chapter three . furniture shopping

"Maisie ! I'm gonna kill you !" Oliver yelled , dashing from the living room into the kitchen . He had gone through almost an entire hour of the morning without noticing the drawings on his face , until Victor woke up and they saw each other .

"Shit ! I didn't do it !" Maisie screamed , hiding behind Darnell . "It was Darnell ! Get him !"

Darnell's arms shot up in defense . "No I got Victor ! Maisie drew on you !"

"I knew it !" Oliver pushed Darnell out of the way and began chasing Maisie around the house , cornering her in one of the bedrooms . "Do you surrender ?"

"Never !" Maisie made a bolt for the door , but Oliver grabbed her by the waist and carried her back to the corner while she kicked at him . "No ! No ! No!"

He held up his water bottle over his sister's head and slowly dumped it onto her , soaking her long hair . He smiled in satisfaction .

"No ! I hate you !" Maisie gasped , setting her hands on her head . "Today was a good hair day !"

Oliver only laughed and left the room , leaving his little sister alone and completely soaked with water .

"Hey , where'd your sister go ?" Darnell asked , pouring himself a bowl of cereal .

"She's in someone's room crying over her wet hair ." He joked , searching through the cabinets for something to eat .

Lucielle entered the room , a bright smile on her face . "Gooood morning !" She told the two boys .

"Hey , Lucy ." Darnell smiled , "You want some cereal ?"

"Sure ." She shrugged .

As Darnell began to pour Lucielle some cereal , Oliver turned to the sink to scrub the marker off of his face . Maisie slowly walked into the kitchen and walked up behind him , shoving his whole head into the sink .

"Dude !" He complained .

"Karma , loser ." Maisie huffed , crossing her arms . Her hair and shirt were completely soaked and she had a pissed expression on her face .

Zinnia walked into the kitchen , trying to stifle her laughter at the sight of the two soaked siblings . "You two got in a water fight or something ?" She asked , grabbing an apple .

Maisie pointed at Oliver . "He started it !" Her brother gasped dramatically .

"You started it you little -"

"Mornin guys !" Elizabeth skipped into the room . She was obviously the first one awake , because she was completely dressed and her hair sat curled on her shoulders . She began to walk around and give everyone a hug , except for Maisie .

Oliver's eyebrows furrowed and he looked down at his little sister , sharing a look of confusion with her .

Lucielle looked between Maisie and Elizabeth , slowly grabbing the princess' arm . "Let's go talk outside , yeah ?"

Elizabeth nodded a reply and followed Lucielle outside .

"Well that was weird ." Darnell remarked , putting his bowl of cereal in the sink .

"Tell me about it ." Maisie sighed , "Do we have a coffee maker ?"

"I think we have to buy one ." Adonis told the brunette , leaning against the door frame . "Might I say , Maisie , you're a very heavy sleeper ."

"Is that a compliment ?" She asked , reaching into the fridge to grab a water .

"It sure is . I was so convinced I was gonna wake you up , but you were knocked out the entire night ." He told her smoothly , ignoring the confused look Oliver shot him .

"I'm sorry , what happened last night ?" Her brother chimed in , glancing in between the two .

"That's a secret ." Adonis shot a grin at Maisie , who's face turned a light pink at the topic .

Oliver gave Maisie a look that told her that the conversation wasn't over , before he walked out of the room .

— — —

"I don't normally cuss , but what the fuck was that ?" Lucielle asked Elizabeth , standing in the driveway . Her arms were crossed as she spoke , visibly upset .

"I'm sorry ! You just know how I feel about Adonis , and Maisie's trying to steal him from me ." Elizabeth explained .

"You can't take it out on her ! You know how she is , she's touchy with everyone ." She snapped , "Does she even know that you're into him ?"

Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something , but closed it .

"Exactly . Don't start stuff with people , we're supposed to have fun ." The blonde turned around and stormed inside .

— — —

Victor stood in one of the bathrooms of the house , violently scrubbing his face with water . He muttered to himself as he held up his phone , the remnants of the marker still visible on his face .

"Vic , you okay ?" Zinnia asked , knocking on the door . When she didn't hear a response , she pushed the door open .

He jumped away from the sink , his eyes wide with horror . "Zin - hey ."

"Sorry , I didn't mean to scare you ." She looked at the running water , then at his face . His face was red from him scrubbing so hard . "Do you need help ?"

"Yeah ." He admitted , looking down at his hands .

"I'll be right back ." She ran out of the bathroom and into her own room to grab one of her towels and her facial cleanser . "Okay , we can definitely get this off ." Zinnia told him once she got back inside .

Victor nodded and tried to hold still as his friend held the towel in the sink and put some of her cleanser on it .

She slowly pressed it against his face , beginning to scrub away at the markers . She frowned when it didn't come off as easily as she expected . "Please don't freak out ."

"That's kinda hard not to do ." He squeezed his eyes shut , gripping onto the counter of the bathroom . He felt himself slowly beginning to panic and he tried to steady his breathing .

"It's okay , it's coming off . Let me try it with hot water ." She turned the handle on the sink and set her hand on his shoulder , trying to comfort him while she waited for the water to turn hot .

He shrugged her off , setting his hand over his chest to try and control his breaking .

Zinnia put the towel in the water once it was hot and slowly pressed it against his face , "See ? It's coming off now ." She smiled , rubbing the towel against his face until all of it came off .

He picked up his phone and looked at the camera , letting out a sigh of relief .

"So what was all that about ?" Zinnia asked , setting the towel and cleanser down .

"Um , I don't know ." He admitted , "It's been happening a lot lately , I think it's from stress ."

"Are you sure it's from stress ?" She asked .

"I dunno ."

"Well , if it happens again , just give me a call ." She gave him a reassuring smile as she turned towards the door . "I'm here for you, Vic ."

— — —

The group stood in front of a discount furniture store , it was the closest one to them and they really didn't want to have to go through the struggle of a long drive .

They also drove illegally . Zinnia's car could only fit eight people , but they all managed to squish inside .

"So , are we all gonna get like matching furniture or . . ." Jonna began , unsure of why they weren't in the building yet .

"Maybe we could get like matching furniture for like the kitchen , living rooms , and guest rooms ? And then everybody could split up with their roommates and figure out what they want for their rooms ?"

The group agreed , finally choosing to step into the store .

Maisie gripped onto Wade's arm , unable to focus on the furniture as the only thing that was on her mind was the idea that paparazzi could show up at any minute .

"Chill out , Mae ." Wade laughed , "Nobody knows that we're here ." She nodded and dropped his arm , running up to Zinnia .

"Look at this bed !" Lucielle exclaimed , jumping onto it . She was immediately pulled off by Adonis .

"We can't cause a scene here ." He told her .

"Hm , are you just saying that a pretty girl like me laying on a bed is gonna cause a scene ?" She jokingly flirted .

Adonis let go of her , his face turning pink as he began to stutter . "Well - I - uh -"

Lucielle patted him on the shoulder . "That's cute ." She told him before she walked off to find someone else to annoy .

He stood there for a second , absolutely flustered , before he straightened up and walked back to the group .

"Look at this ." Oliver pointed at a furniture set , "Do you think this will go well with the house ?"

"Yeah , but look at this one -"

— — —

So , after three hours of fighting and arguing , the group finally decided on the furniture for the house .

The group of friends all stood outside of Zinnia's car , each visibly exhausted and angry . Getting a group of 11 people to all decide on the same set of furniture was exhausting and was so dramatic for absolutely no reason .

If it weren't for Adonis calming down the entire group , they probably wouldn't even have walked out together .

"Well , this was fun ." Wade muttered .

"Totally fun ." Elizabeth sarcastically replied , climbing onto the passenger seat .

He scoffed and got into the backseat of the car , Hunter squeezing in next to him .

— — —

Jonna stood in the kitchen with Darnell , rummaging through the cabinets until she found the box of noodles that she bought .

"Need help ?" Darnell asked as she grabbed one of the pans , filling it halfway with water .

"Maybe you could figure out some sort of sauce to make ? I don't know how many people here will actually eat plain noodles ." She responded , turning in the stove .

"There's a bottle of marinera sauce in the fridge . I dunno why , I think Hunter got it or something ." Darnell pulled out the jar , setting it on the counter .

"Then we could make that ." Jonna smiled , meeting his eyes . "You got any good jokes to pass the time ?"

"I thought you'd never ask ."

— — —

"So , that thing with Adonis ." Oliver began , sitting down next to his sister on the floor of the living room . "What was all that about ?"

"Oh ." Maisie looked down at his hands . "I fell asleep on him last night - Don't look at me like that ." She shoved him playfully .

"I know he's normally a flirty person , but I think he was legitimately flirting with you this morning ."

"No ." She shook her head , "Addi's like that with everyone , he just happened to have sat behind me last night ."

"Do you have feelings for him ?" Oliver finally asked , turning to look at his sister directly in the eyes .

"No - Yeah ? I don't know ." Maisie admitted , "I'm still figuring things out , and I still don't know him that well ."

"That's valid ." He told her with a smile , "You two would be cute together ."

"Shut up-" She whacked him .

"You love me ."

"I'll still beat you up ." Maisie stood up , leaving the curly haired boy alone on the floor .

— — —

The rest of the night went on peacefully , with the group of friends eating dinner and playing a few board games before they all settled down in the living room again.

This time they didn't stay up , knowing that the furniture was coming in the morning the next day , they would have to rest .

So before it hit midnight , the entire group fell asleep .

NOTE FROM JANIE
another quick update . honestly your guys' comments are the reason ive been so motivated . ily all sm
kisses kisses bye <33

( updates may also be slower this week because im gonna go back and edit these chapters)