Sweet Tooth (A Murderer Love Story)

Chapter 2 - A Memory

•Penelope•

It was near the end of January, and a small girl was celebrating her 7th birthday. She was surrounded by many of her schoolmates, having invited all of her class.

Her caramel eyes shone happily as she made a wish and blew out her birthday candles. Her parents clapped the loudest, grinning from ear to ear. The young girl beamed as she got the first slice of cake, and began munching on it without a care in the world.

She chatted with her classmates and friends, telling jokes and sharing stories. The little blonde politely asked for more cake, and was delighted when her request was fulfilled. Her friends impatiently waited for her, asking her to play tag with them.

"It's okay. I'll join y'all in a little." She said, a slight lisp edging her words. Her friends nodded, reluctantly leaving her alone as she finished her cake, pale legs swinging happily.

Once full, Penelope left the table, looking around the park for her friends. Her gaze landed on a skinny boy who sat alone on a bench. She recognized him as one of her schoolmates, although they never talked much. He was always rather quiet, and didn't seem to have many friends, if any.

The girl marched over to the boy, her 'birthday girl' party hat bouncing on top of her head. She sat next to the boy on the bench, smoothing her pink skirt before turning to face the boy.

His skin was a shade of light brown, but it wasn't pale enough to be considered tan. He had choppy dark brown hair that covered most of his face. He leaned forward ever so slightly, his fingers gripping the edge of the bench as though he were uncomfortable.

"Hi! I'm Penelope!" The girl chirped, determined to be friends with this boy. He glanced in her direction, showing off nervous, coffee brown eyes.

"I know..." He murmured, forcing the girl to scoot closer so she could hear him. There was a pregnant pause between the two children, causing Penelope to cross her arms uncomfortably.

"Aren't you going to tell me your name?" She prodded, tilting her head to the side. She was frustrated when the boy simply shook his head, denying her question. "I'm nobody." He whispered, pulling his red scarf over his mouth.

She groaned, throwing out her hands and kicking her legs. "Fine, if you won't tell me, then I'll just have to find out for myself." Penelope huffed as she walked to the park, determination and stubbornness flowing through her veins.

The peachy girl strode up to the park, and began climbing up the side. Once she reached the top of the playground, she got comfortable in her spot before waving her free hand frantically, trying to grab everyone's attention. She frowned as no one payed any attention to her.

"Hey!" She called, leaning closer to the park as a strong gust of wind blew through the playground. A shiver creeped down her spine, but she refused to climb down yet. Realizing that not everyone had heard her, her frown deepened.

Penelope pursed her lips grumpily for a moment, thinking. Then, she screamed at the top of her lungs, finally drawing everyone's eyes to her. There was an eery silence as the adults peeked out from the pavilion, searching for the source of the scream.

The blonde waved excitedly at her parents and friends, and cleared her throat. "Does anyone know that boy's name?" She called down, projecting her little voice. Watching as everyone followed her outstretched finger, she met eyes with the little boy on the bench. His scarf had fallen from his mouth, and he gaped up at her, dumbfounded.

"Oh, that's Oliver." Someone called up to her. Penelope grinned as she heard this, "Thank you!" Once she had reached the ground again, her classmates returned to their games and conversations. Her parents rushed over, concern lingering in their eyes.

"Oh my gosh, Penelope! What were you thinking?" Cried her mother, kneeling in front of the child to wrap her arms around her.

"I wanted to know his name." She shrugged, finding nothing wrong with what she just did. Her mother pulled back, holding her at arms length.

"Don't ever do that again."

"Okay, okay."

"I'm serious, Penelope. Do you understand me?"

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes ma'am." Penelope said, itching to get back to Oliver. She smiled as her mother released her from her grasp, and skipped to the bench where the boy still sat. He watched her with interest, his scarf over his face again.

"Well, Oliver, Do you want to play tag with me and my friends?" She asked, a smug look plastered on her face. Oliver didn't respond for a while, and instead stared into her bright eyes.

"Why do you try so hard?" He wondered aloud as the impatient girl began pulling him off of the bench.

She stopped tugging on his hands for a moment, tilting her head as though it were obvious. "Duh. Because I want to. Besides, you seem like an interesting person." She smiled brightly, towing him to where her friends were playing tag.

"Hey guys! We have a new player!" Penelope exclaimed, using her free hand to gesture towards Oliver. Suddenly, one of her friends dashed towards the pair, causing the girl to run away. Although she knew what was happening, it didn't seem like Oliver had realized.

"Run, Oliver!" She yelled, giggling. The skinny boy seemed to understand in that moment, and sprinted away. Penelope stood still, surprised to see how fast Oliver was, that she didn't notice her friend running up to her.

She jumped a little as she was tagged, and laughed as she realized what had just happened. Immediately, she followed Oliver, as he was closest,  just barely able to tag his back.

"Tag, you're it!" She sang, running away from Oliver, who seemed shocked that he had been tagged. He wasn't the only one who was fast.

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Penelope groaned as she slowly came to her senses. The early sun streamed through her blinds, mercilessly attacking her eyes. She frowned and snuggled in to her blanket more, rolling over to avoid the light.

She jolted up as she fell on to the floor, unpleasantly surprised to find that she had fallen asleep on the couch instead of her bed. She huffed, annoyed, and flopped back on to the floor.

She hid her eyes in the crook of her elbow, wishing to go back to sleep. But unfortunately, due to her rude awakening, she found herself unable to enter dreamland again.

After a while longer, she pushed herself up before entering her bathroom. Penelope glanced at her otherworldly appearance in the mirror, cringing at the tangled mess that was her hair. She quickly combed through the tangles before jumping through the shower, washing any grime from the day before from her body.

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1151 words
Hiya! It's the author, just hoping that you liked this chapter, even if it was mostly a dream. Like I said, polite constructive criticism is welcome, and I hope you come back for the next chapter!
Estimated Update: Later today or tomorrow.