Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:52:12 -0500
From: Gabe Faeris <faeris.of.them.all@gmail.com>
Subject: Something Wicked 3

DISCLAIMER: This story is a work of fiction. Any similarities between this
story and any other story are purely coincidental. Any feedback is
welcomed, just email me at faeris.of.them.all@gmail.com.

I'm glad that people are enjoying the story so far. I know that I've told
some of you already, but unfortunately this isn't `just' a werewolf
story. Calm down, and step away from the ledge because there are going to
be werewolves (obviously, unless you're as oblivious as the main
character), they're just not the main focus of the story. There are some
surprises (I'm terrible at secrets if you haven't realized it already)
ahead. So if you are looking for JUST a werewolf story, sorry. Also if you
are looking for some freaky/crazy/fun/regrettable/extreme sex story, double
sorry. I'm a classy person (no I'm not) who isn't into that stuff (yes I
am). So please continue to enjoy the story.

~~~~

Jake's face kept coming closer and closer to mine. I didn't know what to
think at this point, I was just acting on instinct by not moving and seeing
where this goes.

All of a sudden something flew at us and hit Jake on the side of the head.

"What the-," he started to say. I feel like I just awoke from a weird
dream.

I turned my head and saw Billy standing behind the porch with a hand full
of acorns. He looked extremely upset about something.

"Billy, we wondered where you went," I said, quickly trying to distance
myself from what could've or was about to happen.

Billy seemed to calm down a little when I said that. He looked at me for a
second before it dawned on him what I asked. "I must've gotten
sidetracked," he said, now with a smile on his face. Jake on the other hand
did not have smile on his face, in fact he looked like he was about to kill
somebody.

"What's with the acorns," he said through his teeth while rubbing the side
of his head.

"I was just trying to get your attention," Billy said. "I guess I'm
stronger than I think."

"Maybe I need a little reminder of how strong I am," Jake said still
obviously furious.

"Maybe I should just go," I said while getting off the porch swing.

"No!" they both said in unison.

"You don't have to leave just yet," Jake said.

"Yeah, Dad will be home in a little bit," Billy added, suddenly agreeing
with his brother on something. "Besides, Sarah, Lindsey and Toby have
wanted to meet you for a while now."

"They have?" I asked. "How have they wanted to meet me? I just arrived
yesterday," I said.

"Your grandma tells them stories about you all the time when she watches
us," Billy said walking up the porch stairs. "And after the way Jake
wouldn't shut up about you after last night they really can't wait," he
added.

"You couldn't shut up about me last night?" I turned to Jake and asked. He
just started rubbing the back of his head and smiling.

"I just mentioned a thing or two," he said, trying to shrug it off.

"Ok," I said. "Grammy said she won't be back until dark so I guess I can
stay for a while until they get here."

"Great," Billy said. "So what did you guys do while I was gone?" he asked.

"Made fun of your face," Jake said.

"We watched The Wizard of Oz," I corrected him.

"Really," Billy said. "That's like my favorite movie of all time."

"Really?" I asked. "Mine too!" I didn't think a lot of other boys liked
that movie, but maybe it's more popular than I thought. Jake just rolled
his eyes.

"I thought Transformers was you favorite movie of all time," he a said with
a sly look on his face.

"It's my second favorite," Billy said, sticking his tongue out at Jake for
good measure.

"So what do you guys want to do while we wait?" I asked, trying to change
the subject.

"I have a pet spider in my room if you want to see it?" Billy said. Jake
just laughed at his suggestion.

"I don't think Gabe wants to see-," Jake started to say before I cut him
off.

"I love spiders!" I said, earning a surprised look from Jake and an excited
look from Billy.

"Cool! I'll show it to you," he said. Before anybody else could say
anything Billy grabbed my hand and led me back inside and up the stairs to
his room. Jake was close behind mumbling something to himself.

Walking into Billy's room was like walking into the physical manifestation
of teen angst. There was a poster of some punk rock band on his wall. There
was a `DO NOT ENTER' sign hanging on his door. The screen saver on his
computer was a biohazard sign. Probably the only thing out of place in the
whole room was a green and gold book that was tucked under a pile of what
I'm assuming is dirty laundry. `Glad to know those things are still in
style,' I thought. In the corner of the room was a drum set. `Of course he
plays drums,' I thought.

"Do you play the drums?" I asked. Billy just looked at the drums and back
at me.

"Yeah, do you want me to show you," he said really enthusiastically.

"I thought you were going to show me your pet spider," I asked.

"Oh yeah," he said, like he forgot the reason for us coming up to his
room. I laughed at the ADD I was witnessing and turned around and looked at
Jake. He just shook his head and starting chuckling too.

"Here she is," Billy said. He'd walked over to a glass case and lifted a
huge tarantula out of it.

"She's beautiful," I said.

"She's disgusting," Jake said.

"That's funny coming from you," Billy said as he approached me with the
tarantula. He held it up so I could get a better look. "Wanna hold her?" he
asked.

"Will she mind?" I didn't want to get bit.

"She has good taste so she'll definitely like you," he said, holding her
out for me. I placed my hands under Billy's, just enough so they touched
and the spider could walk onto my hands. She made her way from Billy's to
mine rather quickly. I held her in my hands and examined her very closely.

"What's her name?" I asked.

"Shelob," he said.

"Of course it is," I said with a little chuckle. After a minute I handed
her back to Billy and he placed her back in her terrarium.

Jake grabbed my hand, which sent a thrill up my arm.

"Since we're up here, let me show you my room," he said. We were already
out the door before I could say anything. He led me to his room, which was
on the opposite side of the house. His room looked really nice. I wasn't
surprised that instead of posters, there trophies covering his wall.

"Wow, you sure do have a lot of trophies," I said as I inspected his
various prizes. There were trophies for every sport it seemed. There were
trophies for football, baseball, basketball, soccer, wrestling, swimming
and diving (just the thought of Jake in a Speedo got me hot).

"You dive," I asked, trying to pry when his next meet might be out of him.

"Yeah, you should come by the community pool next time we have a meet," he
said.

"That sounds great," I said. There was no way in hell I was going to one of
those things. They would have to call ambulance for what was left of me
after it was over.

"I dive too," Billy said walking into the room. For some reason that didn't
have the same effect on me.

"He just made the team this summer, so he thinks he's hot stuff," Jake
said.

"Whatever," Billy said. He walked over next to me and tried to act
interested in some of the trophies I was looking at.

"Do you play all of these sports," I asked. Billy wasn't kidding when he
said Jake didn't have a lot of time on his hands.

"Just football and swimming," he said. "I wouldn't have any time if I tried
to play all of those."

"No kidding," I said. I noticed a guitar sitting next to his night
stand. "Do you play," I asked, pointing towards the guitar.

"A little," he said, trying to sound cool.

"Do you guys play together?" I asked, pointing my fingers at the two of
them. "Since Billy plays the drums and all." They both looked at each other
then at me with looks on their faces as if I suggested that they both kiss
or something. `That wouldn't be too bad,' I thought. I quickly dismissed
that thought and placed in a mental file that was labeled `For Later.'
"Forget I asked," I said, waving my hands in the air. I walked towards his
book shelf, which wasn't that large but still had enough books to give the
impression that he cared. One book in particular though caught my eye. It
was green and gold with weird symbols on the spine. `That's the same one
Billy had in his room,' I thought. I pulled it off the shelf and started to
flip through some of the pages. It was in some kind of language that I've
never seen before. That wouldn't be all to surprising since I only speak a
little French. All of a sudden Jake's hand shot out and snatched the book
away from.

"Hey," I said. "What gives?" `What happened to my genial host?' I thought.

"Umm, I just have some personal things in there," he said.

"Really? Because Billy has the same book in his room," I said.

"Yeah, well he, um... well you see we..." Jake started to fumble his words
again.

"We got them as Christmas gifts," Billy jumped. "Dad gets us joke gifts
every year and he thought those would be funny."

"Oh," I said. "That's a cool tradition. My mom does the same thing except
with really ugly socks." It's true, every year she buys me the ugliest pair
of socks a person could imagine. One year she bought me a pair of neon pink
and green toe socks that had bright yellow feather collars. Needless to say
I didn't bring any of them with me. They all have a special home in the
back of my closet. While I was thinking about the tragedy that is my
mother's taste, or the complete genius that is my humiliation, Jake must
have hidden the book he was holding because it wasn't in his hand or on the
shelf. I was about to say something when I heard the door downstairs shut.

"We're home," a man yelled. I then heard several pairs of feet start to run
through the house. Jake and Billy led me out of Jake's room and down the
stairs.

"Hey dad," Jake said, "we have company."

His dad looked just like the photograph that was on the mantle, except a
little taller. He looked up at us walking down the stairs and noticed me.

"Hi," I said, a little nervous about meeting him. "I'm Gabe, Morgan's
grandson." I gave him a little wave.

"So you're the superhero grandson that she goes on and on about?" he
asked. `I'm going to have a talk with her when I get home,' I thought.

"I guess," I said timidly. His size made him quite intimidating. I held out
my hand expecting him to shake it. Instead he grabs it and pulls me in for
a bear hug.

"Morgan's been a like a mother to me," he said, letting go a little but
still with an arm around my shoulder. "So any family of hers is family of
mine. So just treat Jake and Billy here like they were your own brothers."
That last part elicited some disgusted looks from both Billy and Jake. I
guess it's not too hard to see why they don't want any more brothers,
especially considering how they treat each other. They're dad looked me
over a little bit. "You look just like your mother," he said. "Even have
those same eyes."

"You know my mom?" I asked.

"Of course I do! I've lived in this town my entire life. Besides I doubt
anybody that meets her could forget someone like her," he said.

"That's so true," I said. My mom does have one of those unforgettable
personalities.

"Are you staying? We were just about to have dinner," he said.

"I don't know, it'll be dark soon and my grandmother will be expecting me,"
I said. I felt I had already overstayed my welcome as it were.

"That's nonsense," he said, placing an arm around my shoulder and leading
me into the kitchen. "You just sit right there and let us fix you something
good to eat." I sat down at the kitchen table, surprised at how insistent
this whole family had been on me staying. Jake and Billy had followed us in
the kitchen. Jake took a seat next to me and scooted it closer. Billy had
done the same on the other side.

"Yeah, come on," Jake begged with his puppy dog eyes. "Just for a little
while."

"I guess I could stay for little while," I said. I shifted my gaze towards
the table trying to avoid Jake's.

"It's settled," their dad said. "So what do you like to eat? We've got any
kind of meat a growing boy like you would need."

"Umm, well actually," I started saying.

"He's a vegetarian dad," Jake jumped in. "So no meat for him."

"Oh!" his dad said rather surprised. "Well how about a salad? We've got
plenty of vegetables and all that other stuff."

"That'd be great, thank you Mr. McMillan," I said.

"Mr. McMillan is my father, call me Tom," he said.

"Ok, Tom," I said, a little giddy about getting to address an adult that
didn't work for my family by their first name.

"Billy could you go get your brothers and sisters and tell them dinner will
be ready soon," he said.

"Sure dad," Billy said and left the kitchen.

"Jake, go set these out on the grill," he said putting a container of
marinating chicken in front of us. "Gabe can help to," he said, "unless
that would make you uncomfortable Gabe." He added that last part by nodding
towards the chicken.

"Dad," Jakes said, "he doesn't eat meat, that doesn't mean he's afraid of
it." He quickly turned towards me. "You're not afraid of it right?" he
asked.

"No, of course not," I said. Jake smiled as he grabbed my hand and quickly
led me out the back door.

"Aren't you forgetting something, son?" his dad asked while holding up the
container of chicken. Jake made a gulping sound and started to blush when
he realized he grabbed my hand instead of the chicken. He quickly let go of
my hand and took the container of chicken. His dad just looked at him with
a little smile on his face. Jake looked like a little kid who got caught
misbehaving. I on the other hand was still on Cloud 9 after getting the
chance to hold Jake's hand again today.

"Hey Gabe," Jake's dad called out to me. I was suddenly pulled back to
reality.

"Yes, sir?" I asked.

"Could you take these and start the grill up for me? I need Jake to help me
with something real quick," he said handing me the container of chicken.

"Sure," I said. I walked out the back door towards the only grill I saw. `I
am not touching these,' I thought as I placed them on the side bar of the
grill. "How the hell am I supposed to start this thing up?" I asked nobody
in particular, unless the dead chickens count (they don't).

~~

"What do you need help with dad?" Jake asked, wondering what his dad needed
his help with so bad that he couldn't be outside with Gabe.

"I just want to have a talk son," Tom said, placing a hand on the Jake's
shoulder.

"About what?" Jake asked, gulping again when the thought of what his dad
might want to talk about crossed his mind.

"Is there something you want to tell me, son?" His dad asked, giving Jake a
knowing look. "Something going on maybe?" He nodded towards the back door
when he said that last part.

"No! It's nothing," Jake said rather defensively. Why was his dad asking
him this stuff? Was the whole thing that obvious?

"Well whatever `it' is," his dad said placing his other hand on one of
Jake's shoulders. "Just remember that I love you."

Jake started to feel a swelling of emotions bubble over in him. "I love you
too, dad," he said while trying to hold back any tears that were thinking
of escaping. His dad pulled him into a hug and rubbed his son's back.

"No matter what," his dad added. "Your mother would be so proud of the man
you are today." Tom himself was fighting his own tears. The two stood
separated when they were interrupted by the back door opening.

~~

"Does anybody want to show me how to start this thing?" I asked as I opened
the back door. "I tried and failed epically," I emphasized the last part by
holding up a knob to the grill. The two of them just started laughing at
me, so much so that it looked like they were in tears. "It's not that
funny," I said as Jake guided me out the back door. The next couple of
minutes we stood there watching the chicken cook. Jake was telling what
kind of marinade his dad used. I feigned interest, because when is a
vegetarian ever going to need to learn how to marinade chicken? We heard
the back door open and without even turning around Jake had an annoyed look
on his face. Billy came up to me and slid his arm over my shoulder.

Jake just sighed and asked, "What do you want Billy?"

"I just wanted to see what you guys were up to," he said innocently. I
think he was enjoying the fact that he had his arm around me a little too
much because he started to pull me closer to his side. `This kid is
stronger than he looks,' I thought as I tried to muster some resistance.

"Billy!" Their dad shouted. "Leave your brother and his friend alone and
come help me set the table." Billy let go of me and stomped into the
kitchen.

"He's my friend too dad," we could hear him say before he shut the
door. Jake and I just stood there laughing. After a few more minutes of
Billy-free time, Jake took the chicken off the grill. We walked back into
the kitchen and I was greeted by someone much smaller than me tackling my
legs. I looked down to see a little 2 or 3 year old boy holding onto me.

"What's your name?" I asked in my sweetest voice.

"Kyle," he said, still looking up at me with those big eyes.

Jake laid the chicken down on the counter and picked Kyle up and held him
in one arm. `That kid doesn't know how lucky he is,' I thought.

"Kyle," Jake said trying to get the boy's attention off me for a
second. "This is Gabe, he's our new neighbor." `Jake is such a good
brother,' I thought, `when Billy's not involved.'

"Hi Gabe," he said with a little wave. I have a real soft spot for
kids. Jake walked over to the table and sat Kyle down in his high chair.

"Are all you siblings this cute?" I asked ignoring the fact that Billy's
ears perked up at this inquiry.

"Almost," Jake said, making sure Billy heard him. And as if the universe
was sending me a message the next sound I heard was two girls screaming as
they ran into the kitchen.

"Dad!" they both said in unison.

"Toby pulled Sarah's hair," said one of the girls.

"And then he pushed Lindsey," said the other.

"Where's Toby now," their father asked, his answer running through the door
only moments later.

As soon as he entered he saw his sister's facing his dad. His dad was
giving him a stern look. Toby quickly turned around and started out the
kitchen.

"Toby, get back in here," his dad said in one breath.

The little boy came back in with his head down like a misbehaved puppy.

"Did you pull Sarah's hair and push Lindsey?" his dad asked.

"I was just trying to make them walk the plank," the little boy said, using
his best puppy eyes. `I wonder where he learned that,' I thought as I
glanced over at Jake, who was putting a bib on Kyle. My thoughts
immediately shifted to how cute they looked together.

"What did I tell you about hitting your sisters?" he asked.

"To not do it," Toby said with his gaze wandering to everywhere but his
father's face.

"That's right. Now tell your sisters you're sorry," he told the boy.

"Sorry," he said. The act of an apology seemed to physically hurt him.

"Ok," his dad said. "Why don't we eat then? I'm as hungry as a bear." He
added a bear impression complete with roar. Toby and the twins started
laughing and ran over the table and sat down. It wasn't until they had
seated themselves did they notice an extra person in the room.

"Who are you?" the twins asked in unison. `That's starting to get creepy,'
I thought.

"This is Gabe," Jake said. "He's Miss Morgan's grandson."

Their eyes got real big at that last part.

"She tells us stories about you all the time," Toby said. "Is it true that
you can shoot laser beams out of your eyes?"

"Did my grandmother really say that?" I asked. `What has as she been
telling these poor impressionable kids,' I thought.

"No," he said a little disappointed. "I was just testing you to make sure
you weren't a robot."

"Well that's a very good test," I said. He grinned at that statement. `Kids
are so easy,' I thought.

"Everybody needs to take their seats now, we're having chicken tonight,"
their father said. We all took our places at the table. Jake sat next to
Kyle, but he pulled a chair out next to himself indicating where he wanted
me to sit. I took my place on his right. Billy then sat next to me on my
right. Sarah, Lindsey, and Toby all sat on the other side. Jake's father
took his seat between Toby and Kyle. We all started to fill up our
plates. Everybody but Kyle and I were eating the chicken. Kyle had a
`wonderful' serving of stringed peas. I had some salad and corn on the
cob. Toby had to have his cut up by his father. The salad was really
good. So was the corn on the cob. While we ate Jake's dad asked me about
life in California, and what kinds of things do vegetarians usually
eat. The whole table then took time to explain to Toby what a vegetarian
was, and that it did not mean a type of dinosaur. We were all laughing and
having fun. `Is this what a big family is usually like,' I thought to
myself. `If so then sign me up.'

"You need a refill on you drink?" Jake's dad asked. I had only been
drinking water, and hadn't realized that I had drunk most of it already.

"I think I do," I said. Before I could even reach my hand out for the
pitcher of water in front of me, two other hands got to it
sooner. Unfortunately those hands belonged to Billy and Jake. They were
both staring daggers at each other.

"Dude, let go," Jake said, not following his own advice. `I got this,' he
mouthed at Billy.

"I'm closer so maybe I should do it," Billy said, also not showing any sign
of letting go.

"What's gotten into the two of you," their dad jumped in.

"Nothing," Jake said. "Billy just wants to be total tool today."

"That's funny coming from the king of tools himself," Billy came back.

They both started to try to pull the pitcher out of the other's grasp. For
some reason I got a really bad feeling about all this. That's when it
happened. They had each succeeded in pulling the pitcher out of the other's
hands. The only problem was that with nobody to hold the picture, gravity
took over. Gravity, I say from experience, is a cruel, cruel lady. The next
thing I felt was a huge splash of cold water all over my body. `Great,' I
thought. I looked down to assess the damage. It was bad, mostly because it
had soaked my entire lap straight to my skin. The other reason was because
it had completely drenched my `white' shirt, making it completely
translucent. I felt naked there, and it didn't help matters with Billy
staring right at my see through shirt and soaked jeans. Jake on the other
hand was trying to take a more proactive approach.

"Oh my god!" he said, reaching for a napkin on the table. "I'm so sorry."
He must not have realized what he was doing because he then started to pat
down my lap with the napkin. I was frozen in complete shock and
humiliation. It must've dawned on him where exactly he was patting because
he jerked his hand back and turned the most awful shade of red imaginable.

"Billy show Gabe up to the bathroom and get him a change of your clothes,
they're probably the only ones in the house that'll fit," his dad said, a
little angry. "We'll talk about both your behavior later," he added.

"Come on," Billy said, taking me by the hand and leading me out of the
kitchen and up the stairs. He led to the bathroom and then quickly went to
his room to find a change of clothes for me. I still felt exposed standing
there, and the looks he was giving me weren't helping. He handed me some
clothes and walked back into his room. I went into the bathroom, but didn't
shut the door all the way; I don't expect to take too long changing. I took
off my shirt, which was soaked to the bone. I rung out quite a bit of water
into the sink and hung it over the shower rod. I heard a sound at the door
and immediately thought it was Billy with an article of clothing he had
forgotten to give me. Instead I was greeted by the sight of Scarecrow. He
looked at me like I was going to hit him with a rolled up newspaper.

"Hey boy," I said, leaning down to pet him. He perked up at my touch. I
stood up and the closed the door behind him.

"Do you want to make sure I'm okay?" I asked, not really expecting an
answer, but getting one in the form of a whimper.

"Aww, don't worry boy I won't kick you out," I said as I began to unbutton
my jeans. He remained silent but was vigilantly keeping watch over me. `He
must make an excellent watch dog,' I thought.

I proceeded to take my jeans off, and I was standing there in nothing but
my boxers. I looked at the clothes that Billy gave me. It was a black
shirt, a pair of ripped skinny jeans (great, more skin to show), and a pair
of boxer briefs. I felt a little uncomfortable about the idea of wearing
someone else's underwear. Nothing to do about it though, seeing as I was
completely wet all the way through. I took a towel off the rack and placed
it around my waste. Scarecrow made a sort of whimpering sound.

"You didn't think I was going to show it all. Did you?" I asked, chuckling
at the disappointed look in the dog's eyes. I took my underwear off while
still wearing the towel and replaced them with Billy's pair. I took the
towel off, rolling my eyes when Scarecrow's head perked up at the sight of
me in boxer briefs. He started panting all of a sudden. I just laughed at
his sudden interest in my exposure. I walked over to him and started
rubbing his head.

"You're a little pervert, aren't you?" I asked. He slowed down his panting
and lowered his ears. I kneeled down a started rubbing him behind the ears.

"You know, I'm looking for a boyfriend but," I started to say, which
immediately got another rise out of him. He jumped on top of me and started
giving me kisses all over my chest and face. I was giggling from all this
attention he was giving me. I pushed him off me and stood up. "Like I said,
I'm looking for a boyfriend but he has to have just two legs," I
finished. I emphasized that by making a walking motion with my fingers.

He suddenly got a weird look on his face and sat very quietly as if he were
deep in thought. As I began to get dressed I wondered what dogs thought
about. `Probably about bones and squirrels,' I thought to myself. I
finished getting dressed and hung my clothes to dry on the shower rod. I
opened the door and motioned for Scarecrow to follow me. He walked out of
the bathroom and straight to Billy's room. After he was inside, the door
shut behind him. `That dog is so weird,' I thought to myself as I made my
way down stairs. I walked back into the kitchen and as soon as Jake noticed
me he dropped his head down. I pulled out my chair and resumed my place at
the table.

"Sorry for getting you soaked," Jake said, still refusing to look at me.

"It's cool, besides Billy's clothes fit me just fine," I said. It was true;
we were practically the same size even though I was a year older than him.

"Where is Billy?" their dad asked.

"I think he's up in his room with Scarecrow," I said, resuming my salad.

"Why's he got a scarecrow in his room?" his dad asked.

"He means the dog, dad," Jake said while giving his father a weird
look. "You know the ugly brown one we have."

His dad made an "Oh!" face. His brother quickly chimed in.

"That's not a dog! That's-," he started to say before his father quickly
interrupted him.

"That's a member of the family," their dad said, giving Toby and the girls
a stern look. They just nodded their heads in agreement.

"I think he likes me," I said. "He stood in the bathroom with me and
watched me the whole time I was changing."

"He did what?" Jake suddenly yelled, startling everyone. He quickly got up
from the table and made his way through the living room up the stairs.

"Did I say something?" I asked. My question was followed by the sound of a
door slamming and lots of yelling. The next thing we knew there were
several loud thuds and bangs. My eyes got real wide as I looked over to
Mr. McMillan. He quickly got out of his chair.

"I'll be right back," he said. He then made his way upstairs and we could
hear him yell, "I thought I told you boys no wrestling in the house!"

Toby's head shot up. "I wanna wrestle," he said as he too made his way out
of the kitchen and up the stairs. The twins just looked at me with little
smiles on their faces. Kyle was in his own world, finger painting with his
stringed peas. The yelling and banging went on for another minute or so
until it finally stopped. That was probably one of the most awkward minutes
of my life. I thought about escaping while they were all occupied with
whatever that was, but decided against it seeing as they've been such good
hosts. One by one they all came down the stairs. Toby had a look of
disappointment on his face as he sat back down at the table with his arms
crossed. Jake and Billy were both being dragged by their arms into the
kitchen. Their father stayed in between them to make sure they behaved.

"It sure was nice having you stay and eat with us," he said. "It's getting
late though, so maybe you should head on back to your grandmother's before
it gets too dark."

"You're probably right, sir," I said as a stood up from the table. I made
my way towards them. I looked at Jake. "I'll see you later," I said. He
just nodded with a bit of a smile on his face. I then turned to
Billy. "I'll see you later too," I said. He was a little more obvious with
his smile. I turned around, "It was nice meeting you guys," I said as I
began to wave. They all waved at me, especially Kyle, who was practically
trying to get out of his high chair to hug me. I turned to their
father. "Thank you for the meal and for being so nice," I said.

"Any time you want to come over, you're more than welcomed to," he said. I
nodded my head and made my way to the front door. I quickly made my way
down the porch and onto my bike. It wasn't dark yet, but it would be
soon. When I pulled my bike up, I noticed that Grammy's car parked in the
driveway. `I hope she wasn't worried about where I've been,' I thought. I
parked the bike in its original place, even threw the tarp back over it,
and made my way to the door. I don't know what I was expecting when I
walked in, but what it certainly wasn't what actually happened. As soon as
I walked in the door I was greeted by a blinding handful of confetti and a
deafening shriek.

"Surprise!" they said. I quickly rubbed the confetti out of my eyes to see
my grandmother and aunt standing in front of a cake.

"Aunt Lydia!" I said. I made my way over to her. She looks just like I
remember. Lydia is a very beautiful woman and it's obvious she knows it by
the way she dresses. For a woman in her 30's she loves to act like she's in
her 20's. She has very long wavy blonde hair that almost reaches to her
waist. It always looks like it's been professionally blown because for all
the hair she has I've never seen her suffer through a bad hair day. The
best thing about Lydia though is her personality. She's one of those adults
who treats kids with respect and is always liberal with the information she
shares. Mom doesn't like her telling me about all the wild parties she
attends and all the crazy people she meets. Pretty much anytime you look up
the definition `cool aunt', a photo of Lydia dancing on top of a bar pops
up. She's that cool.

"Gabe!" she said, catching me in a bear hug. She too inherited my
grandmother's deadly hugging skills.

"When did you get back?" I asked as she put me down.

"Today, mom picked me up at the train station just a few hours ago," she
said.

"So that's why you didn't want me coming into town with you," I said. I
gave a pointed look towards my grandmother. She simply let her gaze wander
upwards.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said. I just smiled at her
and rolled my eyes. I then brought my attention back to Lydia. "So Aunt
Lydia, what is this I've been hearing about you and a shaman?"

"You're going to want to sit down for this one," she said, leading me into
the living room. Lydia and I talked for a couple of hours. She told me all
about her recent escapade. When all was said, and I can tell you for a fact
that "ALL" was said, I kissed Lydia and Grammy good night and went off to
bed. Before I actually got in the bed, I stepped out on the balcony for
some fresh air. I sat there looking into the garden and expecting to see my
fury silver friend. He didn't show up. `He must be chewing on a good bone
somewhere,' I thought. I called it a night and climbed into my bed. Again,
without any second thought, as soon as my head hit that pillow I was out.