"Do you have everything?" Kaylie asked. Adam nodded. It was more or less what she expected. She was far more likely to forget something herself than her little brother was. Still, her big sisterly instinct made her ask. Kaylie always had to make sure Adam was okay and taken care of even if she wasn't completely with it herself. Mentally, she ran down the list of things she'd had to prepare. She'd packed everything and dropped off the Christmas cards for her teammates. However, she still had one to deliver. Kaylie supposed she could have owled it to Aladren or to his home, but she wanted to see Chris one last time. If she didn't, she'd have to owl it anyway though.
She looked over towards her brother again, noticing Adam looked pale and tired. "Are you all right?" Kaylie inquired "Haven't you been sleeping well?"
"I don't know." Adam replied. He sneezed. He'd woke up this morning with a headache and a sore throat. "I don't really feel good." Adam whispered.
Kaylie hugged him. "It's okay, we're going to go home, and Mom will take care of you and put you to bed. I'll sit in there with you and nobody will bother you." She gazed over her brother's head towards the door. Where was Chris? If he didn't get here soon, they were going to have to leave and Kaylie wouldn't get to say goodbye.\n\n
11Kaylie Brockert (and a little bit of Adam)On our way home..(tag Chris)43Kaylie Brockert (and a little bit of Adam)15
Where was his shoe? He looked under his bed. If he didn't find it soon, he would be to late to see Kaylie before she left. He gave a sigh, it wasn't under the bed. He had looked everywhere in his room! He would just have to go without. He was already running very late. Hopefully, she didn't notice.
He ran out his room to the Hall where Kaylie was waiting. He skidded to a stop. There she was. His heart skipped a beat. She looked great.
Chris called out, "Kaylie!"
He wanted to make sure she saw him. Swallowing nervously, he made his way over to her. His hand was clenched around the small gift in his pocket. It wasn't much, but he hoped she liked it.
Reaching her, slightly blushing, he said, "Hi. Sorry I'm late."\n\n
Kaylie's attention was torn away from the door by the sound of Adam coughing. She looked at him worriedly. "Why don't you sit down?" She suggested.
Adam sat. He was glad to do so. He felt totally miserable, which wasn't uncommon for the second year. The difference being that this time he felt sick rather than his usual scared and nervous. "What are we waiting for, anyway?" He asked. Not that Adam was in a big hurry to get home. It was Christmas. Christmas meant lots of people around. His mother's family would be there and some of the cousins on that side were really mean to him. Especially Damian. Damian was a year older than him, and liked to tease and bully him. And it was Evan's first birthday so they'd all probably stay longer. Plus, Marshall, who was Adam's favorite cousin and usually protected him by either beating up Damian or, since Marshall turned of age, turning him into something else.
"A friend of mine." Kaylie replied, her eyes drifting back towards the door. She didn't say much more than that. Kaylie could be vague by nature and besides, she wasn't sure she wanted Adam to know she liked Chris. Really liked him. She didn't think he'd take it well. Kaylie feared Adam would take it as abandoning him.
She heard someone call her name.Her face lit up as she spotted Chris. "Hey, it's all right." Kaylie replied, smiling shyly at him. She resisted the urge to hug him.She wanted too, because she was an affectionate person like that but, she didn't know how either boy would feel about it. Chris might run away screaming. So many of the boys here were the "girls are icky types" though some seemed to be outgrowing it. Still, that would be embarassing. And more importantly, it would hurt. Kaylie might even cry about it, though not where Adam could see. She didn't ever cry in front of him. She didn't like him to see her upset, because it would upset him. As could hugging Chris in general. \n\n
Now that he was in front of her, he didn't know what to say. He had practiced what he would say a thousand times in his head, but now it was gone. Instead, he stood there smiling like an idiot. What was it about liking a girl that turned you into an unintelligible doofus?
Trying to thing of something to say and hiding his shoeless foot, he managed to get out a few words, "I..ah...um...hereIgotthisforyou."
Okay that was great. Mouth try again, he pleaded with himself, "I got this for you."
Much better, he thought to himself, as he handed her the small black box. Inside was a wizard's mood ring. Inside the gem was a tiny kitten, which would change colors and behave according to one's mood. If the person wearing the ring was happy, then the kitten would reflect this in color and would purr, which is what he hoped would happen when she put it on.\n\n
It was so cute the way Chris was stammering, Kaylie couldn't help thinking. She didn't know why, but she found practically everything he did adorable. Was this how it was like to really like someone, in that special way? She sure felt like it, she thought about Chris nearly every waking moment. She had this overwhelming need to talk about him to people, but at the same time, didn't want him (or her brother) to know.
Surprised, she took the box he gave her. Kaylie hadn't been expecting anything, and felt a bit guilty for not getting him a gift. She had no idea what he would have wanted. She opened it up. A ring! Whoa! Well, it was a mood ring not like anything fancy but still it was really cute. "Thanks," Kaylie murmured shyly. "Um, I really like it. I'm sorry I didn't get you anything." She blushed and slid it on her finger where the kitten began to purr. She just stood there looking at him for a few moments, smiling but not saying anything, when a loud cough broke the silence. Kaylie turned her head towards her brother "Um, Chris, this is my brother Adam. Adam, this is Chris Dupree" She really hoped they'd get along. Right now, her brother seemed to be looking at Chris with a mixture of fear, curiosity and suspicion.\n\n