Even after Paxton shared his name with the genie, she still wasn’t impressed. He lapsed into silence as he finished his food, merely nodding when Mirajane thanked him for the meal. Was there anything he could do that didn’t annoy her? It seemed like she was irritated simply because he existed, even though he was trying his best to get on her good side. He shook his head. It was just his luck that he would find a genie who hated him even more than his peers at school.

After he finished his dinner, Paxton collected the two plates and headed for the door, “I’m going to take these down to the kitchen. I’ll be back in a moment.” He slipped through the door, closing it behind him, and went down the stairs to drop off the plates in the sink. Fortunately, it was Jaelyn’s night to wash dishes, so he didn’t have to abandon Mirajane for too long. He hurried back to his room before his sister would have a chance to stop him again.

“Okay,” Paxton said as he locked the door again. “Now that that’s done, I shouldn’t have to leave again.” He somehow doubted Mirajane would care even if he did. He crossed the room to sit on his bed again, leaning back on his hands as he contemplated what else there was to do that night. He didn’t have any homework that was due anytime soon and it was Jaelyn’s chore day, so it looked like there was nothing. Normally, he would have just gone to bed early on days like these to try and catch up on sleep, but now he had a guest to entertain.

Thinking about sleep just led him to another question: Did Mirajane ever go back inside her lamp during the time she had been summoned? It would be kind of strange if she just stayed in his room throughout the night. In fact, she would be the only girl Paxton had ever had in his room this late. He bit back a sarcastic laugh. Who would have thought that first would go to a genie?

He was tempted to ask Mirajane directly if she went back inside the lamp at night, but he couldn’t think of a way to say it without sounding like he wanted to get rid of her or keep her cooped up, so he discarded the idea. Perhaps he could figure out the answer with a more roundabout question.

“It’s getting late,” Paxton said, turning back to the genie. “Do you want me to find you a sleeping bag or something? I’d offer you the bed, but it would be strange if someone came in and saw me on the floor for no reason—assuming they can’t see you, of course.” He paused as another thought came to him. “Or… do you prefer to stay in the tangible form?—Not that I have a problem with it! I would just have to find you somewhere less obvious to sleep in case someone comes in here in the morning. Maybe the far side of the bed?”