It's taking me longer to do the second family meeting because I have to do more research for it, so bear with me and accept this chapter as an apology.
Haldør woke up suddenly to someone violently shaking him. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was almost two in the morning.
"Is something wrong Erik?" he grumbled, trying to turn on his bedside light in the dark. When he finally managed to luminate the room he realized it wasn't his brother who woke him up.
"Alfred, what are you…"
"Shhh, turn out the light! I don't even want to think of what your brother will do to me if he finds me here this late at night." Even whispering Alfred's voice was louder than most. Haldør turned off the light and heard Alfred moving around his room.
"So, what are you doing here at this hour?" Haldør was used to Alfred's crazy antics, but this was the first time he had broken into his house.
"I'm stealing you away. C'mon, get some shoes on, we can head out the window."
"What? That doesn't really explain anything…"
"Shh, you trust me right? Just follow me, okay?" Haldør sighed and left his warm bed to retrieve his pair of boots. He walked over to his closet as Alfred lifted his window up and removed the screen with a small pop. Quickly pulling the boots on, he watched as Alfred dropped down to the ground below. Moving to the window, Haldør suddenly realized how high up the second story was.
"It's fine, I'll catch you," Alfred called up, as if he sensed Haldør's hesitation. Haldør climbed through so he was sitting on the windowsill, and without looking down, jumped. In less than a second he had Alfred's arms around his thighs, his feet a good couple inches off the ground.
"See, I caught you. Now c'mon! I want to make sure we have an ample amount of time."
"I still have no idea what's going on."
"It's a surprise, don't worry. It's nothing illegal either."
"Well, that puts my mind at ease." Sarcasm was dripping off each letter in that statement.
"Seriously, it's nothing bad, and I'm hoping you'll actually enjoy it." Haldør noticed they were heading to the woods connected to the neighborhood park.
"Are we burying a body?"
"I told you it wasn't anything illegal!"
"Burying a body isn't illegal, only killing the body is."
"Well, it's nothing that should get us into too much trouble."
"Now you're suggesting we will get in trouble."
"No, I'm not. Stop being difficult and follow me." Alfred had veered off the running trail and was pushing through bramble and dead branches.
"Really? Off the path? No matter what you say, this still seems shady to me."
"Well, we're here so you can stop your worrying." Alfred held back a branch and Haldør stumbled through to find a clearing. Alfred sat down in the middle of it and pulled Haldør down with him.
"So, now will you explain what we're doing?"
"Look." Alfred pointed to the sky and let his top half sink to the ground. Haldør followed his command and was amazed at what he saw.
"No outside lights means we get to see every one of these beauties. Sirius is there, meaning Venus will be right there. It's the really bright one with a sort of red hue to it. That's the main reason why I brought you out here tonight." Haldør watched as Alfred pointed from one star to the next, explaining the name and approximately how far away it was. Some of them had stories behind them as well, which he briefly touched upon before moving his attention elsewhere.
"And it's currently in the Aries stage, so you can see that constellation right there." Why Haldør had to be best friends with a space geek, he didn't know. However, he completely enjoyed it…for the most part. He was still tired, and the fact he had to get up early tomorrow morning didn't help.
"Hey Alfred, I'm tired…" Haldør murmured before he gave in to sleep. When he awoke, he was surprised to find himself back in his bed. Maybe I just dreamed it. I mean, no way Alfred could have gotten me back in my bed without waking someone up. It was a strange dream though…
The whole ordeal got pushed to the back of his mind as he prepared for school.
Alfred wasn't there before first period, which wasn't' unusual since the swim team practiced before school. Haldør didn't have a chance to see him until fourth period gym. They had classes opposite each other, so while they didn't have the same teacher they still got to talk in the locker room before and after class.
"You were pretty beat up last night, huh?" Alfred came from the second floor so it took him longer to arrive that Haldør who had a free period on the first floor.
"Wait, if that actually happened, how did I end up in my bed without any trouble?" Haldør was both impressed and slightly frightened now of Alfred's abilities.
"I'm not the main athlete in this school for nothing. Anyways, did you enjoy our little expedition?"
"Yeah, though I was really tired and having school the next day didn't help."
"Well, next time I kidnap you in the middle of the night, I'll make sure it's a weekend. I just really wanted you to see Venus. It's the planet of love you know?" Alfred winked before jogging out of the locker room, leaving Haldør confused and slightly late.
