Intentions

His hiding place had been discovered. What on earth was he going to do now? Maloof trembled, tears welling in his eyes as Kitty and Franke advanced on him. They were armed to the teeth with eyeliner and lipstick. He had thought they wouldn't search the dank, wet cave leading to Lake Oblongata, but evidently, they weren't deterred by the puddles surrounding their designer shoes or the salty, musty odor lingering inside.

"Well, you sure gave us a hard time," Kitty sneered, twisting off the cap to a bright scarlet lipstick. The pop made Maloof flinch. She relished in how he stepped backwards, his hand gripping the smooth rock behind him for support.

"Yeah! We searched your usual spots, but you weren't at any of them. We even thought Bobby tossed you in the GPC again," Franke added, opening and closing her compact. The constant smack smack smack pounded in Maloof's ears, warning bells of what was going to come.

"Right? We even asked Bobby if he locked you in there. I had to spend a solid thirty seconds asking Bobby a question and avoiding his spittle when he called me fat again." Kitty gazed at the stalactites above her head and watched a water droplet fall from one. "Ugh, he smelled even worse than this cave does, too." Shaking her head to banish the memory of interacting with Bobby Zilch, she curled her lips into a sneer. "But I guess it was all worth it in the end. We have a nice, new Armani silk powder to try on you. Stay still, and don't make this any harder on yourself."

"That's right! We gotta test it on someone else first, y'know! We don't wanna break out in hives like last time," Franke chirped, missing Kitty's glance.

He jerked his head towards the exit. He made out the rickety, slanted wood of the steps and the thin trees with bark peeling off them. If he ran now, then he had a good chance of evading their telekinetic hands, but his feet remained cemented to the puddle he currently stood in. He hunched to the side, his spine awkwardly bending as they marched towards him, Franke continuing to open and close the compact, Kitty grinning into her cheeks and pushing them upwards.

"You really do make a good doll, Maloof," Kitty said and looped her arm around his shoulders. She squeezed his cheek and left a red welt behind, smiling as Maloof whimpered. "Ah-ah! Don't start crying now when Franke's about the apply the blush. This one's not waterproof. It won't stick if you bawl like a big baby." She flicked his cheek, grimacing as he wetly sniffled, his pudgy, round nose wrinkling in a way she likened to a piglet.

"Yeah! You should've gotten all that crying out earlier," Franke said, pocketing her eyeliner and taking off the tiny brush clipped to the back of the compact. She rubbed it against the powder, the white brush now hued with a dark emerald color that Kitty had said would bring out her eyes.

Despite his squirming, Kitty kept him pinned to the spot. Maloof wished he knew teleportation, but he was merely a Tender Brain with a Basic Braining badge. He was years away from mastering levitation. Unlike Milka, he could only stay invisible for five seconds. Even though anger brewed in his stomach, he couldn't channel it into firepower. He knew he was no match for either of them with his pitiful telekinesis that could only lift something light off the ground for a couple of seconds. He couldn't even use telepathy like Chloe to beg someone outside for help, leaving him to his fate as Franke aimed the brush to his cheek.

"H-hey, stop! I don't-I really don't wanna-" Maloof hiccupped, cut off by another giggle from Kitty. He winced as she dug her nails into his shoulder, threatening to rip into the shirt his mother had bought for him before camp started.

"You're such a crybaby," Kitty jeered as Franke continued smearing the blush on his cheeks. "It looks great on you! Seriously, it does. You look like, hm, like one of those models they use in Toys R Us magazines."

"We should get him some Barbie dolls, and he'll really look the part," Franke replied, pulling back to admire her handiwork.

Maloof narrowed his eyes at Franke, his cheeks burning hot. Kitty removed her arm but stood in his way. He resisted the urge to break into a sprint but knew his stubby legs would only get him so far with Kitty's powerful telekinesis. She wouldn't even break a sweat like he probably would have if she chose to dart after him. His humiliation made the tears in his eyes blur his vision, their laughter causing his head pound and overpowered the water droplets splashing into the puddles from the stalactites.

"Okay, blush applied. Now, some Charlotte Tilbury!" Kitty twisted the lipstick and aimed it like a dagger to Maloof's quivering lips.

But through his tears, he noticed a subtle shift in Franke's expression. Her smile faded by a molar. She suddenly turned to look over her shoulder, the movement also catching Kitty's attention, and the squeak escaping from Franke's mouth signified to Maloof that he had been saved.

Mikhail ambled towards them, eyes narrowed on Kitty. He glanced between the girls, an eyebrow neatly arched as he wondered why they were in the corner. He knew they preferred to stay at the lodge, but when he spotted Maloof cowering between them, he scowled and gestured for the smaller boy to come to him.

"Thought Mikhail heard hairless bear in here. Turns out it is flouncy girls going back on what was clear among everyone," he said as Maloof broke between them, his smirk hidden when he tucked his chin. He cracked his knuckles. "No one messes with Maloof anymore."

"We-we weren't-!" Franke gulped as Kitty quickly twisted her lipstick back into its container. "We weren't messing with him," she quietly finished and pocketed Kitty's compact.

"That so?" Mikhail inspected Maloof's face, the tears and blush making his brows furrow. "Not the case, hm?"

"No, no, they-" He sniffled and rubbed his nose free of mucus. "-they trapped me here and did that to me."

Kitty clicked her tongue. She didn't anticipate Mikhail would come to Maloof's rescue. She knew she should have kept in mind that Maloof had retained Mikhail as a bodyguard, but she thought Mikhail was in Oleander's advanced combat class. It should have been the perfect opportunity to mess with Maloof, but knowing when to cut her losses had been ingrained in her since she was a toddler, and she didn't want to face the wrath of the rumored Deadly Nelson.

"We did, and we're sorry," she said, sickeningly sweet. She gently touched Franke's forearm when her girlfriend gawked at her. "In fact, we're so sorry that I'll-" She reached into her pocket and procured a handful of arrowheads. "-give you these. I'm sure it'll make up for what we did."

Mikhail telekinetically took them from her. He handed them to Maloof, who grinned so hard his cheeks ached. He counted ten arrowheads, which was enough to let him buy more Dream Fluffs with the arrowheads given to him by other cadets in his protection services.

"Hm, okay. I suppose this is fine," Maloof said, Kitty scoffing at his arrogance. He cocked his head and smirked. "I'll let you go this time, but next time, I won't be so generous."

"Yeah, yeah, let's go Franke. We already got what we wanted," she grumbled, taking Franke's hand and leading the confused girl out of the cave.

Maloof sighed as they left. He hugged the arrowheads to his chest, exclaiming, "Wow! I can't believe how easily you got them to back down, Misha."

Mikhail grinned. "Is nothing. They are crafty and had number advantage but lack physical prowess." He crossed his arms and pinched his elbows. "Girls with skinny arms like theirs? Very easy to defeat. Almost boring."

Chuckling, Maloof thanked him, and Mikhail nodded. He was happy that he had struck up his partnership with Mikhail. It certainly gave him the protection he craved at Whispering Rock, but being in his presence also comforted him. Even if he didn't realize it, Mikhail gave him reassurance that everything would work out in his favor no matter what traps or bullies awaited him at Whispering Rock, and as he followed Mikhail out for a private telekinesis lesson, Maloof knew that the rest of the summer belonged to them.