Plot: More Drew/Mallory fluff c: Drew tries to prove to Mallory that she is, in fact, a gamer girl
“What are you watching?” Drew asked, peeking over Mallory’s shoulder as he watched a YouTube video on his laptop.
“Oh, it’s just a gameplay.” he said.
“On what?”
Mallory looked over his shoulder rather quizzically at her.
“League.” he said.
“Damn, why did you have to answer like that?”
“I’m sorry, it’s just that I didn’t know you were into gaming.”
Drew raised an eyebrow as she dug her hands on her hips, and Mallory knew he was in for it. He bit his tongue, regretting what he said.
“You think I’m not?” she asked.
“W-Well, I...don’t know?” he said, unsure. “You like League?”
Drew paused. “Well, no….but, I can still game!”
“So what you’re saying is, you’re a ‘gamer girl’?” Mallory scoffed, quite intrigued with what his girlfriend was saying.
“Yeah!” she answered confidently.
Mallory paused his video and closed his laptop, turning himself around to face her, and crossed his arms.
“Okay, what games do you play?” he smirked.
Drew took out her phone, and spent a few minutes going through several apps, then showed him the home menu of Candy Crush. Mallory nearly laughed out loud, before stopping himself by clasping his hand over his mouth.
Drew narrowed her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Babe, that’s not--that’s not--” Mallory tried to say in between fits of giggles.
“Are you saying that’s not a real game?”
“No--well--I mean--”
“Are you gatekeeping video games Mr. Bachmeier?” she continued. “Is that what’s happening right now?!”
“No, no!” he denied. “It’s just that, when you said ‘gaming’, I imagined--”
“You imagined some dragon-fighting wizard shooting at everything?”
“No, though that would be kinda cool,” he remarked. “But, what I meant was that I thought it was something like League, or Overwatch, or Halo--”
“I don’t have to play those games to be a gamer, Mallory!”
He was about to retaliate, but instead raised his hands in defeat, and nodded in agreement.
“Alright, alright, you win.” he said.
Drew smirked, feeling very proud of herself. “Thank you.”
“Got any other game recommendations?”
“Oh, several.”
And she sat next to him, taking his laptop, and began showing him various point-and-click Barbie games, which Mallory also couldn’t help but laugh, only to be stopped by Drew’s glaring.
Some stuff about his family and what happens to them that I thought up of recently
No one in Mallory’s family can see through the Mist - the excuse he came up with to go to CHB was that it was part of a summer program at his school
Hermes did spend time with Mallory’s mom (Cynthia) before he was born; she knew him as Marcus
Once he disappeared after Mallory’s birth, Cynthia took it in the worst way possible, which affected her mental health for years to come - she becomes very distant and distracted, often forgetting things - whether insignificant or very important
His uncle, George, ends up looking after Mallory and Cynthia
George hunts for sport, and owns a hunting supply store where Mallory eventually works for during his late teens/young adulthood
Plot: Mallory gets invited to Jasper and Ava’s wedding, and he doesn’t know what to do!
lol i couldn’t think of a better title ;u;
Mallory couldn’t believe it when he got their invitation, but there it was on his hands - a delicate piece of paper written in beautiful calligraphy - inviting him to Jasper and Ava’s wedding at the Mayflower Inn & Spa in Connecticut.
He studied the invitation carefully - observing its colors, the handwriting, and the address - and contemplated whether to go to the wedding or not. He didn’t know anyone that lived in Connecticut, and he didn’t have enough money to pay for a hotel room for the night, and on top of that - he wasn’t sure if he could face both Ava and Jasper again, after everything that happened the last time he was at camp...
In an instant, he pulled out his phone from the back of his sweatpants and called Una, as he often did whenever he was faced with an issue.
"What’s up?” her voice perked up from the other line.
“Hey, uh...I got a problem…”
Una sighed. “Did you get scammed into buying a limited edition Naruto figurine again?”
“No!” he retaliated. “And that happened, like, two years ago okay? I stopped going to that forum.”
“Well, what is it?”
Mallory sighed uneasily. “I got invited to a wedding.”
“Oh...okay? Why do you sound so bummed about it?”
“It’s...it’s Ava’s wedding.”
Suddenly Una let out a sharp gasp, that startled Mallory for a moment, making him move his phone away from his ear.
“You mean Ava and Jasper’s wedding?!” she asked.
“Yeah, how do you know?”
“I got one too! That’s so cool, we can go together!”
“Uh, that’s the thing, I dunno if I’m going…”
“What, why?!”
“It’s in Connecticut, and I’m broke! I can’t afford a place to stay.”
“I’ll be renting an AirBNB, you can stay with me!”
“Well...I still can’t go,” Mallory insisted. “I...I don’t have a suit...”
“Really? What if you ask your uncle, maybe he’ll let you borrow one?”
Mallory didn’t respond for a moment, but instead rubbed the back of his neck trying to come up with another excuse to not go.
“Mallory, is something wrong?” Una asked, breaking the silence. “You know you can tell me anything.”
Mallory paused for a moment, looking down at his dirty carpet as he remembered his last year at camp - his horrible reaction to Ava’s rejection, his fight with Jasper, and everyone at camp hating his guts (but rightfully so, as he’s come to realize it). Despite Ava accepting his apology back then, he still regretted his nasty behavior, as well as saying those hurtful things to her. He didn’t know if he should go, or even if he could meet her in the eyes again. Hurtful memories aren’t easy to forget - as Mallory had plenty of those from his school days - so he was more than positive that Ava still hadn’t forgotten about it.
He was still reliving those memories in his head, until he heard Una’s voice again from the other line that he returned to his senses.
“What?”
“I asked if you still have feelings for Ava?” she repeated.
“No, I don’t. It’s just…” he paused. “It’s about the stuff I did the last time I was at camp…”
“You mean the time you acted like a huge dick?”
“Yeah.” he sighed.
Una chuckled. “Mallory, it’s been like eight years now, she’s definitely over it, and if she wasn’t she wouldn’t have invited you to her wedding!”
“You have a point.” he said, scratching his chin.
“Dude you’ve changed, and for the better!” she added. “You’re not that cringy weeaboo from camp anymore.”
A small smile crept over Mallory’s face as he heard that, and for once he felt a little proud of himself.
“Thanks.” he said.
“That’s what friends are for, dude!” she chuckled.
After that, their conversation switched to their usual topics - anime and videogames - until Una hung up to leave for work.
Mallory looked back at the invitation which he still held on to, studying the address one more time, before looking it up on his phone. He found pictures of the venue, and was amazed by how fancy it looked, and wondered if he’d feel out of place there.
Regardless, he now felt at ease after his phone call with Una, and after browsing through more pictures of the venue, he called his uncle to ask for a suit he could borrow.
Plot: Mallory meets up with Ava and Jasper at their wedding reception.
The reception area at the Mayflower Inn & Spa was beautiful, and Mallory couldn’t help but look around in awe as he entered, along with the other sixty-four guests that had left the church with him after Ava and Jasper’s wedding ceremony.
“Wow, they really outdid it with the decor!” Una remarked from behind him, startling him a little.
“They sure did,” he agreed. “Must’ve cost a pretty penny.”
“Several pennies, if you ask me.” she laughed, then excused herself to greet her fellow half-siblings from the Apollo cabin.
Mallory made his way to the bar, and stood there awkwardly while a few people passed by him. Several recognized him from camp and casually greeted him, to which he did the same, but still remained there - standing and smiling awkwardly, and waving at more people he recognized from camp - until he took a seat at a stool nearby, and ordered a drink.
He saw several people from the Aphrodite cabin walk past him - all dressed in the fanciest dresses and suits, as though they had just arrived from a photoshoot - and in between all of them was Drew Tanaka. He was quite surprised to see her, especially after hearing what had happened after he left camp, as her and Ava apparently had a huge showdown which caused a rift between their friendship. Mallory could only assume that she cleaned up her act after that, since she got invited to the wedding.
As she made her way to the dance floor with the rest of the Aphrodite siblings, they all let out an uproar of cheers as they saw the bride, and Mallory almost choked on his drink.
Ava was beautiful, and her wedding dress accentuated that. She looked as though she hadn’t aged a bit, and he felt as though he was back at camp. She still had that warm smile she’d use whenever she saw her friends, or anyone that crossed her path, and her contagious laughter rang across the room, making him remember how much he had liked her back then.
He let out a long sigh, and looked down at his drink, remembering his last year at camp again, and the look on her face after he called her those awful things, when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw Ava standing before him, smiling warmly at him.
“A-Ava.” he stammered.
Ava chuckled. “Mallory, it’s been so long!”
And she went in for a hug, which Mallory followed.
“Hey, uh, congrats! You’re married!”
“Thanks!” she smiled. “Hope you’re liking the reception?”
“Oh yeah, yeah, it’s great!” he exclaimed, taking another sip of his drink. “Never thought I’d be in such a fancy place like this!”
Ava laughed. “Yeah, Jasper’s uncle wanted to make sure we had ‘The Wedding’, you know?”
“Right.” he chuckled.
“Oh my, how long has it been since we last talked?”
“Eight.” he replied. “Eight years, I mean.”
Ava gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth in astonishment.
“No way!!! That long?! Oh my gods, it feels like yesterday that we were all training at camp!”
“Yeah.” Mallory nodded, laughing a little. “Time sure flies, I guess.”
Ava nodded in agreement. “So, what have you been up to?”
“Ah, well...uhh…” Mallory took a long gulp from his drink. “I...went to college, after camp…”
“Oh that’s great, what did you major in?”
“Computer science.”
“Wow, I didn’t know you were into that!”
“Yeah, but...I dropped out after a year…”
“Oh...well, you’re not the only one.” Ava chuckled.
Mallory raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
Just then, an old lady - which Mallory assumed was Ava’s relative - came up to them with a crying toddler, and Ava gently took him into her arms, wiping the tears and snot away from the little tyke’s face.
Mallory blinked. “Is that...your…?”
Ava nodded. “Yep, a lot has happened since camp.”
He stared at the two for a while, looking back and forth from Ava to her baby, until he let out a nervous chuckle.
“Wow, um - congrats, I think? Uhh--” he stammered. “Y-You’re a mom!”
“Yeah.” she chuckled, adjusting her son on her hip.
“Wh-What’s his name?”
“Ruben.” she smiled, and kissed her son on the cheek.
At that moment, Jasper came up to them from behind, gently placing his hand on Ava’s back, and giving her a light kiss on the cheek. Mallory’s hands were already sweating when Jasper finally looked up at him.
“Hey, man.” Jasper said with a smile, and extended his hand towards him.
Mallory awkwardly wiped the sweat off of his hand, and took Jasper’s, shaking it nervously, though trying desperately to keep his cool.
“You alright?” Jasper laughed after shaking his hand.
“Y-Yeah, yeah!” Mallory reaffirmed him. “Uh, congrats on the wedding, and the - uh - kid!”
Jasper and Ava exchanged glances with each other, before laughing awkwardly.
“Thanks…” said Jasper.
“Mallory, are you sure you’re okay?” asked Ava, looking very concerned. “You don’t seem like yourself.”
Mallory let out a deep sigh, and took a swig from his glass, finishing his drink.
“I’m sorry, it’s just….I can’t help but think about what I did to you at camp.”
“Mallory, that was so long ago, you even apologized!”
“I know, I know, but - I still think about it…” he trailed off. “And...I just feel so bad! Things just weren’t the same afterwards, y’know?
“And, I’m sorry I picked a fight with you, Jasper.” he said, turning towards him. “I was jealous, and acted in the worst way possible...I’m - I’m sorry, man.”
“That’s alright.” Jasper smiled. “We were, what, eighteen? People do dumb shit when they’re teenagers.”
“Yeah.” Mallory agreed, nodding his head. “And I’ve done the dumbest of dumb shit back then…”
“But what’s important is that you recognize that now,” said Ava. “And it’s helped you to become a better person.”
Mallory smiled. “I guess I...did change a bit since then...I’m not major cringe anymore - at least, I try not to be.”
“You’re doing great.” she smiled.
Just then, little Ruben started to cry again, and both Ava and Jasper immediately went to parent-mode, while Mallory stood there awkwardly watching them, unsure of what to do.
“Well, it was nice talking to you again, Mallory!” said Ava over her crying baby.
“Yeah,” Jasper agreed. “We should meet up sometime again!”
“That’d be great!” said Mallory.
And they both wished Mallory a wonderful night, as he congratulated them both on their wedding, and the newlyweds went on their way to soothe their crying child, while Mallory rejoined with Una on the other side of the room.
Plot: Some Drew/Mallory fluff! They talk about hair care :p
Sunday was Mallory’s favorite day of the week, and now with Drew visiting him quite often during those days, they’ve gotten even better to him. They’d spend their Sundays lazily cuddling on his sofa, while watching whatever that was on TV and making personal remarks about it - though usually it was Drew making the remarks, mostly about who’s wearing what, while Mallory would just nod at everything she’d say, not quite sure what she was talking about.
Today was no different, they sat on his sofa - Drew on his lap, holding a large bag of chips, as Mallory had his arms wrapped around her. They were watching a variety show, as the host was interviewing an upcoming celebrity, and Drew was already pointing out faults in his wardrobe.
“That jacket does not suit him at all.” she said, shoving a handful of chips in her mouth.
“Yeah, it’s...blue.” said Mallory, unsure of what he was talking about, as he reached into the bag of chips.
“It’s not just that, the cut is all wrong too!” she complained. “Like, what were they thinking?!”
“Beats me.” he shrugged, speaking through a mouthful of chips.
“At least his hair’s alright.” Drew pointed out.
Suddenly she looked up at Mallory’s hair, then back at the TV, and back at Mallory. He looked down at her with a quizzical look.
“Do I look like him?” he chuckled.
“No…” she trailed off, still staring at his hair. “...Have you ever thought of using hair products?”
Mallory blinked. “No, why?”
“If you did, your hair would look just like his,” she said, pointing back at the celebrity on TV. “Even better, too!”
“I don’t really care about that.” he laughed.
Drew groaned. “You’re doing a disservice to your curls, they’d have perfect ringlets if you actually took care of them!”
“Hey, I take care of them!”
She gave him a look. “Do you even wash your hair--”
“Of course I wash my hair--”
“--With shampoo?”
Mallory paused for a moment. “...Well,”
“Oh my gods, Mallory!!!”
“Do you know how much one bottle of shampoo cost?!”
Drew crossed her arms, and Mallory groaned, throwing his head back.
“Are you mad at me?” he asked.
“Disappointed, actually.” she answered. “Mallory, what would you do without me?!”
“I don’t know...I’d be sad, though.” he said with a pout.
