Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CORALINE hadn't drank hot chocolate in years, so it was hard to convince her mother why she was currently carrying a mug of it upstairs to her room. "I'm just ... preparing for colder weather," she said, as if that was going to happen in California. Francesca really didn't seem to notice as she began to scrub the dishes clean.
She tip-toed up the stairs carefully, trying not to spill the hot chocolate that she filled to the edge. A dollop of marshmallow Fluff floated at the top of the mug. Pushing the door open to her room, Coraline spotted Michael sitting on the floor, right beside the window. She closed her door immediately and locked it.
"Here," she said, handing him the warm mug. "I made this for you."
Michael reached up and took the cup gratefully. He sniffed the contents. "What is it?"
"Hot chocolate. You've never had that before?" She quirked a brow upward, and Michael shook his head in response. "Boy, you've really been cut off from the modern world."
He chuckled under his breath, taking a large sip from the cup and almost burning his tongue. He didn't let it show though. Michael liked the burning.
Coraline sat in front of him, crossing her legs over each other, and smiled. "Is it good?"
"Yeah," he nodded, "really good."
She hummed in response, unsure of how she should start this conversation. Tension hung in the air before them. Coraline never thought she would have to be this vulnerable situation with Michael Langdon when she met him, but he was adamant, telling her things like, "You have power within you." How could he know, out of all people? She had never actually talked about her visions with anymore, and the thought of starting sent shivers down her spine.
"Are you going to tell me your story now?" He asked, taking another sip of the hot chocolate. Fluff coated his upper lip.
Coraline giggled and wiped marshmellow from his mouth with her thumb. "I don't really know how to start," she replied. Her voice dropped to a whisper, and she desperately hoped her mother couldn't hear them. "Um – well, what do you want to know?"
"What are your powers?"
She leaned back and wrinkled her nose. "How do you know I have powers?"
Michael set the mug down on his lap. "I felt them," he whispered. "When I ... when I broke into your hospital room, something told me to touch your skin. I held your hand and I just ... felt it, like a surge of energy bubbling underneath the skin."
She shrugged, making a note to ask him how he could feel her energy later. It didn't seem as important right now while he was staring at her with awe, wondering what was tying them together. Coraline pursed her lips.
