Borton the Skeith had a very big appetite and a very bad temper. He would
rather spend his days eating Rainbow Doughnuts, Rest In Piece Of Chickens, Poisonous
Lollipops, and even Blue Fuzzles and Tanizards then to socialise with other
pets.
The blue Skeith's temper had a way of getting the better of him. Sometimes
when he was angry, he would take it out on innocent pets and toys. With a scowl,
he would rip and tear PetPets from head to toe, ignoring their frightened cries
for help.
Most pets chose to avoid Borton when they could. Skeiths weren't very popular
among the other NeoPets anyway, due to their fierce manner and unnerving appetite,
but Borton was exceptionally disliked, particularly by Chias and Blumaroos.
One evening, while Borton was strolling down the street in Neopian Central,
searching for a tasty PetPet to feast on, he was passed by a lovely red Scorchio,
wearing a gold necklace with a charm that said Rosea. As he stood frozen on
the corner of 22nd Avenue and Cybunny Lane, the Skeith felt a funny tickle inside
of him, the likes of which he had never felt before.
Even though the Scorchio had long since gone, Borton still felt as if someone
had blown up a big, pink balloon inside of him. He tried to concentrate on how
he hated pink, but every time he attempted to think evil thoughts about the
"ugly" colour, Rosea's shining face popped up in his mind.
Borton cleared his mind and continued on his way, trying to squelch the feelings
inside him. He ended up dining not on a PetPet, as he had intended, but on a
plate of Organic Carrots and a Cup of Hot Borovan at Karina the Kyrii's Café.
He wondered why he did this, and realised it was because he had subconsciously
seen that Rosea was eating there too--he saw her sitting across the café, though
he tried to convince himself that he was just looking for a healthy, fat-free
meal.
Borton saw Rosea had finished her meal and was about to leave, so he stood
up from his table and made to follow her, leaving his plate of Organic Carrots
only half-eaten, and his Cup of Hot Borovan still steaming.
The blue Skeith pushed open the glass door to the café and strode outside.
He followed red Scorchio, staying about 15 yards behind her, dropping back behind
shops and trees whenever Rosea turned around. Borton continued to feel a strange
pleasure in his stomach, as though he had just eaten a fluffy, delicious Fungree.
Rosea crossed a busy street Kiko Boulevard and Borton lost sight of her in
the hubbub of people doing their last-minute shopping before sundown. He searched
everywhere along the following roads onto which she might have crossed, but
he didn't find a trace of the Scorchio.
Finally, Borton gave up on his search. Just as he was turning to head home,
he heard a voice behind him.
"You lookin' for somethin'?" a wizened old Buzz asked him, flying over to
land beside the blue Skeith.
"I, erm, was just looking for my, uh, friend, a red Scorchio named Rosea,"
Borton stuttered, blushing furiously. Embarrassed, he muttered, "Not that it's
any of your business anyway."
"You're in luck, then," the green Buzz answered, giving the Skeith a grin
that was missing quite few teeth. "I spotted a pretty red Scorchio headed down
PetPet Lane about thirty minutes ago. I'm Trid, by the way," he added as an
afterthought.
"Pleasure," Borton replied bitterly, rudely neglecting to offer his name in
return. Then he hurriedly took off down PetPet Lane, hoping to catch up to Rosea
before she got home, without even a backward glance or a word of thanks to the
helpful Buzz.
As Borton turned off PetPet Lane onto Faerie Queen Avenue, he began to wonder
if he had gone the right way. But then the blue Skeith reached a signpost that
read "Scorchy Neighbourhood", and figured that this was where Rosea lived.
About an hour later, Borton stood on the doorstep of what he hoped was Rosea's
house. He had checked the mailboxes of all the houses in Scorchy Neighbourhood,
and this one had read Rosea Shimbers. He just hoped there weren't two Roseas
living in this neighbourhood.
Taking a deep breath, Borton bravely rang the doorbell and knocked three times.
After a moment's pause, he heard a faint shuffling inside the house, and the
door swung open. There, standing framed in the doorway, was Rosea.
Borton stood, open-mouthed, gawking at the sight of the red Scorchio. To most
people, nothing would seem particularly extraordinary about her, but Borton
stared in awe. Rosea, startled at this strange behaviour, began backing away,
closing the door slowly, as if she thought the blue Skeith was a lunatic and
was worried she might frighten him into harming her.
Borton, afraid of Rosea leaving, took to desperate measures and did something
no self-respecting Skeith would do: He broke into song. Borton knew he, like
all Skeiths, was a horrible singer, and yet he serenaded Rosea, though he didn't
have a clue where the words came from:
Her eyes are like emeralds,
Sparkling bright.
Her scales are like rubies,
Shining in the night.
Oh Rosea, my Rosea.
A Scorchio quite grand,
With such dignity and grace.
Won't you please take my hand?
Borton took a bow and extended his hand toward Rosea, for some reason expecting
her to take it. But Rosea just laughed.
"Oh, you silly Skeith," she said, smiling in a taunting way. "No offence,"
she drawled, "but I don't think anyone would wanna go with you, Borton.
What with your horrid voice and ugly figure, the fact that you can't do anything
let alone compose a song, and the fact that you are a mean, grouchy, PetPet-eating
freak, I wouldn't be surprised that you have no friends. I stand up for Chias
and Barbats, you know."
And with that, Rosea slammed the door in Borton's face. The blue Skeith snorted
angrily and instinctively prepared to ram the door, run in, and eat the Scorchio
up. But then he remembered that it was Rosea in there and couldn't bring himself
to attack her.
Borton left Scorchy Neighbourhood with a heavy heart. As he was just turning
into his own neighbourhood, Trid, the old green Buzz, appeared at his side.
"What's troublin' you?" he asked rudely. "Didn't you catch up to that Scorchio?"
"Why do you keep popping up out of nowhere?" Borton asked angrily. Then he
sighed heavily, giving in to rejection. "She slammed the door in my face just
because I sang her a stupid song."
"Ah, the lady didn't like you," the Buzz said knowingly. "But why do you care?
I would think you, of all Skeiths, Borton, would just ignore how a Scorchio
felt."
"I dunno," Borton sighed again. He didn't even think to ask how the old Buzz
knew his name. "It's just that, well, when I was around Rosea I felt different,
somehow. A good kind of different," he added quickly at the questioning look
on Trid's face.
The green Buzz nodded, and suddenly he smiled. "Aha. So that's it.
Do you know why you've been feeling like this, Borton?"
Borton shook his head glumly, but Trid just smiled even wider and said, "Borton,
you're in love! "
That got the blue Skeith really mad. "What!?" he roared in a mix of anger
and dismay. "Me? In love? I wouldn't fall in love with anyone, for
any reason, especially a Scorchio I met on the street!"
But Borton knew in his heart that it was true. He a mean, grouchy, PetPet-eating
Skeith had fallen in love with a pretty red Scorchio that was a friend to Blumaroos
and Bowlas.
The Skeith scowled, ashamed at himself. Then he continued on to his neighbourhood.
Once home, he fell asleep instantly.
When Borton woke up in the morning he ate a Green Fuzzle along with a Turkey
Dinner for breakfast. He went out and spent the rest of the morning and much
of the afternoon chasing around innocent PetPets. In the evening, he sat down
and wrote a list of all the people he disliked (the list was 11 pages long)
as he often did. Then he went to sleep, dreaming of all the "wonderful" things
he had done that day.
For some reason, neither Borton nor Rosea had any recollection of the previous
day's events, though Borton found that he disliked red Scorchios more than any
other pet. How Borton and Rosea forgot is unknown, though Trid, the old green
Buzz, was seen shortly after the incident carrying an empty potion bottle labeled
"Forgetfulness Potion".
The End | 
