Reviews :
Jay Sketchin : INDEED! Here's another chapter with even MORE progress! xD
Snake557 : Thank you SO MUCH!
Burgie : Aww, that means a lot to me, thank you! And yes, you're definitely correct there.
Song Listened To :
All I Believe In by Amadou Mariam The Magic Numbers
*Chapter 86*
"Ralph, you know Tessa's gunna murder you if you wreck the tiles, out here," Vanellope urged as Ralph quickly glitch-hopped away, a mess of excited purple coding that splayed the foggy grey day, shroud in the most tender snow fall.
"Felix is on his way over, c'mon, I gotta have fun in other places besides Niceland," Ralph volleyed across their stretch as he finally came out of his bound; with his fervor, Ace, Berri and Wren had found themselves in the mix of the commotion.
"I think we need to take a vacation out into the boonies, Paw," Ace called, and although him, Berri and Wren were due to watching Ralph's new wrecking trick, which only worked in the snow, they kept their distance so to converse amongst each other all whilst seeing just what Ralph had up his sleeve. Nox, Koko and Emery tagged along, though hung closer to Ralph's side of the mess in a greater show of anticipation. Ace crossed his arms, heaved a heavy, fogged sigh out to the cold, still air and beamed in content delight, "Gotta take the kids to the woods, too. I really don't remember the last time we got to just swing and swing, without having to have Felix or Tammy fix up after us."
"It's been awhile, that's for sure. I definitely am more in touch with my glitching powers, would be nice to really practice wrecking, too," Berri chimed kindly.
In the still of their Sunday morning, the Arcade's day to relax, Berri felt an easiness in her coding. Although she had gone the entire week without seeing Turbo, she was thrilled they still kept in touch every single day. In the mix of practicing music with Gunner, Theo and Wren, as well as homework, she felt bad that she hadn't been able to go to Turbo's loft and properly hang out with him. In the cool, lovely stillness of Sugar Rush's foggy, late morning, her blue eyes lofted across the snowy palace lot in quiet, diligent reminder to herself; she promised she'd message Turbo, once she got back inside. She knew visiting him and hanging out with her best friend was overdue, and she was excited to tell him her progress in meditation and soothing her stressor marks, all on her own. With great success, she had done well in getting her stress lines, on her temples, to fade and vanish almost entirely. She was well aware there'd be plenty of other stressful situations that would come up, though now that Turbo had given her the skills to carry on by herself, she felt confident she could tackle anything.
Although the thoughts of hers and Turbo's silent conversation, from last Sunday's stressor mark lesson, still hung on the back of her mind, she felt a very strange, new uplift to hers and Turbo's friendship, due to it. As if everything had secretly and nonverbally had been laid out on the table, the raw fact that Turbo simply just wanted her to be happy, in whatever her choice was, really made her feel a peace about it all. Although he had nearly begged her to keep him, and the idea of being with him, at the back of her mind, for a rainy day, she felt as if there was no pressure. Berri smiled as Ralph loudly, and happily, began to chatter with Nox, Koko, Emery and Vanellope about his little wrecking skill, which included smashing his fists to the snowy covered tiles, of the palace's patio, and watching the snow dissipate into messy flurries of confused, purple pixels. The palace was at peace, even amidst the wrecking; a solid show of camaraderie, a lovely calm in the safety of the palace's walls, though just as she was due to lulling her eyes closed and feeling an entire peace about everything in her life, she could feel Wren's thoughts, from her previous statement, nearly explode out of his mouth before it even happened.
"Can't relate. I mean, I hone all my powers every day, I have absolutely nothing to worry about," Wren stated in a cocky manner as he jostled his head from side to side. Ace raised his eyebrows in apologetic nervousness and eyed Wren, someone who him and Berri technically considered an uncle. Wren carried on in a begrudging tone, everyone was bundled in thick winter coats, though Wren somehow managed to bury deeper into his clothes in fuming irritation, "What a heavy burden you guys have, I feel sorry for you guys."
"... Sorry, Wren, I know talking about our powers makes you uncomfortab-" Ace's warm voice was cut short.
"Oh no! I'm not uncomfortable, at all," Wren spat in a high pitched tone as he shrugged, shook his head and pierced his eyes to the group of wreckers just beyond the stretch of snowy tile, they hovered underneath the lovely, high branches of Ralph's and Vanellope's infamous cross-striped tree, "I don't have the ability to be uncomfortable because I have all these powers in the way!"
"Wren," Berri mumbled curtly, she rolled her eyes and gave him a smiling side-eye of rising irritation, though he shook his head with another heavy huff and shook his head.
"Just ignore me, I'm bitter," Wren muttered, though as Berri and Ace nervously caught eyes, Berri finally lulled her eyes closed in gentle stillness and wondered just what needed to be done here.
Although Berri was an exterior swapping fiend, and any chance she got to gain some non-verbal, platonic comfort from any of her glitching family members, she reeled in whole surprise and was shocked to quickly discover that she had never exterior swapped with Wren before. Someone she also considered a brother, someone she grew up with, she opened her eyes and softly peered to the side of his face. A disgruntled, furrowed brow, piercingly dark blue eyes that held to the group of wreckers, across the way, in a bitter show of rising sorrow, the cool, thick scar that cut his left eyebrow in half, Berri finally breathed a silent chuckle and felt her heart swell with all the love in the world for Wren. Although her hands were covered, she still allowed her palms to come alive with her silver coding, which meshed into her gloves. In a tender roll of care, she gingerly tucked her hand into the nook of Wren's crossed, left arm and the inner bend of his elbow. Although it was simply just a grab, at first, Wren suddenly jolted a little the second Berri's lovely coding sagged into his, like the warmest hug he's ever received.
Wren huffed a shaky breath, and although he kept his arms crossed, he raised his eyebrows in a startled jolt of surprise and suddenly peered his shocked gaze into Berri's eyes. She warmly smiled to him in return, almost an apologetic smirk, though as her coding finally eased into his soul, and the two properly hovered in a lovely exterior swap of a hug, Wren's bitter demeanor gently began to ease into warm understanding and gratitude. Although Berri knew Wren was just sad that he didn't have physical gamer powers, she knew he was stronger than that, and having powers wasn't what made or shaped your character. She was certain being left out of having cool powers probably stung, though she utilized this opportunity to really hone her powers, to ease someone else's soul for once, to give back everything that Turbo had taught her; she found herself already in an upward spiral of success, one that branched out to the people she loved, she was well aware she was now due to filling other people's cups now that hers was becoming full.
Wren heaved a shaky sigh and nervously lofted Berri a wad of his worries, via their non-verbal exterior swap, and through their thoughts, Berri gingerly closed her eyes and allowed her undying reassurance to just seep into every corner of Wren's fiery, orange coding. Every single insecurity about not having powers was something she so tenderly cared for, something she cradled in her able love, hot reassurance that cloaked Wren like molten lava, she was adamant in now overflowing him with the same amount of love and care Turbo had shown her. She knew this notion would make Turbo proud, the desire to utilize his teachings in everything she did was now something she strived for, though she wouldn't dare tell anyone. She could feel Ace's prideful, curious eyes glancing to them every once in awhile, and though the chaos of Ralph's experiment, and now the other wreckers of the group, carried on in a messy, loud show of crackles and laughs, Ace's, Berri's and Wren's world was still, at peace.
Although Berri had done a wonderful job of not only calming Wren down, but also reassuring him that they could exterior swap any time he wanted to maybe have acting powers, for the duration of the swap, she had begun to lose focus of the world around her. The methodical pounds of the wrecking her family group was doing, across the stretch, was now turning into comforting white noise. So much so, that the tender crunching of boots to snow, approaching from behind her, Wren and Ace, almost felt ethereal, otherworldly. She smiled in curiosity as her mind made believe that said someone approaching was Turbo, what a silly idea that'd simply be, due to him never being caught outside of his loft. She kept her eyes closed and hovered tight to Wren's coding in a caring cradle of love, she knew whoever was approaching would simply make themselves known and Ace would likely take the reigns in full conversing, though the second Turbo's voice so lovingly glossed the group was the second Berri was now regretting being locked in an exterior swap with Wren.
"Taught you well," Turbo's lovely, deep, raspy voice eased through her ears as he came up to her left side.
Berri furrowed her eyebrows, amidst closed eyes, and in a pop of whole surprise, she dart her attention to her left and was entirely, unadulteratedly floored to see Turbo standing near. His golden eyes were muted amidst the outside light, though they kindly gazed deep into hers in cute appreciation. He wore a cozy hoodie underneath a lovely, worn leather jacket. Clad in his dark racing jeans and his helmet tucked underneath his left arm, he inhaled a deep breath and broadened his masculine chest in a breath of cold air he slowly took in. He furrowed his brows in mild confusion and peered out to the small crowd of wreckers, across the way, and before Berri could clean her jaw from the ground and properly ask just what Turbo thought he was doing outside of his loft, outside in general, Ace blurt an excited chuckle and beat her to it.
"What a sight for sore eyes, my dude, how are you?" Ace wondered kindly; somehow he knew to pick up from Berri's and Wren's still and quiet exterior swap. He, of all people, knew it was a jarring experience to be interrupted from it.
"I'm great, just came to the palace, I had a chat with Tessa and Zed, and... I also had something I wanted to give to Berri," Turbo pressed warmly, though Berri raised her eyebrows in further, girly, blushing surprise and was now beginning to feel the sting of Wren's prodding, curious coding itching for loose, secretive, flirty thoughts that could potentially get away from her; Berri grunted a noise of cheeky irritation and now yanked her arm from Wren's presence, halting their lovely exterior swap.
"Dammit," Wren muttered amidst a hard, stifled chuckle, to which Ace grinned and rolled his eyes, knowing full well just what Wren was trying to wriggle out of Berri's secretive heart.
"I-I... I can't believe you're, well... Outside," Berri blurt a small giggle and bashfully tucked her hair behind her ears, and although Wren and Ace wondered if they should leave Turbo and Berri to their privacy, they hung around for as long as was socially acceptable.
"Oh, come on, I go outside," Turbo prod in sweetness, Berri felt her heart do a million backflips; although she hadn't physically seen Turbo in a week, her coding wiggled as if it had been an entire year. She scolded herself for going so long without seeing him, someone who she considered her absolute closest friend, she knew not to let that much time pass between seeing each other, ever again. Turbo ruffled his hair and bashfully looked off, he jostled his helmet near his side and finally caught eyes with Berri, once more, "I drove all the way here, I'll have you know."
"Yeah, but no one can see you," Wren argued with another small chuckle, though it was at this point did Ace gingerly lock Wren in a loose headlock and attempt to drag him away so Berri and Turbo could properly converse without invasive ears listening in; something Berri gave Ace a grateful smile, for. Wren huffed an annoyed noise and stumbled, he began to claw at Ace's unmovable arm and playfully laugh in whole irritation, "Ah-HEY! C'mon, dude, I get that you're stronger than me, but what gives!"
"Turbo has a gift for Berri, let's not intrude on their moment," Ace mumbled to Wren, and although his voice was quiet and just for Wren, who he was now successful in dragging away, Berri still huffed an apologetic laugh and bashfully continued to attempt to tuck her hair behind her ears.
"Sorry I didn't make plans to hang out sooner, Bo," Berri prod in a rise of girly apology, she sagged her fists into the pouch of her comfortable hoodie and shook her head as her and Turbo relaxed in each other's presence. Turbo grunted a small noise as he temporarily set his motorcycle helmet on the ground, "I hope you're free today. I really don't want to make a nasty habit of only having us all get together every Sunday."
"If that's what it came to, if that's all you guys could afford, I would understand," Turbo agreed kindly with a shrug as he stood back up, "I know you guys have Academy and practice, you guys are busy. I have my own work, I totally understand. It's doable, y'know?"
Berri gently allowed a grateful smile to ease across her cheeks as the two locked eyes. The oddity of seeing Turbo in the raw daylight, outside of the alcove of his lovely loft, the way his eyes muted to a matte yellow in an outdoor setting and lacked the typical, fierce and warm glow it usually had indoors, she felt her heart flutter in desire, the urge to learn everything about this incredible being before her. The urge to show him a world of patience was the only thing flooding her coding, and with such lovely feelings, she was well aware that pursing what made her happy, like what Turbo wanted, was his way of letting something go and understanding that if and when it came back to him, it'd be definitely well deserved; a notion that Berri would typically find irritating, as if being a pawn in someone's game, she somehow was okay with the fact that Turbo knew the outcome of said game, and strangely seemed confident in it. Like taking down the Queen was something he was bred for.
"That's really sweet of you," Berri bobbed a nod and looked down to their feet; his much larger shoes were crunched into the few inches of snow they stood in, he shifted on his feet and eased a little closer to her, a show of loving dominance she eagerly took note of. Berri locked her eyes on his, once more and couldn't wipe the smile from her face, "I still want to uphold my end of it all, though. I'll be better about bombarding you."
"Here and now?" Turbo teased, though Berri largely rolled her eyes, huffed a heavy, fogged breath to the winter air, out before them, and looked off; Turbo easily blurt a happy, boyish laugh and soaked into her teasing annoyance as he lovingly nudged his hand to her upper arm, "C'mon, you know I'm playing. I loved that you did and said that. It was cute."
"Real cute, I sabotaged your quiet evening," Berri complained, though she could swear her heart was in her throat; the raw fact that this was the first time they were personally interacting since their secretive confession they mutually gave each other, inside of their core coded exterior swap.
"You also somehow believe that you body-slammed me in the garage, that one time," Turbo choked a small laugh and shook his head as Berri bugged her eyes in annoyance.
"I did!" Berri blurt, Turbo continued to laugh a little harder, "That whole week I was a tornado all over your whole life."
"Yeah, you were. But I wouldn't have had it any other way," Turbo bobbed a nod and gave her a cheeky smile. He pat his pockets, in search of something, and diligently began to unzip the thick zipper on the left side of his jacket, "The reason I came all this way was, well... To get out of the house."
"...If you can even call it that," Berri retort in mild annoyance, though she felt her heart nearly stop dead in it's tracks the second she caught a glimpse of just what Turbo pulled out of his pocket; she could see a delicate chain, as if it were maybe a necklace.
"I'm outside, aren't I? I'm out of the house," Turbo grumbled with a smile and a shake of his head, "I gotta take baby steps."
"Or else your head will explode," Berri teased as she bugged her eyes.
"You NEVER know," Turbo volleyed, Berri blurt a happy laugh and nearly threw her head back with said fervor.
"I'll see it all over the news," Berri huffed a fogged laugh and shook her head as she gestured her hands out of her pockets, "Old man steps out in public, head EXPLODES."
"Old man," Turbo sharply furrowed his eyebrows and gave Berri a widely annoyed grin, uninhibited, a full fledge show of his true happiness, "Okay, I may have grey hair and be like a thousand years old, but I am not an OLD MAN. My body is still the same as what it was when we were first plugged in."
"Right, right, I think the term we landed on was, uh, dusty old fart," Berri couldn't control her giggling to which Turbo finally joined in and sagged his shoulders in defeat.
"Ah, who am I kidding," Turbo grunted in a sigh, his smile into Berri's lovely eyes never wavered, "I'm older than everyone inside this Arcade. Guess I'm just not used to hearing it left and right."
"C'mon, I don't say it all the time," Berri retort, to which Turbo gave her a bug-eyed expression of disbelief; she bent over laughing, the air fogged between them with warmth and happiness, "O-Okay I could probably afford to cut back...!"
"For User's sake," Turbo muttered, smile still unabated, he finally opened his palm a little and peaked into his hand, the small gift he wanted to give Berri, "I-I, uh... Well, I have some good news."
"Shoot," Berri quipped with a revived smile as she collected her giggling, crossed her arms and inhaled a refreshed breath as the two caught a wave of calm.
"I was able to complete the deleter protection, I just got done talking to your parents about it," Turbo explained, Berri's eyes lit up in gratitude and surprise, "I've programmed and equipped everyone's coding with it, so... You're safe to leave Sugar Rush."
"...Aww, Turbo," Berri huffed quietly, her heart jolted in excitement, the raw idea that now her, Gunner, Wren and Theo could begin planning their impending tour, along with proper band practices at Gunner's house, "I-I can't believe you did that so quick... Thank you SO much."
"It was nothing, just... Some tinkering in the code room," Turbo shrugged, and although he made light of it, Berri was certain he slaved away, many sleepless nights. He raised his eyebrows, peered down into his hand and now grew bashful, "A-Alongside that, I... I made you something. It has multiple different meanings and, well... Uses, quite frankly, but, I... Well..."
"... You're blushing," Berri stated quietly, she gave him a cute, cheeky smile and noted the gentle color of his muted eyes began to turn that infamous peachy color of love.
"User-dammit, Berri, this is hard enough as it is," Turbo blurt bashfully, he shot her a wide, shy smile and shook his head as Berri was rocketed into a small giggle fit; he beamed the widest smile his face could afford, entirely out of his control. He finally lifted the small trinket from his hand and inhaled a shaky breath, "S-So... This necklace has a few different angles to it, and I can explain them all to you, if you'd like."
"Aww, Turbo," Berri sagged her shoulders in a soft show of surprise and felt her heart jolt. Turbo held up a dainty necklace, a thin, rose gold chain with a very colorful, heavy guitar pick strung into it, a clean hole through the top of the pick. She delicately eased her hand out, after a moment, and was delighted when Turbo gingerly sagged the heavy guitar pick into her gloved hand, "It's so beautiful... Y-You MADE this?"
"Well, I shaped it into a pick," Turbo stated with a sigh as he finally unhanded the delicate chain and nervously tucked his hands into his jacket's pockets. He staggered on his words and grew extremely bashful, the tremble in his voice was dainty and sweet, "It's... It's from something I found before you were born... When me and your family were saving Sugar Rush."
"I love the colors, it... It almost looks like Chester's pelt," Berri inquired innocently, though Turbo raised his eyebrows and tenderly peered into her eyes with sweetly narrowing lids.
"... Because it's made from his grandfather's scales," Turbo revealed softly, to which Berri averted her surprised gaze from the pick to Turbo's eyes in an uprise of shock.
"... Orion," Berri huffed, she shook her head and breathed a giggle, "I-I can't believe it, how did you get Orion's scales?"
"W-Well... I-I hate to really say this, but... Lash lofted him off the edge of The End's cliffside, and..." Turbo nervously gestured his hands, as if this was hard news to deliver, "In the scuffle, Orion must've scraped against the rocks, cause a decent amount of fresh scales were scattered about the snow. I snatched a handful, little to everyone's knowledge."
"Wh-what were you planning on doing with the scales?" Berri prod in rising, still excitement, as if to insinuate to Turbo that she was desperately trying not to get too amped about what he could potentially be insinuating, here.
"Well... I-If you want the honest truth, I was going to do everything I could to revive Orion," Turbo shrugged and looked down and to the side, as if he had been thwarted by said idea, "I-I... I technically CAN do such, because I have his DNA, but... It'll literally take forever. Having to restructure him as an entire being. I mean, that creature was MASSIVE."
"That's really noble of you, Bo," Berri sighed with a smile, she peered down to the gorgeous pick, splashed with cerulean blues and a pop of orange, "Maybe one day, though...?"
"Maybe one day," Turbo kindly agreed, though he gingerly gestured to it, "Something it CAN be used for, in the near future, is, well... Programming a voice box for Chester."
Berri raised her eyebrows and felt a wave of uplift come rushing back to her, and with this spike of happiness, she peered hard into Turbo's eyes and felt her heart thump to a halt. She huffed a shaky breath, shook her head and knew that somewhere in this conversation she was bound to well up, due to the sensitive topic of Chester's disabilities. She looked back down at the pick, the sheer fact that it had so many angles, as to what Turbo promised, had her mind reeling.
"T-Turbo, you could do that?" Berri staggered as she peered to him, once more.
"Not so much that I could, but that I WOULD," Turbo urged with a loving smile, he shook his head at Berri and narrowed his sweet gaze, "And I will... This gift is more to ask your permission to be Chester's guardian every day, while you go to Academy, and... Maybe he could stay with me while you guys are on any touring you may be doing. I'd love to really get that kid on his feet, and get him set up nicely for his first birthday, coming up."
Berri sagged her shoulders and felt the weight of Turbo's loving, selfless acts hit her dead on. She shook her head in disbelief, ran her gloved thumb over the gorgeous, glossy pick and felt her heart just ache. The raw fact that they had confessed their feelings for each other, nonverbally, last week, aided with the gentle understanding that they'd keep each other at arms length, only to be cloaked with an endless amount of selfless acts, on Turbo's end, she nearly felt dizzy. She peered her grateful, glassy eyes tight to his and long blinked in a wash of warmth; she knew, from here on out, she was prepared to see more of these little acts from Turbo, likely to stack the odds in his favor, the desire to fall into his arms forever just slowly got larger and larger, and she knew she was likely doomed, from here on out.
"Turbo, that's... I-I can't even begin to think how I would repay you, or thank you," Berri staggered as she welled up, she peered back down to the pick and sighed a fogged, shaky breath out between them, "I can't believe you'd do that for Chester."
"Of course, and you don't have to repay me," Turbo rushed with a small chuckle of understanding, "I just... I know Chester loves you, but I think it'll mean the world to you if you heard him actually tell you that he loves you, once and for all, y'know?"
"That'd... Definitely make my entire year," Berri staggered a giggle, a tear slipped down her cheek, though she nearly knew not to flinch due to Turbo's gentle thumb easing to her cheek and catching it before it slipped away, underneath her jaw. She raised her eyebrows and peered into him in a sting of loving surprise.
"And, when you come to collect him, maybe you can hang out and we can help Chester out together," Turbo encouraged, he knew not to leave Berri out of this process entirely, "Whatdoyahsay?"
"I say yes," Berri breathed a giggle of relief and shook her head, "Thank you, Turbo, I mean... That means the world to me."
"...I-I know I can't be with you when you go on stage, or when you leave the game, but... I just figured it'd be something you can keep, something to remind you of me," Turbo prod warmly, he gestured to the pick and gave her a cheeky smirk, "Turn it over..."
Berri furrowed her eyebrows and gingerly turned the heavy pick over; engraved in clean, white lettering, on the backside of the pick, were the words 'here and now', their infamous inside joke. Berri sagged her shoulders in a further draw of delight, smiled in a show of gratitude and breathed a small giggle. Through a look of whole appreciation she lofted straight into Turbo's eyes, she peered to his handsome face and could swear the universe was just begging her to forget every single last worry she had about Turbo, every ounce of him was so willing and so able, she knew she'd be safe in his care. Although the bittersweet feelings continued to plague her, and she swore to herself that she wouldn't let Turbo into her heart, to the full extent, she felt weak in these ever-abundant moments, and in a firm crunch of the snow, she bravely welcomed herself into his arms for a hug, a quick drape of her arms about his thick neck cutely caught him off guard.
Turbo perked up and quickly fastened his arms about Berri's upper back, the squeeze of their thick winter coats cushioned them into a cozy hug, and as Berri shut her eyes tight and kept her grip about Turbo, she dared to feel the warmth on his neck and near his ear. The safe, comfortable and familiar smell of his cinnamon pipe tobacco, mixed with the delirious scent of his masculine, musky body wash, had her brain doing back flips. Every single time she tried desperately to keep Turbo at arm length, she knew it was a losing battle. She felt sorrow pierce her heart, the whole idea that he likely slaved away on that deletion protection, just so she could traipse out of the game and into the arms of another man, bigger tears welled in her eyes at the idea of it all, the eternally selfless and mature acts he continued to deploy on her had her certain that she hardly deserved his friendship. With the squeeze of his arms about her, the cradle of love they eased into, Berri staggered a crackling whisper near his ear.
"Thank you, so much," Berri grimaced and tried to collect herself, though she shivered the second Turbo's hot breath huffed a small chuckle on to her neck and ear, as well.
"You're more than welcome," Turbo encouraged lovingly, and after a few moments, they tenderly pulled away. Turbo grappled something else in his pocket, pulled out his bike's keys, jostled them a bit and raised his eyebrows in sweet surprise as he revealed that he, too, had the same Orion's scale guitar pick on his keychain, the same exact inside joke engraved on his, as well, "We both have one, so... Even though we may be games apart, we can always look at the pick and be reminded of our friendship, every joke and everything it entails. You can be reminded of the home you have inside Orion City."
"This is the best gift I've ever received," Berri stated in whole, humble honesty as she quickly began to put her necklace on, "I'll wear it everywhere, Bo... I mean, really, it's so thoughtful."
"I do what I can," Turbo looked off and smiled down to the ground with a cute shrug, his matte golden eyes came back to her in a show of further sweetness, "So, uh... You have plans today?"
"I don't," Berri sighed with relief as she shook her head, "I was gunna see what all the wrecking commotion was about, and then... I honestly was going to head back to our tower and likely make myself something hot to eat. Surely Wren and Theo will be there, as well. Wanna come?"
"Absolutely," Turbo concluded with a small nod, and as his eyes gently glossed to Berri's collar bone and sternum, he felt his heart jump at the sight of the glistening, glossy guitar pick she now wore with pride; he knew he had an uphill battle from here, though his heart surged with confidence that he would eventually overcome, if he were to remain persistent, like such.
