#but i also got this cute animation one sec i need a screen recorder

[adaptingant]

(via Get in losers! We’re going to The Mall at shop.tumblr.com)

[suituuup]

pandemic shenanigans

Chloe discovers TikTok and decides to do a bunch of pranks on her girlfriend

rated: T

word count: 3k

ao3 link

*

It’s the pandemic’s fault. 

Chloe was bored af one day at the start of quarantine, and decided to download TikTok, the app Gen Z has been raving about. Little did she know five minutes on the app could turn into four hours without her being aware and brought procrastination to another level. 

She quickly becomes addicted to cute animal videos (duh) and couple pranks. So addicted that the temptation of trying a few on her girlfriend is too great. 

i. Did you forget what today was

“Morning,” Beca mumbles, rubbing her eye with the heel of her palm as she shuffles towards the coffee pot. While Chloe’s an early bird, Beca rarely makes it out of bed before ten on the weekends, and Chloe is usually already showered and dressed by the time she does. 

She and Beca live in that same studio which they used to share with Amy, until their Australian friend inherited some serious money and moved out. 

It’s been really nice to have an actual bed instead of that crappy pull-out couch. 

“Good morning,” Chloe chirps, craning her neck to accept the kiss Beca brushes to her lips. Beca slides in the chair across hers, pouring some milk in the bowl Chloe’s set out for her, followed by cereals.

(yes, she’s that weirdo who puts the milk first.)

“What?” Beca pauses with her first spoonful halfway to her mouth, finally noticing Chloe staring at her. 

“Did you forget what today was?” She asks with a raised eyebrow, cradling her mug in her hands.

Beca blinks, and Chloe can nearly see the fuck popping up in her brain as panic flashes in her eyes. “Uh, Saturday?” 

Chloe purses her lips, both to appear annoyed and to keep her bubbling laughter in. “Beca.” 

Beca’s nose scrunches up. “I know, I know, gimme a sec. This is not our anniversary, or your birthday, you’re not working today so there’s nothing important regarding your job,” she lists off, her eyes lighting up a beat later. “Oh! Is it this weekend Aubrey’s coming up?” 

“No,” Chloe sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I can’t believe you forgot.”

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Beca rushes out, standing up and crossing the distance between them to sit across Chloe’s lap. She kisses her softly, looping her arms around her neck. “I’m sorry. What’s going on today? I promise I’ll make time for it. And I’ll give you a massage tonight to make up for being a bad girlfriend. And we can eat whatever you like.” Smirking mischievously, she adds in a lower tone, “And, I’ll let you do whatever you wanna do to me later.” 

Chloe grins, unable to hold it any longer. “Nothing’s going on, babe. I was just messing with you.” 

Beca’s jaw falls open as she pulls back, glaring. “Not cool, dude!”

Chloe simply giggles, nuzzling her neck and pressing an apologetic kiss to Beca’s skin. “You’re cute when you’re panicking.”

A huffs puffs free and Beca pouts. “Whatever.”

Chloe tightens her hold around Beca’s waist so she can’t get away. “Can I still do whatever I want to you tonight?” 

The whimper that rises from Beca’s throat shoots a chill down her spine. Beca’s cheeks redden and she squirms a little in Chloe’s lap. “Yeah--yes.” 

Safe to say Chloe won’t be uploading that video on TikTok. She also won’t tell Beca this was a Tiktok prank, because this turned out to be a lot of fun and she’s got more up her sleeve.

ii. climb on their lap while they’re busy doing something else

Friday nights are Chloe’s favorite. As none of them work during the weekends, it means they get two whole days of quality time with each other. Tonight though, her highly professional girlfriend needs to take care of a few work things to make sure she can spend a stress free weekend, but it’s been hours, and Chloe is kind of craving some attention. 

Beca’s working on her laptop while sitting on the couch, and after changing into her PJ’s, Chloe unceremoniously curls up sideways on her lap, looping her arms around her shoulders and resting her forehead against the side of Beca’s neck. 

“Oh,” Beca breathes out, setting her computer aside before her arms loosely wrap around Chloe’s body. “Hello.” 

“Hi,” Chloe murmurs back, brushing a kiss to Beca’s neck and releasing a soft sigh of contentment. 

Beca’s hand runs up and down her thigh as she pushes a kiss to Chloe’s hair. “You alright?” 

Chloe hums, forgetting all about her phone propped against one of the shelves capturing the moment to make a TikTok, instead basking in the instant comfort being in Beca’s arms provides. 

Beca peppers her face with soft, featherlight kisses that make Chloe warm from the inside out. She really is a slut for Beca’s affection. “M’sorry I had to work tonight.” 

Chloe smiles. “It’s okay.” She pecks Beca’s lips and brushes her nose against hers. “I’m heading to bed. Don’t work too late, babe.” 

Beca nods, winking softly. “Right behind you.” 

True to her word, Beca slides under the covers less than five minutes later and tugs Chloe’s body against her own. Chloe releases another happy sigh, which is cut-off by a yelp when Beca runs her freezing toes along Chloe’s bare calf. 

“Becs!” She cries, moving away and slapping her arm. “Your feet are freaking icicles!” 

Beca snickers like a teenager, seemingly very proud of her act. 

“Put some socks on.” 

Beca’s nose scrunches up adorably. “Ew. No way.” 

“Then stay on your side,” Chloe grumbles, tugging the covers higher around her as she rolls away from Beca, settling on her opposite side. 

“Sorry,” Beca whispers into the dark, shuffling closer. “I won’t do it again.” 

She feels her resolve break as Beca’s lips trace a trail from her exposed shoulder blade to the side of her neck. She hates her traitorous body for not having any willpower when it comes to Beca’s ministrations. “You better not, or I’ll kick you,” she half-jokes. 

“Kinky,” Beca breathes along with a soft laugh, pressing one final kiss to Chloe’s cheek as she drapes her arm around her middle. “I love you.” 

Chloe laces their fingers and squeezes. “I love you too, weirdo.” 

iii. walking out naked while they’re in a zoom meeting 

“Well what doesn’t he like about it?” Beca’s voice carries from the living-room as Chloe stands in their bedroom, a towel wrapped around her naked frame. 

That video of her and Beca cuddling on the couch blew up, hitting 3 millions views and about 400k likes. The few homophobic comments that popped up were quickly drowned out by thousands of people gushing over their relationship or crying about wanting the same kind of relationship. 

Beca was of course aware Chloe would post that video on the internet and weirdly wasn’t opposed to it. 

“Again?” She hears her girlfriend sigh and steps out, losing the towel as she rounds the corner. “I mean, yeah, sure. I’ll see what I--” 

Beca’s words die on her tongue the second her eyes flicker up from her computer screen. Her jaw drops and her mouth gapes wordlessly for a few seconds. 

Chloe is briefly concerned she might have broken her girlfriend.

“Beca?”  Her boss’ voice carries through the speakers, snapping Beca back to her meeting. 

“Yes, yeah-- um-- sorry, I…” She stammers as her cheeks burn, and clears her throat. Her eyes quickly glance back to Chloe, who is fighting against a string of giggles. “I’ll-- I’ll work on something else, no problem.” 

“Alright, keep me posted.”

Beca nods. “See ya.” She shuts her computer so fast Chloe’s concerned she might have damaged it. “You’re evil,” she mutters, shaking her head. 

“Are you complaining?” Chloe husks, strutting over in her birthday suit and tossing her phone on the couch.

Beca visibly swallows, bracing on Chloe’s waist as she settles down her lap. “Never. But next time try not to give me a heart attack?” 

“Deal,” Chloe murmurs, bending down to capture Beca’s lips in a searing kiss. 

iv. Ask them what they would do if they were at a party and a hot girl came up to them

“Hey Bec?” 

“Mm?” 

It’s a rainy rainy afternoon, the ones Chloe loves as they don’t have anywhere to be, and she gets to chill on the couch with her favorite person while listening to the rain pelting against the window. 

Chloe’s head is on Beca’s lap as she lies on the couch, reading a book while Beca messes around on her phone. Beca has absentmindedly been scratching her scalp, and Chloe was about to fall asleep when she got a prank idea. She discreetly propped up her phone against her mug on the coffee table a minute ago, pressing record. 

“What would you do if you were at a party and a hot girl came up to you?” 

Beca lowers her phone, peering at Chloe over it. “What do you mean?” 

Bending her knees, Chloe shifts to sit up and faces Beca. “What would you do if a hot girl flirted with you?” 

“You know I don’t know when people flirt with me, right?” 

Yes, Chloe does know. She lost count of how many times she’s flirted with Beca over their four years of friendship pre-getting together without Beca having a freaking clue. 

“Okay, but still,” Chloe clears her throat and straightens a bit from her slouched position, tucking her legs underneath her. “Let’s say you’re at a party, and I’m a random girl, not your girlfriend, alright?” 

Beca rolls her eyes but nods anyway, setting her phone down and angling her body towards Chloe a bit more. 

Chloe props her elbow on the back of the couch and cradles the side of her head in her palm as she smiles softly, getting into character. She reaches out to run the tip of her pointer finger along Beca’s forearm while keeping her gaze locked on hers, her teeth racking over her bottom lip in an over-the-top flirty move. “Hi.” 

“Hey you,” Beca murmurs with a small smirk, leaning closer a little. Chloe swats the back of her head. “Ow! What was that for??” 

“It’s not me,” she reminds Beca as the brunette rubs the spot with a glare. 

“Sorry, it’s just hard to remember that with those eyes of yours,” Beca laughs. “I can’t focus, they’re pulling me in.” 

“Aw,” Chloe beams. She leans in to peck Beca’s lips, raising an eyebrow when Beca pushes her away. 

“Dude, I’ve got a girlfriend.” 

Chloe rolls her eyes, shoving her as Beca laughs. “Touché.” 

v. ask them if they still get butterflies

“Bec?” 

“Mmm.” 

Spring morphed into summer. A hot, sticky and humid summer. The pandemic is still very much a thing, and Chloe can’t even tell you what day of the week it is anymore. To make things worse, their AC is down, which is why they find themselves on the rooftop of their apartment building that evening, laying on a couple blankets as they stare up at the night sky. Chloe misses the hundreds of stars she would gaze at when she was a kid in Oregon, but she sort of finds the steady sound of cars passing by in the street below them soothing. 

Or you know, maybe it’s the joint she smoked twenty minutes ago with her girlfriend that is finally hitting her. 

“Do you still get butterflies?” 

Beca’s head rolls to the side so she can look at her. “Still?” She asks, smirking softly. “They never left.” 

Chloe giggles, shoving her lightly. Beca is known to grow sappy and affectionate when she’s high, and Chloe absolutely loves it. “Dork.” 

“Felt them just this morning when you were singing in the kitchen while making breakfast and almost pinched myself because I still have to wrap my head around the fact that I get to marry you.” 

Chloe does a double-take as she registers Beca’s words. “What?” Her voice is barely there, hidden under the layers of emotions seizing her throat. 

“Well… yeah,” Beca shrugs, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “You’re like, it for me, you know?” 

Moments where Beca splits herself open like that are rare, and they never fail to make Chloe’s heart soar. 

“Are you going to say something Beale or keep staring at me like a weirdo?” Beca eventually quips, chuckling softly. 

Chloe shakes her head a little, then leans forward to push a lingering kiss against Beca’s lips. “I love you, future wife.” 

She feels Beca sigh contentedly as she curls up against her side, her arm wounding around Chloe’s back. “I love you, too.”

vi. sigh loudly in front of them

“What’s wrong?” 

It’s day two hundred something of quarantine. Chloe is bored out of her mind. 

“Nothing,” she whispers, keeping her tone unconvincing on purpose. She’s lying on the couch while Beca sits at the end working on her computer, a Friends rerun playing low on the TV. 

Beca shuts her computer and sets it on the coffee table before crawling up Chloe’s body and settling on top of her. She presses a light kiss to the side of Chloe’s neck. “You sure?” 

“Mhm,” Chloe hums, looping her arms around her girlfriend’s waist. 

“I can stop working,” Beca suggests softly, placing another kiss to her chin, then to the tip of her nose. “Wanna go grab some Chick-fil-A? Then we can watch one of those cheesy rom coms that you like.” 

“M’okay,” Chloe agrees quietly. “Can we just cuddle for a bit?” 

“Yeah,” Beca breathes. “Course we can.” She settles her head on Chloe’s chest, lifting it a second later. “Wait, is this a TikTok thing?” Upon Chloe nodding, she groans. “My reputation is taking a blow with each one of those, you know that right?” 

A giggle bursts past Chloe’s lips. “I’m sorry, your what?” 

That earns her a glare. “Bite me, Beale.” 

vii. wipe their kiss away

“I hate this fucking pandemic,” Beca grumbles as she makes it inside, kicking the door shut with a little more force than necessary. “I hate those Karens who don’t wear masks,” she continues as she hoists her two grocery bags on the kitchen counter. “Scratch that, I just hate people in general.” Beca eventually takes off her mask, heaving out a sigh as she drops it onto the counter. “Finally.” 

Chloe smiles in amusement, walking over to start putting the groceries away. “Thanks for going out, babe.” 

“No problem.” She pecks Chloe’s lips on her way to store the yogurt in the fridge, doing a double-take when Chloe wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. “Did you just… wipe my kiss away?” 

“What? No I didn’t,” Chloe replies innocently. 

Beca stares at her, cocking an eyebrow. “Was it not up to your standards or something?” 

“I mean…” Chloe shrugs nonchalantly. “It was just a peck.” 

“Mmm.” She resumes her task, closing the door to the fridge behind her before making her way over to where Chloe is standing, setting her hands on her hips from behind and coaxing her to turn around. 

“What are you--” the rest of her sentence is cut off by a moan as Beca’s lips capture her own. Chloe’s knees wobble from the heat of the kiss, its intensity sending shockwaves throughout her body, all the way down to her toes. She’s left in a daze by the time Beca pulls away, blinking twice in slow succession as she rolls her swollen lips together. “Holy shit.” 

Beca puffs out her chest a little, smirking. “That’s better.” 

Groceries forgotten, Chloe slides her hand into hers and drags her to the bedroom. 

viii. call them your spouse during a phone conversation

“I’m home,” Chloe calls out as she steps inside their studio apartment. She pauses in the doorway, taking in her surroundings. 

Their small kitchen table is beautifully set, two candles lit on each side and a gorgeous bouquet of flowers sitting in the center. Soft acoustic music is playing through Beca’s portable speaker. “Hey, you.” 

“What’s all this?” Chloe asks, smiling brightly as she slings her purse off her shoulder, setting it down. 

Beca approaches, a sheepish smile spreading across her features. “Well… because of this freaking pandemic, we haven’t been out in months, so I thought we could just do a home-date. I ordered from your favorite sushi place, should be here any minute.” 

“Aww.” Shrugging off her jacket, Chloe steps up to place a soft kiss to Beca’s lips. “You’re sweet. And very sexy,” she adds with an eyebrow waggle, taking in Beca’s fancy jumpsuit and hairdo. “I’m gonna go change real quick.” 

Chloe hurries to the bedroom and opens her closet to pick something; she can’t remember the last time she wore a dress, her main outfit having consisted of a hoodie and sweatpants for the better part of the year. Plucking her navy blue, knee length dress out, she changes into it and takes ten minutes to arrange her hair and put on light make-up. 

Beca is on the phone as she steps back out into the kitchen, grinning when Chloe appears. “Yep, got it. Listen, I gotta go, my wife and I are about to eat dinner.” 

Chloe freezes mid-step, her heart stuttering as she registers the term Beca used. 

“Sorry about that,” Beca says once she’s hung up, casting Chloe a smile as she sets her phone down. 

“You just called me your wife,” Chloe murmurs, her eyes shrinking suspiciously a beat later. A gasp follows when it hits her. “Wait, are you TikTok pranking me??” Her gaze quickly sweeps the room. “Where’s the camera, Mitchell?” 

Beca simply grins, shaking her head as she reaches for something in her pocket. “Not a prank, babe.” 

Shocked eyes lifting from the square velvet box nestled in Beca’s palm, Chloe watches as Beca steps closer and lowers herself on one knee. Her heart trips dangerously and she stops breathing altogether. “Bec, you better not be lying.” 

The way she seems nervous all of the sudden tells Chloe this is definitely not a prank. “Chloe--” 

“Yes,” Chloe croaks out, tears pooling in her eyes as her head bobs up and down in a frantic nod. 

Beca’s chuckle comes out strained as she blinks back the moisture in her own eyes. “Dude, let me ask the question at least.” 

“Sorry.” Chloe clamps her lips together and squeezes Beca’s hand to wordlessly let her know she may keep going. 

“Chloe,” Beca repeats, her voice wavering slightly. “This year has been weird as fuck, and the most challenging one yet, but despite everything, I had a near constant smile on my face because of you. You’re my best friend, and the most beautiful person I know, inside and out.” She sucks in a deep breath through her nose, letting go of Chloe’s hand to open the box. Chloe gasps softly at the sight of a simple, yet elegant oval cut diamond set on a rose gold band. “Will you make me the happiest person on earth by accepting to become my wife?” 

“Yes.” She tugs on Beca’s hand, capturing her lips in a searing kiss as soon as she straightens. “I love you so much.” 

Beca grins against her mouth, backing away just enough to seek out Chloe’s eyes. “I love you, too.” 

As she stands there basking in this new, overwhelming wave of feelings, Chloe decides that 2020 wasn’t that bad, after all. 

[istheresomebodywhocanimagine]

Darling, I apologise for the bother but would you mind shipping me (Queen and Bo Rhap cast)? Please and thank you! Despite being a girl I dreamt of becoming Batman when I grew up but instead I got a Master's degree in Sports Journalism. I hate conflicts and try to always use diplomacy instead of arguing. I also love making jokes when feeling awkward. I value intelligence and sense of humour very much. I love daydreaming and live mainly inside my head. I hate bossy people very much. Sarcastic ^^

hellloooooo wow a MASTERS in comm/writing i respect that

i want to get my masters eventually but idk how i’ll swing it

ANYWAYS here ya are ships below the cut :*) wow theyre both kinda long SORRY

For BoRhap, I ship you with Ben Hardy!

Even though it was tempting to ship you with Joe, I think you would really get along well with Ben. Ben is definitely a bit shyer than Joe but still can hold his own even when he doesn’t necessarily need to, so I think both of you would be a great balance for each other.

Plus, Ben being a big soccer guy (sorry I’m American heh), he would love the sports journalism major a lot. Being able to talk to his girlfriend about sports? A literal wet dream.

Gwilym is a big rugby guy and an old friend of yours, so you would meet Ben through Gwilym at Gwilym’s own home. Gwilym was your go to for sports talk, and you’d made plans to watch one of the matches for the Six Nations Championship.

Ben wanted to watch too, as it was England playing Wales and he couldn’t pass up an opportunity to be at playful odds with his costar. 

Meeting Ben wasn’t as smooth and romantic as far as most meet-cutes went, but that’s probably what drew you to each other in the first place. You hadn’t known that Ben was coming over, and vice versa, so you were both dressed less than your best and met at an inopportune moment where Gwilym was in his garage, getting the beer out of the fridge.

“Honey, I’m home!” Ben called out as he let himself in, shutting the door behind him and wiping his feet on the mat. Putting his coat and scarf in the closet along with his shoes, he grabbed the beer he’d carried in and headed for the kitchen, eager to crack one open and get ready for the game. He’d came clad in sweatpants and a stained jersey, not exactly dressed to the nines.

“Gwilym? Your hit your head? Your voice got deeper,” you laughed, your voice coming from the kitchen, and Ben almost stopped in his tracks. Definitely not Gwilym’s voice, and for sure not a man’s voice - had he forgotten to tell him he had a date over?

When Ben came around the corner, clocking in at quite a few inches shorter than Gwilym, you actually looked over his head and jumped a bit when you were met by a curious, buff blonde instead of a lanky, tall Welsh man. 

Ben was equally as surprised to see a pretty girl standing in Gwilym’s kitchen, fingers covered in cream cheese as she stood over a bowl of what looked like an Asian chili sauce and cream cheese.

“Oh,” you breathed out in confusion, holding your hands as still as you stood. You were basically in pajama shorts and an equally stained shirt that had the WRU logo on it. “You’re not Gwilym.” A mild feeling of awkwardness settled over the room as you grabbed a towel and started wiping your hands off, Ben ambling over to the counter and setting the beer down.

“No, sadly I’m not,” he replied with a light chuckle, pulling one of the beers out before turning to you and holding his hand out. “I’m Ben, I don’t believe we’ve met.”

Looking down at your hands, which were still smeared with cream cheese, you laughed and nodded at him. “Don’t want to get you all messy, it’s nice to meet you, Ben. I’m Y/N.”

“Pleasure’s mine. Didn’t know that Gwil was having a date over?” he asked, looking up at he heard the door to the garage open. 

You snorted at that, feeling a tiny bit more awkward as Gwilym walked in, cheering when he saw Ben and setting the beer down to give him a hug. “You’ve made it! Have you met Y/N?”

“Yes, we’ve met,” you replied for him, giving him a grin as you started to mix the sweet thai chili sauce into the cream cheese. You then directed your attention back to Ben, giving him a lighthearted grin and shaking your head. “And definitely not his date. I only use him for his kitchen.”

“Oh, shut it,” Gwilym groaned as he came over and mussed your hair, Ben chuckling at the two of you. "You’re a regular comedian, aren’t you?”

You two hit it off that night, much to Gwilym’s delight, and all of you continued to meet at Gwilym’s to watch the matches as it got closer to the championships, but Ben also started taking you out for nice meals, inviting you back to his, and generally finding any opportunity to spend time with you away from Gwil. 

And eventually, he asked you out, after principal photography of BoRhap wrapped up. You were ecstatic, of course, and accepted immediately, so the two of you decided to go out for drinks to celebrate.

“Hold still, I’m trying to get a Boomerang!” Ben whined, fiddling with his phone for a second as you raised your eyebrow.

“Ben, you’re so cute. Why would I hold still for a Boomerang? It’s literally an animation.” He tried not to smile as he rolled his eyes, pretending to ignore your teasing, when his phone started to ring. 

Huffing in frustration, he answered the call and put it on speakerphone since you two were sitting in a private booth that didn’t have too many people around. Scooting around so he was sitting by you, he finally answered. “What is it, Gwil?”

“Are you on your way? The game is about to start.”

“Oh shit,” Ben mumbled, rubbing the side of his neck as he looked at you, both of you mirroring each other’s guilty expressions. “Kind of forgot about the game, mate. Had other things on my mind, I’m currently out for dinner.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it then. I’ll just call Y/N and see if she’s on her way yet. Cheers!”

You let Gwilym hang up the phone as Ben pursed his lips, sitting his phone on the table before giving you a curious look. “Why did you let him hang up?”

“Wait and see,” you replied coyly, grinning and making Ben raise an eyebrow. Sure enough, your phone rang with a Facetime request a few seconds later and you answered, making sure Ben was out of the frame. “Hello, Gwilly!”

Gwilym’s face took up the screen of your phone, and he looked to be sitting on his couch, wearing his WRU shirt and some dorky looking glasses. “Hey! Where are you, I thought we were going to watch the game tonight? Ben said he’s busy.”

“I know.” You grinned, glancing over at Ben before leaning your head on his shoulder and moving the phone so you were both in the frame. Ben shot him a guilty smile, his arm wrapping around your shoulder and giving your cheek a quick pinch. “We’re both sort of preoccupied.”

“You two ditched me for a date? I’m hurt,��� Gwilym lamented melodramatically, clutching at his chest and letting a hurt look take over his expression. “At least tell me there’s a TV playing the game there.”

“Gwilym, you valet your car and buy wine by the bottle here. There’s no TV playing the game, sadly,” Ben replied, accompanied by a small giggle from you. “Keep us updated.”

“You’re a fake sports fan, Y/N, I’m telling your employers!” Gwilym joked, pointing his finger at the screen and making you laugh. 

“Gwil - I don’t cover Welsh rugby. And England isn’t even playing tonight,” you reminded him, and he pouted as Ben chuckled lightly, giving your arm a gentle squeeze before he started to rub it absentmindedly, just being his usual affectionate self.

“Fine, enjoy your wine,” Gwilym grumbled playfully, hanging up and leaving the two of you alone again.

When Ben moved back over to his side of the booth and gave you a warm smile, you shook your head and sent him a playfully disapproving look in return. 

“You actors, you’re such drama queens.”

And for Queen, I ship you with Brian May!

Your talents as a mediator were desperately needed for Queen from the get-go, as decided by Deacon, who’d been your friend from childhood. 

What he didn’t count on was you and Brian latching on to each other - but thankfully, even then you knew when Brian was right, and when he was just making a big stink out of nothing.

John had brought you into the studio early on, when he realized the duo of Freddie/Roger vs. Brian were a volatile mix - three remarkably sized egos, two that meshed so well together, sized up against a brainiac who couldn’t let things go? Yikes.

“Brian, I’m going to smack you silly if you don’t stop tuning that thing,” Freddie snapped as Roger snickered, Brian looking up from his guitar as you watched the three of them, quickly running through ways to diffuse the situation already. 

Freddie and Brian were harder to break apart than Roger and Brian, but you’d quickly figured out that Brian was easier to finesse if you appealed to his intelligence, which was a quality of his that you secretly admired. And Freddie was easy to deal with - all you had to do was praise his lyricism or sound, or even just bring up a part of the song you thought could use some updating. (They’re men, they aren’t hard to distract, unfortunately)

“Do you want the guitar to sound good in the song, or do you just not give a shit about this album, Fred?” Brian snapped back with an equal amount of venom, sitting his guitar to the side. Freddie rolled his eyes, pointing a finger adorned with chipped black fingernail polish towards the booth.

“We have to get something recorded today! Instead of just dilly-dallying while you make sure your precious guitar doesn’t have a fucking bellyache.”

John looked at you desperately, knowing that if he got involved there would probably only be more conflict, so you sprang into action as nonchalantly as possible, standing up to walk over and drop something in the trash can that sat between the two men, who were now both standing about 5 feet apart from each other.

Even your presence between the two of them seemed to diffuse some of the tension already, distracting both of them from each other for a second, and you chose that moment to speak.

“Freddie, I liked that part you recorded just now. That one line, the Mother Mercury one - fantastic,” you said, turning to Freddie and smiling softly at him. 

“You think so?” Freddie asked, glancing at Brian and looking sour for a moment before directing his attention to you. “That’s one of my favorite lines too. I was thinking of layering my voice there once or twice, what do you think? Thought it would give it a more melancholic, discordant sound.”

“Brilliant idea,” you agreed, nodding before looking at the booth and shrugging. “Might as well do it now, give Brian some more time.”

Looking at Brian again, Freddie narrowed his eyes before nodding and doing exactly that, going over to talk with the man at the sound board as you turned to Brian, who was sitting back down with a sigh.

“Having troubles tuning?” you asked, sitting down in the chair across from him and sending a thumbs up to Deacon, who let out a breath of relief and continued scribbling at his notebook.

“Yeah, this one’s not like Red, it’s a bit more difficult to get it right,” Brian sighed, pulling the guitar into his lap and looking over it with a pensive expression on his face. He then looked up at you, seeming almost embarrassed by how fired up he’d been a moment ago, and gave a small smile. “Sorry you had to intervene. Freddie just pushes my buttons sometimes.”

“It’s okay, Bri. Not everyone can understand what’s going on up there in that curly mop of yours.” 

That got a laugh out of him, and he shook his head, accentuating the curly mess before going back to tuning, stealing little glances at you every once in a while as you pretended not to notice, keeping your eyes on Freddie, who was trying to figure out the best way not to upset the tonality. 

And Brian continued to steal those glances at you as you came in, day after day, to listen to them record. They lingered more and more, distracting him more often, and he would say he was just tired when it would delay him from getting tuned, but it was almost as if he was purposely doing so in order to have you get involved in any tiff his delays caused. 

When their debut record was finally finished, you were sort of bummed. It was quite fun to be around the boys night after night, especially Brian, but you knew you had to continue your work at the Daily Mail covering matches, and Brian had gigs to play. 

But Brian couldn’t stay away, and when he got back from the shorter Queen tour that lasted into ‘74, he asked you out on a date, to John’s mild chagrin.

“Just promise me you won’t turn into a pseudo-intellectual bodyguard for him,” he’d begged, making you laugh at the thought. As much as you thoroughly loved Brian’s intelligence, you knew John had a point.

Brian took you to Greenwich observatory for your first date - forever the space dweeb - and you two were strolling through the museum, arm in arm, when he finally asked you to be his girlfriend.

Spoiler: you said yes! 

When they were working on Queen II, you had a big story coming up, so you showed up to the studio as often as possible, but your absence was noted, particularly by Freddie (and Deacon, who was having to use up all of his scalding one-liners).

“Y/N! Are you hearing this?” Freddie asked, drawing you out of your dreamlike state. You’d zoned out about a minute ago, thinking of your deadline and what you’d need to get done tomorrow. 

“No, what’s happening?” you admitted, smiling sheepishly and glancing between Freddie and Brian, who were arguing - yet again.

“Your little boyfriend here thinks that we should use three guitars at the end of this song right now.”

“Little?” Brian repeated, his face flushing as he stared at Freddie, an indignant look on his face. “Have you seen yourself, mate?”

You’d crawled up from your place on the couch, making your way over to where Brian was, and perched yourself on the armrest, pursing your lips. “Three guitars?”

“It’s too much!” Freddie sighed, throwing his hands up. “I’m all for experimenting, but it’s just going to sound like a hodge podge of guitars and I don’t think it will work.”

Resting your hands on your knees, you thought about it for a moment before shrugging. “Why don’t we send Brian in there and see what he wants to do with the three guitar layers> Can’t hurt to listen, you don’t have to record either.”

Freddie scowled for a moment as he mulled over the idea, finally assenting. “Fine. But we’re not recording unless we all like it.”

“Thank you, Freddie,” Brian sighed, shaking his head before getting up from his chair, heading towards the booth. You followed him to the door, and he stopped in the doorway, turning around to face you as Freddie slumped down on the couch, taking a break.

Brian looked tired, but he still gave you a small smile as he pulled the guitar strap over his shoulder, leaning down to kiss your forehead gently. “Thank you for talking to Fred. You’re a lifesaver.”

Grinning, you reached up to fix the strap of his guitar, which had flipped itself over, and Brian watched as you did so, his eyes finally tearing away from your hand to look back at you. “You owe me, big guy.”

That made him groan and roll his eyes playfully before he gave you another quick kiss on the forehead, heading into the booth. 

“Yeah, yeah. I know, lovie.”

[hfwtevents-blog]

Event 1 - Friday, 9/23, DAY

Who:  Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, Karen McCormick, Wendy Testaburger, Bebe Stevens, Rebecca Miller, Craig Tucker, Clyde Donovan, Kevin Stoley, Jenny Simons, Heidi Turner NPCs: Principal Wells, Randy Marsh, Sheila Broflovski When: Friday, September 23, 3:30 PM; Event 1 Where: The school parking lot and bus What: The kids get ready for their trip to the aquarium.

Friday, September 23, 3:30 PM

Weather: 55°F, Partly cloudy

Scene: Parking lot, bus pick-up/drop-off section

Stan sighed heavily as he made his way to the bus, backpack crammed full of all he needed. He felt stupid for thinking this field trip could ever be fun, now that his dad had gotten wind of it. So much for any taste of independence. He just hoped Randy would forget, be late, and that the bus would leave without him. Fuck parent chaperones. Seriously.

He had walked back to school solo in an effort to ditch Randy, despite the fact that would have been easier to drive together.

Even though the school got some serious funding from Token’s family, they were still cheap enough to make them take a standard yellow school bus on the drive to Denver. Stan figured he’d probably never know the joys of a charter bus while living in South Park.

Considering the last bell rang at 2:15 PM, the parking lot was a ghost town, save for the bus and the field trip goers, who were gradually trickling in.

The Car ride to the school was hell. This trip was going to be hell. In fact Kyle was actually living in hell. That was it. His life was over and this was where he ended up. Of fucking course his mother would be on the field trip, and of course he would be stuck rooming with fucking stupid ass face craig and Kyle was going to murder him in his sleep --- Stan better learn how to hide a fucking body and fast because Kyle swear to God, or anything holy that he was going ----

At lease Stan would be miserable too. Randy was going to be there which would mean Stan would be just as pissy. Perfect. That would work just fine then. Kyle hoped out of the car the moment it was on the curb grabbing his bag from the truck. ' Where are you?'  He was quick to Text Stan.

Karen was so excited it wasn't just her first trip, but her first school trip with Kenny. She was glad that Kenny was nice enough to cover her with some spending money so they could go together. Karen rocked back and forth on her heels, droning on about how excited she was to Kenny, as he carried their bags. "Do you think that the bus ride will be long? I hope its not! Do you thin we'll have really good food out there? Becca said she was there before and there was a really good steak house by the hotel. Do you think we can go Kenny?" She asked too exicted

Rebecca was excited for the trip, but also not so much. I mean yeah! She gets to be with Karen! That's the best part about this whole thing, only.. She didn't get to stay with Karen in the same room. Total Bummer. She didn't really even know the girls she was going to be roomed with anyway, which that makes it SO much better right? Nervousness trickling into her, she had to get her mind off of that. As she was drove there by her Mother she brought with her, her bag, a sketchbook, and two game systems to play on the bus ride there.

Getting to the school, she unbuckled told her  mother Bye and she walked up to the curb. She was wearing a long sleeve pastel red shirt with a cute bat on it, a black skirt, and some really cute tights that adored little bats all around it. Her hair was up in ponytail, and she adored a little bat hair pin in her hair. Different from her usual confused for a goth look, but still her nonetheless. She looked about to see if Karen's showed up yet, oh man she really wanted to see Karen, even if it's been just a couple of hours. Who could live that long without seeing their Bestie?

Randy Marsh pulled his car up near the bus area, dressed a little nicely but not too much - he threw a jacket on over his usual blue workshirt, gray hair starting to tease by his temples, but otherwise, he looked good for his age. He couldn't help but be a little worried about Stan, since he hadn't come home that day, but he was sure the kid would be fine. He had a lot of faith in Stan's independence. He remembered when he was Stan's age - he barely saw his old man at all, if ever. Stan was probably fine.

Randy opened the car door and stepped out, pulling a canteen out of his jacket to get a quick drink. He really didn't want to overdo it on the trip but... he'd need a little stress relief here and there.He looked around and thought he saw some kids over the buses, grinning and waving over as he approached from the further reach of the parking lot.

Kevin Stoley had made it early, of course, and had been sitting around fiddling with his phone for a while, playing Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes and trying to climb up the leaderboards. His squad was so boring - I mean, he loved all of the characters, sure, but he knew everybody had half of these characters. He didn't want to draw too much attention to himself, or stick out like a sore thumb, but he wanted to be a little unique... oh, still talking about the game, for the record, he clarified to nobody in particular. He had Red's playlist all set up for the bus ride in the meantime. He was terrible with music, so of course he didn't recognize most of the music but he was curious what'd been picked.

In the meantime, he was a little thankful Bradley hadn't tagged along or something. He was one of his better friends, but he was glad he wouldn't have to worry about keeping him out of trouble. He was pleseantly surprised to see he'd be rooming with Kenny and Clyde, both people he felt pretty decent enough with. He hadn't known Kenny so well when they were younger, but he turned out to be as cool as could be expected and a solid friend. He didn't know Clyde as much personally, but Clyde seemed so chill that for once Kevin wasn't too anxious about being judged. Plus... Kevin liked aquariums, so all looked good.

Jenny had overslept and was kind of in a rush to make it to school on time to leave - she'd forgotten how exactly she'd been talked into this stupid trip. Probably a mistake, she figured. None of her closer friends would even be there - I mean, she wasn't disappointed to see Wendy'd be around, at least, someone relatively sane, but she still felt a little isolated. That wasn't exactly news though. She'd sooner expect some of those choir people, maybe that blonde chick with the nose-picking problem, to end up on something like this, but it wasn't her thing. As she spotted yellow buses over the horizon, she knew she was almost there. No use turning back now, right?

Wendy was at a conflict of morals.

Aquariums were fun--sure, aside from all the sweaty kids putting their sticky, filthy fingers against the glass and screaming at their parents to buy some grossly overpriced stuffed plush from the gift shop.

Okay, so maybe she didn't like aquariums that much. She liked the animals--but that's where her morals kicked in. She loved seeing the animals, but... she didn't like that they were contained. It was the ultimate conflict of first world problems. But it wasn't as if she could stage an elaborate marine heist--well, okay, she could. She was Wendy fucking Testaburger, after all. She just lacked the necessary resources and equipment.

So, reservations aside, she decided to come. A classic Destiny's Child song blared on the radio as she made the drive to school, Bebe in the passenger seat. It was a shame that they weren't rooming together, but it wasn't as if they could go a few hours without a text or a call. Everything would be fine. Jenny and Rebecca were nice girls, it'd be fun.

Rolling into the parking lot, she made sure to get a decent space where she and Bebe could ditch the first chance they got. Purse and bag in hand, Wendy climbed out, locking it securely behind her as Bebe got out of the passenger's side.

Bebe by her side, it was with a smile and a wave that Wendy walked forward, "Hey--Staniel! Need help with the bag?"

Sheila drove her and Kyle to the school, following all the rules of the road to a T. She didn’t know why her sweet bubela was so moody lately. Perhaps it was the college courses, but he needed to do well if he wanted to succeed and get into law school and follow in his father’s footsteps. She’d make sure Kyle stayed on the right path. At any rate, she hoped this trip would do Kyle good, and she also planned to keep all these kids in line, taking her responsibility as a chaperone seriously.

“Kyle! Not so fast!” she scolded as he hopped out and went to the drop-off area. “Just don’t go too far ahead! I’ll be right there,” she said in a patronizing way, like her son was five instead of seventeen.

She parked the car and got her overnight bag and small suitcase out of the trunk. She made her way up to the curb where Kyle was, high heels clicking as she walked. “Really, bubbe, you could’ve helped me with my bags. I didn’t raise you in a barn. And why are you using that phone? You know, all your little friends are right here. Really, you should take your eyes off of that screen for five minutes.”

Walking to the bus  , Stan texted back. He was purposefully hanging back until more people showed. He cringed as he saw his father walking to the buses. So he really was coming. Great. He didn’t want to make small talk with his dad, so finding Kyle fast would be key. I see you be over in a sec , he added in a second text before pocketing his phone.

He jumped a little upon hearing Wendy ask if he needed help with his bag. He turned to face her and Bebe. “Uh, no. I’m good, dude. It’s just the one.” He tried not to feel emasculated by the question. He liked that Wendy wasn’t most girls. “How about you and Bebe? Want me to grab anything?” He figured hanging back with the girls would be fine, especially since he saw Kyle getting ear-banged by his mother. He wanted to save his friend, but he didn’t want an earful from Mrs. Broflovski either.

Stan was dead to Kyle. Honestly dead. He could see right in the fuckers face he was hanging back to not deal with his mother. Did Kyle blame him ? No. But he was going to rot in hell all the same. He read the message on the screen fuming. Fucking bastard. "Mom, Im not going to fall and die. Do you need help with your bags? "He asked though he was sure by the tone in his voice it was going to start a fight.

“You won’t if you’re careful and make sure your shoes are tied,” Sheila lectured, glancing down to make sure Kyle had in fact done so. She was mildly placated by his offer; she’d raised him to be a gentleman. “You take this one since it’s heavy.” She handed Kyle her overnight bag. “They better start loading the buses soon. I don’t know how long they expect us to wait out in the cold… And why are you so grouchy? You ate all of your knishes at dinner, so you can’t be hungry. This is supposed to be fun.”

Bebe had pretty much done one thing since she and Wendy had left her community college, check Instagram and Snapchat.

She honestly checked it so often because she had nothing better to do. She and Wendy had talked while driving, but she wasn't too interested. She was just surprised how her dad was able to even convince her boss to let her off this weekend from work. Sure it was Target, but Bebe had never missed a day of work since she started in June, so this was a bit odd to her.

Still, a weekend of not having to babysit was nice, she loved her little brother to bits, but reading all of his books every time she was over was too much... Someone should teach the kid to read soon before she loses her mind over Jack and the Beanstalk.

She made her way out of Wendy's car when they got to the school, checking her makeup in the camera of her phone before smiling softly. Looking pretty okay, despite not reapplying after gym today. She quickly got out her dufflebag with her clothes in before blinking as Wendy started to speak to Stan. I thought she was done with him... She smiled though, speaking to Wendy, "Hey! I'm gonna go put my backpack in my car, I'll be right back." She then started to briskly walk to her car, planning on just leaving her notebooks and binders in the car, but keeping the bag to carry on the trip at the museum.

Clyde had been taking his sweet time showing up, flirting up a few cheerleaders on his way, one of them being Heidi Turner who had zero interest in what the boy had to say. If anything he was delaying her.

He didn't care if the ice queen was brushing off his advances though and would just continue to talk to the other two girls that were there, talking up until they reached their destination. Heidi who had had enough, grabbed him away from the girls enough to cause him to stumble despite the huge height difference and dragged him towards the group. "I swear.. if I hear one more bad pick up line I'm going to lose it." She muttered under her breath, finally letting him go once they were all together.

Her sudden reaction didn't even upset him and instead he just laughed as he waved bye to the girls that walked away. His hands shoved in his pockets as he merged in with the group, pulling a single taco from his bag to eat while they waited to go. Was that all he had? Who knew.

Heidi, finally being separated from him, just made her way over to the girls so she wouldn't have to be around him alone anymore. The very idea of it giving her a headache. What was she supposed to do? She wasn't his baby sitter for christ sake!!

"So how long is the drive gonna take?" Clyde just asked to no one specifically, his eyes landing on the bus. This was most likely going to be the kid asking 'are we there yet' a million and one times.

"No worries--I'm fine," Wendy assured, and walked past, climbing onto the waiting bus. Always one to take initiative, she slung her bags into her chosen seat. Wouldn't want to be the poor sucker who got stuck with the last, worst possible choice.

"So," Wendy walked back out, tucking long, raven hair into a ponytail. She looked out at the other teens approaching, hopefully they'd be on the move soon. Turning her attention back to Stan, she grinned, "I heard your dad is chaperoning. You poor, innocent boy."

Stan glanced at Kyle, gulping. He was surprised he couldn’t see the steam coming out of his ears. He really didn’t want to go over there now. This could totally be his chance to get back together with Wendy. Kyle would be fine hanging with his mom for a little longer, right?

Hurrying after Wendy, he made his way onto the bus. He slid his bag on the seat across from her. Maybe they’d get to sit together. “Uh, yeah… It totally sucks ass. He better give me my space. You’re lucky to get the weekend away from your parents.”

“The drive should be approximately an hour and forty minutes, Mr. Donnovan,��� Principal Wells answered Clyde. He was their high school principal. He rarely left his office, but he seemed to know all of their names—a benefit of small town living. The man always wore a suit. He was tall, bald, and of African American descent. Like Token’s family, he lived on the wealthy side of town.

“I suggest you get on the bus soon. Excuse me while I check in with our driver.”

The principal chatted with the driver, who opened up the luggage compartments under the bus for anyone who had bigger bags that wouldn’t fit under their seat.

Karen saw Rebecca the moment the girl came around the corner. Karen grinned, leaving Kenny mid sentence before she ran over to her friend. Of course that left Kenny to follow after her, which Karen was sure he would. They were going to sit together damn it! then maybe people would leave the two girls alone. "Hey!" Karen grinned looking at her friend. She always seemed to dress so cute, Karen was often jealous. "I like your hair. Are you excited? "

Kyle ground his teeth. He was too old for this and this was why he didnt want his mother on this stupid ass trip. Of course Ike wasn't even coming to deal with this shit with him. That pissed Kyle off more. He looked at Stan, shoving his own phone back into his pocket. "okay Ma. Im not hungry. " He said annoyed. Fuck he was going to fucking murder Craig and Stan. Who the fuck was going to help him hide the bodies? Fucking Kenny better be ready.

Kyle put his mother's bag where Mr. Wells put the other bags. Kyle kept his back with him, wanting to be able to use some of the items to keep him busy and as a way to force Stan to sit anywhere else. He stomped onto the bus. Not caring about the looks the bus driver gave him.

He sat as far in the back as he could, throwing his feet over the seat and placing his bag at the end. Fucking this trip was going to be a shit show.

"I am super excited!" She grinned at her friend, two little fangs were sticking out slightly. "And thanks! I spent some time on it. Mom was annoyed I was taking forever on it." She laughed slightly, rubbing the back of her neck.

Her eyes wandered a bit from her friend though. "Man, I kinda feel bad for that kid.. uhm.. I think his name is kyle? I don't know." She shrugged, her smiled slightly leaving her face. "Do we have to leave our bags down there.. I don't really feel safe with it down there. Do you think we have to Kare?" She asked, cautious about leaving her bag with the other bags. I mean she saw Kyle take his on, but what if that wasn't allowed?

Her nerves were attacking her then. To be honest she's only ever gone on a school bus once, and this was her first real field trip. Yeah she knew the area but that didn't make her at ease in any stretch of the imagination.

With that answer, Clyde hopped onto the bus, no arguments or complaints, he kept his carryon bag with him and just allowed the suitcase to be placed with the other suitcases. Once on he just plopped himself in a seat before looking around at all the people that were coming on this trip. His mind just wondering off. Who was going to be roomed together? Hopefully it was someone fun and not a buzzkill. God that would suck. Though he was pulled out of those thoughts when he saw Kyles mom. Fuck. There went any chances to pull good pranks. Well, unless he could get past her. But..that was easier said than done.

"Right. I'd be lucky to get a weekend with my parents," All three of the Testaburgers were busy people, with busy lives and busy schedules. It was a great event when the three all fell into an empty slot. But, whatever. Wendy was sure this weekend would still be great.

She observed Kyle as he stomped onto the bus, plopping into his seat with great frustration. No worries there. He seemed to be as chipper as usual.

Wendy climbed through the bus once more, picking up her purse and heading back to visit the curly-headed fuck, "Hey, Kyle, I get that your mom is sort of... eccentric, but why are you so pissed? Need some water or something?"

Karen shrugged when Rebecca mentioned her mom. She did like Mrs Miller. She was always so nice when she went over. "But you look cute your mom should understand that! " She said as she nudged her shoulder playfully. She looked over to where Becca was looking. "Yea, that's Kyle. He's Friends with Kenny.  I think he's always kinda.... pissy? I dont know. I think he's got a period like all the time but he doesn't? He's nice though. " She said as she turned to Kenny. "Can you put my bag in the bus, I'll save us a seat"

She grabbed Rebecca's hand tugging her towards the bus "did you bring your DS so we can play animal crossing? "She asked curiously.

Kyle was surprised Wendy seemed to follow so quickly onto the bus. He however was still too pissy to be bothered. Much like a man with too much pride, Kyle was a man with too much pride. "Im not pissy and I dont need water. Thank you " He said at least trying to sound less like a dick to Wendy since she was trying to be nice. "I dont want to talk about my mom. I hate this trip already, and when the bus is moving fast enough. I'm bailing"

And when I feel like I can feel once again Let me stay awhile Soak it in awhile

A soft melody played through white earbuds. Craig sat on a concrete bumper in the parking lot, arms wrapped around his knees and eyes shut to the world.

If we can hold on we can fix what is wrong Buy a little time For this head of mine Haven for us

He got there early, probably due to the fact that he managed to get all he needed for his trip in less than ten minutes. In fact, the only luggage he brought with him was the single backpack strapped around his waist and shoulders. Light packer. As long as he has his toothbrush and underwear, he considered himself covered. For the most part.

While the trickles of chatter got louder and louder, he let out a sigh, mentally preparing himself. His face still hurt. Craig couldn’t decide if he preferred numbing cold or the dull ache of bruises. Looking up and scanning the forming crowd, he caught glimpse of Clyde heading into the bus. Thank god. Stan and Kyle teetered at the edge of his awareness, but he had two whole days to deal with them. Craig wanted to put that off for as long as possible.

He stood, stretching his legs, and took several long strides toward the bus and up the stairs. One backpack probably didn’t need to be tossed in with everyone else’s stuff. Craig slipped the straps off his shoulders and placed it in his lap as he sat next to Clyde. His attention remained straight ahead, though his did pop the earbud on Clyde’s side out.

“Hey.”

"I brought two DS' so we can both play." She grinned up at Karen, "And yeah my mom kinda is angry at me. She put me on this trip to get me out of the house. Kinda a dick move right?" She asked before getting tugged onto the bus. She was gonna make sure to stay with Karen, as much as she possibly could.

She was scared to meet the other girls she was going to room with, she was normally very shy around those she didn't quite know.

No it's not a dick move! We get to at least be together. I mean not with the rooms but thats okay" She said with a bit of a shrug. Karen hoped onto the bus. "Where do you want to sit? "She asked curiously so excited to be able to play with Rebecca. She was trying to save up for her own DS though it helped that Rebecca just got a new one. She'd only have to babysit for 40 years at this rate.

"Hey man." He smiled at Craig, already beginning to rummage through his own bag. "I got a couple tacos if you want one at all?" He offered, how long had they been there? An hour.. maybe? Who cares. He was starving. At least Craig was there now, the trip was going to be way less boring. "So any idea how the room assignments are gonna be at all? I mean, like who's all paired up with who?"

After finding the tacos, he pulled one out and held it out for Craig to take if he wanted it

"Don't be such a dick, Buttflosski," Wendy gave Kyle's shoulder a shove, "As if you'd actually do that. Your tuck and roll is all over the place."

Debbie Downer over here obviously wasn't going to be a beacon of happiness on this voyage. Not that Wendy was expecting much else. It was a week ago, after all, that he'd flooded her phone with a series of all-caps text messages outlining the details of his mother's chaperoning. She'd been mentally prepping for this trip ever since.

She flashed him a grin, taking out her phone, "Well, better head back before someone pushes my bag out of my seat. Text me if you need someone to hold you while you cry."

Kyle frowned a bit, he wanted to laugh because Wendy was such a dick in the best type of way. "No, I think i'll just jump, belly flop it might be better for my back "He said  a bit sarcastically. She seemed to be a whirlwind as she almost turned on her heel to go back to her seat. Kyle grabbed her arm. "You can sit back here if you want. Im not going to ask you to hold me while I cry. That's a little too manly for me" He said sarcastically giving her the option..

As soon as Bebe had dropped off her supplies, she made a bee-line for the buses. After putting away her duffle bag, she climbed onto the bus trying to find Wendy's seat. She really just wanted someone to talk to while they were driving. "Hey Wendy! Where's your seat at?!" As soon as she found it, Bebe was gonna turn on her hot-spot and play some games on her computer, but only if no one(except Wendy) saw. She didn't want to be grouped in with the geeks, even though she basically was one in her private life.

Another conflict of interests. Wendy bit her lip, looking between Kyle and Bebe. Well, to be fair, Bebe and Wendy had spent basically the entire day together. She'd hardly seen Kyle this week. Which was a total bummer, because she'd already finished the stack of books he'd given her. It was amazing how much reading time you could find running between activities, or at stop lights, almost smashing into another car head on while it's driver cursed you out.

Not that it had happened. Wendy shoved her phone back into her pocket, "I'm gonna sit back here with Kyle, Beebs!" She called, shoving his bag over, "I think Heidi's open!"

Settling into the seat, she laid her legs over his, looking at him with a grin, "Kyle, that witchcraft book? Amazing! Like, you just know me!"

Kyle grinned as she took a seat set to him on the bus. He pushed his bag closer to him. He moved his feet to give her more room. He snorted. "Wendy, I would hope I know you by now. " He said as he winked at her  playfully. "Was it really that good? It looked really nice so I was hoping you'd like it. I flipped through it, it seemed neat. Did you try any spells? "He teased a bit .

" Please ," Wendy snorted, giving him a dismissive wave of her hand, "I don't dabble in that shit. I just find it interesting, that's all. It's all a bunch of superstition and folktales stitched into truth."

Okay, so she'd had a few psychedelic experiences with Red--no drugs included, or needed. But that didn't change her logical way of thinking. At least, not too much, "Who are you rooming with?"

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Right. And are you sure you're not cooking people in pots when Im not looking ? The horror Wendy. What will I say when I talk about you on the news? " Kyle asked. Honestly, he could give a speech in 2 minutes flat he had that. No worries there, maybe Anderson Cooper would come into town.

"Fucking Stan and Craig" He said with a loud huff, being reminded of both of the people who he hated. Honestly. "How about you? Who did you end up with ?"

“I’m with Marsh and Broflovski,” Craig answered, not planning to elaborate any further. Instead he turned his attention to the taco, thick eyebrows quirking at the sight of it. Really, he shouldn’t be surprised. Sometimes Clyde reminded him of one of those soccer moms who always had snacks in her purse. Not that he'd mention that to him. Or maybe he would. After tacos. The sour cream and cheese loaded inside would come back with a vengeance down the road, but for now, yeah. He could eat.

Craig accepted wordlessly, unwrapping it from the paper. Tacos were definitely the only food he was willing to tilt his head to the side for. He opened his jaw as wide as he could, and managed to stuff a little more than half into his mouth in one bite. Cheeks rounded as he chewed, a dab of sour cream falling from his lips toward his chin. Craig’s face remained impassive, though he did lift his hand into a thumbs-up to indicate thanks. And enjoyment.

"Watch those smart ass remarks--or you'll be next," She teased, shoving her hands into the sleeves of her coat, "And who said you'll be talking? You're much better at just sitting back and looking fine."

She thought it over, who had she been roomed with, again? Most of her thoughts were shadowed with disappointment for not being roomed up with Bebe. Oh, yeah, "Jenny and Rebecca. They're nice girls, so, it'll be fine--and what's with the tone? You and Stan are super best friends ."

Wendy wouldn't comment on Craig. She liked him enough not to be one of the things that pushed Kyle towards beating his face in.

Kyle snorted as he looked at her. "Dude you dont scare me Wendy" He said before he shook his head utterly amused. "You're a push over" he said as he ignored the comment about looking fine. He wore socks and Sandals that said it all .

"Who the hell is Jenny? "He asked confused trying to put a name to a face. He shook his head not really careing all too much. "That's shitty do you even talk to them ? "He asked feeling a bit bad for Wendy. "We'll skip for dinner " He promised trying to at least sound a bit hopeful. He'd have to be careful at this rate.

Kyle mentioned nothing about Stan. "I dont have a tone. "He said, in a way that surely sounded as if he did.

Bebe pouted momentarily before moving to sit with Heidi. She just hoped Wendy would want to hang with her at the aquarium tomorrow. Shrugging, she moved to sit in a random seat, looking outside to spot Heidi still talking with some of the girls. She opened the window, calling out to her, "Heidi!! You wanna sit with me on the bus??" Normally, Bebe was about 20 decibels quieter, but she honestly gave zero fucks at the moment.

Wendy was going to bless Kyle by looking past that 'pushover' comment. Naturally, he wouldn't know Jenny. To be honest, Wendy didn't talk with Jenny nearly as much as she should have, or Rebecca, for that matter. She was a busy girl, but that was no excuse. Damn. She needed to catch up with these modern teens.

With a roll of her eyes, she twisted in the seat, placing a hand against his shoulder, "Kyle, you are my husband , and I would know that shit tone, anywhere. Anywhere . What's up with you and Stan?"

Kyle laughed at her. "Wendy. One day I'll get something past you. " He said as he shifted a bit, looking up to see who was currently on the bus. Thankfully not many people yet. Maybe this trip would never start? that would be amazing. A blessing from above.

"He's being a dick. I needed saving from my mom and he bails. Like what a prick. He couldnt fucking wave me over? Its bull shit. So he can enjoy Randy all weekend. Im not sharing a bed, so he and Craig can fight over one. Fuck him. " He said with a nasty ass huff.

Stan couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His conversation with Wendy had been cut short because she went to go sit with Kyle of all fucking people! He furrowed his brow in disgust and plopped down in the seat across from Bebe. So much for sitting together. He folded his arms across his chest, fuming. “Super best friend my ass,” he muttered under his breath. Hopefully, the bag in his seat would keep his dad from sitting by him. He glanced out the window, noticing his dad was still outside. Maybe he wouldn’t get on the bus at all.

He couldn’t stand to look at Wendy and Kyle, but he could still pick out every word of their conversation. Kyle was fine and Wendy’s husband. And Kyle said he was a dick. Great. Just fucking great.

Once her bags were taken care of, Sheila stepped onto the bus, standing tall at the front. Not too many children were on it yet, but it was already getting a little noisy from the chatter. She frowned when she noticed Wendy’s arm around Kyle. A nice girl, but she wasn’t like the Jewish girls from the temple. And stubborn, too. She would likely never convert. She’d have to have a talk with Kyle later.

“Alright, settle down, children!” she called, holding a clipboard. “We’ll be leaving in ten minutes.” She did a quick roll call on the bus to see who they had so far, getting Rebecca, Karen, Wendy, Kyle, Craig, Clyde, Bebe, and Stan. “Alright, only a few stragglers.” She filed out to go boss the lingering kids onto the boss.

Stan really wasn't even going to try and sit with him? Stanley wanted a war he could have one. "See. There he goes. He'll be pouty and make it my fault. Im not dealing with it. "He said under his breath angry as shit. He'd turn it around on Kyle call him fucking a liar. He had to be dating Wendy. Of course they couldnt be friends the horror. He fucking hated everyone. Where the fuck was his only friend Kenneth fucking McCormick. Because at this rate he was going to punch someone.

"My mother is going to be the death of me" He told Wendy after a moment. [4/17/17, 9:20:14 PM] \(๑･`▱´･๑)/ SAGE: Bebe blinked behind her as Stan sat down. She sighs looking at him, "Your best friend ditch you too?" As much as she would rather not talk to Stan, they were pretty similar. Both alcoholics and now their bffs had left them. "It's pretty shitty huh?" She moved to sit down, not wanting her ass to hang in the air for forever as she looked out the window.

"I like your mom. She's nice," And she always gave a hefty donation to Wendy's yearly breast cancer fundraiser. Couldn't knock on the woman when she did that. Pretty sure it was part of some unspoken contract. More dough, less woe.

Still, she couldn't help but be frustrated at Kyle's plight. A lady's work was never done, "You both are big fucking babies--hey, Stan!" Wendy called, sitting up in their seat, "Wanna sit back here with us? The seat across from us is open."

Kyle was going to need to hide 3 bodies. He was going to become a serial killer. The only question was did it look good on his college Resume? It showed that he was committed to an idea right? Fuck. He was going to have to figure out how to word that just right to get some extra kudos points.  He'd have to ask Cartman to proof read that shit. This was be coming a mess.

"Wendy" He hissed loudly.  He looked up though, Stan wouldn't take the bait. Why was Wendy trying. Kyle was going to loose it. "Don't you're going to make it fucking worse. "

Kevin filed on to the bus quietly, having been almost unnoticed from the corner where he'd been fiddling with his game. "Here." he told Mrs. Broflovski quietly, not wanting to attract too much attention to himself but also not wanting to get marked as absent, obviously. He had to find somewhere to sit next. Maybe there was an open seat? He didn't want to bug anybody.

Randy headed for the bus, having stopped for a bathroom break before talking to anybody, stopping just outside, "Hey guys, I miss anything important?" he asked with a grin, trying to look cool. He knew he was a Cool Dad, no matter what Stan or Shelley said... or Sharon... or Dad... or Jimbo... or Ned... well, he hadn't seen Shelly in a while, maybe she'd finally found the bright side of things. "Can I help with anything?" he offered enthusiastically. He hadn't spotted his son yet, but he was confident Stan was on the bus. He was a good kid, even if he was a grouch sometimes.

Jenny finally arrived on the sidewalk, catching her breath, "I'm here, I'm here, I'm here, did I miss anything?" she asked not long after Randy had said the same thing.

"Oh, uh, which one are you?" Randy asked.

Jenny shook her head with annoyance, "Look, it's Jenny Simons, okay? Jeez." It was good to know her absence was noticed... but then again, there were times it was better not to be noticed.

It had been a while since he'd seen Karen so excited for something that wasn't television or food related. He felt a warm sensation rest in his chest every time he would get a glimpse of the gleam in her eyes, and the sweet sound of he hyperactive voice. A wide smile would appear as she stumbled onto her words, asking him practically a hundred different questions that he probably didn't know the answer to. He open his mouth to eventually reply to her, but she was quickly distracted by the sight of her best friend. He'd simply chuckle and give a gentle shrug as he hauled their luggage closer.

He checked his cell for any notifications he had missed as his sister had caught up with her close friend. He wasn't listening much until he caught them talking about Kyle. Was he angry already? What-----Who set him off so quickly? They trip hasn't even started yet.. As they mentioned him, Ken would also notice the loud steps being taken as they approached the bus. ----That's Kyle. For sure. He finally set his phone away, as his sister set off towards their transpiration with Rebecca, he responded to her with a short lived smile and a nod. Heading his way to one of the bus managers to figure where their luggage  would fit in the pile of others.

He was likely to be one of the last ones to get inside of the bus, with only one purple backpack around his shoulder. After some long lasting minutes dealing with the luggage situation, it had seemed Karen's pack was the only thing that couldn't make it in. That was a bit tedious as Kenny didn't really want to bring any luggage into the bus, but it wasn't the end of the world. He just wanted Karen to have the best possible time on this trip. So for once he was focusing on the details.

Just in time.

As he tried to make his way in, he stood right behind Jenny as she was blocking the way into the bus, standing there for about three seconds, he leaned closer and stated. "Hey, um, Jenny.. Would you mind?" He eyed her, similarly giving in and smiling as the interaction was a bit awkward. "I don't wanna be a that jackass but my sister is waiting for me inside." He added.

Stan glanced at Bebe before looking at the front of the seat in front of him. “ Really shitty. I don’t think there’s even a word to describe how shitty this feels.” He wanted to take a swig from the flask he kept concealed in his jacket pocket, but he knew he couldn’t risk it with this many people—not to mention Kyle’s mom snooping about.

He ignored Wendy when she called out to him. His anger was replaced with panic as he saw his dad outside the bus, getting way too close. Shit. He really was gonna come with them. Heart beating fast, his eyes zeroed in on Kevin Stoley as he walked onto the bus. “Dude, Kevin! Sit here!” Stan called out, waving his arm in the air to get the nerdy boy’s attention. He kept his backpack on the seat while he waited, though. Couldn’t be too careful.

Sheila barely kept herself from rolling her eyes at Randy. Sharon’s husband was nice, but honestly he could be very immature and spacy at times. Gerald would have been better, but she needed him at home with Ike. “We’re just getting the final roll call. Most of the children are accounted for.”

“You would’ve been missed, Miss Simons,” Prinicpal Wells said, nodding to her. “Get on the bus with the rest of your friends.” He watched as both Jenny and Kenny made their way to the bus door. Now the only straggler was Heidi Turner.

Sheila walked over to Heidi, assuming the girl probably was busy on her phone like Kyle. Honestly, kids didn’t know how to live without those things. It was a real problem—maybe one she’d have to have a town meeting about. “You need to get on the bus, dear. We’ve got a schedule to keep.”

"Huh? Oh, yeah, whatever." Jenny said, not dismissively so much as not troubled, moving out of the way so Kenny could get on the bus without much of a second thought, looking for her own space. Well, it'd be easier than the crowded morning bus, at least, right? She nodded to the Principal, "Thank you." She knew she was accounted for. She'd better get credit for this.

It was with a frown that Wendy sat back in her seat, folding her arms. A simple 'no thank you' would have sufficed, but, completely ignoring her? As if he didn't hear! They were getting along great, not even twenty minutes ago.

What a dick. Huffing, Wendy pulled out her cell phone to shoot him a text. She would not be ignored, "Okay, yeah, you're right. He's being a tool. Sorry, Kyle."

[3:58] Wendy to Stan: A simple 'no' would have been cool, too, you know. [3:58] Wendy to Stan: I really wanted to talk. [3:59] Wendy to Stan: Sit next to me at dinner??

Kyle rolled his eyes, and slumped further into the seat. It wasn't worth it. Kyle shrugged. "It's not your fault Wendy. I think I should be taking applications for a new best friend. "He said with a huff before he pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time. "do you know how long this bus ride is? "

Karen didn't give Becca time to anwser before she plopped down in a seat in the middle of the bus. She waved over at Kenny when finally /finally/ made it onto the bus. She pointed to the seat across from her waiting for the other to come down the rows. She made herself comfortable giving Rebecca the window seat

When Rebecca sat down, she brough her knees up and put them against the back of the other seat, making herself rather comfortable. Her bag was on her lap and she reached in, grabbing the two ds', one was a light pink 3ds, the other a bright red 3ds xl. Both had a copy of Animal Crossing new leaf in it.

She smiled at Karen though while Karen was waving Kenny over. Man, she wished she was as enthusiastic as Karen, so much life in her. She wish she had that much hope in her eyes. Often Rebecca herself would look on the depressing side of things. She wasn't as optimistic as she wishes she was.

The smile on her face stayed until Karen would look back, and when that happened, She would blush and quickly look to the window. God, why was she embarrassed? They were Just Friends right?

"Hey Stan!" Kevin grinned and sat over by Stan, pleasantly surprised to see someone reach out to him. It was hard for him to pass it up when someone was reaching out. He liked feeling like people wanted to have him around, for lack of a better word. "How've you been?" he asked. He hadn't noticed Wendy or Kyle waving at him and didn't realize he was getting in the middle of something.

He nodded as he passed the shorter brunette. A part of him wondered if maybe Jenny was there with Lola. The blonde was slightly developing a sort of crush on the cheerleader, so seeing her on this trip would be a nice bonus. She was very nice to look at. He didn't put much further thought into it though as he was more preoccupied on where his sister sat. He stood at the beginning of the hallway, peering throughout the filled in seats. Heidi is with Bebe, Craig is not surprisingly sitting with Clyde, Stan is with--- Kevin? If that's the case then..

His glance fell upon the back of the bus, recognizing a bothered Kyle and Wendy. Uh oh. A long sigh come out as he passed down the row of seats. He gave Stan a nod, and Kevin a friendly pat as he passed them, gliding over to Karen as he slid her backpack off his shoulder. He squatted down and placed the bag onto Karen's lap. Looking up at her, he said, "Karen, here's your bag, it didn't fit with rest of our stuff. -- Listen, Kyle looks pretty upset, so I'm gonna go check up on him, I'll be back in a minute okay? After that, I'm all yours." He gave her sympathetic smile, quickly pinching her cheek and proceeding to head towards Kyle and Wendy's direction.

He pressed a hand against a near by seat, leering over the two of them, he scratched the back of his neck. "Everything okay?" He asked, waiting for any type of accepting gesture to let him sit by them.

Karen turned back at grinned wildly at Becca, grabbing the 3ds. "Thanks You're literally the best Beckie" She said as she turned on the handheld game. "Kenny is old as ever. He's going to be 90 when he sits down at this rate " She said playfully to Beckie. Her attention turing to Kenny the moment he walked over, however her smile fell and she kinda wanted to sulk. They weren't going to be next to each other in the hotel and her brother was already ditching her for his friends. "oh.. okay " She said as she faked a grin. "tell Kyle I said Hi! "

Kyle looked up from his phone to see the blonde. Jesus at least Kenny came through for Kyle. Good man. His only true best friend. "Yea, everything is fine. Sitting back here with us? " Kyle asked curiously, watching Kenny carefully.

"That's good." Randy noted, "I guess I'll supervise the ones already on the bus?" he asked as Sheila went off to find Heidi. With a shrug he walked up the bus, scanning the seats for his son. He was sure Stan would have fun - he remembered taking Stan to the aquarium for his birthday when he was in elementary school. It was pretty ruined, but... hey, I mean, they had fun up until the Japanese arrived, right? That was in Denver though. He wasn't sure if this place was as nice. Probably didn't have killer whales. Ah well. He hoped Stan had fun... and he hoped the food didn't suck. The better be sharks, too. Anyway, what? Oh right. Where's Stan?

"Hey dude." Kevin gave Kenny a quick acknowledgement as he passed, but simple enough to not obligate Kenny to stop and chat. He could tell Kenny was probably on his way to be by his sister and he was cool with that. Shame his sister couldn't tag along.

Stan felt his phone buzz in the front pocket of his jeans. He took it out and glanced at it for a moment, but he didn’t bother reading the messages when he noticed it was from Wendy. He clicked the lock button, making his screen go black. He tried to tune Kyle out, but Stan caught the bit about how he’d have to look for a new super best friend. What a fucking asshole. Like he was some awesome prince. Who talked to their best friend’s ex like that?

At the very least, Kevin accepted his invitation to sit with him, so he moved his backpack to the ground. He nodded back at Kenny as he passed, forcing a smile before focusing on Kevin again. “Shitty, but whatever. We’re going on vacation and at least I’m not sitting by my dad.” That was the only thing that could’ve made this trip worse. “How about you?”

He sunk lower in his seat upon seeing Randy get on the bus. He hoped his dad didn’t try to sit in front of him and Kevin. “Just sit in the front of the bus with the rest of the adults. For the love of god…” he muttered.

Once Sheila got Heidi on the bus and sitting next to Bebe, she turned her attention to Wells and Randy. “Alright, good. That’s everyone.” She bossed the bus driver to close the luggage compartments. She stepped onto the bus with Wells and Randy. Even though Randy said he’d supervise the kids on the bus, she didn’t trust him fully. “Alright! We’re just about to leave! Let me take a final roll call.” Couldn’t be too safe.

With everyone double checked in and the bus packed up, the doors shut. Sheila sat up front with Wells. Once everyone was seated, the bus driver departed the school parking lot and headed onto South Park’s main street, heading in the direction to go on the highway.

Jenny sat about as far back as possible, with little regard for how close she was to any of the other students, not thinking twice about her own habit of self-isolation by choice. Being the last one to find a seat had a per k- she had extra space for her bags. She got comfy and took out her phone. She had no idea what Kenny had been thinking - but funnily enough, they were on a similar wavelength. Jenny was disappointed that Lola hadn't been able to come along - but, whatever, right? She'd be fine without her best friend around. She didn't need anybody.

For a moment, it seemed like Stan's nightmares were gonna become a reality, as Randy approached him and Kevin. "Hey Stan! You excited about the aquarium?" he grinned for a moment, but before he could say anything more embarrassing than that, Sheila had gotten on to the bus and started talking, a signal to move back to his place, "Well, I gotta go sit upfront with all the boring adults, I guess. You found a friend anyway, right? You kids have fun." and he left Stan alone rather anti-climactically.

"Yeah, I see what you mean." Kevin nodded to Stan's reference to his father as Randy himself approached. He didn't get a chance to say anything to Dr. Marsh before he moved, "Sorry if you're feeling shitty, dude. I'm okay. Aquarium's probably the best kind of school trip we could hope for, right?" he said with a shrug.

Kenny look between the two of them for a second, until his attention fell onto Kyle as he was the first to speak up. He didn't say anything much further as he planted himself down next to Kyle. "For a moment, if you're down with that." He knew he couldn't stay there long, as he really did want to spend more time with Karen. ---Kyle was his friend though, and Kenny felt obliged to console his friends when they really need it.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but, did Stan do something dickish?" Ken was so used to seeing them together, especially when they're traveling, so when there was tension and distance, he knew there had to be some type of trouble in paradise.

Heidi was sitting in her seat now, typing away on her phone before she finally shoved it into her pocket. "God..why do people have to be so difficult. Or utter pigs for that matter. Boy's just can't take a hint." Of course she was referring to when boys flirt at random. She really just wanted to rant, but in the end she found her rant ending as she just sighed heavily. "So how are you Bebe? Anything interesting going on?" She questioned, brushing some of her dirty blond hair back behind from her face.

"I got a bunch.. there's an ice pack in my bag to make sure they don't go bad." Clyde said as he quickly scarfed down his taco, making sure not to leave a trace of it. As more people gathered into the bus, he just began digging through his bag again before letting it fall to the ground. "Well Shi-..Crap." He caught himself from swearing, knowing how Kyles mom felt about it.  "I forgot it. Oh well, can live the week without it." He hummed half to himself, choosing not to specify what he had forgotten. It was just some pills that a doctor wanted him to take, but since they weren't there he assumed that it would just be better to not worry about it. Unless of course his dad noticed and made sure they were there. He'd ask an adult later.

Wendy was feeling rather put out. Her texts hung in empty silence, not even read.

She felt an ache that settled in her chest before she had the chance to stop it. Shit. She didn't need this right now. So what if Stan didn't want to speak to her, or pay any attention to her? If he was going to get pissed every time she so much as glanced at another guy, was it really worth it?

"Hey Kenny," Wendy gave him a smile, "It's just--totally stupid. I'm sure he'll get over whatever he's on by the time we get there."

Rebecca smiled lightly, patting Karen's shoulder. "He'll come back trust me." She reassured her friend. She's been around Karen long enough to know when she was faking her smiles or when she wasn't. She opened her red 3DS playing the game, She scooted a little bit closer to Karen without even thinking about it. "Aw man, Mitzy moved away. Dang it." Rebecca muttered upset. She liked the villager Mitzy.

Stan tensed as soon as Randy approached him and Kevin. The topic of the aquarium made him flashback to that horrible birthday at the Denver Aquarium where the Japanese killed all those poor dolphins. The Downtown Aquarium they were going to was in Denver, but at least it was different and carnage free. He avoided making eye contact with his dad and let out a sigh of relief when he decided to sit with the rest of the adults. “Oh, thank god, dude.”

He returned his attention to Kevin. “It’s like he wants to follow me everywhere. Pretty lame.” He glanced behind him, narrowing his eyes when he noticed how Kenny was sitting across from Kyle and Wendy. “Yeah, it’s kinda cool but sad on the other hand with those animals being in way too small of tanks.”

Finishing up the rest of his taco, Craig wiped his mouth with his fingers. Mmm. He glanced at Clyde, about to verbalize his appreciation, before his bag went spilling to the floor. Typical. Clyde had somewhat of a clumsy streak. Craig couldn’t blame him, though. He had his space cadet moments too.

After what felt like forever the bus finally got moving. Craig crossed his arms, turning in his seat to check on who actually showed up. Of course, Stan and Kyle were doing everything in their power to stir up some kind of drama, to which he only had one word.

Nope.

He didn’t care what was going on between them. He was not getting involved. Turning to face the front again, Craig tried to swallow down his growing dread. Maybe Clyde, Kenny, and Kevin would let him sleep in their room instead. If worse comes to worse, he could always just turn on a playlist and pretend to be a corpse.

Speaking of which.

“Dude, wake me up when we get there.”

Craig put his earbud back in and sank into the seat, eyes shutting.

"Yeah, I guess." Kevin shrugged, "I's a shame that they don't get enough money to do more for the animals." he shook his head, "Is there anything you're looking forward to seeing anyway?"

"It's 'cos most people are assholes and only care about making money. Well, maybe they'll all think to care a little goddamn bit when more of these animals become endangered," Stan said, sighing. He stopped himself from going on too much of a tangent. "I dunno... That exhibit where it's supposed to look like a shipwreck sounds cool. What about you?" He wanted to keep himself engaged and distracted from Wendy and Kyle.

"Oh wow, what do they have in there? Like, sharks or anything?" Kevin asked, intrigued by the idea. I mean, a shipwreck didn't sound too conservation-y, but it sounded like a cool frame for an exhibit at least.

"I dunno." Stan pulled out his phone to look it up again, frowning at seeing the three text notifications he knew were from Wendy. "Doesn't say what they have in there specifically, but the website shows this creepy fish." He held his phone in the middle so Kevin could take a gander.

"Oh wow," Kevin chuckled, "That thing looks cool. We'll have to see if we can catch what it's called when we're there. Looks super creepy."

Stan smiled a little. It felt good to hear someone laugh after that shitstorm with Kyle and Wendy. "For sure, dude. I bet you'll wanna write some nerd-o report on it and somehow relate it to Star Wars."

Kevin might've taken a little offense to that if he didn't know Stan well enough to know it wasn't meant in malice. He'd heard Stan was a bit of a Trekkie anyway. Through the grapevine "Haha, nahh.. I was thinking of writing a report on the seals or sea lions if they have any, seeing how much land space they have versus swimming space. Kinda boring but I found good sources for it."

Like Kevin said, the topic of the report sounded boring. And unnecessary. “Really? Is that like an AP English assignment or for extra credit?” In his English class, they weren’t making them do any assignments for going on the field trip, thankfully. Otherwise, he’d have to worry about taking notes. “Or you just doing it for the fun of it?”

"It's for extra credit in Zoology." Kevin replied, "I'm studying conservation programs for my projects and stuff since it's something not a lot of the other kids are doing?" he awkwardly tried to explain.

“Really?” Stan felt a little stupid he also had Zoology and didn’t remember that, though they were in different classes. Even though neither were officially AP, maybe Kevin’s class was the smart class. Or maybe people were more awake later in the day. “So, uh, you’re trying to stand out from the crowd?”

"Kind of. I mean, I was falling behind at the beginning, so I've been trying to bring my grade back up, and the teacher said if I did this I could substitute it for a paper I flunked last month?" Kevin explained, suggesting it was a little more unique of a situation. Not something Stan had to feel bad about missing. "I like to think I can be a good student, but I don't always hit the ground running." Now Kevin felt a little inadequate.

She didn't want to seem needy, but, she also wanted Stan to stop ignoring her. It stung her pride, and, besides, she'd done nothing to warrant this kind of treatment.

Wendy took out her phone again as Kyle and Kenny talked, shooting him a final attempt at conversation.

Wendy to Stan: Please talk to me. I don't want you to be mad at me for the whole trip. Wendy to Stan: : (

“Oh, shit, dude.” Stan hadn’t seen that one coming. He never thought Kevin Stoley would be the type to fall behind. Maybe he’d been stereotyping the boy. They’d always been present in each other’s lives, living in the same town and going to the same school, but they never had many in depth conversations, especially one-on-one. “You’ll get there. I suck at school, too, so don’t stress.”

"Yeah, I'm catching up... sometimes when I have a lot of stuff due in different classes, I guess I just kinda end up messing everything up." he admitted, "I'll be okay though, I just have to persevere." he nodded, and he swore he'd heard a notification sound from a phone, but he knew it wasn't his.

Bebe was understanding of Heidi's position, since she had actually went to cheer practice today something Bebe neglected in order to pack for the trip , she'd have to deal with any boy who teased the girls alone. "That's gotta suck..." she looked over at Stan, watching as he and Kevin talked. "Huh... I didn't know Stan and Kevin were even friends..." Muttering wasn't good... but if it was Heidi, it just helped her reputation with the girl.

"I've been fine, Mr Jones keeps letting that guy harass me, but otherwise I'm okay... Oh! Shawn was really sad that he isn't going to see me this weekend, so I'm gonna video chat him in our room, is that okay?" Okay, as much as she complained about her brother, she absolutely loved him.