( 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖿𝗈𝗎𝗋 — 𝗀𝗎𝗒𝗌, 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗋𝗎𝗉𝗍𝖾𝖽 )

The only upside that Ben Wheeler could see to his mother moving to live closer to them was to make babysitting his child easier for the both of them — reason why he gave her a key.

Though, his other two brothers and Tucker were not to happy about his decision-making that led for them to have less privacy in their own apartment because of Bonnie coming over all the time and changing things around the apartment without warning — some of which may include, baby-proofing the apartment or walking in on Tucker half naked.

That woman really had no boundaries, unlike Charlotte Wright — although they weren't much different either. But, at least she still knocked before entering an apartment that wasn't hers.

"Coffee. Please get me some coffee." Charlotte grumbled as she walked past Tucker and towards the kitchen with Tommy right behind her, not caring to listen to their conversation. She circled around Danny to stand by his side just as a coffee-filled mug was passed to the grip of her hands to take. "Thank you, please."

"Where's Emma?" Tommy inquired after pulling himself up onto the stool in front of his sister without in need of support. Though before his question could be answered, a voice from behind him spoke. "I was going to ask that very same question."

Ben softly ruffled Tommy's hair, him and Brodie making their presence known after finally waking up from their slumber, leading for the former of the three to question his daughter's whereabouts after not seeing her in his room.

Referring to one of the subjects of Danny and Tucker's bickering moments prior, the bathroom door finally opened before Bonnie stepped out holding Emma in her arms after just giving her a bath alongside herself. "Good morning!"

"Oh! Pajamas— got to get me some." Tucker was quick to grab the nearest towel to wrap around the lower half of his body.

"I mean that's technically your fault." Charlotte mumbled after taking another sip of her coffee, continuing. "I thought you would have took care of that as soon as the four-year old walked into the room."

The Dobbs simply stuck his tongue out at Charlie as if he was a child before turning himself back around and into the conversation that Ben had started, questioning his mother. "Did you spend the night?"

Bonnie then explained to her son as if it was no big deal. "Oh, don't be silly. I just know how early Emma wakes up, so I thought you might like to sleep in." She started to sit down on the couch as Tucker began making his way to the bathroom when Bonnie informed. "Oh, and the drain's a little backed up. Sorry. I think some of my extensions might have come out."

Tucker smiled sarcastically. "Oh, well, I better go pull them out of the drain before Ben gives them a key, too."

His sarcastic remark earned different reactions from the group, Ben of course being the only one unamused as he poured himself a cup of coffee, shaking his head at the Wright siblings who shared a laugh.

"And I'm late for the rink." Danny turned before standing up to his feet. "Coach wants me to practice some of my key moves."

"Subtle." Danny walked past Ben and to his room only to leave Brodie, Tommy and Charlotte, the latter of the three clearing her throat and made a gesture at Ben to talk to his mother, given her excuse. "Well, I need to get ready for my shift..."

"Come on then, Tommy." Brodie smiled softly towards the four-year old who grabbed his hand in support to get down from the stool. "How about you and I get changed and then go out for breakfast before I go to work?"

"Yeah!" Tommy giggled whilst running straight past him, following his sister to their own apartment to get changed, with Brodie being the last one to leave his brother and mom alone to talk, getting ready to leave with Tommy.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Since Ben still hadn't been able to remind Bonnie about the boundaries that are set in their apartment, their only plan until then was to avoid her. Just like the Wheeler brothers had done now as they rushed out of their apartment with Emma and Tommy, disappearing towards the stairs just before their mother stepped out of the elevator to go into their apartment once again.

"Emma!" Bonnie grinned while shutting the door behind her, holding a giant stuffed bunny. "Look what your grandma brought you. It's a bunny the size of your daddy's roommate."

Tucker ( who was left behind and not been able to escape with the boys ), stopped in front of Bonnie with a stern expression at her last comment about him.

"Alright!" The door opened again before Charlie stepped inside with a glare on her face. "Where's my kid? Tommy!"

"He's still with her sons." The Dobbs reassured Charlotte before pulling his phone out in attempt to contact one of the Wheelers.

"Where?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Tucker grumbled under his breath as he sat himself down on the couch with his phone in his hand.

"Meaning they could be anywhere in New York right now." Bonnie scowled in frustration, pacing back and forth in the kitchen. "This is exactly why I need to be here. I'm gone for two seconds, and they've got Emma and Tommy out past their bedtime. God knows where, doing god knows what?"

"Hi, Ben." Tucker ignored the woman's ranting to type out a message to him. "I'm trapped with your mom and Charlie. Where are you? I hate you. Call me."

"Do you expect us to believe that you don't know where they are?" Bonnie inquired, with Charlotte looking at the boy in search for an answer who did not have one that they were looking for as he continued to express his annoyance. "Know how you can tell? If I did, I'd be with them."

"Well, until you dig up some information, it's just you, us and the clock." The blonde-haired woman reminded the boy. "Tick, tock, Tucker."

"Wow. Really wish I could hang around, but you know what?" Tucker stood up from the couch, gesturing to his phone. "I was just on the phone with Vanessa before you two got here— which is totally true. And, um, she said she'd like me to come on over, so—"

"Haven't you broken up with her yet?" Charlotte groaned after not being able to reach any of the Wheeler boys for the 5th time, though was able to hear their conversation.

"Well, maybe I'll do it tonight." Tucker answered Charlotte who made her way into the kitchen in a huff, leaving Bonnie to turn to the Dobbs. "Let me give you a little advice, Tuck-a-doodle-do. All women really want to hear is the truth. We can take it. We're tough. Look at Charlotte. Look at me. You can tell me anything."

Tucker looked at her warily. "I still don't know where they are."

Bonnie grunted in annoyance at the same time as Charlotte who was nearing the point of throwing her phone across the room. "Oh, damn you, Benjamin Bon Jovi Wheeler!"

"Exactly!"

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

For the duration of waiting for the boys to come back or at least get in contact with them, Bonnie and Charlotte decided to use the time to help Tucker break up with Vanessa.

"No— No, V. Baby." Tucker was speaking to his girlfriend through the phone in the process of breaking up with her whilst Bonnie and Charlotte nodded, encouraging him along. "I'm just saying, I think we need to talk. Yeah. Okay. No no no, I'm just— No no. We've just been really— if you could just let me speak—"

"Oh, for the love of god, give me that." Charlotte seethed, snatching the phone off Tucker once she had enough and put the phone to her ear to take care of this break-up herself. "Vanessa, sweetie? Hi, Charlotte Wright— the Wheeler's friend. Real quick— Tucker is breaking up with you. Bye bye."

Bonnie gestured to the phone that Charlotte had just dropped onto the sofa. "And that's how you do it."

Tucker stared at Charlotte with a dumbfounded expression. "What did you ju—" He cut himself off by standing up to his feet. "Oh my god, I can't believe you ju— you did it." The Dobbs finally realised the outcome to Charlotte's action. "I'm free. That was amazing!"

"Don't have to tell me twice." Charlotte smiled as she pushed herself off the couch before heading towards the kitchen for a drink, leaving Tucker and Bonnie on the couch — the latter of the two clenching her jaw at what Tucker had just admitted.

"I don't know, Tucker." The fake grin on Bonnie's face dropped as the Dobbs boy turned to look at her with his mouth agape. "Who said me being here was a bad idea?"

Soon, Bonnie began pacing back and forth again with Tucker non-stop rambling in excitement over his break up with Vanessa. Thankfully, a knock on the door had the Dobbs in fear that the person behind it could be his ex-girlfriend which led him out the room in seconds.

"Hey." Riley greeted as the two women appeared in her view. One huffing in annoyance, whilst the other glanced between Riley to her date. "Oh. Hi, Riley. Officer."

Riley ignored Bonnie to instead inform her about the boys' whereabouts. "Your sons, Emma and Tommy are in my apartment hiding out. So maybe you two can settle this so I can have my place back?"

"They're hiding out? From me?" Bonnie stared at the Perrin girl with a gobsmacked expression as Charlotte was already getting ready to walk out the door. "Oh. Well, I think they're about to be found. Come on, Charlie!"

"Right behind you, Bon-Bon." Charlotte strutted behind the blonde-haired woman and towards the elevator.

As soon as Bonnie and Charlotte reached Riley's apartment, the Wright girl tuned out any other voices in the possibility of an arguement between Bonnie and her sons and focused on her brother, picking him up into her arms before making her way back out of the apartment with the Wheelers following behind — the boys attempting to talk to their mother who held Emma all the way back to the other apartment.

"Alright, mom, please. Let me explain—" Charlie had already gone into her own apartment in focus to put Tommy to bed.

Bonnie stopped at the apartment door to turn to her sons. "All right, go ahead. No? Didn't think so." She didn't give them a chance to respond before using her key to unlock the door before stepping inside.

Ben pressed on the light-switch to turn the lights back on to reveal Riley and Jack sat on the floor by the couch in attempt to have their date that they couldn't have before.

Danny and Brodie instantly narrowed their eyes at their brother, the latter first to groan. "Are you just giving keys to everyone now?"

"Be quiet! Tommy's going to sleep." Charlotte ran into their apartment at Brodie's shout, her eyes pulling towards Riley and her date. "Ooh, what are you two doing?"

"Just trying out the worst date ever." Riley could only answer with sarcasm since her date with Jack was being interrupted yet again. "Oh, look, it's working."

"Where were you guys?" Tucker beamed, making his way out from the hallway with a pudding cup in his hands.

"Tucker? How long have you been there?" His presence surprised Riley due to her assumption that nobody else was in the apartment after Bonnie and Charlotte left.

Tucker chuckled. "Long enough."

"I'll put Emma to bed and then you can all return to your regularly scheduled depravity." Bonnie walked past the group with Ben in toe, holding his arms up in attempt to take his daughter off her hands. "I can put her down."

"Oh. Oh, right." Bonnie turned around to face her son who took Emma from her arms, reminding him with a bitter tone. "Don't need Grandma's help anymore. I get it."

"No, mom. That's not what I'm saying."

"Then what are you saying?" Bonnie turned and stopped herself from walking out the apartment before Ben could finally explain. Unfortunately, neither Riley or Charlotte could persuade one of the Wheeler boys or Tucker to confess.

"Okay. Well, this is something we just learned in our mediation class for settling disputes." Riley mentioned to the group at the idea of trying to solve their problems. "I just need to find something to use as a truth totem."

Jack furrowed his brows in confusion. "We didn't learn that in mediation." He pointed out to the blonde who sighed in frustration. "Okay, so I learned it at fat camp."

"Fat Camp?" Jack raised his brows at this piece of information that he had only heard about from Danny earlier who sent him a smug smile. "Told you."

This only had Danny receive a whack on the arm by Charlotte to shut him up for that moment as Riley ignored his remark as well to continue on when she approached Ben. "All right. This will be our truth rattle. Or not." The blonde added after failing to take Emma's toy off her hands. "All right. Um, so whoever's holding the truth baby has to tell the truth. And since Ben is conveniently holding our totem, Ben?"

"Oh, for crying out loud, just spit it out." Bonnie groaned after receiving no response from him yet again. "You can tell me anything."

"You're overbearing and rude, and I want my key and my baby back." Ben's sudden snap caused everyone to fall in shock, watching as Bonnie simply clenched her jaw with no words to say at that moment before she stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

"Wow." Riley chuckled awkwardly before looking at Ben. "No one was ever that truthful at fat camp.

"Ben." Charlotte called out to Ben, approaching him with a look in her eyes that soon had him bouncing on his feet, passing Emma over to her so he could follow after his mother.

While they waited for the mother and son to try and solve their problems, the group continued on with the game with Tucker now holding Emma in his arms, taking this opportunity to admit what's bothering him.

"I'm annoyed because everyone keeps forgetting that this is my apartment." The Dobbs looked over at Danny and Brodie to add on. "And would it kill you two to refill an ice cube tray?"

"That all you got?" Danny sent a teasing grin at his roommate who was quick to remark. "My big list is in the other room."

"Charlie!" Brodie exclaimed, shaking her head off his shoulder that she had just leant on to fall asleep. "I'm awake." She mumbled tiredly before pushing herself away from him to look around the group. "Oh God, Tommy. I gotta get back. See you lot tomorrow."

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

megan speaks!

i hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter! i'm sorry there's not much of ben and charlotte but there will be soon!

don't forget to comment if you would like as i absolutely adore reading them. thanks for reading, i love you all!! <33