22, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐬

"Fuck!" 

"Language," BadBoyHalo—Darryl—mutters under his breath, turning red as he's the first to break this silence.

Nick turns to the door. His shoulders sink at the sight of his friend and superior, grumbling a "Sorry" as he continues to play Monopoly with the boys. George stares awkwardly at the number of people at the door; Clay doesn't even look, a smile playing on his lips.

I gulp loudly. I know that my eyes must have doubled in size since they fell on the people in front of me.

"Why do you look so surprised?" Skeppy—Zak—asks, laughing right after. "You invited us. What, did you think we wouldn't show up?"

"No! No, no," I say, shaking myself out of my daze. "I expected you and AngelBoyHalo. Hi, Darryl. I just didn't expect..."

Celestia and Maia.

"Surprise?" Celestia starts, trying a smile. Her cyan-blue hair looks so much more vivid up close.

"I brought a peace offering," Maia continues, sticking her hand out. She's holding a muffin. "It's from the airport. I ate the other one."

"Is that chocolate?" BadBoyHalo asks curiously, licking his lips. "I approve of this gift."

I look back over my shoulder again. Clay still doesn't seem fazed.

What? Why wouldn't he be fazed by Celestia and Maia showing up? Did he invite them?

"Are you gonna let us in?" Zak asks, raising his brows at me. What nice brows. "Or do you need us to sign a few contracts first?"

"Yeah, sure. Just chant '14' a few times and I'll let you in."

"That's not a very reliable contract. I might have to put in a few 'pingspoofing's too."

I nod along to Zak's idea. "That's fair."

Darryl groans in the background.

"Come in, everyone."

💜 💬 ✈️

for legal reasons, that beer bottle is not mine

 but it is yours

↳ once a traitor always a traitor

↳ Bitch Boy

 wait y arent u in this

↳ let's play where's wally

 huh

↳ american

↳ ^

 wow you look great in this

↳ ihy😭

minecraft party?

 wheres the people, wheres the receipts

 how many of you guys are there??

↳ 97 if you count my imaginary friends!

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@dreamwastaken

another weird-looking balloon

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↳ ARE YALL TOGETHER RN

↳ date already

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what are you trying to say manboy

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babyface

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you have a babybrain 

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DUDE IS THAT MY COWBOY HAT??

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no

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no

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no

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...

The room is chaos.

There are balloons and drinks everywhere, even though it's nobody's birthday. Nick got his karaoke machine out so now people are dancing around and singing along to any and every Minecraft parody possible. First it was Mine Diamonds—the Take on Me parody—and now it's Revenge, the classic Captain Sparkles song. 

It's funny watching drunk BadBoyHalo in action; Zak is laughing silently at him; Nick is joining in just as loud, nodding his head frantically along to the beat. They know all the lyrics, not just the iconic "Creeper? Aw man." But that doesn't stop them from repeating it over and over and over again.

Seriously, if I hear one more "Creeper? Aw man" from any of these people, I will stab some shit. (This thought was courtesy of TommyInnit, thank you.)

My eyes move to the quieter section of the room. On the sofa next to each other, George and Maia are talking. They're both looking at George's phone. He seems to be watching her five-star Animal Crossing YouTube video and she's trying to bat him away from it; he's laughing.

I smirk.

How very curious, Mr NotFound.

Celestia, on the kitchen island next to me, gives me a look. She has a drink in hand. I catch her stare.

"Yes?"

She blinks. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You keep staring at everyone."

"I don't know. It's just cool having everyone in one place."

"It is pretty cool," she says, glancing over at Maia and George. She smirks. "I think someone finds it really cool."

I lean my head in, inspecting the scene. "Hold on. Gogy's blushing."

"Oh my god. He is."

"Gogy never changes colour."

"Should I call the doctor?"

The great thing about Celestia is that she plays along with all my jokes. 

"I really want to embarrass him," I say. "Should I tell Maia the story of how he accidentally called Clay daddy?"

"That happened?"

"That is a canon piece of information."

We both look at them. Our eyes are narrowed and we're both clearly staring. George doesn't notice but Maia does; she glances up at us for a second, makes her "scary" face and turns away again. 

"Man, they're so cute," Celestia growls. She takes another swig of her drink, turns to me and smiles. "But you know what else is cute?"

"BadBoyHalo singing Let It Go to Skeppy?"

Because that's what's now happening in the living room.

She boops my nose. "You."

I hold a hand on my heart dramatically. "Cellotape, that's too much," I say. "You know harems? You're the pretty, down-to-earth girl who ends up winning the guy. Like Asuna with Kirito. Actually—bad example."

She fake bats her hand at me. "Aw, stop it."

I grin at her.

"So how's it going with you and Clay?"

I groan, unable to stop myself from checking on him. Through the window, I can see that he's on the patio talking to the pizza guy. "I don't know what you're talking about," I answer.

"You like him. He clearly likes you..." she trails off.

"And?"

"When are you gonna start dating? When's 'the sexy time'?"

"Please do not refer to anything as 'the sexy time'."

There's a quiet silence. Both of us watch Clay as he tips the pizza guy and comes back in through the door.

"Aren't you curious?" Celestia asks, studying me.

"About 'the sexy time'?"

"About dating him."

I can feel my cheeks burn red. "Oh."

"Oh," she mimics.

"I don't know, Celestia. I'm not really thinking about anything right now."

Clay walks over to the kitchen island where Celestia and I are both sitting. He puts the pizza boxes down on the island and opens them up. There's at least six of them on the table, but the alcohol blurs my vision. Or maybe it's him that's blurring my vision.

"Why have you two been staring at me?" he asks nonchalantly.

My eyes widen.

"We're hungry, of course," Celestia answers with a polite smile.

Master liar.

Clay raises his brows. "Uh-huh."

"We might be hungry for different things though." Celestia looks at me, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

No. No, we're not, Celestia.

I laugh nervously. "What are you on about, Cell? Celestia. Cellotape. Celexquisite. My dearest pal." 

"I'll leave you two to figure it out."

Taking a slice of pepperoni pizza, Celestia leaves to sit next to Maia and George. Probably to bother them like the good friend she is.

"Here," Clay says, handing me a slice of pizza.

I inspect it. "Hawaiian without the pineapple. Smart choice."

"I wouldn't say it's a smart choice. But it's one you like, so."

I scoff, scrunching up my face at the pretty green-eyed boy. "Who are you to say it's not the smart choice?"

"Who are you to say it is?"

I blink. "Touché, Green Man." I take a bite of my slice. I love pizza. And meat. Ham and cheese and tomato and carbs—wow. God bless the Italians. "How much were the pizzas?"

"Well..."

I furrow my brows at him and check the receipt. My eyes widen. "What the hell? Clay, you can't pay for all of this."

He laughs. "I don't mind, Az."

I shake my head at him and start to rummage through my purse for some money. It's been newly transferred to dollars. "Here," I say, sticking my hand out with a decent amount.

"Hey, no—"

"You paid for the flight over here. You paid for everything. Clay, take my money."

"Az, I'm not going to—"

"But I feel spoilt," I whinge.

"Good. I like spoiling you." He takes the money that's in my hand and puts it back in my purse carefully. "Don't offer again, idiot."

I groan. "You're so stubborn."

"I'm stubborn? You can't even take a gift."

"This is too many gifts. I mean, you even flew Celestia and Maia over."

"Is that what they told you?"

"No."

I stare at him intently for his response to this one. He didn't look at them when they walked in; he didn't seem fazed. He told me specifically that they weren't invited.

He hesitates, then sighs. "Okay. So maybe I did that too."

I click my fingers together. "I knew it."

"Mhm."

I cock my head to the side. "But why—"

Suddenly both of my arms are yanked away from the kitchen island. Celestia and Maia coerce me into being a part of their little Hamilton show. They put The Schuyler Sisters on the karaoke machine and Celestia plays Angelica, Maia plays Eliza and I'm the little funny squirt known as Peggy. Everyone is seriously drunk, with the way they're hooting and dancing.

 The guys all hype us up, including Clay who grins at me from the kitchen. 

I smile back at him.

Fuck, I need another drink.

└─────── ──➤