Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I do own Abi, Andi, Aunt Cheryl, Aunt
Bethany, and...I think that's it...lol.
A/N: I am soooooo sorry it took me so long to post. I've been brain storming a lot. Plus I'm starting softball. My coach is a slave driver. I just thought you ought to know. Thank you to my reviewers. I really appreciate it. But you people don't want me to go on about my reviewers, now do you? No? I didn't think so. I only have one thing to say: I made a change to the last chapter. I changed the last two lines. I wanted Hermione dearest to be the gasping one. Ok? No? Well, TOO BAD! Now! On with the story!
*******************
The Ski Trip
*******************
Chapter Seven
*******************
Abi and Andi
*******************
(Hermione P.O.V.)
I looked at the girl in the doorway. No way was that Abi! What did she do? She looked absolutely horrible!
The girl now leaning on the doorframe had one crutch, a full leg cast, an arm sling (lol...what are those thingymabobers called again?), and a neck cast. Her once short black hair was now long and trailing down her back. Her naturally tan skin was almost all covered up by bandages. But her eyes still shone silver with happiness.
"Mimi? Is that you?" The girl asked.
"Oh my gosh, Abi! What did you do?! What happened?!" I exploded with questions once she called me by my nickname. We were the only ones who knew them.
"Well, let's just say that Old Rocky is living up to its name." She said smiling.
"Yup. That's Rock Dodge, alright." I said, walking into the house.
"So's Andi here?" I asked.
"Andi? Ya. Why?" Abi asked.
"Because I have a thug following me. He needs another thug to grunt with." I said, smiling sweetly at Draco while he half glared half smiled at me.
"Oh! Ok!" She said. She hobbled over to the stairs and called up the stairs, "Hey! Thug! Get your scrawny little butt down here to meet one of your kind!"
Hermione waited to see how Andi had changed. She heard someone coming down the stairs and looked at Abi.
"So which run did you bomb, Abi?" I asked casually.
"Oh...M. I was trying to go down the moguls really fast. I wasn't ready for it. And I was racing, too. Remember the girl down the street? Mandi? Well, she turned out to be a real bitch. She was all bragging about how she could take the moguls faster than I could and-"
"And she took up the challenge, nearly getting herself killed." Andi cut her off.
"Well, if it isn't the Ogre himself. So glad you graced us with your presence." Abi said, joking with her twin brother.
"Shut up. Now who's this?" He said, turning to me.
"Three guesses." I said. "Anna-Bliss got it on her first." I said not using our names for a reason.
"Um...Heather?"
"Hell no!"
"Kira?"
"Who?"
"Beth. You have to be Beth."
"Who the Hell is Beth?" I asked Abi.
"Good question, Mimi. Maybe mom will know..." Abi said, watching her brother's face.
His face showed confusion, then realization, and then horror.
"Abi, you tell mom who those people are, I'll kill you. And did you say Mimi?"
"What if she did?" I asked him nonchalantly.
"Oh my gosh! Mimi! Where've you been for the past six years?!" He asked me, practically killing me with one of his bone crushing hugs.
"My dad didn't want to see my Aunt. They were in some kind of fight. My mom booked a trip and bought the plane tickets so that my dad couldn't back out. And we rode a plane for a long time, stopping in Salt Lake. It was long and boring." I said once he released me.
He had the same eyes as Abi: silver shining with happiness non-stop. And his hair was the same color black. They were easily identified as twins.
"Well! I believe I was called down here because there's one of my kin here. And no way is Mimi it. Where's the other lout?" He asked me, rubbing his hands together in excitement.
"Right here. Draco, meet Abi and Andi: the two insane people. I am the third in the insane person's trio." We all bowed simultaneously.
"Right. Now, how good are you at grunting?" Andi said, walking over to Draco and leading him into the next room.
"He's kinda cute." Abi said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Draco P.O.V.)
I was being led into a different room than Hermione by some guy who I didn't know.
"Right. Now, how good are you at grunting?" Was he serious about this?
"Uh...Er..." I said, trying to think of something to say to that.
"Great! You have the confused grunt down! I always find that hard to teach..." He said, taking out a notebook and checking off confused on a sheet.
"You can't be serious. We're actually going to grunt?" I asked, thinking I should have brought Crabbe and Goyle with me. This guy would have loved them. He would be teaching them how to grunt in all the right places.
"Well...ya. Girls talk and 'get to know each other' when they meet new people. I got tired of that. You always ask all the same questions. Where are you from? Where do you go to school? Do you have any brothers or sisters? How old are you? What's your favorite sport? None of those things are any good to me. I don't talk about sports or school. So why ask about it? Instead, I teach people one of my favorite things to do with my friends: Grunting. If they don't like it, then they probably won't like me." He said, sitting down on the couch.
"Ok...I guess it makes sense..." I said. I kinda saw where he was going with this.
"So...I guess I must start you on a beginner's course, shouldn't I? Unless, of course, you are an experienced grunter. You aren't, are you?" He asked me.
"Um...no..." I said, thoroughly confused now.
"Well then, we better get started if we're going to have you grunting by the end of the night. Now, first we'll start with this one..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Hermione P.O.V.)
"No way you think he's cute! He's annoying and an egotistical prat to boot! I mean, come on!" I argued with Abi as we made our way into the kitchen to grab a couple of Jones' sodas.
"I didn't say he was charmingly nice! I said he was cute! There's a difference, Mimi." She told me, opening her bottled soda. "Besides, he hardly said anything! How could I tell if he was as annoying and egotistical as you said?"
"Huh...good point. But once you get to know him, I swear you'll get tired of him. So what'd you run into? A tree? The chairlift? Mandi?" I asked, taking a drink between sentences.
"Actually, I ran into the lodge. Go figure, huh? You'd think I'd be able to stop by then!" She said, sounding like she still didn't believe it.
"When's it coming off?" I asked, hoping that it would be off soon.
"Actually, the day before Christmas Eve. Isn't that great? I'll be ready to dance on New Years! Yes!" She said, making her way into the den.
"Great! I might have forgotten the steps, though. I may still remember them. Hey, we should watch a movie." I said, scanning the set of movies.
"No way you could have forgotten! You'll remember. The steps'll come back to you." She said, scanning the movies also.
"Ooh! How about Signs! I so need to see a scary movie! I havn't seen one in a while. I don't get T.V. privileges at my school. It sucks monkeys." I said, grabbing Signs from the shelf.
"Sounds good to me. We'll have to get the Ogre and his apprentice a little while longer, though. Last time I interrupted his lessons, I was paying for it in poker later on. He can play some mean cards, Mimi. He's not innocent little no-bluff-Andi any more. It's not good. Not good at all. I was broke for a while. It wasn't fun. I couldn't even afford a chocolate bar a the Emporium!" She said, setting down on the couch and turning on the T.V.
"What's on the tube?" I asked, plopping down next to her.
"News, news, soap, news, cartoon, cartoon, news, soap, soap, soap, cartoon, SPONGEBOB!" She said, stopping at a cartoon.
"I'm just gonna say you've cracked and leave it at that." I said, looking at the cartoon of a yellow, square-shaped sponge wearing pants that were also square.
"Don't tell me you don't have Spongebob in England? Oh, you poor deprived child!" She said, settling in and watching the Sponge speak with a starfish.
We watched the tube for another half hour and then called Andi and Draco- I mean Malfoy - to come watch the movie.
Andi came in and proclaimed in a proud voice, "I now present my newest student and congratulate him on graduating from Grunt School. Ladies, Ghosties, and Furniture, I present to you, Draco Malfoy!" He said as Draco -I mean Malfoy- walked into the room looking at Andi like he was insane, but reasonably normal. At least, as normal as Malfoy- Ha! I said it without thinking this time! - could get without insulting someone. And that was pretty different already.
He walked into the room and sat on the couch right next to me.
What the Hell happened to normal?
I got up and put the movie into the VCR.
"So...what are we watching?" Andi asked, plopping himself into an armchair. Good thing it was an armchair, too, because if he'd been on the couch, he could have broken someone else's arm or leg or something.
"Signs." Abi said nonchalantly.
"What?!?" Andi asked, horrified.
"Signs." Abi said again, watching the previews.
"I thought I told you to burn that movie!" He said.
"Well, I obviously didn't, seeing as how we're watching it."
"I'm leaving."
"Why? It's just a movie! Would you rather be watching The Ring?" She asked him.
"Well...no..."
"Well, we're not, so just sit down." Abi said, pointing to the chair he had plopped into minutes earlier.
"What's going on?" Malfoy asked me in a hushed voice.
"Andi doesn't like scary movies. He never did. He hasn't liked any of that supernatural stuff in a scary movie ever since he saw E.T. when he was three." I whispered back.
"And what are you two talking about over there?" Andi asked.
"Oh, just about you're undying fear of scary movies." I said calmly. I turned to Malfoy again and continued telling him of Andi's fear of scary movies.
"So anyway, when he was three, he watched this movie about this nice little alien named E.T. who just wanted to get home. The problem was, the U.S. government was after him. So, he got afraid of the scary-looking people in white suits knocking on windows of this house that E.T. was in and now, he doesn't like aliens or anything supernatural. Get it?" I finished my story and asked him if he understood what all I had said.
"Ya. I got it." He said, suppressing a laugh at his fear of a nice little alien in a move.
"Oh! The movies starting!" I said, sitting back to watch the movie.
"WAIT!!!!!" Abi half said half yelled.
"ABI?!?!?!" Draco said, annoyed.
"We forgot popcorn!!!! How could we forget popcorn?!?!?!?" She was practically hyperventilating over that fact that we forgot popcorn.
"I'll go make some!" Andi said, getting up.
"I'll go get some more soda. You're ok with Jones soda, right Dra? (Pronounced Dray)
"Who, me?" Malfoy asked, thoroughly confused at being addressed as Dra.
"Yes, you. Now do you like Jones soda or not?" Abi said, impatiently.
"Uh...sure..." He said uncertainly.
"Great! Cause it was either that or water!" She said, hobbling down to the basement.
So, we were left alone.
Jolly good.
I mean it.
Not.
"So...how did grunting lessons go?" I asked uncertainly.
"Well, I didn't graduate with flying colors, but I graduated, and that in itself is a miracle." He said, resting his arm over the top of the sofa.
"Oh, well, did you learn confused? Andi always says that's hard to teach." I asked.
"Actually, I already knew it." He told me.
I looked at him like he just grew another head.
"You didn't!" I said disbelievingly.
"I did. But I didn't know I knew it until I knew I knew it." He said, shrugging.
"Dude! Even I didn't learn that one! Maybe that was due to the fact that I didn't get that far and he gave up on me when I got to the tired grunt. I was a helpless case. He stopped teaching girls after that. He now thinks we're all hopeless when it comes to grunting. But I know one thing: it's definitely not my forte." I said, leaning back. Without realizing it, I had leant back on his arm. I still hadn't realized it, either.
"Oh. Well, what is your forte, then?" He asked, apparently not noticing the new pressure on his arm.
"Aside from skiing and school, I'd have to say...either baseball or cooking. It kills me that I always have to miss little league softball here. I could have played All Stars! Urgh! I hate living in England!" I said. I love softball and baseball. But I can't hit a curve in baseball, so I switched to softball and was the best outfielder and second best third baseman in the league. Too bad I couldn't play anymore. I can sometimes get my dad to go out with me and play catch or pitch me some whiffle balls, but it's not the same. I need the thrill of the game and a team to play with.
"Well, I hate you living in England, too Mimi." Abi said, coming up the stairs with about eight more Jones sodas. "The team just isn't the same without you."
"I'm sure they aren't. How's the Sasquach (sp?)?" I asked, turning to Abi.
"Who, the coach or his daughter?" She asked, setting down the bottles.
"Both."
"Oh...She's fine. Taken over best outfielder, but has yet to become a regular pitcher. Can't pitch a Squeegee worth crap."
"Yup. Change ups always were her problem. How about Sasquach Senior?"
"Same ol' same ol'. Still a slave driver that makes us run like ducks. Need I say more?"
"No. Where is Andi with the popcorn?"
"No clue. He better not have left! Andi! Get your scrawny-"
"Little butt out here right now or you'll be hurting when you wake up in the morning. I know, I know. I had to make lots. You two are pigs who'll eat through one of these in a heartbeat." He said as he came in, carrying a huge bucket of popcorn.
"Shut up and start the movie!" Abi said.
"Ok, ok! But remember, I know where you sleep." He said, looking at her before starting the movie.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Two hours later)
(Draco P.O.V.)
I awoke to the sound of a couple of people whispering. I had some source of warmth next to me and opened my eyes to see what it was.
"What the-"
"Shush!" Abi warned me.
"She's mighty cranky when someone wakes her up." Andi said to me in a low whisper.
"Unless you want your head bit off, you better carry her home. She's not a very light sleeper, so you could easily put her coat on her and get her home. I suggest you get her home and get her on her bed. Be sure to cover her up." Abi said, coming back with her coat and putting it on her gently.
"Here." Andi said, handing me my coat.
I put it on best I could without moving her.
"Ok, You can get in the house, right? You know the key code for the garage door?" Abi asked me.
"Ya."
"And you know the way back?" Andi asked me.
"Yup."
"Good, have Mimi call me, ok?" Abi asked.
"Yea."
"And keep up the good grunting." Andi added.
"I will."
"Ok. Good luck getting in!." Abi said, opening the door for him.
"Alright, thanks for everything, guys. Talk to you later." I said as I exited through the front door.
I stepped out into the chill of the night to find that Aunt Bethie's front porch light was on. This made the going all the more easy. I was walking along with a girl in my arms that would probably have declined having me carry her even if I had offered. Her head was resting on my shoulder and I was walking through the chilled night air to the place I will be calling home for the next three weeks.
I had to admit that having her in my arms was helping. I wasn't at all cold. Just a little chilled in the face, but my hands and arms were fairly warm. And it was making the going fairly quick because she was asleep instead of fighting with me about one thing or another. This also helped that fact that I didn't want a headache before I went to bed.
I was surprised earlier when she told me all that stuff when we were alone in the den. About the baseball and grunting and how Andi was afraid of supernatural things all because of a nice little alien who wanted to go home. What was hit name again? Peaty? Dee dee? Something like that. Maybe being around some old friends put her in a more agreeable mood. I don't know. But she told me all that stuff. And we fell asleep on the couch together. I'm surprised she actually was all right with touching me. I'm surprised I'm actually all right with touching her.
This is all getting too weird.
I reached the house and punched in the key code and the garage door opened quietly. I walked into the house and up the stairs to her room. I set her down gently and took her coat off her. I put that aside and took off her shoes. And put them on the floor. I grabbed the blanket at the end of the bed and covered her with it.
I looked at her and, finally deciding my work there was done, fled to my room where I got in bed and fell aseep.
A/N: I am soooooo sorry it took me so long to post. I've been brain storming a lot. Plus I'm starting softball. My coach is a slave driver. I just thought you ought to know. Thank you to my reviewers. I really appreciate it. But you people don't want me to go on about my reviewers, now do you? No? I didn't think so. I only have one thing to say: I made a change to the last chapter. I changed the last two lines. I wanted Hermione dearest to be the gasping one. Ok? No? Well, TOO BAD! Now! On with the story!
*******************
The Ski Trip
*******************
Chapter Seven
*******************
Abi and Andi
*******************
(Hermione P.O.V.)
I looked at the girl in the doorway. No way was that Abi! What did she do? She looked absolutely horrible!
The girl now leaning on the doorframe had one crutch, a full leg cast, an arm sling (lol...what are those thingymabobers called again?), and a neck cast. Her once short black hair was now long and trailing down her back. Her naturally tan skin was almost all covered up by bandages. But her eyes still shone silver with happiness.
"Mimi? Is that you?" The girl asked.
"Oh my gosh, Abi! What did you do?! What happened?!" I exploded with questions once she called me by my nickname. We were the only ones who knew them.
"Well, let's just say that Old Rocky is living up to its name." She said smiling.
"Yup. That's Rock Dodge, alright." I said, walking into the house.
"So's Andi here?" I asked.
"Andi? Ya. Why?" Abi asked.
"Because I have a thug following me. He needs another thug to grunt with." I said, smiling sweetly at Draco while he half glared half smiled at me.
"Oh! Ok!" She said. She hobbled over to the stairs and called up the stairs, "Hey! Thug! Get your scrawny little butt down here to meet one of your kind!"
Hermione waited to see how Andi had changed. She heard someone coming down the stairs and looked at Abi.
"So which run did you bomb, Abi?" I asked casually.
"Oh...M. I was trying to go down the moguls really fast. I wasn't ready for it. And I was racing, too. Remember the girl down the street? Mandi? Well, she turned out to be a real bitch. She was all bragging about how she could take the moguls faster than I could and-"
"And she took up the challenge, nearly getting herself killed." Andi cut her off.
"Well, if it isn't the Ogre himself. So glad you graced us with your presence." Abi said, joking with her twin brother.
"Shut up. Now who's this?" He said, turning to me.
"Three guesses." I said. "Anna-Bliss got it on her first." I said not using our names for a reason.
"Um...Heather?"
"Hell no!"
"Kira?"
"Who?"
"Beth. You have to be Beth."
"Who the Hell is Beth?" I asked Abi.
"Good question, Mimi. Maybe mom will know..." Abi said, watching her brother's face.
His face showed confusion, then realization, and then horror.
"Abi, you tell mom who those people are, I'll kill you. And did you say Mimi?"
"What if she did?" I asked him nonchalantly.
"Oh my gosh! Mimi! Where've you been for the past six years?!" He asked me, practically killing me with one of his bone crushing hugs.
"My dad didn't want to see my Aunt. They were in some kind of fight. My mom booked a trip and bought the plane tickets so that my dad couldn't back out. And we rode a plane for a long time, stopping in Salt Lake. It was long and boring." I said once he released me.
He had the same eyes as Abi: silver shining with happiness non-stop. And his hair was the same color black. They were easily identified as twins.
"Well! I believe I was called down here because there's one of my kin here. And no way is Mimi it. Where's the other lout?" He asked me, rubbing his hands together in excitement.
"Right here. Draco, meet Abi and Andi: the two insane people. I am the third in the insane person's trio." We all bowed simultaneously.
"Right. Now, how good are you at grunting?" Andi said, walking over to Draco and leading him into the next room.
"He's kinda cute." Abi said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Draco P.O.V.)
I was being led into a different room than Hermione by some guy who I didn't know.
"Right. Now, how good are you at grunting?" Was he serious about this?
"Uh...Er..." I said, trying to think of something to say to that.
"Great! You have the confused grunt down! I always find that hard to teach..." He said, taking out a notebook and checking off confused on a sheet.
"You can't be serious. We're actually going to grunt?" I asked, thinking I should have brought Crabbe and Goyle with me. This guy would have loved them. He would be teaching them how to grunt in all the right places.
"Well...ya. Girls talk and 'get to know each other' when they meet new people. I got tired of that. You always ask all the same questions. Where are you from? Where do you go to school? Do you have any brothers or sisters? How old are you? What's your favorite sport? None of those things are any good to me. I don't talk about sports or school. So why ask about it? Instead, I teach people one of my favorite things to do with my friends: Grunting. If they don't like it, then they probably won't like me." He said, sitting down on the couch.
"Ok...I guess it makes sense..." I said. I kinda saw where he was going with this.
"So...I guess I must start you on a beginner's course, shouldn't I? Unless, of course, you are an experienced grunter. You aren't, are you?" He asked me.
"Um...no..." I said, thoroughly confused now.
"Well then, we better get started if we're going to have you grunting by the end of the night. Now, first we'll start with this one..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Hermione P.O.V.)
"No way you think he's cute! He's annoying and an egotistical prat to boot! I mean, come on!" I argued with Abi as we made our way into the kitchen to grab a couple of Jones' sodas.
"I didn't say he was charmingly nice! I said he was cute! There's a difference, Mimi." She told me, opening her bottled soda. "Besides, he hardly said anything! How could I tell if he was as annoying and egotistical as you said?"
"Huh...good point. But once you get to know him, I swear you'll get tired of him. So what'd you run into? A tree? The chairlift? Mandi?" I asked, taking a drink between sentences.
"Actually, I ran into the lodge. Go figure, huh? You'd think I'd be able to stop by then!" She said, sounding like she still didn't believe it.
"When's it coming off?" I asked, hoping that it would be off soon.
"Actually, the day before Christmas Eve. Isn't that great? I'll be ready to dance on New Years! Yes!" She said, making her way into the den.
"Great! I might have forgotten the steps, though. I may still remember them. Hey, we should watch a movie." I said, scanning the set of movies.
"No way you could have forgotten! You'll remember. The steps'll come back to you." She said, scanning the movies also.
"Ooh! How about Signs! I so need to see a scary movie! I havn't seen one in a while. I don't get T.V. privileges at my school. It sucks monkeys." I said, grabbing Signs from the shelf.
"Sounds good to me. We'll have to get the Ogre and his apprentice a little while longer, though. Last time I interrupted his lessons, I was paying for it in poker later on. He can play some mean cards, Mimi. He's not innocent little no-bluff-Andi any more. It's not good. Not good at all. I was broke for a while. It wasn't fun. I couldn't even afford a chocolate bar a the Emporium!" She said, setting down on the couch and turning on the T.V.
"What's on the tube?" I asked, plopping down next to her.
"News, news, soap, news, cartoon, cartoon, news, soap, soap, soap, cartoon, SPONGEBOB!" She said, stopping at a cartoon.
"I'm just gonna say you've cracked and leave it at that." I said, looking at the cartoon of a yellow, square-shaped sponge wearing pants that were also square.
"Don't tell me you don't have Spongebob in England? Oh, you poor deprived child!" She said, settling in and watching the Sponge speak with a starfish.
We watched the tube for another half hour and then called Andi and Draco- I mean Malfoy - to come watch the movie.
Andi came in and proclaimed in a proud voice, "I now present my newest student and congratulate him on graduating from Grunt School. Ladies, Ghosties, and Furniture, I present to you, Draco Malfoy!" He said as Draco -I mean Malfoy- walked into the room looking at Andi like he was insane, but reasonably normal. At least, as normal as Malfoy- Ha! I said it without thinking this time! - could get without insulting someone. And that was pretty different already.
He walked into the room and sat on the couch right next to me.
What the Hell happened to normal?
I got up and put the movie into the VCR.
"So...what are we watching?" Andi asked, plopping himself into an armchair. Good thing it was an armchair, too, because if he'd been on the couch, he could have broken someone else's arm or leg or something.
"Signs." Abi said nonchalantly.
"What?!?" Andi asked, horrified.
"Signs." Abi said again, watching the previews.
"I thought I told you to burn that movie!" He said.
"Well, I obviously didn't, seeing as how we're watching it."
"I'm leaving."
"Why? It's just a movie! Would you rather be watching The Ring?" She asked him.
"Well...no..."
"Well, we're not, so just sit down." Abi said, pointing to the chair he had plopped into minutes earlier.
"What's going on?" Malfoy asked me in a hushed voice.
"Andi doesn't like scary movies. He never did. He hasn't liked any of that supernatural stuff in a scary movie ever since he saw E.T. when he was three." I whispered back.
"And what are you two talking about over there?" Andi asked.
"Oh, just about you're undying fear of scary movies." I said calmly. I turned to Malfoy again and continued telling him of Andi's fear of scary movies.
"So anyway, when he was three, he watched this movie about this nice little alien named E.T. who just wanted to get home. The problem was, the U.S. government was after him. So, he got afraid of the scary-looking people in white suits knocking on windows of this house that E.T. was in and now, he doesn't like aliens or anything supernatural. Get it?" I finished my story and asked him if he understood what all I had said.
"Ya. I got it." He said, suppressing a laugh at his fear of a nice little alien in a move.
"Oh! The movies starting!" I said, sitting back to watch the movie.
"WAIT!!!!!" Abi half said half yelled.
"ABI?!?!?!" Draco said, annoyed.
"We forgot popcorn!!!! How could we forget popcorn?!?!?!?" She was practically hyperventilating over that fact that we forgot popcorn.
"I'll go make some!" Andi said, getting up.
"I'll go get some more soda. You're ok with Jones soda, right Dra? (Pronounced Dray)
"Who, me?" Malfoy asked, thoroughly confused at being addressed as Dra.
"Yes, you. Now do you like Jones soda or not?" Abi said, impatiently.
"Uh...sure..." He said uncertainly.
"Great! Cause it was either that or water!" She said, hobbling down to the basement.
So, we were left alone.
Jolly good.
I mean it.
Not.
"So...how did grunting lessons go?" I asked uncertainly.
"Well, I didn't graduate with flying colors, but I graduated, and that in itself is a miracle." He said, resting his arm over the top of the sofa.
"Oh, well, did you learn confused? Andi always says that's hard to teach." I asked.
"Actually, I already knew it." He told me.
I looked at him like he just grew another head.
"You didn't!" I said disbelievingly.
"I did. But I didn't know I knew it until I knew I knew it." He said, shrugging.
"Dude! Even I didn't learn that one! Maybe that was due to the fact that I didn't get that far and he gave up on me when I got to the tired grunt. I was a helpless case. He stopped teaching girls after that. He now thinks we're all hopeless when it comes to grunting. But I know one thing: it's definitely not my forte." I said, leaning back. Without realizing it, I had leant back on his arm. I still hadn't realized it, either.
"Oh. Well, what is your forte, then?" He asked, apparently not noticing the new pressure on his arm.
"Aside from skiing and school, I'd have to say...either baseball or cooking. It kills me that I always have to miss little league softball here. I could have played All Stars! Urgh! I hate living in England!" I said. I love softball and baseball. But I can't hit a curve in baseball, so I switched to softball and was the best outfielder and second best third baseman in the league. Too bad I couldn't play anymore. I can sometimes get my dad to go out with me and play catch or pitch me some whiffle balls, but it's not the same. I need the thrill of the game and a team to play with.
"Well, I hate you living in England, too Mimi." Abi said, coming up the stairs with about eight more Jones sodas. "The team just isn't the same without you."
"I'm sure they aren't. How's the Sasquach (sp?)?" I asked, turning to Abi.
"Who, the coach or his daughter?" She asked, setting down the bottles.
"Both."
"Oh...She's fine. Taken over best outfielder, but has yet to become a regular pitcher. Can't pitch a Squeegee worth crap."
"Yup. Change ups always were her problem. How about Sasquach Senior?"
"Same ol' same ol'. Still a slave driver that makes us run like ducks. Need I say more?"
"No. Where is Andi with the popcorn?"
"No clue. He better not have left! Andi! Get your scrawny-"
"Little butt out here right now or you'll be hurting when you wake up in the morning. I know, I know. I had to make lots. You two are pigs who'll eat through one of these in a heartbeat." He said as he came in, carrying a huge bucket of popcorn.
"Shut up and start the movie!" Abi said.
"Ok, ok! But remember, I know where you sleep." He said, looking at her before starting the movie.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Two hours later)
(Draco P.O.V.)
I awoke to the sound of a couple of people whispering. I had some source of warmth next to me and opened my eyes to see what it was.
"What the-"
"Shush!" Abi warned me.
"She's mighty cranky when someone wakes her up." Andi said to me in a low whisper.
"Unless you want your head bit off, you better carry her home. She's not a very light sleeper, so you could easily put her coat on her and get her home. I suggest you get her home and get her on her bed. Be sure to cover her up." Abi said, coming back with her coat and putting it on her gently.
"Here." Andi said, handing me my coat.
I put it on best I could without moving her.
"Ok, You can get in the house, right? You know the key code for the garage door?" Abi asked me.
"Ya."
"And you know the way back?" Andi asked me.
"Yup."
"Good, have Mimi call me, ok?" Abi asked.
"Yea."
"And keep up the good grunting." Andi added.
"I will."
"Ok. Good luck getting in!." Abi said, opening the door for him.
"Alright, thanks for everything, guys. Talk to you later." I said as I exited through the front door.
I stepped out into the chill of the night to find that Aunt Bethie's front porch light was on. This made the going all the more easy. I was walking along with a girl in my arms that would probably have declined having me carry her even if I had offered. Her head was resting on my shoulder and I was walking through the chilled night air to the place I will be calling home for the next three weeks.
I had to admit that having her in my arms was helping. I wasn't at all cold. Just a little chilled in the face, but my hands and arms were fairly warm. And it was making the going fairly quick because she was asleep instead of fighting with me about one thing or another. This also helped that fact that I didn't want a headache before I went to bed.
I was surprised earlier when she told me all that stuff when we were alone in the den. About the baseball and grunting and how Andi was afraid of supernatural things all because of a nice little alien who wanted to go home. What was hit name again? Peaty? Dee dee? Something like that. Maybe being around some old friends put her in a more agreeable mood. I don't know. But she told me all that stuff. And we fell asleep on the couch together. I'm surprised she actually was all right with touching me. I'm surprised I'm actually all right with touching her.
This is all getting too weird.
I reached the house and punched in the key code and the garage door opened quietly. I walked into the house and up the stairs to her room. I set her down gently and took her coat off her. I put that aside and took off her shoes. And put them on the floor. I grabbed the blanket at the end of the bed and covered her with it.
I looked at her and, finally deciding my work there was done, fled to my room where I got in bed and fell aseep.