"Zachaaarrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyy!!!" The annoying voice continued to warble in a shrill voice.
Lucy winced, as her hands flew over her ears, covering them from the awful sound. "ACK!! Zac, who the heck is that??!" she shouted over the whining voice that continued to call for Zac.
Zac cringed. "You don't wanna know, Luce," he muttered. He slid back further into the back of the tree house. "Just wait a minute, Lucy. Let's ignore her. Maybe she'll go away and leave us alone."
"Wait??!" Lucy exclaimed. "Are you kidding?!? I can't take much longer of this horrible shrieking! Get that weirdo to shut up already!!"
Zac sighed. "Lucy...."
"Zac, go see what that freak wants!" Lucy yelled. "Anything to get her to shut the heck up! ANYTHING!!"
Zac sighed again. "You're gonna regret making me do this, Lucy," he muttered, as he reluctantly pulled himself up to his feet, and trudged over to the doorframe of the tree house. Lucy followed curiously behind.
Zac stuck his head out of the tree house doorframe, rolled his eyes, and let out another loud sigh, before he finally glanced down at the ground at the girl who had been calling him.
"What do you want, Amelia?" Zac asked tersely.
Amelia Murdorff skipped over to the foot of the tree where the tree house was perched on. She waved her right arm up wildly at Zac.
"Hi, Zachary!" Amelia exclaimed cheerfully. She smiled up at Zac.
Instead of returning the smile, Zac just glared at her. He looked annoyed and impatient.
"Amelia, what do you want?" Zac repeated flatly.
Amelia held her hands behind her back as she casually swayed back and forth, smiling at Zac as she swayed. She continued to gaze at him adoringly as she spoke.
"I just wanted to say hi to my sweet babboo," Amelia replied shyly. She swayed backwards, but leaned a little too far back, causing her to lose her balance.
"Wh-wh-whoa! Eeek!!" Amelia shrieked as she fell backwards, toppling over onto the grass, landing flat on her bottom.
"Oof!" Amelia cried, as she landed on her behind on the ground. She sat there for a moment, looking stunned.
Lucy covered her mouth, and began to snort. She tried hard to stifle her snickering, but her guffaws still escaped her mouth.
"Your...your sweet babboo??" Lucy managed to say, before she started cracking up again.
Zac turned around sharply and glared at her.
"Shut up," Zac hissed. He turned back to Amelia, and rolled his eyes and sighed again.
"Amelia, are you all right?" Zac asked impatiently, as he glanced up at the sky, looking annoyed.
Lucy made a face. "What a klutz."
Amelia's head perked up. "Oh, I'm just fine, Zachary! Just fine! Never better!" she answered cheerfully. She quickly stood back up, and quickly dusted off her pink skirt.
Lucy looked down at Amelia disgustedly, and glanced back over at Zac. She gave Zac a queer look.
"Who's Amelia? Is she a friend of yours or something?" Lucy demanded, a tone of disgust in her voice.
Zac sighed again. "No, she's not my friend," he retorted. "She's just my neighbor; she lives next door to me."
Lucy stared at Zac in disbelief. "You live next door to this geek??" she repeated. She gaped at Zac.
Zac rolled his eyes. "Yeah, unfortunately."
"I can't believe it," Lucy said, as Amelia continued to straighten herself up for Zac. "You have to put up with this windbag every day??"
"Well, it's not like I'm happy that she's my next door neighbor!" Zac snapped, looking annoyed. "It's not my fault if she lives next door to us!"
"Zachary? Is there somebody up there with you?" Amelia wanted to know. She stood up on her toes, as she tried to peer over Zac to catch a glimpse of Lucy.
Zac sighed again. "Yeah...just hang on a sec. We'll be down there in a minute."
Lucy grabbed Zac's right arm with her left hand. "What are you doing??!" she hissed. "Why did you say we're gonna come down there?? I don't wanna be anywhere near that freak and a half."
"Well, I don't, either!" Zac exclaimed, looking frustrated. "But this is the only way we might get her to go away and leave us alone." He turned and started to climb down the tree house ladder. Lucy didn't move.
Zac stopped climbing down, and looked over at Lucy, who was still not budging. "Lucy, come on! Do you wanna get rid of her or not??! This is the only shot we've got, so come on!" With that, Zac started climbing down the ladder again.
"I don't know about that," Lucy muttered under her breath, as she reluctantly followed Zac down the tree house ladder to the ground.
Zac jumped down the last few steps of the ladder, landing easily on his two feet. But before he could turn around, Ameila rushed over to him, throwing her arms around him.
"Oh, Zachary! I am sooooooooooooo glad to see you! You're the sunshine in my day!!" Amelia declared happily, as she continued to hug Zac tightly, enveloping him in a giant bear hug.
"Urrrrr.......Amelia........" Zac croaked, as he tried pulling her arms away from him, in an attempt to wriggle out of her surprisingly strong grasp.
"Yes, Zachary?" Amelia said brightly.
"Lemme go.......I can't breathe!" Zac gasped, as he continued to squirm in her arms.
"Oh, oops. I'm so sorry, Zachary!" Amelia cried. She immediately released Zac, sending him hurtling down to the grass, gasping for air. She rushed over to his side, and knelt down beside him.
Amelia brought her head down next to Zac's left ear. "Zachary?? Zachary! ZACHARY!! Can you hear me??" she shouted right into his ear.
Zac's left hand immediately clamped over his left ear, covering it as he rolled away from Amelia. "ARRGGHHH!! Yes, I can hear you!" he yelled angrily. He stood up and glared at Amelia. "I couldn't breathe, not hear. What did you think you were doing, trying to make me go deaf??!" He glowered at Amelia, breathing hard, as he rubbed his left ear with his left hand.
Amelia's eyes went wide as she covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, Zachary! I didn't mean to hurt you, honest! I would never try to hurt you! Please forgive me! I am so, so, so sorry! Oh, I am such a bad friend...." She was on the verge of tears, and looked like she was going to burst into sobs any second.
Zac rolled his eyes. "Oh, brother...." he muttered under his breath. He let out another long sigh. "Amelia....chill. I'm okay, all right?? Just get a grip already, will ya??"
Amelia's face immediately brightened. "Oh, thank goodness, Zachary!!" she cried out dramatically. "I don't know what I would ever do if I hurt you!" She started to wrap her arms around him again, but Zac quickly backed away.
"Uhh...try to lay off the hugs, okay?" Zac said uneasily, as he eyed Amelia's lanky arms.
"Oh." Amelia dropped her arms, looking a little disappointed. "Okay." She smiled and perked up again. "Whatever you want, Zachary! Anything for you!" She gazed at him lovingly.
"Uh-huh...yeah, sure," Zac said slowly, giving Amelia a strange look.
"AHEM," Lucy cleared her throat loudly.
Amelia turned around, and gave Lucy a questioning look. "Who are you?" she asked curiously.
Zac walked over to Lucy and Amelia. "Amelia, this is my friend, Lucy." He paused. "Lucy...Amelia."
Amelia's sweet and innocent face disappeared. She peered at Lucy. "How nice to meet you," she replied cooly in a tone that would suggest otherwise. She continued to look at Lucy in an odd manner.
"Ummm...yeah, whatever," Lucy said, giving Amelia a weird look.
Amelia looked closely at Lucy. She moved closer to Lucy and tilted her head toward Lucy's, leaning so close to Lucy's face that her nose was only centimeters away.
Lucy blinked in surprise, and made a face. She took a step away from Amelia, giving her a strange look.
"Umm...what are you doing?" Lucy asked weirdly, as she watched Amelia bemusedly.
"Who are you?" Amelia demanded, ignoring Lucy's question. She took another step closer to Lucy, but Lucy backed away again.
Zac gave Amelia a strange look. "Lucy. I just told you that--"
"I don't mean that," Amelia said abruptly, cutting Zac off in midsentence.
Zac looked confused. "Huh? What do you mean?"
Amelia ignored Zac. Her eyes were fixed on Lucy in an intent glare.
"Who do you think you are?" Amelia growled, as she continued to walk closer to Lucy, not taking her eyes off of Lucy.
"Ummm...Amelia...." Zac started.
Amelia held up her hand. "Shh. Hush, Zachary. I'm asking her a question." She glowered at Lucy.
"Uhh...what?" Lucy said uncertainly.
Amelia took another step closer to Lucy. "I repeat, who do you think you are?" she demanded, as she continued to move closer to Lucy.
"I'm...umm...Lucy," Lucy said weirdly, darting Zac a confused look, who just shrugged, looking on helplessly.
"I don't mean that," Amelia barked. "What do you think you're doing, coming over here like that??"
"Huh?" Lucy gave Amelia a weird look, as she continued to back away from her. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Oh, you know exactly what I'm talking about," Amelia replied coldly, as she stepped closer and closer to Lucy.
"Ummmm...no, actually, I really don't," Lucy said, as she started to back away faster.
"Why are you here? Why are you at the Hanson's home?" Amelia said crossly, continuing to move toward Lucy.
"What? Why am I here??" Lucy gave Amelia a strange look. "Um, well, I'm here because--"
"Why are you here??" Amelia demanded curtly, as she stepped even closer to Lucy.
"I'm here because, well, um, Zac invited me over, and, uh...geez, could you quit stalking me like that?!" Lucy exclaimed, dodging out of Amelia's path. "You're really freaking me out." She hurried over to where Zac was standing.
Amelia began striding quickly over in their direction toward Lucy. Her eyes had an evil glint, as she held a fixed stare on Lucy.
"Stay away from my Zachary!!" Amelia said sharply. She advanced toward Lucy.
"Hey, Amelia, back off!" Zac said quickly, stepping in front of Amelia, blocking her way over to Lucy. "Just quit it, all right? Lucy's not your enemy or something; she's just a friend of mine. Stop acting like this. You're really starting to act like a weirdo," he told her, looking at her weirdly.
Amelia frowned for a moment, but then her face turned into a smile. "Oh, Zachary, it's just that I want to protect you. I don't want you to be harmed."
"Harmed?" Zac repeated, a tone of annoyance ringing in his voice. He raised his eyebrows at her, looking at her in disbelief. "Didn't you just hear a word I just said?? Lucy's my friend. Friend. She's not gonna harm me. Got it?"
Amelia pouted. "Well, I know, Zachary, but--"
"Great. You know. So just leave it at that, okay?" Zac said, giving Amelia a warning look.
Amelia stuck out her lower lip, and reluctantly nodded. "Ohhh...all right, Zachary. Fine, you win." She smiled at Zac. "It's just that...well, you know. I don't want anyone to take you away from me."
"Take me away from you??" Zac repeated. He looked at Amelia in shock, giving her a disgusted look.
Amelia gave Zac a puppy-dog look. "Well...yes. I mean, you're my sweet babboo." She looked at Zac adoringly. "I won't let anyone ever take my Zachary Walker away from me."
Lucy's mouth dropped open. She stared at Amelia in disbelief. She slowly looked at Zac, looking at him questioningly.
Zac looked embarrassed as his face turned slightly red. "Uhhh...well, I, ummm...." he stuttered.
"Uh, Zac? A word with you, if you don't mind," Lucy said quickly, grabbing Zac's left arm, and hauling him away from Amelia.
Lucy glared behind her over at Amelia, making sure they were out of earshot. She turned back to Zac, and stared at him in disbelief.
"Okay, what in the heck is going on here??" Lucy demanded. "What's the deal with Miss 'Lover-girl' over there??"
Zac sighed. "Well, she kind of has this thing for me...."
"A thing for you??" Lucy repeated. She grimaced. "Gee, I think you're putting that a tad bit too mildly, don'tcha think??"
Zac shrugged, looking exaperated. "Well, I don't know! So fine, she has a crush on me or whatever, I guess. But don't think that I like her, 'cause I definitely don't!" he added quickly.
"Well, I sure as heck hope not!" Lucy snapped. "For your own sake." She shook her head. "Man, that girl's one big mental case." She raised her left index finger, and began twirling it in circles by the side of her head.
Zac glanced back over his left shoulder at Amelia, who waved heartily at him. He shook his head and sighed. "We've really gotta get rid of her," he mumbled.
Lucy rolled her eyes. "No, really??" She made a face. "Well, gee, ya think??!"
Zac frowned. "Look, I wanna get her to leave as much as you do, all right?? Sheesh."
"Well, got any bright ideas on how to ditch the nerd??" Lucy demanded.
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" Zac exclaimed. "Geez! Just give me some time, will ya??"
"Well, think faster!" Lucy snapped. "If that weirdo has to stay around here any longer, I don't know what I'm gonna do."
~`';.,.;'` Chapter 15 `';.,.;'`~
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