Smash!

•T W E N T Y F O U R•

(Very)Long Chapter

Jamie's POV

"Is it your birthday?"

"Hmm?" I groggily hum, lifting my tangled red head up. Bright, colorful- near neon- plastic tubing offends my tired eyes. My joints stiff up from sleeping in odd angles in the tight space. Under me, Riley cushions my body from the plastic sky tube. A little boy curiously watches us, a rush of hustle and bustle loudly filling the venue.

We didn't... no, how could we spend the night here?

"What?" Riley rouses, stirring under me. He glares at our surroundings through half lidded eyes. Taking in the rowdy noise of hyper children, Riley deducts that we've unintentionally stowed away here till morning, and lets out an annoyed groan, running his hands over his face.

"Is it your birthday?" The child repeats, "Is that why they let you have a sleepover here?"

"What's today?" Riley sighs, not at all bothered by waking up here.

"November 17."

"Yeah," Riley groans, sitting up and bumping his dark ahead against the plastic tubing with a thud. "Ugh, fuck, yeah it is." Running off to tell his mother Riley cussed, the kid hastily crawls away into the tunnels.

"Wait, is it really your birthday, Riley?" I ask, rocking on his lap as he shifts around like a restless cat.

"Yeah." He grumbles, sorely rubbing his cranium.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's not a big deal." He shrugs indifferently.

"It's your birthday-" I start.

"It's too early for this." Riley cuts me off, waving around at the little kids excitedly screaming as they play around us. "It's not the weirdest place I've woken up on my birthday, but the most irritating. I can't hear myself internally scream with all these rugrats. Lets leave. Quickly." Nudging me, Riley hurriedly tries to escape the sky tubes behind me, right on my heels the whole time.

"You know, this view of your ass is making my birthday pretty decent."

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Ignoring the ache in my wrists, I carry on whisking as fast as I can mange. This is my seventh bowl I'm stirring. Meanwhile, I have three different cakes baking in my too tiny oven- it's like using an easy bake. Tubes of frosting and dozens of cake toppers litter the small space on my counters, not leaving much room left for the many mixing bowls of batter.

Absent from my apartment, Riley dropped me off home, and went off mumbling something about that mysterious Nate of his.

Having no clue how long he'll be, I whisk a bit faster.

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Riley's POV

My scabbed knuckles loudly knock against the apartment door, each clack furthering my anger. I've been out here knocking on Nate's door for about twenty minutes now like an idiot. I know this asshole is home. Nate doesn't go into sunlight. Like a bum, he usually sleeps off a hangover and whatever drugs he took the night before till evening.

"Shut the fuck up!" The door shakes in its frame as something bangs against it on the other side. The door nearly comes off its hinges as it violently swings open like the gates of hell. Stark naked, nostrils flared, light colored eyes bugging, Nate fills up the doorway like a nasty monster from mythology.