"So, let's start off with this question: what's your favourite flower? Mine's a crocus," Allison says.

Hm, I can actually imagine Allison liking crocuses the most. Crocuses mean cheerfulness, a sysnonym for Allison.

We'd decided that the questions will be asked and answered alphabetically. First Allison, then Ethan and last but not the least: me

"Ah, I'll go with a blue or purple hyacinth," he says before taking a gulp from his soda can.

Flowers have always been something that intrigue me. When I was little, I'd used to look up their meanings and symbolism in books or on the internet and Mum and I used to spend hours in the libaray, only reading about flower symbolism.

I never checked the symbolism for bluebells, though. I can't bring myself to do that, to know why my mum loved them so much. Bluebells were Mum and Dad's flower. I only remember it vaguely but Dad used to gift Mum those flowers on her birthday or anniversary. Mum did the same, as well.

If I remember correctly, hyacinths have two meanings. One meaning is that it means sincererity and one that it's used for apology.

Both of the cousins turn towards me, waiting for my answer.
"Bluebells."

Pretty obvious for the rest of you all, I'm sure.

Ethan's eyes widen and he chokes on his drink, pumping a hand to his chest. After some coughing and giggling from Allison, he shoots me a glare.

Huh?

"How'd you know?" he asks.

I perk my eyebrow up and say,
"How do I know what?"

His eyes flicker to Allison, who is laughing hard while clutching her stomach, and me.

He gets up from his position on the floor and moves towards the dustbin at the corner of the living room. He coughs again and says,
"N-nothing...."
He drops his can into the bin and returns to his seat, completely solemn but a little flustered.

"Stop laughing, Ethan B. Ingram..."

"O-okay!"

"Really, the 'B' card again?"

Ethan's middle name begins with a B and he started choking at the slightest of mention of bluebells. Does that mean...?

Oh God, Ethan's middle name is...
Bluebell...

His middle name is Bluebell...

That's kind of better than what I'd expected. I mean 'Bear', 'Bingo' and 'Bandanna' are kind of worse. Believe me, I've heard those names.

Ethan snaps his fingers infront of me, and makes come into the warm reality of sitting on a carpet at the Ingram household.

"Your turn?" Allison says to Ethan.

He looks a bit more composed than he was a few seconds before but still, he heaves a sigh as he says,
"Um, birthdays...?"

"Mine's on the fifteenth of February," I answer with a smile towards the flustered boy.

"Great, we missed your birthday!" Allison chants at my side, making me shake my head playfully.
I raise my brows at her, signalling her turn.
"Nineth of January."

I turn towards Ethan who says,
"My parents started their New Year with a bang. Guess."

Bang... New Year...
Oh... September.

"Answer clearly or else I'll shove my sketch book down your nostril, Ethaniel."

I suppress a chortle, while Ethan puts a hand on his chest.
"Blame the internet for the corruption, Als. And how can you shove a sketch down a nostril?" He looks at Allison's glare and quickly says,
"Twenty-third September, but 1999."

He sure is quick to hide his shyness.

A wheezing resounds but I initially find nothing. I look closely and see a yorkshire terrior dog snoring peacefully on a small-circular carpet at the corner. The hair of his whisker blow softly with each inhalation and exhalation.

"That's Jackie, our dog and the only brown haired specimen in the family," Allison says as Jackie turns from lying on stomach to rolling on his back.

"Well, Jackie's sure a heavy sleeper," I say as I tilt my head to the side while looking at the little dog on his brown circular carpet. I guess that's why I didn't notice him before since his fur is also of the same colour.

"Just give him a favourite spot in the house and he's a goner," Ethan says as his eyes twinkle with fondness for the dog. I think I could also see a glimmer of the same child-like passion the triplets have.

"Do you have a pet, Lindsey?" Allison says, withdrawing my attetion from the dog.

"Dylan gifted me a dog for my ninth birthday: a King Charles Spaniel whom I named Gem. And as usual, he gave me his present through Ms Bragge, rather than himself," I say as both of the cousins' expressions fall for a moment before being cloaked again by smiles.

I really liked Gem; she was the best gift I ever got, apart from the keys to the attic. I always got gifts from Ms Bragge, Dylan and even Alfred on birthdays and other occasions. I loved the gifts Ms Bragge and Alfred gave me, but Dylan's felt merely like an obligation: a need to do something, anything brotherly. His gifts kept on piling up in the lowest drawer of my wardrobe. That is, except for Gem and the keys.

"Why Gem? I mean- that isn't exactly what I thought you'd name a dog." Ethan asks he looks over at Jackie.

"Gem rhymes with Jenn, my mum's nickname."

I don't think that it was a coincidence that Dylan bought a King Charles Spaniel, either. Charles was Dad's name and I wanted my dog's name to be something relating to that, a knot that tied all the strings together.

I remember Gem had beautiful brown fur covering her ears and back and a white coat of hair sprawled against her body. She had eyes so big that they could suck you in and not to mention, a tongue that used to have a licking parade whenever you came in close vicinity.

"I don't think I've ever seen Gem around Edenfield," Allison says, trying to clear the ship from a wave of depressing tides, but only to have the ship enter uncharted territories.

I give her a smile that doesn't really reach my eyes.
"Where the rest of my family is. Gem died last year."

Gem had become really sick before she died. She would always just spend her time lying around. At first, I thought nothing of it but then Ms Bragge took Gem to the vet and it was clear then: Gem had Syringomilia. It's a pretty serious dog disease and the vet said that Gem having the disease was concerned with her not being taken care of or lack of proper hygiene. Some pups just have SM but it doesn't show till later years.

When Gem died, it had hit me pretty hard. She was a great friend, actually she was my Hedwig. I'm just glad that Gem didn't have to endure the pain of her disease for too long. It was heartbreaking to see a playful and energetic dog become a total potato couch. I often heard her whimper at night when she was supposed to be sleeping peacefully.

And yes, I'm a hardcore Potterhead.

I look up at the cousins and they look like they're ready to smack eachother's heads off.
"Guys, it's all right. You didn't know."

I don't want them to feel sorry for me, too.

"Okay, so I think it was my turn to ask a question. What's your hidden talent, something that on one else knows?" I ask, trying to rub off the gloomy expressions off the group.

Allison is the first one to rid herself of the previous situation and say outloud with the tip of her tongue hanging out of her closed mouth.
"Hm... I think that'll be drawing for me. I think I have my sketch just under this sofa..." She reaches under the sofa put in the centre and waves her right arm under it.

"Bingo!" she says as she pulls out a sketch from under the sofa.

"You keep your sketch book under the sofa?" I say as Allison hands me the sketch book and I start flicking the pages. It's a proper drawing book with each drawing made with a charcoal pencil.

"It's safer than my room. You can't find anything there. Though I admit, my school books never get misplaced there, unfortunately," she says as I scan over the smooth cardboard paper encasing the drawings. They are all pretty cool and have a sense of liveliness amongst them. One drawing is one a few kids playing hopscotch on the sidewalk and one of a man sitting in a cafè, with a book and pencil.

"What about you, Ethan?" I say while keeping my eyes on the book in my lap.

"Well, there's nothing really....."

"Liar, I've heard you play that electric guitar so many times in your room and let me tell you, Lindsey," Allison says, making me poke out my head from the book, "He's fantastic at it! I've heard him sing too and I've asked him to play me a song over and over again but he never does!" She points accusingly at Ethan.

He puts his hands up in surrender and says,
"All right, all right, I admit. But I've told you a thousand times: I don't play nor sing love songs! Those are the only songs you and anyone else ever requests!" Ethan exasperatingly pulls his arms infront of himself.

That'd explain all the times he's referenced to songs...

"Okay, I believe you," I try to say it with a serious tone without laughing at his irritation.

Allison has other plans, though,
"Oh, how do you sing for theatre then!"

I turn towards a now reddened Ethan. "Theatre?"

"Yeah... I've played a few roles here and there in the local one."

"And you also want to act on stage, don't you?" Allison wiggles her eyebrows.

"Don't act like you don't want to go into animation." Ethan presses his lips into a straight line, while hiding a grin.

Meanwhile, I still don't know what I want to do...

"Okay, you don't have to sing, but I want to see your guitar," I say with a small smile tugging at my lips, despite my vain efforts not to.

He considers my words for a a few seconds before saying,
"Well, my guitar's in the Music Room. We'll have to go there."

"Then we'll go there." I stand on my feet while pushing the sketch book underneath its home sofa.

Home sofa? Is that even a word?

Ethan is the second to jump onto his feet, followed by Allison. He walks towards the corridor and motions me to follow after him.

"You didn't mention your hidden talent, Lindsey?" Allison says from beside me.

Oh, shoot. My hidden talent...

"Does ballet and piano count?" I say, making Ethan stop in his tracks and Allison and I to jerk ourselves back due to the sudden inertia.

"You ballet dance and play the piano?" Allison asks with a bubbling enthusiasm, while Ethan suppresses a grin, as if not surprised.

Do you remember then...

"Could you please just show a single move? Pretty please with a little blueberry on top because I don't like cherries," Allison says with the largest grin I have seen(yet) from her and both of her hands intertwined into eachother in balls.

"I can only do this here... "
I say as I lift my left leg up straight so that its front is facing mine.

I am so glad that I chose to wear stretcheable slacks todays.

Both of their eyes widen as my leg remains stranded in mid-air,
"Can I put my foot down, literally?"

They nod their heads as I lower my leg and settle it on the floor.

"And I can't even raise my foot to kick a football," Ethan jokes, as Allison opens the closed door infront of us all.

We all enter the room and a whistle almost escapes my mouth as I take in the interior of the room.

The Music Room is entirely different from the rest of the house and it seems more like a hall than a room. Several instruments are held up against the wall, with a large piano sitting at the far end.

Sunshine would have been pouring through the French styled windows if it hadn't been for the cloudy atmosphere.

There are all kinds of instruments in this room, including some that I don't even recognise. There is a violin, double bass, cello, a Celtic cello, flutes, drums, bagpipes, a golden coloured harp, a clarinet, koto and three types of guitars: electric, acoustic and bass guitar.

That is a lot of instruments...

Ethan heads over to the stock of guitars lying at the side and picks up a red electric guitar while Allison walks over to the piano and pulls out a flute from its seat cabinet.

"This is my guitar but I can also play the acoustic one right here." Ethan points to the pear shaped wooden guitar beside him.

"This is my flute," Allison motions to the instrument in her hands, "Aunt Nancy's cello." She points to the cherry wood cello placed near the piano.

"My dad's koto and his guitar; he actually taught me the guitar when I was about eleven. And that clarinet," he points to the black coloured classic right beside me, "is Aunt Bridget's, Allison's Mum."

"What about the rest?" I ask while surveying the room. Everything in it has been placed like a holy item and this room looks like a sacred shrine holding all the different kinds of accessories in one place.

"They're either our grandparents' or Uncle Archer's siblings'. Or just added to complete a musical collection," Allison says as I walk over to the piano.

My hand runs against the shining black painted wood of the piano before me and it unconsciously lifts the key lid.

I look over at the cousins and see Allison motioning me to sit on the piano stool and Ethan with a smile that says, go for it.

I sit on the soft cushioned stool and place my hands near the keys.

Allison places the flute near her mouth and puts her fingers near the holes of the wooden crane while Ethan plugs in his guitar, takes out a guitar pick from his pocket and swings the guitar strap on his shoulder.

"And a one, two..."

"One, two, three..."

"Go!"

We all start playing our respective intruments and just play them without thinking which song, which tune comes forth. Our own laughter gets tangled with the notes projected by our ourselves.

After for playing for, well, I don't know how long, we stop to catch our breath from laughing so hard.

Allison was trying hard not to laugh during the performance since her instrument basically plays with the mouth intact but now she releases a swarm of giggles. My own head falls onto the key board, overcome by the sudden laughter and out of the corner of eye, I also see Ethan declining to the floor to try to recover from the recurring laughter.

"We should form a band, don't you think guys?" I try to stop laughing, only for nore chuckles to echo out of my throat.

"A band! The crowd won't even boo at our talent," Ethan says as he removes his glasses from the bringe of his nose.

Allison tries to sit up from her position from the floor(which I honestly didn't notice before), holds up a fingers but falls on it again on her back.

"We haven't done that for... I think almost five years, Als. I think the last time was after the Ian Trevor drama." Ethan takes huge breath but ends up sending another fit of low pitched- heavy chuckles.

"Ian Trevor?" I lift my head and take a deep gulp of air.

"Ian Trevor, the elementory school bully. He used to tease Ethan about his glasses and for being a theatre geek," Allison says while still lying on the floor.

"You were bullied?" I say, not able to disguise the initial shock of my ragged voice.

He waves a dismissive hand as he says,
"It was nothing. One day, I had enough of his harassment and told him to shut it. He got mad and broke my glasses. And gave me a black eye."

"But you gave him two black eyes, Ethan. Ian was at the very verge of tears after that fight." I snap my head towards Allison before turning again to Ethan and see him shrugging.

"Never, I repeat, never, mess with my glasses. And yeah yeah, I know violence isn't the solution to anything. I learnt my lesson."

I am about to shut my mouth from the furthur inquires but then Allison chimes in,
"He got grounded and the almost the entire school thought that it was going to be Rise of the Geek Bully and basically, Ethan and I ended up together during spare time. I didn't have a lot of friends either, since I was the dumb blonde who didn't know how to do anything. But don't worry, it got better when middle school and our GCSEs started. Nobody remembered that feud by then." Allison rolls on her stomach, lifts her head and puts both palms underneath her chin.

Should I tell them, too? It wouldn't be very fair if I didn't.

But they didn't ask me either.

Should I? Shouldn't I?

As if my mouth was tired my inner bantering, it moves on its own account,
"I was bullied, too. A senior girl named Rosetta Higgins used to bully me at the ballet studio."

Ethan playfully runs his finger into his ear,
"Sorry, I thought I didn't hear you right. You were bullied?"

Seeing my sarcastic expression, the one when you squint your eyes and place your lips like two parallel lines.

"But why? I mean- why you..." He tries to form a sentence but ends up flailing his arms.

"For being an orphan," I say as Allison's brows shoot up and Ethan momentarily looks taken aback.

After a few seconds, I hear light steps coming towards us. They're really soft, like the chiming sound coming out of a wind chime. I turn in my seat to find Lacey standing in the doorway, staring with dilated pupills at the room.

"Lacey?" I say as the little kid comes striding into the room.

"Aunty told me to call everyone for dinner," she says as she pokes the koto, making an O of her mouth,
"And Macey and Kacey were mouth- trumping," she says as she looks over at the huge smiles playing on everyone's faces.

"Mouth-trumping?" I ask, trying to suppress my laughter. I don't want to think I'm laughing at her innocence, but with her choice of words.

"She means yawning," Allison says as she stands up from the floor, she runs her hands over herself as Ethan says,
"You're staying for supper, right?"

"I, um..."

"Please, I'll show the world's bestest singers' songs if you stay!" Lacey says as she looks at me with big puppy dog eyes.

How does anyone do the 'puppy dog eyes'?

I look over at Allison and Ethan's expecting eyes,
"Sure. On one condition, though:
Exactly who're the world bestest singers?" I say as both the cousins start grinning, as well.

She looks at me like I've asked a question that everybody knows about and says,
"Austin and Ally!"

Oh... that Disney show.

Lacey comes up to my stool, pulls me by the wrist(causing me to almost fall) and drags me out of the Music Room with Ethan and Allison laughing behind.

I'm liking my decision of coming here more and more by the second.

Hello my lovely readers! I missed y'all sooooooo much(even though, it's only been a week).

If y'all are wondering, then yes.
There WILL be a part three for '35. For the First Time'. I'm just having way too much fun writing this Ingram household trip and I found this to be an excellent chance to develop the characters furthur, for y'all to know teeny tiny tidbits about them, to enjoy with them, to laugh with them.

If you're tired with the happy sappy chapters, then don't read the next part. This is MY story and I'm going to write whatever the heck I want.

The video above is called FANDOMS. It's a parody by the AVbyte brothers who make comedy stuff like that. I love multifandom stuff and since this chapter was a light one(with a speck of grief), I added the vid above:)
(Also, the characters were talking about fandoms so, yeah).

Sorry if I'm not able to read your stories guys. I'm reading my hardcover books these days.
(I've read HP & the Curse Child, Where She Went and The Book Theif this week)

Oh and guys, HALLOWEEN'S COMIN'!!!!!
Lmao, I already gave my profile a makeover xD

And I forgot to add the weekly question last time. I'm not gonna update late night again:0

British English Slang Info:

In BE slang, trump means to fart and trump is considered as a better word as compared to fart.

THIS is why I love the Brits XD

P. S. Slang differs in different regions. It may not be present in one region, but it may be popular in another.

So, here's this week's question:

What is/are YOUR favourite fandom/s? It can be anything from Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings, from Disney to Nick, from Pirates of the Carribean to Doctor Who, Sherlock to Star Wars, or from The Fault in Our Stars to If I Stay.;)

Mine are HP(really, haven't figured that out, yet?) Disney, Sherlock Holmes & the Hunger Games:p

Avoid weird typos,

Love,
MS Zame