Part 20 - Stuck here

Pugsley

"So...what exactly are we looking at?"

Ajax's question was the first in a while of silence that had previously filled the room.

"Gala invitations. Each one needs to be stuffed and sealed."

Bianca had explained it many times in the past 20 minutes, because while it sounded simple, it's actually a lot easier to mess up than you'd think.

We were currently facing the consequences of the events that went down two nights ago, and that meant tedious work that was making my hands sore.

I wasn't doing it alone, thankfully. Both Y/n and Eugene were standing with me around the table as we continued our little groove that we'd built up while working, making the process go quicker.

I felt bad that they had also gotten in trouble for something that was my fault, and I tried to get them out of it when Principal Dort pulled them into it, but Y/n insisted they do it anyway, and Eugene pretty much just did whatever she said. I think he might be a little afraid of her.

Plus I was glad they were here, I would go bored out of my mind if I had to do this by myself.

And yes, Ajax had also been dragged into the consequences on account of our actions, and I don't think he likes me very much because of it.

A voice from the front of the room grabs everyone's attention as the sound of wheels rolling and footsteps patter along the carpet.

Oh, Principal Dort. And professor Orloff was with him.

"I'll count this towards your mandatory community service hours."

Ajax turns once he says that, while the rest of us focus on getting this job done.

"I'm not sure why I was punished,"

He gestures his hand to our group.

"When these three morons are the ones who hid the brain eating zombie."

I hear Y/n scoff from beside me at his words. Yeah, I don't think I care if he likes me or not.

He turns back to Dort.

"I'm just their RA."

Yeah, exactly. That kind of means you're responsible for what we do, dude.

Plus you seemed to have no problem with getting cozy with my best friend after what happened. Consider this payback for basically not letting go of her that night.

I pause for a second and think about my thoughts just now.

Woah, dude. Chill, she was upset because of what you did, you have no right to be mad over one of her friends comforting her after that fact.

Albeit a friend whom she has a crush on. I think.

Y/n noticed my pause in movement along with my sudden silence, and she whispers to me.

"Hey, you okay?"

I look up to the side at her, and I just nod, coming back to reality.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good, sorry."

She smiles at me before her eyes go back over to Principal Dort, who just gave Ajax a look before gesturing to professor Orloff, continuing what he was saying.

"Professor Orloff has kindly offered to supervise. We need these invitations out pronto. Bianca will show you how it's done"

Orloff rolls a little closer and gives us a once over.

You know, I never quite grasped how he was even alive. He's just a head in a jar that rolls around, and yet somehow he is just as living as anyone else. I mean the guy doesn't even have a heart, or lungs, or any of the vital organs except his brain.

But I can't be bothered to go down that rabbit hole of questions right now.

I hear a small chime from over where Bianca was standing, but I don't think too much of it.

At least not until she turns to Dort and speaks, looking down at the phone in her hands.

"I actually have a personal matter I need to attend to."

Ah, so that's where the dinging sound was coming from. It was being quite persistant, honestly I was glad I didn't have a phone, I'd get annoyed at that noise pretty quickly.

Principal Dort moves closer to Bianca, taking off his glasses and inhaling, his tone becomes quiet, but still loud enough for the whole room to hear.

"These invitations are your only priority."

Bianca seems to be getting more and more nervous with every chime, and she struggles to find her words.

"I know, but you don't understand-"

"I have to tell the board that we missed our first fundraising goal, because we haven't landed our top donor yet."

Okay, I don't think I could even cut the tension in this room with a knife anymore, Dort was being super passive aggressive right now. And while I was definitely trying not to look over there, I'm pretty sure both myself and my two friends were all eavesdropping. Not that they were being that hushed about it.

Dort turns to Ajax,

"But that's what you do when you're a leader. You take the heat for other people's screw ups."

His attention moved over to our table on those last few words, and it also earned me another glare from snake boy.

Okay, fair.

The room stays silent after that, and Dort turns to leave, giving Orloff a quick nod on the way past, and Orloff moves further down the carpet.

"Okay people, let's get busy!"

Okay, don't really like how he said that but alright.

He stops, facing Ajax and Bianca, and the machine I guess you could call his body, rises to become taller as he looms over them.

"Those envelopes aren't going to stuff themselves. And I've got my eye on you two."

Creepy...

The vibe in this room stayed pretty uncomfortable for the next few minutes, and I just kept my head down and focused on the task at hand.

But I felt something tap my foot.

Did I accidentally drop something?

I look down at the floor under the table, just as another tap could be felt.

Ah, so it wasn't me.

I turn my head back up to Y/n, who had a small smile on her face, and she spoke in an almost whisper.

"So uh..are you going?"

Huh?

I'm gonna need a whole lot of context to answer that, because I am so lost right now.

"To...what?"

She lets out a bit of air in a huff, before holding up a gala invitation.

Ohhhh, right. That.

I give her a small nod before looking back at my own side of the table.

"Uhhh, yeah. I think so, I mean I'm pretty sure I kind of have to, my mom is being asked to help with it, so I'll probably be dragged along whether I like it or not."

I hear a small 'oh' from her as she turned her head down and sealed another envelope.

Did I say something wrong?

Oh, right.

"What about you? You think you'll go?"

She shrugs, pasuing her work for a moment.

"I dunno, it sounds like it could be pretty cool. Most of my friends are going, so I think it'll be fun to hang out. You should definitely come too, please? It'll be boring if you're not there."

She was giving me that look.

The one that I knew I could never say no to. It had a hold over me that genuinely scared me a little bit.

"Yeah. Yeah, okay. I'll be there."

Her smile returned and she bumped my hip with hers. something that had become sort of a silent gesture between us, it was nice just to have that with her.

The sound of an overly dramatic gag caught both of our attention from across the table, and Eugene was giving us a look as he pointed at us.

"You two, get a room. Seriously, I don't wanna watch this."

Shout it for the whole world to hear why don't you.

I feel my face heat up as I take a small step away from Y/n, and she does the same.

My head turns slightly to look over at the other table, because they probably just heard that incredibly embarrassing statement.

And I'm met with a stare from Ajax.

It wasn't like his usual dislike look, he looked...

Jealous.

His jaw was clenched and he turned away after a few seconds, but that glint in his eyes was unmistakeable.

I pondered whether or not to tell Y/n about it,

But honestly I didn't want to.

It felt weird knowing I was the cause of his jealousy.

Wait...

Why was he jealous in the first place though?

...

Holy shiiittt.....

-------------

Y/n

I suck in a sharp bit of air through my teeth as I lift my hand up.

"Ow-"

A tiny prick of blood formed on the tip of my finger, 

Great, a papercut. Love those.

This must have been my gazzilionth envelope, and I was getting fucking sick of it.

I had insisted to Pugsley that I face the same punishments as him, because at the end of the day, Slurp was OUR zombie.

And Eugene was crazy if he thought he'd get out if this consequence free.

But now I was starting to wish I hadn't come here, you don't get papercuts from sitting in math class. Well, not usually anyway.

Pugsley's head quickly turned at my sound of distress, and he puts down what he's doing.

"What happened?"

"Nothing, I'm okay."

I lift my finger to my mouth and lick off the tiny drop of blood. I mean it belongs in my body anyway soooo...

"Just a papercut."

He doesn't say anything and reaches for my hand, taking it in his own as he inspects said cut.

"Hold on, I think I've got something."

His other hand digs in his pocket for a few seconds, before what looks to be a bandaid emerges, and he opens it up, carefully wrapping it around my injury.

"Do you just...have those on you?"

He huffs a little, just as he finishes his tremendous first aid.

"Yeahhh, I like to think it's in case anybody else needs them, but really I hurt myself more frequently than a blind bird flying through a forest."

I laugh at the analogy, it painted quite the image in my mind, but I understood what he meant. 

I wiggle my finger, now patched up and ready to get back to work, as much as I hated it.

"Well, thank you. It is much appreciated."

"You're welcome."

A smile is exchanged between us before we return to sealing invitations.

He had been acting just the tiniest bit weird since Eugene made the 'get a room' comment, and I couldn't blame him, it was pretty fucking awkward.

And oh my god Bianca's phone hasn't stopped going off for the past 30 minutes.

If I had to hear one more notification sound, I was going to rip my hair out. Silent mode exists for a reason you know.

Everything in this room right now was just off, I could guess that much. Nobodies phone dings that much unless they've just told their best friend that they have a massive thing for the brother of said friend, or if somebody is in trouble or dying.

And I would probably assume it's the latter.

Professor Orloff had fallen asleep at the front of the door, so Ajax and Bianca were talking without being worried of Orloff eavesdropping.

I was though.

Sure they were quiet, but not quiet enough.

"Your phone's been blowing up since we got here. What's going on?"

Ajax's attention was half on the envelopes, half looking at Bianca, whose head was still dropped, staring at her phone like she had been doing almost the entire time.

But when the question was raised, she put her phone on the table face down and smiled like nothing was wrong.

"Um, nothing. I'm fine."

He sighs.

"My fangs aren't the sharpest in the pit, but I can definitely tell when something is not fine."

Kind of an odd thing to say, seeing as you don't have fangs, but okay.

He wasn't lying though, and I think it might have something to do with amount of times I've said it to him in the past, he learned to see when I was and wasn't fine. Which most of the time I wasn't.

But that's what you do when you're not fine. You say you're fine.

Bianca stays silent for a moment, before ultimately realizing it wasn't any use trying to defend her words.

"It's my mom. She's in trouble. And, I've got to get her out of it before she permanently ruins her life."

HAH I KNEW IT.

But uh, that's not a good thing.

She looks over her shoulder at Orloff, who I'm pretty sure just startled himself awake.

"But, I can't siren Orloff. His head's in a jar, so it blocks my song."

She sounded so defeated, it was sad really. I know I'd be pretty antsy if it were my mom who needed help, so I guess I can understand.

Professor Orloff hears the chatter between the two and a scowl crosses his face.

"You two, less gabbing, more stuffing."

Ajax's expression turns thoughtful, and he turns towards Orloff as he speaks in an un-usually innocent tone. 

Oh god what is he doing...

"Uh, professor?"

He picks up the box of sealed envelopes on the table in front of him.

"Can you take a look at these, make sure I got the seals right?"

He walks over to Orloff, with a determined stride in his step.

"You know, I don't usually do snail mail...Woah!-"

He proceeds to do the fakest trip known to man kind, reaching for his beanie and removing it just as Orloff looked up, causing his head to turn to stone and sink in his jar.

Once he put the beanie back over his snakes and turned around to face the people in the room again, I give him a 'what the fuck' look.

Because seriously,

What the fuck was that.

And he just shrugs.

Okay, whatever dude.

He goes back over to Bianca, who I believe is equally just as confused on why that just happened.

"Okay. That bought us a couple hours."

Her brow furrows as she turns her head to him.

"Us? This is my problem."

Ajax just shows her that annoying grin and shrugs again. What is with this guy and using his shoulders so much.

"Nightshades forever, right?"

Okay, as much as I wasn't interested in whatever plan he was scheming, the fact I'm not apart of that conversation stung a little bit.

Both Pugsley and Eugene made a move away from our table, and Pugsley gestures for me to follow, 

So with a reluctant groan, I do.

"Hey, we want to go too."

He gestures to all three of us.

Uhm, excuse you Pugsley,

WHO THE FUCK IS WE??

Okay maybe I did kind of want to go, but only because they made it seem like a nightshades thing.

Ajax and Bianca share a look, one that screamed 'no we can't let them tag along'

It was silent between them,

But no words were needed when I saw Bianca reach for the necklace hanging down atop of her uniform.

The one that kept her siren song at bay.

Oh for fucks sake I CANNOT catch a break.

She turns to face Pugsley and Eugene, and stared them down as she spoke in that tone that sometimes still gave me chills.

"Stay here, and finish the rest of the invitations."

I knew it wouldn't work on me, seeing as I had the same power, but I still internally groaned when I saw the two boys faces relax as they turn back to the table and comply.

Ajax and Bianca then make a move towards the door, 

"Guys! Seriously?! If you won't take them at least take me!"

Ajax stops short of the exit and calls back to me.

"Sorry birdy, I'm not letting you get hurt again on my watch."

I scoff as he runs off.

"Nightshades forever MY ASS!!"

Fucking asshole...

I turn my gaze back to the table where Pugsley and Eugene stood, back at the tedious work of sealing those freaking envelopes, heads down and minds elsewhere.

Great, just great.

««« ♪ ♪ »»»

I thought for sure that my tapping against the table would get too annoying eventually, making them snap out of their robot like daze,

But nope.

It was like they couldn't even see me.

It had been almost another whole hour of this nonsense, and it was starting to get dark outside.

The pile of invitaions that still needed to be sealed was mountains high, 

I mean honestly, how many people were being invited anyway??

I had spent the past hour in an ongoing mental war with myself, debating whether or not I should just siren them out of this.

On one hand, I promised Pugsley I wouldn't use my power on him, and I didn't want to break that,

But on the other hand, if I have to watch these two pick up one more fucking invite, I'm going to scream.

Yeah okay,

Fuck it.

I'm sure he'll forgive me for this..

I move around to the end of the table so I had a good view of both of them, and I take a deep breath.

"I know I promised I wouldn't do this but I'm sorry."

I focus my mind, it'll only be for a second, you got this.

"Snap out of it."

My voice travels in that way that I hadn't heard from myself in months, it was weird...

Pugsley and Eugene both looked up once my words reached them, and they blinked a couple of times before looking at me.

Okay...they look like they're back to normal.

"Welcome back to earth, boys. Glad to have you here."

The sound of coughing and a small yelp grabs my attention, and I turn my head to see that Orloff turned back from being stone too.

Wait, did I...

No, that's not possible, it's just really good timing.

Pugsley speaks up in a confused tone.

"What happened...and when did it get so dark outside."

I sigh.

"I'll explain later, but we should really get going. Ajax and Bianca aren't back yet and I'm starting to get worried."

I'm met with two very lost looks. And Euegne pipes up.

"Back from where?"

I just roll my eyes and move away from the table.

"I will explain on the way, but seriously, move your butts."

They don't ask further, following me as I walk over to Orloff.

"Excuse me professor, but we're done with our work, may we please go now?"

Orloff seems a little disoriented from being stoned not too long ago, and he just nods, not really paying attention to the question.

I smile and gesture for the boys to follow as I speed walk out into the hall.

A buzz and a ding from my back pocket stops me in my tracks.

Huh? Who's texting me?

I pull out my phone and see the notification on my lock screen.

Enid?

But why would she want to talk to me.

Her and I aren't exactly friends, maybe I should just ignore it and check later.

I almost put my phone away in my pocket and keep walking, but something about it didn't sit right with me.

She wouldn't text me unless it was important...

I sigh and open my phone, reading what she sent me.

Oh shit.

"Y/n? What's the matter?"

Pugsley's voice from in front of me makes me look up, and concern was etched on his face.

"We need to go, like right now."

I stuff my phone back in my pocket and grab his wrist.

"Wha- Why??"

...

"Something's happened to Wednesday."