Talan tapped the pencil on his desk waiting for his friends to get back to him. They were going to go do something later and said they’d invite him. He slipped his math homework back into the folder and reclined in his computer chair. Nothing interesting online today, he was bored out of his skull.

That’s what happens when you get all your work done early he thought to himself.

A buzzing on his desk drew his attention to his phone.

“Hey jason, what’s the story?” Talan asked.

“No story, Spike. Ryan can’t come and I’m stuck helping my father with the car.”

Talan chuckled and rubbed his forehead. That dumb nickname. “So guess that’s a raincheck then?”

“Yeah, sorry. Talk to you later.”

“Later.”

Talan clicked off the phone and looked over to his shelf, “Well, guess there’s always reading.”

He ran his finger across the row and pulled out one of the new books his mother bought him while she was travelling.

“Nickleroyal Academy,” Talan mused. “Maybe it’ll be as good as the Jerry Potter series.”

Before he was finished with the first page his mother knocked on the door, then stepped inside. “Talan, dear. Your father and I are going out for the night, so we’ve called someone over to watch you.”

Talan nearly fell out of his chair, “What?! A babysitter?! Mom I’m eighteen years old. I can handle staying the night by myself until you get home!”

Talan’s mother narrowed her brow, “That’s not the type of tone that’ll get you anywhere. I’ve already called her and she’s on her way. You’ll be respectful to her, do you understand?”

“Yes mother...” Talan sulked as he sank into his chair.

“Good,” she said while putting in an earing and closing the door.

Shortly after she left, there was another knock. “What now?” Talan groaned.

Talan’s father walked in and chuckled, “Sorry, buddy. Your mother get’s overprotective sometimes. You know how she is.”

“Obviously...” Talan replied with a sigh.

Talan’s father rubbed his back reassuringly, “Look, I know you could probably stay by yourself. But this makes your mother happy.”

“I know,” Talan said while standing up and moving to his bed. “And if she’s happy, you’re happy.” he said with a smirk. One which his father returned.

“Happy wife, happy life,” he said with a chuckle. “The girl coming over is mostly here to watch the house and cook you dinner. That way you won’t have to worry about what to make. Plus, I’d cheer up a bit. This girl’s supposed to be new. I’ve never heard her name before, and I think she’s just a little older than you...”

Talan blushed and waved his father away, “Yeah, like any girl would be interested in some kid she was babysitting.”

His father laughed and walked to the door, “Hey, an opportunity is an opportunity.”

Talan fell back on the bed and groaned. It was embarrassing, but ultimately he didn’t have enough reasons to care. Talan was an only child, so there were no siblings to watch him, or for him to watch. His family lived in a rather large house in one of the gated communities near their high school. Having someone else around to watch the house wasn’t a bad idea, and not having to worry about food was nice. Hopefully he could have something better than a sandwich or macaroni and cheese.

But what really made Talan curious was what his father said about her being new. Talan’s father served on the school board and knew several of the families in the area. This could be interesting, or it could be a disaster. Talan knew several of his more bold friends would try and go after some of the high school girls, but he never knew why. Oh sure they were attractive, but they were also mean and cruel. If this girl was like that, he could be in for a long night.

Talan got up from his bed and returned to his computer and booted up a game, “Let’s hope she at least doesn’t hate me.” he said to himself while putting on his headset.

After about twenty minutes into a Chaining of Cain game, he heard someone downstairs talking to his parents. Talan closed out of the game and headed for the door. His room was down the hall from a railing overlooking the foyer. He stepped up to the banister and let out a yawn. When he opened his eyes, his mouth didn’t close. Both his parents were standing outside making small talk with his babysitter. His mother handed her a piece of paper, then was lead away by his father.

The girl shut the door and looked at the list. Talan’s eyes widened. She was a sight to behold. Long legs with defined hips, and a remarkably thin midsection. Her long blue ponytail hung down to her mid back with a slight curl. Talan imagined it was even longer if straightened. He really thought her hair looked cool, it had at least two different shades of blue dyed into it. She wore a skirt short enough to show off her legs, yet not too revealing. Her jacket was burgundy and rolled up at the sleeves, and she was wearing something on her wrists. Talan had to squint to make them out. Spiked bracelets? He winced, this girl would probably chew him up and spit him out if she wore things like that. Plus those boots only served to make her look taller, and even more intimidating.

Talan rubbed his forehead and clenched his eyes shut. His friends would have already introduced themselves by now, they weren’t intimidated so easily. He wished he wasn’t such coward, but he hated confrontation and being awkward. It made meeting new people difficult sometimes.

Once she was done looking over the list, she turned around and saw him.

“You must be Talan! Hi!” she said with bright smile.

Talan tried to hide his blush and descended the stairs to introduce himself. He stopped in front of her and held out his hand, “Yeah, I’m Talan. It’s nice to meet you.”

The girl looked at his hand for a brief moment, then embraced him in a playful hug. “I like hugs better than handshakes.” she said with a chuckle. “Talan is an interesting name, I like it. I’m Sonata, I’ll be watching you while your parents are out.”

Talan’s blush intensified as she stood up and tousled his hair. “Yeah, I kinda figured. So... um... how about I show you around?”

“Sounds good.” Sonata said while following him.

Talan ran a hand through his hair and laughed nervously, “My mom thought Talan was a good name. I was named after a relative of hers. But my friends just call me Spike sometimes.”

Sonata tilted her head quizzically, “Spike?”

“Yeah,” Talan said while pointing to his short, spiked up green hair. “Because of this, get it?”

Sonata nodded, “Oh... that makes sense. So do you prefer Talan or Spike?”

“I don’t really care, Talan’s fine I guess.” he said with a shrug.

Talan turned around and headed into the living room. He didn’t notice Sonata extend her hand for him to take and lead. She let it fall to her side and giggled.

“So this is the living room, it’s connected to the dining room and my father’s office. Behind that is the family tv room. Then out back is the deck and our backyard.”

Sonata marveled at how open it all felt, “This is a really big house. Wow...”

“Yeah,” Talan agreed. “It’s almost too big for just the three of us.”

“I’ll say,” she said with a laugh. “So where to now?”

Talan motioned for her to follow, “Upstairs are the bedrooms, and across the hall from my room are the guest bedrooms. We have a game room downstairs, it’s technically half of the basement. That’s about it.”

Sonata nodded, satisfied. She produced the note from her jacket and looked it over. “I’m supposed to cook you dinner, any requests?”

Talan followed her into the kitchen and took a seat at the counter. Sonata stood opposite him and raised an eyebrow.

He looked around then shrugged, “Are you a good cook?”

Sonata dramatically flicked her ponytail, taking affront to his question. “I’m a great cook! But you’ll find out soon enough.”

“Well, I don’t know what I want. How about you surprise me?” he asked with a grin.

Sonata tapped her chin then clasped her hands together with a bright smile, “I know just the thing! I’ll get started right away.”

“Well don’t let me keep you,” Talan said while jumping out of his stool. “I’ll come down when it’s done.”

Before he could leave the kitchen he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Sonata stopped him and knelt down, “Have you finished your homework?”

“Yeah,” Talan replied.

“Even the English essay?” she asked with a knowing grin.

Talan’s eyes widened, he had completely forgotten about that assignment. “How could you possibly kno-  the list...” he groaned.

Sonata simply smiled and stood up, “Says you’re supposed to take a bath, too.”

Talan’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment, “Mom wrote that?! Seriously?!”

He snatched the note from Sonata’s hand and started looking it over. However, he didn’t get far. Sonata took it back and grinned ear to ear, “You’re really cute when you’re all embarrassed, Talan. Go finish your homework and I’ll get you when dinner’s ready, kay?”

“Okay,” Talan agreed.

He left the kitchen still blushing. As he started up the stairs a sound stopped him dead in his tracks. Sonata was humming a song while preparing their dinner. He slowly took a few steps back to get closer to the sound. It was amazing. He had no idea she had such a beautiful voice. As he leaned on a chair, Sonata noticed him and wagged her finger.

“Homework, mister!” she said with a glare.

Talan snapped out of his daydreaming and ran up the stairs as fast as he could.

After about twenty minutes of typing, Talan finished his essay and sent it to the printer. Just as he was getting up he heard a knock on the door. He opened it and found Sonata standing outside.

“Dinner’s ready, Talan.”

As he stood there the smell just reached his nose, “Wow, smells good. What did you make?”

“You’ll have to come down and see,” she said with a wink as she walked down the hallway and headed for the kitchen.

Talan shut his door and followed. As he entered the kitchen, a large plate of spaghetti and meatballs sat on the counter with bread and some juice. Talan whistled his approval, which made Sonata blush. His parent’s rarely cooked a meal like this. They went out or ordered in pretty much all the time.

Talan climbed up on the stool and began to dig in. Sonata watched him eat with anticipation and awaited the verdict. “Well, is it good? How’d I do?”

He swallowed his first bite then washed it down with some juice. After placing the glass down he smiled and rubbed his stomach, “It’s really good, actually. I’m impressed.”

“Yay!” Sonata cheered as she jumped for joy.

She spun in circles and smiled like she had just won the grand prize at some contest. Talan took another bite and watched her celebration. Sonata was definitely different from the high school girls he knew. They would never act like this. They were way too cool for that. The way Sonata was acting reminded Talan of girls even younger than him. She was just so... happy. It was weird.

“So,” Talan began before taking another bite. “You’re new here?”

Sonata decided to stand at counter and began eating her meal. She nodded, “Yeah, I got here with my friends a few months ago. But we’ve been around a lot longer than that.”

Talan raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean a lot longer?”

Sonata laughed, “Longer in this world, silly!”

Talan decided not to pursue those questions any further. He was beginning to see Sonata was a bit of a ditz.

“So do you like it here?” he asked.

Sonata sucked in a few strands of pasta, “Eh, not really. It’s a nice place, it’s just where we came from was so much better. But we’re meeting cool new people, and we’ve been offered to sing at a few clubs.”

“You sing?” Talan asked. Her beautiful humming made much more sense now.

“Yep! My two friends and I. Maybe if you keep being good we’ll sing for you sometime.” she said with a wink. “So, new to the high school?”

Talan nodded, “Yeah, but I probably look like I don't belong there, right?”

Sonata smiled and nodded, “Yeah, kinda.”

“I figured... my height...” Talan muttered dejectedly.

Talan was short in stature among his friends, and was teased regularly. Most of the time it didn’t escalate beyond that, but he had been bullied a few times. He tried to forget those moments.

Sonata saw his expression and reached across the counter to rub his shoulder. She picked up his chin and grinned, “Well I don’t think it matters how you look, though you are a cutie. You’re all kinds of awesome.”

“Thanks," Talan replied with a shy smile.  

Sonata finished her spaghetti and set it aside, “That means you’ll be in High School, and I’ll probably see you there!” she said excitedly.

Talan nodded with a chuckle, “Yeah, I suppose so.”

After continuing to eat for a bit, Talan looked at his plate and realized he couldn’t finish the meal. The meatballs were making him full. He got down and walked around the counter with the plate. As he came into view of Sonata, he could hear her humming again, but it was barely audible. He watched as her hips swayed back and forth while starting to wash the dishes. As he looked on, Talan failed to hold the plate level and dropped his spaghetti all over the floor.  

Sonata turned around and gasped, “Oh no! What happened?”

Talan blushed and immediately grabbed some paper towels and began to clean up the spill. “I just wasn’t paying attention, I’ll clean this up.”

However, Sonata gently rubbed his shoulder and shook her head. “I’ll take care of this, Talan. You still have that bath to take...”

Talan flailed his arms and shouted, “I’m not a child! I don’t need a bath!”

Sonata threw back her head in laughter, “That’s just what a child would say!”

Talan seethed, “Why does my mother embarrass me like this?”

Sonata ceased her laughter and wrapped an arm around him, pulling him against her hip. “You don’t need to be embarrassed. Just clean yourself up and come down when you’re done. I’m just doing what the list says.”

Standing against her made Talan realize how tall Sonata actually was. His shoulders barely rose above her hips. He looked down and realized it was likely due to those boots.

“Alright, I’ll go.” he said with a sigh.

“Good!” Sonata chirped then resumed doing the dishes.

Talan went upstairs and stopped at the bathroom. He glanced down over the banister, shrugged, then turned the water on to fill the tub. It had been a while since he had a bath, and it would probably be relaxing.

The water was so warm and comfortable. Talan had forgotten just how awesome baths were. Usually he just preferred to shower and then go do other things with his time. Sitting in a tub relaxing didn’t seem all that appealing, but this was great.

He brought in a book and read a few chapters while he waited. He wanted to give Sonata enough time to finish the dishes and clean up the kitchen. After another chapter he closed the book and placed it on the floor.  He climbed out of the tub and dried himself off, then took some time to comb his hair. Having a somewhat pale complexion made his green hair look darker than it actually was.

Talan threw on some shorts and a tee shirt, then drained the tub and threw the towels in the clothes basket. He went back to his room and checked his phone, wondering if any of his friends had texted him or called, but none had. Talan shrugged and made his way into the kitchen to find out what Sonata was up to. Everything was cleaned up and in pristine order, his mother would be happy about that. He left the kitchen and wandered into the family tv room, where all the lights were turned down.

The tv room had several comfortable chairs and a large couch. It was where his parents spent time late at night watching movies. The tv was one of the largest that was available at the appliance store when his parents purchased it, and they had surround sound installed to enhance the experience. Talan didn’t spend too much time here, though. He preferred to watch his entertainment on his computer.

Talan looked over to the end of the couch and saw Sonata sitting on her side. She had taken off her jacket and boots.

“Nice and clean I hope?” she asked.

Talan nodded and stretched with a yawn, “So... what now, anything else on the list? Let me guess... my mom told you to tuck me into bed?”

Sonata picked the list up from the table near the couch and shook her head, “Nope, all done. Unless you want me to tuck you in...” she said with a smirk.

Talan laughed and sat down across the room, “Nah, I’m good. So what’s up?”

Sonata shrugged and pointed the remote at the tv, “I found some scary movies, so I figured I’d watch those. Care to join me?”

Talan figured he would just go back upstairs and play some games for the rest of the night, but spending time with Sonata sounded like fun, too.

“Sure, why not?” Talan said with a shrug.

Sonata stood up and smiled, “Yay! Oh! Perfect idea, I’ll go make some popcorn! Would you like some?”

Talan nodded, “Yeah, I like popcorn.”

“Okay, brb!” Sonata said while skipping into the kitchen.

She’s so cheery Talan thought to himself. I almost envy her.

Talan remembered he left his phone in his room. He figured it would be nice to have if the movies got boring, so he ran upstairs to get it. When he came back Sonata had just sat down and taken her first bite of popcorn. Talan sat in his chair and put his phone in his pocket.

Sonata looked over and frowned, “Talan, why are you sitting all the way over there?”

“I dunno,” Talan said. “I like this chair.”

Sonata adjusted herself so she was sitting normally and patted her lap. “Why don’t you come sit with me? It’ll be easier to share the popcorn.”

Talan hesitated a moment, was she serious?

“Uh, you sure?” he asked.

“Mhm,” Sonata nodded with a smile. “C’mon, don’t be shy! And grab a blanket so we can snuggle up, it’s getting a little chilly.”

“Okay, hang on.” Talan said while he grabbed a blanket from the nearby closet.

It was the middle of summer, but it did tend to get cold at night. Plus the air conditioning in his house sometimes cooled things off a little too much. With that skirt he could see how she might be a little cold.

Talan walked over to Sonata and sat down in her lap. She pulled him back and reached around him to grab the blanket. She spread it out and made sure it covered them both. Talan shifted around trying to get comfortable. Sonata’s legs were so long they prevented his own from dangling off the couch. He had to sit with his legs stretched out like he was sitting on the floor, but he didn’t care. A small blush crept onto his face when Sonata wrapped an arm around his waist and handed him the bowl of popcorn with the other.

“Comfy?” she asked.

Talan leaned against her and nodded, “Yeah.” He looked up at her from the corner of his eyes and grinned, “Do you scare easily? Is that why you wanted to sit with me?”

Sonata smiled meekly, “Maybe...”

Talan laughed with her while they both watched the movie. After about twenty minutes or so, he felt a warm sensation on the back of his head. He turned around a little and saw Sonata’s ruby pendant. He could have swore it was vibrating or something.

Sonata noticed and looked down, “Something wrong, Talan?”

“What’s that?” he asked, motioning to the pendant.

Sonata realized what he was talking about and touched it, “This is something very special. It’s from where my friends and I are originally from. They have them, too.”

“Really?” Talan asked, “That’s cool. Does it... uh... do anything?”

Sonata paused, then laughed. “Other than make me look awesome, I don’t think so. Why do you ask?”

Talan turned around and leaned against her again. He yawned before answering, “I don’t know, just thought it felt warm for a second or something. It was probably nothing.”

As the movie went on Sonata jumped a few times and squeezed Talan so hard he could have passed out. But even with the scares and action, Talan was starting to get tired. He tried to keep from nodding off but the recent late nights were taking their toll. The warmth from himself and Sonata wasn’t helping, and eventually he passed out.

Talan woke up in his bed and yawned, then he remembered what happened. He fell asleep in Sonata’s lap. He looked around and realized he was in his room covered in the blanket that both of them had used. He saw the clock and realized it was almost two in the morning, then crawled out of bed and stumbled over to the door. Talan stepped out into the hall and found himself almost running downstairs. Peering into the tv room he saw that she was gone and the lights were off. He went into the kitchen, but he knew she wasn’t there either.

Talan walked back up the stairs and saw that his parent’s room was opened a crack, they were home and already asleep. That could only mean she got paid, and was long gone.

Talan went back into his bedroom and slumped down on his bed. At first he hated the idea of having a babysitter, but now he felt different. It didn’t feel like he was being watched like a kid, it felt like he was hanging out with a friend. Sonata was really nice, and fun. He had a fun night. If she wasn’t there he probably would have just spent the evening on the internet or studied some more. Talan thought Sonata was really cool, but he didn’t even get a chance to tell her or thank her. He sighed then sat down on his bed. As he did, he noticed something on his dresser. It was a small piece of paper.

He unfolded it and turned on his light.

        Talan,

        I had a lot of fun tonight. I hope you weren’t too embarrassed having someone come over to watch you. I carried you up to your room after the movie was over, and your parents came home shortly after that. I hope you don’t mind. You’re one of the sweetest, most well behaved boys I’ve ever watched. Put in a good word for me with your mom and maybe we can do this again.

        xoxo

        Sonata