A Match Beyond Measure Pt 16
Her eyes widened, “What?”
He shrugged, “Do you mind sitting in the bowl? I need my hands free to hand out candy.”
She stared at him in disbelief. He… he wanted her to do what?! Get in the bowl of candy?! Nausea began to rise in her throat, glancing down at the piles of chocolate as big as her. She flinched as unwanted images flashed in her mind, similar to the ones she’d had at the restaurant when they’d first met.
“Are… are you okay?”
Cecilia couldn’t respond, her mouth going dry as her vision of Garret morphed into something more sinister. His mouth curled into a sinister grin, showing off razor-sharp teeth, the rest of his face blacked out.
She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. Stop it, stop it!
When she opened them and looked up, the monstrous face she had conjured up had been replaced with something… even more painful. His brows were knitted, and his eyes bore into her with a sense of dread? Sadness? Guilt? A mix of all three?
He ever so slowly lowered his hand and set the bowl back down, his eyes lingering on it with a look of disbelief, “You… believe in that… that stereotype. Don’t you?”
“What?”
Garret averted his gaze, “What… the things people used to say about us, that humans say about us. That…” he closed his eyes for a moment, pursing his lips, “That we … eat humans.”
Her stomach squirmed at his words, and she slumped over, hugging herself, “I…” she breathed, “I was always told these stories, from… from my father. They… they never really painted people like you in a… nice way.”
She closed her eyes, the vivid memory of his wheelchair bound form holding her close as a pair of enormous shoes crossed in front of them. His hand was trembling, yet he held onto her even tighter, “Keep your distance. You have no idea what those things are capable of.”
Cecilia looked back up at Garret, his eyes beginning to water. The moment she made eye contact, he squeezed them shut and breathed. When he opened them, they looked strained, as if they were in pain or being forced to remain composed.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered.
“Do you think I’d… that I’d ever do anything to…” he held back a wince, his voice breaking, “To hurt you?”
Her eyes widened, and her once racing heart now felt as if it were being squished and dragged out of her. She stood and ran over to his thumb, giving it a reassuring pat..
“No! No, how could I ever think that?” But you did, you did think that no less than a minute ago, she grimaced, looking back at her past self with disgust. How could she have ever thought that? When the very thought of it made Garret crumble. She rested her head against the pad of his fingerprint, her body relaxing at the distant sound of his heart beating, “I know now that… that it was stupid, ever thinking such things. I mean, you’ve given me no reason to, and yet here I am making ridiculous assumptions just because I have no idea-”
“It’s.. It’s okay.”
She craned her neck to look up at him. He stared down at her, a forced smile on his face.
“I…I think if I were in your shoes, I’d… I’d feel the same, or at least similar.”
“You do?”
He shrugged, averting his gaze to look down at his other hand, “Well, when you think about it, I could just…” he closed his fist, “As easy as that. Gone.”
A shiver ran down her spine as she stared at the closed fist, identical to the hand she was standing on. She involuntarily backed away from his thumb. Garret immediately took notice, his eyes snapping onto her.
“But I would never!” he blabbered, “Never in a million years even think about… about anything like that!”
She winced at his volume. His eyes widened, and he slapped a hand to his face.
“I’m sorry, I’m…” he sighed and let out a pitiful laugh, “I’m probably acting just like the giants in those stories.”
Her eyes widened, “What? No-no! Not at all.”
He looked down at her and smiled, “Thanks for… for putting up with me.”
Cecilia’s heart gave a painful throb. So words sounded so similar to what she thought of every single time someone agreed to be her friend, to be around her… But she had good reason for thinking that! She was obnoxious and so uptight that it had to be annoying for people to be near her. She also had nothing really to offer in return that would be enough to warrant them being her friend, nothing to give back for the work they put in to put up with her.
Garret though… It wasn’t a chore to be around him. Yes, maybe he was intimidating and didn’t seem to know what to do with himself around humans, but he was new to this! And he was doing so much to try to be better. All she had done was continue to pull away and be afraid for no good reason at all.
She slowly walked back up to his thumb and hugged it as tightly as she could, but she doubted it felt like much to him. “It’s not putting up with you. I like being around you.”
He raised a brow, “You do?”
She smiled up at him, “Well, yeah. You’re kind and funny and… and try to do everything you can.” Her smile faltered, unlike me.
Suddenly, his fingers dove and wrapped around her, giving her ribs a tight squeeze as she was whisked into the air. The air was once again knocked out of her when she slammed into the soft, rounded surface that was his cheek.
Her heart hammered as he nuzzled her against him, letting out a joyous chuckle, “I like being around you, too. Before, I was just going to be spending Halloween alone. I’m glad that’s not the case.”
Cecilia was frozen, her head felt dizzy from having been brought up so high so fast, and she was still adjusting to Garret’s tight grip. Strangely, though, she didn’t hate this. Yes, there was still a voice in her head freaking out about all the what-ifs, but the rest of her… liked this. His grip around her didn’t feel crushing but secure… maybe a little tight, but still it was starting to register in her brain as something similar to a bear hug rather than something threatening.
She relaxed against his cheek, heart still hammering, but a small smile playing across her lips.
Garret pulled his hand away, and Cecilia fell into it as it carried her over in front of his face. He cleared his throat, looking a bit flustered, “So uh, where do you want to sit? I can get you a chair or…” he thought for a moment, “I could probably manage the bowl with one hand if you’d like to hang out in the other?”
“Are you sure that wouldn’t be any trouble?”
“Nah. I like letting kids grab their own candy anyway, gives them the chance to get their favorite.”
Cecilia couldn’t help but chuckle at just how much thought he put into Trick or Treating, “Okay.”
He nodded. She stumbled when his hand began to lower. His hand came to rest on top of his knee, the bowl of candy in his lap looming nearby.
“Oh! I almost forgot.” He reached into the bowl and withdrew a tiny orange object, pinched between his thumb and index finger. Cecilia stood her ground, barely flinching when his fingers hurried towards her, stopping right in front of her and holding out the object to her. It was another candy bowl, this one human-sized and overflowing with king-sized candy bars.
She took the bowl, and it was heavier than expected. Garret snorted with restrained laughter as she nearly toppled over.
“Would you be alright with handing those out to the little littles? I can’t really get a good grip on a single bar.” She nodded up at him, lowering her and the bowl down, “Thanks. I felt like such an ass last year when I didn’t have anything for any human trick-or-treaters, and I don’t think any parents would be too happy with me if I was handing out pieces of chocolate the size of their kid.”
Cecilia laughed again, “Sure.”
“Alright then.” Garret leaned back in his chair, “They’ll be coming out in hordes any moment now.”
Five minutes went by when someone arrived. A boy dressed up as some superhero came running down the sidewalk, his parents calling after him. He raced up the front steps and shouted, “Trick or Treat!”
Garret held the bowl out for the boy, who eagerly dug around in it. His parents finally caught up to him right as he withdrew a fistful of candy.
“Hunter, just take one,” said his mother.
Garret waved her off, “He’s fine. Happy Halloween.”
The boy flashed a grin and ran back down the steps, nearly getting tangled up in his cape.
The boy’s father rolled his eyes. “Happy Halloween.”
Cecilia watched them go, giving them a little wave, even though she wasn’t sure if they had even noticed her.
After the first family, the streets were quickly starting to fill with trick-or-treaters. It wasn’t long before they were getting a steady stream of group after group, most of which were giants. That made sense to her; she wouldn’t say it out loud, but she could imagine humans not being too keen to let their children lose in a neighborhood that was not just crowded with other wild kids but wild giant kids who weren’t focused on where they were placing their feet.
They went through at least a few dozen groups, and Cecilia was beginning to believe that by the end of the night, the bowl of candy in her arms would still be full. Not a minute later, though, she spotted them. A group of around seven or eight kids (it was hard to tell from so far away) was slowly making their way along the sidewalk.
The group all looked up at Garret as he excitedly waved to them, “Hey! Happy Halloween!” They waved back before continuing forward. His brow furrowed. “Did you guys want some candy?”
They stopped, and even from here she could see the weird look they were all giving him. Cecilia gasped when the hand beneath her rose along with Garret as he stood. He made his way down the stairs before kneeling and lowering his hand to the ground.
After collecting herself, she stood and awkwardly got off his hand. The group of kids looked from Garret to her, eying the bowl in her hands. She walked over to them and held it out. Several of their mouths dropped.
“Oh yeah! Jackpot!” one cried, pushing to the front and snatching a bar. The others followed suit, all scrambling to get one of the king-sized bars as if there weren’t plenty to go round.
“Thanks man!” hollered back a boy dressed as a creepy clown.
Cecilia waved after them, “Happy Halloween.” She turned and looked up at Garret, still on his knees.
He smirked down at her, “Think they’ll spread the news of the jackpot house?”
She laughed, “Maybe, though I don’t know how many others will be coming through here.”
“You’re right. Hey, you think it would be better if we sat on the bottom step? Maybe they just can’t see you from up there.”
An odd shiver ran through her body. She didn’t know why, but the thought of not just giants but other humans overlooking her existence was… a bit unsettling. Not that she wanted to be the center of attention or anything, it was just… unnerving. Once again, she couldn’t help but wonder if this was how bugs felt, surrounded by things and beings so much bigger than them that they became insignificant… invisible to the rest of the world.
Is that all she was in a place like this? Insignificant? To the point where her life could be snuffed out just by-
“Hey, you alright?”
She jumped, nearly dropping her bowl of candy. Garret peered down at her, worry reflected in all of his features. Cecilia felt like slapping herself. Stop it. Stop spiraling off for no reason.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You sure? Is something bothering you?”
She forced on a relaxed look, “Nope, everything’s all good.”
He still didn’t seem convinced, leaning in closer, “You’re absolutely sure? You can tell me if something’s wrong.”
Cecilia stared back up at him. Her feet felt glued to the spot by his unwavering attention. The way he looked at her… it felt like… the complete opposite of insignificant.
Did… did he know what she had been thinking? Was he trying to rectify it? Show her differently? If so, it was working.
Now she was wondering what was scarier for a bug: to be completely ignored by the world, or have it entirely focused on you.
Cecilia cleared her throat, “Sorry. My mind was just wandering.”
Garret lightened up, “Oh, do you often space out too?”
She shrugged, “I guess. Though it’s more like my mind focuses on something random and decides to forget everything else to ponder it.”
“Heh, sounds like my brother, I think it’s a sign of a smart person.”
Cecilia felt her face heating up, “Oh uh… I don’t know. Anyways, if you’re okay with sitting at the bottom of the stairs, then sure.”
Garret nodded, “Alright. It’ll probably be less of an ordeal for you. You know, having to have me carry you up and down the stairs. From there, I can just help you down to the ground and back up without having to move from my seat.”
She felt an itch of guilt, “Oh, I’m sorry if it was annoying having to do all that.”
His eyes widened and he quickly shook his head, “Oh no, I don’t mind at all. I was more worried it would get annoying for you.” He held out his hand in front of her. She climbed on and closed her eyes as he began to move.
Even from his hand, she could feel the force of him sitting down. Did he know he did that? That his footsteps and movements cause the ground to shake? Would it be rude to ask?
After setting the candy bowl next to him, he leaned back, stretching out a bit. Cecilia watched as his shirt shifted upwards, revealing a sliver of his stomach. She caught a glimpse of several white lines stretched over his skin.
Suddenly, Garret’s hand snatched the bottom of his shirt and yanked it down, hurriedly covering up. She looked up at his face. He wasn’t looking at her, purposely avoiding eye contact while his face went red. It was different, though, embarrassed and maybe even… shame?
“Oh look, more trick or treaters,” he blubbered, clearly desperate to draw her attention elsewhere.
Cecilia, still a little perplexed by his behavior, went along with it and turned to see another group making their way down the path.
Garret kept a cheery, enthusiastic attitude as he passed out candy, seeming as if he was truly enjoying himself. To his delight, they were visited by more groups of humans. Cecilia wasn’t sure if the first ones had spread the word or not, but it sure seemed like the word was spreading some way or another.
Many were teenagers, all scrambling to get their hands on a king-sized bar. Once or twice, though, they had a few younger kids come through. She guessed most parents were stirring their children clear of the neighborhood for their own safety.
One little girl had hurried up the path and had run right past Cecilia to reach Garret. She excitedly held out her bag to him, expecting a candy from the big bowl. He had laughed and had pointed her to Cecilia, but she wouldn’t budge.
Cecilia and Garret both shared a good laugh as the kid tried to convince her parents she would be fine carrying a piece of candy double her size all night, before finally taking a candy bar from the human bowl.
The night wore on, and she found herself relaxing in the palm of his hand. Garret smiled down at her.
“Tired?”
“A little.”
“I’m almost out of candy. You ready to be done?”
She sat up, “Yeah, I think so. I should probably be getting back-”
Wait. Her bike was a useless crumpled-up piece of metal.
“Um… I guess I should get going pretty soon if I want to make it back before midnight,” she glanced out into the night, nervously stirring inside her at the thought of walking home… alone, at night, on Halloween.
Garret’s eyes widened. “Wait, you weren’t thinking of walking home, were you?”
She shrugged, “Well, it’s the only option I got.”
“I could walk you back, it would be a lot faster.”
She waved him off, “That’s alright, I don’t want you to have to do all that.”
“But you can’t just walk back alone. At this time?”
He had a point there, and Cecilia herself wasn’t keen on the idea either. But what else was she supposed to do?
Her heart skipped a beat when an idea came to mind. It must have shown on her face as well.
“What?” asked Garret.
She felt her face heating up. Would asking be crossing the line? Was it rude?
“Um… well… I was just wondering… You know… would it be possible for me to stay the night?”
She braced for the rejection.
