AN- So, I'm hoping they're in character. Feedback would be great 3
It was a normal Friday night at the Morgan residence. Ethan was in his room, playing a computer game, his best friend Benny was laying on his bed, reading a comic book. His parents were going out for date night, his little sister Jane was downstairs, waiting for the sitter. Ethan was a little bummed, because the usual sitter, Sarah, who he had an obvious crush on, was away for the weekend. There would be someone new to tease the high schooler about needing a sitter.
In reality, he wasn't responsible enough to look after his sister properly, or so had been decided, but Sarah wasn't so bad. Well, aside from being a vampire, but him being a seer, and his best friend being a spellmaster wasn't normal either. The whole town was pretty supernatural, and it was usually up to them to stop it. But tonight, it was quiet, especially after a call up from his parents that they were leaving. Ethan sighed, running a hand through his mop of dark brown hair, banging the controller lightly against his cheek. "Stop whining, it's distracting," Benny called from the bed, causing the other boy to turn in his swivel chair.
"...I haven't even said anything," Ethan pointed out, chucking a pen at the book before resuming the cheek-hitting.
Unphased by the pen, Benny continued, "Yeah, not yet. But you're going to go 'I miss Sarah, why did she go away, blah blah blah.' I don't want to hear it. You don't see me complaining that Erica went with her."
"But you don't really like Erica. You like females. It's not the same thing. You walk around going 'Wow, she's hot' to just about everyone. I basically only see-" he was interrupted when the pen flew back at him.
"Don't want to hear it!" Benny cried, the comic book splayed on his chest, holding Ethan's pillow against his ears. "This isn't some girly sleepover. I don't care if you want to pour your heart out. Suck it up. Be a man!"
Ethan sighed again, flipping his chair around so he could rest his chin on its back as he resumed his game. Benny, happy for silence, or at least void of relationships, resumed reading.
The two hours that passed didn't seem to take too long, being immersed in separate things, so they both jumped a little when someone knocked on the bedroom door. "Hey, guys? Umm...Ethan and...friend, I just put Julie to bed, so if you want, you can come have some muffins and watch one of the classics with me?" the girl's voice came through the door. It wasn't entirely girly, but it was high enough and loud enough that it sounded as if she were in the room with them.
There was a pause, as the boys looked at each other, to the door, and repeated. "Uhhh,," they said in unison, gesturing in some weird sign language to try and decide.
"It's ok, thanks though?" Ethan replied, receiving a thumbs up from Benny.
"Oh, ok, just tell me if you die in there. Or at least if you're failing at Absolute Dream Fifteen," she called back as she walked away.
At least, they assumed she'd walked away, because she didn't say anything else. The friends looked at each other again, eyebrows raised. "How did she know what game you were playing? Did you leave the case downstairs?" Benny asked, sitting up on the bed.
Ethan shook his head, holding the case up, and they paused. He laughed a little, and said, "Julie probably told her. I have been playing it since I came home from school."
"Ha, yeah, you're probably right..." Benny laughed uneasily, frowning a little. He shook it off and wrinkled his nose. "Who was she going to bribe with muffins? If it had been a cake, or even cupcakes, but muffins? Pffft."
"Yeah, it's like trying to bribe someone with Star Trek : Voyager," Ethan joined in, causing both boys to shudder. "And what kind of classic is she talking about? It's probably girly."
"Yeah," Benny scoffed, rolling his olive-green eyes. "Like Pride and Prejudice, or Casablanca or something."
Ethan stared at him for a few seconds until his friend threw his hands up in the air. "What? Grandma tries to make me watch them, ok?"
It didn't take much more than half an hour longer for Benny's stomach to growl. "...Ok, so maybe I'll take her lame offering of muffins. But I won't give her the satisfaction of knowing I ate them," he proclaimed, heaving himself off of the bed.
"Ok, bring me one too," Ethan called after him, not bothering to look up from the screen.
Benny snuck quietly down the stairs, skipping the ones that squeaked, and bolted into the kitchen. He practically drooled at the smell of the chocolate chip muffins alone. The plate was in the middle of the island, piled high in some strange circular pyramid. Grabbing one off the top, he took a big bite – nearly half of the muffin top.
His eyes nearly rolled back into his head and he chewed as slowly as he could. "Alright, the offering was better than cupcakes," he mumbled to nobody in particular before devouring the rest of the muffin.
He grabbed one for Ethan, and another two for himself as he crept back towards the stairs. Benny paused and cocked an eyebrow at the familiar sounds coming from the TV. He inched closer to the doorway, and almost dropped his muffins.
"Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."
Biting his tongue, Benny raced up the stairs, not so stealthily this time, and missed the girl in the other room stifling laughter. Up in the hallway, he whisper-screamed, "Ethan! Ethaaan!" and threw himself into the room, closing the door.
His mouth agape, he gestured, trying to explain himself, though still keeping a death grip on the muffins. Ethan stared at him blankly before venturing a guess. "Um, somebody fell down a well while swordfighting?"
"No!" Benny cried, exasperated, falling to his knees. "The classic that she was talking about. It's...Star Wars, Episode Four. ...that, and these muffins are delicious."
Ethan stared at him again, while he devoured his second muffin, and tried to process what he was saying. "So...we've been hiding all night-"
"From another NERD!" he cried out again, shaking his head sorrowfully.
Then another thought dawned on him.
"I didn't even check to see if she was hot!"
With that, Benny was out the door, followed by Ethan who got tangled in his chair a little. They stood at the top of the stairs for a second, Benny combing a hand through his already crazy dark hair. "So...you're just assuming she's hot because...?"
"Hey, her voice sounded pretty good, and she did make these muffins," he stated, handing Ethan his slightly squished prize.
Ethan tasted the muffin gingerly, and ended up shrugging in agreement. "Ok, they are pretty good. But if you're going to stand here and not watch Star Wars, go ahead," he half teased, galumphing down the stairs. He stood kind of awkwardly in the doorway, the girl sitting on the couch not bothering to look up.
She smiled, laughing a little, before saying, "After the other guy with the sticky-uppy hair ran by, nearly having a heart attack, I thought you'd come down. Star Wars lovers?"
Benny peered into the room from the staircase, staring at the girl intently. Her hair was short, like she was growing out a pixie cut, and black as night, except for the neon pink tips. The glare on her thick, square-framed glasses didn't let him see her eyes very well, but they did remind him of someone. Deciding he needed a closer look, he hopped over the railing, his signature grin on his face. He interrupted Ethan's answer with a loud, "Hey there! I'm Benny, Benny Weir."
The girl laughed again, pausing the movie to look up this time. "The one who likes my muffins, right? Hey Benny. I'm Leena Stone, just transferred to your school. And my mother managed to get me to babysit within twenty-four hours of moving over the school district line..." she explained, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
Ethan noticeably shifted, and Leena grimaced. "Ah, sorry, not your fault," she said, stretching a little and unbending her legs. She had been sitting Indian-style on the couch, and when she stood up, she the same height as Benny.
Both boys looked at her, and she stuck her tongue out. "Yeah, yeah. I'm huge, dressed like a bum, and watching Star Wars. Any comments and I'm keeping all the muffins," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.
Benny pouted a little, disliking how he couldn't tell if she were hot or not with sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt. "Ok, just no looming over people. And why would we comment on you watching Star Wars?" he asked as he walked into the kitchen, bringing back the plate of muffins. "Other than it being awesome, and Sarah would never agree to watch anything nerdy."
"Ha, well, I'd rather watch this than those stupid Dusk movies that Jane tried to get me to watch," she said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
A muffin fell out of Benny's mouth as he stared at her. "You like Star Wars, hate Dusk, and make incredible muffins? Will you marry me?" he asked, eyes wide and slightly glazed over.
The girl blinked at him, and Ethan scrambled to cover up. "Don't pay any attention to him, he, uh, does that all the time? So, Leena, let's watch the movie?" he tried, before turning to whisper to Benny. "What are you doing? Muffin in mouth, now!"
She giggled at the interchange, and grabbed a muffin, stuffing half of it in her mouth, gesturing at the couch. "Sit," she mumbled through a full mouth.
Benny was still staring at her, and moved closer to look into her face. He squinted as she looked past him to Ethan, her eyebrow raised. "You have really weird eyes."
"Uh, excuse me? Do you want a muffin up your nose?"
He grimaced, shaking his head quickly. "No, I meant they're cool. They're like pale yellow-greenish. I've never seen eyes like that before," he explained, poking her cheekbone. "And your freckles make like a mask around your eyes."
"Yup, don't even need a mask to be a hero, now stop poking me before I bite you."
The hand snapped back to his side faster than she could blink, and she glanced at the scared looks on both boys' faces. "So, are you a friend of Sarah's?" Ethan asked nervously, reaching for a water gun on the coffee table.
"No? Hello, I just moved here. My mom is kind of a weirdo, and she overheard your mom saying she didn't have a babysitter, and practically jumped her," Leena explained, shaking her head in embarrassment. "Now, sit. Watch the movie."
The boys did as they were told, and she sat beside Benny, who thanked the heavens he wouldn't have to talk over his best friend to ask her questions. "So, any other nerdy habits?" he asked, smiling innocently at her.
"Uhm, pretty much everything? Comics, video games, sci-fi, computers, you name it. If only my mom understood..." she replied, rubbing her temples in annoyance. "Just...don't comment when you see me on Monday, ok?"
"As in, don't talk to you? Or-" Ethan asked, still a little nervous. It was hard for him to read this girl.
"What? No, please do. Help me find my classes if I get lost. I just meant about what I'd be wearing. It's...hard to explain. Never underestimate the power of a mother. She just wants me to be normal, in a normal place."
The boys laughed together, exchanging glances. "Riiiight. Normal. That's what Whitechapel is..."