Project A.L. (BFB AU) (COMPLETED)

Eleven - Tea Parties Are For Numbers

Walking up to Two's door let X see two identical cars in their driveway. Somebody must already be here.

Further up the walkway and onto the porch, another identical car came flying off the highway and perfectly into the driveway, which X recognized as Nine's driving immediately.

"Told you we wouldn't be late, Three! You're underestimating my timeliness," Nine scoffs dramatically as they opened the driver's side door, Three shakily getting out of the passenger's seat.

"Oh, hey!" Nine noticed X standing at the door, running up to them and almost tripping on the steps up to Two's porch.

"Are you okay?" X asked, holding their hands out in case they somehow manage to trip again while standing completely stationary. X wouldn't put it past them to succeed in that. Three had caught up as well, still clearly winded from the drive, but well off enough to be okay standing.

"I'm A-OK. The maintenance employees made me stay behind while they fixed the machine, those bunch of bullies," Nine muttered as Three laughed at the memory, almost keeling over from it due to weakness in their knees. "Anyways, let's go in."

X knocked on the door softly, to which Two opened it after a few seconds of waiting.

"Hello, friends! The party's out back, you can get X to guide you over." Two smiled warmly at the three people at their door, inviting them inside.

"Thank you, Two." X stepped onto the small carpet in the entryway as Two rushes off to tend to the kitchen.

Instantly as they stepped in, the air grew warm and smelled of sugar and eggs, the strong scent of vanilla extract coming in behind. Traversing through the living room created a small window of time where they could see into the kitchen. In the time they had to look, they could see tall plates of things stacked on top of one another, their mouth watering as they almost crash into the door to the outside.

Refocusing while the two behind them look at X with concern, they go back outside into the colder, brisk air, nipping at the skin on their hands.

Two had already set out a wooden table for the five guests and themselves. Six and Seven were already there, sipping cups of the aggressive amount of tea that sat on the table in a pitcher around the size of a standing toddler. Six waved them over while Seven sat with a relaxed expression on their face, clearly enjoying the tea.

"I've just realized we've never formally introduced ourselves to each other," Six was reminded of this as X sat down at the opposite end of the table. "I'm Six, Seven's personal assistant."

Nine refrained from laughing. "Personal assistant, my foot," X could hear them whisper into Three's ear, who then proceeded to elbow them in the ribs.

Taking the cup in front of them, X, out of politeness, unwillingly took from the pitcher and sipped from the oversteeped liquid. It had turned bitter as X shivered, which could have been a result of the wind, or the increasing unlikeliness that they were going to finish that cup of tea.

As X finished a second sip, Two opened up the back door, nothing in hand. "X? Could you come help me in the kitchen, please?" They asked as they held a concerned look on their face, smiling awkwardly and clearly trying to keep calm.

"Alright." As they stood up, the chair scooted across the shortened grass before falling over. X picked it back up and pushed it in before following Two inside.

"I'm glad you decided to help." Two fidgeted with their hands mindlessly as they walked, a thing they only really did when they were stressed. As they walk into the kitchen, they walked directly into a coating of pink crumbs, where it stuck to the bottoms of their feet and dug into their skin.