Hatchetfield Stories

Bats

This entire story is for emzazzy2004

I WROTE SOMETHING HAPPY HOW DID THAT HAPPEN-

It's past midnight and I'm tired oops

No trigger warnings :)

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"Should we go home after our ice cream?" Paul asked, walking into the zoo restaurant.

"Nope, I still want to see some more animals!" Emma had so much energy that she could easily fit in with all the kids who were also having fun at the zoo. But Paul didn't say that, because he was not stupid. That girl was the shortest person he knew, but she was also one of the strongest people he knew. She could easily beat him up if she wanted to.

"Well, where do you want to go next?"

They were standing in line for some ice cream, and Emma pulled out her map. She accidentally punched the woman in front of them while unfolding the map. "Sorry!" she apologized quickly when the woman raised an eyebrow. Her eyes scanned the map, and Paul smiled, it made him happy to see her having so much fun. "Ohhh!" Emma exclaimed, "I want to see the bats!"

"Really?" Paul asked, "Haven't you seen enough in our backyard?"

"No, that's different! Can we go there? Please?"

Paul ordered two ice creams, before turning to Emma. "Of course we can. Where is it?" Emma showed him the map, pointing at the cave where bats lived. "Em, that's on the other side of the zoo. The zoo closes at seven, and it's already six o'clock."

Emma looked at the ground, "Please?"

Paul chuckled, "Fine, but we can't stay for too long."



They walked to the cave. Well, Paul walked, and Emma was running back and forth, complaining that he was too slow. The zoo was big, and it took them about twenty minutes to get to the other side. Emma ran inside, holding Paul's hand and pulling him with her. Emma pressed her hands against the glass, ignoring the annoyed cleaner that just cleaned the window and was now mopping the floor. Emma looked at the bats and pointed at one. "Look, Paul! That one is eating! It's so cute!"

Paul stood next to her and looked at the bat she showed him, which was eating an orange. Paul smiled and walked towards the sign that had information about the animals. He had to squint to read it in the darkness of the cave. "Wow, Em, did you know bats use their voice to locate other objects or animals? And that they're as good as blind?"

Emma chuckled, "Duh, of course, I know that. Everyone knows that."

"Well, I didn't... Why are you so obsessed with them anyway? You see them in our garden all the time."

Emma looked through the glass again, staring at some of the sleeping bats, "I just like them, look at how they're sleeping. I wanna sleep upside down too!"

Paul laughed, "Oh, Emma Perkins is turning into a vampire."

"Ha. Bold of you to assume I'm not already a vampire."

"Vampires aren't real."

Emma slowly walked towards him. "How do you know?" She jumped in his arms, putting her legs around his waist, and she softly nibbled on the skin of his neck.

Paul giggled, "Em! That tickles!"

The janitor stared at them, then shrugged and walked away. Paul fell against the wall, still laughing hysterically and trying to get Emma off him. Emma didn't move but instead rested her head on Paul's shoulder. "Paul, I'm tired."

Paul laughed, "I noticed."

A voice sounded through a speaker, "The zoo will close in thirty minutes, please go to the exit."

Paul put Emma down, "Let's go, Em." Emma turned around to look at the bats one last time, before grabbing Paul's hand and walking towards the exit.

*** *** ***

"Did you have a fun time today?" Paul asked, sitting down on the bench in their garden and handing Emma one of the drinks he'd grabbed.

"Yeah! I think I fucked up my leg though."

"Do you want to go inside?"

Emma sighed, "I was hoping I could see another bat. But it's already too dark and I'm freezing. So yeah, let's go."

Paul grabbed her hand and Emma pulled herself up. She walked towards the door with a slight limp. Paul smiled at her. "Why are you so obsessed with bats anyway?"

"I don't know, seeing them fly just makes me really happy and I just like how they sleep upside down. I wish I could sleep like that."

"Why don't you try it?" Paul joked.

Emma snorted, "Do you really think my leg could hold that much weight?"

"No... How about we go to bed early today?"

"Great! I'm so tired."

*** *** ***

When they could finally lay down in bed, Paul turned to face Emma. "Em? Do you really believe in vampires?"

"Ha. Of course not. But when I kill my enemies I will definitely drink their blood." She laughed at her own joke.

"Em, you're too soft to even have enemies."

"Ted's pretty annoying."

"Yeah, but would you kill him?"

"We'll see about that."

With that said, she turned around, and within a few minutes, Paul could hear her snoring softly. He listened to her breathing, before drifting off to sleep himself.