Monsters & Fairytales by Rebecca Suzanne Page A

back to collecting the feathers.              
    My hands were full in no time. I looked around for something to empty them into. I should have thought about this before attempting to pick up the feathers again. Suddenly Sebastian was standing in front of me. He had his hands held out. Was he trying to help me? I was impressed.
    “Under the sink are some plastic bags, we can put this in one of those.” I said nodding towards the kitchen.
    “Sink?” Sebastian asked. He raised his left eyebrow.
    “Right.”
    I realized I was going to have to hand the feathers over. Carefully exchanging what I had, I darted to the kitchen. The millions of plastic bags my mom saved to avoid polluting landfills ((even though she could have just recycled)) were finally coming in handy. I had used them so much during this move. I shook one open and Sebastian dumped his hands into it.
    “You finish up here, I’ll go start at the other corner.” Sebastian said.
    “Careful, there’s broken glass over there.” I said handing him a bag. “You do know what glass is right?”
    “Yes.” He laughed.
    “Well, you didn’t know what a sink was.” I mumbled and went back to cleaning up the couch.
    He walked off and started doing his own cleaning. We were in silence for the most part. It made me feel good that he didn’t ask for an explanation of the mess. He just kept quiet and helped me pick everything up. He was turning out to be a really good guy.              
    I watched him, crouched down and picking up my mess, and found myself wishing he were in his beast form. I mean, I understood why he was in human form, but still. He was less intimidating that way. Suddenly his eyes were lined up with mine. I had been staring at him. I quickly looked away and started shoving feathers in my bag. After a few seconds, I peeked back up at him.              
    The coffee table was cleared off. He was staring at it with a quizzical look. I tried to watch him without it being obvious. I couldn’t help my heart, though. I felt myself wanting him more and more. It was a funny feeling. As hard as I tried, my thoughts just wouldn’t stop. Having this man in my house gave me a feeling that I had to be better than I was. He was too perfect this way. He flashed into his natural form and I jumped a little. Luckily, I did it right on cue so he didn’t notice. My lips curled into a small smile. He was sweet. He was smiling, too. Focus, Mira.
    I closed my eyes. When I opened them he was holding the broken table leg where it was supposed to be. A few seconds later it seemed the leg and table were fusing together. I watched the line that signified it was broken slowly erase, as if a giant invisible pencil was being used. When everything blended, he wiggled the leg. It didn’t budge. Then he flipped the table over and placed it where it belonged. I was highly impressed with him. He admired his work then turned his back to me and went for the feathers by the sliding glass door. Unfortunately he was in human form again. Maybe what he just did would only work in his natural state? That meant he hadn’t done it for me.
    I get my hopes up too much. This is why I avoided people. I expected the world from them, complete strangers. Still though, I was only human; a teenager, at that. My heart craved affection. The feeling of someone else around me that wanted to be around me sent my stomach into butterflies. He was forced here in this world, but that didn’t mean stuck at my side. I had to get close to him again. He was cleaning up much faster than I was. I had to hurry to catch up to him.              
    He was already halfway through with the floor. I looked at the couch and gave up. Tossing my bag on the counter top, I opened up a new one and walked over next to him. My heart fluttered. A tiny smile crept up his cheeks. I felt my face get hot. My eyes couldn’t move from his. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack