To the other me, who has changed their name to ApolloArtemis79, I thank you.
To Guest- Don't give me ideas! You know what I'm like… and THEY MIGHT. *evil laugh*
"You could move stuff with your mind!"
"No, Crystal, I-" Crystal didn't hang around to listen, rushing off and bouncing around her room. She returned with a book, a Rubix Cube, her cell phone, a pencil and a sea shell and set them out in a line on her bed. Alvie watched the items carefully before impulse took over and he arranged them in height order.
"Are you sure you're not OCD?" He nodded. Crystal shrugged it off. "Right, make something move."
"Crystal, I don't know if I can."
"Well, try and then we'll see." Alvie remained uncertain. "Oh, please! I'll get you cookies…" She pulled a puppy-dog eye look, smiling sweetly. Alvie remained oblivious and her smile soon faltered into a sulk. "That works on everyone except you and fat-ass downstairs." Alvie didn't respond, watching the pencil- the lightest of items.
Crystal watched Alvie as concentration dominated his eyes and expression. Shreds of pure white started to appear in his eyes and the pencil shivered. Crystal smiled. She had such great ideas.
Well, sometimes- "Alvie!" She cried in warning. Alvie's concentration broke and he looked at her in confusion. Crystal jumped up and grabbed a handful of tissues from the box on her bedside table. It was then that Alvie noticed he had a nosebleed. "Are you OK?" Crystal asked. Alvie nodded, holding the tissues to the bleeding. She studied his eyes, relieved to see the white flecks fading back into stormy grey.
"It sort of worked." Alvie told her, his voice muffled. "We can try again later, I don't mind."
"Not if your head explodes." Crystal retorted, miffed that her ideas had caused this. "I don't want any creepy, godly whack screwing with you."
"I'm fine." Alvie assured. Crystal studied him sceptically.
"You're voice sounds funny." She eventually said, a smile lighting the corners of her lips. Alvie returned it.
Alvie and Crystal were playing Monopoly- Alvie was very good, even with his struggle with Math- and bankrupted her in five rounds. Joy joined in then while a surly William watched them, annoyed, from the sofa. He flicked his newspaper and grumpily returned to the politics.
Crystal was out in four rounds this time, thanks to Alvie, so she sat back and watched her mother and Alvie fight. Joy kept trying to bribe him with cookies to let her win, but Alvie remained unmindful to her words.
"You're cheating!" Joy protested, throwing the dice and gaining a six. She complained when she saw that she landed on Alvie's spot again.
"He was as well." Crystal had noticed the white flecks in Alvie's eyes and realised he was using her previous idea to bewitch the dice into landing on numbers that helped him and bankrupted his opponents. Joy noticed too and she held onto the last of her money, point blank refusing to give it to Alvie.
"We're going to play properly with no cheating." She emphasised. Alvie gave a small smile and set the game back up, handing out the starter money. The white in his eyes slowly materialised back into the usual grey, assuring his two opponents that he wasn't cheating this time.
He still managed to kick Joy out of the game in seven rounds and Crystal four rounds later.
"I want to play another game." Joy huffed sulkily. Crystal flipped the board, glaring at Alvie stubbornly.
"You still cheated."
"I didn't."
"Well, we lost, so yes, yes you did."
They moved onto playing Snakes and Ladders, but Alvie still won at that. Crystal managed to beat him in Ludo, but he won in Cluedo without even trying.
"OK, OK, we're going to play a game which you won't be able to cheat in."
"What's that then?"
"Um…" Crystal glanced at her mother, who shrugged. "OK, how many fingers am I holding up?" Crystal asked, hiding her hands behind her back. Alvie studied her for a few seconds.
"Six." Crystal grumbled, changing the number. Alvie kept guessing them right until Joy took over, thinking of numbers instead.
"OK, this time not a number. I'm thinking of something, what is it?" Joy demanded, hoping Alvie didn't guess this time.
He did.
"You're thinking of that patchwork elephant."
"What am I thinking of?" William's deep voice sounded from the sofa, cold and judgemental. Crystal and Joy shared wary glances before looking at Alvie. He didn't seem to register the dislike in William's tone, studying his friend's stepfather for a short while.
"You're thinking of work." Alvie started. He fell silent again, looking uncomfortable.
"What?" Crystal asked him. He mumbled something. "What?" Crystal repeated, confused. Alvie shook his head.
"He can't tell." William gave a dry laugh.
"You think I'm lying about this, but I can't say it 'cos it's wrong and will only bring more trouble." Alvie told him flatly.
"Only bring more trouble? Alvie, what- what are you on about?" Alvie cracked his knuckles nervously, glancing at Joy. Crystal's suspicions shot up. "Tell me." She demanded, grabbing Alvie by the shoulders. A wild, fleeting look of panic and confusion flitted in his eyes, that were more white than grey.
He just shook his head and wandered off to the kitchen. They heard the tap running a few seconds later and the chink of a glass in the cupboard.
Crystal looked at her mother, who was staring after Alvie worriedly. Joy's eyes met Crystal's for a split second, before flicking back in Alvie's direction. Crystal got the silent message and went after her friend.
Joy looked at her husband.
"What was it?" She asked.
"It's none of your business." William snapped, returning to his paper.
Alvie had calmed down an hour later, but he still wouldn't tell Crystal and Joy what he had gleaned from William.
Instead, he found a cat toy of Pebbles' and spent twenty minutes happily teasing the cat.
Crystal watched him play, trying to work out what Alvie knew about William. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice him dropping the toy and tensing for a few crucial seconds. She did catch him before he hit his head on the floor, but his eyes were scarlet and blood was pouring down his cheeks. He fought against her until she assured him that it was her.
"It's OK, Alvie." She promised, resting his head in her lap and calling for her mother. "Mom'll bring water for you."
"Crystal…" He wheezed.
"I'm here." She shouted for her mom again. "Just stay calm, everything's OK."
"Crystal… your dad…" That got Crystal's attention. "He'll… come back… in… next… few weeks…" This shocked her so much; she didn't notice Joy enter with a bowl of water and two clean cloths. Joy cleaned Alvie's blood-stained cheeks with the first cloth before placing the second, neatly folded cloth over his eyes.
"Has he said anything?" Joy asked. Crystal didn't respond. "Crystal?" Joy squeezed her shoulder, pulling Crystal to her senses. "What's the matter, sweetie?"
Alvie shook his head, keeping her quiet.
"Um… it-it doesn't matter." Crystal lied.
"Crystal-"
"Mom, it doesn't matter." Crystal repeated firmly. Joy just nodded.