Sorry… I had writer's block… Grr…
On Friday, everyone was rushing around the house making sure that there was no trace of anything genetically mutated at all. The whole house was turned upside down and cleaned for the first guest the flock would have in their new home.
At 7:00, the doorbell rang, and Angel sped to the door to get it.
"Hi, I'm Ariel. Are you Isabella?" She asked, opening the door for Isabella, who waved to her mom in the car.
"Yeah, I am. Are your brothers and sister here?" She asked.
"Uh huh. I'll show you to the kitchen. I think Jeff is making pizza." Angel took her hand and led her towards the kitchen.
"Jeff is making pizza? Are Max and Nick there too?" She asked, and Angel stopped walking. She motioned for Isabella to lean down to her height.
"Max and Nick are" she lowered her voice to a whisper, "making out in her room." Angel made a sour face and Isabella copied hers, just to make her laugh. She stood back up, and Angel finished leading her to the kitchen.
"So then if we mix it with liquid z, then it will cause there to be an atomic reac- Oh, hey… Isabella, right?" Gazzy had been explaining an idea for a new explosive when he noticed Isabella come in.
"Hey, I'm Zephyr. Nice to meet you, and might I add," He said as they shook hands, "you have soft hands."
Iggy choked on the sauce he was tasting, and Angel stifled a giggle while Isabella just shook her head, trying not to smile.
"I think your brother has taught you a little too well. He used that one on me on Tuesday." Gazzy blushed and quickly left the room.
Angel followed him, trying to tease him about the situation.
"Cute kids, huh?" Isabella said once they'd left. Iggy laughed and took the dough out of the fridge. He set it on the counter on top of the flour and began to roll it out.
"Usually."
Isabella went over and touched Iggy's hands. "Hey, Jeff. Can I?" His head came up from leaning over the dough. "you wanna learn from a real Italian?" She joked, and he set down the rolling pin in front of him on the counter.
"Be my guest, oh guest of mine." He said, giving a little half bow.
She smiled, then remembered he was blind, and said, "I'm smiling really big, Jeff." She grabbed the rolling pin and placed his hands over hers.
"Learn from the master chef herself." She said, and she began to roll the dough out. "Rolling pins are for wusses, though, so I use my hands." His hands stayed over hers, and she flattened the dough.
Iggy enjoyed the moment, 'cause he didn't know how long it would last. He wasn't really listening to what she was saying, you know, about the pizza.
Isabella was kinda just talking to fill the silence. She wasn't sure if he was ok with silence because he couldn't see, but if she just kept talking with his hands on hers, she could make it all more comfortable for the two of them.
A couple footsteps down the stairs, and Iggy and Isabella sprung apart.
First in the kitchen was Max, followed shortly by Fang. Max had a lopsided ponytail, and Fang's shirt was lopsidedly buttoned.
"Hey Max!" Isabella said, and went up to give her a hug, but stopped.
"What? Is there something on my face?" Max rubbed her face, and Fang looked very guilty.
"Max, on your neck…" Isabella said, an Iggy went over and ran a hand over her neck.
"A hickey? Great job, Fangles. I'm sure Dr. M will be thrilled." Fang looked positively murderous.
"A hickey, Nick? Really?" Max said to Fang.
Iggy cleared his throat. "Oh Doctoorrr.." he was yelling, before Fang tackled him to the ground.
Isabella screamed as Iggy was pinned down with a hand around his neck.
"Not a word." He growled and Iggy tapped the ground. Fang got up first, then grabbed Iggy's hand to help him up.
"I swear. Cross my heart." Iggy said.
"I would button up your shirt, though." Isabella said, and Fang unbuttoned and rebuttoned his shirt, giving Isabella a glance at his 6-pack through his nimble fingers.
"We'll see you when the pizza's done." Max said, and Fang wrapped a hand around her waist and they left.
"Jeff, does this happen often?" Isabella asked, the two of them going back to the pizza.
"The hickeys? No. Fang's usually more careful than that." In the background, a faint 'ow' was heard.
"See, that was Max's revenge." Iggy poured the sauce over the dough, which was on a baking sheet.
"The wrestling, yes. I usually win, though." He said cockily, and Isabella giggled.
"Sure you do." She answered sarcastically. She put he cheese and he put the pepperoni.
He put it in the oven.
"The temperature is four hundred and ten degrees Fahrenheit." The oven said to Iggy.
"That's awesome!" Isabella said, and they left the room for the time for the pizza to bake. He showed her to the living room, where there was a Monopoly board set out for them to play with. Max and Fang were there, and so were Gazzy and Angel.
"Are you two gonna play too?" Isabella asked. They nodded.
"We have to wait for T.C., though, 'cuz we're gonna get Ella to play too." Angel said. "Ella is Max's real sister. Like, by blood sister." Angel told Isabella. She nodded.
"That's fine. Do you play in teams?"
Gazzy answered this one. "Yeah. It's usually Max and Nick, Me and Jeff, and Ariel and TC. But today, I'm Ariel's partner and TC will play with Ella if they play, so you can be Jeff's partner."
Just then, the door slammed open and Nudge walked in.
"Hi FAMILY!" She yelled. "I'm ready to PLAY!"
Isabella was surprised when she saw the owner of the voice. Nudge was wearing booty shorts over pink ballet tights and a crop-top over her leotard.
"I'll be right back to play- Oh! You're Isabella, aren't you?" Isabella nodded. "I've been DYING to meet you."
"I'll be back!" She sang, and she skipped up the stairs.
While they were waiting for Nudge, the oven beeped and Iggy and Isabella stood up.
"I'll get it." They said at the same time.
"How about we all go get it?" Max suggested, so they all got up and went to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Iggy grabbed the pizza out of the oven, Fang grabbed 3 big bottles of soda, Max grabbed four bags of chex-mix, and Angel and Gazzy helped each other set the table.
Ella and Nudge walked in at the end, and they all sat down.
"Ok, guys, start!" Max said, and Isabella was surprised how much they all ate, aside from Ella.
Although there was only enough pizza for everyone to get 2 slices each, the amount of chex-mix and soda everyone ate was enough to feed a football team.
"How are you eating so much?" Isabella asked. She was staring at Angel, who was eating a bowl of chex-mix.
"I have a high metabolism. Do you?" Angel said in-between bites.
"Not really, but I wish I did." Isabella said. Angel nodded, and Ella and Isabella waited while the flock finished eating. When they did, they left their stuff on the table and went back into the living room.
"I call the puppy!" Angel said, so she and Gazzy ran up to the board and claimed the puppy.
"How 'bout the car?" Fang said to Max who shrugged, and he sat with his arm around her waist and put the car on 'go'.
"I want the flying shoe, cause we all know I can fly!" Iggy said, and the flock gave each other worried glances while Isabella threw back her head and laughed.
"Sure you can, Jeff, sure you can." They all laughed (fake laugh) and Nudge and Ella claimed the hat.
After playing for about 15 minutes, the door opened and the sound of high heels came in from the hall.
"Guys, I'm home!" Dr. M came into the living room, and Max untangled herself from Fang to give her a hug. As Max pulled out and went to sit back down, Dr. M grabbed her wrist.
"Max, can I see your neck? I think there's something on it." She said, and began digging through her purse for her glasses.
"Mom, there's nothing there, seriously." She said, and started walking back to her seat on the floor.
Dr. M, glasses on, grabbed her shoulder and spun her around.
"Max… Is that what I think it is?" she exclaimed, and Max rolled her eyes while Fang found himself blending into the background.
"Mom, seriously, it's not that big a deal!" She said, and Dr. M touched one bruise on her neck, then looked at the spot where Fang was fading, unintentionally. Isabella was so caught up in the drama that she didn't even notice.
"Uh uh, young man, you are not going to disappear on me this time. Let's go, in my office now." Fang got up and waved goodbye, seeing as he probably would be cowering in his room for the next few hours, and followed the two women into the office.
"Well, our game is over, I guess." Said Gazzy with a frown, and he left the room, followed by the 3 girls.
"Bye, Zephyr, bye girls." Isabella said to the group, and she looked at Iggy, who was staring off into space.
"Jeff?" She said, tapping him on the shoulder. "It's getting late, I better be going home soon."
He looked to where her voice was coming from.
"Isabella. I'm gonna ask you to do two things for me."
She nodded, then realizing he couldn't see her, said "Ok."
"Can I touch your face?" Iggy said, putting a hand out. She grabbed it and put it on her face.
She felt his finger feel her forehead, nose, lips, chin, cheeks, and closed eyes.
When he removed his hand, he came very close.
"Next thing. Call me Iggy. Jeff sounds stupid." He said, leaning beck and smiling at her.
"Ok," she said, smiling back, "then you call me Bella. Deal?" He stuck out his had and she put hers in his.
"Deal."
The two of them went back into the kitchen, where they cleaned up the mess from earlier, and making small talk about anything to everything.
At about 10, two beeps from a car's horn cut the conversation short.
"Oh, Iggy. That's my dad. Sorry to leave you with this mess." She told him, and he just smiled.
"No worries! See ya Monday, Bella." He teased. He followed her to the door and led her out.
"Bye, Iggy." She called, and he blindly (get it?) waved out to her.
miniature line.
Isabella hopped in her dad's car and stifled a laugh as Iggy waved in the opposite direction they were driving.
"What's so funny?" her dad asked, glancing at his daughter while he drove. He was a tall man with formerly black hair, receding and turning grey at the roots.
"Nothing, Papa, it's just that Ig- I mean Jeff was waving in the wrong direction." She smiled at her dad, but he frowned.
"I thought I said no more boys. That last one, Joe, Jonah, whatever, I made an exception, and look where that got you. I… I don't like the way this Jeff kid was looking at you."
His mouth formed a rigid line.
"Dad… he ca" she was saying, but he wasn't done.
"I bet that's the only reason he invited you over. I bet all he did was stare and"
"Dad!" She yelled, catching his attention.
"He's blind. He can't see me!" She shouted. "He invited me over not because of what I look like, but because he thought I was a nice person."
Her father sighed.
"I still don't like him."
"Yeah, Papa, I know."