New Girl - The Creatures

Chapter 4

I woke up the next day to my room glowing with a pink hue, courtesy of the sunlight coming in through the sheer pink curtains on the window. I sat up on one elbow and rubbed my eyes with my free hand. It was strange, waking up in a completely different room than I had just 24 hours before. But the thoughts of yesterday quickly flooded my mind, and I grinned at the memory of it all.

Especially last night. After tying with Seamus through a multitude of rounds, we finally squared off against each other on the most hellish of all maps; Rainbow Road, the pinnacle of hatred and destruction. Many swears were exchanged, and it was by the skin of my damn teeth that I beat him. I doubt the guys would ever let him live it down.

I stood up and stretched, my black cotton shorts peeking out from beneath a grandpa sweater I had worn the night before. I was thankful for having my own bathroom when I looked in the mirror; my eyeliner was smudged all under my eyes, and my hair was an absolute nightmare. Managing to restore my hair to its natural state and amending my makeup, I brushed my teeth and swapped out my shorts for black leggings and my sweater for my oversized RMCAD sweatshirt instead.

Walking downstairs, I could smell coffee floating through the house from the kitchen. It drew me in like a moth to a flame, and I walked in to see Dan sitting with a fresh mug. "Morning!" he said happily, clearly a morning person. I smiled and said, "Good morning! Do you mind if I have some coffee too or is it members only?" He chuckled and shook his head. "Nope, go for it. Max and Jordan don't do coffee, and James only drinks it once in a while."

I found a mug in an overhead cabinet, and a moment later I had a decadent and steaming cup of coffee. I walked over to the table Dan was sitting at and drank in silence.

"How was your first night in Casa de Creature?" He asked me after taking a sip from his Batman mug. I took a moment after drinking from my own. "It was a lot more fun than I was anticipating if I'm being honest. I was absolutely terrified about coming here this time yesterday, but now it feels like I've known you guys for a lot longer than just a day."

He smiled widely, and replied, "That's awesome, I'm glad you like it. I know when I say that I'm not just speaking for myself that you'll be a wonderful addition here, everyone loves you already." I smiled back at him, and I heard the front door open and close. Dan glanced up, and yelled, "We're in the kitchen, Jordan!"

A moment later, Jordan strolled into the kitchen, looking equally awake as Dan. "Morning Sam, morning Dan!" he said, sitting down in a chair next to us.

"I just found out that I won't be here tonight for the Mario Party recording, I have to take Monica to the airport. Max texted me last night and said he was gonna be leaving early this morning to pick up Renay in Fort Collins, so it'll just be you two with James and Seamus tonight," he told Dan and me.

Dan shrugged and said, "Alright. At least now we won't be dicked over by you constantly in the game." I chuckled as Jordan pretended to cry.

Just then, Seamus stumbled in, his eyes barely open. "Seamus, you're awake before noon?" Jordan said in surprise. "Yeah yeah, shut up," Seamus mumbled as he groped around in the cabinet for a cereal bowl. "I decided I didn't want to continue being the human embodiment of a slug for once," he said as he poured Reese's Puffs into his bowl. I laughed, stood up to put my mug in the sink, and offered to take Dan's for him.

"Thanks, Sam," Dan said as I walked the mugs to the sink. I nodded and stood beside Seamus as I rinsed them out.

"How are you shaking off your devastating loss?" I asked him, a smirk forming on my face. "My parents disowned me and Jordan sent me a letter of termination last night," he replied dryly, and I laughed quietly. I saw him smile out of the corner of my eye as I turned back to Jordan and Dan. "I think I'm going to go out to Sterne park and take some pictures, what time is the Mario Party recording tonight?" I asked.

"Probably not till like 9, that way we can all record or upload on our own channels during the day," Dan replied. "Okay, cool! I'm gonna go grab my keys and then head out." I walked out of the kitchen and towards the stairs and was just about to go up when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I turned around to be face to face with Seamus. "Yeah?" I asked, semi-confused as to why he didn't just call out to me. "I was wondering if you wanted some company at the park. I uploaded a bunch of videos yesterday and have excess staggered on a queue today, so I have nothing to do," he said rather quickly, like he was hesitant in asking but felt that if he asked any slower then he wouldn't be able to.

I blinked for a second, both pleased and surprised. "Of course, yeah, you can come," I told him. "But that means you get to drive," I added with a smirk, which he returned. "Fine. I'll go change and then we can leave," he said and waved me by so I could go up first.

We parted ways at the landing, and I grabbed my camera bag. I was replacing my battery and SD card when I faintly heard footsteps behind me. "Nice posters," Seamus said from behind me. I looked over my shoulder at him and smiled. "Thanks. I want more if I'm being honest." There was a pause, and then he said, "Well if you want after you're done taking pictures, we can go to this comic book store I found in Denver and see if they have any posters there."

I turned around and looked at him, zipping my camera bag shut. He looked at me expectantly with his eyebrows raised. "I'd love to, that sounds wonderful," I said, looking directly in his eyes.

He grinned and then motioned towards the door. Grabbing my wallet and camera bag, I followed him to the garage, and subsequently, his car.

We were quiet at first, and then he started asking questions. Things like my favorite color, my favorite movie, what seasons I liked and what seasons I hated, my favorite food and the one food I absolutely refuse to eat, my favorite kind of alcohol, and whether or not I was single.

To which I replied things like caramel, depends on the genre, winter and fall I liked, I tolerated spring and hated summer; mac and cheese was amazing and eggplants were the bane of my existence, I could only drink alcohol if it was extremely sweet because I was a baby, and I was as single as single gets.

He half smiled at my last answer, and when I asked him what was so funny, he shook his head. We pulled up to the park, and he followed me around faithfully while I photographed things at random.

The park, though very pretty, was the same as any small park in America. Duck pond, benches, foliage; it was the kind of park that you'd find young mothers and their babies and elderly couples. However, after realizing that there were few things I could photograph at this time of morning aside from flowers and ducks, I sat down beneath a tree, and slowly sank onto my back. The ground beneath me was soft and cool, and the scent of earth filled my lungs.

A moment later, he was standing over me, his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "How's it going down there?" he asked, looking amused. "It's pretty good, why don't you come down here and see for yourself?" I teased, expecting him to protest. To my surprise, he laid down next to me.

I felt my heart beat quicken slightly, which I didn't understand. Trying to calm down, I ran my fingers through my hair and started to twirl a strand of hair between my fingers. We were quiet, but it was the nice kind of quiet. Then, Seamus said softly, "Having fun?"

I turned my head and looked at him. His eyes were locked onto me as if I were performing a feat of high improbability instead of just playing with my hair. "Most definitely," I replied faintly. He smiled, and then he turned back and looked up to the sky. Harebell and Black-eyed Susans flowered around us, dancing lightly from time to time when a gust of wind came by.

"You're right," he spoke quietly. His voice was one of the only audible things in the park aside from our breathing, and it sounded like velvet among the rough sounds of leaves rustling and the occasional duck quack followed by water splashing. Sunlight filtered through the leaves over the head, casting a very subtle green film over everything. A steadfast breeze formed and made me shiver, and my hair blew across my face a few times.

"This is pretty good."