The Grinch X OC: A Human Visitor

Chapter 3: A Convinced Decision

  Brittany woke slowly, her eyes struggling open. She felt a draft of cold air hit her and pulled the blanket closer to her body to keep warm. Wait, blanket? When did she get that?

Now alert, she couldn't quite believe it. The dim lighting within the cave didn't hurt her eyes when they snapped open to scan her surroundings. Just like in the movie, funky looking contraptions lined the walls as well as lied around the area, hissing steam or rotating their ridiculously large cogs to resume whatever purpose they served. They emitted a low drone to fill the silence of the room, and she found it calming.

The blanket around her smelled slightly of mildew, but it wasn't enough to cringe. Once she unwrapped it from herself, she noticed how her fingers were covered in gauze, which was poorly wrapped, might she add. The brunette wiggled around to sit up straight and felt that her clothes were damp now instead of soaked like before. However, that didn't make her feel any less uncomfortable in them. When she thought about it, though, the girl didn't find much room to complain. It would've been awkward if she learned that her savior had changed her while she was vulnerable. Wait, savior? She never thought about it! That meant...!

Brittany's lips grew into a grin quite quickly, and she bit her lip in excitement. The Grinch had let her in! But...how? Why? She knew that his heart was far too small, and that meant he didn't care about anyone but himself and possibly Max. What made him take her, a stranger, into his own home and even go as far as to fix her up, give her a blanket, and give her his chair to sleep on? He could very well have let her die out there, or brought her in but dumped her into a corner somewhere.

Now curious, Brittany searched around for the certain green Who on her mind. Every part of the cave looked devoid of life, and the young adult wondered if he and Max had left entirely for some matter or another. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard a door open far off into the distance not long after. Some yelling and barking ensued before the door slammed closed heavily. The sounds died down as they came closer, but then the scraping of claws against the floor was heard. Brittany quickly pondered if she should pretend to be asleep or to stay up and meet them again. She chose the latter after thinking for a moment; it would be embarrassing to have the Grinch find out she was pretending. It was better to greet them head on, she thought.

So when Max scampered over to the sofa chair and rested his paws on one of the arms to prop himself up, a human hand lifted to let him smell her scent thoroughly for the first time. At first, Max was ecstatic that she was awake, but when her hand raised, his ears shifted back slightly in alarm. Brittany noticed this and gave the dog a warm smile. The animal cocked his head to one side, one ear flopping over. How cute!

He leaned in slowly to sniff her hand hesitantly, and when he deemed her no threat, his tail began to wag violently. High pitched yips and whines came from his mouth, and he sprinted around the chair in excitement before pausing to lick her shoes or hand every couple seconds. Brittany giggled softly and gently ran a hand over his head to calm him down.

"Hello, Max. It's nice to meet you."

She continued her movements when, suddenly, a shadow loomed over her and the chair from behind. A flash of fear ran through her for a moment as the girl slowly tilted her head back to look at the figure.

Once again, that same piercing yellow gaze met her curious brown one. The Grinch's furry form towered over her sitting one, a slight frown etched onto his green face. It was amazing how quickly he could win a staring contest; his stare was intimidating and forced Brittany to break eye contact for a second.

"Hello, Mr. Grinch," Brittany greeted him to break the uncomfortable silence. The Who didn't respond for a moment, instead searching her eyes for something, it seemed. At last, he stepped back but rounded the chair like a predator stalking their prey.