The Boy Witch

18: Privacy

"Are you sure this ghost is friendly?" Matthew asks for the tenth time since we've sat down in the living room. I roll my eyes as he fidgets with the pencil in his hand, the sketch on his page not complete yet.

"Yes, Matthew," I reply half-mindedly, focusing on my sketch. "The ghost has done nothing malignant other than rearrange items." Matthew hesitates before returning to his sketch, glancing nervously around the room one last time.

We all sat in the living room in a comfortable peace. Upon discovering I had no tv, they all just began talking among one another. It was nice, and seeing them laughing made a good pose for the project.

As I sketch, I feel a shift of weight on the couch behind me. A moment later, a weight suddenly falls on my head. I scowl as the teenagers next to me look over and laugh a little. "Why you," I mutter as I lift the black cat off of my head. Morrigan meows loudly, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly. I narrow my eyes in turn and we start a glaring contest.

After a moment, Morrigan squirms out of my hold and lands on the ground, darting to the door before pausing at the doorway. Rosie giggles, a smile on her face as she looks at the cat's flickering tail. "I think that she wants you to follow her," she suggests, smiling brightly when Morrigan meows in confirmation. Shaking my head, I stand up and follow Morrigan through the door. "She's probably hungry. I'll be back in a moment," I explain with a careless wave of my hand.

I follow Morrigan into the kitchen, watching as she gracefully jumped up onto the kitchen counter, much to my dismay. She narrows her sky blue eyes at me as I move myself in front of her, leaning forward and resting my elbows on the counter. I glare back at her in challenge, a small frown working its way onto my face as I wait for her to say something.

"Didn't you say you would feed me?" she asks, her voice ringing clearly through my thoughts. Her tail flicks impatiently as she demands, "Go get me some salmon, kid." My frown deepens at her rude demand but I comply nonetheless, although I make sure to take my time. Morrigan growls, obviously annoyed.

"Anything else you might need, your highness?" I ask sarcastically as I set a bowl of canned tuna in front of her. She takes one look at the fish inside and curls her lip, exposing her small cat fangs while muttering, "That's not salmon." Morrigan pushes it to the side with her paw, obviously dissatisfied. "First of all, listen to your elders, kid. Second of all, get that damn rat pack out of here!"

I raise an eyebrow, partly questioning her demand and partly amused that the four teenagers in the other room could set her so on edge. "And why, pray tell dear Morrigan, would I do that?" I ask airily, ignoring the poisonous glare that she gave me, looking like she would strangle me if she was human.

"Because," she hisses, "you're volatile! You're a literal fucking time bomb ready to go off!" Ice runs through my veins at her words but I slip on a neutral mask before she could see it. Before I could contemplate on it further, a knock on the wall steals my attention.

Looking up, I see Alex leaning against the wall. When I meet his eyes he gives me a charming smile, one that stubbornly makes my stomach flip. My cheeks warm. How long has he been there? I must seem strange just sitting here doing nothing but having a staring contest with a cat for God's sake. I stop my thoughts before they could run away with me. Since when did I care about what impressions I gave? Especially to Alex, of all people?

"Yes? Need something?" I ask him, mentally slapping myself for my choice of words after they left my mouth. Alex's smile turns up into a smirk, looking between me and the cat on the counter before turning back to me. "Am I interrupting something?" he asks teasingly. "Having an argument with your cat?"