Kidnapped, Unfortunately

Chapter Seventeen

The dog turned to see who had called his name, but when his eye caught Hayley's, his head perked up and his tail began wagging.

Pancake stumbled over, and cautiously bent his head down to sniff her.

"That's personal," She commented as he swerved around to sniff her behind.

"Pancake, off," Carson commanded.

His ears perked and he scampered back to his owner with a crazy tail that reminded me of a windmill.

"I'll help Camille get settled in," I offered. Lie. I really just wanted to go to my room.

"Yeah, sure," Carson said half-heartedly. He was still roughhousing with Pancake.

Camille smiled at me, and I nodded towards the stairs.

We climbed the staircase and I gave her the first bedroom we came across.

Then, I swung into mine with a sigh.

"Sigh," I said.

But sigh didn't begin to cover what I was feeling.

Happy for Pancake and Carson.
Sad for not being home.
Annoyed for not escaping yet.
Frustrated to not have a good plan.
Hungry... just because.
And finally tired, because I was, after all, a person.

I walked up to the wide window.

"Why are things looking so down for me?" I complained, leaning my head against the cool glass.

As I contemplated jumping, something small and hard flew up and hit the glass right where my face was.

I jumped back, completely surprised, and ended up tripping and falling to the ground with a bang and an ouch!

What on earth was that??

I groaned on the floor and gingerly picked myself up, then stormed back to the window.

To hell with cautiousness, I was angry.

To my surprise, when I peered outside, I saw Josh standing in the grass under the window, with two rocks in his hand.

WHAT ON EARTH WAS HE DOING?? HE WAS GOING TO BREAK MY WINDOW!

I quickly opened the window and shouted, "HEY, CUT IT OUT! ONE MORE ROCK AND IM CALLING THE COPS!"

It was a bluff, but 'twas the best I could do at the moment.

He quickly dropped the rocks and took a couple steps back, and I could practically see his blush from here.

I went to slam the window shut and leave when he yelled, "Wait! I'm sorry! I was just trying to get your attention!"

This brought a scoff out of me.

"Likely story," I rolled my eyes. "Are you some kind of punk or something?"

"No!" He cried. "I'm a bookworm!"

"Anyone can claim that," I told him.

"What can I do to convince you?" He asked.

I tried to consider this, but the reason why this boy was standing at my window with rocks was just beyond me. Did he think this was Romeo and Juliet?

Maybe he really was a bookworm.

"What's your name?" He called up to me, smiling.

I pretended not to hear that. "What did you want my attention for?" I asked instead.

"I wanted to introduce myself," He claimed.

I cocked my head, mildly interested. "I already know your name."

"Yeah, but not who I am."

I thought. "Very deep. I'm intrigued."

"I love, books, libraries, and rap."

Rap?

"That last one was slightly surprising," I admitted.

He laced his fingers together in front of him and hung his head bashfully, like it was a scandalous secret.

He and Hayley would get alone quite nicely.

"What about you?" He asked me. "What are you interested in?"

I considered saying 'not you' but then decided against it. The guy had gone through trouble to do this, so I guess I could cut him a break.

"Movies, parties, and making bad choices," I said instead.

We were complete opposites.

"Eww, movies," His face screwed up. It was sort of cute, I'll admit. "Well, it's a good thing I like you so far."

I chuckled, and said, "No offense, but I'm not so sure if I want a relationship right now."

"Lucky for you, that's just my type," He responded, undaunted. "What are you doing the next couple days? I'm only here for a little while."

I drummed my fingers against the windowsill, thinking. When I noticed my fingernails, I almost startled.

Usually, I kept my nails fairly well-groomed, but right now they were cracked and bitten to stubs.

"I don't know, I'm only here for a little bit too," I decided to say, taking my nails out of sight.

"Well, if you ever need a snuggle buddy, I'm down," He called up with a large smile.

I winked. "You know where to find me."

Then I smiled, and reached up to shut the window.

He grinned, and turned back around and walked into his own yard.

Maybe I could invite him over and introduce him to Hayley.

I turned back to my room, mulling over the brief encounter and wondering how I could use it to my advantage.

If I told him now, I might scare him away.

The key is to get close. Then, when we are all cosy with each other, I'll drop the bomb.

Yes, he could be very useful to me.

Time to finally plan.