The Little Cheeseboy

Chapter 8

Isabel found herself laying on the warm covers of the bed as she let her head drop on the pillow. Isabel turned to face the ceiling as some strands of her red hair fell to her cheek. Her sleeping gown was cool and spaghetti-strapped with red laces and gave her a comfortable feeling as the soft fabric covered her skin. 

She found Hugo's reaction odd though but she only shook the thought off, the truth was that Hugo was slowly growing onto her. He was her first and only friend who didn't treat her weirdly than the other girls when she rarely went to sell wood logs with her father. 

Her father. 

She missed him too and she wanted to go back to him badly but she knew that bringing her mom back would be a great surprise and joyful moment for both of them. 

For the first time, Isabel had something she had lost and that was hope. She didn't hope for a lot but now she had something to hope for. 

She also had Hugo to thank for that he had given her a glimpse of hope to see her mother again. Hugo soon entered the room, he didn't smell so bad anymore, in fact, the room was flooded with a lavender scent when he entered. 

He grabbed an extra blanket and pillow and dropped himself on the armchair beginning to daze off into his own sleep. 

"Hey Hugo," Isabel said sitting up revealing her silky shoulders. 

"Yeah?" he said turning to face her with half-lidded eyes. 

"Thank you," she said smiling sincerely.

 "For what?" he asked taken aback from her comment. 

"For giving me hope to have my mother back," she said before dropping herself back to bed. 

"You're welcome Isabel," he finally said drifting into his own sleep with a warm feeling in his heart.

Isabel woke up to the delicious smell of food that flooded her nostrils making her rise to see a still sleeping Hugo curled in the armchair. 

She smiled examining his human features that couldn't be masked despite his cheese figure. His closed eyes, his slow and calm breathing, and slightly agape mouth almost made the impression of a boy's soul trapped in a food frenzy. Isabel felt happy and secure when she was with Hugo, he was truly her best friend. Isabel quickly changed back into her dress before Hugo woke up and saw her in a vulnerable position. 

She eyed herself in the mirror and noticed her makeup had not smudged off at all, Amy's formula had worked after all. 

Hugo woke up shortly after Isabel changed with a loud yawn as he stretched his short cheesy arms. 

"Good morning," Isabel said as she styled her bow. 

"Good morning," Hugo said looking at her with a sleepy expression. 

"It smells like food," he noted. "Yeah, I think the twins are cooking something," Isabel said opening the door to allow the smell to fill in the room.

 Both teens exited their room to meet the twins setting up the kitchen table. 

"Hello, you two!" Joe exclaimed happily.

 "Sup," Mark said annoyed.

 "Hi," Isabel said with a smile. 

"I hope you two like chocolate chip pancakes," he said grinning.

 "Oh thank you guys," Hugo said smiling. 

"You are our guests," Joe said. 

All four sat down and ate pancakes which Isabel hadn't had in a long time. 

She savored the gooey chocolate flavor with milk until her tummy felt full. 

"When are we leaving?" Isabel asked. 

"I told Jesse to take care of the tavern for a while so we can leave right now," Mark explained. 

"Let's go then!" Joe said and with that, the four teenagers left the apartment and made their way to find the shapeshifter. 

Isabel scurried next to the twins and Hugo as they made their way outside the club and out into the streets of Boulderwich. The sun illuminated her skin and sent warmth throughout her body as she enjoyed the sunny view of the capital flooded with businesses and freaks that made it come to life. 

There was something about all of this that made her feel more at home even though she was really far from it. 

"How are we going to find the shapeshifter?" Hugo asked breaking Isabel from her thoughts. 

"We know where she has gone but it is not a safe trip we must advise you," Mark said pushing his glasses back. 

"Meaning?" Hugo asked.

 "We need to take a train to Rockroad and then go on foot into Dark Paradise and then into the forest," Mark explained. 

"Are you guys sure you want to do this?" Mark asked grabbing both Hugo's and Isabel's attention. 

"On my part, it's a yes," Hugo said with a confident smile. 

"And you?" he asked facing Isabel. Danger. The thought lingered in her head sending shivers down her back but then she thought about her mother...the thought of her brought a smile to her face. 

"Yes," she said with a smile. 

"Alright then although the route we know is partially safe the dangers may arise if we are not careful," Mark explained as Joe looked oblivious to what his brother was saying.

 "We understand," Hugo said. 

"Alright then let's go," Mark said as all the teens made their way to the train station once more. 

The train did not look as majestic in the daylight as it did at nighttime but you could admire its close details which were made out of the finest metal materials or so it seemed at least to Isabel. 

Isabel found herself walking on the majestic train again with her luggage in hand which wasn't much but she felt like she had just walked into a fantasy novel.

 Hugo walked in behind her with Mark and Joe who seemed unimpressed compared to Isabel. 

"We have cabin 56 A, what about you guys?" Joe asked. 

"We got 57B," Hugo said looking at their ticket.

 "You two are going to sleep in the same room?! O-M-G my ship is sailing!" Joe said with a wide smile. Both Isabel and Hugo gave each other confused stares. 

"My brother can sometimes be a bit...exaggerated, just ignore him," Mark said giving his brother a serious stare only for Joe to give him a goofy grin.

 "Okayyyy...let's get to our cabins," Isabel said as she walked past the boys in search of their room.

 It wasn't far from where they were standing so Isabel made her way inside their room which looked the same as the last one they had stayed in with separate beds. 

 "We should get to Rockroad tomorrow morning," Mark said budging in. 

"Okay sounds good so what do you guys wanna do meanwhile we are here?" Hugo asked. 

"How about the bouncy cart!" Joe exclaimed. 

"Too many hazards Joe," Mark said scolding his twin. 

"You are nooo fun," Joe said pouting. 

Isabel thought about the cart where she had danced with Hugo, it was nice, but somehow she wanted to keep that part to themselves for some reason. 

"I know! How about the film cart?" Hugo suggested. 

"Film cart?" Isabel asked. 

"Yeah, you've never seen any movies?" Hugo asked her. 

"To be honest no I have not," she said shrugging. 

"Then let's go", he said pulling grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the hallways. Isabel followed Hugo as he held her hand and the twins followed.

 All teens finally reached the "film cart" which was like the smaller version of a movie theater with a few seats. There were a few freaks already seated for the movie to begin. The four teens luckily found three empty seats together (Mark and Joe are conjoined twins so they sat on the same seat). Isabel sat next to Hugo and the twins sat next to Hugo who looked excited to see the film. 

"What film are we watching?" Isabel asked curiously. 

"They play randomly so I don't know," Hugo explained. 

"Oh," Isabel said raising a brow. 

Suddenly the black and white film began playing on the screen as the title showed up 'Romance' starred by Greta Garbo. Isabel looked at the film curiously as it played along, she had never seen a movie even though she's heard of them. It was amazing how the images could be put into a screen and the actors made their roles perfectly. 

Rita and Tom made a nice couple despite the total amount of drama they had to go through. Isabel looked in awe as the film continued to play and the story developed deeper. Hugo couldn't stop looking at Isabel and barely paid any attention to the film. 

Her red curls dropped against her shoulders which were slightly visible with the blue dress she was wearing. Her blue eyes shimmered against the movie screen and her smile showed brighter than the projector lights. 

He felt himself wanting to lean into her but there were fear and doubt stopping him...he was cheese...and she was a beautiful girl.  The film eventually finished and Isabel came out with a broad smile across her face. 

"That was so amazing!" she said twirling around. 

Hugo looked at her free spirit which was shown across the room. "I'm happy to see you liked it," Hugo said with a sincere smile. 

"Thanks, Hugo for all of this," she said giving him something he would not have expected...a hug. Hugo was left speechless with a warm red crawling to his cheeks before she ran off to their cabin. 

"Dude when are you gonna tell her?" Mark said bluntly. 

"What?!" Hugo said in shock. 

"When are you gonna tell her you like her?" Mark emphasized. 

"I don't know what you are talking about," he said looking away. 

"Yes you do and my advice is to tell her before you regret it," Mark said in a monotone. 

"Yeah go for it!" Joe exclaimed happily.

 "Right..." Hugo said but the thought still lingered in his mind, maybe he should...but fear still held in there.