Solve Me

(11), In Which Bonds Are Strengthened

"Alright, what do you want to talk about?" Lily asked, staring up at Tad with slug concern causing her forehead to crease. He looked troubled. He was definitely extremely bothered by something, and Lily was almost positive it had to do with what he had heard when talking to the creature. Tad glanced back through the doors, at his brother who was still eating.

"Not here, just.." He broke off, running a hand through his messy black hair. He took Lily's hand in his own and pulled her down the twisting and turning hallways, leading her into his old room, then to the corner where a desk stood against the wall. Before Lily could say anything, he was already pushing it out of the way. Raising an eyebrow, Lily decided not to question it, and helped him push it. Behind the desk was a small door in the wall. Tad unlocked it with the same key he used to get into his own residence, and motioned for Lily to go first. The girl looked down at her dress, before casting a skeptical glance in his direction.

"You think this is going to fit through here?" She asked, frowning. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"No, sorry. I forgot. Wait here." He smiled sheepishly before running across the hall. When he came back, he was sporting a huge shirt, an even bigger pair of pants, and a belt. Lily became slightly skeptical, but didn't question it. He left the room so she could change, and she almost refused to let him back in out of pure embarrassment. She had tucked in the shirt as much as she could, but it still continuously slid from her shoulder. The pants were baggy, and bunched up around her feet where they became too long. Luckily, though the belt was pulled as tightly as possible, they were able to at least stay up. A few strands of Lily's hair had fallen out of her up-do, and she blew it out of her face as she called quietly for her employer to enter once more.

"Don't laugh at me," she said seriously the second he laid eyes on her figure, but he just smiled, eyes filled with adoration and amusement. Lily flushed, cheeks becoming a light shade of pink before she turned away, breaking eye contact. Without another word, she eyed the gaping hole in the wall, and crouched down, crawling through slowly. She had left her blue shoes in the bedroom, and the floor was cold. The crawl wasn't too long. The floor sloped downwards until Lily was sure they had to be at least a few feet underground. She frowned as there was an opening, and crawled through, before straightening up in a seemingly empty and pitch black room.

It wasn't until Tad had crawled through and switched on a hidden lightswitch that the room was visible. Lily's jaw dropped. It was a secret hideout of sorts. There were toys, and children's drawings of monsters and whatnot scattered across the floor. There was a beanbag in one corner, and a much more sophisticated and well put together bed in the other. The room was sturdy, well made, too.

"My uncle made this for me before he passed away," Tad said, causing Lily to jump. She had forgotten he was there. "My parents never knew. Neither did my brother. He still doesn't, as far as I know. But this is where I really stayed. This was my real home." There was a chest pushed up against the end of the bed, filled to the point of overflowing with trinkets much like the ones filling the owner's pockets. Lily picked up one of the drawings. It was of what she thought looked much like a Perringale.

"Tad?" She asked, turning to look at him full on. He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?" Lily hesitated, wondering whether she should ask. It was, it seemed, a rather personal question.

"Can you see the Perringales?" Lily finally managed to ask. Tad looked surprised, slightly taken aback. He sat down on his bed, seemingly in deep thought.

"Yes..? No..? I'm not really sure, actually. I've never seen one before, but that could be due to the fact that there have never been any for me to see, or the fact that I can't see them. Who knows?" Lily nodded, thinking that was a good answer. She wandered over, shyly eyeing the spot next to him on the bed before sitting down. He smiled gently at her. Lily looked back down at the picture in her hands, sighing. After a brief moment of silence, she sat up straight, turning to face Tad and curling her legs underneath her in a crossed position.