We Like 2 Party (Finn and Phen)

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How long had it been since Jackson had been to a friend's house to stay the night? Surely not since he'd left home! No, he wasn't going to be childish and call it a sleepover(even though that's what it was), but he was still bouncing around like a child at the prospect. What would they do tonight? Watch movies? Play games? No, wait, that was stuff girls did. Uhh...they could...watch sports. And talk about...girls. And dare each other to do stupid things!

It was just going to be a small thing. Finn had invited him over, saying he had one other friend who would be joining them, and Jackson could hardly contain how positively touched he was that Finn thought of him when he thought to hold this little slumber party.

Jackson showed up a little bit late. His Grams had fussed over him as usual, making sure he had everything he needed with him, including pajamas, clean underwear, his medication and supplies, and last but not least, his pillow. Of course he'd bring his pillow, Jackson couldn't sleep without it. But he did feel sheepish, standing in front of the rather large house that Finn(and his sister) lived in. It made him feel just a touch inadequate...and then he wondered if maybe he had over-prepared. What if he did forget something? What if they thought him silly for bringing PJs and a pillow? And a couple select other things that Grams didn't know he had?

He took a couple deep breaths to try and rid himself of that anxiety....nope, still there. Jackson wondered if he'd end up seeing Finn's sister again. That thought both excited and terrified him. She was something of a girl, alright! Jackson shook that thought from his mind and forced himself to find the courage to ring the doorbell. Jackson waited for the door to open and he'd smile brightly at whomever answered it. "Hiii, I'm here!" he beamed like the kid he was.

[Finn Eogeum]

This was a sleepover. This was such a sleepover and Finn had been looking forward to it. Of course, he'd needed help organising the event, and his sister had been happy to lend a hand when she wasn't working and practising. Which meant she had done a lot of the organisation, as Finn would introduce an idea and then get sidetracked to the next and the next and the next and somehow she managed to follow along and everything he had thought about doing was available to be done. This made Finn very happy.

When Phoenix had arrived (his fairy friend was already here, yup), Finn had talked quite a lot. He was in a good mood and he hadn't been speaking to Phen enough recently so having a good conversation was nice. They'd talked about a lot of stuff, about everything going on with Phoenix and about most of the stuff going on with Finn. You know, anything that didn't involve Rue. It was a safety precaution, really. The saturator was just glad he had managed to stay good friends with the younger boy, even after what happened, because Phen was lovely and Finn liked having friends like him. He also liked baking.

Baking? Oh yeah, they were baking things to nibble on throughout the night. Finn was being careful though. He was! He remember about Jackson's condition and did some research and now they could bake things with reduced sugar or no sugar and it would be all good and happy and if something went wrong, they could sort it out. Somehow. Right now, there were some cookies in the oven and Finn was still making sure everything was set up. There was some music playing too (kinda loud, but not too much) so he was bobbing along to that as he spoke to Phen and looked through movies and remembered to have more stuffed animals available and so on and so forth. "What's your favourite movie?" Finn asked brightly, "I wonder how many movies we could watch in one night... hmm..." He mused over this for a couple of seconds before thinking of something else, "Oh, and whaddaya wanna do tonight? We can do anything." There was a small pause as Finn's mind filled with impossible things they could not do. "....most things."

He was too distracted by music and conversation to notice the doorbell. Luckily, Vicky had smelled the cookies baking and had come down to pinch one, as she had assumed they were ready, and heard the doorbell instead. She waited a couple seconds to see if Finn or Phoenix was approaching before opening it herself.

Ah! Hickey boy!

She still needed to talk to Rue about that. Properly.

She gave a smirk, "Hey there, sweet cheeks." She said smoothly, glancing over her shoulder to check if Finn was approaching or not, which he still wasn't. She turned back to Jackson, "I see you're prepared for the battlefield. Come on in, darling." She opened the door a bit wider to let the boy step inside before closing it behind him. She pointed down the hall, "They're just through there, sweetie." The cat woman chimed, before strolling past to sneak out a cookie or two, if she could.

[Deleted]

It had taken a bit of convincing and pouting to Oriel (like usual) for Phoenix to go to the sleepover, but he’d promised to text whenever he could and call at least once before they went to sleep. No, Phen didn’t have a problem with Oriel practically acting like his mother, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t whine until he got to go! He liked Finn, and he was sure whoever else it was that he had invited over was also nice, because Finn was nice yup. Didn’t matter that he was friends with… That guy… Finn was still a great friend on his own.

He’d gotten to Finn’s house a little early so he had time to settle in and put his stuff away before the other boy – Jackson – arrived. Vicky was there, too, and Phen made a point to compliment her shyly and always dip his head when she was around. Finn’s sister was pretty, but kinda intimidating! With Finn, though, the pixie fed off the boy’s energy and talked a lot too, about Oriel and the engagement and finally being done at Hammel and work and his dad and etc. He tried to help in the kitchen as much as he could, but Phoenix was pretty useless in that regard, so he just watched and nibbled on some goodies that were already made. “Mm… My favorite movie?” he repeated, thinking. “Well, I like a lotta Disney movies, and Oriel’s got me hooked on musicals… but I like anythin’! We can watch eleventy different ones.” He flopped down on the couch and grinned. “Hmm… We shouuuld… Have a dance party! And watch music videos. And stuuuff.” Yup, he was full of ideas. Phoenix giggled a little. “Yeah, most things. Like… We shouldn’t go jump off a bridge, nope.”

He also didn’t hear the doorbell, but whenever Jackson made his appearance into the room, Phoenix would sit up and wave cheerily at him. “You’re Jackson, right?” he chirped. He was already in his cozy clothes – light sweatpants and one of Oriel’s too-big sweatshirts – but he didn’t think his appearance mattered too much. “I’m Phoenix! We’ve been bakin’ a lot of stuff, if you want some~ Well, Finn’s mostly been baking, I’ve just watched,” he added with a giggle.

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It was only going to be one other person, right? And if this other person was given a vague description such as that, then that person couldn’t possibly be Rue. Because then Finn would just go ahead and say it was a sleepover for him, Jackson and Rue, right? Which made Jackson wonder briefly why Rue hadn’t been invited?

Jackson, as can be expected, was completely oblivious to Phen and his past relationship with Rue, the person that Jackson was sort-of-sort-of-not seeing on a regular basis in a very like-like sort of way. It wasn’t dating…because that would make Rue his boyfriend….and Jackson wasn’t gay. Nope. After all, he liked girls. He liked Ginny and got flustered around her all the time, back when she was still speaking to him. That was proof enough that he wasn’t…

Ahem….anyway. Jackson bounced nervously on his heels as he waited for the door to open. His bag was stuffed full but wasn’t all that heavy as it was filled with things that were relatively plush and lacked density. Things that he was only comfortable bringing out in front of Finn thus far, considering the other boy’s personality(Jackson was still under the impression that Finn was the same age, if not younger than Rue). And depending on this other person, he might take the risk to go ahead and bring out Mr. Bartholomew Snugglemuffins, his stuffed Giraffe. Hey, he was ten when he named it, Jackson would never do something so embarrassing now.

Probably.

Jackson stiffened when the door opened and he smiled. Then he stiffened even more to see that scary sweet sister of Finn’s, the one who had shown the high school boy how to cover up a hickey with make-up. A whole lot of good that did, considering his Grams still noticed and demanded to meet his ‘french girlfriend’. “H-hi,” he stammered, trying not to sound as nervous as he no doubt looked. She was…pretty, but her confidence was intimidating. Like she knew she had something over you and wasn’t afraid to use it, but in the meantime, was such a doll. Jackson wondered if what Finn said was true…and that she was one of those girls who had a harem of men at her disposal?

Really, Jackson shouldn’t be thinking like that, that was rude to both Finn and her sister. He shook the thought away and collected himself, nodding to the woman and letting himself inside at her beckoning. “Okay….thank you…Vicky.” He offered the woman a smile then skittered in the direction she indicated. Jackson heard voices, one seeming to be chattering at a hundred miles a minute, while the other was close behind. It made him smile, to know that the other person sounded so friendly. His assumption was confirmed when he entered rounded the corner into the main room and another boy immediately greeted him. He looked nice. “Uh-huh!” he said with an excited nod with the smile to match. “It’s nice to meet you Phoenix!” His ears immediately keyed into the mention of baking, which meant food, which meant he was gonna be nomming in less than two minutes, pending there was anything done already. He might get sick but….yeah, Jackson brought reinforcements, so he’d be fine!

Jackson giggled along with Phoenix. He was funny! “I’m no good in the kitchen either….I’m much better at eating things in the kitchen, y’know? It’s my specialty, in fact!” Jackson dropped his overstuffed bag at the foot of the couch and plopped himself onto the floor. “So…how do you know Finn?” he asked innocently.

[Finn Eogeum]

Finn was glad that he could still comfortably be friends with both Phoenix and Rue. They were both awesome people, and losing one for the other would have been a huge shame, especially considering it was more likely that Finn would have lost Phen, and Phen was sweeter than anything Finn could ever bake. Well, unless he made syrup or something mainly sugar based. He hadn't thought forward, to the idea that Rue might come up, considering that all three of them had a good connection with him, or had, in Phen's case, but... but friends! And sleeping! And food and toys and games and music and fun and... and there were more important things!

But on the subject of Vicky (who always enjoyed being the subject of attention, of course), she liked the effect she had on people. On people like Phen and Jackson, who shrank under her pure confidence and charisma, or people like those guys he met some nights, who quickly learned she wasn't just a piece of meat to pick up. She liked having power. It made her feel... well, empowered. Duh. Ah, but hickey bo--- Jackson. Poor thing looked like he was shaking in his little shoes. "Have fun, cutie." She meant no haaarm~ But rolled her eyes and let her giggles float on the air as she went to the kitchen, pinched some booze and some sweets and sauntered back up the stairs. She would leave them alone... so long as the house didn't burn down. She was just glad to see her brother relaxed and in his element - surrounded by those he liked and confident. It was a nice sight to see.

Meanwhile, Finn was bouncing on his toes, "I have every Disney movie, I swear." Slight exaggeration. "Animated movies are the best~!" Finn would have a preference for those, "You know of Studio Ghibli?" Gotta love a good dose of Totoro! Finn giggled with Phen, "Yeah, no bridge jumping pleaaase~" He sang, still considering Phen's earlier idea and nodding enthusiastically. The energy in the room was infectious! "But we should! We should watch everything and dance all night and yes yes yes!" The older boy's mind was racing with multiple ideas, happily prepared to do anything.

Finn blinked up and smiled at Jackson at his appearance, and his smile grew wider as they spoke. He knew they would get along! See, Finn was smart sometimes! He himself was also already in some comfortable clothes, looking similar to Phoenix in baggy pyjama pants and a sweatshirt that looked suspiciously oversized. Definitely wasn't his, but hey, it was comfortable, why did it matter that it wasn't technically Finn's property? Pshh... he giggled as they spoke about baking, which reminded him...! Finn dashed off without a word and moments later, some clanging could be heard and the most recent batch of baked goods were on the side in the kitchen, and within seconds, Finn was back in the conversation, just in time to catch... that question.

How did Phoenix know Finn?

"Finn, this is Phoenix." Said his memories. In the voice of Rue.

It was probably a bad idea to mention him.

Ahhh.... um.... "...we met through a friend. Someone he was dating at the time, and isn't anymore. Stuff happened. The end." It was obvious he was avoiding something, but to Finn... he had evaded the crisis perfectly. Finn was the only one in this room who knew they all related to Rue in some way, and he expected his way of handling the situation to keep things that way. Yes. Perfect. "Imma get my laptop." For videos! And so, Finn ducked out of the room, and would return soon after distracted with loading his computer up, stuffed Gunter under his arm inconspicuously.

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Phoenix may not have gotten into Disney movies until Dani told him about them, but once he’d started watching them, they’d become one of his favorite things ever and he could watch them all a thousand times. “Studio Ghibli?” he repeated, confused. “I… I haven’t heard of that! Is it like Disney too?” His Asian pop culture knowledge was still lacking, though he’d started watching K-dramas recently (he blamed his dad, though he really had nothing to do with it besides giving Phen a chance to get better at his Korean). “Mmm, yes,” he agreed, nodding with a smile. Phew, if he kept up this energy all night, Phoenix was going to be exhausted by ten! “Oriel’s a really good dancer, but he hasn’t been able to make a good one out of me yet,” he added with a giggle. Speaking of the boy, the pixie pulled out his phone and sent his fiancé a very mushy text before putting it away. He would be doing that a lot this evening.

Since Phoenix had no idea about Jackson’s relationship with Rue, he was all smiles for the younger boy. Heh, he was a cutie, lugging in that giant knapsack like that. “It’s nice t’meet you too,” he replied cheerily. “Oh, and you can call me Phen if you want, it doesn’t matter t’me~” He giggled as the boy spoke of his own lack of expertise in the kitchen. “Heh, yeah… My boyfriend’s a really good cook, so I’m spoiled,” he chuckled. “He tries t’make me eat more than I do, though, ‘cause he says I’m too skinny!” Phoenix pouted and patted his scrawny stomach. His gaze went to Finn as the older boy rushed to the kitchen, laughing a little at his quick movements until Jackson asked that question.

“Uh…” Phen was stuck on what to say. Fortunately, before he continued, Finn butt in for him, though Phoenix wasn’t sure he was comfortable with how he explained it. “The first guy I dated,” he added softly, almost to himself. The first person I loved. Yes, he had Oriel now, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still sad about what happened with Rue, or what might have happened if they’d stayed together. The pixie realized he’d gone quiet for several moments and cleared his throat as Finn got up again to get his laptop. “’Kay,” he replied, still looking considerably less chipper than he had been only a few minutes ago. “So, uh…. How do you know Finn?” he asked after a moment, fidgeting with a pillow.

[Deleted]

Jackson was liking the conversation he was hearing from just outside the room. Disney and Studio Ghibli?? Hell, yes! He loved those! He’d have to say his favorite from each was Aladdin and Howl’s Moving Castle, respectively. Ohhh, he wanted in on this conversation already!

But they had to get through the basics of introductions first, didn’t they? That wasn’t too bad, especially since this Phoenix person seemed to be quite the enjoyable person as well. Jackson had the feeling that the two(actually the three) of them were going to get along wonderfully.

“Okay! Phen it is, then!” Jackson was beaming and all smiles until Phen mentioned his boyfriend. No…that shouldn’t make him freeze up, people had boyfriends, Jackson knew, and he wasn’t anti-homosexual at all…he was just anti-himself-homosexual, is all. If that made any sense. Though seeing how excitedly Phen was talking up his boyfriend…suddenly made Jackson want to possibly mention Rue as his…but they weren’t boyfriends! They weren’t dating! Nope no no! He looked up briefly and turned his head to follow Finn, who had just left the room in a hurry without much of a word, then turned back to Phen. “Ha ha! You are pretty skinny though,” Jackson said brightly, reaching forward and helping himself to a poke at Phen’s stomach as well. “Not like me, I’m pretty active and I play sports all the time, but…” He lifted his shirt and gave his own belly a poke. “I can’t seem to lose this little bit of pudge.” Jackson blamed that on his illness. Constant poking at his stomach with needles on a daily basis had left it slightly scarred and lumpy with fat. Oh, well…couldn’t do much about that, now could he?

Phen seemed to hesitate at Jackson’s question, but then Finn interjected with a curt reply of his own. Jackson blinked, unsure of how to take such a straightforwardly evasive answer. “Uh…okay.” Seemed like a touchy subject, so…guess he wouldn’t pry. Phen seemed pretty upset by it, after all. Finn got up to leave again and Phen turned the question right back around on him. Through the person I’m dating now, his mind answered…no, they were not dating! They were…just doing something something… “Through a mutual friend,” he said on the assumption that Phen didn’t know who Rue was. “My tutor, actually, introduced us, and we kinda hit it off, ha ha ha!” Well…it was only half a lie.

[Finn Eogeum]

Finn made a slight face, "....kind of. Everything's still animated and stuff, but I like Studio Ghibli more than Disney." That was, if he had to choose. He just prefered the art styles. The stories from both studios were pretty magical and awesome. As it was, Finn wasn't hugely huge on Asian culture, either, there were just some things you noticed when you were an artist like he was. Anyway... it took Finn a couple seconds to remember who Oriel was, which was surprising, as he knew Phoenix loved talking about him (and Finn wasn't sure how he felt about that), but when he did remember, he didn't care. Sorry Phen. He shrugged, "Whatever, you don't need to be a good dancer to enjoy dancing, really." In Finn's opinion at least. He was about to say something else, but there was a phone between him and Phoenix now, and he didn't even suppress the ugly annoyance that rose on to his face. Ugh. Dumb technology.

Oh look, another mention of the boyfriend... why was Finn so annoyed? He didn't even know himself. He just hoped that the conversation would manage to stay off of Oriel for at least five minutes at a time after this point. Finn wasn't exactly huge on social cues and wasn't always the most understanding of the rules when it came to normal conversation, so he himself could easily be blamed for saying numerous things out of place that could be seen as rude, but that was accidental! Usually! Talking about someone who wasn't there, a lot, surely that was unfair? Ugh, he didn't know. COOKIES!

He didn't hear Phoenix's soft words and no one seemed to ask further, so in Finn's book, his way of coping with the situation was a 1000% victory! And he only caught the end of the the next part of their conversation, and wasn't listening anyway, so only interjected when his laptop had loaded, "Anyone wanna look at some YouTubes?" He asked brightly, literally brightly, his colours were pretty saturated right now. His head dipped down as he began typing into the browser, "Oh, and you wanna get changed, Jackson?" Considering how easily Finn could manage to change the subject, it would be very easy to let the night delve on whilst Jackson was still in his day clothes, because of the lack of a chance to change. So the question wasn't really a question, more a command. Finn didn't realise that though. He was just being friendly and considerate, in his book.

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“I see…” Phoenix replied curiously. He wasn’t sure how something could be better than Disney, but it was worth a try, he figured. Maybe he would like it too. And that made him wonder if Oriel knew about it, but he didn’t say as much, only chuckled and nodded in agreement with what Finn said. “You’re right,” he replied with a smile. “I guess I’m just afraid I’ll pass out after about two minutes.” And he was still supposed to call his fiancé at some point, otherwise the younger boy would probably get worried.

He really didn’t know there was anything wrong with talking about the other boy so much. In Phen’s mind, everyone needed to know how amazing and lovely Oriel was, especially since it seemed like so many people didn’t appreciate his lover for some reason (reasons that Phoenix was very blind to, of course). “I guess I am,” he pouted at Jackson, but giggled when the younger boy poked his ticklish tummy. “Heyy~ I’m ticklish!” he protested with another laugh. Phen glanced at the boy’s stomach as he spoke, and gave a small shrug, smile still on his face. “You’re still cute, and I think a little bit of chub on a guy’s tummy is a good thing anyway,” he replied casually. “I’d like t’put on pounds, and Oriel wants me to, too, but I just can’t seem to do it!” His body just seemed to refuse, and it was annoying. The most Oriel could get out of him was stuffing the pixie until he was bloated simply from over-eating.

He was glad when Jackson didn’t pry about his past love life, and happy to change the subject into something else. “Oh, really?” he replied, brightening just a little. “Finn’s very friendly, I guess!” Little did he know, they were talking about the same aura reader. “A tutor, huh?” For some reason, Phen had already pegged Jackson as a smart guy, so he wondered what it was that the boy needed a tutor for. “That’s cool! I wish my tutors were nice enough to introduce me to people.” But most of them were old and no fun.

It was then that Finn re-emerged once again, so Phoenix smiled up at him and nodded. “Youtube sounds good!” he chirped. “What should we watch?” He had a suggestion or two, but he didn’t want to butt in so quickly. And apparently Finn had an idea anyway, because he was already typing, so Phen settled down beside him and watched to see what it was; he patted an open space for Jackson beside him. “Oh, and um, are all the baked goodies done? I’m hungry!” he added, glancing towards the kitchen.

[Deleted]

If given the choice between the two, if he had to pick a preference, Jackson would definitely pick Studio Ghibli over Disney. He just thought the stories were a lot more organic than the happy cutsie ones that broke into song and dance at every other scene. Not that he didn’t like those either, he had every song memorized since childhood, but Ghibli films were a lot more compelling in their stories. And while Jackson wasn’t (much of) an artist, he did like to read, specifically stories that were interesting, not just entertaining and silly. However….considering Studio Ghibli promoted in the US through Disney, did it really make a difference or were they considered the same thing? Hmm…

If Jackson knew who Phen’s boyfriend was, however….he’d met the senior a couple of times at the school, though he never found out his name. More accurately, he’d encountered Oriel a few times, and none of them were very pleasant encounters as well. To say he was being demeaned(or bullied as some would say), might put it a little too far….but only because Jackson was trying to give the older boy the benefit of the doubt. The key word there was trying.

Oblivious to this knowledge, however, Jackson thought it was nice that Phen had someone he liked so much that he couldn’t stop talking about him. Jackson wasn’t half as annoyed as Finn was.

Besides, Phen was a fun guy! How could anyone be annoyed with him? Jackson giggled when Phen giggled from his pokes. D’awww he was such a cutie! But then Phen said essentially the same about Jackson and his little bit of flab and…well, the boy turned a bright beet red at the simple compliment, laughing it off as smoothly as he could muster. It wasn’t that big of a deal! Though really, Rue was the only one who’d called him that(not counting Vicky). “You think?” he asked, giving his belly a pinch. Jackson raised his head again and finally dropped his shirt back down over his tummy. “Maybe you can get on one of those weight-gain diet plans? They have those…somewhere.” Maybe at the gym? He was sure they were there…maybe.

Jackson nodded with excitement. “Yeah! He really is!” Jackson really liked hanging out with Finn. Well, both Finn and Rue, though when the three of them were together, it seemed like Rue became even more of an old man, by default. The other two boys just liked being silly, so guess someone had to be the adult, right? Jackson giggled at the thought. “Yeah, a…my tutor,” he repeated, stumbling over his words slightly. Now he wondered if he shouldn’t have thought of a better cover story? Because everyone knew that Jackson didn’t need a tutor, so that in itself was pretty fishy. “Yeah…he’s really nice. I kinda wish he’d come, but…I guess he had other things to do…?” Jackson looked over towards Finn, who was re-entering the room with his laptop, as if he expected the other boy to provide the answer for why Rue wasn’t there too…though he wasn’t sure if Finn was even listening. Maybe Jackson would send him a text later, to let him know of all the fun he was missing out on by being a fuddy and staying home.

Yeah, he definitely wasn’t listening. Jackson laughed at his interjection. “Sounds great!” he said with glee, admiring Finn’s bright appearance. Wow…his power was so cool…Jackson wished he had any control over his own power so he could show it off whenever he wanted. Maybe he’d get lucky tonight? “Oh…okay,” Jackson replied, slightly taken aback by the sudden opportunity to get out of his street clothes. He nodded and clambered to his feet. “Sure, I’ll be right back, don’t start without me!” he ordered, slinging up his bag over his shoulder and trotting off to….to… “Finn…where should I get changed? The restroom?” He didn’t know where that was, though he’d head down to wherever Finn told him to once he did so without much of another word and just a simple nod of affirmation. And then he’d wonder if he was brave enough to emerge with his stuffed Snugglemuffin in hand…

[Finn Eogeum]

Finn didn’t know anything specific about Disney and Studio Ghibli, really. Nothing about companies or who was run by who or what so the fact that Studio Ghibli had promoted through Disney was a complete unknown to him. And even if he did know, he wouldn’t care…. well, maybe a little, but Ghibli wasn’t Disney. Wait, why did this still matter? He pointed at a pile of cushions on the floor at the mention of fainting, “I have precautions.” Finn was prepared. Hardly prepared, but prepared all the same.

It was fine and great if Oriel was a good person, but Finn didn’t need to hear it every two seconds. Bleh. It was probably good that he didn’t hear about Phoenix bringing up his younger fiance again, or he might have said something rude.

He caught the end of their conversation, but Jackson’s silent speculations were correct - he wasn’t listening and had no idea who they were talking about. If he’d know he was talking about Rue, he would have done his best to make it blatantly obvious that he just didn’t want to invite him to this. The number of problems it would cause wasn’t worth dealing with, specifically as sleepovers were designed for fun having, and not problem making. Anyone who tried to run a problem making sleepover was just downright sadistic. Who would even do that? Simply put, it wasn’t Rue’s fault that he wasn’t here, it was everyone’s fault. Yay for sharing!

Aha, this bright glow wasn’t controlled. No, Finn could easily control it if he wanted - he had quite a strong grasp on his power after all - but this was from his emotional state. It was a good thing, so he didn’t bother toning it down at first. “I have an idea.” A korean pop idea. Ahh, music. At Phen’s question, he nodded fervently, “Oh, oh yeah, they’re all done and stuff, they’re just cooling, help yourself.” He said, waving absent-mindedly in the direction of the kitchen. That’s what the baked stuff was there for - nomming. “Get me some too!” He said brightly, before looking at Jackson and nodding again, explaining where the bathroom was before going back to his searching, playing a certain favourite of his very loudly (sorry Vicky) and jumping up and dancing along dramatically, if not all that well, penguin in hand.

[Deleted]

Was Jackson blushing? Aww he totally was, how cute! Phoenix sent him a cheeky smile, amused by this reaction. “What, do you not get called cute very often?” he teased playfully. “You totally are! But I’m not hittin’ on you or anythin’, Oriel would kill me if I was.” The pixie giggled. “I definitely think so. Don’t you have a girlfriend? Or boyfriend?” It felt normal for him to ask if he had either, considering how many people Phoenix knew weren’t straight. “’Cause it’s a waste if you don’t!” Phoenix tilted his head curiously at the suggestion, wondering if it was possible. “Mm… maybe I could. Though if they involve liftin’ weights and stuff, they won’t be any good, because I can barely lift a small bag of dog food,” he chuckled. He had gotten a little stronger since he started at the pet shop, but not a lot.

He was oblivious to Jackson’s stammering over the fake story, just smiling and assuming he was still a little flustered from the compliments. “Oh, does Finn know him too?” Phoenix asked curiously. “Must’ve been busy, yeah. But I’d like t’meet him sometime! It would’ve been nice if I’d known him when I was takin’ classes at Hammel, I could’ve used a nicer tutor.” He was so incredibly unaware of the real situation that it was painful. “What class does he help you with? I mean, you seem pretty bright, but we all have our weaknesses and stuff.” Phen’s just happened to be pretty much every class. He followed Jackson’s eyes as they lifted to Finn, smiling at the older boy as he returned. “Whee laptop~”

Finn sure was pretty when he was all bright and stuff. Not that he was ugly or anything when he wasn’t, no way. “I like ideas,” Phoenix giggled. He was very curious to see what the saturator had in mind. He waved at Jackson when the other boy went to change, and then leaped up at the opportunity to get food. “Okay! I’ll be right back!” He skittered into the kitchen and grabbed a plate, piling it high with goodies before he turned and headed back towards the living room just in time to hear- “FANTASTIC BABY!” he shouted excitedly. Oh man this was great! He plopped the plate down as quick as he could and joined in on Finn’s goofy dancing, giggling all the while. Phen was sure he looked ridiculous, but at least they looked ridiculous together. “Jackson, get out here, it’s about t’get to the good part!” he called out.

After a few more minutes, there was a knock at the front door.

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Cute? Did he? Uh…no, not---well, sorta. But that wasn’t the point, that just wasn’t something you called another dude! Jackson shook his head. “N-no, I don’t! Not…well, sometimes, maybe….I don’t know!” The blush was turning a deeper red now. He could hear Rue whispering that in his ear in his deep, honey-like voice. He shook his head again. “No, I…I don’t know, don’t ask me!” Because….Jackson had no idea what he and Rue were and being asked to put a label on it, calling Rue his ‘boyfriend’, just made it disturbing for him. Jackson didn’t want to talk about that anymore, so he jumped at the chance to chance topics. “Ha ha, you don’t have to lift weights or anything. Just….” Actually, Jackson had no idea what a weight-gain program would entail. “Maybe…..they make you eat a lot?” Because that’s how people gained weight, right? At least, that’s how Jackson was sure where he got his little chub from, even though he exercised pretty regularly, though nothing rigorous.

Little did Phoenix know that the person who wasn’t Jackson’s “boyfriend” and the person who was his “tutor” were both in fact the same person. And talking about Rue as his “tutor” was….not much easier. Jackson nodded, looking in the direction of Finn. “Yeah, Finn knows him too,” he said somewhat nervously. “I actually met Finn through him, so…yeah, if it weren’t for him, then we wouldn’t be friends.” Probably not. Jackson and Finn didn’t have any other reason to know each other, so they likely would never have run into each other again after that first encounter they had with the light-pole and the bag of frozen peas. “Um….” What class did they agree on again? “H-history,” he made up on the spot, even though he didn’t actually have much trouble with the subject….nor did he of any other subject. But Phen didn’t know that and didn’t need to find out.

Jackson nodded at the instructions given by Finn, smiling at his bright coloring – Finn always looked so cool like that – and scampered to the room he indicated to change into his blue-striped pajama pants and white tank undershirt. He stared at Mr. Snugglemuffin, still sitting in his bag, and hesitantly pulled it out, replacing it with his day clothes and shoes. His head snapped up, however, to the sound of Phen calling him followed by a very familiar electronic melody. A smile spread across his face and all thoughts of embarrassment over the Snugglemuffin disappeared as he snatched up the stuffed giraffe and his bag and skittered out on his bare feet back into the living room. “Oh yeaah!” he hollered upon arrival, fist pumping in the air. “I love this song!” Of course he dabbled a little bit in kpop. Not a whole lot, but enough to know a couple bands and have a few favorites, of course. And who hadn’t heard of Fantastic Baby!? “BOOM Shaka-laka!” he chanted along in his best homeboy voice. That part always made him laugh. He wondered if those guys even knew what it meant? Basketball term, so of course Jackson knew. It didn’t matter, he danced along with his two friends to the chorus, giggling and singing along terribly the whole while. At least until the knock came at the door. He wondered, who could that be?