N i n e

Q u i c k  O b s e r v a t i o n

May came round quickly as I thought it would have, considering that the last weeks consisted of making tons of videos for the summer. I had intended to not miss a video on the designated days as I knew that the viewers would question my whereabouts.

And luckily the Yogs had covered my tracks easier than I thought.

Pippa had been already mentioning my involvement with the company, and I scowled at her for doing so. People were surely going to bombard me. And I grumbled as I trudged down the corridor of Yog Towers, phone in hand as I texted her multiple curses back.

I had been so in depth of my conversation with Pippa that I didn't realise the person who had contacted me right on my head. Stumbling back, I  glanced up to find Ross looked to have been startled. Both his hands on a box filled with props and costumes.

He apologised, "Oh sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going...or that because I couldn't really see you."

"No worries," There was a hint of panic in my words, and I quickly hid it with a grin. "What's with the box of props?"

Of course: I knew eventually what the purpose was, though I knew it would pull the man's shock if I'd mentioned it. Clearly no one knew apart from the Hat  lads, Turps and Lewis. I'd just connected the dots and figured it out once Lewis mentioned buying an anime  cosplay suit on the last Saturday lunch.

"Oh uh," Ross stuttered. "Just something for MCM next week. Anime - I think that's what Turps said." He flashed a smile, and I returned the gesture as I picked up the fallen hats and scarves from the floor.

He was a little hasty, though I reassured him that I would keep my mouth shut before the convention started. I followed him down the corridor once more, shoving my phone in my pockets to gain both of my hands on a pile of costumes. When we got there, Ross kicked the office door with his foot, and entering the room with me in tow.

"Guess who I kidnapped," Ross gestured with his head whilst I rolled my eyes.

I spoke, "I believe I was the one who assaulted him." Smith got up from his chair, and ambled towards me with open arms. He grabbed the stuff from my hands and I thanked him silently since my arms were aching from carrying it uncomfortably.

Trott on the other hand, was the only kind one enough to say hello, since we were neighbours anyway. Smith on the other hand already was rummaging in the box Ross had placed on the faded blue sofa before grabbing out what was something I did not expected.

"Holy shit!" Smith laughed, "I can't believe they still had the Crazy pill banana costume from March!" He held the bright yellow costume, with arms and leg holes included which made me raise my eyebrows in bemusement.

Ross chuckled, "I think I know what Barry's intending for us to do."

The three men worked around the room in clockwork, fitting the costumes on whilst I watched - leaning against the desk. At the end, they gave me a low-class version of a fashion show. Smith was the first one to walk down the imaginary aisle, blowing a kiss at me and I laughed in horror at their attire.

Ross was next, and he gave a twirl before tripping over the office chair. I was grinning much like the Cheshire Cat by the time Trott came with his newly bought Japanese school girl outfit, speaking hello in the foreign language with the poorest accent escaping from his lips. I had enough of their antics, that I couldn't careless but feel stitches on my stomach. All of us were laughing too much at Smith's 'jack off' dance.

I was enjoying the whole morning, that I hadn't noticed Kim and Hannah joining in amusement. The two women were standing by the door, and I knew that they had been wondering what was the commotion. There was a build-up of guilt inside me, but when Kim began to laugh: so did Hannah.

"For god's sake!" Hannah laughed as she grinned at the grown up men dancing about. "Now we know what Turp's had been saying about costumes!"

Kim added, "Oi! Are you wearing a Sailor Moon outfit?"

"No!" Trott gasped, and I saw his hand cover his upper torso in mockery.

By then, I knew it was my queue to leave. The Hats waved goodbye whilst they started undressing as Kim and Hannah said goodbye, walking off to presumably their offices. As for me, I shut the door behind and began my trek back to my office. Once I spotted my door, my mind paused; I was wondering why Martyn at my door.

Sauntering closer, I spoke quietly: "Sorry. You've been waiting for a long time for me." Tilting my head at the door, Martyn spun around to meet my eyes.

He smiled, "No worries."

"Do come in," I returned the simple gesture and allowed him to enter my office. Honestly, I had lost the track of time, that I had forgotten about our recording session together. Inside: I was a little angry at myself for letting down my guard.

Though once I noticed again, I calmed myself down as I closed the door. Martyn was here. And that was all it matters, right?

Whilst I had set up my console and desktop, he had gone out to scavenge for a spare office chair from the other empty rooms. I had already knew that everything was all set, but then reminding myself to turn my phone into airplane mode. Feeling the numbing buzz of my phone, I took it out of my pocket - discovering who had texted me back.

{Pippa Brindley} - Tell my brother that I miss him, and that he needs to get laid. :)

I could not resist rolling my eyes at the cringy message my friend had sent regarding from our morning conversation, carefully inputting that this text would be on my phone for eternity now.

{Y/F/N} - You 'had' to send that on my phone. anyways: I will let Lewis know that his sister thinks of him with a dry spell.

{Pippa Brindley} - Have I ever told you that I love you?

{Y/F/N} - Yes you have. But you should be careful; you are getting married :)

{Pippa Brindley} - That's not until next April! Jordan and I are literally stuck between blue or red :P

"Martyn." I called to him, who sat by me then. He hummed in response before I asked back, "Blue of red? For a wedding theme."

It was Martyn's go to raise the eyebrow. "Is this for a friend...or for..."

"Oh, no!" I bluttered quickly as possible, causing him to slyly smirk. His final answer was then blue, which was easy to deduce.

{Y/F/N} - Martyn says blue, I say [Y/F/C]. Red shouts 'communism'.

{Pippa Brindley} - Are you telling me that's my fiance's biggest secret? Jk. Thank you for your opinions, I'll let Jardon know.

I sighed deeply, having enough of my friend's sudden questions. Pippa was modest, which makes her less show a lot of herself. Though truly, she knew where to push my buttons often - either making me uncomfortable or downright show my honesty.

Once we were all set, Martyn and I began the long hour video by introducing ourselves in the microphone. I barely showed myself in front of the camera - maybe a few vlogs on conventions or trips but that was it.

It was really the first time, at MCM Comic Con, that I would have to show more than my character on the camera or signings.

____

"I do not know as to why you thought this would be a good a idea." I shook my head in my hands, hearing the laughter in front of me.

Lewis grinned, "Oh why not? It's gonna be great! George will be there, and Katie, Kim and Hannah; even Hat Films are going to dress up for the part."

In return, I pierced my glare back. And inside, I wished I could shoot lightning bolts at the man who thought it would be great idea to have put me into this...plan of theirs.

I then began, "When you said I was going with you all to MCM...you said it'll just be meeting and signing things with fans."

"Thought you were clever," Lewis continued to grin, though I spotted the glint in his eye faltered. 

My mind immediately began to run, faster than I expected as I observed his posture, his expressions and appearance. The light inside the tea room we were in was enough to spot the easy creases on his shirt, the folds in them. His hair was gelled up, though partially with the left side with more than usual - meaning he had been rushing.

There was his hands.

They twitched and moved and could not hardly stay in one place at it glided onto the table and back on his head. The stains on his jeans which he wore twice and the trainers which were new, but newly broken into.

By the time I had went to his scent, my hands fell onto my mouth, stifling a smirk. "Which one? Near Yog Towers or the one at the estate?"

"What? Wh-what do you mean by which one?" His face fell to confusion.

I simply replied, focusing my eyes onto my empty plate, "Lewis, don't imply that I'm slipping, dingus."

"Oh I feel the love," He retorted and I grinned back instead. Lewis was rather getting pissed, so he then blurted back: "What did you 'deduce' about me, Sherlock Holmes?"

"I just didn't think of you as having a personal trainer, though," I sweetly answered.

Lewis rolled his eyes and faced palmed.

Meanwhile, I held back a pleased look and just blinked back.

"How the hell did you know?" He hissed, leaning his head in front. I leaned in as well, watching what could change in his attitude.

At first I was interested, and it all came back when I began reading that book about social interaction. There were so many people I have met that were not at intrigued as Lewis.

He fell into my anomalies.

"May I tell you the truth." It was more of a statement rather than a question.

He then nodded. "What more to it? Are you an alien?" He joked and I rolled my eyes, our faces inches away from each other.

"No." I replied.

"A really stalkerish fan?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"Oh, a secret government agent."

I paused and shook my head, controlling my stare at him. "Do I look like a lizard?"

"I don't know," Lewis grinned. "Maybe under that you're all green and eat flies and shit."

Raising an eyebrow, I sat back and watched him finish his drink.

"It's all about observing," I simply explained. "People see, but not link anything to which it relates to. That's how fixing and engineering works." In my head, it seemed like a plausible truth to me...though not exactly to my heart.

Dodging any further questions, Lewis just brushed it off like I was just being my closed self. Admittedly, I wanted to thank him for not pushing the conversation further. We enjoyed our Saturday lunches for almost a month now, and personally I intended to keep the chat up sessions not tense as possible.

His eyes always falter though, causing me to twitch my fingers for not noticing sooner. It wasn't because he was to enjoy lunch. Lewis was waiting...for someone. And it was not his personal trainer.

A girl perhaps? Or a man, considering after all the declarations he spoke during live streams or just during the hours of the day inside Yog Towers.

Most likely candidate was a woman. Or man, or neither. 

The important bit was that Lewis never talked about that particular part of his life. He was touchy on it. The way he tries to join in with Hannah and Kim whenever the boys were debating in the common room with them was obvious to me - but not to anyone.

They had history; that was what I concluded. But even then, there was nothing surprising about it. Everyone changes throughout their lives. I'd admit that to all the things that I've done in the past.

So when I summarised that Lewis was itching to go on his date, I did not hold the observation. I said, "I'm fine on my own, Lewis. Go on your date or else you'll grow reckless of my deductions."

"That took you a while," Lewis cheekily replied, but sat up as he put on his jacket. "And thanks, mate. For being a great friend to talk to."

I faintly smiled as I added: "Let's not hold that opinion." Shrugging, I continued, "You never know...she might be quite a good person to have a conversation to."

"I just hope she won't have to see my bruises after that gym sesh," He smirked and I rolled my eyes. Lewis was definitely going to get laid.

I have to hate Pippa for saying that sentence ever again about her brother.

I let the raven haired man go first, watching the world pass through the glass as he got himself all freshen up in the toilets at the back. Once he returned, I returned the same smile.

It was then faltered when Lewis said the last words before he had left for his date.

"Whoever is annoyed at your deductions, they aren't worthy to be a friend to you, [Y/N]." His stern look showed the seriousness in his voice, though broke into a smile. "I'll see you back at the office, alright?"

"Yeah, good luck." I replied.

He sped out of the door, the bells ringing in my head.

I was about to turn back to my laptop - perched on the side of the table - until I winced from the sting. My head ached, and I hunched myself over the table, elbows dug onto the wood.

'Fuck! Not again!' I hissed to myself inside, fighting the urge to gasp or make a sudden move. No one had noticed me, luckily. However, I didn't dare to move: knowing more that it'll pass if I stay completely still.

____

"Ralph! I want to put it there!" The little girl whined as she sat in the middle of the sand.

The boy, much older than the toddler: rolled his eyes as he continued to put the bucket of sand upside down as quickly as possible. In truth: it was a bit wonky, but it was sand after all. The tide would come in, in a few hours, all would have been left was a pile of pebbles, shells and seaweed. Ralph didn't want to disappoint his little sister, so he removed the molded sand onto the place she had wanted it to be.

On the other side of the small sand castle, [Y/N] placed a lot of concentration - using her small fingers to carve out little details that Pippa had told them to do. 

Since the her friend was still digging the river towards the sea, she was resulted to make it look like princess's tower. [Y/N] had grown fond of spending her summer with the Brindleys. It only took a few hours since the children met that [Y/N]'s parent's had knocked on the Brindleys' doorstep and allowed them for some tea, cakes and biscuits.

To Pippa, the young brunette grew to adore her: much to [Y/N]'s awkwardness when it came to hugs and kisses on the cheek. By a few months: the two learnt slowly together about themselves. [Y/N] learned what the culture was in the UK at that time; from time to time she would also tell Pippa of her parent's native culture and language. Even though [Y/N] knew that it would take time to teach as well as patients, she just told Pippa about different things like food and what the countryside looked like.

Ralph Brindley on the other: was harder to talk to - in [Y/N]'s opinion. The two were at the same intellect. Ralph even thought his neighbour's daughter could surpass him in any subject. And that scared him.

Or scared his ego.

[Y/N] did not acknowledge it, but eventually Ralph had grown accustomed and began treating her like another sister. Treading slowly, the two found a common ground of fixing and finding new things.

The Brindleys' neighbour's daughter only conversed with the younger two. And not with the eldest. 

Lewis was at the age of ten, a year older than Ralph: but he lacked of trying to talk to the child to his parent's dismay. [Y/N] didn't find this upsetting or disappointed. She was merely curious. He was different, and not because of his age. Lewis liked being a grown up, in personality itself. However, his eyes spoke of a child.

'Lots of people just got an old soul,' Her father once told her.

As she continued to build the sandcastle, [Y/N] caught the empty spot on the blanket - where the eldest sibling had once sat. The sand marks had already blown off, knowing that he could have just gone straight to the car or somewhere over the dunes.

Though she thought of the time: she caught the glimpse of dark brown hair as she was tuning flute in her room of her house. He was on the street, playing on his bike with a bunch of other boys. They seemed to be enjoying their time...well [Y/N] thought they were.

Eventually, she found out that the eldest sibling looked to be out of place within the group. [Y/N] watched, intrigued but held no sudden feeling to it. There was a pump in her gut, though she could not understand what it was.

"Hey, [Y/N]!" She shook her head from her thoughts and gazed up at Ralph.

She spoke softly, "Do you need me to do that side now?"

"Just about to ask you, really." Ralph wryly smiled, getting up from his kneeling position and had gone off to grab more wet sand down by the sea - bucket in hand and a spade.

[Y/N] moved around to the opposite side, and then softly carving out some sort of window and door to the front of the sand castle. It looked right to [Y/N]'s eyes, but then she saw someone's arm passed her's: carving out the door much better. Once she looked around, the boy almost winced back. He wasn't looking at her, and yet he seemed to her stare at him.

Both of their eyes met...

I blinked a few times, trying to adjust the light coming into my eyes.

Clasping my fingers, I stopped myself from gasping. That didn't end well the last time my head had a migraine. However, when I realized I was still in the tea room: I did not hesitate to pack my bags and begin to leave.

I keep blackening out, and that was the final conclusion to my quick theory. There was no time during my cycle back to my other work since I was concentrating on keeping my eyes on the road and my blood inside my veins. In the back of my head, though, it kept nagging me to investigate on these weird ass blackouts I had been getting.

The cycle was a little further than expected, so I took a shortcut and heaved my bicycle over a short staircase before I got back on again. there wasn't a lot of pedestrians, so I allowed the time to flick back quickly over what had just happened.

My mind was fighting with me; one wanted to urge me to tell George or even Pippa about these migraines whilst the other had been reassuring me.

"People are going to think you're fucking mental, [Y/N]" I cursed to myself.

And by the time I got back to my desk at my workplace: I removed the worries out of my mind. Knowing that it was probably just me and my lack of sleep as always.

____

A/N: By the way, I want to let you know that the experiences of flashbacks will be explained in the future, as well as a lot of other things.

In a reader's sense, the flashbacks are there to give you a better insight on what has happened in the past and how the character has developed from a child to an adult. I know it describes as if five year old [Y/N] feels unrealistic. Don't worry: I am trying to make her seem smart, but not completely smart. Like from the present time: she knows quite a lot of interaction compared to the naive past.

Let me know how I could improve Past [Y/N]. And I hoped you had enjoyed reading :)

-SierraOwls