Something a Little Sweet (Open!)

[Script]

She laughed warmly, letting her legs swing a bit where they dangled off the counter. "Well, the name's Maggie Martin and I'm from Boston. Moved her not too long ago with my Dad. He needed help with money, and I think we were both ready to drive each other to the loony bin, so I came here." She lifted a shoulder. "There's not too much to tell, really. I'm actually pretty boring." She flashed him a grin. "But my baked goods make up for it, I guess."

[Goblin]

"Absolutely," he assured her. He couldn't detect any deep, dark secrets--and he wasn't trying, he reminded himself firmly. She was a perfectly nice girl, and that was all he needed to know. "Well, I grew up on the Upper West Side, didn't like it much, ran away with my sister when I was twelve, and we bounced from place to place for the next four years. Ended up here."

And it was a good thing she probably didn't analyze everyone the way he did, because there were enough holes in that story to drive a carriage through.

[Script]

She titled her head a little at him. There was clearly more to it than the simplicity he presented, but she wasn't about to push on the guy. Not yet, anyway. Her fatal flaw might be that she had a thing for brooding men with troubled pasts. She was a fixer by nature, and she could already feel that itch to fix the one in front of her.

"Seems like this is a good place to end up. Who's your sister? What's she like?"

[Goblin]

"Her name's Clara, but she's calling herself Wraith now." He made a face; he still hadn't warmed up to it. "She's a sweet kid...once you get to know her, anyway. Really shy, though, and she likes to be alone a lot. Even when she's around, you don't even see her half the time."

[Script]

She gave him a little smile. "Seems like both of you like staying off the radar, more or less. Guess I oughta feel honored you're taking the time to talk to lil ol' me." Deep down she was terribly curious about him, and his sister for that matter, but she told herself she'd figure it out eventually.

[Goblin]

"Hey, I talk to people!" he laughed. "Just...not so much lately. Clara's been bugging me about it, so she'll be happy to hear you and me had a whole conversation," he said with a smile. In truth, 'staying off the radar' summed up him and Wraith perfectly, though his sister somehow managed to accomplish a hell of a lot while remaining under the radar. "So you ain't met anyone else yet?"

[Script]

She laughed, pleased that he seemed cheerful enough. "Well, I met Specs. We talked a minute. Guess he's upset cuz his girl's sick. Shame, he was nice."

[Goblin]

He nodded, frowning slightly. "That's what I heard. It's too bad, Tag's a nice girl. Kinda shy. Wonder if anyone's taking care of her cat." He'd almost forgotten about the day he teased Tag Along and gave her that kitten. A lot had happened since then, to say the least. "I've seen or heard of pretty much everyone, but I've only talked to a handful...Tag, Tree, Zippy, this guy named Risk...and a girl named Sapphy, who really doesn't like me for some reason."

[Script]

She nodded over concern for the girl she'd only heard about, but then tilted her head at him. "She doesn't like you? Really? I can't imagine why anyone would like you." She flashed him a bright smile. "You're nice, and easy to talk to." And if she thought he was easy on the eyes, she wasn't going to say so.

[Goblin]

"Well, that must be 'cause you are too, and you've got such superior baking skills," he said with a grin. Thinking of Sapphy, he shrugged. "She thought I spent too much time trying to figure people out. She might've been right about that. Also, she was asking questions about my sister, and I...might've overreacted a little. I looked out for her all the time when we were kids, and it's a hard habit to break."

While he was perfectly casual on the outside, Goblin was almost panicking at the amount of honesty that was coming out of his mouth. The past couple weeks had clearly made him desperate for some kind of outlet, and this Script was a damn good listener.

[Script]

The oven dinged and Script hopped off the counter to turn it off, taking out the cookie sheet to cool. "Sounds like you might need another cookie." She took one of the cool ones and broke it in half, offering to him and taking the other piece for herself. "When it comes to looking out for family, nobody can fault you for wanting to be protective." She lifted her shoulder. "I'm an only child, so I guess I always missed having somebody look out for me like that."

[Goblin]

Goblin took his half of the cookie, but he looked at her before he bit into it. "That might've been lucky for you. Means you learned to take care of yourself."

[Script]

She nodded, licking a bit of chocolate from the corner of her mouth. "Maybe. But it's nice sometimes, ya know. To have somebody to care about. Even better to have somebody care about you."

[Goblin]

Goblin's mind went in all sorts of directions at that statement, and he wasn't about to talk about any of them. "Well, if it helps, I think you're pretty great so far. If I didn't have to sell the next edition, I'd prob'ly sit here chatting and eating cookies with you all day," he said with a smile.

[Script]

She flashed him a smile, playing with the end of a piece of her hair. "Don't suppose I could convince you to stay, huh? I could make brownies if it helps."