Night's Children: Acteus Reus
AN: Had a little down time between my college classes, and thought 'Hey, man, you've got some shit you can upload' and I was all 'Dude, you're totally right!'
I've got the summary for the next side story up on my profile : ) It's in Trysten's point of view.
Chapter Two: Fine Dining with The Spawn
When the door to the Ormonds' house swung open, no one expected the site that greeted them.
Catty stood there, looking slightly flustered and anxious…
And she was dressed normal.
Imy's mother was one of those women who, when approaching their midlives, took a rather bohemian style to them. Her hair, which was cut jaggedly at chin length in a retro punk look, normally jutted out at crazy angles, but was now smoothed back into a respectable bob, a fat headband holding her bangs in place. Her clothes, normally consisting of rather earthy tones, tank tops, flowing skirts, and sandals were replaced by a clean-cut pair of dress slacks and a crimson button down shirt. Even her pair of beloved horn-rimmed eyeglasses had been traded in for contact lenses, something Catty Ormond hardly bothered with.
"Wow, mom, you look, um-" Imy stammered, not knowing what to say.
Her mother sent her daughter a pointed glare, "You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago," She said, her voice not reproachful, just stressed. She turned to the other girls, "Hello Riley, Tessa, and…" She trailed off as she wracked her brain, "Oh! Aria, right?"
Aria smiled and nodded, Tessa following her example.
"Hello Mrs. Ormond," Riley all but whispered.
Catty rolled her eyes, stepping out of the doorway and gesturing for them to come in, "Riley, I've known you since you were in elementary school, I think you can stop with the formalities now." She winked, "They make me feel old."
"Sorry Mrs. Catty Ormond," Riley said in her emotionless tone that made it hard to judge whether she were joking or not.
Catty, however, was accustomed, "Smartass," She muttered in good humor, rolling her eyes. Once the four teens filtered in, she shut the door behind her, "Imy, why don't you go change?" She said sweetly.
Imy grimaced, "Do I have to?"
A stare down was initiated between the two Ormond women, before Catty sighed, all too familiar with this routine, "Fine, but at least take off the boots and fatigue coat."
Her daughter grinned, "Done deal," She agreed, heading towards the stairwell up to her room, calling over her shoulder, "Just make yourselves at home."
Catty nodded feverishly, "You can go sit in the living room, if you want. Our guests are going to arrive in a few moments so dinner will be started in a minute."
"Thanks Mrs. Ormond," Said Tessa, taking charge and heading towards the fluffy, white couch in the middle of the Ormonds' rather pristine living room.
"Just call me Catty," Imy's mom said, smiling kindly. She opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off by the sound of a timer going off, "My potatoes!" She cried, sniffing the air and detecting smoke, "I'll be right back," She excused herself quickly, rushing to the kitchen.
Riley and Aria shared a glance before the latter burst into giggles and the former cracked a rare smile.
"Imy's so going to be her mom in twenty years," Aria said, laughing as she followed Tessa's lead, Riley trailing after her.
When they entered the room, they were quick to observe that they were not alone. Sitting in a worn, patchwork recliner that seemed very out of place in the newly updated living room, was Imy's dad, Kyle Ormond. Across his lap was a creased newspaper, and he and Tessa seemed to be engaged in some sort of conversation.
Imy's father was the perfect counterpart to her mother, and he looked perfectly natural in the slightly dressy clothes he wore, unlike his wife. His presence seemed to dictate a sort of proper and orderly persona, his posture perfect and his smile achingly polite.
"Hello Riley," He greeted his daughter's best friend warmly, turning his head slightly, "And I don't believe I know you," He directed towards Aria, as this was her first time at the Ormond residence.
Aria returned his polite smile, "I'm Aria, you might know my mother Tianna?"
Recognition dawned upon Kyle's face, "Ah, how are your parents?"
"Good enough," She said lightly, taking a seat on Tessa's right, Riley plopping down on the left.
"Tessa here was just telling me about her after school job," Kyle trailed off, an amused glint in his eyes when he stared at the other two girls. Aria's face had been drained of all its color and it seemed as if Riley had momentarily stopped breathing as the silence continued.
Tessa snorted suddenly, flipping her hair over her shoulder, "Interning at my brother's work," She clarified, feeling some humor when Aria and Riley let loose collective sighs.
While both Aria and Tessa knew that Imy's father had been involved with the war between the Followers and Selene, they didn't know to what extent and exactly whose side he was on. The way he had aggressively reacted at the hospital a few weeks ago during The Guardian attack was enough to raise suspicion, and know not to bring the subject up around him.
"Oh, I forgot about that," Aria said, turning to the blonde, "When do you start working?"
Tessa groaned, leaning back in her seat, "Next Monday. Four hours a day, five days a week for below minimum wage pay."
"How does that work?" Kyle questioned, shifting in his seat.
"I'm an intern. Usually they don't get paid anything," Tessa sighed and then mimicked her brother's deep tenor, "But it will look incredible on a resume and blah blah blah," She said.
"Your brother has a point, besides a little extra cash won't hurt," Imy's father said, still smiling kindly.
Tessa opened her mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing.
"Noooo!" Came an exaggerated cry from the kitchen, "The food's not done! NOT DONE! THEY CAN'T COME IN YET!"
"It will be fine, honey," Kyle said, with the tone of a person who had repeated a phrase far too many times. Setting the newspaper down, he walked towards the entryway of the Ormond residence, Tessa and Aria leaning to peak around the corner of the wall, anxious to catch a glimpse of the aforementioned 'spawn'.
Riley sighed calmly, "I better go upstairs and get Imy, if I know her, she's hiding under her bed."
"Uh huh," Murmured Tessa, leaning over the arm of the couch so far that her bum was in the air.
"Go, go!" Said Aria to Riley, waving her hand as she stared over Tessa's shoulder, her neck stretched out like a giraffe's.
True bafflement crossed Riley's face as she gaped at the sight before her. These girls were supposed to be avatars of a supreme godly power meant to save the world.
Sighing, she ran a hand through her long, maroon hair, before quickly going to the stairs, "The world is so screwed," She mumbled dryly to herself as she sauntered up the steps.
Aria, having heard part of it, turned to Tessa, "What'd she say?"
The blonde shrugged, "Don't know, but shush! The spawn from hell's coming in!"
"Tessa, keep your voice down!" Responded Aria…loudly.
"You keep your voice down!"
The two were interrupted by the door being opened, and Imy's father saying kindly, "Long time no see! Come on in and make yourselves at home."
Aria and Tessa's breath was held, their voices died down, their very hearts ceased their beating as the sound of greetings came from Beyond The Doorway, and people entered the Ormond home.
The first person to come in was a man who appeared to be a little older than Kyle. His build was large and rather bulky, with a slight beer belly and a vaguely receding hairline. His face was handsome, with stern features and a strong jaw. There was also this certain way that the man carried himself which screamed authority, a posture not unlike Officer Jacobson's.
"That's got to be Slurm." Whispered Aria.
"Sledge," Corrected Tessa.
"Whatever."
After the man came in and hung up his coat, he was followed by a strikingly pretty woman. Her hair was cornsilk blonde and hung straight passed her thin shoulders. The woman's body was small and waiflike, and her lovely blue eyes glimmered with genuine happiness as she threw her arms around Imy's father for a hug and a quick peck on the cheek.
"Emily," Both girls responded evenly at the same time.
"This leaves The Spawn," Tessa whispered in her best boogey-man voice, to which Aria just elbowed her in the stomach.
Tension hung in the air as they all watched the scene eagerly, waiting for the presence of the person that someone even Imy of all people could hate. A muffled greeting from Kyle was heard and responded to, and the girls tensed as they saw someone step inside-
And their jaws both simultaneously dropped.
"Damn," Whispered Tessa.
"Um…he doesn't look like a girl," Aria supplied helpfully.
There, standing between the two supposed parents, was the equivalent of a Greek God. His hair was light blond, almost white, and looked incredibly fluffy and slightly disheveled, reaching a little passed the tops of his ears. He had inherited his father's face, his mother's eyes, and he was dressed in a green flannel shirt that was unbuttoned all the way with a white shirt underneath and a pair of not-so clean jeans with ratty high tops.
"I saw him first," Tessa declared, staking a claim appreciatively.
Even Aria, happily in a relationship with a handsome boy, had to pause and admire the view. "…Definitely not a girl."
"It's nice to see you Kyle!" Beamed Emily cheerfully as she took off her coat and passed it along to her husband.
"You too Em," He responded, a boyish smile on his face, "Where's Tatum?"
Both girls, preoccupied in their ogling, had entirely forgotten about the spawn for a moment, and they shook themselves from their drool fest to refocus on the goal of the evening.
"She's out in the car," Replied Sledge, his voice low but not exactly intimidating, "Gabbing on the phone with one of her friends."
"She'll be in soon," Contributed Emily apologetically.
"Ah, speaking of friends," Kyle turned his head, "Why don't you guys come out and introduce yourselves?"
Shocked at being discovered, both girls fell rather ungracefully to the floor, quickly picking themselves back up before the guests could see. After they had composed themselves sufficiently, they walked into the foyer.
"These are Imy's friends Tessa and Aria," Kyle introduced them individually, then turned to face the company, "This is Emily, Sledge, and their son Dwier."
Tessa flashed Dwier an award-winning smile, and Aria grinned nervously, but the boy seemed thoroughly uninterested, his hands tucked into his pockets and his eyes trained on the edges of his grimy shoes.
"It's nice to meet you," Emily said brightly before turning to Imy's father, "Where's Catty and Imy?"
Tessa and Aria were quick to see how Dwier's head jerked up when he heard Imy's name. They shared a knowing look.
"Catty's in the-" At this, a rather loud crash sound was heard contributed by a startled yelp. Kyle winced, "-kitchen. Imy and Riley are up in her room and will be coming down shortly because to take any longer is unspeakably rude," He yelled the last part, his eyes drifting up to the ceiling meaningfully.
Sledge sent Emily a rather pointed stare, "Why don't you go get Tatum and tell her to come in now."
She sighed, seeming rather hesitant, and instead turned to her son, "Dwier, why don't you go get Tatum?"
The boy groaned but remained silent, swerving on his heel and stomping outside in an irritated fashion.
"Dwier's not very sociable with new people," Sledge offered to the two girls as a large hand scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably.
Kyle, sensing the severe awkwardness his high school friends were experiencing, quickly ushered the group away from the entrance, "Go ahead and sit down, I'll go make sure Catty hasn't burned down the kitchen," He said, being the perfect host and guiding them to the living room.
Emily and Sledge sat on the love seat across from Tessa and Aria, while the two groups eyed each other warily and hoped for some sort of deliverance before the dreaded small talk commenced.
The silence grating her nerves, Aria finally questioned, "So, how old are your kids?"
"Dwier just turned fifteen, and Tatum's sixteen," Emily said, kindly, "And how old are you two?"
"We're both fifteen." Tessa answered.
"That's nice," Sledge supplied edgily, not fluent in small talk or girl talk.
"Yes, I suppose it is." Responded Tessa.
"Indeed." He continued.
"Yep." Came Aria.
"Fifteen." Repeated Sledge.
"Right," Contributed Tessa.
"Of course."
"Naturally."
"Yep."
"Fifteen."
Another unbearably uncomfortable pause, as Sledge shifted in his seat and drummed his fingers on the tops of his knees. Finally, he broke as he stood up and sighed.
"I'm going to go ask Kyle for a beer," He muttered to his wife, then turned to the two girls, "Want me to grab you one?"
"We're fifteen."
"Oh, yeah. Right."
Both girls inwardly groaned. This had been more than sufficiently awkward. Imy and Riley had to come save them now.
OoO
"I can't believe you are actually hiding under your bed," Riley declared in disbelief, her grey eyes wide.
"Make the bad people go away!" Came a muffled whine from underneath the double sized bed, a pair of combat booted feet peeking out from beneath the bottom of the bed's quilt.
"You realize that you're going to be sixteen soon, right?" Her friend drawled.
"Ergh, not important," She protested.
Riley just sighed as she stared at the dismembered pair of feet, wondering how much upper body strength was required to forcefully drag a difficult fifteen year old out from under the bed. It wasn't until Riley noticed a thin ring of light appear around the bed that she dove and latched a hand around Imy's ankle.
"No you don't," She mumbled, "No teleporting out of this."
The white light vanished, followed by a defeated sigh. "I don't want to go."
Riley rolled her eyes, accustomed to the 'tantrums', "It's only for a few hours."
"A few unbearable hours." Corrected Imy, who had thankfully retreated from her protective cover, dark hair disheveled and her clothes wrinkled.
"Better to get them over with, then."
Her lower lip stuck out, the hoop glinting in the light, "Do I have to?"
Riley looked at her crossly and folded her arms over her chest, "Don't make me have to make you peppy." She flashed a bit of grey aura around her, just for effect.
Catching the underlying warning, and realizing that Riley wasn't joking, Imy paled and slowly stood up, stretching languidly. "This sucks."
"I know." Riley ran her fingers through the air, indicating the threads of emotion that hung around Imy.
"Oh well, at least they don't live here or anything."
"That's true."
OoO
"So Sledge and I finally decided to move back to Los Angeles," Emily said happily to Catty as she set out the mismatched plates and glasses for tonight's dinner.
"That's great!" Kyle enthused, as he came out of the kitchen with Sledge, who was gripping his can of beer like it was a lifeline.
"We thought the kids would do well to go to high school in a larger city, and Tatum's only in her sophomore year so there's plenty of time for them to adjust." Emily continued, not quite noticing how Catty was shoveling out the mashed potatoes into the serving bowls with a little more vigor than necessary.
"How are the kids taking the move?" Questioned Kyle, who had noticed Catty's extra enthusiasm when dishing out the food.
"Dwier doesn't like most people, so he sees it as just another move. But Tatum," Sledge trailed off, taking a long sip of beer, "Well…she's…y'know?"
Catty and Kyle shared a glance. No, they apparently didn't know.
"She's been a little more…moody than usual," Emily attempted to explain, "Tatum isn't used to things changing too fast for her to adapt."
"She's not used to not getting her way," Sledge clarified bluntly. His wife sent him a disapproving glance but he shrugged, "It's true." He muttered, taking another drink.
Catty just tried to smile, "Imy can be a little stubborn too." Scrape, clomp, dig, kill!…the potatoes.
"She gets that from you," Kyle said smartly.
Catty's grip on the serving fork became poised to kill.
"And it's a good thing!" Kyle continued quickly, noticing the murderous air around his wife.
Tessa and Aria watched the exchange from the comfort of the living room, and both felt sympathy well up for the teleporter of the group.
"Imy isn't going to be happy about this," Aria commented warily.
"No, she is not." Tessa agreed.
"Not happy about what?" Came the projected upbeat voice from the staircase as Imy slid down the banister on her butt, landing somewhat gracefully at the bottom. Riley trailed along behind her, leisurely walking down the steps.
"Nothing!" Blurted the two of them.
Riley raised an eyebrow, "You're both lying."
Tessa and Aria glared daggers at the stoic girl with the oh-so-unfortunate ability. She didn't even flinch, "Well, you are."
Imy's mouth tilted into a frown, "What's up?" She tensed and looked around her quickly, "Has the spawn arrived?"
Quickly taking the initiative to change the conversation, Tessa said, "No, but why didn't you say she had a totally hot younger brother?"
Imy's eyes widened, "Dwier?" She turned around to look at Riley for confirmation. She returned a confused shrug.
"Yes Dwier! Don't tell me you don't think he's cute?" Tessa inquired, budging Aria in the ribs for affirmation.
"He is rather attractive," Aria commented blithely, rubbing her now sore side.
"Huh, never noticed." Imy said.
"How could you not?" Tessa demanded.
"Most likely due to the fact that we've known him since we were younger," Riley commented, ever the logical one.
"He's like the antisocial kid brother I never needed," Agreed Imy.
Tessa scoffed, "Pity, since I think he likes you and won't even notice me." Her tone wasn't at all bitter.
"What?" Imy asked, blind-sided, but was interrupted by the sound of the front door creaking open, followed by a knock. "Shit." She whispered low enough so they wouldn't hear her.
Three pairs of eyes immediately zeroed in on Riley, who took a half step away from them self-consciously, "What?"
"Answer it," Imy begged, "Please?"
Riley sent her a skeptical look, "It's your house-"
"Does our decade of friendship mean anything to you? Because I don't think that it does."
Riley's eyes drifted skyward in a 'Why me?' movement before she acquiesced, jamming her hands in her pockets and walking smoothly to the door. Deciding it would do best to handle the process like ripping off a bandaid, quick with some stinging sensations, she immediately pried open the door without preamble.
She was met with Dwier's fist almost crashing against her head. Nimbly, she ducked slightly and avoided it.
"Dwier," She said monotonously.
"Riley," He replied just as flatly.
They gave each other a basic nod which showed they acknowledged the others' existence. Then Riley looked behind the fifteen year old and saw who was with him.
"Hello Tatum," She said.
"Riley! I haven't seen you in forever!" Came the voice that Riley immediately categorized as loud and excessive. The empath tensed for the inevitable bear hug that she was about to be subjected to.
Tatum to the outsider's perspective was a lovely girl. Her strawberry blonde hair held a slight wave to it and was long in length and properly kept without a trace of split ends. Her blue-green eyes were round and innocent looking, and her skin devoid of any blemishes. She looked almost perfect, and that alone placed a few people on edge.
The girl took a step forward, and Riley froze. The Hug Was Coming.
Graceful arms wrapped around her cheerfully and a bit too extreme, as Riley stood stock still and felt a few of her vertebrae pop from the cruel force they were being subjected to.
Riley didn't have a problem with most people, in fact she could count on one hand the number of people she had actually been angry at, but there was one universal rule that she always upheld. No touching. Ever. Her empathetic abilities had made her wary of people by nature, and when in a close physical proximity she began to feel cornered and panicky. Touch tended to send her receiving abilities on overload, and it made her flustered and unsure of what emotions were really hers. Only people that Riley significantly trusted were allowed to interfere with the precious bubble of personal space.
Tatum was not one of these people.
Therefore, Riley may have pried herself away from her arms with a little more force than entirely necessary. Dwier watched the scene passively, a bit of smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, as this was what always happened when they came to the Ormonds and Riley was there.
"Imy's in the living room," Riley blurted, taking a few steps away and quickly retreating.
The sound of a stifled "Traitor!" came from the living room's general area.
"Oh great! I haven't seen her since we last visited," Tatum said cheerily.
Riley blinked at the girl, and slowly stated, "…That would make sense."
Dwier's smirk spread.
Without waiting for a reply, the empathetic goddess walked into the Ormond's living room, a few steps ahead of Tatum. Imy sent her a nasty look.
Riley sighed, "She hugged me." She explained plainly.
Imy's nasty look suddenly became a bit more understanding.
"Imy!" Tatum said as she entered, her tone wasn't as cheerful as before, but still amiable enough to be polite.
"Imy," Dwier echoed, his smirk fading and his gaze lowered somewhat nervously.
"Hi there, Dwier," Imy greeted kindly, her stare falling on the Spawn of Hellfire, "Tatum." Her welcoming sounded like it was being forced through a meat grinder.
The two teenaged girls seemed to be locked in an intense staring competition, Tessa and Aria sent Riley wary looks, which she only replied to with a shrug. Before anyone could comprehend what was going to happen next, the brunette teleporter was taken completely unawares.
"I missed you!" Tatum proclaimed, wrapping her arms around Imy in a 'friendship'-esque hug.
Tessa outright snorted, Aria gaped, Riley remained apathetic, and Dwier's big blue eyes widened slightly.
Imy tried to breathe, "Um, okay then." She said, slowly managing to pry herself away.
Tatum, getting the gist that her hug was no longer appreciated, backed away, "Who're your friends?"
"I'm Tessa, it's nice to meet you Sp- Tatum." Tessa said easily, suppressing the slip of the tongue.
Aria sent the blonde goddess a vaguely reproachful glare, "I'm Aria," She introduced herself courteously.
"You both go to Turney High?" Tatum questioned innocently.
"Not me, I go to La Brea, it's a little more north than Turney," Tessa responded.
"But I go there, why do you ask?" Aria said, trying to break the news to Imy gently- I.e. having Tatum tell her instead of the currently unarmed healer.
She gave a smile that was far too sweet, "No reason."
Imy, picking up on the thinly veiled lie, opened her mouth to ask Tatum another question, but she was cut off as Emily walked into the living room.
"Girls, dinner's ready," She said. Her son gave a grunt, "Sorry, Dwier, you too." Emily noticed both Imy and Riley for the first time, "Imy, Riley long time no see!"
"Nice to see you again Emily," Imy stated, her eyes still scrutinizing Tatum.
Riley nodded.
"Well, let's go, Catty seems a little…stressed," Emily said, turning and going towards the dining room.
Tatum followed by Dwier went immediately after her, but the Daughters seemed to hang back a bit, noticing the waves of hostility Imy was emitting.
"She's up to something," Imy commented shrewdly, "Don't trust her."
Tessa sent her an incredulous look, "What are you talking about? She gave you a hug. That's hardly a spawn's M.O."
Imy turned towards Riley, "Didn't you feel the deceit?"
Riley shook her head, "I hardly felt anything. Which is…unusual, I'll admit. Especially since she hugged me." At the word 'hugged' her left eye twitched slightly.
"Ha! There! She's unusual." Imy deducted.
Three girls simply waited for clarity to dawn and for the crickets to chirp in the background.
"Oh, shut up." Imy muttered.
"We better not keep them waiting," Aria said, ever one for proper manners, as she went into the dining room, the others following behind her and a reluctant Imy trudging after them.
As luck would have it, by the time the first three girls sat down, Imy was left only one open seat, the spot between Tatum and Dwier. She sent her three friends a pleading look, but was rewarded with a deliberately confused stare from Aria, a smug grin from Tessa, and flat out ignorance by Riley. Mentally groaning she eased herself in as unnoticeably as possible, cursing her fellow Daughters to an eternity of awkward social situations.
Catty and Kyle came out from the kitchen, each balancing two dishes, Kyle with an additional bowl of vegetables. Catty's ovenmitted hands gently eased down the questionable-looking casserole, followed by some, oddly enough, slightly burnt mashed potatoes. Kyle set down a basket of bread with another plate of perfectly cooked steaks. He set the bowl down in front of Riley.
"There you go Riley, no animal bits of any kind," He said helpfully.
She nodded in gratitude, "Thank you."
"No problem," He said, turning back to serving the food.
Imy squirmed in her seat, feeling completely surrounded in enemy territory. Tatum was actively discussing something with Aria, who was actually seeming to get along great with Imy's ultimate enemy. Dwier was as incredibly silent as usual, but now that Tessa had commented on it, Imy felt herself more aware of the few sneak glances he would pass at her from beneath his duck fluff hair. She groaned. This was hell. Everyone seemed to be making small talk while eating, even Riley was keeping up a conversation with Imy's father. Her eyes darted to the exits, and she sensed the disapproving look on her mother's face from across the table. She seethed inwardly, no escape. This was total hell.
"So, Kyle tells me that your little music group's playing a concert this weekend," Emily cut in, seeming to notice Imy's apparent discomfort.
Imy grimaced at her garage band being referred to as 'a little music group', but answered politely, "Two actually, first is at our local club The RockOut, and then on Saturday we're playing at Planet Bang."
Emily gave a thoughtful smile, "I remember going to The RockOut during high school, I bet it hasn't changed much?"
"Probably not," Imy agreed, "Stuff there looks like it hasn't been touched for twenty years."
Emily grinned, "That's it all right."
"What kind of music do you play?" Came the somber voice of Dwier, and everyone momentarily paused at hearing the withdrawn, normally irritated boy speak.
Imy awkwardly cleared her throat, "Well, it mostly sounds like a few genres thrown in a blender. I don't mess much with the technicalities of it all, that's more Riley and Jake's thing."
"Jake?" Asked Emily.
"Jake is our drummer," cut in Riley, "Our style's more oriented towards mid seventies punk with heavy influences of early progressive goth/rock on guitar parts with an undertone of new wave and blues. Occasionally I borrow music arrangements from a folk background, such as the alternative D-A-D-G-A-D tuning. The bass parts are entirely done up by Twiggy, who uses standard root fifths on the guitar chord progressions infused with a heavy distortion and a few deviations based upon the Dorian scale." She noticed that she had lost the entire dinner crowd and returned to absently spearing peas with her fork.
Imy gave a weak chuckle, "Riley's big into music." She clarified.
Sledge, who had been ignoring everything in favor of his beloved can of bliss, stared at Imy and said simply, "So…you're a rock band then?"
"Yep, sure are," Imy said, "Isn't that right, Riley?"
Riley's face acquired an almost sour expression, "Yes…a rock band," To her, it was like saying Picasso was a cartoonist.
"Are you guys really any good?" Tatum commented blithely.
Aria, noticing the slight narrowing of Imy's eyes, decided to contribute then, "I like them."
Tessa picked up on the hostility, "Me too. They're big on the local circuit."
Tatum gave the girls a nonplussed expression and decided she'd had enough of the boring conversation, "So what's there to do around here?"
"Tons," Tessa said flatly, and then ignored her completely in favor for a piece of steak.
Aria groaned, absolutely hating Tessa's rude streak, "Normally we go to clubs, or there's a lot to do at the beach." She paused, "There's really a variety of activities in Los Angeles, it depends on what your interests are."
Tatum shrugged, "I like shopping, any good malls?"
Imy groaned. People pretended not to hear.
"I know a brand new mall that opened a few months ago," Tessa trailed off dangerously, fighting to keep the smirk from crawling up her face. "We'll have to go sometime."
Riley winced slightly and Aria outright gaped at her. Imy felt a surge of respect for her fellow blonde goddess when she realized she was hinting at the Follower hotspot, the place where Riley had been taken by Tymmie. She knew the blonde was just joking, after all, leading innocents, annoying innocents but innocents nonetheless, into danger kind of conflicted with the protecting part of their duty.
Tatum looked as if she were about to make a comment, but Emily cut her off.
"I'm sure Tatum would love to go with you after we're done moving in here." She said.
Catty, who was feeling rather disapproving of Imy's behavior, supplied, "Yes, and I'm sure Imy would love to show Tatum around Los Angeles after you're settled. Isn't that right, Imy?"
Imy snorted as she scrapped off the burned parts of her mashed potatoes. As if she'd show Tatum around Los Angeles after they had moved in. Mechanically, she scooped in a spoonful of food, and began rhythmically chewing. Yes, the mashed potatoes required chewing.
Her mind then repeated what it had just thought as her chewing slowed. Something about Tatum…moving…to L.A.?
She immediately spit out her food, "Wait, WHAT?!"
OoO
I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, I hoped you all liked it!
Up Next: Imy's never been good with coping, Art's a damn good housewife, Zahi's dirt poor, and a rock show thrown in for fun.