Perception

Part 62

Gabriel POV

I jog my ass back to Nate's looking forward to spending some time with Trouble only to find no one home when I get there. With a huff of annoyance I quickly send a text to Kota to see if I can stop by so late. Erica usually doesn't mind, but I don't want Max waking everyone up if I try to walk in the house without him getting the stand-down signal. When Kota says to come on over, I do exactly that.

Kota meets me at the door in his sleep clothes, holding Max's collar. Looking past him, I see pallets set up in the living room.

"Oy! You're having a sleepover without me? What the fuck is this shit?" I ask feigning indignation...sort of. They didn't tell me they were camping out at Kota's.

"It was sort of a last minute decision for Nate to stay. Jess asked Sang to sleep over earlier, and that was arranged without discussion with me," Kota says with a shrug.

"Fine. I'll allow it this time, but next time you fuckers better invite me," I tell him seriously. He simply nods, and pulls me inside so he can close the door. Once I'm inside, I see Trouble and Jessica looking over a selection of nail polish bottles.

"Meanie! Come help us!" Sang says happily. I drop my backpack by the wall and walk forward.

"What the h..eck are you wearing, Trouble? I didn't pick those out for you!" I say, but my rant halts in my brain when she pops up off the floor, and twirls in slow a circle to show off her ensemble.

"Jess is letting me wear them tonight. We had a little mishap earlier, and I couldn't run home how I was. Well, I guess I could have but it would have been really uncomfortable, and I..." Nate reaches up from his spot on the floor to cover her mouth mid-ramble. I gulp down my saliva, which I'm sure has flooded my mouth to the point of drooling, and shake my head.

"No, Trouble. You're fine. I mean you look good. I mean, uhmm, that should do for tonight," I have to forcibly stop myself from rambling before I start detailing exactly what I like about her outfit. Nate and Kota are muffling laughter, and I don't even have it in me to glare at them. That would mean taking my eyes off of Sang as she crawls back over to the pile of nail polish. 

"Sang will need some clothes for school tomorrow. I don't think Jessica's clothes will do for school," Kota says meaningfully. Once Sang sits down with her legs folded together in what they used to call 'indian style', I'm able to drag my gaze over to Kota.

"Huh?" I ask intelligently. He laughs again, and places his forearm over the pillow on his lap.

"Sang can't wear Jess' clothes to school, and she doesn't have any here," he tells me. I huff out a breath and roll my eyes.

"Fine! I'll go get her some fu...nning clothes. One of you a...nimals could have gone while I was at work, you know," I tell them while trying to keep my language PG. Sang and Jessica are giggling like crazy, so I don't mind having to self-edit  my language.

I heave a deep sigh, then head back to Nate's to pick out some clothes for Trouble. I find Nate's to-go bag of clothes and pack us a fresh uniform and undergarments that have magically reappeared in his drawers, as did my extras in Nate's closet. I'm pretty sure Luke was responsible for our family-wide underwear snafu, but I'm not going to call him out for it. I've been enjoying the view, and my brothers' reactions to the view all day.

I lock up Nate's and head back to Kota's for the night. It's nice to not have creepers watching the street anymore. Hendrick's flock of dumb minions must have gotten the fucking hint that they weren't going to able to spy around here anymore. The girls don't even look up when I get to the living room. Sang is busily painting Jess' toes a soft moss color that I wouldn't have chosen, but what the fuck ever, right?