My Redhead Redneck

The Rat Gets New Fur

Chapter four: The Rat Gets New Fur

The walk from my house to the outlets is pretty short so it will only take us about a half hour to get there. We walk in comfortable silence for about five minutes but my curiosity gets the better of me, and I figure, if he's going to be staying with us a while I might as well get to know him.

"So, when's your birthday?" I ask, fully aware that it is a dumb question. Not that that is going to stop me though.

Finn looks at me in thought. I guess he's trying to tell if I'm serious or not. I get the feeling that most of the people he knows don't care about birthdays.

"October 31. When is yours?"

I hesitate which is honestly kind of stupid. Most people don't acknowledge my birthday. I don't have many friends so you can see why I am touched that he asked.

"September 17. So your a spook baby huh."

"What?" He asks incredulously. "What does the even mean?" He has a hint of laughter in his tone. It makes me want to laugh with him.

"You don't know what that means? Seriously?! It's when a child is born on Halloween." I can't help the silly grin that breaks out on my face.

"Where did you even hear that?" He asks.

"I don't know! Why haven't you heard of it?"

"Touché"

"Ha! I won! Beat ya. Beat ya. Beat ya." I gloat while pointing at him.

"Hey not fair. I didn't know we were competing," he complains.

"Welp all is fair in love and war buddy."

"That was definitely not war. This is war," he states proceeding to poke me in the stomach.

Sadly for me I am very ticklish. I squirm away quickly.

"No no no. Not fair. If you start this I'm going to finish it. Things will not be pretty," I threaten knowing full well that if he starts, there will be nothing I can do. I will be at his mercy.

"That so? Well, I'll take my chances," he says and smirks. He goes for my stomach with his evil octopus fingers and I fall on the sidewalk, gales of laughter leaving my mouth. I curl up in a fetal position and try to ward him off but he only goes for my neck instead which is way worse than my stomach. By this time I am practically wheezing like Wheezy from Toy Story.

"Stop!" I yell with the last of my breath and the death fingers go away so I can finally breathe.

I can hear Finn gasping for breath. I don't know why though. He's not the one who almost died from being tickled. I realize after watching him though, that he is out of breath from laughing at me. The butthole.

He looks at my expression filled with displeasure and bursts out laughing again. I frown and go to get up but he beats me to it and offers his hand.

Yeah after you try to kill me make sure you help me up, that's for sure.

Even so I take his hand and he hoists me to my feet again, careful not to pull too hard on my arm. This boy is just has has a bucket full of tricks up his sleeves doesn't he?

I look at him and see his eyes are already on me, looking very intently at my face as if he was studying my brain. To be honest he's not going to find much up there but stupid catchy songs and the homework I still have to do. Shoot! Homework, drats! Well I'll have to do it later.

I look into his eyes, mainly because I want to creep him out, and see a weird look in them. It's almost like he is admiring a beautiful flower and contemplating whether or not to cut it and take for himself, or to leave it and let it grow. Then of course it occurs to me that he is looking at me and there is no way he would be looking at me that way. I look over my shoulder to see if there is something back there that would capture his attention like that, but I only see the dead grass in the front yard of someone's house we are in front of.