Best Friends (a millardxOC story)

🐝Chapter Nine🐝

We all looked at the dog. "Um, hello. Who are you?" I asked, hearing footsteps, which happened to be Millard inching towards me.  "Hello. My name is Addison. Pleased to meet you!" The dog spoke. Oh god the dog just spoke to me!

Addison the dog took us and showed us the menagerie loop. We met didre, an emuraff, which was a big unsettling, but I would never say that to her face. We talked with the animals for a while, and they told us what we had to do for Miss Peregrine! We were thrilled.

"The wights could be keeping the ymbrenes in a punishment loop." This came from Millard, who was staring at me. I had been standing next to Horace the entire time, my hand in his, without even realizing it. I gasped, for punishment loops are made of true nightmares. They're awful! "No! We can't go there, Mil!" I sort of shouted this on accident. I was invisible at the moment. "I agree, Kat, but-" Jacob interrupted him. "What exactly are punishment loops?" He asked. Millard began to explain, when Horace tightened his grip on my hand, causing me to wince. Millard looked over immediately, with an expression I couldn't seem to read. "Wait, are we going to die? So many things could go wrong!" Horace's voice laced with terror. "Pfft. If you're so scared, why not stay here." Enoch laughed. I felt awful for Horace. "Oh shut it, Enoch! Quite being so rude to Horace!"

Claire continued to cough. "She's too ill to travel." Bronwyn announced. "She must stay here." Addison replied. "She can't! She's too young to stay alone!" Wyn shouted. "Someone needs to stay here, to watch over Claire." She looked back at all of us. Olive raised her hand but Bronwyn said she was too young as well. Everyone looked to Horace, "why don't you stay? You're the one who's scared." Horace looked angry. "I will not sit around while everyone else is on an adventure! I'm going!" His free hand (the one not holding mine) stayed firmly at his side. Suddenly, Fiona's hand shot up. "Fi! You can't!" Hugh cried. I was torn. I wanted Fiona to come with us. She was one of my best friends. But Claire needed someone to stay with her, and Fiona would do just fine protection her. "Great! It's settled then. Fiona and Claire are staying here, while everyone else is going to save the ymbrenes!" Bronwyn called.

I took Fiona aside, worried about her. "Fi, are you sure?" She nodded. "Yes, Kat. I'm positive. I wouldn't have been much help on the mission, anyways." She smiled. "It doesn't matter. I want you to stay safe alright?" I nodded, and we hugged each other to the point where I couldn't breathe. I looked over to see Hugh, making his way towards us. He stopped and looked at Fiona. Definitely hurt. He felt like her staying here was her way of rejecting him. I squeezed his hand, looked at Fiona one more time, and said "bye, fi. I'll miss you so much! We'll be back soon. I promise." My eyes filled with tears as I walked back to where Millard was standing. He was waiting for me with open arms, and the moment they wrapped around me, I began to lightly cry.

Didre gave us each a sweater. It was supposed to keep us safe from harm. Weird. Oh well. We made our way out of the loop, after saying our goodbyes to Fiona and Claire, of course. "Mil, do you think they are gonna be okay?" I asked when the two of us were away from prying ears, otherwise known as Enoch and Horace. "They'll be fine, Kat. Let's just get there, and get back." I heard a light buzzing noise, indicating Hugh was near. His little bee, Kip, as I had named him, buzzed around my ear, a secret code Hugh and I made up. Whenever Hugh wants to talk to me, he sends Kip the bee to come buzz a special pattern in my ear. "Coming Hugh." I gave Millard a kiss on the cheek, and ran off after Kip to go find Hugh.

"Hey Kat." He had been crying. No wonder I couldn't see him while we had been walking. I quickly embraced him. "Oh Hugh. Everything's gonna be just fine! We'll find the ymbrenes, get The Bird back, and be back with Fiona and Claire in just a few days. I promise." I wasn't even sure that my promise would be kept, knowing about punishment loops. "Thanks Kat." He sighed. I let go of him, grabbed his hand and we began to make our way back to the others.