---

Rachel tossed the egg to the side, watching Hayan dart after it, jagged jaws opening to snatch it with his tongue.  It vanished into his sticky mouth, but this time, he didn’t spit it out, turning to her with a cute smile.

So … you can eat plastic.  Interesting.

Smoothing back her hair as the wind picked up, her gaze shifted to Mason.

Her cousin rolled to his side with a low groan.  “Ugh … the hell hit me?  Gah, my face stings … Dammit, I can’t see straight.”

He rolled back to the ground, muscles tightening up while hugging his elbows against his muscular sides, and Rachel started stretching out to pass the time, waiting for him to recover.

A few deep breaths puffed in and out of his lungs, blinking his eyes while trying to get saliva back in his throat.  “Yo … seriously, what … the hell is on my chest?”  He mumbled, looking at Hayan’s evil grin; the blob maneuvered back into position on top of his conquered foe.

Rachel snickered.  “My little marshmallow there knocked your ass out, a one-hit knockout.”

“No way…”

“Yeah,” She balanced to the side to get a better view of his stunned face, “you flipped around like a dolphin before landing smack on your face.”

Mason groaned, still not fully aware of everything she was saying, considering he just saw Hayan on his chest and didn’t even freak out.  He released a compressed stream of air while rubbing his temples and clearing the reactive tears that came from his eyes.

It took another minute before it finally sank in.  “... Damn … shit … how the hell is your pet so strong?”  He mumbled.

Releasing a short chuckle, Rachel pointed to a bench across the field, where the jogging path was located; the area led to a track that went into the national park, but no one was around after hearing the President’s address.

“Let’s go sit down.  You think you’re good enough to talk?”  She teased.

Mason grumbled a response in his throat while rolling to his side to get up; Hayan hopped off his chest, returning to her side where Gisele stood.  “I’m fine…”

“Alright, tough guy,” Rachel laughed.  “Let’s go.”

He went before her, reluctantly running his hands through his hair, but he stumbled to the left a bit before catching himself.  “... I’m fine…”  He repeated.

Damn … Hayan really knocked his brain around.

She casually followed his progress, and his stability improved by the second, so she turned her attention elsewhere.

From what Rachel could hear, most people were sleeping, on social media, or on their phones, talking with friends and family about the insane Presidential Address.

Her gaze lifted to the falling moon; it wouldn’t be up for much longer, and she had to wonder how powerful the effects of the various moons were.  It seemed like they were only increasing in potency as she leveled and engaged in serious situations.

The aggressive attitude she had when storming the fight club was similar to how she reacted and felt in South Beach, yet it was also very different.  She was far more calculating and thoughtful about their movements at that time, but with the mixture of energy within her, she had been a brazen wrecking ball.

Perhaps that was the effect of how strong she felt now … Then again, caution was what kept her alive.  She decided to first try to get rid of all her White Moon energy first; the Flush Moon’s perks were just too powerful to lose, and the Coral Moon intrigued her.

Her mind pictured an orange moon in the sky, casting an ominous tint across the landscape.  It was basically the cursed moon and would significantly bolster her curses; in fact, maybe she should start working toward that angle for Cuba.  It was certainly a place she could test it out.

Mason pulled her attention away as he cleared his throat, turning a little to glare at her.  “Ahem … yo, so … how’s my face?”

She smirked, skirt fluttering a bit against her legs as she increased her pace.  “Red, but it’s not broken … I’m a little surprised, actually.  Hayan must have held back a bit.”

His nose twisted, but he didn’t respond, turning away to glare at the bench.

Rachel let the conversation die, loosely holding her hand behind her back.  Her head and ears shifted to the right, honing in on Jessy and her grandfather.  She couldn’t hear her grandfather’s soft breathing from this far away, but a loud, aggravated groan from Jessy told Rachel she was still awake and restless with how their discussion went.

Halfway to the bench, Mason finally mumbled, “So … you think I’m weak?”

It was as if he was looking for her to confirm what he was already thinking, which infuriated Rachel even more.

“Gah, what’s with you?”  She growled, scratching at the base of her left ear.  “Didn’t you hear what I said?  Hayan hit you pretty hard; that would have taken off a normal person’s head … easily, yet you were just thrown for a loop.  You're not weak … I’m just really strong, and Hayan has to be able to do something in the places I go.”

He shifted a little to stare at her, giving a short grunt.  “Have a high opinion of yourself … as always.”

Rachel shook her head with a short sigh.  “Look, I didn’t come to grandpa’s to get into a pissing contest with you.  Seriously, what’s up with the way you’ve been acting?  I’m concerned about you, okay?”

Mason’s gaze shifted to the houses far across the field, beyond the parking lot.  “... I don’t want to talk about it.”

Finished playing around, Rachel increased her pace a bit to catch up to him.  “Let’s cut this shit.  If you don’t let me in on whatever this mess is that you’ve landed in, then I’m going to have to tell Grandpa about everything.”

“Huh?  For real … a snitch?!”  Mason growled.  “I didn’t picture you…”

Rachel’s glowing eyes narrowed as she cut him off.  “You pulled him into this the moment you brought back a tail and put a target on his back.  Did you know Kate sent goons over to shake down Grandpa for the twenty grand you borrowed from her?”

“Wait … no, but … how do you know about Kate?”

“Hmm?”  Rachel shot him a glare.  “Is that it?  I went and cleaned up your mess, and that’s all you have to say?  What would have happened if I hadn’t come today and got here tomorrow, huh?  What might have happened to Jessy or Grandpa?”

His lips pulled in.  “I … I would have been there if you hadn’t chased me out with…”

Rachel smirked.  “Right, you would have known exactly what to do and knew the right people to call in order to smooth the whole situation over?  No.  Just because you have powers doesn’t mean you can do anything you want.  I’m cautious with the things I do … most of the things I do, and have connections to back me up, and you, you’re floundering.”

He slowed to a stop, muscles tightening with concern.  “No, seriously … what did you do about Kate?  She’s got a lot of protection from criminals that use her…”

“I told you, I handled Kate; she’s running for New York as we speak, calling some of those connections to get as far away from me as possible because I know what I’m doing.  By the way, you owe me ten grand.”

Mason’s muscular arms folded across his chest.  “Oh … you paid her?”

“No, I felt bad for her,” Rachel rolled her eyes.  “She gave you money, and it was a shady deal, but you still made it.  I’m sending her the 10k to show I’m reasonable because I can always find her again if I need to use her connections that you were talking about.  I think ahead, but I suppose your actions make a lot more sense considering you’re a Bear Berserker Beastkin,” she mumbled.

He sucked in his lower lip, vision falling to her feet.  “You scared her so bad that she’s going to New York … what did you do to her?”

Rachel continued walking toward the bench, turning to give him a smug smile.  “I didn’t have to do anything but show up; she knew who I was, as do many of the hardcore gangsters in this area.  Do you really want to know why I can act the way I do?”

“I get the feeling you’re going to tell me,” He grunted, following her to the bench.  “You scared off some Miami mobster crew or something, right?  I asked about it when I heard people talking about you, and some of the guys in the club said the story was overrated.”

Her stomach shook with laughter upon getting to the seat, smoothing out her skirt while taking the left side.  “The same ones that pissed themselves when I showed up?”

“I don’t know…”

Rachel gave her cousin a side-long smirk.  “Do you know anyone that has ripped a tank apart with their bare hands?”

Mason’s muscles tightened as he took the opposite, eyebrow lifting with a doubtful look.  “Uh … what?”

“Didn’t think so,” Rachel hummed, crossing her legs and folding her arms under her breasts.  “Let’s see … Do you know of anyone that has survived being thrown into a car that was then carried with them through three buildings and proceeded to kick the man that did it into two bloodied corpses?”

His mouth opened, then shut, mind working to process what she was telling him, and she continued to run down the list of things she’d been through and done throughout the last two weeks.  Most of the things she’d done for Tom would be unclassified, excluding the Azure Frost since it was a world threat item.

When she got to the part about going through a crystal where there were giant bugs and aliens, his heart rate increased, lips pulling in, but by the time she got to the Legend’s Quest, his face was sheet white.

Staring up at the falling moon with a smile as she finished, Rachel said, “So … tell me, am I really overrated?”

Mason’s focus was on his lap, still working through her story and connecting it to his cousin.

“Yeah, thought so,” Rachel mused.  “No, I’d say I’m severely underrated.”

“... So … you really killed people?”

“Mhm, but only those that really were asking for it.  I mean, I probably could have avoided a bit of trouble if I did kill the mobsters trying to kidnap, rape, and sell my friend instead of brutally crushing their bones to powder, but … hindsight is 20/20,” she chuckled, “and I had a manipulative witch influencing me.  Nope.  I’m not the same cousin you remember,” she stated with a grin.

A weak chuckle left Mason’s throat while ruffling his hair.  “You know … I overheard my parents once say that you’d eventually kill someone one day.  I, uh, guess they weren’t wrong.”

She frowned at the comment, glaring at the grass.

“Burn!”  Nia laughed.

“Well … your parents never really did like me much.  Nam, though … they loved him to death.”

“Ugh … don’t remind me,” he grumbled.  “They’re still using him as the golden example I should look up to.”

“Okay, so I shared my story,” Rachel said, giving him a meaningful look.  “Now, why are you acting like a complete…”  She caught herself, releasing a sad sigh.  “What’s up with you acting so reserved?  I told you, I’m here to help, but I just can’t get over you bringing in Jessy to make Clare jealous … it’s not fair to her.”

A puff of air shot through his lips, and he rubbed the back of his neck.  “... Dude, it’s not like that … how did you even come up with that whole story in the first place?  Look, I just needed someone here to … you know, support me, and well, she’s the only one that’s always had my back, ya know?  No matter what, she’s there, in my corner, and well … I just needed that.”

He groaned, leaning forward to rest his elbows against his thighs.  Mason glared down at Hayan, sitting between his spread-out legs to continue sending a challenging stare up at him.  “Yo, now I do sound weak…”

Seriously … he’s as dense as a neutron star.

Rachel rolled her eyes again.  “Oh, you think most girls would just drop everything and scamper over to comfort you?”

“Wha … I didn’t say that?  Yo, what’s going on in that head?”  He mumbled, straightening while folding his large arms again in a defensive posture.  “We’ve been best friends for like … ever.  She’s been there for me, and I try to be there for her … oh…”

His eyes widened, and he gave her a sad smile, shaking his head.  “I get it.  You don’t have any friends; look, it’s just what friends do.”

Rachel’s tail stiffened at the passing comment, eyes narrowing.  “Oh, I don’t have any friends, do I?  I have quite a few now, actually, or have you forgotten about the other girls you’ve seen me with on those sites?”

“Wait … they’re actually your friends?”  He asked.  “I just thought they were like … I don’t know, modeling buddies or something.”

Her expression dulled.  “... Modeling buddies … okay, let’s do this, then…”

She straightened her skirt, shifting positions to show that she was expecting his attention, and she got it.  “How often does Jessy dress up when you guys go out?”

“Yo, uh … heh, what’s up with this direction … we went from like, you killing people to talking about Jessy being a girl?  I mean, yeah, she’s a girl, just like you, shocker,” he snickered, throwing her earlier comment back in her face.

“Mhm,” Rachel lifted an eyebrow; she’d really have to work to smash through her cousin’s thick skull.  “Does she play with her hair a lot?”

“Oh, you noticed, too?”  He grinned.  “I guess you are pretty observant.  Yeah, it’s kind of a nervous tick of hers that she does sometimes.  It’s kind of funny, actually.  Sometimes I count to see how often she’ll do it when we’re out eating somewhere.”

“Right … out eating as friends.”

“Yeah,” he sat back, becoming more comfortable with the conversation.  “She likes this burger place which is kind of expensive, but she spots me a lot of the time when I’m short.”

“Cool, cool,” Rachel nodded with a small smile.  “She buys you things you want.  Does she wear casual clothes or dresses?”

“She’s a girl,” Mason laughed again, “but unlike you, she actually likes wearing dresses, but … I guess you’ve changed a bit on that,” he noted, eyeing her skirt.  “Seriously, though, what’s up with you ragging on Jessy; she’s really cool.  Why should I judge her if she dresses up when we go out or if she takes some time to check on her looks in the bathrooms?”

“Oh, oh, he’s talking about me!”  Nia squealed before her tone dulled dramatically.  “But yeah, he’s dumb as bricks; c’mon, get to the good part!”

I’m getting there … it’s like guiding a horse to a spring … but he doesn’t know there’s water right in front of his face.

“Poor Jessy … we must help our sister in arms combat this giant!  Ready the catapults!”

Uh-huh.

Rachel shook her head with Nia shouting for invisible troops to begin the assault.  “Right … I bet she likes to playfully slap your arm and is always super peppy and energetic when you’re around, too.”

“Yeah, look, Rach,” he mumbled, scratching his right arm, “I know she can be a bit hyper and touchy, but c’mon, I’m not going to cut ties with her because of that.  I’m not telling you to quit being friends with those other girls.” 

“I’m not saying that,” Rachel groaned, flipping her hair out behind the bench.  “Just keep answering my questions.  What kind of things does she buy for you?”

“Alright,” he grumbled, “but it sounds like you're just harping on Jessy for no reason; she’s great, okay?  Umm … I mean, yeah, she’s bought some games and stuff on steam so we can play together.  I know games aren’t your thing,” he noted with a slight glare, “but she likes them.  Well … she likes them, but she’s not great at them,” he forced a chuckle, “and when she’s losing really bad, she gets mad and punches my arm if I laugh at her.”

“Uh-huh … so, she finds reasons to touch you,” Rachel finally came out and said.

“Hold up … say that again.  Yo, you make it sound … what’s up with that?”  He gave her an incredulous look; Nia was softly chanting some kind of spell in her head, trying to increase his intelligence level, distracting Rachel.

“Okay,” Rachel’s shoulders slumped in defeat; she’d never get it past his rock-like brain at this pace.

Agitation touched her voice as she went on a rant.  “Let me get this straight … Jessy drops whatever she has planned to do stuff with you or be there when you need support.  Dresses up whenever you go out together.  Is super conscious about her looks when around you.  She finds reasons to touch you and buys you things you like to get your attention.  Does she date?  No, she doesn’t.  Drawing a picture yet because I’ve damn near painted the dropping hints version of the Sistine Chapel!”

“No,” Mason whispered, eyes like saucers.  “You’re not telling me she … Jessy likes me?  No, no, no,” he repeated while shaking his head.  “We’re just friends!”

Rachel’s dull expression said everything she wanted to, but it still wasn’t enough.  “You’re … impossible.  Look, cuz, Jessy breaks the touch barrier with you … a lot, right?  She touches on your shoulder, lightly plays with you, pats you … Listen, Mason, it might come as a shock to you, but women are very particular about touch,” she lectured.

“We don’t like guys groping us, but if a woman is breaking that barrier, nine times out of ten, they’re very interested in you.”

 

“No way,” He looked genuinely stunned.  “You’re not playing with me?”  He mumbled, uncomfortably rubbing his shoulder.

“No!  God!”  Rachel glared at him.  “You mentioned that she spends serious money on you, like buying games and other things you like, which is an investment on her part in you.  Those activities help her get closer to you when she could be buying clothes or makeup to attract another guy, which isn’t cheap.  Why doesn’t she do that?  It’s because she’s not trying to impress another guy or get their attention.”

Mason’s muscles slumped, floored by the news, and Rachel drove the nail home.  “She really, really doesn’t like Clare, does she?”

He silently shook his head, eyes pulling inward to reflect on her worlds.

“No, because Clare is Jessy’s competition.  Gah, guys don’t know the first thing about women,” Rachel growled, “especially if the girl’s too insecure to come out and say it.  Although, most women do enjoy the chase,” she admitted, “but there has to be a line, c’mon, man…”

His voice had gone hoarse with panic.  “W-What should I do … I just … I can’t deal with that right now.  I mean … when she bought those tickets to Disney World for us to go on in two months was … was that because she wanted to ask me or something?  How long has she liked me?”  He asked, directing the question at her.

“Ask her,” Rachel grumbled.  “The real question is, what are you going to do now that you know?  I’m not going to tell you to date her, but it’s really unfair to let her keep thinking she has hope, especially in this horrible situation you’ve put her in.”

“Is…”  Mason trailed off, taking a shuddering breath while gripping his arms against his abdomen.  “Is this going to affect our friendship?”

Rachel laughed, gripping her own shaking stomach as Gisele hopped closer to examine her.  “You’d be an idiot to think it wouldn’t!  It doesn’t matter what you say to her or what she says back.  The hope that’s grown in her heart is like a balloon, and you’ve allowed it to fly really high over the years; the moment that pops, it’s a long way down.”

A shiver ran down his frame, and he leaned forward, trying to get saliva back into his mouth.  “I just … I can’t think about that … I’ve got other issues I’m working through…”  He groaned.

Rachel’s mirth died down.  “Okay, what issues?”

He swallowed, filling his lungs with air before blowing it out.  “... You know those crystals you were talking about?”

“Mhm…”  Rachel replied, straightening a little at the mention.

“Well … I’ve been in one, and … look, I don’t know how you deal with it, but … there were these creatures … little mushroom people, and well … I was paid to deal with them.

Rachel folded her arms, sitting back while linking everything her cousin was confessing; her ears trained on the fight club, but they’d sealed the door again.

What are the chances that a crystal opened up in a mobster’s 3rd-level contraband basement?  It’s more serious than I thought.

“So,” she mumbled, “the club is a front for the fights, which is a front for criminal merchandise, which is now a front for a crystal gateway?  How did you get involved, and what are the issues?”

He gave her a conflicted look.  “You didn’t … no, umm … I was promised a challenge, and at first, it really was.  I got hurt pretty bad, but there was this healer there that patched me up … I kind of lost my temper and went wild, and then … I was killing those mushroom people … they weren’t even fighting back … It looked like they were begging for mercy, but I just couldn’t stop.”

“Hmm,” Rachel slowly nodded, connecting it back to her brother’s experience at the Police Station.  “And now you see them in your nightmares.”

Mason closed his eyes, gripping his face.  “They were like helpless people … big blue eyes pleading for me to spare them as others tried to use their own bodies to cover the little ones.  Now … whenever I get mad, I can just … I see them in my head … my claws ripping through them to spray black blood everywhere.”

Her mood mellowed dramatically at the change in tone.  “... Did it close?”

He shook his head, unable to speak as tears fell down his cheeks, body shaking.  “I stopped … eventually, and I just c-collapsed.  Dodger, the club owner … he put them in cages and was getting equipment to try and mine some of the strange rocks around the forest.  Feno told me he wanted a word before I left, but … then you dragged me out.”

Rachel’s muscles relaxed with a heavy sigh, giving her cousin a somber look.  “... It’s a bad situation … you guys didn’t know any better, but there are other ways to close it.”  She scratched her left rabbit ear as it twitched.  “... Sorry for being so rough on you, Mason.  Let me know if there’s something I can do to help you get through it, but for now, I need to report the gateway.

“Leaving one of those open opens the door for a lot of scary things to happen; if it’s left open long enough, it can cause a second crystal to form, like the one that I went into, and … that was bad … really bad.  So bad that the government was bringing in a nuke.”

He rubbed his cheeks, clearing his throat before sniffing.  “W-What are you going to do?”

“I’ll see what the big shots want,” Rachel shrugged.  “As for you … you should go home and talk things over with Jessy.  I know it won’t be easy, but if you really need help, then see if you can get it from her, but don’t play Jessy for it.  If you need someone in your corner, just call me.”

Mason gave her a sad stare.  “You may think you’ve changed a lot … but you haven’t … not that much, at least.”  He released a long sigh.  “So … what should I do about Jessy?”

She got to her feet, stretching out a bit; Gisele and Hayan shot to attention, ready to go.  “Be honest with me … Who’s prettier, Jessy or Clare?”

He groaned.  “Eh … mmh … Clare … by far.”

Rachel nodded.  “It is what it is, and if we’re honest, some people are attractive, and some aren’t.  Now, who do you like more?”

“Umm … what do you mean by like?  As in, who’s more attractive?  Because we already covered that.”

She shook her head.  “No, who do you like being around more … spending time with … overall, just who do you get along better with?”

His lip tucked under as he sat back, folding his arms again.  “Uh … Jessy is way more agreeable and easy to be around.  With Clare, it’s always about her, but Jessy pays more attention to what I want to do and doing things we both find fun.”

Rachel chuckled, lightening the atmosphere a bit while lifting a questioning eyebrow.  “Okay, what do you value more … A pretty thing on your arm that’s bossy and demanding or a girl that’s not so pretty but will be there for you when you’re sick or going through shit?  In fact, who was it that you called when you needed someone’s help to get through those nightmares?”

“I … see where you’re coming from,” he mumbled, staring at the empty seat next to him.  Hayan swiftly jumped into the spot, sending another challenging glare at him, but Mason ignored it.  “... I called Jessy.”

“Right.  Like I said,” Rachel repeated, holding up her hands, “I’m not going to tell you what’s right or wrong; it’s your life, but it seems to be a pretty obvious choice to me who’s the better pick.  You know…”

A forced grin lightened Rachel’s cheeks.  “Jessy’s probably going to be angrier at me than you, but it would have ended horribly eventually had I not smashed reality into your brain.  Although, I’m actually doing this for you, not her.”

“No!!  We girls must stick together!  Traitor, traitor, traitor!  I’ll tell Jessy!  Off with your head!”

That doesn’t mean I didn’t help Jessy out, too … my little Red Queen.

“Oh … okay, but … I’m watching you…”  She warned.  “Jessy deserves a prince, riding on a dragon with fire blanketing the sky!”

Mhm…

Mason’s voice fell a few octaves.  “I’ll think about what I should say … Hey, Rach…”

“Sup?”  She asked, getting ready to head back to their grandfather’s to get her phone.

“... Do you think I did the wrong thing … killing those creatures?”

Rachel couldn’t help a giggle sliding through her throat.  “Heh … Cuz, I’m the wrong person to be asking that question.  Honestly, no, I don’t think so—given the information you had.  You’re too hard on yourself, but I get it … in fact, you should call Nam and talk to him about it.  He’s going through some similar stuff, too.”

Her cousin’s brow furrowed.  “Really?”

“Like I said, call him and find out,” Rachel replied, turning away.  “Alright, I need to go report this crystal; I figure you weren’t supposed to say anything about it and all, but I’ll keep my ears open.”

He gave her a thankful smile.  “... Thanks, Cuz … maybe you have changed a bit for the better.”

Rachel snorted at the retort before taking off, heading back to the house.  Gisele had no chance of keeping up when she was actually running, and the poor bird was left in the dust; Hayan simply popped up every so often but wasn’t far enough away to initiate it when she jumped over her grandfather’s wall, entering the house through the back door she’d left unlocked.

Jessy sat up as she opened the door.  “Huh?!”

“It’s cool; it’s just me,” Rachel replied, easily able to see within the dark space.

On her way over to retrieve her phone, Jessy got into a cross-legged position.  “Hey, Rachel … umm, I’m sorry about how I acted.  I was kind of … well, really mean at the end.”

Snatching her phone, Rachel chuckled.  “Don’t mention it…”

She trailed off as Nia gasped.  “Oh!  Hey, you need to feed me more clothes so I can make you a purse!  It would be perfect!  Umm … we need to look at a bunch, so I can come up with a good design, though…”

Hmm … would the stuff I put in it stay if you made it disappear?

“Of course, silly!  He-he-he.  What use would it be if it didn’t?  Aren’t I amazing, spectacular, stupendous?!”

Huh, do you even know what those words mean?

“Uh … yeah, of course, I do!  Just … just don’t ask me about the … umm, yeah, I know!”

Right.  Right.  Well, I will say, Nia…

“Mhm?”

I will say … you are the greatest, most fabulous, and liveliest Living Denier to ever exist!

“Y-You really mean it?”  She tearfully asked.  “I’m the greatest?”

Don’t forget the most fabulous and liveliest!

“You’re the best!  Yeah, I’m gonna make the best purse!”

I have no doubt, my trusty sidekick.

“Oh.  My.  Goodness!  I’m a sidekick!  We’re supervillains!”

Rachel winced.  Uh … villains?

“Mu-ha-ha-ha!  The purse of doom will send the world into an endless dimension of darkness to be swallowed by the abyssal fiend that is Nia, the lurking fabric within the shadows…”

Mmh … yeah, okay … mhm…

She was still on the edge train.

Her attention moved to Jessy as she stumbled her way across the room to get to the light, flipping it on; the girl winced as the flash momentarily blinded her.  She was still struggling through her apology.

“... I was just so … well, embarrassed, and you picked it up so easily, which then made me think … well, what if Mason did, too, and he just … you know…”

Rachel released a sad sigh, and just because of Jessy’s train of thought.  “Hey … you should really consider reality here, Jessy.  Tell Mason you like him, and rip the bandaid off fast; I know it’s scary, but if you do like him that much, then give him the option—I mean, we both know his skull is as thick as a brick,” she laughed.

Jessy mirrored her.  “Brick?  It’s more like tungsten!”

“Right?!”  Rachel pointed at her phone, giving her an apologetic smile.  “I need to make an important call for some work-related business.”

The girl nodded, hands nervously tightening against her front as she tentatively asked, “Should I, umm … dress up or something—you know, before telling him?”

A small smile brightened Rachel’s lips; things were working out perfectly.  Her prods had put the two on a collision course.  Jessy just needed a nudge to gain the confidence to go after what she wanted for so long; she had no doubt Clare knew about her feelings, too, and taunted her about it.  It just sounded like the kind of girl she was.

“Hmm … it wouldn’t hurt to just be yourself; if that means dressing up, then do it.  Mason’s pretty far away—I’m a very fast runner,” she added, “so he should be gone for another hour at the pace he’s moving.”

Jessy got up with a bright grin.  “Thank you so much, Rachel!  Umm…”  Her posture turned awkward.  “Can-Can I give you a hug?”

“Hug?!  Hugs!!!”  Nia practically shouted.  “Yes, we get hugs!”

Rachel relented with a light chuckle.  “Yeah, that’s fine.”

Closing the distance, she opened her arms and allowed the girl to squeeze her.  “I’m just … I know I’m odd—no, I am strange, and it sounds bad, but you’re like a sister I always wanted.”

Great … it seems to be a common theme as of late.

“I know, aren’t we amazing!”  Nia huffed with pride.

Yeah, we…

“Oh, but you should tell her she has the wrong bra size, and her clothes are pretty cheap stuff.”

… Really?

“What?!  I’m trying to help!”

That’s not a conversation I can just bring up … it’s not me.

“It’s me!”

So, you should develop a mouth.

“I can’t … so rude…”

Rachel released Jessy with a laugh.  “Alright, well, I’ll be listening.”

Jessy’s smile turned forced while pulling away.  “Yeah … wish me luck…”

“Good luck!”  She returned, exiting the room.

The nervous and excited girl rushed to her bag to grab clothes and products before running to the bathroom, a determined set to her movements.

“You know, I can see why you have a big ass,” Nia pouted.

Nia … What is up with your obsession with my butt?  Rachel mused, trying to catch the girl off-guard.

“Well, duh … why wouldn’t I be?  I’m the one covering it!  Oh, but no … someone has stupidly long stupid, stupid hair, weaving back and forth, back and forth, covering up all the work I put in to show it off!  The next outfit needs to have braids.  No!  Pigtails!”

I see … so that’s why you’ve been agitated … my hair is covering up your symbol.

“Stupid hair…”

Mhm, and eh … pigtails?  I’m a bit too old for pigtails, Nia.

“Nu-uh!  I’m not!”

Uh-huh … well, we can compromise on the next outfit, too.

“Pigtails are awesome…”

I’m not disputing you … it’s just not really … my look.

“Oh, it totally is!  You’re just too boring to realize it!”

Boring?

“You heard what I said!  Boring … B-O-R-I…”

I get it … fine!  If you can get it to work with my mother’s help, then sure, I’m okay with it, but she has to approve.

“OUR mom!  She’s my mom because I’m a part of you now!  He-he … I get a cool mom that buys me clothes to eat!  Yes, we need to see mom again!  When are we going home…”

In a few days.

“Aww … but … but mom’s going to be lonely, and what about Scarlet…”

Nia…

“What?!”

You’re just trying to get me to go back sooner to get more outfits.

“Duh … I can’t believe you had to say it … humph.  Freakin’ hates pigtails … what kind of girl hates pigtails … no, with your hair, it would be twin-tails … drills … Scarlet had some fun ideas she wanted to do to it … but no, you’re anti-fun.”

Rachel ruefully shook her head at Nia’s low grumbles while making her way outside.

She took a deep breath of the nighttime sea air before dialing Tom.

What approach should we take with this?  Hmm…

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