I blinked once. Then a second time. Soon after that, a third. The window was blurry with raindrops tapping against it, but it was obvious what was outside in our driveway.

A bike was laying out on the wet asphalt, the front wheel bent sideways. Our trash can had a dent in it, the top open and trash splayed out all over the yard. For a second, my eyes couldn't find the culprit of the crash, but in a second I could see a figure bent over in a dark rain jacket and sweatpants, clutching a large box close to it's body. I couldn't hear anything, but I would bet a lot of money that the kid was muttering quite a few curse words under their breath.

We all stood there watching for a few more moments like morons, gaping out the window like weirdos. Then, regaining common sense, I swept away from our cluster and ran down the stairs to our front door, pulling on a jacket. Carefully watching my step on out slippery walkway, I rushed out to the scene, my hair already soaked. The kid was still on the ground, checking inside the box. As I neared, I learned that I was, in fact, correct about the curses. If I mentioned them, I would have to BLEEP out everything.

I tapped the kid on the shoulder, and they spun around to face me, the box held close.

To my ultimate surprise, it was a boy. Young, actually. He had big, brown eyes that kind of drooped behind his long eyelashes that had caught some raindrops in them. His hair was slightly curly with a wave to it, and stuck to his forehead in dark maple locks. He looked shocked to see me too, and just stared at me for a second.

I didn't know what to say, so I stared too. Then the box moved.

My eyes narrowed, and I crossed my arms. "Umm... So. What are you doing here? Accidental crash?"

He blinked, then grinned. "Oh, yeah. Uh, sorry. I can clean it all up. Sorry. Again. Um. Actually, this is for your house, also. The box. Uh. Only for a Thomas Riller, though. I was told specifically only for him. Yeah. Um. So."

I raised an eyebrow, and offered a hand for him to take.
He stared at it for second, then seemed to realize I only wanted to help him up, and took it awkwardly. I hauled him upwards, and he leaped up onto his feet.

I found myself having to look up at him. He was tall. And I mean, tall tall. Taller than I thought. Well, I didn't really hang out with other people, so I didn't really know what the average height of twelve year olds were. Except at school. Anyway.

"How old are you?" I blurted, then felt my ears turn red. Which they shouldn't have. Because I was ticked off with this boy. He was annoying me. With his face.

"Urm... 12? Thirteen in 4 months." He said, smiling still, showing two dimples in each cheek.

"Cool. Me too." I nodded, and he did also. Then the box moved again, and I frowned.

"What's in there?" I asked, and he widened his eyes, attempting to hide it in his coat.

"Oh. Nothing. It's for your dad. I mean, I guess he's your dad. Oh, fudge. Is he your dad? Sorry. I mean, I don't want to offend you. Or anything. Uh. I usually don't stutter. Uh. Sorry."

"Uh huh..." I murmered suspiciously.

"Hey, is everything ok?" Dad asked from behind me, and I felt his hand on my shoulder. The boy grinned at him, and stuck out his hand.

"Mr. Riller? I have a package for you. And I'm sorry for the mess. The road was a bit slippery, and um... I had a bit of trouble."

I noticed that he gave the box a little shake at that, and thought that was a bit weird. Considering that the box had moved, and he was shaking it.

Dad shook his hand, smiling. "Nice to meet you...?"

"Reed." The boy answered, and Dad nodded, them both giving each other the guy look that shows respect.

"I figured that I could deliver the package right to you, considering you were so eager to get it here. You saved a life, too. Thank you, sir."

Dad gestured over to me, and Reed glanced over, his eyes filling with understanding.

I furrowed my eyebrows, giving them both looks.

Reed winked mischievously at me, then handed the box to Dad. My father seemed to be surprised by the sudden weight, but was smiling so widely, he didn't care.

"Thank you so much, Reed. I see you've met my daughter, Melody."

I swiped raindrops out of my face, pulling up my hood. It was relatively chilly out here, with all the wet weather and slight breeze. I found my mind wandering to Obsidian again, and bit my lip. Fight the tears, fight them... I thought, and managed a tight lipped smile at Reed.
He gazed at me, his expression puzzled for some reason, and then shrugged. "Well, I better go clean up that mess and be on my way. Merry Christmas, Melody. Mr. Riller."

I pointed towards his bike, one hand on my hip. "You're not going anywhere on that bike. Look at it!"

Reed blushed, embarrassed. "Oh... Um, yeah. Uh. I guess I can fix it-"

Dad waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, don't worry about it. I'll have it fixed in no time. Just wait for me to put this present away. Wouldn't want anyone sneaking a peek early." He looked at me pointedly, then walked away. I was about to follow after him when something grabbed my jacket sleeve. I spun around, and was staring straight into the face of Reed. He was really close, too close, actually. I froze for a second, all of the warnings in my head going off repeatedly. Close proximity boy! Boy! Boy! Tall boy! Tall, close boy!

He ran his fingers through his hair, stepping back. I stepped back too, so that there was enough space between us to be safe. Just in case. "Uh... Melody? Right? Um... About your present... No spoilers, I just want to let you know that it does malfunction a lot, so to speak. Uh. Um. It's a bit- rowdy, can I say in the least."

I gazed at him blankly, not understanding what he was trying to tell me.

"Yeah, but, uh. Just be careful with it. Take care of yourself. Uh, I'll see you around, I guess."

I saluted to him, and walked away, my ears burning bright pink. What the heck was wrong with me? Why did I smile when he smiled at me? Must be a thing that boys can do. Since I've never really talked to one without being forced to...

Right before I entered the house again, I looked back over my shoulder. Reed was still standing there, watching me. When he saw me turn around, his face turned red, and he waved awkwardly before bending down to pick up some trash that had blown around his feet.

I turned, then something caught my eye. Reed's jacket... I squinted, trying to make it out. What was that thing? It disappeared as suddenly as I had seen it, and I figured it must've been my imagination. But I swear I had seen, sticking out Reed's rain jacket collar, a long, fluffy tail.

Ok, I just went back to edit this chapter and try to find a boy that suited Reed. But I couldn't find a good enough person on Google or anywhere that looked exactly how I pictured him. So I'm leaving it to you guys to picture Reed using the description I gave you. :) He's too dynamic of a character to be imaged as someone he doesn't look like. Thank you for reading!