I would usually complain when I have 15 different bags to carry, each weighing 5 or 6 kg. But by the void, NOT TODAY! With all the bags I was hauling, it was the perfect excuse to hail a taxi instead of getting on that demon bike with Ranva. The taxi driver got off and left me his work number so that I could call him if I ever needed a lift, probably because I left a 100% tip on my payment. He stopped at every redlight, and slowed down at every yellow light… I will make those girls pay for not warning me about her driving!

It was easy to find Ranva as soon as I entered the lobby. She was lazily looking through a magazine I couldn't make out, with a bored expression. I know it took me just under two hours to get here, and with the way Ranva drives… She's been waiting for me here for a while.

I’m definitely going to make them pay for not telling me about her driving!!!

As we made our way towards the elevator, Ranva used this opportunity to inform the reception desk that I’ll need a key to the penthouse. The receptionist just nodded and told me to come back tomorrow. Although she gave me a look of pity after glancing towards the door to the garage… I’m really, really, really, REALLY Going to make them pay for not telling me anything.

After Ranva used her keycard, there was a few minutes of comfortable silence while the elevator rose. Well, what would have been silence, if not for the deep breaths I was taking and the shifting of my grip on the bags. The plastic bags were heavier than I thought and began to dig into my skin. Ranva snorted, annoyed that she wasn’t allowed to pick up even one. She was first and foremost a lady, and I have always tried to be a gentleman… That, of course, was shattered completely half way up the elevator ride when I had to set the bags down, and Ranva picked them all up… All 15 bags… With one hand… She even threw them over her shoulder like they were weightless… Am I that weak?

Ranva ignored my jaw dropping and my bewildered state even after the familiar *DING* at the top of our ride.

“We’re back! And we brought FOOD!”

The rest of the girls were lounging around the living room. Xera was watching a ballet routine on TV, while Luna was doing her nails. Vermillia sat boredly scrolling and tapping on her phone.

“Hey! Wow! Did you guys go to the supermarket?!” Xera jumped up, forgetting about the program she was watching, and took the bags from Ranva… With one hand… I can't tell if I’m really out of shape, or if these girls are unnaturally strong! Just four of those bags were more than 35 kg heavy with all the fruits and vegetables!

Ignorant to my plight, Ranva crashed into the sofa while Xera delivered the bags to the small table between all of them. Ranva replied after stretching and reclining on the couch.

“No actually! We went to the flea-market, and let me tell you, you guys have no idea how amazing it is there! From now on, we should do all our shopping there!!! Oh-oh and get this! There was this guy named Vl…”

Ranva recalled her adventure as a first-timer to the flea market, and I went to the bathroom, since I actually broke a sweat holding those bags. I thought to myself that I should also speak with Luna about the contract, and more specifically the extravagant pay. That thick envelope weighed heavily in my pocket, and even more so in my mind. But between the hallway and the bathroom, I froze in place after hearing a shocked scream from Vermilia.

“WHAT– What in the name of Void is this!?” She was holding one of the shirts I bought with a baffled expression, bordering on amusement.

Luna was the first to react, pulling out another shirt and a pair of denim jeans I had picked out. ''Wow! Did Ozeth send you to pick up dance props or something?! I mean I know they’re going to get ripped off, but this is so bad… pfft–Hahaha!” Then after she pulled yet another shirt out she erupted in laughter, holding her sides from the fit. “HAHAHA! LOOK AT THE NAME! Monikue’s! HAHAHA! THEY SPELLED MONIKUE INSTEAD OF MONIQUE!!! HAHAHA! This is priceless!!!”

Vermilia took the shirt she was inspecting by two ends and effortlessly ripped it, proving her point I guess. Even Xera was laughing as she was pointing at a winter jacket. I know I don't know a damn thing about fashion, and it was pretty obvious that they were all having a great time… But since it was at my expense…

“I need to fix my laptop, I’ll be in my room.” I’m usually pretty patient, but I was not amused. So I skipped going to the bathroom and forgot about talking to Luna. I just… Left. And I really liked that green shirt…

Luna

*SLAM*

I heard a door slam in the hallway as Donny left, but before I could finish turning my head, I heard the sound of Xera accidentally ripping a brown winter jacket. Seeing how bad the quality of these clothes were and how not a single item went well with another just made us all start laughing again! It was ridiculous how bad the qua–

*SLAM*

Another slam could be heard, but this time much closer than the bedrooms. It came from Ranvas direction, and as I turned to look, I saw Ranva still sitting on the sofa, but only now she was sitting upright with her hand firmly clasped on a dagger, halfway embedded in the table.

“RANVA! How many times do we h– Ranva?!”

Xera had begun to reprimand her for the repeated offenses, but stopped mid sentence. We all stopped after we saw Ranva’s face. Ranva was angry. Like “how dare you scratch my bike” angry. Vermilia dropped the tattered remains of the shirt she had torn apart and looked at her with concern. Did something happen with Donny while they were out?! No, she wouldn't have been so giddy when she came in and Donny wouldn't be in one piece… What's going on? A few moments of silent tension passed before Ranva sighed, loudly and with annoyance. She stood up and walked over to one of the bags and pulled out– OH MY!

“THAT!... IS!... BEYOND!... CUTE!!!” I couldn't even speak properly when I saw just how cute the little stuffed animal she brought out was! I adore stuffed animals, and the stuffed bear that was dressed like a ninja was beyond cute!!! But my glee was met with a deadpan glare from Ranva, as she responded flatly.

“You sure? I mean, the quality is just so bad, right? Did you want to rip this to shreds for amusement too? ”

At her words, we glanced at the bags and realized they were full of things other than normal clothes, like winter coats, toiletries, mens underwear… Oh… Oh no… Xera was the first to speak.

“Wait! All of these belong to Donny?! I thought his apartment was torn apart!?”

Vermilia only responded by smirking coldly before speaking. “Well his taste is awful– Actually, scratch that. It’s simply atrocious!”

Ranva scoffed in annoyance as her expression went from deadpan to disbelief. Her tone that followed this change sounded tired, like she had given up on something. “This... He bought all of this… Just now, at the Flea-Market…”

The three of us were in shock, what Ranva said was unbelievable. “You know the mall is maybe an hour away from his apartment, actually make that five minutes, if you were driving. Monique has a men’s section, I mean there are like fifteen different boutiques in it… He really bought this just now?! Like, today!?”

Ranva let out a sigh with the same defeated tone. “I tried… I really, really, REALLY tried. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to keep a straight face while he picked out his clothes? He even asked me what I thought about that tattered shirt and those jeans… By the Void… It took every ounce of my willpower not to laugh. I spent a whole hour in the lobby, just snickering and laughing until he finally got here. His taste… Uh... His taste is--”

“Atrocious?” Vermilia offered with her trademark evil smirk.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Ranva returned her smile with a glare, earning a frown from Vermilia. “Yeah, it's awful! But, he liked it! And I’m pretty sure that shirt was his favorite!” She pointed to the dark green plain shirt that was the first victim. “He told me he hates boutiques… Everytime I tried to steer the conversation towards one, he would go on a rant about just how much he hated them.”

The quality and style were atrocious, Vermilia was completely right regarding that. Not a single piece of clothing would be matched with anything, and every single color was unpleasant to look at. But my ears folded in shame nonetheless after hearing Ranva’s words.

“He… He probably feels like we laughed at him…” Xera agreed with Ranva, but Vermilia continued, clearly intent on not letting this go.

“Well, we did, dear! Look at this! I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing this, or, better yet, even speaking with somebody who wears something like this! And that’s the simple truth!”

As Vermilia pointed out yet another shirt to call out, Ranva shrugged and pulled out three gift bags, and handed one to each of us.

“Present’s from Donny. Unless ms. High-and-mighty refuses, since she wouldn’t be caught dead with it!“

Ranva and Vermilia were staring daggers at each other while Xera opened tha bag she had been given..

“This is wonderful!!! I love it!”

She was holding a black cat plush with a witches hat and small broom in its hand.

I didn’t waste another moment, and ripped the bag open excitedly. Good thing that the living room is soundproof. I screamed so hard that all three of the girls were covering their ears.

“BY THE VOID! BY THE VOID, BYYYY THEEEE VOIIIIID!!! IT’S SO CUTEEEEE!!! LOOK AT THE CUTE LITTLE WHITE FOX! IT HAS A PINK PRINCESS DRESS! IS THAT A TIARA!?! IT IS A TIARA!!! OH MY GOOOOD LOOK AT THE LITTLE GLASS SHOEEESS!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!! BY THE VOIIIIIIID, ITS SOOOO CUUUUUUTEEEEEEEEE!!!”

It took a good few moments, plus the look of utter disgust that I was getting from the girls, to finally calm down…

“Hey! Don’t look at me like that! You know I love stuffed animals!!!”

After a few more seconds of disapproving stares, it was Vermilia’s turn… Oh dear. I could tell that she wanted to rip the bag apart without even opening it, just to spite Ranva. The way she apprehensively looked at the bag showed just how much she was debating on doing just that, probably based on the trend of the other presents. She has always been difficult when it came to gifts and presents. Even ignoring the original argument with Ranva, she was one of those people who would throw away your present and insult you for your choice straight to your face. I still remember the one time when I bought her a puppy. I thought she would like it since it was so sweet… Never again… IN THE NAME OF ALL THE FORGOTTEN SEALS THAT HOLD THE VOID AT BAY, NEVER, EVER, AGAIN!!! We were so traumatized by the scene the next morning, both me and Xera couldn’t use the bathroom of our previous apartment… I need to stop thinking about this. But… I was sure she liked Angel but it has been missing for some ti– Oh no! I think I’m remembering the puppy again!!!

After several long tense moments, she sighed and rolled her eyes before opening the bag.

“Ah… AHHAHHAHAHAH!!!”

Xera and I started to scream in laughter while Ranva just made a shit eating grin. The present I have to say was simply perfect, NO! It was beyond perfect. It was a red pinkish shark dressed as a pirate and a black eye patch, with one of those giant Cheshire grins. What made it perfect was how ugly it was, which actually made it endearingly cute. Vermilia, after a few moments of shock and awe, leaned over in her chair and stared at it for several minutes before hugging it tightly, like it was the most precious thing in the world..

“Well, that’s that girls! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna hit the gym. The rest of you can decide how you want to apologize to Donny. I hear groveling and feet kissing work best! Good luck!”

Ranva left and her voice got quieter as the elevator door left, but we could all see the grin on her face. She was satisfied with our responses, and that we had all realized we had totally and utterly, fucked up.

********

Donny

*BOOM*

Ya know, I'm something of a computer whizz myself, or at least I like to think of myself in that light… But cracking pirated games and occasionally opening my laptop to blow out the dirt doesn't make you a whizz, as I am realizing now. I realize this, because the smoking heap on my bed was my laptop a few minutes ago, before it caught fire.

“Fucking Zandrian piece of junk!”

Never again am I buying tech from Zandria! They may be the most powerful country in the East when it comes to mass producing tech… But it's just not built like it used to be. Now all of their junk brakes just after the warranty expires… Or get smashed by a baseball bat.

This was just the icing on the cake for a bad mood though. A couple of hours ago, Xera came by my room and asked if I wanted some boiled eggs, but I refused her. I didn't have an appetite because of my bad mood, and I'm definitely scared to try anything that the girls made… I was also still upset at how they reacted when they saw my clothes. Don’t get me wrong, I have no illusion that my taste is good, I know it’s bad... But to actually have people laugh in your face like that… Feels bad man.

“Maybe I should go for a walk, it's only 8 pm and I’m out of cigarettes anyway.”

After leaving my bedroom, the first thing I noticed was the girls were gone. If I remember correctly, Ranva did say they were meeting their manager tonight. Then I noticed my bags were still on the table, and a few more shirts had been ripped… Shit! And I really, really liked that shirt! I wanted to just scream and make drama when they came back. But there wasn't a point, I knew just how bad of an idea that would be.

“OK! I just need to calm down! They’re your bosses! They give you a place to stay, and apparently a paycheck that is… Holy shit, that paycheck!”

That paycheck… That beautiful, beautiful paycheck! I think I’ll get over it. I guess I can get some clothes that are more IN fashion today. Considering they are also popular stars, they can’t really be seen with workers that dress like me… I still hate the idea though!!! Actually when I think about it… I despise the idea… But the paycheck!!!

I sighed as I rummaged through the wreckage of my clothes and changed into something fresh. A red t-shirt, dark blue denim jeans and a pair of sneakers. Yeah, I know my fashion sucks, sue me!

I should also stop by a corner shop… Actually, I should go to the supermarket. It’s about 10 minutes away, but I can actually buy a few boxes now to stock up. That way I don’t need to think about it for some time. And now that I'm thinking about it, I forgot to get spice and condiments at the flea-market, and I know the girls only have mustard and ketchup… How do they even stay in such good shape with all the crap they eat?

I made sure to check for the three most important things when leaving a house. Wallet, check. Phone… Broken… Key… Don’t have. Well, one for three isn't that bad. I should also drop by the reception and give them a heads up. I can't be sure that the same lady will be working, so I figured I should speak with them before hand and avoid all the drama.

“Hmm… I should also leave a note for the girls.”

After several moments of searching I was surprised that I couldn't find a single clean piece of paper to write on. It was then that I remembered I had salvaged a notebook from my apartment. It took another 10 minutes of me searching, and frustrated as I already was, I was throwing things around to try and find it. Of course the notebook was all the way at the bottom. Now just to find a pen… And after another twenty minutes of searching I finally found one. By the Void, why must this be so difficult! I really need to buy some house supplies the next time I go to the flea-market. I ripped out a piece of paper from my notebook and began scrawling a simple note.

“OK! Lets see here. I left f–“ But I was interrupted by the all to familiar *DING* of the elevator.

As the doors slid open, I was greeted by a polar bear and a walking mountain..

“Tolgan! Rocco! Hey guys, what’s up!?”

At first they froze in place, looking at me in utter shock. Oh shit!? Was it supposed to be a secret that I’m living with the girls!? But my fears quickly disappeared as Tolgan let out a hearty laugh and grabbed me in a bear hug.

“Hahaha Donny! How is your evening my friend!!!” My back, MY BACK! HE’S BREAKING MY SPINE!!!

Thankfully the torture only lasted a moment or two before he let go of me. Rocco approached and nervously offered a handshake in greeting.

“Good evening, Mr. Porter. I hope all is well.”

His demeanor made me arch an eyebrow, but Tolgan just laughed and smacked Rocco on the back happily. And holy SHIT was that smack loud! But Rocco didn't even budge. If I got slapped like that, I would be on the floor.

“Don’t worry Rocco! Donny here is not holding a grudge, please relax my friend!” I just smiled at him reassuringly with a nod to try and ease his nerves. I really didn't mind the guy at all. “Anyway Donny, how are you?! I’m still surprised that you are here!!”

All I could do in response was sigh softly before responding. “Meh. It's been one of those days, ya know? And regarding me being here… Let’s just say I'm on the job.”

Thankfully he just nodded understandingly, good thing too. I didn't want him asking any questions since I’m really not sure how much I can tell. He had been searching the living room with his eyes as soon as he walked in, and I realized he must have come for the girls. “If you're looking for the girls, they're in a meeting with Ozeth.”

“Ah I see… I need to speak with them regarding the security for the next concert. But I will wait until tomorrow.” As Tolgan was scratching the back of his head he looked towards me and suddenly his eyes started to shine, like he just had the greatest idea ever... I know the look. Me, Felix and Chris had that same look multiple times. It means we're about to do something stupid.

“Donny my friend… You are not busy with anything, are you?” I shrugged passively, since all I had planned to do were things I could do at any time. Tolgan grinned wide, and if my experiences with Chris and Felix were anything to go by, I had a feeling history would repeat itself tonight.