Ric walked into the living room and was greeted with screams from across said room. Leroy was being pinned to the ground by Laina. Ric hurried over.

"Everything…Ok, Laina?" He asked.

"Oh, yes. I just found Leroy hiding behind the couch. When I found him, he tried to climb out the window. My little boo-bear is so silly! But I caught him. He's mine now. Forever."

"Help me…" Leroy gasped, looking up at Ric.

Alas, there was nothing poor Ric could do. The only way Laina could be stopped when she was like this was if someone professed their love to her, and no one in their right mind would want into a relationship with the Overly Attached Girlfriend; lest of all Ric.

Fortunately for Leroy, there were several people of infirm mind in the room.

"Hey, babe, why don't you forget that loser? You're too cute for him anyways." Steve whispered to Laina, leaning down to her.

"Oh, you're such a charmer. But Leroy is my future husband!" Laina explained to Steve.

He pulled her by the arm to her feet anyways. Leroy, now able to breathe without Laina's knee in his stomach, shouted a sentence toward Laina that is only suitable to be typed in an M-rated fanfiction before running to Ric's basement. The entire room stood a bit shocked, and even Laina, unshakeable as she usually was, looked a bit hurt.

"I-I'm sure he's joking…" She muttered, turning away from Steve.

"No, he's not. But you deserve better than that scumbag. You're too wonderful for him." Steve said, (though he had no room to be calling anyone a scumbag) putting a hand on Laina's shoulder.

Laina turned around with stars in her eyes.

"When I woke up this morning, I just knew I would meet my soul mate today. I thought it was Leroy, but…I guess he just wasn't the one. But…I feel something between us. It must be written in the stars, right? We're soul mates?" Laina said, staring into Steve's eyes.

"Sure, babe." Steve chuckled, pulling her into his arms.

Ric watched Laina staring up at him, mesmerized, and felt bad for the girl. He had known girls before that got into relationships with Steve, and it always ended quickly and with a lot of heartbreak. Steve usually stole a lot of their stuff and slept with their friends. He wished he could just pull Laina aside and tell her to stay away from Steve, save her the heartbreak later, but knew that it wouldn't be any good to try to reason with the girl while she was so star-crossed.

He was distracted from the pity he felt for the girl as he felt a tug on his arm. He looked down to be met with a cocked head with adorable pigtails.

"Whert ders #%^ mern? I herd Lerroy ser it, bert I dernt ner whert it merns, ernd I cernt fird it in yer dishernary." ("What does #%^ mean? I heard Leroy say it, but I don't know what it means, and I can't find it in your dictionary."

"I…I actually don't know either." Ric muttered. He knew perfectly well what that word meant; however, such a word didn't befit a girl with pigtails. "Hey, have you read Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine?" He asked, hoping to distract the young girl from defining profanity with the topic of literature.

"Ermahgerd! (Oh my god!) Yers!(Yes!) Thert berk ers wern of mer fervrites, erts ermazing!( That book is one of my favorites, it's amazing!)" Exclaimed the girl, her lisp getting more pronounced in her excitement. Relived to have distracted her, Ric sat down with her as she started a lengthy explanation of the book's plot. Ric only knew the title from watching the movie a few years back with his younger cousin (she had insisted on being taken to the theater for her birthday), and, as he listened, it became apparent the book was worlds apart from the movie. Ric listened to the excited rendition of the novel's plot as he surveyed the room.

Doge and Moon Moon were chasing each other through the house, Dr. Octagonapus was hovering in place, looking derpy, Laina and Steve were talking; Steve having slung an arm around Laina's shoulders, Laina holding his hand. Leroy was, assumedly, still hiding in the basement.

"Ert wers rearly cuerl! (It was really cool!)" Exclaimed the girl beside him.

Steve turned from his nearly-distracted state back to her. "Sounds like it." He agreed, listening to her squee and exclaim over little details of the plot like twilight fangirls squee and exclaim over the little details of Edward's/Jacob's/Edward and Jacob's face's.

He sat back, content to listen to the girl, but still wary of the evening that awaited him.

Catz: It hasn't even started yet, Ric.

It hasn't even started yet.