Wow look at me being sincerely sorry for not updating for like, 2 months. I'm sorry, I really am! I'm just a huge butt who had writer's block for this specific story. The chapter is slightly longer than usual. Also, I won't believe you all if you say you didn't see this coming.
It's been about 2 days since the trial, and John is absolutely panicking.
"Dave, Dave, I can't do this I can't," John won't stop repeating the words, and you've since given up trying to comfort him. It's a normal Sunday, and you're standing on the lawn of some house, as you have been for about 20 minutes. You're not visible to the human eye, but only because you're out in the open. John won't even tell you why the hell he says he 'can't' do this. It doesn't seem too difficult to you.
You're standing on the front lawn of a typical suburban house. The address reads 21605 Fir Drive. The house has a tree with a tire swing in the front, and a weird green riding toy to the side of the yard. John is holding his face in his hands, and he's probably hyperventilating. As you're waiting for him to calm his shit, you look at the shadows through the window. There's a female shadow in front of one of the windows where you're sure the kitchen is, and you see an occasional taller shadow through the same window. On the left side of the house, you can see through the window to the television, where some kids show is playing. A little girl sits in front of the T.V, laughing. You smile softly, as you know this is the girl you're supposed to be guarding.
"Dave, I can't," John says for about the sixteenth time. You finally snap.
"Why not?!" you demand.
"I can't tell you, I can't, this is- I can't."
John collapses into the grass, shoving his head between his legs. You kneel down onto one knee, placing a hand on his back.
"Why not? What's wrong with this house?"
John looks at you through tear-smudged glasses, which he sloppily attempts to clean with his sleeve. "It...it.."
You gesture for John to continue, but he doesn't, just shakes his head, restarting his sentence.
"Listen...how about you go inside first. I think that she might be a little overwhelmed if two random teenage boys show up in front of her," John says, 'she' obviously meaning the girl inside. You sigh, standing up.
"Whatever. But you know you gotta play your part in this too, or you won't get your rank back."
"Yeah, I know. Just trust me here."
"Yeah, yeah. See ya later, Egbert," you tell John, heading towards the front of the house. You briefly stop time around the house so you can pick the lock and get inside, closing and locking the door behind you. You keep yourself invisible to humans, heading to the living room and making yourself comfortable on the couch behind the young girl before you resume time. You suppose you'll just observe a little for now, get to know the family a little before revealing yourself to the young girl, and the young girl only.
"Casey!" you hear a female voice call from the kitchen. "Lunch is ready, come wash your hands!"
"Okay!" the little girl, Casey, replies. She gets up on stubby legs of what you're guessing is a six or seven year old. She runs to the kitchen, and you follow silently behind her, leaning in the doorway and watching her wash her hands. A man, probably the father, sits at the table with the newspaper, smoking a pipe. He has a large nose and he's wearing a white fedora to match his shirt, you notice. He has dark hair, and you can't see his eyes.
You look to the mother. She has stereotypical blond curls and bright blue eyes. They remind you of John. She has fair skin, though pink on her cheeks. That might just be makeup though, to match the bright red lipstick she wears. She's a fairly average height for a female, as is Casey's dad. Casey almost mirrors her mother. She has the same blonde curls and rosy red cheeks, but her eyes are a warm brown. You infer that this is the color of the father's eyes as well.
Casey finishes washing her hands and hops up on a chair at the table. Her mother sets a plate of macaroni n' cheese in front of her, and then brings two more plates holding larger portions to the table, setting them in front of Casey's dad and an empty seat, which you assume is hers. She doesn't sit down just yet though. She takes a minute to give Casey a glass of milk, and refill coffee cups belonging to her and her husband. Then she sits down, and the family starts chatting idly.
It's like you're watching a T.V show, the way the encounters go. Something's a little off, though. You get a glance at the eyes of Casey's father, and they look sort of empty. Casey's mom looks like she's trying too hard, trying to please everyone, but Casey doesn't know any different. You do, though. You know something's up.
"Ben, would you like anymore sugar with your coffee?"
"Yes, Lucy, that would be great."
Lucy, apparently, stands and retrieves a sugar cup from a cabinet and sets it on the table in front of Casey's dad, Ben. Probably short for Benjamin. He takes it, stirring some into his coffee.
"Daddy, daddy! Will you show me some magic tricks after lunch?" Casey asks excitedly through a mouth full of food. Lucy scolds her a bit,
"Don't talk with your mouth full, Casey."
"If you finish all of your food, I'll show you some magic tricks," her dad replies.
"Yay!" the young girl exclaims, quickly shoveling food into her mouth. You laugh, unheard by the family. Casey reminds you a lot of John, the resemblance is startling. Her mother urges her to slow down in her food consumption, but she doesn't exactly listen. She does chew her food though, instead of simply swallowing.
The rest of the conversation isn't notable. Something about Ben's work and Casey's schooling. She's ahead of the rest of her class, apparently. You're not a kid person, don't have the patience for it. But you don't think you mind Casey. She seems like a good enough kid thus far.
Lunch soon ends, with Casey rushing off to her room, and Lucy doing the dishes. Casey comes back not five minutes later in some silly magician's getup. She practically drags her dad to the living room, handing him a magician's hat too, and begging him to show and teach her new tricks.
You follow the two to the living room, resting once again in the doorway. Ben smiles sadly, but Casey doesn't see the sadness behind it like you do. He starts shuffling a deck of cards, setting up a trick that you know John pulled on you once.
"Pick a card, Casey." He holds out a handful of cards, the face sides towards the blonde girl. She picks one cheerfully, and you can see from the spot you're standing in that it's the 4 of clubs.
"Alright, don't tell me what it is, just put it facedown back in the deck."
Casey complies, and you know her dad didn't see it, but you also know he'll be able to draw it out later. He's counting cards, just like John does.
He uses a tricky shuffling technique that will allow him to show the card later, and Casey watches in awe. Several minutes later, he has 20 of the 52 cards laid out on the table, in 5 groups of four.
Ben points between a group of two sets of four, and a group of three sets of four. "This one, or this one?" he asks.
Casey points to the group of three sets. "That one!"
Her dad nods, getting rid of the group of two. He then turns his attention to the group of three, and points between two, and one.
"This one or that?"
Casey points to the first, group of one, and her dad gets rid of it. Knowing what comes next, Casey points to one of the remaining groups, choosing it.
"That one!"
Ben gets rid of that group, and then points between the last set of four. "These two, or these two?"
Casey chooses two, and Ben keeps those. Finally he asks, "This one or that one?"
Casey points to the card on the right, "That one!"
Ben picks up the card, showing the face to Casey. It's the 4 of clubs.
"Is this your card?"
Casey seems amazed as she nods, grabbing the card, "Yeah! That's the one? How did you do that, daddy?"
"A magician never reveals his secrets," he replies with a wink. She bounces up and down on the couch, and Ben readjusts his position on the floor.
"Please please show me!" Casey begs.
"I told you, honey, I can't. But," he pauses, reaching for her ear. "I can do this!" he announces, pulling an unseen quarter from behind it and handing it to Casey. She laughs, taking it and pretending to do the same to her dad, though it's not as convincing. He pretends to be surprised anyways.
"Woah, Case, how did you do that?"
"Magic!" she answers with a giggle.
Ben stands, patting Casey's head and smiling. "I have a few errands to run, Case. Why don't you go play in your room while I'm gone? If you need anything, your mom will be here, and I want you to listen to what she says, alright?"
"Okay daddy!" Casey agrees easily, running off to her room. You take note of the direction she goes in and watch as Ben returns to his wife, giving her a short kiss and whispering something in her ear. She nods, her mouth tightening in a fine line as she puts the last dish away.
"I'll see you in a few hours, then?"
He hums in reply and takes what you assume to be car keys off of the counter. He leaves a minute later, the car in the driveway starting and taking off.
You wait a moment before heading to Casey's room. She had left her door open, so you don't need to perform any time shenanigans to walk in without getting noticed. Casey is digging through a large purple chest with gold stars all over it, taking things out once in a while. A pair of trick glasses, with a large nose and a mustache. Fake arms. A white fedora, a smaller replica of her dad's.
Finally satisfied with her loot, she takes the things to her bed, sitting on it and placing the items out in front of her. She puts the hat and glasses on, and you have no idea what she's going to do with the arms. You decide to have a little fun with Casey.
"Booo!" you call out eerily, enough where Casey can hear it.
She turns her head in your direction, calling out a tentative, "Hello?"
"Sup, Casey," you say, not appearing yet. A mischievous grin makes its way across Casey's face, and before she replies, she runs to her closet.
She is literally John, you swear. She has an exact replica Ghost Buster's gun in her closet, which she takes out. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
You know it's not actually going to do anything to you, so you go ahead and reveal yourself, but not before pausing time and shutting her door. It catches her off guard.
"Woah!" Casey exclaims. "I thought you were fake!"
You make a motion for her to shush before she draws her mother's attention, and tell her, "Nah. I'm perfectly real." You stick out your arm and gesture for her to touch it as proof, and she does.
"How did you do that, then?"
"Magic," you tell her with a grin that mirrored hers earlier.
"That's so cool!" she tells you. You nod in agreement.
"So what's your name?" Casey asks. You stick out your hand for a brofist as you introduce yourself.
"Name's Dave. Dave Strider."
She meets your fist with her small one, and tells you, "I'm Casey!"
"I know that."
"But I bet you don't know my last name!"
"You're right, I don't. What is it?" you ask curiously.
And you swear your heart stops as she replies.
"Egbert."