Found

Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN: IRIS

Twenty minutes later, the three of us are taking a bus downtown to eat lunch at a vegetarian café that Sebastian looked up last night.

"You know you guys don't have to eat healthy just because I'm a vegetarian? I don't mind if you eat meat, it doesn't bother me. It's just that whenever I try to eat it I get sick."

"We really don't mind, do we Alexander?"

"Um, sure." Alexander looked like a little kid who was just told that he couldn't have candy the day after Halloween.

"Maybe we should go somewhere else. Maybe someplace a little cheaper?"

"I told you, little one: money isn't a problem. And as long as you enjoy it, who cares what we eat?"

"I care! I'm not going to have much of an appetite if I know the two of you don't like the menu."

I immediately regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth. Alexander had been looking out the window the entire conversation, but when I said that, he whipped his head around, and now he was leaning into my face with a triumphant gleam in his eyes.

"Are you admitting that you're concerned about our happiness, Iris?"

"I-I didn't say that."

"You little liar. That's exactly what you said!"

"So?"

"So, this is fantastic! You care about if we're happy or not. The idea of us being unhappy bothers you."

"Why are you so happy about this?"

Alexander had the biggest Cheshire cat smile on his face. In answer to my question, he just shook his head and put a finger to his lips, which frustrated me to no end. Is there no getting a straight answer out of this guy?

"Fine! Forget it. Just keep on with whatever it is you're thinking about."

Alexander chuckled and returned his attention to the window.

How am I supposed to figure out what's going through their heads if the two of them keep doing things like that?

Sebastian put his lips to my ear: "What are you thinking about, little one?"

"Eep! Nothing! P-Please don't do that to me."

"I'm sorry, little one."

"Hey, Bastian? Why do you call me that?"

"Do you not like it when I call you that?"

"No! I like it. I think it's sweet. I just want to know why, is all."

Alexander snickered next to me. I turned to glare at him, but he ignored me. I turned back to Sebastian and waited for him to answer me.

"There's no hidden meaning behind it. I call you 'little one' because you seem to respond to it, and because I think it fits you. It would be the same if I called you 'little one' or 'sweetheart.'"

"So, it's like a term of endearment?"

"Yes!"

I look at my hands folded in my lap to hide the fact that I'm blushing. I could never admit it to them, but I was really pleased with my new pet name. Not just because it was sweet of Sebastian to come up with one for me (and that was the first time anyone had ever given me a nickname before, which made it even more important to me), it was the perspective the name gave me. When Sebastian calls me 'little one,' it makes me feel like I'm small enough and young enough to have him take care of me.