Eldritch [the original]

Chapter 6 ~ That's alright

          "So, is there anything else you want to do today?" Vincecho asked, it almost startled me considering the room had been so close to silent for a good thirty minutes. "Hmm?" I said, turning my head away from the flames to look at him, he glanced up from the old novel and was watching me for a response to his question. "What time is it?" I asked, I was almost positive it was getting late, what else was there to do? "It's only 11:43," he said, I gasped. "What? I thought it was like, two in the afternoon! When did I wake up?" I asked, still looking at him, I could see the fire in the reflection of his golden eyes. "About 10:30. Which is reasonable considering we were up stargazing until around two in the morning, so you still got a good eight hours of sleep." he smiled, raising an eyebrow. "Huh," I said, dumbfound, turning back around and looking at the burning logs in the fireplace and sipping again at my hot cocoa, which, sadly, I was almost out of. "Well, what do you normally do all day?" I questioned him. "I read. Sometimes I sit on the balcony, I like to stargaze, but that's a nighttime activity...I have a game room...?" he suggested. "Uh, okay. I guess that works. What games do you have?" I asked. "Well what do you want to play?" he threw right back. "Do you want to play?" I inquired. "If you'd like me to, love," he responded, not the answer I wanted. "This is a question of personal preference. Do you want to play or what?" I asked him again. "Oh! I have an idea." He chimed. "Can it wait one minute? I'm almost done with my hot cocoa." I said, looking down at the mug. "Of course, dear," he replied, a smile hinted in his voice. He was so intriguing. 

          About a minute or two later, I sat the empty mug down and turned to look at Vinecho. He was reading, but he looked up as soon as I turned, I wouldn't doubt he had some sort of sixth sense. I wouldn't doubt it if he had a seventh! "So, what do you have in store for this afternoon?" I asked. "Well, I would imagine we could play a few games if you'd like, I still need to fix you lunch sometime...perhaps around two. I have a theatre. And an indoor pool. Whatever you want to do, love." he said compellingly. "Too many opportunities. Too much to choose from can confuse my brain into doing nothing." I said, turning to look back at the fireplace, "I thought you said you had an idea?" I inquired. "Well yes, I did. It was good in the moment." He responded, his voice carrying through the nearly silent room like a melody. "Hmm....okay." I shrugged it off. I don't suppose I was really desperate to do anything. I was just kind of sitting there next to fire as he read whatever novel he was flipping through, and personally, I felt fine. "Well what do you normally do at home?" he asked. "All the stuff I would usually do was left back in the real world." I said, turning to glare at him with a bit of an 'It's your fault' kind of look. "Oh come on, don't look at me like that. I can take you back, but afterwards, we're coming back here. Alright?" He said with a smirk. "Uhm, okay," I said, getting up, but still holding the cozy blankets around my body. He sat his book down on the small table and taking off some reading glasses I had never seen him put on. "I'm going to send you alone, I can't be seen, but once you are ready to come back, just say so and I'll come to get you." He said, getting up from the chair. "Wait, how will you know?" I questioned him, following him out the door and down to the end of the hallway, opening a door and moving aside to let me in first. I was a little cautious about this move, but whatever. I walked past him. "Welcome to my room," he said from behind me. It was a pretty big room, bigger than the guest room anyways. Much bigger. There was a small section with two black L couches placed parallel to each other with a glass table in the middle. North of that was his bed, which was a deep purple with big fluffy black pillows and sheets. The legs of the bed were black, along with the headboard and the walls were a dull silverish kind of purple, it was strange, but so interestingly stunning to look at. He also had a bedside table with another small lamp sitting on it that dimly lit the room. His closet was right in front of me, and left of that was a large glass door leading to a balcony, I could see a telescope perched outside. There was a large purple fluffball in a cat bed next to his closet. I raised an eyebrow as he led me to the black bookshelves next to his bed, except they were less filled with books and more filled with things like decorations and pictures and...music boxes? Huh. He opened a drawer and pulled out what looked like a crystal ball or a clear, see through marble. It fit perfectly in the palm of his hand. He pulled his hand up to his mouth and whispered something into the crystal ball. "Just say my name when you are ready to return, love." He said with a smirk, and the crystal ball levitated in his hand, Earth spun slowly in its core. I let my mouth drop as I watched. He just continued to look at me with that crooked smile of his. He leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead before backing up swiftly and throwing the crystal ball, causing it to shatter at my feet. Before I could say anything, the world shifted by like a laggy video game and I was back in Remmi's room. Remmi looked up at me from her laptop with wide eyes. "A-Alex?" she mumbled out. "Uhm.....yeah?" I smiled awkwardly, nervously. "Dude they have a search party out looking for you, where the heck did you come from?!?" She exclaimed. Well dang. "She dropped her laptop and rushed downstairs. "Remmi- Wait!" I could already hear the door fling open. I ran downstairs to see her parents standing there before looking up at me. I just sort of raised my hand and waved. 

          Not much later, I was in the back seat of my mother's car as she scolded me. "You won't believe how long you're grounded for, Alex! We had no earthly idea where you had gone!" She shouted over the seat. And even though I knew it wasn't really my fault at all, I still felt terrible about the whole thing. Eventually, we reached my house, though, and my mom sent me to my room. My stuff that I had brought from Remmi's house was next to the wall beside my closet and I quickly pulled everything out of it, putting my favorite books, my phone, iPad, chargers and my beats headphones inside. I also snatched up my art supplies and stuffed all of it into my duffel bag. I pulled my headphones back out and pulled them around my neck, grabbing my phone to turn on the playlist I had on Google Play Music. Just then, my mom walked in. "Alex! I said you were grounded, so put that stuff away and give it to me."  She said. "Vincecho...." I whispered under my breath, grabbing my bag. "What?" she asked, but before I could even get the chance to think of a further explanation, I could tell by the expression on her face, he'd arrived. He pulled his arms around me and held me close to him. "I thought you were going to be alone." I could hear the fear in his voice as the world whipped past us and we ended up back in his room. "Sorry." I apologized. He sighed, letting go of me. "It's alright, love...Did you get what you were after?" He asked, kneeling down to my height. I nodded. "Good." he said, standing back up and stealing my hand once more.