A mess to clean

Noah groaned as he opened his eyes, blinking away the blurriness. His head was pounding, and his body felt sore all over. As his vision adjusted, he realized he was lying in Liam's bed.

The room was dimly lit, the curtains only slightly open, letting in some afternoon light.

As he shifted, he heard voices.

"Hey, Noah's waking up," Maiya said, quickly alerting the others.

Kevin, Sarah, Ryan, and Oscar turned their heads towards him.

Noah pushed himself up slowly, wincing slightly at the dull ache in his back.

Oscar, the guy who had thrown him across the street, stepped forward, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"I'm so sorry, man," Oscar said, sounding genuinely guilty. "Didn't know you were one of us."

Before Noah could even process a response, Sarah smacked Oscar on the head.

"Next time, don't go throwing people!" she scolded.

Oscar flinched. "Ouch! Sorry, okay?! It was a genuine mistake."

Oscar turned back to Noah, looking at him seriously. "I mean it, though. I didn't know, and I overreacted. I'm really sorry."

Noah, still slightly intimidated, just nodded. "It's f-fine…"

Ryan, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, smirked. "Geez, Oscar, you're too weak. If I were you, I would've at least broken a bone."

Maiya shot Ryan a look. "Don't make me break yours."

Ryan raised his hands defensively. "Okay, okay, I'll shut up."

Kevin clapped his hands together, getting everyone's attention. "Alright, enough. We have a big day tomorrow."

Maiya nodded. "We know."

Kevin grinned. "Liam and Ethan are getting discharged tomorrow, which means we're gonna clean up this place and have a party!"

Oscar pumped his fist in the air. "Now that's what I like to hear!"

Noah blinked. "A party?"

Ryan smirked, stepping closer. "Yeah, dumbass, a party. Never heard of one? It's where people dance, sing, and—"

Before he could finish, Maiya covered his mouth with her hand.

"Enough," she sighed.

Noah hesitated. "Where is the party taking place?"

Kevin smirked. "At the club."

Noah's face scrunched in confusion. "Club? But aren't minors not allowed?"

Ryan chuckled. "Yeah, that's why we're going to an illegal club."

Noah's stomach dropped. "I-illegal?"

Maiya shot Ryan a glare. "Stop exaggerating."

"It's Oscar's club," she clarified.

Noah turned to Oscar, still feeling wary of him.

Oscar grinned. "Well, technically, it's my brother's club, but we've got easy access. So we can go in and party."

Noah gave an awkward smile, unsure how to feel about this.

Maiya added, "And don't mention it to Liam or Ethan."

"It's a surprise," she emphasized.

Noah nodded quickly. "I-I won't."

Kevin clapped his hands together again. "Alright, now let's stop wasting time and get to work."

Ryan frowned. "Wait, what about him?" He pointed at Noah. "Is he not gonna help?"

Noah blinked. "W-what work?"

Kevin explained, "We're going to clean Liam's house, then head to Oscar's brother's club, and possibly pick out a few gifts for Liam and Ethan."

He crossed his arms. "I know they weren't in the hospital for a long time, but I think they deserve it."

Sarah nodded. "Yeah. They've been through a lot."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "But why isn't he helping?"

Kevin gestured toward Noah. "Because he just woke up, and he's still injured thanks to a certain brainless ape over here."

Oscar winced. "Ouch…"

Noah quickly shook his head. "No, I'm alright. Let me help."

Ryan smirked. "See? The kid's insisting."

Kevin sighed. "Are you sure you're good, Noah?"

Noah nodded. "Yeah, the injury's nothing bad. I should be fine."

Kevin shrugged. "Well then."

Sarah stretched. "Let's start by cleaning this place up."

She turned to Noah. "You are living here, right?"

"Y-yeah?"

Sarah looked around. "Then… what the hell happened?"

Noah blinked. "H-happened?"

Sarah gestured at the mess. "Nothing, just wondering why this house looks ten times worse than when Liam lived here. And he hardly cleaned."

She narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure you've cleaned at all?"

Noah shrunk a little. "Cleaning isn't really my strong factor…"

Ryan smirked. "We can see that."

Maiya patted Noah's shoulder. "It's alright, we all have weak points. Like how this monkey next to me has a brain the size of a nut." She pointed at Ryan.

Ryan gasped. "You witch."

Kevin sighed. "No fighting now."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's so hard being the leader of this group. I have to take care of a bunch of toddlers."

Ryan shot him a sharp look. "Leader?"

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah? Isn't it obvious?"

Sarah frowned. "Wait, what? I thought I was the leader?"

Oscar blinked. "What? Isn't Liam the leader?"

Kevin scoffed. "No way in hell."

Ryan grinned. "Come on, guys, it's me. I'm obviously the leader."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Grow a brain. It's me, obviously."

Kevin groaned. "No fighting!"

Ryan crossed his arms. "And who the hell do you think you are, acting like you can command us?"

Kevin smirked. "Uh, the leader?"

The argument quickly escalated, all of them talking over each other.

Noah and Maiya, the only two not arguing, exchanged glances.

Maiya pinched the bridge of her nose before sighing. "Stop. Enough."

Ryan looked at her. "And…? Who do you think you are?"

Noah, tired of their arguing, spoke up. "Guys, enough."

The room went quiet.

"Aren't we all equal in this group?" Noah said, clearly annoyed.

Kevin sighed. "Fine. For now, we'll think of ourselves as equal."

Ryan groaned. "And who are you to decide that?"

Kevin shot him a look. "Seriously, Ryan?"

Sarah shrugged. "Fine, I agree."

Oscar nodded. "Fine by me."

Ryan, seeing that he was outnumbered, sighed. "Fine."

Kevin clapped his hands. "Now let's work."

---

The group split up, tackling different parts of the house.

Sarah and Maiya took the kitchen. The sink was overflowing with dishes, and the counters were covered in crumbs and random spills.

"This is disgusting," Maiya muttered, rolling up her sleeves.

Sarah handed her a sponge. "Let's get to it."

Kevin and Ryan handled the living room, which was filled with crumpled papers, random food wrappers, and empty energy drink cans.

"Does Noah even throw away trash?" Ryan muttered, picking up an empty can with two fingers like it was radioactive.

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Less complaining, more cleaning."

Oscar, being the strongest, moved the heavier furniture, making sure they got all the dust and trash behind things.

Meanwhile, Noah cleaned up his own workspace, organizing his art supplies and throwing away any unnecessary papers.

The entire cleaning session was filled with bickering, sarcastic comments, and occasional flying objects (mostly Ryan throwing things at Kevin).

By the time they finished, the house actually looked livable.

Sarah stretched. "Alright, this looks much better."

Kevin nodded. "Good job, team."

Ryan smirked. "Not bad, but let's see how long Noah keeps it clean."

Noah looked away awkwardly.

Maiya smirked. "We'll check back in a week."

Everyone laughed as they finally wrapped up the long, chaotic cleaning session.