Late? Jeremy wasn't sure if he believed that, he was never late. Sure, he was considered the "careless" one of the group, but not being on time was a huge pet peeve for him. Ben was probably just looking for an excuse to yell at him again, he wouldn't be surprised.
Jeremy stepped into the large brick building, the walls were chipped and worn down, but it felt like home. Not the kind if warm, family home feeling either, it was more of a painless stab of nostalgia, if that made any sense. After all, he had been meeting his so called "friends" here ever since he could remember.
The building was expertly hidden, and he doubted anyone could find it unless they were told exactly where it was, which was the entire point. The outer walls were pushed into an ally way, making it seem like another useless, brick corridor. Even the door looked as if it were nothing more than a part of the large stature.
Jeremy held back a sigh as he stepped lightly into the rather large building, being sure to close the door behind him. The 'office' that they all shared was only one story, but it had five different rooms, each of which were quite large.
The first room was the main area that they used for their so called 'work'. It was dimly lit with lights, strung upon the beams going across the ceiling, and had a huge wooden table in the middle. The table was almost constantly full, crowded with blue-prints, different electronics, and coffee mugs. Four chairs surrounded the large carving, each with a different color. Jeremy never understood why they needed designated chairs, its not like they didnt know where to sit, after a few years it just started to seem natural.
The second largest room was his, and his only. X's that is. He called the room his personal office, but no one ever figured out what he really used it for, considering X was the only one allowed in there. He talked about it occasionally, but every time he mentioned the room it was vague. Only using it in sentences like "Back in my office" or "I have to get something from my room." Jeremy always wanted to ask about it, but he knew better than that.
The last three rooms were all the same size, still fairly large, but certainly not as big as the main office or X's room, each belonging to one of the remaining members. Jeremy had visited each at least once, he and the others didnt use them that often, but when discussing things or working on a partner 'project' they could come in handy.
The rooms were all painted different colors, and X put down a firm rule that they weren't allowed to change that. It didn't make much sense to Jeremy, but then again, nothing X said ever really did. Ben's room was a light, sky blue, which Ben liked to complain about it often, saying it was "much to bright for my programming work!" X didnt seem to care. Jeremy's room was a darker shade of Olive green, which he didn't mind all that much, considering green was one of his favorite colors. And finally, Macks room, which was a dull, boring shade if dark gray. That was always odd to him, Mack was probably the most interesting out of all of them, not counting X of course.
Jeremy wasn't sure he wanted to know what was so interesting about X.
He shook the thoughts out of his head and soaked in the familiar sight of the office space, sinking into his spot at the table, but something seemed...off.
X was almost constantly emotionally ambiguous. He never seemed to show how he really felt about things unless he was yelling at one of his co-workers, so Jeremy was reasonably surprised when he saw a clear look of distress on the mysterious figures face. Even more surprised when he realized everyone in the room seemed to share his misgivings.
He tapped his fingers nervously on the desk out of habit, waiting for someone to speak. There was a few moments of tense silence before the person at the head of the table finally spoke up.
"Listen, I know you all might be confused, bu-"
"Maybe less so if a certain someone hadn't been so late.." Ben spoke through gritted teeth, aiming a cold stare at Jeremy. He opened his mouth to add on to his comment, but quickly shut it with a stern glare from X, who was looking rather annoyed.
"As I was saying..." He continued, pausing to aim another glance at his taller companion. "I plan to have this all sorted out before it gets out of hand, so you can stop acting so concerned." His words sounded confident, but his eyes were still laced with worry.
"I-im sorry to interrupt.." Jeremy found himself struggling to studder out the words, everyone seemed to know what was going on, as he had seen Ben and Mack nodding their heads in agreement as X spoke. What was he missing? "B-but, what exactly are we concerned about?"
"Of course you wouldn't know!" Ben scoffed, his expression seething with annoyance, but X was quick to send him another silencing stare.
"Project 404 has clearly gone over-board, and as oblivious as you seem to be, its completely your fault."
