Simon's Route.
Stacy roamed from group to group, trying her best to mix with the crowd. For the most part she was enjoying her evening, the food much to her liking as she seemed to return to the buffet table every ten minutes. The guests were enjoying the night along with her, Stacy managing to pick up a few dance partners here and there much to her amusement.
Stacy had moved around so much that evening that she had managed to re-join with Mika, the young woman shaking her head in amusement at the sight of her.
"What's up?" Stacy questioned when realising Mika was slightly stressed out. Her friend sighed, eyeing up the remaining glasses of wine.
"They're going faster than I thought they would" Mika confessed, hinting at the lack of them.
"What did you expect? You can't simply ignore the chance of having free wine" Stacy humorously stated making Mika tightly smile.
"I've noticed you haven't touched a glass tonight" Mika suggestively noted making Stacy laugh.
"I happen to have work tomorrow so I'm being a responsible adult" Stacy told her making Mika knowingly smile.
"I could give you a hand refilling the glasses if you want" Stacy suggested.
"Don't be silly, you're a guest!" Mika quickly responded in surprise.
"And I'm also a friend" Stacy added with a wink. Mika looked up at her friend, a soft true smile playing on her lips.
"Are you sure? I don't want to ruin your night… I know you've been working non-stop recently…" Mika slowly told her but Stacy simply dismissed her words.
"It's no problem, honestly" Stacy truthfully told her and Mika sighed again.
"I really owe you one… The wine and glasses are set up in the kitchen. I'll go around collecting the empty ones while you start refilling. Ugh I really should have just listened to James and had waiters go around refilling glasses instead" Mika explained, her last sentence barely heard as she muttered it under her breath. Stacy laughed at her,
"I got you" she comforted her. Without another word the two friends parted from one another, Stacy heading straight to the kitchen.
Wine glasses were already set up in tidy rows on the counter, making Stacy grin. She walked over to the cooling cabinet where the wine usually was kept, pulling out a few bottles of white and red. She lent down, closing the door but a chill ran down her back… someone was watching her. Stacy stood herself straight, glancing around the room with analysing eyes but not one else was in view.
"Hmmm" Stacy breathed, trying to ignore the feeling as she placed the bottles of wine near the glasses. Stacy usually had good instincts, her thoughts and feeling never letting her down but in this moment of time she was questioning herself.
She moved herself to one of the drawers, knowing the bottle opener was usually located there but a glimmer of white caught her attention. She was swift to glance in the direction, the motion too fast to process until it immediately halted. Stacy forgot about her main objective as she cautiously approached one of the darkened corners of the floor, noticing an odd stuffed toy.
"Huh, weird" Stacy couldn't help but mumble as she crouched down, inspecting the object closely. It was a weird toy for sure; a stuffed white animal with red eyes and a toy knife in its hand. She gently took hold of it, the toy deadly still as she stood, looking at the sealed shut door.
"Didn't see you there before" she thought aloud,
"Not sure why someone would throw you across the floor either" she added, her eyes lingering on the door a moment longer, wondering if someone was trying to prank her. She shrugged her shoulders, her eyes turning to the toy as she shot it a confused expression.
"I didn't know the Toy Company made models like you too, you don't seem like something adults would choose for a child. Eh who am I to judge? Guess you're kind of cute in an odd way" she spoke quietly, brushing the dust it had gathered off its back as she returned to the wine, placing the toy down on the counter.
Stacy returned back to her main objective, filling the glasses up with wine after getting the bottle opener but light shuffling and the clings of pans being disturbed caught her attention. She glanced in that direction, failing to find the cause of it… Surely someone was trying to spook her. She loudly sighed in annoyance to herself, putting down the half empty red wine bottle as she rested her hands on her hips.
"Y'know if you're trying to scare me you're doing a terrible job at it" she told the room in a blank, bored tone. The shuffling paused for a second, its silence her only reply as she shook her head, slightly amused.
"Silent type, hm? Well if your plan is to scare me then good luck" she spoke to the room again, a hint of mock added to her tone of voice. A high pitched crackle of a laugh was her reply this time around and instead of flinching she shook her head with a bit back grin, a part of her wondering what she had just done. She lightly laughed to herself, returning to fill the glasses as she awaited their next move.
Silence accompanied her for several minutes as she filled the glasses before shuffling finally returned. Stacy's ears easily tracked their location which remained unknown to the target as they moved about. She bit back her grin until she couldn't contain it anymore,
"You do realise I can hear you" she stated, her amusement showing as she turned her head in the direction of the halting shuffling. It was now that she realised that the toy had been taken and placed on the floor again in the direction she glanced.
"Oh I see how this game is… You took that toy? Shame, I was getting attached to it" she spoke in humour, turning her eyes away from the toy. She was given a high pitched laugh and she laughed along, her eyes returning back to the toy but it had disappeared again without her knowing.
She set down the empty bottle, realising that she would need more glasses soon. With a shrug she opened the next bottle, the shuffling returning but it was much quieter now, as if they were trying to conceal their every move. Before Stacy could part her lips to comment on their improvement the kitchen door clinked open, a flushed Mika rushing in with a tray of empty glasses.
"I can't believe how much they've had" Mika exclaimed as she hurried in, shoving the tray on the counter as she closed the door to. Stacy laughed as she filled her final glass, setting the bottle to the side.
"You want me to wash those for you?" Stacy asked but Mika shook her head.
"We should be fine now, you've filled a lot of glasses and it seems they're starting to drink the punch more" Mika honestly told her, noticing the glint in her eye. Mika frowned at her,
"What has you so entertained?" Mika cautiously asked and Stacy laughed, retelling her events as she started placing the empty glasses off the tray and near the sink.
With each word she spoke she could see Mika dramatically pale, her eyes widening at the mention of the stuffed toy.
"Hey don't sweat it" Stacy told her when ending her tale.
"It's just someone trying to pull my leg… Plus I can hear their every movement. The kindergarten kids don't call me the Master of Hide and Seek for nothing" she jokingly said, her eyes instantly turning to her right. The toy from earlier had been moved back to the original place Stacy had put it on the counter, its red eyes seemingly watching the pair.
"I have to say… whoever is moving the toy is pretty sly, good tactic though" Stacy told her, her eyes never moving from the toy.
"But not as sly as me" she added, turning her eyes back to Mika as she threw her a wink. Mika nervously laughed, rubbing her hands uneasily.
"I wasn't expecting Simon to be here" she slowly stated but Stacy was quick to pick up on her tone; it wasn't annoyed towards Simon, it was more as if he was to remain unnoticed. To ease the moment Stacy forced a laugh, waving her hands dismissively.
"Aw c'mon, there's no harm in a little fun… right?" Stacy spoke to simmer her words and Mika sighed, stiffly shaking her head. Mika's eyes seemed to take notice of the toy again, throwing it a dirty glare. Stacy glanced back at the toy thoughtfully before speaking.
"He's kind of a rare type of toy, huh?" Stacy commented hinting that he wasn't a part of the Toy Company's collection. Mika quirked a smile.
"You could say that again" she honestly responded and the two glanced at each other, laughing.
"It's kind of cute in a way" Stacy commented as she continued to empty the tray of glasses.
"What? Are you serious?" Mika exclaimed in surprise and Stacy grinned, nodding her head.
"I don't know how you can think that…" Mika murmured under her breath loud enough for Stacy to hear. She glanced over her friend, noticing the shiver trailing through her body. Mika took note of Stacy's eyes on her.
"Don't you find him a tad… creepy..?" Mika cautiously asked and Stacy smiled.
"When you work at a kindergarten school every Thursday for two years straight you see a bunch of weird toys" Stacy mentioned.
"I often asked the kids why they liked them and although their answers were simple I understood them. Each one has their own character… You'd be surprised how many headless Barbie's and naked action man figures I have seen and yet the kid still loves them" she continued on making Mika slowly nod.
The pair worked together as they refilled the trays with the glasses Stacy had filled, both taking equal loads to take them out. As they both approached the door to leave Stacy halted, turning her head to look at the toy. It had moved location again but it was in sight, looking their way.
"If we come to meet again Simon… I'll challenge you to a proper hide and seek. You better start training, I'm pretty good at it" Stacy said to the room, peeling her eyes away from the toy as she received her high pitched crackle in response. Mika shook her head at her words, opening the door for them both to leave. As Mika closed the door behind her she sent one final death glare at the toy.
The night finally came to an end and all the guests had left, including the secretly amused Stacy. Mika had closed the front doors with a groan, turning her eyes to Matthew.
"I thought you got Simon to agree to hiding in a safe place" Mika slowly told him and Matthew quickly nodded.
"I did! I convinced him to stay in the kitchen for the night! Didn't I tell you?" Matthew quickly replied and for a moment Mika was dumbfounded, remember that he did indeed tell her. She groaned again, telling him what had happened with Stacy.
"Oh no!" he cried at her tale.
"Do you think she knows?" Matthew hurriedly asked in horror and Mika slowly shook her head.
"She thought it was a child trying to spook her by moving around the toy" she told him. Matthew sighed in relief but Mika remained unhappy.
"I'll never be able to invite her over again" she sadly said, shaking her head. It was then that Damien approached the pair, a soft smile on his face.
"Actually I was thinking the opposite" he softly told the two. Both Mika and Matthew looked at him in bewilderment and he chuckled at their expressions.
"Simon's practically like a child. I think Stacy could easily amuse him for hours on end… Plus he seems to have taken a liking to her" Damien told them.
"But… he's a-" Matthew started but Damien silenced him with a shake of his head.
"She'd be fine with it" was his simplistic response. Mika looked at him in surprise before weakly smiling, a knowing expression crossing her features.
"Yeah… she would be" she murmured aloud as she looked in the direction of the dining room, knowing the kitchen where Simon remained hiding was connected to it.
"I'll think about it" was Mika's only reply.