Hidden Fox

Fourteen

"April!" A joyous shriek dug through my ears, causing my arm to spasm in surprise and mascara to smudge down my cheek.

"Amethyst!" I grumbled under my breath, though I knew I could never be mad at her for long.

Within seconds, Amethyst had bounced her way across my bedroom and to my bathroom. She stood in the doorway, her small fingers gripping the frame as she tilted back and forth on her heels keeping the widest smile I had ever seen on her face.

"What's up?" I asked as I continued to apply my makeup for the day, moving on to my other eye with the mascara wand.

She stared at me, her smile dimming in concentration as her eyes followed the movements of my hand. "What are you doing?"

I brushed the wand through my lashes, coating them in the substance and turning the pale strands to black. "I'm doing my makeup," tilting the wand away from my face, I turned my head to look at her. "But what are you doing?"

Ames giggled, a pure, innocent sound that floated to the ceiling, immediately pulling my lips into a smile as well. That child was contagious.

"I'm waiting for you! Why are you sitting on the counter?"

Turning my face back to the mirror, I resumed my mascara application."Because it's easier to get closer to the mirror to see what I'm doing. Why are you waiting for me?"

Through the mirror out of the corner of my eye I could see her giant grin return to her petite face. Her crystal green eyes brightened like summer and she rocked twice on her heels before answering me. "Because they're here!"

The wand handle slipped through my fingers and clattered into the sink below me, spreading little specks of black over the marbled countertop. Amethyst laughed, seeming to find my reaction absolutely hilarious. She spun one hundred eighty degrees on one foot before prancing out of sight, her giggles following.

I figured she was just excited about my love life because her grandmother had been ecstatic to find out Xavier and I had made up to good terms. It had rubbed off easily on the four year old.

Emerald told me that because Eirenae had found her happy ending as a teenager, she was always so invested in all the happy endings that happened around the pack. And since I was now sort of part of that pack, I was included as well.

With a sigh, I picked up the mascara wand and twisted it back into its tube before throwing it in the drawer just underneath my butt. As soon as I shut the drawer, a soft knock rapped along the wooden board of the doorway trim.

"Amethyst!" I called out, letting her know she didn't have to hide out there.

Instead, Xavier's face was the one that greeted me from around the wall.

"Oh! Hi."

He smiled, "I'm not Amethyst, though I'm sure you're okay with that. However, she did greet me at the front door with several jumps. She looked extremely excited that I was here."

"You can blame her grandma for that."

He laughed, stepping into the bathroom. Glancing down at me, he seemed to just realize where I had made myself comfortable. "What are you doing on the counter?"

I threw back my head. Wasn't it obvious? "So I can be closer to the mirror. It helps me see what I'm doing." Though, it probably did look funny. My legs were technically too long, folded awkwardly under each other with my knees hanging off the edges.