Sneak sneak sneak

[shadowscall]

It probably would've been a whole lot simpler if Eli had just introduced Kai to his family a while ago, passing him off as a boy he'd met in town. Instead he'd decided to keep him a secret, taking special care to not get caught when they went on their little adventures offworld. Ray had been the exception; Eli just hadn't been able to resist introducing his favorite magic teacher in all the worlds to his best friend in all of them...

Okay, second best friend. Larkin was his first and always would be, but Kai was a really, really close second. 'Jem was coming in right after that, and Ronan was pretty neat too.

In any case, if he'd come clean about it in the beginning, he and Kai wouldn't have been sneaking their way up the stairs to his room on the second floor.

"...For bugs. We're acting like we're in a castle full of Heartless so you can show me your bugs."

It was a whisper, but it still carried Kai's disbelief. Eli paused and turned back to grin, his answer just as quiet.

"Not my bugs, the notebooks on my bugs. I've studied some really great ones, you know."

"You're the weirdest guy I know."

"Thanks for the compliment."

Eli snickered, then continued up the stairs as Kai poked him in the back. Once they reached the second floor, both stood frozen, listening. Eli's room was at the end of the hall, and the doors between were all shut...

Except one.

Larkin Eli mouthed at Kai, and gestured for him to follow as quietly as he could manage. If they were lucky, they'd be able to slip right by.