Oh mai... This is new...

(Hehehe. XD)

"Of course I won't take all of it... our fridge couldn't hold that much," Shay replied, actually using a little bit of humor. He couldn't carry everything in just his arms, so he got a bag to put the fruit in. He struggled a little to carry it, with apples, oranges, and three bags of grapes all put in the bag. Shay's scrawny, pathetic frame wasn't fit for lifting and carrying things. Hopefully he would get a little stronger after putting some weight onto his bones.

----

"Yes... Um, I just want to check, but... Roy doesn't have a history of ever being... ever having some sort of anger problem? I mean, he's never hit anyone that he shouldn't have, right?" Paulette asked tentatively, her ears tilting back. "I'm not saying he ever would! I mean, I just... I'm a worried mother."

----

EJ huddled against Richard, feeling a little safer now, at least... But still heartbroken. "M-my brother..." He felt tears sting his eyes. "Sh-she said... I can't see him a-anymore... at all... I-I know he d-did this to me, b-but... he... he just... he w-wants to help, b-but he's the one who n-needs help... H-he just needs some help..." The cat closed his eyes, pressing his face against Richard. "H-he... he did this... wh-what if I'm not okay...? A-and it's all his fault..."

(*flops*)

Alpha watched Shay, one eyebrow slightly raised as he watched the bat struggle a little with the weight of the fruit, "...Do you want help carrying some of the bags?"

---

"...A few times when he was younger, yes, but... No, not recently... I know you're concerned, but... He wouldn't hurt Laura. Ever... I know him. He didn't really know when he was a kid, but he knows now.." Anna replied, remembering when he was younger... She tried not to think about it, especially since how much it impacted him when he was just a little boy... It broke her heart.

---

Richard guessed the person EJ was referencing was his daughter... That sounded like something she would say... "I know, Ezhay... I am sure your brozair, Isaac, can 'elp wiz Mazhew..." He still petted EJ's head, combing the hair out of his face, "Maybe you can see 'im latair...?" Richard didn't necessarily know how much later that could be, but it could happen, right? "Rachel does not want you to get 'urt again, Ezhay..."

(Hey...)

(Hey. What's up?)

(*rages* WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST BUY A FUCKING CHEESECAKE?! WHY?! WHY MAKE ME TRY TO MAKE ONE FOR YOU?! I'M GLAD I'M NOT GOING TO GET THE CHANCE TO EAT ANY OF THIS BECAUSE I AM HATING MAKING IT AND IT'S GOING TO SUCK! GAWD!

... I'm a little pissed off that I'm trying to make a friggin' ridiculous cheesecake for my aunt. She wanted me to make this stupid thing for her so she can take it to some thing this weekend that my family isn't even going to. I don't even know what this event is. But no, instead of just buying a cheesecake like a normal person, my aunt wanted me to make her one. And gave me a stupid recipe. A REALLY STUPID ONE.

IT IS NOT SMOOTH IN TEXTURE IT IS LUMPY AND THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT.

EGGS AND CREAM CHEESE DON'T LIKE MIXING.

THEY DON'T.

ESPECIALLY WHEN LEMON JUICE IS INVOLVED.

GODDAMN.)

(o.o")

(*flips table* MOTHERFUCKING CHEESECAKE!

*heavy breathing* ... >8[

... *hugs a plushie and sits down to cry* Whyyyyy? I'm not a baking genius... T^T)

(I don't know... I'm sorry. ono *hugs*)

(I'm not making another one if this turns out badly... my Mom can do that or we can demand my aunt just buy one. This is so frustrating... ;~; Aagggghhhh...)

(omo... I don't understand why she made you make it. I really don't.)

(Supposedly my aunt doesn't have time to make one, but wants me to use a  complicated-as-all-get-out recipe and make it for her, instead of, you know, buying one... Jeez... =m=")

(That's kind of bullshit...)

(I know, right? And it's not like it's a family thing that we're all going to, either. I don't even know what the hell it is that she has to have some fancy homemade cheesecake for. Gawd. Nobody would care if she bought a classic New York style cheesecake from the store and put some cherry pie topping on it. That would be yummy. But no. I have to do this friggin' complicated thing...

I'm so mad right now. *sighs* x~x)

(I'm sorry you're mad... omo *pets*)

(I just took it out of the oven and left it sit to cool... I don't even care anymore. *hugs*

Shalpha will make it better...)

"I'm just tired, is all..." Shay told him, annoyed by the offer for help. It was partially true, since Shay barely slept most nights, and also barely ate. He was sort of a weakling, as compared to how sturdy Alpha was. 

---

Paulette nodded, not sure if she should tell Anna much more about her reasons for worrying... she did have reasons for being protective of her daughters, it wasn't just her being silly. "Alright, if you're sure... He is a sweet boy, but I have to look out for my girls..."

---

EJ sniffled, knowing it was true... Rachel was just trying to protect him. He reached up to steady his oxygen mask on his face, taking a few slow breaths since he felt a bit dizzy again. After a moment, he asked, "H-how are the twins...?" The last he heard, Roy was sick and Rachel was very upset.

(Yes, it will...)

"...If you're sure." Alpha replied, still a little suspicious of Shay, but not saying anything. He was telling the truth, but not the whole truth... Alpha didn't really know if he should ask the bat again, but if Shay did ask for help, he would give it to him. He didn't want him dropping the fruit and bruising them.

---

(What would that be, Paulette? o3o?)

"No, I understand... Don't worry..." Anna replied, adding, "It's really your job, after all... It's fine." Anna didn't exactly know that Paulette had other reasons, but understood her wanting to look after Laura and Celeste enough.

---

"Not ze best... Roy ees steell seeck, buht 'e ees doeeng a leettle bettair... Rachel... She ees zhust worried about you, and kind of upset... She weell probably come and viseet you latair again..." Richard replied, relieved that the cat calmed down a little more, and wasn't really crying.

(I've been dropping hints about something for a while. XD Celeste hinted when she talked to Ronnie about Laura being protective... Paulette just hinted...)

"Is there anything you want? I can literally live off of fruit, but you can't..." Shay asked, some of his irritability returning. "Let's get the rest of what we need and go home."

---

Paulette rubbed at her arm, feeling a bit awkward now, especially since she wasn't sure if she should wait until Roy was awake to go see him. "Thank you... Is Rachel going to be alright?" She changed the topic, now concerned about the other woman's daughter. "Is there anything I can do for you all?"

---

"And Anna...?" EJ asked, also worried about the one he called 'mom' by accident several times before. She had to be a wreck... hadn't Matthew known her once, and now she had to witness him do this?

(I still have no idea... o3o" Is it about their father or something? I'm really stupid when it comes to dropping hints that are right in front of my face...)

"Alright..." Not wanting to really argue with Shay, the griffin just complied and went with Shay to get what else they needed... which was mostly meat, since Alpha was mostly cat in that sense... There was quite the difference between him and Shay.

(They're like Scotty and Stone when it comes to food... XD)

---

"I don't know, but thank you... She's just worried about EJ... I'll look after her." Anna replied, then added, "You can go see Roy now, if you want... I don't know if he's awake right now, but I'm not sure how much he'll sleep, either... I don't think he will be out for that much longer."

---

"She ees... okay, I suppose. She was steell a leettle shaken up about whaht 'appened, to boz you and Mazhew... I know she knew 'im before... Buht 'er feeleengs are conflicted..." Richard replied. Anna didn't really know what to think about EJ's brother anymore... he helped her escape the Sect, but that was not the same Matthew she knew from before.

(Nope, not their dad. XD It has been hinted that Laura had one boyfriend before Roy, and that their relationship didn't end well. As Celeste puts it, "Laura didn't have a good experience with her first boyfriend, and she is afraid of the same thing happening to me."

Shay does eat a little meat, but not much... XD)

The bat just aimlessly followed Alpha around, looking impatient and grumpy like usual, but he was looking forward to getting home and actually eating some food he wanted. He just wasn't sure what to expect at home... he just agreed to be Alpha's boyfriend, so... what happened now?

---

"Alright," Paulette nodded, then paused and asked, "Where is his room, then...? I've never been in your house before."

---

At least someone felt close to the same way he did. EJ hoped Anna would visit again sometime soon... and maybe someone with news about how his brother was doing. And how he was doing himself, for that matter. EJ had no idea if he had sustained any sort of permanent damage, or actually been cured. He was too weak and disoriented to try to figure it out himself, either. 

EJ huddled closer to Richard, trying to rest a little... but he couldn't really seem to calm down enough just yet. "Could you... just talk for a bit? About something else? Like... about you and Anna, or the twins when they were younger..." He really just wanted to hear something normal, or happy, or at least not confusing and tragic.

(So last night I saw The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies and it was pretty good...except when I ruined one scene for myself by saying "Smoke Weed Erry day," when Gandalf was lighting his pipe. I also had a few scenes ruin involving dramatic death because of the 3-D...which made the movie look like a bad stage play. Don't get me wrong it was a good movie just had a lot of hype around it...and also it made me realize that the first like 10 minutes of the movie could easily have been tacked on to the end of Desolation of Smaug, as far as why they cut it off when they did is beyond me...probably to hype the hell out of the third movie...)

(Oh yeah... o7o" I'm guessing he was abusive/manipulative?

Goddammit Pluto... XD)

Alpha was kind of glad that they were heading home now, with everything done, because he was getting kind of hungry... It was probably from all the talk about food. He looked over at Shay, who looked deep in thought, "What are you thinking about?"

---

Anna pointed down a hallway, leading away from the living room of the apartment, "His room is the last on the left... Try to be quiet, please?"

---

"Sure, um..." Richard thought for a moment, not really sure what to tell him... there was just a lot he could, and he didn't know what to start with, "Well... I met Anna when I went to viseet my parents out of ze country... Zey leeved een Apreau, at ze time, where I grew up before moveeng 'ere when I was about sixteen... I met 'er at ze airport, because my flight was delayed by a few 'ours... Eet was almost 2 een ze morneeng... I do not even remembair why she was zere, buht she zhust was, nodeeng off on my shouldair..."

(Oh and I've got all of next week off. o7o! ALL THE SKYPE!!! )

(YES. ALL OF THE SKYPE. COME TO ME.)

(There was one incident. One. o3o" ...

PLUTO HAS FREEEEDOM!)

"What to expect..." Shay replied honestly, since lying was pointless with Alpha. "And what to do now. I've never exactly had a... you know... before." He didn't say the word 'boyfriend.' Nope. He was not saying it.

---

"Of course," Paulette nodded, already keeping her voice down. The white cat quietly made her way down the hallway, then peered into Roy's room, cautious since she wasn't sure if he was sleeping or not.

---

EJ listened to the story, smiling faintly as he told him how he met Anna. It was oddly... just, normal. An airport, early in the morning? It was nice to hear someone had a nice normal start to their story, instead of this madness. He rubbed his head against Richard a little, getting comfortable as he kept one hand over his oxygen mask to hold it in place. "And she gave you her number...?"