19 Days - One Shots

Monsters

One Day

Zhan Zheng Xi finally had some peace and quiet. He had settled the three children he was babysitting to bed and was now relaxing with a steaming hot coffee on the table in front of him and a laptop open with last minute homework sat on his lap as he lounged on the sofa.

As he typed away, he suddenly stopped to hear the small pitter patter of footsteps coming down the stairs and into the living room. First he saw ginger hair poke in then, when realising he'd already been spotted, the rest of the small child.

"Zheng Xi," Mo Guan Shan called, a big frown and a small pout on his face. "those idiots are being too noisy. I can't sleep." He whined and rubbed his eye.

Zhan Zheng Xi placed his laptop on the table next to his coffee and stood up. He walked over to the child and held his hand out. "Guan Shan, it's not nice to call people names."

Taking the older boy's hand, Guan Shan shrugged and pouted more. "It's true. If they're too noisy then they are annoying me and being idiots."

After guiding the small boy upstairs, Zhan Zheng Xi opened the door and heard gasps and wild movement as the other two raced into their positions. Opening the door fully, he ushered Guan Shan into the middle of the bed and walked to the left, noticing the right side was empty.

He Tian was hiding. Again. Every time he babysat the children, He Tian always seemed to find somewhere new to hide. Although the left-hand side seemed empty, Zhan Zheng Xi noticed a child-like shape hidden under the covers. He pulled the cover to reveal long blonde hair and then a wide-eyed dumbfounded looking Jian Yi.

"Where is He Tian?"

Jian Yi shook his head. "I don't know. I think the monster ate him."

Guan Shan shot up in bed, a scared look on his face. "M-monster?" He turned teary eyes upon Zhan Zheng Xi. "Is there a monster in here?"

Zhan Zheng Xi furrowed his brow ever so slightly and shook his head. "No, Guan Shan," then under his breath. "the only monsters here are you three."

"What?" Guan Shan asked.

"Nothing," turning to look at Jian Yi, Zhan Zheng Xi frowned more. "Seriously, where's He Tian? And why are you keeping Guan Shan awake? His mother with kill me if he goes home tired tomorrow."

Still wide-eyed, Jian Yi nodded slowly. "I'm super serious Xi Xi, the monster got him. It's under the bed."

"No it's-" Zhan Zheng Xi sighed, knowing he wouldn't win this one. "If I look and prove there's no monster, will you tell me where He Tian is and go to sleep?"

Jian Yi nodded silently. Zhan Zheng Xi breathed heavily and got on his knees. Slowly he peered under the bed and noticed something moving. After his heart almost burst out of his chest, reality kicked in and he realised it could only be one thing.

"He Tian?" He called.

Lifting his head up, He Tian stared wide-eyed. "Xi, there's a monster in the bed."

Rolling his eyes, Zhan Zheng Xi grabbed He Tian and pulled him out from under the bed and picked him up. "Seriously guys, if you do this every time I babysit your parents won't let you stay round mine anymore. Is that what you want?"

The three boys became alert and all pulled themselves closer to the older boy. "No!" They all cried.

"Then stop being little monsters and go to sleep. For real this time." Zhan Zheng Xi placed He Tian on his bed and watched as the boys scrambled to tuck themselves in. Walking towards the door, Zhan Zheng Xi turned around and smiled gently.

As he was closing the door, he heard a soft "Goodnight Xi Xi."

"Goodnight, boys."

-------

Hey guys,

Just in case I wasn't clear enough, Zhan Zheng Xi is around his normal age of 15 here and the boys are around 4-5 years old. Wasn't sure it would come across that way for Zhan Zheng Xi because of the picture.