❝ B E  P O L I T E ❞

"Mr. Quackington!" Addilyn huffs, sitting on the floor to be closer to eye level with the stubborn duckling. "We are going out! You can't waddle around public naked!"

He quacks in response and attempts to waddle off.

"Don't use that tone with me!" She declares, speaking to him as though he was a person. "Now, please let me put this outfit on you."

The small bird continues to waddle away, nearly running into the couch.

"I'll take away the spectacle," she compromises. "But you still have to wear the jacket and top hat."

Mr. Quackington comes to a stop, almost as if he understood what she was saying. Seizing her chance, Addilyn scoots the duckling closer to her and gently slides the tiny tuxedo jacket on over his soft wings. Adding the top hat, Addilyn sits back to admire her work briefly.

"You know," she begins, scooping the duckling into the palm of her hand. "We could have been ready thirty minutes ago, and I could have saved some money, if you had just told me you didn't like the spectacle."

Grabbing her car keys and purse with her free hand, Addilyn walks out of her apartment.

Ignoring the usual weird looks thrown her way by the other tenants, Addilyn makes her way through the lobby, waving at the occasional friendly person.

Climbing into her Yukon, Addilyn sits Mr. Quackington down in the passenger's seat.

"We're stopping at Starbucks," she informs him. "Do you want anything?"

****

Pulling up to the Why Don't We house, Addilyn looks over at Mr. Quackington.

"You have to be polite in here," she says, readjusting his hat. "These people are friends, not enemies."

The duckling quacks, waddling into her open palm.

"I'm glad we're on the same page."

Taking her iced coffee out of the cup holder, Addilyn jumps out of her Yukon and heads towards the front door.

Turning the handle, she finds the door unlocked, just as Corbyn said it would be.

All is quiet as she walks down the hallway. It's not until she reaches the living room that she hears noises coming from the kitchen.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS IN YOUR DAMN HANDS, POODLE?" She hears Aurora shout, followed by the heavy thud of something falling to the floor.

In the aforementioned room, Addilyn finds Jonah, Carmen, Zach, Daniel, Callie, and Corbyn perched on the island seats and counter. On the floor, Aurora and Jack brawl, becoming alarmingly more aggressive with each swing.

"What exactly is happening right now?" Addilyn questions, jumping onto the counter to sit next to Corbyn.

"Jack touched Aurora's Cheez-its again," Daniel explains, gesturing to the half eaten box on the floor.

"He never learns," Corbyn says through a mouthful of popcorn. "But it provides good entertainment."

Addilyn smiles, stealing popcorn from the boy as she watches the fight.

"We've learned that it's best not to step in until Aurora starts biting," Jonah chimes in, used to the daily scuffles. "Is that a duck?"

Carmen and Callie instantly spin around at his question, the Cheez-its war forgotten.

"Aww," Carmen coos, stepping closer to Addilyn.

"What's it's name?" Callie asks, reaching forward to touch the duckling.

Mr. Quackington quacks angrily at the girl, waddling out of Addilyn's hand and into her lap.

"His name is Mr. Quackington," Addilyn tells the group. "And he's not a big fan of people."

"No kidd-"

Corbyn's response is cut off by Jack's shrill scream.

"JONAH, SHE BIT ME!"

"That's my cue," Jonah says, leaving his seat and walking over to the fighting figures.

"DON'T TOUCH MY FUCKING CHEEZ-ITS AGAIN, AVERY!" Aurora yells as Jonah pulls her off of the curly headed boy. "FUCKING DUMBASS!"

Her attention is immediately diverted as she hears a soft quacking noise. "Did anyone else hear that?"

"Hear what?" Zach asks innocently, hoping to confuse the girl.

Carmen nudges his arm lightly, catching on to what he was trying to do.

"That's weird," Aurora comments, mostly to herself as she leans into Jonah's side. "I always thought I'd hear voices when I officially went crazy, not animal noises."

"You're not crazy yet," Addilyn assures her, laughing quietly. "Mr. Quackington was just saying hello."

Aurora furrows her brow, looking over at Addilyn. "When did you - IS THAT DUCK WEARING A TUXEDO?"

"Yep," Addilyn confirms, popping the p. "I bought a spectacle too, but he doesn't like it."

Corbyn reaches over to pet the small bird but Mr. Quackington refuses, snapping his beak at him in annoyance.

"I'm no bird expert or anything," Jonah states. "But I don't think he likes you very much."

"Can you blame him?" I defend my duckling. "Corbs took him from his home."

Daniel grins, muttering something under his breath that causes Carmen to laugh.

Corbyn throws his arms up in exasperation. "But you're the one that wanted him," he counters.

"Irrelevant."

A tall blond bursts through the kitchen, followed immediately by a brunette with a camera.

Addilyn flinches involuntarily at the sudden arrival of new people as the others appear completely unfazed by it.

"IT'S MUH BOYS!" The stranger yells loudly.

Making hand guns, he pretends to shoot everybody in the room. They all comply, each person hitting the ground dramatically. But he stops when he gets to Addilyn.

"Who are you?" The stranger questions.

"Addilyn, meet our friend, Logan. Logan, this is Addilyn, Corbyn's girlfriend," Aurora answers, cutting off Addilyn before she could retort.

Both, Addilyn and Corbyn, blush as the attention turns to them. Logan, who was fully prepared to tease the couple, hesitates as he becomes distracted by the bandage that's wrapped around Corbyn's leg.

"Corbyn," he gestures to his injured leg. "Are you good, bro? What happened to you?"

"I got attacked by a bunch of ducks," the blond answers nonchalantly. "Because I stole a duckling."

Still snuggled safely in Addilyn's lap, Mr. Quackington quacks in agreement. Noticing the tiny animal for the first time since his arrival, Logan makes the connection as to why Corbyn was stealing birds.

"I guess love makes you do crazy things sometimes."