The Jacksons are Friends | DC & PJO

Shopping Day

[A/N: Hi, another chapter after such a long writer's block.]

[Also, before starting the story, I would like to promote someone else's work. "The Blood Crown" by Red_Written is an original work that involves an action adventure in a fantasy world. I enjoyed the story and wanted to recommend it to anyone interested.]

"Ugh, who turned on the lights?" Sammy groaned as he turned around and tried to move the light away from his eyes, only to realize they weren't moveable, so he resolved to turn away and cover his eyes with his blanket.

It was then that Sammy realized he was not in an uncomfortable position. Slowly waking up and opening his eyes, pulling his blanket off him, he saw the open ceiling inviting in sunlight when it had once welcomed stars.

As Sammy blinked away the remnants of sleep, he groggily pieced together his surroundings. His brain was slowly catching up with the events of the night before, the impromptu sleepover, the endless games, and the chaos called 'karaoke.'

He sat up and took in the scene around him. Emily and Matthew were sprawled out on the floor, snuggled under their blankets, still fast asleep. Nina, who had fallen asleep in her chair, looked barely moved. On the other hand, as soon as he set his foot down, he felt his whole body go stiff. Sammy winced as he felt the stiffness in his muscles, realizing just how uncomfortable his sleeping position had been. He tried to stretch, but the effort only made him more aware of his back and neck ache. He groaned again, rubbing his eyes. Looking around the room, he noticed the mess of snack wrappers and game controllers scattered around. A pang of responsibility hit him; they should probably clean up before Emily's dad returned.

Then, as he was cleaning up, Emily stepped into the room. "I figured I'd make breakfast instead," she said as she pushed past Sammy and into the kitchen.

Sammy raised an eyebrow, surprised by Emily's sudden burst of energy. "Morning to you, too," he muttered, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Emily flashed him a quick grin, clearly more awake than the rest of them. "Sorry, I just thought I'd get a head start on things. Plus, I'm starving."

Sammy chuckled. "Fair enough. I was going to get started anyway. Just didn't expect you to be up so quickly."

Emily shrugged as she started rummaging through the kitchen cabinets, pulling out a few ingredients. "I couldn't really sleep any longer with the sun in my eyes. Plus, if we don't get moving, this place is gonna be a disaster when my dad gets home."

Sammy nodded, glancing back at the living room. It really did look like a tornado had hit it—snack wrappers were everywhere, game controllers were tangled in cords, and empty soda cans were scattered around like confetti. The memory of last night's fun softened the mess's reality, but they both knew they had to clean up before it became a bigger issue.

As Emily began cracking eggs into a bowl, Sammy decided to start tidying up. He carefully stepped over the sleeping forms of Matthew and Nina, picking up discarded wrappers and gathering the game controllers into a neat pile. He felt a little more awake now, the movement helping to ease some of the stiffness in his muscles.

Nina stirred in her chair, blinking groggily as she woke. "What's all the noise?" she mumbled, squinting at the sunlight streaming through the ceiling windows.

"Just us early risers," Emily called from the kitchen, her tone cheerful. "I'm making breakfast. Want to help?"

Nina rubbed her eyes and stretched, still half-asleep. "Give me a minute," she says as she closes her eyes once more.

Sammy smirked. "Well, someone's tired, and there were some questionable choices last night. But hey, at least we had fun."

Nina chuckled softly, forcing her eyes open as she got up from the chair and headed over to the kitchen. "Yeah, totally worth it."