Tuesday 11:45 am.

The second exit.

Aay: YOOO EVERYONE WAKE UP

Aay: I HAVE NEWSSSSSSSS

Kurin: oh my gods Aay could you not have done this five minutes earlier

Kurin: break just ended, class is starting and I sit right at the front the teacher is going to see me if I'm on my phone

Riot: say u need to piss or smth

Kurin: okay Riot

Kurin: BREAK JUST ENDED they'll be like "why didn't you go at break!!!" which btw I did but I'd have to lie that I didn't and I am a TERRIBLE LIAR

Riot: okay so get caught messaging then idc??

Riot: also ew TMI I didn't need to know you'd been for a piss

Aay: pls try Kurin this is big news,,, 🙏

Kurin: hhh fine

Kurin: @Magnus get your ass online. important news

Aay: PLS COME ONLINE FOR THIS

Aay: THIS IS BIG!!!!! HUGE EVEN!!!!!

Aay: BESIDES U WANTED TO KNOW THE OTHER DAYYYY

Aay: I CAN FINALLY REVEAL ALL 👀👀👀👀

Aay: @Magnus

Riot: omg wait is this abt the fundraising????

Aay: 🤫🤫🤫

Kurin: okay I'm in the toilets I have like. five minutes MAXIMUM what's the big news

Aay: we need Magnus here first

Aay: @Magnus

Riot: @Magnus

Kurin: if he doesn't get his ass online within the next two minutes I swear

Kurin: @Magnus

Magnus: what the fuck do you want

Magnus: I was asleep

Riot: ???? Em told me u dropped her off at school this morning???

Riot: did you go back to bed after or smth????

Magnus: I fell asleep on the couch

Magnus: why were you pinging me?

Riot: Aay has big news, backread for once will u???

Kurin: please tell us

Kurin: I do not have much time here

Kurin: and I need to be able to react to the news before it's back to FUCKING Shakespeare

Riot: why r u fucking Shakespeare

Kurin: I'm going to strangle you

Magnus: .

Kurin: Aay. please

Aay: OKOK SO U KNOW HOW WE SAID ABT RAISING MONEY ON TV????

Aay: I CAN OFFICIALLY REVEAL THE PLAN OF THE EXIT CREW.....

Aay: we are.........

Aay: GONNA BUY THAT CAFE THAT'S CLOSED DOWN IN TOWN!!!!

Kurin: wait SERIOUSLY????

Aay: YEAH!!!!

Riot: oh??? my god????

Riot: exit cafe????

Aay: YEAH!!!!!!!!

Magnus: where the hell did you get the money for that?

Aay: were callin it that actually the exit cafe!!! its gonna be so cooolllllll

Aay: well we acc got some money for the bigfoot statue we made lol

Aay: like ik y'all avoided the park but we set up a little stall offering ppl can touch bigfoot for like 10$ just like in the movie!!!! and it worked!!!!

Aay: weve also been saving up from our jobs lol

Kurin: this is their dream

Riot: it is?????

Kurin: yeah

Kurin: they've all been studying catering and cooking at college and have ALWAYS talked abt wanting a cafe someday

Aay: YEAH!!!

Kurin: so this is actually happening??????

Aay: YEAH IT ISSSSSSS JM SO EXFITED U DONT EVEN KNOWWWWWWW

Kurin: that's amazing I'm so happy for you!!!!

Aay: THANK YOU

Magnus: what kind of jobs do you have to be able to buy an entire cafe?

Aay: tbf minimum wage except Dee who gets paid slightly more for her job as a junior reporter but it all adds up when u like. dont spend it?

Aay: and there's 5 of us so it adds up quicker

Magnus: but properties are insanely expensive

Riot: not rlly I could buy one rn if I wanted????

Magnus: not my point, you're rich, you don't count

Aay: i mean yeah but weve been savinf for years

Aay: anyway what do u guys think,,,??

Riot: it sounds cool tbh

Kurin: VERY cool but I have to get back to class but I will talk more about it with you later

Riot: okay ttyl piss boy

Kurin: I will block you if you start calling me that

Riot: go. shoo. back to Shakespeare

Kurin: fuck you

Kurin: and congrats again Aay

Aay: THANK UUUUUUUU

Magnus: I still don't understand how you've managed this but I'm happy for you

Aay: TYTYTYYYYYY

Aay: omg I have such big plans for this

Aay: I'm so excitedddd

Riot: I bet

Riot: so like will u need any help from us for this or wtvr??

Aay: umm maybe??? if u guys would want to 🙏🙏🙏

Aay: like only fun help tho like painting and redecorating

Aay: i have an idea of what i want it too look like but i need to like draw it out still

Riot: tbh I'm really excited for this actually

Aay: !!!! ur gonna love itttttt

Magnus: yeah it sounds good

Aay: aaajdvjsjsbs it will be

Tuesday 1:17 pm.

The second exit.

Kurin: wtf I'm scared

Riot: LMAO?? scared of what?

Kurin: I think someone's following me

Riot: wait what????

Riot: why??

Kurin: IDK??? you know when you can just feel someone watching you??

Magnus: this is why I'll never go to school

Kurin: ...fair

Kurin: omfg seriously who is following me???

Kurin: I've been trying to shake them off but they're still there I know it

Riot: paranoid much??

Kurin: wait wtf

Riot: what??

Kurin: Ajit just texted me???

Kurin: I forgot he even knew my account

Riot: ????

Magnus: what did he say?

Kurin: he said "hi"

Aay: much conversation very talk

Kurin: literally

Kurin: and he's sent another message

Riot: what does this one say???

Riot: hello??????

Kurin: I now know who was following me

Riot: WHO WHO WHO?????????

Kurin: it was Shun and Ajit

Aay: lol y were they following u?

Kurin: they wanted to make sure I was okay after seeing me get shoved down the stairs

Riot: YOU GOT SHOVED DOWN THE STAIRS??? LMAOOOOOO

Magnus: what the fuck why did you get shoved down the stairs?

Kurin: fuck knows

Kurin: people are assholes I didn't even know the guy who did it

Aay: r u ok tho?

Kurin: yeah I'm fine, probably bruised but I don't feel any pain from it rn so it's whatever

Riot: no pain could be worse than the embarrassment you must be feeling rn sbshdjdbnd

Kurin: shut up

Magnus: so did you answer him?

Kurin: I'm about to

Magnus: yeah go do that then

Kurin sent an image!

Kurin: wtf do I do

Kurin: "do you want to hang out with us" UM NOT REALLY

Kurin: I mean I wouldn't mind they're nice and all but that's like. the popular table so ew

Riot: if you don't say yes I'm posting all the blackmail I have of you online

Kurin: WHAT THE FUCK

Kurin: WHY?

Riot: you were literally complaining like two days ago that ur a friendless loner at school and now u have the chance to hang out w ppl who u already know and don't have to be awkward around bc ur already friends and ur like "ummm actually nvm I don't want friends"

Riot: bitch

Riot: so go fucking hang out with them or else.

Magnus: .. damn

Aay: LOLOLOL???

Aay: but yea Kurin u should

Kurin: am I actually getting no support here?

Kurin: what about my social anxiety?? all the people who pay attention to the AB will be paying attention to me

Riot: istg

Riot: u can do this

Riot: I'm sending Emily to check on the AB in five minutes, if you're not there with them I'm telling the entire internet about your most embarrassing moments

Kurin: oh my fucking gods FINE

Kurin: but if I die this is your fault

Riot: that's fine. I'll confess to killing you at ur funeral

Riot: now begone peasant

Magnus: why are you using my sister as a spy?

Riot: bc she's my bestie and I'd spy on someone for her if she asked me to

Magnus: you're not subtle enough to be a spy

Riot: ohh and u are Mr overdramatic wannabe theatre kid emo????

Magnus: what the fuck

Aay: LMAOOOOOO

Riot: look I have connections and they have told me u went around yelling that you're the darkness who punishes those who are shrouded in evil or wtvr

Riot: freak

Magnus: .

Aay: DID HE ACTUALLY????

Riot: YEAH

Aay: LMAOOOOOO

Riot: also heard he said smth abt a thunderbolt of judgement once smh

Aay: woah drama queen

Aay: u dropped this 👑

Riot: LMAOOOOOOOOO

Magnus: shut the fuck up

Riot: lol no

Riot sent an image!

Riot: Emily just sent me this

Riot: they actually did it

Aay: YOOOO they took our advice!!

Magnus: what the fuck is happening in the background of that picture

Riot: ???

Magnus sent an image!

Riot: LMFAOOOO?????

Riot: I TOTALLY MISSED THAT

Aay: is that a waffle

Riot: maybe???

Riot: gonna ask Emily rq

Magnus: I'm genuinely concerned for what goes on at that school

Aay: shrug

Aay: i went there it wasnt that unhinged back then

Aay: it kinda changed like earlier in the year i think

Aay: u would prolly have to ask kurin, ur sister or trey for proper details but like the old headteacher quit or retired idk

Aay: then ummm the guy who took over was the headteacher from the bakugan academy??

Aay: nd he hired the teachers from there and like it's been chaos ever since

Aay: a lotta students transferred there from abroad too after the bakugan left earth too bc los volmos is the only place u can still meet w them from so theres also that

Magnus: right

Magnus: Emily did tell me the bakugan academy teachers moved there

Magnus: somehow I'm not surprised this is Faustus's fault

Riot: guy was a furry so like.... yeah

Riot sent a video!

Riot: so like yeah it's a waffle

Aay: 😭😭

Aay: cryinbg thats so fuckin funny

Magnus: Riot what do you mean by that

Riot: by what

Magnus: you just said Faustus was a furry?

Magnus: what does that even mean??

Riot: .. y'know those ppl who dress up in animal costumes???

Magnus: . no?

Riot: ok do you even use the internet??

Magnus: not really

Riot: ok bro jst stay unknowing

Aay: ok but like it seems sm better there now <\3

Aay: when i went there we got detentions for having our phones out at lunch :(

Aay: looks so fun now

Magnus: somehow I think Kurin would argue with that

Aay: true college is better than school anyway

Aay: sm freedom phones r allowed whenever u can jst walk out if u need a break no questions asked its peak fr

Riot: smh sounds like homeschool, literally in a lesson with my tutor rn she does NOT care that I'm talking to y'all

Kurin: yeah this school is shit

Riot: ur meant to be with the ab

Kurin: I am

Kurin: currently watching Wynton sneak a fake spider into Dan's sandwich while he's distracted talking to Ajit

Kurin sent an image!

Kurin: see

Riot: fine but why are you here and not talking with them

Kurin: look at the picture, Shun's also on his phone and Athena is doing homework

Kurin: you cannot tell me I'm not allowed to use my phone

Riot: oh my god fine whatever at least you're somewhat socializing

Aay: kurinnn what else has changed since i left???

Kurin: uhhh they redecorated a little? there's a picture of a scientist's head that's the same size as a notice board in the science corridor

Kurin: equations in the math hallway, giant book pages in the english one... you get the picture

Aay: LMAO the science head sounds creepy

Kurin: tbh it kinda is

Kurin: they also moved the library?? it's a lot smaller now but from the few times I've been there it's a lot nicer now

Magnus: Emily mentioned that apparently it's quieter now?

Kurin: oh definitely

Kurin: it used to be a library and a computer room so ppl just went in there to fuck around online and use photoshop to make memes and stuff

Riot: and emo MLP characters???

Aay: HELL YEAH 💪

Kurin: yeah lol

Kurin: now it's just a library so it's a lot more peaceful for reading

Kurin: the old library became the new computer room

Aay: chaos?

Kurin: yeah

Magnus: I don't doubt it given who goes to your school

Kurin: wait do you even know who transferred here??

Magnus: some of them

Magnus: but not really

Magnus: it was irrelevant so I forgot shortly after being told

Kurin: oh ok???

Riot: who tf is even telling you??

Aay: his sister?????

Riot: oh that checks out ig

Magnus: .

Magnus: well who else would it even be?

Riot: idfk

Kurin sent a video!

Riot: LMAO????

Aay: LOL

Magnus: oh my god

Riot: SCREAMING SO HIGH PITCHED THE AUDIO WOULDN'T RECORD I'M CRYING

Riot: thank you for sharing this with us 😭😭

Kurin: thank you for bullying me into joining this group of idiots for lunch so I could get to see this

Riot: npnp I knew u would appreciate my brilliance one day

Kurin: yh whatever

Kurin: so Aay

Kurin: the cafe???

Aay: OMGOMGOMG YEAH

Kurin: you said you had an idea of what you want it to look like??

Aay: OOOH YEAH OK

Aay: so like its a cafe right and what do u think of when u think of cafes???

Riot: ummm like. cake??? and tea???

Aay: i mean like building wise

Riot: oh

Riot: lots of seats with cushions, some booth seats.. uhh rlly boring colors??

Kurin: browns, greys and whites, sometimes reds

Kurin: oh and those huge lampshades

Riot: fake plants

Magnus: windows, walls, floors and ceilings

Riot: . wow

Kurin: really????

Magnus: yeah

Kurin: okay

Riot: new autism test unlocked ig

Kurin: tbh.....

Magnus: .

Aay: ok so yall r right but were not doin any of that

Aay: ok maybe some huge lampshades but not those ones

Riot: 👀👀

Aay: so the plan is like dark base but then NEON

Aay: and im thinkin a wall of memes

Aay: gonna play only GOOD music too btw none of that shit ppl say is good but isn't good

Kurin: I've taught you well

Aay: yeah so well be playing not evil from the lego movie

Riot: LMAO????

Riot: Kurin ur self restraint is insane rn are u not like screaming inside

Kurin: I'm fine

Kurin: what else Aay

Aay: uhh so

Aay: not abt the design but Bee suggested we do like themed days??

Aay: where all the food/music is based around one thing

Aay: like idk um we could have like p&f theme and have cakes shaped like rollercoasters or perry and play the music from the series or like a fairy theme and do rainbow food with those fairy wing cupcakes or smth!!

Riot: ngl that sounds sick

Aay: IT DOES DOESN'T IT???

Kurin: I have an idea

Aay: 👀👀👀👀👀

Kurin: idk if it'd be a theme or an always thing but you could do cupcakes or cake pops iced to look like Bakugan

Riot: FUCK HE COOKED

Riot: I hate it when Kurin has good ideas bc it means I can't make fun of them but that's genuinely peak I fear

Kurin: thank you

Aay: KURINNNNNN I LOVE THAT IDEA SM OMGGGGGGG

Magnus: it's not a bad idea, people would like that

Aay: kurin can we hire u

Kurin: uh maybe? I'm no good at talking to people and I'm only half decent at baking though so idk if that'd be a good idea

Aay: aw fair tho

Aay: well therell always be a place for u

Aay: same for u magnus and u riot but ur not legally old enough to work :(

Riot: LOL I'll keep it in mind for when I am

Magnus: oh thanks

Riot: okok so like when is this happening??

Aay: uhh well we have the money were going to look around the place soon to check its good and then if it is were buying it

Aay: then ig it won't open for a while bc its gotta be redecorated by us and then uhh we still have to make a menu and all that and advertise + pass the health inspection so it won't happen too soon but soonish!!!!?

Aay: idk theres a lot to do but im so excited

Kurin: wait you haven't viewed the place yet??

Aay: well kinda????? we went there before the old cafe shut down so we know some stuff but we need to see what we gotta buy bc the old owners took a lot of stuff when they left lol

Kurin: oh that checks out

Riot: what r the chances of someone like buying it before you???

Aay: very low

Riot: rlly?????

Aay: im not the one sorting that out but apparently yeah

Aay: Dees in charge of all the finance stuff and shes been talking to the guy whos selling it to like arrange our viewing and apparently were the first to ask to look around so!!!!

Riot: damn

Riot: seems like you guys got rlly lucky

Kurin: yeah I'm really looking forward to this

Kurin: let me know if you need help with anything btw

Aay: WILL DO!!!!!

Aay: o shit lol class is starting

Riot: UR IN COLLEGE RN????

Aay: yeah?? only just tho class starts at 1:30 on tuesdays lol

Riot: oh nice

Kurin: if class started that late for me I'd sleep in every morning......

Riot: lazy ass mf

Kurin: uncalled for

Riot: you know I'm right thooooo

Aay: goodbye chattttt

Magnus: goodbye

Riot: oh hey Magnus I forgot you were here

Magnus: okay?

Kurin: average chat lurker experience

Riot: lol true

Aay: 👋👋👋👋👋

Kurin: enjoy class Aay!! see you later

Riot: yeah ttyl!

Riot: so like Magnus got anything to say??? you've been chat lurking a lot today rather than speaking

Magnus: not really

Riot: boooringgggg

Magnus: should I?

Riot: idk, yes?? like there has to be something you have to say or talk abt right????

Magnus: no, not really

Riot: are you ffr?

Riot: okay Magnus what have you been doing today !!

Magnus: I dropped Emily off at school, fell asleep on the couch and read the messages here

Riot: is that actually all you've done?????

Magnus: yes?

Riot: ???????????

Kurin sent an image!

Riot: ??

Riot: oh hi!

Kurin: hiii Riot

Kurin: how are you???

Riot: I'm alrighttt

Riot: hru??

Kurin: I'm pretty good actually!!

Kurin: Wynton just pulled a prank on Dan, you should've seen his reaction 😭

Riot: I did!! Kurin was just telling us about that LOL they sent a video

Kurin: oh! I'm glad they got a video, I was so annoyed I didn't think to film it when Dan reacted like THAT

Kurin: I'll have to get them to send it to me

Magnus: Lia?

Kurin: oh hi Magnus!

Kurin: have you been doing alright?

Kurin: sorry again about getting you kicked out of the garden center

Magnus: yeah, fine

Magnus: you don't need to apologize for that, it's not a big deal

Kurin: that's good! and glad you're not mad at us, Dan was pretty worried....

Riot: LOL oh yeah I forgot you guys got him kicked out of the garden center

Magnus: because of you asking me to film them playing catch with a plant pot

Riot: you didn't have to do it 🤷‍♀️

Kurin: 😭 no it was definitely our fault for causing that much chaos in the first place lol

Magnus: forget about it. it would have happened anyway if I'd stayed with the others, Aay was in there eating cacti

Kurin: he was WHAT?

Riot: yeaaaahh somehow not the weirdest thing he's eaten

Kurin: yeah I don't even know what to think about that statement

Magnus: believe me, you don't want to know

Kurin: oh no worries I believe you 😭

Kurin: okay I'm giving Kurin their phone back now

Kurin: talk to you later!!

Riot: goodbyeeee

Magnus: bye

Kurin: hi I'm back

Riot: boooooo Lia should steal ur phone again she's better than you

Kurin: I hope your butler spills your tea on you

Kurin: and she didn't steal my phone

Kurin: she asked who I was texting and when I said you, she asked if she could say hi so I let her

Riot: oh

Riot: you should give it back to her then, she's still better than you

Kurin: and just for that I'm turning my phone off so you can text neither her nor me, bye Riot

Riot: omg nooooo the horror

Riot: it's not like I could text her on her account or anything anyway smfh 🙄

Riot: but bye loser

Riot: aaaaaanddddd I win

Magnus: how exactly did you win?

Riot: notice how Kurin is offline being social???

Riot: I win

Magnus: .

Magnus: true

Magnus: nice one

Riot: ty ty ✨✨✨

In all honesty, hanging out with the Awesome Brawlers had been far less stressful than Kurin had imagined it being.

In their mind, the Awesome Brawlers had constant attention on them at all times, everyone always watching them to see what they'd do, or trying to talk to them because they're internet famous and perhaps the right conversation could lead to them getting invited into the group and getting a piece of that fame too.
Kurin wasn't sure why they'd always imagined it like that, maybe it was from what they'd seen when the Awesome Brawlers were at the height of their popularity? Shortly after each time the group had saved the world, they'd always be swarmed with fans challenging them to brawl. No one would leave them in peace for even a moment. They remembered skipping class in a toilet cubicle only to hear Dan get challenged to a brawl as he tried to wash his hands. They recalled notes being thrown forwards from behind them as someone in their English class decided they wanted to brawl with Wynton after class. They'd seen one time, while walking over to Chad and Chester's table, that a crowd of students were surrounding the Awesome Brawler's table.
In their mind, it was always like that for the team. And while Kurin liked the idea of fame... The reality of it wasn't for them.
That was why they'd always avoided the Awesome Brawlers at school, they'd work with them in class if they had to, but preferably they'd stay away, keep their distance. They liked the Awesome Brawlers, if anyone from the group talked to them, they'd reply and hold a conversation. But they just couldn't handle it, all eyes on them. It made Kurin feel sick, like they'd consumed too many sweets followed by a cream cheese bagel drizzled in honey. It left a bad taste in their mouth, left them second guessing their every word and action. It made them anxious.

In truth, that was why they'd dropped out of Needles in the end. Before they put the mask on, no one paid them any attention so they thought that was what they wanted, to be seen. Once the mask came off, it was unbearable. People seemed to whisper behind their back about who they were, how they'd battled Dan, the music they made, who they knew. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either. Being known felt suffocating, like they constantly had the expectations of others weighing down on their shoulders. So they'd given it up, regressed into the shadows as much as they could.

Today, Riot had pressured them into trying something terrifying that had turned out to not be so scary after all. Barely anyone had paid attention to the group, aside from when Dan had screamed over the fake spider, no one even seemed to notice Kurin at all. No one approached the group either, except for a friend of Dan's - Kurin recognised from their math class - who stopped by to pull him aside and ask him a question. It seemed like Kurin had been wrong, most students at their school knew how to act respectfully around the Awesome Brawlers and neither crowded nor stared at them.

Kurin had to admit, they'd enjoyed spending their lunch break with the group, they were nice to be around. Letting Lia message the group chat on their phone was kind of fun, and it had been pleasantly surprising to hear from Lia that her and Riot were close friends and had been since their time as roommates at the Bakugan Academy, something Riot had never mentioned before. It was nice finding out they had a mutual close friend with Lia and being able to talk about Riot with her, both able to laugh together about stories of Riot's antics.

They hadn't understood much of Dan and Ajit's conversation about some game but it was nice background noise and semi-interesting to tune into every now and then.. But before that, Ajit had checked they were okay and talked with them for a bit about yesterday's geography class and the kahoot names.

It turned out, Shun had been messaging his family group chat to work out a time his dad and cousin could meet Lia when they visited in a few weeks time, as his family wanted to officially meet his girlfriend. Kurin had forgotten that Shun and Lia were in a relationship, they'd also forgotten that Lia was also in a relationship with Athena, they were reminded of the second part when Lia mentioned that the three were going on a double date after school ended this afternoon, one of many reasons why Athena was trying to finish her homework before lunch was over.

After some prodding, Wynton had admitted the spider prank idea had come from Jenny, leading Dan and Lia to start teasing him about when he was ever going to confess his crush on her, putting Wynton on defence as he argued all the reasons he wasn't ready or why he couldn't.

It felt normal, despite all of the Awesome Brawler's fame and popularity, by the time the bell rang for the end of lunch, Kurin had almost forgotten they were anxious about that. It had just felt like being a part of a regular friend group.
They'd forgotten how nice it was getting to spend time with them.. Kurin had to admit, they were really glad Riot had bullied them into accepting Ajit's offer to join them for lunch, it was the most fun break they'd had for a long time at school, and then they'd ended up walking to their next class with Dan, Lia and Shun.. So it hadn't even ended there..

It really was a great day.

But it had only gotten better once classes had ended and they'd gone home. No matter how much they'd ended up enjoying hanging out with the Awesome Brawlers, nothing could beat this right now...

Lying on their floor, their best friend lying across from them. In between them, Kurin's laptop sat open, displaying a paused episode of Phineas and Ferb that them and Aay had abandoned in favour of talking about all the latest from that day. They'd begun by discussing Aay's cafe plans again, talking about how great the news was, shooting ideas back and forth, Aay continuing to jokingly suggest Kurin work at the cafe with the Exit Team.. Then Aay had wanted to know details of Kurin's time with the Awesome Brawlers at lunch, seeming really happy that Kurin had ended up having a good time with them. Then, they'd finally gotten onto the current topic of Aay's day at college, full of funny stories like the one he was telling now.

"Right! So then class has just ended and I'm leaving the main building, going towards the car-park and there's this art student - well, I'm guessing art student, they had a huge sketchbook - coming the other direction from E-block, talking on their phone?" Aay continued with his current story, having already wrapped up the last one about how a boy in his class had tripped over a chair in the college restaurant and sent their omelette flying into some lady's hair. "And I wasn't paying attention because not my business, right? But then I just hear them say, out of nowhere, really loudly, 'This is reminding me of "I want to fuck the shit out of that Lego piece" But less weird and slightly more confusing' Like dude, what?!"

Kurin let out a loud snort of laughter, taken off guard by the unexpected quote, while Aay openly wheezed at the memory. "I'm telling ya, I lost it. I was laughing all the way to the carpark and when I got there it still took me like five minutes of sitting in the car fuckin' losing it every time I thought about it and tried to imagine what the context could be before I could stop laughin' and finally drive home, man..." He sighed away the remnants of his laughter, grinning across at Kurin with a mischievous look in his eyes. "They heard me laughing as well, like straight up. They looked right at me, grinned and then waved before walking off; Amazing, honestly." Aay paused, his eyes wandering away from Kurin to look around the room, leading Kurin to think he was finished, they opened their mouth to reply to the story but Aay cut them off, his eyes snapping back from where they'd previously landed on the computer screen, continuing.

"Oh and the best part?" He started again, tilting his head at his friend, "I saw them a few weeks ago too during a break. Me and Bee were headed out to town to grab some food so we were passing E-block and they were sat with someone who had really cool jellyfish earrings - on one of the tables outside there? They were recording a voice message I think? But they were explaining something like they were Doof talking to Perry, all 'So you see, Perry the Platypus-'," Kurin couldn't help breaking and laughing properly at Aay impersonating Dr Doofenshmirtz, it was so bad it was even funnier than it would have been if he'd done a good impression of him, something Kurin had grown to appreciate since Aay had got them to watch the show. "And like, then they started explaining how someone stole their username once? I wish I could've listened in to the whole thing, it sounded so funny."

Resting their cheek in one hand, while letting the other fall flat on the carpet Kurin gave a hum of agreement, "Sounds it, I could totally imagine that being the backstory for an 'inator' in the show too.." They mused, "The... Username-replace-inator?"

Aay hummed back, "Maybe... Username-removal-inator?" He suggested in return.

"How about the Account-delete-inator? So whoever stole their username would delete their account and they could get the username back?" Kurin shot back.

A grin spread back wider than before across Aay's face, "That is the one!" He declared, "But what would Phineas and Ferb build that it would get rid of?"

Kurin squinted, looking down at the purple rug beneath them, studying each individual strand of the purple fake fur as they tried to think up a plot, "How about.." They begun slowly, contemplating a little further before continuing, "Instead of building something, they decide they want to go viral online and so make an account on the internet where they do that - like when they wanted to be one-hit wonders..? Then the invention hits them and they delete the account just before Candace manages to get their Mom to look up the account, so there's no account there when she searches the username?"

"Now that is perfect!" Aay announced, "The writers should hire you, for real."

A smile made its way across Kurin's face, relaxed, calm and full of genuine happiness, "They definitely should." They agreed jokingly, then returning to the previous topic, added, "So much stuff happens at your college though, it's wild..."

Aay nodded proudly in response, "Yep! Never a dull moment!"

It had been no secret, ever since Aay had first started at college, it was obvious he enjoyed it far more than school. It was a place where he could learn and practice the thing he excelled at - the thing other than causing ridiculous amounts of chaos, that was - without being treated like he were stupid for not being good at academics.

Ever since Kurin's older friend had started there, he'd had non-stop stories to tell about his classmates doing crazy things, teachers being fun - unlike the strict teachers he'd had at school - and other students on campus being entertaining in their daily lives. In truth, it almost made Kurin feel impatient to get to start there themself...

It had sucked at first, two years ago when their closest friend had left their school to move on to the next stage, leaving them behind... It's not like it was really a choice, Aay had to move on once he finished year eleven, but it still sucked. In that first year at school, Kurin had gotten so used to not being alone. They hadn't had friends in primary school, but Aay had been their friend from outside of school, ever since that day when they'd first met...

Finally being in the same school as him had been great, Kurin had been able to spend all the breaks and lunches of their first year with a friend, with multiple friends as Bee, Cee, Dee and E welcomed them into the group too, people didn't mess with them like they'd been scared they would because they had a group of older friends who looked like intimidating rule breakers but who Kurin knew to be a group of lovable dumbasses.

Yet the upset they felt had faded away quickly, seeing how much Aay was thriving at college after years of hearing him talk about how much his teachers sucked and a year of witnessing the unfair treatment Aay and the others received at school.. Kurin could only really feel happy for him, knowing things were so much better for him in college.

"Hey, speakin' of places where there's never a dull moment!" Aay piped up again, dragging Kurin out of their thoughts to refocus their attention on their friend. "There's not exactly been a dull moment in that group chat Riot made for us, has there?"

Kurin rolled their eyes lightheartedly, "Yeah, right. How could there be? You 'broke your arm', Magnus got kicked out of a garden centre while you ate cacti, you built bigfoot in the park and now today you revealed you're buying a cafe...? Never a dull moment with you around." They teased.

With a shrug, Aay placed one hand beneath his chin as he smiled and batted his eyelashes, "I know, I'm amazing." He joked. Kurin tossed a cushion at his face, causing Aay to let out a yelp of surprise as it hit him in the face. He made a huff of false annoyance before picking the cushion up and lazily tossing it back over to Kurin, "But I keep thinking, Magnus hasn't talked all that much there yet."

"Mm? I don't know about that..." Kurin replied, moving the cushion to rest their arms on it, "He's talked much more than I thought he would when Riot made the chat, this is Magnus we're talking about. He's impossible to get a hold of. If you ask me, it's a miracle he's talked as much there as he already has." They paused, thinking back on the previous conversations they'd all had in the group chat before adding, "Besides, a lot of the time when he goes quiet it's because me, you and Riot are all talking about something he doesn't know about, like P&F." They pointed out, gesturing vaguely at the laptop screen.

Aay hummed in agreement, seeming to get stuck on something Kurin had said. "Yeah, that's true.. It is kinda weird he's spoken as much as he has when you put it that way.. Still, I 'dunno, I just feel like we should find a way to involve him more."

Kurin blinked in surprise, "I guess?" They agreed, "But like... How?" They asked, moving up into a sitting position and pulling the cushion onto their lap. "I mean.. He doesn't exactly respond to anything unless he wants to. Even if we tried to involve him, if he doesn't care about the topic, he won't bother to answer."

For a moment, they both sat in silence, contemplating. It was true, Magnus was pretty avoidant like that, if he didn't care about the conversation topic, he wouldn't respond, no one could get Magnus Black to do anything he didn't personally want to do.. Which meant although Aay's idea was a nice one, it was a lot more difficult to put into practice than it otherwise could have been.

"Well... He usually responds to things that annoy him or that he finds stupid?" Aay finally broke the silence, "He even started a conversation the other day just to call my statue stupid."

Kurin paused, thinking about what Aay had just said... He wasn't wrong, Magnus did seem to become more active in conversations whenever the topic was something he thought was stupid, he had spoken a lot about the bigfoot statue..

It was a stupid idea, but something about it just made enough sense for Kurin to agree...

"Then in that case," They begun, having come to their conclusion, an amused smile flickering across their lips. "I dare you to find a way to annoy Magnus into a conversation with you in the group chat."

A moment passed but then slowly, a shit eating grin spread its way across Aay's face.

"Deal."