Chapter 15: Back in the Swing of Things

Kendra fastened the bath-towel around her head, taking care to keep her blonde hair tucked up and off of her neck and out of her eyes. After a long game of tennis with the satyrs and Warren with Seth as the line spector, Kendra felt like her arms were going to detach from her body all together.

Fablehaven had been uncharacteristically quiet over the last few days, but there really wasn't anything she could do about it. Her grandma and grandpa Sorenson along with her parents had to make the long drive down to North Carolina for a distant cousin's wedding. Grandma and Grandpa Larson were visiting old friends on a preserve in Switzerland. Tanu and Vanessa were called off on a Knights of the Dawn mission that dealt with the possibility of portals in Arches National Park.

Even Bracken and his sisters hadn't been around in a while. Only Warren and Dale had been left to 'babysit' as Seth liked to call it. Kendra didn't mind; it had been far too long since the last time she was able to enjoy the house to herself.

She was debating on whether she wanted to watch Psych or the 100 when the light 'ping' noise alerted her that she had received a message on Facebook. Minimizing her Netflix screen, she pulled up the blue homepage on the spare tab.

Seth had posted a video showing a slow-mo version of an intense part of the game with the satyrs earlier in the day with dramatic classical music in the background. Kendra recognized it as the segment of the game where Newel spiked it hard but Warren dove at just the right angle to get it back over the fence. Kendra had in turn sprung forward to vault the ball back over the net. Doren made a wild swing for the ball, missed, then stumbled over his goat hooves and hit the ground. In the background, Seth's laugh was distorted by the slow-motion filter so that it was low in pitch and slow.

The video made her giggle and Kendra had to admit that her brother's editing skills were vastly improving ever since he made his YouTube channel alongside Warren and Bracken. Kendra had not yet personally seen one of their videos, but she knew they were mostly spoofs of survivorman shows.

She clicked "like" on her screen.

(Newel da Satyr, Doren da Satyr, Warren Burgess, Seth Sorenson, Kendra Sorenson, and two others like this)

Way to be dramatic Seth ;) Warren's comment popped up. Kendra couldn't help but silently agree.

what can I say? Seth posted shortly thereafter. I'm an artist who must share his divine work

Kendra snorted but liked his comment regardless. Ever since he started faking an Australian accent to imitate Bear Grylls, he seemed to have gotten it into his head that he could rival Leonardo DiCaprio for an Oscar.

The thought made her giggle. Gold star, seth she typed and hit enter.

i can't tell if there's sarcasm in that statement or if your being genuine Seth's comment popped up a second later.

Kendra rolled her eyes. It was just like her brother to not use incorrect grammar. You're** she corrected with a smug grin.

Tomato, tah-mah-toe Seth responded instantly.

It's the same word, Seth Warren commented. Kendra nodded in agreement. At least Warren knew what was up.

i just wanted to make sure everyone knew the difference in pronunciation. Kendra could imagine Seth shrugging as she read his response.

Logging off of the computer, she rolled over until she was flat-footed on the floor. On her way down the stairs, she disposed of her dirty towel in the hamper and proceeded down the staircase. Now that she had her license, she figured that she'd see if any of the guys would want to run into town to grab some takeout.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she wasn't overly surprised to find Warren and Seth sitting with their feet up on the coffee table in the living room, eyes glued to their individual devices. Not even the TV was on; just two sweaty dudes sitting in complete silence whilst they checked their social networking.

"You guys hungry?" she asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"If you're cooking," Seth said bluntly without looking up.

"Seth," Warren scolded half-heartedly. His eyes flicked up to Kendra. "What are you making, Kendra?"

"I thought we could eat out since it's only the four of us."

Warren grinned. "Trying to get the most use out of that new license, huh?"

"Well, I don't get to use it that often," Kendra replied, running a hand through her hair. "Seth, are you interested in going?"

Seth glanced up at his sister, then back down at his tablet, then back to Kendra. "Can't we order a pizza?"

"He might have a little problem getting past the distractor spell, don't you think?" Warren smirked as Seth rolled his eyes.

"Okay fine." Seth stood up. "Let me hit the shower real quick and then we can go. Cool?"

Kendra smiled. "Perfect."

Warren stood up as Seth dashed up the stairs two at a time. He arched his back, groaning as he stretched, then righted himself. "Yeah, I had better go wash up too. I'll see if Dale is up for it too while I'm at it."

Half an hour later, Kendra sat in the front seat of Warren's Jeep, Warren in the front seat with Seth in the back. Dale had opted to remain at the preserve and eat leftovers from the night before, but Warren had promised to bring him back a burger. The entire ride into town, Seth complained about being forced in the backseat.

"Why can't I sit shotgun," Seth demanded.

"My Jeep," Warren said flatly.

"I have my permit," Seth said, "why does Kendra get to drive?"

"Are you offering to pay for the meal tonight then?"

Kendra grinned when Seth kept his mouth shut.

When they got to the restaurant, a pretty blonde about nineteen escorted them to a table. Kendra took notice of the way the waitress watched Warren intently, but either he didn't notice or he didn't care because he ignored her.

"She was pretty friendly," Kendra commented when the blonde was out of earshot.

"I noticed," Warren nudged Seth, "I think she's in too you."

Kendra scrunched her eyebrows, but nodded in understanding when Warren winked at her. It made more sense that he was just riling Seth. It was working because Seth's cheeks were red as he shook his head.

"Warren," she chided with a knowing smile. Seth glared at her. "We both know that Seth has a soft spot for someone else."

Warren's cheeky smile widened. "Oh yeah. She's a gem, isn't she?"

"Cut it out," Seth grunted. His teeth were clenched and his face was redder than Kendra had seen it in recent days.

"Oh, look at him." Kendra laced her fingers under her chin. "Young love isn't anything to be embarassed about, Seth."

"I could say the same for you and Bracken," he whipped back.

Kendra kept her fixated grin, as did Warren. Unbeknowest to Seth, she wasn't overly embarassed of her relationship with Bracken; at least not in front of Warren. After the whole, Warren and Vanessa fiasco, things were pretty understanding between the two of them. If Bracken had been present, then Kendra would have gone pink in the cheeks.

"But we're talking about you." Seth seemed surprised when Kendra didn't shy away. "We're talking about you and Nyx."

"That's it." Seth slapped his palms on the table noisily as he stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom." He started grumbling as he walked off toward the back of the restaurant.

"We really did it this time," Kendra managed after she and Warren shared a bout of giggles.

"He'll be back," Warren assured her. "The foods gonna be here any minute now."

...

here's the deal: I would love to continue writing this story, but i have no ideas. That's why this chapter is horrible. If you guys would like more chapters, please send me some ideas.