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Life had just been one crazy thing after another. She started a new job. Daddy had come home. And now she was going to Topher's place after a long day's work. Fortunately, on the weekends, she got off of work much earlier. No evening shifts for her, she had the afternoon completely free.

A small part of the quiet girl was very disappointed that she hadn't managed to find Topher at school on his birthday, but she remembered that some people just turned their birthdays into another day off from school. If she had ever done that, Mommy and Daddy would probably both get upset at her. The girl's fingers crinkled along the edges of the paper sack she was carrying. No, she didn't have the money to spend to get wrapping paper. Instead, a simple brown grocery sack would serve as the wrapping paper for her friend's birthday gift.

She didn't want to show up in her work uniform. So before she left work, she changed into something a little more pleasant. It was an outfit that she had sewn a while back that was inspired by those little farm girls. There was a pale flannel for the top, a simple red bodice that was accented with a gold trim, a dark blue skirt that went to about her knees, and a sunshine-yellow sash tied about her waist. Yvette even remembered to bring a couple barrettes which matched the set perfectly. Before she left work, Mrs. Ortiga was there, fussing over how adorable the short quiet girl was, giving her a big hug before allowing Yvette to scamper off.

After a rather uneventful journey on the bus, she soon enough hopped out and began the walk to her friend's place. She clutched the paper bag to her chest, causing the package to crinkle a bit. As always, those last minute worries began to dance about in her head.

What if he didn't like her gift?

What if he thought it was completely silly?

Or stupid?

Or what if he thought she was weird?

By the time she managed to snap her mind out of her endless worrying, she was already at the front door. She pinched her eyes shut, took a deep breath, then knocked on the door.

The problem with being a guest at the door was you never knew when they were going to open the door. The door swung open, and characteristically, the girl let out a tiny yelp of surprise. Behind door number 1 was Topher, which was a surprise to her, since she had grown accustomed in her whole 2 visits prior to Eva being the one at door duty.

A tiny smile crept onto her lips as her friend revealed one of his obvious birthday presents to her. "A dog?" Her indigo eyes lingered down, and sure enough, there was a dog right at her friend's side. A very big dog compared to the ones she was used to seeing. It was a very nice looking greyhound (she only could recognize it thanks to the bus company).

She was soon enough invited in, and once inside, she cautiously leaned down, bending at the knees and reached a hand out towards the dog. If it hadn't been such a big dog, she might not have felt so intimidated. Or maybe she would have. This was Yvette Weaver after all. She was a timid girl and could probably find a way to be scared of a harmless poodle.

There was a small hint of uncertainty in her voice as she attempted to lure the big dog to sniff her hand. "Uh... nice doggy?" She clutched onto the paper sack against her chest as she patiently waited for the greyhound to greet her.

Her small smile grew a bit as the dog seemed to accept her with a small dog kiss.

"Chief is a nice doggy..." She stood herself upright, tugging her skirt down a bit before slipping by the blue haired boy. "He's pretty big though, but he's a sweetheart." In some sort of strange way, the dog reminded her of her father. Even if her father wasn't shy in the slightest. He was just a big softy though, despite how intimidating his size was.

Her fingers carefully reached to pet the dog on the head, twitching slightly in her still present uncertainty. Eventually, her fingers found their mark, and soon enough she was petting the large black and white dog behind the ears. "I've never had a pet before... you are lucky. I always wanted one..." Her voice dwindled off, since there were obvious reasons as to why she wouldn't have had a pet before. Of course, in her mind, there were echos of disapproval at her mention of having no pet. She shouldn't have mentioned that! It wasn't her place, she was just going to make Topher feel bad, and that wasn't why she came over today.

Partially in an effort to move onto a more positive topic, and the other reason because the suggestion sounded delicious, the girl squealed out in her tiny voice "I've never had red velvet cake before!" There were a lot of things she had never eaten before. She couldn't help it. Eagerly, she looked to her friend to lead the way to the cake.

Her fingers pulled back slightly as the dog trembled under her touch. Had she hurt Chief? She thought she had been gentle, but maybe she was being too rough. Insecurity welled up in her, and for a moment, she almost looked as if she was going to cry.

However, the was one saving grace. Topher began to pet Chief, and soon all of the uncertainties in the dog seemed to vanish. In a way, the uncertainties seemed to vanish in the dark haired girl as well. Her fingers once more came in gently and resumed her petting motions. It was comforting to know that her friend was willing to share his new pet with her. He really didn't have to, but somehow, it made her feel a little bit better about life. Almost as if she was special (though she knew she really wasn't all that special at all).

He mentioned that the greyhound didn't like noise, which caused one question to bubble out from her lips. "How old is he?" The way her friend spoke of this dog, it almost sounded like an older dog. Thoughtfully, she pulled her fingers back, this time just because her friend seemed eager to go get the cake. With a wispy giggle, she easily allowed herself to be led towards the kitchen. Yvette did not argue when it came to getting sweets, and cake, no matter what flavor, was considered a sweet.

"I like what Eva bakes."

Simple fact, Eva was good at baking.

"Um... uh... what's in red velvet cake anyways?" Her eyes fell down towards the dog's level as her smile seemed to turn a bit sheepish.

Yvette had been in this room one whole time prior. This time, when she entered, she was not like a cat in strange surroundings, but seemed a bit adjusted to the whole environment. She slid a chair out rather easily and sat down at the table, setting the paper sack on the edge.

Her head bobbed up and down, nodding as he ensured there was nothing for her to worry about. No strawberries would come out attacking her today. Which was a relief, because she had no epipen with her today. It was just such a strange thing to remember to carry with her at all times. When she saw the partial cake, she couldn't help but feel slightly jealous. The girl knew Eva made her treats look beautiful, like artwork. And here she was, cheated out of admiring her hard work. True enough, she was going to get to eat some, and appreciate the taste, but that wasn't the same thing as admiring the aesthetic value of pretty food.

"I don't think I've ever seen a cake that red before. Wow... that must have been a lot of food coloring that went in it." The mention of his family being a bunch of magicians managed to get a tiny giggle from the girl. One of these days, she'd get the nickname of "Hamster Girl" strictly from how she giggled.

"Well, Mommy and I are slow eaters." This was the understatement of the year, at least when it came to Yvette being a slow eater.

"Daddy would probably be considered a magician too though. He can plow right through dinner really quickly."

Her voice paused merely to squeak out. "Oh! Daddy's home now. I got to bring him back yesterday! It's kinda weird having him in the living room all the time though." Though her voice was absolutely quiet, there was a sort of giddiness to her tone that made it evident she was very happy. Her Daddy meant a lot to her.

The mention of tracks caused the quiet girl to blink, the glance over to the dog at her friend's feet. "Oh, so he was a racing dog?" That made sense as to why they got a fully grown dog rather than a puppy then.

Though Yvette was perfectly human and suffered from the "eyes bigger than her stomach" problem, she was perfectly fine with receiving a smaller slice of cake. She was very aware she was a slow eater. The moment the plate was slid in front of her, she took up the fork that was settled next to the cake itself and dug in. If there was one thing the girl could afford to ignore when it came to manners, it was starting before everyone else. Otherwise everyone would have to wait.

And wait.

And wait some more.

She couldn't help but giggle as she managed to catch a faint glimpse of the dog's nose peeking out from under the table. Maybe later she could ask Topher if she could give Chief a cookie. There were so many things Yvette had yet to do in her lifetime, and this included lots of doggy fun time. "He is such a polite doggy!" she mused before addressing the question at hand.

"Oh! Daddy loved the banana pudding! Um... uh..." Her cheeks had grown rather rosy as she debated whether or not to confess the fact she had eaten up most of the other treats. Daddy had given her permission to, of course, but after the fact, she felt bad, since they were meant for her daddy, not for herself. Yvette was a sucker for the white chocolate brownies and chocolate chip cookies. Especially by Eva. It kind of helped that Eva was the only one she knew that made the white chocolate brownies.

Thoughtfully, she cut into her cake with her fork and stuffed a small bite of cake in her mouth. Her mouth chewed and chewed and chewed, and in all honesty, there was no change in expression. Just thoughtful with a hint of blush coloring her cheeks. Yet after a minute and 43 seconds (but who was counting?), she swallowed down that bite and only offered one word.

"Yummy!"

"Um..."

Yvette stuffed another bite of cake in her mouth, cheeks still burning in embarrassment. Sure, it was nice hearing about how much fun Eva had making all the treats, but the shy girl almost felt as if she had sprouted a curly tail like the little piggy she was. The little piggy who liked sweets.

That almost sounded like it could have been a fairy tale of some sort.

Unfortunately, her excuse of having her mouth full soon enough expired again as she swallowed the contents hiding in her mouth. Once more, she attempted to answer his question.

"Um..." A slight pause. "Daddyletmehavealloftheothertreatsotherthanthepudding..."

Her eyes wandered down to her slice of cake as she picked out another small mouthful. She once more attempted to distract herself with a sweet morsel of happiness, but as she chewed, her eyes fluttered to the paper sack she brought. Since her mouth was full of cake, she slid the brown bag towards her friend without a word.

It was the whole reason why she came to visit.

Even with his reassuring words that she had committed no crimes by eating all the white brownies, she still couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Those cheeks of hers were going to remain quite red for a long time. It was almost like being at work for a longer shift, extending the amount of time she sat there with a blush coloring her cheeks.

He asked questions, the first one easily being answered by a shy nod. The second question couldn't be answered until her mouthful of cake got swallowed down. If there was one thing that was beginning to happen from her eating all this cake, it was that she was getting thirsty.

"It... It's your birthday present," she tried to explain. "You weren't at school on your birthday, so I couldn't give it to you then." Her eyes drifted down to the ground, as if she was trying to catch a faint glimpse of the greyhound. However, her friend knew her better than that. She was starting to get really shy for what seemed like no real reason.

If she had been even a tad bit less shy, she would have easily encouraged him to open it up. Instead, all she managed to squeak out after a time was "I... I hope you like it..."