15Hey guys...
I've been trying to recover from a horrible bout of writer's block, which is why I haven't updated my other stories... but I'm getting there. :)
I wrote this little one-shot yesterday as an attempt to ease back into my usual writing flow, and like I said before, I'm getting there.
Read and Review!
The little goldfish swam across the tank, slowing down just long enough to tuck into a little manila-colored, red-roofed plastic house. He peered out at Logan for a moment before flitting to the other end of its home.
Logan smiled and rested his chin on his wrists. He had been sitting there for about twenty minutes, watching the little creature go about his simple activities; thinking about nothing and yet everything.
Kendall had given him the fish the weekend before; a prize from a church-parking lot carnival that's "House of Mirrors" had left James traumatized, and that's corn-dog stand had forced Carlos to sleep with his chin in a bucket. But that Saturday night on the living room floor, before Mrs. Knight had to run next door in search of a bottle of Pepto, Kendall had taken inventory of all the prizes they had collected: rubber balls, light-up yoyos and brightly-colored water guns, an enormous stuffed moose that Katie immediately claimed, a cowboy hat, a retractable light-saber and at least a pound of assorted candy. And of course, a little plastic bag of water harboring a tiny goldfish.
Kendall immediately shoved the cowboy hat onto his head. "Well, it's not Lord Prankerton's crown," he mused thoughtfully as he unwrapped a Tootsie Roll. "What are you keeping?"
Logan shrugged. "I don't know, maybe the light-saber." He reached for the toy and turned it on, smiling when it glowed green. "I should hide it before Carlos decides to go 'alien hunting' at two in the morning."
Kendall chuckled. "But what if aliens do exist? Then you'd have go hunt them." He looked at Logan for a moment, and in the next second, the brunette found the cowboy hat being clapped down onto his head. "You can be a space cowboy!" Kendall cheered, "Yippie-yi-yay-yippie-yi-yo-yippie-yi-yo."
Logan rolled his eyes, but he kept his smile. He switched the light-saber off and rolled it under the couch. He then gestured toward the goldfish. "Didn't you win that at the 'Break-A-Plate'?"
Kendall nodded. He carefully picked up the bag and looked at it for a moment. "It probably sucks being a fish—especially when you're just a prize at a carnival."
"Not if people take care of you." The brunette took off the cowboy hat and tossed it onto the floor. "Then I suppose it's nice."
Kendall sighed. "But I suck at taking care of things..." He popped the Tootsie Roll into his mouth.
"No you don't," Logan snorted. He instinctively scooted a little closer to his best friend. "If you did, I would have died a long time ago."
Kendall grinned. "Yeah, I guess so," he said not-so-modestly.
They watched the fish swim around in a little cramped circle for a few minutes, during which a loud retching noise came from the bedrooms and was immediately followed by James's shriek of "MY BLANKET!" A couple of minutes later, Mrs. Knight ran out the front door.
Logan shook his head. "I told him it was a bad idea to eat eight corn-dogs in one sitting." He gestured toward the little fish again. "Speaking of food, when do you think was the last time they fed this little guy?"
Kendall shrugged. "This morning? What are we gonna feed him? We don't have any fish food."
Logan pursed his lips for a second. "Camille has an angel fish, so we can get some food from her," he said as Mrs. Knight hurried back through the door and into a bedroom. "And we can put him in a vase for the time being, and tomorrow—"
He stopped.
Kendall was just smiling at him, and it was Logan's favorite smile: the "I love you guys so much" smile; twinkly eyes and obnoxious dimples.
The brunette blushed and looked away.
Kendall didn't seem to notice—or if he did, he said nothing of it. "Here," he said as he carefully handed him the bag. "You keep him."
Logan first looked at the fish, then at Kendall. "Really?"
The blond nodded. "Really."
And they had sat there for a long time—just how long, Logan couldn't remember—until Mrs. Knight had called for her son to bring her a bucket and the roll of paper towels. And of course, the little creature was fed and tucked away in its temporary lodgings until the brunette had managed to get an old fish tank from Buddha Bob: setting it up with an array of aquatic plants, blue and gray pebbles and a little plastic house. Essentially, the fish was spoiled, especially in the name it bore: Donald.
Kendall's middle name.
Or, as Carlos insisted on calling him, "Don Aldo."
Logan smiled as he watched the little goldfish weave throughout the plants. The only thing Donald was missing was a best friend; another goldfish to keep him company and to peek out of the plastic house with.
The brunette unfolded his arms and stood up. Sure, the carnival had packed up and left, but there was a pet shop a couple of blocks down the street with an enormous tank of goldfish.
He was sure he would find a Hortense in there somewhere.