Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Welcome to my story! If you're here from Wattpad, welcome back! Posting on ao3 has been on my list of things to do for a while because a ton of people say it's better for fan fiction. I don't know how long it will last, but I might as well try.

If you read on Wattpad, you know how this story came to be. It was started last year during the school year while I was in class. My teacher found out, confiscated it, and told me to NEVER bring it back to school again (super gay story, very Christian school.) It was after that that I decided to start posting it. There was recently a 2 month hiatus due to lack of motivation to do anything, but it's back!

That should be everything. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Text

Rivendell was burning.

The King and Queen watched as the flames that covered the land approached their castle, fear in their eyes. Their eldest son, the 5 year old Xornoth, came running up behind them.

“M-mum? D-Dad? What's happening?” Xornoth asked, looking up at his mother and father. Before the King could answer, the Queen of House Blossom, the neighboring kingdom, flew in and landed next to the elven rulers.

“Your majesties, forgive me, but it's urgent. Every empire has been destroyed. Bring your children and anything they need for the other world and meet in the center.” The King nodded, and the Queen ran to grab their other son, 4 month old Scott. When the Queen ran back into the living room, son in hand, she saw her husband with his Rivendell elytra on, carrying Xornoth in his arms. The Queen put on her own wings, grabbed two backpacks and stood next to her husband. The King looked back, took a deep breath, and looked at the Queen of House Blossom.

“We’re ready.” The Queen of House Blossom took off, the royal family of Rivendell following close behind. As they flew, young Xornoth looked back, as the fire that covered his home started to consume the palace.

At the center, all of the empires across the world were gathered. The High Wizard of the Crystal Cliffs was finishing a spell for the portal that would bring their children to the other world. As the King of Rivendell looked around at all the other rulers and their children, the portal opened.

“Everyone, come here!” The High Wizard yelled. All the rulers gathered around the portal.

“Before they go through, we need to conceal their magic and,” he sighed, “Their memories of this place. Now would be a good time to say your goodbyes.” The High Wizard went over to the Queen of the Grimlands, who held a pair of ginger babies. The Queen of Rivendell looked to her husband, and then to her two children. She hugged them, and kissed their foreheads.

“I love you” She said to the boys, giving the sleeping Scott to Xornoth. Their dad kneeled down to his sons, looked down and smiled at Scott, then looked at Xornoth.

“Listen to me very closely Xornoth. In a few minutes, High Wizard Taurus will cast a spell to erase your memories. However, because it's being rushed, only people under 5 can get their memories wiped, meaning only you will have any memories for the next 14 years. Your magic will still be concealed like the rest. Why, I don't know. But listen, where you’re going, they kill anyone different from them. You need to protect your brother and the others, do you understand?” Xornoth nodded, and they joined everyone else around the portal. One by one, each child was memory and magic wiped and put into the portal with their bag. The portal closed after Scott and Xornoth went in, and the fire soon consumed the center.

Chapter Text

Scott woke up to the sound of Xornoth yelling into his room.

“Scott! You’re gonna be late!”

Scott quickly got out of bed and threw on some dark jeans, a white t-shirt with colored stripes across it, and a light denim middle sleeved shirt. He quickly grabbed his bag and fixed his teal hair as he ran down the creaky, old stairs. Xornoth was waiting for him by the door.

“There you are! Come on!” Xornoth exclaimed. Scott put on his pastel rainbow sneakers and grabbed his bag that he had luckily packed the night before. Xornoth shook their head as Scott ran back upstairs for his phone.

“Do you have everything?” Xornoth asked with a smile on their face while Scott walked by them, heading out the door.

“You suck, you know that right?” Scott told them.

“You don't really mean that”

“Yeah, you're right.” Scott said, smile on his face as he sat in the passenger's seat of Xornoths car. They drove away from the old, small house toward Crown High.

Chapter Text

After saying bye to Xornoth, Scott walked into school. Because he had missed orientation, he had to go to the office to get his schedule and locker number. As he tried to find his locker, he knocked into a light pink haired girl wearing a blue and white skirt and shirt. All of the papers Scott was holding fell on the ground, along with him and the girl.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry!” Scott said, trying to quickly pick up his papers

“That’s ok.” The girl replied, helping Scott get up.

“Thank you.”

“Yeah, no problem!” she said. “I’ve never seen you before. Are you new here?”

“Oh, yeah. I just moved here.”

“Oh, that explains it. What's your name?”

“Scott.”

“I’m Lizzie. Do you need help finding anything?”

“Yeah, my locker.” Scott showed her the number.

Lizzie started to giggle. “You’re a freshman, aren't you?” Scott nodded. “Well, you’re in the junior wing. I’ll show you where the freshman wing is.”

“Thank you.” Scott said as they started walking toward his locker.

“So, where are you from?” Lizzie asked.

“Well, me and my sibling have moved all over. We just-” Scott was interrupted by a boy with brown hair that had a green streak in it coming up behind Lizzie, scaring her.

“Joel!” Lizzie said, nearly slapping the boy. “You scared the living daylights out of me!”

“Sorry.” Joel apologized. He noticed Scott standing next to Lizzie. “Oh, who’s this?”

“This is Scott. He’s new, and was in the wrong section, so I’m helping him out. Scott, this is my boyfriend Joel.”

“Well, it was nice to meet you Scott. I’ll see you later Lizzie.” Joel kissed Lizzies cheek before walking away.

Eventually, Scott and Lizzie arrived at his locker. He thanked her, and she ran off to her own class. Scott walked into his homeroom, and the only seat available was next to a brown haired girl wearing short overalls with a sheep on the front. She also had a sheep ear headband.

“Am I late?” Scott asked, sitting next to the girl.

“No, but there's only 5 minutes left.” She replied. She was drawing something.

“Thanks. I’m Scott by the way. What's your name?”

“Katherine.” The girl replied, handing Scott a drawing of a poppy. She had a big smile on her face. “You look like someone who likes red poppies.”

“It’s my favorite flower. This is amazing!” Scott put the drawing into his folder

“Thank you! Flowers are the only thing I can draw.” She said, smile still present. Before he could respond, the teacher walked in.

“Hello, my name is Mr.Grian, and I’m gonna be your homeroom and science teacher this year. Before you ask, no, Grian is not my last name, it’s my first name.” Mr.Grian had a very bored expression on his face, like there were other places he would rather be. He took attendance, did a whole “welcome to high school” speech, and then told the class they could talk for the rest of the class.

The bell rang, and Scott walked out with Katherine. They had spent the entire time talking with each other.

“So what class do you have next?” Katherine asked.

“History.” Scott said, looking at his schedule.

“Oh man, I have math. Hey wanna sit with me at lunch?”

“Yeah, that sounds great!” They walked off to their classes.

Chapter Text

The bell rang for lunch, and Scott made his way to the lunchroom. He saw Katherine sitting next to another brown haired girl wearing a yellow long sleeved shirt and light denim overalls. Across from her was a red headed girl with a green long sleeved shirt and dark denim overalls. She also had a flower clip in her hair.

“Hey Scott!” Katherine said, waving him over. Scott waved back and sat next to the redhead girl.

“Guys this is Scott, the new kid I was telling you about.”

“Welcome to crown high! I’m Gem.” The redhead girl said.

“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Shelby.” The other girl said. After talking for a minute, Scott went to get his lunch.

“So, how do you like the town so far?” Gem asked when he sat down.

“Well, I’ve only been here a week, so I haven't been able to explore much.”

“You should come with us to the Faction, the best coffee shop ever. It’s owned by Gems parents. We’re going after school today.” Shelby said.

“I’d have to ask my sibling, but I’m sure they would be fine with it.” Scott replied, sending a quick text to Xornoth. They replied with a thumbs up. “Yeah, they're fine with it.”

For the rest of lunch, Scott, Gem, Shelby, and Katherine continued to talk and laugh like they knew each other their entire lives. When the bell rang, Scott and Shelby walked to their lockers to grab their gym uniforms. As they walked to the gym, a tall, long faced boy with curly hair wearing a bright green hoodie walked right into Scott, knocking him over.

“Hey, watch it!” The older boy yelled. Scott muttered an apology, but apparently the older boy thought Scott was talking back to him.

Grabbing Scott’s shirt, the older boy pushed him into the wall. “WHAT DID YOU SAY?” The older boy yelled into his face. Before Scott could respond, the gym came out of the gym to see what was going on.

“Clay, go to the principal's office, now!” The gym teacher yelled.

Clay dropped Scott, and gave him a “you’re dead” look as he walked off.

“Who was that?” Scott asked Shelby as he picked up his gym clothes.

“Clay. He’s been held back two years now. He usually has George or Sap with. People say that Clay stays back on purpose just to stay around the freshmen.” Shelby explains.

“That's not creepy whatsoever.” They walked into the changing rooms, got changed, and then met back in the gym. What sat in the middle of the gym filled Scott with drea. It was a line of red dodgeballs.

Chapter Text

The gym teacher came into the gym, and introduced himself as Coach Impulse. He then called up a ginger boy and a curly brown haired boy with circle glasses.

“All right, Wilbur can pick first.” Coach Impulse pointed to the glasses kid. Just then, a very pissed off clay walked in, and Wilbur immediately picked him. The ginger then picked Shelby. Scott wondered if they were friends, because he had grown to like Shelby, but she did not look like the most athletic person. Finally, it was down to Scott and some other kid. He saw Clay whisper something to Wilbur, which was followed by Wilbur picking the other kid. Scott walked over to the gingers team, and then Coach Impulse blew his whistle, beginning the game.

Scott didn't even last a minute before being nailed in the shoulder with a ball by Clay.

“At least I’m not first.” He muttered as he sat next to the kid that had been picked right before him.

Soon enough, it was only the ginger and Shelby vs. Clay, Wilbur, and a kid with a black and red zip up hoodie. Shelby managed to hit Wilbur in the face with a ball, just as the hoodie kid hit her in the hip.

“I did not think you were that athletic.” Scott told Shelby as she sat next to him.

“Why? Because I’m small?”

“Uhhhhh who's the ginger kid? Do you know him?”

Shelby smirked. “Nice save. And yeah, I do. He’s Gem's twin, Fwhip.”

“Gotcha.” They continued to watch as Fwhip caught the hoodie kids ball, making it just him vs. Clay. Clay was throwing the balls fast and hard, but Fwhip just kept on dodging. The last ball that Clay threw went inches away from Fwhip’s face. It only took Fwhip three balls to get Clay out, because Clay could throw, but couldn't dodge.

Coach Impulse blew his whistle, and pointed at Fwhip. “1 point to Fwhip’s team!” Everyone went back to their sides, and the second match began. After Fwhip got hit, his team didn't last very long.

Coach Impulse said they had time for one more round. This time, the last players were Fwhip, a girl with short, brown hair and two white streaks wearing circle glasses, and (miraculously) Scott vs. Clay, the hoodie kid from the first round, and some kid with diamond jewelry. The diamond kid was hit by the brown haired girl rather quickly. The hoodie kid caught one of her balls soon after.
Fwhip hit the hoodie kid, and as he did, Clay prepared to hit him. Just then, a ball rolled by Scott’s foot. With all his might, he threw it at Clay, actually managing to hit him. Granted, it barely touched his arm, but a hit was a hit.

Coach Impulse blew his whistle, and announced Fwhip’s team the winner. After everyone showered and changed, Scott caught up with Shelby and Fwhip.

“Oh, hey Scott! Fwhip, this is Scott. He just moved here last week.”

“Nice to meet you Scott. Nice job that last round!” Fwhip said, putting his hand up for a high five.

“Thanks! You were incredible!” Scott said, hitting Fwhip’s open hand.

“I try, I try. So, what do guys have next?” Fwhip asked. It turns out they all had science, so they made their way over to Mr.Grian’s class.

When they got there, they saw Katherine. Shelby went to sit next to her, and Scott and Fwhip sat in front of them. Fwhip, Scott, and Shelby recounted the dodgeball match to Katherine. They joked about the other team (mainly just Clay) and how the hell Scott managed to survive for so long in the final round before Mr.Grian came in.

“Hello, welcome to science. Where you’re sitting now are your seats for the rest of the school year, and the person next to you is your lab partner. Today you’re just gonna read pages 1-10 in your textbooks.” Mr.Grian said, sitting down and opening a magazine.

While Scott read, he saw Fwhip reaching over to grab electronics and gunpowder from the shelf next the their table, shoving them in the pocket of his teal hoodie.

“Note to self, don’t mess with Fwhip. He’s apparently a psychopath!” Scott thought to himself. The bell rang, and Scott made his way to his last class of the day, his least favorite subject- math.

Chapter Text

Scott walked into the classroom, and saw Clay. He made sure to sit as far away from him as he could. Just as the teacher started to introduce herself, someone ran into class. He immediately caught Scott's attention. He had blonde hair, brown eyes, and was wearing black pants, a white t-shirt, and a light denim shirt. The teacher, looking quite annoyed, pointed to the last remaining seat- the seat next to Scott.

The teacher started to teach, but Scott couldn’t pay attention. He was too busy looking at the boy next to him. He was fumbling with his pencil and notebook, trying to keep up with the teacher. Scott was brought back to reality when the teacher came up to them with a worksheet. After ten minutes, the boy poked Scott to get his attention.

“Hey, can you help me out? I’m lost” He whispered.

“I am the wrong person to ask. I’m also very lost.” Scott whispered back.

“Aww man. Well, I’m Jimmy. Whats your name?”

“Scott.” 5 minutes later, he heard Jimmy gasp.

“I think I figured it out!” He whispered excitedly.

“Do you mind helping me out?”

“Of course!” Jimmy whispered, leaning towards Scotts paper. His eyes widened when he looked it over.

“Oh my goodness. You’re more lost than I was.” While Jimmy attempted to help Scott, the teacher came over to them.

“Boys, what is going on here?”The teacher asked, hands on her hips. Jimmy tried to explain that he was helping Scott, but the teacher did not care.

“Focus on your own papers, or you’re going to the principal.” The teacher walked away, and Scott swore he saw a fair of horns on her head. When he did a double take, they were gone. He shook it off, thinking he was just imagining things. He struggled with the rest of the worksheet before the bell finally rang.

Scott walked out with Jimmy, and as they walked down the hall, he saw Lizzie and Joel walk up to them.

“Oh hey Scott. I see you met my brother” Lizzie said, turning toward Jimmy. “Joel’s driving us home, so you need to hurry up.” Jimmy nodded, and Lizzie and Joel walked away.

“Hey, do you wanna sit next to me tomorrow at lunch?” Jimmy asked.

“Oh yeah, I’m sure Katherine, Shelby, and Gem wouldn't mind.”

“Well then, see you tomorrow!” Jimmy waved, and ran toward his locker. Scott couldn't help but notice the way his hair moved while he ran.

“Oh no, I gotta go meet up with Katherine!” Scott thought as he ran to his own locker.

Chapter Text

As Katherine and Scott walked to The Faction, she explained that for as long as she could remember, every day after the first day of school she and the rest of her friends would hang out at the coffee shop.

“So who else is coming?” Scott asked.

“Well, you know about me, Shelby, Gem, and Fwhip. Two others are coming very soon after us with Fwhip, since one has shop. You’ll like them. We usually have more.”

5 minutes later, they turned a corner and saw a three story dark wood building with an outdoor seating area that had fairy lights hanging over it. A sign hung over the door that read “The Faction”. Scott followed Katherine inside, and was immediately met with the smells of pumpkin spice and maple. People were sitting on comfy chairs or tables around the room. Everything had a nice, cozy vibe to it. Shelby and Gem were sitting in the back corner with two couches and four big armchairs around a beautiful oval coffee table. It was all pulled together by a giant rug underneath. Katherine ran to sit next to Shelby on the couch, and Scott sat in the armchair next to Gem.

“Fwhip should be here any minute.” Gem told them.
Ten minutes later, Fwhip walked in with a tall girl in a gray hoodie and light brown hair and a dark brown haired boy with a dark teal shirt and a leather vest and gloves. Scott recognised the boy from history and English.

“Sorry about the wait guys. Someone decided to start a conversation with the shop teacher about battle axes.” Fwhip said, turning his head to the boy next to him.

“Hey, it’s not my fault Mr.Jesu- I mean Mr.Riley talked for so long!” The boy said, sitting on the couch across from Katherine and Shelby. The girl and Fwhip followed.

“Hey, you’re from my English and history classes! Scott, right?” the boy asked Scott, who nodded in reply. He took note about how happy and positive the boy sounded.

“Well, that's awesome! My name is Sausage, and before you say anything, yes, that is my real name. You see, my da-” Sausage was cut off by the girl in the hoodie.

“Sausage, let's not bore Scott to death with the two hour story about your name. At least for now.” Turning to Scott, she continued, as Sausage didn’t mind being interrupted. “It’s kind of an unofficial rite of passage for this group. My name is Pearl. I’m in the year above you.”

“Now that everyones here, should we order drinks?” Gem asked. Everybody nodded in agreement.

“Usuals?” She asked, and when everyone nodded, she turned toward the counter. Before she took a step, she turned back around.

“Oh my god Scott, I’m so sorry. I almost forgot about you!”

“It’s fine.” He replied, his smile letting Gem know it was ok.

“Well, what would you like?”

“Iced caramel latte please.” Gem nodded, then walked up to the counter. 8 minutes later, she and one of the employees came over with all the drinks.

“Thanks for the help guys.” Gem said in a joking tone. For the next couple of hours, they all played two truths and a lie and charades. The employees had to tell them to quiet down every 15 minutes. The next time Scott looked at the big clock in the shop, it was 6:20.

“I’ve gotta get going, my sibling will be home soon.” He said, grabbing his backpack.

“Awww man. Well, do you know your way back?” Shelby asked.

“I think so. Thank you guys so much, this was amazing. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

When he walked outside, the sky was dark. “Ugh, I forgot how early it gets dark.” He muttered, going to turn on his phone’s flashlight. However, seeing that it was at 1%, he decided to walk home in the dark.

Chapter Text

It took Scott about 20 minutes to realize he was incredibly lost. As he continued walking down the street, he noticed someone else on the other side. The person, wearing a black hoodie, skinny jeans, and a red, pink, and black tie dye bandana around their mouth, crossed over, and started walking faster towards Scott. Noticing this, he started to walk faster, but the person then started running.

Panicking, Scott ran as fast as he could. When he looked back at the person, they had pulled out a cloth. A car had also started driving alongside them. Scott could feel the person behind him getting closer. Just as he was thinking it was over, he saw two people exiting a house at the end of the street. Looking closer, he realised it was Joel and Lizzie.

“HELP!” He yelled to them. Joel immediately started to run towards Scott, Lizzie right behind him. As they did, the person following Scott got into the car and sped away.

“Scott, what just happened? Are you ok?” Lizzie asked. Scott nodded and explained how he had gotten lost, and that the person had started chasing him.

“Well, you can come in. Do you need to call someone?” She asked.

“Yeah, my sibling. Do you have a charger I could borrow?” Lizzie nodded, and led Scott inside. Joel, who had been leaving when Scott had run up to him, gave Lizzie one last kiss and drove home.

When Scott’s phone charged up a little bit, he called Xornoth, who picked up right away.

“Hey Scott, I’m sorry I meant to text you. My boss asked if I could stay an extra half hour. I should be home in 20-25 minutes, ok?”

“Oh, ok. However, I’m not actually home.”
“Then where are you?” Xornoth asked in a serious, yet worried tone. Scott asked Lizzie for the address, then repeated it to Xornoth.

“You know what, just text me. I need to go. When I pick you up, you better explain what’s going on.” Xornoth hung up, and as Scott was telling Lizzie what they said, her dad walked in.

“Lizzie, who’s this?” he asked, his expression serious.

“Dad, this is Scott. Someone was chasing him, so I let him in. I hope that's ok.”

Her dad’s face softened. “Oh, that’s completely fine.” He introduced himself as Dr.Solidarity to Scott, and then left the room.

“We can go to my room if you’d like.” Scott nodded, and followed her up to her room.

Her room was mostly light pink, but it had a hint of teal. The things that grabbed Scott’s attention was the mountain of Dr.Pepper cans in the corner and the grey and white cat on the bed.

“Awe, who’s this?” He asked, walking towards the cat.

“That’s Buddy.”

“Do you have any other animals?”

“Yeah, Buddy’s brother, Deputy Norman.” Lizzie noticed Scott’s confused expression. “Jimmy named him. We were young.”

As Scott was petting Buddy, Lizzie asked him where he was coming from when he was being chased. When he told her about The Faction and his new friends, she got excited.

“I’ve known those guys since we were little! I feel really bad for missing first day coffee, but my dad needed me and Jimmy’s help with something, and Joel will take any chance to get my dad to like him, so he helped out as well. So, earlier, you were about to tell me where you’re from.”

“Oh yeah! Like I was saying, me and my sibling have lived in homes all over the place. Our parents died in a house fire when I was a baby.”

“Oh my. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

“So, where were you guys before here?”

Scott froze. “I, uh, I’d rather not say.” He finally replied.

“Oh, that's ok. How old is your sibling?” Lizzie asked.

“They recently turned 19.” Lizzie was about to ask another question, but then Jimmy walked in.

“Lizzie, dad wants you to do the dishes later.” Just as he was about to walk out, he turned around and saw Scott on Lizzies bed.

“Oh, Scott. When did you get here?” He asked, incredibly confused.

“About 10 minutes ago. My sibling should be here in about 10-15 minutes.”

“Ah ok. Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.” Jimmy left, and Lizzie looked at Scott, who had a little red on his cheeks.

“Is it too hot in here? You look a little re-” She started, then a mischievous grin came across her face. “Ohhhhhh, I see.”

“See what?”

“Nothing.” She started to giggle.

“Mmmm hmm. I don’t believe it’s nothing.” Scott noticed a bookshelf behind Mt.Dr Pepper, and they talked about books until Xornoth came.

“Thanks for everything! I’ll see you tomorrow!” When Scott walked up to the car to get in the passenger’s seat, he saw someone sitting there.

“Sorry Scott, he needed a ride home.” Xornoth said. He shrugged and got in the backseat.

“Scott, this is Joey. He was the other person stuck doing overtime.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. I see you know Lizzie. Do you also know Sausage, Shelby, Gem, and all of those people?” Joey asked.

“Yeah, I was hanging out with them earlier.” Joey explained that they had all been friends since they were all kids.

“Op, it’s right here.” Joey said after not even 3 minutes. “Thank you so much!”

“No problem. See you tomorrow.” Xornoth drove away when they saw Joey enter the house. 6 minutes later, they arrived home. Scott tried to run up to his room, but Xornoth stopped him.

“Not so fast. Why weren't you home or at the coffee shop?” They asked. Scott sat down and told them everything. Xornoth took a deep breath.

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, good. Now, WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING, WALKING HOME IN THE DARK ALL BY YOURSELF!”

“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“It better not. You are not allowed to go anywhere alone. I don’t care if it’s one of your friends or me. Understand?”

“Yes.” Scott walked toward the stairs, but once again Xornoth stopped him.

“Hey Scott.”

“Yeah?”

“I love you”

“Love you too Xor.” When he got to his room, Scott unpacked his bag, struggled through math homework, then fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Chapter Text

“Wait, what!”

Scott had just told Katherine about what had happened last night. They were the only ones in the classroom, as class didn't start for another half hour.

“Scott, that’s insane. If Lizzie and Joel weren’t there…”

“Believe me, I know.”

“So besides almost getting kidnapped, how was your night?”

“Pretty good. I stayed at Lizzie’s until Xornoth picked me up, and fell as soon as I finished my homework. How about you?”

Katherine's face lit up. “Amazing! Me and Shelby left not too long after you. We live on the same street, but on opposite ends, so I dropped her off, and then called her again after doing my homework. We talked for HOURS.” She looked like she could talk about Shelby for another 2 hours, but Mr.Grian had come in and approached them.

“I’m not even gonna ask why you’re here half an hour early. But anyways, Scott, the office realized you don’t have a class for 3rd period. How you or the office didn’t realize, I don’t know, or quite frankly care. Just pick one from this sheet before you leave here.”

He put the paper on Scott’s desk, and before going to his desk he saw Vice Principal Scar standing in the door. Scott saw Mr.Grian smile for the first time ever as he walked over to Vice Principal Scar.

“So, what's on the list?” Katherine asked.

“Shop, French, Spanish, or home ec.”

“You should do home ec! That's when I have it.” Scott put his selection on Mr.Grians desk, and by then most of the kids had started coming in.

Right as the bell rang, Mr.Grian ran in, looking quite disheveled. After a whole period of talking to Katherine, the bell rang, and Scott went off to history.

When Scott walked into history, he saw Sausage sitting next to the teachers desk, waving enthusiastically. He waved back, then took his seat in the back row. Their teacher, Mr.Skizzlmen, wasted no time in talking about some war for what felt like an eternity. Scott liked history, but it was still excessive.

“Hey Scott! Wasn’t that such an interesting lesson ?” Sausage asked Scott as they both walked out of history.

“Oh yeah, totally.” Scott said with a hint of sarcasm that seemed to go right over Sausages head.

“Well I have English next. What about you?”

“Home ec.”

“Ooooo, nice! I heard the teacher is really nice. Do you need help finding the classroom?”

“Actually, that would be great. I was about to start walking around the school trying to find it.”

Sausage giggled. “That wouldn't be good! So, do you know where the junior wing is?” Scott nodded, and Sausage continued to give directions. He thanked him, and they went their separate ways.

Chapter Text

Walking into the home ec classroom, Scott was immediately met with a very strong cinnamon scent. Katherine was sitting at a table, working on that night’s math homework.

“Hey Scott,” Katherine said as he sat down next to her. “I’m just finishing up this last problem. Aaaaannnnd done!” She threw her pencil on her desk. “Ms.Roex is evil.”

Scott nodded in agreement. “Right! Like, who gives out that much homework on the first day?”

Katherine sighed while putting her books away. “Well, at least I’m pretty good at math.”

“Must be nice. I’m pretty sure I got every question wrong. Thank god she was the only psychopath to give us homework last night.” Scott and Katherine continued to talk about the other teachers until the home ec teacher ran in, arms full of random stuff.
“Sorry I’m late guys. I thought I had enough time to grab all of this before you all came. So, yesterday we discussed the basics of sewing. Today we are actually going to use the sewing machines and do some basic stitches, so you can get a feel for them. Unfortunately, you're gonna have to partner up due to the lack of sewing machines.” After everyone got their machines, the teacher came up to Scott and Katherines table.

“You must be Scott. I’m Ms.Caffgrea. I’m sure you’ll pick up the basics soon enough, especially with Katherine here.”

It turns out, Scott did not pick up the basics. He was so bad that Ms.Caffgrea had to come over and tell him that maybe Katherine should do most of the actual sewing.

“That was a disaster.” Scott said as he and Katherine made their way back to the freshmen wing. “It wasn’t THAT bad.” she told Scott, trying to make him feel better. When they got to the wing, they saw Shelby getting books from her locker. Katherine immediately ran up to her, tackling her in a giant bear hug.

Scott let the two of them be, and made his way to English. Like history, Sausage was sitting up front, right next to the teachers desk. When Scott went to the back of the class, he was shocked to see Gem sitting there.

“Gem? I didn't know you were in this class.”

“I was in the library yesterday, and I didn't realize how long I’d been there until the bell rang for lunch.” As soon as the bell rang, the English teacher, Mr.Ren, started teaching. After talking for a good 15 minutes, he started passing out that semester’s book.
“Like I mentioned yesterday, this semester is all about magic and fantasy, and the dangers of it.” Mr.Ren said. As he continued talking about the book, Scott couldn't help but notice Gem looking at the book in disgust. When he looked at it, he understood why. It was about a famous monster hunter, Jay Shlattius. The cover pictured him with a sword, attacking a witch, an elf, and a fish boy.

“...If I’m not mistaken you guys should also be learning about the history of magic in history.” Mr.Ren was saying. As he continued talking, Gem put a note on Scott’s desk.

This unit really sucks. I hate all this anti-magic stuff.

Agreed.

Finally, everyone was freed from class for lunch. Scott and Gem made their way towards the table they sat at the day before. Katherine and Shelby were already there, waving at them. Scott sat down, and started looking for Jimmy. After he and Gem grabbed their food, he saw Jimmy coming toward the cafeteria. Scott walked up to him.

“Hey Jimmy!”

“Oh, hello Scott! So, where are you sitting?” Scott pointed to the table.

“Over there.”

“Great! Let me just grab my lunch.” Scott went back to the table, and Jimmy sat down next to him not too long after.

“So, what did you all think of the book for English?” Shelby asked.

“Awful! Did you see that poor fish boy on the cover? I felt so bad for him!” Jimmy responded.

“It’s nice to know you guys are cool with this stuff.” Scott said.

“I don’t understand how there aren't more people cool with it. Magic is so cool!” Gem exclaimed before taking a bite of her food. “I wish all of those cool creatures and magic users were still around.” she added.

“This is probably one of the most extreme anti-magic towns around.” Shelby said. Jimmy and Gem nodded in agreement.

“Ehhh, I don't know. Me and Xornoth lived in this one town that was so anti-magic they thought any modern tech was witchcraft. Hell, they still had witch trials.” Scott said.

“Good god Scott, that sounds absolutely miserable!” Gem responded.

“Changing the subject, Scott, do you have Connect All?” Katherine asked.

“Yeah, it’s Smajor1995.”

“Great! I can friend you and add you to the group chat.” she said, smiling as she took out her phone to add him.

“It’s all of us, everyone else at the faction yesterday, Joel and Lizzie, and two of our other friends, Joey and Pix.” Shelby told him.

“I think I met Joey last night. Apparently he and Xornoth work together.” Scott felt his phone vibrate, and saw it was Katherine’s friend request. By the end of lunch, he also had Gem, Shelby, and Jimmy's Connect All. The bell rang, and everyone made their way to their next class. Scott and Shelby headed towards the gym. After a painful game of basketball, they met up with Fwhip and went to science.

Mr.Grian just had them read more pages from their books. As Scott read, Fwhip started playing around with random wires and circuits. He started to poke Scott, which he ignored at first. But Fwhip was persistent.

“What do you want?” Scott whispered.

“I need a paperclip.”

Scott stared at him for a minute before giving him one from his folder. Fwhip thanked him and continued playing with the stuff in front of him, at one point grabbing gunpowder. By the time class ended, he had 3 little contraptions.

“What are those?” Scott asked.

“You’ll see.” Fwhip responded with a look in his eyes that made Scott decide he’d be better off not asking anymore questions. He quickly walked over to math.

Chapter Text

Math was awful, but Jimmy made it bearable.

“So x equals 5, right?” Jimmy asked.

“I got 43.” Scott responded. Jimmy started to laugh.

“What?”

“How on earth did you get 43?”

“I have no idea.”

“Here, let me help you out.” Jimmy leaned over to Scott, sending Scott into some minor gay panic.

“Jimmy, get in your own seat!” Ms.Roex yelled.

Ten minutes before class ended, Ms.Roex took a call. Before she had even hung up, she wrote down an insanely long homework assignment, grabbed her bag, and left. Scott couldn't help but notice a little piece of red, pink, and black tie-dye sticking out of her bag. “Hm, must be popular.” He thought.

As he headed out of the classroom, Jimmy ran up to him.

“Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to work through math after school?” He asked.

“Soooo now?” Scott replied with a smile.

“Well, not RIGHT now, but we could go to the faction, or maybe the courtyard.”

“We could go to my house.”

Jimmy nodded vigorously. “Yes! Anywhere but my house.”

“Why’s that?”

“Oh, just uh…” Jimmy shifted around awkwardly, “Joels coming over later, and I love him, but dad won't be home for a while, and I don’t have it in me to sit on the couch with pillows over my ears.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah…”

“Well, I’ll meet you in front of the school.” As Jimmy walked away, Scott found himself blushing a little. “It’s kinda warm in here.” he thought as he walked to his locker.

After getting his stuff, Scott made his way outside to meet Jimmy. Before he could get there, he was pushed onto the ground by Clay. “I do not have time for this,” He muttered, standing up. As soon as he did, Clay pushed him against the wall and held him there.

“Did you think I forgot about yesterday? Because of you, I have detention for the rest of the week.”

“Was that really my fault? Because I thought it was just your anger issues getting the better of you.” Scott remarked. Clay then punched him in the eye.

“Wanna repeat that?” He asked. Scott kept silent. Clay threw him to the ground. “I thought so.”

Scott got back up, grabbed his bag, and went out the door, his eye throbbing. He walked over to Jimmy, who was standing in front of a picnic table. When he looked at Scott, his eyes widened.

“Oh my goodness Scott, what happened!”

“Clay wanted revenge for yesterday, and I made the mistake of talking back. You ready to go?”

“Oh, yeah, but are you sure you’re ok?” Nodding, Scott assured him he was fine. They then started the walk to Scott’s house.

Chapter Text

“It is, as my sibling puts it, one nail away from being condemned.” Scott was telling Jimmy as they were walking. “They’re joking, but it's still not great. We’ve done a LOT for it in one week, but there's still so much to do. We’re renting it from this old lady that lives down the street.” They arrived at the house, and Scott walked up to the door to unlock it.

“You may wanna keep your shoes on. We tried to put as many rugs down as we could, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.” He brought Jimmy up to his room. As they put their bags down, Scott got a text from Xornoth.

Xornoth- hey, you home?

Scott- Yeah

Xornoth- just wanted to make sure

Xornoth- btw i should be home by 6 45

Scott- Sounds good, let me know if that changes

Xornoth- kk

“Everything ok?” Jimmy asked. “Oh yeah. My sibling should be back by 6:45.” Scott replied.

“Oh, ok. Do you wanna get started on that math homework?”

Scott groaned. “If we have to.” Slowly, they made their way through all of the problems. It was hard for Scott to pay attention, as Jimmy was just too distracting.

“You hungry?” Scott asked after they had finished. Jimmy nodded, and after a few minutes, he came up with a bunch of snacks. Jimmy was looking at Scott’s bookshelf.

“You read Empires?” he asked. Scott nodded vigorously. Jimmy's face lit up. “Same! In fact, everyone in our friend group does. That's awesome that you do too!”

“So who’s your favorite character?” Scott asked.

“Oh, definitely the sheriff. Even before I read the series, I’ve always liked cowboys. What about you?”

“I’d have to say the adventurer. He’s just so colorful!”

“That’s fair.” Jimmy looked up at Scott’s eye and winced. It had turned different shades of black, blue, and purple.

“Is it that bad?”

“Yeah.” Scott shrugged, and said he’d take care of it later. “Wanna play a game?”
“Yeah. What do you have?”

“The game of life?”

“I love that game!” Scott set it up, and on his first turn managed to graduate. On the other hand, Jimmy took 3 turns. However, he did end up with the better job. That did not stop him from becoming broke, and due to Scott getting the better wedding gift, having to take out a loan. He also lost all of the spinning challenges, and had to buy many useless items.

“HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS!” He exclaimed when Scott won yet another contest. Scott just laughed, as he had been doing for the last hour. 10 minutes later, he had won by a landslide.

“How, just how? I had the highest paying job in the game!” Jimmy said, throwing his hands in the air.

“I’m just shocked it took this long. I thought it would be over in 30 minutes.” Before he could ask if Jimmy wanted to play again, Xornoth walked in.

“Scott, who is this?” They asked. Scott saw their face widen at the look of his eye.

“This is my friend, Jimmy. Jimmy, this is Xornoth, my sibling.”

“Nice to meet you,” Jimmy turned to Scott, “I think my dad should be getting home soon.”

“Do you want a ride?” Xornoth offered.

“Yeah, that would be great!”

As they pulled up to Jimmy’s house, they saw Joel run out the door and into his car, which looked just like Xornoth’s. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll see you tomorrow Scott!” Scott watched as Jimmy skipped up the stairs, tripped, and then walked inside his house.

“Scott, what happened to your eye?” Xornoth asked as they drove away, Joel right in front of them.

“Some guy blamed me for his detention. He bumped into me, and even though I apologised, he took it as back talking. He was caught pinning me to a wall. Even though I tried to avoid him today, he still did this.” Scott answered, then he asked how Xornoth came home so early.

“My boss told us we could. I would have been home earlier, but I brought Joey home. So, Jimmy is Lizzie’s brother, right?”

“Yeah. He’s in my math class, and he offered to help me with homework.”

“That’s all?”

Oh my god, yes! Homework and the game of life!”

“Mmmm hmmm. By the way, your face is INCREDIBLY red.”

“It’s just really hot in here.” Scott realised that a car had been a suspicious length away from them ever since they left Jimmy’s house. When he looked closer, he recognised it from the previous night.

“Xornoth, the car from last night is following us.” Xornoth took a bunch of weird turns and sped up a little. After 10 minutes, they lost sight of the car.

“I think we lost them.” Xornoth said. When they got home, the siblings ran as fast as they could into the house.

“Why do those people keep following us?” Scott asked.

“I have no idea.”

Two hours later, when Xornoth was getting ready for bed, they thought about the car and Scott’s attempted kidnapping the day before.

“This can’t be a coincidence. Someone knows about us,” They thought, “we can’t just leave; the spell could wear off at any moment. I can’t abandon the others.”

Unknown to Xornoth, the car that had been following them was parked across the street. In it, a woman sat, a pair of binoculars on the seat next to her and a box of rope, cloth, knockout gas, and chains. A radio was clipped on her shirt.

“Did you get the Mezalean child?” The person on the other end of the radio asked.

“No, I followed the wrong car. How-” The driver was cut off.

“You imbecile! Time is running out to get these kids! You already failed to get one of the Rivendell children last night! Do you at least have new information on any of them?”

“Yes. I accidentally followed both of the Rivendell children home. After watching them, it seems the eldest remembers his past.”

“Interesting. Does he have any of the bags? Magic?”

“I believe not.” The radio was silent for a moment.

“This information is useful. We can probably wait at least two and a half weeks before making another big move. Until then, get as much info on them as you can.”

“Sound’s good ma’am. I’ll be home in 15 minutes.” The woman drove off.

Chapter Text

Two weeks had gone by, and Xornoth was dropping Scott off at school. It was unusually hot, being 91°F.

“Just letting you know, I have to work extremely late tonight, like until 9. You gonna be ok?” Xornoth asked. Scott nodded and made his way toward the school. As he did, he saw Gem and Fwhip, and walked up to them.

“Hello Scott!” Gem said. Fwhip was, as usual, messing around with something. “How are you holding up with the heat?” She asked.

“Not well. Not well at all.”

“Yeah, me neither. I am not looking forward to class today. The school has very little AC.”

“How fantastic.” When they walked in, they felt that the school was only about 2 or 3 degrees cooler.

“Maybe after school we can head to the lake? Or maybe the school will open the pool to everyone?” Gem said with a hopeful tone in her voice.

“Or maybe the beach?” Fwhip remarked.

“It’s an hour away. I doubt mom and dad would let us go after school, even on a Friday. Maybe if we had a day off.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Fwhip said with a suspicious grin. Scott went to his locker before he got involved in whatever Fwhip was planning.

15 minutes into homeroom, everyone heard a distant boom. In seconds, the school became 5 degrees hotter. 2 minutes later, the intercom came on.

“Students, it appears the school's AC has failed. School has been canceled for the rest of the day. Stay cool!” Principal Martyn said.

(A.N, this school is so fucked. Martyn is the principal, and Scar is the vice principal. Let us all take a moment to appreciate that the school is still standing.)

Scott looked down at his phone as everyone else was celebrating. The group chat was incredibly active.

Fwhip: Wow, that’s insane. Can't believe the AC broke.

GeminiTay: Cut the act Fwhip, we know it was you

Fwhip: How DARE you accuse me of such crimes. Anyways, beach day?

Scott asked Xornoth if he could, and Xornoth, who’d just arrived at work, agreed. Katherine said her aunt was alright with it.

Smajor1995: Me and Katherine are all good to go.

PearlescentMoon: I’m done with my chores, so I can go.

JoeyGraceffa: Sadly, me and Xor are working until 9. Have fun!

MythicalSausage: Awww. Well, I can go!

LDShadowlady: Just asked my dad. Me and Jimmy can go.

Pixlriffs: My classes were canceled, so I think I can join.

SolidarityGaming: I thought your school has AC?

Pixlriffs: It blew.

GeminiTay: FWHIP!

Fwhip: WHAT!

Shubble: I can go, but how are we getting there?”

Smallishbeans: I can drive us, but my car definitely can't fit everyone.

Fwhip: My mom said she’d lend us her van, but only if Pix drives. She doesn't trust Joel's driving.

Smallishbeans: Hey, I’m a good driver!

Katherineeliz: We should probably go get our stuff.

Shubble: Yeah. My sister should be here soon.

Katherineeliz: Can I get a ride?

Shubble: Sure!

Smajor1995: Can I get a ride from someone?

Smallishbeans: I got you Scott. Anyone else?

MythicalSausage: My mom is coming for me and Pearl. She’s also dropping us off at the faction.

LDShadowlady: My dad has Fridays off, so me and Jimmy are good.

Fwhip: Me and Gem can walk. See you guys in half an hour!

Most kids were already heading to the lake by the time Scott and Katherine left the classroom. He saw Mr.Grian and Vice Principal Scar holding hands walking down the hallway, thinking no kids were around. Scott smiled to himself, and quickly went out to Joel’s car.

Because Joel only lived one street over, he dropped off Scott and quickly went to his house. Scott put on a swimsuit, and shoved a towel, portable charger, sunscreen, his wallet, and a change of clothes in a spare backpack. After putting on a pair of sandals, he pulled out a big beach blanket and boogie board, grabbed his phone, and went outside.

Joel pulled up a minute later, and after putting stuff in the trunk, Scott got in and they drove off. The faction was filled with people, but Joel drove around to the back where the parking for Gem and Fwhip’s house was.

The door to the faction's kitchen was next to a set of stairs heading up to the ginger twins house. Scott saw Fwhip coming down them, carrying a box of water guns.

“Hey guys, you can put all of your stuff in the van. We have extra room, even with all of us.” As Fwhip was talking, Gem was lugging another bag down the stairs. “Pix is driving, Me and Gem have the vehicle and water guns, and I had Sausage pull out his pop out tent.”

“I brought a speaker, and I know for a fact Lizzie will bring a beach ball.” Joel said. “I brought a blanket and a boogie board.” Scott added. Lizzie and Jimmy’s dad pulled up, and Pix followed.

“I bought a beach ball! I will destroy you guys once again!” Lizzie exclaimed, running out of the car with the ball. Jimmy followed, struggling to hold both his and Lizzie’s bag and two boogie boards. Scott immediately ran over to help him. Pix went to grab the keys to the van from the twin’s mom.

When Pix came back out, Shelby, Katherine, Sausage, and Pearl had arrived. The boogie boards and two blankets (Katherine had also brought one) barely managed to fit behind the backseat. The van had 4 rows, the last row fitting 4 people and the other 3 fitting 3. Gem immediately put her bag on the passenger, claiming her seat. Scott did the same thing with the backseat. Lizzie and Joel sat in the first row, and she had the window seat. Pearl sat behind Lizzie, and next to her Sausage, and next to him Fwhip.

Scott made his way to the back window seat where his bag was, and Shelby sat in front of him. Katherine sat next to Shelby, and Jimmy sat next to Scott. Pix started the van, and Gem hopped in. Right before driving off, the twin’s mom ran out with a case of water. They put it under Gem’s seat, and at 8:03, they drove off.

“Guys, I have something to confess.” Fwhip said 5 minutes into the drive.

“What is it?” Sausage asked.

“I blew up the AC unit.”

“We know.” Everyone said in unison.

“What we don't know is how you managed it.” Shelby said.

Chapter Text

“Well, I realised yesterday that it felt pretty warm. I looked at the temperature for today, and saw that it was gonna be in the 90’s. I knew we had to have a beach day. When I got home, I made three small but very explosive bombs.”

“Wait, three?” Pearl asked.

“Yeah. One for our school, One for Pix’s school, and one for Joey and Xornoth’s work building. So, after I built the bombs, I simply broke into the school.”

“WHAT!” Gem exclaimed. “How?” asked Joel.

“I was getting to that. The only person there was the janitor, and I knew even if he caught me, he’d let me go. He’s pretty chill. I got in through the shop door.”

“That’s why you asked me to unlock it before I left!” Sausage exclaimed.

“Yup! I put the bomb in, and ran outta there. I then went to Pix’s school. One of their clubs was having an open house, so I thought it would be easy to get in, bu-”

“Wait, you walked there?” Pix asked, looking very confused.

“No, I biked.”

“It’s still pretty far.”

“Anyways, when I got there, I had to sign in. They wanted to know who I was there for, because apparently they have insane security, even for events.”

“Well, when the event you were trying to go to was the garden club’s plant party, they won’t have ‘lax security’.”

“Yeah, so because of that, I had to change my alibi…”

*Flashback*

“So kid, why are you here?” The man at the front gate asked Fwhip.

“To, uh, visit my older brother.”

“And who would that be?”

“Pixl Riffs.”

“Didn’t know he had a brother.”

Fwhip gasped. “I can’t believe he’s never mentioned me!”

The man looked down at him over his computer. “I’ve seen his parents. You dont look like them.”

“Neither does Pix.”

“Pretty sure he’s adopted, kid.”

“And I’m not?” Fwhip said, amping up the drama.

“Oh, well, I, uh-” The man stammered.

“I was just here, trying to surprise my brother after going to France for the summer to visit with my cousins, and I can’t even do that because I ‘don’t look like his parents’.”

“I-I am so sorry. Um, here's your visitor's pass, and the instructions to Pixl’s dorm.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, and I really am sorry Mr.Riffs.”

*End of Flashback*

“So, long story short, I successfully planted the bomb, and Pix now has a younger brother.”

“THAT'S INSANE! YOU’RE INSANE!” Gem exclaimed.

“Extremely impressive though.” Scott said.

“Seriously!” Pearl added.

“So how’d you get into Joey and Xornoth’s work?” Jimmy asked.

“Oh, by the time I left Pix’s school, my mom was texting me to come home, so I couldn’t get over there.”

Everyone, except Gem and Pix (due to him driving), started clapping for Fwhip, who started bowing. Sighing, Gem finally relented and joined in.

Chapter Text

50 minutes later, they arrived. Luckily, there were plenty of empty spots. They put all of their stuff on one of the blankets under the tent, and left the other blanket out in the sun. Everyone started to run toward the ocean, except Shelby, who couldn’t swim.

For the first hour, everyone just swam around and rode waves using the boogie boards. After that hour, Fwhip brought out the water guns. Katherine didn’t want to be involved, so she went to sit with Shelby.

Scott thought that Fwhip, Pearl, or Joel would be the scariest, but they didn't even compare to Jimmy and Lizzie. They would hide under the water, come up, spray someone, and go right back down. No one knew where they would pop up. After an hour of this, they all decided the “seablings” were the winners.

Joel grumbled how they always win as everyone headed back to their spot. It was about 11, and everyone was hungry. Sausage’s mom had given him about 100 bucks, so he offered to pay for lunch. They all headed to the boardwalk, and went to the group's favorite food stall.

“Wassup Sausage!” The man at the counter said.

“Heyyyy Uncle Carlos!” Sausage exclaimed. “I didn’t know you worked here!”

“Yeah, I bought it a few months ago. Look at that, you got the whole crew with you! Wait, almost everyone. Who’s the blue haired fella?” Sausage introduced Scott, and after talking for a few more minutes, Carlos gave them all free food.

After eating, they all went to an available volleyball net. To keep the teams even, Gem offered to be the referee. It was Lizzie, Pix, Pearl, Scott, and Jimmy versus Fwhip, Joel, Katherine, Sausage, and Shelby. Towards the beginning, it became clear that it was Lizzie versus Fwhip and Joel, and everyone else was just in the background. In the end, Lizzie absolutely destroyed them. The only time the other team got any points was when Jimmy missed.

Lizzie and Joel stayed for a rematch while everyone else went back into the water. Shelby stood on the waters edge, occasionally letting the waves touch her feet. Scott and Jimmy went out as far as they could, riding the biggest waves imaginable. Katherine and Gem looked for cool shells, rocks, and crystals. Everything they collected was in a pile next to Shelby. Pix went back to the blanket after only 20 minutes. Fwhip brought out the water guns and he, Sausage, and Pearl had another water fight.

By 3PM, Joel and Lizzie came back, with Joel looking very defeated and tired. He went back to the blanket, leaving Lizzie to join Katherine and Gem.

“Where's Jimmy?” She asked as she picked up a really cool shell.

“Riding waves with Scott.” Gem replied.

“Makes sense. They hang out a lot.”

“Yeah, Scott has such a big crush on him.” Katherine said. Lizzie and Gem both stared at her. “What, I thought it was obvious.”

“Well, yeah, but you can’t just say that!” Lizzie exclaimed as Gem laughed.

“Oh, sorry.” Katherine apologised.

Scott and Jimmy were still riding the waves. Both of them had fallen off many times, with one time leaving Jimmy under the water for what Scott thought was way too long.

“I am so glad Fwhip blew up the A.C!” Jimmy yelled as he was thrown upward by a wave, falling off his board. Scott was about to agree when he was pushed under by a wave. When he came back up, he saw Jimmy’s board next to his. Scott put it under his board, hoping Jimmy wouldn’t notice. It took 10 minutes before Jimmy noticed Scott’s board was looking a little thick.

“Why you little-” Jimmy started to yell before being interrupted by a wave. Scott, who was laughing his ass off, didn’t realize Jimmy was coming up behind him. He pushed Scott off, throwing him his board. Scott was still laughing when he came up.

“It took you 10 minutes!” He exclaimed, still laughing.

“Let’s head back to the rest of the group.”

When they got back, Jimmy went to the blanket, and Scott joined the group of shell hunters.

“How was it?” Katherine asked.

“It was great!” Scott began to tell them about what had just happened when Lizzie was hit with a stream of water. They all turned around to see Joel laughing like a maniac.

“I finally got y- AHHHHHHHHH!” Lizzie had run after him tackling him into the water. After watching Joel get destroyed by his girlfriend, everyone went back to the blanket. It took 3 people to carry all of the different shells, rocks, and crystals. Everyone went through them as they dried off. Katherine and Shelby even went to collect more from farther down the beach, coming back with overflowing arms of shells 45 minutes later.

After dividing all of the stuff, Gem had a ton of purple crystals, Fwhip had taken all of the red rocks, Lizzie had a TON of shells, Sausage and Joel took a few weird shaped rocks, Jimmy took a shell filled with slime (“Ewwwww Jimmy. That BETTER not come near my room”), Pearl grabbed a rock that was shaped like a duck, Scott snatched up a teal crystal, and Pix had spotted a piece of raw copper. Katherine and Shelby divided up everything else between them. By the time all of the “treasures” were picked through, everyone was hungry.

“How about we pack up everything, change into clothes, and spend the rest of the night on the boardwalk?” Gem suggested, and they all agreed that it was a good idea.

Chapter Text

By 5:00, everyone had packed up, changed into clothes, and was ready to eat. They went to a pizza place that had a deck, and watched the sun set over the ocean.

“A toast to Fwhip!” Sausage lifted his slice of Pizza into the air.

“TO FWHIP!” everyone yelled, lifting their own slices in the air. 45 minutes later, everyone was finished eating. They all agreed to meet at the van by 10:30, and before they split up, Sausage managed to get everyone unlimited ride wristbands for 50 bucks.

Fwhip and Sausage ran off towards the rides, and Pearl and Gem followed, not trusting the two boys on their own. Katherine, Shelby, Scott, and Jimmy went to the arcade, deciding to play games before riding any rides. Joel and Lizzie went to the rides, with Pix following.

—----------------------

As Gem and Pearl were following the boys, something caught Pearl’s eye. It was a mechanical bull riding contest. Before Pearl could get in line, Fwhip and Sausage ran in front of her, wanting to try.

“The record is 15 minutes on the hardest difficulty! It hasn’t been beaten in ten years. If anyone can beat it, they get 500 bucks.” The ride operator announced. Two giant, redneck dudes went before Sausage and Fwhip, each lasting not even a minute on the hardest mode.

The onlookers chuckled a little bit when Sausage and Fwhip walked up. Fwhip lasted about as long as the first two, and Sausage lasted a minute and a half. Pearl, looking extremely confident, stepped up. All of the onlookers exploded in laughter.

“Are you sure little lady? You could get extremely hurt.” The operator told Pearl.

“I know.” Pearl said as she paid and climbed on. Pearl didn't even hold onto the saddle until the hardest mode. 10 minutes in, she was still going strong. Pearl could hear her friends cheering her on, which made her hold on tighter. Another 10 minutes went by, and she showed no sign of falling off. It took another 10 minutes for her arms and legs to start aching. Instead of just getting thrown off, she jumped off, with her final time on the hardest mode being 31:23.

“WE HAVE A NEW RECORD!” The operator screamed, handing Pearl an envelope filled with cash. All of the onlookers that had originally been laughing were now cheering. However, all of those people couldn't compare to how loud her friends were.

“PEARL! PEARL! PEARL! PEARL!” The boys were chanting as Gem came up and practically tackled Pearl in a giant hug. They decided to walk around a little bit more, and as they did, they heard an ear piercing scream from across the boardwalk.

“I guess someones having fun.” Pearl chuckled.

“Wait, I’m pretty sure that was Joel.” Gem said. They all started laughing.

—--------------------------------

“Come on guys, let's do this one!”

Joel was pointing to the insanely tall swings. They were probably about 150-200 feet in the air.

Lizzie and Pix shared a look, knowing how scared he gets on rides. “Are you sure, Joel?” Lizzie asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Joel said confidently. “I can do this. I can do this. For Lizzie.” He thought to himself. As they stood in line, Joel got more and more nervous. He was doing well with hiding it from Pix, but Lizzie knew him better than that.

The swings were in sets of three. Lizzie sat on the outside, Pix on the inside, and Joel in between them.

“Last chance Joel. Are you sure about this?” Lizzie asked. Joel nodded, and the ride began to lift.

“IregretthisIregretthisIregretthisIregretthis I REGRET THIS!” Joel yelled as they were lifted higher and higher.

And then, the spinning began.

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH” Joel screamed as Pix and Lizzie whooped and hollered next to him. When the ride started going up and down, Joel let out the loudest, highest scream anyone had ever heard. Everyone on the ride had to cover their ears. After that, he almost fainted, but using every ounce of his willpower, he didn’t.

After what felt like an eternity, the ride lowered. As soon as it came to a complete stop, Joel ran like hell outta there.

“NEVER AGAIN!” He yelled. Lizzie and Pix couldn’t help but laugh.

“I am so proud of you!” Lizzie gave Joel a kiss on the cheek, making him blush. That moment made the whole terrifying experience worth it.

—-------------------------------

Katherine, Shelby, Scott, and Jimmy had decided to play arcade games before rides. They went to the counter to get tokens, and the guy at the counter was a little odd.

“Would you look at that! Main characters!” The man, whose name tag read “James”, said. Katherine, extremely confused, just asked for tokens.

“Why of course! Here's a bunch extra, on the house! I’m probably gonna get only one chance to interact with the main cast once, so I might as well make it worth it!” As James was talking, another worker in a purple shirt walked up to him. She had brown hair, and her nametag read “Jaiden”.

“Oh look! Another youtube animator the author is obsessed with! Don’t worry readers, there are probably more random youtubers on the way!” James exclaimed as Jaiden pulled him away. She apologised to the group, and as she did, a man in a red hoodie with the name tag “Adam” gave them more tokens.

“What even was that?” Jimmy asked. No one could answer him. As they walked through the claw machines, Jimmy stopped in front of one. On the top, there was a green bear holding a fish. Seeing Jimmy’s face light up, Scott made it his mission to win that bear. After missing the first 5 times, Jimmy said he didn’t need it.

“I don’t care how long it takes, that bear will be yours!”

It took 23 tries.

“Thank you so much Scott!” Jimmy squeezed the bear.

“Well, even though Scott used a ton of tokens, we still have a lot from that odd worker dude.” Katherine remarked. They got four photo strips from a photo booth, and then Jimmy played a few rounds of a VR game, Shelby and Scott played various games for tickets, and Katherine played more claw machines.

They still had over a hundred tokens when they decided to cash in their tickets. They used the tickets on a bag for Katherines prizes and a few pieces of candy. Instead of carrying around the bag, they went to put it in the van. When they were putting the bag in, they heard an ear piercing scream from the ride area.

“Was that Joel?” Scott asked. The other three nodded and laughed.

“Joel is terrified of rides, yet still occasionally tries to act all tough and manly.” Shelby explained. When they got back to the ride area, they walked by a mechanical bull riding contest.

“I think I could do that.” Jimmy remarked.

“For longer than 30 minutes?” Scott asked while chuckling.

“Well, no.”

They got in line for the ferris wheel, and Fwhip, Sausage, Pearl, and Gem came right behind them.

“Oh, funny seeing you guys here.” Fwhip said. “What have you guys been up to?”

“Just the arcade.” Scott replied. He then saw Pearl holding an envelope. “What's in that?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Pearl started, but Sausage interrupted her.

“Pearl set a record on the mechanical bull!”

“No way!” Jimmy exclaimed.

“That’s crazy!” Katherine added.

“Did you guys hear Joel?” Gem asked.

“I think the whole country heard him.” Scott replied.

“Yeah, imagine sitting next to him.”

They all turned around and saw Lizzie, Joel, and Pix.

“Heyyy Joel, how are you doing?” Pearl asked. Joel didn’t answer. Lizzie noticed Jimmy holding his bear, but before she could ask about it, the group was next in line. Only 4 people could go in one car at a time. Lizzie, Joel, Pix, and Jimmy went in first, then Shelby and Katherine, then Sausage, Fwhip, and Pearl, and finally Gem and Scott.

Chapter Text

“So, Jimmy, what's with the bear?” Lizzie asked. While Jimmy told her about the arcade, Pix noticed that Joel looked quite pale. He knew Joel was fine with heights, but when it came to moving in the air in a ride or plane, he was a wreck. It was incredibly strange. They had gone skydiving, and Joel had been more scared of the plane ride up than the actual skydiving part.

“Are you ok? We probably should have waited before going on another ride.” Lizzie said.

“I’m fine. This is way better than the other one.” Joel responded. Lizzie grabbed his hand, and he squeezed it until the ride ended.

—-----------------------

“Isn't this great!” Katherine exclaimed. Shelby smiled and nodded in agreement.

“God, she is so cute!” Shelby thought. She and Katherine had been inseparable ever since Shleby moved and was put in Katherines 3rd grade class. They had been through a lot together, like when Katherine’s parents divorced, or when Shelby’s dad missed her birthday for the 5th time.

Shelby didn’t realize she had feelings for Katherine up until the year before. The only people that knew so far were Joey and her sister. Every time she wanted to tell Katherine, she’d chicken out.

“Wanna do a night walk on the beach after this?” Katherine asked, bringing Shelby back to reality.

“Yeah, that sounds great!”

—------------------------------

Sausage was having the time of his life. He was surrounded by two of his closest friends in one of his favorite places on Earth.

“Oh man, this is fantastic! Wow, you can see everything from up here! Like over there! Uncle Carlos’s stand!” Pearl and Fwhip just looked at eachother, wondering how the fuck Sausage has so much energy at all times. With all of Sausage’s shaking, the car was moving around.

“Sausage, calm down,” Pearl told him, “you’re shaking the whole car!”

“I’m sorry Pearl. I’m just REALLY excited!” Sausage exclaimed. Fwhip and Pearl couldn’t help but feel excited. Sausage had that effect on people.

—------------------------

As Gem walked in with Scott, she noticed Clay and his friends, George and Sap, walking by. Scott seemed to notice them as well.

“Has he bothered you since last week?” Gem asked.

“A little bit, but it honestly hasn’t been that bad.”

“That’s good. Let me know if it gets worse.”

“I will.”

“So, where are you going after the ride?”

Scott thought about it for a moment. “I don’t know. What about you?”

Gem shrugged. “I have no idea. Do you wanna walk around together?”

Scott nodded. “It saves me from walking around alone, especially with Clay around.”

—-----------------------

When the ride ended, Katherine and Shelby ran off towards the beach, Pix and Joel went to the arcade, Lizzie and Jimmy went to do more rides, Sausage and Fwhip also went to do rides, and Pearl met up with Gem and Scott.

“Mind if I join you guys? I can only take so much Fwhip and Sausage.” Pearl asked.

“Yes! We were about to go to the gift shop.” Gem responded.

After browsing the gift shop, Gem didn’t get anything, but Scott and Pearl got little matching red bracelets. They then went to ride more rides. After that, they went to an ice cream sandwich cart to grab, well, ice cream sandwiches. As the man behind the cart, whose name tag read “Andy”, was getting their ice cream, the odd guy from the arcade ran up next to them.

“Hey readers! Look, it’s another animator the author loves! Who's next, Bryson? Or maybe SmokeeBee!” He exclaimed. He then turned to Scott, Gem, and Pearl. “Well, look how lucky am I? More main characters!” Before James could say anything else, a cop came up behind him. James ran away, screaming how he would be back.

The cop sighed. “Sorry about him. He escaped the mental facility 5 hours away about a week ago.” The cop explained. The group said it was ok, and everyone went on their way.

At 10:30, everyone was together and in the van. Joel had won Lizzie a necklace with a little bunny on it using his (mostly Pix’s) tickets. Jimmy told Scott all about the rides he and Lizze had ridden. As they drove off, Gem quietly talked with Pix, Lizzie talked with Joel until she realised he had fallen asleep, Sausage fell asleep as soon as he had sat down, Pearl had also fallen asleep, Fwhip watched a movie he had downloaded the day before, and Katherine and Shelby shared earbuds and listened to music, eventually falling asleep.

5 minutes into the ride, Scott felt something on his shoulder. He saw that Jimmy had fallen asleep on him. Before he slept, he checked his messages. Xornoth had sent a message that morning, thelling Scott that they would be working until 11. (A.N, Imagine working until 11 P.M….) Scott responded that they wouldn’t be back until 11:30. As soon as he put his phone down, he fell asleep, his head resting on Jimmy’s.

By the time Pix pulled in, he saw that everyone was asleep. He went inside, told Mrs.Tay, and drove back to his dorm. Mrs.Tay sent a message to everyone's parents, telling them that the kids were asleep in the van.