RTC (Ride The Cyclone) One-shot book

Perfectdolls 2

Ocean shows up at Penny's house and knocks on the door. The choir was planning on having a sleepover. There is just a slight problem. Everyone except Ocean canceled, which she would've known if she had stayed in the choir group chat. She left the group chat because no one used it for Ocean's intended purposes.

In the group chat, this is what everyone said about their plans: Mischa had a phone date with Talia, Constance had to babysit her baby brother, Noel chose to work another shift at Taco Bell, and Ricky was free, but everyone else canceled, so he also canceled. He doesn't want to be left alone with Penny and Ocean because he knows there is tension between them and doesn't want to be a buffer for Ocean.

So, when Penny opens her door, she is surprised to see Ocean, and Ocean is surprised to see that no one else is there.

"What are you doing here, Ocean?" Penny asks, feeling confused. "I thought all of us were having a sleepover. Are we not?" Ocean asks, also feeling confused. "Everyone canceled," Penny tells her. "Clearly," Ocean responds.

They stare at each other in awkward silence for a minute before Penny eventually breaks the silence and invites Ocean inside. At first, Ocean refuses, mainly because the thought of being alone with her terrifies her and excites her, but also, she wants Penny to have some time to herself and doesn't want to bother her. Penny insists that it will be fine; Ocean eventually walks inside.

"So, what do you want to do?" Penny asks Ocean. "You don't have everything planned out?" Ocean responds and is now feeling confused again. "No. Why would I?" Penny says as if it doesn't make any sense. "I would always plan out sleepovers with Constance. Though I've only had sleepovers with her," Ocean admits shyly. "But it was fun! At least, I thought it was. Constance sometimes tried to change it up, but we were always in sync with the schedule. But, looking back on it now, maybe I could've been a bit more flexible," Ocean slowly realizes.

It briefly goes quiet again.

"Well, that doesn't matter now. So, we can watch a movie, play a game, make some food," Penny suggests, which breaks the silence. "Whatever you want."

Ocean takes a minute to think before deciding on a game they can play. Since Penny has an Xbox 360, Ocean chooses for them to play Minecraft. Within an hour, minus the occasional bathroom and snack break, Ocean has a fine house and a lot of materials. She's doing way better than Penny.

Since Penny's impressed, she asks Ocean, "Have you played it before?" despite knowing it was a stupid question. Ocean freezes at the question. She hesitantly replies, "Yeah. I play it whenever I have free time, so when I'm not studying or doing homework or extracurricular activities..." She briefly pauses before continuing, "or whenever I'm not hanging out with my parents."

She wants to say she only plays Minecraft and some other games because her parents barely talk to her and barely know what she does. They barely spend time together. However, she remains silent about it, knowing she is supposed to have fun, and also because Ocean is flawless; she doesn't want to appear weak in front of Penny and doesn't want Penny to worry about her.

"It seems like you're hiding something," Penny says, wondering why Ocean was so nervous at a simple question. Wondering why Ocean gave details on when specifically she would play Minecraft and why she included the part about her parents at the end. She has many unanswered questions but isn't going to ask all of them because she doesn't want to overwhelm her. Ocean starts to get more nervous. "I'm not hiding anything," Ocean tries to reassure using a believable tone. Of course, she failed, but she tried. "Everyone has problems. Even seemingly perfect people like you. But you shouldn't keep them bottled up."

Tears started to fall from her eyes. Ocean had never felt this cared for or paid attention to for a long time. She usually had to make herself food or bandage herself up. She even went to school whenever she was sick, no matter how miserable she felt. Then, she would have to go home for various reasons, mainly because she was unwell.