Saturday, August 12, 2017
It was the tip of the evening as Mia and Olivia walked down the street of the small town that they were staying the night in.
"Nope. Not a convenience store." Mia said as they peeked through the window of a small kitchen supply store.
"Yeah, I can tell. Thanks." Olivia said, for the first time starting to feel annoyed by her friend's antics.
"I just can't believe this is happening to you." Mia replied. Olivia crossed her arms and pouted.
"Yeah. If there was a betting pool on this happening to you, I would've put my savings into it." Olivia retorted.
"I would say 'Screw you.', but I think that's how you got into this mess."
The two friends scowled at each other before breaking into laughter.
"What about this place?" Mia asked as she pointed to a liquor store.
"I… don't know. Would they carry pregnency tests?"
"If they don't, they should! Think about it!"
"Oh, very funny."
Back in Hollywood, Cameron sat in the living room chair with his arms angrily crossed while Sylvester and Maya sat on the couch across from him.
"We haven't been on the ground for five hours and you've already pulled this stunt. Your mom's right, you're thinking with the wrong head."
That was enough for Sylvester, he got up and stood to Cameron with his hands balled up into fists.
"It's. Not. About. That."
"Uh… I'm going to go now." Maya said as she got up.
"Maya, please..." Sylvester said as he quickly changed his tone. Maya didn't respond and walked out of the door.
"If that's the girl, then you really need to man up and call the authorities." Cameron said as he stood up and stared down his cousin.
"She's just going to elude them again. At least this way I can keep her safe, because that's what a man does." Sylvester replied though clenched teeth.
Cameron sighed and dropped his aggressive glare. There was no arguing with Sylvester's logic.
"Fine. Do what you want. Just don't let me catch you with that girl in here again, because that is a rule that your mom has put down."
"Okay, fine."
Further north, Olivia and Mia went into their hotel room. As Olivia started reading the back of the box, a knock at the door broke her concentration.
"Crap! Hide it! It could be Orson!"
"It's okay. Come in!" Olivia said with a slightly raised voice. The door opened and Toby quickly rushed in.
"I came as soon as I got your text." He said as he wrapped an arm around his older cousin.
"Thanks. Well, I'm off to… yeah." Olivia said as she held up the test.
"Good luck!" Mia and Toby both said to Olivia as she went into the restroom.
"So… you're Toby, right? I've heard a lot about you." Mia said as she awkwardly extended her hand to the younger teen. With the same level of awkwardness, he shook it and nodded.
"The only time I've seen you was in a picture that Olivia showed me a few years ago. You're quite cuter now."
"Heh… thanks. I'm… actually taken, by the way." Toby said, not sure where the conversation was going.
"Whoa! Me too. I apologize if I gave you the wrong idea." Mia quietly said as she looked down at the carpet. Before the two of them could add to the awkwardness any further, Olivia came out of the room.
"And now we wait." She said as she sat down on the bed.
"Have you decided on what you're going to do if… you are?" Toby asked.
"Not really. I've been too scared to think about it. I'm afraid of what Orson would think… or how my family would react..."
"Yeah. I can just imagine how nuts the hormones would make you." Mia chimed in, only to cower down a bit when both Toby and Olivia gave her a glare.
"She's got a point, Olivia." Toby said.
"What?"
"They've noticed that something is off about you…"
"WHAT?!"
"Hey, it was only Calvin..."
"...You didn't."
Toby didn't have a response, only looking down at the hotel carpet.
"Tobias." Olivia said with a frown, legitimately shocked at this leak of information.
"Look, he was worried and I had to tell him something."
"Yeah, and that something is probably already in Orson's ears by now."
"That's not true and you know it! I trust Calvin with all of my secrets, if I tell him to not tell anyone, I know that he will keep it to his grave if need be!"
"Time's up." Mia interrupted. Olivia took a deep breath and stood up. Toby got up and hugged her tight.
"Whatever happens. I'm here for you, even if nobody else is."
Olivia wiped away a tear and walked into the bathroom. Time stopped for the two remaining people in the room as she walked back into the room with the test in hand.
"I'm not pregnant."
Sunday, August 13, 2017
The next morning, Cameron and Sylvester walked down the street towards a restaurant near to Sylvester's apartment. The two walked in silence as the younger cousin tossed a water bottle up and down.
"Remember. Best behavior."
"Best as possible. I'll be an absolute angel. You have my word." Sylvester said as he caught the bottle yet again.
The two walked into the restaurant and approached the table where the others (now in Hollywood) were sitting at. Before anyone could say anything, Sylvester's water bottle slipped from his hand and landed standing up between Toby and Calvin.
"Ha! Totally nailed it." Sylvester said with a smug grin.
"This… this is my cousin." Cameron said, embarrassed at the very poor first impression.
"Hi!" Sylvester said with a smile and a wave. The others at the table politely mumbled greetings.
"Cameron, can I see you outside for a second?" Mia asked as she got up. Cameron nodded and turned to his cousin.
"Sit down. Don't. Do. Anything. Stupid. Understand?" He growled as he held Sylvester's collar. Sylvester nervously looked around before nodding and taking an empty seat at the table.
"Don't you think that's a little extreme?" Mia said to her boyfriend as the two of them walked out of the restaurant.
"Yeah, I know. I'm just getting tired of his acts. We haven't been here twenty-four hours and he's already getting into trouble again. At this rate, he's either going to be forced to live with me, or fast-tracked into some kid prison. Where he belongs." Cameron replied as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
"Olivia's not pregnant. We got her to take a test last night."
"Well, that's a relief for her. Wait, who do you mean by we? Does her boyfriend know?"
"It was just me and her cousin."
Cameron looked through the restaurant window to make sure that Sylvester was sitting down and behaving himself.
"Based on what you've told me, are you sure that the cousin wasn't going to be the father?" Cameron said, semi-sarcastically. Mia rolled her eyes and gave her boyfriend a playful smack.
"...Shut up. And put that out."
Mia reached up and grabbed the nearly-finished cigarette from Cameron's lips and threw it to the ground.
"Seriously?"
"Let's get back in there before your cousin lowers everybody's opinion of us."
The two walked back into the restaurant to the pleasant surprise of Sylvester sitting at the table and talking normally with everyone else.
"Yeah, and then me and my friend were told that we were never allowed back into the store. That didn't stop us from getting on the intercom again, however." Sylvester smugly said as the older teenagers looked at each other with concern.
"Well, I see that you've not angered anybody. Good job." Cameron said as he put his hand on Sylvester's shoulder.
"Yeah, I was just telling everyone about how I'm not welcome in that store across the street." Sylvester said, almost with pride.
"Charming." Mia said as she took a seat along with Cameron.
"That's the way it is. They got mad because I had a camera recording. That's the only way you can get views online."
"No. No it isn't." Orson said, irritated at Sylvester's assumption that doing the wrong thing was the right thing.
"Come on. You all have never done anything crazy when you were younger?" Sylvester replied.
"I once attempted to run away from home." Toby said with a shrug.
"Whoa! Really?" Sylvester said as he turned to the boy.
"Yeah. A friend tried to get me to go across the country with him. Long story."
"And you didn't? What? Did you chicken out?"
"Put him on a leash. Now." Orson sternly to Cameron. Cameron, not to be made someone's servant, stared him down.
"Hey..." Mia said as she put her hand on Cameron's shoulder.
"Sorry..." Sylvester said as he realized that he was on the verge of starting a war right there in the restaurant. He kept his mouth shut as they all got their lunches and ate in peace.
"Well, I better take him back home." Cameron said as Sylvester rolled his eyes at being treated like a little kid.
"I'm going to join him." Mia added as she stood next to Cameron and Sylvester.
"I'm going back to my room and getting ready. I go on stage tomorrow at eleven." Orson said.
"I'm going sightseeing with these two." Olivia said as she stood by Toby and Calvin.
"I'm going on my own sightseeing. There's a college nearby that I'm going to check out." Kenton said.
"Hey. It was nice meeting you. I'm a fan of your work." Sylvester politely said as he shook Orson's hand.
"Nice meeting you, too. Thanks for your support." Orson said with a semi-genuine smile.
"And I heard the news. Congrats on your baby! I hope all goes well."