Winds of Change-A Monsters, Inc. fanfic
Chapter 10
A week later, Randall was drinking a cup of coffee on Saturday until he heard a knock on the door. He set down his mug and waddled over to the door. After he opened it, his neutral frown turned up.
"Ned!"
"Randy!"
Ned looked about the same. He looked just like Randall, but more happy-looking. His skin was light green and the tips of his fronds were orange as well as his tail. He never seemed to change.
They embraced as soon as they saw each other. "Wow, it's been so long." Ned said happily.
"Yeah," Randall sniffed. "It has."
"Randy," Ned said. "Little bro, are you crying?"
Randall sniffed again. "No,"
"Don't lie to me, Little Randy." Ned said as he let go of Randall to look at him.
Randall blinked his eyes to force back his tears when he faced Ned and let out a chuckle. "I guess I am. But it has been quite a long while."
"Aww, Randy," Ned said as he hugged him again.
"Come in," Randall said as he directed his brother into his apartment. As Ned walked in, he smiled looking around the interior.
"Wow," he said. "It looks cleaner than the last time I came."
"You think so?"
"Yeah," Ned scoffed jokingly. "Before, this apartment used to be dusty; you hardly used it."
"Yeah," Randall nodded with an unsure smile. "It was work that consumed me. Which is what I should tell you."
"Let's sit down and you tell me what's been going on." Ned said. "I smell coffee; you got coffee?"
"Why would I not?" Randall said and poured a cup for his brother and refilled his own.
Then they sat on Randall's couch and he told Ned all that's happened since he told him not to come to visit him again. He told him about the secret project he was working on, which was the reason why he became so edgy and nasty. He told him about the countless hours he spent every night working on the damned Scream Extractor machine and how he wanted to test it on one of the children he scared regularly. He told everything up to the point where he came back from exile months later. Ned always listened intently and asked very few questions here and there, but otherwise was so polite enough not to interrupt his story Randall was telling his brother.
Then he began talking about Vanessie, up to where they made up with each other.
"Wow," Ned said with a smirk. "She must be very humble, considering she forgave you."
"She was. I even told her that she didn't have to forgive me, but she opened up and told me her problems and how she wanted to fix them. So we found that we were both victims of a troubled past."
"I see," Ned nodded. "So this Vanessie is the one you have eyes for."
"Yeah," Randall said with a sad sigh.
"Something wrong?" Ned asked, his expression now concerned.
Randall touched where his scar still lay under his eye, but almost out of sight, and remembered Vanessie's gentle touch there. "I might've sounded like an idiot to her."
"Why? What happened?"
"Vanessie's very poetic," Randall said. "Yesterday, while she was taking care of her human, she told the girl a story about me, and she described me."
"What'd she say?"
He remembered the words by heart. "She thought that 'they are the closest thing to looking at the most perfect picture I've ever seen. To me, they're more vibrant than the sun... And more lovely than the greenest grass.'"
"And what's wrong with that? She thinks your eyes are great. We both got mom's gorgeous eyes." Ned chuckled.
"Nothing. Nothing's wrong with that." Randall said. "She made me feel better about my eyes. You know how much I used to hate them."
"Oh, yeah," Ned said, then laughed. "You used to say as a kid that you didn't like the color because it reminded you of snot."
"Ned, I'm serious."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot. You're the serious brother. Sorry, I got carried away. So what is bothering you about her compliment, then?"
Randall sighed before he admitted. "I couldn't think of anything to say about her eyes... Of her, for that matter."
"That's what you're fussing about?"
"Ned," Randall said. "I wanted to say something to her. But... She makes me so nervous."
"Yeah, you were never the most expressive person I know." Ned said before he took a sip of his coffee. "But hey, you do love this girl. Maybe soon you'll have the courage to think of something clever to compliment her. I'm sure she's the patient kind."
"She is," Randall said with a deep breath. "I could talk to her so easily... I love how she just listens to me and helps me understand things..."
"Yeah, you are in love," Ned grinned. "Do you know if... Y'know, she feels the same?"
Randall then thought about it. He thought so according to how many times he's seen her do her nervous habits around him. She did so a few times to a few co-workers, given how shy she still was, but she mostly did them in front of Randall only. Also the way she spoke, she did a certain way to Randall. She spoke so casually to other co-workers, but with him, she was more heartfelt in some way, like she wanted to talk to him about something that she knew she couldn't to the others. But then he remembered the time the last week when it was Vanessie who broke the trance they both had when they stared at each other. She did say that she loved his eyes, but that was just one subject.
"I'm not sure. Sometimes I think she does, but sometimes I think she doesn't." Randall says. "She does her nervous habit around me a lot, though."
"What's the nervous habit?"
"Anything with her hair." Randall said, faintly smiling. "She would twirl a strand of her bangs on her finger, push her bangs away from her face, all that jazz."
"So she constantly does that nervous habit around you?" Ned asked. "I think she is crushing on you."
"But that's about the nervous thing she does. Besides that, there's nothing else that tells me that she could have feelings for me, too." Randall said. "I mean, I'm not sure if she could tell, but I believe she has, that I sometimes talk awkwardly around her, especially when we talk about something... Y'know, personal."
"I don't think she could be THAT oblivious." Ned chuckled. "How about this: I'll evaluate you two."
"You're saying that as an excuse to meet her, are you?"
"Maybe, but you also want your brother's opinion on something like this?" Ned grinned.
"I guess." Randall mused. "But you better not embarrass me."
"Randy, I've never embarrassed you before. Besides, I know how much you're concerned for this girl, so don't worry about it." Ned said reassuringly.
"Thanks." Randall said, smiling again.
A minute passed in silence when Ned only stared at his little brother. Randall tried to ignore him by not looking at him, but then caught his gaze, asking, "What?"
"Call her up, Randy." Ned said urgently. "You promised me I'd meet her and I'm here already. You're not scared, are you?"
"For once I am."
Vanessie came back from her brief walk to her mailbox in the apartment complex and was flipping through her envelopes when she heard a mew as she opened her door.
"Chimmy, shhh." she said looking down. "You're not supposed to be here, so keep quiet."
"Mrrroooow..." the kitten mewed in a whining fashion.
"Baby, I already gave you your food and water. What else do you want?" she asked, closing the door behind her and setting her envelopes on her table.
The cat mewed as she rubbed herself against Vanessie's legs.
"You want mommy, huh?"
"Mow." Chimmy mewed looking up to Vanessie with her large yellow-green eyes.
"Okay, if I pet you, will you keep quiet?"
Chimmy didn't answer. Instead, she walked away from Vanessie's legs to the sun-spilled carpet next to the windows and flopped down on the floor, stretching and looking at her owner as if saying, "I'm waiting."
"Hija de su madre." Vanessie muttered with an airy laugh and bent down to pet her baby's fuzzy belly.
The batcat stretched in pleasure and mewed, making Vanessie giggle. Chimmy flipped the other side and pleadingly lifted her paws to her face and dilating her pupils, making herself look irresistibly cute.
"¿Quién es mí floja?" Vanessie asked.
"Mow." Chimmy replied, flipping over again like a pancake.
"Look at you," Vanessie pet Chimmy's tummy again. "So lazy. You don't have to worry about anything but eating and sleeping. I wish I were you."
"Mow," Chimmy mewed, then smirked at her owner, stretching happily.
"Mira, que malosa." the loch ness laughed. "You better not get me in trouble. If the landlord sees you, you won't have this carpet to sleep on."
"Mow."
"Meh, you don't care. You're just a baby AND a cat. What do you have to worry about?"
Just then, Vanessie's phone rang. Both she and Chimmy looked up at the sound.
"Mew." Chimmy said, as if imploring her owner not to answer and focus her attention on her.
"Chimmy, it could be Randy. I can't ignore him." Vanessie smiled. "Not everything's about you."
At that, the kitten got up and stubbornly walked away with a snooty attitude of her back legs like a lady who got rejected. Vanessie giggled at her cat and got up to run to the phone and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Van."
Vanessie laughed softly. She loved to hear Randall's voice. "Hi, Randy. What's new?"
"Well, my brother came,"
"Oh, he did?" Vanessie said contently. "That's great! How are you two?"
"We're doing great, thanks. Catching up on a lot here."
"That's good." she smiled.
"Listen, Ned wants to meet you. You think the three of us could go to Hidden City in the afternoon?"
"Oh, yeah, sure!" Vanessie said, twirling a strand of her bangs in her finger daintily. "At six?"
"That sounds perfect."
"Can't wait." Vanessie said.
She then heard a light laugh from Randall, which made a warm feeling in her chest, making her giggle back. She didn't know why; anything Randall did made her laugh. It was probably his serious nature. She thought he should lighten up a bit, but she knew Randall was all about seriousness. She liked him that way.
"I guess I'll see you there then."
"And Ned, too."
She heard a brief silence, then, "Oh, yeah, of course. Ned."
She laughed again. "I'll see you two later. Bye."
"You, too. Bye."
When Vanessie hung up, she looked across the room behind her and saw Chimmy staring at her with her wide eyes, now jealous.
"What do you think, Chimmy? You think he likes me?"
The batcat simply trotted to the sun-warm carpet again and flopped down on top of it.
"Ah, yes," Vanessie rolled her eyes. "'I don't care, just pay attention to me, mommy.'"
"Mow," Chimmy replied, flipping over her other side.
"What'd she say?" Ned asked, elbowing his younger brother.
"Yeah, we're meeting at Hidden City Café." Randall told him. "Did I sound like an idiot?"
"Oh, Randy, you put yourself down too much." Ned patted Randall's back. "You sounded clumsy, but definitely not an idiot."
Randall liked how honest his brother is. Also how reassuring he is as well. "You sure?"
"Yeah," Ned said with a smile. "Besides, did you just hear her? She laughed, and not the kind of laugh like she's making fun of you, but one that implies that she likes your clumsy chatter."
He never thought about that. He probably did put himself down too much. Maybe he does have to be a bit more lighthearted. He then remembered Vanessie's laugh through the phone. He smiled.
"Thanks, Ned."
"Now, that was just the phone call I evaluated," Ned said. "Let's just see when you're with her. Now, THAT ought to be good."
"You want to be so entertained, are you?"
"Will it be that entertaining?" Ned joked.
Randall chucked. "How do you know so much about girls?"
"Because they liked me better." Ned smirked. "I could see it, but they never told me."
"They told me."
"Really?"
"Yeah. In middle AND high school. They always asked me about you."
"Oh, did they? And why didn't you tell me?"
"And give away my big brother? No way." Randall grinned.
"You son of a gun."
Randall chuckled again.
"Well, maybe this time, this girl has it for you. And I AM willing to give away my brother to her, being the more mature one." Ned said pridefully.
"Yeah. Says the guy who openly said how 'sexy hot' Vanessie's mom was."
"Now, you agreed with me at that time. We were kids and we were immature then."
"But you said it. I only agreed so you wouldn't be alone."
"You still agreed in the end."
"You can still crush on Nessie, cause I got her daughter." Randall joked.
Vanessie arrived at the café, with a leather jacket and a fedora along with her bag she brought along with her, a few minutes before six and told her boss that she was expecting visitors. She stepped outside to sit on the tables on the outside, preferring the calm winter breeze. It was a little chilly, but the warm sun made up for it and thought it was quite perfect for a winter day.
To wait for Randall and his brother to come, she took out her sketchpad and a 6B pencil and tapped her chin with her pencil as she contemplated what to draw.
With nothing in mind, she began drawing a circle lightly. Then she drew another one beside it. Then she decided to draw Randall and tried to remember his notable features. She went on to draw his face and his jaw, then his long neck. She proceeded to put more detail to his face, like his fronds, his eyes and more emphasis on his scales.
Then she couldn't help it; she took out a green colored pencil, eager to color in Randall's hypnotizing yet beautiful green eyes. She treated the eyes with care, paying attention to the detail and shading of his eyes, wanting to make them at least close to the real thing. But she knew she could never get close. She finished, feeling a bit satisfied, but she would give anything to see the real gems. Looking at the drawing was not the same as seeing Randall himself. She always felt a strong spark when she looked into his gleaming eyes, and was once again eager to see him again, even though they did work together the day before.
She was stroking the jawline of her sketch of Randall thoughtfully until she heard a voice call her name.
She looked up and saw Randall and a person looking so much like him beside him. They were coming her way. She tried acting casual as she ripped the sketch off the peripherated lines, put it underneath all the empty pages to hide it, closed it and slipped it into her bag slowly so they wouldn't think she was hiding something. She knew if she did all that quickly, they would suspect something.
She smiled as they came nearer and fixed her bangs. "Hey, Randy."
"Hi, Van." Randall said with a kind smile. "Oh, here's my brother, Ned. Ned, this is my assistant at work, Vanessie."
Vanessie swore that Randall and Ned could be twins if the latter had purple skin like the former, but she guessed they were about a year apart. He also had Randall's green eyes, but they didn't have the same spark as Randall's. But he was nice-looking, nonetheless.
"Hi, pleasure to meet you." Ned said as he stretched out one of his arms to Vanessie with a joyful smile.
"Nice to meet you, too." Vanessie greeted, returning his handshake, smiling back. "Gosh, Randy, he looks just like you."
"Everyone says that," Randall chuckled.
"She called you Randy." Ned said, smirking. "You gave her permission to call you that, too?"
"Yeah, well..."
"Why? What's wrong with calling him Randy?" Vanessie asked curiously.
"Oh, he used to love being called Randy." Ned explained. "But then something happened in college and he didn't want to be called that anymore. But he let me call him that, at least. Very interesting to see he let you use it." he then smiled at his brother. "Very interesting, indeed."
Randall rolled his eyes. "It's not that big of a deal. She's good enough to call me that though."
Vanessie blinked thoughtfully, smiling at Randall. She saw him smiling back. Then she said, "Is there anything you guys want? Any coffee?"
"Oh, yeah, vanilla creamer for me," Ned said.
"Same." Randall said.
"Okay, just wait a second, alright? Make yourselves comfortable." Vanessie said before she stepped inside the café.
As soon as she stepped inside, her boss asked her, "Hey, Vane, I see a green look-a-like out there. I hope you know you only have to choose one."
"Callaté," Vanessie said, pouring coffee to two mugs. "Of course I'm choosing only one."
"I was only joking," Luis said, looking suspicious but still humorous. "I didn't know you liked one of them. Which one?"
Vanessie bit her lip, still smiling as she set aside the two mugs and poured herself hot water in another mug.
"Vane..."
"Chistoso." she giggled. "Alright, I give up. The purple one."
"I'm guessing so." Luis replied. "You two come here every Saturday."
Vanessie grinned.
Outside, Randall and Ned sat leisurely waiting for Vanessie to come out. It was a few seconds before Randall caught Ned smiling at him. He sighed.
"Ned, if you have something interesting to say, just say it. It bugs me when you look at me like that."
"I'm just thinking about how proud I am of my little brother." Ned beamed. "She looks JUST as lovely as Nessie."
"Maybe better."
"And she has red hair; is it dyed or...?"
"Yeah, she dyed it. I saw a photo of her as a kid and she had black hair before."
"That explains a lot." Ned said. "Well, so far, I did see her do that nervous habit you talked about. I also saw some nervous action from you, too, Lover-Boy."
"I let you call me Randy, Ned, but if you call me that again, you'll be sorry." Randall said, rolling his eyes.
"Gonna tell me to buzz off again?"
"You've become a jerk since we last met." Randall chuckled.
"You have something for him, do you?"
"Shut up." she shushed, looking back to see if Randall and Ned were still outside. "Don't butt into my life."
"I'll say that's a yes." Luis chuckled.
"Okay," Vanessie stirred her tea after she threw in some sugar and a tea packet, then moved on to put creamer in the two coffee mugs. "Yes, I do have feelings for him, but PLEASE keep it on the down low. I never felt this way in my life."
"I can see; you're being a bit... Unbalanced." Luis said, looking to where her hands were working.
Vanessie looked down and saw that she spilled a bit of creamer on the counter. "Ay, Mensa." She fetched a small towel and wiped it off and paid attention to pour the creamer carefully. "Is it that obvious?"
"Yeah, kinda."
"You think he'll notice?" she asked quietly.
Luis looked to where the two brothers sat outside, and saw that Randall was pretty content and talking with his brother. "If you keep that nervous habit, maybe, yeah."
"I don't know. I sometimes think that, you know, he may like me, too."
"Well, he seems like a good guy now. I was worried about you when I heard about him." Luis said. "I remember when he used to come here when he was younger; he was always very serious and impolite."
"Don't worry. He's doing much better now." Vanessie said. "And his brother's visiting. So it's nice of him to see family again."
"Yeah, nothing better than family." Luis smiled. "I think your mother would approve."
"I think so, too." she said, holding hers and Randall's mug in one hand and Ned's in the other. "Now, excuse me, I have to treat my guests."
"You do that."
Vanessie took the mugs and stepped outside, trying to be careful not to spill the hot contents.
"Okay, guys, here you go," she said as she headed the reptilian brothers their coffee mugs.
"Thanks, Van." Randall said, reaching for his.
"Thank you, Miss Vanessie." Ned beamed, getting his handed to him.
"You're welcome," Vanessie said. She sat back on her seat and sipped from her cup.
"What are you having?" Ned asked her. "Doesn't look like you treated yourself coffee."
"Oh, I have passion tea." Vanessie said, shrugging. "It tastes lovely and flowery."
"Oh, classy," Ned grinned at Randall. Randall glared at him.
"I drink coffee a lot, too, but today, I just wanted tea." she smiled. "So, you two are very close, huh?"
"Very," Ned said. "As kids, we couldn't stay apart."
"Awwww," Vanessie said, facing Randall with a tender look.
"Yeah, remember, Randy? When I helped you make a chocolate cake, and you cried when you burned it too much?" Ned laughed.
"The smoke got in my eyes, Ned." Randall said defensively.
"Aw, Randy, you cried?" Vanessie giggled.
"I was a child. I'm sure you cried as a kid when you screwed up something." Randall said, cooly drinking more of his coffee.
"Yeah, well, he begged me afterwards to have a little funeral for the cake." Ned said. "Of course, I let him do it and I attended it with him. We had a little ceremony and everything."
"How cute." Vanessie's lashes fluttered in fascination.
"There were many other moments we had, but I'll stop it there for Randy's sake." Ned said in a playfully disappointed manner.
"Oh, Randy," she said, punching the purple lizard on his arm.
"Ow," Randall said, chuckling a bit.
"So, you probably know enough about us, but how long have you two known each other?" Ned asked, his eyes interested.
"I think a little more than three months, yeah." Vanessie said, then she smiled. "Randy probably told you about our first month. It wasn't so hot, but after we made up, things went lighter. We became better."
"Oh, I'm sure." Ned said.
Randall only sat there, drinking his coffee and listening to the conversation going on between his brother and Vanessie. He liked that she enjoyed their company, and seeing her being so kind to his brother made him happy. He then felt proud of sharing his brother for once.
"Randy, ¿Porque estás calladito? Say something." Vanessie said to Randall.
"Sorry," Randall said. "It just nice to see you two get along, not like I thought you wouldn't. I didn't want to interrupt."
"Then what are you here for?" Vanessie said sweetly. "You should be a part of it, too."
Randall looked at Vanessie and saw the warmth in her smile. She really did want him to participate. Why not?
"Yeah, you shouldn't have seen us when we were hostile, Ned." Randall began. "Back and forth, we were making attacks at each other."
"Course, I'd be the one to piss him off with my sassiness." Vanessie giggled.
"Sassiness?" Ned asked.
"This girl is very stubborn." Randall began. "She had a way of being sly around me. When she thought she won a battle, she smirked."
"Did I win those battles?" Vanessie asked.
"I said when you THOUGHT you won one, did I?"
"I did win. You just don't want to admit it. But that's aside now. It's nice to know that we get along so well; we could've been this way since the beginning."
"Awesome," Ned said. "So, I've never heard that Nessie had a daughter. Wasn't really acquainted about current event very much, but do you have any idea about the whereabouts of her?"
Vanessie's eyes glistened then at that. "No, I don't. Actually, I don't know anything about the subject. She just disappeared. But I know someone had something to do with it."
"I'm helping her out with that. Very soon, we'll look for something about that."
"Ah," Ned nodded. "That clears up a bit. I was wondering how her daughter's around here when Nessie was banished years ago. So you're both on a mission of finding her?"
"Yeah," the younger brother said. "We know that she's banished, but Van here wants to know why it was done to her. As far as we know, she was a sweet person, and it seemed that a crime she did is highly unlikely. Still... Banishment is the worst punishment possible."
"It has me baffled. I know that she wouldn't do anything terrible." Vanessie said before she sipped tea. "That's what we're finding out. And if we find out where exactly she was banished... I want to know if she's still living."
"Aw, I know that feeling." Ned said. "I, and probably Randy still, miss my mother. She was very sweet and caring. She died a bit too soon. While we were both in college. It broke our hearts. Especially Randy."
Randall nodded, taking a gulpful of coffee. "Yeah."
"I hope you two find something about her soon. It must be hard. Thinking about what could be for your mother. I wish you guys luck on the way." Ned smiled reassuringly.
"Thank you, Ned." Vanessie said contentedly. "We need all the hope we can get."
"Yeah, thanks," Randall half-smiled.
For a little more than an hour, the three of them talked with one another, with Randall speaking up a bit more, but still trying not to interrupt the friendly banter between his brother and Vanessie. She eventually went to refill their coffees when they finished what they had, being a polite host to them.
"Hey, Randy, does Vanessie draw?" Ned asked.
Randall blinked. "How do you know?"
Ned chuckled. "I see her sketchbook in her bag."
Randall looked down to where Vanessie left her bag leaning on her chair and narrowed his eyes.
"I actually thought you were psychic."
"I'm smart, but I can't read minds, Randy." Ned laughed.
"Yeah, she draws."
"You think she wouldn't mind showing us her work?"
"We'll have to ask her when she comes back. I've seen her work before; she's great." Randall smiled.
"Did she go to art school?"
"She couldn't." Randall said sadly.
"Ah, I getcha. Poor girl. Everything did seem to topple over her. At so young an age, too. She's very lucky to have a guy like you by her side."
"Yeah." The younger lizard said. "She depends on me."
"And you like it." Ned grinned.
"Guilty as charged."
Vanessie came back out with the guys and happily giving their mugs full of coffee. The two brothers smiled at her courteously.
"There you go," she said.
"Thank you," Ned said.
"Thanks," the other said.
"You're very welcome." Vanessie said with a giggle. "Just to let you guys know, the shop closes in a little more than half an hour."
"We'll manage the time." Ned beamed.
"Van, Ned here wanted to know if we could look at your artwork." Randall said.
"My artwork?" Vanessie said, looking down to her bag and slid it under her chair with her black-booted-colored foot. "You want to look at it?"
"Randy tells me you're great." Ned said brightly.
"Umm, alright." she said shyly, taking her sketchbook out carefully not to show the loose page she tore out of Randall, and handed it to the green lizard, her hand almost going limp as she held the book, the weight of it becoming heavy as she looked at Randall smiling at her. "The book's not finished yet, to let you know."
As Ned took the book, Randall scooted his chair closer to his brother, grinning as he said, "Hey, share the view, Neddy."
Vanessie's heart beat quicker, and she smiled casually to cover her bashfulness.
Ned flipped through the pages delicately, giving positive feedback on her work and widened his eyes at the details. "Wow, Randy wasn't wrong at all."
"I told you." he said, smiling at Vanessie.
Usually, a smile from Randall made her happy, but in this case, it only made her more and more nervous. She didn't want them to find that loose page. She crossed her legs, having one of them shaking up and down rapidly in anxiety.
"You okay?" Randall asked. Vanessie noticed Ned look up as well.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Don't mind me. I'm just wondering about your feedback." she said with a feigned laugh.
"Oh, alright," Randall replied, chuckling.
But Vanessie noticed Ned looking at her curiously for a few seconds before he flipped through more pages in her book. That look of his; searching, puzzled and suspicious.
It made her more unbalanced. But it was until Ned somehow saved her.
"I think that's enough to know how great she is." Ned smiled heartily. He closed the book and handed it back to Vanessie.
"Thank you," she said graciously.
About fifteen minutes later, Randall finished his coffee.
"Oh, man," he said.
"You want me to refill it for you?" Vanessie asked.
"Oh, no, it's fine." the purple lizard said right then. "You've been a great host; I'll do it. It's no trouble."
"Okay," Vanessie laughed lightly.
As soon as Randall left inside the café, Ned tapped a finger on the table in the awkward silence.
"There was something you didn't want Randy to see in there, huh?" Ned asked suspiciously but lightheartedly.
She knew that Ned did what he did for her sake. He really was a great guy like Randall said. He even had her back.
"Yeah," Vanessie said as she shook her head. "It's nothing bad, but..."
"It's alright." Ned smiled.
"I drew him." Vanessie confessed quietly. "From memory. Please don't tell him."
"Don't worry. He won't know a thing." Ned said, crossing his heart.
"Thank you."
"It's nothing," Ned grinned. "Although, I think he'd be flattered about you drawing him."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I mean, he's not fond of gifts, but I'm sure he'd get a kick out of yours."
"I don't know. I don't want to look like a creeper." she flushed.
"He won't think that. Trust me, I know my brother."
She thought about it for a bit. She still felt a little insecure about showing Randall her sketch of him. And what would he think about it?
"I'll think about it." she said.
"Alright," Ned nodded politely, then winked. "Still, I think he really would appreciate it."
Vanessie smiled, then looked through the glass of the café and saw Randall coming near.
"He's coming." she said.
Randall opened the door and sat himself down with Vanessie and Ned. When he looked at them, he noticed the awkward silence. Ned was quietly drinking his coffee, as did Vanessie with her tea.
"What happened while I was gone." he chuckled.
"Oh, we were talking," Vanessie said, then giggled. "You just made it weird by coming back."
Randall then gave Vanessie her teasing punches. Ned laughed.
The three of them left the café after closing time and they walked to Vanessie's apartment to drop her off. As they walked, they chatted about how work is and stuff that recently happened on the job. They laughed as they went.
Then Vanessie shivered and zipped up her leather jacket. "Jeez, it's cold."
"Yeah, good thing the winter's a bit more gentle this year," Ned said, his breath coming out in little clouds.
"Looks like it's going to rain tonight." Randall said, stretching out his arm, feeling sprinkling droplets.
"Oh, won't that sound nice." Vanessie sighed happily. "My father used to LOVE rain. Especially the pitter-patter of the rain hitting the roof. Just standing IN the rain is what bugs me. I could get sick afterwards."
Then Randall heard her gasp and turn to her. She brought her hands to her face and sneezed with a squeak. "Chooo!"
"Bless you!" Ned laughed.
"Let's get you home soon before you get that cold." Randall chuckled.
"Yeah, thanks. I feel the rain pouring harder now." she giggled, blushing.
They all tried to speed walk to Vanessie's home. When they came close, thunder roared.
"Oh, crap," Randall exclaimed.
He was surprised to hear Vanessie laugh in a hysterical manner at the thunder. He saw her look up at the sky, her red hair damp and heavy. He looked at Ned. Ned shrugged.
"What's so funny?" Randall asked.
"Nothing's funny!" she giggled. "It's just exciting!"
"You're not afraid of thunder...? Or the possibility of being struck by lightning?"
"No, and I don't know why." she said before she laughed again. "Wow, isn't this gorgeous."
Then she sneezed again.
"Come on," Randall said as he put his arm around Vanessie. "Let's get you back home before that cold lasts you a week."
After two blocks, they made their destination. They all stepped into the apartment complex, where they found refuge from the coldness outside. Vanessie took off her leather jacket and shook the water off the mane down her hair and back, finishing at her toes. When she turned around he saw Randall staring at her with shrunken pupils, water Vanessie shook off dripping down his body.
"Sorry, Randy." Vanessie apologized.
"I think he doesn't mind," Ned said.
After Vanessie turned around, Randall slapped Ned's arm. "What the hell, man?" he whispered.
"I couldn't help it." he whispered back.
"Oh, I can't have the conscience of leaving you two to walk back home without anything to cover you from the rain. Here, come. I'll let you borrow an umbrella." Vanessie said, leading the brothers to her apartment.
When they came to her door, she unlocked it and opened it slowly, surprised to find that her cat wasn't eagerly greeting her there like she always did. She opened the door more and led the two in.
"I think I have an idea where she is,"
"Who?" Ned asked.
"My cat, Chimmy." Vanessie said as she sat on her knees in front of her red sofa and crouched down to look under. She saw a small black lump under there, it's bright yellow-green eyes staring back, dilated. "Awwww, poor baby! Pobresita!"
The thunder roared again and the kitten mewed with a timid squeak.
"Aw," Vanessie said. "Don't worry, baby, the thunder will go away!"
She stood up again and told Randall and Ned, "Your umbrellas. Hold on a sec." She walked over to a small closet and picked two of them, a black one and a navy blue one. Walked over to the two. "Here you go. You can give them back soon. I can't think of you guys getting drenched out there."
"Thanks, Van." Randall said with a smile.
"It's not a problem at all," she replied. "Thank you for the evening. It was so nice to meet you, Ned."
"It was nice to meet you, Miss," Ned smiled, shaking Vanessie's hand.
"Well, I'll see you guys later, then. You at work, Randy." she led the two to the door.
"You, too." Randall said. "Have a good night."
"Back at you," she said in a sweet voice, the door closing framing her face before she finally shut the door.
When Randall and Ned stepped out of the complex, the older noticed the younger disappearing.
"Man, Randy, you are going in deep." Ned said.
Randall smiled. "I know."
"I think she does like you... A lot." Ned said with a warm and considerate smile.
Randall smiled back.
"But don't get your hopes up," Ned said. "That's what I think. But don't go forward. Keep being friends; there will be a time when you both are ready to go that way."
"I know."
Ned noticed that Randall was still smiling, his eyes looking soft and warm.
"Having hope?"
"I think so, yeah."
Randall looked up at the sky and saw a ribbon of lighting flash like cracking glass, the thunder roaring again after. It did look gorgeous. Dangerous but gorgeous. He then thought about chance. He thought his was more fortunate and promising than what a lightning bolt could attempt. Maybe that's why Vanessie thought it was gorgeous. He hoped that was why. He chuckled in the rain.
