"Qhene, well bou he FDGHOME?!#" read the text from Pete's Grandma. Pete would usually be concerned if he had got this random gibberish from someone else, but since it was his Grandma, he just laughed it off. It was sort of a running joke in Pete's house how his Grandma couldn't quite grasp technology. Whether it be a simple text or posting a photo onto Facebook, she somehow stumbled her way through it. No one really saw it as an actual problem though, just Grandma being adorably helpless. When will you be home, Pete translated his Grandmother's text, this being some what of a necessary skill in order to communicate with her. "I'll be home in a minute, Nana." Pete replied, as he continued his walk home.
After a few minutes, Pete had reached his house. After he hung up his backpack and took off his sneakers, he found his Grandmother in the living room. This is where Ellen spent most of her time since she moved in. It where the most comfortable chairs were and also had the computer with the largest monitor. The large monitor was easier for Ellen, as her sight began to fade. Ellen's face brightened as she saw Pete enter the room, "Peter!" She exclaimed.
"Hey Nana," Pete said, noting his Grandmother's unusual excitement. "What's got you all worked up?"
"I'll tell you in minute," Ellen answered suspiciously, but Pete chose to ignore. Probably just his Grandmother being her weird self. "Come and sit by me, dear," Ellen told Pete, beckoning to the other half of the small couch.
"Um, alright" Pete said, as he tried to squeeze himself onto the couch. Once he maneuvered his body into the tight position, he was making more physical contact with his grandmother than he would of have wanted. Everything on right side, below his waist, was pressed firmly against Ellen. and although Pete was clearly uncomfortable, Ellen didn't seem to mind at all. "So what is it, Nana?"
"Where did these come from?" Ellen gasped as she gripped Pete's bicep, "Have you been working out, Peter?"
"No more than usual," Peter chuckled nervously, his grandmother never being this touchy before.
"Why, I bet the girls at your school are all over you with muscles like these," She said, while she continued to squeeze and prod Pete's bicep.
"Well you might be surprised about that Nana," Pete sighed, who couldn't get a date since his sophomore year. Pete would either be too shy or the girls he was interested in just didn't feel the same way. "I haven't had a real relationship for a while now," Pete said, as he tried to slowing pull his arm out his grandmother's clutches,
"Actually, it's funny you brought up relationships," Ellen said, as she gripped Pete's bicep tighter, "You know how I've been trying out these dating sites?"
"Uh hu?" Pete said, confused why she even asked. Everyone in the house knew, Grandma spent half her day on the computer. Most of the time, it was Ellen just figuring out how the site worked. Once she eventually figured that out, she would spend hours at a time flirting with local, single old men. Ellen had even set up a couple meetups, but she has mentioned that the men she met online were always less charming in person.
"Well all the men I have met on those sites are scum, Peter," Ellen said frankly, "I swear Peter I haven't met a decent man in fifty years. Back in my day, men were gentleman. Now they're all perverted, selfish pricks. And now that I'm older, I feel like the window for finding a good man is closing. I was thinking, if only I had more time. If only I was a younger, even by a little bit, I could find someone special who would love me just as much I love them. That's when I found this," Pete watched his grandmother pull a golden watch of her right pocket, while she kept gripping his arm with her free hand. The watch was almost completely ordinary, except for a small detailed picture behind the ticking arms. The symbol looked like a pair of of dark red puckering lips. Before Pete could get a closer look, Ellen started to put watch around her wrist, finally letting go of her nephew.
"And what's that?" Pete asked, as grandmother grabbed his bicep again.
"This..." Ellen looked for the right words, "...is something that will give me time. But only if you help me."
"Do you want me to wind that up for you?" A confused Pete asked, "Because that wouldn't be so hard. You could asked anyone to do that."
"I don't need that and only you can help me," Ellen, said, sounding almost desperate.
"OK OK, I'll help." Pete said, just wanting this conversation to end. Spending the whole afternoon talking to his grandma wasn't exactly his plans today. "How can I help?"
"By kissing me," Ellen abruptly said, as she lunged forward onto Pete's lips. As he was about to object, Pete found himself involuntarily frenching his own grandmother. Feeling her old tongue wriggle inside his mouth was too much as he pushed Ellen off of him and stood up.
"What the hell, Nana!?!" Pete said, as spit his Grandmother's saliva out of his mouth. Pete almost hurled at the taste of prunes mixed with cough drops that she left on his tongue.
"Sorry Peter," Ellen said, pretty insincerely, "But I needed to kiss a good man for the watch to activate. And you're the closest thing to a good man I know of. Don't worry though, I'll make it up to you. Oh god, I can already feel the power activating!" And just as Ellen was done rambling, what looked like a small thunderbolt shot out of her watch towards Pete. The thunderbolt hit him directly in the chest and right before Pete's eyes...