#darwinning

     Nicole wasn’t sure if it was because she’d grown to be a relatively light sleeper or because of some 6th maternal sense, but she’d woken up in the middle of the night, having vaguely picked up a sound coming from one of her children’s rooms. At first, she’d thought she was just tricking her own ears - making herself think that she heard something when it was silent - but something compelled her to check & make sure everything was alright anyway, if only to ease her own nerves.

     She quietly slipped out of her room & down the hall to her sons’ room, being careful to not potentially wake them by opening the door. She was surprised to find Darwin awake, however, & concern immediately became evident on her features. “Darwin?” she said, her voice hushed as she was still being mindful that others were asleep, but the worry in her tone still present. “Is everything alright?”

     So, there were two things Rob neglected to keep in mind:      One - he’d forgotten that Darwin, more or less, came with the package of befriending Gumball. Sure, he’d at least assured the other that he didn’t have a bone to pick with him for being associated with his now ex-nemesis, but he hadn’t actually considered the possibility of actually trying to do more than coexist & reach out to him as well, despite the fact that he probably had as much to apologize to him for as he did with Gumball.      Two - he’d also completely forgotten one of the downsides of (reluctantly) trying to continue school were those awful projects where the teacher picked your partner for you, & now you’re forced to work with someone who you’ve been mean to & hurt & even, on one occasion, indirectly ended their very life. (...Okay, that last part definitely wasn’t a universal experience, but the point still stands).

     He sat awkwardly in his seat, though he forced himself not to shift his position in an attempt to appear at least somewhat calm about the fact that he had to actually work with Darwin - who he hadn’t really spoken to in a long time - on some stupid project that, really, he could’ve done on his own. 

Darwin audibly gulped as the shark started to smile. That was a lot of teeth. He wasn’t quite sure what the sharks intentions were. Calling him a “little morsel” did not sound good. “Um, my-my name is Darwin. What’s yours?” He asked in a shaky voice.