The apartment was rather small for three girls; there was even a mattress alongside the couch, a makeshift bedroom due to the lack of their being a third. “Yep, this is my bedroom!” Sonata exclaimed, noticing my staring. “Best one in the house too. I get the TV all night.” I nodded my head and chuckled politely. There was also a small kitchen combined with the living room, making it seem slightly more spacious. On the opposite side, there was a short hallway which branched off into two bedrooms and a small bathroom.
The entirety of the apartment was rather plain. There was little decoration and a mismatch of possessions stored in rather odd locations; by odd, I mean everywhere. It looked as if they had only recently moved in and were still in the process of organizing, but I had a feeling they had lived there for quite some time. This caused me to wonder exactly what the reason for their method of decoration was. Were they unwilling to call anyplace in my world their home? Had they been planning to move on rather quickly? Was it some kind of custom or instinctual way for sirens to live that I did not know of? In a way, I felt sorry for them. It certainly didn’t seem like a comfortable way to exist.
“So what’s for dinner?” Sonata suddenly asked, looking at Adagio expectantly. “We do have something, right?”
“It’s pizza tonight-”
“Oh, pizza’s always good… only if it isn’t CHS pizza,” Sonata interrupted, even though we all could see that Adagio was going to continue.
She gave Sonata the slightest of glares before raising a finger in the air to tell her that she needed to stay silent. “…And you’re buying, right?” she asked, turning to me with a smile. Even though her smile was sweet, I knew it was a command rather than a question. I had a bit of money. It had been saved up from my birthday and other holidays along with what I had left over from my part-time job the previous summer. I was planning to spend it on video games and perhaps some merchandise from the shows I enjoyed, but one pizza wouldn’t waste too much of it. Besides, I needed to do it for them. I assured myself that it wasn’t only to improve my status with them, but also because they seemed to be struggling with their finances. If they didn’t have enough money to buy a rather short cab ride, they most likely had little to spend on food as well.
“Uh… sure,” I said with a shrug, giving her a smile. Her smile widened in response, and she gazed into my eyes for a short moment. I noticed that they seemed to be much more gentle than normal, but perhaps it was a trick of the mind, or the trick of a siren.
After the pizza was ordered, Sonata flopped onto the couch and grabbed the controller which lay on the floor in front her. After struggling for a moment to sit up, she turned to me with excitement in her eyes and nodded to the controller which rested upon a game console. Beside it was a rather small, cheap looking flat-screen. “Wanna play?” I grabbed the controller and took a seat beside her as she went about turning everything on.
“Ugh, I was gonna watch TV,” Aria whined.
“Oh yeah?” Sonata snapped. “What were you gonna watch?”
“Uh… I don’t’ know, something?”
“That’s what I thought,” Sonata growled before sticking out her tongue.
I turned back to see a colorful start screen before me. It was a game I had surprisingly never heard of. That was most likely due to the fact that it seemed to be some kind of off-brand racing game. I subconsciously turned to Sonata with a look of concern. I was no fan of racing games nor did I trust something which looked like a cheap scam to earn money. “Trust me, this is seriously one of the funnest games you’ll ever play.”
“…If you say so,” I muttered.
“I know how to make things a bit more interesting for you,” she said with a mischievous smirk. I raised a questioning eyebrow in response. “If you can beat me, the master, I’ll give you a kiss… on the lips.” She gave an adorable wink and licked her small but plump looking lips. My heart began to pound at the thought, and my cheeks lit up as I remembered those lips pressing down upon my cheek. Kissing Sonata was more than enough incentive for me to play, and to try my hardest to win.
“A-alright,” I stuttered nervously. Sonata began to giggle, rolling her eyes at me teasingly. The other girls began to laugh as well, causing me to blush even more deeply.
“You really want to win, don’t you?” Adagio asked with a villainous smile. I hesitated at first, feeling more and more embarrassed by the second, but finally nodded.
“Of course he does!” Sonata exclaimed proudly as she pressed the start button and then selected two-player mode. I quickly flipped my way through the selection of rather cartoon-esque racers and picked the one that I found the most interesting. It seemed as though the racers and cars had no difference between one another besides appearance. After a few moments of what seemed to be pure concentration, the tip of her tongue sticking from her mouth, Sonata finally chose a character.
“This is a practice round, right?” I sputtered out as the race began, first struggling to get used to the controls and then the rather unrealistic movement of the cars along with the strange curves and turns the track took.
“Yeah, why not?” Sonata said cheerfully as her body swayed with the turns of the track.
“I think you’re going too easy on him,” Adagio cooed teasingly, placing her hands upon my shoulders. I tensed up for a moment, nearly causing myself to crash. She leaned forward and whispered into my ear, tightening her grip. “No need to be nervous.” I nodded my head as I attempted to return my attention to the game.
“I bet she’ll let you race her as many times as you want… maybe she’ll even let you win on purpose,” Aria said. I looked over at her out of the corner of my eye expecting a wink or smirk, but her face was as lifeless as ever. “You would be into guys like him.” Guys like me, I was sure she meant that as an insult. I would love to say that something like that didn’t even phase me, but it did slightly. I could feel my heart sink for a moment.
“Shut up, Aria, gosh!” Sonata yelped. I began to wonder how long Sonata had been playing the game. She was far beyond any of the NPC’s and gaining distance on them with every second, while I struggled to keep in the middle rather than the back. It was as if she knew every aspect of the track by heart. It wasn’t long before I lost, but at least I hadn’t been a complete failure. “Aww, darn, too bad,” Sonata teased, giving me a frown. “Need another practice race?”
“Yeah, probably,” I said with a sigh.
“Ah, you’ll get the hang of it,” she said, giving me a hard pat on the back, “but that doesn’t mean you’re ever gonna beat me.”
I chuckled and nodded my head. “You are the master after all.” She nodded her head as she started the next race on some kind of tropical beach and jungle oriented track. It wasn’t long before one race seemingly blended into the other as I honed my racing skills. Before I knew it, the doorbell rang. The game was paused, and I struggled to pull my wallet from my pocket. The deliverer looked at me in surprise, and then almost questioningly as he told me the price. I was sure he had been to the apartment before and was expecting one of the girls to answer. The girls hovered around me as I returned, carrying the pizza box in my hands.
“Why don’t you two take a break from that game and we’ll eat at the table,” Adagio said, once again hiding her command as a suggestion.
“Alright,” Sonata sighed before pointing a finger in my direction, “but when we finish, the next race is the real one.” I gulped at the thought and nodded my head. It was a game, but at the same time, the stakes of winning were rather high. “That’s right, you better be nervous,” she said with a giggle as we sat down at the table.
“So, Aria,” Adagio said as we began to eat after grabbing our plates of greasy pizza and drinks, “you’re going to that job interview later, right?” As the question was asked, I watched Aria’s mood immediately sink, and not to anger either. From what I could tell by her unusual frown and pained eyes, it was more a look of defeat and hopelessness.
“… No.”
Adagio eyeballed her suspiciously, her fist which rested upon the table clenching. “No? Why’s that? Was it cancelled or…?”
“No,” Aria muttered and looked away shamefully as she nibbled at her pizza.
“Then why aren’t you going?” Adagio asked, her voice growing with rage.
“Do you seriously think I want to waste my free time flipping burgers or whatever? What happened to the good days? Well… I guess they were never good here, but you know what I mean, what happened to the alright-ish days?” Aria grumbled, anger finally overcoming her other emotions.
“Twilight and her friends destroyed all of that, remember?” Adagio spat out, slamming her fist against the table, halfway jumping from her chair. “We can’t rely on things that don’t exist, and you’re not going to get off easy with some worthless excuse like that!”
I could feel my body tensing, the hairs on my arms standing on end. I had the urge to get up and leave the hostile environment behind but also feared the consequences. I was almost certain the rage would then be directed towards me. So there I was, awkwardly stuck in some sort of argument I had no part of.
“Then why don’t you have a job, Adagio? That’s what I want to know!” Aria snapped right back, her fingers digging into the edge of the table as she grasped it.
I was amazed at how composed Sonata was as I looked in her direction, or perhaps she didn’t care. The smile which she had on her face previously was still there, and her eyes flicked back and forth between the two girls as if watching a soap opera.
Adagio stomped her foot against the floor, her high-heeled boot making a loud clack. “…It’s not my fault! I’ve applied everywhere and got nothing!”
“Oh really? …It’s probably because you’re such a bitch,” she muttered beneath her breath causing Adagio to stand up fully.
“What did you just say to me, Aria? Did you really say what I think you did? You know the only reason I’m not hired yet is because I haven’t been trying. Anyone would want someone as amazing as me working for them, especially if they knew how charming I am.”
Exactly,” Aria huffed. The tension was somehow growing even more unbearable than it already was. I shook and shuffled in my seat, wanting to move even though I knew I was glued down. The furthest I got was lifting my backside only slightly away from the seat. I felt beads of sweat forming on my forehead. I nearly yelped as Adagio leaned forward and raised her hand, about to strike Aria on the cheek.
“Whoa, girls, don’t you think you’re taking things a little too far?” Sonata intervened, standing up and grasping her hand around Adagio’s wrist. “Especially in front of a guest?” My heart jumped, not wanting to become involved in any way. I was both worried and relieved when Adagio turned her vicious eyes towards Sonata.
“Like you even have a say in this; You haven’t even looked for a job! If we want to survive in this stupid world, we all have to chip in to make it work, which neither of you are doing. That’s all I’m saying,” she spat, her voice lowering slightly.
“And you are?” Aria asked smugly, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.
Adaigo whipped back around to face the girl, pointing a shaking finger in her direction. “ARIA BLAZE, I will… I… you’re right,” she huffed in defeat, slumping back down into her chair. “I haven’t really chipped in at all.”
“Hey, at least you’re good management,” Sonata said cheerfully, patting her wrist before pulling her hand away from it.
“Yeah, yeah,” Aria said, her voice returning to its normal, almost monotonous tone. “I guess I should go. I just had a really long day and-”
“You can always reschedule,” Adagio interrupted. So they truly were real friends after all, and much more human than I ever would have expected. It was amazing to see that even after all of that tension they could still appreciate one another, and so quickly too. Your average schoolgirls would have a much harder time forgiving than that. Apologies may have never officially been made or said, but I could tell that Adagio and Aria were sorry. The girls were close, and it made since due to the fact that they had been together for so long, even before they came to my world.
As we returned to finishing our pizza, mostly in silence, I also began to grow more and more sympathetic of their situation as I actually thought about it, or my mind was being poisoned by their manipulative ways. At first glance, the girls had always gotten things their way no matter what due to the fact that they had magical amulets. With that power, they could then manipulate others to do whatever they needed. Now, they had none of that and were simply too lazy and privileged to do any work themselves. If you looked a bit deeper though, they were never meant to live the life of a human. They were forced into this world and locked away from their own. Sirens lived completely different lives than humans, and those lives involved manipulation for survival, it was just natural. I was still unsure of exactly how to feel about the subject, but decided to let it simmer in my mind for a bit and return to reality. It wasn’t long before we were finished with our meal.
“I think it’s racing time!” Sonata said with an eager grin as she jumped back onto the couch. I gulped and nodded my head as I sat beside her. I wanted that kiss much more than I should have, but I knew I was not prepared to race against her. It would take me weeks, perhaps even months to grow as skilled as she was. Once again the other girls stood behind us, ready to spectate the match.
“Alright, here we go,” I said with a nervous sigh.
“Oh, come on,” Sonata cooed, scooting a bit closer to me and caressing her hand against my shoulder, “I think I know how badly you want this; so that means you’ll do good.” She then giggled teasingly.
I took careful time in selecting my racer, not that it mattered. It was more of an excuse to allow myself a bit more time to prepare myself mentally. Once again she selected the beach and jungle track. Perhaps it was because it was her favorite, or due to the fact that I, for some unknown reason, tended to do better on it. Maybe she wanted the competition to be at least a bit more closely matched.
The countdown from ten to one seemed to last much longer than it ever had before. My lips moved as if to speak each number when it flashed upon the screen even though nothing came out. The closer the numbers grew to one, the twitchier my fingers became on the thumb-stick and triggers of the controller. As the screen flashed ‘go’ and a loud beep burst into my ears, I reacted almost immediately. I was rather proud when I realized that I had already gained some distance on Sonata with the quick reaction. I knew I had no space to get cocky though; I was much too concentrated to do such a thing anyways.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the tip of Sonata’s tongue push out from between her lips, and her eyes squint. I had grown to realize that this signaled my demise. Before I even had the chance to react, my car was spun around as she slammed into its side. Clouds of sand were flung into the air as she sped by. Once again, I reacted quickly, and managed to pull my car out of the spin. I maneuvered away from the ocean and back onto the sandy track to continue on my way. I may have lost a few places, but it was nearly as many as I feared.
“You’re way better than I thought,” Sonata commented, taking a quick look at my screen.
“Thanks,” I muttered, not sure exactly what to say and too concentrated to think of something better. Earlier, I had discovered that the jumps in the game were rather risky but had quite the reward if completed successfully. They were hard to land, and if I crashed, I would be sent back practically to the last position. If I instead stuck the landing, I received a short but extremely fast speed boost. Considering the fact that I had nothing to lose, I decided to take such a chance and swerved off towards one when we entered the jungle. I was sure that I could feel the sudden change in energy from Sonata’s surprise after I landed and zoomed past her. Sadly for me, one boost was not enough to win me the race. Around nearly every corner, Sonata was closing the gap between us.
All hope that I had was lost while I watched in horror as Sonata sped past me on the final lap, using the same technique I had used on her. I was about to give up and hope to at least get second or third place when suddenly, Sonata turned too late on a corner and flew down into the water. The other girls gasped in horror, and Sonata froze, her eyes huge, completely stunned by what she had done. I was as equally stunned when I crossed the finish line, and the position of first place flashed across my screen. My hands grew weak as I realized exactly what it meant, and my controller dropped into my lap.
“Aww, and I was even gonna give you a second chance because I totally thought you wouldn’t ever win!” Sonata sputtered out in shock.
“Uh… yeah, I can’t believe it either,” I muttered, blushing deeply at the thought of what would happen next.
She looked at me curiously for a moment and then gasped as if she had forgotten the prize. I was unsure if she was attempting to avoid it, or so in shock that she truly did not remember. “I have to kiss you now, huh?”
“…That, uh, is what you said.” I could feel my body shaking slightly with nervous energy. She then looked back at her companions as if desperately searching for support. It was fairly idiotic of me to assume that she actually wanted that kiss, of course she didn’t.
“You did say you would,” Adagio said, resting a hand against her hip.
Aria let out a laugh. “I thought you wanted to anyways.”
Sonata turned to me with a sigh as if completely regretting the competition parameters she had created. “You sure you want this, like, for realsies?”
“Uh, yeah, of course he does, Sonata. What else would you expect from a human?” Aria said with a sigh.
“Do you?” Sonata asked once more, her raspberry colored eyes flashing back in my direction.
“Uh… um…” Of course I wanted it, but at the same time, I didn’t want to make her do anything she was uncomfortable with. We had made a deal after all though. “Y-yeah… you did say if I won-” My sentence came to a halt as her hand suddenly wrapped around my chin.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” she said, rolling her eyes as she placed a hand on my thigh for leverage and leaned in, her lips puckered. Of course by this point, my heart was pounding quickly and heavily while my body was completely frozen and stiff. “Eh, you don’t have to be all nervous. You’re making this way more awks than it needs to be.”
Did she really just say awks? was surprisingly the first thought to run through my mind. I felt as if my heart was going to explode from my chest when her soft, plump, delicious lips pressed down against my own. I was barely able to kiss back before she pulled away, leaving me desperate for more. I sat completely still and wide eyed, blushing deeply as I stared in her direction.
“Don’t be looking at me for more,” she muttered, a light blush appearing on her cheeks. I darted my eyes away and chuckled nervously, scratching a hand against the back of my head.
“I think someone’s had enough fun for one night,” Adagio said, placing her hands upon my shoulders. “Besides, we have some homework that needs finishing.”
“Aw, we’re actually gonna do that?” Sonata questioned, all traces of what little, if any embarrassment she had vanishing. “We really can’t get away with anything anymore.”
“You’re just figuring that out?” Aria asked in a snide tone.
I felt the tips of Adagio’s fingers begin to tap impatiently at my shoulder. “I… uh, probably should get going anyways,” I muttered shyly. “I guess I have some homework too.”