The Ogre and I

Ch 4

Shrek noticed his friend was very quiet and worried. He wondered what was wrong. "What's up? You've been quiet." He asked her.

"I have to go visit a web designer and I'm nervous. We don't know each other and stuff. Did you want to be something important when you were a teen?" Carley answered. Shrek nodded. "Yes I did. I wanted to be a knight. I had the heart and courage of one but my parents never approved of my dream. It hurts when they do that." He told her looking into her eyes.

"You would make an awesome knight, brave and unselfish and loyal. My parents hate that I'm not like them. My Mom tries to get me into candles but that stuff isn't my thing. Writing stories, being with you and with Leah is my thing." She said. "Thanks man. Why web designing?" he replied to her. "I wanted to make a web site for my fan fics and creative writing." She answered him.

But he was thinking of something. "I want to tell her that I want to be part of her family and let myself be known to her parents and sister. But she wouldn't be too happy about it." He thought as he saw her eat. "What's on your mind?" Carley asked him. "Oh nothing." he said as he watched her go off with Leah. He then saw a letter for him and opened it.

Hello

We know you haven't spoken to us since we kicked you out of the house but we want to see you. We know you're a Guardian Ogre so we're going to Earth so we can visit.

Your parents.

it read. He was very nervous at that. He couldn't tell Carley this. He hoped they didn't know where he was. He couldn't risk letting Carley's parents find out about them or him. They wouldn't understand.

Leah noticed the ogre was nervous as she and Carley were in her room. "It's my parents. They're coming for a visit. I'm afraid. I wanna be part of Carley's family and let her parents and sister know about me." he replied softly. Leah understood but Carley was very quiet. "Are you okay?" Shrek asked her. He knew this was a lot to take in. "I-I'm fine. Just nervous." she answered him. He understood she was a little scared. "Don't worry. It'll be okay." he told her hugging her. Leah then heard her brother gasp as he came into the room. "What's an ogre doing here? Does Carley's parents know?" David asked her as he just stared at Shrek. "No they don't. What're you doing here?" Leah answered. Carley looked flustered at that. "Don't worry. I'm not leaving you. This kid won't tell. Besides if he did, who'd believe him?" Shrek reassured her smiling. "I was curious, okay? My friends were saying stuff about your friend because she never comes out of here most times. I won't tell." David answered.

"What's up with him? Is he scared of me?" David asked Leah. "No. He's just worried because his parents are coming for a visit. They're... not like him." Carley told him. "Oh okay but why's he here?" he replied. "I'm her Guardian Ogre. We're assigned to kids who are lonely, sad, hurt or needing friendship. I was assigned to Carley because she's different, disabled and she finds it harder to make friends with other kids. I know she's friends with your sister but she's the only one that sees Carley just as a person." Shrek explained to him. "I understand." David told them.

Later that night both Carley and Shrek were in bed together. "Will they be okay when they find out you're protecting me? They probably want you to be like them, mean and cold hearted but you can't. I know it. Only if my parents found out, they wouldn't believe me." Carley said softly to him, her eyes closed. "They'd freak but I can't change who I am. I know your parents... expect you to be like them but I know you're not. You're more cooler than them with powerful creative and musical talent." Shrek replied stroking her hair. "Maybe one day you could make your dream of being a knight come true or maybe one of your sons will have the same dream. My friends tell me to follow your dreams but it's hard." she said. "That's true. What dreams do you wanna follow?" Shrek asked her. "I want to be a DJ and an author. My parents want me to be into nursing or mechanics like them but it's not for me." she answered.

He smiled at that. He hoped his parents wouldn't cause too much trouble when they came. But he wanted to talk to Carley about being part of her family but now wasn't the time. Leah noticed that Carley was smiling as they walked in the park. Some kids were making fun of her friend because of her cane but ignored them. "How is he?" Leah asked. "He's okay. We talked about being part of each other's families but I'm worried. My parents wouldn't believe me or think I'm crazy." Carley replied. Leah understood. "I'm sure it'll be okay." she said as they got onto a bus. Leah knew that Carley was very nervous around her parents. She felt scared around them. She didn't want to imagine their reaction to Shrek being her Guardian Ogre or being part of the family. "Just forget about it for now. We'll figure out a way to tell them." Leah told her as they got off the bus and were in the City Centre.

"I hope you're right Leah or chaos is afoot." Carley said as they went into a book store. They then saw two strangers that looked like ogres approach them. "Hello. Are you the one our son protects?" the male asked Carley. Leah saw her nod nervously as they paid for manga and fantasy books. They were Shrek's parents. "You're them, aren't you? He's been very nervous about you guys showing up." Carley replied to them. The female ogre looked skinny with blue eyes and wore Goth clothes. Her name was Beltra. The male one, her husband was wearing an old leather jacket with faded jeans and Sketchers. His name was Maki. He had brown eyes just like his son. Both had gren skin and trumpet shaped ears.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Leah, Carley's friend." Leah told them as they walked down the street. Carley noticed Shrek feeling nervous and drinking black coffee as they came in. "You okay? You look awful." Carley said gently. "Yeah. I see they're here. Also your parents found out about me. They're okay with it, just a little freaked out. They're coping better than I thought they would. They went out for dinner and went to a hotel for the night." he explained. Leah saw Carley cry. "Hey it's not your fault. Everything'll be okay." she said hugging her. "Yes but they probably think I'm insane and send me away where we can never be together or be with Leah!" she told them. "It's okay. I explained everything to them. They don't think you're crazy. They're just surprised you didn't tell them." Shrek reassured her hugging her too. "Thanks. I'm worried for when they come back." Carley replied smiling. "Where're my parents?" Shrek asked her. "They're in the spare room." she answered him softly.

That night he lay awake thinking of his friend. He had a solution but he wanted to tell her first before doing it. He hoped things would work out...