The Clock on the Mantle

What's for Breakfast?

Riley slowly fluttered open her eyes. The sun warmed her body and brightened her eyes. She slowly sat up, taking a breath of fresh, sweet air coming in through either window next to the bed, whose bright white sheets currently covered her. She looked around at the room she was in, which was when she realized that she wasn't in her room. She didn't have a mahogany desk cattycornered in the left opposite the bed (in fact, she would be lucky to afford one), nor did she have a closet to the right in front of the bed. This was most certainly not her room!

At first, she was startled, and her eyes grew wide, but then she recalled the night before, and she remembered the invitation to the gala. She remembered the delicious dinner, and seeing Tintin stuff his face, what a sight! 

Tintin. She remembered seeing him for the first time yesterday, how crazy it was to see someone from your textbooks in school, who lived way before your time at that. Not to mention, he was pretty cute for someone from your history books.

'Stop it! What are you thinking?'  Riley thought to herself. She hadn't ever truly been attracted to others, maybe a cute boy here and there (oh, and Henry Garfield, who she had a crush on throughout elementary school, and unfortunately moved away in 5th grade), but none made her feel like this. He gave her butterflies in her stomach, and what was up with the weird long glances? Many people didn't view her as someone to be affiliated with in the first place. They all knew her past, and along with it, her mother.

She shook her head. 'Stop thinking about this stuff! Think about something-ANYTHING else' . Suddenly, a gurgle from deep within her stomach disrupted her thoughts. 'Perfect!' . She threw off the soft linen sheets and swung her feet over the bed and onto the wood floor below her. The movement disturbed Celia, who muttered something incoherent and turned over. Riley looked at her and chuckled to herself, then proceeds out of the bedroom door towards the grand marble staircase.

As she was making her descent, a smell hit her nose like a ton of bricks. 'Mmm...smells like...BACON!' She thought to herself. She began going faster and faster down the stairs, finally reaching the ground floor and heading towards what she believed to be the dining room where they had eaten the night before.

Sitting at the end of the table, his face shrouded by a newspaper, was of course, Tintin. His plate was full of bacon, eggs, and pancakes. He must not have heard her enter, which luckily meant that he didn't notice that she was drooling just from LOOKING and the bacon. She finally composed herself enough to speak up and not startle him.

"Hey Tintin." She said taking a seat next to him.  He put down the newspaper to look in her direction.

"Why hello Riley! Did you sleep well?" He said smiling at her.

She froze. His eyes were so grey, and deep. She could literally stare at them for hours they were so intricate. They always made him look like he was giving you his full attention, as if his spotlight was on you the minute they landed on you.

"Riley?" She heard him say. She shook her head and blinked. "Huh? What'd you say?"

"I asked if you slept well." He said chuckling.

"Oh! Yes, yes I did thank you." She said. She inwardly slapped herself for being so stupid. How embarrassing!

"Well that's lovely!" He said, taking a bite of his food and returning to his newspaper. Seeing him eat the food made her even more hungry. She could feel her mouth watering, imagining how flavorful the eggs and pancakes would taste, and the sizzle of the bacon on her tongue.

Tintin must have noticed her staring at his food, because as soon as she thought that, he slid his plate to her and said "Here, I usually don't eat this much anyways. I can't stomach it."

"No, I can't take your  food!" She said, sliding it back over to his side.

"No, no really, I insist." He said, trying desperately to push the plate against her force. Soon enough, they were passing the plate back and forth like a hockey puck on ice, until Tintin's hand accidentally landed on hers. They briefly looked up at each other, and quick as a flash, removed their hands from the plate and looked in the opposite direction. After a second, without her noticing, Tintin slid the plate back to her side of the table.  He quickly got up and started to leave the room so she couldn't try to pass it back to him. As he got to the threshold, he said "Make sure you wear something a little more...eh, of this era. We're going shopping today."

"What for?" She asked.

"Well, dresses for the both of you, and suits for me and the Captain." He said, and with that he left the room.

A few minutes later, Celia entered and sat down next to Riley and said "What's for breakfast?" but of course she didn't notice. She was too busy thinking of how cute Tintin would look in a Tux.

Hey guys! Sorry this is kinda short, but I'm sure the next chapter will be longer. Also, I wanted to disclaim quickly that this story DOES have some themes of Child Abuse and Alcoholism. They're mild, but they're there. Just making sure you knew. Catch ya later! OH! And before I forget, please comment! I love seeing those little things, especially if I'm doing something wrong.