i'll sail the world to find you.

“Hmmm… I think you have just enough to pull it off.” Pascal told him after some consideration. He felt pride beam through him and he puffed his chest out, ready to impart some wisdom because everyone should be able to take nice selfies of themselves. “Okay first tip is to have confidence. You know the saying low quality photo but high quality person? That totally shows in photos and you have to believe you’re hot shit but not like in a gross cocky way if that makes sense?”

♡

“Yeah, yeah, that makes sense,” he nodded. Fred couldn’t imagine himself being cocky. He’d like to think he was pretty confident, but maybe it was less confidence and more... simplicity. He didn’t care what people thought about him, but that didn’t mean he thought he was great. Just content with himself. The conversation reminded him of Dominic telling him to put a mask on. “So, you gotta make sure that people think you’re cool through the screen. But not too cool.”

“Oh no, I better watch out then. You seem like a pretty sketchy guy for sure.” Riley found herself just smiling. She needed this right now, even if he didn’t know it he was helping her out. “That’s real cute,” she said through a reminiscent sigh. Some days she missed being that little when her imagination could run wild without such severe consequences. “I think that’s nice anyway, good to have people around like that. It was just me and my parents growing up.” And all the friends inside her head but he didn’t need to know that. The girl was still picking at old nail polish to distract herself as he sat down. She looked over to him then and her features brightened slightly. “You have? Well, since you’re so experienced and all. And I bet my parents would appreciate the help.”

♡

“What’s that like?” He found himself asking. The closest thing he had to a mother figure in his life now was Aunt Cass, while his parents were around they were never actually around. He was lucky if they answered a phone call once every couple of weeks. Hard as he tried he couldn’t keep up with what time zones they were in, or why they even stayed gone. What was so bad about their home in Prentiss Town? What was so bad about staying with their son for the holidays? “Having parents around all the time, I mean,” he added. “Oh, yeah, I don’t mind at all. I’ll always help when I can, otherwise I won’t be able to sleep at night. Not that I’m sleeping now, huh?”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be the same,” she said, matching his tone. Riley wasn’t always this easily swayed from her sadness unless it was Benji or Joy and they were build from her own happiness. He was just a guy she met in the woods. “A butler? Is that like having a friend around all the time or more like a colleague? I would like a live in best friend if I could have one.” Riley was curious, she only had her parents and her imagination. Until she invented Bing Bong she was alone. “As much as I wish I didn’t have a cooler reason than that, I think I do…” She sighed, plopping back down on the tree stump behind her. “I accidentally flooded the house.”

♡

“That’s my thing, that’s what I do. Just ruin people’s innocence.” Fred grinned. “Uh, friend, but also family member, I think. I’ve known him since I was like, this high,” he held his hand down below his knee, “and I’ve been around him a lot more than my parents. So it kind of feels like he’s a... great uncle... or something.” Taking a seat when she did, Fred whistled. “Yikes. That’s tough, buddy. But, hey, I may or may not have some experience in flooding the house a time or two. If you need some help cleaning up.”

Fred’s reaction was normal to Dominic one he often seen on folks he told his strategy to. “Take it all in, I’ve been in the game for a long time.” He commented with a small smile, feeling a sense of accomplishment of helping out another lost soul. He had been expecting this next question–answering it with ease. “You can still be yourself, just not completely. Think of it like a mask, when your in front of others you wear that mask. Be the you you’ve always wanted to be– no one will know unless you let that mask slip.”

♡

“Do you wear a mask?” Fred thought it over, imagining himself hiding details, leaving out things that other people didn’t like --- his ‘nerdy’ obsessions, like comics and video games, even though they took up most of his life. “That’s kind of... sad, isn’t it? Always having to be someone you’re not. Or a version of yourself you’re not. I had to do that for the events my parents would take me to. Slicked back hair, suits, no elbows on the table... I hated it.” 

Riley wiped her cheek as a laugh trickled out. He was making it easier to forget what had happened moments earlier. She faked a small scare as he did that, pretending to be afraid of this ‘monster’. As her smile settled she exhaled the knot in her chest. “Oh my goodness, I stand corrected.” Another soft laugh found its way. He was nice, she appreciated it. Not everyone would’ve been so understanding of the situation. “Honestly, I can’t blame ya. My mom always wants to kill the spiders in the house but I secretly release them. Don’t tell her.” Riley lowered her voice to a whisper as if she was telling him a very important secret, though her mother was back at home cleaning up her mess. “It’s super duper nice to meet you too Fred, The Monster.” 

♡

“Traumatizing, isn’t it?” He asked, the most serious expression he could muster on his face. Fred was a goofball, definitely not the kind of person to incite fear, even if he wanted to. Except, maybe, when people saw him speeding down the road in his beat up rusty old van, only half paying attention to his surroundings... “That’s sweet of you. I make Heathcliff do it.” After a short pause, he realized she didn’t know who Heathcliff was. “My butler,” he added for clarification. “It’s nice to meet you too! What are you doing out here, anyway? Not that I’m judging you, I just like to walk around sometimes. It’s boring being cooped up and alone. But if you have a cooler reason than that, I’m all ears.”

“I’m so sure.” Gogo teased back whilst rolling her eyes. She did appreciate the jokes event though if some of them felt lackluster. She wasn’t sure if anyone else would’ve done the same to cheer her up. It warmed her cold little heart–her feelings for him dwelled beneath the surface. Complicated and foreign. 

“What? What’s wrong with 270?” She asked a bit taken aback by his reaction. Mostly because she had been living in her own delusions, not taking a step back and realizing this was all much more dangerous than she was making it out to be in her head. “Dangerous maybe if you don’t have the right gear, but you know me I’m all sorted. I’ll be good.” She wasn’t sure where all this was coming from, Fred wasn’t known to be the lecture type, at least as far as she’d known him. If she wanted to be lectured she would’ve gone to Hazel instead. She felt a small pang in her chest at his words. “Legal Schmegal. What they won’t know won’t kill em’.” She paused, meeting his eyes. “Don’t you trust me?”

♡

“Uh, nothing, nothing. That’s fast, for sure.” She was excited about this project, and he wasn’t trying to kill her mood. He always loved Gogo, but even more when she was happy. He wished his friends could be happy all the time. Her breaking the law didn’t bother him, it was only the idea of her getting hurt... or worse. Just thinking about it made his heart feel like it was going to burst out of his ribcage. It almost put him back in the mindset of when he was standing, watching the building burn, just waiting for Tadashi to emerge from the smoke. Helplessly. He was helpless now, too. If her mind was made, he couldn’t stop her.

The last thing Fred wanted to do was make her mad at him, and it seemed like they were teetering on that. He was not a smart man, but he was smart enough to know not to poke a bear. She’d do what she was going to do, with or without his support. “I trust you, just... not everyone else on the road.” He attempted to smooth things over while being honest, but ‘joking’ at the same time, a half-smile on his lips. “I’m a busy man, I don’t have time to visit you in the hospital, you know.”

Riley exhaled as her heart rate descended down closer to its normal rate. He seemed like he wasn’t there to do anything bad. Maybe it was stupid to trust the stranger so fast but perhaps he should be more scared of her. She was the one who destroyed her own home without even thinking. “Yeah, not really… But… Anyone with the name Fred can’t be that bad, right?” A smile tried to creep out but it fell quickly. He didn’t need to see that, for they’d just met so she tried her best to fake it. “That makes two of us. But I’m not a killer and as long as you’re not a killer I think the odds of us seeing someone else are slim.” She stepped forward into the light to see him better and remember his face if they were to ever meet again. “Sorry about the stick, Fred… I’m Riley, by the way.”

♡

“I don’t know who told you that, I’m a monster,” Fred joked, holding his curled fingers up like they were fangs in front of his face. He truly was about as harmless as people came, though he could understand being frightened of running into some mysterious stranger in the woods. He hadn’t meant to scare her, so hopefully he could lighten her mood by joking around --- it was the only thing he knew how to do, after all. “Not even flies. I feel too bad.” He shook his head, a grin on his face. “Hey, no harm, no foul. Super duper nice to meet ya, Riley Not-A-Killer.”

Cass listened intently as Fred spoke, nodding as she tried to understand where he was coming from. What he said made sense…in a way. “Okay, I get the rarity thing, but I still don’t know what a Red Sonja is exactly? Is it a person, an alien, a monster? I’m still lost there.” she admitted, going over to the register to grab her long-abandoned snack from her brief lunch break earlier. She pulled over the stool from the cashier and sat across from Fred, occasionally glancing to look at how the tart came apart. She was relieved that it tasted good, but making sure the presentation was solid never hurt either.

♡

It was always a little shocking to have an adult be interested in what he was talking about. Heathcliff would listen, sure, but he didn’t ask questions. He just put up with it because he had to. He couldn’t leave when he was being paid to stay in the house with Fred. Cass, though, she seemed genuinely curious, in a way his parents had never been, a way his passionate self had longed for his whole life. “Oh, she’s a woman, a swordsperson. She’s really cool! I’ll go get the comic from today to show you... after I finish this tart. Which is really delicious, by the way. I don’t know how your food keeps getting better. Or maybe I’m starving. But I think it’s really good anyway.”

“But of course! For my photos though, duck lips are essential, ” Pascal exclaimed as he stressed the last word. His shoulders relaxed from the tense position they were in earlier, relief coursing through him as Fred was quick to agree. Some people just didn’t get it, taking selfies was an art form that not everyone appreciated. “I know some people don’t do the duck lips though, and that’s because they don’t have any so there’s no point and THAT’S OKAY.”

♡

“Do I have enough lips, you think?” Fred pursed his lips, crossing his eyes as he tried to look down to see them. He’d never paid much attention to that before. “Maybe you should teach me how to take good selfies. You sound like an expert, and I could really use some help. I’ll never get anyone to swipe right if I can’t look halfway decent on my two profile pics.”

TIANA smiled at Fred, he was harmless and sweet. She’d never come across him in a bad mood or talking crap about anyone, she liked to think his parents were the same. “You an only child Fred?” she asked, although Lottie had been like a sister to Tiana she’d still played alone most days. “What’s it really like to have a butler? Lottie’s fiancés got one but he’s well… not a patch on your Heathcliff that’s for damn sure.” Tiana confessed, trying to be as diplomatic as possible about Lawrence. Tiana began to chuckle at Fred’s words, he was always brightening her day just that little bit more. “I mean I can’t pay you but I can feed you if you’re interested.” and she was being sincere who better to try her food than Fred? “Exactly– see hon you’re already halfway there. I guess you don’t to when you’ve always got a brilliant chef lying around… like… me.”

♡

“Oh, yeah, if there were two of us, we would’ve drown poor Heathcliff up the wall.” Fred could only imagine. He would have been so much trouble with a sibling. It was a little sad, though. If he’d had someone else around growing up, someone closer to his age, he would’ve been a lot less lonely when his parents left. Even a dog would’ve been nice, honestly. But there was no point in mourning over that now. “It’s pretty cool. Sometimes I forget he’s a butler though, and not just family. It’s kind of like having a grandpa that has to do everything you say. I think. I’ve never had a grandpa.” His knowledge on how families operated was severely lacking. “I’d pay you to feed me,” he laughed, he certainly didn’t need anymore income. “Well that works out great! You’ll never have to worry about if anything is good or not when you’ve got a fearless taste tester lying around like me.”

She laughed in surprise. “We’ll goodness!” She clapped her hands in pure joy at his compliment. “I can honestly say I’ve never heard that before in my whole life. I’ll take it though.” She laughed “My name’s aurora, by the way.” She offered her hand to shake.

♡

“You’re kidding!” Fred could say the same but, well, he was Fred. No one in their right mind would call him... smarter than average, actually. “Aurora the Genius,” he shook her hand, still smiling, “you gotta admit it has a nice ring to it.”

“Most of the time.” She teased with a playful grin. That was what she loved most about Fred. Each member in their small circle had their own unique strength and Fred’s was his ability to light up a room, even if he was just being a big goofball. She wasn’t sure what she brought to the table, but she hoped it was useful.

Gogo found herself hanging out with Fred more after Tadashi’s death. She had Honey who was also sweet as can be but with Fred she was allowed to sit in silence and work on her bike if need be. He never pushed or prodded, just there to lend support. “Mhm.” Gogo nodded with excitement. This project was one of the main things keeping her going at the moment, at least distracted enough that she didn’t have to think about things. When she was out there at night with nothing but the wind in her hair and the fire in her gut she felt weightless. “Not sure about the accuracy but the fastest car in the world has gone 270 miles per hour. This baby can already go five miles over that, but I’m aiming about twenty miles more. She’s going to be the fasest girl out there.” Gogo beamed happily, completely unaware and in denial to the danger of her project.

♡

“I’m wounded,” Fred gasped, placing a hand over his heart. The dramatics only lasted a few seconds though before a grin spread across his lips again. Fred loved all of his friends dearly, he appreciated all of the dynamics, but he was still surprised sometimes that Gogo genuinely liked him. He didn’t think he’d be the type of person she’d hang out with normally.

“270?” He repeated, his eyes wide. Something about the idea of her flying down the road at 275 miles per hour didn’t sit right with him. It made his stomach twist in knots. “That sounds kind of... dangerous.” Not a thought that often crossed his mind. The boy would climb on his roof with no ladder, he drove an unreliable van around town, he walked across the street half the time without thinking to look both ways. But this was... extreme. Of course it was extreme. It was Gogo. But still. “Is that even... uh, legal?”