Imaginary Friend
By Asteria
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I'm just playing with them.
Okay, this is my first attempt at a Buffy story (it's not my first idea for a Buffy story, but it's the first one I've written) and I hope you all like it.
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More than 20 years ago
Saturday
5:00 am
"Glory? What are you doing?"
The girl turned away from the refrigerator, a nearly full carton of milk clasped in her arms. She looked at the boy and smiled.
"I'm making you breakfast," she said, lifting the milk onto the counter beside the eggs. "Silly, what does it look like I'm doing?"
"I don't think this is a good idea."
"Of course it is. You're hungry, right?"
"Yeah..."
"And cartoons don't start for a whole hour."
"Are you going to use the stove?"
"Yes."
"Only Mommy is allowed to use the stove. There could be a fire, like the time when Daddy was making macaroni for lunch and the potholder started burning, so he dropped it in the water with the macaroni and ruined the whole thing."
The girl laughed. "I remember that. He said all those bad words."
"It wasn't funny, it was scary! Daddy burned his hand and it hurt him. You're my best friend, Glory. I don't want anything to happen to you."
"You worry too much, Ben. Mommy and Daddy will never know. And then you'll have pancakes. Secret pancakes."
"Do you even know how to make pancakes?"
"I've watched Mommy make them hundreds of times. Thousands. How hard can it be?"
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Still more than 20 years ago
Still Saturday
6:07 am
Ben stood in the center of the kitchen and surveyed the destruction. There were eggs dripping down the cabinets, flour all over the floor and a small but slowly expanding lake of milk on the counter. Ben had successfully managed to talk Glory out of using the stove, so she had improvised and tried to cook pancakes in the toaster. The toaster and nearby countertop were now covered in half-cooked, lumpy pancake batter. Fortunately, they had unplugged the toaster when it started to smoke.
"We have to clean it up," said Ben. "Really fast before Mommy wakes up."
"We'll do it later, it's time for cartoons," said Glory, skipping off to the living room.
"Glory! Come back here and help me!"
"What happened in here?"
Ben winced and turned around. His mother was standing in the doorway with a look of horror on her face.
"It wasn't my fault, Mommy! Glory-"
"You are too old to blame this on your imaginary friend, Benjamin. You're too old to have an imaginary friend."
"She's not imaginary-"
"Ben... It's too early for this. Just... clean this up before your father sees it."
Ben watched as his mother turned and headed back upstairs, stopping in the living room to turn off the TV. As soon as her bedroom door closed, the TV switched back on.
"That wasn't very nice," Glory called over the sound of a Sugar Flakes commercial.
"Come help me clean up."
"Sorry, Ben. Mommy told you to clean it up, not me."
"I always have to clean up your messes, Glory."
"Too bad for you!"
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"Because I'm cleaning up Glory's mess, just like I've done my whole life."
-Ben
"Listening to Fear"
By Asteria
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I'm just playing with them.
Okay, this is my first attempt at a Buffy story (it's not my first idea for a Buffy story, but it's the first one I've written) and I hope you all like it.
0000000000
More than 20 years ago
Saturday
5:00 am
"Glory? What are you doing?"
The girl turned away from the refrigerator, a nearly full carton of milk clasped in her arms. She looked at the boy and smiled.
"I'm making you breakfast," she said, lifting the milk onto the counter beside the eggs. "Silly, what does it look like I'm doing?"
"I don't think this is a good idea."
"Of course it is. You're hungry, right?"
"Yeah..."
"And cartoons don't start for a whole hour."
"Are you going to use the stove?"
"Yes."
"Only Mommy is allowed to use the stove. There could be a fire, like the time when Daddy was making macaroni for lunch and the potholder started burning, so he dropped it in the water with the macaroni and ruined the whole thing."
The girl laughed. "I remember that. He said all those bad words."
"It wasn't funny, it was scary! Daddy burned his hand and it hurt him. You're my best friend, Glory. I don't want anything to happen to you."
"You worry too much, Ben. Mommy and Daddy will never know. And then you'll have pancakes. Secret pancakes."
"Do you even know how to make pancakes?"
"I've watched Mommy make them hundreds of times. Thousands. How hard can it be?"
0000000000
Still more than 20 years ago
Still Saturday
6:07 am
Ben stood in the center of the kitchen and surveyed the destruction. There were eggs dripping down the cabinets, flour all over the floor and a small but slowly expanding lake of milk on the counter. Ben had successfully managed to talk Glory out of using the stove, so she had improvised and tried to cook pancakes in the toaster. The toaster and nearby countertop were now covered in half-cooked, lumpy pancake batter. Fortunately, they had unplugged the toaster when it started to smoke.
"We have to clean it up," said Ben. "Really fast before Mommy wakes up."
"We'll do it later, it's time for cartoons," said Glory, skipping off to the living room.
"Glory! Come back here and help me!"
"What happened in here?"
Ben winced and turned around. His mother was standing in the doorway with a look of horror on her face.
"It wasn't my fault, Mommy! Glory-"
"You are too old to blame this on your imaginary friend, Benjamin. You're too old to have an imaginary friend."
"She's not imaginary-"
"Ben... It's too early for this. Just... clean this up before your father sees it."
Ben watched as his mother turned and headed back upstairs, stopping in the living room to turn off the TV. As soon as her bedroom door closed, the TV switched back on.
"That wasn't very nice," Glory called over the sound of a Sugar Flakes commercial.
"Come help me clean up."
"Sorry, Ben. Mommy told you to clean it up, not me."
"I always have to clean up your messes, Glory."
"Too bad for you!"
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"Because I'm cleaning up Glory's mess, just like I've done my whole life."
-Ben
"Listening to Fear"