The Gothic Ballerina Part 7 (standard:science fiction, 1140 words) [7/8] show all parts
Author: kissofthehungry	Added: Aug 01 2005	Views/Reads: 2434/1823	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Echo decides what to do about Mikey and Kitty then begins her venture to find her brother, JonJon.

“Wow, I thought you were bad,” she grinned then quickly sobered up,
ashamed of showing humor when the day had changed her perspective on 
everything. 

“Hey, you thought I was bad?  Ha ha, shows you that you can be wrong,”
he returned the smile, his eyes holding hers, knowing exactly what she 
was thinking.   Embarrassed, she looked away, unable to handle someone 
being able to read her so easily. 

“I knew that,” she spoke softly, her brother dancing before her eyes. 
She had thought he was dead, hadn't ever even considered him being a 
threat to herself but now she had questions.  Would he come after her 
now that he knew she was alive?  Did he care?  What if he hadn't 
recognized her?  Somehow, that seemed too painful to even consider.  Of 
course he had recognized her, she was his sister, how could he not? 

Mikey changed the subject, “I thought she was going to kill us.  You
know how those teenage hormones are but she's handling it pretty well.” 
His eyes wandered over to the sleeping form sprawled across her bed. 

“Yeah,” she followed his gaze, felt a fleeting spark of irritation at
the invasion of her space then it was gone, and added, “I think despite 
her cocky attitude that's it what she wanted.   Nobody really wants to 
live that life, even if it does mean everything money can buy.” 

“I know,” he replied and suddenly her eyes were on him, truly seeing
him.  This was a man who had faced her knowing how deadly she was in 
order to go rescue his sister from selling her soul.  He was 
compassionate and brave, intelligent and understanding.  Somewhere 
inside her, she felt butterflies dance up at thoughts she quickly 
squelched.  She was not going to get romantically involved or even 
indulge in the fantasies of being so.  It was too dangerous in this 
time to even consider it. 

“I don't want to be pushy or anything, but how long are you letting us
stay here?” he suddenly asked, yanking her from her train of thought. 

“Huh?” then she blushed and stammered, “Uh, um.  I don't know, I mean, I
guess however long you need to stay.”  He was staring at her again, his 
eyes full of thought and once more, she dodged his gaze.  How could she 
think with him looking at her like that? 

“Thanks, I really appreciate it.  We won't be in your hair long though,
I know you've got bad guys to hunt down and don't want any 
interference,” he was testing her, seeing if she did want him with her. 
 Her mouth opened to protest but she shut it stubbornly, she wasn't 
playing this game.  The sooner he was gone, the better, though she 
didn't really believe it. 

Shrugging her shoulders, she stood up and gave her goodnights, then
walked over to her bed.  Forcibly, she pushed his sister over and she 
grumbled in her sleep at the disturbance but rolled onto her side 
making room for Echo.  It was hard for her to go to sleep, too many 
emotions and arguments broiled in her head and heart.  What was she 
going to do? 

When she woke up, she knew what she was going to do.  Mikey and Kitty
were being given the offer to baby-sit her home for a while.  She was 
going to find her brother and ask him for once, why he had chosen his 
path.  Maybe he had a good reason, not likely, but she needed to know.  
Kitty was still out solid when she woke up, looking extremely innocent 
in her sleep.  Mikey, however, was awake, watching her wake up. 

“How long have you been watching me?” she asked, self conscious.  Had
she been drooling or snoring?  Then she did a mental slap, what did it 
matter.  It wasn't as if she were trying to impress him, he was just a 
friend. 

“Long enough, you really don't sleep well.  Though now I understand, I'm
thinking we should head out today,” his voice was steady but his eyes 
revealed more than he obviously wanted to reveal.  He may as well have 
came out and begged for her to ask him to stay longer. 

That was just what she intended to do, “Really?  Could I persuade you to
stay later?  My home needs watched while I go on a, uh, mission.”  It 


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