heroslayer | for whack_a_muse: kid tested, mother approved (Reply)

In the two or so weeks that Sylar and Melissa had been hiding at her parents' house, the killer had picked up a few things about the family. Her mother was a lawyer, her father a doctor. Her grandmother took an hour a day to herself, where everyone had learned not to bother her, so that she could work on whatever book she was reading this month. Melissa's grandfather had an ear for music, if the perfect pitch he exhibited when he hummed along with her grandmother was any indication. Little things, mostly. Mundane things that made him wonder what the hell had happened to his whirlwind life and if he really missed it.

He couldn't say for sure one way or the other, not when that life had rained horror upon horror on him over the course of the last few years -- his stabbing, his sickness, the Petrelli mindjob, the idea that his father was like him -- but he couldn't stop from feeling pangs of loss for that life, now and again. Particularly in cases when Melissa's grandmother was around, ticking away quietly, probably unaware that she was picking at his sanity in every waking moment. She didn't seem to know she had an ability, after all, and judging by Melissa's reactions in conversations they'd had weeks ago, he doubted she knew either.

Still, though, the sound stung at him once he'd managed to place it, track it to someone else in the house, and rather than do something sane about it -- like telling Melissa -- he'd taken to following granny around the house. It was enough a taste of his old life to keep him from doing anything either grandmother or grandchild would make him regret, and it wasn't like her grandmother noticed, anyway. He was careful.

Or so he thought until he decided it would be a good idea to stalk her during one of her little book club sessions.

She sighed, reaching for her bookmark on the table beside her, then set the book in her lap, calmly. She didn't turn, though, never wheeling in her chair to physically catch him standing there, looming in the doorway of the kitchen. Instead, she just cleared her throat before starting, "I know that you've been following me around the house for going on a week now."

He straightened a bit, but remained silent; if she turned, he'd be gone before she ever caught sight of him.

She didn't -- or at least not immediately. "I know you're there, too. You're not as sneaky as you like to think."

Now she turned, casting him a knowing glance over her shoulder, and his posture improved just a bit more but he didn't bolt. No sense in it now that she was looking at him. He didn't stand up to the accusation, however, choosing to remain silent -- maybe she'd get bored with him and turn away -- and she frowned at him before pressing unfortunately forward. "You want to explain what that's all about?"

Still declining comment, he brushed past her, snatching the box of cereal he'd spotted on the counter over grandma's shoulder, and then turned waving it at her. He wasn't much for cereal, had no idea what Kix, as the box named them, tasted like, but he had to make a show. They were his perfect and only excuse at the moment, and he had to change the subject. "Kid tested, Mother approved," he offered, reading the slogan off of the box mock-brightly before wheeling to face the cabinets behind him.

"You didn't come in here for a bowl of cereal, and we both know it."

Now it was his turn to sigh, setting the box back down where he'd found it, heavily. "You interest me," he told her finally, trying to keep his tone from dropping too low, sounding too threatening. He was a guest in this house, and while if he really wanted to, he could continue to stay with or without her permission, with would most certainly earn him more points with Melissa. And besides, he could appreciate the fact that her grandmother was keeping them hidden, even if she had no idea. He could be someone else besides the Big Bad Wolf in grandma's cottage -- spare her life -- for that.

And so he lied, fluidly. "It's just -- you're always in motion. I don't think I've seen you stop for more than a few minutes the entire time we've been here. Making cookies. Knitting. Reading. It's -- " He shook his head, turning to face her, slowly. " -- impressive."

She studied him for a moment, and in that moment, he was half-certain she was going to call bullshit again. Thankfully, however, she either decided she didn't want the truth or didn't realize he was being anything other than honest, and nodded. "I lived through the depression," she told him, and he couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Devil makes work for idle hands?"

"Something like that," she agreed. A pause, and then, "As interesting as you think I am, though, I'd appreciate it if you weren't following me around every second of the day."

"Yes, ma'am." He managed to leave out the salute he felt compelled to present her with.

"Good." She flashed him a momentary smile that reminded him disturbingly of Melissa's and nodded towards the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I had plans on finishing this chapter before dinner."

He hummed, accepting, and turned to march out of the kitchen, casting a glance over his shoulder as he exited and she went back to her book. He'd be good for a few days, just so she'd stop worry about him, and then he'd go right back to stalking her around the house. Uncertain as he was about whether or not he missed his old life, he needed something now that he knew she had an ability, and he was fairly certain his shadowing her was a smaller price for both of them to pay than her life.

Muse: Gabriel Gray (Sylar)
Fandom: Heroes
Word Count: 1004
Note: Melissa's grandmother belongs to