Mal had barely slept, his mind spinning through a series of wildly inappropriate dreams. Even in the haze of his dream state, it felt like he was reliving his junior high puberty years, full of awkward, heated fantasies. When he finally woke up, he was drenched in sweat, his clothes clinging to him.

Gross.

Definitely in need of a shower.

He sat up, shaking off the remnants of his dream, and glanced at his desk. His game was still on the logout screen, and he suddenly remembered leaving all his friends hanging at the end of the dungeon run without the bags.

They're gonna be so pissed, he thought, grabbing his phone.

Momo had already texted him a screenshot of all their avatars lying in the dungeon in the shape of a giant middle finger.

Momo: We couldn’t hear exactly what happened, but it sounded pretty dirty. Inquiring minds want to know. Hit me back.

Great. Now I have to explain this, Mal thought, rolling his eyes as he made his way downstairs.

The smell of breakfast wafted through the house, and he paused at the bottom of the stairs, trying to keep his cool. He didn’t want Harper to know she’d bested him.

“My, my, my, don’t we look a little flushed this morning,” Sumi said immediately, taking the opportunity to poke fun at him.

“It’s too early,” Mal grumbled.

“Oh, it’s never too early,” Aurora chimed in from the couch, smirking.

Sumi wasn’t done. “Did you take a nice, long cold shower?”

Mal shot her a look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t be all crabby just because you didn’t get any action. It’s not our fault,” Aurora teased.

Mal glanced toward the kitchen, where Harper was at the stove, unusually quiet. He narrowed his eyes. “You freaking told them, didn’t you?”

Before Harper could even respond, Sumi jumped in. “Of course, she told us. She told us before she did it.”

“So my sisters and Harper premeditated messing with a young man’s sexuality? You guys are sick,” Mal said, shaking his head.

Sumi laughed. “Hey, I wasn’t the one getting all sweaty and breathing heavy. ‘Oh, Harper, I love you,’” she mocked in a high-pitched voice.

Mal groaned and grabbed his keys from the bowl on the counter. He wasn’t sticking around for this.

“Wait,” Harper called from the kitchen.

She approached him, holding a plate with homemade eggs Benedict—his favorite. “Truce?” she offered with a hopeful smile.

Mal glanced at the plate, then back at her. “Truce? Are you crazy? That was so jacked up. You can’t do that to a man. It’s evil.”

His tone actually made Harper’s smile falter a bit, her head dipping slightly. She didn’t feel terrible, but she did feel a little bad.

“You can’t just make my favorite breakfast and think it’s okay. There’s a line, and you crossed it. It’s one thing to mess with someone, but physically doing stuff—especially to a guy—that’s just evil.”

Harper sighed. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I felt bad afterward, but I didn’t want to come back and make it worse.”

“So, your bright idea was to tell my sisters?” Mal asked, exasperated.

Aurora butted in. “She told us last night she was gonna mess with you.”

Harper winced. “It was just funny to see your face. I’m really sorry, I swear.” She was still giggling, making it hard to take her seriously.

Mal sat down with the plate. “You better be sorry,” he muttered, stabbing into the eggs. It wasn’t just that eggs Benedict was his favorite; Harper’s version was the best.

Trying to reclaim some dignity, he added, “Well, I had a hot older girl rubbing on me, and I got breakfast out of it, so I’ll take the win and ignore everything you scrubs have to say.”

“Oh, big talker,” Sumi teased.

Mal just grinned through a mouthful of food. “Not listening,” he said, keeping his focus on the plate.

Sumi tried to push him further, but he ignored her and quickly devoured his meal, eager to escape the awkward situation.

Finishing the last bite, he stood up and grabbed his keys. “Okay, I’ve had my breakfast, and I know what your best friend’s underwear and bra look like,” he said, looking at Harper before heading toward the hallway.

Aurora couldn’t resist. “I’m sorry my best friend gave you a boner.”

Sumi burst into laughter.

Mal cringed. “That’s so gross. Why would you say that word!?” He walked out of the room, shaking his head, the sound of his sisters’ laughter echoing behind him as he made his escape.

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PG.07A

Momo slid into the passenger seat of the SUV, slamming the door behind him. He shot Mal a sideways glance, barely able to hold back a grin. "Bro, what girl came into your room last night? Please tell me it was Harper."

Mal sighed heavily, gripping the steering wheel as he backed out of the driveway. "Sadly, yes, it was Harper," he muttered. "And it wasn’t funny at all."

Mal gives Momo a brief explanation of what happened through his constant laughter at every step of the story.

Momo chuckled. "C’mon, it’s a little funny."

"Not when it’s happening to you, man," Mal shot back, shaking his head. "She so messed up for that, and on top told my sisters before she even did it. You know how relentless they are."

As they made their way toward the diner to meet the rest of the crew, Momo snorted. "Classic Harper move, but sorry bro sounds like it was hot, you can’t tell me you fantasized about that all through your high school years.”

“I mean it was pretty dope… and she did make me breakfast.”

“Yo, that sounds like how they explain marriage. Haha,” Momo laughed.

“Did you guys actually hear anything?”

“Naw it was a girl’s voice but then the loud thump of your headset hitting the desk we could only hear muffled sounds after that.”

“Thank Arcadia… the last thing I need is more crap about this.”

“Oh you will get an endless supply of it, my brother, we waited for you for like a half hour and all discussed what was happening.”

“WHAT!!!!?????”

“Yup haha, it was great and you would have been proud Leanne had a super detailed story of what was going on. It was some real romp-com shiz.”

“This is the worst… I swear those chicks just don’t get the extent of their actions”

Mal knew that even in the cosmic responsibility they still did things their way with little input besides each other.

Mal winced. “Anyway, I’m sorry… I’ll run the rest of it myself and get you guys those bottomless bags tonight, promise."

"It’s all good, bro," Momo shrugged, still smirking. "We get it. You got one-upped by Harper, and that’s pretty hilarious."

"Ha ha, real funny," Mal grumbled, through a small smile.

Momo slapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, it could’ve been worse."

Mal chuckled. “Yeah? How so...”

Momo paused at the hood of the SUV.

“Honestly I don’t know… but saying that sounded good.” He finally said laughing and walking to the door of Tiller’s.

As Mal and Momo walked into the diner, the familiar chatter and clatter of dishes as the normal crew’s faces lit up with anticipation, and Mal immediately knew that they had been waiting, not-so-patiently, for his arrival.

Robbie, sitting with a smug grin sang to Mal’s entrance. “Oh, lover boy…”

“We’ve been dying to hear what happened last night,” Leanne said, exchanging a knowing look with Mika, who stifled a giggle.

Jay and Evan, who hadn’t been online during the chaos, looked particularly eager. Mal could already sense the ridiculous version of events they must’ve been told.

“So…” Evan began, smirking. “Is it true Harper walked into your room and—”

“Whoa, hold up,” Mal interrupted, putting his hands up. “Whatever Robbie told you is probably exaggerated.”

Robbie leaned back in his seat, smiling even wider. “Oh, come on. You can’t say it wasn’t entertaining.”

Momo snickered beside Mal. “Yeah, they were all waiting for the big moment while you, uh, got 'ambushed.'"

“Great,” Mal muttered sarcastically, sliding into the booth. “Well, let me clear this up…” He sighed, knowing full well he was going to have to explain everything. But by the looks of his friends' faces, he could tell they were still brimming with curiosity, and no version of this story was going to go without its share of embellishments.

Mal took a deep breath, glancing around the table at the expectant faces. "Alright, let me break it down for you," he said, settling into his seat next to Momo. "Yes, Harper did come into my room, but it wasn’t what you think. She was just being her usual, evil self."

Robbie raised an eyebrow, barely able to contain his amusement. "Oh, we heard plenty. She told your sisters everything before it even went down."

"Yeah," Mika chimed in with a sly grin. "You were online with us, then boom! Next thing we know, you’re gone, and Harper's in there messing with you."

Mal ran a hand through his hair, already feeling the heat of embarrassment rise in his face. "It wasn’t funny at all. She locked the door, teased me like a maniac, and then left me trapped in there."

"Trapped?" Jay asked, leaning forward. "How did she trap you?"

"She locked the door, flicked the lights, and said all kinds of stuff I don’t even want to repeat," Mal replied, rubbing his temples. "And by the time I realized what was going on, she was gone, leaving me behind to deal with whatever she thought was funny."

Leanne exchanged a knowing glance with Mika. "Sounds like typical Harper to me."

"Yeah, but it didn’t stop there," Mal added, shaking his head. "She went downstairs and told everyone — my sisters, their friends... even made me breakfast to try and act like everything was fine."

"Wait, breakfast?" Evan asked with a laugh. "Now that's evil."

"So, did you get any sleep at all after that?"

"Barely. I had the worst dreams, and to top it all off, I forgot to log out of the game after that dungeon run. You guys were stuck waiting."

"Oh, don’t worry. We figured something was up after you disappeared. Just left a nice little message for you." Robbie said.

"Yeah, I saw," Mal said, shaking his head. "Thanks for the screenshot, Momo."

Momo laughed. "That was all Robbie. He thought it’d be funny if we left your characters lying in the shape of a middle finger."

"You’re welcome," Robbie said, flashing a proud smile.

Mal glanced around, hoping one person in particular wasn’t there. "Where’s Roxy?" he asked, trying to sound casual. The last thing he wanted was for Roxy to catch wind of this story.

Evan raised an eyebrow. "Why? You hiding something from Roxy?"

Before Mal could come up with a good excuse, Momo grinned and jumped in, answering for him. "Nah, this fool thinks he has a shot with that Nezami girl."

Leanne and Mika both looked up, interest immediately piqued. "Wait, Nezami from the Art Committee?" Mika asked, leaning forward.

"It's not like that. I just... don’t want Roxy hearing about Harper messing with me, alright?" Mal said slightly flustered.

"Ohhh, so you're trying to keep your reputation intact for Nezami, huh?"

Leanne chuckled. “Nezami… Mal? Wow, you’re ambitious."

"Great, just great. And now, I'm here with all of you waiting to hear every twisted version of what happened."

Mika grinned, tapping her fingers on the table. "We’ve definitely had some creative interpretations."

Leanne nodded. "But don’t worry, we won’t make it too painful. Just enough to keep it entertaining."

Mal rolled his eyes. "You guys are the worst."

Evan chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "But seriously, man, what’s the deal with you and Harper? You two are always messing with each other…and to be fair well over the normal boundaries.”

"Yeah," Jay added. "Seems like there's some tension."

Mal's face flushed slightly, and he shot Momo a look as if silently asking for help.

Momo shrugged with a grin. "Hey, man, it’s all you."

"Nothing's going on," Mal insisted, though his tone wavered slightly. "She's just… Harper. You know how she is."

"Uh-huh," Robbie said, crossing his arms with a smirk. "If you say so, dude."

Mal shook his head, feeling the weight of their teasing. He knew the group wasn't going to let up easily, but deep down, even he wasn't sure what to make of Harper's antics. As much as they drove each other crazy, there was always something just beneath the surface.

Before he could say more, the waitress arrived to take their orders, momentarily distracting everyone from the subject at hand.

As the group settled into their usual banter, Mal tried to push the Harper incident to the back of his mind. But with friends like his, he knew it wouldn't stay buried for long.

Or so he’d hoped.