Chapter Five: Carolyn's Room

If Carolyn had trampled up the stairs on all fours, she would have encountered the same thing as she travelled up them on two legs: little light, David picking a room far off down the hall, and then her entering the door of the room she was preferring for herself. The only trouble is she didn't realise what she would find behind that door. A vanity, a candle stick and a bed off in the distance is what she found and expected to find, of course. But then she heard some respiratory conditions and she recognised them: Mostly unhappily recognised them as she had known them in her own hours of puberty in discovering herself as a werewolf.

Sniffing out the matchbox and striking a match along the side of the box, she lit one of the candles in the room she'd chose for herself and called out, "Who is here?"

A low growl met her question.

"Look," Carolyn stated, "I'm planning on taking this room, so if someone is here, I'd really like you to square off and let me know."

"Why?" A random voice wondered.

"Because," Carolyn got up the courage to announce, "I don't relish my first night in this house to be one where privacy is an issue. Really. My whole family is staying here and I think they'd be concerned when someone else decided to inhabit the space I picked out."

"I can wait." The random voice told her.

Oh, what a gas! Carolyn had dealt with all the bull-crap of facing what she was, and later the garbage of Uncle Roger's sh*tty affairs, and then the random old world vampire cousin showing up, along with the demure governess for her deranged cousin. Now? Some random voice was bothering her out of her own choice-of-room in The Old House before her very pointed ears?

"Who are you?" Carolyn demanded.

"Oh, that's new!" expressed the gentle voice. The next thing Carolyn knew she saw a young man drop from the ceiling. He wore a leather jacket, biker style, blue jeans, a mustache that met the pointed sideburns along each of his cheeks, and curly, dark hair, imposing expression and, hands in pockets, he approached her.

"Usually I just get called 'Hey You', or 'Get Outta Here'. It's nice to hear someone ask me what my actual name is."

"So what is it?" Carolyn tilted her head to ask.

"I go by Buzz."

"Buzz? Like an electric buzz?" Carolyn wondered.

"No, just Buzz. I prefer that to Boris or Beauregard, or Bernard. Whatever my name might be, if I remembered it; Buzz works for me. It's hard enough during a night like tonight: a full moon. People can see more; know all about you, if you catch my drift."

Carolyn reflected on this and assented, "Yes, on the night of a full moon, people can see things more clearly, can't they?"

"I can see more clearly. That's all I know …Miss?"

"Stoddard, Carolyn Stoddard."

The young man in the leather jacket raised his eyebrow at her, "Carolyn… I've always liked that name."

"Won't win you any prizes."

"I didn't expect it to, Lady Carolyn." Buzz smiled, "Now where would you like me to go since you've claimed this room?"

"Maybe the drawing room? However many Collins there are among us, most of us are squatters tonight."

The young man stepped about, hanging his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, "I noticed that the big Collinwood Estate was burning down tonight as most people did. I wasn't sure where I'd lay my head, but if you are telling me to go down to the drawing room of this old house to reside on a couch, I'll take your advice."

"Or maybe," Carolyn considered, "you should just leave for the woods."

"But would you want me to, Miss Stoddard?" Buzz asked.

"No," Carolyn admitted, "That would mean you'd have to come all the way back from a long way in town so I could find out at breakfast where the hell you came from."

Buzz's smile warmed in the moonlight emanating from the windows, "A couch in the drawing room of this old house will be good enough for me. I will take the 'commands' from my fellow 'fetching creature': Miss Carolyn Stoddard."

Carolyn opened her maw to ask him back, but Buzz had already closed the door of the room.

Carolyn then looked around her room to see what good she could make of it.

As she had found a bed and tucked herself into the blankets of it she wondered what it might be like if she had allowed that disagreeable but 'fetching' lad she'd argued with to remain…

A/N: Well, let me know what you enjoyed! I figure most of you know who this 'Buzz' is based on. * wink *

Also, no need to gossip endlessly on social media. But if you want to? You're likely helping to sell more ad-space to make more gentrification in my old neighbourhood. The more you use social media to chat with people and create BS about my personal life…? The more you sell ad-revenue to update more physical infrastructure to my old valley, hee hee hee!

Yes! We are very much enjoying the cobblestone, and other upgrades around here. Thank you for your continued "patronage"! ;)

(Get in touch TorontoBatFan: lovin' your work! I feel as if I have finally come "Home", as you well know!)