Song Listened To : Through the Dark - One Direction
*Chapter 100*
As if on a quiet mission, one of stealth and certainty, Tessa felt it foreign the way she could feel Zed's very presence begin to follow her across her very own Great Hall, with her mother and father. She knew the two were likely about to be treated to a master class in how to properly run Sugar Rush, though Tessa knew she could recite the game's every last protocol like her life depended on it. The four were quiet with knowing, Sugar Rush's glorious castle was still for the night. She had to wonder just where Penny and Oliver had laid off to.
As the four quietly climbed her mother's large, spiral staircase, to her mother's and father's bedroom, she felt a small knot form in her stomach. She almost smiled, though she looked down at her feet to avoid being caught trying not to grin like an idiot. She knew today has been a whirl wind of information, to her brain, though she was certain that, with Zed being added to this important meeting, her family was very likely sealing a deal on him. She only barely glanced to him as he kept confident footsteps beside her. She had to wonder if somehow the future was delicately being foretold. She knew he was always true to himself, and anything that made him uncomfortable, he was the first to make it known or back out as fast as his circuitry could allow. She barely eyed him for information, as if to silently wonder if he was internally alright with exactly what kind of a hole they were digging for themselves.
Just before she could get too wrapped up in more of her thoughts, the four lightly budged into Ralph and Vanellope's bedroom. Zed softly squinted his eyes and let his new surroundings soak in. He raised his eyebrows in kind surprise and noticed that Taffyta and Rancis were patiently waiting; they sat lounged in a large, comfortable sitting area, near Ralph and Vanellope's massive balcony, which was hidden behind beautiful French doors draped with thick, cream curtains. Zed heaved a soft sigh as everyone came into the room; he slumped his hands into his pant's pockets, though he knew his calm exterior was false. On the inside, he nervously wondered if somehow he was still allowed inside Sugar Rush's most secret, delicate confines. He knew not just any outsiders had the privilege of seeing the internal workings of a game they frequent.
"Y'made it," Rancis said kindly as him and Taffyta stood on cue.
"We had a bet going," Taffyta laughed, "We wondered if your little idea was going to scare off the blue-haired wonder."
"Almost," Vanellope chuckled.
"Felix didn't help the cause," Ralph grumbled, though he gripped Zed's shoulder in a fatherly sort of way and lightly squeezed, to show silent appreciation.
"What'd he say now?" Rancis complained, though Vanellope furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"You say that like he's tortured you recently, or something?" Vanellope wondered through a small laugh; Rancis rolled his eyes and lulled his head back.
"He keeps wondering when Rancis and I are going to play catch-up with you and Ralph," Taffyta mumbled, though she crossed her arms and tried to hide a bashful smile.
"I think we're all wondering that, Aunt Taff," Tessa blurted as she put her hands on her hips; the whole room was warm with gentle laughter and knowing notions towards Taffyta and Rancis.
"Yeah, well, missy, after this meeting, we'll all be sitting on the edge of our seats with you two love birds," Taffyta clumsily gestures towards her niece and Zed.
"You minus well just get down on one knee, now," Rancis uttered as he side eyed Ralph and Vanellope.
"I think it's really awesome that you guys have discussed certain things that not even Zed and I have braved, yet," Tessa suddenly dared through a playful, yet sternly dominant voice; everyone in the room fell silent in nervous wait as they gripped their eyes to the future Queen.
Tessa furrowed her eyebrows and gave a stern look to her mother and father, though she lightly peered back to Zed and gave him an almost apologetic look. She exhaled an incredulous chuckle and shook her head, though Zed remained politely neutral in her small outburst.
"He only asked me to prom," Tessa stated quietly, though the bite in her voice remained, "I have no choice but to be future Queen. Zed does, however, have a choice, if he wants to step into this mess and be future King."
Vanellope lightly crossed her arms and looked down to her feet in a fit of slight guilt; she knew everyone had good intentions, though she knew she had to remember how fragile Tessa's and Zed's situation was.
"If you don't mind, I demand you all lay off the wedding jokes," Tessa spat as she pointed a firm finger to the ground; she had to wonder if this was a test of her dominance, to see just who would eventually listen to her orders. She eyed everyone in the room, minus Zed, who remained faithfully next to her. She finally exhaled a small chuckle and gestured to her boyfriend, "Y'know, I kinda sort of happen to like this guy, here. I wouldn't still be with him if I thought he wasn't King material. I'd be devastated if all this teasing actually DID scare him off. "
"We're sorry, Tess," Vanellope said quietly, with the utmost sincerity.
"We're just excited, is all," Rancis lightly shrugged.
"I'm not bothered, Tess," Zed stated tenderly to her, and almost only her, "I'm flattered, if anything."
"Be thankful your family actually likes your boyfriend, Tess," Ralph's strong voice dared; she knew, no matter what, even if she did have rank over Ralph, she knew her father would always hold a higher ground over her. Ralph gently gestured to Zed and scoffed, "You could have easily picked up some random Joe from any game, but you were lucky enough to land someone that knows a thing or two about code rooms and running his own game."
"We can't believe our luck, is what your father is insinuating," Vanellope tenderly added, "Zed's a good guy, to boot. So forgive us for thinking that Sugar Rush sort of hit jack-pot, here."
"The game will continue to stay in safe hands," Taffyta stated softly as she crossed her arms over her comfortable, pale pink t-shirt, "We don't have to go through the whole process of teaching a brand new soul about what it's like to eventually run a game."
"They have a point, Tess," Zed dared to his firecracker of a girlfriend; she lightly caught eyes with him, though she gave him a look as if to express to him to tread lightly, "Anyone else would likely be overwhelmed, being wedded into something like this. Sure, it's a lot to take in, but you and I share a lot more common ground than you think."
"So don't get snippy with us," Taffyta said loudly as she braved her fragile niece and pulled her into a firm, loving side-hug, "We care. We're just excited. Be thankful!"
"Fine," Tessa finally exhaled, though with a little bit of difficulty.
"Do you know just how long these two girls have been waiting for this day?" Rancis argued through a gentle chuckle as he neared Tessa, though he messily pointed to Vanellope and Taffyta, "Ever since you were born, all these two could talk about was, 'oh my User, I wonder what kind of boyfriends our daughters will have!'"
"What do you think the future King will look like?" Ralph mocked in a girly voice as him and Rancis nudged each other in a brotherly fashion and began to push towards the large entrance to the Loft, which hung in wait.
"Ah yeah?" Tessa wondered in girly cheek as she crossed her arms and gave her mother and aunt a sly look down the bridge of her nose, along with a curious smile.
"Come on, we were new moms," Vanellope complained as everyone slowly began to file into the Loft's tight, spiral staircase.
"Welcome to the family, Zed," Rancis stated in a sarcastically dull tone, "Sugar Rush... Where the teasing never ends."
"Definitely something I've grown accustomed to," Zed said through a soft sigh, as if to pretend he was bothered, though he gave Tessa a kind smile.
"If it's not you guys, it's Penny and Oliver," Tessa muttered as everyone's voices slowly droned and got lost up the echoing, stone-way chamber to the Loft.
"I've trained her well," Taffyta said in a huff of a proud breath.
"Too true," Vanellope scoffed.
Zed swallowed a nervous gulp and took a few slow steps closer to Tessa as the six reached the final landing. Everyone patiently watched as Vanellope reached her hand towards the hologram that softly made itself known, with the Queen's presence, though before she let her coded DNA touch the pad, to open the Loft's massive, round, thick door, she hesitated and froze. She peered down at the pad, in question, before she slowly peered back at Tessa with a knowing sort of smile.
"Y'know what," Vanellope started softly, and much to everyone's surprise, she took a few steps back and gestured towards the hologram, that hung in wait, "I'm going to let you do this."
Tessa glanced back and forth between the hologram and her mother, before she finally tore her soft, incredulous gaze to her father, and then to Zed. She tenderly put her fingers over her chest and remained still.
"Me?" Tessa wondered curiously with raised eyebrows.
"You," Vanellope chirped as she put her hands behind her back and gave her daughter a small smile.
"... Tessa is running this meeting?" Taffyta wondered curiously as her and Rancis stole questioning glances, in kindness.
"I-I've never even been to one of these meetings," Tessa stuttered, though she knew deep down, running the kingdom was something she knew she could probably succeed in, by now.
"Yes you have," Vanellope eased as she tilted her head down slightly, "Through me. Everything I've taught you, is everything we've ever discussed in these meetings."
"Not to mention, you came to every single one, while you were still a baby," Ralph added quietly, everyone easily chuckled at his notion, though Tessa's dewy, though nervous eyes, scanned her mother for every ounce of approval she had in her.
"You know what to do," Vanellope lightly glanced at the hologram before her piercing hazel eyes gripped her daughter's, the air about her was that of the stillest patience.
"Mom," Tessa inquired lightly, as if to want to overload her with worries and cautious notions, though Vanellope put up her hands and looked down with a wide smile.
"I'm not here," Vanellope urged quietly, though she brought her hands back down and gestured to Tessa and Zed, "None of us are here."
"Mom, I-I've never flown blind like this, before," Tessa urged quietly, she began to feel a lump gather in her throat, though for some reason, the pit of her stomach lined with excited tension, the fact that she was given free reign; she knew she should tread lightly.
"You flew Lickity for the first time, once, didn't you?" Vanellope smirked, "Pretend all four of us don't exist anymore... In an instant, you have to know exactly how to carry on."
"Are you really insinuating that you all died?" Tessa argued, as if to express offend that her mother would even think something like that.
"It's a harsh reality, Tessa," Vanellope's voice grew stronger, "Anything can happen... To ANY one of us. None of us are invincible. Not even Zed."
"Unbeatable," Zed stated softly as he raised his eyebrows and looked down, as if to scold himself for testing the Queen.
"But it sure makes you FEEL invincible, doesn't it," Vanellope volleyed as she gave Zed a knowing, cocky smile; Zed humbly nodded and lightly shrugged.
"Guilty," He eased nervously.
"You can't put that over me before you tell me to call ALL the shots, mom," Tessa's voice raised.
"Well, what would happen to you if it actually DID happen?" Vanellope asked, her voice overpowered Tessa's, "For the good of the game, you would need to put your emotions aside, for the time being, and make sure everything was stable."
"Mother!"
"She's not here!" Vanellope hollered; everyone froze as her strong voice carried. Vanellope softly gestured to Tessa and Zed and gave her daughter a knowing look, with a hint of a smile, "It's no one, but you two."
Tessa glued her nearly horrified gaze to her mother and felt a shiver go down her spine; she knew the actual reality of the world, with what her mother was saying, was indeed correct. She knew, no matter what, if Tessa was the last royal position left in the game, she'd have to step over her emotions and uphold her duties. She finally slumped her shoulders and let her eyes meet the hologram, which continued to patiently wait to be used. She finally gave Zed her attention, though she was surprised to see that he had already been giving her his.
"You two are King and Queen," Vanellope held her hands behind her back, though she softly tilted her head towards the digital pad and gave Tessa an encouraging smile, "What do you do first?"
Tessa peered into her mother's soul with nervous excitement, though with a hint of annoyed sass. Just as she was about to step forward, she felt Zed slip his strong hand into hers and take a step out before her. He kindly glanced back at her as he began to lead her to the hologram on the door. Tessa jolted, just barely, and gave Zed a curious look in the eye. She beamed a gentle smile, into his eyes, as the two neared the hologram, though it lightly hummed in knowing as Tessa's calm presence came near. She finally laid her hand over the pad and let it scan her circuits. It buzzed a positive noise before, all at once, the massive door to the Loft unlocked it's strong bars and, with ease, the door began to slide open. Tessa inhaled an excited breath, though one of which she knew she had to contain, if she were to remain level-headed. She eagerly peered into the Loft and noticed the orb in the center of the room; it sparked a small noise, as if to express final, and total excitement, that Tessa was in charge for the time being, as if it had been waiting for this moment ever since Tessa was first created.
"First things first," Zed chimed gently as the two pushed into the room, towards the orb, though they could feel the presence of the four actual heads, of Sugar Rush, slowly, yet eagerly, make their way into the Loft with them.
"Game core stability," Tessa finished as she gave Zed a kind smirk, though all at once, she opened her palms and gestured at the orb; it largely expanded to show a massive map of the castle, the code room, and every single little intricate inner workings anyone could ever dream of. The hot purple hologram easily obeyed every single command Tessa threw at it.
"Total stability," Tessa swiped at something, the orb gently hummed in a knowing way and brought up a small graph that Tessa curiously squinted at, "Though, running a little slower than usual."
"Something's probably clogging the RAM of the game," Zed eased as he softly interjected and dared to swipe at another bit of information before Tessa; without flinching, she easily let him into her seclusive bubble.
"It's this course, it's still running for some reason," Tessa urged in a mildly annoyed tone; she lightly brought up a map of an unused race track, opened a small tab next to it, and ended the process, "Hasn't been used since early this morning."
"Isn't that the course you came last in, this morning?" Vanellope whispered to Taffyta; she easily slumped her shoulders and let her blue eyes frown into oblivion.
"I don't want to talk about it," Taffyta grumbled in a plea of a whine.
"The perimeter looks good on you, Taff," Ralph whispered loudly, though Taffyta largely let her sass rise from the slump she was in, and she shot Ralph a sarcastic side eye.
"Yeah? A black eye would look good on you, buddy," Taffyta suddenly blurted, which brought Tessa's and Zed's interrupted attention to them, with wide, curious eyes.
"Shush, we're not supposed to be here," Vanellope hissed as she gently nudged Taffyta; Ralph and Rancis largely snickered to themselves.
"Standing cities and villages," Zed listed off, though through a hard chuckle, as if to express he was desperately trying to ignore the banter going on in the background; Tessa couldn't help but breath a hard giggle as well.
"Let's see, we got Westwind City, Starkrem, and Sugar Rush's biggest oasis, Stonecrest," Tessa listed softly as she swiped her finger once or twice. She brought up three large, beautiful maps of each city, "Let's start with my favorite. New babies!"
"Babies?" Zed nearly flinched as he moved around the other side of the orb, so he was facing Tessa, though they were both still looking up at the same picture; he lightly brought his eyes through the purple hologram, to her excited eyes.
"Faux-codes!" Tessa said with soft excitement, "I love when new ones are added. If new babies are added, clearly people are happy. It's a good thing."
"Faux-codes are taking over," Zed stated in pure, playful sarcasm, though he held on to a serious face, as if it were dire; Tessa slumped her shoulders and gave Zed a dull, annoyed look, "W-we should do something!"
"Don't worry, I'll solve it," Tessa droned in an annoyed noise, though in a few simple pushes of an open index, to her left, she opened up a menu with all the people in the Loft, currently. She brought up Zed's information, and without missing a single second of lost time, she altered Zed's coding, only temporarily. His hair dipped to a brilliant shade of hot pink. Tessa beamed a proud smile and put her hands on her hips, "Perfect! Where were we?"
"What?" Zed beamed and wrinkled his nose in confusion, though with his small head bob, his hair waved in front of his eyes a little. He widened his scrunched expression and immediately drew attention to his hair in hard surprise, though with the fact that it was reversible, he slumped his shoulders and gave Tessa an annoyed smile, "Wow, many clever, such cool."
"There have been six new faux-codes added to the game," Tessa said through hard giggling; she could hear her mother, father, aunt and uncle stifle the hardest laughter from across the room, "A handful of game-overs, most of which, look to be accidents, as opposed to aggression towards one another. Orion seems to have a good hand over Starkrem, Sugar Rush's largest city. It's a good thing he's over there. That city gets bigger and bigger each day."
"Is Sugar Rush's weather set on an auto-pilot?" Zed prod curiously as he softly opened another menu; it dropped down a long list of stats, for what the weather was like, all over the game, "It looks like it's storming over at Stonecrest."
"The greenest city in the whole game," Tessa nodded with a knowing smile, "Rains almost every day! And, yes, the weather is set to random. I don't think any of us have the energy to pick the weather, each day, for every single area of the game. Don't even get me started on uncharted land."
"Why not, it's fun?" Zed shrugged as he drew his attention back to Tessa's eyes; she beamed him a knowing smile, "I sometimes like to put a rain cloud right over Selka's house. Pop some popcorn, watch the fun."
"Is that really the best bout of revenge you have?" Tessa stated in a dull tone.
"I could delete him, would you rather I be an asshole about not liking someone?" Zed dared with a cocky smile, one of which he hardly ever expressed; it knocked Tessa into pure surprise. She raised her eyebrows and gave him a nervous smile.
"No, let's not go there," Tessa meeped as she inhaled a shaky breath with a widening, bashful smile, "Looks like all the courses are clean, no damage... I'd say it's been a pretty boring day, in Sugar Rush."
"Is there usually more stuff to clean up after?" Zed wondered gently as he came back to the overall wellness stats of the game.
"Sometimes the courses get damaged, or a cart catches fire and we have to clean the roads," Tessa shrugged casually.
Vanellope softly peered to Taffyta in a knowing way, as they schemed something beyond Tessa's and Zed's knowledge. Taffyta just barely nodded, as if to give Vanellope the go-ahead, with their mischievous idea. Vanellope softly opened her palm and secretively let it come alive with her dominant, purple coding.
"User, is this a racing game, or a battle to the death?" Zed laughed, which cued Tessa into gentle laughter as well, though before Tessa could get words out, the hologram before her suddenly flashed an angry red light.
Tessa largely flinched and furrowed her eyebrows as she tensed into action. She widened her eyes in nervous horror as she could see a rogue being entering the game. Her eyes dart all over the map, of Sugar Rush, and the castle, before she finally felt her muscles work at the speed of light.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, who is that?" Tessa urged loudly, though Zed immediately came alongside her and glued his whole attention to what was happening as well.
He quickly reached his hand out and pressed on the small dot, that signified the extra being, coming into the game. As if a GPS, it mapped this new person's every move. The drop down menu, for said person, was vague and short, though the words that came up made Zed's heart stop, and his memories unclog from the dust. The word 'intruder' hung over the red dot, as it quickly made it's way into the game. Zed froze and felt his blood run cold.
"Intruder?" Tessa argued loudly, as if to be incredulous of what was going on, though she largely swiped at the orb; it easily obeyed, as if it could sense the urgency.
She brought up a detailed map of the castle, and as agilely as she could, she swiped at main doors to the entrances, code room, hull and loft. Within split seconds, the room went painfully dark, from a massive, protective sheath that came over the only large window in the Loft. The door loudly clanked and locked shut, to protect everyone inside. Tessa finally exhaled a hard grumble and swiped the map away, though she gestured for the map, of the game entrance, and zoomed in. She noticed said intruder was headed in the direction of the castle.
"What does it want? Who is he?" Tessa urged nervously as she finally swiped open a secretive index, to her right; it needed her palm print for further details to become active, "I-I can pause him, that will help us get more information."
"You can put people on pause in Sugar Rush?" Zed wondered nervously, though a curious smile sprawled his face.
"Yeah, though it's not permanent, it only lasts for a few minutes," Tessa rushed, "Just enough time to get any situation under control. Who is this guy?!"
"Relax," Zed eased as he dared to let his hand slide to the middle of her back; she softly nodded, as if he was the only soul in Arcade to order her to calm down without it making her more mad, "Just pause 'im, and we'll figure it out."
Tessa shoved her finger to said individual and attempted to put him on pause, though as she pushed the pause option, the red dot flickered a confused purple. Tessa harshly furrowed her eyebrows and shoved her finger to said individual again, though it held a solid purple and, to reveal Vanellope's mischievous plan, the dot suddenly read 'test figure'. Tessa inhaled a faltered breath as her and Zed froze, almost in annoyed anger. They both quickly drew their attention to the Queen, who stood across the room. Zed finally exhaled a loud breath of relief and slumped his shoulders, though he could practically feel Tessa's blood boil.
"Mom!" Tessa hollered angrily, "You scared the shit out of me, are you seriously going to toy with me and Zed? Is this some sort of joke?"
"It was a test," Vanellope barked, her voice easily outmatched Tessa's as she largely budged into the room, closer to Tessa and Zed. She waved her hand softly; the orb eagerly obeyed her orders and dulled back down to it's idle, waiting state. She beamed a proud smile and raised her hand again. The sheath, that covered the window, riddled with purple circuits before sliding back open, to let in the soft, setting sunset shine. With this, the Loft reset back to it's state, which meant Zed's hair quickly flickered back to it's default, bright blue appearance. Vanellope stood before the two and cocked an eyebrow, "You guys passed with flying colors."
"That was cruel," Tessa growled, "I was terrified, and the fact that you weren't jumping to my aid-"
"Should have been your first clue that it was a prank!" Vanellope beamed her usual, toothy grin and shook her head; Ralph, Taffyta and Rancis easily chuckled as they, too, stepped forth.
"Good job, guys," Taffyta said kindly as she crossed her arms, the three sauntered over.
"Why were you testing us?" Tessa worried as she gestured back to the orb, "I-I didn't even get to finish the run-through, for the game."
"You'll get your chance," Vanellope said kindly as she glanced at Zed, "Your father and I have a proposition for you."
"Are you going to throw more test dummies into the ring and let me find which one is ACTUALLY a virus?" Tessa argued, she still held onto her frustration.
"Please don't pick me, I'm not a virus, I know my brain coding makes it confusing," Zed complained in a rush as he slumped his shoulders, as if the two were merely children begging their mother for one more hour before bedtime. Vanellope laughed softly and shook her head, though she placed her hand on Tessa's shoulder.
"Us four are going on a small stay-cation," Vanellope gave her daughter her kindest eyes, as if to show the utmost of pride in how far Tessa's knowledge had come, "We'll be visiting Westwind for a night, sometime next week."
"But, there's no code room there, you guys going to put the game on auto-pilot?" Tessa worried, as if the haze of the situation clouded any of her common sense.
"No," Vanellope cocked an eyebrow and glanced at Zed, who had caught on and smiled a bashful smile to his feet, "We're putting you in charge, for that night."
"M-Me?" Tessa uttered with a small smile, "I-I... I get to be Queen?"
"Yes," Vanellope smiled kindly into her daughter's eyes, "We'll only be one city away, if you desperately need us. Think you're up for the challenge?"
"Am I?" Tessa beamed a wide smile, "I-I get to call the shots?"
"You'll be Queen," Vanellope removed her hand from Tessa's shoulder and crossed her arms with a smug smile.
"I... I can do whatever I want?" Tessa glanced at Zed, the two continued to light up with excitement.
"No one will be here to tell you otherwise," Vanellope shrugged.
"So... Do I have to go at this alone?" Tessa wondered, her demeanor grew gentle and serious, though she felt her face get hot at just what she was trying to prod at, and she suddenly felt as if she couldn't get it out.
"What do you mean?" Vanellope side-eyed her daughter.
"W-Well, you're saying I'll be Queen," Tessa shrugged and gestured her hands as she nervously attempted to continue, "I-I mean... I can't truly be Queen without a King... Otherwise I'd just continue to be princess for the night, a-and I'm always the princess, because-"
"What do you want, Tess," Vanellope droned with an annoyed smile.
"I-I... I want to bring Zed along," Tessa's nervous voice was coated in tender worry, though Vanellope lightly tilted her head up and peered at Tessa down her nose, in a fit of growing glee.
"Do you?" Vanellope wondered with a cheeky smile.
"A-Am I not allowed?" Tessa frowned, though Vanellope largely furrowed her eyebrows and smiled wide.
"Tessa, pretend you're the Queen right now, and you're talking to a lowly commoner, what do you ACTUALLY want to say to me right now?" Vanellope raised her voice slightly, with a kind bite of sternness.
"Zed's coming with me," Tessa finally urged, with confidence, as she reached over and slid her hand into Zed's. He raised his eyebrows softly and took a step closer to Tessa, as if to come alongside her idea and become one with her decision making.
"Good," Vanellope finally smiled, in a loving way, though she tenderly reached out her hands and gripped Tessa's left shoulder, as well as Zed's right shoulder, and brought the two closer to her, as if to lightly huddle, "I hope you two understand how important this is. This isn't your chance to take to the skies and forget the well-being of the game. Work first... Play later. You hear me?"
"Yes ma'am," Zed said quietly, and politely; Tessa gently nodded as well, a look of sheer humbleness as her eyes gripped her mother's in nervous excitement.
"It's clear you two are ready for this small challenge," Vanellope smiled as she relaxed from her position, over the two; Ralph slowly stood alongside Vanellope and wormed his hand around the small of her waist. Vanellope kindly looked up at Ralph before she peered back at Tessa and Zed, "When the time comes, you two will make great additions to the head of Sugar Rush."
"Alongside you guys?" Tessa wondered in gentle excitement as Zed softly grew closer to her.
"Yeah," Vanellope chimed as Rancis and Taffyta made their presence more known; their proud gazes flood the two, new coding masters, "Then you can come to all our boring castle meetings."
"Bring a magazine, I'm serious," Taffyta mumbled, though Ralph nudged her arm; the two exhaled small bouts of laughs and annoyed notions towards each other.
A/N: Alright guys! To celebrate 100 chapters, I've opened up my DRAWING REQUESTS! If you would like to see ANY scene drawn, in the 100 chapters of Defying Code I have uploaded, please leave your requests in a REVIEW for THIS chapter only! If you want to do so privately, you can PM me, but please label the subject as 'drawing request' so I can go back and make sure I don't miss anyone!
I will be posting your requests to my deviantART account - my username there is Vyntresser. If you haven't already, check out my gallery, as I do have mostly all drawings of my beloved characters. I still get a lot of questions as to what each character looks like and etc. Please go look at said paintings of mine, I draw them exactly how I imagine them, and it is how I've envisioned everything. I will be uploading the whole entire sketchdump to my deviantART (I'll make sure you guys know it's posted, for those of you that don't follow me/have a deviantART) it'll probably be within the month, so please be patient with me! But I will make sure you guys are aware the day it goes up :)
I'll be opening another drawing request on chapter 150! and, if/when the story makes it to 200, I'll probably do another one for that milestone. I figure every 50 chapters is a safe amount xD Thanks again you guys! You all ROCK!