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.
"You know what." Flare stood up. "It's not like our parents are going to change if we keep watching the show. I mean, they'll still be the same people who raised us from day one, right?"
Thread nodded, a determined expression on her face. "You're right, Flare. We're gonna have to just figure this out for ourselves. This can't be so...weird of a topic for me to bring up in the house anymore."
Bookmark stood up as well, looking between her friends. "Yeah, we can't let this just be some big unsolved mystery hanging over us. My Mimi and Needle seem to be ready to talk about all of this if we feel like we need to talk about."
Thread took a hold of her friend's hands. "And no matter what our parents do...we all have to promise not to take it out on eachother, right?"
Flare nodded. "Of course. We're our own people, and we shouldn't let our parent's actions control what we think of eachother." Flare grabbed her phone, and opened up BFDIA episode 1. "So...you guys ready to do this?"
Thread and Bookmark looked over at each other, and nodded. "We're ready." Thread said firmly. "We have to be."
Flare had put the phone in front of them, and was about to hit play, when suddenly, they heard a knock on the door.
"Hey guys, it's me!" Price Tag said from the other end of the door.
Bookmark grunted, annoyed that they interrupted their moment. "Come in."
Price Tag pushed the door open and stepped inside, a curious look on her face. "I didn't mean to interrupt, but I wanted to check in on you girls. Everything okay in here?"
Bookmark sighed, but tried to mask her irritation with a smile. "Yeah, everything's fine, Mimi. Just... talking."
Price Tag's gaze softened. "I get it. You girls have a lot to talk about."
Flare exchanged a glance with Thread, who nodded slightly. "Yeah, we were just, uh... trying to figure some things out. You know, with the show and everything."
Price Tag's eyebrows furrowed as they took a seat at the edge of the bed, looking over at Flare and Thread. "I'm assuming you two know that I know?"
The two of them nodded. Flare spoke up. "It's honestly nice to have someone to talk about this with. You know how my moms are...there's never been a good time to bring it up."
Price tag nodded, understanding where Flare was coming from. "You know, you girls are getting older, and it's not like we can keep these secrets from you anymore. I mean...I was only on the show for so long, so I don't have nearly that many I feel I need to keep with you. I won't mention anyone in particular...but some of your parents went through a lot on the show, and I mean a lot."
Bookmark leaned forward. "But... do you think we're ready to see it?"
Price Tag sighed. "If it was up to Mom, then you wouldn't be watching this show until you're twenty. But in my opinion, there isn't any right time for you guys to dive into this. I mean, you already watched season one, so that's a start."
The air felt heavy as Bookmark and her friends processed Price Tag's words. It was like they had opened a door to a part of their parents' past that they could never fully close again. Bookmark's heart thudded in her chest as she thought about the weight of the stories waiting for her.
"So... what do we do now?" Thread asked quietly, her voice betraying her uncertainty.
Price Tag gave a soft smile, their eyes warm but full of understanding. "I think you just keep going, but make sure you guys stay together. Keep talking to each other, keep asking questions. If you feel like you need answers, come to me or Needle. But don't expect it to all be perfect. There's a lot that happened, and some of it isn't easy to face."
Flare shifted uncomfortably but nodded, as if trying to process everything at once. "It's just weird, you know? We're getting to this point where we can understand all the things our parents went through, but we don't know if they want us to."
Bookmark glanced at her friends, feeling a solidarity in the uncertainty they all shared. She wasn't sure if they would ever truly be ready for what they might uncover, but one thing was certain: the secrets their parents were hiding were a huge part of their lives, and that meant it would eventually become a part of theirs, too.
"We'll just have to face it," Bookmark said softly. "We can't pretend it's not there."
Price Tag nodded. "Exactly. And when the time comes, you'll be able to handle it. Just make sure you talk about it, whatever it is. Don't keep it inside."
The conversation felt heavy, but also comforting in its own way. It wasn't an easy path, but it was theirs to walk, and they wouldn't be doing it alone.
Flare reached for her phone again, tapping the screen. "I guess we should get back to the show, huh?"
"Yeah," Bookmark said, standing up from the bed. "Let's just watch the first episode. We'll take it slow."
Thread smiled a little. "Yeah. Maybe... we don't have to have all the answers tonight."
Price Tag stood up, their eyes flickering with affection for the girls. "Remember, you all have each other."
With that, Price Tag left the room, closing the door behind them. The three girls sat back down, the weight of their conversation lingering but also somehow lighter. Flare hit play on the episode, and the familiar characters and chaotic humor of BFDIA filled the room.
As the opening scene rolled, the girls were quiet, the unspoken bond of understanding between them stronger than before. They didn't know what the future would hold, but they knew they were ready to face it—together.
.......................................................
Boy, I knew that the day would come where I would have to write this chapter. I had it planned for today a couple of chapters ago...but then BFDIA 18 came out (spoilers below!)...
And writing this just hit so much harder. There were...ahem...things that happened in this episode that made me question literally everything I know about my favorite character. I won't lie when I say that the ending scene was the very first scene in my 10 years in the object show community that made me feel...kinda uneasy. I'm trying not to let this one episode change my opinion of Pin, especially in later seasons...but it's going to be hard to see her, and her relationship with Coiny, the same way ever again.
Anyway, thanks for reading. See you in the next chapter!
- Sunny