𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐓 𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐓⁰²ʰᵉᵐᵐⁱⁿᵍˢ

21 below static, below sound

asari
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"Do you think they do meditation there?" Calum pondered, resting his chin on the heel of his palm.

I shrugged, handing him the cutting board and placing bell pepper and a knife in front of him. "Probably. They'd have a great garden to do it in as well. If they do, you should join,"

He twisted his face in disagreement. "Nah. It's too quiet. You just sit there? Or you stand? Or what,"

Darlene took a pause from stirring the pot, snorting at Calum's reply. "Watch them align your chakras,"

I laughed, trying to envision Calum in the middle of a meditation session. "It's all about the believing in it," I hummed, placing my hands in a prayer position to mock him.

"Now, what if my chakras don't want to be aligned? Or my chakras were just made like a thin jenga tower -"

"That explains why you're fucked up," Darlene pointed the ladle at her brother, grinning at her joke.

"This isn't how chakras work," I commented, placing the knife in Calum hand and the bell pepper in the other. "Please cut those, I need them,"

Calum scoffed. "I'll cut this bell pepper's chakras alright," He began, slicing them thinly. "Uh, do you wanna come to a party with us? Later?" He gave a glance at Darlene and I paused, not having expected that.

"Party?" She repeated.

"It's more of a gathering, really. Just Mike, some friends from our meetings, a couple people," I didn't know what I meant by 'a couple people'. Mike seemed sociable enough to know a hundred people, so I had no grasp of what he considered as a small gathering.

Calum nodded, agreeing. "Yeah, a gathering. He attended his - what was his? His -"

"Fiftieth," I filled in.

"His fiftieth meeting today, and since that's a pretty great accomplishment, he thought of celebrating it, you know?"

Darlene looked between us with a humoured look on her face. "You sound like two kids trying to convince a parent something stupid," She gave a casual laugh, which I took as a good sign. "Guys, if you wanna go, then go. I don't have to go along with you. As long as I know you're safe and with trusted people, then -"

"You misunderstand," Calum interjected.

"Well that's formal," Darlene retorted.

I slid some vegetables into the pot.

"We just want you to meet them," I said, stirring the pot as the steam warmed my hand. "And Mike already agreed that you could come. He's looking forward to meeting you. Plus, there's tons of people you might like,"

I looked at Calum for more support but he only nodded.

Darlene shifted her eyes between her brother and I, contemplation a conflicted-looking thing on her eyes. Calum and I just wanted to see her face free of the brow-furrowed worries, eyes glazed with fear. I still kept the guilt like a permanent layer on my skin, but little by little, I felt it chip away. Though I still felt as though I was only feigning it all, that my motives weren't as clear as I wanted them to be.

I wanted her to like them, to see just how wonderfully Cal and I belonged somewhere, or at least how wonderfully we'd met such the likes of a group.

"Alright. Sure, okay. I'll go," She murmured, and I almost smiled st how the corners of her lips turned upwards for a moment before she pushed them back down and pursed them. "Is it a fancy type thing? Where's it at?"