Reviews :

Burgie : I appreciate your support, truly! Thank you!

Jay Sketchin : Thank you friend ;_; your unending support means the world to me. I'll be okay! Writing keeps me sane, so when I can't write, well... It becomes harder to avoid mental breakdowns lol! It's my happy place, for sure.


Song Listened To :

Welcome To New York by Taylor Swift

Favorite Sound by Audien & Echosmith


A/N : Okay, wow guys. I'm going to keep this short. I could've been writing ALL along. My laptop was in our storage unit, and because it was out of sight, out of mind, I forgot that the damn thing existed. I could've written and uploaded at LEAST ten chapters by now. I'm super annoyed at myself...

Back to our regularly scheduled program... Sorry for the gap, due to my short term memory loss. I'm going through a lot right now. I appreciate you guys being patient with all my shortcomings x(


*Chapter 97*

"You guys, there's... There's people hanging out at the end of the alley way," Turbo huffed nervously, clearly a wreck, his muted grey eyes scanned his sacred alley way that the four hunkered down in.

With only three motorcycles quietly parked on Turbo's hidden, massive garage door-like teleportation pad, that gave access to his garage sixty four floors all the way up, Turbo hugged the wall of the alcove and only nervously peeked around the corner. Berri, Wren and Theo cheekily watched as he adjusted the collar and hood of his loved, leather motorcycle jacket. He looked bristled, scared, a whole swathe of different emotions that his shivering soul had no clue how to convey, the raw fact that he was about to embark on an adventure he hadn't taken for literally decades. Berri sweetly smiled in his direction; she knew this was very hard for him, nearly impossible, though the fact that he was actually en-route to accomplishing this crazy task, she hoped Turbo knew just how many volumes it spoke.

"Yeah, and there are people all over the city," Berri gingerly reminded as she came up next to him, though before she could lovingly hold her hand to his lower arm and sweetly comfort him, Theo suddenly turned the ignition of his bike, causing it to roar to life; Turbo jolted in whole terror and whirled around, his now lightless eyes peered hard to Theo in a scared manner, though as Berri grit her teeth at Theo and shook her head in whole agitation, Theo froze and softly shrugged, alongside a mouthed 'sorry' over the gently growl of his engine. Berri now grappled Turbo's arm as he looked like he wanted to duck deeper into the teleportation's large alcove, "Hey, hey, c'mere, you're going to be JUST fine."

"I-I know that I won't be fully deleted in Sugar Rush, but, I-I haven't had a game over in decades, I don't want to relive that memory," Turbo rushed in his deep, trembling voice. He swallowed hard and urgently peered out into the alley, once more, though Berri raised her eyebrows in almost stern concern and gingerly grappled Turbo's jaw, to make him look at her, once and for all.

"Hey... I PROMISE, you're going to be JUST fine," Berri firmly assured, "We'll mosey on to Monroe street, we'll slip in the side entrance, it'll be just fine. You have absolutely nothing to worry about."

"You're in good company, Bo, trust us," Wren stated kindly over Theo's bike, "Honestly, what you did was so long ago... Surely the majority of Sugar Rush's population has forgotten about all of this mess."

"Y-You really think?" Turbo wondered in mild disbelief, "I mean, what I did was pretty heinous."

"Time heals all wounds," Berri's soothing advice glossed over Turbo, he sagged his shoulders and hesitantly peered into the alley way, once more. Her delicate voice continued over the tender grumble of Theo's bike, "Sure, you've driven around the city, or... I guess directly through it, as fast as you can, but... Have you taken time to really SEE the city?"

"There's so much to see and do," Wren encouraged, "The whole lot of it is incredible... You're in charge of all of it and have no idea what you're missing."

"I-I get the gist," Turbo weakly defended with a shrug and yet another apprehensive peer about the alcove's wall; the small group of individuals, at the far end of the alley's exit, was replaced by simple pedestrians just moseying by, without a care in the world. Cars zoomed by, the city thrived like normal.

"C'mon... Sugarbucks is a good start, we don't have to immerse you so quickly, if that's what will be the boiling point," Berri shrugged, "Let's just start small. Grab some coffee, come on back home and just relax. You can reflect on how you want your NEXT trip, into the city, to go. Certainly you'll feel a lot better, then."

"Berri, you can ride with me, if you want," Wren stated simply, though he eyed Turbo and eased a gentle, teasing chuckle, "Unless you want to ride on the back of Turbo's bike... Make sure he doesn't chicken out."

Berri furrowed her eyebrows and opened her mouth to nearly agree with Wren's sound advice, though she softly peered her curious eyes to Turbo's and slowed her roll. Turbo's nervous, dimly lit eyes honed tight to Berri's in a whole slew of emotion. Underneath all that apprehension, that neglect, that sting of terror, was a very real ember of excitement and drive. Berri smiled and was well aware this situation was for Turbo's benefit, and not for her own, and although she wanted to be selfish and get excited over the secretive fact that Turbo was stepping out of comfort zones to very clearly chase after Berri's heart, she sagged her shoulders and knew she needed to make this about his growth, and his growth only. His old self was molting, and though it was in loo of hopefully garnering Berri's feelings, she selflessly decided to take herself out of the situation and show Turbo that he had his own bout of shining to do, a strive for greatness he needed to accomplish on his own. Berri pat Turbo's shoulder and softly shook her head, so to disagree with Wren.

"No, I'll ride with you, Wren... Turbo's not going to chicken out," Berri eased warmly, Turbo raised his eyebrows in disbelief, "I trust he'll follow us to Sugarbucks."

Turbo softened and felt that vivid, yellow glow come flooding right back to him, and as he peered into Berri's sweet, hopeful eyes, he dared to give her a small, grateful smile, a whole slew of trust she had suddenly just plopped into his heart, he nearly had no idea what to even do with it. He cleared his throat, straightened his jacket and heaved a gentle, shaky sigh as he finally bobbed a nod of agreeing, to Berri's final statement. Wren cocked an eyebrow at Berri, in mild, bewildered disbelief, though he finally softened and gave Turbo a defeated smile of grappling hope. He pat the side of Turbo's arm, gestured to their bikes and then again gestured for the two to follow him.

"Alright, let's not waste anymore time, then," Wren eased excitedly as he walked backwards towards their bikes, he grinned in eagerness and clenched his fists a little, "Let's go!"

"Yay," Berri beeped, she tried to reel her excitement for this unfolding situation, though she desperately contained it; she knew she could go all out and show the entirety of her excitement once they were finished with their outing and were safely back home.

Turbo bobbed a small nod and gave the two a small smile, though as he approached his bike, he could feel his clammy, shaky hands nervously grapple for his bike's keys, inside his thick, leather jacket. He exhaled a trembling, fogged breath of rising terror and approached his bike. His nervous eyes scanned the dark alcove the four hunkered down in, and as he watched Berri board the back of Wren's bike, amidst the rumbling sound of Wren's bike's engine igniting, Turbo gently mounted his own bike and swallowed the lump in his throat. As quick as his trembling hands could afford, he saddled his slick motorcycle helmet over his head, turned his own motorcycle on and nervously peered forward to see the status of his friends. All three beings patiently held their gazes to him, which were covered by mirrored, slick motorcycle helmets as well, a calm show that his three friends were prepared to take this adventure at Turbo's pace, something that really made him grateful for this very daunting outing. With hesitation, Turbo gently gave the three a nod of approval, and with said nod, Theo and Wren gently nodded back and began to drive out of the alcove, hoping that Turbo would easily follow along. Turbo held his breath and felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle with the second that he, too, eased on the gas and allowed his bike to slowly meander out from the secretive haven of his alcove.

Usually on this journey alone, Turbo was used to flooring it out of the city, the fastest route to the palace was one he only really took once in a blue moon, the desire to drive around and not have to rely on a teleportation pad all of the time. He knew racing and driving was in his blood, and this was something he desired, though the switch up of taking a simple cruise through the city, not to mention stopping at a destination, had his heart racing in a very different way, one filled with question and anxiety. As the four calmly eased out of the alley, past all four of the building's dumpsters, they waited for a gap in traffic before easing into the streets, once and for all. Turbo followed close behind Wren, and although he cheekily and secretively was floored that he had a very wonderful view of Berri, up ahead, his anxiety for this event unfolding continuously distracted him from said lovely view. He was grateful that the first light they came upon was a green one, though the second they eased to a slow, upon a yellow and then a red light, Turbo swallowed hard and nestled the front tire of his bike close to the back of Wren's bike.

Through a terrified exhale, Turbo dared to look around. He was well aware that no one could see him or his face, to anyone he looked like an average civilian, though the fact that he was a part of a small motorcycle group, the rumbling of three engines instead of one, he felt his heart surge in terror as pedestrians held their onlooking gazes for longer than normal. He felt as if he couldn't swallow anymore, the lump in his throat had become so large, he furrowed his eyebrows and dared himself to peer into the eyes of a pedestrian; although they were farther away, and on the sidewalk, he was floored as they gazed for a moment before nonchalantly turning and continuing on with whatever they were doing, wherever they were going. Turbo raised his eyebrows in a prickle of tender surprise and sagged his shoulders, the light remained red as he softened his hunched posture, aboard his slick bike; he knew his bike had subtleties of the red and white look from his previous attire, from TurboTime, though he felt relieved it wasn't very obvious. He ran over, in his head, a million times over, just what he would say to a negative encounter with a stranger, how many times he's had fake conversations with himself over something that was so clearly eating him alive, and although he was aware that he had Wren, Theo and Berri on his side, he shut his eyes in a scrunch and dared to wonder if it'd all be enough.

As the light turned green, he honed his eyes to the back of Berri's helmeted head and desperately tried to focus on the end goal, the lovely taste of coffee amidst a quiet coffee shop with three individuals that would go to bat for him, though even more so, the ride back to his loft. His eyes scanned familiar streets, streets he only knew from the safety of his own code room, though he had the city mapped. He held his breath as the four wound through the city's gorgeous, mazing streets, he almost felt the urge to split off and round back to Orion City's tallest tower, though the thought of breaking his friends' trust nearly killed him, right then and then. He frowned and desperately kept his eyes on the back of Berri's head, though his heart sank the second Berri flung her arm out and pointed to something up and to the side of her. Turbo perked up and followed her line of direction, though as they passed a huge swathe of sky scrapers, lined with huge screens that flashed all sorts of colorful advertisements, a slick show of all of Sugar Rush's racers came and went, ultimately stopping on Vanellope. Turbo dared to beam a gentle smile as his eyes finally took in everything his surroundings were made of, and it was with this did he feel love rush his heart, the raw fact that Berri only pointed to said screen because she trusted that Turbo was still following them, even without turning around and checking for herself.

The more trust she gave him, the softer his posture became, the less rigid his spine was inside of his body. He gently allowed himself to enjoy the colorful, candy-laced city life all around him, all sorts of gamers and civilians littered the sidewalks, of all shapes, sizes, species and games. Doing his best to keep an eye on the road, he felt his heart soar just a little more, the raw fact of slowing down and really taking everything in, he felt a strange sweep of familiarity course through him. Memories of TurboTime's largest city, Vidrix, came rushing back to him, how nostalgic this all was. And with said bout of nostalgia, he knew he had never really been to Orion City before, the raw fact that he now had the opportunity to make new memories, inside of a brand new city, with people who really loved him. He showed a bit more confidence in his posture as he revved on the gas, a bit, so to catch up to Berri, Wren and Theo. He knew he likely shouldn't be as nervous as he truly was, though as the four rounded a green light and came around a bend of a few taller buildings, Turbo felt every last ounce of confidence, inside of him, want to flee in fear at the sight of their destination, just a few city blocks down. Turbo was certain he visibly shrank, and as they came upon said busy building, he held his breath and, although floored to now find that the three were kind enough to find a place to park in the back of the building, he knew he'd likely have to stay there for a hot minute to collect every ounce of himself, which was due to fleeing at any moment.

In the slow roll through a sleepier side street, the three quickly happened upon a parking lot in the back of Sugarbucks, alongside a handful of other buildings that neighbored it both adjacently and parallel. As smooth as all three bikes could afford, with tires that gently sloshed through small, stagnant puddles gathered in the old, crackled asphalt, the three parked next to one another. Said parking lot was half empty, likely the cars of the employees of the nearby office buildings. Parked in a row, each bike came to a rumbling quiet upon being powered off, and as Wren, Berri and Theo took their helmets off and dismounted their bikes, they began to lovingly laugh as Turbo remained stationed on his, helmet and all. In a giggling, chuckling mess, the three loosely surrounded Turbo and hovered in an understanding air of cheeky patience. Theo gestured his hand, towards his head, and huffed a louder laugh as Wren and Berri were lost in a fit of unending laughter; Turbo couldn't help but nervously smile in the safety of his helmet.

"Alright, nowww... Take the helmet off, baby steps, here," Theo lovingly encouraged, though he couldn't help but laugh as Berri and Wren continued to laugh, "Just slide it on off, and... We'll then cover dismounting your bike."

Turbo inhaled a shaky breath and felt the extremely foreign act of reaching for his helmet, whilst outside of his loft, the palace, anywhere that was safe. With narrowed eyes, Sugar Rush's lovely, glossy winter sun glinted into Turbo's glowing, golden eyes, causing them to just show a rather matte yellow. He heaved a shaky breath and finally took his helmet off, once and for all. He largely flinched the second Berri and Wren burst out in cheers and claps, still accompanied by kind laughter. Turbo only shakily joined the two in a huff of bashful laughter, though as if prey in an open field, he scrunched his shoulders and very eagerly began to scan his surroundings. His insides clenched the second he could see someone's saunter very loosely approach their vicinity; clearly an employee on his way to his own car, just beyond their bikes. Turbo honed in on this person and now couldn't remove his terrified gaze from them, though as Berri and Wren caught on, Berri urgently shook her head at Turbo and blurt a gentle chuckle.

"No, no, don't stare, just act natural," Berri eased warmly, though Turbo sagged his shoulders and bashfuly glanced to all three of his friends as said other person loosely approached, from within a fifteen foot distance, and mildly ignored their presence, like any other stranger would. Said stranger only briefly glanced over to the group, easily locking eyes with Turbo, though much to Turbo's entire disbelief, his glancing eye contact finally tore as he continued on his moseying way. Turbo raised his eyebrows in floored surprise as Berri shrugged and gestured outwards, "See? Easy!"

"W-Wow, he... He looked me right in the eye and didn't even care," Turbo stabbed quietly, though he furrowed his eyebrows and almost seemed disappointed, "I was kind of hoping for a reaction, if I'm being honest with you..."

"Well, that's just one person," Wren muttered as he crossed his arms.

"It's fine, that's likely the majority of any interaction, with any stranger, you will ever have, here," Theo hurried to encourage, "Okay, now... Get off the bike."

"Right," Turbo staggered, he dismounted his bike, eased his helmet into his materializer, and as his heavy boots scuffed to the asphalt, he scrunched his shoulders and continued to survey his surroundings. He squinted through the lovely morning sun, the massive sky scrapers, over head, glistened with all sorts of different colors, the surrounding civilians and the rumblings of cars that zoomed by, Turbo felt his heart surge with relief, the whole fact that this was a nice start to this terrifying adventure. He was glad the three didn't just thrust him into Sugarbucks unabated.

"Now, light yourself a cigarette," Theo shrugged, "Congrats. You're in public. Not so scary, huh?"

"I left my cigarettes at home,"Turbo coldly grumbled, his nervous eyes looked beyond Berri and Wren, to a small group of younger teenagers that began to loudly exclaim random things, to each other, the bustled down the nearby sidewalk and had a good time with each other.

"Relax, not every single person you will encounter is going to be a threat," Berri urged as Turbo stood tall and tight, within himself, as if he had confined himself to an imaginary two-by-two box.

"Easy for you to say," Turbo grumbled, that thorny, agitated side of his personality so easily showed, in this instance. Berri was well aware she had a bit of work to do, for him to soften and be a warm and gentle presence inside Sugarbucks, though she knew not to dote too heavily on him, either.

"Okay, so what do you need from us in this situation?" Berri tenderly pressed; yet another employee, from User knows where, came sauntering out from the back door of a nearby building.

"I really don't know why you don't just come out here with a disguise, Bo," Wren mumbled kindly, he gave Turbo a look as if to show impending understanding, though with everything happening in this instance, Turbo shook his head, looked off in a huff and began to grow thorny beyond just little cactus prickles.

"Because I still have my dignity," Turbo muttered in mild, flustered frustration, though Berri warmly eased her hand to his upper arm and looked him in the eye; he visibly softened.

"Easy," Berri cooed tenderly, she tucked her blue hair behind her ears and gave Turbo a cheeky smile. Although Berri's hair was previously in a high ponytail, she took it down due to having to wear a motorcycle helmet. In the quick switch, she had swiftly put on a beanie of Turbo's, a slouchy, faded brown and light brown striped beanie. She began to take it off of her own head and handed it to Turbo in softness, "You want to wear this? I know it's not much, in the way of disguises, but it'll do, right?"

Turbo frowned and knew he was mildly being now outwardly grumpy, though he sagged his shoulders and peered into Berri's loving, understanding eyes. He knew he had made it this far, and tearing his way through it now, with a sour attitude, would not help anything. He heaved a fogged sigh through his nose, lulled his golden eyes shut and bobbed a tender, sweet nod of gentlemanly defeat. His gloved hand reached for the beanie Berri handed over, and with a gentle sag, he eased the beanie onto his head and adjusted it accordingly. Little tuffs of his lovely, dark charcoal hair peaked out the loved frays of faded browns. He raised his eyebrows in a show of tender inquisition and only barely glanced to Wren and Theo, as if to maybe ponder just when it was appropriate to head out.

"Just relax, you're doing great," Theo encouraged tenderly, and as the four gently began to head towards the larger sidewalk that lead about the building, to Sugarbucks' side entrance, Turbo mumbled a small little meep of gratitude.

"I want one of those really strong coffees, you know what I'm talking about?" Theo and Wren began to idly chit chat, they kept a decent amount of distance behind Berri and Turbo, on the sidewalk.

"Oh, the cold brew? They have it on tap, now," Wren stated kindly; they knew that Turbo likely needed the distracting conversation, something to ease his nerves, so they delightfully carried on together.

"Yeah, but now they have like this new pumpkin flavor added to it, don't they? Or they did?" Theo wondered, Wren nodded and shrugged.

"I think it was for Fall, but it carried through the Winter," Wren's deep voice eased.

Turbo nervously peered down to his and Berri's feet as they fell into step with each other. He had his arms and hands tucked so tight to himself, and into his jacket, that he was certain he was about to turn into a contortionist. He could swear the voices in his head were beating him down, begging him to run home, swearing that this was a horrible idea, the piercing beam of Sugar Rush's otherwise lovely morning sun seemingly eased down on him like a spotlight. Certain that the entire world now knew he was here, he held his breath and dared to look up as a few strangers passed him on the sidewalk. He tightened his posture and could feel every single muscle in his body clench, but as the handful of a few pedestrians passed by, without a care or concern, Turbo furrowed his brow in tender surprise and released his breath in a stagger of confusion.

"See?" Berri cooed softly, to no one but him.

Turbo exhaled the rest of his breath in confidence, sagged his shoulders and gave Berri a nearly full smile of rising confidence. Berri bobbed a nod, and although Turbo didn't offer it, Berri gingerly snuggled her hand into the inner nook of Turbo's elbow, as if to have him guide her to their destination. Berri knew this was a little forward, though she felt her face get hot and understood that she'd go to even greater lengths if it meant Turbo was fully comfortable in this new situation. Turbo felt the world around him blur, the chaos that was the rising number of pedestrians, he somehow felt at ease the second Berri's presence was a bit tighter to his, and as groups and scatters of pedestrians came and went, noisy cars that flew by, with only mere glances and maybe a few longer, confused ogles from the city's residents, Turbo began to feel silly, as if he had been so worried about nothing. It was something only hindsight could teach him, though as they happened upon the side door of Sugarbucks, Turbo held his breath as he cautiously opened the door and allowed himself and his friends inside.

Hit with a wall of warmth, an ease of a dimmer, calmer setting alongside the intoxicating smell of coffee, Turbo felt his veins flush with concern as he suddenly realized the glow of his eyes were now a bit more prominent. He held his breath and immediately assessed his surroundings. He shot his gaze to the main entrance and then in a swoop about the interior. With a couple on the way out the door, the interior was scattered with just a handful of people, a quiet, dainty and lovely setting. Upon stepping inside, the door closing behind the four, Turbo peered his attention to the baristas behind the bar. In a soft, indoor-voice appropriate uproar, the baristas behind the counter began to preemtively get excited upon Berri's, Wren's and Theo's presences, though the second their eyes glossed to Turbo's, they slowed their chores, eased their movements to a drum of a surprised stop and held their eyes of wonder, fear and bewilderment to the one person Berri has been desperately trying to invite to Sugarbucks for months now. The one and only Turbo, Arcade lore come true.

Berri grit her teeth and urgently gestured to her jugular, a slicing motion, she was glad she was out of Turbo's peripheral as she mouthed Turbo's name and firmly pointed up to him. Her own way of telling the baristas that this was, indeed, Turbo, and thus begging them to just act natural, everything she had basically prepared them for. As if deer in headlights, the four baristas hung for a moment in awestruck wonder before nervously keeping their eyes down and continuing their chores, as if to pretend to be nonchalant, though to Berri, Wren and Theo, it was clear they were now trying to decide whether they were terrified or excited of Turbo's legitimate presence. As the four eased maybe fifteen feet from the registers and area of proper ordering, Berri eased a cheeky, curious smile up to Turbo's lovely golden eyes, he heaved a shaky sigh and bashfully peered down to her, he looked desperate for her to take the reigns in this situation.

"Berri!" Bug suddenly stabbed as he came from out of the back room, though as he gently skipped closer to the register, he sagged in the same demeanor as the other baristas and raised his eyebrows in unadulterated delight. Berri gave him a similar, teeth-gritted look, though was a little less obvious about it, this time. Bug's adorable green ears, atop his head, sagged in wonder, as his eyes hooked tight to Turbo's. It was entirely obvious Bug wanted to wig out, though he remembered all of the wonderful things that Berri has been saying, about Turbo, for months now. Bug finally crowned a wide, though still nervous, smile of relief as his long, fluffy little tail began to wag amidst the dangling apron strings of his green apron, "I-I can't believe it... Turbo Black is in my coffee shop H-Holy User.."

"Almost against my own will," Turbo's deep voice gently reverberated, and as everyone was now all smiles and laughter, the rest of the baristas quit the 'pretend Turbo doesn't exist' act and began to loosely crowd around Bug, wide smiles were beyond abundant.

"Oh, come on," Berri argued, though the sweet commotion, the lazy coffee-goers, about the cafe, began to look over in curiosity. Berri gestured her hand to Turbo and shook her head, "This WAS your idea, dude."

"It was?" Bug eased in disbelief, the tremble in his voice was apparent, something Turbo wondered if he should aid, he nearly grimaced at said fact, not wanting others to be nervous around him.

"It was," Berri chimed in delight, though Turbo finally rolled his eyes and eased a genuine smile, once and for all, something that set the group officially at ease.

"Y'guys all getting your regulars?" Bug chimed as he began to quickly scribble details on four cups, one at a time, though he flinched the second two of the baristas began to urgently try and snatch Turbo's cup before the other could.

"I want to make Turbo's drink," One muttered excitedly, the other baristas began to quickly and sharply bicker amongst each other; the single barsita, that was successful in snatching Turbo's cup, was now swiftly tailed by everyone, excluding Bug.

"I was promised that I could make Turbo's drink whenever he finally came!" Another quietly exclaimed in irritation.

"I'll come back for a refill, if that helps," Turbo eased up, only a little, he just barely huffed a shy chuckle and tucked his hands deeper into his pockets, though he raised his eyebrows and remembered that someone had to pay, "Oh, I have a twenty, I can cover this."

"No need, it's on us," Bug stated confidently as he gestured to Turbo to put his wallet away, "The least we can do... W-we're so excited that you're here."

"Oh, wow," Turbo staggered on his words, eyed Berri, Wren and Theo, in curiosity, and gingerly shrugged. Already in the process of taking the twenty out of his wallet, he easily lofted the twenty into the tip jar near Bug, "Well, then I have to put this to good use, somehow."

"W-wow, thank you," Bug stated in a shocked way, a kind smile broadened his face, though as Berri, Turbo, Wren and Theo began to move away from the registers and to the drink hand-out area, Bug and crew diligently followed the glow of Turbo's lovely, dominant gaze, like eager moths to a beaming flame; Berri, Wren and Theo barely stood back, all grins, eager to watch this show unfold. Bug bounced on his feet and gestured out to the exit of Sugarbucks, "S-So, you like... Run this entire city?"

"Yes, sir," Turbo eased kindly, it was clear he was loosening up, something Berri was eternally grateful for.

"Like... The subway systems, the stop lights, the power supply," Bug went on in whole excitement, the other four baristas with him eagerly held their eyes to Turbo, excluding the two that began to make their drinks in a whirlwind of twists and turns.

"To scratch the surface," Turbo's lovely voice eased over the group, they all seemingly melted underneath the sheer amount of dominance and power he wielded, though how humbly and sweetly he presented himself, nearly all the girls, behind the bar, were very visibly swooning; Berri cocked an eyebrow and silently took note as a mildly irritated front began to now sap into her pores, she felt her heart suddenly do a weird flip flop. Suddenly, the idea of Turbo actually garnering someone else's attention, other than hers, had her reeling in confusion, contemplation, a near-venomous amount of regret, set to kill her slowly. She held her eyes tight to Turbo, from their gentle gap, and now bit her lip in a purse kind of way, "It's a lot, but all that alone time helps me get it all done."

"Well, hopefully now you won't be too much of a stranger, y'know?" One of the girls chimed in delight, this was enough to make Berri inhale a deep breath through her nose and now gently began to step away; Wren and Theo briefly followed their line of sight to her, only to double take at her hardening, distanced demeanor.

"Ohh that depends," Turbo grumbled, he glanced at the two girls, all poised with tidied aprons and clean, pulled back hair, though his eyes landed on Bug's and then back to wherever Berri had laid off to, "If my blue beauty sees it to be fit, then I guess... I have no other option."

"That's so sweet," Bug warmly eased, he handed Turbo his own drink, as well as Wren's, "She's definitely a good person to have by your side, for sure. She's spoken very highly of you."

"Really?" Turbo pressed softly, he glanced back to Berri, once more, though she finally sat down on an unclaimed couch, taking note that Wren and Theo were motioning to her, from across the way, and confusedly chit-chatting with one another.

"Hooo yeah," One of the male baristas eased in a deep, knowing tone, he waggled his eyebrows and gave Turbo a knowing smile, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that girl has the hots for you."

"I-I... Th-that's..." Turbo stumbled on his words as he could feel his face heat up, all the baristas gently began to laugh and snicker towards his bashful show of sweetness. Turbo was finally joined by Wren and Theo, who began to help Turbo with the four drinks now patiently waiting to be picked up, "Guess we'll see what happens."

"Enjoyyy," Bug eased with a cheeky, sly smile as the three boys slowly began to step away.

Although Turbo was previously worried about all eyes on him, he suddenly felt his veins surge with a different purpose; he honed his gaze tight to the back of Berri's head and felt confidence flood him, the whole fact that she had said so many nice and wonderful things about him, to help prepare the general public for his own unveiling, he felt ease coat his soul, a warmth that sagged into his skin, something that he often felt in Berri's presence. Although he had an inkling, he inhaled a confident breath, puffed his chest and was now entirely certain that Berri still had those strong, lingering feelings for him. He finally pushed past a few strangers, even ones that nervously began to whisper to their friends, ones that ogled for longer than appropriate, finally none of it mattered to him as he soaked into Berri's quiet presence.

"Here, Bear," Turbo's loving voice coat the top of her head, and as he sat down on her right, the couch sagged, causing Berri to softly sink into his closer gravity. Berri grunted a cute noise and nervously readjusted her positioning, so she wasn't nearly on top of him. Turbo blurt a shaky chuckle as Berri bashfully tucked her hair behind her ears and gingerly took the drink from Turbo, "Man, those baristas are so friendly..."

"They've been trained well, by Ms. Queen-to-be, here," Wren muttered cheekily as he pushed past the two and sat down on Berri's left, on the couch; Theo made himself comfortable on a cozy chair nearby.

"Y'doin' okay, there, friend?" Theo wondered softly, to Turbo, before he took a big drink of his cold brew.

"Better than I thought," Turbo sighed with a nervous smile, he tried his very hardest not to continuously look over his shoulder or seem too agitated, though he knew he failed the second he felt Berri's eyes on him for longer than five seconds; she blurt a small, cute laugh, to boot.

"My favorite part was all the weird fidgeting you're doing," Berri muttered gently as she side-eyed Turbo, to her right; Wren heaved a hot sigh through his nose and raised his hot drink to his lips, his gentle voice glossed the lid of his cup.

"Cut him some slack, Bear, he's been absolutely despised for the last three decades," Wren muttered as he took a good, long swig of his delicious drink. He lulled his eyes closed in satisfaction and finally came up for air, "No disguise? With three celebrities-to-be? Takes balls."

"Thanks Wren," Turbo's voice grew in confidence as he bobbed a nod towards Wren's direction, though Berri and Turbo caught eyes in a whirl of rising, flirtatious annoyance, "Maybe people will just assume I'm a new member of Archived Chaos."

"Don't tell Gunner," Wren muttered in whole annoyance, though he noticed Berri shoot him a confused look out of the corner of his eye.

"We actually learned more about you in class, yesterday, Bo," Berri huffed a small laugh as Wren struggled to swallow, sit up and show excitement for this impending conversation.

"Now what... I not only scared the crap out of Arcade but also hate baby animals or something stupid?" Turbo muttered as he sagged into the couch the three were lounged on, and although they were safe in Orion City, Sugar Rush's largest sprawl of grid, he began to feel nervous with just how many fans were beginning to accumulate outside of Sugarbucks; somehow, word had gotten out that Berri, Wren and Theo were inside.

"No, actually, just talked about your racing records and even included your brothers, amongst other things mentioned," Berri bobbed a small nod, as did Wren, and although Turbo felt his stomach just clench with the thought of more curious eyes on him, he felt the hairs, on the back of his neck, stand on end due to the weight of Berri's gentle posture that sagged deeper into his presence. He cocked an eyebrow and decided to be brave.

"Did it mention my awesome hair and handsome smile?" Turbo's voice deepened to a depth of pure, cheeky delight, and although Berri's bashful eyes glossed to his in a rush of cute annoyance, Wren rolled his eyes and looked off.

"Easy, easy," Wren huffed, hoping Turbo got the hint, also hoping Turbo understood his helpful lingo.

"The bell rang," Berri huffed with great cheek, she flashed him a wide smile and narrowed her gaze, "Maybe you should show your face more, around Arcade... You can rewrite history that way, friend."

"I'm here, aren't I?" Turbo shook his head and dared not to shoot Berri a look of pure challenge, though as if Berri could see right through him, he flinched in whole surprise as she leaned into his personal bubble, grappled the badge about his neck and gave him a smoldering smile of girly sass.

"It only took two hours of convincing and a badge to state that you were 'with the band', huh, babe," Berri's velvety voice glossed over Turbo's cheeks and nose, and although he was scrunched into himself, he bashfully lost the vibrant glow in his eyes and allowed Berri's word to be the final one.

Berri gently eased out of Turbo's presence and stood, and just as she pulled a marker from her back pocket, she approached the hoard of fans that patiently loitered outside of their safe haven of a coffee shop. Turbo heaved a shaky sigh and watched her leave, and although Wren and Theo silently considered eventually joining Berri, to sign autographs, Wren and Turbo relaxed on the couch in a small lull of accepted, understanding silence.

"Stop trying so hard, let her come to you, dude, you almost had her," Wren mumbled, he tucked his drink to his mouth once more. Turbo flashed him a look of fake confusion, the lack of glow in his once golden eyes cued Wren into believing he was now bashfully out of sorts; a mood ring of emotion.

"You lost me," Turbo pretended, though Wren rolled his eyes and finally sagged his gaze into Turbo's.

"I know I haven't 'lost you', don't play dumb. I may not be into girls, but I DO speak 'girl'," Wren stabbed, both boys gently volleyed their gazes to Berri's; she lovingly greet her fans outside, autographed all sorts of different personal items, and took pictures, "You had your fist around Sugar Rush's throat for almost forty years... Certainly you can court a woman you're interested in."

"Apples and oranges, my friend," Turbo finally sagged his shoulders and let his gentle, now glowing eye contact finally gloss to the back of Berri's head. He eased a nervous, gentle smile and shook his head, "A code room doesn't have an opinion of you... A woman, on the other hand..."

"User help you," Wren blurt a laugh as Turbo finally beamed a nervous smile and looked down to his hands in his lap, "If there's any woman with an opinion, it's Berri. Saddle up, dude. You're in for a wild ride."


A/N : I drew fanart for this chapter, titled 'I'm with the Band' on my deviantART Username Vyntresser :)

Also, forgive all the Starbucks lingo, here. I'm a coffee master at Starbucks (black aprons unite!) and the pumpkin cold brew is literally all that anyone talks about, so my brain is like ready to regurgitate it all into whatever avenue I can lmao