CHAPTER FIFTEEN: The Next Day

When I wake up, Lizzie is still sleeping, so I try not to make any noise as I edge out of bed and tiptoe down the hall. I peek into Lizzie's bedroom, where Mitch is sprawled across the sheets. I stifle a giggle and continue into the kitchen. I walk over to the cereal cabinet and grab the first box I see, which just happens to be Honey Bunches of Oats. I grab my favorite bowl, the one with the built-in straw (I'm six, don't judge me), and get my breakfast ready. I plop down on the living room couch and turn on the TV, flipping through channels until I find a show I want to watch (PROPERTY BROTHERS! SCORE!). My family has always been weird that way, we love HGTV.

Around the end of the show, when I've been watching it for about 45 minutes, it finally occurs to me to check the time. 9:55 AM. Of course. For whatever reason, I always wake up earlier when I stay up late. If it were a normal weekend, I'd be waking up in fifteen minutes to half an hour.

It takes another half an hour for Lizzie to stumble out of my bedroom, still clumsy from sleep. By now, I've finished my cereal and I'm working on a cup of coffee (no sugar and a lotta milk). She plops down on the couch as I get up. I pour her coffee (two spoons of sugar and slightly less milk) and bring it over to her. She rubs her eyes underneath her glasses and accepts the mug. She flips the channel to TLC, our second most frequently watched channel. Deadly Women is on, and we quickly get invested. It's times like this where we don't really talk. We just sit there in what I like to call "companionable silence."

I'm considering lunch when Mitch FINALLY comes out of Lizzie's room, squinting like he's still adjusting to the light. I smirk when he bonks gently into the wall as he enters the kitchen.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," I say. "Help yourself to whatever you want."

"Thanks," he says. After a bit of scrounging through the cupboards, he finds the cereal, a bowl, and a spoon. He pours it, then looks up at me like he's confused.

"You really think I'm beautiful?" he asks. I can tell he's holding back a smile, but I somehow manage to keep a straight face when I reply.

"Fangirl law number one-nine-two dictates that any subject of a fandom must always be considered beautiful, even if one is no longer granted the full title of fangirl."

"Oh. Right," he says, and goes back to his cereal. I can't help it any more. I bust out in giggles, as does Lizzie. Even Mitch starts laughing, but keeps focused on his cereal. Soon enough, I'm full-out cracking up, falling over onto my side. Lizzie's in much the same position as me, and Mitch has buried his face in his arm. I guess things are just funnier in the morning.

"It wasn't even that funny," I manage to get out after the three of us have calmed down.

"Not at all," Lizzie says, wiping a tear. Mitch comes over and plops in between us with his cereal. I hand him the remote (it's an unspoken law in our house that whoever sits last gets to at least see what else is on before being outvoted), and he flips through channels mindlessly. He ends up just turning it back to Deadly Women, and the four of us sit for a while in silence.

"So, what are we doing today?" Mitch asks.

"Well, usually we pack up for our trip home and clean the apartment and stuff, but Lizzie's already cleaned it by the looks and we don't really need to pack, so… I have no idea," I reply.

"Don't forget the My Roommate and I stream," Lizzie says.

"Pffft, course not," I say. Every year before we leave for home (both before winter break and summer), Lizzie and I host a 4-hour livestream playing random games like Happy Wheels and Draw My Thing. Our rules are simple: we can't leave the room for the whole four hours, no breaks, and no visitors. It can get tough sometimes, especially when I have to pee or the kitchen is calling my name. Still, though, it's been a ton of fun the past two years, and the viewers have loved it.

"Mitch can't join that one, though," I say. He looks over at me, offended.

"Why?"
"MRAI rule #3: no visitors," I say. "Whoever breaks the rules has to wear my orange sweats to class for a day." His eyes widen.

"Oh dang. That's a punishment."

"Yeah."

"It still has to happen, though," Lizzie says. The three of us go silent for a minute, our brains working at top speed.

"Well, seeing as it's almost one o'clock, how about Lizzie and I eat lunch and then start the stream around one-thirty? Mitch, you can either stay here and be quiet like a good boy or go explore the outside world, it's up to you. As long as you don't crash the stream, you can do whatever you want," I say. The other two nod in agreement.

"Whatever I want?" Mitch asks, a devilish smirk starting to appear on his face.

"Within reason."

"Whose reason?"

"Mine," I reply.

"You're no fun."

"None at all," Lizzie says.

"You are absolutely right. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some lunch to put in the microwave," I say, heaving myself off the couch and stumbling my way into the kitchen. I search through the fridge until I find the burger patties from a couple nights ago. I plop them on a plate and put them in, using the time to find myself condiments and utensils. Lizzie takes her turn checking the fridge, pulling out whatever she ate for lunch yesterday. We take our food into my room and prep for the stream, changing clothes, making sure all digestive-related needs have been attended to you. After the burgers have disappeared and Lizzie's lunch is gone, I send out a tweet and record a quick vlog to post on the channel. About five minutes later, we begin.

"Hey internet, Jenna here with the ever-lovely –"

"MY NAME IS RACHEL! I'M HERE FOR YOU BRUCEMANBATWAYNE!"

-oO0Oo-

*MITCH'S POV*

I can hear the TV going in the living room when I wake up. For a second, I'm disoriented by the amount of light in the room. Then I remember where I am, and swing myself out of bed. Breakfast is calling my name, so I head down the hall towards the kitchen and whatever else is down there, I'm not really sure. When I come into the even brighter light of the living room, the two girls are sitting on the couch with cups of coffee watching a show where someone just died horribly.

Murder in the morning, my favorite way to start off a day.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Lily says from the couch. "Help yourself to whatever you want." I limp my way into the kitchen (stiff morning walk, you know how it is) and search through the cupboards for an acceptable form of nourishment. After about ten seconds, I find what is immediately my favorite place in the kitchen.

The cereal cupboard.

I grab a box, I'm not really sure which kind but it doesn't matter at this point, and scrounge some more to find a bowl and spoon. Her statement doesn't really "dawn" on me until I'm dumping the cereal into the bowl.

"You really think I'm beautiful?" I ask, trying my best to keep a straight face. She spouts off something about a fangirl law. I act like that's totally normal and turn back to my cereal. Soon enough, she and Lizzie bust out in giggles, and I can't help but laugh myself. It's not much longer before all three of us are laughing uncontrollably. It's really not even that funny, but I can't stop laughing. Kinda makes me realize that Lily's not the same person she was when I met her. She's not my fangirl anymore. I'm glad, though. It would be kinda really weird if I just casually changed my clothes almost every night in front of a fangirl. It's evident in her videos that her attitude towards me has changed, and I think it's affected her commentary for the better. She's screaming less, anyway.

I guess I'm the one that changed her. Huh.

I DID THAT WITH MY MIND!

A/N TIME! YOU KNOW YOU LOVE IT:) : Hey guys! QD here with yet ANOTHER chapter for all y'all. Thank you as usual for being so amazing and wonderful and lovely and all that other happy fluffy stuff. You beautiful individuals have skyrocketed this story to over 5600 views, which is a number I never could have imagined reaching when I first started this story. Thank you for your continued support and all of your lovely reviewing and whatnot. Remember, if you want me to read something you've written, just PM me and I will check it out (*cough GUARANTEED REVIEW :) cough*). With that said, here are the facts!

-For whatever reason, I usually wake up early at sleepovers and stuff. I don't know why, and I'd probably be a lot happier if that didn't happen anymore. Oh well.'

-Those orange sweats are definitely a punishment. You have no idea.

-My family has a strange fixation with HGTV. Property Brothers is where it's at.

-Deadly Women is on par with Untold Stories of the ER in my book. Which is to say, strangely good.

-I don't put sugar in my coffee, which is why I don't loooooove Starbucks (even though I'm a white girl).

-Companionable silence is legit.

And then for the fictions:

-My friends don't really drink coffee. At least, not the two Lizzie is based on.

-My streaming software sucks. I tried streaming once and I got like 12 fps and no audio. Maybe I just need a new computer. I don't know.

I think that about sums it up for now! Don't forget to check out the companion Lily's Nightmares if you want to know where her bad dreams came from. All her nightmares are based on poems that I have already written in the past that I'm now posting for YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE:) There's only one there now, but there will be more in the future [insert evil author smile]. Also, apologies for the super-short Mitch POV. Lily's was pretty darn long today and it's getting late, so I should probably go. Much luv and internet hugs!

-Quiet Defiance

PS – Once again, Mitch if you are reading this and have gotten this far, I am very sorry for horrendously misrepresenting you. *laughs awkwardly then trails off*