Chapter Six
Lacey walked along the pavement and shuffled the rucksack on her back and wrapped her scarf around her neck tighter.
She walked back to the shopping centre she had been not too long ago, and she decided to go in and get out of the cold, at least until she decided what to do next.
The same man in the Santa suit was still ringing his bell and shouting Merry Christmas and Ho ho hoing and the group of singers she saw earlier continued singing their carols.
Lacey sighed and she walked into the Mall again before wondering where to go and she hoped she wouldn't run into any of her friends.
As she entered, it was still as busy as anything as people rushed about with their shopping or sat on the indoor benches.
A couple of families walked past her, one included a teenage girl being pulled by her younger sisters as they were talking about meeting Santa Claus in the Grotto that was in the Mall Centre.
Lacey sighed and walked further in before seeing a vacant bench and sat down to look at the big Christmas displays that hung from the ceiling which consisted of sparkling white lights and large silver and gold baubles.
She thought back about home and her parents and wondered if they had noticed she had left.
"Maybe they might notice something." she thought "Either that or they'll be glad I'm out the way, they can enjoy fawning over Timmy and keeping my aunt, uncle and cousins happy!"
She crossed her legs and looked up at the large displays before her as memories of past Christmases came back to her before Timmy was born.
Even though she wasn't a child anymore, when she was young, she remembered going to visit Santa Claus, and write her letter to the North Pole, she thought about when she, her mother and stepdad would go to the park when it was snowing and have a snowball fight and build a snowman.
The apartment place they lived in, they had a balcony, but it wasn't the same as having a garden.
This year, they hadn't done any of the outings to the park, hardly anything since the baby was born.
Lacey sighed again and she started to wonder if she had made a mistake leaving home, but then the thoughts of her cousins making this worse, and her parents still only with their thoughts on the baby made her remember why she left in the first place.
She sighed again and rested her chin on her rucksack that sat on her lap and continued to watch the shoppers go by.
Back at Lacey's home, Emily, Ralph, Maggie and Barry continued to talk together over some hot drinks.
Layla and Rita was sitting on the floor with a board game and both were looking a little ashamed as Barry and Maggie had again told them what they did was naughty and they had to apologize to Lacey when she came out of her room.
It had been over an hour since Lacey had flounced off to her room and Ralph and Emily were wondering whether to see if she was in a calm mood.
"It's very quiet in Lacey's room." Maggie said suddenly as she looked towards where Lacey's room was.
"I'm sure she's fine." Barry said "She just needs time to calm down."
Emily looked over at Timmy asleep in his crib then sipped her drink.
"I hope so." she said "But I'm not holding my breath."
Ralph meanwhile looked towards the bedroom door and licked his lips.
"I might just check in on her." he said.
"You sure about that?" Barry asked.
"After what Maggie said, I think I need to talk to her about her feelings, and maybe give her chance to be honest about them." Ralph said.
Everyone watched as he walked to Lacey's room and he stood for a moments steeling himself.
"Girls." Barry said in a low voice looking at Layla and Rita "I hope you're ready to apologize to your cousin."
The twins nodded quickly but they looked at each other with a knowing look that they still thought Lacey was being mean about baby Timmy.
Ralph took a deep breath and knocked on the door, then he waited.
But there was no reply.
He knocked again.
"Lacey?" he asked then frowned wondering if his step-daughter was ignoring him or had fallen asleep.
"Lacey?" he knocked again "Look, Lacey, I know you're upset, but I just want to talk to you okay? No more shouting or arguing, I just want to talk."
He waited again, but still no answer.
He looked back at his wife, sister, brother-in-law and nieces.
"Do you think I should just go in?" he asked them.
The adults shrugged yet Emily gave him a nod.
Ralph placed his hand on the door handle.
"Lacey?" he called "I'm coming in!"
He pushed the handle down and slowly opened the door so as not to frighten Lacey and he opened the door expecting to see his step-daughter on the bed or at her desk or dressing table.
But his eyes widened when he didn't see her anywhere in her room.
"Lacey?"
He looked around the other side of her bed and in the corner, yet the room was empty.
He then noticed one of her drawers was open and some clothes were hanging out of it, same with one of her wardrobe doors was slightly ajar.
He then noticed it was slightly drafty in the room and he saw the window wasn't shut properly.
"Oh no..." he thought.
Down in Mutopia, Dahlia had gotten out of her Colly Birds outfit and was putting on some thick clothes which consisted of grey jeans, a white roll neck top and a white thick fake fur coat.
After the rehearsal, Jun invited her to join him on a drive through Chicago to look at the Christmas lights.
"Like we used to do in Anchorage and Corsicana?" he had suggested "And I might just sneak in a hot chocolate or a cheeseburger?"
Dahlia had enthusiastically agreed and she set about getting herself ready to go.
She pulled on her white boots as well as put a scarf around her neck and went to the bedroom door to look for Jun who said he'd be waiting in the main village.
She soon found him standing near the tunnel that lead to the hanger where the Ninjet and the Van would be, and he was talking to Raphael.
He too was dressed in black cargo pants, black boots and a black and red hoodie under a dark brown leather jacket.
"...So yeah, we're going to have a look at the Christmas Lights, we used to love doing it back home each year, seeing what the neighbors did in my town or in Anchorage." Jun was explaining to the red masked turtle.
"Goods good!" Raphael said "Sometimes, Mona and I ride on my Shell-Cycle through New York to see the lights, and even go to Rockafella Centre to see the Big Tree there."
"Nice!" Jun said "Maybe we should sneak a visit to your lair and see that one Christmas!"
"Well you're more than welcome to!" Raphael replied then he looked up and saw Dahlia walking over "Oh look Stripes, your girls here!"
Jun looked behind him and his eyes shone when he saw how his wolf girlfriend looked.
"Wow, you look gorgeous!" he gushed.
"It's just my outdoor stuff." Dahlia said in a modest tone.
'But still so beautiful." Jun said making Dahlia blush.
Raphael chuckled.
"You guys go and enjoy yourselves, but remember what Big T said Jun!"
"No worries Raph." Jun said "If anyone needs me, I mean us." he looked at Dahlia "Just give us a bell!" he held up the cell phone and held out his hand to Dahlia.
"Shall we?" he asked to which the wolf nodded and they walked down the tunnel to the hanger as Raphael watched with a smirk.
"Paint the town red you two!" he said.
A little while later, Jun and Dahlia were in the van and were driving through the city of Chicago and looking at the many lights that lit up the buildings.
Dahlia pressed her hands against the glass in the passenger seat as she looked up at the sparkling lights and the many structures and decorations.
Jun smiled bitterly as he also looked at the lights and he thought back of those nights in Corsicana and in Anchorage when the lights had been switched on.
It was always a nice time for them both, and they didn't just drive, they also walked together and even had a winter picnic and it was something he hoped to do if they found a spot where no-one would see them and suspect they were mutants.
As he looked at his girlfriend he saw how happy she looked, yet he could help but feel sad as he thought of his family. how he still missed them, and this was his and Dahlia's first Christmas as mutants and the first Christmas their families were missing them.
"Mom, Dad, Bobby, Chrissy..." he murmered "I can't tell you how much I miss you..." he whispered under his breath, yet he tried to push those feelings aside as he wanted to make this a good evening out for his beloved wolf girl.
"Dahlia..." he said making the wolf look towards him.
"Yes Jun?" she asked sitting up to look at him.
"Remember when we used to drive through my home town?" Jun asked "Seeing the Christmas Lights when you came to Texas?"
Dahlia nodded.
"Yeah." she said "Your neighbors always did a great job of making everything look great!"
"Yeah, they did..." Jun sighed as he thought of his old home as well as Anchorage which had spent most of his life after moving in with Dahlia.
"When it comes to the Christmas lights." Dahlia said "I think yours were more personal and close to home, whilst in Anchorage it was always over the top."
"I get what you mean love." Jun said as he continued to drive.
"There's always a difference between personal and commercial." Dahlia said "In the big cities, it's always big and loud, but in the smaller towns it's always sweet, intimate and personal."
"Agreed." Jun said "And I know we're mutants, but I'm glad we can continue this tradition, seeing the Christmas lights."
"Yeah." Dahlia said "We can still see the Christmas lights and we have each other as well."
"We sure do babe." Jun agreed yet he smiled within as he thought about the little surprise he planned to give Dahlia and he hoped that nothing spoilt it.
"It's our first Christmas as mutants." he thought to himself "And I want to make it one to remember! Our lives might have changed weeks back, and we've had to adapt and begin a new normal, and I hope this new tradition we have at Christmas, will be a good one."
So Lacey's run away from home! Oh dear, not good! And her Step-Father has found out she's not in her room!
Meanwhile, Jun and Dahila are on their own Christmas Date as this is their first Christmas in Mutopia.
This fic does take place after 'Animals We Have Become' even though I haven't finished that fic yet, same with 'Little Geisha Lost' but do not fear, those fics haven't been abandoned, they will be written even if it's after the new year, keep your eyes peeled people!