(Warning: there is swearing in this chapter)

"I heard that Deric came over yesterday."
"WOAH!" I jumped in surprise at the sudden voice speaking to me.
I turned my head to see the girl with short black hair just inches away from my face, practically staring deep into my soul.
"D-Don't scare me like!" I wheezed.
She just remained silent, her eyes cold and unblinking.
"Y-Yeah. Deric did come over. W-What about it?" Her icy exterior was unnerving.
She crossed her arms before simply replying with "Just confirming."
"C-Confirming what?"
"Things." she smiled coyly at me.
After a few moments of silence she turned around and exited back to wherever she came from.
I exhaled, not even realizing I was holding my breath.
She's so creepy....
"HEY ERRYBODY!" Ada's sudden shout made me jump.
She was standing in the living room on top of the coffee table, trying to make herself taller and more noticeable. I was still taller than her....
We all gathered around to see what was up.
"Aight so listen here, I just found out this horror movie came out today at the Brooklynn's Theatre and I wanna annoy the crap outta everyone so let's go!"
There was a collective sigh as everyone knew there was no way to avoid this event that Ada had created. We all packed up our essentials and began to head out.

"So the theatre isn't too far, right?" I didn't want to have to walk to far....
"Nah it's not too far, I don't think at least." Raven responded back with a nice smile on her face. She was really enjoying the summer breeze.
"What? Ya feet gettin' tired or somethin', Shiroro." Ada looked at me coyly.
"Shiro is just fine and I just don't want to walk miles to a place when you guys have a car we could've used. Though.... I've never been in a car...." I mumbled that last part to myself.
"You've never been in a car?" Raven asked.
"N-No, I, uh, haven't. The only transportation I've been in was a small boat..."
"Dude we are totally taking you on a road trip someday! Like, we can go to that gambling restaurant or the cat fight arena!"
"Cat fight?" Why would I watch cats fight????
"It's a fighting ring that involves women fighting against each other, usually in sexual attire. People place bets on who they think will win and will earn double of what they gambled. It's mainly a guilty pleasure sort of thing." There goes Priceless's once a day words of wisdom - wasted on cat fights.
"Oh...."
"Eh the fighting isn't too bad and the payout is pretty good too. Plus it's kinda fun!"
"W-Wait Raven you've been in a cat fight?!?" I was honestly shocked.
"Yeah. I wore a girly pink bikini with a rose on my head and was called RoseBud. I've gotten my fair share of money from it too, considering the girls get 1/3 of the money earned there- which is surprisingly a LOT." She twirled around happily.
"Honestly it was kind of nice. The owner was very considerate, the girls had spunk, the payout was good, and it was nice to see girls like me just beat the crap out of each other. Like the girly stuff was still there but yet we were determined to be as brutal as possible. I've had my ass handed a couple times working there- mainly due to the fact the fighting is only limited to punching and kicking. I guess the main downsides to it was the lack of clothes and the constant perverts that would hang around, but other than that it was actually pretty great. Maybe I should start working there again......"
By this point I wasn't even listening and just was staring at my feet. My face and ears felt hot, VERY hot.
I felt something tap my shoulder.
With a smug grin, Ada leaned closer to me and said "Ya lookin' kinda red there, fellow. If you're gonn' get all hot at least wait until you find a bathroom or some dark alleyway to relieve yo'self!"
If my face wasn't red before it surely was red now!
The heat I had felt beforehand was nothing compared to the heat I was feeling now!
I looked back at my feet and stayed silent for the rest of the walk to the theatre.

When we got there, it was practically packed to the brim. The lines of people were stretching far and wide across the cement.
"Maybe we should go somewhere else...." I muttered.
"But I wanted to watch some crappy horror movie...." Ada sobbed.
"How about that Chinese buffet nearby? I mean, they have TVs there that you can watch." Siya piped in, trying to be positive.
"Yeah but the TVs either are all political or just people playing football...." Ada pouted grumpily.
"Yeah but the food's nice there and we all know you like food!" Raven added in, causing Ada to ponder.
"I mean I guess...."
"Oh don't even bother going there. The workers have been on strike since yesterday."
Huh?
A fairly thin girl walked over towards us. She gave off a weird vibe that I wasn't particularly comfortable with, but the others don't seem to notice or simply even care.
She had...odd skin. It was red, unnaturally red, like blood even! It was like a stereotypical demon out of those old cartoons Mafuyu used to watch, the ones were they had the pitchfork and weird triangular tail.
"Okay, if you're gonna stare then at least stare at my boobs and not at my skin."
"O-OH I-I-I-I'M SORRY!!!" I hadn't realized I was staring! How embarrassing!
"You ain't the first, and you certainly won't be the last. Also we can't all be as white as your penguin-ass!"
"Excuse me?!" I was completely appalled by this comment! Me a penguin? I'm a wolf, dammit!
I was going to say something but Raven stepped forward, hands on hips and practically ready to fight.
"Aight listen here you sunburnt-50% off-stripper, as if you have any boobs to show off. You're flatter than the very pavement we are standing on. I mean, at least they actually have curves and aren't some stick-ass lookin' gremlin who twerks for 30 bucks in front of the local pawn shop."
Oh.
Oh my Siralos.
She just.
I was completely flabbergasted. This wasn't the Raven I knew! Also the red girl seemed angrier than ever!
Why did she say that?! I can't believe she said that oh my gosh this can't be happening it's just not right I don-
"Pppppppffffttt-ahahAHAHHAHAHAHA!!"
Laughter?
I looked over to see both Raven and the red girl laughing hysterically. After a few minutes of giggling they walked over and gave each other a hug.
"Man, Ray! I've missed you, ya know? You need to start coming back to the club! Drinks will be on me, obvi." Nicole laughed as she wiped a tear from her eye.
"Haven't really been in the party mood. I've had one of those depression waves hit me pretty hard and it's been rough, but recently I've been taking care of Shiro over here so that's a distraction, I guess." She motioned towards me to come over, and I complied.
"U-Um, h-hey. I'm S-S-Shirogane. I-It's nice to m-meet you." I stammered.
"D'aaaawwww, ain't he a cutie! You always pick out the defenseless ones, huh Raven? Must be that maternal instinct of yours, huh?" She nudged Raven, winking.
"W-W-W-Wait! W-We-We're not— sh-she's n-n-no-not—!"
"There isn't any sort of romance going on between us" Raven interjected.
Despite me trying to say we weren't in any sort of relationship whatsoever, it still hurt when she said that. My chest ached and I had to practically bite my tongue in order to not say 'yes we are dating', because we aren't! I don't know what's wrong with me! Why would I even think that?!
"Suuuuuuuuure~....."
"You already know that I have a boyfriend and that I'm....loyal to him..."
"Yeah yeah yeah, ya keep tellin' yourself that, but we all know that ain't true!"
"Nicole.... This isn't the time..."
"Just admit it, Ray! It's time to acknowledge the elephant in the room!"
"Nicole...."
"Ugh, you gotta stop avoidin' your problems, girl! It's gonna catch up to ya soo-"
"Guys."
Priceless got in between them.
"Let's just go back home. It's getting hot."
"Yeah....lets just leave...." Raven muttered.
I simply nodded.
We all said our goodbyes and made our ways back home.

The walk back was quiet.
Even Ada was silent, not making a single joke. It was....unsettling.
Raven didn't look too happy either. She had this unreadable, blank face, eyes staring at her feet. Unblinking.
Before knowing them, all I ever wanted was peace and quiet. Now it feels....wrong. So very, very, wrong.
When we got home, everything felt different. The fun and loving atmosphere was replaced with a cold and sickening ambience. The unspoken balance was off.
Ada talked quietly, Priceless talked more, Siya locked herself in her room, and Raven was laying on the couch, just staring into the abyss. Dinner hadn't been made yet, the tv wasn't on, there was no happiness, just unease.
This wasn't right at all.

----------------------------

I stared at the moon. It was a full moon. The best kind of moon. Easy to see in the dark when there's an outdoor mission. Also dark enough to hide in the shadows.
I heard Ada walk up and stand right beside me. She had a certain way she walked, a way I could recognize. Always taking big, heavy steps, despite her size. It makes her feel tougher, and she likes to feel tough. All the more reason to love her.
"Hey Priceless....." Haven't heard her use my real name in a long time, or at least in such a uncomfortable manner. No she wasn't sad, she is still trying to learn and comprehend sadness, but for now she will suffice with uncomfortableness.
"Yes...?" I was tempted to throw in a pet name, but that would've left a bad taste on my mouth. Just not my style.
"I thought you couldn't feel heat, or feel anything physical."
"You thought correctly. I cannot feel anything physical, or at the very least any physical warnings such as pain."
"That's what I thought. I was jus' a lil' confuzzled about you suggesting to go home because you were hot. Just knew it didn't sound like ya." Confuzzled. I could never pull off that word in such a serious tone.
"I didn't want a fight to break out in the middle of the road for all to see. Just not the time or place."
"...........I don't like Deric."
"..................I don't either."

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"Man, we haven't been able to find any leads on where Shiro is!!!" Whined Peraco.
"Let's just ask some more people, we are bound to find him soon!" Yukisada responded optimistically.
"What if we never find hiiiiim????"
"Shut it Peraco! We are going to find him!" Rocma growled.
"I'm running out of cigs here, and you don't want to see me when I'm in withdrawal." Even Idate was starting to get anxious, but for a completely different reason.
"Look there's a building over there. Maybe we can ask some people if they've seen Shiro." Yukisada pointed over to a brightly lit and colorful building.
"What is that building anyways?" Peraco asked.
"Looks like a club?" He responded back.
"Great, just what I need. A place full of drunkards and chain smokers, like this douchebag over here." Rocma motioned towards Idate.
"D'aww I love you too babe." Idate cooed.
"Ugh come on let's just go ask and be done with this already."

(Hello hello hello! I I'm sorry for taking so long. Been busy n such~! This chapter gets p tense. There are several POV changes, and I've decided to not add which POV it is, rather you guess who it is. Seems that the Ice Scream crew found a club. Hmmmm, wonder whose club it issssss?? Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, bye-bee! Stay Orange~! Also 2k + words~)

(Here's a picture of Raven in her summer gear.)