I woke up the next morning to the sound of… screaming.
Not horror-movie screaming.Worse.Cash Baker screaming.
"NO, MAV, DON'T—WAIT—STOP—MAVERICK—MY HAIR—"
A thud.A crash.Something metallic rolling down the hallway.
I groaned, rolled out of bed, and opened my door just in time to see Cash sprint past my apartment, covered head to toe in confetti.
"CYPRIANA! HELP! HE'S LOST IT!"
I blinked. "It's 9 AM."
"HE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT TIME," Cash yelled dramatically. "HE'S A MONSTER."
Maverick walked calmly behind him holding a confetti cannon.
"Wrong," he said. "I'm efficient."
Cash screamed again and slipped on a banana peel Cailee had absolutely placed there on purpose.
She cheered. "YESS!! CHAOS SEASON THREE, BABYYYY!"
Harper sighed and checked a clipboard. "Time of injury: 9:03. Cause: banana sabotage. Rating: 8.5/10."
Paige pointed at me like a prosecutor. "You. Clothes on. Shoes on. We're filming today."
"Filming what?" I asked, half-asleep.
All three girls turned to me with the exact same unhinged excitement.
"E V E R Y T H I N G."They said in perfect sync.
Oh no.
THE CHAOS MEETING
Ten minutes later, I was corralled into Cash & Maverick's apartment for the "official briefing."
It felt like a war room but with worse decisions.
Cash paced in front of a whiteboard that said:
"CONTENT DAY: CHAOS EDITION"with flames badly drawn underneath.
Maverick was already rubbing his temples.
Paige sat cross-legged on the couch, holding a megaphone.Cailee twirled a whisk threateningly.Harper flipped a page dramatically.Mychael adjusted the camera with a sigh of someone who regretted all his life choices.
Cash slammed his hands on the table.
"Ladies. Gentlemen. Cypriana."
I raised a hand. "Hi. Still confused."
"Today," Cash announced, "we are filming—"
"THE TIKTOK GAUNTLET OF DOOM."Everyone else shouted it with him.Except Maverick.
Who simply muttered, "I'm tired."
EVENT 1: THE PRANK WAR
(Or: Cypriana Learns Why This Building Doesn't Get Deposits Back)
Cash handed me a water balloon.
"You're on my team," he whispered. "If Mav gets you, he wins. Don't let him win."
"But I don't know the rules—"
"There ARE NO RULES!"
A water balloon flew across the room, Maverick sniping Cash in the back of the head.
Cash yelled, "BETRAYAL!!"
I screamed and ran behind the couch as Maverick loaded more balloons with the precision of a trained soldier.
"Why are you so GOOD at this?!" I shouted.
Maverick shrugged, tossing another balloon lightly in one hand.His eyes flicked to mine.
"Because Cash is loud. You're not."
HE DID NOT JUST FLIRT-INSULT ME.
The balloon hit my shoulder.
"HEY!" I gasped.
"You were distracted," Maverick said, deadpan.
Paige shrieked. "HE TOTALLY AIMED AT YOU ON PURPOSE."
Cailee jumped up and down. "THE ROMANCE ARC IS ARCING."
Cash ran in front of me like a knight.
"CYPRIANA, DUCK!"
He threw a balloon. It hit Maverick square in the chest.
Maverick looked down slowly.
Cash whispered, "Oh I'm dead."
Harper wrote wildly. "Foreshadowing. Yes. Good."
EVENT 2: THE COOKING CHALLENGE
(Or: Cypriana Barely Escapes a Kitchen Fire)
"Welcome to Cooking With Chaos," Cash said into the camera.
"I don't approve of this," Maverick said into the void.
The goal: make pancakes.
The results:
Cash put the whisk in the blender.
The blender exploded batter all over my face.
Maverick tried to flip a pancake and hit the ceiling.
Cailee yelled, "CATCH IT!"
Paige screamed, "NO DON'T CATCH—"
It landed in my hair.
Harper calmly wrote, "Cypriana: attacked by carbs. Status unknown."
Cash rushed over, laughing. "OH MY GOD, YOU LOOK LIKE A BLUEBERRY MUFFIN."
I smacked batter off his cheek. "Now you do too."
We froze.
He smiled.
Maverick stared a little too long before looking away.
Mychael whispered to Harper, "Did we just witness a moment?"
Harper scribbled. "Yes. Triangle confirmed."
EVENT 3: THE DANCE CHALLENGE
(Or: Cash Tries to Teach Cypriana Rhythm)
Cash dragged me into the living room.
"Okay! Hip! Step! Turn! Spin! Boom!"
I stood like a confused tree.Maverick leaned against the wall smirking.
"This is painful," he said.
Cash scoffed. "Shut up, she's doing great."
"I look like I'm having a seizure," I said.
Cash grinned. "But like… cute?"
WHY DOES HE SAY THINGS LIKE THAT.
He positioned himself behind me, hands lightly guiding my arms.
My heart did The Thing™.
Then—
Maverick coughed loudly.Cash stepped back fast.
Harper whispered, "Ohhhh the tension is tense."
EVENT 4: THE BLINDFOLD CHALLENGE
(Or: The Moment Everyone Replays)
"Cash goes first!" Cailee declared, tying the blindfold.
Cash reached his hands out blindly.
"I swear," Maverick warned, "if you break something—"
Cash tripped forward AND LANDED ON ME.
We both yelped as we toppled onto the couch.
Cash's hand landed on my waist.My breath stopped.His too.
Paige SCREAMED into the megaphone.Harper wrote like her life depended on it.Mychael zoomed in dramatically.Maverick froze.
And in his eyes—yeah.There was something.
Cash scrambled off me immediately, face red."OKAY NEW RULE," he yelled, "NO BLINDFOLDS FOR CASH."
Harper whispered, "Replay value: 10/10."
EVENT 5: THE "MEET THE NEW NEIGHBOR" VLOG
(Or: Cypriana Tries to Exist Normally, Fails)
Cash held the camera directly in my face.
"SO, Cypriana, question one: why did you move to LA?!"
I opened my mouth—
Maverick interrupted. "She didn't sign a contract with you. Chill."
Paige popped into frame holding juice. "Do you like Cash or Maverick more?"
I CHOKED.
Cash grinned.Maverick looked away immediately.Cailee shouted, "BE HONEST THIS IS GOOD CONTENT."
I threw a pillow at all of them.
THE END OF THE GAUNTLET
By the time we finished:
The apartment was wrecked.
My hoodie was wet, sticky, or both.
Cash had batter in his hair.
Maverick had confetti stuck to his shoelaces.
Paige was still screaming.
Cailee looked proud.
Harper had filled AN ENTIRE NOTEBOOK.
Mychael was editing footage like a man possessed.
Cash collapsed on the couch.Maverick sat beside him, exhausted.I lay on the floor questioning my life choices.
Cash peeked over the couch arm, hair a disaster.
"So… you surviving?" he asked.
I laughed. "Barely."
Maverick smirked slightly. "She survived better than you."
Cash groaned. "Shut uuuuup."
Paige clapped once. "CONGRATS, CYPRIANA. YOU PASSED TH
E GAUNTLET."
Cailee sprinkled confetti on me. "Welcome to hell."
Harper closed her notebook with a dramatic snap."Welcome to the story."