Pencil, Paper and Passion.

Wednesday morning passed in a blur. I was woken up early to be poked and prodded by at least four different doctors, each with a differing opinion about my wellness. I was given no time to protest as I was moved from room to room to be x-rayed and examined at least ten thousand times. When I was finally pronounced fit to go home, all I wanted to do was curl back into the hospital bed and sleep. However, Maya and Mr. Kalebrow came in to whisk me from the hospital.

"Come along, dear. Mr. Kalebrow has the car waiting." Maya held out a jade green robe, silk of all things. Rolling my eyes, I let her slip it on over my hospital gown. When she dropped a pair of matching slippers at my feet, I sighed, wishing she'd just brought me a pair of jeans and a hoodie.

I shrugged to myself, a smile slipping onto my face. At least I was leaving the hospital in style.

Maya all but pushed me from the room, only to be stopped by a nurse with a wheelchair. The nurse smiled at us, "Miss Sinclair will have to leave in a chair, ma'am."

"What for?" Maya asked irritably. She hated to be held up by anything or anyone. "Nothing wrong with her legs is there?"

"No, ma'am, but it is hospital policy. All of our patients are required to leave in a wheelchair." The nurse said it nervously, staring at Maya in what can only be called fear. It was a comman reaction to the tall, thin black woman. Despite sounding like a crabby old woman, Maya was young and drop dead gorgeous. Most people were intimidated by the face and the booming voice. More were intimidated by her prowess in the kitchen. She'd studied in Paris and had become something of a prodigy amongst chefs. All around, Maya was not a woman to be trifled with.

I dropped down into the chair, unwilling to argue or let Maya get too riled up, and grinned up at her. "C'mon, woman, you're holding us up. Mr. Kalebrow has the car waiting."

Laughing, she took the chair handles from the nurse and pushed me into the elevator down the hall. It was a quick ride down and in no time I was seated in the backseat of a black SUV, with Mr. Kalebrow and Maya arguing in the front.

"You turn down that music right now. It can't be good for Miss Eliza to-"

"Oh, for Christ's sake, it's Mozart! Classical music is soothing!"

"Not at that volume, Mr. Kalebrow!" Maya's voice rose another octave and I groaned quietly, as my head began to pound.

"Look, lady, I'm the one driving. I pick the music." Mr. Kalebrow's voice also began to climb, causing my eye to start twitching.

"How dare-"

"Be quiet, both of you!" I screeched, holding both hands to my ears, hoping the bandages would muffle their voices. "You're worse than children!"

Maya, instantly contrite, twisted in her seat a guilty flush staining her cheeks. "Oh, Miss Eliza, I'm so sorry!"

Mr. Kalebrow sent me an apologetic glance in the rearview mirror. "Sorry, Miss Sinclair."

He even leaned forward to switch off the radio, which I hadn't really minded, and muttered another apology. Only this time it was to Maya, who nodded smugly.

I rolled my eyes before I shut them, sinking down into the seat. The SUV was silent the rest of the drive home.

When we arrived, Maya insisted on helping from the car and into my room. I drew the line on letting her dress me in pajamas and slipped into the bathroom to change from the hospital gown. As was my habit since the night I'd spent at Ben's, I slipped into the clothing he'd let me borrow. I knew I'd have to return the pants and shirt sometime, but for now, it gave me a little comfort.

I exited the bathroom and immediately crawled into bed, completely ignoring Maya's frown. I wasn't so lucky that I could ignore her voice, however. She came over to tuck me in, asking, "Where did you get those pajamas? They're for men."

I shrugged, pulling my comfortor to my chin, hoping to hide the heat in my cheeks. "I don't know. Maybe Brandt left them, or Micah, when they stayed over for one of our movie marathons."

"Probably. You go straight to sleep, now, alright?" She bustled out the door, switching the light off, before I could answer.

I snuggled deeper into my pillow, glancing at my bedside clock. I calculated the amount of time I had before Ben would arrive, noting that I had two and a half hours to rest before then. I looked over to the windows, grateful that Maya had thought to close the curtains, where only a little bit of sun peeked through. It was just dark enough to sleep comfortably, so I closed my eyes and instantly went under.

'''''''''''''''''''''''

When I opened my eyes again, it was dark; completely dark this time. I stared at my windows in confusion; daylight had been seeping in through the curtains just a few hours ago. My eyes darted to the bedside clock and I wailed, scrambling to my knees. It was seven o' clock at night! Ben had probably been here and left hours ago!

Groaning, I flopped back down onto my bed, only to sit straight back up with a screech when I heard a quiet chuckle come from the doorway. With a hand to my galloping heart, I turned towards the source and gaped at Ben as he flipped the lights on. "What are you still doing here?"

He tilted his head and sucked in a breath, "I didn't get here until five-thirty, as there was a small emergency at my apartment, but you were asleep. I was going to leave, but Miss Shepard invited me for dinner. I was coming up to wake you for dinner when I heard you scream."

"Oh." I sighed, trying to make sense of his winding explanation. "Who's Miss Shepard? Oh, Maya, right. Uhm, what've you been doing the last two hours?"

"Playing poker with Noah, Mr. Kalebrow." He went on, "Why were you screaming?

I fidgeted, trying not to pout. "I did not scream. I just... hadn't meant to sleep as long as I did, that's all."

"You screamed, which scared ten years off my life, by the way. But oh well." Ben crossed his arms, leaning against the doorframe, then lifted an eyebrow at me. "Well, are you going to get up or not?"

I nodded, starting to wiggle free from my now tangled comfortor, before I remembered what I was wearing. I stopped trying to get free and lifted the blanket back to my chin. "On second thought, no, I don't think I'm going to get up."

"Why not?"

I flushed. "I have my reasons."

He grinned laviciously, "What, are you naked under there?"

"No! You pervert!" I glared at him, my blush deepening. I was far worse than naked because, surely, he would recognize his own clothes and I was certain we'd both be mortified if he found I was wearing them still.

Still grinning, he straightened from the doorframe to walk slowly towards my bed. "C'mon, Elizabeth, what're you wearing?"

"You're disgusting! Go away!" I tried to tighten my grip on the comfortor, but my bandages made it impossible.

"Uh-uh. I've got to know what you have on. Or is it what you don't have on?" He wiggled his brows suggestively and I was hard pressed not to giggle.

"That isn't amu- BEN!" He'd ripped the covers off of me, not giving me any time to react. In humiliation, I closed my eyes and covered my face with my hands. Ben didn't say anthing, but I felt him sit beside me on the bed. We both stayed where we were for a few minutes.

"Elizabeth?" His voice was quiet and one of his hands came to rest on my stomach.

My voice was muffled by my hands. "What?"

"Those are my pajama pants."

"I know," I wailed miserably.

"Elizabeth, sweetheart, look at me." His tone was coaxing and I lifted my hands to see him smiling down at me. "Why are you still wearing my pants? And is that my shirt?"

"I have my reasons," I repeated, trying not to squirm under his gentle gaze. If there'd been amusement or mockery in his stare, I could've gotten angry. But there was only curiousity.

"And those reasons would be?"

"Well, they're... comforting."

"What do you mean?"

"Uhm..." I was trying to explain but his fingers had begun to rub lightly against my stomach and it was distracting me. I shifted, trying without success to dislodge his hand, explaining furthur, "Ah, it's like... I don't know. They're yours and that makes me feel... good. That's it."

His fingers stopped moving and he leaned down to press his lips gently against mine. He whispered, "Ah, success."

"Success? Success in what?" The longer his lips were against mine, the foggier my mind got.

"In illiciting another emotion from you." He let his lips wander to my jaw. "Let's see... I've been on the recieving end of your anger and happiness. Definitely your..." He trailed his tongue down to my throat, causing my eyes to cross and a quiet moan to slip past my lips. "...passion. Now, you're being sentimental. About pajama pants."

Abruptly, I let out a strangled laugh and pushed Ben away before sitting up. "Oh, go away. You've ruined it."

Unrepentent, he grinned at me, leaning forward to give a quick kiss. "Fine, we have to go down for dinner anyway, remember?"

"Come on, then." I climbed from the bed, managing to drag Ben along with me, and exited my bedroom, heading downstairs.

I poked my head into the formal dining room, thinking that since we had guests, that's where Maya would make us eat. However, the room was empty and dark, so I pulled Ben along to the kitchen. Maya stood at the stove, stirring something in a pot, with murder in her eyes. Mr. Kalebrow sat at the kitchen island, scowling at her. It looked like they were in the midst of another argument.

Neither of them seemed to notice that Ben and I had come in. Maya lifted the spoon from the pot and wagged it at Mr. Kalebrow. "It's just not appropriate."

"What isn't? Woman, I can't keep up with all your lists!"

"You shouldn't be playing poker with Miss Eliza's teacher, and for actual money no less!"

"Well, she probably shouldn't be dating him, but you're not yelling about that!"

"That's Miss Eliza's business. Besides, she's eighteen; there's nothing wrong with the two of them dating."

"Yeah, tell that to the school board." Mr. Kalebrow snorted, standing up and moving to the fridge. He must have noticed us in the doorway, because his head whipped around to Ben and me and he winced. "Well, shit."

I looked between my cook and my bodyguard, trying to look disapproving. "You two need to stop arguing."

"That's it? Just 'stop arguing'?" Mr. Kalebrow looked surprised.

"Yes, because Maya was right-"

"Hah!" She crowed triumphantly.

I ignored her, going on, "The nature of mine and Ben's relationship isn't any of your business. It's ours. And, as for Mr. Kalebrow playing poker with Ben, for money, who cares? It's their money, isn't it?"

"Yes, but he's-"

"Let it go, Maya." I told her, moving to a chair at the kitchen table and taking a seat. I smiled brightly, changing the subject entirely, "So, what's for dinner? Smells like it's burning."

Maya whirled back to her pot, stirring furiously. "Oh, dang it! It's just chicken noodle soup. The doctor said you need to eat lightly, while you're taking the medicine he gave you."

"Mmm. Sounds good to me." I gestured at Ben and he came to sit beside me. Pretty soon, we were all seated, enjoying the soup and each other's company.

Maya and Mr. Kalebrow still argued, as did Ben and I, but there was plenty of laughter and good conversation throughout dinner. Afterwards, Mr. Kalebrow and Maya both went to their rooms, and I saw Ben off with lingering kiss before I went to my own room. During dinner, Maya had made me take some of the pain pills I'd been prescribed and I was getting sleepy again. In no time at all, I was curled back up in my bed, drifting off.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

I rose Monday morning and immediately headed for the shower. I didn't have to worry about my bandages, as the doctor had taken them off the day before, and climbed into the showerstall happily. I was still careful with my stitches, but I was basically back to normal and was returning to school today.

During my time off, Ben had visited me at home everyday, always staying for dinner and sometimes long enough to watch a movie or something with me afterwards. I wondered if he'd still come over, now that I wasn't an invalid, and cuddle on the couch with me. Not everyday though, as Brandt and Charlotte were getting antsy. I'd managed to put them off everyday, knowing Ben would be over, saying that I wasn't feeling well enough for company. Now, though, it was definitely time to stop ignoring them; I missed my best friends.

I climbed out of the shower and stood in a towel to blow dry my hair, but ended up leaving it curling freely down my back. After applying a light touch of makeup, I dressed casually, in a frilly purple top and pair of jeans. A pair of black flats and and my school bag completed the outfit.

I headed downstairs and was just sitting down in the kitchen when Mr. Kalebrow stumbled in, moving past Maya and me without a word, heading straight for the coffee maker. I grinned and chirped, “Goodmorning!”

“Shut up.” He grumbled, taking a large gulp of coffee.

“Aw, is someone a little grumpy this morning?” I winked at Maya as she handed me a glass of orange juice.

“Why are you so damn cheerful? It's seven in the morning and you have to go to school.” Mr. Kalebrow flopped down next to me at the table, still gulping down coffee.

“I like school. Mostly.”

He snorted, “Or maybe you just like one of your teachers.”

“So?” I grinned as Maya sat a plate in front of him, then sat down to eat herself.

“Nothing. Nevermind. Why aren't you eating?” Mr. Kalebrow had tucked into the plate of food immediately, barely managing to get words out between mouthfuls.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Because eating this early makes me sick.”

“Don't see how.” He drank some more coffee then grinned at Maya. “This is delicious.”

Maya's eyes dropped down to her own plate and I could almost swear she was flustered. “Thank you.”

“Mm. So, kid, what's on the agenda for today?”

“School, then home. Well, unless Mr. Avery is making me stay for detention still.” I frowned to myself. As much as I like spending time with Ben, I didn't want to spend that time at school. We had to be careful while we were there.

“Mr. Avery... Ah, one Nicholas Avery, twenty-nine, principal but was once a history teacher, lives alone, drives a-”

“Stop, stop!” I stared at Mr. Kalebrow in horror. “I don't want to know all that about my principal!”

He looked blank for second. “Oh. It's just habit, sorry.”

I shook my head and stood to put my now empty cup in the sink, “Why do you even need to know all that?”

“It pays to know all the players.”

“Oh, come on. Mr. Avery didn't shove me into that closet, I promise you.” I slid a glance at Maya and noted that she appeared asorbed in her food, but I knew she was listening. I wondered what she thought about all this.

Having nearly licked his plate clean, Mr. Kalebrow also rose to put his dishes in the sink. “How do you know? You may not remember the voice, but you do know that you're familiar with the person. It could be anybody you know.”

I froze as terror seeped into my veins. Anybody I know? I'd just assumed that it had been someone who hated me, but now, images of my friends faces flashed through my mind. Could one of them have put me in the closet? Maybe it had been meant as a prank, but had gone wrong when I'd panicked. No, I thought, shaking my head. No, if it had been a prank, they wouldn't have hit me and they'd have come back for me.

I continued to eliminate my friends as suspects. They were my friends, people I loved. None of them would ever hurt me and I'd given none of them a reason to. So, it couldn't be any of them.

But still, a nagging doubt itched at the back of my mind. It could have been anybody I know. Anybody I trusted. I looked at Mr. Kalebrow, suddenly extremely grateful that my mother had hired him. Because now... Now, I was scared.