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“Hmm.” Mozelle tapped her hand to the tip of her “beak,” if you could call it that. “My, it's been awfully boring at the castle recently.” She narrowed her eyes and looked at Melanie, who was on a beanbag chair by the wall of her bedroom.
No response.
“...Mel?”
Melanie’s eyes looked distant, as if they were in a different world until she heard her name called out. “Oh sorry, I was just thinking.” Almost immediately, Mozelle hopped off her queen sized bed and scampered over, climbing on top of Melanie’s lap. This startled the rabbit, making her jump with a start before relaxing again as Mozelle grabbed her paws and put her own tiny hands onto them. The princess looked up and her gaze softened onto Melanie. “You look worried, dear. Is there anything I can do to help?”
Melanie frowned, “I don’t know. I guess I've just been thinking a lot recently… It's overwhelming.” Mozelle narrowed her eyes, as if in her own thoughts. Her hands pressed slightly into Melanie’s paws.
Suddenly, the princess’ eyes widened and her face lit up. “I just had the most wonderful of ideas!” Melanie looked more calm now, and looked at Mozelle with a look of intrigue instead of her previous frown. “What is it?”
“How would you feel about a girl's sleepover to clear your mind? A night full of nothing but fun!” Mozelle smirked, “and, if we're lucky, some gossip too.” Melanie’s face lit up at the idea. Her screen brightness went up slightly as she beamed at the underworld dweller. “Really?” After a moment, her face soured a bit. “But who would we even invite, would it be safe? Where would we even g-” Mozelle cupped Melanie's paws into her hands. “Dear, you have nothing to be worried about. You'll be safe as long as you're with me, and I was thinking we could sleep over in the castle–there's plenty of room. And, about the invitation list, I was thinking we could create one right now!” Melanie’s face lit up again, now even brighter than before. Mozelle scampered off of Melanie’s lap, and came back right away with a blank sheet of paper and a pen.
Immediately, they got to work. “Let's see…” Mozelle drummed the pen on the edge of the paper. “What girls do we know?” Melanie’s eyes narrowed. “Oh! I know! There's Split, she's r-really nice.”
“Excellent!” Mozelle wrote her name onto the paper with quick but somehow extremely neat handwriting. “Hm, who else is there?”
“Well, there's Dr. Retro, but she's always busy so I'm not sure if she would be able to join us,” Melanie frowned.
Mozelle wrote her name down, wiping a bit of pen she got on her hand off onto a fresh handkerchief. “We can add her name onto the list and ask her anyways. Anyone else?”
“Well, if we're inviting Split, we have to invite Bive also, even if she can be a bit… scatterbrained. You know how they've been with each other recently!” Melanie giggled and Mozelle nodded. “Yes, who else?”
“Hmm. There's Scag, I think she would love a sleepover, especially with her fellow “TV head,” as she calls me. Maybe Mach? But she's even more busy than Dr. Retro… it would be a miracle for h-her to be available. Plus, she kind of scares me…” Mozelle immediately imagined the woman, who was likely over 10x her height, accidentally stepping on her and crushing her in an instant. “Indeed, I don't think it would be wise to add Lady Mach onto the list.”
Melanie frowned. “I don't think there's many girls who even board the elevator! Who else is there?”
Both of their minds jumped to Folly in an instant. Melanie noticeably got pale and her eyes widened—Mozelle put her hand onto her cheek. “Don't worry, darling, I won't even let that beast close to you or any of our other guests.”
With a small smile, Melanie relaxed and put her finger onto her chin. “...Is U-unpleasant a girl?” The two girls stared at each other for an awkwardly long moment of time. Mozelle was practically looking daggers at the rabbit. “Why would you even consider that… thing?”
“I'm trying my best here!” Her eyes widened; “Oh! There's that new girl on the elevator, the one that always talks about her ‘machine,’ I think? What was her name again?”
“Ah, yes, Lady Stat. Sir Wallter told me about her! He said that she was very, er, timid. He said that she would not say a single word to him…” She scratched the back of her head.
“That's odd. When w-we were on the elevator together, she had a lot to say about me. like how ‘odd’ my clothing style is, or how scared I looked…” Melanie trailed on.
“Well,” Mozelle paused, “it's worth it to at least ask her if she wants to join us, right?” Melanie nodded in response.
The princess finished writing all the names down with her ever-so-neat handwriting, adding little notes to each name, such as “make sure to tell her that Lady Split is coming” below Bive’s name, or “ask with caution” below Stat’s name. “Let's hurry it up now, we don't have all day before the sleepover commences!” Mozelle hopped into the back hood of Melanie's jacket and the girls both made their way to the elevator.
—
After waiting by the castle fountain for a little longer than they had hoped, the elevator arrived and both girls boarded it. The two had lucked out as Split, Bive, and Prototype were on the elevator already. Unfortunately, Scag wasn't with Prototype. Mozelle scampered on top of Melanie's head, making herself visible to the other passengers. “Good afternoon Lady Split, Lady Bive, and Sir Prototype,” the princess greeted as she and Melanie settled themselves into the remaining empty corner of the elevator.
“Hey princess, hey Mel!” Split smiled. Bive looked at Split and then skeptically back at Melanie and Mozelle. “GOOD AFTERNOON, I think.” The two girls awkwardly smiled back. Prototype seemed to have not noticed they were there; he sat in his corner making robotic buzzing noises, likely thinking about his own things, Mozelle and Melanie assumed.
“Hey Split?” Melanie looked to Mozelle, who gave her a nod of approval. Split looked at her expectantly, and so did Bive. “Would you like to join the princess and I for a sleepover tonight?” Split lit up.
“Would I?! I'd love to! I got some of the ‘bunniest’ movies we could watch. Who else is coming?” Bive watched the interaction with worry, but she decided to stay silent for now. Mozelle looked at Melanie, and then at Bive. “Well, so far you're the first one to be invited, but we were thinking that Lady Bive could join us too.” Bive perked up. “ME?! WAIT… you're not tricking me are you? You're not tricking me into joining a TEA DRINKING CULT, ARE YOU?!?! YOU'RE NOT TRYING TO TRICK SPLIT TOO, ARE Y-” She felt a hand on her shoulder. “Bivey, it's ok. Do ya’ really think Melanie and Mozelle would try and trick either of us?” She calmed down. “I guess not… I can go but I'M STILL NOT DRINKING ANY OF YOUR TEA.”
Melanie clapped her hands together softly. “I don't think there will be any tea involved, but we're glad you're coming anyways!” All of the girls, except for Bive, laughed. She still had a bit of skepticism, but she didn't want to let Split down so she tried her best to push it away. “Make sure to bring your toothbrushes and sleeping bags, we'll see y-you tonight!”
It was now time to find everyone else on their invites list. “Sir Prototype?” Mozelle looked at the robot, who still didn't seem to be responsive. Mozelle had a plan to easily find Scag, but she needed him for it. Split was closest to him, so she reached over and tapped him on the arm, pointing towards the princess once she made eye contact with him. “Oh, haha, sorry! I was- BZZT- busy sorting through my files.”
“It's really no worry. Say, would you have any idea where Lady Scag may be?” Prototype thought for a moment before he lit up. “Oh right! She told me that she would be restocking the floppy shoppy’s shelves this afternoon. I'm actually heading there right now to help her! Is there something you need?”
“Yes, may you please tell her that Lady Melanie and I are hosting a sleepover tonight, and we would love it if she would join? 7 o’clock sharp at my castle. My greatest thanks to you, Sir Prototype.” Prototype jumped up. “You got it, princess!” He paused for a moment and looked at her, as if he was waiting for something. Melanie noticed and gave him a sympathetic look. “S-sorry, it's a girl’s only sleepover.” Prototype frowned, “aww, that's too bad.”
Mozelle looked at him sympathetically too. “There's plenty of tea parties you could join us for.” She tried to bring the mood up, and it worked. “Okay, yay!” The robot responded, seeming to have gotten over any sort of negative emotions from not being able to join.
—
Mozelle and Melanie had now been on the elevator for a couple of hours now. People came and went, and eventually they arrived at the gumball machine floor to invite Dr. Retro. Unfortunately for them, she had denied the invitation as expected.
“Eugh, I think I know why the doctor denied our invitation. She recently mentioned t-to me that she hasn't been sleeping much at all recently because of the nightmares f-from…” Melanie recalled as she stood in the elevator, Mozelle still atop her head. “Oh dear, you're right, not much use in going to a sleepover in the first place if you're not sleeping, I would assume.” At this point, it was just the two on the elevator.
The elevator dinged, and conveniently, Stat was waiting to board outside of the door. She placed herself in the corner opposite from Melanie and Mozelle. Adjusting her bowtie, she noticed the pair glaring at her. She glared back at them.
“Does everyone in this elevator have a staring problem?”
“We're sorry, we just were waiting to, uh, a-ask you something, uh,” Stat raised an eyebrow at this, waiting for her to continue. “Lady Stat, we would love it if you could join Lady Melanie, some others, and I for a sleepover at my castle tonight!”
She squinted her eyes at them. “Are you serious? I barely even know you and you're inviting me over? How do you know I wouldn't try to rob you or poison you, or worse? How can I know that YOU won't rob or poison me? For a princess, you really should know more about safety!”
“We're r-really sorry, we just wanted to make you feel welcomed, given that you're new here and al-” Melanie was cut off by Mozelle. “Hmph! There are much nicer ways to respond to our courtesy, you know? No sleepover for you then!” Mozelle shoved a floor ticket into the elevator, having to put it back in multiple times because it got jammed from how forcefully she put it in. “Mozelle’s Humble Castle, please!” she ordered.
The ride to the castle was silent and uncomfortable. Mozelle and Stat seemed to have been in some sort of angry staring contest, and Melanie just watched anxiously. Once the door opened, the pair practically ran out of the elevator.
“You ok, Moz?” Mozelle was breathing quickly and sharply but began to slow down. “Yes, I just got a bit, er, heated there. Now, let's get ready for tonight, as we only have a couple of hours!” Melanie nodded back, glad that Mozelle was seemingly cooled down from the burst of anger that was a couple of minutes ago.
“I have some supplies back here.” Mozelle grabbed onto Melanie’s striped sock, tugging it as she led her down a dark and wide hallway in the castle. The hallway was very poorly lit by distant fires, so Melanie subconsciously turned the brightness on her screen up. Her paws shook a bit, the darkness bringing back unpleasant memories. Memories of being on that stage and being dragged into cold, dark horrors she would've never dreamed of, but she was quickly calmed by Mozelle’s presence. She knew she was safe as long as she was with Mozelle. Nobody would dare to mess with her, right? She tilted her head sideways, bending it down slightly towards Mozelle, “Umm, it's just a sleepover, what ‘supplies’ could we need?”
“Oh, Mel, you're so funny!” Mozelle laughed, but Melanie was now even more confused. She stared at the princess with a blank and innocent expression. Mozelle returned the same stare back to her. They both blinked at each other, waiting for the other to open their mouth and explain what was going on. “...Party supplies? You know, banners, streamers, the usual.”
“The usual? I don't want to be rude, but I thought this was a sleepover, n-not a party.” Melanie giggled sheepishly.
“Yes, yes, that's true, but you know how I am. I love to decorate for every occasion!” Mozelle smiled back at Melanie with closed eyes and a big sharp toothy grin. Melanie was kind of scared by Mozelle's razor sharp teeth, but she would never tell her that.
“Right,” she paused. “How long is this hallway? It feels like we've been here for ages.” Melanie looked behind her and in front of her, but all she saw was an endless hallway in both directions.
“Oh dear, you're right. It wouldn't hurt to speed this up.” Mozelle clapped her hands and they echoed through the entire hallway. Melanie looked at her, utter bewilderment on her face until she heard a loud whooshing sound around her. She jumped up and almost screamed as she saw a giant lizard-like creature running towards her and Mozelle at speeds faster than she had seen most cars go. It abruptly stopped as it reached a position beside the two. Melanie backed away in fear, but Mozelle quickly climbed onto it and made herself comfortable on its scaly back. “Hurry on now, we don't have all day.” Mozelle made a “come here” motion with her hand as Melanie hesitantly tip-toed over. She shakily climbed onto the creature’s back behind Mozelle, putting her quivering hands onto Mozelle's sides–without even realizing it–to keep herself steady. Mozelle jumped a little bit as she felt the paws on the sides of her torso, but she quickly adjusted to it. She liked it if she was being honest, but now wasn't the time to say anything, she thought.
The princess tapped the creature slightly, and it began speeding through the hallway. Melanie shut her eyes and shrieked at the sudden movement. Mozelle turned her head back to comfort her, but before she could say anything, she was launched forward as the creature stopped abruptly once more. She threw her arms forward and managed to catch herself, landing with her arms wrapped around the creature’s neck. She looked behind her and saw Melanie holding onto the lizard-like creature’s torso as if she were a koala holding onto a tree branch. She was shaking, violently even. Her eyes were shut, her face was pale, and despite wearing a thick jacket, she was so cold that she could barely feel her paws. She was mumbling a bunch of words, most of which Mozelle couldn't make out. The few that she could make out were things such as “not again” and “please no.” Melanie shakily climbed off of the creature's back, collapsing on the floor in a kneeling position, still mumbling to herself. Mozelle whispered something into the creature’s ear, and it went speeding off just as quickly as it arrived. She jumped off right as it was leaving before running to Melanie's side.
“Oh dear, I am so sorry, I should've warned you.” She placed her small hands onto Melanie’s continuously shaking paws. The rabbit slowly tilted her head up, her eyes meeting Mozelle's. They were round and black, and filled with more compassion and care for her than Melanie had seen in anyone else’s eyes before. Mozelle’s eyes burned hues of dark oranges and reds from the reflection of the assembly of torches lining the walls–it felt as if her eyes could melt you if you stared into them for too long.
She sniffled, her breathing growing more steady and her body shaking less. “I-it’s okay. I just got a l-little scared, that's a-all.” The princess pulled her into a hug.
As best as Mozelle could, she reached her small arms over and rubbed gentle circles into Melanie’s back. She whispered something to a couple of guards that were standing nearby, doing their guardly duties as usual. The guards ran to a large closet on the side of the room and each grabbed a giant clear box. Inside each box, everything was pink–you could hardly tell one object from another because of how similar the colors of each object were. Just as quick as they had run to the closet, Mozelle watched as they were now running down the hallway with the giant boxes in hand, being as careful as they could to not spill anything.
“Let's head back now, shall we, dear?” The rabbit nodded in response. “Y-yeah.”
Melanie shakily stood up, doing her best not to collapse again. Mozelle followed suit, just much more gracefully. The princess looked up at Melanie with a look that asked “can I?” Melanie nodded, and Mozelle scampered into the hood of her jacket once again.
The two set off back into the dark hallway, just with no giant lizard creatures this time.
—
After a couple of hours of strolling through the long castle hallway, the pair had finally made it out and were back where they first entered. The walk was mostly silent besides a few words of small talk here and there, but this was likely for the better as both of them wanted to save their social energy for later.
“That took forever,” Melanie sighed, almost getting ready to fall down once again. “Don't fall now dear, we-” Mozelle stopped upon noticing a guard standing with Split, Bive, and Scag at their side.
“You have guests,” the guard said, gesturing at the attendees. Split and Scag had wide smiles as they saw Mozelle and Melanie, but with Bive’s smile, you could tell from a mile away how forced it was. “HI BUNNYMAXXER AND PRINCESSCORE,” the robot waved her robotic claw around enthusiastically.
“You made it!” Melanie hugged each guest individually, being a little bit more hesitant with Bive. Bive hesitated too, backing away from her hug slightly with a scowl on her face, which Melanie tried to ignore as best as she could to spare her own feelings.
“My, I hadn't noticed how late it had gotten! Right this way, ladies.” Mozelle gestured to follow her, which the guests did. Their jaws, including Melanie’s, dropped as they walked into the room.
The room was a gigantic circle shape. The wall was painted flamingo pink, with pink ribbons and streamers circling around the entire top part of the wall. The ceiling was covered in pink streamers, as well as giant pink balloons with golden confetti inside. Giant golden framed paintings lined the circular wall, each painting depicting the princess in heroic poses or in various famous paintings. On a table by the side of the room, a table with a fancy pink lace tablecloth was dressed with fresh baked pastries of all kinds. In the center of the room, there was a giant bed lined with streamers and a giant pink glittery canopy that gently brushed onto the floor. Surrounding the bed, the guards had set up multiple bean bag chairs and pillows. Across from the bed, a projector and a projector screen were set up on the wall.
“DUDE this is as bigfilled as like 20 floppy shoppies. I wonder how many floppies I could fitmax in a place like this…” Scag rolled on her trolley all around the room, being careful not to trip and fall on any streamers or ribbons. “Wow Mozelle, I didn't know your room was so big!” Split remarked. Bive stuck close to Split’s side, eyeing the room with a mix of caution and awe.
Melanie took Mozelle out of her jacket hood and set her onto the ground. The rabbit’s eyes scanned the room over and over again, realizing how much decorations can change how a room feels. “...The guards really went all out with the decorations!”
Mozelle brightly smiled back and clasped her hands together–her face grew slightly pink, but it was hard to notice with everything around her also being pink. “You like it?”
Melanie smiled back. “I-it’s really cool! It looks so different from how it did earlier.”
“Wonderful!” Mozelle clapped her hands loudly, getting the attention of everyone in the room. “Let’s get started now, shall we?”
—
“Ya want some popcorn, Bivey?”
Split was snuggled sideways on a conveniently-wide pink beanbag chair, with Bive resting her head on Split’s upper pair of legs. “The guards made it fresh just for us!”
Split pushed the bowl slightly into the hairball’s face, which she glanced at before shaking her head “no.”
“Aww, you don't need to be so ‘butter’ about this. Mozelle and Mel put this together for us to relax, I'm sure they've done nothing that could harm ‘ya! Plus, we're in the princess’ castle, which is filled to the brim with guards carrying swords n’ stuff to protect us.”
“You should keep your voice DOWN!” Bive spat, attempting to be quiet but not succeeding very well. “You don't know what could be LISTENING… What CAMERAS and BUGS could be hiding in these piles of streamers and balloons…”
The fruitar sighed and set the popcorn bowl on the group before wrapping an arm around Bive. “Really Bivey, I promise ya’ it's okay here. Mel n’ Mozelle are our friends, they wouldn't do anythin’ to hurt us. How about you try to relax and watch the movie, got it?”
Bive sighed. “I GUESS I'll try, but if anything funny happens, WE'RE LEAVING.” She picked up a couple pieces of popcorn and put them into her mouth. “Mm, it's BURNT. Do these guards NOT know how to do something as easy as making popcorn?!”
Split giggled. “I mean, we're in the fiery pits of Hell after all, I'm not sure if they've ever had food that hasn't been burnt!”
“You're RIGHT, I guess.” Bive said before putting a few more pieces of popcorn into her mouth.
“We're back!” Mozelle announced as she, Melanie, and Scag walked into the bedroom. Mozelle was wearing a long, shiny, baby pink satin gown that reached far past her feet. She was holding the sides of it to prevent herself from tripping on it. Her head was halfway covered by a matching satin pink bonnet, which was questionable given that she had no hair, but nobody dared to question the princess. Melanie was wearing much more conventional and comfortable pajamas; a short sleeved lilac-colored button up with soft pink pants covered in white clouds. Along with this, she had soft purple slippers. Scag on the other hand, was wearing nothing but a long blue and white striped night cap with a little white pom-pom at the tip.
“Are you two sure that you don't want to change into pajamas? I brought an extra set with me.” Melanie asked as she leaned towards Split and Bive. “I'm good,” Split tugged at her plain t-shirt that she normally slept in anyways. She looked down at Bive. “Bivey, don't cha’ want to change? That detective's coat looks pretty uncomfortable to sleep in!” Bive scowled, “FINE, I'll change,” she got up from Split’s lap and snatched the extra pajama set from Melanie. “It's too warm here with this coat on in Hell anyways…” she murmured before walking off to another room to change. She came back a moment later in blue cotton pajamas covered in soft white clouds. Split giggled. “Comfy, Bivey?” Bive frowned in response before falling back into Split’s lap.
Mozelle excitedly took her place in the center of the room in front of the projector screen once everyone had sat down. “Alright, ladies, how shall we get started?” Scag immediately began waving her claw rapidly. “OOH OOH I KNOW I KNOW! WE SHOULD PLAY SPIN THE BOTTLE!” Mozelle gave her a look. “I think that game would best be suited for another type of party, dear.” All of the others snickered while Scag put an exaggerated frown onto her screen. Split raised a hand. “How ‘bout we start with a movie? Ya’ can't have that giant projector screen set up for nothin’!” All of the others nodded. “Good idea, Lady Split!” Split took a DVD out from her bag and handed it to Mozelle. “Ya’ ever seen Clueless? It's the perfect movie for tonight!” Mozelle eyed the movie enthusiastically. “No, I've not seen it, but let's give it a shot!” She flicked the lights off and got the DVD to begin playing on the projector screen before taking a seat next to Melanie.
—
About an hour had gone by as they watched the movie with occasional laughing, commentary, and pauses for bathroom breaks or refilling popcorn bowls. They were all watching the movie intently until there was a loud thump in a dark edge of the room covered in balloons and streamers. All of their heads snapped to see where the noise came from, ignoring that the movie was still playing. They all eyed the area the noise came from, watching closely to see if they could spot any movement. Suddenly Bive shot up from Split’s lap. “WHOEVER OR WHATEVER YOU ARE, SHOW YOURSELF IMMEDIATELY!” She barked.
Silence.
All of them got up and inched closer to the spot; all except for Melanie, who stayed put as worry filled her head. Memories that she tried so hard to forget were flooding into her head as she pondered what could be hiding the dark. Suddenly, all of them saw a flash of bright red before it disappeared behind a pile of streamers and balloons. All of their eyes widened as at the same moment, they all thought of the same dreadful possibility of who it could be. Mozelle immediately jumped onto Melanie’s head, wrapping one arm around her ears and waving the other one rapidly. “DON'T YOU DARE COME NEAR OR YOU WILL REGRET IT, PARASITE!” Mozelle shouted as all of the other girls huddled around Melanie and watched in fear. All of them but one. Scag continued moving forward, not overtaken by fear like the others had been. “I'm coming for you…” she teased while the others watched in concern as she kept moving. “Scag come back, she could kill ya’!” Split pleaded, but the TV wouldn't stop.
She got closer and closer, and at this point she was mere inches away from the pile. She extended her claw, seconds away from unveiling the potential monstrosity behind it. Right as she was about to grab one of the streamers, the contents of the pile burst into the air as balloons and streamers went flying everywhere. Scag shrieked and shielded her screen with her claw, only to slowly move it away as the explosion died down. All of the girls gasped as illuminated by Scag's screen, they saw Pest standing sheepishly while holding a dozen or so pastries in his arms. With a frown on his face, he was chewing one or maybe even two pastries in his mouth. They all stared in disbelief and he stared back with his bright red eyes before Mozelle, practically at the speed of light, scampered over and knocked the pastries out of his hand, earning a loud chitter from the bug. “Explain yourself now, thief! Nobody dares steal from the princess!” She was visibly red as she shouted at the bug while he hastily finished chewing and swallowing the contents in his mouth.
After a dramatic swallow, he spoke. “...I was hungry.” Mozelle angrily tapped her foot on the ground while the others continued watching in disbelief. “And that is your excuse for thievery? How did you even get past my guards?!” Pest shrugged. “I got in while they let your guests in.” Mozelle grumbled. “I'll have to fire quite a lot of people tomorrow…”
They sat there in awkward silence before Pest spoke up again. “ごめんなさい (Sorry). I'll get out of here in a moment.” He picked up the fallen treats and began making his way to the door before Mozelle pulled on the leg of his black sweatpants. “Ah-bup-bup! You're not going anywhere!” He eyed her with concern as she had a mischievous look in her eyes. Pest stood there while she ran to the others and began whispering to them, Scag joining in as she rolled herself back. He heard giggles as they held their hushed conversation, which only made him more scared for what was to come. Mozelle, Scag, Split, and Bive rushed out of the room, leaving Melanie and Pest behind. Melanie was still visibly shaken. She looked at Pest with a look of disappointment. “Don't d- do that again please, okay? You could have just asked me to bring you something.” Pest looked remorseful. “I'm sorry, I-” Before Pest could finish his response, the others burst into the room, their faces beaming as they held up the poofiest, most glittery and extravagant dress Pest had ever seen in his life. Melanie's expression lifted as she made her way to the others as they mischievously approached Pest. He backed away, but they pushed the dress towards him regardless. Mozelle scampered right in front of Pest and made such fierce eye contact that he felt she was burning a hole right through his eyeballs. “We thought that you could use a change in attire! Something more… noticable… than the pitch black clothes you seem to enjoy sneaking around in!” The other girls nodded in agreement, all with mischievous smiles of their own. Every word of Mozelle’s seeped with malice, and Pest had no choice but to set down the treats he was holding and take the dress. With angry chitters, he snatched the dress and made his way to a room to change in.
The girls whispered amongst themselves enthusiastically until a few minutes later, he stepped back into the room. His fists were clenched and his eyes filled with hatred as he glared at them, all while wearing a pink glittery dress that took up practically half of the room. All of them giggled, Scag and Split even taking out cameras to take pictures. “I've done your stupid little fashion show, can I leave now?” The bug spoke up through clenched teeth. Mozelle thought for a moment before waving her hand dismissively. “You seem to want to stay here so badly though, with how much effort you put into sneaking in and staying hidden! How about you stay for just a bit longer?” Pest grumbled as the princess brought him to a beanbag chair and ushered him to sit down. Mozelle whispered something to Bive and Split, and Pest listened as the door was locked and the lights were flicked off. Everyone else sat back down, and they found where they had left off in the movie. Pest sat with crossed arms between Split and Scag, both of which couldn't help but occasionally tease him as he begrudgingly sat through the last third of Clueless.
—
The night went on, and they all ate food, played games, and even gossiped a bit, all with Pest included. He wouldn't be caught admitting it, but he actually enjoyed the night, particularly because of the free treats, as well as the juicy gossip on his fellow elevator-goers. Eventually, they had all slept for a bit and it was daytime now. Everyone changed back into their normal clothes, and were now at the elevator as Mozelle would send them off.
“I hope you all enjoyed the festivities, even with our little, er, disturbance…” Everyone eyed Pest, and he frowned back in return. “I hope that we can do this again sometime! Safest of travels!” She waved goodbye as the guests boarded the elevator, leaving only her and Melanie in the castle entrance.
Melanie crouched down to better meet with Mozelle's height. “I- I guess I better get going too, huh?”
“Yes, if you must.” Mozelle seemed a little disappointed, but happy to have had her around nonetheless. “I enjoyed our time, dear.”
“I enjoyed it too.” She paused and her screen lit up a bit. “Thank you for caring so much about me.” She extended her paw to hold Mozelle's. Mozelle turned a different hue once more, but instead of red, it was pink this time. Just as Melanie began to lift her legs to stand up once more, she felt a small peck on her cheek. She let out a small gasp and her screen lit up even more. She looked down and Mozelle was waving at her. “Safe travels now, okay?” Melanie beamed back. “I'll be safe! See you Moz!” She boarded the elevator, leaving Mozelle on her own to think about what just happened and to decide where to go from here.