#farp

At first everything seemed normal. Wake up, go to school, go to Eefa’s, put up with the mayor’s bat guano… the usual routine. It was like that whole incident with the cloak never happened.

Oh, but that would imply fate was being kind to Resus… and it’s never been inclined to do that.

***

“Resus, are you sure you’ve added enough sugar? I don’t think you’ve passed the saturation point yet.”

Resus rolled his eyes at Cleo’s comment as he added another spoonful of sugar to his double hot chocolate with marshmallows. “If you can name me one thing that wouldn’t benefit from a little more sugar, I’d like to hear it.”

Cleo shook her head and took a sip of her own hot chocolate. Luke, who was sitting beside her, had already downed half of his.

They heard Eefa’s bat squeak, and Dixon walked into the store and over to the shelves, grabbing a shopping basket on his way. Luke and Cleo barely spared him a glance before returning to the topic at hand.

“I dunno, Resus, I think this hot chocolate’s great the way it is,” Luke said as he took another enthusiastic gulp. “And you said Luella made this?”

“Hm?” Resus’ attention was drawn away from where Dixon was pulling various small jars off the shelf and back to his friends. “Oh. Oh yeah, it’s one of her specialties.”

“Hmm, I wonder why that is…” Cleo smirked, raising an eyebrow at Resus, who cleared his throat awkwardly.

“I’m gonna order another one. How about you guys?” With that, Luke polished off the rest of his mug.

“I’m barely a third of the way through. And I don’t think Resus is finished seasoning his, yet.”

“Shows what you know,” Resus snarked as he finally took a sip.

“Which is just about everything.” Cleo watched as Resus added one more spoonful of sugar to his hot chocolate, then took another sip.

“There. Now it’s perfect.”

As Luke and Cleo chuckled to themselves, Dixon strolled past their booth on his way to the door, carrying a full bag of purchases in one arm. His other hand trailed lazily across the tabletop, starting near Luke and Cleo’s side of the table and ending at Resus’, before he passed them completely and went out the front door.

The trio was left in confused silence.

“So…” Luke finally broke the silence. “… is anybody gonna ask what that was about?”

“Beats me.”

“I have no idea.”

***

“Thank you, Farp, for your… enlightening project on the effect certain foods have on a goblin’s digestion system,” was the weary comment from Dr. Skully as he opened a window for some fresh air. The rest of the class were either holding their noses or waving the air in front of their faces.

Farp bowed to the class with one last toot, and carried his one-page essay, chart, and bowl half-filled with garlic (for once Resus was glad not to be a vampire), cheese, (raw) brussels sprouts, a half-eaten loaf of bread, and an empty can of beans to his seat in the back of the class.

“Next up is… Dixon, and his project on the biological mechanics behind a shape-changer’s… shape-changing, as it were.” Dr. Skully sat back in his seat, already bringing out his red pen.

As Dixon strolled past his desk to the front of the class, Resus noticed in his hand another single-page essay… one with words covering only half the page. Facing the class, Dixon made a big show of standing up straight and clearing his throat, as if he were the President of G.H.O.U.L. himself, ready to give a speech, even giving his “essay” a shake to straighten it out. Resus couldn’t help but smirk…

“Now, I’m gonna make this quick, so some of you don’t enjoy the view too much…”

And for a brief second, his eyes met Resus’, before returning to the essay he obviously hadn’t memorized.

Resus blinked. Did he just…? He didn’t just say what he thought he said… did he? Resus felt the blood rising to his cheeks and was thankful for the white makeup he always wore to look paler than he really was.

No. No, no, no, it was nothing. It had to have been nothing… he was just getting paranoid, that whole thing with the cloak this past weekend had him seeing things that weren’t there. He was overreacting…

Before long, it was time for Resus to deliver his own project on the relationship between vampires and bats, including how they were able to change into bats specifically. As he began reading his essay aloud, he couldn’t help but look over at Dixon in what he hoped was a subtle manner.

Not that it mattered… Dixon wasn’t even paying attention to him or his project, which was admittedly normal for him. Almost as if that little comment really didn’t mean anything, or indeed was even referring to him. Instead, he was tossing a crumpled piece of paper at the back of Cleo’s head, then feigning innocence when she turned around to glare at him. Once she turned her attention to the front of the class again, he propped his chin in his hand and sighed dreamily…

“Resus, if you could continue?”

Resus was brought back to Earth by Dr. Skully’s sharp reminder (and the muffled snickers of the other students, except maybe Luella), and he glanced down at his essay to see it had been crumpled by him gripping it too tightly. Huh. How did that happen…?

***

The song had no lyrics yet—all he had was a melody. Or at least, the beginnings of a melody. He knew the emotions he wanted his song to convey, and he was trying to express them through the strumming of his guitar. Trying random chords until he struck one that resonated with him. Put them into a pattern… then put his emotions to paper.

That’s what he was doing before a slow clap interrupted him. He turned towards the doorway…

“GAH! How did you get in my room?! What are you doing in my house?!”

Dixon ducked the sneaker thrown at his head. “Your dad tried to fix the sink again and your mom wasn’t taking any chances. Anyway, your shower isn’t leaking blood anymore. You’re welcome for that.”

“That still doesn’t answer the question of what are you doing in my room?!”

“I heard a racket and came to make sure a screech owl wasn’t being tortured. Animal abuse is worth a hefty fine.”

Resus could almost hear the steam coming out of his ears. “Get out of my room!”

Dixon put a hand to his chin in mock contemplation. “Hmm… nah. Gotta do something while your parents test all the water fixtures in the house. And NoName isn’t the best company. Besides… we’ve got stuff to talk about.”

Resus huffed, before deliberately focusing his attention back on his guitar. “Well, that makes one of us, because I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, really~?” Dixon leaned casually against the doorframe, arms crossed and that smirk on his face. “So, we’re just gonna ignore that picture you took of me?”

“Yup.” Resus started tuning his guitar. “I took pictures of everyone on that field trip. I had a new camera. Yours wasn’t special.”

“Your cloak would beg to differ.”

Resus faltered for a second, before forcing himself to continue tuning. “My cloak was just having a laugh at my expense. I think you’ve noticed it has a mind of its own.”

"I noticed. And you said only Negatives can use it… sounds to me like Bram wants me in the family!"

“Bram, wh—” Resus stopped tuning altogether and stared incredulously at Dixon. “You named my cloak?!”

Dixon shrugged. “What? He looked like a Bram. And he’s part of this family, too~”

“Shut up. You are not part of this family.”

“Not yet~”

“Not ever. The cloak doesn’t know what it’s talking about!”

“So, you admit it’s seeing a connection here.” Dixon’s near-constant smirk now held a glimmer of triumph. Resus growled and returned to tuning his guitar… only for the string to snap. Resus clenched his teeth, barely holding in his anger.

“There’s no connection here!” As he spoke, he reached into his cloak for a spare guitar string. “I had a new camera! We were at the beach! I wanted to remember this fun time I had with my friends!”

“And… my bare chest was part of that ‘fun time’?” Dixon pointed to Resus’ hand, which held not a new guitar string, but the topic of their discussion, the photograph that seemed destined to ruin his life.

“Nonononono, I—where did you get your chest? That’s not the focus here at all, in fact there is no focus, it was just… it was a good shot, okay? That’s why I took the picture. That’s it.”

“Oooor you took that picture because it lasts longer, and you wanted to savor this toned, handsome body~” Dixon purred, gesturing to said body.

“I—NO.” Resus choked out. “THAT’S—YOU—WHAT BODY?!”

"I never knew you felt that way about me~"

"I DON'T, I HATE YOU!"

"I'm flattered~ Though I can’t help but wonder what your friends had to say when they rescued you! I’m sure you had a lot of explaining to do…"

“There was nothing to explain! All you did was steal my cloak!”

"Aw, you didn't tell them about your deep, passionate lov-"

Resus leapt to his feet, his other sneaker clutched firmly in his hand. “That’s it! Out of my room! Out, out, OUT!”

Dixon held his hands up in mock surrender. “All right, all right, I’m going… gotta get paid, after all… but if I were you, I’d take a look at your amp, make sure everything’s working all right. Unless you were trying to sound like an angry owl.” He winked and shut the door behind him, just in time for Resus’ sneaker to bounce harmlessly off of it.

***

What Dr. Skully had been hoping would be an educational field trip to Lake Nessie to study—and potentially spot—the elusive Lake Nessie Monster had turned into a regular trip to the beach. Cleo was sunbathing, Luella was using her magic to build sandcastles…

… and Resus and Luke were engaged in the chicken fight to end all chicken fights, against Dixon and Farp.

Resus was sure Luke was having a hard time putting up with Farp’s flatulence in the water, but he couldn’t really think about that. Not while he was trying to overpower Dixon, or more accurately, trying to prevent Dixon from overpowering him. Dixon was stronger than Resus was, even without the shapeshifting, so Resus was relying more on Luke’s werewolf strength to win this chicken fight. He just had to keep the other boy at bay long enough…

Which was easier said than done. With Resus and Dixon right in each other’s faces as they pushed against each other, Resus was close enough to see every drop of water dripping from Dixon’s wet hair, sliding over his smooth skin, his lean muscles flexing as they exerted themselves. It was strangely… distracting… enough for Resus not to notice the huge wave of water rising up behind him until it crashed over them both, washing them up on shore.

When the wave receded, Resus found himself staring up at a smug and sopping wet Dixon, who was straddling his waist, pinning his wrists down beside his head. Everyone and everything around them faded away… it was just the two of them…

Dixon smirked, cocking his head to one side. “Looks like I win, Resus~ What’s my prize~?”

Resus couldn’t answer. His eyes were darting every which way, but Dixon was all he saw. His slick wet skin, his heaving chest, the way his swim trunks clung to his strong legs… Resus’ gaze eventually landed on Dixon’s sparkling green eyes, which were looking at him in a way they never had before. He couldn’t put a finger on that look, but whatever it was, he… liked it …

“Oh! I have an idea~” And with that, Dixon started to lean in closer to Resus’ face. Resus’ breath caught, before his eyes slipped closed, waiting for the touch of Dixon’s lips against his…

Resus shot up in bed, his heart racing a mile a minute. His mind caught up with him, and his face flushed furiously. He grabbed his pillow and screamed into it, before throwing it down and pointing at his cloak.

“YOU DID THIS!”

***

Dixon was chatting idly with Farp in the back of the class when Resus stormed up to his desk and slammed both hands down on it.

“I hope you’re happy!” he hissed, before marching to his own desk in the front row, leaving a bewildered Dixon in his wake.

***

What was Otto thinking?!

No, seriously, at what point did he think building a giant, half-mechanical Frankenstein’s monster was a good idea? What was his endgame here? He already had NoName as muscle… and Dixon could turn into NoName if he needed double the muscle. Why was all this necessary?!

Now both sides were taking cover while the appropriately named “Ottostein”—though Resus personally would’ve gone with “Frankensneer”—went on a rampage in the town square, in the middle of a raging lightning storm, no less. It had already smashed its way out of Sneer Hall, much to Otto’s chagrin, and was throwing around anything it could get its hands on that wasn’t bolted down.

“Otto!” Luke yelled over the roars of the monster. “How do we stop it?!”

“How am I supposed to know?!”

“It’s your creation!” Cleo yelled back, already tying one of her bandages around a piece of debris in case they needed a grappling hook.

“Yes, but I didn’t build the thing! I just brought it to life!” Otto and Dixon ducked a thrown crate; it smashed harmlessly on the sturdy NoName. “How would you stop an out of control werewolf?!”

“Why you--!” And now Resus and Cleo had to try to rein in Luke’s inner wolf before they had two creatures of pure rage on their hands. Thanks, Otto.

“There’s some wires on the back of its neck!” Dixon chimed in. “They’re connected to a battery—if you cut the wires, it’ll turn off!”

Resus stared at Dixon in disbelief and, admittedly, a little awe. He built the creature…? Judging from his friends’ silence, they were on the same page. And Luke’s snapped out of his anger. That’s good.

“… Well, of course!” Otto blustered. “Why else would we need electricity to bring it to life?”

“Never mind!” Cleo yelled. Resus could already see a plan forming in her mind. “Luke! You and NoName get the arms! Dixon!”

Dixon perked up. “Y-yes?”

“Can you turn into something that will hold its legs?”

“Of course, Cleo~” Dixon looked downright smitten, and there was the strange clench in his stomach again, what was that?

“I’m gonna give Ottostein a good old-fashioned mummy makeover!” Cleo declared, snapping the bandage-turned-makeshift grappling hook taut. “That’ll buy you time for the most important job of all, Resus!”

“Hold it! You can’t just order my minions around!” Otto snapped. There was a pause. “Dixon! NoName! Help the freaks restrain that beast! They need all the help they can get taking it down. Me, I’ll… I’ll supervise!”

Cleo rolled her eyes before continuing. “Resus, when I give the signal, you and that cloak of yours cut the wires!”

“But it almost never works—"

“It will this time! Because when you’ve really needed it, your cloak always pulled through! So, don’t worry—” She placed a reassuring hand on Resus’ shoulder. “You’ve got this!”

“Uh, Cleo, hate to interrupt this motivational speech, but Ottostein’s ripped the door off of Everwell’s Emporium—!" Luke pointed to said establishment, where Luella’s startled screams could be faintly heard over the pounding rain.

“Then let’s move!”

With a roar akin to that of his werewolf form, Luke leapt over the wall that served as their shelter, focusing his anger into his arms to summon his werewolf strength. NoName lumbered over to join him as fast as he could, each latching onto one of the creature’s arms. As the creature roared in fury and tried to throw either of its super-strong opponents off, Dixon scurried over to the struggle undetected in the form of a mouse, before morphing into a pair of sturdy shackles, already locked around the creature’s ankles.

As soon as Ottostein was restrained, Cleo leapt into action, winding her bandages around the creature’s midsection to pin its arms to its sides. Ottostein growled and tried to kick her, only to almost trip itself. With the others preoccupied with holding the monster still, only Resus noticed Ottostein focus exclusively on trying to break Dixon’s hold on its ankles.

‘That thing’s smarter than it lets on,’ Resus realized with growing horror, right before the greenish chain holding the shackles together snapped, and Dixon—very quickly shifting back into himself—was flung from the creature’s feet with a scream of pain.

As Dixon staggered to his feet, his back to the chaos, Ottostein stomped on NoName’s foot, breaking his grip on its arm, and despite Luke and Cleo’s best efforts to hold it back, it managed to rip said arm out of the bandages, finally grab something that was bolted down—a lamppost—and tear it out of the ground, preparing to swing it at Dixon’s head.

“DIXON, GET DOWN!” Resus launched himself over the wall and tackled Dixon out of the way. He heard the lamppost smash into the ground behind them as they rolled over the wet pavement, ending with Resus on top of Dixon, who stared up at him in shock.

Resus realized how it must’ve looked seconds before Dixon’s shock morphed into a mischievous grin. “Aww, Resus… you do care~”

Resus shoved him. “Get off!”

“Actually, you’re on top of me, I should be telling you to get off…” Dixon’s grin broadened. “Or have you already?”

Resus screamed, giving Dixon one last harsh shove before scrambling off of him. He resisted the urge to kick him for good measure.

“Resus!”

Cleo’s cry drew Resus’ attention to the town square—NoName had regained his grip on Ottostein’s arm, Luke was still holding back the other arm, and Cleo had rewrapped her bandages around the creature’s midsection, and was using them to help hold it back.

“You all right, mate?” Luke grunted.

“Ugh… fine.” Resus shot a glare at Dixon, who was back on his feet and dusting himself off, a deceptively innocent—yet still smug—smile on his face. “Just peachy…”

“Then hurry up and cut the wires! We can’t hold it much longer!” Cleo yelled.

“Right!” Resus reached into his cloak. “C’mon, cloak, give me something that can cut…” He pulled out a sheet of paper. “Not a papercut! Gimme some scissors!” What he got was a pair of child’s safety scissors. “Come on, cloak, this is an emergency! Give me something that can do some damage!” He reached in again, this time pulling out a water pistol. “Seriously?!”

“Do you want me to try?”

“NO!” Resus snapped at Dixon. “I can do this! I don’t need you to get my cloak to work! I—”

“RESUS, LOOK OUT!”

Luke and Cleo’s shouts were the only warning he got before he felt the creature’s arm swipe him into a nearby wall. As he faded from consciousness, he heard a very familiar howl…

***

“Resus! Resus, are you all right?”

Resus reawakened to find Luella leaning over him, holding his hand with concern. A cursory glance told him he was lying on a cot in Everwell Emporium.

“Oh, thank goodness! You’re all right!”

Resus groaned and pushed himself into a semi-sitting position, letting go of Luella’s hands to rub his head. “Ugh… what happened…?”

“You were attacked by Otto’s monster.” Luella clenched her hands into fists. “Horrible thing… it got exactly what it deserved for trying to hurt you.”

The memories came flooding back to Resus, just in time for Luke and Cleo to run in.

“Resus!”

“You had us worried there!”

“Then I obviously look better than I feel.” Resus winced. “What happened with Ottostein?”

Cleo smirked. “Ottostein made a big mistake attacking you—Luke turned full wolf. After that, it was no match for us.”

Luke awkwardly rubbed his arm. “I don’t remember a lot… but Cleo told me she was able to finish bandaging up our not-so-little friend.”

“But how did you take him out?” Resus asked. “The cloak didn’t give me any wire cutters…”

“It… shorted out. It must’ve been all the rain…” Cleo frowned in contemplation. “I wish I knew more, but I was so focused on holding Ottostein still, and keeping an eye on Luke—”

“Sorry about that.”

“It’s no problem. I just… I wish I’d thought of that! But cutting the wires seemed more straightforward…”

“The important thing is, everything’s all right now!” Luke grinned. “And the best part is, Otto still has to patch up that monster-shaped hole in his wall!”

Resus stared at his friends for a long while, before snapping out of it and plastering a smile on his face. “Oh! That… that’s great!”

“We should probably tell your parents you’re up, they’ve been worried sick. Come on, Luke!” Cleo grabbed Luke’s arm and pulled him out of the room, Luella following after one last glance back at Resus, who hung his head once everyone left.