"So who wants to go first?"
Zack and Carmen stared at Ivy until Zack said "I guess I'll go first."
They were all having a "sleepover" in Ivy's room. Kind of like the ones they used to have in their hotel rooms before they got an HQ. They were sitting in a circle around a lantern, all wrapped up in their blankets, and sharing secrets.
"After the caper in Milan, I went to a restaurant, ordered two medium pizzas, and ate both of them in under two hours." He said regretfully.
"Bro, seriously?" Ivy exclaimed.
"Yeah, I felt really sick afterwards. I guess too much of anything is bad for you, even that amazing pizza."
Carmen and Ivy couldn't help but laugh.
"Wait," said Carmen, understanding dawning on her face. "Is that why you looked so green after Shadowsan and I came back from the hotel?"
"Yep. Now why don't you go next, Ivy." Zack said gesturing to her.
"Well, I tried to get revenge on Trey Stirling for what he did during the Pro League race." She said.
"Hold up, I thought it was only me who did that! Why didn't you tell me?" Zack asked.
"It's because your attempt was successful-or mostly successful. Mine wasn't. The day before the race, I had found the garage where Trey kept his car parked. I didn't really care at that moment but after the race, I just felt like I had to do something. So that night I was walking to the place when I was stopped by Mr. Stirling, which kind of discouraged me. He was just so kind about everything and was genuinely disappointed that we didn't make it to the next race. Like I said, this made me rethink my intentions a little but then I remembered it was his son who was the cheater."
Carmen and Zack listened attentively.
"I made it to the garage but I also found a combination lock that wasn't there before. Now I knew how to pick a combination look but I forgot my tools. And at this point, I felt kind of silly" Ivy admitted, looking down. "Like maybe I should be the bigger person and not stoop to Trey's level." She took a breath.
"So I changed my mind and left."
"I'm proud of you Ivy," Carmen said, placing her hand on Ivy's shoulder. "For doing that"
Zack seemed hesitant to interrupt. "Uh but she helped me with my plan to get back at Trey Stirling a few days after that.
Carmen shrugged. "Whatever teaches him a lesson, I guess."
"Anyways, it's your turn now, Carmen" Ivy said.
"One of my secrets is that..." She took a deep breath. "Iusedtowearextentions." She mumbled.
"What? Can you repeat that?" Zack asked.
"I used to wear hair extensions" Carmen confessed.
"Wait, actually? They looked so realistic! I guess your hair does look different from when we first met you, even though it's the same length." Ivy said.
"Did you guys not think that it was weird that my hair was so long even though it had only been a few months since I left V.I.L.E island?" Carmen asked.
"Well to be fair, the only picture we have of you with short hair is that selfie in Morocco. And that was a few months before you actually made your escape." Zack pointed out.
"What self- I thought I deleted that?" Asked Carmen.
"Turns out that Player has a copy of it"
"I really need to get rid of that. Player knows how to use Photoshop and I don't want my photo to become more embarrassing than it already is." Carmen said.
"I don't think you could make it more cringy than it already is." Ivy teased.
"Hey! We've all done embarrassing things when we were younger." Carmen said, defensively.
"Like you should be the one to talk, Ivy. I can still remember the trashy bands you used to listen to!" Zack snapped.
This made them all start teasing each other about who was more embarrassing. Eventually, they were catching their breath since they were laughing too hard.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Shadowsan sat up in bed. What is that noise, he thought. He checked his alarm clock, it was 12:04 a.m.. They lived in San Diego, but in their area, people weren't usually out on the streets at this time. That meant that it had to have come from inside HQ. The noise didn't stop. Can I never get any sleep here?
He slipped on his sandals and headed for the door. He thought about bringing his sword, but he knew from experience that it usually gave the wrong message, especially if someone was just getting a midnight snack. If in the incredibly rare case that someone did actually break into HQ(and got past the security), he didn't need a sword to take them out.
He silently crept through the hallways, trying to locate the source of the sound. He was surprised to find that it was coming from Ivy's room. He knocked on the door but opened it anyways. Inside he found...
Zack, Ivy, and Carmen all staring at him.
Children. They never sleep and neither do they let anyone else sleep.
"Why are you all staring at me? It is you who are making so much noise. You should all be in your own rooms." He grumbled.
Zack spoke first. "Oh man, can't you let us have a sleepover over this one time? We promise to keep it down!"
"Please?" Ivy asked.
Sleepovers. He used to have those when he was a young child. They were some of his fondest memories.
"Fine" Shadowsan said. He grumbled something about how youth act these days and was about to leave when Carmen asked him:
"Do you want to join us? We were about to tell stories."
That stopped him in his tracks. He didn't show it but he had actually enjoyed telling Black Sheep Japanese legends when she was little. Why not?, he thought.
"I have some Japanese legends I could tell" Shadowsan offered.
Carmen's face lit up. "Like the ones you used to tell me when I was a kid!"
Ivy climbed into her bed while Zack and Carmen climbed into their sleeping bags. Shadowsan grabbed the desk chair and sat down. "Long ago, a young man was coming home from working in the fields when........"
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<
Just as he finished his story, Shadowsan saw that the three were fast asleep. He quietly made his way to the door and closed it behind him.
Walking back to his room, he couldn't help but feel as if he had accidentally adopted three kids(four including Player). How did he feel about that?
He felt as if he had finally found a family where he belonged.
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Word Count: 1129
Author's Note: I finally published this! I meant to publish this a few days ago but I got sick. This was a wild chapter for me to write since after I finished writing, I completely deleted the whole chapter and Wattpad wouldn't let me undo it. So I wrote this whole thing from all from my memory in 2(3?) sleep-deprived hours. Feedback is welcomed!