New Girl - The Creatures

Chapter 12

The rest of that afternoon was rather uneventful since most of the house was rendered unable to record due to excessive hangovers. Seamus helped me in moving the furniture away from the walls and we quietly painted over the nauseating pink hues that occupied them. I played the same "small town coffee shop aesthetic" playlist that I'd grown so fond of as we integrated the soft caramel shade into my space.

At around 4, we finally finished painting, our backs aching and sweat coating our foreheads. Seamus went to the bathroom to clean up the paint he had gotten on himself, but not til after casting a small smile my way and letting me know just how covered in paint I was myself. I grinned in a very private way as he left, and tugged my hair out of the messy bun I'd thrown it into prior to our painting session.

I stretched and woke up my computer, curious as to how my first upload was processing. It was nearly done with the rendering process, and I was sort of uneasy about the thought of their fans judging my content. What if they thought I was droll and boring on my own, or that I seemed like one of those stereotypical 'gamer girls' that clamored for sponsors in scantily clad clothing? I planned on never showing my face on my channel for that reason alone, so it wouldn't seem like I was relying on my ginger locks or petite figure for appeal.

After minimizing the upload window, I closed my door and peeled off my sweaty clothing, grabbed a pair of black joggers and an oversized light blue shirt with a doodle of mac and cheese on it, some underwear, and a towel before retreating into my private bathroom to shower. I made sure the water was absolutely boiling before jumping in, the scalding swirls of water attacking my hair and causing its ordinary curls to become flat and straight.

I went through my typical shower routine of shampoo, conditioner, and body soap as the room filled with steam, relishing in how the hot water unknotted my shoulders and neck and soothed the aches I received from painting. A headache started to come on, to my extreme annoyance. I wrapped up my shower and hurriedly put on my clothes before I froze, and towel dried my hair as much as I could before retreating downstairs, desperate for yet another cup of coffee.

In the kitchen, I was met with Dan and James talking quietly, Dan also giving in to the caffeinated luxury I was pining for. They stopped talking as soon as I entered the room, arousing suspicion from my end.

"Hey! How's your head?" Dan asked; it was the first time I'd seen him since last night. "It's doing okay, I have a bit of a headache but I'm not sure if that's because of a concussion or from not having coffee when I normally do," I replied, smiling slightly as I prepared a cup.

"Good, too many fans have a hard on for the videos you're in, we'd be fucked if you got merc'd last night," James said, shoving his phone in my face. He was looking at the video uploads tab of the Creature Hub channel, and I saw the contrast in views between the videos I was featured in compared to ones I wasn't.

I raised my eyebrows and looked up at James and Dan. "Why? I'm not funny, and I look a little bit like a goblin," I asked, completely confused at the popularity of the videos with yours truly.

"Goblin my ass," I heard Seamus say as he walked into the kitchen. "Did you just say you were gobbling your own ass?" James said, grinning mischievously as I blushed profusely at yet another sly compliment from Seamus. Seamus nodded absentmindedly while he rummaged in the cabinet, sporting fresh clothing and seemingly on the hunt for fruit snacks. Dan laughed and left the room, mentioning a need to edit some movie review he recorded earlier that day. I busied myself with crafting the perfect cup of coffee while James waddled over to Seamus, talking quickly and quietly. Seamus looked at him with very animated surprise and jerked his head in the direction of the stairs. James then left, leaving me alone with the messy blonde that I'd grown so very fond of.