Chapter Text
A muffled ringing sound wakes me up from my sleep. I pulled my phone out to check who it was. Seeing who it is I consider going back to sleep, but instead I slide to accept it asking, “Why are you calling so early?” Trying to adjust my eyes to the blinding light from my phone and window.
“It’s 1 in the afternoon, that’s not early.” Larry laughed, sounding way more energetic than me.
“For me it is, now what do you want so, I can go back to sleep.” Yawning out the last bit.
“I was wondering if you can help me bake a cake for a video I want to do?” Sounding hopeful that I’ll say yes.
Rubbing the tired from my eyes knowing I'm not falling back to sleep, sitting up and huffing to let him know I was thinking. Before I could say anything, he added, “You don't have to be in the video, just help me from the side and tell me what to do. Or if you want to, I can just blur your face, it shouldn’t be too hard.” Everything in me wanted to say no and hang up, but another part just wanted to go and help.
I sighed loud enough for him to hear, “I don’t know, what time are you gonna film? Or is it record?” 'Is that the same thing?' I thought. Throwing the blanket off and heading to the dresser to find some clothes. Putting it on speaker while I was changing. “You can come over at like, 2 if that’s cool? We don’t have to do it today, I don’t know if you have work today.” I hopped while getting my socks on, yelling my schedule for today.
“I don’t have work until next week. I took a big order and got a week off.” A meow could be heard from the door, seeing a dark fluffy head enter the room. Larry sounded more than excited. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that. That means you can finally come over and see the house!” I scoffed at him, he finally wore me down in inviting me over. But I didn’t want him to know that so easily.
“As long as none of your friends are over.” I remarked and picked the phone back up, taking it with me to the kitchen, a black kitty following behind me. “Uggghhh.” Larry was overexaggerating his annoyance. “They’ll be busy and in their rooms, I promise they won’t bother us.” He pleaded while I rolled my eyes at him, even if I knew he couldn’t see it. “Please?” He begged like his life depended on it. It was quite hilarious how he really wanted me to meet his friends.
And Larry knew how to convince me, making me wish I never told him the secret. “I have your favorite candy, you can have some, no. All of it if you help me.” I could hear the smirk on his face. It was my weakness, I don’t normally buy myself candy cause I know it’ll be gone in about a day or two. So the temptation was calling me. And it won.
“Fine,” I said while feeding and watering my kitty for the day, who knows how long it'll take. He cheered. “Do I need to bring anything for your video thing?” Double checking with him before I left the building. “Uhh, do you want to be on camera?” The idea of being seen by thousands of people frightened me, but every time he talked about it it didn’t seem that bad.
“I don’t know. Maybe?” I fiddled with my ring, figuring out if I wanted to. There was a small silence that soon filled with him humming. “Like I said before, I can blur your face or you can wear a mask and sunglasses. Isaac does that.” He mentioned one of his friends again, but I still had trouble knowing who was who since he never showed me any pictures of them. He wanted me to see them in person instead.
Larry said they were all on social media but he never gave me their usernames, only his, and it wasn’t my thing to stalk them just because I knew one of their friends.
“I guess,” It sounded fun to be on camera, even if I wasn't going to be ‘properly’ seen. 'Do I look ok, do I need to change? I should be fine. Yea, this'll be fine.'
“You said a mask and sunglasses?” Spinning back around to go back to my bedroom to search for the two items. Calming my nerves as best as I could. “Yea, and maybe a hat if you want.” I could easily hear his excitement in his voice and it made me laugh. “Alright, a hat might be good.” Opening my closet since I kept my old hats, that I haven’t worn in forever, in there.
I found a hat with floppy bunny ears attached, one that I’ve had since middle school that miraculously still fit. Which isn’t too surprising since I’ve barely grown at all, only adding a few inches through the years. All the other ones were too brightly colored to wear or had weird cringe phrases, so I went with the black bunny hat. And it covered my ears so I didn’t have to worry about fixing my hair too much.
“Oh wait!” I stopped and it caused Larry to scream back a “What?!” I knew it was better to ask now, “You have all the ingredients for the cake, right?” Stretching out the ‘right’ to make sure he knew what he was doing. And I’m glad I did. “Uhh, yea, I think.” It came out more like a question.
With his answer I needed to know if he was even prepared. “And what about the utensils? You got everything?” Larry knew that I loved baking, I mean I did work at a bakery and lived right above my job. But even when I wasn’t working I was making something small for myself or when I made too much then it was for him and his friends. The only thing I knew about them, besides what Larry tells me, was that they liked my baking which was good enough for me.
“Oh yea, I got two or three bowls and spoons for it. We’re all good here!” Larry sounded confident in that. I sighed at his answer and put a pair of sunglasses in my bag. “I’m just gonna bring some of my stuff over. What kind of cake were you planning to bake anyways?” Going back to the kitchen since I didn’t have any masks, so I have to ask Larry for one later.
It was still on speaker so I placed it on the kitchen table while I rummaged in the cabinets and drawers. “Chocolate cake!” He yelled out, the excitement coming back to his voice. But my voice lacked it, “Chocolate? You know that takes a lot of stuff, are you sure you have everything to make it?” Stopping in my tracks, unsure of him being able to pull it off.
“I think so.” I could hear him lose hope in being able to make it. It made my heart squeeze, he just wanted to make a fun video but all I was doing was making it about the cake. So I made it my duty to be a great friend to him like he always is for me. “Ok! When I get there, I’ll double check and if we need to, we can just stop at a store and get the rest. Sounds good?” I went back to grabbing my trusty baking supplies, knowing it’ll be safe in his hands too.
“Yea, and I can bring the camera to the store too!” Larry laughed at the idea and I did too. “Send me your address and I’ll be over in a few. I have to double check if I have everything.” I picked the phone back up and looked at the lit screen that showed the picture he picked out for his contact.
“I’ll send it now, let me know when you get here. Bye!” He dragged out the bye and hung up. A minute later I received a message with the address so I plugged it into the gps and saw it was only 10 minutes away. Which made sense since he liked to visit whenever I was working, so much so that some workers knew him too. He made it seem so easy to be a people person and that was definitely not me, preferring to be only a kitty person.
I made sure I didn’t miss anything and closed the lid on the slightly heavy tub, heaving it to the front door. Slipping some shoes on but before leaving I said goodbye to my kitty and gave her a small kiss on her head. She meowed in response like she could understand me. Locking the door I headed downstairs to the parking lot.
I unlocked my car and placed the tub in the back seat, going back to the bakery to let my manager/landlord know I was leaving. It wasn’t necessary but since I usually never go out, it’ll help calm her nerves down if she saw me missing. “Hey, is Mrs. Hart in the back?” Asking one of the workers who I share a work schedule with sometimes.
He nodded his head, “She should be. Why?” Laurence was more than curious, leaning on the counter to see what I was up to. I walked up to him, “Cause I wanted to let her know I’m leaving and I don’t know when I’ll be back.” An unamused look on my face. “Ooo, are you hanging out with your boyfriend?” He fluttered his eyelashes, placing his hands under his chin.
Rolling my eyes and shoving a hand in his face as I responded, knowing who he was talking about. “Larry isn’t my boyfriend. I’ve said this a million times.” Sighing from having to remind him again. Laurence looked me up and down then gave me puppy eyes. “But you only hang out with him and not me.” A pout formed on his face. I laughed at his idiotic comment. “Maybe next time. But I’m busy now and you need to get back to work.”
He sighed and went back to whatever he was doing before, leaving me to find the woman who was in her office on the computer. “Afternoon, Mrs. Hart.” She paused her typing and looked over, “Why hello there. I didn’t plan on seeing you today.” I leaned on the doorframe while I explained. “Well, I’m gonna hang out with Larry today and I was about to leave. I just wanted to let you know.”
“Oh ok! You didn’t have to but thank you. You have fun today, alright?” She smiled brightly at me and went back to work. I returned the smile and headed back out, waving bye to Laurence since he was busy with a customer. Getting in the car and putting the directions on so I won’t get lost even if it is a few minutes away.
It was an easy drive, listening to music faintly in the background. Turning down the street to Larry’s house I realized that I’ve never been through here once, with all the deliveries I’ve had it was surprising that none were down this way. Double checking the numbers so I wouldn’t pass it up, stopping at the fourth house and pulling into the driveway. I parked and took the gps off and texted Larry that I got here and needed help.
‘Help is coming’ Larry sent, so I got out and waited for him. The tote wasn’t that heavy but I didn’t bother to carry it by myself, the lid was having a hard time snapping shut anyways. I heard a door and footsteps come closer until I saw a pair of sandals on the ground, “It’s not that heavy, I just need some help. Do you mind…?”
Trailing off and seeing someone beside me that wasn’t Larry, staring at him in confusion. Clamming up and not saying anything. He was taller and had a tattoo wrapping around one of his arms with slightly curly hair that peeked out of his hat. “Larry wanted me to come out and help you carry something?” He smiled brightly, placing a hand on the car door to see inside and wait for my confirmation.
I bit the inside of my cheek and felt heat rise to my face. “Uhh, yea. With this, please, thanks.” Shuffling away so he could reach the tote. It was like it weighed nothing to him, lifting it with ease and backing up so I could close the door. Locking the door and turning to him, waiting for him to move but neither of us did.
“Is it just this?” Moving the container to see what was in it, looking back at me.
“Yea.” It was the only thing I could say, my awkwardness taking over and wishing I could die on the spot.
His laugh was sweet, “Larry mentioned that you don’t talk a lot,” I glanced at him, afraid of what else that idiot had said about me. “Don’t worry, the only thing we really know about you is your amazing baking skills.”
That made me more flustered than I could ever imagine, the combination of someone cute and he was complimenting my baking. My ears were burning, causing me to be a fumbling mess. “Thanks, for...yea. It’s good to know that, um, my bakes aren’t going to waste.” Walking next to him, trying to hide the stupid smile that grew more.
“Oh, and uhh, thanks to whoever cleans my dishes before Larry gives them back.”
Shrugging while holding open the door for him, letting out a silent sigh for being so weird. I could hear Larry’s voice and someone else goofing off but I was more occupied with the giant layout of the house. He mentioned how he was living with his friends but this was insane, their living room was about the size of my apartment. Maybe thinking doing that video thing with him was a good idea, which reminded me to ask for a mask.
“There’s some space here,” Larry wore an apron and a chef's hat that looked way too big for him. “You’re finally here!” He squeezed me into a hug and avoided the annoyance on my face. I patted him on the back and held him in place while I whispered in his ear. “What the fuck dude? ‘Your friends wouldn’t bother us’? You could’ve warned me.” I let go of him and crossed my arms.
His lopsided grin said everything, “My bad, but hey! You met Nick. And now Tanner.” Motioning his hands to the two and them turning at the mention of their names, introducing me to them. Nick gave a soft smile while Tanner beamed, “Baker girl!” That was close enough for me.
Now I was finally able to put a face to the name that Larry almost always mentions whenever he gets a chance to, “Hi, I hope you guys don’t mind me hanging around for a while.” I wasn’t sure if Larry said anything to them about inviting me over, he made it seem like it was a last minute decision. So if they weren’t comfortable with me being over then I’ll easily leave without a second thought.
Tanner came over and side hugged me, “It’s cool, if you need anything just let us know. But I want the first slice of cake!” He locked eyes with Larry and they started to argue over who would get it. I stepped back but was still near Larry, unsure of what to do while the only person I knew was talking to someone else.
“So,” Nick started and I got closer to him. “What kind of cake were you two gonna make?” Nick leaned back on the counter and eyed the ingredients that we were going to use today, and I had to make sure everything was there.
“Chocolate cake,” I mimicked his move, “I don’t know what kind specifically but it’s gonna be chocolate.”
Nick thought for a second, “Isn’t there only one kind of chocolate.” My shyness went away the second he asked that, going into baker mode before I realized it. “Oh, definitely not. Technically. I’ve only made like, four different kinds before. I don’t really like the flavor that much but I do like fudge from time to time. Then there’s also ones with frosting or extra ingredients like strawberries or mayo-”
Nick was baffled at that, “Mayo? Who would put that in cake, what the fuck?” I laughed at his reaction. “I haven’t tried that one yet but it’s for like, a more moist cake. I’m just scared I’ll be able to taste it and throw up not even a minute later.” It left a bad taste in my mouth even if I haven’t tried it yet, and I really don’t want to try it by myself.
“If it tastes good then whatever I guess. I kinda want try it too now.” He laughed. I wanted to make him laugh as much as I could, I wanted to get used to it.
Apparently Larry and Tanner came to an agreement, deciding to feed each other a piece at the same time. “I’ll be in my room, call me down when the cake is done. Which will probably take 20 hours.” Tanner teased Larry, waving me bye and heading up stairs and disappearing around a corner. “Oh, that reminds me. Larry,” I moved closer to him and off the counter. “I have sunglasses but I don’t have a mask, uhh, do you have one? That I can use?”
“Oh yea, you can ask Isaac for one. He uses them the most when we record.” Larry started to take the baking supplies out of the tub and sort them onto the kitchen island. “His room is that way, take a left then go all the way down the hall. He’s in his room, just knock.” He pointed across the living room, I looked to him then where he pointed. “You want me to ask? Won’t he ask why there’s a random girl in the house?” Nick joined our conversation, “He shouldn’t. Larry sent us a message beforehand.”
“That’s if he saw it,” Larry paused, “I don’t even know if he’s awake.” Nick went to the island and picked up a bowl while Larry teased me. “You and Isaac almost have the same fucked up sleep schedule.” I mocked him and took my sunglasses out of my bag, hesitating to bring the hat out of embarrassment. “I’m gonna go ask for one, can I put my bag on the couch?” The couch wasn’t too far away so he was still in earshot but I waited for an answer.
He nodded his head then moved to the fridge, bringing out the rest of the stuff to make the cake. Placing the bag on the couch I slowly walked across the room, taking every odd and weird decoration in. It was surprising that out of all the people that lived here, not one of them had a good sense of taste. There was little hope that Larry did but that wasn’t saying much, not knowing how the others were.
“So the door all the way down the dark hallway. Fun.” Whispering to myself, “I don’t know why he couldn’t do this...Just gotta knock and ask.” I stood in the hallway, unmoving and staring at the door. All I had to do was knock and ask for a mask, it’s that simple but it was so nerve racking to do it.
“Can't find the door?” A quiet voice startled me, spinning around to see who it was. “Sorry, you good?” Nick chuckled and shifted on his feet, leaning on the wall while I composed myself.
I nodded, “Just uhh, nervous. I don’t wanna bother him.” Avoiding eye contact, I was afraid of sweating through my shirt if I didn’t give myself a small breather. “I can knock for you, but you gotta ask.” His smile was comforting and possibly made me heat up again and sweat. “That’ll help. Larry’s been bugging me about meeting you guys. He’ll want me to say at least one word to all of you.”
It was embarrassing to ask for help but he made it seem like it wasn’t a big deal. “So the only people you have left are Isaac, Yumi and Grunk. But Grunk isn't here so you can’t say anything to him.” Nick slowly walked to Isaacs door while I followed next to him. “Oh, Grunk is the one in college, right?” And I was right, but still had to wait to put a face to the name.
For now it was someone else that I had to connect a name and face with, if I would be able to do that since Larry always said he covers his face in everything. “Am I like, allowed to see his face?” Nick looked confused before I elaborated, “Larry said that, he hides what he looks like so I’m not sure if, I should see, what he looks like.” I hoped that made sense because I was having trouble asking for ‘permission’ let alone asking from his friend.
“Uhh, I don’t actually know.” Nick wasn’t so sure himself, knocking on the door and both of us waiting for a voice to let us, well Nick, in. “I can wait out here.” I really didn’t want to upset any of Larry’s friends, and I didn’t want to lose Larry as a friend. He’s literally one of the very few reasons that I even get out of the apartment or job, and meeting new people besides other workers. We heard a faint noise and Nick told me he’ll be back before entering the room and shutting the door behind him.
I leaned against the wall and mentally face palmed, 'How awkward can I get?' Suddenly the floor was the most interesting thing rather than getting flustered at his kindness. A minute passed until the door opened again and Nick waved me closer. I didn’t go any further than the doorway into Isaac’s room, not sure how comfortable he is with a stranger inside.
“What’s up, you need something from me?” Isaac was sitting at his desk and faced me smiling without anything covering his face, even though he was sitting it was still intimidating to ask him for something. Looking over to Nick he softly nodded and I swallowed a lump, “Do you have a mask that I can use? I’m gonna be on camera doing Larry’s video.” I tried so hard for my voice to not crack, getting through the question without mumbling.
He thought for a moment until he stood up and moved to a dresser next to his bed. “I got one. Are you gonna wear sunglasses and a hat too?” Isaac was a few inches taller than Nick and had a similar build to him, the difference was that he didn’t seem like the talkative type like Nick was. “I have the glasses, but I don’t know about wearing the hat.” I fiddled with the hem of my shirt, figuring out if I needed the hat or not.
“He usually wears it to hide his hair since he’s balding.” Nick was looking at me but was teasing his friend in which he argued back. “I have more hair than your ass.” Isaac pulled out a mask and a remark, coming closer to us and towering over Nick by very few inches. Isaac handed me the mask while Nick argued with him, but I could tell that there was no threat behind his tone.
They continued to talk so I silently crept out and back to where the person I could normally talk to was, setting up his camera and facing me again. “You met Isaac,” he had a giddy smile, “You got everything?” I met him on the other side and put the mask on, waiting until the last minute for the glasses that’ll make everything harder to see. “No hat? You fine with just those two,” He seemed worried, “I know you don’t like to be seen by anyone and just wanna make sure you’re fine before we start.”
“I brought one but I don’t know if I wanna wear it.” I began to sort through the items in the order of when we would need them. Larry didn’t bother to help since he knew I was particular with this and I could get snappy at him by accident. “Why not? It’ll help cover some of your face.” I sighed, “It was the only one that wasn’t too embarrassing, but it still is.”
“Show me!” He leapt up and I blinked at him. Knowing I wasn’t going to win this game of back and forth I went to grab my bag and hat, putting it on and coming back to show him. I was lucky that it covered my pink ears and cheeks, worried about how I looked. “Are those bunny ears? Floppy bunny ears suit you.” Taking the ears in his hands and flopping them in front of my face.
Out of all the, extremely very few, friends I’ve made, he became the one I'm most comfortable with. My last relationships, romantic and platonic, ended with them dropping me saying they didn’t like how quiet I was or deemed that I was too boring. But Larry hasn’t thought so, or at least he hasn’t told me yet. And his friends are nice and had been welcoming so it wasn’t a bad idea that I came over, especially his friend Nick who I hoped wasn’t taken.
I pulled his hands away, “I’m ready whenever you are.” double checking that none of my face showed and I could see well enough. “Do we have everything? Need to go to the store?” Larry prepared himself too, going into his ‘online’ persona that he tells me about. “Were we gonna make a regular chocolate cake or what?” I eyed him and over the ingredients, it looked like he was planning to go simple but he could easily change it. I went back into baking mode without realizing it, or realizing that he started recording and this was my first impression with his audience.
“Do you want more of a dense cake? Or maybe fudgy, or coffee flavored. Which isn't too bad but eh. Rich or moist?” Glancing at him he held an amused expression that made me laugh, “None of that made sense to you, did it?” He laughed at the jumbled words, “I know the coffee and fudge part. But not what the others are, I think. Maybe plain is the best.” It was his safest option honestly because I didn’t know, or like the tastes of, chocolate cakes that well so I nodded in agreement. “I’m gonna go off the recipe that I used, after trying like 4 different times to get it tasting, sorta decent.” Pulling my phone out I searched for my recipe ‘notes’ at the same time that he talked to the camera.
Talking about what we were going to make and introducing me, “What do you wanna be called? Your actual name or nickname?” Looking over at me, I did a double take. “Wait! You already started? Why didn’t you tell me?” I started to internally freak out and obsessively fix my clothes and hair, wanting to present myself better than what I’m usually like. Larry patted my head to calm me down, acting like I was younger and shorter than him. “Don’t worry, you don’t look as bad as the others. And yea, I probably should’ve warned you.”
I was only 2 or 3 inches shorter than him, I wasn’t sure about who was older though since he never told me his birthday. “Shut up. You don’t look that much better with that oversized apron on.” Stretching the apron out and chuckling at his outfit choice. He started to laugh normally but after that he exaggerated it to where he was screaming his laughs. Pulling the apron tighter on his waist and acting like he had an hourglass figure and showing it off, causing me to laugh at him then answer his question.
“Uhh, definitely a nickname.” Now I had to come up with one. “What do you wanna be called?” Larry went back to normal and faced me. “You’re just called Larry, right? Do your friends use ‘nicknames’?” I had a hard time thinking of what kind of social media names they could’ve chosen, the only one who I knew was Yumi since that definitely wasn’t his real name. And Larry’s was simple so maybe the others were too. “Just Larry?” He huffed and rolled his eyes at me, I held my hands up defensively. “We got, ‘Big T’.” he started.
This was a guessing game. “That one’s Tanner, I know him.” Pointing out the correct person. “Then ‘Yumi’.” he waited for me to say who it was. “That’s…Yumi,” I tried to hold my composure, “You never told me his real name.” Larry nodded in agreement, “Wanna know his name? It’s..” he came closer and whispered in my ear, covering his mouth with his hands to not let the camera see.
He pulled back and I just stared at him in confusion, my eyebrow slightly twitching. It was silent for a second. “You didn’t say shit.” We belted out laughing, what he did was just mimicking whispering noises and that was it. Not saying actual words, just random sounds. I waved my hand for him to keep going, “Ok, next is ‘Isaacwhy’.” That one was easy, “That’s Isaac, he gave me the mask. And I forgot to thank him.” Looking off into the corner and mumbling the last part.
“Last is ‘Softwilly’.” I almost lost it at his name, “Oh god, that’s what Nick chose?” It was hysterical how my mind went straight to something dirty minded. And it was like he was summoned, Nick came around the corner looking embarrassed, “I picked it out years ago, my youtooz figure wasn’t any better.” That comment caused Larry to burst out and tease him, making me out of the loop. “Your what figure?” I was assuming it had something to do with all the social media stuff they do. But none of this social media talk made sense to me, it flew right over my head.
Larry was quick to answer before Nick had a chance, “I have to show you! You’re gonna love it.” He took his phone out and began to type something but Nick stopped him before I could see it. “Don’t,” His tone was a warning and looked to me, “I’ll show you later. Just not right now.” Larry sighed but budged. “Fine. But you have to when we’re done.” He agreed and left without another word.
“Ok.” Confusion was clear in my voice, unsure of what just happened. We moved on, Larry had me choose a name and finish checking the list. He couldn’t tell but I kept opening and closing my mouth, having trouble thinking of a good name that I’ll be known as. At the end I just shrugged and let him pick something out, which probably wasn’t a good idea. He just kept listing off the ingredients that were on the table. It was baffling to think he would’ve come up with something smart.
I decided to move past it and start on the actual thing that I came here to do. “So, we’re doing plain chocolate cake...and you don’t have sour cream.” He stared at me confused, “Are you gonna eat the sour cream? Why do we need that?" It crossed my mind that it sounded really weird, “It’ll make it taste good. I’m going with the recipe that I’ve used. That also needs mini chocolate chips.” Which none were on the table.
We just looked at each other and I knew where we needed to go. He grabbed the camera and I got my bag. “Let me ask if Nick wants to go, I don’t want to drive.” Larry left upstairs and left me alone in the giant house. It wasn’t too bad, except that it was really quiet and I felt like I wasn’t supposed to be here. Footsteps were heard with a voice, “Sour cream? Sounds better than mayo.”
Nick had a set of car keys and began to walk outside. I followed him, “It's either that or greek yogurt. And I haven’t substituted it before so I won’t know if it’ll taste good.” I stood awkwardly near the car, not getting inside yet until Larry got here. And we didn’t have to wait long since him and Tanner closed the front door and joined us. Tanner went on the other side while Larry was next to me. “You can sit in the front, it’ll be easier to see all of us if I’m in the back.”
“The front? Really?” Panic began to rise but I swallowed it. “You owe me.” Larry nodded and we all got in, I tried my best to not heat up in embarrassment. Thankfully the two in the back did most of the talking and joking around so I wouldn’t have to say much. Nick joined in their conversation from time to time but focused mostly on the road.
Larry pulled the camera out and started to record again, pointing out the window. “That’s where you live.” Pointing the camera towards me, I turned around, “Don’t record that, I don’t want people to know where I live.”
Tanner gasped, “You live in the bakery?” The three of us laughed and I corrected him, “Above it.” He gasped again, “On the roof?!”
Maybe it was better to not say anything else, I wasn’t sure what to say after that anyways. “I didn’t think Larry was serious when he said you lived at your job. I thought he said that since you always worked.” Nick glanced at me and I shook my head, “Well, he’s not entirely wrong.”
"Of course I'm not wrong," Larry laid a hand on the headrest, "She barely gets out, like once in a blue moon. I had to bribe her to come over. So sad to think about." Sarcastically shaking his head in disapproval. Talking to Tanner in the back while he placed the camera down.
I rolled my eyes and Nick glanced my way. "Do you not like going out? Or are you working all the time?" Curious about how I spend my time. It was a bit embarrassing but told him the truth, "Both. Mostly the first part, though. I'm not a people person, and my job takes up the rest of the time." He hummed and nodded to himself, "Expect staying at the store for at least an hour with them, they take forever."
The two in the back overheard and threw defenses back, teasing each other while I laughed. The uneasy nerves slowly fading on the ride.