Shara's house, despite Scott's misgivings, proved to be an exceedingly normal locale. If anything, it seemed a little too normal. Everything was perfectly tidy. Magazines strewn across the living room coffee table seemed almost artful in their mild disarray. One white sock rested atop the back of a couch at a precise forty-five degree angle.

Uncertain why he noticed such things and felt them to be odd, Scott did his best to ignore the little metaphorical warning bells that echoed in his head. For all he knew, she was just neat and tidy.

The ninja cosplay queen spun around on her heels then bent over at the waist. She hefted her shoulders upwards slightly to grant him a view of her cleavage, and granted him a bright smile. "So, you're inside now..."

"Phrasing..." said Scott lightly. His eyelid twitched, however. While his voices had been somewhat subdued lately, they refused to pass up a chance to tear into him for making such a statement.

Her lips quirked upwards in amusement then she bit her lower one slightly and giggled. Shara said nothing else for a moment, however. That moment quickly became awkward. Scott, seeing that she seemed perfectly content to stand there and look at him in a cutesy manner, lifted his hand and coughed lightly into his fist. "So... crafting supplies?"

"Hmm?" she asked him in a cutesy purring tone. Her eyes widened suddenly and she straightened in a flash of movement. She raised up one finger and said, "Right!" while a bright smile crossed her lips.

Shara's face reddened and she lowered her gaze. She reached out and gently clasped his wrist. "Come with me, Scott..."

"Uh... O-kaay," said Scott in a slightly nervous tone. Why was she being so shy at the moment?

She offered him a gentle smile then, his wrist still in hand, she led him out of the room and down a nearby hallway. She stopped outside of a normal seeming door. "I'm sorry about the mess..."

"Ah, that's alr—" he began only to bear witness to a shocking sight the moment she opened the door. "Shara, is this a bedroom..."

She nodded quietly, even as her face reddened further. In that moment she seemed incapable of speaking, but she did maintain her grip of his wrist.

"You keep your crafting supplies here?" he asked her slowly.

Her ponytail bobbed up and down briefly as she answered without words. Her strange shyness continued unabated as she turned to look back at him over her shoulder. Eyes wide and filled with a strange mixture of innocence and hopefulness, it was impossible for Scott to look away from her in that moment.

She took a deep breath then drew him gently into her room. He stood there, his eyes locked with hers for a moment, then forced himself to look elsewhere. Shara's room proved to be something to behold. Figurines lined tables and shelves, while plush toys seemingly occupied the majority of her bed.

For the most part everything seemed quite normal, if a bit tween in nature. It was not until he looked up at the ceiling that he noticed something odd. "Shara... The hell?"

A soft giggle was her response, followed by a slight twisting of her hips. Shara gripped his wrist a little tighter, but did not answer.

"Seriously, why is there a naked poster of me above your bed?" he asked her slowly. Who'd even want that anyway? It would be like having Jabba the Redneck stare down at you while you sleep.

Shara laughed warmly then shook her head. "I like to think about you watching over me, like when we were kids..."

"That's... almost something that makes sense, and kind of sweet... Sort of. But why am I naked?" he asked slowly.

In answer to his question, she took a deep breath then spun quickly in place. Her arms slipped around his waist and she held him close. Face still bright red, she looked up at him with her surprisingly innocent eyes and said, "We're not kids anymore.... So..."

"Shara," he said softly. "Don't..."

She sighed softly then pressed her head to his neck. "I know. I just want to be here like this for a while... call it payment for the crafting supplies..."

Scott leaned his cheek against the side of her head then sighed as well. "I can do that much."

Her grip on his waist tightened and she snuggled against his chest. They stayed that way for quite some time, Scott was uncertain how much of it actually passed. Shara never seemed to tire of hugging him.

"Shara..." Her name hung in the air quietly for a moment before she responded.

She shook her head slowly and tightened her grip. "A little longer, please."

He closed his eyes then reached up and lightly began to stroke her hair. "Just a little longer."

Emboldened by his acceptance, she nuzzled her head against his neck once more. Just a little longer turned into several minutes of silent cuddling before Scott felt that he needed to end things.

"So, I sort of need to get those supplies...." he said quietly.

She withdrew from him reluctantly then released his hand. "Sure. What would you like?"

"What do you have?" Scott followed her over to her nearby closet where she pulled out a small chest with multiple drawers.

A curious contemplative noise hung in the air for a moment as she considered her chest of drawers then she opened it up and gestured toward its contents. "If you just want to make something quick and simple, wire jewelry might be best."

"Sounds good. Thank you," he said.

Shara pulled out a spool of wire and a tool kit then handed them to him. "You can sit on my bed and do it.... if you want."

Scott gripped his new borrowed materials lightly then offered her a slight smile. "It would probably be best to use a table."

Her face reddened once more and she looked away. "D-do it on a table? Scott... that's so—"

He rolled his eyes at her then reached over and mussed her hair a little. "Goof ball."

"Hey!" she cried excitedly.

Scott started to draw his hand back but she pressed the top of her head forward into his hand like a happy cat. "Mrrr. Do it harder..."

"Uh..." Scott grunted at her and shook his head. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Make friendship bracelets?" she asked with a bright smile. She pulled out a second set of crafting supplies and showed them to him expectantly. Where she had hid them, he had no idea. They could only have been hidden inside of her ass as far as he could tell.

"Sure." He laughed a little as some of the nervous tension that had built in that moment began to drain away. Shara was a sweet girl, but she could be down-right odd at times.