Blue's Healing (HIATUS)

꧁𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 9꧂

☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎
ꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄ
Hello , everyone! I hope you are having a great day. Today is New Years Eve! I seriously cant believe that tomorrow is a new year already. It seems as if this year wasn't real and was fever dream. Although, I am wholeheartedly ready for the new year and hopeful for what it destined for us all. With that out of the way I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this story and I'm absolutely ecstatic about it. I would like to give a special thanks and shoutout to those of you who have voted on this story. I wouldn't be #6 in cottagecore if it wasn't for you guys so I am very grateful. Please don't hesitate to comment any of your thoughts, suggestions, or just a simple hi. I will respond as quickly as I can. Now without any more talking, I would like to wish you all a Happy New Years and I hope you enjoy this chapter . Much love to you all.
ꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄ
☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎
    My nose twitches as fur tickles me bringing me out of the deep slumber I was in. Blankets pull around my ears, body spread into a starfish, a small figure sitting beside my head with an occasional swish of the tail underneath my nose, and a strange pressure on my abdomen that is increasingly becoming heavier. Groaning I try to turn over in hopes to get rid of the pressure, however, it prevents me from doing so. Ugh, what in the heck?! Slowly cracking an eye open, I am met with Zane sitting crossed leg on my waist, elbows on my chest with his face resting on his hands. Shutting my eyes I pray to God that it is just a figment of my imagination and he isn't sitting upon my body. Opening both eyes this time, I am met with the bed hair and the sleepy smile of Zane. I groan out in protest as I swat him and Lemon's tail away from my face. I forgot he slept over...Mornings is not my favorite thing.
    Clearing my voice from sleep, I grumble out, "Zane...Get your bottom off of me." He doesn't say anything but makes his smile bigger.
    Narrowing my eyes, I say, "If you don't get off, I'm going to throw you off."
    "You wouldn't wake up so Grams told me to wake you up," he says stretching his body upwards as he lets out a groan.
    "That doesn't mean, sit on me. You've just tapped me or something, instead of this," I say closing my eyes as I reach up to rub the sleep off my face.
     Shrugging, he says, "I tried that but you wouldn't budge, plus this seemed more effective." Scrunching my face I shake my head ignoring his logic.
     Opening my eyes, I grab him under his arms and place him beside him as I sit up. As I run my hands through my unruly hair, I am met a couple of snags and reminds me I forgot to brush it out yesterday.
     "Your hair grows fast! I'm so jealous," Zane says as he touches a lock of my hair.
     I grumble out, "Are you always so talkative in the morning?"
     "Hmm, I don't know, I think it's cause you listen to what I say," he says with a look of thought on his face, "Plus you don't talk much so I have to talk for you too." He seriously is thinking about it. Chuckling, I gently shove him off the bed as I move to the end of the bed.
    "You are a terrible sleeper, by the way," I say hauling myself from the bed to stretch out my sore muscles.
    "Wha-What? How could you say such a thing?" he says from the floor in front of the bed with a hand over his heart, "I am an excellent sleeper."
    "Yea, right. My body is crying out from all of the kicking, punching, slapping, and shoving you did," I mention as I walk across the hall to the bathroom.
    Zane follows me to the bathroom even after I shut the door. He stands outside the door just talking about how large I am, how he isn't a terrible sleeper, etc. Is he ever going to stop talking? I find myself laughing silently as I wash my hands after using the bathroom. I brush my teeth quickly leaving my bed hair for after breakfast as the smell of my Grammy's cinnamon rolls seeps under the door.
    My stomach lets out a loud growl as I open the door causing Zane to burst into a fit of giggles. He sounds like a small kid when he laughs. It's adorable. Rolling my eyes jokingly, I ruffle his straight dark brown hair only worsting his bed head. I tell him to come on as I head down the stairs to the kitchen.
    Heading over to Grammy who is taking some turkey bacon out of the oven, I kiss her cheek as I say good morning. Zane awes as he watched our interaction causing Grammy to let out a small laugh.
    "Set the table for me and fill up that damn cat's food," Grammy says as she takes the bacon off the pan, "She's been meowing since I woke up."
    "OOH! Can I feed the kitty?" Zane says with eyes wide with a hand raised as if he is in class.
Smiling slightly, I say, "Yea, go ahead. She gets solid food today; it's under the cabinet sink."
    "Yay! Momma won't let me get a kitty. Says she can't handle anymore of me. I don't know what she means but if you ask me, I think I am pretty great," he says as he gets the food and water for Lemon.
    Grammy and I exchange as he puts the food into the bowl. We know exactly why she won't let you get a cat. Smiling to myself, I set the table with little to no trouble. As we eat breakfast just talking and laughing, a light fog starts to reside in my head. I take notice of it once I find it hard to concentrate on what is being said. Lightly shaking my head from side to side to get rid of the fog does nothing except cause Grammy and Zane to notice I was no longer paying attention.
    "Miles, are you okay?" Zane questions with worry laced in his voice as he tries to look me in the eye but my hair has curtained my eyes slightly.
    "Miles," Grammy says sternly as she stands up placing a hand on my shoulder.
    I hum out, "Hmm," as I try to adjust to the sudden presence of the fog with my head now in my hands with my elbows on the table.
    "You okay? Need a minute to adjust?" Grammy's voice reaches out towards me in a soft manner as she slowly rubs my hunched over the figure.
    Nodding my head, I close my eyes to get my bearings and to shut out the world around me. The sound of chairs scooting and the sound of feet shuffling let me know they have left and I have a few moments to myself to regroup my thoughts. I start by taking a couple of deep breaths then move on to check if I need to take my meds. No, I don't feel too anxious. Just slight anxiety. Next, I think about everything that has happened to do my checklist to make sure I know what is happening.
    Where am I right now? At home.
    Am I safe? Yes.
    What do I feel? I feel a little scared but mostly calm, slightly anxious, and overall okay.
    After gathering my thoughts, I open my eyes slightly causing the sunlight streaming in from the backdoor window to hit my eyes making the water slightly. Rubbing away the moisture, I stand up slowly not sure of how my body is going to be now that the fog is here again.
    This time it feels a little different, I'm not sure what it is but I don't feel like this is like all the other times. Moving around the kitchen with careful movements helps me to figure out that I don't need to pay too much attention to my balance today but I still need to be careful. I look around the room and certain things start to stand out to me that hadn't stood out before. The weird metal thing that looked like it was for mashing things, the spray thing on the faucet, my rain boots sitting by the back door along with the salt and pepper shakers. I want to touch them... I turn away from those things and walk out to find Grammy and Zane. I see Grammy and Zane sitting in the living room with a photo album on the wooden coffee table in front of them.
    As I shuffle into the living room, they both turn towards me causing the leather couch to squeak and groan. I run my hands through my hair as I feel their eyes rake over me. I wave slightly as I crack a smile hoping to ease the tension in the room. Zane cracks a wide smile as he bounces up off of the couch to stand in front of me.
    "Are you feeling better now? I was really worried but Grams explained to me a little bit. I'd like it if you would tell me yourself and explain everything to me but that can be done later when you are really," Zane says with an understanding smile.
    Grammy walks over to me patting my cheek with a warm hand and an understanding look in her eyes. Smiling lightly, I tell them I am okay and that I feel better after taking a small breather. We finishing eating the breakfast that had gotten cool as if nothing ever happened. I am grateful to have Grammy and to have met such an understanding friend like Zane. We head upstairs to change into some different clothes after cleaning up.
    "You can look inside my closet and draws to find something that can fit you. Or we can go by your house to get you some clothes," I say while I fix the covers on the bed and open the windows to let in some air. A warm breeze blows reminding me of when Grammy and I would have campfires in the backyard.
    "Hmm, if you don't mind can we pick up some more clothes," Zane says after a few moments of silence, "Looking at your clothes, I think I'm a bit short...WAIT! Does that mean I can stay over again?!" He bounds over to stand next to me looking at me with wide excited eyes. Laughing quietly with a hand over my mouth to hide my wide smile, I nod my head causing my hair to bounce along with it. I hadn't realized I was acting completely from what Zane had previously seen but at this time it didn't matter; I wanted to enjoy the fog even if it was just for today. Zane's face showed shock before it quickly changed to an overly excited face.
    "Yay! Another sleepover!" He yells excitedly as he bounces around the room.
    "I wanna have a campfire with friends," I say absentmindedly as I gazed out the window at a small white butterfly making its way up the stone walkway.
    I haven't had one of these days in a long time; it makes me want to indulge all of my wishes but it still is weird for me to completely give way to my desires. Shaking my head, I turn around to ask Zane when he wanted to go get his clothes only to find he was no longer in the room. I shrug my shoulders, maybe he was just in the bathroom. While waiting for him to get back I began looking through my clothes to find something to wear. Hmm, I want to wear something fun. I throw my only pair of cream overalls, a short-sleeve white and light green striped t-shirt, and pair of light green socks on the bed from the closet.
    Getting dressed proved to be a little more than difficult and I was getting a little frustrated, to say the least. My hair was getting in the way but I wanted it down. I kept accidentally putting my arm in the wrong hole or I would put it on backward. I had the same problem with the overalls and I struggled with them for a while until I got the hang of it. Putting my socks wasn't too bad but they kept turning to the side and felt a little awkward. I didn't bother fixing it as stood up from the floor carefully as I had chosen to get dressed on the floor in front of my bed in fear my balance would knock me off my feet.
    I shuffled over to my dresser to get some simple jewelry that I have acquired over the years. I immediately grab a green woven bracelet in my mom's collection that she gifted to me. Green. While getting dressed the fog in my mind had become thicker and I no longer was able to force myself to push away the fog. It had taken up most of my mind and I just sat back in my mind exhausted from fighting what was not hurting me. Any thoughts of doubt were pushed to the side for the moment as I pick up Lemon as she came purring into the room.
    "You looking for me, Lemon?" I say as I rub my cheek against her soft fur humming contently along with her purring.
    I had forgotten Zane was gone and hadn't come back but at the moment that didn't matter; I was in my world. I shuffled over to the built-in cabinet underneath my tv to grab some snacks which consisted of some Japanese panda biscuits that were filled with smooth hazel chocolate and a Capri sun from that box I kept for times like this. I walked on my knees over to the table placing them on it as I got out a Greek Mythological picture book that was filled with pictures of countless ghouls and monsters with multiple facts about them. Plopping down on a cushion, I grabbed everything I needed including my Polaroid camera I used to take pictures of the creatures I found the most interesting that I placed in my creature journal for quick reference.
    I spent the next hour eating, reading, talking to Lemon as she sat on the table next to my snacks in hopes she could get some, taking a couple of pictures, and mumbling excitedly to myself everything a new creature I had never seen before pops up. As I began to get kind of bored with looking through the book, I hear the front door open along with muffled voices and the shuffling of feet. My attention immediately shifted and in record time I was inching towards the door on my hands and knees peeking around the frame of the door in hopes to get a glimpse of who it might be. I was only able to see the feet of three people who had on either socks or guest shoes. I heard more than three voices coming from downstairs so I started to get a little annoyed at not knowing who was downstairs in the house. Huffing out of annoyance, I turn my face away from the stairs and sit crisscross applesauce in the doorway still too nervous to go down by myself.
                                                Rosie's POV
    Saturday was going by slow with barely anyone texting in the group chat. Miles went to Zane's sister's baby shower meaning they were both unavailable to text. I had thought about stopping by but I thought it would be good for Zane and Miles to spend time with each other. Danny and Shane had gone out on a double date that was sure not to turn out good. They were utter goofballs around each other, even if they both seemed like a douchebag. Ann was supposed to come over but only after I begged her to come to end my misery. We usually spent time with each other anyway, so I didn't feel bad about making her come to spend time with me. I rolled over onto my stomach almost causing myself to fall off the bed but I stop myself before doing so.
    Thinking over the first week of school got me thinking about Miles and how adorable he was; even if he didn't realize it. There was a certain charm to him that made him want to tease and cherish him. Admittedly I didn't make the first impression when I met him at lunch but there was a reason for my attitude so to speak. I hadn't gotten approval from the school if I could do my senior project early considering I was supposed to have graduated already. I kind of snapped at Shane for talking too much but I apologized after Miles ran away from me with Danny to grab lunch.
    Looking down at the chipped paint on my nails, I began picking it again as I think back on the first day of school. I could tell from Miles's stance, unconscious movements, and his tousled hair that he had either been tugging or running his hands through it. Which later I had found out to be true and he has a terrible habit of it. I'm gonna have to help him break out of that habit. He has the look of a wounded bear or puppy that is constantly in inner turmoil.
    Squealing happily, I think back on how he looked so adorable when I caught him touching my hair unconsciously in the library after Zane had forced him to come with us. After that, I had an inkling that he might be unconsciously regressing since he seemed to genuinely be startled at his actions. But at the time I had just thought the contrast between his normal self was too large. I let it be until I had seen him peeking around the bookcase in the library on Wednesday.
     "Aww, just remembering it makes me want to pinch his cheeks. He was too adorable," I say to myself as I hop off the bed to head to the kitchen.
     Although, from what I could tell it was not a pure regression on his part. And seeing how hard he tried to hide the self-inflicted scratches on his neck just hurt my heart. He looked so sleep deprived that I had to find a way to make him stay with me and I'm glad he took the break. The little glare he did at his dark hair as it kept coming out of his hood to rest in front of his eyes. Speaking of his hair, it is the softest thing I have felt on a guy before. It was very heavy, healthy, and so wavy; not to mention his natural symmetrical bangs that rested on either side of his face and forehead. Sadly, though seeing an impurely regressed Miles was short-lived due to my negligence. I was too caught up in scanning his neck, I hadn't thought to stop touching his hands seeing as I had already known he didn't like being touched for long periods.
    During the week, I got to see how he interacted with everyone; including myself, and I concluded that he was indeed an unconscious and conscious age regressor. It kind of hurt my heart to know and see how hard he was fighting with himself when he should be using it as a way to cope with stress, trauma, happiness, over-stimulation, and everything in-between. I was eventually going to inform him of what it is called and what it is. But I didn't know him well enough yet, and I wanted to observe him while inadvertently help him get comfortable with himself. I can see he has deep trauma and a lot of the time he is fighting with himself and it's hard refraining from hugging, cuddling, or even overstepping my boundaries as a person he has just met. Hopefully, as time goes on we will become close friends and I may be able to help him.
    After Ann came over we just spent the rest of the day talking, having a spa day, binge-watching the Bachelor, and eating. We fell asleep at 3 am in makeshift sleeping bags on the floor in front of my tv with various snacks and crumbs all around us. The next day I didn't wake up until noon and was met with a stinking foot under my chin. Shoving Ann's pale foot away with force, I sit up with a groan as I feel the after-effects of sleeping on a carpeted floor. My head feels heavy as my hair is braided into one long braid that is sitting in my heavy-duty bonnet. I can't sleep without a bonnet with all my hair, I made the mistake once to many times and had to spend half of my day detangling it. I squint my eyes at the high noon sun streaming in through the window that was insistent on burning my retina. Turning away from the light, I bring a hand up slowly and quickly bring it down on Ann's pajama short clad butt making her scream hoarsely as she sits up quickly.
    Grabbing her butt, she glares at me, and says, "You are a monster," before getting up rubbing her right butt cheek, and walking stiffly to the bathroom that was attached to my room.
    I stick my tongue out at her, even though she couldn't see me, and begin to gather up all of the blankets that had been discarded in the middle of the night. I hear water run and soon after I hear the shower come on so I gather up the leftover snacks, empty pop cans along with dried face masks, and take them into the kitchen to be thrown away. If you are, wondering why I haven't encountered any family members; it's simply because they are all overseas enjoying a vacation that I couldn't go on. After all, I was still in school. It bothered me at the time that I couldn't go, however, I am now glad that I have the house to myself for 2 months. My mom, dad, and my older brother who is married are enjoying their time in the Maldives while I am here in 'home sweet home'. Could you tell I was being sarcastic, no? Well, I was.
    I took a shower after Ann had gotten out and now we were getting dressed with nowhere to go. I put on a simple pale yellow blouse with see-through puff sleeves that cinch at the wrist, a pair of nude jeans, and some red converse. I leave my hair in the one braid going down my back that rest mid-thigh with some curled baby hairs to frame my face. Ann dresses in a simple black t-shirt with a red plaid shirt tied around her waist, paired with some dark blue jean shorts and some black Doc Martins. Her straight red hair was put up into a simple ponytail that came to stop just below her shoulder blades, which was also accompanied by baby hairs to frame her face.
    My phone chimes from beside me letting me know someone is calling, I answer putting it on speaker to continue combing through my hair.
    "Hello?"
    "Hey," Zane says from over the other line, "I am going to add everyone else okay?"
    "Yea, okay. Ann is with me hear though and you on speaker, so just call Danny and Shane."
     "Oh, okay. Hold on," he says as the phone clicks over to another line.
    I look at Ann through my vintage vanity mirror to already see her looking at me, "What in the worlds?" she says. I just shrug and continue to do my makeup until Zane clicks back over.
    "Okay, can everyone hear me?" We all chime in, 'yes'.
    "I know it is weird for me to call all of you guys at once, but I have something to ask of you guys."
     "Alright, well tell us. We're all ears," Ann says from behind me on my cream-colored bedspread that had large yellow roses on it. Zane goes on to explain to us how he ended up at Miles's house, which actually surprised me but I was beyond happy for them to be getting along so well.
     He then starts to tell us what he wanted from us by starting with, "Well, it suddenly happened while we were having breakfast and I was a little worried but after Grams explained to me what happened I understood what he was going through. Rosie, you know what we talked about when we first met him; after lunch?"
     I hum out, "Mhm," as I briefly stop doing my makeup to listen to what he was saying.
     "Well, I saw how it happens this time and he was conscious this time that he was going to do it. But, this time it is a little different, I'm pretty sure it is purely this time instead of impurely."
     Zane and I had noticed it when we first met, which is one of the reasons we had left lunch early and also because I could tell my attitude was making him insecure. Zane is a mostly conscious age regressor but when he is sleepy, sad, or stressed he can regress unconsciously. None of the others, know this because Zane has just recently embraced his little side over the summer after I helped him to understand himself and his regression. We had come to the agreement that I would be his temporary caregiver since his boyfriend still doesn't know he is an age regressor. He says, he is waiting for the right time and I understand this is not something that should be rushed.
     "Ahh, okay. I'll keep that in mind and ask questions later. But back to the matter at hand, what did you want from us?" I say as I want to keep everyone else from asking questions.
     "Oh, yea! Miles had said, when we were up in his room after breakfast, kind of absentmindedly that he wanted to have a campfire with friends. So I went to ask Grams if that was okay, and she was shocked, to say the least. She thought I was his only friend and was beyond shocked that he had made five in his first week. And get this! He has never had a friend before! I wanted to cry after hearing that," Zane says sadly with a little sniffle letting us know that he didn't want to cry but he had already cried.
     "So what his grandma say?" Shane says.
     "Well, of course, she said yes. She is super happy, even if she doesn't show it with her being old and everything," Zane finishes before we hear a smack ring through the phone and a soft rustic voice say, "Hush up, child."
     We all laugh out knowing he just got his head smacked by Miles's grandma. Afterward, everyone says they were free and would bring something for the campfire. I was told to stop by his house to pick up some clothes for tonight and tomorrow. I had spent enough time over his house to just show up, but I always call his mom to make sure that it was okay with her. I ended up getting him a pair of baby blue cargo pants, paired with one of his favorite Octonauts shirts.
    We hung up after discussing everything and we all went on our own to get things ready. I had decided I would stop by the store to grab some flowers for Miles's grandma, some food for the campfire, a couple of suckers, some lollipop pacifiers that I had found would not draw too much attention and an adult dinosaur coloring along with some stickers and crayons.
     After discovering I was a caregiver and what age regression was, I went on kind of a rampage to find subtly little things that would go undetected to regular people but would still ultimately help one regress for when or if I would encounter one. Ann didn't ask many questions since she had seen me buy these types of things before; she just didn't know I would buy them for Zane.
    It took a little bit over an hour to arrive at Miles's house which was alright considering this was all last minute. I wait for everyone to get to his house so I could let everyone know they should be careful around Miles today. I let them know that Zane had let me know that Miles has had one of his episodes where he is kind of in a fragile state of mind and they need to act like they usually do when he is like this at school. I had made everyone met up once I realized I would need to warn everyone of his state of mind changing at various times because I was concerned for him and didn't want their view of him to be altered. Thankfully none of us are judgemental and have our problems so we are very understanding. After everyone understood, we all went to knock on the door.
     "Do you think she'll like us?" Danny says putting his head in between mine and Shanes.
     "If you are yourself, who knows. You're not very likable," Shane says shoving his face back just as the large oak wood door creaks open to reveal Zane with his signature large smile plastered on his face.
     "Hello. Hello. Come in. Come in," Zane says in a manner as if he is a butler making us all roll our eyes at his cheesiness. He is then pulled back by the collar by a shorter older woman with mid-back length grey hair. She wasn't short, just below average with ethereal features that make it hard for me to comprehend that she is someone's grandmother. The same smooth rustic voice that was over the phone scolds Miles for not letting us in out of the humid air.
     She waves us in telling us, "Take off your shoes and slip on some slippers. If you don't have socks, slip on a pair that is in the bin by the shoe rack. Place your bag on the coffee table, we will organize everything in a minute," as she disappears into the kitchen.
     We all do as she asks, and I manage to snag a pair of slippers before Shane got to them. I turn to Zane just as he gestures for me to come here. I walk away from the group as they are still discussing who would wear the last pair of slippers.
     "Miles is upstairs, he doesn't know that you all are here. I thought it would be a nice surprise, since he seems to be a bit more sociable right now," Zane informs me as he starts to get a little nervous and begins to nibble at his thumb nail.
     I swat away his hand gently, as I say, "Did you at least tell him that people were coming over?"
     He looks away nervously saying, "Well...No. No, I didn't," and hurriedly finishes saying, "but only because Grams told me not to. And to give him some space, since he typically wants to be by himself for a little bit."
     I look down scanning his face to make sure he isn't lying, and sigh partly in relief once I find that he is telling and partly out of the fact that his grandma doesn't know either that what he is experiencing is regression. I nod my head patting him on the head and thanking him for telling me. I hear creaking coming from the floor upstairs, while I mull over the fact that Miles doesn't know we are here and as Zane said this time he seems to be in a different headspace from the times that he was at school. Going off of what Zane texted about Miles's behavior after breakfast, I would guess he is in an older headspace than the previous times I've seen him regressed. I look towards the stairs as I hear more slight movement near the stairs, waiting a moment I decide to ask his grandma if I could use the bathroom.
     After getting permission to head upstairs, I tell everyone I will be back. I head up the wooden stairs slowly, hoping I don't frighten Miles. From the noise I heard earlier he must've been trying to see who was downstairs. He was either too scared, nervous, and frustrated that he didn't know who was in the house especially while he was in such a sensitive state of mind. I pause at the top of the stairs, suddenly getting nervous to disturb him but since he has no idea what it is that he is experienced and all he knows is that it is happening to him without his control. Just take it slow, and don't invade his space as you did before. Got it? Right, no matter how adorable I may find him. Breathing in deeply, I brace myself before letting it go slowly and wiping my lightly moist palms on my thighs.
     "Miles," I say gently as I stay at the top of the stairs afraid he may get startled if I just walk right into his room. I hear slight shuffling as the floor creaks letting me know that he is in the room. A few seconds go by and then I see a dark mass of curly hair peeking out towards the lower part of the door frame.
     "...W-Rwosie?" I almost faint at the sound of his softened voice and his effort to properly pronounce the r in my name. His light brown eyes gaze at me in a mix of confusion, nervousness, curiosity, and...excitement.
     I stop myself from walking over there and squishing his face by saying, "Mhm, that's me, hon."
     Behind his curtain of wavy curls, his eyes widen and he rushes to get to his feet almost causing himself to fall over but I get to him just in time to help stabilize him. I let go of his arms quickly in fear of causing him any discomfort. I look him over and let out almost silent awe at how adorable he had dressed up today. He is pushing his unruly dark curls from in front of him as he frowns with a pout at having almost fallen over.
     "Hey, Miles," I say in hopes to drag his attention away from that.
     "Hmm?" he responds still distracted but now glare at his pale green socked feet.
     "I love your outfit. Did you pick it out yourself?" I ask him as I tilt his face up towards me with the tips of my fingers placed gently under his chin. He slowly tears his gaze away from his feet meeting my eyes after a few moments and I pull my hand away intertwining it with my other hand after placing them in front of me.
     It took him a moment, but he finally says excitedly, "Uh-huh! I picked it out all by myself," while smiling largely.
     "Wow, you did an amazing job, honeybun," I say with an equally large smile plastered on my face, "I wish I could dress like you."
     Miles shakes his head quickly saying, "No, Rwosie. You jrwess perwpectly! You verwy prwetty too." Is he trying to kill me with his cuteness?! I almost can't handle it.
     "Aww, thank you so much honeybun," I say with a soft smile as my heart melts at his innocent voice and face, "All of our friends are here with me. Someone told me, you wanted a campfire with friends."
     Eyes widening Miles eyes lit up even more as he asks, "How'd you know?!"
     Tapping my chin I tell him, "A special somebody by the name of Zane, I think you know him. Now, how about you and I head downstairs because everyone wants to see you and I have a few gifts for you and Grammy. How does that sound?"'
     "Gifts? Forw me?" he says as he starts to bounce in his spot from excitement.
     "Mmh, just for you."
     "Otay, let's go," he says excitedly as he unexpectedly grabs my hand and starts to pull me towards the stairs. If I were to die right now, I would say please no. I wanted to see more sides to him; regressed, not regressed, and everything in between. I hope I can stick around to see him grow as a person.
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☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎
𝐻𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦 𝑁𝑒𝑤 𝑌𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠! 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑚𝑦 𝑔𝑖𝑓𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒. 𝐼 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑧𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑁𝑒𝑤 𝑌𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑒 𝑟𝑢𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟. 𝐼 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑔𝑖𝑓𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑁𝑒𝑤 𝑌𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑑𝑎𝑦. 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒. 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒, 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑒. 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒, 𝑃𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑒, & 𝑆𝑡𝑢𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑠. ❤︎