Suburbia

Summary: After all these years of being alone, he deserved to have some friends. The world wasn't ready for him yet, not when Grandma was my age, but maybe they were this time.

It was time for suburbia to change.

"Grandma?" I asked. She looked at me, her eyes far away.

"Yes dear?" she asked quietly.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes I'm fine," she lied. I knew it was a lie. Yeah, I was only 7, but I was old enough to know she wasn't. She started to cough, a weird, cough, like a…what did Mommy call it…a hacking cough. I knew she wasn't okay. I heard the doctors say her lungs would give out soon. I don't want Grandma to die. There has to be some way to save her…

"Honey? Why don't you leave grandma alone for a while? I'll put on Sesame Street for you," Mommy offered. I sighed but followed her out of Grandma's room anyway. I didn't want to watch Sesame Street. Not when they were all happy and healthy and Grandma might be dying!

I remember something. Maybe…maybe…but I can't get there by myself. It's to far to walk and my feet don't reach the petals…

"Mommy? Did Grandma ever tell you about Edward Scissorhands?" I asked. My mom froze.

"What did you say?"

"Edward Scissorhands!"

"Yes…" she said slowly, "she did. She talked about him a lot. Never when Grandpa was around though. He always got a little jealous of Edward, even though he'd never seen Edward," Mommy said, smiling.

"Do you think he could help Grandma? Maybe seeing him would-"

"No. No, Grandma doesn't want Edward to see her. Didn't she tell you that?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"No. Just put that thought out of your head missy," she said, putting Sesame Street in. I groaned. I hated it when grown-ups did that. That whole, "I'm more awesomer than you because I'm older and that's just the way it is bubba!" thing.

"Fine." I sat down as the song came on and hummed along. After a few episodes Mommy came down. She looked scared.

"Grandma has gotten real sick honey, so I'm going to need to call the babysitter to watch you while I take Grandma to the doctor," Mommy said. I groaned again. I hate the babysitter. Poor Grandma though. I hope she'll be okay. I watched as Mommy and Daddy carried Grandma out of the house and into the car and she came in.

Ashley Elizabeth. I hate that girl. She treats me like I'm two. She talks to me like I talk to my friend Jaime's little sister Belle, who's one year old. That girl really annoys me. I hope they get back soon. I want to make sure Grandma's all right and I want Ashley to leave.

Like, right now because she's trying to play "This little piggy" with me. I'm going to scream.

"And this little piggy cried-"

"ASHLEY! I have an idea that will make Grandma all better!" I yelled. Even if she's annoying, she can drive so that will be very useful.

"Oh, that would be like, soooooo cool if we managed to save your grandmother and the doctors couldn't! We could, like, be like, famous!" she squealed. I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever. The point is we need to get up to the old mansion. That's where we should start," I told her.

"The mansion! But…isn't it…isn't…you know…like…haunted?" she asked. I rolled my eyes again.

"No. But Edward lives up there and maybe he could save Grandma," I explained slowly. Sometimes, I think she's younger than I am. Ghosts aren't real!

"Well, if you're sure…then let's go."

"This wasn't a good idea," Ashley said.

"Why not?"

"Look. There's a spot right there that looks like the shape of a body," Ashley whined. I closed my eyes and tried to remember how that got there. Oh. When Edward killed Jim. Right. I smiled at Ashley.

"I'm sure it's nothing. Come on, let's go in," I said, taking her hand. We wandered through the mansion, floor after floor, room after room, until we finally got to the attic.

"Look, I'm sure this…Edward guy isn't in the attic," she said.

"SHH!"

"Who's there!" a voice called. He sounded scared. I smiled. That had to be Edward.

"Edward?" I called. Ashley gripped my hand tighter.

"What if this guy is like a homicidal maniac?"

"SHH!"

"Yes. Who are you?" Edward asked.

"Where are you?"

"Who are you?" he asked again. I followed his voice into a room and there he was.

He was standing on a ladder with a big block of ice next to him. I looked closely at the block and I could tell it was Grandma. I smiled at the fact that he still loved her. He was very pale, and he had scars all over just like Grandma said. And there were the scissorhands. Ashley yelped in surprise, but I wasn't scared. He didn't look scary at all. He was actually kind of cute, in a wide-eyed baby deer way.

"Hello Edward," I said. His eyes got wide as he took me in.

"Dude, are you okay?" Ashley asked.

"You look like someone I know," he said to me. "So do you," he said to Ashley. I thought about all the people he met when he was in our little town. Something popped up.

"You remember Joyce don't you?" I asked. He nodded. "Ashley is her great granddaughter," I said. He nodded again.

"You look just like her," he said. His voice was pretty. It was nice, and smooth. I could see why Grandma liked him so much. "Where do I know you from?" he asked me. I took a deep breath. This was the hard part of my plan.

"My name is Kimmie. I was named after my Grandma, Kim Boggs," I said. His eyes got wide.

"Kim?" he asked quietly.

"How does this guy know your grandma? She's kind of old, isn't she?"

"Edward?"

"Why are you here?" he asked quietly.

"She's sick. I figured if anyone could make her better, it would be you. She talks about you so much and she still loves you with all her heart. Please come to the hospital!" I begged. He started to nod, then quickly shook his head.

"They don't want me there," he whispered.

"But she needs you!" I said. "Please." He looked at his ice sculpture for a while, and then nodded.

"Okay, well, if that's who we came for, then let's go. Your grandma doesn't have a lot of time left," Ashley reminded us. We all ran to the car as fast as we could. Oh, I hoped I wasn't too late.

"What is going on here!?" the security guard yelled.

"We're here to see my grandma!" I yelled back. Ashley shook her head in agreement.

"Who is that?!"

"Edward," I said proudly. He looked at Edward's hands. Edward looked away shyly.

"My granddaddy always used to talk about a man with scissors for hands. He said he tried to help save that man's life, but he couldn't," the security guard whispered.

"He did help Mr. He bought Edward time to hide!" I said. I took his hand. "Please. I need to get to Grandma!" The security guard nodded his head.

"I'll take you to here myself if they won't let you in," he said.

"I know the way." We went into the elevator. Edward got a little antsy. He's probably afraid of small spaces. What did Grandma call it? Clownstrofobic? No…clausephobic? I don't know. We had finally gotten to the room.

"You two wait here," Ashley said, "while I fill in your family." We nodded and sat down.

"Does Kim really talk about me?" he asked.

"All the time. But Edward, she changed. She's a lot older now. I don't know if you'll recognize her," I said, taking one of his scissorhands gently in mine.

"I will."

"Come on in," Ashley said. I led Edward in. Grandma's eyes got huge.

"Edward," she breathed. Edward sat down next to her bed.

"Kim?" She put her hand out to touch his face. "Kimmie told me you were sick. Don't be sick," he said. She smiled.

"It's alright now that you're here. I just…" she stopped to cough like crazy, then took a few big breaths. "I just want you to know how much I missed you over the years," she said. He smiled.

"I make it snow for you. I know you loved the snow," he said.

"Yes, I do. Thank you Edward," she said. "I feel tired." Edward closed his eyes for a moment. What was going on? She's not supposed to die! He's here!

"NO! Edward, save her!" I yelled.

"I wish I could," he said miserably.

"You have. You helped me see. You helped me see past the skin. Edward…"she whispered. She closed her eyes.

"Sleep Kim," he said. He kissed her cheek. My eyesight got blurry. I could see the whole room start to swim.

"No! That wasn't how it was supposed to happen!"

"Kimmie! It was her time," Ashley said. I glared.

"NO! You don't know anything!" I yelled. Ashley bent down and hugged me. I sobbed into her shoulder. No. Grandma wasn't dead. No. No. No. No. No. No. NO!

It's been ten years since that happened. I'm actually getting ready to go to college now. Everyone is here: Mom, Dad, my boyfriend, Johnny, and Ashley. Yes, we're friends. Everyone except Edward. He left after Grandma died. I miss him.

"Take care. Don't get drunk!" Daddy says. I smile and hug him.

"And no tattoos!" Mom says after him. I roll my eyes and hug her.

"And no boys. Not unless I'm around," Johnny says, smiling. He wraps his arms around me. I'll miss him so much. I kiss him quickly.

"Ready to go partner?!" Ashley yells in a squeaky voice. I nod. She hasn't changed a bit. We get into the car. Ashley is driving me to the airport.

"Ash? Could you make a quick detour?" I ask.

"Where?"

"The mansion?" She smiles and nods. We finally get there and climb all the way to the top.

"Can't he get an elevator installed?" she grumbled.

"Edward?" I call. Edward steps out.

"What?" he asks. I look him over. He hadn't changed in ten years. Only a few more scratches on his face let me know time has gone by.

I suddenly feel 7 again. I'm just a little kid who is seeing the man my grandmother loved for the first time, just a little girl crying over her sick grandparent. I throw my arms around him. He awkwardly puts his arms around me.

"I know you couldn't save her," I say.

"I'll be here. It's not like I'm getting any older," he says. I smile. "You look so much like her," he whispers. Yes, I would come back to see him.

After all these years of being alone, he deserved to have some friends. The world wasn't ready for him yet, not when Grandma was my age, but maybe they were this time.

It was time for suburbia to change.

I just wrote and I didn't really read over what I wrote, so if it seems a little choppy, sorry. This is posted in honor of Halloween. It came on ABC Family right before we were going to go Trick or Treating, so I figured I'd write something. OH, btw, did any of you catch why I named Kimmie's boyfriend Johnny?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!