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"Coraline! Your friend is here!" Mel Jones called from the front door.
"Are you ever going to bother to learn his name?" Coraline called back as she made her way down the stairs.
"Nope," Her mother replied, opening the door.
Wybie looked up at Coraline as she ran over, smiling shyly and waving.
"Well, what are you waiting for, Wyborn? Get in here!" She motioned for him to do so, and he nodded, looking a little less nervous.
"Right, sorry, I-I've never been to anyone's house before," He told her, stepping into the house.
"Let me get your coat," Mel said, more of a command than a polite offer.
Wybie slipped off his oversized black coat, and Mel took it and quickly regretted it. It was covered in dirt and what seemed to be oil of some kind, and there wasn't really anywhere to put it without getting his mess everywhere. Furthermore, he didn't wipe his shoes on the doormat, and tracked mud into the house.
The kids didn't seem too concerned, though, as Wybie thanked Mrs. Jones and followed Coraline to the livingroom. A television set had been put up, a pretty decent one at that. The leader plopped down on the couch and patted the couch down in search of the remote. The other pointed at the spot beside her, silently asking if he was supposed to sit down.
Coraline rolled her eyes. "Uh, duh, Wybie. What, did you think you're supposed to sit on the floor?"
"I don't know, I just wanted to be sure."
The girl smirked. "Just 'cause you smell like a dog doesn't mean I'm going to treat you like one."
After finding the remote, the two sat beside each other and began watching a scary movie. They only thought it would be appropriate to watch one about a haunted doll that eats children. The whole movie, Coraline pointed out how much better she'd be in the situation and how she'd handle it better, while Wybie was almost completely hidden under his blanket. Sure, he had his moments of bravery, but the fact that he couldn't help the movie's protagonist, as well as this doll being way worse than one that just spies on you, frightened him. At every jumpscare, he'd help and grab onto his movie partner. She acted annoyed with this, but it made her feel nice that he looked to her for comfort.
About 3/4 through the movie, Wybie stood up and shuffled away from the couch.
"B-Be right back, gotta use the, uh, bathroom. Don't pause it for me."
As Wybie ran off in search of the restroom, Coraline shrugged. She couldn't tell if he actually needed to go, or if he was making an excuse to go hide and cry for a few minutes. Either way, she felt like it was his loss and that he was missing out.
When he returned, Coraline was no where to be found. Slowly approaching the couch, Wybie glance around the room, confused as to where the bluenette had disappeared to. Suddenly, two very cold hands quickly slipped under his shirt and pressed against his back.
Naturally, he screamed and spun around to fend off his attacker, or, more likely, to get the hands off of him and see who did it.
Of course, he was met with Coraline wearing a mischievous grin. Knowing it was just her, he relaxed, and crossed his arms, pouting. This earned a laugh from his "attacker".
" I'm sorry, it's just that I realized how cold my hands were while you were gone. I couldn't resist!"
Wybie rolled his eyes and smiled, shaking his head lightly. He'd never do the same thing to anyone, both because he's not much of a prankster and because he's almost always wearing gloves. Can't do it if your hands are warm.
After the movie was dinnertime, and Charlie put a little more effort into his cooking today for the guest. Coraline appreciated it, and told Wybie that he should come over more often.
"Did you make sure to make your bed so it's nice for him, too?" Mel asked, turning to look at Coraline.
She gave her a puzzled look in return, tilting her head. "What do you mean, for him?"
"What, do you really think I'm going to let you make him sleep on the floor?"
"Why not?"
Mel raised a brow and crossed her arms. "Coraline, you know that boy has back problems."
Coraline looked at Wybie. She admitted, especially without his big jacket, it was easy to tell something was off about the way he held himself. He seemed to always be hunched over. She never asked him about it, since she just assumed he had bad posture, or held himself low because she was intimidating. She ruled the latter out on the account that they weren't wolves, but the first seemed likely.
"What IS up with your back, anyway?" She asked him, and he looked up from his plate to face her.
Wybie tilted his head, mumbling a "Hmm?" through his casserole.
"Why are you always hunched over?" She continued, imitating his slouching posture.
"Oh, I have, uh," He hesitated, messing with his plate before continuing, "I have Kyphosis."
Although she feels like she's heard that before, likely in health class, Coraline wasn't completely sure she knew what it was.
"What's that?" She asked, tilting her head.
"It means the upper part of my spine is curved," Wybie answers, slouching further, "like a hunchback."
"Like a cool hunchback," She corrected, "Who does all the mad scientist work himself."
Wybie was somewhat surprised by Coraline's response, but was grateful for it. He smiled, and did in return.
After dinner, Coraline led Wyborn to her room. She didn't feel the need to show him around, since she'd dragged him in here not long ago. Besides, he only needed to know where the bed was, and that was a little obvious.
The two slipped under the covers, Coraline facing with her back to the other so he couldn't see her face. She couldn't help but blush. She was sure Wybie would have done the same, but he didn't. His darker skin tone masked any blush that might've been on his face, so he didn't need to hide. Coraline crossed her arms, wishing that she didn't have to hide. She felt like she looked rude.
After she was sure he'd fallen asleep, Coraline sighed and layed back so that she was facing the ceiling. Just when she was starting to relax, she was startled back awake by Wybie wrapping an arm around her. He looked to still be asleep, though.
She groaned, but didn't move, instead just mumbling, "he's a cuddler. Of course he is, he doesn't have any friends."
Eventually, she managed to fall asleep.
The next morning, Coraline woke up and found herself face-to-face with Wyborn. She managed to stifle her Yelp of surprise, not wanting to wake him. When she attempted to quietly leave the bed, she found that they had managed to embrace in their sleep, and were holding each other. Cuddling.
As if her racing thoughts were loud enough to wake him, it was at that moment that Wybie's pale green eyes blinked open.Seeing how close he and Coraline were, he managed to blush enough for it to be seen, and it was clear to tell that he held back a scream as well.
Quickly, the two seperated, each sitting on the opposite side of the bed from the other.