“Come in,” Naomi called. I opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind me. She looked up from her desk. “How’d it go?” I shrugged. “About as well as it could have.” She nodded. Silence spanned for a few minutes, then both of us spoke at the same time. “I’m sorry.” I faltered, caught off guard. “You first,” Naomi said. I nodded hastily. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. I should have respected your boundaries and didn’t, and I shouldn’t have called you out for being cautious.” I laughed awkwardly. “That’s a trait I sometimes wish I had.” She nodded, face slightly red. “I’m sorry I pushed back. I should have noticed something was up and I shouldn’t have called you impulsive. You’re the bravest person I know and I should have remembered that.” I knew my face was red from the compliment and the sheer awkwardness of the situation. “Apology accepted,” I mumbled. “Anyway, it wasn’t really your fault. You had the monster, you weren’t fully you,” Naomi added. “But still… why did you ask that?” I thought back to the question and realized that I had already known the answer, Ren had told me his backstory a few weeks before. A few moments of thoughtful silence later, I attempted to put my thoughts into words. “I think the monster wanted us to go to one of the times when Ren was unstable, so that he’d find us and attack us and mess up the entire timeline. Something along those lines.” She nodded. “Would /you/ have asked that?” I shook my head. “Ren told me about his backstory a few weeks earlier, remember? I’d told you as well.” Yet another thing we’d both missed. She shrugged. “Guess neither of us were at full mental capacity.” We both laughed a little. “I’m gonna go write. Do something productive other than sleeping,” I said after a minute. She nodded, standing and following me to the door. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you managed to get rid of the monster,” she said quietly. “Most of us wouldn’t stand a chance.” I shrugged. “It’s not gone. It’s still out there, just weaker.” She smiled. “But it’s not here. Not anymore,” she said, tapping my temple. We were the same height and had been for the past few years. I nodded, returning the smile. A few moments of awkwardness later, she kissed me quickly. Once she pulled away, she smiled. “I missed that.” She closed the door before I could respond.
Notes/Credits: If you're reading this, you probably know I wrote The Wolf Boy. Well, here's the sequel: The Monster's Curse. This is Chapter 18. Previous Chapter(s): Chapter 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/652476202/ Chapter 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/652950608/ Chapter 3: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/655177024/ Chapter 4: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/655177565/ Chapter 5: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/655621072/ Chapter 6: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/656955201/ Chapter 7: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/657580423/ Chapter 8: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/657583863/ Chapter 9: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/657586191/ Chapter 10: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/657668860/ Chapter 11: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/658404211/ Chapter 12: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/659115920/ Chapter 13: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/659116659/ Chapter 14: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/659117186/ Chapter 15: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/659420154/ Chapter 16: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/661425573/ Chapter 17: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/661428771/ Credits: Me, for being the author Shannon Messenger, JK Rowling, Eoin Colfer, and many other authors for inspo @aqua_di_angelo, @AL600AWESOME, @Lanze_cupcake_face11, and @Yayabinks for inspo and supporting the story! QOTC: Who is your least favorite character?
