Lionheart

Chapter 12

                Now that she really takes the time to mull it over, Mallory cannot fathom why Nick and Seth have been plaguing her mind for the past few... weeks? Has it truly been weeks since she met them in the library? The realization throws her off, and she nearly drops the apple in her hand when someone bumps into her. She glares at the back of the nameless asshole and begins to walk briskly and with purpose. Even with her short stature, she throws this person off his course in retaliation with a well-placed shove. Like a bird, she preens and struts her way victoriously to the school exit. That is, until her phone vibrates in the pocket of her cloud-print skirt.

The caller ID reads: "Dreamy Bum Bandit".

"Yo!" Mallory greets Seth with a little less cheer than she would have liked. She checks her wristwatch, bewildered. From the time she watched Nick and Seth disappear in the sea of students flowing steadily out of the school, almost thirty minutes were wasted dallying along the halls pissing people off. Her mom certainly won't be angry, but she would be annoyed. After all, exams are coming up; Mallory is kind of required to return home as soon as she finishes any errands.

Seth huffs from the opposite end of the line. "I just met Nick's mom."

An inelegant snort is his only reaction. Then, "Isn't it too early?"

"I—It just happened! I swear we didn't... Oh my God."

Mallory laughs uneasily. Nick is missing out; Mallory personally finds this flustered Seth adorable. "What's wrong with meeting his mom—oh, how was she?" Somehow, the thought of Nick's mother excites Mallory in a way that adds a spring to her every step. Home shouldn't be too far now.

"She's..." Seth hesitates, and Mallory's eyes widen when his tone does a complete 180. "She's great."

"Huh?" Wow, Mallory mouths to herself. For a while, all she can do is stare at her phone, until she belatedly remembers there's an actual human being waiting for some actual input. "I-I mean—I'm sorry, what?"

This is pretty much all the input she can give.

"Well," Mallory notes that Seth has returned to his original floundering state, "we didn't have an actual conversation, but... Nick's mom is very... expressive? She's really nice! I think she likes me."

"Expressive" certainly isn't the word Mallory was looking for when the words "Nick's mom" came to mind. Nick himself is anything but expressive unless he's being angry. Granted, Mallory hardly knows Nick, but she has a good hunch that this is the case. Still, hearing Seth's opinions on Nick's mom comes as a pleasant surprise. Of course, the boy is subject to bias, but Mallory figures that she can take Seth's word on the matter. The boy must have been nervous upon meeting the woman.

Having been given this time to ponder over the maternal figure in Nick's life, Mallory recalls Seth's change of attitude a few seconds ago. Something tells her that she needs to keep asking the weird questions here.

"How long exactly did you guys talk?"

"Barely a minute... or something?"

For some very, very, very odd reason, the hairs on the back of Mallory's neck stand. She needs to be thinking about this when she isn't talking about Seth; something tells her that it's not the time to be asking the weird questions. The signals her gut is sending her tell her that the sudden chill in her spine spells a circumstance out of her servicing expertise.

"Think she liked you?" she asks instead, pleasantly and cautiously.

If Seth noticed, he makes no indication of it. He laughs shortly, but genuinely. "It was written all over their faces: I think she did. A lot, actually." Mallory can't help but smile at Seth's quiet, sheepish tone. She can almost hear his face heat up. His statement brings yet another question flying:

"'Their'?"

"Nick and his mother."

So it's either Mallory is too spooked by Nick or Seth has the ultra-super-rare ability to read Nick Saunders. This calls for some investigating.

"That's kind of all I wanted to say—but she said something about having dinner. I think both me and Nick were both close to passing out."

Even Mallory is stumped. "Holy shit."

"Hah. Exactly." Sometimes Mallory has to think if she's overselling the appeal of Seth's gloriously charming laughs, but every time she hears them again, she remembers that yes, that laugh is the cause of her little crush. If she weren't so adamant about Nick himself hearing and enjoying it a lot more, Mallory would have shamelessly stalked Seth like the hormonal school girl she is.

She swallows. "I just got home and have to take care of some shit. I'll call you back later, okay?" Oh, she can't wait these two to ruin each other.

"Sure, Mal."

Mallory can't help it; she gasps. "We're on nickname basis now?"

She can definitely hear the grin in his voice. "I don't see why not. If that's okay with you, of course."

"Hell yeah, it is!"

They hang up on each other shortly after exchanging a few more pleasantries. Only then does Mallory finally realize that she has been right in front of her house during a fourth of the phone call. The fact that her own mother was watching her from the window made her laugh a bit. Getting strange looks from Sophia happens more often than Mallory would like to admit; this is just one of those moments.

Her mother opens the window and hollers at her from across the lawn. "Get in here and help me prepare for dinner! Ken and the other two are coming in a few hours."

Mallory pulls a face.