A/N Thank you for being here. :') This is for nhelle_88

Chapter 15: Strange Circumstances

The next thing I heard made my heart freeze, and I felt blood drain from my face.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chip’s POV

Xander’s face blanched a ghostly white and his hand that roamed my thigh a few seconds ago clenched into a tight fist.

“What do you mean you can’t find her? Didn’t I tell you not to take your eyes off her?!” I jumped in my seat, surprised by his tone.

“What the fuck is wrong with you woman?!” Xander’s eyes were blazing, and his voice was raised dangerously close to the limit.

I glanced timidly at the teacher who was marking her papers.

She glared at Xander, shocked at his use of rude language.

I don’t know what came over me, but there was no stopping my actions. Anxious, I took his balled fist into my hands—realizing that his palm was rather huge—and gently caressed it.

I watched as Xander’s face began to gain back some of its color, and his grip loosened slightly.

“I’m coming over now. Go to the station and inform the officers—I’ll be right there.”

In a swift movement, Xander flipped his phone shut and turned to me, a small, forced smile on his face.

“I’ll be right back—“

“W-What happened? Is it Giselle?” I couldn’t stop the words from coming out of my mouth. There was a strange pumping of blood in my ears, and I seemed to be able to hear the sound of my racing heart.

Xander’s lips thinned, and he nodded.

“I’m coming with you!”

An unusual confidence filled me, as I stood up from my seat and said firmly.

If Xander was surprised, he didn’t show it.

It was strange because he simply took my hand, and led me out of the conference room—with the female teacher shouting at us to come back.

It was strange because he didn’t seem to mind my cold hands.

And maybe it was strange because I didn’t feel cold in his.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We took a taxi to the nearest police station, and I could tell that Xander was beyond worried.

“Fuck…it’s getting late.”

I looked outside the window, and saw the setting sun.

“Don’t worry, m-maybe they’ve found her by now…?” I tried my best to give him some hope, but I don’t think it would be that easy.

Surprisingly, Xander smiled sadly. “Yeah. Maybe.”

And he squeezed my hand gently.

Realizing that we were still holding hands, I felt my face heat up, and I instantly lowered my gaze to my lap.

When we arrived at the police station, the sun was almost down, and Giselle’s babysitter was walking back and forth in the station.

“Where is she? Have they found her?” Xander asked nervously.

The babysitter shook her head, her hands trembling slightly.

“Tsk, shit.” His hands reached to his temples to rub them slightly, a headache due.

“I’m so sorry…I didn’t mean to lose sight of her—the children were playing in the playground, and suddenly she was gone—I…I’m so sorry…”

Xander shook his head, and lowered himself onto a plastic seat, dazed.

“Mr. Jaxon?” A young police officer approached Xander as he entered the room. “We would like you to tell us the places your sister is familiar with. We will carry out a search—“

“It’s fine. I’ll cover those places myself. Can I borrow a bike?” Xander interrupted. He seemed really tired and I felt my chest clench painfully at the thought of the mental stress he was going through.

“A-Are you sure Mr. Jaxon?” The police man looked taken aback, “it would be wiser for you to rest here…”

“It would be great if you could lend us a bike, Sir.” I said, chipping in for Xander. I guess he must have had his reasons for not wanting the police to intervene.

“Alright then,” The officer adjusted his hat, “the bikes are on the left side of the back door. Here’s the key—“He handed Xander a shiny metal piece.

“Thank you, Sir.”

I followed Xander to the back door, and he swiftly unlatched the bike from the stand.

“Get on the back.” He told me.

I gulped and tried to climb onto the bike with great difficulty (Short legs! Ugh). Xander kicked off and began cycling, his speed picking up—accelerating at a dangerous pace.

My arms tightened around his mid-section, and my eyes snapped shut from the cold wind.

I hope we find her soon.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Damn, she’s not here.” I heard Xander curse as we rounded the bend to a rather dingy looking building. It had about 2 to 3 floors, a weak wooden door, and paint peeling off the sides, revealing the red brick behind.

It didn’t look like a place to live in.

Xander jumped off the bike, helping me at the same time. Resting it by the side of the porch, he crossed the wooden boards easily, rapping his knuckles on the weak door.

For a moment, there was an awful silence—and then I heard the clicking of a lock, and the door was wrenched open (doorframes trembling from the strength) to reveal a rather short and stout man.

“Is Giselle home?” Xander asked the man.

He spoke gruffly, in a nonchalant tone. “No. Why? She finally gone missing?”

I saw Xander’s knuckles blanch white from the pressure he exerted.

“Yes. I can’t find her.”

The middle-aged man shrugged. “Not here.”

Xander frowned, and he tried to enter the building. He stepped to his left and was about to push past the narrow entrance when the man threw out a burly hand to block his path.

“Uh-uh~ No rent, no entrance.” He said in a mocking tone, a smug smile on his round face.

Rent? This isn’t Xander’s house?

I glanced at my friend, whose eyes were hardened and cold.

“The fuck? I’m here to find my sister you bastard.”

The man squared his shoulders. “And I’m here to tell you that I’ve given the room to someone else. You’re out of here.”

“W-What?” Xander’s eyes widened, and I instantly felt a sharp pain in my chest.

“I said you’re out, lil’ fucker. You fuckin’ kidding me? You think I’m fucking stupid to let you live off my money?” The red-faced man swelled (almost like a puffer fish) and his moustache twitched angrily.

He disappeared from the door and clambered around.

Back in a few seconds, he threw a duffel bag at Xander.

“Get the fuck outta my porch kid.”

Then he slammed the door in his face.

I realized that my mouth was parted slightly in shock and anger.

How could he—what just—?!

“X-Xander? Let’s…Let’s go find Giselle, okay?” I managed to string a sentence, after recovering from the mental shock.

Xander’s grip tightened on the duffel bag, and with his head lowered, he nodded.

I cringed—as if someone stabbed a knife through my heart and twisted it sideways.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We scouted the area on bike, calling out Giselle’s name occasionally as the sky darkened to a deep navy blue.

We passed the grocery store, elementary schools and toy shops—basically anything that would attract her attention.

And still, there was no sign of her.

As a last attempt, I suggested we try the nearby park where we ate ice lollies.

Xander agreed quietly, and we continued the search in an uncomfortable silence.

I’m not good with words—I never was, really. And maybe that explains my inability to cheer someone up.

Not even my crush.

We circled the park, eyes darting around for any sign of a little girl—but of course, there was none. I called out her name, only to receive silence.

Defeated, Xander sighed, lifting his head to gaze at the star-filled night.

“It’s late. You should go…I don’t want to bother you with my troubles.”

“I-I’m not bothered, really! I just want to help you—“ And then I stopped midsentence, clamping a hand over my mouth to stop my inconsiderate words.

Who was I to forcefully barge into people’s lives?

Was I even entitled to help him, even?

And then again, X-Xander probably doesn’t need my help anyway. I’ll just make things…worse.

I felt a strange lump in my throat, and quickly swallowed it.

Xander raked a hand through his dark hair. “Thanks Chip,” He leaned in, closing the distance between our faces to a dangerously intimate level.

My face flushed heatedly but I tried my best not to jerk away from the close proximity.

But Xander stopped—just inches away. “Thanks for your help today. But really, you need to rest.”

“B-But you need to rest too…”

He smiled sadly. “Where?”

And then I realized that my words weren’t the wisest choice.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Xander turned the corner to the street, nearing the bakery.

It was already nine in the evening, and the night wind was chilly—almost freezing.

As we came close to a stop outside the shop house with warm lights, I heard an unfamiliar sound of uncontrollable sobbing.

Xander’s legs stopped pedaling, and he froze.

And I froze.

Before I knew it, Xander was off the bike, racing towards the source of the sobbing sadness. Abandoning the bike at the sidewalk, I grabbed the duffel bag of Xander’s belongings and half-walked, half-jogged to the sound.

“Shh, it’s okay, it’s fine now. Don’t cry.” A tall, built frame was huddled on the ground beside the alleyway of our bakery. In his arms was his precious gem.

The shadow creeping across my chest was gone in an instant, replaced with the filling sense of relief.

“Waaa,” sniff. “Xan-Xandie…Uwaaa…” cough. “Where did you” choke. “go?” sniff. Hiccup.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Xandie’s here now okay? Don’t cry. Everything’s alright.” The built, lean figure grabbed his sister by the shoulders, as if stabling himself, and kissed her forehead.

“Clever girl Giselle. You found your way here,” He said, caressing her head.

“You’re hot,” Xander frowned, placing his palm to Giselle’s forehead suddenly.

I dropped the duffel bag to the ground and went up to the little girl, feeling for her neck and cheeks.

“She’s down with a fever! We need to get her to the doctor’s…” I said worriedly, glancing at Giselle’s bated breath and flushed face.

“Shit.” Xander cursed, grabbing the duffel bag and Giselle’s tiny hand. “Don’t worry Giselle, we’ll get you home and fixed in a—“

You might have realized by now that sometimes, it’s easy to forget that you have nowhere to return to.

And that was what Xander realized at that moment—and there it was again; that strange stabbing and twisting of a blade in my tight chest.   

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“What’s going on here—“ I recognized Rose’s voice from behind. 

“Oh my, Chip, Xander, is that you? Oh gosh, Giselle!” My sister gasped, and hurried over to the little girl.

“Quick, bring her into the house—she’s burning up! You idiots, what are you doing outside here at this hour? It’s freezing!” Rose chided, grabbing Giselle’s hand in a motherly fashion as she ushered her kindly into the warm bakery.

Xander and I followed her into the shop house, brains already dry from the stress.

“Chip—get the cooling patch from the freezer. Xander—carry Giselle up to the second floor; it’s the room on the left.”

I nodded and dashed to the refrigerator, grabbing the last cooling patch of the rack. At the same time, I also prepared a shallow bucket, filling it with tap water and grabbing a face towel.

Racing up the stairs, I entered Coco and Rose’s shared room.

“—can’t believe you guys. Poor sweetie, she needs medication.” Coco was laying out an extra mattress for Giselle, and Xander placed her gently on it, adjusting the thin pillow.

Ripping the plastic packaging, I quickly removed the stick-on and fixed the cooling patch onto Giselle’s small forehead.

I tugged at the hem of Xander’s shirt. “Here’s a face towel, and some water. Wipe her body as often as you can to lose some heat, okay?”

“Got it. Thanks,” he said, flashing a small smile to hide his anxious features.

“I-I’ll go get some water for Giselle to drink…” I said softly, slightly nervous from the tensed atmosphere.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“We’ll call for a doctor tomorrow. She seems to be having it bad—it’s above 39 degrees.” I heard Rose’s anxious voice as I entered the kitchen.

Gretel was sitting on the counter.

“So Giselle’s staying over?”

“I guess so. It’s impossible for them to go back at this time of the day—but I have a feeling they can’t go back anyway, whether they want to or not.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure…it’s just a feeling.”

I coughed, and they noticed my presence.

“Oh, Chip. Good timing, can you prepare Hansel’s bed for Xander? Since he’s staying at the boarding school, it should be okay for Xander to stay the night.”

I almost dropped the cup I was holding.

“E-Ehh? But Hansel’s bed is in my room…”

Rose raised her eyebrow. “So? If Xander isn’t going to sleep in your room, then where is he going to sleep? In ours?”

I shuffled my feet uneasily. “O-Okay…I’ll do it once I get the water to Giselle.”

“Good.”

Sometimes, I have to agree that Rose is like the mother hen—what she says, goes.

I knocked softly on the door and entered, passing the cup of water to Xander.

He nodded, placing a hand on Giselle’s back to support her well she drank.

His sister’s breathing was uneven and heavy, and I could tell that she was very uncomfortable in the heat, scratching her throat occasionally as if she could get rid of the inflammation by doing so.

Xander was exhausted.

His eyes were tired and sad, but they did not wander from Giselle.

I quickly laid her down and ran a damp face towel across her arms and legs, trying to make her lose heat as much as possible.

“I’ll do it. You guys rest—Rose will call in to the school on your absence tomorrow.” Coco said from behind as she entered her room.

“W-We get to skip school?” I asked hopefully.

My sister smiled. “For once, yes.”

I took one last look at Giselle, handing the towel to Coco reluctantly. Then I went to my room to fix Hansel’s bed.  

Xander followed in and sat on my bed (it creaked dangerously), looking around the room.

I tried to change the sheets as fast as possible so that the exhausted figure could get some sleep, but by the time I was done, I realized that Xander was no longer awake.

His long legs stretched out on my bed, an arm over his eyes to block out the ceiling light.

I felt a blush creeping up the base of my neck, but got a grip on myself.

This isn’t the time to be a blushing maiden, Chip!

“X-Xander, at least take of you shoes—“ I said, trying to yank off his sneakers. When he didn’t respond, I unlaced them slowly, taking the sneakers off gently—careful not to wake him up.

He groaned, and turned to face the wall.

Great. Now where do I sleep?

I sighed, climbing into Hansel’s bed without much thought of changing into sleepwear.

Closing my eyes, I let exhaustion take over—drowning me in darkness.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Xander’s POV

I felt something soft nudge my arm. Like a bunny.

“X-Xander?”

What a sweet voice. So soft and gentle.

“Xander, I’ve prepared breakfast downstairs, so—um, if y-you’re hungry…or anything…”

Does he actually think that I would wake up? His voice makes me want to go back to sleep and dream about him.

“A-And the doctor will be here soon to see Giselle—“

I sat bolt upright.

“Giselle? How is she? Shit I almost forgot.” My voice was huskier than usual from the lack of sleep and I realized that I was still fully dressed.

“Her fever went down a little—I checked it in the morning and cleaned her for abit…” Chip said softly.

“Thanks,”

“Y-You’re welcome…” His face flushed slightly.

Rummaging through the duffel bag, I fished out a clean pair of jeans and a simple black v-neck.

Stripping off my top, I heard a small gasp behind me.

I turned around, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes?”

Chip flushed a darker shade of coral red.

“N-Nothing. I-I’ll just…” He pointed tentatively to the door, and dashed out clumsily.

Gah, he’s just too adorable.

After changing into fresh clothes, I went into the Rose’s room to check on Giselle.

She was sound asleep.

I breathed, glad that she finally got some rest. Kissing her forehead, I headed down to the kitchen—wondering whether it was a good or bad thing that my fucking landlord kicked us out.

The breakfast table was crowded, with Rose and Coco piling sandwiches onto their sibling’s plates, and eggs hot from the frying pan. Chip was at the stove, flipping pancakes.

“Oh, Xander! Did you sleep well? Here, have a seat at the table—we’ll get you something to eat.” Gretel said enthusiastically, batting her eyelashes.

I flashed a smile. “Thanks, yeah I did.”

“The doctor will be here soon, so make sure you eat your fill yeah?” Rose chipped in, placing a glass of orange juice on my right.

I drank up eagerly.

“So, Chip not going to school today?” A man at the table asked, folding his newspapers neatly.

“Nope, I thought I told you yesterday, Loki.” Said an exasperated voice.

Loki, who I guessed was Chip’s older brother, shrugged. “You know, don’t think I didn’t notice your change in attitude—last time you wouldn’t even step out of the house for school, and now you can’t bear to even miss a day.”

“One might think that you’re in a relationship or something—“  

“Pfft—“ Juice spluttered out of my mouth and all over the table as I choked on my orange juice.

“Woah, woah, dude you okay?” His brother asked, reaching over to hand me a paper towel. I held up my hand in thanks, trying to regain my composure.

Stealing a glance at my angel, I noticed he was looking down at his pancakes, ears red with embarrassment.

“Aw c’mon, there’s no way Chip’s in a relationship, I mean—he hasn’t even had his first kiss yet!” Gretel rolled her eyes.

I stiffened.

Wait—what?

Chip hasn’t kissed anyone before?

Does that mean I’m his first?

I felt my chest swell, and a strange happiness filled me. Me? Xander? Happy? You’ve got to be kidding me.

“I-I-I-I-I—“ Chip couldn’t even speak properly.

“Don’t worry dear, we all know you’re untouched and pure,” Rose winked.

“B-But—“ My angel was about to protest but his sister ‘shush’ed him.

“Well… that aside, we have something to ask you, Xander.” Coco cleared her throat, and the rest of the Honeycutts fell silent.

I looked up from my delicious pancakes, glancing at their faces. “What’s up?”  

“Well, Chip told us about your landlord,” Rose gestured to the small frame at the stove, “And we agreed on letting you and Giselle stay here, in our Bakery, until you find a suitable place.”

Am I dreaming?

“So…what do you say? Do you want to live with us?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N I’m sorry for the boring chapter my dears, but I prooomise. The next one will be better ^-^

Vote if you want Giselle to recover! ;A;

Hugs & Kisses,

Cupcake.