mary jane | stuart twombly ✓

chapter 17

"You know, guys, I really don't think that clubbing is the way to go about things when our last challenge is starting tomorrow", Mary Jane sighed as she and the others went into a club.

It was a different one than last time, thank God. Mary Jane didn't think she could handle more strippers.

She didn't know if she was apprehensive because she was still tired from hanging out with Stuart from the night before or if it was just genuinely a bad idea the day before the final challenge. Perhaps it was a little bit of both. Who could think of partying when their entire future at Google depended on this last challenge?

"Come on, Red, just enjoy the night!", Lyle cheered, throwing an arm around Mary Jane's shoulder.

"If you guys get shitfaced, we can kiss the win goodbye!", Mary Jane yelled back over the loud music.

"She's right, we need to focus!", Yo-Yo said back, plucking out an eyebrow hair.

"Stop your worrying, you two, we're gonna get loose!", Neha yelled.

The team split up for a while, each doing their own thing. Mary Jane had a few drinks, but not enough to get drunk. Buzzed, maybe, but not drunk. She figured last night with Stuart was enough — even though they were both just tipsy at the time. For the most part, she just stayed in their booth.

She was surprised when she saw Neha making out with some girl in the car, but simply shook her head. "Go, Neha!", she yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth.

Lyle was out on the dance floor, and his dance moves were pretty awful. Mary Jane covered her mouth in horror, but she didn't dare try to stop the drunken boy. Let him have his fun.

The song Shots was playing on the booming speakers and, coincidentally, a group was cheering Yo-Yo on along with it. He was definitely gonna be vomiting again in the morning, and Mary Jane would definitely be saying 'I told you so.'

She briefly wondered where Stuart was, but got her answer when the drunk boy stumbled into the booth next to her. "Hey, MJ", he slurred.

"Stewie Boy", Mary Jane greeted, patting his back. "Last night wasn't enough for you?"

"Nope, I'm livin large, baby!", Stuart yelled, followed with a 'woohoo' as he threw his hands up in the air.

"Uh-huh, sure. Why don't you take a break?"

Stuart didn't seem to be listening, leaning his head on Mary Jane's shoulder. "You're soooo pretty, MJ. And — and your hair smells like chocolate covered strawberries aaaall the time", he slurred.

Mary Jane was about to answer, but Yo-Yo slid into the booth and practically face planted onto the table. "You okay there, big guy?", she asked cautiously.

"The blue lights in here are so pretty", was his muffled reply.

Mary Jane looked around at where the club had been bathed in blue, patting his head. "I know, big guy, I know."

"But not as pretty as Rosita!", he added, lifting his head.

"Who's Rosita?", Mary Jane asked in confusion.

"His stripper!", Neha said as she stood slid into the booth, pushing Stuart over. Another girl, a blonde that MJ was unfamiliar with, sat next to Yo-Yo. "That's Josie!"

Lyle was the last one to join the group, and he looked a bit messy. "Is MJ playing mommy, cause I can totally get behind that."

"She can be my mommy", Neha shouter, clearly meaning a different, less innocent, thing than Lyle had.

"No, she's my mommy, I had her first", Stuart said, gripping her tighter.

Mary Jane face palmed. "Alright, kids, momma thinks it's time for us to go home."

"Noooo."

"But I can't leave Josie, I just got here. We haven't gotten married yet!"

"I still haven't gotten to send my picture of Little Lyle!"

"I haven't finished partying yet!"

With much struggle, she finally got them all back in the van, sans Josie because Mary Jane had no idea what to do with her and just hoped that the girl's friends would come back. "I need you guys to be really quiet so I can concentrate, because I should not be driving right now."

Once she successfully made it back to HQ, thankfully without being pulled over, Mary Jane had to carry them all one by one back to their rooms. Except Lyle, she had dropped him at his own apartment first, helping him to get inside safely. This was no easy task and quickly tired her out. The last was Stuart, and, since he refused to help, she was dragging the boy by his armpits. "Stuart, come on, help me out a little here!"

"No, I wanna sleep!", the boy argued. Mary Jane sighed, continuing to drag him. When she got him to his room, she had no choice but to drop him. "Ow", he grumbled.

"Oops, sorry, Stuart", she sighed, beginning to pat him down for his room key.

"Stop, stop, that tickles!"

"It does not, I'm just patting you, you idiot—" Once she finally grabbed the key, she unlocked the door, making sure to leave it where he could easily find the key the next day. Once that was done, she hauled Stuart in and placed him on his bed the best she could, even removing his shoes for him. "Night, Stuart", she said softly.

Before she could walk away, he grabbed her wrist. "Please, stay."

Mary Jane thought it over for a moment before sighing. How could she say no to that? She went and turned out the light, kicking off her heels before climbing back into bed next to him.

February 26, 2019