Blizzard Austin

Blizzard Austin

Setting: The Penguin Band's Igloo (the living room)
Date: January 22, 2013
Time: 8:49 PM PST
(Point of View: Franky)

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"Brrrr!" Cadence cried as she scooted closer to me on the beanbag. "I'm cold just watching it!"
"I know. Let's check the weather." Stompin' Bob, who was on the couch with G-Billy behind me and Cadence, changed the station on the TV. It was the Club Penguin News station. Rick Babin, one of the reporters, was reporting live from the Iceberg.

"What a WHACKO! What kind of a penguin goes OUT in that?" Petey K, who was on the chair to the left, cried.
"I know. It's, like, -300 degrees. Crazy reporters," G-Billy said.
"This is a crazy blizzard," Cadence said.
"Yeah," G-Billy replied.

"This just in-- Blizzard Austin has been upgraded to a Category 9 blizzard. The last blizzard that was Category 9 was Blizzard Mary in 2004," said Rick on the TV suddenly.
"Category 9! Holy fish!" I cried.
"It doesn't get much worse than this," Petey K said.
"How did we not lose power?" I asked. "Knock on beanbag..." I tapped the beanbag.
"I don't know, we must have good service or something," G-Billy replied.
"Everyone's getting pounded. Us, Seeven, Gallagher, Iceberg 81..." Petey K said. "I heard even Allen was getting hit a little."
"Of course it's directly over us, though," Cadence said, grinning.
"Of course," G-Billy said.
"How long is this supposed to go on?" I asked.
"At least 2 days, they said," Petey K replied.
"Cadence, if you're going...go now. The teleporting signal's gonna go down REALLY soon," Stompin' Bob said.
"Yeah, I know..." Cadence sighed, looking around. "Maybe I should go..."
"You can stay, if you want, I'm just saying, if you don't go now, you're gonna be stuck here for at least a day," he said.
"...can I stay?" she said in a small voice.
"Yeah! Well, if you want. Don't feel forced," Petey K said.
"I'll stay...I mean, if there's someone else here, I feel like I'll have a slightly smaller chance of freezing to death or having a tree fall on me..."
G-Billy, Petey K, Stompin' Bob and I laughed. "You're safe with us, don't worry," I said, tugging at her shoulder. She grinned.

"We'll be back to Blizzard Austin in just a moment. Thanks, Rick. In other news..." Sunny Plight, another reporter at the news station, showed up on the screen.

"In Sports, the Ethel Island Stars beat the Seeven Island Rays 3-2 last night on Ethel Island-"

"SHUT UP!" G-Billy cried, and we all laughed. G-Billy hates the Stars. We all do, but you'd think someone on the Stars killed G-Billy's family, he hates them so much.
"Now, G-Billy. Control your hatred. Don't kill anyone," Cadence said.
"I hate them so much!" he cried.
"We all do, bro," Stompin' Bob said.

"In music, the 35th annual Ethel Island Music Awards is coming up..."

"...I think I know..." Petey K said.
"It's, like, a month before it. Why are they talking about it already?" I said.
"Because they can," Stompin' Bob replied.
"Oh, right. I should have known," I said, grinning.

"...The Penguin Band, a local band who have recently upped their popularity quite a bit, are getting ready to release another album..."

"WHAT?!" Cadence cried.
"FISH!" Petey K cried. "I hate you, Sunny!"
"An album?" Cadence asked.
"Yeah...about that..." G-Billy said.
"Why didn't you...what the...how do they...what?!?!" she said.
"Well...uh...we were gonna tell you later, but...in March...we're releasing...an album..." Stompin' Bob said.
"Aw, guys! That's awesome! But why didn't you...tell me?"
"We..we wanted it to be a surprise."
"That's great, guys. What's the title?"
"'Victory'. Fitting, huh?" I said, grinning.
"Yeah...guys!" She smiled. "It's gonna be huge!"
I smiled.

"...let's get back to tracking Austin."

Cadence yawned and put her head in my lap. I was surprised she'd do that right in front of the guys, but she did. I stroked her hair with one flipper and rubbed her beak with the other. I turned to Stompin' Bob and G-Billy, and they were both grinning. G-Billy was even laughing a little. I shrugged, grinning.

I leaned down to her and whispered to her.

"I love you," I whispered.
"I love you, too," she whispered back.

I heard Petey K laughing, and gave him the evil eye, then laughed myself. Cadence looked up, looking at us. All four of us were laughing now.

"Is it that funny?" she asked.
"Sorry.." Stompin' Bob said. "It's just funny..."
Cadence rolled her eyes, smiling. Then she put her head back in my lap.

"...We are expected to get eight to eleven feet of snow in the next 48 hours..."

"WHAT?" Petey K said. "How is that even possible?"
"Oh, my God..." G-Billy muttered.
"That's insane," I said. "Eight feet. We're gonna be miserable."

"I AM IN MISERY!" G-Billy sang.
"Oh, yeah!" I sang.

"Awesome song.." Petey K said.

"We'll be back to tracking Austin after the break."

A huge gust of wind blew outside. Cadence looked up.

"Jeez..." she said.
"I know, right?" I said.
"This is crazy," Petey K said.
"I hope we don't lose power," G-Billy said.
"Don't jinx it!" Cadence said.
"Sorry..."

We watched the news and talked for about a half an hour more, then Petey K announced he was going to bed.

"I will, too..." Stompin' Bob said.
"Yeah, me too," G-Billy said.
"Okay...night, guys." I turned to them.
"See you two lovebirds in the morning. Let's hope we still have power," Petey K said.
Cadence smiled. "Hopefully."
"See y'all later," G-Billy said, hopping off the couch and starting for his room.

The three of them went into their rooms, then Cadence and I were all alone. She put her head in my lap. The wind blew, and I stroked her soft hair and her beak.

"Franky?" she said.
"Yeah?"
"Do you ever get scared?"
"Scared of what?"
"The storm. Or...just storms."
"Well, yeah."
"Are you scared right now?"
"A little."
"I am, too."

The wind pounded against the walls. The news reporter went on and on.

"If you're scared, then I'll protect you, Cadence..." I whispered.
Cadence looked up, sitting up. Her eyes were large and afraid, but they were sparkling. She was smiling. She softly kissed my cheek, and we sat there smiling. I wrapped my flippers around her waist, and she wrapped hers around my neck. We touched beaks. I pushed a strand of her hair out of her eyes.

"Are you glad you came over here?" I asked.
"Yeah," she replied. "If I was alone I don't know what I'd do."
"LOLZ seems to like it here," I said with a grin, gesturing to LOLZ, who was sleeping in between a few beanbags in front of the TV.
Cadence laughed. "Yeah."

There was a quiet moment, then I kissed her softly. She'd obviously been expecting it, and she was ready. So we kissed, then I hugged her. The wind was blowing REALLY hard.

"I should go to bed," I said.
"Aww," she said, pulling away from the hug.
"I know, but...I'm tired."
She giggled. "Me too."
"G'night, Cadence," I whispered.
"Night, Franky...I love you."
I blushed. "I love you, too."

I kissed her good-night, got up, and grabbed her a blanket and the TV remote.
"Turn it off when you're ready," I said.
"Okay.." She pulled the blanket over herself.

I started for my room, but she went,
"Franky."
"Yeah?" I stopped waddling, turning to her.
"If the power goes out...come get me."
"I will. I promise you."
"Okay."

I headed into my room, turning on my lamp. Ahh. I jumped into bed, pulling the covers over myself. I just don't feel like putting on PJ's, I thought, grinning. But I hopped out of bed, and got on my blue PJ top that's really fuzzy and warm.

I got in bed, burying my face in my pillow. Cadence loves me. It went through my head and I actually thought about it for one of the first times. I'd known that she did. I'd known that I loved her back. But I'd never really sat down and thought about it.

You're so stupid, I told myself. You waddled away from her when she told you she was afraid. How dumb is that?

Stupid, stupid Franky.

Suddenly I got an idea. I rolled over and reached for my big songbook on my nightstand. I grabbed a pencil and opened to a fresh page.

Okay. This song is gonna be good. I can just tell.

A tune was already in my head. Before I knew it, I was furiously scribbling notes and chords onto the page. And after about 20 minutes, I was just about done.

The song was called "I Gotcha". It was about my always being there for Cadence, anytime, any place. I was pretty satisfied with the song. I was writing the last chord, and that's when it happened--

The room went dark.

Oh, no! I grabbed my phone, and turned it on, lighting my own way to my drawer. I took my flashlight out of my drawer, and flicked it on.

Dang you, power! I thought as I opened the door to the living room from my room. I was so close to done...

I shined the flashlight around the room, then went over to the couch. The TV was off. Cadence was awake, sitting up. She looked at me, and sighed.

"I hate the lights! I was writing this song--" I said.
"I was so close to asleep!" she replied.

I shined the flashlight to her, and she got up. She had gotten pretty comfy in the pile of beanbags, and it took her a second to get up.

"Got comfy there, huh?" I said, grinning.
"Yeah..." She waddled over to me.
"Don't worry, it's comfy in my room too." I shined the flashlight on the door to my room, and we went in.

It was pitch-black in my room. I pointed my flashlight to the ceiling, and it lit up the room.

"What's this?" Cadence asked, picking up my notebook.
"No!" I cried. "Don't read that."

She put it down, backing away. "Okay..."
"Sorry, it's just embarassing."
"I sang you 'For The Record', didn't I?" she said, crossing her flippers.
"...yeah.." I replied awkwardly. "I'll sing it. Just...hold up a minute."
"Oh, Franky, all I meant was could I read it? You don't have to sing it.."
"Go ahead and read it, but you might not be able to see."
She picked up my book and started to read it. I picked up my green sweatshirt off the ground. I smelt it. Not bad.

"Here," I said, tossing the sweatshirt to Cadence. "It's gonna get cold in here fast. You should wear something."
"Really?" she asked, setting aside the notebook for a second.
"Yeah. Trust me, Cadence. You'll want it."
"...okay." She pulled the sweatshirt on, zipping it up. Then she picked up the notebook again and kept reading.

I sat down on the bed, shivering. The heat turns off when we lose power in our igloo, and it gets cold.

Cadence read for a minute more. I kept shining the flashlight to her so she could read. When she finished, she looked at me, putting the book down and sitting down next to me.

"Awesome," she said. "Just awesome."
"You like it?" I asked.
"Definitely." She kissed my cheek.

I smiled, and she suddenly shuddered. I wrapped my flippers around her. The wind shook the igloo, and she leaned onto my chest.

"It's warmer under here." I pulled the covers down, and she laid down. I laid next to her and pulled the covers up.

"How long will this storm be?" she whispered.
"Who knows?" I said.

We were really close under the covers, and I wrapped my flippers around her, holding her tightly. She wrapped her flippers around me, and we lay there holding each other.

"I'm afraid, Franky," she whispered.
"I gotcha, Cadence," I whispered back. "I gotcha."

I must've fallen asleep eventually, because when I woke up, I felt rested. Cadence was awake, looking at me. I smiled. Her hair was messy and she had a sleepy smile on her face. She looked really cute.

"Hi," she whispered to me.
"Hey." I kissed her hello.

She hadn't been expecting it, but she kissed me back, and it was long. As we pulled away, she smiled at me. I smiled, too.

It was really cold and obviously pretty dark in the room, but I could still see Cadence a little.

"Can you grab me the flashlight?" I asked her.
"Yeah--" She rolled over and got the flashlight off the nightstand, flicking it on and giving it to me.
"Thanks," I said, shining it between us.
"You're welcome," she replied.
"I can see your face much better now," I said, running one of my flippers along her cheek. She blushed. "You look beautiful when you first wake up."
She smiled, looking down and blushing. "Awwww."

I pulled her closer, and she nuzzled my cheek with her beak. I watched her, tilting my head towards her to encourage it. Her beak was a little cold but I didn't care.

As we lay there, I whispered, "You know what?"
"What?" she said, pulling away from my cheek and looking at me.
"I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be right now."
"And I," She smiled, "can't think of anyone I'd rather be here with right now."

We both smiled. "Oh, Cadence..." I whispered.
"Oh, Franky..." she whispered back.

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Later that morning
about 8:34 AM PST

"Hey, lovebirds!" G-Billy said as he pushed the door to my room open, shining in a flashlight.
"Uhh, hi..." Cadence said, turning to him.
He grinning. "Hate to kill the moment here, but it's 8:30. Gettin' up anytime soon?"
"No..." Cadence joked, then grinned.
"Yeah, we'll probably get up soon.." I said.
"Hey, buddy? Can I have a word?" he asked.
"Yeah, sure.." I got up, and waddled around the bed to G-Billy. We stepped outside my room, and I closed the door.

"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine! I'm just...like...how did you get her to come in your room?" he said.
"Oh, she told me if the power went out...to come get her."
"Awwww, that's sweet..."
I grinned. "You're making fun of me, aren't you?"
"No. I'm actually saying...it's sweet."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, well, you can go back in there, I kinda just wanted to know."
"Okay..."

I headed back into my room. Cadence was sitting up in bed.

"Getting up?" I asked.
"I guess..." She stretched, yawning.
"Cadence...can I just say...you're probably gonna be here another night based on the forecast..and...the power probably won't be back on by then...so, uh..." I trailed off awkwardly.
"What?" she said, hopping off the bed and coming to me.
"Well...I mean...you could stay in here tonight again if you want."
"...okay." She smiled. "Thanks..."
I grinned. "No prob."

I grabbed my white t-shirt with the orange penguin on it and my jeans. Then I said, "Keep that on...it's cold in here."
"But what about you?" Cadence asked. "Won't you be cold?"
"I have other sweatshirts. I'm not gonna die if I don't wear that particular one," I replied, slipping on my jeans.
"Are you sure...?" She asked.
"Positive. Keep warm." I shrugged on my white shirt and put my PJ top away. I got my 'Penguin Band' hoodie out of my dresser and put it on, then got on my sneakers.

"Geez, it's really cold, isn't it?" I said, grinning.
"Yeah!" She said as she shivered.
"Let's go out..." I pushed open the door, and held it. "After you."
She giggled as she waddled out the door. I shined the flashlight in front of us as we waddled into the kitchen. Petey K, Stompin' Bob, and G-Billy were sitting around the table, all holding flashlights.

"Hi, guys," I said as I sat down. Cadence grabbed an extra chair and pulled it next to mine, then sat too.
"'Sup, Romeo?" Stompin' Bob nodded at me. "Juliet?" He nodded at Cadence.
I grinned and Cadence blushed. "Dude, it was cold. What were they gonna do?" G-Billy said.
"It's freezing." Petey K shuddered. He had his 'Penguin Band' hoodie on, and so did Stompin' Bob and G-Billy.
"This is gonna be a really boring day," I said. "Power out, snowed in, no teleporting signal..."
"We should all feel really sorry for Cadence right now. She's stuck with us weirdos," Petey K said, and we all laughed.
"I don't mind..." she said.
"Guys, let's have a jam session. Like, an acoustic jam session," Stompin' Bob said.
"Yeah! Let's do it!" G-Billy said.
"We should!" Petey K said excitedly.

"But is anyone else starving?" G-Billy asked, hopping up and opening the food cabinet.
"I am..." I said.
"I'll salvage what I can to make breakfast..." He pulled out a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter.
"Hey, guys, it's us, peanut butter," Stompin' Bob said with a grin. We constantly joked over the fact that PB stood for "Penguin Band" and peanut butter.

G-Billy put some peanut butter on 5 slices of bread, then cut up a banana and put it on the bread. He gave us our breakfast and we finished in a hurry, eager to get going.

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Later, 10:43 AM PST
In the Instrument Room

I turned on my flashlight, then grabbed my guitar. "Let's do this."

We were all in the instrument room, getting ready to start. G-Billy was at the drumset, Petey K at the piano, and Stompin' Bob and I in the middle of the room. He was using his old bass, and I had my acoustic guitar.

"I feel so...country," G-Billy said with a grin.
"I know!" I cried, strumming a chord on my guitar. I played the opening of "Anchors Aweigh", and we all laughed.

I started strumming the opening of "Breakeven" by The Script, and Stompin' Bob joined me. G-Billy started hitting the bass drum in time, and Petey K picked up the chord pattern pretty quick. I started singing, and before I knew it, we were lost in the song. Cadence was singing, too.

We sang a bunch of songs: "Breakeven", "Home" by Phillip Phillips, "I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz, "Payphone" and "Misery" by Maroon 5, "Some Nights" by Fun., "Good Time" by Owl City, and a bunch of other songs, too. At noon, we stopped for a break and food. G-Billy found a pack of crackers, and we put peanut butter and jelly on them. It wasn't exactly a fancy lunch, but we didn't have power.

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That Night
8:56 PM PST
The Living Room

I hopped up. "I'm going to bed, Cadence. Come in when you're ready," I said. For the past 20 minutes, Cadence and I had been alone in the beanbag pile, since the guys had gone to bed. We had given up on talking about 10 minutes ago, and had just sat there. She leaned on my chest, I held her. We had a fuzzy blanket and we were wrapped in it. We were both really cold and tired. She had almost fallen asleep.

Now, as I stood over her, she looked up at me sleepily. "I was just about asleep," she said, pulling herself up. "I'll come with you."
"Gosh," she continued, "that blanket was fuzzy."
"Bring it if you want to," I said.
She grinned and picked up the fuzzy brown blanket. "It's warm."
I grinned. "Yeah." I lead her into my room.

My room was dark, but my flashlight lit it up. I pulled down the covers on my bed, then stretched, hopping onto it. I was exhausted. We had changed into our PJ's about an hour ago, and I had on a light-blue button-up top. Cadence had on my 'Penguin Band' hoodie, and was taking off her shoes. I yawned again, laid back, and put both my flippers behind my head, looking up at the ceiling. Cadence crawled into bed next to me, pulling up the covers and putting the brown blanket over us. She looked at me, and I grinned.

"What?" I asked, and she shook her head, giggling.
"Nothing," she said in a sweet voice. "Nothing..."

She rested her head on my flipper.

"Have you ever noticed how couples call each other, like, 'dear' and 'hon' and stuff, and we don't?" she said.
"Want me to start calling you that?" I asked.
"No. Don't. Don't. I think it's cheesy."
I grinned. "Me, too. But you do call me..." I started laughing quietly. "Well, you know what you call me," I said.
She giggled. "Yeah..." She met my eyes. We were both blushing.

She has a pet name for me that she uses sometimes. She only uses it when we're alone, and it's kind of embarassing, but believe me, I'm not complaining. She calls me 'Franky-wanky'.

"I love you," she whispered, and I brought one of my flippers down from my head to touch her cheek. She wrapped both flippers around me.  "...Franky-wanky," she finished.
I blushed, smiling. "I love you, too."

The warmth of the blankets and Cadence's flippers around me made me really drowsy, and I eventually must've fallen asleep. I woke to a sudden gust of wind and the awareness that Cadence wasn't laying with me anymore.

She was sitting up in bed, and I could just barely see her silhouette in the pitch-black.

"Cadence?" I said.
"Franky, go back to sleep," she said.
"Cadence, are you okay?" I asked.
"I'm okay. The wind woke me up. Go back to sleep."
"Are you okay?" I repeated.

She was silent.

"C'mon, lay back down. No need to be scared of the wind." I said.
"I'm just..." She sighed, laying down. "Afraid," she finished.
"I told you, I gotcha," I whispered.

Somehow in the dark she found my beak, and kissed me. It was long. As she pulled away, the wind pounded the igloo.

Words weren't needed anymore. She cuddled close to me, and holding her, I hummed her to sleep, then fell asleep myself.

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Setting: Franky's Room
Date: January 26th, 2013
Time: 7:56 AM

I woke up and my lamp was on for the first time in 4 days.

"Yeah!" I cried. "Yess!"
Cadence woke with a start. "What?"
"The lights!" I cried, jumping out of bed and hopping around. "The lights are on!"
Cadence laughed. "Yess!"

I laughed. I'd never been so happy to see a lamp in my life...
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