Inevitability (open)

[Aden Allett]

Aden walked through the alley, using it as a way to cut the time from the school to his house. School had ended around ten minutes ago and Aden was tired from the dull drone that came from the teacher as he preached over and over again about the facts of the course and such. The same deal everyday. It was to happen everyday until he had finished school and then what? He’d be stuck with a job, still doing the same thing everyday until one of those days he inevitably died. A lot to look forward to, he thought to himself a hint of sarcasm.

Aden let out a large yawn, his hands in his open jackets pockets. The hot air escaping from his mouth could be seen because of the cold weather. Aden had on his jacket with a red long sleeve shirt under it for the warmth. He wore a pair of blue jeans and his sneakers along with a pair of white socks. Not enjoying wearing gloves, he left his hands bare, but kept them in the pockets of the jacket as to prevent the sharp knife of the cold weather freezing them.

He continued walking down the street, not really paying much attention to his surrounds. His mind just wasn’t up for it after class that day. He would much rather be at home right now, possibly passing out on his bedspread and resting his weary head. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be there for a while. Aden let out a sigh looking down at the sidewalk. Out of nowhere, he bumped into an unknown figure.

Aden stumbled slightly but caught his balance, turning around to see who he had run into.

“Oh, sorry, I wasn’t really looking where I was going.”

[Ran Ling Xiao]

Ran's eyes had widened at the sudden feel of someone bumping into her from behind. She let out a little yelp, accidently letting go of a most important bag. The bag flew forth, hitting the ground with a hair-lifting crunch before being so rudely stepped on by the careless pedestrians. Ran's heart sank at the sound and sight, and it took a while for her to register the apology from the one at fault.

Next to her was her bubbly red-headed friend Alex. The grin on her face only widened at the words that came from the boy before her eyes lowered into a sly gaze.
"Heh, of course not. Like I've never heard THAT line before" Alex chuckled, crossing her arms and taking a look at Ran, who, by then, had turned around gloomily.

"Oh....I worked so hard on that in art class..." Ran sighed, shaking her head. Alex simply gave her two pats on the shoulder before snickering away at the misfortune. Ran took an uninterested look at the boy, frowining deeply, before finally speaking.
"It's....fine. Don't worry about it."

Alex had gotten the bag then and looked inside, wincing at the damage. "Ran, I'm gonna be blunt." she began. "Your art project is no more. Next time don't use balza wood, yah?"
Ran nodded softly before digging her face in her palm. What a mess! How did this happen?

"Soooo, how're you going to make it up to her?" Alex grinned, looking over to the boy and holding up the broken project. "It waaaas YOUR fault. I think that youuuu should do something for all the trouble. Eh Ran?"
Ran didn't respond, her disappointment clearly had her in too upset of a mood to join in her friend's antics. Alex shrugged and continued however, "Right, that's a yes from her. Now! I demand you become our....servant! For the rest of the day!"

Clearly proud of her idea, Alex placed her hands on her hips and nodded. Ran's interest had peeked at this point, and she curiously looked towards Alex, wondering what she was up to. Trusting her, it couldn't be good.

[Aden Allett]

Aden glanced at the bag on the floor. He didn’t know what was in it, but based on the expression on the girls face, it wasn’t something that should have fallen as it did. The other girl, who appeared to be the friend of the one holding the bag smiled and snickered at the misfortune.

Aden watched as her friend comforted the girl and picking up the bag to inspect the contents inside. From what she had said it was obviously broken beyond repair, which didn’t make Aden look too good at the moment. The one who had made the “project” was supposedly named Ran, from what the other girl had said, but Aden didn’t pay much attention to it. He was more worried on what they were planning on having Aden do about it.

Sure enough, the hyperactive girl, Aden’s eyes addressed him, asking what he planned to do about the mess. He didn’t understand why she was so happy about this. After all, her friend’s project was destroyed. And her friend didn’t seem to “up and at em” because of it. The girl talked in a teasing sort of voice. It made her seem diabolical, which made Aden worry slightly. She expected him to do something for the trouble? Aden didn’t have much money on him and he knew nothing about art, so he didn’t like where the whole conversation was going.

She asked her friend about her opinion on the matter, but it only left silence. Taking it as a “yes,” the girl started to make her demands, asking Aden to become their slave for the day. Slave? Aden’s eyes suddenly widened. He was listening now, although confused. They really expected that of him? He broke a little project and he was to be some ones slave? That was ludicrous. His eyes dulled.

“You can’t be serious.”

[Ran Ling Xiao]

"Oh, my dear boy, I'm VERY serious" Alexis spoke, raising an index finger, her tone in a matter of fact.

Ran seemed to slowly get out of her slump, amused quite a bit with her friend's behaviour. There was always something about her up-beat attitude that made Ran smile. She wasn't sure that forcing someone into being their servant was okay (not to mention they'd just met the guy. Oh. And they didn't even know his name). But Ran knew once Alexis was off, there was no stopping her.

"What are you planning to have him do?" Ran whispered to her, smiling sheepishly. Alexis didn't look back at her, but her grin most deffinately widened. "Nothing big, Rannie Bunnie." God she hated that nickname. "Just a few amuuuusing things"
Ran's eyes lowered at this. That could mean just about....anything. All she wanted to do was go home to tell the truth.

Alex on the other hand would probably not let Ran leave until he fun was done. After-all, it was Ran's project that was ka-plootalled. With Ran not there then Aden owed nothing to Alexis.
"Soooo, what do you say, huh? It's just for the rest of the day! Besides, you OWE it to her!"
Alex's arm came around Ran's shoulder, bringing the girl closer to herself before pointing to her face. "How can you say no? You'll have oodles of fun! I swear!"

That was a lie. If he was smart he'd run. Unless he was into doing things like running into a store screaming that his hair was on fire, like a mad-man. That WAS the types of things that were in store for him. He wasn't even a servent in a way. He was like...a puppet. Yeah, that was a better word for it. The thought of seeing the boy do this DID manage to summon a grin on Ran's face. But she felt bad for laughing, even if it was internally.

[kenshin]

The alley is a both a strange and mystical place to traverse.
You could encounter anyone or anything, at anytime. The steam emitting from the pipes that stuck out from brick cracks that can be seen. the sound of cats rummaging through trash cans and meowing to others was simply musical in its own respect. Now this was only the second time he's traversed through this narrow way. Today would be an unusual day for a first time. He had begun to heard voices when he got more farther down. He heard two female voices and a male voice. He snuck in to have a better hearing.

"Oh....I worked so hard on that in art class..."
He recognized that voice. the voice of the frail and lovely Ran Ling, a chuildhood crush back at Varron. The other two were that of another girl and a boy. He peeked up from the trash bin he hid by and saw them. It appeared Ran had dropped her project by bumping into the boy, causing it to drop and break. Oh a sad thing to see someones hard work be destroyed by the ironoy of man. But then he started to hear words of slavery to the boy. Now Raphael felt the need to make himself be known. So he got up and brushed himself off and waved his hair back and walked forward.

"The last time i checked..." He said smoothly, walking out of the darkness in one corner. "Slavery was abolished..."

[Aden Allett]

Aden didn’t like was happening. It was like all power he had over himself was gone and he was suddenly at the mercy of some high school girl. It looked like he wasn’t going to be getting home anytime soon and all it did was make him question why life hated him so. Aden hung his head in despair as he listened to the guilt trips and demands of the girl.

Nobody liked guilt trips and Aden was a good example. Each one hit him hard, making him feel guiltier and guiltier. He would soon be at the mercy of the devious girl and could only think of what he was supposed to do now. The girl seemed like she was pure evil. As if all of what was happening was natural and that it was Aden’s obligation to help. Sure, he broke the girl’s project, but it was on the extreme to ask him to do something so wrong.

But, the girl went on. It was like she never stopped talking. He was even thinking of agreeing just to shut her up. He could just run off, but that wasn’t like him at all. He had some speck of honor in him and preferred to keep it rather than making himself look like a bigger ass than he must of at the time.

Ready to finally say something worth mentioning, a sudden voice came from the alley to the side. It surprised Aden at first, making him wonder if he was spying on them for a while or if he had just shown up. Either way, it made Aden feel awkward. He didn’t like being spied on, as most people.

While it was nice when the man stood up for him, in an odd sense, Aden didn’t need someone to help him. He was his own man, in a sense. Aden lifted his head towards the man who had just shown up, giving him a gaze saying “Shove off, I don’t need someone’s help.”

“Listen, I can handle myself,” Aden said in a stern tone, shifting his head back in the girls direction.

“I don’t really know you, nor do I care for your ludicrous idea…but I do suppose it was my fault to an extent, and I do owe you. So, in order to get this over with, I am technically at your mercy.”

Aden just wanted to go home.

[Ran Ling Xiao]

The voice immediately registered in Ran's mind as someone she knew, and even before looking towards the person the voice belonged to, she could already match it with a face. 'Raphael?' she thought. 'My it's been in a while.' She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him, actually. Her memories were all boggled up. Oh well.
Alex seemed less amused, Ran noted, an annoyed look crossing her features as the Italien man made an appearance. In a way, Ran supposed her friend worried slightly that he could ruin her plan. Most annoying for the red-head.
"Last time I checked" Alexis retorted, "This didn't concern you. Now, zip-it, bud."
Alex's eyes shifted towards Aden who seemed to give his piece as well. Ran felt sort of bad at this point. Raphael only meant to help and now he was getting annoyed replies from both the Bad-guy (Alex) and the damsel in distress (*cough* Aden).

After saying his piece, the boy turned towards Ran and Alex, "surrendering" to them and agreeing to the terms. The thought of bossing someone around and making them do stupid things didn't cross her mind as something amusing. Especially doing so to someone she'd not even met formally. She could see the amusement of this if it was between friends, though. Arg, but this was just a guy who accidently bumped into her and broke her project. Had Ran been alone, she'd probably just of said it was okay, and it would be done there.

"No, really, it's o-" Ran began, hoping to have the boy change his mind before it would be too late, only to be cut off (no surprise) by Alexis who yelled.
"Deal! Done!" and the pact was set.

Ran gave a short sigh, deciding to turn towards Raphael with a sympathetic gaze and giving him a bit of a wave, just to be polite. She held no ill-feelings towards him and thus it would be rude to simply ignore him.
Ran's attention was then quickly grasped once more as Alexis began to speak up again, however, so if Raphael had not made any immediate reaction to Ran's gesture then it'd be too late. Unless he replied verbally. Or...you know, didn't do anything.
"Aw-right! First, Servant! I want to know your name" Alexis said. "To be fair, I'm Alexis White. and this is..."

"I'm Ran. Ran Ling Xiao. Alex, I really think you should-"

"Great! Now your turn! Afterwards we can get down to business! Person who just showed up!" she meant Raph now, "You're welcome to stay and watch."

[kenshin]

Jesus! an attack from both sides. at the moment, the innocent Italian couldn't help but blink at the comments that escaped the lips of the boy and lady. Have it been back in Sicily, things would be Oh so different. He just let out a soft and simple sigh. THe boy had unqittingly let himself become someones bitch for the duration. So the deal was now sealed, or so they thought. When Ran showed her sympathetic wave, Raph coudlnt help but look innocent and wave back.


So the formalities were now done, and it appears he was supposed to witness something. But he had another trick up his sleeve. He walked forward, and brushed slightly against the boy and stopped at the destroyed piece. He waved his hair again and looked at Ms. Alexis White. "Now wait just a moment miss, before you do what ye do to this boy, let me spare him some grief if ye may?" He said in a tone that showed not only innocence, but tenderness within. He kneeled down and looked at the pieces of the destroyed project. He delicately picked up two pieces of the painting. "hmm...yes...oh dear." Raphael said with a simplistic voice. "Balza wood? come now..." He said. "Now as it may come to a surprise..this isnt completely broken.. It appears you have a new project for art class. A Jigsaw puzzle hehe..." Raphael laughed lightly at the probably bad joke he had just let escape from his lips. "But...i have a suggestion you may wanna listen to Miss Xiao..." He said with formality. Raphael had a plan, and it involved sparing the boy behind him some grief. "If you are...interested..."


He stood tall and adjusted himself properly. "Now i may not have the looks...But i am quite an artist like you. I may not be as Good as you, but i am decent to have quality similar to yours. I have two options you may wanna listen to and think about." He paused for a moment to breath and begin. "I could take this home, and attempt to repair this broken masterpiece to its original quality. Or, if ye decide to give me a challenge. I can try and paint a new one to match the original...If you want Miss Xiao. And its free of charge...since we are good friends and all"

He closed his eyes and turned to the fiesty red head. "And if ye like...we can make a wager out of this if you wish..."

[Aden Allett]

A sudden brush of winter air passed by, causing Aden’s nose to slightly sting. Aden winced and rubbed the bottom of his nose, before listening to the girl’s excitement as Aden agreed to be their slave for the day. To begin, she only wanted to know his name. He owed them that much, especially since they went and introduced themselves first. It was customary. Alex White and Ran Ling Xiao, two more names for him to remember.

“It’s Aden Allett.”

Aden’s attention was grabbed by the other man who was first standing in the alley, making his away to the ruined project. He seemed to be butting into Aden’s affairs further after being deliberately told not to. Couldn’t he take a hint? That wasn’t the worst of it though. He was making the whole conversation more awkward then it needed to be. Looking inside the obviously ruined project bag, and making a lame joke along with it, Aden felt as if he may have just died inside. It was more grueling than the actual thought of working for the two girls for the day.

The man offered to do his best and fix the project. Aden was sure that wouldn’t go to well with Alex. She seemed stubborn, not willing to let this go until she got her way. Aden respected that, hence why he agreed to all of this. Of course, there was the fact that the ruined project was his fault. Aden turned his head towards the man direction with a stern glare.

“I understand you’re trying to help and be the good guy in this, but I think I already told you I don’t need it. It’s annoying when people don’t listen, so maybe it would be better if you took Alex’s advice and stayed as a spectator if you so wished.”

It was up to the girl’s what happened next.

[Ran Ling Xiao]

Both girls nodded in sync as a name was given in return. It wasn't a hard name to remember, and it was the first Aden Ran had met. Therefore, it would somehow register quite easily in her mind. Ran would of continued with the formalities and said something along the lines that it was a pleasure to make the boys acquaintance, however, Raphael had come and grasped the groups attention by this time. No matter, but, Ran did worry about how his dedication to this seemingly "lost cause" would end him up in trouble. After all, Aden didn't seem to WANT help and Alex didn't want some random guy messing up all her plans. 'Aiyaaa...'

Ran's eyes shifted towards Alex as she listened to Raphael, curious upon her reaction to him. Alex didn't seem to pleased with him, her eyes lowering in an 'I don't really give a shit' kinda manner. To put it nicely. At his first question, about the sparing him grief part, Alex had shot out a rude "No" in response. However the action hadn't really stopped the Italien man from going on with his blabbering.

When the comment was directed towards her, Ran turned her head towards Raphael slowly, her brows raised a bit in curiousity as to what he had planned. "Perhaps." Ran replied softly, "What did you have in mind?"

After her response, Ran could feel Alex's harsh eyes stabbing in the back of her. She knew that the red-head would be quite angered but this didn't mean Ran would go along with Raph's idea, whatever it may be. She was just curious as to what it was. 'restarting it is a waste of time.' she thought.

Raphael went on speaking, Ran frowning wryly at the idea. Not that she hated it, more like, she didn't agree with having someone "repair" it for her. It was a generous offer but she couldn't just make someone reconstruct her work. It wouldn't really be HER work afterwards.
"That's very generous of you, Raphael, but I have to decline. I'm no artist, by any means. My project was already graded and everything so making a big deal of re-making it isn't really necessary. I did, however want to KEEP the project as a reminder of how hard I worked on it. If you re-make it, then, the whole point is gone, right? I'll just have to make a new one some day." 'if I feel up to it.'

Alexis grinned at the answer, childishly pulling down at near her eye and sticking out her tongue. Aden's reply to Raphael had also put her in good spirits. "You hear that, buster? No! No wager nothing! Hahaha!"

Ran looked towards the girl and frowned. "Alex, come on he was just trying to help. Don't be so cold."

"Ran, stop caring so much." Alex retorted, shaking her head. "The guy has to learn that there's no UNDOING a done deal. Even the person he's trying to help is telling him to sit back in the sidelines, if anything."

Though Ran wished to continue this argument, she supposed there was no use arguing with her right now.
"Anyway, Aden, dear! It's time for our fiiiirst fun fun "assignment" " Alex said, motioning for the others to follow her. Ran followered Alex quickly, like some kind of side-kick. Alex wasn't too scared of her puppet running off. He could of done so long before and he hadn't. He'd follow. As for Raphael, she didn't really care at this point. Ran, on the other hand, did take care of glancing back to see if the other two were in fact following.

[Aden Allett]

“Nice to meet you.”

Aden could already tell Alex was frustrated with Raphael based on the glare she gave him. He held no sympathy for him. The man wouldn’t be having this issue if he had stopped when Aden asked him to. It was in the best intentions of course. Aden figured he would be singled out and it wasn’t something he was particularly up for that day.

Neither Alex nor Ran seemed to like the idea Raphael was pitching, trying to get Aden out of his “debt” by offering to fix the project, to no avail of course. It wouldn’t matter anyway. Ran’s project was already graded. Aden’s head slumped at this news. It was the first he heard about this. He thought he was costing the girl a grade.

Aden glared at Alex. Pure evil were the words that came to his head at first but changed to “a diabolical mind.” He wasn’t sure what he had gotten himself into now, but was sure he could handle it. Alex went on mocking Raphael after Ran’s disapproval to Raph’s help. It was understandable. It wouldn’t be her project if someone else fixed it. It just wouldn’t feel right.

Unfortunately, Aden sympathized for the girl. Meaning, he wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. He had to hold his end of the bargain now more than ever. They were throwing guilt trips whether they knew it or not, and they were throwing Aden further and further into a pit of despair.

Ran didn’t seem to particularly enjoy the mocking, asking Alex to stop. Aden saw what was coming and sure enough, she replied to Ran, telling her to mellow out, in a sense. IT was basically the thought of “life is what you make of it” and Alex seemed to be having an excellent time at the moment. There was obviously no use in arguing with Alex at the moment, and Ran seemed to realize that, allowing her to continue on as she would.

Soon enough, Alex was ready to start the next assignment, motioning for the others to follow her. Aden walked behind her in tow. He wasn’t sure what to expect and kept his mind on guard just in case. Hard to tell what the girl was capable of. Ran happened to glance back to see if the others were following. Aden paid her no attention, he was too deep in thought with the problem at hand.

[kenshin]

(persistent, some people can be -_-..........)


It was obvious Raph was in a no win situation. He originally intended to meet and have a nice conversation with Ran Ling, thats all, no more, no less. But now he accidentally decided to go "Hero" and try to save a kid from being turned into a roman slave, which ended in failure. He sighed deeply as he continued his little march with Ran, Mr Aden and the red headed wench. it had been days ever since the final fight of the hand. Many lives were lost on both sides. He has yet to see his dear sensei return. But the only good thing out of this, the hand is Gone. for Good. Did she know about it? Was she informed? He did not know. He only knew one way to tell her.


As they went on, Raph took out his cell and began typing a text message to Ran. It was simjple, but probably enough to get her attention, and maybe call off this whole thing...


Ran, There is something Very important you need to know. It involves the Hand. If you wanna know now, just turn around and nod, and ill take you to the nearest restaurant and tell you all the details [Its not a date of any kind so don't freak out]. If ye wish to discuss it later then merely yawn and i will wait....


And with a simple click, He sent the message to her cell. 'And now we play the waiting game...'

[Ran Ling Xiao]

(Muhahahahahaha....)

Walking along, Ran was surprised to feel a disturbance in her pants.....' pocket. There was a sudden vibration, making the young asian jump in surprise, as though she'd just received static shock. She stalled somewhat, falling behind Alexis who was too busy searching for whatever to notice. When the red-head was a few steps ahead, Ran returned to her walk, reaching down into her pocket and flipping her cellular phone. She grinned at the sight of a "New Message" being there and part of her hoped it was from a certain someone.

Unfortunately, it was not.

She looked at the unfamiliar number, (although she had to admit the digits rang a bell) before opening the text message and reading through it. Her brows raised and she bit her bottom lip, feeling like giving out a few amused chuckles before holding herself back. However, the message did have to do with something she hated to talk about, therefore, Raph had better hope that what he needed to tell her about the HOF was important or of interest. Otherwise Ran wouldn't be a very happy girl.

Instead of listening to what he'd written, she began to tip-tap at the "keyboard" on her phone and sent his back a message.

'The Hand of Fate isn't a joke. If you have something to tell me about them, I hope it's important otherwise I don't want to hear anything about it.

Also, if you didn't want me to wonder, then why suggest telling me at a restaurant? There are many people at restaurants, and it'd be almost as bad as telling me here. Hell, I'd rather discuss this matter here.

She flipped the phone closed, putting it back into her pocket and continuing on her walk. Although he told her not to freak out over the restaurant thing, she still had to wonder why he even thought of there. That's probably one of the biggest ways to make it appear like a date other then going to the movies. Frankly, she didn't wanna do something like that even if that's not how Raph intended it.

Ran's eyes moved towards Alexis, seeing now that the red-head at finally come to a stop a little ways ahead. Either Alex had sped up, or Ran had slowed down considerably while she was writing back to Raph. Either way, once she'd found herself by Alex's side, she would cast the girl an inquiring glance. Alexis on the other hand returned no stares towards her 'sheep' and simply sat there staring before her. Had an idea suddenly struck her? Possibly. Most likely...

"I got it!" Alexis smiled.

Yes.

Ran tilted her head and looked around. They were all standing before a large mall. Oh dear God no. PLEASE don't let it be what Ran thought it was.
Alexis grinned even wider before turning to Aden. There was obviously evil afoot. The sinister feeling one would get from the girl could scare the bravest of men.
"Ever heard of..." and Alexis pulled out a few papers. "Fun things to do at a Wallmart store?"

Ran's jaw dropped. Sure she and Alex had always talked about doing some of the amusing things listed but she never thought one day they would. Well, they weren't going to to be fair. Aden was. That also made Ran wonder. How often did Alexis carry those papers around?

"For your first assignment!" Alex began, strolling the tip of her finger down the list before stopping suddenly. Her lips curled upwards-ly. "Oh hohoho! We start easy then. Numero Quarent-Huite~~
When an announcement comes over the loudspeaker, assume the fetal
position and scream, "No, no! It's those voices again!' "
She took a moment to release all the giggles she had before continuing. "Okay then, in we go. And remember, pet, make sure you scream it so EVERYONE looks at you!"

Alexis marched forward, opening the door and waiting for the others to go through. Ran would wait for Aden to go in first, then she'd follow suite. While she still thought this was a bad idea, there was a certain intrigue she couldn't deny.

[Aden Allett]

As they walked, Aden’s eyebrows raised as Ran practically jumped out of her pants. Seeing her take out her phone, Aden turned his attention towards the other man with them. Aden didn’t know much about Raphael just like the rest, but he was obviously persistent. Aden had to tell him numerous times to back off before he actually would and for some reason, he doubted Raph was ready to stop whatever it was he was planning.

Ran’s pace grew slower as she fiddled with her phone. Aden continued behind Alex until she stopped in front of the local mall. Confused as to why she stopped Aden walked ahead of her to see her face, staring at something. Not sure what it was, but figuring it gave her an idea of his first task, Aden tried to figure out what she was staring at.

Looking from her point of view the best he could, Aden’s eye’s widened at what he saw. There was no way she expected him to do anything so foolish. It was pure evil to even think about forcing someone to do this. Aden lowered his head from the weight of what he had gotten himself into. Lifting his head back up to look at the Wal-Mart sign, all he could think about was how his life was soon to be over.

Ran soon caught up and Alex turned around to dish out her first assignment, asking Aden if he was familiar with the Wal-Mart list. Of course he was. It was something that made him laugh every now and then to read, but to actually do it was a whole other story. Aden memorized that list from reading it so much, but it was a long time ago and it was still hard to remember the tasks in a specific order. He was confused when Alex mentioned the forty-eighth task, but she soon explained herself.

Aden was to go into the store, ready to fall to the ground and scream like a madman when an intercom message came on. Sighing, Aden addressed Alex, making sure he understood what it was he was supposed to do.

“So you basically want me to go into the most crowded part of the store, wait for an intercom message and pretend to have voices in my head, yes? I can do that.”

He wasn’t pleased and it was obvious in the way he spoke, but Aden merely walked towards the store, ready to fulfill his obligation to the girls even if it meant he was being forced to do something so embarrassing. It was going to be one hell of a day.

Arriving at the main door, Aden entered, walking towards the cashiers, the most crowded part of the mall, keeping his ears alert for any intercom messages. Aden didn’t check to see if the others were following. If they wanted this so badly, they would be behind him.

Standing there with his eyes closed, letting out a big breath as large groups of people passed by, he listened as the intercom phone was picked up, causing small feedback.

“François, call electronics, François, please call electronics.”

As soon as he heard it, he was on the ground, curling himself up into the fetal position.

“NOOOOO! The voices! WHY DO THEY CALL ME FRANCOIS!?!? I DON’T EVEN KNOW THE NUMBER FOR ELECTRONICS. WHY!?”

[Ran Ling Xiao]

" 'Zactly"
Alex nodded as Aden made a brief summary of what he needed to do. While she never said where, she was pleased to see Aden was making the experience more embarassing for himself. Saved her the trouble.

As soon as Aden began to go in, Alex began to follow right after and Ran trailed along as usual. The two girls followed Aden until he made his way to the cashier. That's when Ran was grabbed roughly by the arm, courtesy of miss Red-head, and pulled away. Ran gave a wince but followed along with minimal fuss, wondering why they had to "not be seen" in public with Aden. In any case, they were far away to not be considered with Aden but close enough to see all the action.

"Now we wait"
Alex giggled, her grasp still firm on Ran's arm. Ran simply turned to her with a worried expression then turned back to look at Aden. Well if he was going along with it...then she supposed she might as well loosen up and enjoy it. Yeah. Ran let a soft smile appear, much to Alex's delight, silently waiting for an announcement.

It didn't take too long, the intercom went off and the girl's eyes shifted up almost instinctively towards the ceiling, as though they were searching for some omnipotent being who's voice echoed through the mall. After the message was done, both quickly shifted their gaze onto Aden who dropped down and curled up, screaming like a madman.
Alex was obviously the first to burst out laughing, Ran, despite herself, not capable to containing her amusement and releasing a few soft giggles, taking in a breath and trying to keep it in but releasing her breath in the form of more giggles.

Alex brought a hand to her lips, taking in deep breathes and giving off loud "pheeew" 's to stop herself from getting too into it. Ran stopped suite, her lips still curved in a smile that just refused to fade. It was hilarious. People around looked at Aden with worrry or raised brows. Everyone seemed to be circling around the boy and watching him without so much as a thing to say.

Eventually, a woman screamed from the back.
"Somebody help him!" and everyone started looking around to see who would go and possibly help the youth suffering on the ground. Ran was beginning to worry about what Aden should do at this point, but no matter how many times she tugged, Alex's would pull her back and shake her head.
"He'll be fine. Let him find a way outtovit."

"You put him in this mess..."

"Yeah, so?"

Ran gave a soft groan but watched still.
"What are you having him do next?"

"Curious eh?"

"Yeah..."

Alex looked down at the paper she held, looking around.
"Pick a number between 1 and 50 that isn't 48."

"Uhh....13?"

"Hahaha~
13. Walk up to complete strangers and say, "Hi! I haven't seen you in so
long!..." etc. See if they play along to avoid embarrassment.~~
That should be fun!"

"At least it isn't that bad." Ran muttered. Personally she'd do that one herself if she was bored enough. It wouldn't be the first time she walked up to chat with a complete stranger. 'Cept these strangers were usually school-mates. So I guess they weren't complete strangers afterall...oh well.

[Aden Allett]

Aden screamed and thrashed around, looking like a sociopath as he rambled on about the most random and idiotic things that could come to ones head. People surrounded him looking shocked, worries, surprised and scared. It was what Alex wanted, as he caught a glance of her smiling at the mess he was in. As people screamed for someone to help him, store clerks rushed into the rescue.

Taking out an emergency gurney, multiple clerks grabbed hold of Aden as he thrashed around, note mumbling gibberish to himself, they tried to strap him in, but the force of Aden thrashing threw them off, causing most of them to trip and fall over, resulting in the gurney toppling over. With this, Aden stood up, dusting off his clothes with his normal expression once again.

People stared at him in confusion, wondering what was going on. Many people ran up asking if he was okay only for Aden to reply with a shrug or a wave. As soon as the eyes stopped following him and the group dispersed, Aden made his way towards Alex and Ran. No one he seemed to know was there to notice him so he had no problem with what he had done. The only thing he was worried about was what Alex had in store for him next. The list was long and Aden wasn’t sure if he was willing anymore.

“So what do you want me to do next?”

Aden was to the point and sure enough he got his answer. Number thirteen. Walk up to a random person and engage them into a rather awkward conversation. Aden agreed, motioning to the girls to follow him. Aden walked up to customer service, where he requested the manager to come speak to them. Sure enough, after a couple minutes, the manager was down from his office to see who had called him down.

“What do you want?” He said in a sneer tone.

"Oh sir, it’s so good to see you again! Oh if only I could remember you name. It’s not important though. What is important is that issue we haven’t solved yet. I would rather not talk about it here. But how have you been!?”

“Ah yes…I’m sorry your name escapes me.”

“Oh? Don’t let it trouble you. It happens a lot. On to the matter at hand, where is that money you owe me. I don’t enjoy asking here, but I really need it and you DO owe me.”

“I certainly do not-”

“Oh, trying to back out of our deal? That isn’t the way it was last time. Or should I remind the cops about what you did? I don’t think you want that. Now I want the money you owe me.”

“I don’t remember what the hell you are taking about you little freak!”

Aden smirked at the mans remark. Freak? He had to admit he looked like one right now, but he could thank Alex for that. This was growing tiresome yet something inside urged Aden to keep going. Part of him was having fun.

“Look, you may have been a little tipsy, but you agreed to it none the less. I am this close to making you look like a fool in front of your employees and I demand you give me my fifty dollars of the share. If you want to keep your job I suggest you pay up.”

The man began to sweat. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he was obviously scared of the consequences that weren’t real. People can be crazy sometime. They may not even remember what happened on certain nights. By exploiting that, it is possible to have loads of fun. The fat man in the beige suit with the sweat running down his forehead was no different. His face grew red with embarrassment and he finally caved.

“Fine…in order to never discuss what happened…take your money.”

The man reached into his pant pocket, taking out his wallet and fifty dollars along with it. Handing it to Aden, the man ran back off to his office leaving Aden baffled that his prank had actually worked. Wasn’t blackmail against the law? Aden turned to the girls, throwing the folded note in their direction.

“I don’t want money that way so you two can have it. What do you want me to do next?”