Team8s and Counting Onwards

Thread and Flare were over at Bookmark's house for a sleepover. The girls were chatting away about all the craziness that had been going onto their lives.

"So wait...you're telling me Ice Cube was actually at your house?" Flare said in shock.

Bookmark nodded. "She really was. Apparently she was really good friends with my mom and mimi in some of the later seasons."

"Speaking of your Mimi, I'm glad they and my mom are cool with finding out about the show." Thread admitted. "It's nice to not have to keep it a secret from all of my parents."

"Oh, trust me, same here." Bookmark said. "Although Mimi has been considering talking with my Mom about it soon."

"I don't think we've gotten there at my house." Thread confessed. "I think my mom was maybe going to tell my dad, but my other mom has been off limits about all of this."

"I don't think Pencil really cares if I watch the show or not." Flare said. "As far as my other mom, I really don't know how she'd react, it's hard to say honestly."

Bookmark nodded thoughtfully, considering the delicate balance their families were navigating. "Yeah, it's a weird line to walk. I mean, it's not like we're doing anything wrong. But it's hard to say how people will react when we're literally watching the show that they spent so much of their lives on."

Thread shifted uncomfortably, her fingers tapping on the side of her cup. "Yeah, exactly. It's like... we're connected to this big part of their lives, but they're not ready for us to fully see it. It's strange, especially when you feel like you know them in one way, and then you realize there's this whole other side of them they're keeping hidden."

Flare leaned back, her eyes thoughtful. "I get that. It's like there's this big unspoken thing, right? They've been keeping so much of their lives from us, and now that we're old enough to understand it, it's like they don't want to share. It feels almost... like we're intruding, even though it's our family."

Bookmark bit her lip, still processing what they were saying. "Exactly. And with the show being out there now, I wonder if things are going to change. Like, what if my mom isn't ready to talk about everything that happened back then? What if she's not ready for me to know?"

Thread frowned. "I don't think it's about you being ready, though. It's more like... they don't want to burden us with their past. Maybe they think it'll change how we see them."

"Or maybe they're just scared of how we'll react," Flare added, her voice quiet. "Maybe it's not about us being ready. It's about them not being ready to let us see them as real people. I mean, parents are just... people too, right?"

"Yeah," Bookmark agreed softly. "It's hard to think of them as anything but, like, mom and mimi. But they've had lives before we were born. And there's stuff they've been through that we'll never fully understand, no matter how close we are."

The room was quiet for a moment as the weight of their words settled in. Then, Thread broke the silence with a whisper.

Thread twiddled her thumbs. "Like...what if it's worse than we think it is. I love my mom...I never want to think less of her if she did something that wasn't right. Same with my dad, and my other mom to, although they don't seem to be hiding nearly as much."

Bookmark nodded in agreement. "My mom has talked a little about how she messed up badly at one point...it's just...how bad was it?"

Flare just shrugged with a heavy sigh. "I mean...I already have a rocky relationship with my moms...I don't need it to be any worse."

The girls sat in silence once again, not knowing what to do or say. Season one didn't seem to be hiding all that much, but it seemed like things were a lot more hidden for them once season 2 rolls around. Eventually, Flare decided to break the silence.