Title: Of See-Saws and Swingsets
Author: Ashley K.
Disclaimer: Yeah, I own the copyrights to Cruel Intentions. And I'm also a three foot alien. Right. I own nothing and I made nothing on this.

The park was full of laugher and sunshine. It was the perfect fall day; not too cold, but not too warm. The few remaining birds were chirping, the leaves were just turning colors. It truly was the perfect day for an outing to the park.

Unless you were Sebastian Valmont.

Then it was a miserable day, as all days were miserable. At seven (and a half) the boy was alone. His nanny was off, talking to one of her nanny friends, not paying too much attention to her surly young charge. The other children were vapid and disgusting. It would have been much nicer to have just stayed at home, where all of his toys where.

Instead, Nanny Lisa had to drag Sebastian outdoors and to the park.

Sighing heavily, Sebastian sauntered over to the see-saw, where two other little boys were joyfully going up and down. "What's the point in this?" he cruelly asked, sneering at his peers.

"Its fun," one of the boys insisted. "Wanna try it?"

Sebastian smirked. If he had to be here, he might as well have some fun. "Sure," he answered, shrugging. The first boy carefully jumped off, giving his partner plenty of time to slowly lower himself down to the ground. Jumping hard, the second boy let the vacant spot teeter to Sebastian's height. Grabbing it and pulling with all of his slight weight, Sebastian crawled onto the plank.

Up and down they went. Sebastian barely suppressed a yawn. 'Time for some real fun,' he thought, as he quickly jumped off his seat, causing his partner to hit the ground. Hard.

"Well, as much fun as that *wasn't,*" Sebastian started, ignoring the glares he got, "I'm going to go find some real fun."

A little girl, about six years old, was quietly swinging on the nearby swing set, by herself. Sebastian smiled as he casually walked to the swing next to her.

"You can't use that one," the girl sing-songed, as she pumped herself to a higher and higher level.

"And why not?" Sebastian asked, a cross look marring his features.

"Because you're a smelly, mean boy and I don't like you," she answered, not looking at him.

"So?"

Sighing, the girl dragged her feet in the sand, slowly stopping. Once she was motionless, she turned in the swing, staring straight at him. 'Boys,' she thought. "Because," she started, her tone suggesting that she went through this conversation daily, "it's *mine.* This whole swing set is *mine.* And I don't like other people playing with my things. So get off!"

Sebastian watched, in a sort of detached amusement, as the smaller girl pushed him with all her might. He almost fell. "Well now *I* want it."

"No," she said, sticking her lower lip out in a pout.

"What's your name?" Sebastian asked, still not moving.

"Katherine," she answered, a suspicious look entering her eyes. "Why?"

"Because I don't see your name on this swing set. I don't see anyone's name on this swing set. I guess you're going to have to share," Sebastian said, slightly smug, as he started swinging.

Taken aback, Katherine frowned, not sure of what to say. "Asshole," she muttered underneath her breath. It was one of the words her nanny told her never to say, but that boy made her so mad, she just had to. "What's your name?" she suddenly asked.

"Sebastian," he answered, gaining higher and higher heights. "I betcha I can swing higher than you. You're just a girl, anyway."

"You cannot," Katherine answered. 'Sebastian. I'm going to marry him someday,' she thought. Her mommy told her that she could only marry a man who would stand up against her, because, if he didn't, he had to be weak and useless. And Sebastian was the only boy who had ever stood up against her. Not to mention his pretty blue eyes made her insides go gooey.

Sebastian watched as Katherine started swinging, gaining height at a surprising speed. Once they were at the same exact level, he jumped.

Katherine rolled her eyes and jumped as well, only adding a somersault mid-air. "Just a girl, huh?"

The two new friends laughed and ran back to their swings. Sebastian smiled, this was the first time in his short life he ever felt like he belonged, ever felt that somebody knew what he was going through.

"Sebastian!" Nanny Lisa called. "Sebastian, its time to go home!"

Sebastian rolled his eyes and sighed. "I hate my nanny," he confided to Katherine. "She's terrible. I think I'm gonna get her fired."

"You can do that?" Katherine asked, green eyes wide with amazement.

"Yep," Sebastian answered, grimly. "Until then, however, I have to go play nice. It was nice swinging with you."

"Bye," Katherine said, wincing at the slightly hopeful tone to her voice.

Sebastian smiled and waved as he walked towards his nanny. Katherine watched him go, a slight smile on her face. She kept staring in the direction he left for a long time.

"Katherine?" Katherine jumped, startled. She turned around and saw her mommy.

"Mommy!" Katherine squealed with delight. Her mother was the best woman on the earth and Katherine looked up to her. "Where have you been?!" she asked, a slight pout on her face.

"I had a date," Tiffani answered, hugging her small daughter.

"Who?" Katherine asked, frowning deeply. She didn't like her mother's dates. They were fake and treated her as if she didn't exist.

"A friend of a friend's," Tiffani replied. She was raising Katherine as she had been raised; treated like an adult at all times. "His name is Troy Valmont."

END