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The Blizzard
Tuesday, 20 April 2021 21:55Summary: Dash shows up at Marshall's house during a blizzard. He and Syndi seem to be enjoying each other's company.
-- Give me a prompt for part 2!--
Outside, the streets were blanketed in snow. According to the weatherman, there was supposed to be a blizzard that night, so Edgar and Marilyn were spending another night or two with their friends on the other side of town.
It was typical of Eerie. Unlike other towns, where the seasons blended into one another, in Eerie winter began with a blizzard after a warm autumn day.
Simon was eating from a bowl of popcorn, Marshall lounging lazily next to him with his feet on the coffee table, taking advantage of his parents not being around to complain.
The phone rang, and Marshall reached behind him to answer it, but Syndi must’ve beaten him to it. She was probably doing her “math homework” slash boy talk.
Marshall could sense Simon tense up as a mummy broke out of a coffin and started walking with his arms stretched toward the screen.
“Are you sure about this, Simon?” Marshall reached over for a handful of popcorn, which made Simon jump.
“It’s ok,’ he said, nearly hyperventilating, ‘Guru Yogi Schwarma said that exposure therapy is the first step in overcoming your fears. Just, uh, let’s keep the remote control where we can see it!”
“Guru Yogi Schwarma?” Marshall asked. Mondo weird. Hadn’t he heard “actor Simon” mention that name before?
“Brr, it’s freezing up there!” Syndi jogged down the stairs wearing a lilac sweatsuit, and paced towards the thermostat to turn it up.
“That was your cousin on the phone,’ she said to Simon, approaching the couch and grabbing a woolly throw.
"My cousin?” Simon looked questioningly at Marshall, who returned the look.
“From the Latvian side of your family, right?” she said, grabbing a fistful of popcorn. It dawned on Marshall, and his eyes widened. Syndi looked closer at the TV. “Not as good as Bob and Donna. But points for the décor.”
Syndi had been practicing interior decorating lately, as a fall-back in case her journalism career didn’t go as planned. During “Tornado Day”, she had wrapped her bedroom in grey cotton wool to simulate the eye of a storm. Marshall thought it was just a creative excuse to leave her old socks lying around.
“Uh, did Simon’s cousin say why he was coming over?”
“Yeah, he mentioned something about math homework? He better hurry up though, the blizzard’s starting to pick up. I almost can't hear myself think through all that howling!”
Simon got up and opened the blinds. It was getting dark outside, too.
"Somehow I doubt that," Marshall said.
He knew that "math homework" was a cover - it always was with people Syndi's age. The question was, what was it covering?
The sound of the wind mingled with the screaming coming from the TV, sending shivers up Marshall's spine. He was nervous about Dash walking through the storm, but more than that, he was worried about which Dash would show up that day: the cold and sardonic one, or the one that occasionally showed signs of empathy?
Simon, on the other hand, looked more nervous about the TV than about Dash. He walked over to the remote and carefully picked it up. "Ok, I think that's enough exposure therapy for one day." He pressed the red button, leaving an unsettling silence except for the wind sweeping across the Eerie suburb.
Syndi turned to Simon. "There are some spare blankets in the cupboard, if your cousin wants to crash on the couch. And the sleeping bag you normally use is freshly washed and folded in the cupboard, too. I wouldn't exactly recommend walking or driving in this weather."
"Uh -"
"I doubt he'll be staying long,' Marshall interrupted. 'He's used to the cold. Y'know, Latvian winters."
"In that case, I'll take the spare blankets,' Syndi said. 'The vent to my room must be blocked or something, it's freezing in there."
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Marshall, being the closest, opened it and leaned out into the falling snow.
“What are you doing here?” he whispered. Dash rolled his eyes. "Well hello to you too, Teller," he said as he pushed past.
“Boy, it’s awfully cold out there, isn’t it?” he added to Syndi, as she made her way back upstairs. “Syndi, isn’t it?”
“Hi,” she said, a little too cheerfully, Marshall thought.
“Hi cousin,” Simon said.
“Hi, shrimp.”
With Syndi back upstairs, Marshall stood awkwardly between Dash and the couch. Simon shrugged and grabbed the popcorn.
“What's the matter, Slick, does my presence here make you nervous?” Dash hissed. The answer was yes - a definite yes - but Marshall hadn’t exactly figured out where that nervousness originated from, besides the obvious, which he was more than happy to voice out loud.
Marshall moved closer to Dash, and careful that Simon didn't hear, he whispered, “your last visit coincided with an elaborate plot to kill me, remember?"
Dash went quiet and there was a hint of something in his eyes. Was it guilt? Regret?
Getting red in the face as a floodgate of memories rushed into his head, Marshall spoke louder. "And the time before that, you were trying to brainalize Simon."
Dash's eyes lit up defensively. "Yeah but let's not forget about that other time, when I helped you rescue Simon from the werewolf."
"Who could forget,' Simon said. "Your mom had made the best apple pie ever. There's no chance there's more in the house, is there?"
"Feel free to look,' Marshall said, hoping to get some time alone with Dash.
As soon as Simon had disappeared into the kitchen, Marshall took Dash by the lapels and slammed him into the wall.
“Spit it out Dash, what are you doing here and what do you want?”
“Wow, Mars,’ Syndi said, returning with her favourite mug, the one with purple skulls. ‘Rude much?" Marshall relaxed his grip and took a step back, his hands balling into fists.
"Let me guess,' she said to Dash, 'they haven’t even offered you a hot drink to warm up from the cold, have they? Some host you are, Marshall.”
Dash looked surprised.
“I was just going to make some cocoa in the kitchen, care to join?"
Simon reappeared with his hand in a box of Capt'n Crunch and a packet of twizzlers, with a huge grin on his face.
"I’ll make you a cup of cocoa too, Simon,' Syndi said as she walked into the kitchen with Dash, 'but Marshall's gonna have to get his own if he wants any.” Dash threw Marshall and Simon an impressed glance as he followed her.
Marshall turned to Simon. "Something tells me he's up to something."
“I dunno Mars,' he said through handfuls of cereal, 'normally I'd agree with you, but don't you think that maybe Dash just came here to shelter from the blizzard? The Old Hitchcock Mill is pretty drafty even in the summertime.” And lonely, Simon added to himself. He knew what it was like to seek shelter at the Teller residence, in more ways than one.
“I mean, now that you say it,' Marshall said, 'I suppose that's a possibility, although we don't exactly know what he is. For all we know, he could be from that ice planet you accidentally got stuck in that time. We don't know for sure that the cold even bothers him."
"Yeah but he wears that long coat even in the summer, and at least two shirts. If he gets that cold in summer, think of how he must feel today."
Simon was right, Marshall thought. Plus, it dawned on him that this was Dash's first winter in Eerie, just as it was his.
"Uh, Mars?”
“Yeah, Simon?”
“Are we just gonna leave him alone with Syndi like that?”
The pair scrambled toward the dining room doors at the same time. As they flung them open, they heard Syndi's voice:
“You poor thing, I've never felt hands so cold.”
Marshall was hit by a wave of dizziness at the word "felt".
Reaching the kitchen, they both stopped dead in their tracks. Seeing Syndi's hands wrapped around Dash's, casually leaning over the counter as the kettle came to a boil, Marshall felt his heart jump into his throat.
In the moment they'd caught them, Dash had looked like he was enjoying the attention, but now he looked embarrassed in front of Marshall. Still, he didn't pull his hands away. Syndi looked up at the boys sarcastically.
"Uh, just getting my cocoa," Marshall said.
"Yeah, couldn't wait," Simon added.
Syndi stood up to pour the water into their mugs, while Dash dusted his coat awkwardly.
"You'll have to tell me where you got those gnarly tattoos,' she said.
"Ah that,' Dash said, turning to her. 'Yeah, plus and minus. That reminds me, I was hoping you'd be able to tutor me on my math homework."
-- tbc / add a prompt in the comments and I'll write part 2!--
-- Give me a prompt for part 2!--
Outside, the streets were blanketed in snow. According to the weatherman, there was supposed to be a blizzard that night, so Edgar and Marilyn were spending another night or two with their friends on the other side of town.
It was typical of Eerie. Unlike other towns, where the seasons blended into one another, in Eerie winter began with a blizzard after a warm autumn day.
Simon was eating from a bowl of popcorn, Marshall lounging lazily next to him with his feet on the coffee table, taking advantage of his parents not being around to complain.
The phone rang, and Marshall reached behind him to answer it, but Syndi must’ve beaten him to it. She was probably doing her “math homework” slash boy talk.
Marshall could sense Simon tense up as a mummy broke out of a coffin and started walking with his arms stretched toward the screen.
“Are you sure about this, Simon?” Marshall reached over for a handful of popcorn, which made Simon jump.
“It’s ok,’ he said, nearly hyperventilating, ‘Guru Yogi Schwarma said that exposure therapy is the first step in overcoming your fears. Just, uh, let’s keep the remote control where we can see it!”
“Guru Yogi Schwarma?” Marshall asked. Mondo weird. Hadn’t he heard “actor Simon” mention that name before?
“Brr, it’s freezing up there!” Syndi jogged down the stairs wearing a lilac sweatsuit, and paced towards the thermostat to turn it up.
“That was your cousin on the phone,’ she said to Simon, approaching the couch and grabbing a woolly throw.
"My cousin?” Simon looked questioningly at Marshall, who returned the look.
“From the Latvian side of your family, right?” she said, grabbing a fistful of popcorn. It dawned on Marshall, and his eyes widened. Syndi looked closer at the TV. “Not as good as Bob and Donna. But points for the décor.”
Syndi had been practicing interior decorating lately, as a fall-back in case her journalism career didn’t go as planned. During “Tornado Day”, she had wrapped her bedroom in grey cotton wool to simulate the eye of a storm. Marshall thought it was just a creative excuse to leave her old socks lying around.
“Uh, did Simon’s cousin say why he was coming over?”
“Yeah, he mentioned something about math homework? He better hurry up though, the blizzard’s starting to pick up. I almost can't hear myself think through all that howling!”
Simon got up and opened the blinds. It was getting dark outside, too.
"Somehow I doubt that," Marshall said.
He knew that "math homework" was a cover - it always was with people Syndi's age. The question was, what was it covering?
The sound of the wind mingled with the screaming coming from the TV, sending shivers up Marshall's spine. He was nervous about Dash walking through the storm, but more than that, he was worried about which Dash would show up that day: the cold and sardonic one, or the one that occasionally showed signs of empathy?
Simon, on the other hand, looked more nervous about the TV than about Dash. He walked over to the remote and carefully picked it up. "Ok, I think that's enough exposure therapy for one day." He pressed the red button, leaving an unsettling silence except for the wind sweeping across the Eerie suburb.
Syndi turned to Simon. "There are some spare blankets in the cupboard, if your cousin wants to crash on the couch. And the sleeping bag you normally use is freshly washed and folded in the cupboard, too. I wouldn't exactly recommend walking or driving in this weather."
"Uh -"
"I doubt he'll be staying long,' Marshall interrupted. 'He's used to the cold. Y'know, Latvian winters."
"In that case, I'll take the spare blankets,' Syndi said. 'The vent to my room must be blocked or something, it's freezing in there."
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Marshall, being the closest, opened it and leaned out into the falling snow.
“What are you doing here?” he whispered. Dash rolled his eyes. "Well hello to you too, Teller," he said as he pushed past.
“Boy, it’s awfully cold out there, isn’t it?” he added to Syndi, as she made her way back upstairs. “Syndi, isn’t it?”
“Hi,” she said, a little too cheerfully, Marshall thought.
“Hi cousin,” Simon said.
“Hi, shrimp.”
With Syndi back upstairs, Marshall stood awkwardly between Dash and the couch. Simon shrugged and grabbed the popcorn.
“What's the matter, Slick, does my presence here make you nervous?” Dash hissed. The answer was yes - a definite yes - but Marshall hadn’t exactly figured out where that nervousness originated from, besides the obvious, which he was more than happy to voice out loud.
Marshall moved closer to Dash, and careful that Simon didn't hear, he whispered, “your last visit coincided with an elaborate plot to kill me, remember?"
Dash went quiet and there was a hint of something in his eyes. Was it guilt? Regret?
Getting red in the face as a floodgate of memories rushed into his head, Marshall spoke louder. "And the time before that, you were trying to brainalize Simon."
Dash's eyes lit up defensively. "Yeah but let's not forget about that other time, when I helped you rescue Simon from the werewolf."
"Who could forget,' Simon said. "Your mom had made the best apple pie ever. There's no chance there's more in the house, is there?"
"Feel free to look,' Marshall said, hoping to get some time alone with Dash.
As soon as Simon had disappeared into the kitchen, Marshall took Dash by the lapels and slammed him into the wall.
“Spit it out Dash, what are you doing here and what do you want?”
“Wow, Mars,’ Syndi said, returning with her favourite mug, the one with purple skulls. ‘Rude much?" Marshall relaxed his grip and took a step back, his hands balling into fists.
"Let me guess,' she said to Dash, 'they haven’t even offered you a hot drink to warm up from the cold, have they? Some host you are, Marshall.”
Dash looked surprised.
“I was just going to make some cocoa in the kitchen, care to join?"
Simon reappeared with his hand in a box of Capt'n Crunch and a packet of twizzlers, with a huge grin on his face.
"I’ll make you a cup of cocoa too, Simon,' Syndi said as she walked into the kitchen with Dash, 'but Marshall's gonna have to get his own if he wants any.” Dash threw Marshall and Simon an impressed glance as he followed her.
Marshall turned to Simon. "Something tells me he's up to something."
“I dunno Mars,' he said through handfuls of cereal, 'normally I'd agree with you, but don't you think that maybe Dash just came here to shelter from the blizzard? The Old Hitchcock Mill is pretty drafty even in the summertime.” And lonely, Simon added to himself. He knew what it was like to seek shelter at the Teller residence, in more ways than one.
“I mean, now that you say it,' Marshall said, 'I suppose that's a possibility, although we don't exactly know what he is. For all we know, he could be from that ice planet you accidentally got stuck in that time. We don't know for sure that the cold even bothers him."
"Yeah but he wears that long coat even in the summer, and at least two shirts. If he gets that cold in summer, think of how he must feel today."
Simon was right, Marshall thought. Plus, it dawned on him that this was Dash's first winter in Eerie, just as it was his.
"Uh, Mars?”
“Yeah, Simon?”
“Are we just gonna leave him alone with Syndi like that?”
The pair scrambled toward the dining room doors at the same time. As they flung them open, they heard Syndi's voice:
“You poor thing, I've never felt hands so cold.”
Marshall was hit by a wave of dizziness at the word "felt".
Reaching the kitchen, they both stopped dead in their tracks. Seeing Syndi's hands wrapped around Dash's, casually leaning over the counter as the kettle came to a boil, Marshall felt his heart jump into his throat.
In the moment they'd caught them, Dash had looked like he was enjoying the attention, but now he looked embarrassed in front of Marshall. Still, he didn't pull his hands away. Syndi looked up at the boys sarcastically.
"Uh, just getting my cocoa," Marshall said.
"Yeah, couldn't wait," Simon added.
Syndi stood up to pour the water into their mugs, while Dash dusted his coat awkwardly.
"You'll have to tell me where you got those gnarly tattoos,' she said.
"Ah that,' Dash said, turning to her. 'Yeah, plus and minus. That reminds me, I was hoping you'd be able to tutor me on my math homework."
-- tbc / add a prompt in the comments and I'll write part 2!--
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