smiled and let her eyes gloss his dark marbled counter tops. So neatly clad with his espresso machine, his spices, all sorts of different, elegant looking bottles of alcohol, though she almost rolled her eyes at the fact that one of his kitchen islands was very typically complete with an ash tray.

She inhaled a deep, refreshed breath and let her eyes flutter. His home was airy and fresh, the scent of a warm, cinnamon apple smell filled the space in a light and dainty way, as if maybe somewhere there was a candle burning. Just as the idea of Turbo owning candles danced about her brain, she stopped dead in her tracks, let her bare feet scuff to a halt and now felt confusion hit her. She was absolutely certain that before any real amount of the two hanging out, Turbo was the biggest recluse, never having anyone in his home. It was clear, here, that in this dainty show of cleaning up, of expanding and potentially peeking his head out of his shell, Turbo was very quickly overcoming his social anxiety. Unbeknownst to Berri, he was finally coming to grips with a very old, husk of a shell of himself, a very lively and excitable individual who loved gatherings, who loved socializing. As much as he tried to reign it in and prove to everyone that he was a mysterious and secretive individual, Berri knew that he couldn't keep it inside himself any longer, at least as far as Berri, Wren and Theo were concerned.

Berri narrowed her eyes and felt her heart race in question, the fact that Turbo maybe had begun becoming broody and potentially precautionary towards the simple likeness of a certain, blue-haired princess, a cozy home fit for royalty, the sprucing up of his home to entice and garner Berri's closer attention, she continued to very aimlessly mosey about Turbo's kitchen, lost in thought. As her eyes glossed the still-breathtaking scene of Orion City, from his massive floor to ceiling windows, she finally allowed her thought bubbles to come back to reality, the idea to seek Turbo out now had her feet moving. She breathed a small, giddy giggle and tenderly began to move down the dimmer hallway that not only lead to Turbo's share of Sugar Rush's code room, but also his bedroom, and his very secretive, narrow spiral staircase that lead to the upper level of his loft, still a place she had yet to set eyes on. Figuring he'd be cleaning his bedroom, or doing something of the like, she gingerly knocked her knuckles to the gorgeous grey wood of his floor to ceiling bedroom door, and with a warm chime of her voice, she patiently waited outside, so to give him due privacy.

"Bohhh," Berri pressed in great warmth, a softness that filled his home with an added touch of sweetness, she very slowly turned the handle, pushed the door and knocked once more, "Hey, it's just me. Y'in here?"

Berri raised her eyebrows and lazily gaped in baited anticipation, though as she received no response, and the room before her remained still in emptiness, she dared to peek in. Just as she was about to tense her back so to search in other avenues of his home, she double took Turbo's gorgeous, comfortable, dim bedroom and cocked an eyebrow. Although she was entirely certain the strict cleanliness of his home would stop right at the threshold of his bedroom, she was floored to find that every single last pixel of his bedroom was in perfect order. Tidied, cleaned and straightened to perfection, it looked like something straight out of a home decor catalog. Berri furrowed her brows in now brimming confusion and stood up straight in the now open gape of his bedroom door. Not only had she noticed his fluffy, dark bed downs and sheets made to entire, pristine cleanliness, but she found the source of the deliciously inviting smell. On his seemingly recently glossed and cleaned dresser sat a big red candle, confidently ablaze. With just the very slow and simple turn of her heels, she furrowed her eyebrows in continuously brimming confusion and now slowly began to saunter out of his bedroom. She knew if she were to have peeked into his bathroom, it'd probably be too clean to even so much as lay eyes on.

In a confused mosey of bare feet, the hum of Turbo's central air and heater was a comforting noise, a very tender white-noise like drum of ambience that made Berri feel at ease. She finally dipped into the other avenue of his dim hallway and began to press towards the seemingly dead-end side of it, where his gently glowing teleport pad lay, the only way to his own share of the code room one floor below. As she pressed five feet from the pad, she suddenly heard Turbo clear his throat in a grumbly way, in the opposite direction of where she was headed. It was clear that he was oblivious to the extra soul in his home, due to the distance of the sound of his shuffling presence. She halted her footwork, wretched her line of sight for the beckoning spiral stairwell a dozen feet behind her and bit her lip in contemplation. As she quickly turned around and let her hands find the sleek, black rails, she put one foot on the first step, froze and tried her hardest to decipher if she should encroach on new territory, or simply call up to Turbo and let him come down from his secret little hide away.

With a brave inhale, Berri took only a few seconds to decide that she should maybe see just what Turbo had to say about her pressing into a rather closed off aspect of his home. She figured since he was on a cleaning spree, maybe new eyes were welcomed to a brand new territory. Without making too much noise, she slowly climbed his solid spiral staircase, came about a few times and finally soaked onto the final landing. In pinpricked surprise, Berri raised her eyebrows in entire, unadulterated delight. With the entire dome of a ceiling being purely glass, Berri felt as if she now was officially on top of the world. Soaked inside Sugar Rush's fluffy, white, cotton candy winter clouds, she tucked her hands to her chest in cute surprise and allowed her eyes to gloss the gorgeous, sunkissed space in whole entire delight. A soft, white, plush carpet lined the entire area, it about half the size of Turbo's kitchen and living room below them, and even with a splay of an incredible work station, outfitted with big work monitors, the space still held a very real amount of clean minimalism.

Although Berri's eyes had easily glossed the entire loft, which included a very cozy, two sided, heavily cushioned bench for likely stargazing, she still couldn't find Turbo. Berri raised her eyebrows in now pinpricked confusion, she stepped deeper into his lovely loft. As she came right up to the railing of the second story loft, she bit her lip in contemplation, grappled the metal railing of the otherwise glass divide and peered down into Turbo's cozy living room, from above. She stood back up to correction, scratched the back of her head and turned to face the whole of the loft, as well as the entrance, from far across the stretch. She long blinked in confusion and figured that there were still a few places left, in his loft, that she hadn't looked, though just as she was due to quickly cross the stretch of his loft, she jumped in surprise as a door, just across the landing of his spiral staircase, suddenly popped open. Turbo, in a scrunch of trying to keep his body heat to himself, came inside and swiftly shut the door behind him, leaving an extremely cold draft of high altitude, Sugar Rush's winter air to busy about his loft in a dance of confusion before settling. Berri raised her eyebrows in pinprickled surprise as her long, blue hair whirled about her body, which easily caught Turbo's eye.

"Holy User Almighty," Turbo jumped in a sharp flinch of real fear, though he sagged and clutched his chest, as if to settle himself from the near-jump scare. Berri blurt an apologetic laugh and covered her mouth as Turbo peered to her in a forlorn look of near-smiling, dumfounded glee, "You scared the shit out of me."

"I was about to go search the garage for you," Berri blurt a bigger laugh and began to make her way over to Turbo. He was comfortably dressed in a lazy tank top and his favorite red sweats, yet again, though much to Berri's continued surprise, Turbo was clean shaven, his hair looked incredibly tidy, everything about every little pixel of Turbo's possessions and being read correction and perfection, something that Berri was now eagerly cued to. She furrowed her brow, crossed her arms and gave him a sly, knowing smile, "I'm sorry if you didn't want any visitors up in your loft, or not, but... The place was so incredibly clean and put together that I just... Couldn't help myself."

"You're not simply just a visitor, Bear," Turbo staggered, and as Berri neared, she was further confused to see his eyes hone tight to her, as if she was a beacon and he was a ship lost at sea. He began to look nervous, a fluttery show of not even knowing what to do with his hands or body language.

"It looks AWESOME in here, I mean wow," Berri choked a cute giggle, she tucked her blue hair behind her ears and now softened. She took cues from Turbo's almost reservedly giddy and shy demeanor, she began to curiously wonder just what was going on, "Your loft is amazing, by the way... I'm sure the view of the stars, up here, is to die for."

"I-It is," Turbo bobbed a nod, and as if he was well aware he had been discovered giving off a strange, new vibe, he sagged his hands into the gape of his pant's pockets and tried to relax in her presence. It was as if she was a gorgeous, sky-blue planet, and he was simply a lonely grey moon that was about to collide face-first into her addicting gravitational pull. He inwardly scolded himself, and begged to just keep it together, he knew that he had extremely old, dusty files of experience here, though with how little said experience was helping him in this instance, he figured he was doomed, "Y-You like what I did with the kitchen?"

"I do! Wow, it's a breath of fresh air," Berri encouraged; she eagerly took note of Turbo's ruffled demeanor, and although she wasn't entirely sure what was up, she figured she'd just be a safe landing spot for him, a haven of unconditional love, no matter what was busy buzzing around in his thoughts, "You change it for any specific reason?"

"Oh, well... No reason, really, I mean..." Turbo shrugged and looked off, though not without noticing Berri's cozy, casual attire, "You, Wren and Theo are around a lot... Hell, even Nox and Throttle come by often, as well. Figured I'd make the place a little bit more comfortable for more than just me."

Berri softly crossed her arms, tilted her head up and curiously peered to Turbo through the pierce of her vivid blue eyes. She curled a gentle gape of a smile, as if to secretly convey to Turbo that she was definitely on to his squirrely demeanor, though she couldn't pinpoint just what was going on. It was here did Turbo heave a very faltered sigh, as if something was weighing heavy on his chest, he looked almost defeated by thoughts, an open wound he almost proudly wore right on his sleeve. It wasn't until his bashful eyes caught with Berri's did she realizing something detrimental. The glow in his eye wasn't its typical gold, any longer.

"I-I mean, you do technically have a coded password into my home," Turbo shrugged, and it was here did he feel as if he had been discovered, the direct eye contact nearly revealing his emotions, something he now felt was a curse; he felt his heart begin to just pound the second Berri beamed him a curious smile, amidst furrowed brows, her lovely figure pressed closer to him without any form of hesitation.

"Bo, what's going on with... Your eyes?" Berri gently fumbled on her words in a dainty, girly show of now bashful cuteness; the glow of an almost peachy color held tight to the color of Turbo's eyes, almost as if to reveal a peachy blush on a typically fair-skinned individual.

"What? What's going on?" Turbo pressed in a show of now whole, nervous confusion. He held his hands out before his face, so that the glow of his eyes could be directed onto his open palms, and as the peachy color plastered all over his fingertips, he yanked his hands away and stood up a little straighter, as if to be certain that he was now discovered, "O-Oh, I-I... Just..."

"I've discovered that if you LOSE the glow in your eyes, it means you're nervous, in a bad way, or scared," Berri listed on her fingers; Turbo remained frozen, the peachy glow only intensifying, "If you're angry, they glow crimson, of which I've... never seen before, but Nox has filled me in on that one... Annnnd... I guess a peachy sort of glow means...?"

"Y-you just startled me, but it was a nice surprise, to see you there, that's all," Turbo rushed with a nearly annoyed grin of bashfulness, he rubbed his jaw and shyly looked off, his deep, raspy voice certainly only mixed in with the peachy glow, the sighing demeanor, it all encompassed a busied, agitated mind, "I-I have a lot on my brain lately. Forgive me..."

"It's okay, I didn't mean to startle you," Berri eased gently, "Sorry you sort of have a mood ring that blatantly states what mood you're in."

"Your face turns bright red, sometimes, is that similar?" Turbo pressed, the innocence in his tone and words lead Berri to believe that he was simply curious, though with the way he beamed her a sly, cute and retaliated smile made Berri raise her eyebrows in bashful stun.

"Hey! That's not fair," Berri blurt, she gently swat her hand out to Turbo's chest, to which he scrunched his shoulders, took a dodging step away and blurt a cute laugh of victory.

"Look, it's happening right now," Turbo staggered through soft laughter as he lazily gestured to Berri's face, in which was very promptly turning bright red.

"Oh, shut up," Berri muttered as she covered her cheeks with her larger hands and began to hurriedly step over to the incredibly comfortable, swooping bench amidst Turbo's sprawling loft. With a plop, she sat down and tucked her knees to her chest, "Okay, we're even."

"Welp, I'm glad your coding works to unlock my home," Turbo stated through a grunt of a sigh as he lovingly sat down next to her. The cushion poofed with his added weight, to which Berri jostled. Their shoulders gently sagged into each other's, though Berri bashfully peered to him with a small smile and a nod, "I had to tinker with that, in the code room... Tessa and Zed are really the only other ones that have, well... Coded permission to literally tear my home to the ground. But other than that...!"

"I feel special," Berri squeed in cuteness as she shrugged and lofted her head back, so to look up to the glorious, sunny morning sky, "I'm the only smarty in the entirety of Arcade that hangs out with the big bad Turbo... And has a key!"

"What an honor," Turbo muttered in dismay towards himself as he rolled his eyes, the tender, golden glow began to come back to normality.

"It is an honor," Berri sighed up to the ceiling, high over her head. Turbo cocked an eyebrow and assessed her patiently, she warmly continued on in a show of sincere nervousness, "I hope tomorrow goes well..."

"Well... I appreciate you sticking up for me, but maybe just... Let the mean comments slide off your back, this time," Turbo shrugged, he heaved a small chuckle and looked down to his hands, "Can't say I'm not grateful that you stuck up for me, just... Don't let me come between you and your education."

"I had no choice but to defend you, dude," Berri mumbled, she now closed her eyes and relaxed, her head still lofted back against the comfortable bend of a head cushion, "You're Sugar Rush's Knight... And, furthermore, you're my best friend. I'd be expelled before I allow anyone to say anything cross about you."

Turbo raised his eyebrows in a tender loft of sweet disbelief, and as he volleyed his appreciative eye contact back to Berri's sweet, sunkissed face, he narrowed his gaze and felt his heart just grow incredibly sore. Sore with love, sore with desire, sore with sorrow, he wasn't sure which one to fully embrace. He heaved a long, hot sigh through his nose, huffed a chuckle of gratitude and shook his head as he returned his appreciative gaze back to the hands in his lap.

"... Does Gunner know about me?" Turbo nervously pressed; he was well aware Berri and Gunner had become fast friends, he was certain their friend circles would eventually cross.

"He does, but I just pretended that you simply exist. I told him that you help my mom and dad out, but I just left it at that," Berri shrugged, she opened her eyes, tilted her head back to correction and now also peered to Turbo's hands, in his own lap. She long blinked in cute tenderness and, as her gorgeous blue hair slid in a cascade down her dainty shoulders, she exhaled a calm, content sigh and readjusted her legs to get comfortable, "He asks who I text so much, and... I tell him that it's just my best friend Bo."

"... He really hasn't put the two together?" Turbo eased a soft, incredulous laugh, the two caught eyes in a whirl of cute, shared laughter, a disbelief that maybe Gunner wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.

"No, I just say I have a best friend named Bo whose under house arrest inside Orion City," Berri's laughter grew, a contagious show of real friendship, the way Turbo clutched his stomach, the two filled Turbo's loft with the sweet sound of audible warmth, "Your identity is secure, and you two don't ever have to cross paths. Easy!"

"Quick thinking, on your part," Turbo bobbed a small nod of impress and exhaled a conclusive chuckle out into the air. He sighed, looked up to Sugar Rush's glorious sky and felt relief hit his skin. Just how far Berri would go to not only protect Turbo's identity, but how quick she heldfast to defending his very name, he continued to drown in all of his rushing thoughts, the endless amounts of sighs he had filled his home to the brim with, he wondered just what it would feel like to be in a brimming, slow state of falling in love; now that he was eagerly delivered said feelings on a golden platter, plopped right next to him, he shook his head and wondered now just what to do with all of it. He lulled his eyes closed and allowed himself to grow more and more vulnerable, he knew he needed to be real with Berri, someone who would move mountains for him, "Berri, I... I want to thank you. For standing by me, and, well... For giving me a chance."

"Anytime, my dude," Berri stated nonchalantly, though she still sweetly smiled to him and bravely reached her hand down to pat his lower arm, "I'm Sugar Rush's princess. All inclusive!"

"I... I guess I have something else I need to tell you," Turbo staggered, he frowned and knew this next notion wouldn't be easy, though on top of the very real and heavy feelings now soaking his soul with warmth and neediness, he wondered if he could potentially get away with just barely letting the brimming, overflowing feelings ease over the edge, if just a smidge, "I guess... I'm just nervous that... You're going to be swept up into Academy friends, that I'll be sort of forgotten about."

Berri frowned and quickly peered to him in a tender show of incredulous disbelief, a sweet look of endearing forlorn hung tight to her demeanor, as if she was wanting to immediately rush to his aid and secure the firm foundation of their friendship, she held her tongue and was well aware by the way Turbo inhaled a deep breath, that he had more to say.

"I-I mean... I can't very easily leave the game and come hang out with you at Academy, to get to know your new friends," Turbo staggered, he shook his head and now realized that he was potentially on his way to saying too much, though with how little experience he had here, he could feel it all just want to spill out, "I guess... I'm just worried that... You'll stop coming around. I'm sorry I'm sort of limiting us by, well... Sticking to safe spots, inside Sugar Rush, strictly... I-I just-"

"Here, gimme your phone," Berri lazily instructed; Turbo cocked an eyebrow and peered to her in confusion, though after a moment of tender silence, he reached for his phone, in his pocket, unlocked it and warily handed it to Berri. She diligently began to tab into the options of his phone, and of his contacts, and with a few tabs, she finally reached for her phone and began to do the same few things inside her own settings, "Here... I've set it so that we're in each other's favorites. Any time of the day, anywhere, rest assured, if you message me, I'll hear it. No matter what."

Berri beamed him a gentle smile, eased Turbo's phone back into his hand and gave him a conclusive, small nod.

"I may have homework, and sure, I'll... Potentially make new friends, and hang out with them outside of Sugar Rush, but, you're different," Berri encouraged, she gingerly tapped her fingers to the powered off display of Turbo's phone and hovered tight to his gravity in a show of unconditional love and warmth, "Because you're my favorite friend. And I'll always make time for you, no matter what... And vice versa. Capeesh?"

Turbo huffed a small, shaky chuckle and looked down to his phone. He eased a gentle smile of relief, shook his head a little and now felt bad for even mentioning his worries. He knew Berri was due to being overloaded with school work, on top of now being friends with a celebrity, though the sheer fact that she still relentlessly held Turbo above everyone spoke volumes. He knew he still had a million and one worries and thoughts, though with this little show of reassurance, Turbo knew it'd tide him over for the time being. He gave Berri a loving smile and a gentle nod of whole gratitude.

"Thank you, Berri," Turbo pressed tenderly, they held eyes in a string of assurance, a solid foundation of a beautiful friendship to unfold, he felt sure that it was absolutely no where but up, from here.