i wake up to an empty space next to me. tommy's already gone. i stir uncomfortably and sit up. he's nowhere in the room. i sigh sadly.

why do i care?

since it's valentine's day, everyone agreed last night to wear something fit for the holiday, and we were all going to take photos to post on social media, to show everyone that we were hanging out together.

i walk over to my suitcase and thank the lord i packed something suitable for today.

i pair the shirt with a pair of black ripped jeans and black doc martens. as soon as i finish my makeup, i go downstairs to see i'm one of the first people up. alex and george are both sitting on the couch.

"i'm surprised that you're up, george," i say, causing them to both turn around.

"good morning to you too, valerie," george replies with a laugh. alex waves me over and i lean against the couch behind them.

"never thought i'd ever see you in red," i nod to alex. he straightens his shirt and beams at me proudly.

"i don't look too bad in rojo, do i?" he says smugly.

"absolutely hideous," i respond sarcastically. he playfully pushes my arm and laughs.

"i can't see what i'm wearing," george says. he's wearing a pink strawberry milk shirt.

"i think some diamond armor would look good with that," alex says with a smirk.

"shut up."

alex pulls out his phone and shows me a tik tok of george with the same shirt on, transitioning into him wearing a ridiculous diamond armor costume that is definitely too big for him. my hand flies over my mouth, alex flaces, and george's face flushes red in embarrassment.

"tell me that stayed in the drafts," i say, hand still covering my mouth. they both shake their head. "george! are you serious?"

"more like GRUG in that video," alex says, now laughing hysterically.

"i hate that stupid app," george says.

"careful, they might ban you again."

"AGAIN?" i interject.

before we know it, people are starting to flood down the stairs. niki is the first one up, and i follow her to the kitchen to make breakfast. omelettes and bacon, to be specific.

"technoblade won't be happy with this one," i say. niki laughs.

"you look cute," she says.

"as do you! i might steal that top at some point." i reference her bright red cabbage cut shirt. she beams.

we finish breakfast as soon as everyone comes downstairs. karl is the last one down, and i set food in front of him as soon as he sits down. i glance over awkwardly at tommy, who's wearing his new hoodie. he doesn't look up at me from his breakfast, so i look down and fidget with my hands. niki notices me and nudges me, raising an eyebrow. i shake my head, as if to say "it's nothing" and smile.

but it is something.

i just can't really tell what.

the morning is slow, but after a while it's time for lunch. we heat up leftovers from last night and all sit at the table together.

"who wants to go to a carnival?" wilbur asks suddenly. my ears perk up.

"carnival?" i ask. wilbur nods.

"of course you want to go. that's what you said on love or host."

"what do you mean?"

"first date," tommy joins in. "you said our first date would be at a carnival or an arcade."

so he's not ignoring me. that's a good sign.

"let's go to both!" wilbur shouts enthusiastically. "brighton palace pier arcade, then we'll find a carnival." i raise an eyebrow and a thought boils over my mind.

"is that where-"

"VLOG GUN!" tommy yells. "NEW VLOG GUN!"

"yes. that's where the vlog gun is from," wilbur says, his face in his hands. "don't mind him, everyone, this isn't my kid."

"because we're brothers."

"stop i will cry." everyone laughs.

"i think there's a carnival about... 15 minutes away from the arcade," karl says, checking his phone.

"can we go now?" alex asks, bouncing in his seat.

"you've barely touched your food," nick says.

"si... it can wait." nick rolls his eyes.

"no it can't," karl says, putting chicken on the fork and trying to feed him. alex plays along and lets karl shove food down his throat. niki tugs on wilbur's sleeve and whispers something in his ear. wilbur nods and looks at tommy, smirking.

what are they talking about..?

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"alright, guys!" clay shouts from the bottom of the stairs. "time to go! let's roll!" i jump off my bed and practically sprint down the stairs. everyone piles in the car and george gets shotgun, turning on heat waves by glass animals. the car fills with gasps.

"oh my god i love this song!" i shout from the middle seat. everyone starts wheezing. i frown.

"i forgot that she still doesn't get it," george says under his breath. he smiles.

"no kidding. i still don't understand why everyone thinks that's funny," i say, crossing my arms. clay pats my shoulder.

"we'll tell you when you're older," he says. i gasp.

"i'm eighteen! i'm barely younger than tommy!"

we finally arrive at the arcade after heat waves played about 5 times on repeat. i jump out of the van and anxiously await everyone else.

"okay, team..." wilbur says, making his way to the other side of the van where everyone is waiting.

"i'm buying those free play passes. the unlimited ones. whatever they're called. you can play as much as you want for... how many hours should we do?" he turns to consult with niki.

"two hours? three hours?" she suggests. he checks his phone for the time.

"three hours! and at 4:00 we're heading to the carnival. it stays open all night so we can stay there as long as we want. good job finding that place, karl." wilbur turns and we all head into the arcade. clay buys the passes and we all split up. tommy grabs my arm before i can run.

"let's play together and combine our tickets and get the best prizes. and maybe more vlog guns," he says with a grin. i laugh. i decided in the car that since he's not acting awkward, i shouldn't either.

"i saw your vlog with wilbur. you suck at arcade games," i say.

"well, it's the thought that counts." i smile, escape his grasp, and grab his hand, leading him around the arcade.

"this place is HUGE!" i say. "where do we even begin?"

"this stupid game," tommy says, tugging me to a halt. we walk over to the game where you have to knock down the clown pins with rubber balls.

"this?" i ask. "this looks easy."

"it's my mortal enemy," he says, practically staring the game down. i sigh.

"i mean, free play means free play. it won't hurt." i swipe my free play card to buy a round to play, and tommy does so immediately after. the rubber balls roll into our courts.

"who can knock them all down first?" tommy asks.

"once again, i saw your video. it's going to be me," i say. he groans.

"we'll see, bitch girl."

"bring it on, bitch boy."

we play the game, and it's fairly easy. tommy and i are neck in neck, with three seconds left and us both knocking down 5 clowns. within the last second, i knock another one down and win 6-5.

"hell yeah!" i shout, punching the air.

"whatever. i'm aging," tommy says. i laugh.

"that excuse won't work twice."

we go around and play a ton of games, and almost after our three hours are up we run to cash in our tickets.

our total for tickets was 2,819.

"that's not awful," tommy says. i nod.

"how many vlog guns can we get with that?" i ask.

"at least nine." we both laugh. "but that's not all we'll get."

we get in line to get prizes. we end up getting two vlog guns (one for each of us), a big teddy bear, three of those wubble bubble balls (not sure exactly why one wasn't enough), two candy bracelets, two plastic rings, and about twenty five lollipops.

"do you two want... a bag for all this?" the lady working asks. tommy and i look at the stuff we got, then at each other.

"yeah..." we say in sync.

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"what the fuck?" wilbur says as we approach with our huge bag. toby's jaw falls to the floor.

"don't ask," i say.

"how many games did you guys play to get all THAT?" niki asks anyway.

"more than you," tommy says.

"no shit," wilbur says, rolling his eyes. george runs over with his prize in his hand.

"look at what i got!" he shouts, holding a box of led lights.

"you can't even see half of those," i say.

"stop bringing up my color blindness, that's besides the point." clay, nick, alex, and karl all approach shortly after.

"carnival time?" wilbur asks. we all nod and head to the van, eagerly awaiting our next adventure.