Coming to Terms with My Actions (Chase POV)

This uses aspects of the paths from both Something Something and Storier - the goal of this path is to give Pearl a little more free will while maintaining the romance plot from Something Something, as well as some of the kinks.

As you drive to Pearl's, your mind races with what will happen when you get there. She said we need to talk, and not as a euphemism, which is very understandable given last night's events, but hopefully she really does mean talk and not 'sneak-up-behind-you-and-kick-the-crap-of-ya'. Earlier in the day while you were going over what happened in her room, you realized that you kinda... maybe... totally... absolutely fucked up. And not just with her, Sully and Indy's relationship is all kinds of messed up and misogynistic now, but thankfully when you hang out with them in a few days, you should be able to smooth that over with out getting murdered - you're not so sure if that's going to be the case with Pearl.

You pull your old truck into Pearl's family's driveway behind Macy's "Crapmobile" - the old blue SUV that Macy loves dearly, despite being one swift kick away from falling apart. The light in Pearl's bedroom is lit, and you can see shadows move as Pearl must be inside doing something - probably plotting your demise, you think morbidly. A deep breath steadies yourself as the cool summer's night wafts in through the windows. You realize that if you sit in the truck any longer, Macy is probably going to come out to see what's up, so you open the rusty door of your truck and hop out. You have your phone out to let Pearl know you're here but before you even get to the door, it flies open to reveal Macy standing there expectantly.

"You're not the pizza guy." She says flatly when she see it's just you.

"This is true. Although, I did try that last summer after I got my license... I was terrible at it." You try to make a joke, hoping Macy isn't in on the ****-plot. Thankfully, she just lets out a chuckle as she turns around and heads back in the house, leaving you to close the door after yourself.

"Oh yeah! I remember that!" She yells back as she heads into the living room. "Didn't you get fired after a week? I remember hearing Pearl give you shit for it the rest of the summer." It's true, she still hasn't let you live it down, which is kinda fair; you did offer your last delivery "extra sausage" after they tipped really well. You honestly thought it was a funny joke, but the mother of three you offered it to most certainly didn't find it funny at all. Pearl did, and so did Sully, and they've joked about "extra sausage" for the year since.

"Yeah, but don't remind her. I think this is the longest she's gone without bringing it up so far." As you say that, you hear footsteps coming from upstairs.

“Speak of the devil, and she shall… appear? What the heck are you wearing?”

Pearl is only halfway down the staircase when she freezes and stops dead in her tracks. She looks like a deer in headlights when she registers that you're in her house, her hand frozen partway through mussing with her hair, her mouth slightly parted, her eyes wide. 'Shit!' You realize Macy's sudden appearance at the door distracted you from messaging Pearl to let her know you were here.

As you look up at her, you see where Macy's confusion comes from. 'Double shit!' You didn't give her sense of style back before you left this morning, and it is very evident from the clothes she's wearing. No typical hoodies or cargo pants, but instead; a tight-fitting tank top and a pair of short gym shorts that you think -judging by how tight they are- are probably from freshman gym class. Considering the single straps of her top, and the way it forms around her chest, there's most likely nothing on underneath.

Despite seeing her with even less clothes on last night, it is still bizarre seeing your best friend without her typical hoodie. Your mind scrambles to make sense of this new reality, and from the look on Pearl's face, she isn't doing much better. You can see her face shift as an avalanche of different emotions rush through her - none of which she's sure of. Happiness to see her friend? Annoyance he didn't message when he got here? Anger? Confusion? Arousal? Arousal that she is utterly unsure of how to address?

Completely ignorant to the emotional hurricane passing right in front of her, Macy takes a loud crunch out of a baby carrot and talks through it, gesturing to Pearl’s clothing. “Isn't that my top?”

Broken from her reverie, Pearl lowers her hand and glances frantically back and forth between you and her sister as she pieces together the situation she just walked in on. You see one specific, distinct emotion pass over her face, an emotion you swear you’ve never seen on her before, but is written on the normally stoic Pearl’s face, clear as day.

Panic.

Pearl tries and fails to compose herself. “Uh, I’m borrowing it. And I need to borrow Chase too. Right now.” She rushes down the stairs and grabs your wrist in one quick motion.

Blissfully unfazed, Macy raises an eyebrow and swallows. “Could’ve at least asked. Does it even fit you?”

Pearl ignores her sister and speedwalks towards the backyard, dragging you with her.

“Are you even wearing a br–” Macy’s final shout is cut off by Pearl’s slamming of the back door.

You’re **** to awkwardly stumble behind her as she yanks you towards the centre of the yard before finally releasing her iron grip. Her bare feet swish against the grass as Pearl aggressively swivels towards you.