Operation: Plus One Pact

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Abby's phone blared loudly in the quiet of the early morning, jarring him out of his sleep like an annoying alarm. He groaned, shifting around carefully to make sure the pillow barricade Zoey made didn’t fall as his hand awkwardly reached across the nightstand to find the source of the noise.

Squinting at the screen, he saw it was Mira calling.

"Hello?" he answered, his voice rough with sleep.

"Finally! You picked up."

Abby rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?" 

"12 PM here in Seoul. So, like 4 AM there," she replied.

"And you thought that was a good idea?"

"Zoey wasn’t answering. She’s usually up before the crack of dawn."

"She's still passed out. Jetlag hit her hard." He sat up, yawning. "She put her phone on aeroplane mode. You know how she gets when people spam her phone while she's asleep."

Mira chuckled. “Anyway, Rumi and I wanted to check in. What happened at dinner with Gigi and Caleb?"

Abby's brow furrowed. "How did you even—"

"Roobin told me."

That fucking gossip, Abby sighed, running a hand down his face.

"How bad was it?"

He sat up straighter. "It was fine until Gigi brought up Zoey dropping out of college and belittled her for it. Completely unprovoked," he started. "But don't worry. Your awesome himbo swooped in and saved the day with my unparalleled charm."

"Should I be concerned?"

"Wow. Your lack of faith in me truly wounds me, Mira."

"Well, you 'swooping in to save the day' usually means you either did something stupid, or you accidentally set something on fire," Mira said.

Abby gasped, feigning offence. "I'll have you know I was the pinnacle of respectability."

"Mhm. I totally believe you," she replied sceptically.

He rolled his eyes.

"How is she, though?"

"She survived. That's all I can say."

"Yeah, but is she okay?"

Abby's gaze drifted to Zoey, who was drooling on her pillow. His expression softened. "I tried talking to her about it. She shut me down and asked me to drop it. So, I did."

"You didn't press?"

"Mira, you know we can't. It'll only make her close off more."

"Yeah, I know, I know...” Mira sighed. "But she is the biggest people-pleaser I know, and it’s worrying. I just hate how that two-faced snake takes advantage of that to get her way and bully Zoey. Just be on the lookout for her. Whatever you saw is just the tip of the iceberg.”

"It gets worse?" Abby let out a low whistle.

"There was this one time when she came over to Seoul. We were at this club having our girls' night," Mira started. "As soon as Zoey went to get our drinks, this bitch started talking all kinds of shit about her like she was trying to recruit us and turn against Zoey."

Abby's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Wow."

"It truly amazes me why Zoey's still friends with her til this day. But we can't exactly stop her."

"I know. Trust me, I know."

"I gotta go. Roobin's pouting at me."

Abby chuckled. "Tell him if he keeps pouting, his face will stick that way."

"I HEARD THAT, YOU STEROID JUNKIE." Abby heard Roobin shout from the other line.

"And tell your boyfriend not to disrespect Ruby and Rose," Abby added.

“Really, Abs?”

"Hey, my girls can beat Roobin's babies any day. I’m the Abs Saja for a reason."

“At least my babies come with emotional intelligence and aftercare. Yours just flex and call it foreplay,” Roobin grumbled in the background.

"Okay. I am hanging up. I don't need you two arguing over my phone." Mira said.

"Hey, we're not arguing. We're simply asserting our dominance." Abby countered.

"And I don't need any of your testosterone stinking up the air I breathe, thank you very much."

"Oh, c'mon, Mira, you know you love us."

"Yeah, in small doses. But having two men with egos the size of Texas in one room for an extended period is hazardous." Mira retorted

"Rude."

"You'll live. Tell Zoey if I hear any peep of Gigi being an intolerant bitch, I'm booking a flight to come whoop her ass."

"Will do." He replied. "Now go before Roobin explodes."

"Oh, you—"