Hide and Seek

Fandom: Coraline
Contains WybiexCoraline
Rating: K+

Hope ya enjoy!


'Once again, another boring day of school,' Coraline thought to herself as she rode up the driveway of the Pink Palace.

It had been about 3 months since her “Other World” adventure and every day she played with her new friend, Wybie.  And after this extremely boring day of school, she was looking forward to it.

The car came to a stop and Coraline jumped out. As always, the Cat was already there, rubbing up against her leg. She bent down to pet it and it started purring, grateful for her company.

She ran up the stairs of the porch and into the house with the Cat following right behind. She went into her room to change out of her hideous gray uniform, and the Cat waited patiently at the door for her.

She discarded the uniform onto the floor and pulled out her exploring outfit: her raincoat, rainboots, sweater, jeans, and fairly-new orange and green gloves.

She opened her bedroom door and followed the Cat downstairs.

She walked outside and inhaled the sweet smell of freshly fallen rain. There were still puddles everywhere and Coraline jumped in all of them, occasionally splashing the Cat on the way.

She skipped past the garden, into the woods, and into the clearing, where the well was. The well was their meeting place and also where they had first met. Even though the well still made her slightly scared, she was a brave girl; she tried not to think about it.

She sat down patiently on a tree stump, took off her raincoat, and picked up the Cat. She gently stroked it in her lap and looked around.

Wybie was never late; in fact, he was always early. He was always home from school before she was.

Her mind wandered off onto thoughts about Wybie.

Wybie had changed in the last few months. He was more comfortable around her and didn’t stutter as much, but he still had his moments.

She sighed and turned her attention to the Cat, which was now sitting at her feet.

“Do you know where Wybie is?” she asked him.

The Cat simply did nothing, with the same blank stare on his face.

She sighed again, looked around once more, and occupied herself with picking the leaves off a stick she had found. It wasn’t poison oak this time, thankfully. Wybie had taught her which sticks were safe to touch.

A slight rustling sound brought Coraline out of her thoughts. She glanced behind her and saw the slightest move in the bushes. She turned back around slowly and checked her surroundings.

The Cat sprang back into her lap and seemed to comfort her. She continued to stroke the Cat and remained calm.

Besides, it was probably just the wind.

As soon as she reassured herself, she heard a very deep breathing coming from behind her; it reminded her of Darth Vader’s for a moment.

She slowly began to turn around and found herself face to face with three glowing green eyes.

As soon as she saw them, she screamed and jumped so hard that she fell onto the ground, even though she knew what it was.

Sitting on the tree stump was an eleven year old boy staring down at her in his homemade skull mask and his usual dark outfit. It was a sight she had seen a million times before, but for some reason, it still scared her.

He lifted up his mask on the top of his head to reveal his normal face and proud grin that was plastered across it.

He chuckled at her expression and waved down to her. “Hey Jonesy.”

Coraline, who was still on the ground, glared up at him. “You know that still scares me!”

She stood up, brushed herself off, and put her hand on her heart. “Cripes almighty! My heart is beating like crazy!”

“Oh! I wanna feel!” Wybie ripped off his mask and placed it on the stump.

Without warning, Wybie jumped off, grabbed her wrists, and put the side of his face on her chest.

Coraline jumped and could feel heat rush to her cheeks at his sudden contact, but stood still so he could listen.

“Wow! I really did scare you, didn’t I?!” He let go of her and took a step back. He seemed pleased with himself.

Coraline looked down at the ground so Wybie couldn’t see her blush then looked back up at him when she thought it was gone.

“So…what’re we doing today, Jonesy?” He put on her favorite crooked smile for her.

That smile was her weakness. She had always loved it. It made her feel warm inside, even though it still had that boyish edge to it.

She shrugged, “I don’t know…why don’t we play a game?”

“Ok! What kind of game?”

“I don’t know…” she looked down at the Cat. It was jumping around behind trees, almost like it was trying to hide from them.

“I know!” Coraline threw her arms in the air, which startled Wybie. “We should play Hide and Seek!”

“Ok!” He grinned at her again. “I’ll count first and base can be the tree stump. I’ll count to…30!”

Wybie walked over to the stump and sat down on it. One hand covered his eyes and the other one pet the Cat, who was now sitting on the stump beside him.

Coraline made sure he wasn’t looking and looked around for a hiding place. All that was around were trees, so she had to hide behind one of them.

She found a tree wide enough and slipped behind it as soon as Wybie called, “Ready or not, here I come!”

Coraline held her breath so Wybie wouldn’t hear her.
Wybie hummed a little tune while searching behind the nearby trees; Coraline had to be behind one of them! Where else could she hide?

Wybie scanned the area for any clues. Behind one tree, a flash of yellow caught his eye. He walked over closer and realized that it looked a lot like a boot.

'Coraline’s rainboot!' he thought.

He put on a mischievous grin and started to tiptoe over to the tree.

Coraline heard a slight rustling sound. She knew Wybie was close and became more alert.

Wybie edged his right hand slowly around the tree to grab her.

Coraline grinned when she saw a black skeleton glove inching closer to her waist. When Wybie’s gloved fingertips brushed her side, she took off running in the opposite direction around the tree.  She looked back to see Wybie staring at her in shock and disbelief.

Then Wybie took off running after her. There was no way he was going to count again!

He started to catch up to her, but when he was close enough to tag her, his clumsiness got the best of him.

He stumbled over a rock and his arms wrapped around Coraline’s waist in a desperate attempt to keep his balance.

Coraline screamed as Wybie dragged her to the ground with him. She fell onto her stomach and then rolled over onto her back to see exactly what happened.

She looked down to find Wybie clinging onto her waist and his face buried into her stomach with his eyes closed. He shivered like a scared lost puppy.

Coraline immediately started laughing at his pitiful expression and felt a slight blush spread across her pale cheeks.

Wybie landed on something soft. Thank God! If he came home with another scratch on his face, his grandma would tear him up.

Whatever he landed on, it started bouncing up and down. And it was warm! He opened his eyes to find a pink and orange striped fabric rubbing against his face. He then glanced up to find Coraline laughing at him with an amused expression on her face. Then he glanced back down at what he was laying on.

It was Coraline’s stomach!

He immediately started blushing and jumped up as fast as he could. He rubbed the back of his neck and giggled nervously. He refused to look at Coraline.

Coraline got up and brushed herself off. She glanced up at Wybie and grinned. “Nice going, Wyborne.”

“Hehehehe…yeahh…” he stuttered. He glanced up at her and started to calm down slightly.

“But I guess you got me! Now I have to count,” she started her way toward the tree stump.

“Huh?! Oh, yeah. Ok.”

The Cat was still on the stump, waiting for her.  It meowed softly when she picked it up and placed it in her lap. She closed her eyes and started to count.
Wybie looked around for a good hiding spot. Just like Coraline, all he could find were trees.  He frowned; this wasn’t a good place to play Hide and Seek.

He glanced up the hill where he saw Coraline for the first time. He groaned and made his way up the hill and behind a tree.

“28…29…30! Ready or not, here I come!”

Coraline placed the Cat on the ground and set off to find Wybie. She looked around: trees. She began looking behind some of them then turned her attention to the Cat brushing against her leg.

The Cat turned its head up toward the hill and flicked its tail in that direction.

She scratched the Cat on the head and motioned for it to stay. She took off her rainboots so they wouldn’t slow her down.

She quietly began climbing up the hill and glanced around at the trees. Wybie’s bushy brown hair stuck out from behind one of them.

She grinned and snuck over to the tree. She decided to use a strategy similar to Wybie’s.

She put both of her arms around the tree.

Behind it, Wybie was waiting for Coraline to find him when two hands grabbed a hold of his arms. He gasped and looked down to find Coraline’s colorful gloves wrapped around his lower arms. He quickly struggled out of her grasp and started to run around one side of the tree where he ran straight into Coraline.

The impact knocked both of them onto the ground and they held onto each other tightly as they started to roll down the hill.

When they got back to level ground, Coraline quickly rolled over on top of Wybie and pinned him down.

“I got you, Wyborne!” Coraline laughed while Wybie’s vision recovered from rolling down the hill.

When Wybie could see straight again, he looked up into Coraline’s deep hazel eyes and immediately started blushing.

He smiled sheepishly and chuckled nervously, “I guess ya did.”

They got up and brushed themselves off. Coraline smiled proudly; Wybie rolled his eyes.

“It isn’t that important. I got you too.”

Coraline giggled, “Yeah, but I got you on purpose. You got me by accident.”

“Whatever,” Wybie pouted and Coraline punched him in the arm.

“Let’s just not play anymore. This is a bad place to play anyway. All there is to hide behind are trees.”

“Yeah…” Wybie looked around. It was starting to get dark. “It’s getting late. How about I take you home on my bike?”

“Sure!” Coraline beamed with excitement. She always loved to ride with him, and she loved it when he went fast. The wind blowing in her face always brought her a rush that she cherished.

Wybie went behind a bush to get his motorized bike. Coraline found her coat and boots, put them on, and watched Wybie pull out the bike.

Wybie walked over to the stump, put the mask on top of his head, and went back over to the bike.

He jumped on and scooted to the edge of the seat, “Your chariot awaits, my lady!” He patted the space behind him.

Coraline giggled and got on. Wybie lowered his mask and revved the engine.

“Can you please take that thing off? It really gets on my nerves,” she admitted.

Wybie groaned, took off the mask, and put it beside the Cat who was sitting on the ground. The Cat didn’t like to ride, but it would meet them sometime later.

Wybie looked at the Cat, “Watch it for me, ok?” Then he turned to Coraline, “Happy?”

“Yes,” she nodded and wrapped her arms around his waist while he revved the engine again.

He took off into the woods and back toward the garden.

Coraline clung even tighter and moved closer to him now that they were off. She rested her head on his shoulder; something that she never got to do because of his mask.

Now they were practically rubbing cheeks with each other.

She could feel Wybie stiffen a little, but soon relaxed. Since she was touching his cheek, she could feel it getting warm: he was blushing.

The bottom of Wybie’s over-sized coat battered at her knees from the wind, but she didn’t mind. She looked behind her; her own coat flapped too.

She turned her attention back to the front; they were pulling up to the Pink Palace.

Wybie brought the bike to a stop and started to get off.

Coraline had some trouble prying her arms from his waist from riding in that position for so long.

They both got off and Wybie walked her to the door.

“Well, I had a great time today,” Wybie seemed interested in his feet then glanced up at Coraline, “as always.”

She smiled, “Me too…as always.” She turned toward the door.

Wybie waited for her to go in. He always stayed until he knew she was safe and inside before he left.

'Should I? No, I shouldn’t. Well, maybe…' she stopped when she had her hand on the doorknob and stood there for a moment, debating with herself silently.

“J…Jonesy? Are…are you ok?” Wybie became worried when she stopped for a minute.

Coraline turned around, walked straight up to a startled Wybie, and kissed him on the lips. She had to bend down slightly because of his slouching habit.

Sure, he was gross, he was annoying, and he was weird. But Coraline loved him, and that made all the difference.

She pulled back and smiled to herself; she was glad she did it. She looked down at Wybie and giggled at his expression.

He stood there for a while with his eyes wide and his mouth hung open, then a goofy grin spread from one ear to another and his face turned an unhealthy shade of pink.

Coraline giggled again. He had clearly never been kissed before; this was his first one.

Coraline started to head back to the door and waved to him. “Bye Wybie! See you tomorrow!”

“B..b,” Wybie started to say something, but it wouldn’t come out. Instead, he waved at her with a shaky hand.

As soon as she shut the door, Coraline ran up to her bedroom and looked out the window. She could see Wybie break out of his trance and walk over to his bike, still grinning ear to ear. He got on his bike and drive off into the woods. She smiled and made her way downstairs for dinner.

___________

Later that night, Wybie changed into his pajamas and let the Cat in through his window. The Cat ran over to his bed and curled up on one side. Wybie laid down beside it.

He folded his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling, smiling. After a few minutes of thinking, he looked over at the Cat, who was staring at him intently.

Wybie rolled over on his side so he was facing the Cat.

“You know what happened tonight, Cat?”

The Cat stared back at him, pleading with his eyes.

“Coraline kissed me. Is that supposed to mean she likes me?”

The Cat got up, rubbed against his chest, and seemed to shrug.

“Well, I guess it does…what else could it mean?”

Wybie started running his hand along the Cat’s rich black coat. The Cat purred and snuggled closer to him.

“And you know what?”

The Cat turned his bright blue eyes back up toward him.

“I’m not sure, but I think,” he smiled,

“I…I like her too.”