Desperate Times

“Are you finished?” Maddie asked, her face scrunched in general displeasure. Chris kept laughing. Maddie fidgeted in her seat; she was sure it wasn’t safe to laugh this much behind the wheel of a car. He stopped at the stop sign and his laughter quieted.

“Okay, yeah, sure,” Chris managed to say. He wiped tears from his eyes.
Maddie huffed. “You won’t be laughing if those trashy goth kids summon one of your father’s toadies.”
Chris shook his head. “There’s no way.”

“Christopher, a gym teacher turned the football team into werewolves. A science teacher nearly killed me and a swimming pool full of students to create a Frankenstein monster. Do not assume a weird group of Hot Topic delinquents cannot summon a demon.” Maddie crossed her arms and turned to stare out the window.

“So what?” Chris said, but his voice betrayed his choice of words. He was worried, just as Maddie was.
“Chris, I’m sorry, but you can’t hide from your dad forever. I’m trying to protect you, I really am.”
“You don’t need to do that…”
“I promised you I would. That’s the deal.”

“Last time I checked, you were not young fish when we married,” Valeriya said with a smirk. She chuckled at her husband’s grumping.
“Gudbrand was already married, I had the luxury of waiting…”
“Luxury? Hah!” Valeriya doubled over, her eyes tearing. “Waiting it not a luxury! It is….boring.”

Asger crossed his arms.

“What were you waiting for, my stumpy snow-muffin?”

Asger blushed.

Morning Routine

“You shouldn’t use so much product.”

Deciphering Bedlam’s signs in the mirror was harder than Havok had expected, but he managed. He ignored her advice and continued to style his hair.
“I’ll be fine,” he said. He tilted his head at different angles to make sure it looked okay.
Bedlam rolled her eyes. She signed, “until it catches fire.”

Havok stuck his tongue out at his sister’s reflection. “You’re just jealous because I look hot.” He punctuated the last word with a wave of his hands. Warm red cracks broke through the polished obsidian.

Bedlam huffed, but smiled.