The Love Life of Victor Frankenstein

The Girl Next Door

After breakfast, Victor went out to the backyard with Sparky. He was throwing a baseball around for the terrier to playfully chase and catch, but Victor couldn't help but feel a little solemn. Ever since his first day on the baseball team and Sparky's death, he didn't know what to think of the sport anymore. But here he was, throwing the ball around and letting his beloved dog happily catch it like nothing has changed. He still couldn't deny that this was his dog's favorite game since he was a puppy. If Sparky is able to even request playing fetch after the events that have just occurred, then Victor can comply.

The sound of a door opening and closing could be heard close by and Sparky looked towards the small gap in the fence. He barked enthusiastically and ran towards the gate, wagging his tail in an excited manner; Victor stood up and followed his dog to the gate. The terrier put his face up to the hole as he continued wagging his tail, high-pitched barking came from the other side of the fence. Victor smiled and walked up to the fence; he reached up, grasped the top of the fence, and pulled himself over to see over the gate. He looked down and saw Elsa's black poodle Persephone sniffing at Sparky's head peeking through the fence; she barked happily at the terrier's presence.

Victor looked up at Mayor Bergermeister's backyard and smirked; of course, the Mayor would have beautiful green, clean-cut grass with unscathed flowers and shrubs all around. Victor glanced over to his right and was surprised to find Elsa Van Helsing standing by the back door staring at Victor. Surprised, he let go of the fence and fell backward.

"Whoa! Oof!" He cried as he landed on his backside, hitting the ground with a thud.

"Victor?"

He could hear her voice of concern and footsteps through the grass.

"Victor, are you okay?" Elsa put her hands on the fence and looked over to find Victor.

She saw Victor stand up quickly and pat the back of his pants with his hands.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, yeah! I-I'm fine." He laughed nervously.

"Are you sure?" She asked concerned. Victor walked over to the fence and pulled himself up and looked at Elsa peeking over.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. Why?" Victor asked quickly, clearly embarrassed.

"Because I heard your voice, followed by a thud. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Oh, well... I'm fine."

"Good... Why were you peeking over the fence anyway?" She asked.

"Oh-I uh-well Sparky, he uh-he was just looking through the hole in the fence and I wanted to see what he was..." Victor looked into Elsa's eyes and trailed off. "...looking at..."

Elsa looked over at Persephone sitting in front of Sparky, their noses touching; she smiled softly and tilted her head. Victor had saved Persephone and saved herself that Friday night... and she never officially thanked him for it. Elsa turned back at Victor suddenly; he pulled his head back at her sudden action, startled again.

"Whoa!" Victor exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry." Elsa said.

"No, it's okay." Victor replied, calming down.

"Victor? You know... I never got to thank you and Sparky." Elsa blushed, looking away and back at Victor.

"For what?" He wasn't focusing, increasing Elsa's embarrassment.

"For saving me and Persephone from that mutant rat and that vampire-cat thing... and from plummeting to our death off of a burning windmill on Dutch Day."

"Oh that..." Victor blushed. "You were in trouble and I was worried..."

Victor stopped mid-sentence, "It was nothing."

He looked down, a blush forming on his cheeks.

"You saved our lives that night, TWICE. That was very brave of you, Victor." Elsa cooed.

"I-I didn't want you to get hurt." Victor smiled bashfully.

"Thank you." Elsa said softly.

The two of them looked at the other with interest for what felt like forever but was only a few seconds. Victor's arms began to shake under his weight and suddenly he fell back onto his feet. He saw Elsa pull away from his view.

"Um... Elsa?" Victor called her name and pulled himself up over the fence once again.

"Yeah?" She turned and looked up at him.

"I was wondering... I mean if you'd like to, would you... like to walk to school with me on Monday?" He asked nervously, ignoring the shakiness in his arms. Elsa's eyes widened before she smiled back at Victor, shyly rubbing her forearm.

"...Yeah, I'd like that." She replied.

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Great! I-I mean... cool."

Victor smiled and fell back again and landed on the grass once again. Sparky pulled his head out of the fence and turned to look at his master. He barked and ran up to him. Victor sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his head. Sparky ran up to him and began licking his face.

"You okay?" Elsa called out once again.

Victor faked a smile as the girl peeked over the fence.

"Yeah." He groaned, still rubbing his head. "Just fine."

Elsa chuckled and pulled away. "I'll see you later."

"See ya..."

Sparky looked over at the whole in the fence and watched Persephone disappear from his sight before looking back at Victor and licking his face once again. However, Victor was undeterred by his dog's actions; he just kept looking at the fence in a daze.

"Just fine..." He said to himself.