Disclaimer: If you recognize a character from MBAV, then I do not own it.

Aeternal

Chapter 2: Fatal Attraction

"Hi, my name is Deloria Mitchell," she said, extending her hand to her new foster brother. She smiled at him politely. She tried her hardest to make it seem as natural as possible. She should have known something was going to happen when the fizzy feeling in her stomach intensified. She had been about to ask Mrs. Weir if she had anything when the two boys walked through the doorway.

"Deloria," Mrs. Weir replied, pointing at the taller of the two brunettes, "this is my grandson, Benny. He's the one I was telling you about. And this is Ethan Morgan, Benny's best friend. He's around a lot."

The shorter one, Ethan, waved at her, smiling awkwardly. He seemed more preoccupied with the fact that his friend was staring ahead like a zombie.

Well, to be more precise, he was staring at her. Deloria did her best to be as cordial as she could possibly manage, even though all she wanted to do was run the other way. Out the door and on the bus, as far away as she feasibly could.

Mrs. Weir put her aged hand on Deloria's shoulder. "Let me show you to your room." She led her out of the kitchen, right past the statuesque Benny, and up the stairs. They passed a door criss-crossed with caution tape and one with a flower on the handle. They stopped at the last door in the hall, a plain white one, for anyone that's interested, and pushed it open. "Here we are."

The room itself was relatively spacious, considering all that was inside was a bed, a dresser, a bookshelf, and a desk, all the same shade of mahogany brown. "Thank you," Deloria said. She had left her duffle downstairs, she'd have to bring it up later.

"Deloria," Mrs. Weir said. "I just want you to know... You're welcome here as long as you like. You don't have to worry about being moved again. This room, you can make it your own. Add posters, paint it, whatever you'd like."

She seemed really nice. Deloria's eyes started to well with tears. It wasn't the first time she had heard the speech, and it certainly wasn't going to be the last. "Thank you, Mrs. Weir."

She waved the formality away. "You can call me Grandma."

Deloria smiled and nodded. "Could..." She hesitated. She'd never been placed in a home with an elderly caregiver, and if this house didn't work out, she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to use the endearment again. But… She crossed her fingers. Here's hoping. "Could I call you Gma instead?"

Grandma Weir grinned, happiness shining in her wizened eyes. "I'd consider it an honor."

Aeternal

"Dude... I'm so screwed," Benny stated. He was staring at the stairs.

Ethan shook his head. He knew that look. Not too many months ago he was staring at Erica with that same blank gaze. "Yup."

Finally, Benny's eyes snapped to Ethan. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Ethan sighed. He couldn't believe he actually had to explain this. "I'm pretty sure you're crushing on your new foster sister, and I'm ninety percent sure that's illegal."

"Yeah… I'm so screwed," Benny repeated. He sounded like he hadn't quite figured out how to let it sink in yet.

Ethan shook his head and patted his friend on the shoulder. "I'm gonna go. See you later, B."

Aeternal

Later that night, Deloria was lying in her new room, under new, peach-colored blankets, with her mind twisting and turning in a million different directions. She couldn't stop thinking about her trip to the bookstore. She and her handler, Veronica, were a good half hour ahead of schedule, so she let Deloria get off for a short trip to the nearest Barnes & Noble. They were still early getting to the Weir house. So early, in fact, that when Benny and Ethan walked in half an hour later, Veronica was already down the street and around the corner.

Deloria sighed heavily and lifted herself out of bed. She quietly descended the stairs, not wanting to wake the other occupants. However, once she reached the foot and turned the corner, she saw that the light in the kitchen was on.

Curious, she rounded the corner and saw her new foster brother leaning over the counter. He was biting his lip, so intent on whatever it was he was trying to do. She watched him for awhile, but he didn't seem to notice her. But the longer she watched, the more her legs started to hurt, and she couldn't stand… standing any longer. "What are you doing?" she asked, entering the kitchen.

Benny jumped. "What are you? Some sort of ninja?" He paused, seeming to think about what he just said. "No. Really. Are you?"

Deloria laughed internally and sat down at the counter. "No. You would have noticed me if you'd been paying attention." She glanced at the book he'd been pouring over. "Why are you reading a book in Latin?" Her gaze travelled the countertop. "With no dictionary? Unless you're fluent, then you wouldn't need one, but you looked like you were struggling." She paused and snapped her fingers. "What about the one from the bookstore? You bought it didn't you?"

Benny just stared at her. Not condescending or mean, just… puzzled.

She waved at him. "Hello? Are you special ed or something?"

Benny shook his head to both clear it and negate her assumption. "Grandma wanted me to buy it for her. Don't remember what she wanted it for though. I don't even know what she did with it."

Deloria waved at the book. "What were you attempting anyway?"

Automatically, and rather pointlessly, Benny snapped the book shut and moved it across the counter. "Reading it. Latin is hard, even if a lot of it looks like English."

Deloria tilted her head and cocked her eyebrow. "You do realize that English has a lot of Latin roots?"

Benny shook his head. "Don't even mention roots."

Deloria sensed a good story, but also that he wasn't likely to share it with her. They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Suddenly, Deloria's stomach growled, which caused Benny to chuckle. "What kind of foods do you like?" he asked, reaching for the fridge.

Deloria snapped her fingers. "Better idea. Let's play a game."

Benny paused, puzzled. "Why?"

"Because I'm bored, and you're bored, and games are a known way to alleviate boredom."

"Okaaaaaaay. What are the rules?"

Deloria smirked. "I tell you what to make, and you make it. From scratch."

Benny cocked an eye and waved his arms around melodramatically. "Where's the challenge?!"

"I never said you could use a cookbook."

Aeternal

An hour later, after an order to make pancakes, Benny was covered in flour, and Deloria was sitting in the only clean portion of the kitchen. "Tada!" Benny sang, placing a plate with two almost circular flapjacks on the counter with a flourish. "Bon appetite."

Deloria was impressed that this set wasn't burnt, leaking, or concave, and she could actually cut into it. Warily, she dipped it in the small saucer of syrup (no use wasting it when the batch might be inedible) and popped it in her mouth. She felt it crunch. "Too many eggshells."

"Awww, man," Benny griped, facepalming and sending a cloud of flour to drift about his head. He sneezed.

"You just need more practice." Deloria looked at the clock, four in the morning. "You should get to bed. Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"What about the pancakes?!" Benny pointed at the mess with open palms.

Deloria waved away his antics. Although she hated to admit it, she was quite amused. "My appetite was ruinted seven batches ago. I'll clean up." She rose from her seat and started searching the drawers for a rag.

Benny opened the one in the far corner and tossed her a white and red washrag, then he grabbed one for himself. "I'm up, I might as well help," he replied, smiling.

Deloria gritted her teeth and tried not to blush. She had to rid herself of this ridiculous attraction, soon, or she would be transferred to a new home before she knew it. She wet her rag and got to work on the counter. It took twice as long to clean up the flour as it did to get it everywhere. So when Grandma came down at six o'clock and saw them cleaning, she sighed.

"Do I even want to know?" she asked, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Pancakes," Benny replied drowsily. He threw his dishcloth in the basket and collaped on the couch.

Grandma sighed. "Both of you, upstairs, get some sleep. Benny, I'll call the school and tell them you had an appointment and will be in after lunch. Deloria, when he's done we'll go and get you some paint for that room." She smiled and shooed the two teenagers back to their beds.

End of Chapter.

Thanks for reading.

Beta: TiredofBeingNice (Muchas Gracias, darling.)

-LeAcH