Viv picks him up.

"That was c-crazy!" Yumi whispered as they walked down the hall. Her hands twisted the straps of her backpack and stared down at her feet. She had to take about a step-and-a-half for every step her boyfriend took, but the two had gotten used to not walking in lockstep.

"Welcome to my world," Mason said with a shake of his head. He remembered being in Yumi's shoes. It was odd to think that was only a few days ago. Odder still to realize how used to it all he had become. He couldn't help the feeling of unease in his guts when he wondered what it might be like after a few more days. Or a week. A month. Even a year. And it didn't help that he was also a little excited.

"Is it always like this?" She asked, glancing up at him.

"I mean, I can turn it off," He said, rolling his shoulders. "But basically yeah. That's why I'm trying to not go overboard."

"Wow…" She took a moment to digest that. The wheels in her head turned and she chewed on her thumb. At least until her eyes suddenly widened and she stopped dead in her tracks. "We forgot to make a plan for tonight."

Her tiny hand latched on to his, ready to attempt to drag him back to class. But before they could see if that was even possible Mason stopped her.

"Hold on a second." He shucked his bag off one shoulder and unzipped the main pocket. It took a little fishing around to free the packet from between two of his textbooks. "It's on page two."

He handed it over to Yumi, who immediately flipped to the second page. While she did, Mason nervously glanced around. He was worried that they were making too much of a scene. But people were all way more interested in getting the hell out of dodge, than whatever the two dorks were doing.

"Alright," Yumi said, mostly to herself. Then she carefully tucked the paper into her own bag. "I'll figure out when we need to leave by."

"Sounds good. When you get home you'll have to send me the info," Mason said, offering the short girl a cheeky grin.

"Oh, um, r-right," Yumi said. Her round face colored again when she realized she had stolen the note from him. "I'll do that."

He gave his girlfriend a pat on her thin shoulder. And she gave him a shy, but happy smile. They knew they couldn't stick together until the fateful moment. So when they stepped outside Mason pulled Yumi into a one-armed hug.

"Love you," He whispered, just loud enough for her to hear.

"Love you too," She breathlessly whispered back to him. Her slender arm briefly wrapped around his midsection before she set off to her car. Though she did turn back to offer him a sad smile and wave goodbye.

Yumi walked off towards the student parking lot. Mason though had to head towards the pick-up line. He found he had a smile on his face, a lot like hers. Again it was probably cuter on her, but that didn't stop him.

It was the horn that made his face curdle. It was a single loud blast that got Mason's, and everyone else's, attention. It came from a familiar, ice-blue sedan. Most of the people around him gave it, or rather its driver, a dirty look. But she didn't even seem to notice the nonverbal scorn directed her way. In fact, when she rolled down the window she whistled almost as loudly.

"Yo, llorón," Viv yelled over the noise of idling cars and chit-chat. "¡Pon tu trasero en el auto! ¡Vamos a llegar jodidamente tarde!"

The people who didn't speak Spanish gave Mason a confused look. The students who did sniggered. The adults who did looked almost scandalized. He did his best to offer an apologetic smile. Maybe it could even put some distance between him and his sister in peoples' minds. He shuffled awkwardly towards the car but suddenly picked up the pace when he spotted someone in the distance. Mrs. Skinner, who either knew some Spanish or could put together the context clues, was walking toward them with fire in her eyes. Seeing that he practically dove into the car.

"¡Vamos!" Mason said as he pulled the door shut. And for once his sister listened to him. Before he could even fasten his seatbelt, she peeled out of the line and zoomed out of the school's parking lot.

They didn't talk as she drove. Largely because Viv was blasting music. It was a pop song he didn't know, but Mason couldn't say he hated it. He just didn't keep up with music as much as she did.

"What happened to your jacket?" Viv suddenly asked in Spanish when they hit their first red light.

"Oh, uh," Mason stuttered for a moment. If he was smart he would have already thought of an excuse. But A: It honestly didn't occur to him that his big sister might notice something like that. And B: His sister had the heat cranked so high he would have taken his hoodie off already if he still had it. "I had to give it to a guy."

"What?" Viv asked. She gave him a look that was clearly torn between laughing at him and disbelieving him.

"Yeah. Do you remember Tom Davis? Well, it was dissection day in biology. And, well, he got some… stuff on his shirt. So I loaned him my jacket so he could take it off. I'll get it back tomorrow." It wasn't a good lie. The only things his school let them dissect were flowers and embalmed frogs. You would have to work really hard to get messy working on either of those. He and Tom also didn't really know each other. They only had one class together and never talked. And, worst of all, he didn't even have biology that morning.

"Ugh, that's fucking gross," Viv half chuckled and half gagged. Her brown eyes returned to the road and her tongue curled out of her mouth as she pretended to vomit. Normally, these sorts of antics would make Mason roll his eyes. But he was so relieved that he actually laughed at that.

This little interaction didn't lead to proper conversation, but it wasn't a long drive so it didn't matter. Viv worked at a studio called Bliss & Balance. It took up the bottom floor of its building with three floors of office space above it. The entire front was made of clean glass. The only thing blocking the view inside was the logo painted on one of the panes, a swishy blue and green affair surrounded by tropical flowers.

Inside, Mason could spot what he assumed were the last few stragglers of the previous class saying their goodbyes. But he didn't get the chance to notice any more details before something hit him in the face. Closer inspection revealed it to be a wad of stretchy, navy blue fabric.

"Oh right. Catch," Viv said with mock innocence when he glared at her.

"What is it?" Mason asked with a sigh.

"Yoga pants, genius," She said, rolling her eyes. She turned around to get something out of her back seat.

"I brought my gym shorts," Mason said. He moved to pull them out of his bag but didn't make it farther than unzipping it.

"Ooh, so you want them to ride up and let your junk flop out," Viv said with sardonic excitement. "I didn't realize you were so adventurous, llorón."

Mason's face was on fire when his sister handed him a green yoga mat. He, believe it or not, did not actually want that to happen. But Lilith definitely would, and he doubted she would be able to resist the temptation to put a pink thumb on the scales to make that happen. So he settled on the yoga pants as he got out of the car.

As they climbed out of the car and walked towards the studio, Mason tried not to notice two things. The first was the odd look two of the women gave him as they walked to their cars. They were a redhead and a brunette respectively and they looked up at him with a look of confused skepticism, bordering on disbelief. That made him feel a little uncomfortable, but it was a feeling he was used to. Or rather he was getting used to it. Growing up as the literal odd man out it wasn’t uncommon for Mason to end up hanging around women’s places. Like his mom’s go-to salon. And growing up he didn’t mind it. Most people were pretty understanding. But as he grew up things changed. Which made sense. Women tended to be a little wary of some big, scary weirdo (whom they always thought was older than he really was) loitering nearby. Luckily his growth spurt coincided with reaching an age Tegan could feel comfortable leaving him at home. So Mason just tried to let it roll off his back.

One thing he definitely wasn’t used to yet though was noticing his sister. Seeing her? Sure he did that all the time. But since the app had put the idea in his head, he kept noticing the sleek and sporty woman she was. And now Viv was in her element. Her black hair was pulled into a high ponytail, out of the way, and ready for action. She was wearing a tight, yellow, cropped, tank top that was barely more than a sports bra, showing off her trim tummy. But that was nothing compared to the gray yoga pants that might as well have been painted onto her lower body for all that they left to the imagination. Both of her perfectly toned glutes were hugged by the fabric. And with the little extra bounce, her speed walk gave them (Mason wasn’t sure but he thought he heard her mutter something along the lines of “fucking cold”) it was hard to look anywhere else though. And while Mason was barely able to look over at a particularly interesting empty parking space, he doubted even someone like Lilith could erase the burning claret on his cheeks.

He just had to hope it wasn’t obvious that he was trying to not perv over his own sister’s ass.

At least when they came inside he had some other stuff to focus on.

The first thing to hit him was the rush of warm air as he stepped inside. It carried a strange perfume. A mix of fruity, flowery, spicy, and smoky aromas that wafted off of several of what Mason could only describe as industrial-sized scented candles. There was also the faint sound of various string instruments being either bowed or plucked, just loud enough to be relaxing and stave off any awkward silence.

There was also the reception desk to give the old once over. Admittedly there probably wasn't enough there for a twice-over, but there were still a few things of note. It was a standing desk with a computer, pretty standard stuff. But someone had made an attempt to add a little life. There was a trio of mini cacti in pastel pots clustered together. And near the monitor was one of those drinking bird toys. Only this one was painted to look like it was wearing yoga pants with a pair of plastic arms up over its head. That way whenever it wet its beak it did a crude imitation of the sun salutation.

Which Mason recognized thanks to Smash Bros.

But that was all there was. Because no one was there to greet them.

Mason wasn't sure what they were supposed to do. His sister did not share that same worry. When they walked up to the desk Viv rounded on him. Her coppery face was twisted into a scowl as her brown eyes stared up at him.

"Don't fuck this up," She muttered just loud enough for him to hear. Then she turned to call through the doorway behind the desk. "Ivy? You back there?"

"No," Called a bright and clear voice. A moment later it was followed by a smiling woman. She was probably in her late twenties or early thirties and a little taller than Viv. Her outfit consisted of a similar combination of a tank top and tight pants. Only hers were all white, which popped against her relatively dark skin. Her face beautiful and unique mix of features with a broad nose, full lips (painted pink), and surprising blue eyes. She was probably mixed race, but Mason wasn't enough of an ethnologist to say for certain. And he was smart enough to know not to just blurt a question like that out to a total stranger.

Plus that wasn't what really caught Mason's own blue eyes. That would be her piercings (a pair of silver studs in each lobe, a ring in her left nostril, and long, anodized industrial in her right ear) and her hair. There was no telling what the natural color of her wavy strands actually was. But at that moment it was a vibrant mix of blue, magenta, and purple.

"Heya Viv. Good to see you. Is this your unfortunate victim?" The woman asked, smiling up at Mason. He could tell she was trying to put him at ease, but it wasn't working.

"Yeah. This is my little brother, Mason." Viv shot him a warning look as she spoke. "And this is my boss, Ivy."

"So you're Mason, eh?" Ivy said, a hint of a Canadian accent poking through. She reached across the counter to him a firm, and rather vigorous, handshake. But as she did her eyes went back to his sister. "You're right. He is tall."

"Um?" Mason wasn't sure what to say to that. But Ivy didn't even break her stride. She tucked a bit of technicolored hair behind her ear before planting her hands on her hips.

"I'm Ivy Vandroogenbroeck. But you can just call me Ivy for obvious reasons. It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you." She said with a chipper smile to match her voice.

"You have?" Mason said in disbelief.

"She hasn't," Viv said with a deep, exasperated sigh.

"Well," Ivy started counting on her fingers as she spoke. "I knew he existed. I knew he was tall. I knew he was white. And I knew you do the whole: I love him deep down, but won't show it thingie."

"Ivy," Viv groaned as pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Alright, you got me." Ivy playfully held up her hands. "She didn't tell me that last part. It's super obvious."

His sister's dark eyes snapped up to Mason. They bore into him with a cold challenge. She was daring him to agree. He chose to stay silent. He couldn't honestly say he disagreed completely. Still, he wouldn't say it was obvious.

"Well now that I've got the teasing out of the way, let's get down to business." Ivy tapped away on her keyboard as she spoke. Somehow even the clicks and clacks were bouncy. "Since you're helping train up Viv, this lesson's on the house. If you like I can sign you up for more. Plus you'll get the family discount."

"Oh, uh, thanks," Mason said. He wasn't sure what else he should say.

"Alrighty then. Viv, why don't you show him where he can get changed."

Viv grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him towards a pair of doors. Mason liked to think he probably could have found them on his own, but she was apparently not as sure.

"Get dressed," Viv growled, pointing at a door with a sign that read Men's Changing Room. "And don't take too long."

With that, she roughly shoved him through the door. Despite being smaller than him, Mason stumbled through the door and only barely kept himself from tripping over a bench. It ran through the middle of a room that was a fancier version of a locker room. It had two private stalls for changing in, and a cabinet of square-doored, miniature lockers. The same privacy was not afforded in the shower though. It was a tiled alcove with three heads without any curtains or dividers.

Hopefully, he was the only guy showing up today. If not he just hoped he didn't smell too bad after yoga.

To play it safe Mason decided to change in the stalls. He pulled off his shirt, shoes, and jeans without much trouble. Putting on his workout clothes was a little more interesting. Not the shirt, that was just another t-shirt. The yoga pants required a bit of tugging and shimmying to pull up. And then a lot of pinching and adjusting to straighten his boxers out beneath the elastic fabric.

And with all of that done, Mason was left… feeling unsure. As expected they were easy to move in. But they did next to nothing to hide his assets. If anything the tight fabric actually highlighted a lot of, theoretically, private details. It also made him feel a little itchy. Yoga pants were, just perhaps, not designed for people with hairy legs.

But there wasn't much he could do about that now.

When he pulled back the curtains he found that he was still alone. So he decided it was time to put his stuff up. Mason picked locker A in the top left corner. (That way he didn't have to lean over.) He used the key that was already in the lock to open it up. He shoved his street clothes, wallet, and keys inside. But before he put his phone up too, he unlocked the screen.

He wanted to send a message to Yumi and Vina letting them know he would be away from his phone for a bit. But he also saw that Luxuria had some messages for him.

He had another 10 silver for Viv, but that wasn't what caught his attention.

Ivy Vandroogenbroeck was registered as a target! Unfortunately, you have had no previous interactions and have no silver for her!

You had a chat with Ivy Vandroogenbroeck! You earned 5 silver for Ivy Vandroogenbroeck!

Mason let out a frustrated sigh as he put up his phone. Ivy was the fifteenth target he had registered. He only had ten slots left, and he had just burned one on a woman he had never met and would probably not see again. At least not very often.

But he **** himself to not be annoyed by that. Well, he at least **** himself to not dwell on it. Viv's mood seemed bad enough.