Clawdeen hopped up from her bed when Frankie walked in the dorm, Draculaura coming to stand next to her. They stared Frankie down as the blue Frankenstein monster shuffled over to sit in their chair.
"Ok, spill." Clawdeen said, "What's going on with you?"
"I have never seen you so quiet in class." Draculaura said.
"Even Cleo asked me what was up with you." Clawdeen said.
Frankie furrowed their brows. They hadn't realized they were acting much differently. They just remembered struggling to find a comfortable position everytime they sat down.
"I'm fine." They assured them, "I'm a little stiff and sore. I think I might have pulled something."
The two other monsters exchanged looks.
"I just need a little recharge." Frankie said, patting their electric chair.
They were eyed suspiciously but were essentially left to their own devices. Frankie turned on the chair and instantly felt the calm of its familiarity wash over them. They still felt a little uncomfortable but it was manageable.
"So," Clawdeen said, "How are you feeling, Frankie?"
"Are you good with going to class and stuff tomorrow?" Draculaura asked.
Frankie nodded and smiled. "Yep. I appreciate you guys worrying about me though."
The girls gave Frankie a genuine smile as they went to put their books away on their shelf and grabbed their nightclothes, "I'm going to shower. I'll be back in a bit."
Frankie left the room and headed down the hall to the dorm washroom. Their stitches were starting to feel stiff so they let the water loosen them up a bit. Once they felt satisfied, Frankie got dressed in some loose zipper covered pants and their yellow hoodie before beginning to re-braid their hair in the mirror.
"Hey, Frankie." Lagoon said, coming out of the shower, "Are you okay?"
Frankie sighed, they had a feeling that they would be hearing that question a lot, "Yes, just got a little overwhelmed. The first two weeks of school have been an adjustment."
"Oh good." Lagoona said, brushing out her hair, "We were worried when you didn't show up for class after lunch yesterday. I was afraid to ask in front of everyone."
"I fell asleep." Frankie admitted.
"Ah, that makes sense." Lagoona said, "I just like to make sure my friends are okay."
Frankie laughed, "Me too." They paused mid-braid, "Wait, we're friends?"
Lagoona gave them an incredulous look, "Of course. You, Clawdeen and Draculaura saved us. I respect that and you seem nice. Plus your style is fierce."
Frankie smiled and bounced on their feet a little, "Okay then, friends!"
"And if anyone messes with you, I'll eat them!" Lagoona snapped her shark teeth.
Frankie laughed, "I don't think that will be necessary but thank you."
They finished off their last braid and waved a quick goodbye to Lagoona before heading back to their room. Plugging their phone in next to their bed, they wandered over to Clawdeen's side where the werewolf was grinning into their phone while getting their bathroom stuff together.
"So, what's going on with you and Deuce?" Frankie asked as they sat on the dresser and began running their hands over Clawdeen's fluffy notebook.
"Oh," Clawdeen said, "Nothing much. We're just…good friends."
Frankie raised a brow, "He seems to really like you. You've already been on a date."
"We have not!" Clawdeen protested.
"Really?" Frankie asked, genuinely wondering. "Didn't you two go to that secluded bridge the other day to spend time together?"
"That was because we needed snake venom." Clawdeen reminded them.
"That couldn't have been all you did." Frankie pressed.
"Well no. We talked and got to know each other more." Clawdeen said.
Frankie squinted at Clawdeen, "That sounds like a date."
"Frankie's right, that was totally a date." Draculaura said, entering the room.
"I don't think he meant it as one." Clawdeen said, "We're just friends."
"He turned to stone for you." Draculaura said, "He definitely likes you more than a friend."
"If you're really worried about it," Frankie stated, "Why don't you ask him on a real date and see what she says."
"I can't just ask him out like it's that simple."
Frankie cocked their head to one side, "Why not?"
"Be-because, well, he," Clawdeen stammered, "I just…it's usually the guy who asks the girl out."
Frankie snorted, "Clawdeen, that's stupid."
Draculaura shrugged, "Frankie's right. You're just scared. They aren't a boy or girl, who would do the asking."
Frankie smiled, "Exactly. If you like him, you should tell him. I don't understand why monsters dodge around what they really want to say when it is so obvious they feel the same."
Clawdeen seemed to consider it for a moment before sighing, "I'll think about it."
She left the room to go get ready for bed.
"Those two are going to get together." Draculaura said, "I'm calling it now."
Frankie nodded in agreement, hopping off the dresser, looking at the notebook still in their hands, "I really like this notebook."
"Yeah it looks soft." Draculaura said absently.
Frankie nodded, putting it back on Clawdeen's dresser before crawling into their bed, getting comfortable.
Picking up their phone, they booted it up. It had died when they were doing homework. They jumped slightly as they got several notifications from a couple of their social media apps. Deuce, Heath, Abby, Ghoulia and Lagoona had followed them monstergram, creepchat and eek tok.
"Oh, did more people add you?" Clawdeen asked from next to Frankie. They hadn't even noticed that she returned.
Still Frankie grinned excitedly, "Yep!"
"That's great Frankie!" Clawdeen cheered.
"Yes!" Frankie agreed, "I also realized that I don't need to make friends with every creature." They looked at Clawdeen, "Just the good ones."
"That's the spirit." Clawdeen said, climbing into her own bed.
Frankie hummed absently as they set their phone phone down and turned their light off.
The day was a combination of being incredibly stressful and informative. They thought about what their father said and realized that they had Autism and maybe something else too. It made sense. Most of their brain bits belonged to someone that was thought to have either or both. It was fairly common with many genius minds. It is thought that it might be the brain's way of coping with advanced mental abilities.
They glanced over at Clawdeen who was still grinning into her phone, probably still talking with Deuce. Frankie couldn't help but smile, seeing their friend so happy. They were unsure about telling their friends at the realization but, as awesome as they were, would they treat them differently if they knew?
Frankie didn't know enough about managing these symptoms so, that was going to be an adventure in itself. Maybe they'd go to the library after class tomorrow.
"How was the library?" Draculaura asked as she and Clawdeen relaxed on the couch.
Frankie walked over and plopped down on the other side of Draculaura, "It was good! Learned a lot actually."
"What were you researching?" Clawdeen asked.
Frankie looked over to study their faces, "Just…learning more about myself. Finished my advanced mathematics homework."
"Cool!" Clawdeen exclaimed, "Now that you're both here, we can finally talk about weekend plans." She stood so she could face them both.
Draculaura and Frankie exchanged looks.
"It's only Wednesday." Draculaura said.
"I know that." Clawdeen said, "But last weekend was so hectic. We never actually got to just hang out." Clawdeen looked at Draculaura, "Did you know Frankie has never seen a movie."
"That's true." They agreed.
"I have tons we can watch!" Clawdeen said, "My dad can send some over. Oh! We could have a sleepover!"
Draculaura seemed excited by this and Frankie was too but they just had one question, "What's a sleepover?"
"First of all, Clawdeen's human is showing." Draculaura said, earning a questioning look, "In the monster world, we call them creepovers. Secondly," She turned to Frankie, "You'll love it. It's when you get all your best ghouls together, get snacks, watch movies and play games all night until you fall asleep."
"It's awesome." Clawdeen nodded enthusiastically.
"Sounds fun!" Frankie said, "Who are you inviting?"
"I thought it would be just the three of us this time around." Clawdeen said, "We've only been together a week. It would be nice to get to know each other better."
Frankie jumped up, "I am so in."
"Me too." Draculaura stated.
Clawdeen squealed, "I'll go call my dad."
Clawdeen hurriedly left the room.
"This is so exciting!" Frankie said, "My first creepover! Do I need to bring anything?"
"No, wear something comfortable and we'll handle the rest." Draculaura said.
Frankie grinned, looking forward to the new experience.