lucky charms » clifford

leprachaun

now, he had been prepared to take the box and run from the very start, but now he was intrigued. they left the store, his fingers still lying on hers as they continued to grip the cardboard.

"we have to go our separate ways," she says. "can i have it?"

he smiles. "no." his tongue darts out of his mouth as he teases her.

"it's late, i just want my lucky charms." she moans.

"but i want them, too."

and then they were in the back of his minivan.

she didn't know how he coaxed her into it, and he didn't know why he did, but neither of them had released the box. they're both stubborn.

they lean against the back seats in the small area built for storage. their legs are touching, her bare leg leaning on his soft sweatpants. the box is half on his leg, half on hers.

"so, can we open it?" he says giddily. his eyes are tired and he frequently yawns, but nevertheless, he's smiling.

she glances around quickly. "of course."

he begins fiddling with the packaging with his free hand. she hesitates.

"you're not going to kill me, right?"

he laughs nervously. "that's...well, no. i'm not. do leprechauns kill people?"

she shakes her head 'no' while laughing, and although she's momentarily relived, the back of her mind wraps itself around the phrase stranger danger.

once he gets the box open, they both stuff their free hand into the plastic inner bag. it nearly breaks.

he shoves a handful into his mouth, not releasing the box, and she carefully places each plain piece in her mouth. after ridding the gross pieces, she tosses a collection of at least seven chemical colored marshmallows into her mouth.

"so, shooting star, what's your name?" his eyes are excited as he eats another cluster.

she finishes chewing. "i'm rue."

without missing a beat, he chews some more cereal. "i'm mikey."

"mikey charms."

he laughs lightly. nods. "mikey charms."

unbeknownst to her, he's evaluating every inch of her face and her tiny nose and her soft lips and cute cheeks. his eyes dart from her lips to her eyes and back again.

she continues to eat her little marshmallows. their hands are still on the box. a buzzing is heard.

"what's that?" rue asks.

"my phone."

one of his hands is holding the box and the other has a cluster of cereal. he panics.

"eh, whatever. he can wait."

"how do you know who it is?" a strand of light pink hair falls into her face. he pushes it back.

"he always calls me at this time. the kid barely sleeps."

silence.

"i like your hair, rue."

she smiles, blushes, and eats a piece of cereal.