A Bittersweet Mystreet

{Chapter 21}

Garroth finished assembling his outfit, placing a crown delicately atop his head. He was truly a sight to see.

"Garroth, I'm not too sure about this anymore," Kenmur admitted, finally voicing his concerns with Garroth's behavior.

"Nonsense, don't you trust me, Kenmur?"

Against his better judgement, Kenmur nodded.

"Good, first you're gonna have to learn the dance. Once you've mastered it, you can put on the feathers! Now, you puff out your feathers like this, and do a little dance. This will not only attract a mate, but will scare off the other males as well."

Garroth continued to do weird motions, obviously trying to imitate a mating dance he saw on Animal Planet. How he thought this was popular for the ladies was beyond him.

Someone cleared their throat.

Startled, the two boys turned toward the doorway where Zane stood. Although most of his face was covered, his one visible eye revealed all. He was now traumatized. This went completely unnoticed by Garroth.

"Perfect timing, Zane. Tell me, does this intimidate you?" Garroth asked as he proceeded to continue his dance.

"Please, just stop. Can you just tell me where you keep your water bottles?"

"They're in the fridge. Now how powerful do these feathers-"

"KC, are you sure you want to take another shot?" Travis's voice projected throughout the house.

"No, she does not!" Zane yelled back, rushing back out into the living room, leaving the two boys alone once again with a box of feathers.

Garroth turned back to Kenmur with a smile on his face.

"See, it works! Now get up. It's time to dance!"

===

Emmalyn shut the door behind her and walked further into the bathroom. It was already 11:30 p.m., and she still didn't have enough courage to finally make a move on Kenmur. The thought of saying a pick-up line made her red in the face, so how was she supposed to swoop in for a New Year kiss?

The bathroom door opened, yanking Emmalyn out of her thoughts. In her haste, she forgot to lock the bathroom door. This would have been really embarrassing if she was on the toilet.

"Oh, Emmalyn!" Aphmau exclaimed in surprise, obviously not expecting anyone to be there.

"Aphmau, I... I'll be out in a minute."

"Oh no, that's okay take your time. I wasn't actually gonna use the restroom anyways so...," Aphmau laughed awkwardly, trying to slowly back out of the restroom.

"Neither was I. Actually, maybe you can help me- wait why are you leaving?"

Aphmau froze, caught in her pursuit to discreetly leave the room. She glanced around, trying to find a way to distract Emmalyn from her plan. On any other day, Aphmau would be more than willing to have a conversation with someone awkwardly in a bathroom but now was not the time. She had thoughts to contemplate and people to avoid.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Emmalyn cocked her brow, clearly unconvinced with Aphmau's excuse. Nevertheless, this could be a good opportunity for them to work together. Aphmau was never one to leave her friends in the dust, so something had to be on her mind.

"Aphmau, are you okay?"

Aphmau bit her lip as worry washed over her face. There was no need to mix other people into her problems. Especially for the situation she's currently in, but she was backed into a corner. Should she tell her? No. It's stupid, she should just leave. Meeting Emmalyn's hopeful gaze, though, made the idea of helping each other seem a lot more promising.