Chapter 5: Dinner and Dessert

The Author was enjoying creating Kesley far more than she felt she should. He was half-demon, half-angel, and she knew there was going to be some conflict with Kelsey and Alex. In fact, before she brought Kelsey out, she decided she should warn the Hermit about the dangers of putting two people with demon-blood in the same house. Pulling the notebook toward her, she jotted down a quick note: Just so you know, putting Kelsey and Alex together would be bad. Their demon bloods will... Well, let's just say they'll end up doing something they'll regret later.


She turned back to Kelsey's profile while she waited for an answer, which popped up just a few moments later. Awesome, sounds like we've got some drama heading for the House. Why do you always have to make such dramatic characters? :P


The Author snorted, rolling her eyes. "Right, because Alex isn't dramatic at all, and a girl who hides as a guy isn't dramatic at all." She giggled then pushed away the notebook, putting her full attention into Kelsey's profile.

---

Aiden and Alex ended up watching "Gattaca" together, and by the time it was over, Alex's stomach was rumbling. She stood and stretched, grinning at Aiden. "That was a pretty good movie. Do you want to come down to dinner with me?"

He glanced away, nervously pulling his knees up to his chest. "I-I don't go down there to eat," he admitted then looked up at Alex, "but if you want, I could make you dinner."

Alex looked over at the kitchen in his room. "Well, I guess it can't hurt." She glanced at him with a smirk. "It'll be edible, right?"

Just the slightest smile tugged at his lips. "Yeah, it'll be edible," he promised.

Only twenty minutes later, Aiden had whipped up a couple of tomato and basil pizzas on flat bread along with a chicken salad topped with self-grated parmesan cheese.

"I hope this is okay," he said, setting it all on the table as Alex eagerly sat down. "I wasn't sure what you'd like."

She took up one of the pizzas, taking a bite. "Mmm! This is amazing, Aiden! What cheese is this?"

"It... it's mozzarella," Aiden said, blushing, "and not that nasty part-skim stuff that most stores sell. I grate it myself so it's fresh."

She grinned at him. "Well, it's amazing. I can't believe you cook like this. Where did you learn?"

He shifted nervously. "My aunt taught me... My mom's sister." He jumped when a timer beeped. "Oh, I'll be right back!" He ran into the kitchen, pulling out the item in the oven and heading back to the table. "Sorry, I'd almost forgotten about those."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Just dessert," he said with a shrug.

After they'd finished dinner and he'd cleared away the leftovers and the dishes, he brought out another shocker: cupcakes carefully frosted and decorated.

"Oh, my god, Aiden," Alex said, eyes wide with shock. "You're like a cooking school with legs."

He blushed, smiling shyly. "Thanks." He handed her one of the cupcakes. "It's red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting."

"Wow, Aiden," Alex said, taking a bite. "I can't believe you've been hiding this secret talent of yours. There's a huge kitchen downstairs that you could have at your disposal! Why not use it?"

Aiden just shrugged and began eating his own cupcake. How could he explain to her that he didn't like being around people because of what his dad had done to him? She wouldn't understand; she was normal.

Chapter 3: Of Books and Melted Locks

Aiden nervously rubbed his arm. He was familiar with the book that Alex was referring to. Personally, he was a big fan of books, and that book had been particularly one that was something he would enjoy. Looking at the door, he sighed and finally walked over and opened it. "Um... we could go talk in my room if you want," he offered. He still eyed her warily, curious about the "melting" comment.

Alex grinned at him. "Are you sure you trust me in your room?" His shocked, wide-eyed expression almost made her laugh until she realized she'd probably scared and confused him. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Come on," she said, standing and offering out her hand to help him stand and step out of the closet.

He still looked wary, but he accepted her hand and led her down the hallway to his room. Pulling out the skeleton key, he unlocked the door and pushed it open, letting Alex step in before him. The room was similar to a bachelor pad. The living area included a rather large kitchenette complete with fridge, microwave, and stove. In the living room was a large, 42" TV with an R2D2 XBox 360. Beneath the TV, a collection of movies were neatly stacked in the TV stand. Both walls were covered with bookshelves, which appeared to be filled with plenty of books to last anyone a decent amount of time. There was a door in the left wall and a door in the right wall.

"Geeze, how'd you get lucky enough to earn a whole damn apartment to yourself?" Alex muttered, looking around and glancing at Aiden with only a small twinge of jealousy.

Aiden's cheeks flushed, and he ducked his head, nervously rubbing at his arm. "Th-the Author said I needed a kitchen because she knew I wouldn't come down to eat. I-I thought everyone else had rooms like this too."

"Nope, you must just be special," Alex said with a grin, sitting down on the couch. "So, tell me about the book. How was it?"

Aiden pulled the book off of one of the bookshelves. It looked like it had been read recently; the binding was bent, and pages appeared to have been doggy-eared. "It was... nice. I-I liked it," he admitted, holding it out to her.

"You're doing homework here?" she asked, shocked.

"Well, I just... 'cause I don't know if... or when... I might leave this... house. So, I decided to keep up on my studies."

“So, your parents must be hard asses as far as grades, huh?”

He flinched, nervously rubbing his arm. “My… my mom died when I was born,” he whispered, “and my dad doesn’t… Uh, he likes for me to have high grades.”

Alex’s interest was piqued. “You don’t like to talk about family.”

“Well, what about you?” Aiden snapped, taking a step back and nervously rubbing his arm. “We all have secrets here at the House. The writers say we’re safe here.”

“Okay, okay,” she sighed, holding up her hands. “You’re right. Well, at least you have a dad, right? I don’t have either one.”

Aiden flinched again. “Y-yeah, sure.”

----

Meanwhile, in another part of the House, the Author was scribbling away frantically, just like the Hermit. With Alex now keeping an eye on Aiden, the Author felt comfortable enough to release another of her wild characters on the House. Besides, it kept Tasha, Bill, and Ducky entertained enough to stay out of her hair when she introduced new characters. Her latest character? A young man named Kelsey with fire-red hair and blue eyes, a physical manifestation of the powers he hid inside, was going to be next on her list to bring out into the House.

Glancing at the notebook she shared with the Hermit, she quickly wrote, "I'm almost done with Kelsey. Should I bring him out now, or wait until Alex and Aiden have gotten a bit more cozy?"

The Hermit sighed, looking over the message. "I think we should wait just a little bit longer. I'm almost done with Mac too, but I still want to see how Alex and Aiden are going to get along before we bring in more."

The Author nodded, setting down her pen and leaning back in her chair. "All right then."

Turning her head, she looked over at a photograph on the wall, lowering her hood. Her long, auburn hair and soft, brown eyes matched the young woman in the photograph, though her face was creased with stress compared to the bright, happy image in the picture. Holding her was a young man with black hair and dark brown eyes. He had olive skin, and his smile seemed more nervous than the Author's. Reaching out to touch the young man's image, a small, sad smile crossed her face.

"I miss you, Edgar," she whispered.