Disastrous Meeting

"Hey, Zephyr", Matt asked as he walked into the room, "You're not doing anything today, are you?"

"I am", Zephyr answered flatly.

"Cool. Cool cool cool cool cool", Matt muttered, "What are you doing again?"

"I'm helping Alex and Luke collect bottles", Zephyr replied.

Matt looked confused for a few seconds and asked, "Why?"

"If we collect enough bottles, they build a school in Africa", Zephyr clarified.

"Who's 'they'?", Matt questioned.

Zephyr shrugged, "I don't know".

Matt shook his head and sighed in disappointment, "Your relationship hasn't even started and she's already got you whipped. And to think you were my son".

Zephyr, who was drinking water, coughed and spluttered when he heard Matt. After calming down and making sure he wasn't drowning, he replied, "I'll have you know, I'm not whipped. I willingly volunteered to be part of this even though I don't even know why".

Hearing his words, Matt began laughing, "That's the exact definition of being whipped. She's basically controlling what you're doing without you refuting even though you normally wouldn't do something like that".

A gasp escaped Zephyr's lips as a look of realisation appeared on his face. "What the hell am I going to do about this?"

"There's nothing you can do", Matt clarified, "Once you're whipped, there's no real means of escaping". A look of utter horror and despair imprinted on Zephyr as he grabbed the kitchen counter. "Anyways", Matt continued, nonchalantly, "Jay invited me to play racquetball with him and Cam. So, have fun", he said and walked out of the room as though he had no care in the world.

After Matt left, Zephyr took a few minutes to calm down and went to his room. On the way there, he spoke to his system, "System, how many points do I have?"

[You currently have 1731 GP, enough for 1 Uncommon and 7 Common]

What are the prices for all the Gacha?", he asked.

[The Gacha prices are as follows]

[Common = 100 GP]

[Uncommon = 1000 GP]

[Rare = 2500 GP]

[Legendary = 10,000 GP]

"Why is there such a big difference between Rare and Legendary?", he questioned.

[There is an enormous qualitative difference between Rare and Legendary Gacha, as such, there is a greater difference in the cost.]

"That makes sense when you think about it", Zephyr muttered, "If someone like Reed Richards is part of Rare, then the rewards from Legendary must be off the charts". Entering his room, Zephyr opened his wardrobe and quickly selected an outfit, opting for black jeans with a white T-shirt and a black jacket. After he finished changing, he left the room and, a few minutes later, the house.

[Time Skip]

"So how many bottles do you think we'll get?", Zephyr, who was holding a cardboard box in his hand, asked Alex.

"I don't know", Alex, who held a couple of bags in her hand, shrugged, "Over 50 I guess".

"Won't we need, like, a million bottles to build a school out of them?", Luke questioned.

"I don't think it'd be smart to build a school out of bottles", Zephyr commented.

"Then why are we collecting bottles?", Luke asked, confusion evident on his face.

"The bottles will be recycled", Alex answered, "And the charity will sell them to companies and use the money raised to build a school".

"Oh. That makes so much sense", Luke said, "I still think it'd be cool to go to a school made of bottles".

"I'm sure you would", Alex snarked.

"Hey. No need to be so rude Alex", Zephyr mediated, "He's still a little kid. Let him live a little".

"I guess", Alex muttered.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me", Zephyr said, "How was your lacrosse match on Monday? I didn't have time to watch because of soccer training".

"We won 11-8", Alex stated.

"Did you score?", Zephyr curiously questioned.

"I had two goals and one assist", Alex proudly declared.

"That's really good", Zephyr answered.

"What about your soccer match yesterday", Alex queried while passing a bottle she found, "I had cello practice so I couldn't watch".

"We did really well", Zephyr answered, placing the bottle in the box, "We won 3-1".

"How well did you do?", Alex asked.

"I had two assists", Zephyr answered.

"No goals?", Alex questioned.

"I'm a midfielder and play the role of playmaker so my main aim in matches isn't to score but to progress the ball up the pitch and create chances for the forwards", Zephyr responded.

Luke, who had been quiet for a while, asked, "Hey, are you two dating?"

Halting in their track, Alex and Zephyr turned to look at Luke with their faces slightly red.

"W-wh-what a-are yo-you talking about?", Alex spluttered.

In contrast to Alex, Zephyr had a playful grin on his face and he replied, "I don't know", turning to look at Alex, he asked, "Are we dating or not?" Instead of answering, Alex walked ahead, with Zephyr chasing after her, "Hey, I seriously want to know".

Coughing and calming herself down, Alex retorted, "Maybe? Maybe not?", while shrugging.

Zephyr gasped at her answer, and dramatically declared, "How dare you copy me? I copyrighted that phrase, I demand compensation".

Instead of responding to his answer, Alex continued walking forward and ignoring Zephy's pleas. Luke, who was walking behind them, was still confused and muttered, "So that means they're dating?", tilting his head slightly, "I have to tell Dad. He'll know what to do".

"Hey, look!", Zephyr exclaimed while pointing at one of the homes on the street, "It looks like the Aubreys had a party".

"Yeah", Alex commented, "Look at all those bottles".

"We're deffo going to win!", Luke shouted while fist-pumping the air.

"Luke, this isn't a competition", Zephyr responded.

"But we still want to have the most bottles", Alex answered.

"For the charity", Zephyr added.

"Exactly. For the charity", Alex said, "And not to come first".

"I'm confused", Luke mumbled, "So it's a competition?"

"No", Zephyr answered.

"Yes", Alex responded and the same time.

"Whatever", Zephyr said, "Let's just get the bottles and be done for the day".

""Sure"" Luke and Alex replied at the same time.

Walking over to the door, Zephyr rang the doorbell, which was opened a few seconds later. "Hello. What are you little guys doing here?", Mr Aubrey asked.

"We're collecting bottles for a charity", Alex began.

"And seeing the bottled on your lawn", Zephyr continued.

"We wondered if we could take the bottles?", Alex finished.

"Aw, Look at you. Are you two a couple?", Mr Aubrey questioned.

""What?!"", they both exclaimed at the same time, ""No we're not!""

"But you're finishing each other's sentences like most couples and you were both blushing when I asked", Mr Aubrey replied. Hearing his answer, Alex and Zephyr's blushes intensified, causing Mr Aubrey to let out a hearty laugh. "I was planning on hiring someone to get rid of the bottles, but thanks to you lot I won't have to. Thanks", he said.

"No worries", Zephyr answered, having recovered from his comments.

"Oh right", Mr Aubrey said, stopping himself from closing the door, "Make sure to be careful about the Jagermeister?"

"What is that?", Alex and Luke asked.

"It's a German alcoholic drink", Zephyr answered while walking over to the pile of bottles.

"How'd you come to that conclusion?", Alex asked as she walked behind him.

"From the rumours, Mr Aubrey is described as somewhat irresponsible and he has a daughter around Dylan's age. His daughter was the one who had a party and, knowing how most teenagers, there was likely alcohol drinks at the party. The name also sounded pretty German, leading me to my conclusion", Zephyr answered.

"Woah", Luke muttered in awe, "I never knew you were so smart Zephyr".

"I know", Zephyr arrogantly replied, "Sometimes I'm amazed by my own intellectual brilliance".

Hearing his words, Alex smacked him on the back of his head, "Your ego is already big enough. If it grows even more, I don't think I'll be able to hang out with you anymore", Alex teasingly replied.

"Noooo!", Zephyr dramatically clutched his chest, "How could you Alex? I thought we were friends"

"Well. You clearly thought wrong", Alex responded while smiling, "Anyways. Hurry up and put the bottles in your box or the bags we brought". As she said that, Alex reached into one of the boxes on the floor and let out an ear-piercing scream when she saw the head of a mouse pop up.

"What's wrong?", Zephyr anxiously questioned as he rushed to her, "Did you cut yourself? If you did, I'm trained in first aid". Although happy with Zephyr's worry, Alex was too busy running away from the mouse. Finally seeing what was causing her reaction, Zephyr laughed for a few seconds, "Oh my God! You're scared of a mouse. It's so small and harmless".

"I don't care!", Alex screamed, "Do something about it", she muttered while hiding behind Zephyr.

"Sure. Sure", Zephyr muttered, walking toward the mouse. Kneeling down, he looked the mouse in the eye, "Hey little guy. You see, you're scaring little Alex next to me so I'd appreciate it if you could scurry off somewhere".

"Why the hell are you talking to it like it can understand you?!", Alex screamed. Not replying to her words, Zephyr instead looked at the mouse with a pleading look on his face, and to his surprise, the mouse listened to his words and crept away. Seeing the mouse disappear, Alex let out a sigh of relief, "Thank God it's gone".

"Awww. Look at you Alex, so happy that the tiny mouse is gone", Zephyr teasingly said.

Smacking him on the head, Alex glared at Zephyr, "You tell anyone, and you die".

"Woah", Zephyr muttered in shock, "I never knew you could be so murderous". Hearing his words, Alex had the decency to look embarrassed, but hearing the words he whispered into her ear, her face heated up.

[Time Skip]

"Hey Dad, you'll never guess how many bottles we've got", Luke exclaimed as he walked into the house.

"Yeah, Dad. The Aubreys had a huge party last night, so there were plenty of bottles there", Alex commented as she entered.

"Hey Phil", Zephyr greeted, "I'd shake your hand, but as you can see, my hands are kinda busy at the moment".

"That's cool", Phil muttered while walking past them.

"What's up with him?", Zephyr asked.

Alex shrugged at his words and continued leading them into the kitchen where they began to unpack the bottles and place the bottles, which had been emptied, onto the table.

As they placed the bottles on the table, the doorbell was rung numerous times with Haley shouting, "Hang on! I'm coming!", as she walked out of her room and down the stairs.

As soon as she opened the door, she was met with the sight of Dylan who said, "I believe you have something that belongs to me. My heart".

"I thought I IM'ed you to stay away", Haley muttered while shutting the door right into Dylan's face.

[Outside the house]

"Here it is", Claire said as she walked onto the lawn with her friend, Valerie, behind her.

"It's really cute", Valerie commented.

"Yeah. We're pretty proud of it", Claire stated.

However, as they walked closer to the door, they were met with the sight of Haley throwing things out her window while screaming, "Here's your stupid CDs and your clothes and your poems!"

"Haley, what are you doing?", Claire asked.

"Tearing out my heart!", Dylan dramatically exclaimed while clutching all the stuff that had fallen out of the window.

"That's my daughter Haley and her boyfriend Dylan", Claire clarified while leading Valerie towards the door, "It's normally not like this". However, as soon as she opened the door, she couldn't help but mutter, "Oh My God. Why does the house smell like alcohol?" Walking into the kitchen, she found Zephy, Alex and Luke still unpacking bottles, "What are you three doing?"

Zephyr quickly responded, "We collected bottles for the charity and now we're unpacking them to count how many we have".

"Yeah", Luke added, nodding his head.

"That doesn't explain why the house smells of liquor", Claire stated.

"Quite a few of the bottles are from the Aubreys who had a massive party", Alex explained.

"You know what, I'll deal with this later", Claire replied, "Where's your Dad?"

"Phil went outside for some reason", Zephyr answered, "He looked like he was in a rush".

Nodding her head, Claire began to make her way out of the house when she was met with the sight of Haley and Dylan making out on the stairs, causing her to scream.

As she opened the door, she found Matt right behind the door, "Hey. I'm here to pick up Zephyr. I'm assuming he came here".

"I'm sorry Matt, but now's not a good time", Claire muttered while pushing past him.

"Well", Matt muttered, "That's awkward".

Hearing his words, Zephyr shook his head in disappointment, "You seriously need to improve on your timing"