Turn Out The Lights

Morning Glory

My birthday was the upcoming week, and my family had decided that they wouldn't tell me which day of the week they were coming in so they could surprise me, even though I'd come to hate surprises over the past couple years. They always kept up the act, insisting that I'd like them again eventually, and demanded my schedule so they knew when I'd be home and when I wasn't. I gave it up and decided they were going to do what they wanted anyway, and instructed my staff to allow them access to every room but my wing and the staff's quarters, and told them that I would double any bribes my family offered under two grand if they kept to my rules. Meanwhile, Mirio had been doing a great job avoiding me. He used his PTO for patrols and wouldn't respond to any of my texts or calls. I wanted to go by his house to check on him, but Tamaki told me that'd be too clingy and weird, so I backed off, deciding that he would have to see me eventually and that I could talk to him then.

That week I had a Wednesday off, and I spent the first half of the day responding to calls and emails about adding hygiene and personal care products to my company's beauty line. When the dust finally settled from that mess, I felt my phone going off again and took a deep breath. I picked it up and saw a text from my brunet keeper, asking me to come to his house because he had that new Deliciae game and it was time for me to keep my end of the deal. We played for a couple of hours before we both decided food was a greater necessity, and I invited him back to my house to eat. My stomach felt weirder and weirder the closer we got to the door, and I noticed the front parlor's lights were on and it looked like there were people inside. None of the staff was outside like normal, so my mind made the jump to my family instantly. I wasn't up for any kind of surprise or anything, so I told Tamaki to go in without me, that I'd be up in my room for a little while. I flew to my balcony and punched in the code to make sure I didn't set off any alarms and walked inside, setting my bag on the floor before Lazarus called out to me.

"Heya there, Junie." He walked out of my closet wearing my favorite flowing black skirt before approaching me to sit at my vanity, "I'm really diggin the place. But I must say, if you didn't want us to get in here, then you shouldn't have used the same passcode you use for everything else." He opened up a tube of mascara before applying it.

I rubbed the area between my brows trying to stop the headache in it's tracks. "Alright, first of all, I didn't, I used multiple codes for different entry levels. I recycled the code to my bedroom because nobody else would guess your birthday. Second of all, that's my makeup. Sharing it can get us both sick. If you wanted some of my makeup you could've asked and I would've sent some to you." I stopped for a moment, thinking that if he was in here, then surely my mother would be, but she was nowhere to be found. "Where's mom?"

He dug through my lipsticks looking for the perfect shade before pulling out a tube of sparkly white eyeshadow that's been misplaced, "She's downstairs. Don't worry, I said I was going to the bathroom and asked the blonde kid to show me where it was. Your diary and secret strappy shirts are safe with me." He swiped the eyeshadow on his cheekbones and started rubbing it in.

"You said a blonde kid let you in? Was it a staff member or someone who was waiting with you guys downstairs?"

He held up two fingers, signifying the latter was the truth, "He came up to me to introduce himself and started talking about how great it was to meet me, but honestly, I was too busy looking at his arms. He looks like he could throw me, June. Like I'm a sack of potatoes. I mean, I know you're an outlier in America, but what the fuck are y'all eatin here? Is he pretty average? Because fuck Vanessa, I'll get me a foreign man..."

I stopped paying attention and sat on the foot of my bed. I knew I needed to talk to him, but I wasn't sure that this was the right time. I figured I had two options: ignore him completely and go downstairs to my parents, or talk with him and get it over with. I checked my phone and decided I had time to work with. "Do you know where he is? The person who let you in here?"