chamber of reflection ➵l.s

junior's risky business

and so we are back to the traditionally long chapters. get your popcorn ready for this one!

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Alice sits at the dining table, a geography book spread open in front of her. She taps her pencil rhythmically against the tabletop, her brows furrowed in concentration as she tries to make sense of the material. Across from her, Delaney watches intently, her head tilted with curiosity, amused by Alice's serious demeanor.

When Alice absentmindedly reaches up to scratch her nose, Delaney grins. "Is your nose itchy?" she asks innocently.

Alice shoots her an irritated glare. "Shut up."

Delaney shrugs and begins clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth, creating an obnoxious sound.

"Stop it," Alice snaps, briefly looking up.

"Stop what? This?" Delaney repeats the noise, adding an exaggerated tilt to her head with each click.

Alice's eyes narrow dangerously. "If you don't cut it out, I'll rip your head off and shove it up your butt."

Delaney bursts into laughter. "Then it'll sound like this," she jokes, covering her mouth to mimic a muffled version of the same clicking noise.

Alice stands abruptly, grabbing Delaney by the shirt, ready to make good on her threat. But before she can act, Harry steps into the room, quickly pulling Delaney to his side.

"Whoa, whoa," Harry says, holding Delaney close and staring at Alice like she's lost her mind. "What on earth are you doing?"

"I'm trying to study for my test, and everyone in this house is annoying me!" Alice shouts, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"Sit down, Alice. You need to take a breath. All this stress isn't helping—you'll give yourself hives."

Alice groans dramatically, collapsing back into her chair. "Too late. I'm already getting a zit."

Harry leans closer to examine her face, brushing her chin lightly with his fingers. "There's some ointment in the medicine cabinet," he says softly.

Alice huffs and gets up, muttering to herself as she stomps out of the room. Harry watches her leave before turning his attention to Delaney, placing his hands on his hips and fixing her with a disapproving look.

Delaney slouches in her chair, her sheepish expression giving her away. 

 ✧˖°🌷𔘓‎ ָ࣪ ₊˚

Junior strides into his parents' bedroom with determined steps, his eyes darting between them. "I need to talk to you," he announces.

Louis emerges from the bathroom, a towel in hand as he finishes wiping shaving cream off his chin. "What did you break, and how much is it going to cost me?" he asks dryly.

"It's not like that," Junior replies, waving off the assumption. He shifts his focus to Harry, knowing he'll have better luck there. "So, I've started dating this girl—her name's Summer—and I was wondering if she could come over for dinner on Saturday."

Harry's mouth drops open in surprise, and he immediately glances at Louis, silently asking, Are you hearing this?

Louis looks just as stunned, narrowing his eyes as he scrutinizes Junior. "Wait. 'Dating,' as in there's a girl out there who's willingly spending time with you?"

Junior shrugs nonchalantly. "Yeah. She thinks I'm the smartest person in the world."

Louis snorts, folding his arms. "What kind of alternate reality is this? I think I woke up in the wrong universe."