How Green Becomes Wood

"I know. But it may also be satisfying to help her feel less awful about it." Dark replied, turning off the stovetop and rinsing the pan he had used, "Good morning, Alec. How did you sleep?"

In the living room, Sloan was just beginning to wake up, and realizing everything that happened last night was real, and her head hurt, but like she had been told, a cup of water and pain medicine had been left out for her, so she slowly pulled herself together.
 
"I slept alright," Alec said, smiling at Dark. "It was a little difficult and felt a bit like trying to sleep on Christmas Eve, but not terrible. How about you? DId you get any sleep at all? Breakfast smells delicious!"
 
"I slept well enough. And Ivy slept, which is always good. Good morning, Sloan."

"Good morning..." She mumbled, coming sleepily into the room. Even if she hadn't been drinking the night before, she was never up this early, and was probably only up then because of the voices coming from the kitchen. She squinted at the food on the table, "Do you always have breakfast like this?"
 
"Oh! Good morning, Sloan! I hope we didn't wake you," Alec apologized. "Yes, we often have breakfast like this. Maybe not always, but quite often. Mr. Dark is an excellent cook. Here, come sit down." He hurried over to her, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and thinking of her as nothing more than a guest at the moment.

Xander finished setting things up and turned to help Dark clean up the kitchen.
 
"It's like the start of a Disney Channel movie," Sloan commented, allowing herself to be sat down. "My family hardly manages to have a full dinner together."

"How are you feeling this morning?" Dark asked, quickly washing his hands after finishing his tasks, "Physically, I mean."

"My head hurts, but I kind of thought I'd feel worse. Like in the movies, you know? But I guess I didn't really drink a whole lot..."
 
"I bet they didn't have food like this even on Disney," Alec smiled. He pushed a glass of water closer. "Stay hydrated! Alcohol is a natural dehydrator, which is a lot of why people who get really drunk look and feel like death the next day."

Xander still didn't say anything, content to hang back at the edges and let Alec fuss and Dark take control.
 
"I drank the cup of water that was left out for me," She said, settling in and looking around the kitchen with different eyes, "I always wanted to eat one of those breakfasts. It drove me crazy they never did."

"Eat this one. It will help you." Dark told her, coming just shy of commanding her, and she listened, while Daizi drifted downstairs with Ivy, who reacted with the same joy at seeing her siblings and fathers as she always did. Not having developed object permanence, yet, nor stranger anxiety, Sloan did not surprise, worry, or confuse her.
 
"Sup, Mini Mouse?" Xander greeted Ivy before sitting down to eat.

"Was that those breakfasts that looked like they could feed an entire royal court, and the family might eat a piece of toast before running off?" Alec mused. "I never understood that, either." He dug into his portion, thanking Dark for the breakfast enthusiastically. Then, in the direction of the hoodie he'd picked out for Sloan, his phone rang. "Oh, oops, must have left my phone in the pocket."

Xander rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Why don't phones come with chains like pocket watches?"
 
"They used to come with cords but you could not take them out of your house," Daizi joked, passing Ivy to Dark when he called out to her and then sat down to eat her own breakfast.

Sloan watched this interaction carefully, "I didn't realize how big she had gotten. I know I live across the street, but I don't really see her that often."

"She is six months old next week." Dark said, unable to fully restrain his pride. Making it half a year was a big deal--and to an extent, he felt he deserved a little bit of credit for not also explaining adjusted ages and that she wasn't developmentally six months old yet.

Meanwhile, the real question occurred to Daizi, although perhaps a little late, "Who is calling this early in the morning?"
 
Alec went to find his phone as Xander stole the rest of his breakfast. He riffled around until he found it and pulled it out. "Peter? Huh. I wonder what he wants." He answered the phone. "Hello?" He then pulled the phone away from his ear as Peter's excited voice rang out loudly. "What? Calm down! What's wrong? Oh, not wrong. Oh. You do?" He covered his phone briefly. "He loves the song I suggested. Amaranth. He wants to performit."

Xander gently let his forehead thump against the kitchen table.
 
"What's Amaranth?" Sloan asked, since conversations about what songs their band weren't performing didn't typically make it to her. "It sounds kinda like a metal song, but I don't think any of you would... do that. It's a lot of screaming, right? In Metal?"
 
Alec walked out of the room to talk to Peter as Peter continued to jabber excitedly.

"I think you're thinking of Screamo," Xander said into the table. He lifted his head with a sigh. "Metal's king of like Classical. On the one hand, you got the famous ones like Pack-a-bell, can't remember his name, Cannon in D, that sleepy wedding march. Then on the other hand, you got Torrent by Chop-pin. Opus... 4? Way more insane than that stupid Flight of the Bumblebee. Anyway, Amaranth is a song by a band called 'Nightwish.' They're from Finland, and they're what's called 'symphonic metal.' There might be screaming, but it's not the focus. And there's a lot of talent in metal once you get passed the pop stuff. Lots of insane guitar work and drums. Remember the song we played last year? 'That Song?' It's got that guitar solo that I couldn't handle."
 
"Is this also a song you can't handle?" Sloan asked, careful and quiet, with less energy than she normally had. Even though she wasn't falling apart like she was the night before, she seemed drained, and sort of delicate. "It kind of feels like they should pick songs all of you can comfortably perform, right?'
 
"I think so. I've gotten a lot better in the last year," Xander shrugged. "It's more intricate, which makes Peter really happy, but not too complicated for me. And it's got a decent message, so... yeah. Guess that covers us all."
 
"Oh, I thought. With how you dropped your head, there was some problem with it." She commented, finishing the rest of her breakfast and then looking around to see what she was supposed to do with her plate, but Dark stood up and took it from her to clean it. Despite everything, she was a guest, after all.

"Picking their song has been complicated," Daizi explained.

"I think Alec would have had fun with Hard Times by Paramore," Sloan said, "but I guess it's good it's finally truly settled?"
 
"If it's not settled, then I'm quitting the band," Xander grumbled. "This has been ridiculous. I thought I could trust Peter to not be swayed, but I guess he liked the song." He heaved a sigh. "Oh well." He glanced at Sloan. "What's Hard Times about? Other than the obvious. We could maybe play that during one of our gigs."

In the living room, Alec lowered his voice, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one could overhear. "Hey, Peter? I have a favor to ask. It's kind of a big one." He quietly explained what he wanted, and Peter was quick to agree. Of course, with a favor of this size, it would take more than just Peter agreeing, but it was the first step!
 
"I think if you quit it would unsettle a lot of things," She commented, "and the song is, lyrically, pretty much what you'd expect it to be, it's about going through, you know, hard times and how it feels, but the song is really upbeat and like... I don't really know music genres, but I guess kind of pop? Techno? It reminds me of Two Door Cinema Club."

Dark took a quick look into the living room to see what Alec was up to, but seeing he was actively trying not to be overheard, looked away again and sat back down to talk to, or, at, Ivy.
 
"Cool," Xander said with a nod, making a note to look it up later. "So... about your car... Sorry to bring it up, but I figure we should sort this out sooner than later." He laid out Dark's suggestion as well as his own and presented them both to Sloan for her approval. Whichever she felt more comfortable with, that's what they'd do.

Alec returned after finishing his phone call and gave Daizi a good morning hug before going to tease Ivy playfully.
 
Sloan listened to Dark's convoluted plan and, although she acknowledged it would be an almost surefire way to make sure she wasn't caught, "It feels a little... over the top. My mom doesn't know I did something she needs to catch me in, and she doesn't spy at your house all the time. She's not that crazy."
 
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