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Ryk practically dragged me out of the house, and I prayed for all our sakes that Nico or Star would lock up properly behind us since Ryk didn't give me the chance to do so or to tell them to do it before he dragged me to the car.
"Maybe we should just leave Star behind," Ryk mumbled once we were in the car. Star had, in fact, hung back so he could lock up.
"You know he was just teasing you," Nico murmured from the backseat, and he huffed.
"I know. But it wouldn't hurt him to be nice once it a while, would it?"
"It would. It would physically hurt me to be nice to you, Rykie," Star said as he slid in beside Nico, and I gave him a curious look through the rearview mirror. The car doors had been closed, and he'd still somehow heard Ryk. They hadn't been talking that loudly, had they?
"You're an ass, Star."
"I think you said that already," Star said with a smirk, because of course he couldn't let it go. The more time I spent with these three, the more I realized they were much different from my first impressions of them.
Star acted all aloof and sarcastic, but he really cared about Nico and Ryk. He just didn't show it well most of the time. Ryk was an artistic soul, usually lost in his own thoughts but full of love and joy for life and everything in it. And Nico? Nico loved everything. He loved life. He took joy in the smallest of tasks, and while I'd felt bad at first about letting him take care of so many things around the house, I was starting to realize he actually enjoyed doing them. For him, they were more like a hobby than a chore, and while I'd never be able to relate to that, I was glad he enjoyed his daily life so much.
"Dakota? Shall we get going?" Nico said, pulling me out of my thoughts. My cheeks heated up, and I hoped they didn't notice as I started the car.
"Okay, where's this escape room, Ryk?"
"Oh! It's here," he said, showing me his phone. Taking it from him, I glanced at the map, then cued up the destination in the GPS before handing it back to him. I'd never been to an escape room before, and from what I'd gathered, neither had any of the others. It was going to be fun.
Ryk
"Maybe we should've done something else," I grumbled as I made another circuit around the room. So far, only Star had managed to find a clue: a pair of scissors with a padlock on them. We were now supposed to be looking for the key, but we'd had no luck so far.
This was far tamer than what I'd imagined escape rooms to be, and nowhere near as exciting, though the others seemed to be having fun.
"What are you talking about? This is great!" Star exclaimed, and I bit back a huff. I didn't want to make them feel bad since they looked like they were actually having fun, but I was bored. This had been my idea, though, so I was going to suck it up and wait out the forty-five minutes.
"So many fucking balloons," I grumbled, bursting one with my heel. Star whirled on me from the other side of the room, his eyes wide, and I braced myself for a Star-style scolding. I'd gotten a million of them in my lifetime, and they were a part of my daily routine now.
"Ryk, you're a fucking genius!"
"Huh?" I mumbled, completely flummoxed. "Huh?"
"Check the balloons!" Star said, and Dakota and Nico started bursting all the balloons, so I joined in since it looked at least a little bit fun. They were scattered all over the place, and I decided I was going to burst the highest number of them. When I burst the ninth balloon, something fell out of it.
"Oh, I found the key," I said, leaning down and picking it up.
Dakota grinned when he saw it, and I handed it over to him. "Good job, Ryk!"
I smiled, glad I was able to contribute something to the game. While Dakota and Star unlocked the padlock, Nico turned to me.
"I know you're not having as much fun as those two, but thanks for letting them have their fun," he said, and I smiled.
"Eh. Watching them act like me for a change is pretty fun," I said with a grin, and Nico chuckled.
"That's true. I've rarely seen Star look this excited," he said, and I nodded quickly. Who knew Star would love a puzzle like this so much? Maybe I'd find him some escape games for his phone later.
"Aren't you going to play?" I asked, and he shrugged.
"I solved it already, but I don't want to spoil their fun," he said, and I shook my head.
"I'm glad they're having fun, but maybe next time we'll go somewhere all of us can enjoy," I said, and Nico smiled.
"Of course. Maybe an arcade or something? Those have a bunch of different games, so you can take your pick."
"Oooh, that sounds exciting!" I'd seen arcades in a few TV shows, and while they looked crowded, they also looked like a lot of fun. I'd need to do a little research to find out when it's the least crowded...or, if by that point Dakota knew the truth, we could just go there at night when there's no one around. Now that would be fun.
