(Chapter originally written by PhoenixStriker)
"So, I've got a few clothing orders that I need to get through." Lauren explained. "Nothing too crazy, but I always appreciate the extra help with gathering materials and giving advice." Your mother turned and beamed at you. "I feel like we don't hang out a lot, especially in my design studio. This'll be fun!"
You gave a tentative smile on your own as response, and let your mom continue carrying you off to her studio, which was at the end of the hallway.
Truthfully, there wasn't a single scarier room in the house than your mother's studio. An entire room filled with stretchy synthetic material, tan-colored fabrics, color tone dyes, super glue, sealant spray, and so much more? It was basically hell on earth, and you avoided the room like the plague whenever you could. Obviously, knowing your hatred of the room, Jenna made frequent use of the studio when acting out her cruel pranks, and you had far too many horrific memories of the room (and what had happened to you therein) to count.
Still, you'd promised to spend the day with your mother, so that's what you'd do!
Lauren pushed into the room then shut the door behind herself. She sauntered over to her cluttered work desk and lowered her shoulder close enough so that you could leap off onto the desk. She then took a minute to gather up miscellaneous belongings from the desk and tidy the space up. She also nearly scooped you up with a bundle of lacy fabrics because something across the room caught her eye and distracted her, but you dove out of the way of her roaming fingers at the last second.
Finally, Lauren brushed some hair out of her eyes and grinned. "Alright! Time for work, sweetie!"
You gave her a confident thumbs-up. "What's the plan?"
Lauren giggled at your bravado, and continued. "Well, I have three special orders to get through. They each requested synthetic stretchy material as the base fabric...Tinex? Something like that, I think. I've used it a few times, it's quite malleable and fun to play around with." Lauren trailed off, then laughed. "Kind of like you, Matt!" She laughed louder, and you meekly joined in despite your misgivings over the ironic nature of the joke.
"So, what should I be doing?" You asked.
"I have to finish sketching the designs first." Lauren explained. "But, I have a little list of stuff scattered around the studio. While I finish the designs, do you think you could gather up the stuff and bring it back here?"
You nodded. "No problem, mom!"
"Thanks, sweetie. You're the best!" Lauren cooed, before tearing the corner off of the paper beside her and sliding it to you.
The paper contained a list of materials to gather, so you set off on your task. It wasn't easy, and it took nearly an hour, but you finally gathered everything you could. Strangely, despite her having three jobs, you could only find two strips of synthetic stretchy material and hoped that wouldn't be an issue. Lastly, you scaled the desk again and flopped onto your back to rest.
After a blissful minute of rest, Lauren put her pen down and smiled, wiping some sweat from her brow. "Alright, goodness. I finished!" She glanced at you and giggled. "Seems as if you have too, sweetie."
You sat up, dismissively waving off her concerns. "Nah, I'm all good here! Whatever else you need, I'm all game." Lauren smiled with appreciation. You paused a moment. "Although, I hate to say it, but you only had two strips of that stretchy fabric left. Sorry."
Lauren's spirits fell immediately. "What? A-Are you sure?" She looked crestfallen. "But I...I could have sworn that I had extra!" Your mother ran her hands through her hair, sulking. "I don't want to have delay the orders..."
You hated watching your mother get upset, but there wasn't a whole lot you could do. As she worked through her disappointment, you took it upon yourself to organize the materials you'd gathered on her desk, separating them by color and type.
As you did so, you took note of the paper spread across the desk, where Lauren had doodled three separate items. One item looked to be a bikini top; another item seemed as if it was some sort of bath towel, and the last item was a frilly skirt. Your mother wasn't an artist (at least compared to Ashley), but her drawings were still quite good, and adequately got across the shape and aspects of each item. At a guess, they represented the three orders Lauren was hoping to fulfill.
When you turned back to your mother, she was gazing at you with a curious expression. Her eyes bore into your very soul, and you involuntarily squirmed under their gaze.
Feeling awkward, you gestured at the designs at your feet. "These...uh...all look really good, mom!"
Lauren blinked, then returned to her normally cheery demeanor. "Thank you, Matt. That's very sweat." She smiled, but that appraising look was still in her eyes. She began to bite her lip, as if hesitating about something.
You frowned. "What's up, mom?"
Lauren chewed further on her lip. "There's...actually, honey...how can I put this? Those three orders? I actually really needed them done today, because I'll be too busy the next few weeks to work in the studio."
"Okay..." You nodded slowly, unsure where this was going.
Lauren winced. "And...because of that, I have something to ask of you. There is...um...actually a way you could help me with my designs."
"What's that?" You tried to ask, but your apparently quite nervous mother blurted out her next statement over top of your own, drowning out your voice.
"Your input in all of this won't be forgotten, Matt! I'll make sure to give you a huge reward for all of this!" Lauren insisted.
You blinked a few times, trying to work through what your mother was talking about. Finally, it dawned on you. She was asking for your input on her designs! Despite their high quality, she must be nervous about sharing her artwork and ideas with others, which wasn't a stretch to consider since she almost always worked alone. Your mother wanted your input and feedback, and was clearly adamant that she'd respect whatever you said. You weren't sure what she meant by reward, though.
Chuckling, you smiled. "Of course, mom. I'll do whatever you want."
Lauren froze, mild surprise on her face, like she'd been preparing for you to say no. "O-Oh? Really? Truly?"
"Yeah, mom! You've got me for whatever you need today, nothing's off limits. You want my input in all of this? I'll give everything that I can!"
Lauren brightened with the glow of a million suns. "Oh, Matt! Thank you so much for volunteering for this!" She bent down quickly and pecked your head with her lips. She pulled back with a loud smack. "You're such a sweetheart."
"It's nothing, mom. You know I'd do anything for you, right?" You assured her, and her smile somehow grew even more heartwarming.
Lauren placed a hand on her chest. "I promise that this will be as gentle and painless as possible, okay, sweetie?"
You waved off her concerns. After all, she was just going to ask you some questions, right? Bring them on! "No need for that, mom. I'm a big old adult now, I can take care of myself. If you've got a tough one for me, no need to hold back on my account. I'll handle it!"
Lauren's surprise returned, but her delighted smile remained. "Is that so? Well, that does make this easier, thank you. Still, I promise that it will be as short an endeavor as possible. I'll only let it go on for as long as it needs to, okay? Don't want my little baby being tortured too much."
"Honestly, mom." You began. "This can all take as long as you want it to. I'm willingly giving you all of my time, here. Whatever is needed, then that's what's needed!"
Lauren looked flabbergasted. "W-Well...I should at least let Jenna know...just in case. You know my memory can be...spotty, sometimes."
You frowned, momentarily confused why Jenna was a part of the conversation. You shook your head. "No, that's okay. Jenna doesn't need to butt into our mother-son time, right? This'll just be our little secret."
Lauren grinned down at you. "My, you really are a little adult now, huh? Thank you so much for this, Matt. I mean it."
You looked down at your feet, embarrassed. "Don't mention it. So, what's the first--"
*SLAM*
Your words died in your throat as your mother slammed her palm down onto the desk, mashing you into a flattened, crushed blob instantaneously. You immediately began to panic, having no idea what was going on, and as your mom pulled her hand back, her cheerful smile remained.
"Now that you've volunteered to be a replacement strip of fabric, I can get all three orders fulfilled!" Lauren smiled with glee. "And I don't even have to hold back when molding you? Why, that will just make it so much easier! Plus, I can decorate and dye you to my heart's content, and my little trooper will be fine with it all, right?" Lauren looked down at you affectionately. "This is just so perfect, Matt! Now I can get everything done, and everyone's happy! Plus, Jenna won't be teasing you, because she won't even know. It's just me and you, sweetie!"
She peeled you off of the desk and looked down at you lovingly. "Of course, I'll make sure to priority order more of that Tinex stuff, or whatever it's called. Once I get more, I'll make a substitute item and swap it out with you, getting you back home safe and sound with me!" Lauren grinned wryly. "Although, you said it didn't matter how long this all takes, so maybe I'll just do the standard month-long shipping..." Your mother trailed off.
Internally, you began to scream. You'd made a horrible, horrible misunderstanding mess of this all.
Lauren smiled. "Anyway, let's begin!"
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