White Knight Syndrome

3 • Fantastic Four Next Door

more character development, less action (more like no action). 'nuff said.

• not edited •

It didn't take long for me to find Ellie. As soon as I burst out the front doors, the familiar sound of someone struggling up a rope graced my ears. I looked to the right and saw Ellie clinging onto a thick cord of rope, which my father and I had hung up on the edge of the treehouse he got me thirteen years ago, when I was four.

My father thought it would be funny to buy a four-year-old a decked out treehouse and force the kid to shimmy up a rope just to enter the glorious wooden shack in the big oak tree. I hadn't seen the humor in that until Mckenzie grew old enough to chase Jay and me around, but was still too young to attempt the climb.

I felt a sudden wave of nostalgia wash over me, bringing in an onslaught of beautiful memories about my cookie-cutter childhood with my cookie-cutter parents who didn't travel the world more than they stayed at home. As the sudden feelings wormed into my heart, squeezing it gently, I watched as Ellie tried and failed to make it two feet above the ground on the rope.

When I realized she was struggling more than my four-year-old self had, a smile stretched across my face and the nostalgic feelings left as suddenly as they came. I strode over to her until I was just three feet away from her awkward position on the rope.

"Need a hand?" I asked, my voice slicing through the relatively quiet front yard. The music thumping in my house was muffled out here, and my voice startled not only myself, but Ellie too.

She let out a little squeak, like a mouse, and jumped. My eyes widened and I lunged forward to catch her as she lost her hold on the rope and fell. Right into my arms. I couldn't help but feel relieved it was Ellie I caught instead of Delilah, or else I would've had to deal with another round of Delilah professing her "undying love" to me.

"Thanks- why are you smiling?"

Ellie's voice broke me out of my little thought and I blinked at her. Her large brown eyes peered into mine, as if trying to suck the soul out of me. I blinked again and my little smile, on instinct, turned into the charming one I used more often.

"No reason. Why were you on the rope? Or, better question: how long did you struggle before I came here and saved your ass from a fall?" I joked, setting her down. She remained close to me, and reached out a hand to tug on the rope hanging limply next to her.

A small blush formed on her cheeks and she grumbled shyly, "It wouldn't have been a big fall, anyway."

I laughed and agreed, "Yeah, probably not." I glanced up at the treehouse then returned my gaze to her, this time with an eyebrow raised.

"So. You gonna tell me what you were doing here, or not?" I asked, and even I could feel the small smirk on my face.

If it was even possible, her cheeks reddened even more and she cast a bashful look to the ground, which was cluttered with autumn leaves. "Or not." she muttered.

The silence lasted only two seconds before an idea popped into my mind. I had never been comfortable under awkward silences, so it had become second nature for me to come up with a way to avoid them or break them.

"Tell you what," I said brightly, my sudden voice jerking Ellie's head up to face me. "Let's play a game."

"A... a game?" she stuttered, eyes wide, and bit on my tongue to keep the laughter in. It was like she half expected me to transform into the creepy nutcracker thing from Saw. And although that would certainly be funny, it was physically impossible, so she'd have to hold that thought.