Out of Bounds Chap. 6-How Does One Reveal Living Cookies to Family?
Here’s the next chapter!
Big thanks to my beta reader @gigilefache
Enjoy!
The drive from the train station to Holly’s house was about half an hour, and during the ride, the young witch was thinking about how to tell her family about the Beast Cookies living with them.
“Mom, how would you feel about living cookies in our house?” Holly thought of it, but shook her head as it sounded too cliche. “Mom, I got a big surprise for you and Katie, but don’t freak out!” Holly frowned, knowing there were many ways to go about it, but it only made her nervous about how her mom was going to react.
“Holly!” Katie sang.
“Yes, Katie?” Holly asked, putting her thoughts on pause for a moment.
“Did you get me something from Grandma’s?” Katie asked.
Well, Holly got her starter in explaining things. “I did.” She replied. Katie gasped, wondering what her big sister got her.
“Please tell me what it is!?” Katie asked excitedly.
“It’s a surprise. I’ll show you later.” Holly reminded her.
Katie pouted and crossed her arms in reply. She didn’t want to wait; she wanted to know now. From the backseat, Katie kept eyeing her big sister’s bag as Holly kept it close, too close.
“So, what kind of surprise did you get for your little sister?” Gabriella asked, as she drove.
Holly’s eyes widened as her mom was asking now?! “Oh…I’ll tell you guys later. It’s a big surprise.” She said, staring at her bag.
Gabriella sighed. “I just hope it’s not something that Katie would use to punish her enemies.” She whispered.
“Huh?” Katie asked.
“What was that?” Holly asked as well.
“Oh, nothing.” Gabriella replied, denying what she just said as she gave a nervous laugh. Holly and Katie glanced at each other and shrugged it off.
Then Holly realized she did have a surprise for Katie. “Oh, before I get to the main surprise.” Holly started as she passed the box of mochi donuts to her younger sister. “My friend Annie, who gave us the chocolate croissants last time, brought some mochi donuts! I snacked on one, but the rest were for us.”
Katie’s eyes widened as she grabbed the box and opened it. Her mouth watered seeing how good the mochi donuts looked. “Mom, can I please eat one?” She asked.
“As long as you don’t beg about Holly’s gift for you, then yes.” Gabriella answered.
At that point, Katie put the box next to her and grabbed a matcha mochi donut and started eating. Gabriella and Holly sighed for two reasons. One, Katie would be quiet, and two, Katie lost her appetite for lunch and dinner.
The Fontaine Family made it home, which was a neighborhood surrounded by woods. The houses were spaced apart, and the Fontaine Family house was right in the middle with its blue roof and dark blue walls.
Gabriella parked the car, and everyone got out. Holly grabbed her luggage and followed her mom and sister inside the house. The Beast Cookies took a peek at what the Witch’s house looked like, but the bag obscured most of their vision.
Holly opened the door and walked in, giving a sigh she was home sweet home. However, she felt her bag shake and the Beast Cookies complaining. “Hey, clown! Stop pushing!” Burning Spice Cookie yelled.
“I want to see our living arrangements!” Shadow Milk Cookie yelled.
“Ow! Someone stepped on my tail!” Eternal Sugar Cookie complained.
Holly sighed and looked at her bag. “Guys, hush!” Holly whispered. “I don’t want my mom and my sister to hear you.”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to introduce us to them?” Shadow Milk Cookie asked.
“I do, but not yet. It’s not the right time.” Holly whispered back.
Shadow Milk Cookie let out a frustrated yell. “What is the ‘right time’ for-”
“Meow.”
The Beast Cookies froze, hearing an unfamiliar sound. They peeked through Holly’s bag to see an unfamiliar creature to them: a cat.
Holly’s cat was tuxedo colored with a white diamond patch on its chest.
Holly gasped as she held her arms out for her cat to jump on her. “Momo!” She squealed. Holly nuzzled her cat, who purred in reply. “Oh, I missed you, my baby.”
“Meow.” Momo replied, giving his owner a lick on the cheek. Holly giggled as she nuzzled her cat closer.
Momo sensed something and jumped out of Holly’s arms. He sniffed her bag, which frightened the Beast Cookies.
“Does it know we're here?” Eternal Sugar Cookie asked.
“Well, SugarCube, you do smell like flowers, so of course it would smell you.” Shadow Milk Cookie replied.
Eternal Sugar Cookie glared and bopped him over the head. “Ow!” He yelped. “Why you!” Before the two could fight, they were held back by Mystic Flour Cookie and Silent Salt Cookie.
“Meow?” Momo asked, confused as to why his owner’s bag was making noise.
While she was glad Momo didn’t talk, Holly was still horrified that the Beast Cookies were causing some commotion. Holly looked to see her mother in the kitchen while her sister was watching TV. She sighed, knowing they were distracted by their own things.
Quickly, Holly ran up the stairs as Momo tilted his head in confusion. Once upstairs, Holly looked down and sighed, seeing she was safe. “Alright, please don't fight in my house.” She begged.
“She started it!” Shadow Milk Cookie exclaimed.
“He started it!” Eternal Sugar Cookie exclaimed, talking over Shadow Milk Cookie.
“Enough!” Holly snapped. She covered her mouth and looked downstairs, hoping her mom and sister didn’t hear her. Luckily, they didn’t, and she sighed in relief. “Alright, let’s get to my room.”
Holly walked over to her room, which was on the right of her mother’s room. The door had her name painted on it in purple letters. “Alright, Welcome to Casa De Holly! Aka my bedroom!” Holly announced as she opened her bag for the best cookies to come out and see the room. They scanned the room, and their eyes widened in horror.
Holly’s room was painted lilac with posters of witches and magical creatures. She had a brown desk with two photos, one of her and her family, and the other was her and her friends. There was also a grey laptop on her desk with a few notebooks on the left side. However, Holly’s room was messy with clothes, books, and notebooks scattered everywhere. Even her bed was also messy with a few clothes on it, and the bed sheets were unmade.
“Yeah…this place needs a bit of a fixer-upper.” Shadow Milk Cookie said, scanning the room.
“Okay, so I overslept and had to pack up at the last minute to go to my grandma’s!” Holly defended. “Plus, it’s not that messy.” She then tripped over her own clothes and fell on the floor. Eternal Sugar and Burning Space flinched, while Shadow Milk smirked at the sight of the witch falling, and Silent Salt and Mystic Flour gave no expression. “I’m okay!”
A knock was heard outside of Holly’s room, causing the latter to get up from the floor in horror. “Holly!” Gabriella called out. Holly shoved the cookies back into her bag and zipped it up a bit so they could breathe.
“Come in, Mom!” Holly yelled.
Gabriella came in and looked around the room to see, it was the same way that Holly had left it. “Well, now that you're home, think you can clean up your room? It looks like a tornado came through!” She exclaimed.
“But I-” Holly was cut off by her mom.
“Before you say if I cleaned it up. No, it’s your room and your mess, so I left it that way until you came back to clean it up.” Gabriella explained, pointing at the mess and then, at your daughter.
Holly groaned and gave a pout. “Yes, Mom. I understand.” She replied.
The Beast Cookies watched to see the young witch get scolded by her mom. They felt uneasy with the woman and wanted to attack, but saw the woman ease up on her anger.
Gabriella smiled and hugged her daughter. “Good, sorry if I scolded you.” She apologized. Holly gave a smile, telling her mom she’s all forgiven. “Now you must’ve been hungry, would you like to make you a sandwich for lunch?” She asked.
Holly nodded. “Can you make two? I’m really hungry.” She asked back.
Gabriella looked surprised. “Oh. Sure, sweetie.” She answered.
“Thanks, mom! You're the best!”
Gabriella left her daughter’s room and started to think about what Holly was hiding from her. She decided to ask her later once Holly cleaned her room.
Holly was gathering up all the clothes she had left on the floor and put them in the closet or in a pile on the bed to put in the laundry later. Seeing it was safe to come out, Shadow Milk Cookie was the first one to come out of Holly’s bag.
“Well, she sounded harsh.” Shadow Milk Cookie said, feeling a bit bad for Holly.
Holly sighed. “She’s my mom, she’s strict, but kind. Trust me, that’s not her bad side.” She explained, reassuring the Beasts, as the floor was finally cleaned of clothes.
The other Beast Cookies came out of the bag, concerned for the witch. “She doesn’t have to be mean to you.” Eternal Sugar Cookie added, crossing her arms.
Holly sighed as she gathered the last of the clothes. “She isn’t mean, she’s just tough.” She paused and looked at them. “Did you guys have parents?”
The Beast Cookies paused and looked at one another. However, Shadow Milk Cookie turned away. Holly frowned and knew none of them had families, at least living ones.
“We were created by witches a long time ago.” Mystic Flour Cookie started. “They were the closest thing we got to a parental figure, but they didn’t raise us, more like mentor us, or if we needed guidance, they would answer us.”
“Though Shadow Milk Cookie’s witch was the closest one to him and would talk with him daily. They were close.” Silent Salt Cookie explained. “Very close.”
Holly turned to Shadow Milk Cookie, who looked like he was trying to hold back his tears. “Closest he got to a mom, I’m guessing?” Holly whispered.
Silent Salt Cookie heard her and nodded.
“Then one day the witches disappeared when we needed them the most.” Eternal Sugar Cookie added. “That’s when…” she paused and looked at Holly, as she knew the rest of the story.
Holly nodded, knowing what had happened.
“We never had a childhood like most cookies. We were just brought to existence with a role of virtue.” Burning Spice Cookie explained, crossing his arms.
“I guess that explains everything? Not trusting witches and why you became the Beasts?” Holly asked.
“What do you think?” Shadow Milk Cookie asked, side eyeing Holly.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Holly replied, mumbling. “Okay, look, I’m sorry that witches abandoned you, but as the first witch you’ve seen in forever. I’ll tell you this, moms come in different personalities, and my mom just happens to be strict, kind, cool, and a good cook.”
“I hope you're not lying to us about the kind part.” Shadow Milk Cookie replied, turning around and crossing his arms.
“I’m not. You’ll see it.” Holly reassured him. “And Shadow Milk Cookie.”
The Beast of Deceit looked up at the witch.
“You don’t have to tell me now, but when you're ready, I’d like to hear about your witch.”
Shadow Milk Cookie blinked in surprise and crossed his arms. “Ha! That will never happen! You don’t need to know her backstory!” He exclaimed, switching from sad to positive in a heartbeat.
Holly took notice of the eyes in his hair and saw that they looked down in sadness. She didn’t have to say it, but she knew he planned too soon.
A knock was heard from the door. “Holly!” Katie called out. The Beasts quickly froze as Holly told them to hide in the bag again. Perfect timing as Katie opened the door. “Mom needs you downstairs!”
Holly flinched. If her mom were calling her, she would’ve yelled for her, or maybe it’s one of those moments where her mom tells her or Katie to grab the other, so they didn’t have to raise their voice.
“Really? What does she need?” Holly asked. Katie shrugged in response. Holly groaned, of course when her mom asks for her or her sister, she doesn’t explain until they are face-to-face. “Alright.” She then left her room with the laundry basket and went downstairs. She figured to get the laundry out of the way on her way to her mom.
Once Holly was gone, Katie smirked and scanned her big sister’s room. “Now, to find my gift.” She said, smirking and rubbing her hands evilly.
Holly put all her laundry in the washing machine. She added the necessary measurements for the detergent before pouring it in and turning the machine on. Holly smiled and went over to the kitchen.
Meanwhile, at the same time, Katie opened her big sister’s luggage and started to dig through her stuff. Even though Holly just cleaned up her room, Katie was making it a mess again. She then spotted two small bags that had clothes small enough for a doll, or at least a cookie.
“Doll clothes?” Katie asked. “Ugh, I’m 8-years old. I don’t need Barbie dolls anymore!” Then her eyes snapped open. “Unless Holly got me a voodoo doll!” She squealed and looked around the room for it.
The Beast Cookies watched the young girl search for them. Shadow Milk Cookie glared and looked at the Beast Cookies. “So, you guys got a plan for the mini witch here?” He asked.
“Don’t look at me!” Burning Spice Cookie whispered. “You're the one with the plans!”
“The only thing I can come up with is turning her into a card or a doll.” Shadow Milk Cookie whispered back. “And I know that witch would be angry if I did that.”
Eternal Sugar Cookie saw Katie still looking for them and saw the girl in distress. Knowing that making others happy was her thing, she wanted to reveal herself to the young girl.
“What are you doing?” Mystic Flour Cookie asked, not freaked out that they were about to be discovered. The other Beasts turned to face the Beast of Sloth.
“I don’t want to see her distressed, so I’m going to say hi to her.” Eternal Sugar Cookie explained.
“Didn’t the young witch say to stay in the bag until she was ready?” Silent Salt Cookie asked.
Eternal Sugar Cookie sighed. “Yeah, but who has time to wait?” She said as she slowly came out of the bag. The other Beasts didn’t stop her and just watched her. The Beast of Sloth saw Katie searching under Holly’s bed and sighed. “Uh…are you looking for me?”
THUD
“Ow!” Katie yelled, slowly coming out from under the bed and rubbing her head. She mumbled and repeated the word as she sat down.
Eternal Sugar Cookie felt bad for the young girl and floated over to her. “Oh my, are you alright, child?” She asked.
Katie’s eyes widened as she saw Eternal Sugar Cookie. “Whoa! My sister got me a fairy?!” She exclaimed.
Eternal Sugar Cookie sighed, knowing she and her friends weren’t getting over the fairy allegations. “No dear, I’m not a fairy, I’m a-”
“Then an angel?” Katie asked, cutting off Eternal Sugar Cookie. “You have beautiful angel wings like one!”
The Beast of Sloth giggled and blushed over being called an angel. “Well, you could say I’m an angel, but I’m a cookie.” Eternal Sugar Cookie corrected her. “My name is Eternal Sugar Cookie.” As she introduced herself, she gave a curtsy.
“I’m Katie Fontaine! Holly’s my big sister!” Katie introduced herself. “And are you a cookie I eat to become stronger, or are you just living here?”
“Living here!” Eternal Sugar Cookie exclaimed, scared hearing the word eat be used in front of her. “Please don’t eat us.”
Katie sighed. “Okay. Okay, I won’t.” She replied. “But then Katie’s eyes widened. “Wait! You said we, right?”
Eternal Sugar Cookie nodded.
“That means there’s more of you?” She gasped.
Eternal Sugar Cookie nodded again. “Fellow Beasts, you can come out. She’s harmless!” She called out.
The Beasts didn’t come out of the bag, which made Eternal Sugar Cookie worried. Seconds later, she heard a commotion and what sounded like the rest of the Beasts pushing Shadow Milk Cookie out of the bag.
However, all the Beast Cookies fell out of the bag. From what happened inside, the rest of the beasts pushed Shadow Milk Cookie, but he grabbed onto Silent Salt Cookie, causing the bag to tip and the cookies to fall.
“Whoa! You guys are all cookies?!” Katie asked, looking at them.
Eternal Sugar Cookie nodded. “These are my friends: Silent Salt, Mystic Flour, Burning Spice. and Shadow Milk Cookie.” She introduced her friends. “This is Holly’s younger sister, Katie.”
“Hi there!” Katie exclaimed, waving.
Shadow Milk Cookie floated and scanned the young girl up and down. “So, you're the chaotic little sister the witch has told us about.”
Katie gasped, putting a hand on her chest. “I’m glad my chaos is well known to creatures outside our world.” She replied, dramatically. “But I wouldn’t call it chaos, I’d call it being the fun little sister!”
“Hey, chaos is fun!” Shadow Milk Cookie exclaimed.
“Right!” Katie agreed.
“Why do I think this can go wrong in so many ways?” Silent Salt Cookie asked, whispering over to Mystic Flour Cookie.
“I don’t think; I know this can go wrong.” Mystic Flour Cookie replied.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
In the kitchen, Holly went downstairs and saw her mom had just finished making a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and was about to make another.
“So, do you need me for anything, Mom?” Holly asked.
“Uh…no. Not at this time.” Gabriella replied.
Holly looked confused. “But Katie just told me you…” Fear rushed through Holly’s mind. She should’ve known better when Katie knocked on her door. “Oh no. Oh no, no, no!” Holly ran upstairs as Gabriella looked at her daughter in concern.
“Holly? Holly!” Gabriella yelled, turning off the stove before running after her daughter. “Holly Fontaine, what did you do?!”
Holly didn’t answer and ran upstairs to her room and opened the door. “KATIE! Whatever you do, don't harm them!” She yelled. However, to her surprise, Katie was laughing and talking with them.
“Oh hi sis! I LOVE the new gift you gave me!” Katie exclaimed as she ran and hugged her big sister tight.
Holly looked at the Beast Cookies, who were unharmed, and back at her sister. “Uh, thanks…it was supposed to be a surprise, but…”
“A surprise?!” Katie exclaimed, cutting her sister off. “Holly! This doesn’t need to be a surprise! We’re all used to magic in this house.” She exclaimed.
Holly groaned. “I know that, but how do I explain to mom about sentient cookies living in our house?!” She yelled.
“What about sentient cookies living in our house?” Gabriella asked, her hands on her hips, looking disappointed.
Holly and Katie froze in fear as they slowly turned to their mother. “Mom, hi!” Holly squeaked. “What’s up?”
“What’s up?” Gabriella asked, repeating her daughter. “I heard you brought sentient cookies into our house and thought you were going to keep it a secret from me?” She sounded disappointed that her oldest daughter was keeping secrets from her.
“Hey! She planned on telling you!” Shadow Milk Cookie shouted, catching the Fontaine girl’s attention. Gabriella glared at the Beast of Deceit, and for some reason, he felt his jam run cold, and he hated it.
Gabriella sighed. “Holly, explain this,” she demanded, pointing at the Beast Cookies.
Holly chuckled nervously and sighed. “I’m so grounded.” She mumbled.
“For life.” Katie mumbled, causing Holly to glare at her.
Not a moment after, the Beast Cookies sat on the coffee table using magazines as their chairs, while Katie sat on the couch. Holly stood next to the Beast Cookies as Gabriella glared at her oldest daughter, hoping she had a good explanation of what was going on.
“Mom, meet the Beast Cookies: Shadow Milk, Burning Spice, Mystic Flour, Eternal Sugar, and Silent Salt.” Holly said, introducing the cookies. “They got sent to our world by an evil witch cookie, so until we find their way home. They’ll be staying with us.”
Katie smiled and looked over at her mother. “Mom! This is the BEST GIFT EVER!” She cheered. “Better than any gift Holly has gotten me!”
Gabriella sighed. “Sweetie, I’m used to you having magic and getting your sister magical items, but this is concerning!” She exclaimed.
“Mom! I’m not just going to abandon them! I promised I’d help them find a way back home!” Holly yelled back.
Gabriella’s eyes widened in fear. Katie did too, but she ended up laughing. “Uh oh! Holly made a promise.” She sang, creepily.
Holly shot a glare at her sister, who giggled in reply.
“You promised them!?” Gabriella yelled.
Holly shrank down and whimpered. “Yeah.”
Gabriella groaned and put her hand over her forehead, and shook it. “Holly, I know how you are with promises, but this promise is too big to handle for you!”
“I know, but that’s why grandma is helping me!” Holly explained. Gabriella wasn’t convinced, causing Holly to sigh. “Okay, I know I’ve not been the best with keeping promises, but this time I am. We don’t know the spell to bring them back, but someone needs to care for them.”
Gabriella turned to the Beast Cookies. “We promise we won’t cause any problems.” Shadow Milk Cookie said, putting one hand up and the other behind his back.
“I can see it in your eyes, you’re the troublemaking one, so no need to promise you’ll be causing problems.” Gabriella said, giving a deadpan look.
Shadow Milk Cookie’s eyes widened. His mouth and hands dropped in shock. “I’m amazed someone saw right through that.” Burning Spice Cookie said, surprised.
Shadow Milk Cookie floated up to Holly. “Is everyone in your family just a deceit detector?” He whispered.
“Just me and my mom.” Holly replied, giving a smile.
Shadow Milk Cookie groaned and crossed his arms. Now, how was he going to cause chaos?
“Ignore Shadow Milk Cookie.” Eternal Sugar Cookie said, flying up to Gabriella. “Not all of us can cause chaos as he does,” she paused, realizing the only one would be Burning Spice Cookie, “well, unless provoked.”
“Hey!” Burning Spice Cookie snapped. Eternal Sugar Cookie giggled in reply,
Gabriella raised an eyebrow and looked at her oldest daughter. “Mom, please. If you want, I’ll be responsible for them, or whatever you say, I’ll do it, like not staying up late or doing my chores when asked.”
“Same here!” Katie exclaimed. “If you want me to get rid of my book on how to curse people or the creepy doll I used to carry around. I’ll do it!”
Gabriella sighed. “Alright, they can stay.” She said, Holly and Katie cheered happily. “But!”
“But…” Holly and Katie repeated, sounding disappointed. They knew their mother had a catch.
“I have some rules for our new guests.” Gabriella stated. She then faced the Beast Cookies, who stared at the woman in shock, except Mystic Flour and Silent Salt, who kept their expressions the same. Something that never happened before. “One, no magic in the house. Two, whatever I say goes. No talking back or saying no. I’ll give you three warnings. Finally, if you guys put Holly or Katie in any danger, you’ll regret it. Got it!?”
“Yeah, ma’am!” The Beast Cookies shouted.
“Good!” Gabriella said, smiling. The Beast Cookies felt scared seeing her go from scolding to smiling in one second. “Now, to start with living arrangements.”
“Ah! No need, mama.” Holly exclaimed. “I got their living arrangements settled! Grandma got me a dollhouse, and that’s where they’ll be sleeping.”
Gabriella sighed. “Well, that’s covered. I guess you can relax and have lunch.” She said, “I’m almost done with the 2nd sandwich, but do I need to make four more?”
“I can take a sandwich, Mom!” Katie exclaimed, raising her hand. Even though she had the mochi donuts earlier, Katie didn’t mind having a sandwich.
Gabriella smiled. “Alright, three sandwiches then!” She exclaimed. “Need anything else?” Everyone looked at one another and shook their heads. “Alright, I’ll get those sandwiches, and maybe tonight I’ll make something special for our new guests.” She paused, realizing these were sentient cookies. “Wait, you guys can eat?”
“Just about anything really, just as long as it’s not cookies.” Shadow Milk Cookie answered.
“Well,” Gabriella chuckled. “Then you’re in luck, my daughters will tell you my cooking is the best in the world!”
“She’s not lying! Her cooking is the best!” Holly exclaimed.
Shadow Milk Cookie narrowed his eyes. “We’ll see about that.” He said, crossing his arms.
Gabriella sighed, “I guess this house is gonna be lovely again.” She whispered. She walked to the kitchen to finish the second sandwich, which Holly requested before handing it to her daughter and the Beasts Cookies.
Holly took a piece of her sandwich and handed one to Shadow Milk Cookie. He stared at it for a moment before looking at the witch. “You’re the one who doesn’t believe my mom is a good cook, try it and you’ll see for yourself.” She explained.
Shadow Milk Cookie snatched the piece and roughly took a bite. He chewed a bit of it before realizing how good it was. Holly smiled, seeing Shadow Milk Cookie enjoying the sandwich before taking a bite of it too.
After swallowing his piece, Shadow Milk Cookie was nervous about asking for another one. He glanced over to his fellow beasts, who were enjoying the sandwich too.
“This is delicious! I never had a meal like this in forever!” Burning Spice Cookie exclaimed.
“Here you go.” Holly spoke up, snapping Shadow Milk Cookie out of his thoughts. He saw that Holly had another piece for him. “I saw how you enjoyed it, so I got you another one.”
Shadow Milk Cookie took the other piece, gently this time, and slowly ate. “Thanks.” He replied.
Holly smiled, seeing Shadow Milk Cookie slowly warm up to her. “Anytime, Lil’ Dude.” She replied, taking a bite.
“Jeez, that nickname is never going away, is it?” Shadow Milk Cookie asked with a groan.
Holly giggled. “Nope.”
