A short, dark-haired boy glanced through the door, feeling another strange fire scorch his insides yet again, twisting up his stomach into knots and generally feeling very, very unpleasant.
He knew he wasn't supposed to be here; both Yan He and the rest of the gang would never let him come here all alone, even though he was already sixteen. He was a responsible teenager already, dammit, but noooo: everybody still considered him "the baby" of the troupe and wasn't allowed to walk to people's homes when they're hosting parties by himself. But he had to come here. Why? For the life of him, he couldn't really say, but he knew had to see that Monster family again. Well, only one little monster in particular, really...
And he was standing a little a-ways from his older brother and sister, who had their own gaggle of admirers surrounding them, talking to a group of girls, a soft and serene smile on his lips, his visible eye a bright and shimmering gold.
The fire exploded around Moke's heart, causing his teeth to clench together tightly and his eyes to narrow down into slits.
"He's only talking to all of you because he has to to get money. He thinks you're all stupid, I know he does. He hates vapid people." Moke hissed between his teeth under his breath.
A girl with dark hair donned in low pigtails leaned forward and whispered something into Oliver's ear, causing him to lightly shake his head and reply back smoothly. If only he was closer to hear what the damn blond was saying!
"You look like a pathetic young child with your hair still in pigtails; grow the hell up." Moke snarled at the black-haired girl who obviously couldn't hear or see him. "And that color of red doesn't work with your skin; you're way too pale. Plus, you don't wear boots with a dress that long. Oh, and that dress is ugly. And so is your face."
The black-haired girl laughed. Obviously not at Moke, but something Oliver had said, causing Moke's lips to twitch in a slight frown.
"Told you he was annoyed by you. You laugh like a dog. Well, how a dog would laugh if they could that is... Point is is that your laugh is stupid! Like your face!" Moke continued. "Oliver doesn't like random vapid girls like you. I can bet with certainty that if you didn't make anyone else around you laugh with you, you're not funny. I would know, I'm actually funny!" Moke continued.
Another girl replaced the black-haired one. This one had her hair dyed a dark green while her skin sported an unnatural orange tan. She reminded Moke of an Oompa Loompa. He had no fear in voicing it.
"You look like one of those atrocious Oompa Loompas. And red does not go with your hair, by the way. Or your fake tan. I can see where you sprayed on more in some places than others. At least do an even job if you're even going to try. You're wasting Oliver's time hanging around him. He doesn't like fake girls... Well, I bet he doesn't."
The Oompa Loompa girl fluttered her eyelashes at Oliver, eyelashes much too long to be real.
"Fake eyelashes are stupid." Moke snorted. "And lavender eye shadow doesn't work with your fake tan. It makes you look like you're sporting double shiners."
The girl twirled a bit of her hair, pursing her black lipstick colored lips.
"Your flirting is so obvious it's creepy. I mean, I bet I can flirt better than you! Oliver can tell what your up to and he's not impressed. I can tell."
A third girl finally stepped up and stole Oliver's attention from the Oompa Loompa girl. This one was a natural brunette, just like Moke.
"Your hair looks really greasy, you should probably wash it." Moke hissed. "And why are you wearing red high-heels? I mean, you're in a small town in the middle of nowhere, not Hollywood. And I can clearly see the mustard stain on your white blouse. You're not fooling anyone! I mean, if you're out in public don't just go around and get food all over yourself! And whats with th-"
"Moke? What on earth are you doing here?"
Moke froze at his hiding spot, feeling his cheeks and the very ends of his ears turn red before slowly turning his head upwards so that he would be nose-to-nose with Yan He.
"Why are you here outside of that Monster family's house?" Yan He demanded, her blue eyes wide in suspicion and disbelief.
"O-Oh?" He stammered. "I-Is that where we are? I was, uh, s-sleepwalking! Y-Yeah. That's what I was doing. That's exactly what's going on."
Yan He's eyes cut in half, clearly not buying Moke's excuse. "It's only six o'clock, Moke. You were here watching them-!"
"No, no, no, no! I was-... I was-" he said quickly, his mind racing for an idea for a better excuse to say. "I was spying! Yeah. Spying! Trying to uncover all of their evil, monster-y secrets!" Moke said, gesturing wildly with his hands.
"Then why did you lie to me?" Yan He asked, hurt clearly evident in her voice.
Moke felt the burning sensation bloom in his chest and cheeks. Dammit. Yan He always knew how to make him give way into guilt.
"Well, with all the weird things his family can do-like his mom able to take her head off easily, his dad sewing his forehead, his brother acting like a weirdo, and his sis-... well, she's probably the most normal one... I-I just had to make sure you were the real Yan He and that my cover hadn't been blown! They obviously look like they meddle with creating living beings; they could have easily made another you to trap me!" He lied easily, feeling sick to his stomach in doing so.
Yan He seemed to think this over before finally nodding in understanding. "I-I see. I guess when you put it that way, it does make perfect sense." She let all of what he said simmer a little longer in her head before finally coming to a decision. "Okay. I won't tell the others that you went wandering on your own again without supervision, but you'll have to tell me all you've learned about them after dinner."
"Dinner?"
"It's six, Moke. Remember?"
"Oh yeah! It is." Moke glanced behind him, glad the strange family haven't caught them yet. With one last glare at the girls surrounding Oliver, Moke turned and quietly trailed behind Yan He back home.
Unbeknownst to the boy, Oliver watched as he slunk away, the ends of his mouth twitching slightly. Moke was always such a funny young boy. He couldn't wait to see him tomorrow at school.
Author's notes
Hello again everyone! This was a request from a guest on my last story who wanted an OliverxMoke story. While they did ask for a high school setting, I thought maybe a high school party would be fine? I mean, I don't really know much about schools because I'm homeschooled so... I still hope that this is okay for you! Thanks again to anyone for reading! Please PM me if you want me to write your guilty rare pair! Thank you for reading!