Coraline's mouth hung open as she sat in the kitchen staring at the wall ahead of her. There was nothing to do when her parents were gone. Only, it wasn't like the other time they were gone. No, they were only visiting some gardening convention in California for a month.
A month Coraline would have to spend alone.
Well, not completely alone. Wybie made sure to check up on her pretty much every day.
Wybie.
Coraline's ears turned hot and her cheeks turned an unnatural shade of pink at the thought of her best friend.
"Ugh!" Coraline shouted with exasperation as she banged her head down on the table. "What is wrong with me? I can't think of Wybie that way!" Coraline sat up. "And I don't. Wybie is my best friend, and that is the only way I will ever see him." She said slowly, then nodded to herself in approval.
Three loud knocks at the front door halted her one-way conversation, and Coraline ran half way down the hall. Sliding on her socks the rest of the way.
Coraline yanked open the door to see Wybie's hunched form standing on her porch. She motioned for him to enter.
In the past five years Coraline had known Wybie, both had matured and grown-but Wybie had changed more then she ever would have imagined. While her toothpick figure had filled out and became more curvy, she had only grown but a few inches. Wybie, on the other hand, had shot up at least a foot and a half. His own stick-like limbs becoming more muscular and defined. And while Coraline kept her hair short and continued to dye it blue, Wybie had cycled through many different hair styles, eventually settling for his original look. Their facial feature had also matured, Coraline's freckles had faded nicely, and she finally grew into her ears. Wybie's round face had thinned out, and his smile had become more...charming. More of an alluring young man's enticing smile, rather then a young boy's foolish grin.
"So..." Wybie said as he turned towards Coraline. "What's up?" She tilted her head back in order to look into his eyes. Even with Wybie's hunched posture, he still towered over her.
"Not much." They looked away from each other. The awkwardness of the silence eating away at Coraline's thoughts. "Just...sitting here...being bored. I guess..." Coraline shrugged and searched her mind for something to say. Anything she could possibly say to him. "Uh... Cat... is doing good?"
Wybie tilted his head towards Coraline and smiled, nodding for a moment. "Yeah, Cat's alright.. He still comes to visit you, right?"
"Yeah. I just haven't seen him in a day or two, is all." Wybie nodded again, and another awkward silence devoured the air around them.
"So, uh... You came to talk to me?" Coraline, questioned, determined to end their awkwardness.
"Umm...Yeah! Actually. I came to ask if, you know, you wanted to go camping with me tonight? I have a tent and my own sleeping bag, I even bought a lamp! And, you know, your parents are away and all, I thought you might be a little, well, a little lonely at night, I guess." Wybie's face turned red, partly from asking Coraline to stay in the same room as him, and partly from the embarrassing show he had just displayed.
Coraline stared at him for a moment. "Sure." She shrugged. "I'll go camping with you. We should probably get together a few things first, though." Coraline walked further into her home. "Cummon!" She motioned to Wybie, who then followed her with a triumphant smile on his face.
Thirty minutes later, Wybie and Coraline were walking out of the Pink Palace, and towards their destination; each carrying a large backpack, and a sleeping bag.
After a long walk and a short detour off the path, they reached what would be their camping site. It was nothing special, just a medium sized clearing in the thick woods not too far from the Pink Palace.
They managed to set up their tent and gather enough sticks for the campfire to last all night by the beginning of sundown.
Coraline set up both of their sleeping bags, while Wybie set up the camp fire. (He told her he did it the old fashioned way, but actually, he just used the lighter he brought.) And as Coraline walked out of the tent, Wybie grinned at her and held up and bag of marshmallows, and a bar of chocolate.
Four hours, eighteen s'mores, and countless horribly portrayed campfire stories later, Wybie and Coraline decided it was about time they got some sleep.
Wybie seemed unusually confident as they retreated into their tent, 'Maybe he's on a sugar high?' Coraline wondered, as she watched Wybie zip up the tent, and feeling a little giddy herself.
But her questions faded as they both lay down, and bid each other goodnight.
It was probably around midnight by now-maybe even later. And a still conscious Coraline Watched enviously at Wybie's slow, heavy breathing and she felt as though she had to hold her breath to keep from waking him. The lantern sitting above their heads letting off light shadows to play across his face.
As she watched him, a swelling feeling slowly spread from her stomach up to her throat. Tears made her vision blurry, but never threatened to spill. Coraline could barely breath and before she could realize what was happening, she was shaking Wybie awake and desperately trying to force out the words that were lodged in her throat.
"Wybie!" She finally gasped out, clutching the front of his shirt. "Wybie, please wake up!"
Wybie's eyes snapped open and nearly slammed his head into Coraline's as he shot up to a sitting position. His facial features twisted into panic as he looked around them franticly.
"Coraline! What happened? Are you alright? What's wrong?" Wybie shouted out in one breath, grabbing Coraline's shoulders and inspecting her-making sure she didn't have any injurious.
Coraline shook her head and looked down into her lap as the feelings of panic retreated down her throat. "Nothing." She mumbled, fingers fiddling with the edge of Wybie's sleeping bag. "It was nothing."
Both were still for a moment, then Wybie's hands drifted ever-so-slowly from Coraline's shoulders. "Nothing?" He asked in a low voice, and Coraline lifted her head to meet his gaze.
She immediately regretted it.
Wybie was furious. She had never seen him like this. Coraline couldn't recall a time she'd ever seen him so mad. Sure, Wybie got upset from time to time. But that was just it: he got upset. Coraline didn't even know it was possible for his facial features to look so distorted; so twisted with rage and disbelief.
It took Coraline a moment to proses what Wybie had said as she stared into his piercing stare but eventually she responded with a simple 'yes'.
Wybie's reaction was immediate. He gave an angry growl that both shocked and terrified Coraline as he quickly jumped up and tore open the tent, before stepping out into the brisk night air.
Coraline sits still in shock for a good three minutes, before bringing herself to her feet and tiptoeing out to follow Wybie. She felt sick with regret and tears threatened to spill, but Coraline ignored their presence and stared at the back of Wybie's lanky form.
"I think I should go home." She finally said after Wybie's breathing evened. Coraline stared at her feet for a minute, and when she received no response, she headed back towards the side of the tent where they had placed their backpacks for the night.
"No." Wybie stopped her, still not turning to meet her gaze. "You're staying here."
Coraline hadn't the slightest idea what she was supposed to do. Wybie had never said anything to her in that tone. Never said anything of the sort. Never sounded so demanding.
So, she stood as still as possible, and waited. Waited for something to happen. Coraline waited for Wybie to say something. Anything. As long as he spoke to her, he didn't even need to make sense.
"You're so selfish sometimes," Wybie mumbled, granting her plea. Coraline waited for him to elaborate. "There are sometimes I think you don't even realize how much you mean to me." He turned toward her, the expressions of worry and hurt took turns stabbing at her heart. "You scared the crap out of me, Coraline. I know it sounds stupid, but..for a minute there, I thought I lost you." Wybie turned his back toward her again. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you."
Neither of them spoke for a while.
Coraline mustered up all the courage she possessed in her less-then-confident state, and walked toward Wybie. Wrapping her thin arms around his left bicep, and resting her cheekbone on his shoulder. "You wont loose me."
Coraline awoke later that night, when she realized she couldn't move. Panic struck her as she felt something holding her down. She turned her head sharply and admittedly froze. Laying with his arms flopped over her waist, hair in disarray and nightshirt pulled up far enough to be considered a bra, was Wybie.
Coraline smiled and rolled her eyes as she turned back over and went to sleep.