Darling | All16 | ✔

SEVENTEEN

As I am washing the dishes, Luke comes in and exclaims, "Sang! You aren't supposed to be doing the dishes!"

I shrug. "Why not? Someone has to do them."

"Yeah," Luke snorts. "And that person is not you." 

"But I've already done all the dishes except the ones still being eaten off of and the ones in your hands," I point out, sticking a hand on my waist, forgetting that it is covered in soap suds.

"How did you know I was holding the dishes?" Luke asks, astonished.

I smirk and answer, "Luck and logic, Luke. Why else would you be in the kitchen?"

"To sneak chocolate," Luke replies smoothly.

My smirk turns into a triumphant grin as I shake my head. "Nope. You wouldn't hide your chocolate in the kitchen where North cooks."

"D-Darn it," Luke says playfully.

Entering the kitchen, Gabriel asks, "What's going on? Are you guys talking about me?"

"No, should we be?" I ask warily. "Is there a surprise birthday party we need to plan?"

"Aw, man," Marc teases. "Now, we can't throw Gabriel his party."

"Oh, well," Luke says, playing along. "There's always next year."

"Oy! Knock it off you two!" Gabriel exclaims.

Deciding to join in the fun, I innocently say, "But Gabriel, it's too late. The surprise is ruined. Luke is right. We can try again next year."

"No," Victor argues, entering the kitchen.

"Thank fu-goodness!" Gabriel cries. "Somebody on my side!"

"We can't try again next year because you guys already spoiled it," Victor continues. "Now Gabe would be expecting it."

"That's it!" Gabriel yells. "I give up!"

I laugh, "Oh, Gabriel, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have played along with them. I suppose they're becoming a bad influence on me," I finish solemnly.

"You're d-You're right they are!" Gabriel exclaims teasingly. "To protect your innocence, you must avoid the others! Don't worry, Sang, I'll ship you away tonight and we can run to France where we'll get married!"

Married? I blush deeply at his words, causing them all to burst into laughter.

"Oh, guess what?" Luke declares once they have all sobered up at least somewhat. "Sang was trying to do the dishes!"

"Tattletail!" I exclaim, and start pouting.

A pair of fingers reach out suddenly and start tugging playfully at my bottom lip.

"Meanie!" I yell at Gabriel as best as I can with my captured lower lip.

"Oy!" Gabriel cries, letting go at once. "Don't call me that, Trouble!"

I shoot what I believe to be a glare in the direction of his voice and Axel, who had entered while we were laughing, speaks up saying, "I think we've lost sight of what Luke was saying. Sang was trying to be nice. Don't you think we should do something nice for her?"

"Oh, I have an idea!" Raven calls gleefully, his Russian accent seeping through his words.

"Roller skating!" Nathan declares.

Gabriel sings out, "Shopping!"

"Ice cream!" Luke roars with delight.

"THERE WILL BE NO ICE CREAM!!" North bellows from the dining room and begins storming in, the other boys not too far behind.

as they come in, I am grateful for how large the rooms in this house are. Even with the big kitchen, it is getting crowded with all seventeen of us crammed in here like sardines.

"What exactly is going on?" Owen asks, his sharp and commanding voice cutting through the debate.

Axel clears his throat and his smokey and stern voice replies, "Sang was doing the dishes and we were thinking that it would be fun to do something with her, sort of as a reward."

Owen smoothly agrees, "That sounds like a good idea. A way to bond."

I grin, glad that he agrees.

"So what are we going to do?" Kota asks the group, setting of a free for all shouting match of ideas.

Clamping my hands on my ears, I try to block out their shouts.

"Hey, shut up, you guys!" Kevin yells from behind me, causing me to flinch away from him and all the voices stop.

Thankful and relieved, I wrap my arms around Kevin and cling to him. I bury my face in between his arm and his side as I try to hide from the eyes that are now focused intently on my every move.

"F-I need to shut everyone up if that's what I get in return," North mutters, causing me to blush even more than before.

"Now, like the calm and disciplined men we are, we need to come to an agreement," Owen states sharply.

"How about we all write down what we want on a piece of paper and Sang can draw the papers from a bucket or something?" Corey suggests.

"That's a good idea," Wil agrees. "I'll go get some paper real quick."

As he leaves, I disentangle myself from Kevin and give him a sheepish grin.

"I'm sorry for that," I apologize awkwardly.

Kevin places a hand on my shoulder and leans in close.

"You have nothing to apologize for," He whispers against my ear. "Thank you for trusting me enough to get so close to me."

I grin at Kevin in thanks and hear him suck in a breath. Quickly, I press my lips into a thin line, not wanting to upset him.

"Alright!" Wil calls. " here are the slips of paper and some pens! "

The sound of papers rustling and pens clicking fills the otherwise quiet room. I wait patiently as they scribble down there requests and wish that I could know what they are writing.

"Fold them and put them in here!" Kota directs.

Once they all drop in a slip, Kota mixes is up a bit and holds the bucket in front of me.

"Go ahead and choose, Sang," Kota says softly.

Grinning, I stick my hand in the bucket to pull out a slip of paper.

***

I have decided to leave the activity up to you guys to decide!

Some ideas are:
• Rollerskating

• Getting or cooking a dessert or some kind

• Laser tag

• Paintball

These are just some ideas, though. Let me know what idea you have for them!

Thank for for reading!
Jade