Odd Love

Chapter 16; Impressionable

Tord was the first to return, carrying a plate full of pizza rolls. As he approached the couch, his attention was drawn to the show that had come on the T.V. It was a cheesy romance comedy. Gross. He plopped down and reached over to grab the remote where Edd had been sitting.

That was when he finally noticed the tiny creature staring up at him with wide, black eyes. He screamed and jumped back, sending the plate and pizza rolls flying.

"EDD!" He yelled for his friend, but only got an annoyed response from the bathroom. "Damnit Edd, really bad time..." He sighed and reached down to carefully pick up the plate, trying to avoid the tiny creature in fear that if he even touched it Tom would kill him. They'd be home soon, too. Great... just great.

The monster made a soft mewl and climbed out of the towel-nest to sniff at one of the heated snacks. Quickly, it snatched up the soft, breaded square and mashed it up with its soft teeth. Tord blinked a few times and looked at the rolls he had already set on the plate. Picking up the rest off of the floor, he set the plate on the sofa and took a few steps back while the monster ate.

The creature quickly gobbled them all up and sniffed around for more. When they found nothing but crumbs to lick up, their blue star-shaped pupils turned towards Tord and it mumbled, little bits of spit coming from its tongue that hung out.

"What? No, don't look at me." He took several more steps back and turned and darted off to the hallway to go get Edd.

"Edd! Eeedd! The egg hatched and I don't know what to do about it!" As soon as he said the egg hatched there was an audible 'oh shit' and a crashing sound. Moments later Edd came rushing out, "Oh no! We have to call Tom and Matt, why haven't you called them?!"

"I-I don't know! I'm kind of terrified of them right now, if you hadn't noticed!" Tord defended himself, which earned an 'oh right' from the other. Edd pulled his cellphone out of his pants pocket and dialed Tom's cellphone. While he was doing that, Tord went back into the living room, avoiding the couch like the black plague.

"Yeah, yeah, they're fine! Sitting right here on the couch!" Edd was talking on the phone with Tom, walking towards the couch. He peeked over it and took in a small gasp. From the phone one could quietly hear Matt speaking as if he had grabbed the phone from Tom or was on speakerphone.

"What? Edd what happened? Why'd you gasp? Edd?!"

Edd looked up and down the couch, "Uhh... they're not here anymore."

"We're on our way home now! Edd, look for them!!" Matt joined in with Tom on that last part as they hurriedly hung up and rushed to get home.

"...Tord. We have to find them before Tom and Matt get back." Edd turned to the Norwegian.

"Me? Why me? Edd you know if I get anywhere near them that Tom will gut me!" Tord tried to refuse, easily remembering the fresh wounds he had from before. He definitely didn't want to get even more wounds or even die. Not by Tom's claws at least.

"Look, I'm sure he won't do anything if you find his child, Tord. Maybe he'd even be grateful!" Edd tried to reassure his friend, knowing it'd be hard for him to find the small creature by himself in the two-story home. Seeing Tord give an uneasy nod, he patted his friend on the back, "It'll be fine, Tord!" He then briskly walked into the hallway to begin the search before the others got back.

On his way to the hallway, Edd remembered something that now seemed quite important.

"Tord... have you seen Ringo?" When Edd was returned with a solid 'no' he began to panic slightly, "Oh no Ringo no please don't tell me you've hurt the child!" He immediately hastened his search.

Tord stayed in the living room and kitchen, peering into cabinets and under the chairs and sofa, trying to pick the room clean to make sure he didn't miss the small beast hiding anywhere.

Tord walked over to the kitchen closet, where they kept the broom and vacuum-cleaner. He gasped upon seeing Ringo curled around the small monster, the cat getting licked by the friendly creature.

He reached down and picked up the monster, holding is hesitantly away from his chest as he went back into the living room. It gurgled and purred at him, drool dribbling from its tongue. It was very pudgy with baby fat, and Tord couldn't help but find it sorta cute.

"Edd! I found it!" He called out, the brunet darting back into the room.

"That's great! Where was it?"

"Cuddling with Ringo in the closet." Tord laughed as Edd's face lit up with surprise.

The pair went and sat on the couch, Tord still holding the creature. He wasn't quite aware of the fact he wanted to hold it, it was sort of subconscious. It was just so damn cute!

Not long after they had sat down, the door was swung open.