(HI this book isn't dead,,, I have like at least 3 animatics I want to post here+AU stuff just give me a lot of time,, hh)

(Humanized story!)

  "So you know those saltwater taffies they keep on display, yeah?"

  "Okay?"

  "Shieldy, do not tell me-"

  Shieldy grins cheekily. "I used to take those every time I passed by. They were just too good to ignore."

  "Shieldyyyy!" Pizza groans and holds his head in his hands. Collective laughter and groans erupt from the rest of the group as Shieldy sits there, beaming in light of his crimes.

  "Isn't that illegal?" Shelly tucks a lock of hair behind her ear.

  "I was like, eight or nine or something," Shieldy shrugs, "and I'm pretty sure you can't put children in jail. All crimes are legal until you're ten."

  Pizza leans forward and slams the carpet. "No?!" Party Hat rolls on the floor, wheezing. "Who taught you that!?"

  "This gives a whole new meaning to 'child murderer'."

  "Chocolatey, I swear–"

  "The– Okay," Shieldy puts his hands up, "remember that thing in fifth grade? Where a police officer came in and was like 'you're ten now, so you can be arrested for stuff'?"

  "That doesn't mean you're allowed to steal things!" Slurpy facepalms.

  "Okay, but I just thought–"

  "Shieldy, why!?"

  "–I thought everything before that was okay! They never said anything about it!"

  "How could you think stealing was okay!?" Shelly hisses.

  "In my defense, it looked really good. It's not my fault saltwater taffy is irresistible!"

  Party Hat pushes himself up and waves his finger. "Exactly! At least put it in a sealed container or something!"

  "Besides, I didn't even know it was illegal."

  "Why are you–" Pizza's head snaps towards Shieldy, "How did you not know it was illegal!?"

  "Pizza, Slurpy, Shelly, Hot Dog," Chocolatey snickers, "I am so sorry you're the only ones with brain cells here."

  "Yeah, Hot Dog," Hot Dog jolts at his name, "you haven't said anything about Shieldy's childhood crime streak."

  "Well," he rubs his fingers, looking for the words, "Shieldy, you don't steal things anymore, right?"

  "Of course not!"

  "I mean, as long as he doesn't do it anymore, right?" Hot Dog pulls on his pajama sleeve, "besides, I'm pretty sure all of us have accidentally done something illegal at least once."

  "Alright everyone," Chocolatey claps, "time to admit your crimes."

  "But I've never done anything illegal before!" Shelly squeaks, "does running near the pool count?"

  "Oh yeah," Party Hat nods with wide eyes, "we're talking federal offenses here."

  "Guys, stop that, you're gonna upset her."

  Shelly waves her hand dismissively. "No, it's fine. I know he's joking."

  "Come on, we've been stalling for long enough," Pizza says.

  "I call dibs on asking!" Party Hat shouts. "Slurpy, truth or dare?"

  "Truth."

  "Borrrrrring!" Shieldy cups his hands around his mouth.

  Slurpy rolls her eyes. "I'm not choosing dare if Party Hat's the one asking."

  "They're not even that bad!" Party Hat pouts.

  "You made me wear a teddy bear onesie," Pizza deadpans, spreading his arms.

  "I could've done much worse!"

  "Exactly!" Slurpy gestures.

  "I promise it's nothing bad!" Party Hat crosses his arms in an x-shape over his chest. "Please, Slurpy? I won't ask you to do a dare again, I swear!"

  "Dare! Dare! Dare! Dare!" Shieldy and Chocolatey chant, pumping their arms.

  "Guys, if Slurpy doesn't want to do the dare–"

  "I'll do it. Give me the dare."

  Party Hat, Shieldy, and Chocolatey cheer as Slurpy tries not to regret her decision. Hot Dog gives her a reassuring double thumbs-up and smiles tightly.

  "Okay, okay!" Party Hat waves his arms, and Shieldy and Chocolatey quiet down. "I dare you to dye your hair!"

  "What!?" Slurpy's hands shoot to her hair and clutches it in her fists. "I'm not doing that!"

  "It's the rules!"

  "She has a choice–"

  "Well let's compromise!" Party Hat rests his chin between his thumb and index finger for a moment. He snaps up and points. "Just a streak! Just one!"

  "I'm still not doing it! I like my hair the way it is!"

  "Party Hat, she's obviously not comfortable. Just drop it."

  "Look, if she really doesn't like it, she can just wait for it to fade away! It's super easy!"

  Slurpy grimaces, combing through her hair with her hands, any slight knots coming apart under the pressure. Shelly gazes at her friend with concern.

  "You don't have to do anything if you don't want to."

  "Party Hat said you'd look pretty with colored hair."

  All heads snap towards Shieldy, who just shrugs.

  "Shieldy!" Party Hat blushes. He peeks at Slurpy's pink face for a split second. "Okay, I did say that. But I just thought you could spice up your look a little bit! Streaked hair is cool!" He points to his own streaks of purple and yellow in his red hair.

  "I don't think my parents would like this."

  "That doesn't matter!" Chocolatey waves her hand. "Just do what you wanna do!"

  "Chocolatey," Hot Dog glances from her to Slurpy, "I don't think that's the problem here."

  A sudden burst of spontaneity hits Slurpy. "You know what? Yeah. Let's do it. Why the heck not?"

  "Yeah!" Party Hat cheers while the aftereffects of Slurpy's decision makes her body tingle and her heart beat faster. She sits there, trying not to regret her poorly-evaluated choice, grinning for no real reason. Hot Dog gives her a double thumps-up of reassurance. 

  Party Hat stands up and walks to the closet, fingergunning at everyone in the circle. "You guys continue the game without us! I'm gonna change clothes. The bathroom should be wide enough for you, Slurpy."

  Slurpy nods and wheels herself over to the bathroom door. It's a tight fit, but she manages to squeeze the wheelchair through. She cringes at the splotches of dry toothpaste and the toiletries laying about on the sink without any real order.

  "Don't give me the judgy face," Party Hat whines from behind her.

  "This place is a mess! How can you live in this?"

  He opens a cabinet and takes out a blue zip-up cloth bag. "It works for me! Now, just kinda...sit yourself in front of the mirror and I'll take care of the rest. Ooh!" he holds up multiple bottles of dye, "what color do you want?"

  "Uhh...anything works, I guess," Slurpy watches from the mirror as Party Hat looks between the bottles. "Just nothing too crazy."

  "Red it is! Oh, and take off your glasses."

  Slurpy does as told, and sets her glasses on the sink. Party Hat pulls on a pair of gloves and clips back most of Slurpy's straight hair. It's nice, his hands running through and gently undoing the knots. He's one of the few exceptions when it comes to things like this.

  She still isn't completely sure about dying her hair. She'd have to explain to her parents. And deal with potential attention from other students. Not to mention the possibility this can go totally wrong. But Party Hat's experienced, so he knows what he's doing.

  He pinches cold aluminum foil to her skin, separating the soon-to-be-streaked hair from everything else. But even if Party Hat knows the process, mistakes are still a possibility.

  Slurpy lets herself breathe and relax. She just has to trust him.

  Party Hat goes through the steps, going straight to coloring her hair, since according to him, Slurpy's hair is already a white enough color. She just nods and listens as he talks to fill the silence.

  "So, you're gonna want to let that sit for thirty minutes," Party Hat says as he washes out the bowl and brush, "and then rinse and condition your hair."

  "I think I can do that over the sink," Slurpy eyes the basin area, "is it okay if I use your conditioner?"

  "Of course! My stuff is your stuff!"

  Slurpy nods and stares at the foil covering the streaked area. She resists the urge to reach up and touch it.

  "Hey, don't look so down. I wasn't that bad," Party Hat jokes. "You want some company?"

  Thirty-five minutes later, Slurpy's head is bent over the sink, rinsing out the conditioner as Party Hat finishes up another one of his stories.

  She turns the faucet off, puts her glasses back on, and looks up. She's taken by surprise.

A strong, clean red streak of hair runs from the roots to the tip, and she almost looks like a different person. Like the streak makes her look more confident, somehow. More bold and upfront, and not just some pitiful person in a wheelchair.

  Slurpy smiles.

  "It looks awesome!" Party Hat chirps, clapping his hands. "It's awesome, right?"

  "Yeah, it's great! Thank you," Slurpy says the last bit without really thinking about it. Party Hat doesn't really take note of it though, and bursts out the bathroom door.

  "We're done!" he sings, and tiptoes out of the doorway to reveal Slurpy. Approval erupts all at once, making Slurpy blush.

  "You look so pretty!" Chocolatey squeals.

  "Thanks," Slurpy grins, and wheels back over to her spot. Party Hat plops down next to Shieldy.

  "Okay, so who's turn is it?"