Mousey, don't hold back~
The next morning everyone gathered in the guest wing's dining room. The production was willing to cover this first-day breakfast—after all, if they let their guests hit the road hungry, fans would tear them apart. Though that didn't stop complaints flying anyway.
While they waited for the others to arrive, Ollie Blake slipped up to Julian North and furtively dropped a strand of translucent blue beads into Julian's pocket.
Julian blinked. "What's this?"
He couldn't tell the exact material, but the beads had a soft, glowing luster in the daylight that suggested they weren't cheap.
"It's a charm my aunt gave me. Uh… I don't like the vibe here. Your health isn't back to normal yet, Julian—leave it with you for now."
Charm. "Bad vibes." Julian's mind darted to thoughts that would get him in trouble if he said them out loud. He stole a careful look at Ollie while Ollie wasn't looking. Could it be… this little guy wasn't exactly ordinary?
There was already someone at Julian's place who wasn't exactly ordinary.
The live stream had already started, so Julian didn't press. Ollie had said both things—about the charm and the bad feeling—in low whispers away from the camera, as if afraid someone would lip-read.
Shane Keane was the last to arrive. He looked terrible—pale, swaying. As he passed Ollie, Shane halted and fixed him with an ugly, resentful stare.
Julian frowned. In this business, people might dislike each other in private, but in public everyone kept it civil. Was Shane out of his mind? Did he think he could pick a fight with Ollie right in front of him?
Julian was about to say something when Ollie beat him to it and stood. Shane, maybe remembering last night, stumbled back a step and slammed his foot hard into the coffee table's sharp corner.
"Ugh!"
"Shane, you okay?" Ollie sprang forward and steadied him. In Shane's horrified eyes Ollie pressed a restraint on him.
Shane fought like a maniac to pull free, but his body felt frozen—immobilized—unable to move. He could only watch helplessly as Ollie held him and, for the cameras, staged a show of concern and solidarity.
Ollie's voice echoed in his head, cranking his fear up to white heat.
"You better behave. Don't even think about harming anyone here, or I'll make sure you wish you could die and can't."
Ollie wouldn't act rashly until Captain Harper arrived—he hadn't had formal training, and if anything went wrong everyone there could become a hostage. Shane had done this all to protect his standing in the industry; he wasn't reckless either. He wouldn't press it until he was absolutely certain he could handle Ollie.
"Shane probably didn't sleep well last night. Sit down, have some breakfast."
Ollie pushed Shane into a chair and set a plate with a big plain bun in front of him. No extra pity, then Ollie returned to Julian's side without another glance.
[Ollie putting on that good-guy act, whatever.]
[Seriously, who needs his help? They're clearly not friends.]
[LOL if Ollie hadn't helped, y'all would have been whining that he's heartless. Pick a lane.]
[Where did he even get food sneaking around like that—sussed! @CalebRoss I'm reporting Ollie for sneaky snacking.]
[Why are you tagging Caleb? Aren't you guys worried that tagging Caleb will just throw Ollie under the bus? Caleb's busy, stop tagging him!]
True to the production's stinginess, the free breakfast was garbage—each guest got a bowl of plain oatmeal and three giant plain buns, with refills if you wanted. For stars who fuss over their diet, the filling-but-bland oatmeal and big buns were miserable.
Ollie seemed ready for it—he'd secretly shoved a stack of KFC sweet chili and sweet-and-sour sauce packets into his bag. Turns out those packets came in handy: the buns were dry, but dip them in sauce and suddenly they weren't so bad.
The foodie Mousey was generous. He handed Julian two packets. Julian, seeing something he hadn't seen in years, half-laughed, half-sobbed.
[Ollie you sneaky little—how dare you stash those (that's a hug not a choke).]
[…6, I can't. This is a gastronome's zen.]
[OMG Ollie's like me—I always add note "include extra sauce packets" when I order KFC. Sometimes they come in handy in the weirdest places.]
[Fam, this sauce on buns is actually great. Carry a packet in your pocket during breakfast, you'll thank me.]
[Stop. Ollie, share with the moms too, come on.]
[KFC sponsorship, pay up LOL.]
[The cheap production team must be regretting not begging KFC for ad money.]
"Um… Ollie, can I have one? Pretty please—I'll write you a song!"
Grace Jiang choked down a bun with her oatmeal. Everyone could grit their teeth and eat something bland, but with Ollie's secret stash in play, could anyone actually stomach it?
The production's tightwad tendencies were one thing—no pickled veggies with oatmeal was another crime entirely.
Grace's plea opened the floodgates. Everyone started offering trades.
Theo Adams: "I write songs too. I can do a different vibe—give me one?"
Jade Hayes: "I've got a compiled book of past exam questions. Full answer key. Want to trade?"
Anna Lang: "Um… if you ever fall from grace, I'll tell my fans to flame you and get your trend back up?"
Ollie: "????"
Everyone else: "????"
Was this a girl group stereotype? It felt oddly on the nose.
[LOL NOOO! Grace writing a love song for Ollie, Theo writing an artsy track—fans will milk that for months! Don't give him material, people. If he completes KPIs, Caleb can't make him come to work.]
[Breaking: Top singer gets showered with songs for one packet of sauce—click to see the tragedy caused by condiments.]
[Jade really losing it offering exam booklets? Ollie doesn't even look like a study type.]
[Anna you wild, I swear any sane celeb who mixes with Ollie turns chaotic.]
"Not that dramatic. Alright, put them here. Help yourselves. Also, I still have leftover chili powder from some fried chicken…"
Ollie had no idea how very incriminating it looked that, despite Caleb Ross's strict ban on deliveries, he still had takeout condiments. The fact he'd have the exact stuff that usually only comes with orders was practically a confession.
The little Mousey was in his element sharing his junk-food obsessions. Nobody ever wanted to toss the extra sauce or the chili powder from a delivery. You never knew when it might come in handy.
Mason Yu sat a little apart, sulking at Julian. Shane wanted nothing more than to quit the show and run, stay as far from Ollie as possible. Naturally, he wouldn't be part of the sauce-sharing.
So except for them two, everyone got the coveted condiments.
They'd eaten far better things before, but somehow chili powder mixed with oatmeal and sauce-dipped buns were exactly what they wanted right then.
Watching the stream, Caleb Ross had nothing to say. The building where Ollie's apartment was located had a security booth at the unit entrance; delivery food couldn't get upstairs—owners either went down to fetch it or asked security to bring it up.
Caleb had asked the guards every time he visited if the gourmand had been ordering food secretly. They always said no. He'd even reviewed camera footage but never caught Ollie in the act. He didn't think Ollie could bribe the guards; even if the footage was tampered with, would Ollie really hire a hacker just to order takeout?
So where had all that stuff come from?
After breakfast, Zoey Park handed out the gear they'd need for the broadcast and went over some pointers. Then came the moment everyone was waiting for: the draw.
Ollie didn't ask for anything. He only hoped Jade and Julian wouldn't end up on the same team as Shane—one was a strange being whose strength was unclear, and the other was a recovering civilian. He didn't know how Shane's odd power would behave in this creepy place.
Mousey frowned, wondering if Captain Harper had shown up yet. This was making him sweat.
To make sure the draw couldn't be rigged, Zoey announced the rules for everyone to see.
"The live chat on the big screen is showing real-time comments. We'll randomly pick eight audience members from the chat and number them 1–8. The eight guests here will each pick a number at random. If a selected viewer's chat ID ends in an odd digit, they'll be on Team Odd; if it ends in an even digit, Team Even."
No sooner had she finished than the chat filled with 111.
The draw results would post in the viewers' rooms first, not on the big screen, so the audience would see the outcome before the in-person crowd.
Everyone expected the production to use this advantage to steer people who disliked each other onto the same teams. The result, however, surprised almost everyone.
Odds: Theo Adams, Shane Keane, Jade Hayes, Julian North.
Evens: Mason Yu, Grace Jiang, Ollie Blake, Anna Lang.
Ollie saw the result and felt a sharp pang.
Of all the luck—of course. Could his luck be this much of a curse?
One would be bad enough. How did two of them end up with Shane?!
(╬◣д◢)!
[Ollie, I'm not fat I'm just big-boned and fluffy :'(]
[GONE. This is the happiest half of my life.]