Crash#2: Zippy's Candy Shoppe

[Arianna Rivers]

Ari's eyes widened; her parents whipped around and stared at him. "Excuse me?" Mr. Rivers asked, glaring.

[Crash Bandicoot]

Crash looked up at Ari's Dad, the initial intimidation gone and now replaced with his usual cocky bitterness as he glared right back. At first he considered being nice but quickly decided against it. No point. "Whatsa matter? I'm not wrong am I? You guys just decided to get wasted and drop by without even a hint of a warning Ari's way. And you've kicked her out of her own room and forced her to sleep on the couch."

Walking over to the wall, Crash settled against it, looking at Ari's parents through his bangs. "Y'know, I'd be pretty pissed if I didn't get to see my parents on a regular basis and then when I do, they act like complete di.....completely rude people", he quickly corrected as he wandered into the kitchen for some milk.

[Arianna Rivers]

(Why is it always milk?)

Ari hurried after Crash and stood right in front of him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she whispered, incredulous.

[Crash Bandicoot]

((He likes milk! Ur right tho, he was drinking milk when Ace wailed on him...is he gonna get punched now? hahaha))

He stopped short of the fridge and looked down at Ari with the same expression. "What the hell do you mean 'What the hell do you think you're doing?' I'm trying to make them feel guilty!" he whispered loudly back. "They owe you an apology and I'm gonna make damn sure they give you one."

Brushing Ari aside, he opened the fridge and popped off the top for the milk, not even bothering to get a glass as he drank from the gallon.

[Arianna Rivers]

Ari threw her hands up in the air before placing them on his shoulders and spinning him around. "It is not your job to protect me! Or to stick up for me! I can take care of myself!" she shouted, getting really close to him.

[Crash Bandicoot]

Crash raised his eyebrows incredulously. He'd never seen Ari so worked up about something. Then his expression darkened when he felt a pain in his chest. He didn't know what it was for but it...hurt. Emotionally. He got really close to her too, his face inches from hers. "I'm sorry", he growled. "I am SO sorry I had even the slightest urge to care about you. I'm sorry I didn't want you to be just another fucking girl I can screw over to satisfy myself. Maybe I shouldn't have bothered."

[Arianna Rivers]

Ari rolled her eyes. "Don't turn this into some sob story about yourself. Those are my parents out there, Crash, not some people who are horrible. God, why do you have to protect me?" she asked, running her hands through her hair angrily.

[Crash Bandicoot]

His hands clenched tightly into fists at his sides. "It's because I care about you! I want to protect you! From every little fucking thing!!! What the hell's so wrong with that?!" he snapped, then realized the words had a whole new meaning for him. Crash paused for a second and took a small step back, looking around the kitchen as if for an escape.

[Arianna Rivers]

Ari's breath caught in her chest. "What?" she whispered, looking at him in a new light.

[Crash Bandicoot]

As soon as the urge to run had passed, he just looked back at Ari. He saw her--standing there. And thought she was amazing. Crash could feel his face heating up slightly but didn't turn away. Best to just get it straight. "I don't even know if you like me or hate me or whatever right now. From the way I'm treating your parents, I wouldn't blame you for the second choice. I probably would. I just....say shit because I care, ok?" he mumbled.

[Arianna Rivers]

Ari smiled a little, taking a step closer to him. "Really?" She hesitantly wrapped her arms around his neck. "Does that... feel weird to you?" she asked, biting her lip.

[Crash Bandicoot]

He just stared at her before offering a small kind of smile and slowly resting his hands on her hips, pulling her to him. "Not even a little...this?" Crash cautiously moved closer to her until their lips brushed slightly, grinning.

[Arianna Rivers]

Ari shook her head, smiling. "Not even close." Ari pulled herself closer to him, kissing him once again.

[Crash Bandicoot]

"Good." Crash smiled into this one, wrapping his arms around her waist as he kissed back. I shouldn't worry about getting this one right, he thought as he kissed her. He felt like he could be himself around Ari. Act stupid or retarded or just plain...him. All the time. Why was it so easy with her? What went wrong with the others? Whatever it was, it was gone when he was with Ari.

[Arianna Rivers]

Ari tightened her arms a little, standing on her tiptoes to reach more of Crash. She didn't know why this felt so right, but it did. It was like when she was with Ace... she couldn't explain it, but Crash made here feel... safe. She knew that she wouldn't let him go without a fight, not this time.

[Crash Bandicoot]

Crash lifted his hand to hold Ari's face there. He wanted this moment to last. That sounded really cheesy in his head but he blocked it out cuz it was true. With Eve and Kyra, he never really felt like they understood him. Of course, he'd known Eve for a long time but something was still off there. It was like Ari just...got him. He was free to act like himself. When he pulled away, Crash looked at her oddly. "Howcome....it took us this long to figure this out?"

[Arianna Rivers]

Ari chuckled, resting her forehead on his chest. "I have no idea," she said, chuckling.

[Crash Bandicoot]

Crash smirked, propping his chin on top of her head. "You probably just didn't know how to come on to me", he joked. "Which was a mistake. I wouldn't have bitten you--hard."

[Arianna Rivers]

Ari punched his chest lightly. "Jerk. I'm thinking this is all your fault," she said, smiling.

[Crash Bandicoot]

"Mine?" he asked in surprise, smirking from her punch and shaking his head to tell her 'how weak'. "And just how is it my fault?" He lightly punched her arm.

[Arianna Rivers]

Ari looked back up at him. "Well, I mean, c'mon... you could've said something when the whole Ace business was going down."

[Crash Bandicoot]

"I kissed you, flour face", he pointed out, remembering that they had been covered with pancake ingredients at the time. The memory brought a smile to his face. That had been quite the day. "And Ace came and said you two were still together and then I didn't know what to think. I was just really mad."

[Arianna Rivers]

"Still could've said something," Ari mumbled, looking down at her feet.

[Crash Bandicoot]

Crash smiled at her, placing his fingers under her chin and tilting her head up so he could look at her. "Well now you know", he said softly before kissing her once again. When he pulled back, he glanced into the living room. "Your parents", was all he said.

[Arianna Rivers]

Ari grinned evily. "You wanna do something fun?" she asked.

[Crash Bandicoot]

Crash looked at her in amusement and soon his own evil grin was spreading across his face. "Whatcha got?"

[Arianna Rivers]

Ari turned around and reached for Crash's hand, leading him out of the kitchen and silently up the stairs. She maneuvered into her bedroom and closed the door behind Crash. "Come here," she said slyly, leading him towards her bed.

[Crash Bandicoot]

Crash's eyebrows shot up in shock. He'd never pined Ari to do something like this and frankly...it was freakin' awesome. But then something was nagging him. He smirked at her and sat down on the edge of the bed, looking up. "I didn't know you were capable of this kind of payback."

[Arianna Rivers]

Ari grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck. "We're not having sex, you dolt." She hopped on top of her bed. "Come up here," she said, motioning to him.

[Crash Bandicoot]

"......I knew that", he snapped after a while of silence and crawled to the top of the bed next to Ari. He looked over at her. "Just faking it, right?" He started to slowly bounce on the bed so it didn't make too much noise but still squeaked some.