All I Ask of You

Chapter 9.5

A/N: This is 100% a filler chapter, and you don't have to read it if you don't want, but it has all the characters being happy, so why would you skip it?

"Are you totally sure we should do this, Ned?" Peter asked, looking at the phone number dialed.

Ned rolled his eyes, "Yeah, Annie said we could call them if we needed help with Christmas gifts. Christmas is in two days, so we need to figure our shit out."

"And what if we're intruding? O-or she was just screwing around with us?" Peter questioned.

Ned sighed, "She wouldn't do that. We're calling this person, okay? That's that."

Ned pressed the call button before Peter could protest anymore. Then he took the phone from his friend's hands and turned on the speaker. The phone rang as they both waited for a response. Neither of them were able to figure out what to do for gifts. They hadn't planned on getting anything for Annie, but once she started bragging about how amazing their presents were going to be, they felt like they definitely needed to do something. Even if Annie insisted that they didn't need to do anything for her.

"Harper Higgins, daughter to the CEO for Higgins' Fabrics Emporium. If you're calling to harass me because of some shit my parents pulled, I can tell you I'm just as tired of them as the next guy. If you're meaning to harass one of my siblings, press one..." they paused for a moment.

Peter glared at Ned, only for Ned to clear his throat, "Um, yeah, we're not here for any of that... we have some super important questions."

"Ugh, there's no way anything's more important than my 'me time' but go off I guess," they replied, an eye roll almost audible in their tone.

Ned shrugged a bit at Peter, "Well, you see, we're calling you because Annie gave us your number."

"What the fuck is she doing giving out my number like it's fucking... never mind, why are you calling?" Harper demanded, more sketching being heard on their side of the line.

Peter coughed a bit, "She said that if we had any questions about gift ideas for her to call you."

"Of course she did, because I know her better than she knows herself. Anyways, what about gift ideas?" they questioned, seeming to sound less annoyed.

Ned and Peter looked at each other before Peter spoke up, "We don't know what to get her. Like, at all."

"Well did she give you any ideas?" they prompted, shuffling of papers being heard in the background.

Ned sighed, "She said a cat, but-"

"Oh fucking do it!" Harper exclaimed, "Hold on, I'm turning this into a video chat so I can finally see you guys."

There was a click and a pause before Harper's face came into view, a pale person with a ginger pixie cut showed up in front of Peter and Ned. They adjusted the phone so Harper could see the two of them. Peter sighed a bit, still not sure if this was the best idea for all of them. It almost felt like he was peeping in on the life of someone he shouldn't even be aware of.

"Okay, so getting her a cat would be fucking ingenious. You guys wanna know why?"

"Um... why?" Peter asked, giving a quizzical expression.

Harper grinned, "Her dad hates cats with a burning fucking passion. But seeing as he royally screwed up for multiple reasons, that doesn't matter at all."

"Where do we even get the cat? Like, what kind of cat does she like? What if something happens to the cat because of her parents?" Peter started rambling.