It was almost a good thing that Brittany wasn't wearing much to begin with. She had slipped on the sweater with the alien-themed logos on it before starting her trek. The energy she was using to haul herself and her luggage up each ridge on the mountain's face was enough to cause sweat to form upon her chilled skin. While losing strength, her body temperature was rising, which was good. The brunette wasn't that far off from the cave's entrance anyway; she could see it. Brittany would be able to rest there, and once the Grinch saw how tired she was, and how not Who-like she was, he'd let her in for sure! Besides, it was rather imperative that he did let her escape the freezing wind. A body such as hers wasn't suited for this environment; she'd surely die from exhaustion, if not from the temperature first.

It took a grueling twenty minutes at least to scale the rest of the mountain before she reached Whoville's garbage dump. Flopping down onto the snowy ground in a heap, and letting her belongings rest beside her, she huffed heavily, warm breath coming out in large puffs. Her lungs struggled slightly to catch the oxygen it needed, she noticed, when the realization of how much thinner the air was up here dawned on her. It wasn't much, but it was undoubtedly enough to give an exhausted teen that just climbed a mountain without training a run for her money.

Brittany didn't know how long she rested there, just thinking. She knew it was a rather bad idea to take a break in the conditions that would soon take her life, but she found herself far too tired to move. The only thing her body could do was shiver to generate any heat.

How was she even transported here? A portal wouldn't just somehow open up out of nowhere and take an innocent human to another world. But, then again, how else would she have arrived here? Something like portal seemed the only logical option, and as much as she tried to convince herself that such a thing didn't happen, she knew in the back of her mind that it did. The million and one theories to try and make sense of all this flooded her mind until she forgot all about her dire situation. She only stared at the night sky as snowflakes slowly consumed her form. Her clothes were practically soaked now, and little did she know that it was sapping what heat she had left.

What saved her from getting lost into her thoughts until death, though, was the sound of a dog barking and a male voice cutting through the deafening slow whistle of the wind that wished to lull Brittany to an endless sleep.

"Hurry up, Max! The dump's probably chock full of useful trash we could have right now if your mangy butt weren't lazing behind!" Another bark echoed afterward.

Suddenly catching her second wind, Brittany suddenly realized why she was up here. She cursed herself for almost accepting death with open arms and lifted her head slightly. She could see the silhouette of two figures, one man-like, one a dog, coming her way.
She needed to get up quick to avoid being viewed as a lifeless corpse rather than a poor girl needing help. The newfound adrenaline rushing through her system allowed her to spring to her feet with ease, but she couldn't deny the initial heaviness that her limbs seemed to have and the dizziness of standing up too fast. Quickly shaking it off, she could then feel the anxiety of how this interaction would go. God, it just didn't seem to end, did it?

It only took a couple more seconds for the furry Who himself and his companion to arrive at the dump, wondering what it would offer them this time. Still, the Grinch had a clue, as during this time of the year all the garbage was deemed the same: Christmas ties, old food, old trees, old toys, old old old. Still, none of the things thrown away seemed old to him. The nerve of those blasted Who's; throwing away perfectly usable items!

The Grinch expected to see the same sight as he did every couple days, but apparently, fate chose differently this time. Of course, there was the garbage in all it's clattered beauty, but to add to the mix was a girl that stood beside the heap, looking uneasy.

His piercing yellow gaze suddenly met hers, and all sounds ceased. Even Max froze on the spot, tail between his legs at the newcomer. The girl quietly gazed back. Her pupils would flick to anywhere but them every few seconds, indicating anxiety.

Hm. Well, this was new. So deliciously new. When was the last time The Grinch had met another in person? Maybe he could use some social interaction. And fun!

The green male let his solid form relax and take on a more casual pose. His face contorted into an evil, mischievous smile that reached his non-visible ears.

"Why...hello there...little girl…" he said slowly, and Brittany could hear the raw amusement laced within his words. Little did he know that she was in no mood to be taunted and teased. Not in this place; not after she climbed a damn mountain.

"H-hello Mr. Grinch…!" She stuttered quietly. She lifted her shaking hand in a small wave, then dropped it to fiddle with her fingers, as she did when nervous.

The Grinch took a cautious step forward, paused, then crossed the distance in a fast pace until their noses almost touched. Brittany lurched back in surprise, almost falling over in the process. The other's smile grew in retaliation.

"And who might you be?" He questioned smoothly. Oh, he was enjoying her shaken look indeed.

Brittany took a breath and tried to conceal the bitter cold that nipped at her from every angle. She suddenly felt very envious of his thick green fur.

"My name's Brittany. I've…" another breath. "I've come for help. Please."

The Grinch leaned back and studied her pleading face. As far as he knew, this was all a trick for him to be a part of Whoville at all. For them to get him to, dare he say it, like Christmas. Deceptions and lies from a random Who was not on his agenda for today! Suddenly the Grinch felt that he wanted her gone rather than stay to be his new entertainment.

"Oh…? Help? From little old me?" He played along, touching his furry chest with delicate fingertips.

"My dear Brittany, as much as I'd like to ask just why you've chosen me to," he made a gagging sound. "Help you; I don't care. Now run along back down where you came from and ask your fellow Who's for that sort of thing." With that, he turned away from her and began to rummage through the trash, calling to Max for assistance. Brittany clenched her fists.

"Look, I didn't scale this entire mountain just to be turned away. Besides, I'll die if I try to make another trip in this cold!" The Grinch rolled his eyes.

"Exactly. Go for it, kid."

"Wha - no!" She paused and covered herself with her arms. "I'm not from here, Grinch. And not just from this town. From this world. I was...transported here somehow, and I have no idea how to get back!

"Boohoo for you, cry me a river!" The furred Who slunk a bag stuffed with garbage over his shoulder and began his walk back to the cave, Max following in tow with a bag of his own hanging from his teeth. Brittany quickly followed suit.

"W-Wait! Please, give me a chance-"

"Nope."

"You're the only one that can help-" Her constant pestering was beginning to get on his nerves quite a bit. First, lies about being from another world entirely. Next, poking and prodding to see if he'd change his mind! Ugh, he was more than glad that he lived away from these bothersome Who's. Gritting his teeth, he spun around to face Brittany like before, but now pointing an accusing green finger into her face.

"Listen here, kid, and listen good. I, the terrible and TERRIFYING Grinch, do not help any of you petty, twinkle-toed Who's! It's nothing but trouble!" He dropped his sack to make mocking kissy faces and heart symbols, clearly pouring his distaste for Whoville into them.

"Always spreading their Christmas JOY and sharing their glee and happiness! Ugh!" He then made a gagging sound.

"And their Who-feats and Who-bilations and their noisy Who-whatsits and Who-whosits! I'll throw up if I hear another one of those!" Brittany cocked her head to one side in confusion.

"Wha - look. I'm not here to spread any s-stupid Christmas cheer. Or...do any of that other stuff y-you said." The cold was getting to her, but the only one to take notice was Max. He began to whine while the Grinch ignored him completely, evidently caught up in his rant.

"You see, I'm smart, girl. I know you Who's! I've been up here watching you all for years!" He dashed towards her for the third time now, so close that Brittany could feel his breath. She could only watch with wide eyes as he practically had a psycho tantrum in front of her.

"You're petty little lies won't work on me. No, they won't, because if you didn't notice, I'm a genius! And this genius won't be deceived by any SPY they send up here to coax me down into being one of them!" While he continued his egotistical monologue, Brittany suddenly felt dizzy and sluggish. It seemed that her second burst of energy had run out. What was the Grinch talking about again? Something about how great he was? She had no idea, except that she felt the feeling of falling before her body slammed into the snowy ground in a heap, vision turning black.

Max hadn't realized that something was wrong with her in the first place, but now the intelligent dog knew that she was in genuine danger.

His oblivious owner paid no mind to the body on the ground, or his dog's whimpering beside the body. Now becoming frustrated, the animal barked instead to gain his comrade's attention. Fortunately, it worked.

"What is it, Max?! Can't you see I'm-" the Grinch's sentence was cut short by spinning around to the sight in front of him. He seemed to snap out of his trance then, the adrenaline running through his system dying down. Max's tail wagged with anticipation as his owner came close and crouched down to genuinely inspect the girl's body for once.

Her clothes were entirely not appropriate for traveling to the top of a mountain. They had absorbed quite a bit of the snow, and therefore they were soaked completely. The Grinch laid a hand on her shoulder to roll her onto her back, cringing by instinct at how chilled she felt.

Her expression was of slight pain, making it very apparent that her passing out all of a sudden was not normal. Furthermore, her fingertips were slightly bloody - probably from climbing without gloves - and the tips of her ears and nose were a vibrant red, almost blue.

It didn't take much of a brain to know that something was incredibly wrong.

The Grinch knew that she needed to get someplace warm fast before he'd have to deal with a dead body. However, just because he knew it should be done never meant he wanted it to be done. He only didn't want any Who company in his own home! He knew once she wakes up she'd spread her disgusting Christmas joy all over the place!

But once he thought about it, there was a mystery going on here. The Who's were far too kind to send their own up to his domain - underdressed, might he add - to spread some Christmas cheer. To be so cruel and let this girl freeze to death at his feet was most certainly not like them. Now the Grinch was intrigued, squinting at her form.

She looked far too thin to be a Who. Not only that but most kids her age would've grown into their noses by now. This girl's hadn't even started to mature in the slightest. He knew of late bloomers, but this was ridiculous! Furthermore, to top it off, her attire, in general, seemed far different than that of what Whoville offered. A sweater of some kind with odd head pictures on them? And what were those words etched onto it? "I need more space?" How strange. Her hair wasn't even up like most Who's had it!

The more the Grinch stared and thought, he felt an inkling of truth come out of her words from before. Maybe this was worth exploring. His schedule was the same every day, after all.

Max snapped him out of his thoughts by barking again. The other scowled and shot a glare at his companion, suddenly finding his stubbornness taking over. He quickly reverted to his original idea to leave her out here, seeing it disgraceful that he almost went against what his incredibly small heart stood for by thinking of bringing her in.

"I know she's hurt, Max! I'm not an idiot!" He stood up and crossed his arms with disdain when the dog growled in retaliation.

"No, I'm not going to do that! You must've lost your mind for you even to consider it! Bring her with us? To the Grinch's lair? Where I'll coddle her and nurse her back to health like some babysitting nanny? Where have the years worth of knowledge about the Who's being our enemies I drilled into your head gone?!" He then bent down to pick up both of their garbage sacks.

"I'm disappointed in you, Max! I taught you better than this! Besides, if she wanted help, she could've gone to Whoville."

As the Grinch began to walk away without a care, Max growled and lunged forward to take a rather large chunk of his green friend's behind into his mouth, biting down. The Who immediately dropped the sacks yelp in pain before running around in circles to try and pry Max off.

"MAX! Let go of me now! That's not a chew toy! Max!" The next minute was spent filling the mountains' silence with grunts of anger, pain, and an animal's growls. At last, it came to an end when the Grinch gave up trying to fight.

"ALRIGHT Max, I'll take her with us! Now get off! Now!" The said dog yipped with glee and quickly let go of the fur and flesh between his jaws. The Grinch rubbed his backside and twitched his nose with annoyance before reluctantly trudging his way back to the girl that was still very much unconscious.

"I don't even know why I keep you around if all you do is provide terrible company and put your mouth where it shouldn't," he grumbled to himself, but Max heard anyway and gave something that of a sheepish grin.

By now, snow had collected a considerable amount across the brunette's body. The girl was as still as a rock and would have been seen as dead to anyone else. But the Grinch knew better by the small puffs of air that came from her mouth in very rapid motions; too rapid to be healthy. The sight wasn't something he was entirely used to now that he looked at her fallen form once more. Teen Who's that came up to his home to be bothersome never ended up looking as quite...dead as this by the time they reached the top of the mountain. Then again, they all usually took the garbage dump, while this girl had scaled it entirely, as she said. What a dumb idea.

However, despite how much he rolled his eyes at her actions, The Grinch couldn't deny the strange feeling he experienced when he picked her up into his arms bridal style. A small twinge in his chest; a pull of his heartstrings, if you will. She was as cold as snow itself, the iciness of her body making him shiver. And, as much as he hated to admit it, her condition quite scared him. The Grinch was someone that hated Who's and Christmas with a burning passion. However, even he had standards. It was fun to yell insults to the town below from the cliff by his front door, or trip passersby when "visiting." But did that fun include watching someone die from harsh conditions in front of him? Half of him wanted to say yes; to add that in his moral system, but the other half wondered if that was going too far.

He interrupted his thoughts to demand Max grab her things, and that they'd come back for the garbage afterward. That was another thing, the rebel Who suddenly thought. Why did she have luggage with her like she was ready to go on vacation? Things were not adding up.

It didn't take long at all for them to reach the front door. The Grinch had to try and maneuver the body in his arms so it wouldn't hit the frame while walking in, which, by the way, happened three times already. Max yapped at his owner for being so careless, and the other waved him off with a hand before dropped it quickly to hold her upright before she could fall.

"Whatever, Max. If she could survive climbing a mountain, then she can survive this abuse!" The Grinch looked around his cave for a place to put her down and soon settled on his lounging sofa chair he used to relax in. Practically dumping her in it, he let out another dramatic sigh before getting work to bring her back to health. Now he remembered why he didn't like to care about others, not including himself; it was far too much work.

—

Ahh, I was both so excited and nervous to write this! I really hoped that I captured the Grinch's character. He's just a super grumpy guy, but also so loud and lively with everything he does and says. It's a great mix, and definitely creates a super lovable anti-hero character. I find it hilarious that Whoville is so scared of The Grinch when all he really does is shake a fist in anger and trip people on the road. It's stupidly, heartwarmingly dumb, and that reasoning - that The Grinch could never be a true villain and that he cares deep inside - will lead to Brittany agreeing to some fun shenanigans in the future! There's no harm in spitballs, right?

Thanks for reading! Feedback is always appreciated!