Grandpa

Independence Daze

"Okay, here we go! Don't you think you guys are getting a little bit old for milk and cookies?" Mrs. Morgan asked.

"Maybe. But you're never too old for a cookie sandwich," Benny took three cookies at once and bit into them.

"Just when I think you've found every way there is to be disgusting, you find another one," Sarah rolled her eyes at Benny.

"Yeah, I know, right? Grow up, Benny," Ethan agreed, hesitant to bite into his own.

"Hello?" Grandma walked into the room.

"Oh, hi Evelyn! Come on in!" Mrs. Morgan said cheerfully. "What brings you here?"

"Well, I just wanted to make sure that Benny isn't making a mess," Benny's grandma used her magic to knock the milk to the ground. "Oh! Do you have any napkins?"

"Stay put, no problem. I'll get some," Mrs. Morgan walked away.

"Grandma!" Benny hissed in embarrassment.

"Well? What do you have to say for yourselves?" Benny's grandma glared at us.

I looked at Benny. What was going on? "It's an easy explanation. Sarah didn't believe in trolls and Ethan bet me I couldn't conjure one. What was I supposed to do?"

"This is what you were doing while I was at Rory's?" I gritted my teeth in annoyance.

"You didn't conjure a troll, you conjured a toll. It cost me five bucks to get out of my living room," Benny's grandma sighed.

"Ha! Told ya you couldn't do it!" Ethan smiled triumphantly.

"Here we go," Mrs. Morgan walked in.

Benny's grandma made the cookie plate flip over, and then scolded Benny. "It's okay. I'll get the dust-thingy. It's okay."

"Well, at least I conjured a toll booth. Can one of you two do that?" Benny asked Sarah and Ethan.

"No, all I do is fight everything with (Y/n) while you hide. Like, you hide every time that stupid robot dentist movie comes on," Sarah retorted.

"Hey! Cyberdentist came to this planet to fill our cavities with pain! At least I'm not hiding from myself," Benny said harshly.

"Benny, that's a new low," I scoffed, looking at my cookies.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sarah asked.

"That you're a vampire afraid to drink blood," Ethan snorted.

"And you're so perfect!" Sarah argued.

"I'm just saying. Between Benny's misspelt magic and your smash-happy strategy, you'd both fail without (Y/n) and I's bulletproof genius plans," Ethan argued.

"Stop!" Grandma whisper-yelled. "You four are a team! I sense a coming darkness. A force so powerful, so evil, that none of you stand a chance against it alone. Only by working together can-" Grandma stopped when she noticed everyone except me on their phones. "You have to work together!"

"We will," I nodded.

"Did you guys hear that thunder?" Mrs. Morgan asked.

"What are you afraid of, (Y/n)?" Sarah asked.

"I have monophobia. And the world ending, but that's not going to happen," I shook my head.

~~~

I stretched and yawned, sitting up from my bed. Same boring walls as usual. I played music as I got dressed. I smiled as Rory and I's favorite song came on. I danced to it as I finished putting my hair up in a ponytail.

I heard a crash outside and panicked, running outside. My eyes widened at the scene in front of me. Buildings were on fire, smoke clouded the sky.

"Wake up. Wake up. Wake up!" I screamed scaredly. I looked down at my wrist. Where was my bracelet? I started to run as the fire spread everywhere.

I hid in a warehouse, sitting against the wall. I started crying. I haven't cried in a while. It felt nice, but it also hurt.

"(Y/n)? (Y/n), where are you?"

I looked around for Sarah. She wasn't there. "Where are you?" I sobbed. "I'm alone."

"No, you're not. Where do you want to meet?" Sarah asked. "School cafeteria?"

"I can't meet you anywhere. Everything's blazed," I said, looking up. I noticed the fire starting at the opposite wall. "And I'm about to be too." I started running in the direction of the school. It was done burning, but it was almost burned to the ground.

"I see you," Sarah said.

I turned and saw her, along with Benny and Ethan, standing in the middle of where the cafeteria would be. I ran toward them, sobbing in relief. Sarah held out my bracelet and I took it. It tugged me into a rift, where everything was normal.

"I was alone, and the world was on fire-"

"I know, it's okay," Sarah cut me off. "We're out of the worlds."

I looked around and saw that people were passing by us. Rory ran up to me and hugged me in relief. I hugged him back, wanting to cry.

"It's okay, I got you," Rory assured me.

"Good, 'cause I'm never letting you go for a while."