Chapter Sixteen: "I Knew I should've Gotten Rid Of That Plushie...."
Arson gasped and pulled away, blushing furiously and fidgeting with embarrassment. "Xy...I'm...I'm sorry..."
Xy couldn't help but be shocked about what was happening. She had NEVER seen it coming. She was too embarrassed to even look at him, so she studied the ground. "There's no need...to a..apologize..."
He looked up at as though studying her. He doesn't say a single word but just sits there watching her. She wanted so badly to get up and leave there and then. It's not that she was disturbed by this. Actually, it was the exact opposite. She had enjoyed that kiss.... amazingly. Xy had always hated gushy romance stuff....but she felt like she could have stayed like that forever. But his presence was too much right now, it was like a weight on her shoulders. But it was that same weight that kept her on the bench.
"Xy...." he at length breathed out, brushing away a stray strand of midnight-black hair from her face. She still didn't have it in her to look up at him. She continued to stare at her feet blankly. Arson gently tilted her head up so that she was looking straight into his eyes. Those calm, brown eyes....she felt like she was drowning in them. "Xy...I...just noticed something..."
She barely managed to whisper. ".....what?"
He smiled, his eyes lighting up. "You're so...beautiful...." Xy shook her head modestly, having a red face all the while.
"No I'm not...." Arson smiled again and nodded. He bent over closer to her, and captured her lips in a deep kiss, closing his eyes as he did so, blushing madly. Xy couldn't believe the first time it had happened...but now it was again! This was turning into a very sappy teen romance novel....and she was enjoying every minute of it. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. She thought it would never end, but sadly it did sooner then she wanted it to. Arson pulled away slightly and looked at Xyphos with a strange look in his eyes....was it doubt? Suspicion? Or curiosity?
"If I left...for good...would you really be sad? Or...did you just say that?"
She grinned at the sudden question, nodding. "Yeah...I'd be really sad....devastated if you ever left me..."
"In that case..." he said, smiling, feeling the dark memory of his dream dissappearing, "..I would hate if I were the cause of any pain you may feel....I'll..I'll stay...for you." She couldn't think of anything to say...truthfully, she didn't know why he was talking about "leaving"...but she was happy he would stay with her. She nuzzled into him, smiling in complete bliss.
"Thank you."
Arson smiled and kissed her on the cheek, but shivered slightly as the temperature dropped noticeably. "Xy....I'm s-sorry..about earlier.."
"It's fine...I'm just relieaved your all right..."
He shivered again. "We should really head back now...it's getting cold.."
"Yeah....should we go get Dante?" Arson nodded quietly as they got up. Dante watched them both come up, a knowing smirk on his face, but not saying anything. "Shall we go back to my house then?"
Dante didn't say anything, but carried on smirking at them both. Arson nodded again and blushed at the look on Dante's face.
Darlia sat on the couch, watching the clock and tapping her foot impatiently. Where could they have gone for so long? And why were there suddenly new neighbors? She hadn't seen a moving truck or a 'For Sale' sign anywhere. She sighed. "No use thinking about it now. They seem nice enough...and Xy finally has a new friend. He's quite a polite boy too." She grinned at no one in particular as she paced in front of the clock.
Arson walked in first only to be scooped up into a hug by Xy's mom.
"I'm so glad your back and well, dear! I've been worried sick!"
He blushed furiously but then smiled as he quite liked being hugged like this. "I'm sorry I worried you Ma'am..."
"That's quite alright dear! It's great to see everyone's well, happy, and in one piece!"
"Arson....move." Dante said as he shoved him from the doorway so he could get in.
Darlia smiled even more broadly. "Good to see you back too!"
Dante smiled at her, but glared as he turned to Arson. "Arson, you should get back to bed. Dumbass..."
Xy's mom frowned slightly at his language and at this wierd name, "Arson". She regained her smile fast enough and nodded. "Xy, tell me if either one of you need anything. I'm sure you guys will need a place to sleep while your moving in!"
"Yeah...right...thanks mum." Xy said, confused and a little disoriented.
"Go on then...outta here." Dante said, none too nicely. Xy grumbled something that sounded like "Hittin' on my mom..." and sighed as she dragged Arson back upstairs, reluctantly leaving Dante and her mom alone.
"AND NO FUNNY BUISNESS!" Dante yelled up the staircase, laughing.
Xy blushed and grumbled. "He has some nerve I'll tell ya...."
"Funny buisness?" Arson asked, confused. "Oh......OH!"
"I could say the same to him...hitting on my mom like that..."
Arson shook his head. "I doubt he'd do anything like that."
"I hope your right...pulling moves like that on my mom just after she got divorced..." she sighed in exasperation.
"Your mom's divorced?"
Xy nodded. "Yep....about 3 months ago."
"Oh....I'm sorry to hear that."
"Bah, it's fine. I never liked him that much anyways."
Arson stayed silent as he looked about her room before picking up the cover of the game Devil May Cry. "Hnmmm....huh? What's this?"
She snatched it away quickly and threw it under the bed as she realized what it was. "Uhm....trash?"
"It didn't look like trash to me....that guy on the cover looked a lot like Dante too...."
She laughed nervously as she sat down on the bed. "What a...coincidence?"
He smiled innocently. "Why are you so nervous?" He sat down beside her but then got up again. "Is it me?" She shook her head roughly and glanced at the ceiling, making a note to herself to never take them to any kind of store.... she wouldn't want Dante to get an even BIGGER ego.
"No, it's not that..."
"Oh....well...alright....Xy...I'm sorry if I did anything to make you feel uncomfortable earlier on...I just got carried away I guess...you made me feel a lot better though.."
"It's fine Arson. I don't know how to say this...but I...uh...enjoyed it." She blushed as he sat down on the bed.
"Oh...." He suddenly realized how close his face was to hers and started blushing too.
"Maybe we should...uh...get back to sleep? We'll need our strength...for...uh...whatever we're doing tomorrow."
"And what ARE we going to do tomorrow?"
Xy mumbled to herself. "I don't know....I can't take them anywhere....someone might recognize Dante I guess...."
"Huh? Pardon?"
"Oh...nothing. I usually do chores in the morning....but....wait. Isn't today Sunday?"
"Yep." Arson nodded. "Tomorrow's Monday."
"Well...crap."
"Why, what's wrong?"
"School's tomorrow...."
Arson thought for a minute before responding. "Oh...well, I'll just stay here I guess..."
Xy snorted. "I couldn't just leave you here by yourself. Besides, my mom will wonder why your staying here...and she might get ideas."
"Sure you could! What, afraid of me burning down the house?"
She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yeah, that's it Arson."
"Well, Dante's going to be here too, right?"
Xy fell onto her back on the bed. "I really don't want to leave him here....."
"Why not?"
"Why not? Are you kidding! I don't trust him alone in my house..... 'specially after he dropped my toaster. And I don't want to leave him alone with my mom here."
"Why would he do anything to your mom? Those two are getting on great..." he answered and smiled childishly. She stared back at him, dumbfounded. He looked suddenly worried at the she gave him. "What?"
"Nothing...nothing. My mom's working tomorrow so that wouldn't matter. Anyways, I don't feel comfortable leaving you two here alone. Ecspecially since you've never been here before." Xyphos sighed as she realized they didn't have many choices.
"Your mom can take Gran'pa to work with her I guess....I can always walk around town...or something. What do you think we should do?"
Xy grinned evilly. "I can ditch school." Arson looked alarmed and shook his head.
"No way! You can't do that! Look...I could always go with you.... as a transfer student or something."
"Transfer student?" The thought had never occured to her, and she didn't think it would work. But it was worth a try. "Yeah, I guess." She shut off the lights and crawled in bed under the covers. "Well then, we better rest up for tomorrow." she said, scooting over to make room. To her surprise Arson sat down on the floor and curled up, hugging his legs to his chest. Xy sighed, hadn't they already gone over that it was fine if he slept beside her? Besides, he would be cold without any blankets. Xy sighed and peeked over the edge of the bed. "You don't have to sleep down there....besides... my room is infested with bugs."
"Really?" he asked, before quickly clambering onto the bed and curling up at the end of the bed like a puppy. She sighed and smiled, he was just like a little kid.
"Aren't you going to be cold without a blanket?"
He blushed again and shrugged. "I guess...but...it's just I have a kind of tendency to hug things while I sleep...I'd be really embarrassed if I ended up hugging you by mistake..."
Xy laughed. 'I guess he forgot - or didn't notice - he did it before?' she wondered. "Don't worry, its fine," she said aloud, pulling the sheets back. He clambered up next to her and snatched up the first plushie he could find - for there were a lot of them. But he happened to get her cherished Dante plushie. "What the-?"
"Oh crap...." Xy quickly snatched the plushie away and acted surprised. "Wow.... what's this? It... uh...looks sorta like Dante...what a coincidence!"
Arson scratched his head. "Dante's famous over here, isn't he?"
"Something like that..." She picked out another plushie - a vicious looking dog - and handed it to Arson. "You can have that one," she said, snuggling back into the covers with her Dante plushie at her side. She sighed, thankful that Arson wasn't about to have a nightmare. 'The feel of something beside him must make him not have them....' she thought randomly, before drifting off into sleep.
Arson gasped and pulled away, blushing furiously and fidgeting with embarrassment. "Xy...I'm...I'm sorry..."
Xy couldn't help but be shocked about what was happening. She had NEVER seen it coming. She was too embarrassed to even look at him, so she studied the ground. "There's no need...to a..apologize..."
He looked up at as though studying her. He doesn't say a single word but just sits there watching her. She wanted so badly to get up and leave there and then. It's not that she was disturbed by this. Actually, it was the exact opposite. She had enjoyed that kiss.... amazingly. Xy had always hated gushy romance stuff....but she felt like she could have stayed like that forever. But his presence was too much right now, it was like a weight on her shoulders. But it was that same weight that kept her on the bench.
"Xy...." he at length breathed out, brushing away a stray strand of midnight-black hair from her face. She still didn't have it in her to look up at him. She continued to stare at her feet blankly. Arson gently tilted her head up so that she was looking straight into his eyes. Those calm, brown eyes....she felt like she was drowning in them. "Xy...I...just noticed something..."
She barely managed to whisper. ".....what?"
He smiled, his eyes lighting up. "You're so...beautiful...." Xy shook her head modestly, having a red face all the while.
"No I'm not...." Arson smiled again and nodded. He bent over closer to her, and captured her lips in a deep kiss, closing his eyes as he did so, blushing madly. Xy couldn't believe the first time it had happened...but now it was again! This was turning into a very sappy teen romance novel....and she was enjoying every minute of it. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. She thought it would never end, but sadly it did sooner then she wanted it to. Arson pulled away slightly and looked at Xyphos with a strange look in his eyes....was it doubt? Suspicion? Or curiosity?
"If I left...for good...would you really be sad? Or...did you just say that?"
She grinned at the sudden question, nodding. "Yeah...I'd be really sad....devastated if you ever left me..."
"In that case..." he said, smiling, feeling the dark memory of his dream dissappearing, "..I would hate if I were the cause of any pain you may feel....I'll..I'll stay...for you." She couldn't think of anything to say...truthfully, she didn't know why he was talking about "leaving"...but she was happy he would stay with her. She nuzzled into him, smiling in complete bliss.
"Thank you."
Arson smiled and kissed her on the cheek, but shivered slightly as the temperature dropped noticeably. "Xy....I'm s-sorry..about earlier.."
"It's fine...I'm just relieaved your all right..."
He shivered again. "We should really head back now...it's getting cold.."
"Yeah....should we go get Dante?" Arson nodded quietly as they got up. Dante watched them both come up, a knowing smirk on his face, but not saying anything. "Shall we go back to my house then?"
Dante didn't say anything, but carried on smirking at them both. Arson nodded again and blushed at the look on Dante's face.
Darlia sat on the couch, watching the clock and tapping her foot impatiently. Where could they have gone for so long? And why were there suddenly new neighbors? She hadn't seen a moving truck or a 'For Sale' sign anywhere. She sighed. "No use thinking about it now. They seem nice enough...and Xy finally has a new friend. He's quite a polite boy too." She grinned at no one in particular as she paced in front of the clock.
Arson walked in first only to be scooped up into a hug by Xy's mom.
"I'm so glad your back and well, dear! I've been worried sick!"
He blushed furiously but then smiled as he quite liked being hugged like this. "I'm sorry I worried you Ma'am..."
"That's quite alright dear! It's great to see everyone's well, happy, and in one piece!"
"Arson....move." Dante said as he shoved him from the doorway so he could get in.
Darlia smiled even more broadly. "Good to see you back too!"
Dante smiled at her, but glared as he turned to Arson. "Arson, you should get back to bed. Dumbass..."
Xy's mom frowned slightly at his language and at this wierd name, "Arson". She regained her smile fast enough and nodded. "Xy, tell me if either one of you need anything. I'm sure you guys will need a place to sleep while your moving in!"
"Yeah...right...thanks mum." Xy said, confused and a little disoriented.
"Go on then...outta here." Dante said, none too nicely. Xy grumbled something that sounded like "Hittin' on my mom..." and sighed as she dragged Arson back upstairs, reluctantly leaving Dante and her mom alone.
"AND NO FUNNY BUISNESS!" Dante yelled up the staircase, laughing.
Xy blushed and grumbled. "He has some nerve I'll tell ya...."
"Funny buisness?" Arson asked, confused. "Oh......OH!"
"I could say the same to him...hitting on my mom like that..."
Arson shook his head. "I doubt he'd do anything like that."
"I hope your right...pulling moves like that on my mom just after she got divorced..." she sighed in exasperation.
"Your mom's divorced?"
Xy nodded. "Yep....about 3 months ago."
"Oh....I'm sorry to hear that."
"Bah, it's fine. I never liked him that much anyways."
Arson stayed silent as he looked about her room before picking up the cover of the game Devil May Cry. "Hnmmm....huh? What's this?"
She snatched it away quickly and threw it under the bed as she realized what it was. "Uhm....trash?"
"It didn't look like trash to me....that guy on the cover looked a lot like Dante too...."
She laughed nervously as she sat down on the bed. "What a...coincidence?"
He smiled innocently. "Why are you so nervous?" He sat down beside her but then got up again. "Is it me?" She shook her head roughly and glanced at the ceiling, making a note to herself to never take them to any kind of store.... she wouldn't want Dante to get an even BIGGER ego.
"No, it's not that..."
"Oh....well...alright....Xy...I'm sorry if I did anything to make you feel uncomfortable earlier on...I just got carried away I guess...you made me feel a lot better though.."
"It's fine Arson. I don't know how to say this...but I...uh...enjoyed it." She blushed as he sat down on the bed.
"Oh...." He suddenly realized how close his face was to hers and started blushing too.
"Maybe we should...uh...get back to sleep? We'll need our strength...for...uh...whatever we're doing tomorrow."
"And what ARE we going to do tomorrow?"
Xy mumbled to herself. "I don't know....I can't take them anywhere....someone might recognize Dante I guess...."
"Huh? Pardon?"
"Oh...nothing. I usually do chores in the morning....but....wait. Isn't today Sunday?"
"Yep." Arson nodded. "Tomorrow's Monday."
"Well...crap."
"Why, what's wrong?"
"School's tomorrow...."
Arson thought for a minute before responding. "Oh...well, I'll just stay here I guess..."
Xy snorted. "I couldn't just leave you here by yourself. Besides, my mom will wonder why your staying here...and she might get ideas."
"Sure you could! What, afraid of me burning down the house?"
She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yeah, that's it Arson."
"Well, Dante's going to be here too, right?"
Xy fell onto her back on the bed. "I really don't want to leave him here....."
"Why not?"
"Why not? Are you kidding! I don't trust him alone in my house..... 'specially after he dropped my toaster. And I don't want to leave him alone with my mom here."
"Why would he do anything to your mom? Those two are getting on great..." he answered and smiled childishly. She stared back at him, dumbfounded. He looked suddenly worried at the she gave him. "What?"
"Nothing...nothing. My mom's working tomorrow so that wouldn't matter. Anyways, I don't feel comfortable leaving you two here alone. Ecspecially since you've never been here before." Xyphos sighed as she realized they didn't have many choices.
"Your mom can take Gran'pa to work with her I guess....I can always walk around town...or something. What do you think we should do?"
Xy grinned evilly. "I can ditch school." Arson looked alarmed and shook his head.
"No way! You can't do that! Look...I could always go with you.... as a transfer student or something."
"Transfer student?" The thought had never occured to her, and she didn't think it would work. But it was worth a try. "Yeah, I guess." She shut off the lights and crawled in bed under the covers. "Well then, we better rest up for tomorrow." she said, scooting over to make room. To her surprise Arson sat down on the floor and curled up, hugging his legs to his chest. Xy sighed, hadn't they already gone over that it was fine if he slept beside her? Besides, he would be cold without any blankets. Xy sighed and peeked over the edge of the bed. "You don't have to sleep down there....besides... my room is infested with bugs."
"Really?" he asked, before quickly clambering onto the bed and curling up at the end of the bed like a puppy. She sighed and smiled, he was just like a little kid.
"Aren't you going to be cold without a blanket?"
He blushed again and shrugged. "I guess...but...it's just I have a kind of tendency to hug things while I sleep...I'd be really embarrassed if I ended up hugging you by mistake..."
Xy laughed. 'I guess he forgot - or didn't notice - he did it before?' she wondered. "Don't worry, its fine," she said aloud, pulling the sheets back. He clambered up next to her and snatched up the first plushie he could find - for there were a lot of them. But he happened to get her cherished Dante plushie. "What the-?"
"Oh crap...." Xy quickly snatched the plushie away and acted surprised. "Wow.... what's this? It... uh...looks sorta like Dante...what a coincidence!"
Arson scratched his head. "Dante's famous over here, isn't he?"
"Something like that..." She picked out another plushie - a vicious looking dog - and handed it to Arson. "You can have that one," she said, snuggling back into the covers with her Dante plushie at her side. She sighed, thankful that Arson wasn't about to have a nightmare. 'The feel of something beside him must make him not have them....' she thought randomly, before drifting off into sleep.