Chapter One Hundred and Thirty Nine
...
"Mrs. Forge?"
"Yes, this is she," Cindy replied, curious and somewhat confused as to who would be calling her out here in the middle of nowhere.
"Oh, good. We've been trying to reach you for some time, Mrs. Forge," a man said, somewhere between exasperated and relieved.
"I've been right here this whole time." Silence met her for a long moment, and Cindy looked at the phone in confusion. "Hello?"
"Yes, I'm still here, Mrs. Forge. The reason I'm calling is about your husband."
Cindy sat up abruptly. "Has he been released from prison?"
"No, Mrs. Forge, he hasn't," the man replied, and Cindy relaxed against her chair once more. "That's the thing, I don't think he'll be able to leave. He's suffered brain damage. There was an electrical fault with one of the phones and, well, I'm afraid there's nothing that can be done to salvage his mind."
"Oh, that's a shame. What do you need me for?" Cindy asked.
"As you're his next of kin, you'll need to determine what to do with him and where to send any remaining money from his account. If his court case is won, that is."
"What about our children? I thought Cara was his next of kin."
There was another pause, longer this time.
"Mrs. Forge, your daughter is missing, presumed dead. I am sorry to be the one to tell you this," the man said, sounding quite awkward. "It looks as though she escaped prison for a second time and according to the records we can find, she has fled the state. No one has seen or heard from her since. As for your son, Mr. Forge legally disowned him soon after arriving in the prison system."
Cindy sat up again. It seemed like a lot had been happening while she was on her cruises. "Where is my boy now?"
"With his legal guardian, Mr. Harland. The case was expedited through the courts once it was determined no one could reach you," the man added.
"Hmm. All right. I'll get off at the next port and make my way back. Where is the next port, pool boy?"
"Colombo, Miss."
"Oh, that means I'll miss Mumbai, too. I can't miss that! Look, you won't need me straight away, will you? Craig is obviously fine with dear Vicky, and it sounds like my husband isn't going anywhere."
"Uh, Mrs. Forge, we really do need you to come in."
"Now, now, an extra month or two won't matter, will it really? I'll be back once this cruise is over, okay? Ta-ta!" Cindy said cheerfully, ending the call.
Detective Fisher looked at his phone in stunned silence for far too long. There was no way in hell that Chief was going to believe this.
...
"You sure we've got enough?"
"I triple-checked, and then checked again the last time you asked. There's enough, I promise," Honey said. "Just go or I'll throw you out of the car myself."
Craig snorted. "You'd have to catch me first!"
Layla grabbed the basket and thanked Honey as she opened the minivan's door, stepping out and brushing off her skirt. "You guys coming or staying in the van all day?"
"Do we actually get a choice? 'Cause I could sleep in there for another year," Ry groaned, sliding out of the car after her and not looking happy about it. "Ugh, why is the sun so bright?"
"Because it's daylight. Why're you so grumpy?"
"Twins were up all night; they're teething and not happy about it. I don't blame them for that, really. I had a wisdom tooth come through last year and wanted to stab my own face. But it was a very interrupted sleep and I'm tired."
"I spent half the night trying to get them to go to sleep, and those teething rings do sweet fuck all," Craig muttered, carrying a box out of the minivan and following Ryuu and Layla up to the school.
"Thanks for driving, Honey. Oh, you're welcome, kids! I didn't spend three months' salary on a flying motor or anything," Honey muttered, closing the door with a button on the steering wheel, before driving away and into the air.
"Are you sure this looks okay? It's not too girly?" Ry asked, trying not to wince.
He hadn't worn girly clothes since... well, ever, really. Unless that ballet tutu counted when he was four.
"You look awesome, Ry. You don't look like you're wearing anything girly, promise."
"Okay, thanks. Hey, want me to carry the basket for you, Layla?"
"No, thank you. I don't trust either of you to carry the basket and for it to reach the school unopened. Frieda worked very hard on making sure everyone had their own lunches and morning tea, and it's meant to be a surprise," Layla said firmly, her grip tightening on the handle.
"X-ray vision doesn't work well for food, dude. It all just looks like grey blobs," Craig said, wincing.
Layla pressed a hand to the tree at the front of the school, apples growing overhead and falling carefully when they were ripe.
"Oh, nice. Thanks, Lay," Craig said, taking an apple. "Want half, Ry?"
"Depends on how you're going to cut it," Ry replied warily.
"I was going to tear it apart with my bare hands!" Craig said, laughing maniacally.
"A sword would work better."
"Oh, the buses are arriving. I think that's my usual bus," Layla said as Ry and Craig argued over the validity of a sword versus dagger for slicing an apple in half.
"Have you seen Warren yet?" Craig asked, draping himself over Layla's shoulders.
"Not yet."
Layla took the apple from Craig and halved it neatly herself, passing each half to the two boys. "There, happy?"
"Yeah, free food," Craig said as he munched into his apple.
Ry nodded and they stayed at the retaining wall with their basket and box as the bus emptied. Finally, Warren stepped off with Adam, Ethan, and Zach. Justina, Robin, and Terrence were a step behind them, talking with others in the chess club.
Layla ignored the others in favour of watching Warren walk towards her. He didn't look entirely happy, but it was early in the morning and he didn't have his usual travel mug of coffee. Taking it out of her bag, she smiled as his eyes lit up at the sight. Not literally, thankfully.
Warren's strides became longer to cross the distance between them faster. It was an especially impressive sight while he was wearing a black leather kilt. Layla knew she was staring but couldn't help it; she rarely saw Warren's legs outside of the bedroom and to see him in calf-high socks, a black leather kilt just below his knees, and a hint of skin between the two set her heart racing, her lust spiking on his wrist.
Ethan's orange and brown kilt included a sporran bag to hold pens and a small notebook; Honey had managed to find a bright yellow and white checkered kilt for Zach that he doubted was a real tartan style, but didn't overly care. Robin's kilt was blue and black, while Justina and Terrence were wearing green and bright green checkered kilts respectively. Terrence thought his kilt looked like the same green used in computer screens in the 80's. Adam was wearing a yellow and black kilt, glaring at anyone who looked at him for too long.
"Why didn't I get a black one? Warren and Ry both get plain black," Adam groused.
"I thought you'd like the yellow one. I've got spares for the frog squad if you want to swap," Craig offered, patting the box beside him.
Wendy and Donny arrived from the parking lot behind them, wearing a blue and grey kilt and a kilt with grey with black squares respectively. Donny looked dishevelled, a blush on his cheeks and a hickey on his neck.
"Is this why you wouldn't pick me up this morning?" Ry asked, wrinkling his nose. "You're cleaning the seat, right? I don't want to put my butt on... whatever you two did."
Wendy rolled her eyes, fixing her hair into a plait. "Adam, can we get some of your antibacterial acid, please? Something safe for leather, if you can."
"Of course I can. You've got microfibre cloths, right?"
"I can make them," Craig offered when Wendy shook her head.
Ethan produced an empty spray bottle for Adam to fill.
"Are you two making out 'cause of the kilts or the coffee?" Zach asked Layla and Warren curiously.
Warren was holding his coffee mug tightly and kissing Layla, so he didn't bother to reply.
Donny snickered. "Pretty sure the answer's both, even without reading their minds. So, why the box of kilts, Cee?"
"Honey said we'd need them, but was vague on the why. I'm guessing frog squad, and maybe others if they're interested. Also, Frieda made lunch for us all and I'm already hungry; can we eat now?"
"No, Craig. Head inside. C'mon, before others see. It's meant to be a surprise, right?" Adam asked.
"Yeah, all right. I'm taking the basket, Lay," Craig called in a sing-song voice.
Layla pulled away from Warren and turned to grab the basket before Craig could. "Go inside already. Didn't you get a text on the way up here that you still need to reply to?" she prompted.
Craig grinned. "Jewel and Grant are wearing kilts today, too. They sent me a photo."
Adam winced and Ethan handed him another empty spray bottle.
...
Beau wasn't entirely sure what had possessed him to choose a business class starting at 8am. He could have slept in until 10am on Monday, but no, he thought he'd be awake and willing to go to class before 8am. No one was willing to do that.
Managing to get to the classroom by 7:45am, Beau wondered if he should have stopped to get something with caffeine first. He needed money for that, though. He didn't have a part-time job yet and was hoping to get more settled at university and its schedule before applying for jobs around town.
Realising that this was one of the classes he had with Jewel, Beau sat up and looked around the room to determine if she was there. Not many people were and it was easy to see she hadn't arrived yet. He sighed and rested his head on his arms, trying to convince himself to stay awake. If he took notes, he could spend more time with Jewel.
Oh, wait, they were dating now so he didn't need an excuse to spend time with her. Still, she was sure to appreciate notes and they could work on them together while Grant worked on Law and Craig did his homework, muttering about Super Maths and Mad Science.
As he daydreamed, Beau heard the door open behind him. Turning to look was an automatic reflex. Staring was not.
Grant had accompanied Jewel to class - or she'd dragged him along with her - and they were both carrying coffee. They were also both wearing skirts.
No, kilts, Beau realised, sitting up straighter and wondering if they were doing this to torture him. Had Craig told them about his response to his kilt on Friday? Were they trying to kill him via orgasm?
Beau didn't think he could handle another orgasm like the one he'd had on Friday after Donny's... mind thing had worn off. He'd barely made it to his room as his feelings had returned in full force. Beau vaguely remembered locking the door, then wanking so hard and fast that he'd whited out. Everything that had been building up since seeing Craig in a kilt had practically exploded from him, a groan escaping that couldn't even be muffled by his shirt stuffed in his mouth. He had been useless for an hour afterwards and couldn't move from where he'd slid down onto the floor, his legs splayed in front of him and his shirt ruined.
The memory of that alone was enough to make Beau shift on his chair; now Grant and Jewel were both wearing kilts?! Jewel looked around the room, smiling brightly when she saw him, and winked as though she knew exactly what they were doing to him. Beau bit his lip and watched as both Grant and Jewel walked down the stepped aisle to where he was sitting.
"Good morning, Beau. Mind if I squeeze past?" Jewel asked.
He shook his head and went to stand, only for Jewel to move between him and the seat in front, giving him a clear view of her body and that damn kilt. Beau moved his bag almost forcefully onto his lap, wincing in pain.
"Be careful, babe. Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself," Grant murmured, passing him a paper cup.
"What's this?"
"Coffee. It's hot. I brought cream and sugar, since I don't know your coffee order yet," Grant added, tugging the small creamer and sugar packets out of his leather sporran.
"Why?" Beau asked, trying to ask about the kilt but his words stuck in his throat as Jewel started arranging her things, her kilt riding up her thigh.
"We thought you'd like a coffee. The kilts are in support of Craig, who was teased for wearing one last week. Though I might wear it again if this is the reaction I get from you," Grant said, cupping Beau's cheek and winking.
There was a pointed cough from the front of the room and Beau wanted to die from embarrassment at the sight of his Business lecturer standing there waiting.
"Sorry, sir. Just getting through," Grant said, his hand dropping from Beau's face as he moved between Beau and the seats in front to get to his seat on the other side of Jewel.
"You're staying?" Beau asked softly, glancing at their lecturer who started to talk to the slides presented on the whiteboard.
Grant started typing on his phone and a message came through a moment later.
Jewel wants company, and someone to stop her from jumping you ;)
Seconds later another message appeared.
Adam: this is the group chat! Keep that shit in your personal chats! You all suck.
Jewel: sorry Ace! Grant's right, though ;)
Adam didn't reply but they all mysteriously lost phone service and the wifi refused to connect.
Beau figured that was a reprimand - or just the university's shitty wifi connection - and concentrated on his lecture.
...
Magenta had heard about the kilts, of course; it was all anyone could talk about at recess. Hell, she'd seen the evidence for herself with Ethan and Zach. She'd been kept back by Mr. Boy and hadn't seen the others yet, but she knew if they were wearing kilts, then the others - including Lorcan - would be wearing kilts, too. It was enough to have her almost running from class to her lockers, shoving everything inside and running again for the cafeteria. She was going to see Lorcan in a kilt!
Will was already in the cafeteria by the time she arrived - stupid power of flight - and Magenta craned her neck from their table to try to see Layla and her friends' table, disappointed to see that they weren't there yet. Keeping her eyes on the doors, Magenta almost missed Will's question as he stood up.
"Do you want lunch?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes. A hero sandwich, please," Magenta said, shoving her purse at him and looking back to the door.
Will hadn't meant that he'd get it for her, but figured he could bring her lunch just this one time. She would owe him then, and it would give him more time to look at Ry in a skirt, anyway. He headed to the line quickly as more people joined.
The cafeteria doors opened and Layla and her friends finally walked in. Ry was in the middle of the large group and by the brightly coloured hair Magenta spotted, it looked like Lorcan was in the middle with him.
Silently cursing her short genes, as well as Josie for deeming Doc Martens as unacceptable for Airborne's Hero Support, Magenta stood as tall as she could on her tiptoes. Tempted to stand on the seat itself, Magenta convinced herself it wasn't worth it. She'd be able to see Lorcan when he moved away from the others to sit down.
The group made it to their table and flowed down the long seat, somehow still managing to block Magenta's view of Lorcan. When they were all finally seated, she saw Lorcan at the far end of the table along with Ry, their backs facing her. She pouted and looked to the line where Will was supposed to be getting their lunch. He was staring at the table, too. Dammit.
Layla ignored the tension in the room and set the picnic basket on the table, opening the lid and starting to hand out everyone's labelled lunches. "Frieda made pasta for us. She also had chocolate-covered crickets delivered with priority shipping. Apparently they're a treat?" Layla asked Kiara, who nodded eagerly.
"Give them to me or Key'll hoard them all," Maleah said, glaring at her sister.
"Like you wouldn't," Kiara said, rolling her eyes.
"I'll attack both of you if I have to," Najair said cheerfully.
"Give them to me, Layla. I'll hand them out," Lorcan promised, rolling his eyes at his siblings. "Ugh, I can feel her staring."
"You're not the only one," Ry muttered, wondering if he'd feel well enough to eat if Will kept staring at him like this.
"Why's there only one banana? That doesn't seem fair," Craig said, frowning as he took it out of the basket.
"I don't want it. The smell of banana makes me wanna hurl," Terrence said, wrinkling his nose from the other side of the table.
"Eww. You can have it now, Cee," Robin said, nudging Terrence. "I was totally gonna eat it before you said that!"
"I would've hurled on you."
"Eww!"
Terrence shrugged. "I can't control it."
"I'll eat it if you all shut up about puking," Craig muttered, peeling the banana.
Will's stomach finally alerted him that he needed to get food, and Ritchie nudged him to nod ahead to where a gap in the line had formed. Will smiled quickly and closed the gap, forcing himself to keep his attention on the food.
Seeing that Will was finally distracted, Magenta took her chance. Dodging several people in the cafeteria to make her way to Layla's table unobstructed, she forced herself to slow her pace in the last few metres. She didn't want to be out of breath when Lorcan saw her. After all, that wasn't meant to happen until step twelve when she would be wearing a much more revealing shirt after making out with Will.
"Hi, Layla. I love your skirt; where did you get it?" Magenta asked, projecting her voice like her voice coach had taught her and forcing herself to not look at Lorcan.
She needed to be cool, calm, and collected. He would come to her, she just knew it.
Layla set her fork down, disappointed that Magenta was doing this. She'd read the Crimson Love Letter herself and still felt vaguely nauseous about it all, but Donny refused to bleach her brain.
She saw Lorcan shrink in on himself at Magenta's high pitched voice - for someone so brightly coloured, it was startling and disheartening - and she was extra annoyed that she hadn't even had a bite of her lunch.
"I got it at a thrift store, and it's a kilt, not a skirt."
Justina saw that everyone was distracted and went for the chocolate-covered crickets; Lorcan needed them more than he needed to listen to this shit.
"Oh, that's so fascinating!"
One look wouldn't hurt.
Glancing over, Magenta saw Justina hand Lorcan a container, Lorcan's eyes bright with happiness and a smile spreading over his gorgeous face. A smile and happiness for someone like Justina instead of her?! That hussy!
A growl started to build in her chest and Magenta was vaguely aware that she was wiggling her butt. She had no idea what was happening or why, but it felt right, and she bared her teeth, readying herself to fight.
Justina's eyes widened when she heard the noise and saw what Magenta was doing. "Are you rumblestrutting me right now? Seriously? Right here, in front of everyone? I will take you down," she snapped, standing to her full height.
"What the fuck is rumblestrutting?" Craig asked in a mock whisper.
"It's a guinea pig dominance tactic," Ethan said, a few people looking at him. "What? I read books and I know weird things, okay?"
"Dominance tactic? What're you gonna do, twerk her to death?" Zach snorted.
Justina rolled her eyes and chattered something fiercely. Magenta's eyes widened at the threat in guinea pig speak and she left the cafeteria, bumping into a few people with tears burning in her eyes. By the time she'd made it to the door, laughter was sounding behind her, and Magenta sobbed as she ran to the bathroom.
"What did you do to Magenta?" Will demanded, making his way to their table and glaring.
"Nothing. Why don't you ask your girlfriend?" Warren asked pointedly.
Will glanced at Ryuu at the far end of the table - at least two whole metres away - and clenched his jaw when he saw that Ry wasn't even looking at him. "Fine. I will!"
"Oh, wait," Layla said, but Will had already stepped forward, straight onto the abandoned banana peel that had fallen off the table.
Will slipped on the peel and fell backwards, landing on the ground so solidly that he cracked the tiles and was winded at the same time.
Zach burst out laughing, Craig holding his stomach as he laughed as well, Adam snickering, and Justina laughing as well.
First Magenta rumblestrutting, then Will literally slipping on a banana peel? You couldn't make this shit up!
"I did try to warn you, Will. Do you need to see the nurse?" Layla asked with a sweet smile.
"No. I'm fine," Will said, stumbling to his feet and checking there was no banana peel underfoot before leaving again, his and Magenta's sandwiches in pieces on the floor behind him.
"I'll clean it up," Ethan offered, melting down in the next second.
"You're gonna reform it in his locker, right?" Craig asked with a snicker.
Layla bit back her laugh, seeing a few too many people looking at their table in interest. "Craig, that's not nice of you."
"Sorry!"
...
"Good afternoon, Magenta. I heard you were unwell earlier. How are you feeling now?" Linda asked as she settled onto the stool next to Magenta in the nurse's office.
Magenta felt like shit, honestly. She'd twerked in the cafeteria, people had laughed at her, and the worst part of it all was that she hadn't even seen Lorcan in his kilt!
"I've got a stomach ache. I think it's my period," Magenta lied, hoping that making shit up would save her from going back in there. She just wanted to go home and sleep. Maybe she could revise her plan.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I've called your parents; your mother's on her way to pick you up."
"What? Why? It's not that bad!" Magenta said, sitting up abruptly, her eyes wide.
"I saw the scene in the cafeteria, Magenta. I also read the Crimson Love Letter," Principal Powers said, trying to keep her tone and expression calm, despite the revulsion she could feel churning in her stomach.
Magenta turned crimson at her words.
"We spoke about this just last week, Magenta. What made you think any of that was okay? It is stalking and borderline obsessive at times. I am suspending you for the rest of this week. When you return next Monday, you will attend mandatory sessions with the school counsellor to work through all of... that," Principal Powers said. "Do you disagree with my verdict?"
Magenta felt tears burning in her eyes for the second time that day and shook her head. Today just couldn't get any worse.
"Querida, there you are! My baby girl, are you all right?"
"Mama, I'm fine. I just want to go home," Magenta said, trying to wipe at her tears discreetly and failing.
"You are crying? Who made you cry? Was it that boy? Did he hurt you again? Querida, you need to - "
"No, it wasn't him, okay? It was me. Can we just go?" Magenta begged.
"You stay here and rest some more; I'll talk to your mother and let her know a few of the details," Principal Powers said, resting her hand on Magenta's shoulder.
"What details? Why only a few? I want them all!" Mrs. Yolanda said as she followed Principal Powers to her office.
Magenta sagged back onto the bed and curled up, clutching a pillow and hot water bottle to her stomach, wishing that this horrible day would end.
Fifteen minutes later, Principal Powers had finished explaining what had happened to Mrs. Yolanda, even showing her the Crimson Love Letter site and the video from the cafeteria - she had to rewind past Will slipping over in the cafeteria, which Mrs. Yolanda looked viciously pleased about. Now that she was done, Linda looked at the woman, who was sitting very quiet and still. Considering how her presence had been bigger than Sky High itself only minutes ago, Linda wondered if maybe she'd been a bit too forceful about telling her the things that Magenta had done.
Unfortunately, Mrs. Yolanda was very much the type of parent that didn't believe their baby girl (or precious angel or darling child) could do anything wrong. It was always a shock when they found out otherwise.
"Can I get you a glass of water? Or tea? Or coffee?" Linda offered as more time passed and Mrs. Yolanda still hadn't moved or responded.
Finally, she shook her head. "No, no. You say she was doing this in the cafeteria, but you are wrong. She would only do this if she has had sex, and I know my daughter is still pure, a virgin," Mrs. Yolanda said firmly.
"Perhaps this is a conversation you should be having with your daughter?" Principal Powers suggested, wondering not for the first time, just why she had decided upon teaching as her career.
Was it too late to take up something less dangerous? White water rafting was a popular pastime, or maybe hiking in the Himalayas, or anything that didn't involve being in this particular place at this particular time.
"Are you saying my daughter is not a virgin?" Mrs. Yolanda asked, then slipped into Spanish, hard and fast and abusive.
Linda took a full minute of swearing before standing up abruptly and responding in Spanish from an older country and time, Mrs. Yolanda blanching at the thickly accented words. "Go see your daughter; I hope you will talk to her in a calmer manner than you have with me. She is suspended for the rest of the week; I will see you both again next week."
Mrs. Yolanda left the room quickly and without looking back.
Linda sighed and rubbed her temples. It was such a shame that the really good coffee was on a different continent. Then again, it was lunch and she didn't have any meetings until that afternoon. The school wouldn't fall out of the sky while she was gone, she decided, opening her window.
...
"Are you okay, Magenta?" Layla asked, waving at her friends to be quiet in the background.
Craig rolled his eyes and brought up a barrier between them so Layla could talk in private, no matter what they were doing in the gym.
"I'm fine. Well, I'm suspended, but I'm otherwise fine. My mother's going overboard. She found out that Will and I have had sex. Apparently that thing I did at lunch was a guinea pig thing; Mother said it's biology, which makes sense. I have to go on suppressants, which should stop the... well, all of it, I hope. I'm in so much trouble," Magenta said with a heavy sigh.
"Do you want me to bring your homework to you? I think Mr. Boy gave it to Ethan, but I'll be happy to drop by, if you'd like?" Layla offered.
"Would you? My mother loves you, she'll probably let you stay the whole night if you asked. She wouldn't even let Will talk to me on the phone earlier," she muttered.
"Did Will tell you he slipped on a banana peel today?" Layla asked, unable to stop a small laugh from escaping.
"No! When?"
"It was right as you were leaving the cafeteria; you probably heard us laughing. It was so funny! I've never seen someone do that in real life," Layla said, laughing and not trying to stop it now.
"Oh, I wish I'd seen it!" Magenta said with a giggle.
Something in her chest eased as she realised they hadn't been laughing at her, they'd been laughing at Will. She probably would have laughed too; slipping on a banana peel had to be hilarious, right?
As their laughter settled, Layla put on a serious expression. "How about I bring your homework over tomorrow? I'm sure you'll have more by then, and you could probably do with a night off, right?"
"Yeah, I think I'm going to go to bed early. If only to escape my mother," Magenta muttered.
"You know where your mobile phone is kept, right?" Layla asked.
"Uh, yeah. Why?"
"I'll say goodbye to your mother and talk to her about the cookies or something. Text Will to let him know what's going on while I'm distracting her."
"You'd do that for me?"
"Of course. You know what Will will be like if he doesn't hear from you tonight."
"Oh my god, you're right. There will be so much pouting," Magenta realised, wrinkling her nose as she thought of the epic cold shoulder and pouting he'd done after Valentine's Day last year when her phone had been stolen. "Mami! Layla wants to talk to you!"
Layla smiled and talked to Mrs. Yolanda, discussing the cookie sales for the Hive and how much she would be earning that month. When she'd spent nearly five full minutes discussing the cookies and the new baked goods that would be available in the coming month, Layla said goodbye and ended the call, hoping it had been enough time for Magenta to get her message through.
"Did she do it?" Layla asked Adam as Craig took the barrier down.
"Yep, and apparently, she's blaming Justina for everything that happened."
"What?!" Justina asked incredulously.
"Hey Will. I'm suspended for the rest of the week and super grounded. Justina hit on you in guinea pig speak and I lost it in the cafeteria today. I'll see you next week! Love, Magenta," Adam read, wrinkling his nose. "I took out the mention of the banana peel, 'cause then he'd know she'd talked to you."
"Thanks, Ace."
"She's saying I hit on him in guinea pig speak? That little... "
"Want to actually hit him instead?" Craig asked, grinning.
"Don't change into him; I want one afternoon where I don't have to see that asshole's face!" Ry called out with a groan.
Craig's grin slipped to a frown. "Can you actually see an asshole's face?"
"We're not discussing the etymology of asses and faces, Cee. Shut up and train. As someone other than Airhorn," Ry added.
"Aww, but... face! Oh, butt face is how you see an asshole's face! C'mon, it's funny!" Craig added when several people groaned and Ethan melted to escape more jokes.
"You suck, Cee," Adam muttered, throwing an acid ball towards him.
Craig changed to Adam's form and caught the acid ball, forming another and starting to juggle them. "You love me."
"Me loving you doesn't mean you don't suck, dude."
Craig just laughed and continued to juggle.
...
End of the hundred and thirty-ninth chapter.
