Creepy Creature's Arc

Chapter 5 of 5

Creepy Creature woke to footsteps on the center path. Not the girl's light tread. Heavy boots, deliberate and angry. He pressed himself against the cave wall and watched a man climb toward the entrance, kicking colored pebbles aside as he came. Allan stopped at the lollipop pole and pulled something from his pocket. A wrapped candy, red and gold foil catching the morning light. He turned it over in his palm, then shoved it back and crossed his arms. "I followed your trail," he said to the cave entrance. "Melissa thinks you're her friend. I think you're using her." His voice was tight. "The wedding is in three days. You stay away from it. You stay away from her." He pulled out a length of chain with a heavy lock and set it on the ground near the pole. "This is what happens if you don't listen. I'll make sure you can't leave this mountain." Creepy Creature's chest went cold. The girl had told someone. But not about the crystals or the purple one hidden under leaves. She'd told them about the paths, the lollipops, the invitation. And they'd sent Allan to close it all down. He stepped out of the cave. Allan flinched but held his ground. "Melissa invited me," Creepy Creature said. His voice came out quieter than he meant. "She asked me to come. I made the paths so people could find me. So they'd know I was here." He looked at the chain on the ground, then at Allan's face. "I don't want to scare anyone anymore. I just wanted them to see." Allan stared at him for a long moment. Then he picked up the chain and walked past the lollipop pole to where the path split toward the carved wooden bridge that crossed the stream below. He hung the chain on the bridge railing where anyone climbing up would see it first. "Melissa can invite who she wants," he said without turning around. "But if you come, you sit in the back. You don't make a scene. And after the ceremony, you leave." He started down the path, then stopped. "She thinks you're lonely. Maybe you are. But don't mistake her kindness for something more." He disappeared down the trail. Creepy Creature stood at the cave entrance and looked at the chain hanging from the bridge. He'd been invited. But Allan had drawn a line around how much he could matter. The girl had told them about the paths, and they'd come — not to see him, but to set limits. He went back inside and sat near the purple crystal. He would go to the wedding. He would sit in the back. And maybe that was enough, or maybe it would hurt more than staying away. But at least now he knew: being seen didn't mean being wanted.