See, if I focus, I can get chapters out pretty decently. At least, for one story.
But anyway, yeah, HERE WE GO! This chapter is long, so I hope you like it. Sorry for any spelling/grammar errors you find. I swear I try my best to catch them all, I just can't seem to do it though -_-
"Jake! You have your own apartment! GO HOME!" I heard Nicole screaming one beautiful Saturday morning. Sauntering out of my room, I peek out towards the entertainment area to see Jake sprawled out on our couch.
He is wringing his hands through the blanket, blinking wildly at Nicole. For the past five nights we've awoken to find Jake passed out on our couch. (I'm not sure when he got a key to get in here. I suppose he would have one since he works into the building thouh and is responsible for cleaning the halls and such.)
"Your couch is comfy." he says.
"I am aware it is comfy, I bought it and it is mine- but comfy or not, why are you on it?" Nicole demanded, reaching her hands out as if she intended to strangle the younger adult. Jake ducked to the left, rolling off the couch completely to avoid her.
"There isn't any heating in my home yet." he tried to explain.
"You've lived on the streets for months! Deal with it!" she leapt over the couch to make another grab at him. He scrambled away, putting a table between himself and her. "How do you even keep getting in here?" she ran around the table only for him to run around the other side and avoid her.
"You leave the spare under the matt."
"I told you not to do that. It is too predictable." I speak up.
"Arinna." Nicole turns to me, "Tell him to leave."
'Want to join us for breakfast, Jake?" I smile at him. He perks up in a way I only ever see a child do and it makes me chuckle.
"Arinna. Arinna no, I said kick him out, not invite him for food. We have to be consistent with him." Nicole scolds me.
"Ooh shh. You are being over-dramatic. He is our friend and if he wants to spend the night than we should let him." I wave her off.
"Not if he leaves 4 apartments over!"
"Would you prefer Stockman spend the night?" I asked innocently. Nicole practically contorted into herself, her expression the very description of disgust.
"Don't even suggest that." she hissed.
"Then there, it is settled." I say in victory.
"Who is Stockman?" Jake asks, taking a seat.
"He is going to be our new neighbor here in a couple of days." I explain to him. "Nicole and I use to know him in high school."
"He is a horrible horrible nerd Jake. Don't interact with him when he gets here." Nicole points at him with her fork.
"He isn't that bad." I sigh at her then lean over to Jake, "Nicole and him have had this ongoing fight for years. They are both just too stubborn to put aside their differences and get along. I swear, if they did, they might actually be good friends." I whisper to him.
"I heard that. We would not!" she bellowed.
"Not what?" Elizabeth asks softly as she waddles towards the table, her little palm rubbing the sand out of her eyes.
"Be friends with a meanie." Nicole lifts Elizabeth up. Elizabeth grins at her.
"Meanies are mean." she said. "But Nicole isn't a meanie. She is nice."
"Aww, thanks." Nicole grinned.
A second later the door opened and Michelle stumbled inside, "Morning." she yawned.
Nicole held up her hand in a 'what are you doing?', motion. "I don't remember inviting all of you over to have breakfast here." she says.
"You owe me for babysitting Leather Head, Picasso and Elizabeth." Michelle sniffs, plopping down. "What are we having-?"
Suddenly, Jake was in front of her, staring at her hoodie with narrowed eyes. He didn't say anything, and just glared.
"…What?" Michelle frowned. Jake reached out, taking the strings of the hoodie she was wearing into his hands. He began to adjust them, making them perfectly symmetrical with the other.
"Sorry… it was bugging me." He mumbled.
"Oh." Michelle glanced down at them. "Okay?"
Shuffling back to his seat, Jake shrunk a bit when Leather Head came into the room, carrying Picasso with him. "Good morning~" He places Picasso in his high chair. Those two seem to be around each other a lot. I think Leather Head has this kind of protective urge to Picasso- perhaps since he was the youngest and smallest of all of us. Or the fact that Picasso was the only other mutant in this crazy group.
"Morning Leather head." we wave at him. "How did you sleep?" I ask.
"Well." he smiles, "May I help you make breakfast?"
Touched since he was the only one to offer his help I nod, "I would appreciate that." I hand him some plates to help set the table.
"I'll help too." Jake rises and grabs the silverware. It took him 10 minutes to set them out- they had to be perfectly straight I guess.
Chuckling, we sat down and ate our fill. It was a good breakfast if I do say so myself, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Michelle was dabbing at the edges of her lips with a napkin, glancing at the clock.
"Oh, I have to go." she rises and grabs her camera. "Thank you for the meal, as always."
"Freeloader." Nicole grumbles at her.
"You tackled me down an entire flight of stairs." she whistles innocently.
"You have got to stop using the against me!" Nicole yelled, "It was one time, and I want to say we are even since you keep taking my newspaper even though I know you get your own. Why do you even need two newspapers anyway?"
"I have my own hobbies mind you." Michelle turned to grab her camera.
"What sort of hobby involves newspapers?" Jake questioned.
Michelle winks at him, "That is my little secret." she heads for the door, "See you all after work!"
"Bye-bye!' Elizabeth waves to her.
"Have a nice day," I call to her. Finishing my own plate, I went to my room to change. Sliding out, I twirled in front of the group. "How do I look?" I asked, my new work clothes spinning with me.
"Like a secretary." Nicole says bluntly.
"Well that is basically what I am, so perfect." I straighten the shirt. "Jake, male opinion, your thoughts?"
Jake's eyes widen a bit, "...I'm not really the person to go to for advice on clothes. Or anything for that matter." he says.
"Oh come on, what do you think." I nudge him a bit.
"It's… nice?"
"Nice as in she looks nice or nice as in you are just saying that because you have nothing else to say?" Leather head inquires.
"Important question there Leatherhead." I pat his head, "Well Jake, which is it?"
'You look nice because you look nice." he pouts, "But it is very grey."
"Work appropriate." I nod with a sigh. "Always a little bland. You know, while at work my boss told me an interesting fact about the color gray." I smile,
"What?" the others ask.
"Well, he was talking about the differences between Gray spelled with an A, and Grey spelled with an E. Both mean the same color, so how come you can spell them differently?" I ask them
They shrug, "We don't know."
"Michelle spells gray with an E." Nicole points out.
"She would because she is from England. British English spells Grey with an E, while American english spells it with an A." I explain to them.
"Well that is weird." Jake frowns, "Why didn't we just keep with the E?"
I shrug, "I don't know, but that is how it is. So properly, it is spelled with an e, but in America you'll usually find it spelled with and A."
"Grey or Gray, it doesn't matter- it is still a pretty bland color." Nicole snorts.
"Would be nice if you could add something brightly colored. Like a bow. A rainbow bow." Jake pauses, "Rainbow bow." he makes a face as if saying bow twice disgusted him. "Nice rainbow thing to go in your hair." he corrects himself.
"I have one of those!' Elizabeth slides off her chair and runs to her room/Nicole's room, since this apartment is only so big so they share a room. Scurrying back a few seconds later, Elizabeth motions for me to bend down. Doing so, I smiled when she clipped something onto the side of my forehead. Using the fridge's reflection to look, I smile at the beautiful rainbow clip.
"It is wonderful, Elizabeth." I tell her.
She gushes, "Looks nice on you. B-But I want it back eventually. I need it for my tea party later."
"Oh I will for sure." we lock our pinkies together.
"Well you don't have to go for a few hours right? Anyone want to watch a movie?" Nicole wiggles her eyebrows.
"Yes!" Elizabeth and Jake's hands shoot up like wild fire.
Picasso and Leather Head on the other hand only blink, they shrug. It was weird to see Picasso shrug.
"Movie it is." Nicole concludes. "But later I have to head off to the shop and check in on things."
"I'll come too!" Elizabeth giggles, running towards the couch.
0000- Michelle-000
Humming to herself, Michelle practically skipped through the streets of New York after work, feeling refreshed and energized- which was a weird feeling to have after leaving her job.
Life had become really grand lately thanks to her new friends. Honestly, it was not exactly how she had planned it to be, but that did not really matter. She was happy with how things were, even if they were a little strange.
Her life had always been strange anyway. Nothing in her life could be considered fully normal.
So it made only sense that her friends would be a little odd too.
Chuckling, she glanced down at her camera, changing the settings a bit and lifting the lense up to her face. Zooming in on different buildings and people, she took a few good shots. Taking pictures was her career and passion- she just loved the feeling of the camera in her hands.
There was nothing better than capturing a perfect moment, allowing the moment to live for years to come.
One of her favorite things to do with her camera was explore. She would take strange turns on the way home all the time in an attempt to catch something new on film. You would be surprised to how many strange things she has seen in this city alone. (And that doesn't involve her neighbors.)
"Oh." she paused as she passed any alley, "I've never been through this way before." cutting through the heavy crowd, she was happy for the amount of people in the area to drastically cut short.
Moving through the alleyway, curious to where it lead, she scanned the tall buildings surrounding her. New York's vast and winding street ways never ceased to amaze her.
Realizing she had come to some sort of hidden alley way blocked by broken pipes and boxes, she carefully moved through them. Her father's words echoed in her brain as she did this.
"Remember Michelle, curiously killed the cat. You must always be aware of what you are getting yourself into."
She paused to sigh sadly. Oh how she missed him so. Clutching her camera close, feeling a tear prick her eye at the very thought of her diseased father, she froze when something clanked above her. Pressing against the wall in surprise, she looked up, only able to catch a glimpse of a figure. They were above her, hanging from what appeared to be a clothesline from the apartments above. Worried for a second that they got stuck and were about to fall, she gasped when they back flipped off the line. Ready to whip out her phone and call an ambulance when they went splat, her hand froze against her jeans.
They landed on the small wall in front of her not with a splat, but with a gentle swoosh of wind and a twirl. She was shielded by the boxes towering to her right and was positive the figure couldn't see her, but she could see them.
It was a girl, and a young one at that from what she could tell. Maybe late teens?
What was she doing out here performing these dangerous stunts? Going for some sort of Parkour perhaps?
With more grace then Michelle could ever possibly hope to have one day, the girl leapt off the small wall, landing upon the wooden post with pin point accuracy. Holding her hands out, she gently moved them in a swaying motion, as if she was doing a type of dance.
Michelle was dumbstruck at the sight.
It was- well, it was beautiful. Caught in a trance, she watched the young girl dance, or whatever she was doing, with baited breath. Worried she would stop if Michelle spoke up, she felt this urge to pull out her camera. How could one not take a picture of some so elegant?
And in such perfect lighting too!
Scrambling to lift it too her face without making a noise, she paused when the girl bent back. She had been wearing a hat, but the motion caused the head gear to shift.
As the hat fell from her head, the girl's hair cascaded down her back gently and her ears pointed upward- wait a minute… what?
Her fuzzy ears were pointed upward? Like… Like a cat's?!
The camera almost slipped from her fingers and Michelle had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Yup, those were definitely cats ears.
…This girl has cat ears.
AND A TAIL! The girl had a tail! A fluffy tail that was just wagging back and forth. Why did she not notice that- why did this girl have ears and a tail?!
In all honestly, Michelle should not be surprised by this point. She was just having breakfast with a mutant alligator for pete's sake, but come on! What is with this city? What is with her and her friends? Why did everyone she know have to run into the bizarre?
Once in a life time encounters they say. More like, every gosh darn week encounters!
"Good work, Tessa." A deep voice suddenly echoed through the alley making Michelle jump. Pressing further against the wall, she peeked out to see a new being step forward.
Now she knew she was going crazy.
She had to be seeing things. SHE HAD TO! There was no way something like this would be happening to her twice- thrice- how many times would this make? A large amount of times to see something strange in her life time, that is how many times.
These two… they weren't normal. In fact, one of them wasn't even human!
This new person who had stepped towards the girl… he was… He was a full grown, perhaps even slightly bigger than usual, white cat. Not the size of a snow leopard or anything, but not the size of a house cat either. Maybe right in the middle of the two? She couldn't tell from her.
He looked amazing though. Beautiful even, and Michelle knows she should be thinking the opposite because those teeth of his could rip her limb from limb but she couldn't help it.
They were mutants.
Two of them.
A giant cat and a girl with cat ears and a tail.
Oh gosh Michelle, what had you gotten yourself into?
"Thanks K.R., I'm starting to feel really confident in my ability to land." the girl said with a bright smile.
"You practice shows." the cat, who Michelle assumed to be K.R., nodded.
Feeling her fingers twitching against her camera, Michelle couldn't up but slowly lift it up to her face. Just like that night she had first seen Nicole with Picasso, Michelle was struggling to resist the urge to take a pictures of these two.
She wouldn't show anyone the pictures…. Except for Arinna and Nicole of course, but she had to get some sort of evidence.
Something to convince her brain that this was real and actually happening.
Perhaps she should reconsider though, just incase these two weren't friendly-
Clicking the button, Michelle flinched at the loud sound it made. Curse her twitchy happy go lucky fingers.
The two mutant, just as she thought they might, froze, the cat raising his head. His ears twitched and with a violent turn his eyes locked in on her hiding spot. She squeaked. She had been caught.
"YOU!' the cat roared. He was suddenly charging towards her, the girl at his heels.
Michelle leaps to her feet, bolting back the way she came.
Déjà vu feeling much?
Seriously, this exact same thing happened with Nicole. The only difference is, Michelle wasn't sure if these two would let her off the hook as easily as Nicole did. Or tackle her down a staircase, since no steps were present, thank goodness.
Not saying she really feared the cat too much, but the girl looked ready to pummel her, and Michelle would prefer to avoid that, thank you.
Scrambling down the alleyway, tripping and stumbling over boxes, she rolled back into the side road she was in before. The two cats weren't far behind now, and she could see the shine of the cat's eyes only a few feet away. She got to her feet, leaping forward, practically barrel rolling into the main road.
She had never been so happy to see New York Lunch rush!
"Hey, watch it!" an angry New Yorker pushed her back for bumping into her.
"Sorry. Sorry!" she stammered, ducking and weaving between citizens until she reached the other side of the massive side walk and behind a newspaper dispenser.
Whipping her head back around, she looked back into the alleyway. It was a little hard to tell, but she could definitely see both of the two crouched behind the dumpster glaring at her.
She had been caught.
She had to be the worst photographer ever. She really had to learn how to sneak around better.
Honestly, she was lucky she got away in time. And from the looks of it, those two weren't going to be coming after her in such a public place anytime soon. They wanted to stay hidden.
Perhaps that is why they chased her in the first place? That cat must have seen her camera and assumed the worse… just how Nicole had before.
Michelle has a real probably of taking pictures of people who do not wish for their picture to be taken off.
Taking one last quick look to the cat and cat girl, Michelle merged into the crowd.
Shuffling through the streets, still feeling her heart pumping like mad, Michelle reached towards her pocket. She froze.
Oh no.
Oh no no no. This couldn't be happening!
Her wallet was gone!
Either someone took it without her realizing it or she dropped it.
…She hadn't dropped it when she was being chased by those cats, right? Right?!
She didn't have time to think of that, she just wanted to get home.
0000- Arinna-0000
Arinna should have asked more questions when her boss texted her to stop by and grab some coffee on her way to work. She was just so startled that Max Winters' knew her number that she just fumbled a reply and headed off. But what kind of coffee did everyone like? No everyone likes coffee anyway, so she bought two smoothies just in case. Oh, but what if they didn't like coffee or smoothies?
Hitting herself she stumbled into the Winters' Cooperation.
"Excuse me. Pardon." she lifted her drinks above her head to avoid them bumping into the crowd of people shuffling within the front lobby. Using her chin, she held the drink with one arm, fumbling to grab her ID tag.
She had just managed to grasp it when her feet bumped into each other and she tripped. She caught herself using the side of the Security guard booth, but flinched when the drinks toppled.
"Whoa there!" two large hands shot downward, catching the drink carrier just in time, "Careful now."
Looking up, Arinna smiled to see the familiar Security guard she met on her first day, "Mr. Haru." she says.
"Oh, just Haru." he insists with a kind smile, helping her too her feet. He noticed her ID badge a second later, "Well I'll be, you got the job. Congratulations." he grinned, "Welcome to Winter Corp."
"Thank you. Thank you very much." Arinna chuckled. "Oh." she held out the second drink carrier, "Would you like one? I thought it might be nice to get my fellow workers drinks, so I bought a bunch." she says, "But don't take that one. That is for Mr. Winter."
Haru perks up a bit, scanning over the drinks, "That is very nice of you, Arinna." he takes a smoothies, "Not a huge fan of coffee."
Arinna mentally high fived herself for the correct choice in getting smoothies. "No problem." she handed him her ID badge.
"Arinna Kentin, wearer of gray plaid and rainbow clips." he notes, scanning the badge. "Got a middle name?"
"Ehhh." Arinna had never really liked her middle name, "Yeah, Revnec." her hand goes to her rainbow clip, smiling at it.
"Doesn't sound too bad." he notices her cringe.
"I suppose," her mother had given her that middle name, and not for the best reasons. Not that she would explain what it fully meant to a nice man like Haru.
"Arinna Revnec Kentin does not sound bad to me." Haru says.
"Do you have a middle name?" she inquires.
"My full name is Haruki Julio Zamorra Houhouji." he says.
Arinna almost sputters, "Jeez, that is a long name. Haruki Jul-eet Zama-blah Haho- I can't pronounce that."
"An A for effort." He laughs, "I've often been told my name is hard to pronounce. Most just call me Haru Zamorra now."
"Haru Zamorra."
"Need any help with those?" he asks, handing me the second drink container.
"I'm good, thanks." Arinna shuffles them around until she can get a good grip on them. She glances at the clock, "Ah! I'm going to be late. Thanks again, Haru!' She gives him a wave goodbye with her foot and rushes for the elevator. Stepping inside, she exits out onto her floor. Giving all the people she sees some coffee on the way to Winter's office, she take his drink out of the container.
Straightening herself a bit, Arinna knocks on his door and waits.
"Yes, come in." Max's voice calls from the other side. Creeping the door open, Arinna steps in, hoping the outfit she chose was work formal.
Max smiles when he sees her, motioning for his new assistant to come in, "Arinna." he greets, "And coffee, yes, thank you." he takes it, taking a big sip. "Perfection." he nods, placing it to the side, "Thank you." he turns to look at a few boxes he's got. "Nice rainbow pin." he motions to it.
Arinna brightened, "Thank you sir."
There was a sudden silence between them. Standing there, feeling awkward, Arinna clears her throat,
"Wha- what would you like me to do now?"
Max straightens and waves his hand, "Tell me, do you know the story of the Trojan War?"
Arinna's high school history classes came back to her a second later in fragments, "More or less." she tells him, "It is where Achaeans waged war against Troy. They built a big horse, the Trojan horse I think, to sneak their way into the city without Troy even realizing. I don't remember too much details on it."
"You have the basic premise." he chuckles, "Well done." he lifts a plat up with an ancient engraving of the Trojan horse etched into its surface, "Beautiful piece, no?" he hands it to her to examine.
Arinna's hands feel clammy as she runs her finger tips over the edges, afraid to grip too tightly in case the plate shattered, "Beautiful." she agrees, "But… Why are you showing this to me?"
There is a twinkle in his eye, "I'm a collector." he explains, "History, in ways, is everyone's past and culture- like collecting photos of your youth and placing them within a scrapbook. I do the same with great art found across the world."
"...Doesn't really answer my question."
"You seem like the kind of person to cherish the past- A very fine quality to have, even when the past can be quite painful at times. Yet, our journey to where we stand now is what has defined us. We either grew from our struggles or collapsed into something horrid. What would you say you have turned into Arinna?"
"An assistant." she answers without hesitation, her face so serious.
Max didn't seem to expect that and snorts, "That- well yes, I suppose you are correct there." he says with a smile. "What I meant was; what kind of person do you think you are?"
"Oh…" she takes a few moments to ponder his question. "I'm not sure, Sir." she admits, "I hope a good one, but opinions are different to everyone."
"True, true." he muses, "Or perhaps you've just never looked at yourself close enough. Here is an assignment for you Arinna as you work here. In your hours working for me, I would like for you to look at your life and those who are in it, and in a few weeks, tell me what kind of person you think you are."
Arinna was startled at the request, "W-What do you mean by that, Sir? As in- my personality or traits-"
"Are you brash? Kind? Bizarre-"
"I'm often told I am bizarre." she speaks up.
"But do you feel bizarre? Would you call yourself bizarre? I don't much care for how others view you, I want to know how you view yourself."
She trails behind a bit, her expression falling, "I… I don't know how I view myself."
"Then look for it. Takes these few weeks to figure it out." he turns to go back to his boxes, "For the meanwhile, go see Sydney back down the hall. She has some papers in need of copying." he waves her off.
Glancing back towards the door, Arinna scurries towards, pausing when Max calls out to her, "If you have the time as well, perhaps you could look at others too."
"Others?" her hand freezes at the door.
"Tell me who you think the people who work here are. Tell me what kind of person you think I am. Perhaps Sydney, your neighbor, an old friend from school, or even the guards from downstairs. Examine them Arinna, look at the quirk and habits, and tell me what exactly makes them tick and what they live for."
Feeling as if a very large request has just been placed on her shoulder, Arinna stiffly opened the door, feeling her legs shake a bit, "I'll… I'll try my best, Sir."
-000Michelle000-
She had sprinted home.
Well, not so much as sprinted, but perhaps a heavy jog? Either way she was breathless and stumbling through the front door to the lobby feeling like an overheated dog with its tongue out.
"Michelle?" Agatha gave her a wide look, "Everything alright?"
"Yes. Yes." she nodded, "Just… just thought I would run home and get my blood pumping. Be healthy..."
Agatha gave her a peculiar look, nodding slowly, "I see…" she glanced at the door, as if she expected something to come running in after Michelle. Seeing nothing she nodded again, "Well, glad to have you back. How was work?"
"It went well." Michelle fumbled with her bag, hoping she hadn't dropped her keys as well. Happy to pull them out, she pressed the elevator button. "There was nothing too exciting that happened there. Have Nicole or Arinna left yet?"
"Just an hour ago. Nicole went to the Bakery with Elizabeth and Arinna ran off to her new job, saying something about needing to pick up some coffee."
Michelle clicked her teeth, "I see. Well thank you." stepping into the elevator she gave Agatha her best smile. She was positive by the look Agatha gave her that the older woman knew, but what could she know? There was no possible way for Agatha to know what Michelle had just witnessed, and even if Agatha knew something was up, she wouldn't guess it was mutants.
So with a quick wave before the elevator closed shut, Michelle leaned back against the wall and sighed.
Fumbling her fingers to her camera, she glanced at her knees, wincing at how scratched they were. Agatha must have noticed them too, but hadn't brought them up. It could easily be crossed off as tripping though, so perhaps that is why.
Stepping out of the elevator when she reached her floor she glanced at Jake's door. It was open and she could faintly hear the sound of a vacuum. He vacuumed everyday, the silly guy.
Perhaps she could go to him about this? She knew Leatherhead and Picasso would be in Nicole's apartment, and she could go to them, but what could she get out of an infant? Not saying Leather head wouldn't understand, but there wouldn't be much he could do given the fact he can't leave the apartment complex.
So her options were limited to wait for the others, or Jake.
"Jake?" she moved to the door, giving it a light knock, "Can I speak with you?"
The vacuum shut off and he peeked down the small hall at her. "Michelle." he greeted, stumbling over the cord. "Hi."
"Yes, hello." she took her camera off of her neck, "Do you have time to look at something?"
Jake perked up a bit, "Sure?"
"Okay. Okay, look at this." she showed him the photos she had taken. He stared at them curiously, eyes wide.
"Kitty cat." he smiled, "I like cats. They are fuzzy."
"Yes, that is not the point here. Look at the girl." she pointed.
Jake took a second look, "A cosplayer." he nodded.
"Cos-" Michelle hadn't even considered the possibility that the girl had just been wearing fake ears and a tail, "No." she shook her head, "When I was there, the cat spoke. He could talk." she insists. If they were just cosplayers surely they wouldn't have chased her.
...Or would they? What was the normal reaction to have when a stranger took a photo of you? Surely most wouldn't be comfortable with that. She often forgets that though since she is the one on the other side of the lens.
"Like a space cat?" Jake's eyes sparkle.
"...Space what?" Michelle inquires.
"You know, the space cats?" he started to sing a little tune from some strange song he heard as a child. "Ever heard of it?"
"No." she shakes her head, "Not at all. It definitely was not some space cat." Or was it?
Jake blinks innocently at her, shrugging.
She sighs, "Oh, never mind, Jake." she swats his face and he steps back. "Go back to your cleaning."
"Will do." he gives her a thumbs up, turning back on the vacuum, "But close the door on your way out, I don't want Revenbard getting in here." he looks a tad pale.
"Reven-what?" she asks
"Revenbard; the lady from the floor below. I don't want her getting in here and lunging at me. She does it after every meal."
"Does she really?" Michelle is shocked to hear this, "Never heard of that." she peeks out into the hall, "After every meal?"
"I was told after every meal, snack or other wise." he nods seriously.
"How peculiar. What time is it? Surely not near dinner time, yes?"
"I don't have dinner yet, but some might. When do old people usually have dinner?" he asks.
"I do not know." she inches into the hall, "Thank you for your time though, Jake. Have a nice evening."
"You too." he waves as she shuts the door.
Shaking her head a few times, Michelle pulled out her phone, dialing Nicole's cell. Sighing when it went to voicemail she left a message, "Yes, hello Nicole, it is Michelle. Please come see me when you get this message, it is important. I saw something very peculiar today and I am not quite sure what to do about. Considering that you seem to live in a world of peculiarities, I thought you could help. Or at least tell me I am not crazy. I believe I have encountered two strange mutants today. They are cats, mind you. Please, call me back soon. Oh- and by the way, were you aware of Revenbard below? Jake told me about it today, it is quite strange."
Leaving the message there, Michelle entered her room, opening her camera to remove the film. From there she entered her bathroom, which she had been using as a makeshift darkroom. Moving around, barely able to seewiththe dim red light, she got to work in printing the full picture of these mutant cats.
0000- Nicole-0000
"Spaghetti for dinner sounds nice." Elizabeth swings her arm out, grabbing Nicole's hand. The two swing their arms together as they stroll down the road.
"You ask for Spaghetti every night." Nicole snorts.
"It is my favorite." She nods sweetly. Then she pauses, "Oh, Michelle called you."
"Did she?"
Elizabeth gets to her tip-toes and reaches a hand into Nicole's bag, rummaging around until she pulled it out. "It buzzed a bit ago, but I didn't want to pick it up and then I forgot to tell you."
"Oh well, if it was important she would have called more than once." Nicole flips open her phone, noticing a voicemail. Pressing the phone to her ear she listened quietly.
"Yes, hello Nicole, it is Michelle. Please come see me when you get this message, it is important. I saw something very peculiar today and I am not quite sure what to do about. Considering that you seem to live in a world of peculiarities, I thought you could help. Or at least tell me I am not crazy. I believe I have encountered two strange mutants today. They are cats, mind you. Please, call me back soon. Oh- and by the way, were you aware of Revenbard below? Jake told me about it today, it is quite strange."
Nicole didn't know if she should groan in frustration of laugh at Michelle's last comment.
"What is it?" Elizabeth inquired.
"Oh, Michelle ran into something weird today." she sighed. So it wasn't just Arinna, all of them were just drawn to weird things. At least Michelle didn't bring them home with her.
...She didn't bring it home with her, right?
0000- Michelle -000
With time, the photos came out nicely.
Glad the picture was clear, she stuck it up on the clips to dry, watching as it came into focus, clearly showing off the cat and the girl-cat-person.
At a closer examination, she could not see anything attached to the ears that would make them fake. They looked at if they were sticking straight up from her skin, her hair neatly folded over it as hair would be over regular ears.
That was hardly anything to go by. She would need a second opinion, and one that wasn't Jake and his space cats. But what exactly would she do even if she learned they were truly mutants? Go out and look for them? Tell the press- no, that would draw attention to herself. And with only one picture she was positive most would think it was fake.
Sighing she pinched her nose and glanced at the clock. It was getting close to Nine already and the sun had went down. She had to be at work early the next day, so perhaps this could wait for later?
Making a weird noise she stepped out of the dark room and closed the door. Stomping over to her bed she plopped down onto it, too tired to change into her pajamas. Yawning, she rolled into her covers, snuggling up with them.
It felt like she had closed her eyes for only a few moments before she heard a creak on her floor. Peering out, she glanced up at her clock, seeing that two hours has passed.
Seconds sure did turn into hours fast when you sleep.
There was another creak. Feeling a dull panic rush through her, yet not fully knowing if that was just her dishwasher making noises or something else, she peeked up. She could see nothing at first within the darkness of her apartment, but then a shadow moved.
She froze, holding her breath and blinking rapidly to make sure it wasn't just her eyes playing tricks on her.
Scanning the room without moving to much, she faintly heard the sound of ruffling paper, then an angry huff. Sweet jam and honey, someone was in her apartment!
Was it Nicole? She had a key.
After this morning's conversation she would have no doubt that Nicole would attempt to take something of hers as compensation for the newspapers. Michelle had half a mind to speak up and say Nicole's name to call her out, but the form was smaller than Nicole.
Nicole often wore sunglasses or goggles on top of her head that were easily noticeable, shadow or not, but this form didn't have them. In fact, they had a very different form than sunglasses. The top of this person's head was almost pointy… like ears.
Like cat ears.
It was the girl from earlier, there was no doubt about it. How in the world did she get in here?
The open window to the side of the room was her answer.
Without making a noise, Michelle watched the girl cautiously, noticing that she was going wildly through her stuff. Was she… was she looking for the photo? That must have been it. She had to think of something. What could she do? She had no weapons near her to protect herself, and her cell phone was on her dinning table.
The girl moved to the other side of the room, perking up as if she had found something. Michelle was curiously, knowing the photos were no where near there and in fact in her bathroom, then froze.
The girl had pulled out her camera. She pulled at it, scanning wildly for the slot that held the memory card. Michelle panicked, an intense instinct pulling at her to get that girl as far away from her camera as possible.
Her father had given her that.
"Don't touch that!" she yelled.
The camera almost slipped from the girl's hand and she turned around. They two caught the other's gaze, frozen in a second of panic, neither knowing what to do. "P…Put that down!" Michelle ordered again.
The cat girl slowly did as told, placing the camera down, then dropping on all four.
…Uh oh.
She charged.
"AHHH!" Michelle screamed as the girl leapt towards her, cutting her scream off by clamping her hand around her mouth.
"Be quite human." She demanded harshly. "Or… or else."
"You better tell me where you put our picture or so help me I'll… I'll eat you."
Michelle started to scream even harder- SHE WAS A CANNIBAL!
"Tessa." A voice boomed, making both girls freeze. "We don't eat people. What even compelled you to say that?" the voice sighed. It was the cat from before. He had just leapt up to the table to let his presence be known.
The girl, who was apparently known as Tessa, blinked, "I-I dunno, I just said it. Just let me do this K.R." she told the cat.
"And I told you before, we are here to negotiate, not threaten her." The cat narrowed his eyes.
Tessa huffed, "I didn't threaten her."
"Telling her you are going to eat her is threatening." the cat replies smoothly.
"...Is it?" Tessa gives the cat a wide stare.
"Release her." The cat, who apparently also had a name; K.R, commanded.
"She'll run." Tessa frowned.
"At least remove your hand from her mouth."
Sighing, Tessa retracted her hand but kept the other firmly on her arm, a threatening look in her gaze. If Michelle made one wrong move… well, she could assume she would be sleeping with the fishes.
For now, she had to play her cards right. These two were scared and from what she could tell, just wanted to make sure their existence was kept a secret.
Taking a few seconds to collect herself, Michelle straightened, "I… Who are you?"
"You do not need to know who we are." Tessa told her.
"Tessa and K.R, that is what you said your names were." Michelle continued, startling the younger girl. She glanced at K.R frantically, who just cringed, nodding.
"She knows our names!" Tessa yelled at him.
"We did repeatedly yell them." K.R reminds her.
"…." Tessa pursed her lips. "T-That doesn't matter. Just tell us where the photo is!"
"I-I will." She assures them, "I do not want any trouble, honest. Nor will I tell anyone about you." Michelle said softly.
"...Cheap talk." Tessa scowled
Michelle frowned, glancing at her bathroom door, "I am telling the truth. Please… I know this might sound hard to believe, but I have met others like you."
"Others?" the cat frowned, "How very odd for you to run into us today." He said suspiciously.
"Not really." Michelle shakes her head, "More of a hassle for my curiosity and health- not saying you two make me unhealthy, heavens no. I am sure you are both delightful people."
Tessa and K.R glance at each other.
"And I am sure you are just frightened and-" Michelle began to move, but Tessa stepped in front of her.
Michelle yelped when Tessa used her other hand to grab her wrist, holding it painfully tight. "You don't know anything about us!' she roared.
"Tessa.' K.R snapped. "Don't-"
"She took our picture!" Tessa argued, sounding as if she had been holding in this anger and fear for so long, she could barely contain it, "We can't let her show anyone else it. What if it gets out into the world? What if someone else sees it? What if they come looking for us?!"
Michelle wasn't sure who 'they' were, but didn't like the sound of fear that etched this young girl's voice.
Knock Knock.
The three froze when the there was a knock on the door. Lifting her head, Michelle gulped. It wasn't Agatha was it?
If so, then this could get ugly real fast. Not that Agatha would mean harm, but if she saw a giant cat girl within her apartment… well, yeah, who knows how that would turn out.
"Hey? Michelle?" It was Nicole, "What in the world are you doing in there? I keep hearing yelling? Everything alright?"
Seeing that Tessa was glaring at her, Michelle frowned. "…Y-Yeah." She called towards the door. "I am peachy. I left my TV on!"
"Oh… okay then?" Nicole sounded confused. "You sure?"
"Y-Yeah." This wasn't good, her voice was trembling. Come on Michelle, keep it together.
In some sense, she didn't want Nicole to know these two were here. If she suddenly came in, who knows what these two might do. From this grip on her wrist, she had no doubt Tessa could do some serious damage if she wanted to.
On the other hand, she really really wanted to be rescued from this situation.
However, there was K.R. He seemed like the voice of reason between the two, so maybe he could calm things down if Nicole did find her way in here?
"I didn't get your message till a bit ago. Just got home too. You wanna talk about what happened? You sounded worried on the phone," Nicole said through the door.
Tessa gave her a look that meant, "Get ride of her."
"I am uh… actually really tired today." Michelle said, hoping to sound casual. "I think it would be best to sleep on it."
"Yeah, probably the best. But hey, we can add this to the list of weird things we have seen. I'm just surprised you didn't bring those cat people with you." Nicole snickered. Michelle flinched at her word choice.
Looking frantically at Tessa, she could see the girl's eyes flare with shock and anger. Perhaps even fear at the mention of herself.
And then… pain? A hot burning pain that suddenly shot up her arm with no warning. It had Michelle staggering.
It had been Tessa's grip. As soon as Nicole had mentioned her, the young girl's hold on Michelle had subconsciously tightened, cracking the very bone of her wrist.
Michelle was screaming a second later, falling to her knees.
Tessa on the other hand jumped in surprise, releasing Michelle's wrist and stumbling back in shock. She hadn't meant- she never intended to fracture the bone.
The person had the door had startled her and she just tightened- not realizing how much strength she had put into it. She hadn't meant to-!
Not paying attention and too distracted by her thoughts, Tessa ran straight into Michelle's bookshelf, knocking the whole thing over with a large BAAM!
Tessa barely had time to move before it crushed her.
"Michelle?!" Nicole called frantically from the crashing sound. "What was that?!"
Michelle sobbed, falling to her knees, cradling her arm, the pain too excruciating to form a decent sentence.
"Michelle! Michelle answer me!" Nicole bang wildly on the door, "Oh that is it!" Nicole sounded panicked and pissed. "I'm coming in. Better back away from the door!"
"W-Wait Nicole-" Michelle was starting to regret giving Nicole and Arinna a key to her house.
Bursting into the apartment, Nicole kicked open the door, and slammed on the lights, scanning the area "What in the world-" her eyes doubled in size at the sight in front of her. Well… who wouldn't be confused at the sight of a cat and a girl with cat ears standing surrounded by a destroyed apartment and a injured photographer?
"N-Nicole." Michelle mumbled, feeling an unintentional tear slip down her face.
Nicole looked horrified, her usually calm features flashing into rage. "Who the hell are you two?!" she screamed at Tessa and K.R. "Breaking into my friends house and assaulting her?!"
"That's not- we never meant-" Tessa fumbled wildly, stepping back towards K.R.
Nicole slid to Michelle, her gaze set on the two strangers, "Hey? Hey Michelle-" her voice dropped to a worried whisper, "Speak to me, you okay? What did they do?" she took a good look at her arm. The fury returned a second later, "Why you no good piece of-" she leapt into action when Tessa attempted to make a break for the open window.
K.R has just scrambled through it, with Tessa right behind him, but she yelped when Nicole grabbed her ankle and tugged her back inside.
"Don't think you can just get away from this!" Nicole let out a scream as she tackled Tessa to the ground, "Dziwne rzeczy kota!" (Weird cat thing)
"Nicole!" Michelle called out.
"Tessa!" K.R leapt back inside the apartment to break up the fighting.
"Don't touch me!" Tessa rolled the two over, swiping wildly at Nicole's arms.
"Wysiąść mnie jesteś dziwny kot cosplayer! (Get off of me you cat cosplayer!)" Nicole screeched, hitting against the girl on top of her.
"What in the world are you even saying?!" Tessa demanded. She lifted up her fist to give Nicole a good punch across the face, but when she attempted to bring her fist down, she hit nothing but air.
Or was it- she had just been lifted into the air? Not expecting the large hand that wrapped around her hoodie, Tessa shrieked when something yanked her off of Nicole.
"Nicole!" Leatherhead suddenly appeared, pulling Tessa off with ease. He must have heard Nicole scream and came running.
"AHHH!" Tessa screamed at the sight of him.
"L-Leatherhead!" Nicole grinned as the he stepped back, tossing Tessa across the room and over the couch.
K.R was dumbfounded at the sight for a good couple of seconds before he scrambled over to his friend, "Tessa." He knelt next to her.
The next set of events was a collaboration of screaming, name calling, and overall confusion.
Elizabeth and Jake were running into the room- Jake armed with a broom and ready to smack anything insight.
"What's going on?!" he demanded while Elizabeth ran for Nicole, frantic to make sure she was alright.
"I'm fine! Don't let those two get away though!" She called to Leather head, who nodded and moved to block the windows while Jake and Nicole blocked the front door.
Frantically looking around, similar to a cornered animal, Tessa barred something along the lines of canines, "Don't mess with us…" she warned quietly.
"Well you should have thought of that before messing with our friend." Jake said with a sudden ferocity that it even startled Nicole.
"...What he said." Nicole agreed with a pump of her fist.
"Nicole!" Elizabeth called, "Watch out!" At her call, Nicole ducked to the right, shutting the front door/cutting off the exit, shut just as Tessa lunged for her. Flying over their heads, Tessa slammed into the wall, letting out a little groan.
"Tessa!" K.R mad a break for her, scrambling to a stop when Leather Head stepped in front of them. The two growl at each other.
"Elizabeth stay back!" Jake warned, grabbing the younger's hand and gently tugging her behind him. "It is dangerous."
"Oh no dude, Elizabeth could totally handle this." Nicole assured him with violent nods, "Just let her loose."
"Let me at them! No one messes with my friends!" Elizabeth was already bringing up her fists, waving them around wildly- though it only seemed really cute with how little her stature and palms were.
Rising to her feet, Tessa was ready to make another attempt to get out and reached for the front door. She had barely grasped the handle when it suddenly slammed open and swung into her face.
Nicole winced at the sight, surprised to see Arinna on the other side of the door, looking just as shocked.
"Oh gosh, did I just hit something-?" she peeked her head around the door, shrieking at the sight. "Who is that?" she was quick to scoot around Tessa and towards her friends, "Nicole! What is going on?!"
Tessa growled, flipping out of the door and into the hall.
"After her!" Nicole declared. The others were quick to follow, Elizabeth shooting in front of the others in a burst of speed, sliding right under Tessa's legs to stop her from getting to the elevator. Surprised at the younger girls quick agility, Tessa stumbled back.
"These cosplayer were attacking Michelle!" Nicole explained to Arinna.
"Cosplayer?!" Tessa roared. "I am no cosplayer!"
"Tessa! Stop this at once!" K.R ran out into the hall,
"HOLY COW!" Arinna screamed, pointing to K.R. "The Cosplayer has a talking cat!"
"That is what you decide to focus on in this situation?!" Nicole demanded.
"Don't yell at me!" Arinna screamed back.
"Guys… stop. They are mutants..." Michelle corrected through gritted teeth, inching her way into the hall with Leatherhead's help.
"A mutant and a cosplayer!" Nicole gasped.
"I told you I'm not a cosplayer!" Tessa charged.
Nicole whipped out two wrenches from her pocket, using them to swing at Tessa when she got close enough. With an odd strength, Tessa seemed to be able to block the first attack, knocking the wrench out of Nicole's hands and down the hall.
The other wrench however bumped into her head, and she tumbled backward.
"Hah!" Nicole cackled.
"Guys… stop." Michelle pleaded. This was way too much attention. They were all going to get caught at this rate! And it wasn't helping that they were all screaming and stomping around!
Perhaps she should be a little grateful that no one else lived on this floor and Stockman doesn't move in for a couple more days. But she had no doubt everyone would be able to here them stomping around below and call Agatha about the noise.
….What if Agatha came up here? Then she would see everything!
"Everyone please!' she called desperately.
Taking another glance at the Elevator, Tessa frowned at Elizabeth. As if thinking she could easily leap over such a young child, Tessa made a go for it and charged for her.
Elizabeth didn't even flinch at the action, but shifted her weight. Almost as if she had predicted Tessa's movements, Elizabeth sidestepped to the left when she approached, kicking her leg into the back of the older woman's knees and making her fall flat on her face.
"Oh." Arinna covered her eyes.
"That's right! That's my girl!" Nicole pumped her fist.
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, "Don't mess with my family!" she ordered to the mutant below her. Tessa was shocked, gawking at this child. If this was even a child!
Then it really started to get weird.
Something little had moved in front of Tessa's face.
"Bleh." lifting her head, Tessa's eyes double in size when a small… turtle infant (?!) appeared before her. His face held nothing but annoyance at her as he lifted his little palm and smacked it against her nose.
It didn't hurt, but he did confuse her.
"Ah! Picasso!' Elizabeth was quick to scoop him up and scramble away. "How did you get out here? Silly baby. Silly." she scolded him. He gave her a blank look.
"You left Picasso alone?!" Nicole demanded.
"No! I was letting him crawl down the hall behind me to Michelle's room and then this all happened!" Arinna yelled back at her. "Oh Picasso-" she took him from Elizabeth's arm and held him close.
"Well either way, let's finish this." Nicole twirled her wrench.
"Nicole." Arinna grabbed her arm, "We shouldn't fight-"
"Tell that to them." Nicole started to move forward. Leatherhead was moving with her.
After seeing their intent, Tessa stumbled to her feet, lifting her fists.
Before they could get to each other however, there was a shout.
"ENOUGH!" together, and in perfect unison, both Arinna and K.R stepped between the three, blocking their path to each other.
"Arinna!" Nicole and Leatherhead gasped.
"K.R!" Tessa gawked at him. "What are you doing?"
"This fight is over Tessa." K.R frowned at her. "We've done enough damage for one night."
"But…they-" Tessa opened her mouth to argue.
"Don't you see what is happening here, Tessa?" K.R. shook his head. "You are picking a fight with humans, a child, a turtle and a Giant Alligator. Doesn't that sound strange?"
Tessa flinched, stepping back. She had been so absorbed in her fight, she hadn't even stopped to consider the fact that there was an Alligator mutant amongst them. Apparently he was friends with these humans. So did that mean…?
She looked to Michelle, recalling what she had said before. How she wouldn't tell anyone of them because she knew others in their exact situation.
…So she had been telling the truth.
Oh…
Oh whoops. This had to be Tessa's biggest "My Bad" moment ever.
"I…" Tessa covered her mouth, "I never meant to hurt anyone."
"I know." K.R's voice grew gentle, "I know. However, there is still damage to be seen. Perhaps we should make amends for what we have caused." he glanced over his shoulder. "We should start with an apology first."
Nicole grumbled, "Yeah you better apologize-"
"Nicole." Arinna narrowed her eyes. Nicole faltered for a moment, eyes shooting back from Arinna to Tessa.
"But-"
"Nicole." She said again, darker.
The other woman sighed, heavily, "Oh for crying out loud." She turned, collecting her wrench. "Fine Arinna. Fine." She moved to Michelle, gently helping her up. "But if they try anything, I'll skin them and hang the on my wall." She growled a warning, helping her friend move back into the apartment.
"Fair enough.' K.R agreed.
"Wha- not fair enough!" Tessa disagreed
"Tessa." K.R sighed. "Please. For me."
She faltered at his tone, lowering her gaze. "…Okay."
With that, they all went into Michelle's apartment for a lot of explaining. K.R was the first to speak, apologizing heavily to Michelle for the damage and injuries they had caused.
Michelle was not angry in the slightest, saying that she was also to blame for taking their picture.
As they spoke, Tessa had moved to put the bookshelf back in place, returning all the books back to their original spot.
"Would you two like something to drink?" Arinna inquired. "Maybe some water?"
"Water would be nice." K.R nodded. "Thank you."
Arinna smiled a bit at him, and moved to the kitchen. She passed by Michelle and Nicole as she went, glancing at the process of Nicole pressing an ice pack to the injury.
"Will she be alright?" Leather head asked, peeking over Nicole's shoulder with Elizabeth and Jake.
"Yeah." Nicole nodded, "With some rest it'll heal fine. Thanks for the back up there." She smirked at him, holding her fist up. Leather Head smiled bashfully, giving her a fist bump.
Going back to Michelle, Nicole glanced at Tessa and K.R, who were nervously sitting across the couch. "Do they really need to be here though?" she scowled.
"I'm fine Nicole." Michelle smiled at her.
"You are not." Nicole disagreed. "You have a fractured wrist, Michelle." She sent a dirty look towards Tessa, who looked away.
"She didn't mean to." Michelle insisted.
"I'm sure she didn't mean to sneak into your house then either?"
"Well…" Michelle trailed off. "They had a good reason to. They were just scared…" Michelle smirked a bit. "Just like how you were when you tackled me down the stairs."
Nicole flinched. "Seriously? Even now you bring that up? Really?"
Michelle chuckled, "I apologize, I could not help it."
Rolling her eyes, Nicole finished her work. "There, but I want you to keep it as elevated as possible." She told her.
"Will do."
"How-" they turned when Tessa spoke up, "You just- you all seem rather calm about this." She was tapping her foot anxiously, looking uncomfortable to even be there still.
"Well obviously." Nicole snorted heatedly. "We live with a giant Alligator for pete's sake." She pointed to Leatherhead.
"Not to mention a turtle." Arinna lifted Picasso up. Picasso gave Tessa another unamused look. It seems to be his new favorite look. "Oh, his name is Picasso by the way."
"…Hi?" Tessa says, confused. She jumped when there was yet another knock on the door. This one was heavy, with no indication to who it was, but Nicole knew instantly.
"Uh oh." She jumped to her feet, "It's Agatha."
Arinna gasped, "W-What do we do? Everyone is in here."
Tessa and K.R were slowly getting to their feet, eyes wide and frantic, wondering if they should run. Nicole grit her teeth, "You two-" she pointed to K.R and Tessa, who straightened, "Come here." She opened the door to Michelle's Dark room, "Get in here."
"Wha- no way." They argued. Not sure what this large dark room was.
"Do you want to get caught, because I assure you, if you thought we were bad and tough to fight, that woman is ten times worse." Nicole growled, "So get in. Hurry. We don't have much time."
Glancing at each other, the two reluctantly shuffled into the room. "LeatherHead-" Nicole handed him Picasso, "Go into the dark room too, but be quiet."
"Wha- why in there?" Michelle frowned
"Agatha knows you don't like too many people in there. So she wouldn't check." Nicole explained.
"I- Oh. Oh of course!" she cut herself off, not wanting to be too loud. There was another knock at the door. This one seemed less patient.
Stepping inside, Leatherhead closed the door.
"Now what?" Jake whispered frantically, "She is going to come in here. What are we going to tell her?"
"I had a nightmare?" Elizabeth suggested.
"I don't think that would work honey." Arinna patted her head.
Looking solemn, Nicole handed Jake her wrench, "Jake." She told him, "I need you to hit me."
He went pale, almost dropping the wrench, "What? Why? Why would you ask me to do that?"
"We need to tell Agatha something and it isn't that uncommon for Michelle and me to get into fights and beat each other up." Nicole tells him.
"We do seem to have a history of doing that." Michelle mumbled,
"Yes, so hit me. We'll put the blame on us for now." Nicole motioned to the wrench, "I need to look a little bruised though, so come on."
'You look bruised enough though." Jake glanced up and down her stature, noticing the large bruises and scratch marks from Tessa.
"Not enough. Michelle has a fractured wrist, I need something just as bad. Come on."
"…I don't like this." Arinna covered her eyes. Elizabeth copied the motion with a little whimper.
Jake lifted his arm, his hand shaky, "W-Where do you want me to hit?"
"Anywhere." Nicole braced herself, "Just make it snappy. And don't hold back."
Gritting his teeth, wondering how he possible found himself in a situation like this, Jake brought his hand down hard, the Wrench slamming right into Nicole's shoulder.
"Ooh." Michelle turned her head, unable to look.
Nicole on the other hand covered her mouth and screamed, stomping her feet and moving in a little circle, biting down on her skin. Jake dropped the wrench, stepping back.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He said frantically. Nicole waved him off, motioning for him to get the door.
Looking like a kid thrown under the bus, the stumbled for it, grabbing the handle. He looked back at the others for reassurance.
Nicole straightened, giving the poorest attempt at a smile through her pain. "Do it man."
He nodded, and opened the door.
Agatha barged in a second later, eyes narrowed dangerously, "Mind telling me what exactly you all were doing up here? Or how late it is? It is midnight!" she says darkly, "I have half a mind to kick you all out this second! What were you all possibly doing?!"
Jake sniffed, "… Bonding?" he said in a squeaky voice.
Agatha had never looked more annoyed. "Explain everything, now."
And here we are, we are done. Thank goodness.
TESSA AND K.R belong to Cryshardy
Haru belongs to 16
Jake belongs to Jack Russel
Elizabeth to Koraru Kinomoto
Michele belongs to Dark Nightwatcher
Agatha belongs to Aerissee. Hasste
Picasso to Blackhooded001
Leatherhead and Max winters to the creators of TMNT
Nicole and Arinna to me :D
Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter :D I had a lot of fun writing it, and man, writing fight scenes are hard, but hopefully you all could follow along and enjoy the ride :D