Peyton and the Gargoyles

Intro

Peyton was different.

Everyone said so, even her teacher.

How was she different?

Not that she had a mental or physical condition, oh no. Not that sort of different.

Peyton was different because of her personality as a whole.

Yes, Peyton was born a girl, sounded like a girl, and looked like a girl, but personality-wise, she didn't act like a girl.

Now, most girls would go ga-ga over hair bows, dresses, high heel shoes, dolls, tea parties, makeup, Rainbow Brites, Cabbage Patch Kids, My Little Ponies, sparkly things, pink things, soft sweet music, princesses, nail polish, jewelry, purses, Barbies, unicorns, act prim and proper, and wouldn't even dare to get their nice clothes dirty.

Peyton, on the other hand, is not like those kinds of girls, not even close.

She was the kind of girl who preferred action figures, RC toys, and video games over the latest Barbie Dream House that hit the market.

The girl who absolutely loathed the color pink but was in love with the color green.

The girl who hated tea parties, makeovers, mani-pedis, and playing dress-up and adored playing sports, riding her skateboard up and down the street, speeding down the park on her bike, climbing trees, running up and down the jungle gym at the playground, and catching fishing in the Hudson.

The girl who would choose t-shirts, jeans or shorts, leggings, skirts (when they don't make you look like a giant cupcake), baseball caps, jackets, hoodies, and sneakers over dresses and high heels (especially dresses with sequences, they make anyone itch).

The girl who changed the channel whenever Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony, or a princess movie (with the exception of Aladdin) would play on TV and switch to shows only she would adore. Her favorite movie being the Labyrinth and some of her favorite TV shows being the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Batman: The Animated Series, Animaniacs, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and Ducktales.

The girl who would spend hours playing in the mud, rolling around in Earth's fresh soil, and got her shoes soaked after jump up and down in puddles during a rainstorm.

The girl who wasn't afraid of bugs or reptiles. Heck, she has a pet frog named Seymour living with her. As a matter of fact, nothing scared her (except getting blood tests done at the doctor's office).

And the girl who preferred a good David Bowie song, hip hop, pop, rock and roll, rap, songs to get up and dance to, and Hispanic music (due to her being half Hispanic) over classic music (sometimes), and she even took up playing the ukulele as a bonus.

But what stood Peyton out from all the other girls was that she absolutely loved to read books. Whether it would be for a book report or just bored on a rainy day, Peyton would often have her nose buried in book after book, and let's just say that she often came out of the public library with six or seven books.

Because of her love of reading, she became smarter than most of the seven-year-olds in her former second-grade class and made her school's honor roll board for two years in a row.

Yes, Peyton was different in more ways than one. Even with her quirks and strange personality, she was missing one thing in the world.

A friend.

Ever since she moved to New York as a preschooler, she was alone.

Even after her parents left her behind, she was alone.

All the other children picked on her, called her names, and called her a boy even though she clearly stated that she was a girl.

It tired Peyton so much that at some point, she got expelled from school due to her defending herself from another bully.

All looked lost for her until she met Elisa Maza who took her in after her parents left.

Even though she had a new roof above her head, Peyton still felt lonely.

All she ever wanted was a friend or two to share her passions and interests with, but she was always denied of joining in.

She couldn't understand what she did wrong. She was just being herself. Nothing wrong with that.

Little did she know, that the night she would discover an ancient stone castle on top of the Erie Building, would also be the night that she had found a strange group of nocturnal creatures and her first real friends.