"There! All finished." Lexi exclaimed proudly, gazing upon the creation before her. The blankets were stretched across the table and couch, along with the chair that they pulled closer, then there were pillows blocking the table openings, enclosing the whole thing in a small cramped space. Law raised a brow, not quite sure what she found so fantastic about it.
"Now we can watch movies on my laptop." She said, walking over to the kitchen. "And eat. Food is important."
Not quite sure how to respond, Law said nothing. Though his throat began feeling dry again and sent him into another coughing fit. He hoped whatever medicine Nana and the engineers were able to bring back would help this sickness. He hated being ill. Part of being a doctor.
"Do you like popcorn?" Lexi called from the kitchen, rummaging around in the pantry for things. "And hot chocolate?"
"Popcorn?" He asked in confusion. "I've never heard of such a thing." Law said, approaching the kitchen tiredly. This sickness was beginning to wear at his strength and energy. The brunette poked her head out from behind the door, an expression of shock marking her face.
"You've never heard of popcorn? What? That's a sin, my friend." She joked, turning away to sneeze into the crook of her elbow. She went back to the pantry, reaching up to one of the higher shelves.
"What is it?" He asked, watching as she pulled out a flattened brown bag from a box.
"Popcorn is just popped corn. Pretty self explanatory." She went to the microwave and opened the small door, placing the bag inside and closing it again. Then, she pressed a button on the panel and it purred to life. On the inside, the rotating plate slowly turned the bag around.
"Hmm…" He hummed, curious as to how such a thing existed. In his world, corn was eaten plain. Nothing special was done to it. He wondered what it would look like in the end…
"What about hot chocolate?" She prodded, snapping her fingers to get him out of his head. His eyes focused on her and frowned.
"I suppose."
She sighed at his noncommittal answer. Moving over to the fridge, she opened it and took out a dark brown bottle from the door. Law glanced at the label. It said 'Hershey's.'
"Chocolate syrup." Lexi said, noticing his ever-present look of confusion. He nodded silently, and she retrieved two mugs from the cupboard. Then frowning suddenly, she turned to Law. "Where's Bepo?"
"He went outside for some air. He doesn't like feeling cooped up inside." She nodded, continuing with her work.
A popping sound from the microwave caused Law to swing his gaze that direction. Inside the machine, the bag steadily grew larger.
"Is that normal?" He asked, and she chuckled.
"Yeah, all the corn kernels are being heated, so when the gases inside try to escape the covering, it pops open. That's what that noise is." Her grin didn't disappear as she poured some milk into each cup. "The wonders of popcorn, huh?"
"I see." He replied seriously, the sarcasm passing way over his head. Lexi sighed again, realizing that most things that would be funny in her world were still foreign and probably considered serious in theirs. Still, it would be fun to mess with them.
After stirring in the chocolate and taking out the popcorn bag from the microwave, she replaced it with the cups and set it for two minutes. While that was going, she dug out a big purple plastic bowl from the cupboard, placing it on the counter.
"This is the best part." She said, gesturing him closer. He did so, looking at the expanded bag. Steam rose from the small crack in the top. Taking hold of each side, he watched as she slowly pulled apart and the top ripped open. The steam rose faster as cooler air hit the inside, and a heavenly smell accompanied it. Unwittingly, he took a deep breath, inhaling the scent.
She must have noticed, because she laughed a little. "Smells good, right?" He nodded, eager to taste something that smelled so wonderful.
She pulled apart the other side and dumped the contents of the bag into the bowl. Law raised a brow at the white, fluffy appearance of the kernels. That was not what he'd expected. Grabbing one, Lexi popped it into her mouth with a crunch. She took one from the top and held it out. "Try it."
Taking a bite, he was amazed that it had a distinct buttery taste. Perhaps the crops in Lexi's world were modified to taste different…
"Take this and I'll meet you in the fort." She smiled, handing him the bowl of popcorn. Giving her one more glance, he stalked off to the living room where their makeshift shelter stood. He still wasn't very impressed by the outcome, but for the sake of avoiding an argument he didn't say anything.
Crouching, he crawled inside with the purple bowl, taking care not to get caught on any of the hanging sides of the blankets. He was sure that if he ruined the fort in any way he'd never hear the end of it from their host. She had looked so proud putting it all together, after all.
Stretching out his legs, he was surprised that be was barely able to fit. If he had been any taller, there'd be no room. His head only had an inch or two of clearance above him before the blanket they'd stretched across the table hit him. The laptop was already inside, resting on the floor with the screen facing him.
A moment later, he heard Lexi's footsteps approach softly on the carpet. Her shadow moved across the wall, and then she appeared at the 'doorway.' Though it didn't look much like a doorway in his opinion. She held out a mug of the hot drink, which he took carefully. The rich smell of chocolate hit his nose, and he took another whiff of it.
"I make the best hot chocolate. Nana might tell you otherwise, but don't believe her." She boasted, suddenly making a shooing gesture at him. "Scoot over."
Careful not to spill his drink, he moved over to the left enough for her to get inside. After settling herself nicely, she took a sip from the drink and set it beside her. Then, she leaned over for the laptop, placing it directly in the middle of them so they could both see.
"Alright, what should we watch?" She asked, turning to him. He frowned.
"How do you expect me to answer that exactly?" She glanced away, realizing she'd forgotten that Law knew nothing about visual entertainment in her world.
"Right…yeah, forgot you're not from around here. Anyways, there's movies or TV shows. Take your pick."
"What is a movie?" Lexi shook her head, typing in her password with a deep sigh.
"They're like really long TV shows. Anyways, I'll decide. Since you apparently know nothing about anything." Ignoring the angry glare from the pirate, she clicked a few things on the screen and came to a gray page with bolded red letters that read 'Netflix."
After another few screens, there popped up a list of pictures and words attached. Reading some of them, 'House of Cards,' 'Supernatural,' 'Sherlock,' they made no sense to him, but he did assume they were these movies or TV shows that Lexi spoke of before.
"How does the Avengers sound?" She asked, clicking on the picture with the words 'Marvel's Avengers' underneath it.
"What is an Avenger?" He asked, and she chuckled, reaching over for the popcorn.
"Shh. You'll see." She cut off, pressing her volume button several times as the opening scene began to play.
"Shit. Shit…" Shachi mumbled, walking beside Penguin as they searched aisle after aisle for the old woman. "She's got to be here somewhere, right?"
Several people nearby gave them strange or dirty looks but they ignored them, already used to such treatment as pirates back home. They picked up their pace, Penguin still holding the bottle of medication that Nana said they needed. Now, all they had to do was find Lexi's grandmother.
"It didn't take us very long to find that stuff, right? She can't have gone far…" Penguin tried reassuring himself and his friend. At least, he surely hoped she couldn't. That old woman was full of surprises.
"Umm…hey, you." Shachi stopped and pointed at a middle-aged man pushed a metal cart of some kind. He frowned as they approached.
"Yes?" He questioned.
"Have you seen an old lady, white hair, blue pants and a green shirt, anywhere? Maybe within the last few minutes or so?" The man thought for a moment before shaking his head, his eyes scanning around them just in case.
"No, sorry." He started pushing his cart away, and the two friends cursed under their breath, back to square one with the search.
"What if we split up, cover more ground?" Shachi suggested. Penguin shrugged.
"Sounds good, but how are we going to find each other again? This place is pretty big and we could be going around in circles for hours."
"Hmm…that's true. Alright, well then we'll meet right here in twenty minutes whether we've found Nana or not."
"Alright, I'll see you back here soon." They fist bumped, then turned opposite directions in search of the old woman, hoping that wherever she was, she wasn't having another one of her episodes.
"Nana?" Penguin called, searching back and forth as he walked down the main walkway. People passed him and gave curious glances, but otherwise left him be to return to their own business. The pirate cupped his hands around his mouth. "Nana?"
The aisles around him were full of clothing on either side. One section looked like garments for small children and babies, while the one opposite was for female attire. Women perused the ladies section, picking up pants and shirts and holding them against their bodies to see a relative size. He circled the clothing, trying to see if the older woman was within the racks and shelves.
While searching, he caught a glimpse of the underwear and bra aisle. Penguin let out a small gasp, stifling it quickly by stuffing his hand in his mouth and biting. Now wasn't the time to go full pervert. There would be opportunities later, or so he told himself. Anything to get away from what could possibly be the thing that got him kicked out or arrested. As Lexi would have said. Shaking his head vigorously, he forced his feet to walk another direction.
Shachi stood in front of a strange cage-looking device, cocking his head curiously. There weren't any bars, unless you counted the widely spaced strings that ran vertically along the whole thing. Inside were an assortment of plastic balls in various colors. Some were large, some were huge, and others just a little smaller.
"Nana? Are you in there?" He paused but didn't hear an answer. Maybe she was sleeping? Deciding that it would be better to check, he took out the first ball, pulling it through the ropes until it broke free. Tossing it behind him, it bounced away and he reached for the next one.
An elderly couple passed by, staring sternly at him as if he was doing something wrong. He didn't understand what they were so angry about and so he shrugged and proceeded to empty the cage of plastic play toys.
*One Hour Later*
Penguin found himself being escorted to the front of the store, his shoulder gripped by an intimidating security guard who glared at everything he looked at. The man had a tight hold on him, so there was no possibility of escape. Resolutely, Penguin sighed and allowed himself to be led to a room that said 'Customer Service and Security.'
"Sit down." The guard said, letting go of his arm and pointing to a set of chairs. Surprised, Penguin's eyebrows rose when he saw his friend already waiting there. He approached and sat beside him.
"Dude, what happened?" He asked, and the red head crossed his arms with a pout.
"I tried looking for Nana in some weird cage-looking things filled with plastic balls, but apparently you're not allowed to take them all out and climb to the top to see further." He glanced at Penguin. "You?"
"Well, I found this set of doors that looked important, and I went inside. There was this huge warehouse-type room and I tried moving all the boxes around to find her, but no luck. Oh, and I got caught and they brought me here." He mentioned, scratching the back of his neck.
Shachi sighed. "And we're still no closer to finding Nana…" He muttered, slumping against his seat. One glance at the front desk made it very clear that they were being watched carefully by the guards. "I doubt they'd let us go either. They look mean."
"Let go of me, you commie bastard!" A voice said, and the two pirates swung their gazes towards the entrance. There, a very irritated Nana was being led to a nearby seat by a female security guard.
"Ma'am, I'm gonna need you to calm down. Is there someone you can call?" The guard asked, assisting Nana into the chair. The older woman complied, albeit with a scowl.
"I ain't giving you any information! No way I'd give up the security of my country!" She shouted, shoving her hand away. Sighing, the guard stood and walked over to the desk where the others waited, then whispers something to them.
"Wait, we're with her!" Shachi called, getting the guards' attention. They all frowned.
"Oh really?" Doubt edged itself into one of their voices. He turned to Nana and gestured to the engineers. "Do you know these two?"
Nana turned and squinted in their direction, then clarity returned to her eyes. "Oh yes! You two are those exchange students Lexi brought home!" She glanced around suspiciously. "Boys, it looks like we're gonna need an escape plan to get out of this Nazi bunker. Did you see any exits?"
"Alright…" The female guard said, sauntering over to the two pirates. "Since you guys are from out of the country as exchange students, I can't advise you to drive. Is there someone she knows you can call and ask to pick her up?"
"Yeah, Lexi-chan! She can help us." Penguin answered. Then, he remembered something. "Oh, and we have to get this medication for her since she'd sick. How do we do that?"
The guard glanced around for a moment, looking for the answer. Then, eyes falling onto Nana once more, she sighed again. "I'll take care of any purchase you may have." She reached out for the bottle and Penguin handed it over.
The two pirates walked over to Nana. She looked up in surprise, as if only now realizing they were there.
"Nana, we need Lexi-chan's phone number so we can call her." Shachi explained. The old woman's eyes narrowed.
"Are you gonna tell her we need reinforcements and a way out of this compound?" She asked skeptically. Exchanging a glance with Penguin, they shrugged.
"Uhh, yeah, sure."
With a satisfied nod, Nana dug into her purse for her phone and handed it to the two. They pressed the front button, just like Lexi's was, and came to a screen with lots of pictures.
"Hmm…how do we find her number?" Penguin mumbled, staring down at the phone in confusion.
"Here, try this button!" Shachi pressed an icon on the screen, both of them hoping it was the right one. These phones were really confusing…
Law watched as a bunch of words moved upwards and off of the screen, a list of hundreds of names. Not quite sure what to do, since Lexi was fast asleep leaning against his shoulder, he simply waited until perhaps the thing would stop itself. At least he got the opportunity to be up close again. He knew that she got all embarrassed about things like that once she realized what was happening. He thoroughly enjoyed her flustered reactions. They were amusing. And the fact that she looked rather attractive wasn't bad either...
In all honesty, he hadn't understood most of what Lexi had tried explaining to him in regards to the movie, too engrossed in trying to keep up with half of what the technology was throughout the movie. There were too many terms and sciences he didn't know, and therefore he couldn't enjoy it much.
There was a loud buzzing noise between them, and Law looked down to see Lexi's phone vibrating. The screen was lit up with the name 'Nana' on it. A green button and a red button was below that, and it continued to buzz.
Unsure of how to respond, Law decided that he'd better wake up Lexi herself. Gently shaking her shoulder, he leaned over to whisper.
"Lexi-ya, wake up."
She mumbled a few indecipherable words before cracking one eye open. Her eyes widened when she realized that her cheek was shoved against his upper arm, and she quickly pushed herself off before he could say anything. She didn't miss the amused smirk though, and he didn't miss the faint blush forming on her cheeks. Gaze directed downwards at the phone, she straightened up and grabbed the device. Holding it up to her ear, she rubbed at her eyes to try to wake up, all the while hoping that Law would let this little incident go. "Hello?"
"Hey, Lexi-chan!" Shachi basically shouted into the phone. The brunette had to hold it away from her ear so it wouldn't hurt. "We have a little problem…"
"What happened?" She mumbled, still not fully awake. Yawning, she covered her mouth and awaited the bad news.
"Well, the good news is that we found the medicine! It wasn't too hard, and didn't take too long…" He rambled, but Lexi was having none of it.
"Shachi, get on with it." He laughed nervously on the other end.
"Ah, right…well, Nana sort of started thinking she's in the war again and now we don't have a way of getting back."
Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back against the couch cushion. "God dammit…" She muttered, catching the interest of Law who still sat beside her. He patiently munched on a couple popcorn pieces while she finished her call. "I don't have any way of getting there, you guys have the truck."
"Well, what are we supposed to do then?"
Quickly thinking, Lexi sighed. "I can try asking if Brittany can pick you up. Where are you guys at?"
"Umm…Walmart, I think."
"Well, which one? Do you know?"
"No…"
Lexi rubbed at a quickly-forming headache, wishing that everything wasn't so complicated and messed up. Why couldn't she just have one day to relax and rest without something horrible happening?
"Ok, well are you guys at security?"
"Yeah, and they look really scary." He admitted.
"Ok, ask one of them which town you're in." Barely, she could hear Shachi asking someone where they were. A moment later, she heard the phone rustle as he brought it back up to his ear.
"We're in Bakersfield."
"Alright, well at least that's not too far away. Stay there and I'll call Brittany to see if she can help. Don't move or leave the security guard's sight. Understand?" She clarified, emphasizing her instructions so they knew exactly what to do. With them, you could never be too careful.
"Roger that."
"Ok, I'll call you back when I hear from Brittany." She hung up the phone, slouching in her seated position.
"Problems I assume?" She didn't bother to answer, instead picking the phone back up to call her friend.
She waited a few seconds as the line rang, hoping beyond hope that she would pick up.
"Sup, Lex?" She answered, and Lexi sighed in relief.
"I need to ask a favor. Are you doing anything important right now?" There were a couple voices on the other end that didn't sound like Brittany.
"Uh, kind of on a date right now, waiting on him to get back from the bathroom. But what's up?"
"Nana went to the store with a couple of the…exchange students to get medicine. Law and I are sick and they have the truck. She had an episode at the store and now they're stuck there since the other two can't drive."
"Ah, geez. That really sucks. Where are they at?"
"The Walmart in Bakersfield. I really don't wanna ask since you're busy, but I don't have very many options right now…" She hesitantly admitted, knowing she could always call a neighbor, even though they could be grouchy about doing them favors sometimes.
"Sure, no problem. I'll head over and pick them up, then I'll bring you back so you can get the truck?"
"Yeah. Thanks, you're a life saver. And are you sure? You said you were on a date." Lexi hated feeling like she was a burden, or that she was being an inconvenience so she just wanted to make sure.
"Honestly? I'd give the guy maybe a 6 out of 10. I'll pass on him. You know, since you're my best friend. Sisters before misters. Chicks before dicks. You feel?"
Despite herself, Lexi gave a chuckle. "Right, but thanks again."
"No problem babe, see you soon."
Lexi hung up and let her phone fall the the floor. "I'm so done with today…" She muttered, covering her face with her hands. Law chuckled beside her, before going into a fit of coughing again.
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