Chapter Ninety
...
"Magenta's been texting me about how Will's going to break up with her. Can you see what's going on, Adam?" Layla asked.
"Well, it's not me. I haven't gone near either of their accounts in over a week," he replied, frowning as he typed on his phone to access Will and Magenta's accounts. "Magenta's sent him about twenty texts in the last two days. Seen, not replied to. Will's been texting... Mandy," Adam said, scrolling through the texts and skim-reading.
"Who the fuck's Mandy?" Warren asked, looking over to Ethan. "Any Mandy's at Sky High?"
Ethan shook his head. "There's three Amanda's and two Mandy's at Sky High, but there's no way to refine them without knowing more information."
"According to the texts, Mandy is Will's tutor. And super creepy: he's taken a photo of her. Probably without her knowledge if the angle's anything to go by," Adam said, looking sickened.
"Eww," Zach said, shuddering.
"I know her. That's Mandy Haywood. She graduated from Sky High last year," Warren said, looking over Adam's shoulder.
"How are you so certain it's her? It's a very blurry picture," Ethan said.
"She's hot and I had eyes."
"Dude, Lay's right here," Zach said.
Layla laughed. "We literally met because I was trying to date Will, remember? Warren can look, just like I can. I trust Warren completely," she said firmly.
"Yeah, but what about the other person? What if someone tries to steal him away from you?"
"Unless a power's involved, someone can't be stolen away unless they want to be. Stealing is the wrong terminology, anyway; that implies ownership, and we definitely don't own each other," Layla said, scrunching up her nose.
"Can we focus on the actual issue? Will thinks Mandy's hot and she is unwittingly ruining your plans for Magenta," Ethan said.
"You still haven't told us your plans for Magenta, either," Zach said sourly.
"That's because I'm not sure if they'll turn out. There's too many variables - like this - that can screw up what I've actually got planned. Now, can you look into Mandy, see what weakness she has? She's not doing this on purpose, so I'd rather not kill her."
"Thank you," Ethan said, sighing in relief.
Adam decided not to point out that Layla hadn't actually said she wouldn't kill Mandy if it was necessary, and accessed Mandy's various social media accounts. "She's tutoring as a way to save money to travel. She was meant to take a gap year but she broke her arm at the end of senior year and had to pay for her medical expenses instead."
"When's her birthday?" Warren asked.
"January; why?"
"I thought a cash gift from a distant relative would get her travelling and out of Will's life. I doubt Mandy would tutor Will if the opportunity to travel's right there," he said, shrugging.
"That's a good point. She might finish an assignment or topic if she really wanted to, but it looks like she's been wanting to travel for a long time," Adam said, seeing a photo of Mandy's bedroom with a world map tacked to the wall.
"What about a competition? Something with an all-expenses paid, round the world trip as a prize?" Zach asked.
"Good idea, Zach," Honey said from the doorway. She grinned when a few of them startled at her sudden appearance. "I'm here to drive you home; you didn't come out to the parking lot. Have a look at what I've done up for Labyrinth, tell me what you think," she added, handing them two versions of the competitions and trips.
"What if I hadn't had the idea?" Zach asked curiously, Ethan already looking over one option beside him.
"Then I would've suggested it. It's better when you think of the ideas yourselves, though," Honey added as she led them back upstairs.
"Ughh, nope. It's too hot; I'm staying underground until it's cooler," Zach groaned as the heat increased as soon as he stepped up through the trap door.
"You won't have anything to eat while Layla's not here," Ethan reminded him.
"I don't care. I'll sleep through summer. Summer hibernation's a thing, right?"
"Move, or I'll set you on fire and you'll be even hotter," Warren said, stuck on the stairs behind them.
"Rude. Does the heat bother you, dude?"
"No, but humidity sucks ass."
"So does - "
"Shut up and stop crowding the stairs," Adam called from behind Layla.
Honey laughed and gently tugged Zach up the last few steps so the others could get out. "The faster you hurry, the faster we'll be in the car's air conditioning."
They were all out of the Hive in a minute flat.
...
Mandy didn't believe in coincidence or some universal plan. She was too practical for something like that. She was smart; she planned and worked her ass off tutoring others to save money so she could see the world.
Breaking her arm at the end of her senior year was unexpected and unplanned, but that had just increased Mandy's determination to travel. She wanted to go beyond Maxville's concrete metropolis before something more devastating happened, she wanted to see the world and experience so much more than she had until then.
Despite not believing in coincidence, Mandy couldn't help but notice just how many times she had seen advertising for Labyrinth's round-the-world trip. It was an easy competition: you just had to enter on the website and state your full name, email, and why you wanted to travel in under 25 words.
"Okay. If you hear the ad one more time, then you're entering. If you win, you win. If you don't, you don't and you keep tutoring," Mandy told herself as she headed to her car to go to the Stronghold's for another tutoring session with their son.
Turning on the ignition, the radio started automatically. Mandy reached to turn it off, pausing as the host's words registered.
"In celebration of Labyrinth's travel competition: Zona, where's your favourite place to travel to?" Honey asked.
"Close enough," Mandy muttered, bringing up Labyrinth's website while she waited for the air conditioner to cool her down.
...
"I just don't understand what's going on, Layla. I mean... Will didn't even reply when I tried sexting him," Magenta said in a whisper, glancing to the closed door as though expecting her mother to pop up out of nowhere. "What if he's disgusted and hates me?"
"I'm sure he doesn't hate you, Magenta. Will's been busy in Westville, he's probably exhausted after flying around in the heat all day," Layla said.
"Yeah, maybe... Can you be bad at sexting?" Magenta asked, worrying at her lip.
"I don't know. Did you sext him with texts or pictures?"
Magenta blushed crimson and covered her face as she mumbled, "Both."
"You must be very comfortable with your body; not a lot of people are willing to do something like that," Layla said, patting Magenta's shoulder. "That being said, you should delete the photos; I'm pretty sure they'd be considered child pornography since we're not 18 yet."
Magenta lowered her hands, her eyes wide. "I... I didn't think of that. Shit. Oh, god. What if Will shares it with his friends? Or his mother sees? Oh, my god. Josie's going to think I'm a total slut."
Layla's eyes widened and she put her hands on Magenta's shoulders. "Breathe; you're hyperventilating, Magenta. In, out, come on, in and out, in and out. Good," she said, letting her hands fall away when Magenta looked normal again.
Magenta tried to drag oxygen into her lungs, her chest tight. "Am I going to go to prison for this?" she asked when she finally had her breath back.
"I don't know, Magenta. You could ask Will to delete them from his phone, right?"
"Yeah, but... what if he says that he did, but he didn't?"
"Do you trust Will?"
Magenta bit her lip, unsure how to answer that. She thought she could trust Will, but then, she also thought she'd see him more than three times over the summer break. She trusted him to save the world, but did she trust him with herself?
"I could make him trip over a tree root and break his phone, if you want?" Layla asked, grinning.
Magenta giggled between hiccups. "He's already broken his phone three times this year; he has to buy a new one himself if it breaks again."
"Ah, okay. Well... No, you wouldn't, don't worry."
"What? C'mon, Layla, tell me. Please? I'm your best friend," Magenta cajoled.
Layla bit back a smile at the sound of Magenta begging. "I know Will's passcode for his phone. Well, his old phone; I doubt that he's changed it since getting a new phone. You could unlock his phone and delete the photos. Or check that he deleted the photos, if you ask him."
Magenta thought about it for a moment, then decided it couldn't hurt. Just because she knew his phone's password, it didn't mean she would have to use it, right?
"What's his password?"
...
Warren grinned when Layla practically ran to the Hive's front door. Grabbing her about the waist, he pressed a kiss to her neck. "Calm down, hippie."
"You can't make me," she retorted, laughing when his fingers started to tickle against her sides.
"Donny, bleach my brain?" Adam asked, gagging, while Donny rolled his eyes.
"That's probably not helping Layla calm down, y'know," Zach said, shaking his head.
"You're blocking the doorway," Ethan added when Warren looked to them. "They'll be here soon and we don't want to make a bad impression on our guests, do we?"
Layla grinned and wriggled out of Warren's grasp, turning and pressing a firm kiss to his mouth. "They're right."
"Yeah, I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it, though," Warren murmured against her lips.
Layla pulled away with a smile, then opened the door and headed inside to ensure everything was ready for their guests.
"Before I forget: sorry, Adam, but I you need to delete the sexts Magenta sent to Will. Just the messages, leave the photos."
"Seriously? Donny, you definitely have to bleach my brain after this. Fuck," Adam muttered, going to his room, his nose wrinkling.
When the shelves and items were at suitable heights, Layla determined she was finished. Looking to the clock, she saw that there was still an hour to go before their guests arrived.
"Everything looks great, Layla. You can relax," Donny said.
Sighing, she sat in the library's lone chair, hugging the pillow to her chest. "Did you bleach Adam's brain?"
"Yes. I just wish someone could bleach my brain. Oh, and Magenta should know not to include her face in those kinds of photos. If Will had put them online, everyone would've known it was her in a second."
"I don't think that's something I can tell her without explaining how I know," Layla said, frowning.
"You mean you're not going to run a 'how not to be identified by your sex photos' class?" Donny asked sarcastically, snorting.
Layla laughed and shook her head. "That might be a bit too obvious. Where are the others?"
"Adam's contemplating destroying Eden with his acid because, seriously, Magenta came across a little desperate after the thirty-fifth text and fifteenth picture."
Layla winced. "I'll make it up to both of you. Please don't destroy Eden, Adam," she said into her phone.
"Zach and Ethan are training with Wendy. She's trying to get Ethan into her raincloud, but Zach's worried he'll end up in pieces. Ethan's curious about the potential if it works, but doesn't know how he'll explain it to Anita if it does go wrong.
"Warren's out with the bees. Craig's just arrived with Ry; Jewel and Grant are at work, they have a date tonight, and that's way more than I wanted to know," Donny said, shuddering and pressing his fingertips to his temples as though he was trying to bleach his brain anyway.
"How did they get here?"
"Edith dropped them off on her way to take the twins to Frieda's; she's left Victor alone with Connor again, and has her neighbours spying to make sure he doesn't leave before dinner. She thinks Victor was never as happy with Cara as he is with Connor."
"That's nice. I hope they'll get together soon; Adam can barely stand to be in the same room as them," Layla mused.
Donny laughed. "Hyacinth has a betting pool running on when they'll get together. Edith has the end of the month, so that would explain why she conveniently leaves them together so much."
"Super Jesus, even Lizard Girl is hot. I hate summer so much," Craig groaned as he entered the Hive with Ry, reluctantly shifting back to his normal form.
"Hello to you, too," Layla said, raising an eyebrow.
Craig groaned and dropped onto the floor, resting his cheek on the floorboards. "Ah, coolness. Sort of. You guys need an air conditioner."
"Wendy's in the training arena; ask her to cool you off," Donny suggested.
"That involves moving. I've done my quota of moving for the day," Craig mumbled.
Ry snorted. "Dork. Hey, guys."
"Hi, Ry," Layla said, looking at Ry for a moment longer with her eyes narrowed. "You're not wearing your binder," she said, grinning.
Ry blushed. "I don't need to. There's basically no boob left."
Layla smiled at Ry. "Congratulations; you look great."
"Thanks, Layla. Craig didn't notice," Ry pointed out, toeing him in the ribs.
Craig snorted. "You always looked like this to me, dude. Now, help me up so Wendy can make me wet."
Adam stopped in the doorway, shook his head, and turned promptly on his heel to go back to his room. "Nope. Nope, nope, nope."
"Not like that!" Craig called after his best friend. "Oi, get your ass back here!"
"Nope! And stay out of my room, dry or wet."
Craig laughed so hard he pulled Ry down onto the floor. "C'mon, man; let's steal his puddings," he said, getting up and rushing after Adam.
"Oh, so you'll get off your ass for food?" Ry muttered, racing after him quickly.
"Hey! Leave my fridge alone!"
"Gotta catch me first, dude!" Craig laughed.
Layla blinked in surprise as Craig phased through the wall, carrying Adam's fridge in his bulked-up arms. She didn't get a chance to say anything as Craig headed down into the lower hive, still laughing. Ry rounded the corner, laughing as he ran down after Craig. Adam was down after them a second later, yelling and swearing at Craig the whole time.
Donny and Layla looked at each other, then Donny grinned. "Think they'll share the puddings if we help?"
"It's Craig and Ry, they'd fight each other over the last piece of garlic bread."
Donny conceded with a nod. "True. Who do you think would win?"
"I honestly don't know," Layla said as she thought of it: Ry's ability to fight versus Craig's ability to shift into anyone, super or citizen.
"I'm setting the vines to stop either of you from getting inside!" Adam called down the stairs as he carried the fridge awkwardly and slowly.
"Want help carrying that, man?" Donny asked.
"Yeah, it's fucking heavy. Didn't trust Craig to bring it back up. Not full, at least," he muttered, glaring down into the lower hive.
Donny grabbed one side of the fridge to help Adam take it back to his room. Considering how they barely fit through the doorway as it was, Layla didn't bother offering help. Instead, she concentrated to make Adam's doorway wider for them.
"What's going on? I swear I could hear them yelling from the beehives," Warren asked Layla, confused as to why Donny and Adam were carrying the bar fridge.
"Craig stole Adam's fridge," Layla said.
Warren nodded. "That'd do it. The shop looks nice, hippie."
"Thanks! Do you think they'll like it?"
"Don't worry, they'll love it. Now, what do you say we train until they get here?" he offered, holding out his hand.
Layla set the cushion aside with a smile and took Warren's hand.
...
"We're not late, are we, dearest?"
"We're early, Bobby."
"Do you think we should we wait, dearest?"
"No, it's already hot enough outside. Do not make me turn this thing around, Bobby."
"You can't, dearest; I'm pushing you."
"I'm running over your feet later, Bobby."
"You'll have to catch me first, dearest."
"I'm faster in this thing than you are after your hip and knee reconstruction, Bobby."
"So you like to remind me, dearest," Bob teased, smiling down at his wife in her wheelchair as she laughed.
"Ooh, stop here. I want to fix my hair," Roberta said, looking in the Hive's window to check her hair.
"Your hair wouldn't move in a hurricane, dearest," Bob said.
"A hurricane's nothing compared to summer heat, Bobby."
Conceding with a nod, Bob waited as Roberta checked her hair.
"All right. Thank you, Bobby."
"You look as lovely as ever, dearest," Bob promised as he wheeled her up the ramp to the Hive.
"Thank you, Bobby," Roberta said, reaching back to pat his hand.
Bob smiled and knocked on the door.
Layla opened the door with a bright smile. "Hi, Bob. I'm glad you made it."
"Hello, Layla. This is my wife, Roberta."
"Hello, Roberta. It's nice to meet you."
"Thank you, dearie. Call me Bertie," she said with a warm smile. "My Bobby's been talking about you and your friends ever since you started catching his bus. Oh, and that honey was divine. I had Bobby put it on a higher shelf so I wouldn't eat it straight out of the jar!"
"Does that mean you won't want to try the sourwood honey? Warren's just finished a batch; I've got a sample jar at the front."
"That sounds lovely, dearie. Come along, Bobby," Bertie said, pushing her wheelchair after Layla.
Bob took a moment to follow his wife, surprised by the store's new layout. When he'd visited previously, the shelves were almost as tall as he was, and there was stock on every shelf from top to bottom. Now, the shelves were up to his chest and the bottom shelves were empty. Realising that Layla and her friends had reorganised the shop just for his wife had Bob wiping at his eyes with a handkerchief. He coughed and followed after his wife.
"Bobby, you have to try this! We're buying three jars. Our children will love it. The third's for us," Bertie said with a conspiratorial whisper.
"That sounds like a good idea to me," Layla said, smiling.
Bertie beamed in response and reached out to pat Layla's hand. "Now, I'm sure you've been on your feet all day; why don't you rest while Bobby and I look around? I promise not to hide things in my wheelchair," she added with a grin.
"Are you sure? I don't mind waiting, if you've got questions about the products," Layla offered.
"I'm sure, dearie. I'll have Bobby call out if we've got any questions," Bertie promised.
"We'll be fine," Bob said with a nod.
"Okay. I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything. There's a bathroom down the hallway. It's wheelchair-friendly," Layla added.
"Thank you, dearie. I'll call when we're ready to purchase. Now, Bobby, take me over to the library; I saw a lovely glass vase with some flowers that would be perfect for the dining room."
Bob smiled at his wife's excitement, nodded to Layla, and guided Bertie across to the library to look at the flowers with her.
...
"Here, try these shirts on. I know they're big, but you're going to put on weight so you won't look like a scarecrow in them for long."
Victor knew better than to argue with Honey, and took the coat hangers without even looking at the shirts. He liked to think that his decision would have some influence in what he actually bought, but with Honey, Victor often came out of these shopping sprees with items he was positive he'd returned to the racks.
He was too distracted now, anyway. Victor couldn't help but replay his conversation with Connor, one-sided though it had been. He felt his cheeks burn at the memory of Connor's deep voice describing in detail exactly what he'd need to do to prepare for anal sex. He'd never had to think about preparing before; the most he'd done was foreplay with Cara, and even then, she'd preferred to skip straight to sex. Thinking about it now, and knowing just how desperate she'd been to get pregnant and married to him for his name alone, Victor felt sickened by the idea.
"Breathe, Vicky."
The loathed moniker was enough to redirect Victor's attention and he glared at Honey. "You know I hate that name, Honey-bear."
She wrinkled her nose at the nickname. "Yeah, I know, but it was an emergency. Now, you get to make a decision between the green and the black, but the blue is a definite, okay?" Honey said, swiftly changing the topic of conversation and not letting Victor dwell on what sort of emergency might have occurred.
"Should I bother asking why?" Victor asked, rolling his eyes and not expecting an answer.
After being friends for their whole lives, Victor knew how Honey could avoid answering questions better than anyone.
"Because you're going to get laid when you wear it. Maybe not the first time you wear it, but at least once soon after that. Pretty sure you left the tag on it."
Victor stared at Honey. "What?"
"Ugh, don't make me repeat it. Do you know how traumatising it was to see that? I mean, you're practically my brother, and the last time I saw you naked was when we were eight. I will say; you definitely look happier than you ever did with Cara," Honey muttered, spitting out the woman's name as if it was a curse.
Victor had always known that Honey didn't like Cara, but she'd never given a reason why before. "You knew she was going to do this, didn't you? Why didn't you stop her?"
Honey looked to Victor then, enough pain and sadness in her expression that Victor felt his own indignation and anger melt away. Honey sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "She was a fixed point, Vic. If I had stopped her, you would've worked yourself into an early grave, and you wouldn't have Elijah and Elliot."
Victor nodded; his sons were worth any grievance or hurt Cara had done to him. They were worth more than anything. "Okay. Why now?"
Honey frowned. "Why what now?"
"Connor. I know you brought him here, but why now? Why couldn't you wait until I was over Cara or mentally prepared, or something?"
"I could have waited, Vic, but you couldn't. Even with Elliot and Elijah to take care of, you would've worked yourself to death. Literally," she added with a wince. "Craig would've raised them with Edith's help, though she wouldn't have been able to do much for a few years after your death, blaming herself for not seeing what you were going through and seeing too much of you in the twins. Either Elijah and Elliot would've grown up calling Craig Papa and resenting anything to do with you or Cara, or Cara would've been given custody when the courts realised Craig was raising them on his own - "
Victor grabbed Honey's shoulder, shaking her gently. "Hey, Hon. C'mon, break out of it. I'm still here, okay? Focus on that," he said, watching as colour slowly returned to his best friend's face. "You all right?"
Honey exhaled slowly and nodded. "Sorry, got caught up in it."
Despite knowing that Honey usually needed a few minutes of peace and quiet - which they weren't going to get inside a crowded shopping centre - Victor couldn't help but ask, "Cara would've hurt Elijah and Elliot, wouldn't she? Maybe not physically, but mentally."
Honey nodded and hugged him, the shirt coat hangers digging into them both painfully. For a long moment, they both ignored the pain. "She won't hurt them now, I promise." Honey pulled away with a watery smile and nodded to the changing room. "Now, go and try those on. I need a few minutes to focus on the good again."
Victor pressed a kiss to her cheek and headed into the changing room to try on the shirts. Honey sat on the bench near the changing room, closed her eyes, and focused on a future thread as she waited for Victor to return.
Now, almost a week later, Victor had finally given up on his mother's meddling and had asked Connor on an actual date. He looked at the shirts he'd bought on his shopping trip with Honey, studiously ignoring the blue shirt for now. He'd come home after that trip and hung everything up, putting the blue shirt as far down the wardrobe as he possibly could. Victor knew he wasn't ready for what the blue shirt represented and would entail. That hadn't stopped him from thinking about it, of course. Victor found he had a very good imagination, especially when it came to Connor and Connor's mouth and Connor's -
The doorbell rang, interrupting Victor's thoughts. Grabbing the green shirt off the hanger, he tugged it on as he headed downstairs. Thankfully, Edith had agreed to take the twins to Frieda's before Victor's date, otherwise he knew that his mother would've been at the door already and probably scaring Connor off with her incessant questions.
He couldn't help but grin at the thought of his mother asking Connor what his intentions were with her son. Victor could imagine Connor's response in his deep voice and with his intent gaze - I intend to do everything. He blamed his goosebumps on the air conditioning.
...
End of the ninetieth chapter.
Thanks for reading; I hope you liked the chapters!
