Massachusetts, USA
1942

"Come on, Beats!" Grace urged her sister, tugging on their entwined arms. "Hurry up!"

Beatrice scoffed. "Don't call me that," she snapped, pulling away from her sister and stubbornly folding her arms over her chest. "And stop pestering me!"

Grace let out an exasperated sigh. "Come on, Beatrice. I want to make it home before sunset."

Beatrice jabbed a bony finger over her shoulder. "Well, home's that way. You're pulling me off in the wrong direction, you fool."

Grace rolled her eyes and grabbed at her sister's hand. "The sweet shop's this way, though, so let's get a move on!"

Disgruntled, Beatrice allowed her sister to drag her down the street, her slipper-clad feet slapping against the cobblestone lane. She grumbled under her breath, muttering lividly about her sister's obsession with sugar. She honestly didn't know where she'd gotten it from, her abnormal fondness of sweets. Beatrice herself thought them to be a waste of a penny and a needless decay in the tooth. Many indignant protests had lead to aimless arguments, and any attempts to liberate her sister's eccentricity had been futile, but still, Beatrice wondered what it was that lead Grace to a frenzy whenever a bar of chocolate was in the vicinity.

"We're almost there!" Grace called, turning her head back to glance at her sister. "Oh, don't look so wretched, Beatrice. It's only a sweet shop."

Beatrice crinkled her nose in disdain. "That's precisely why-"

But she was cut off when she walked straight into Grace's back, and despite being a head taller than her younger sister, found her nose buried in a mop of thick curls.

"Grace Cahill, I swear-" she began, but her sister had already hurried through the sweet shop door, the bell overhead chiming upon her entrance. With a huff and a snort, she followed the sound of her sister's thrilled voice into the dreaded store and was immediately engulfed in a saccharine stench that left a sickening, acidic tang in the back of her throat. She chocked back a gag as she spotted her sister's head above the rows on rows of sweets and made her way through the throng of children to the toffee stand. Grace held a brown paper bag in one hand, and with the other she began methodically rifling through the array of toffees and bars of fudge. Beatrice opened her mouth to chide her sister for her ignorance, but Grace skipped off before she had the chance. Beatrice threw her hands up with a simultaneous cry of exasperation and followed her sister around the store while she collected an assortment of bonbons and gumdrops, licorice and caramel, and finally, to Beatrice's dismay, chocolate. Beatrice shuddered as Grace picked up a rather large block of the awful poison and studied the label carefully.

"Honestly, Grace," she chastised, "don't you have enough already? You'll make yourself sick."

Grace gave her sister an amused grin. "Well, I can't eat it all at once, now, can I? Do stop worrying yourself."

"But why chocolate, of all things? You've more than you need."

Grace smirked, cocking an eyebrow. "Because chocolate is delicious. You can't do wrong with a block or two. Don't worry, I'll share some with you."

Beatrice scowled, eying the chocolate display with detest. "You know I can't stand the horrid thing. It's vile, and I don't understand how you can bear to eat it, let alone willingly."

Grace laughed with glee and pushed by her sister, waving the bar of chocolate under her nose as she passed.

"Come along, Beatrice," she called, and Beatrice detected a hint of amusement in her voice. "I need to pay for my horrid chocolate and then we can be gone from this place."

Beatrice stomped after her sister, knowing there was no hope in saving her from her ridiculous affliction and unfathomable sweet tooth.

Dan awoke from the odd dream and was instantly overwhelmed with the desire to raid the cupboards for skittles.

Fin.

This is for Sri Starlz's contest, "Remembering Grace". The idea came to me when I was eating a sherbet lemon and trying to think of an idea for the contest, and I thought this was an idea as to where Dan got his obsession with sugar and junk food from.

Hope you like it :)