AN: You know what the hardest thing about writing the next two chapters was for me? Purposely writing out Edgar's grammar and spelling mistakes, haha.

Week 2: Tolerance

A week had passed, and Edgar was improving faster than anybody in the family would have ever thought possible. However, as much as he had improved, it was difficult to get him to speak openly. Frequent mistakes and Meredith's gentle, yet constant correcting made him feel hesitant to reach out and converse with other people, but he could manage if he tried hard enough. He was rather unconfident when speaking and had to pause after every other word to mentally check if his next word was appropriate or not, but he seemed to understand a little better than he could speak. He knew everyone in the family and could say their names when he needed something, but he struggled to make the "sh" sound in Shelley's name.

As Meredith got to know him better, she found that he was instinctively quiet and withdrawn, sensitive, observant of others, very gentle and a very caring boy. Although he hadn't and probably wouldn't fully open up to her for a while longer, he trusted Meredith the most. He seemed to also enjoy her daughter's company, but he was too afraid to let it show. Shelley radiated exasperation and annoyance wherever she went, and he sensed it. He always observed her carefully from a distance though, and she in turn observed him with slight hostility, though Meredith simply attributed this to the fact that Shelley was too thick-headed to forgive him for damaging her relationship with Rick. Everyday Shelley would come home, tell her mother about her day for a few minutes, go get a snack from the fridge, and go upstairs and lock herself in the room. Edgar would sometimes follow her around the house in hopes of getting her attention, just as he often would with Mrs. Parker. The only difference was, whereas Mrs. Parker didn't mind at all when he tagged along wherever she went, Shelley found it incredibly annoying, and even a little creepy. She tolerated it for a few days, but when her pleas for her mother to come save her continually failed, she decided she had had enough.

"Mom, your ugly little pet is freaking me out! He won't leave me alone!"she yelled when he accidentally almost followed her into the bathroom.

"He's just curious, dear. He wants you to come down and play with him,"she called back.

"Mom, I don't have time to play with him! He's your pet, not mine!"she said, pushing him away even though he was a good four feet away, snapping, "DON'T TOUCH ME! Go back downstairs! Bad bat boy!" He stared at her curiously, not really understanding why she was wagging her finger at him. He simply remained where he was, waiting to see if she would explain herself.

"Augh! You're so stupid, you don't even know when you're being stupid! You're the dumbest, most annoying pet we've ever had!"she shouted, exasperated. She gave him one last mean glare, then quickly shut the door on him, leaving him alone outside to wonder what he had done wrong to make her hate him so. He never quite understood everything that she was saying, but he did understand that his presence was causing tension, and it made him feel inferior to everyone because someone could hate him without a reason.

Toward the end of the week, Edgar noticed that Shelley was coming home later and later - usually around the time Dr. Parker came home from work. Meredith seemed annoyed; Dr. Parker indifferent. He would sometimes hear Shelley and Mrs. Parker getting into fights when they didn't think he could hear or understand them. Mrs. Parker would tell Shelley that Rick's attitude was starting to rub off on her, and that he was making her neglect her family and her responsibilities. Shelley would argue that Edgar wasn't her responsibility, and that her mother should be happy she and Rick were so close now, not asking her to come home and babysit her new pet. Edgar didn't quite understand all of it, but he wanted to. He wanted to make everything okay between he and Shelley, so she wouldn't look at him like she did and he would know how to not bother her.

Today was another one of those days when Shelley simply hadn't come home after school. He crouched on the floor with Meredith, studying the words she held up and trying his best to read them. Mrs. Parker didn't like it when he crouched, but he hated sitting the way she told him to. Sometimes she got tired of reminding him all the time, and he would crouch for as long as he possibly could before she remembered and told him to sit properly.

"Come on, Edgar. You remember this. We did it yesterday,"she said gently.

"D-duck?"he asked unsurely, glancing unsurely up at her.

"That's right! Good job!" Somewhere on a different side of the house, Edgar heard the door slam. He sat up, his ears perking up as he listened for the sound of Shelley's footsteps.

"Meredith?"a man's voice called. It was Dr. Parker. Edgar slouched back down in disappointment.

"We're in here!" called, turning to a new card, "Alright dear, let's show Dr. Parker what a good reader you are."

"Buuuh-ket. Bucket,"he said, a little more confidently.

"Very good!"

"Looks like he's coming along pretty well,"Thomas commented, shrugging off his work coat as he stepped into the living room.

"He's already reading,"Meredith said proudly, "He's already gone through all of Shelley's baby books."

"That's incredible,"he answered, looking at Meredith, not Edgar, "The credit goes all to you, of course."

"Well, he's a hard worker and a fast learner,"Meredith said, beaming at Edgar, "Isn't that right, Edgar?" He stared at her quizzically, having not understood what exactly she had asked him. Meredith waited a moment for him to answer, then turned back to Thomas.

"Well, we're done for now,"she said, "I suppose I better go start dinner..."

"Where's Shelley?"Thomas asked, following her into the kitchen.

"At Rick's house, where else?"

"She's been spending a lot of time with that boy, lately..."

"I know...And it's strange; just last week she was telling me they were having problems."

"You don't think she's...?"

"You know, I don't really know what to think anymore." Edgar watched them both speak for a while, completely unnoticed by those around him. He loved just listening to people talk. Mrs. Parker would always slow down her speech so he could understand her, but he would always try to catch familiar words when she was talking fast like now. They both spoke with such grace and fluidity; he found it remarkable. He wanted to be able to talk like that someday.

Edgar heard Shelley come through the front door before anybody else did. His ears perked up at the sound of the door creaking open, her light foot stepping carefully over the threshold. Quickly he looked down, pretending to be studying. His plan was to keep looking down and pretend to read so she would walk in and see him working hard on his English. But as he listened to the sounds of her footsteps approach, he looked up at the last second, wanting to see if she was looking. She walked by without even looking at him.

"Shelley, is that you?"Meredith called from the kitchen. Shelley froze on the foot of the stairs.

"Um...yeah, I just got back from Rick's!"she said quickly. Edgar stared at her, sensing that something wasn't quite right, but not understanding what. She was jumpy and her cheeks were flushed, and for some reason she couldn't stop smiling. He understood then that this "Rick" must make Shelley happy.

At that moment, Shelley seemed to suddenly notice Edgar staring at her. She turned her head and glared at him, waiting for him to say something. He didn't know what to do. His tongue froze and his mind went blank. All he could do was embarrass himself and stare blankly at her.

"What are you staring at me for?"she finally asked, turning her head and hurrying up the stairs. He watched her go, feeling a hard lump form in his throat as he realized that he had once again, without quite knowing how, done something to make her dislike him.

Dr. Parker came to feed Edgar before dinner. When Edgar was finished, he went back to the living room to study while the rest of the family ate in the dining room. He wasn't really studying though. He was thinking of ways to make Shelley not look at him angrily.

He tried as hard as he could to form the right words to talk to her. He didn't want to mess this up. Usually when he talked, he would have to think hard about what word should go next. He couldn't do that with her. He had to show her that he could get it right if he tried. He sat hard and thought, waiting for dinner to end so she would come out, half wishing she wouldn't so he would have more time. He didn't even know how people made friends. He didn't know anything except that he didn't want her to give him those looks anymore.

His hands were shaking with nervousness by the time she finally emerged from the kitchen, looking preoccupied and avoiding eye contact with him. He moved toward her, then withdrew, remembering how annoyed she would get if he got too close to her. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out at first. He struggled to clear his throat just as she was walking past him.

"H-heh-lo, Selley,"he finally managed, greeting her quietly and forcing a weak smile for her. She rolled her eyes, walking right past him.

"It's Shelley!"she sighed, "For once, get it right..." She began to go up the stairs, but Edgar stopped her halfway, holding on to the railing to balance him so he could stand up straight like Mrs. Parker had taught him. He felt off balance, his legs weak and unstable, like he would fall over any second.

"Selley?"he called to her, "Selley, um, wait, pwease." Shelley slowly turned around, annoyed.

"What?"she asked grudgingly, her foot poised on the next stair.

"I...um...may I...ask question?"he asked, his voice barely audible. Shelley could see him turning pink as he looked down at the ground, afraid to look her in the eye. He shouldn't have done this. He shouldn't have even tried. He was going to mess up, and then she would never like him...

"I guess,"she sighed, impatient to get upstairs. He hesitated, awkwardly shuffling his feet. When he looked up he could see that she was giving him that annoyed look, the one that scared him. He quickly looked down, feeling his stomach tie itself into tight knots. Here it goes, he thought.

"Um...I know I...stwange,"he began nervously, "And I... not smart like you, and I no... talk vewy good and... know no big word, but...um...would you be my fwen?" Shelley stared at him, a blank expression on her face at first.

"You know, you don't really ask people to be your friend. They just are." He stared at her, dumbfounded for a moment. He visibly slumped forward. This was not the response he had been hoping for.

"Oh, um...I sowey,"he said quietly after a while, "I... not know."

"Well, now you do,"she said, sighing with exasperation, "Yeah, sure. Fine, whatever. I'll be your friend." Edgar stared at her, hardly believing what she was saying.

"...Weally?"he asked, and suddenly his whole face broke out into a huge smile as he realized she was serious.

"Sure, I don't care,"she sighed, shrugging indifferently, "Just don't bother me." She turned around to head back up the stairs.

"Um, what fwens do?"he asked, forcing her to stop. She looked beyond annoyed when he asked this. He felt his confidence plummet.

"They leave people alone and don't ask stupid questions, that's what,"she muttered with an exasperated sigh.

"Oh...,"he said, disappointed, "I never... have fwen... before. That...why I...ask." At this Shelley's face dropped a little.

"...Seriously?"she asked, "Never?"

"I...no tink so,"he replied thoughtfully.

"Well...that really sucks,"she said bluntly. He stared at her, not having a clue what "sucks" meant. However, by the look on her face, he could tell that whatever he had just said obviously couldn't be a good thing.

"Is..dat...bad?"he asked, tilting his head to the side. She shrugged, looking away. Edgar watched the foot that had been poised on the next stair drop to ground level, and immediately he relaxed.

"It's just sad, that's all,"she said, shrugging indifferently again, as if to try and make up for the emotion that she suddenly felt for him. "Wait...so are you really understanding everything I'm saying, or are you just B.S. all of this?"

"Wha'...B.S...mean?"he asked.

"Eh, my parents wouldn't want me teaching you that,"she said, quickly shaking her head.

"Oh..."

"So?"she pressed, "Are you making this all up yourself or did you get help from my mom?" She spoke so fast, Edgar had to pause a moment to try and figure out what she was saying.

"Um, no..."

"No what? No, you're doing this on your own, or no, you got help from my mom?"she pressed. His head spun, she spoke so much faster than he was used to.

"No, I no...um...got...help,"he said, trying to sound confident even though he wasn't. Shelley continued to stare at him, as if measuring his truthfulness with her eyes. He seemed to understand her, and yet, she still had difficulty believing that he was as smart as her mother claimed he was. Even still, she could tell he was trying.

"...Well, you talk pretty good. For a bat boy, anyway,"she finally conceded, "I didn't know you had gotten that good so fast." When Edgar heard this, all he could do was weakly smile, the happiness he felt for having finally met her approval dragged down by the fact that she thought that she still considered him to be just a bat boy.

"Tank you...,"he said sheepishly, "Um...could you..help me, Selly?" He didn't know what possessed him to ask such a bold question. For a moment he thought she would laugh at him for asking. In the next moment, he thought for sure she would tell him flat-out no.

"Um...I guess. If I have time,"she said instead, shrugging, "Come to think of it, my mom would probably get off my back if I just sucked it up and helped for one day. I guess I can help tomorrow after school, if you want...Just for a little bit, though." Edgar stared at her, too shocked to think of something to say right away.

"O-okay,"he said, still flabbergasted, "Tank you."

"Yeah. So...I guess I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay,"he answered, glancing up to meet her gaze, "Good nie, Selley."

She didn't bother answering him, but even so, he had never felt so happy.