“Is that supposed to be… us?” Crispin asked incredulously,gesturing towards the elves.
“No…” Becky said, turning a bright shade of red. Okay, maybeshe had captured their likenesses, but that didn’t mean anything.Not really.
“Leave her be,” Kell said, hiding his smile. Could this girl beany sillier? She’d obviously painted herself into the image as thefairy princess, and surrounded herself with her adoring subjects,each of them offering her a particular gift.
“Is that you?” Crispin asked, studying the fairy closely. “Youforgot the whiskers and the little round ears,” he teased hermercilessly.
She frowned,fuming with indignation. “Perhaps, I forgot your horns, too!” sheshouted, scrambling from the room.
“Ouch…” Crispin gasped, mockingly clutching his chest. “Nowthat was hurtful.”
“You can be such an ass.” Dorian chuckled, returning to hisdrawing.
Steelingherself against any further teasing, Becky returned to the room alittle while later, resolved to not let them get to her. Let themmake fun. She was there to paint, and she was not going to letCrispin intimidate her.
She should haveguessed by the strained silence in the room, that something was up.They were being awfully quiet and none would make direct eyecontact with her. Only when she turned towards her painting did shediscover that some scoundrel, Crispin, no doubt, by the way he wassnickering, had painted cartoonish whiskers and little round earson the fairy in her painting.
“Oh, you!” she huffed, glaring at him in particular. “You thinkthis is funny?” All three of them gave into fits of laughter. Atfirst, she could only frown and shake her head at them. But evenshe had to admit that it was a funny harmless prank. “Silly boys,”she said with a reluctant smile.
***
One eveningafter a distressing call from her grandmother’s retirement home,Becky paced nervously in her room. Granny had fallen ill with asimilar case of the flu that Becky just had. Apparently many of thehome’s elderly residents had come down with the same affliction.That meant the home was in quarantine.
This was verydistressing for Becky. She wanted nothing more than to rush to hergranny’s side but even that wasn’t possible, given thecircumstances.
Also,Thanksgiving was this coming weekend. She had been so lookingforward to visiting her granny and spending some time with her.She’d been feeling so homesick as of late. Life at the House ofGoths wasn’t exactly unbearable but sometimes she still couldn’thelp but feel a bit lonesome.
The boys cameand went as they pleased, did their own thing, alone or with eachother, but they rarely went out of their way to include her.
Sure, she couldunderstand Crispin’s obvious disinterest in her. Dorian seemed niceenough in the beginning, but lately he rarely made the effort toseek her out. Most of all it hurt that even Kelley avoided her.
“She sure spends a lot of time up in her room,” Dorian said asthe three Goths lounged in front of the television.
“Good,” Crispin said, reclining into his corner of the couch.“Better there than here.”
“Come on, man,” Kell said, leaning on his elbow, watching thelatest horror flick with little interest. “Quit theact.”
“What act?” Crispin balked.
“You know what I mean.” Kell rolled his eyes. “Everyone knowsyou like her. Let it go.”
“Like her?” Crispin repeated indignantly. “I barely toleratethe twit. It’s you who likes her.”
“Well, I like her,” Dorian declared. “What’s not to like? She’squiet, she’s cute and she keeps to herself.”
The three ofthem sat in silence for the remainder of the movie. None actuallypaying much attention to the plot.
“Should we watch another?” Crispin asked when the creditsrolled, digging through a pile of random DVDs.
“Sure, why not?” Kell said with lacklustreenthusiasm.
“I don’t know. I’m beat. I think I’ll call it a night,” Doriansaid, standing up and stretching. He made his way into the hall andnearly ran over Becky.
“Hey, what are you doing out here all alone?” he asked, bendingdown to her level.
“Nothing…” She wasn’t about to tell him that she’d been lurkingin the hall for quite some time, wanting to watch television withthem, but too timid to enter the room.
“Go on then, Crispin’s just started another movie,” he said,reading her mind.
“You sure?” she asked self-consciously.
“Of course, why not?” Laughingly, he took her by the shouldersand guided her into the living room. “Gentlemen, turns out MissBecky would like to join you for the next movie. Is that allright?” he asked as he plunked her down on the couch beside aglowering Crispin.
“Hey, there you are. Of course, it’s all right,” Kelley said,sitting up in his chair, suddenly very much alert. Was she a sightfor sore eyes or what? From the elevated beating of his heart atthe mere sight of her, he realized then just how well a job he’dbeen doing at purposely avoiding her. It only served to cause himto miss her. Sweet little thing.
“Right then, enjoy,” Dorian said, winking mischievously atCrispin’s scowl.
Suddenly thereshe was, sitting in the dimly lit room, very much aware of theheavy tension in the air. They either really didn’t want her thereor she was just imagining things.
“You like horror movies, love?” Kell asked, raising aneyebrow.
“Now and then,” she said with a self-conscious shrug. Shedidn’t really, but she wasn’t about to admit it. Besides, she wasjust tired of being alone upstairs in her room.
“You’d better,” Crispin challenged, reclining into his corner.Just to prove a point, he stretched his long leather-clad legs outon the couch, claiming most of the space for himself, forcing Beckyto sit farther into her corner, away from his big feet.
Halfway throughthe movie, most of which, she’d watched through closed eyes, Beckyfelt herself start to doze off, despite the disturbing scenes.Having sat in the same uncomfortable position for a while, sheshifted slightly, unaware of the fact that in doing so, sheunintentionally started to lean towards Crispin’s side of thecouch. Eventually she dozed off and found herself restingcompletely against his bent knees.
“Wonderful,” Crispin grumbled, with a roll of his eyes. “Lookat us, we’re cuddling.”
His voice wokeher and she sat up abruptly. “Sorry,” she said, looking bashfullyfrom Crispin to a very much aware, Kell.
Returning theirattentions back to the seemingly never ending movie, eventually,Becky started to doze off once again. This time she slid and fellentirely into
