#lost's writing

Michigan POV:

"Oh, hello, Miss Hawaii," Missouri said, turning away from our conversation. Curious, I looked over to see what was going on.

My brother was speaking to the new territory sounding genuine as he added, "it's nice to see you up and about."

The territory looked startled, as if someone had slapped her. Seeming to struggle over if she should respond or not, I bit down a prickle of irritation as a faint scowl passed over her face.

Least you could do is be polite. The way she acts you'd think she was afraid we'd lock her up somewhere.

I kept the thought to myself, as Wisconsin had chimed in instead, "You know, those wings look awfully normal, aside from the color. Not phoenix-y at all."

Hawaii looked startled, her mouth gaping like she'd heard someone had spat on her dead mother's grave. "What?"

Iowa chirped up, humor sparking in her eyes, "they look more like pheasant wings to me!" She looked over to Indiana, who'd been mostly quiet since Hawaii had shown up, "Reminds me, I've still got to give you that recipe sometime."

Indiana gave a sideways grin, "Don't worry about it, Not a big deal."

"I wonder if phoenix would taste anything like pheasant." Wisconsin mused, twirling a strand of white-and-black hair around her finger, "Do you think phoenix would even be good eating?"

"Probably not." I laughed, "Even if that were somehow possible I wouldn't trust you to cook it."

She stood a little straighter, looking offended, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"What doesn't it mean, I've seen you burn every dish under the sun." I said dryly, "Don't pretend you'd know what to do with a phoenix, much less how to make one edible."

"Besides,would that even work? I mean they'd be magical, right? Who's to say you could even cook one." I glanced over to Missouri, curious whose side he'd take in the debate, but he was watching Hawaii nervously, while the girl herself seemed to be alternating between expressions of nausea and pure confusion.

I felt a little bad for her, but was distracted when Iowa spoke again, rolling her eyes "I'm not arguing over if you can or can't cook phoenix, all I know is I'm saying those look a lot more like pheasant wings, and pheasant wings can be cooked!"

"Well if it's meant to be a phoenix," I pointed out, "it wouldn't work like a pheasant, so it also wouldn't cook like a Phoenix. It's probably fire resistant too."

"Guys, I think we're freaking the poor thing out." Missouri said nervously, trying to speak up over the conversation. "She's looking a little green."

"Do you think the magic in them would affect the taste? Like, would the wings taste like a bird? Or would they taste ashy? Smoky?"

"I bet they'd taste like you'd burnt a bird. Or like an oven exploded."

"I wonder what glazes would go best with that." Wisconsin hummed thoughtfully, before sighing, "this is making me realize I haven't eaten."

Indiana patted her shoulder, looking sympathetic. "I've got some food at my house, I'll bring it over, provided it's just us. We can share!"

Wisconsin immediately brightened and the two began an idle conversation of their own, with Iowa joining in to ask if she could have some.

A small stifled voice reminded me Hawaii was also here. She still looked ill. With panic, mistrust, and fear swirling in her eyes,

"I... I have to go."

her words were strangled and scared, as she edged away from us, making for an exit. I blinked, startled by how afraid she seemed, surely we hadn't been that bad, had we?

Feeling suddenly sorry I spoke up, "Miss Hawaii, that's not what we-" but she'd already rounded a corner and disappeared from view. I frowned, confused and turned to Missouri, who was staring at me, clearly annoyed.

"What do you suppose that was-" I started to say before he swatted me lightly,

"You idiot," He scolded. "She's not used to us and you all talked about eating her wings."

My eyes widened, "That wasn't me! I was just trying to ask valid scienti-"

"When were you ever scientific in your life?" Indiana said loudly, and Wisconsin laughed.

"Well I didn't think she'd be sensitive!" I frowned. and watched where the territory had left, feeling guilty and hoping she'd come back.

She'd had a bad impression of us before, and now it probably hadn't improved any. I sighed and went back to talking with my siblings. Deciding it was probably best not to go after her.

An apology was due someday, but not now.

"What's up with him?"

The rain fell in droves, soaking him to the bone almost instantly. But that wasn't his main concern at the moment.

"He's been acting weird for weeks."

He couldn't afford to stop and catch his breath, he just needed to keep running.

Running.

Running.

R͙̜̱̈́u̬͚ͯͭͥ̀n̜͕̤͖͑́͛̚͜n̳̖̯̖͊͢ͅi͓̮̖̹̲̜͈̤ͧ̿̋͜ň̴̳̠̱͙̂g͔̺͉̭̗͖͍̏̄ͭ͗̀

"I hope he's OK."

Then the worst happened, he slipped and went sprawling into the pavement. After the shock wore off, he tried to scramble to his feet before he was caught by-

"Hello there Quinton."

-------------

"Chris, I know you mean well, but I'm not helping." Isaac said, taking another bite of his sandwich.

"C'mon, Isaac!" Chris responded, his own lunch forgotten, "You won't even try?"

The artist sighed, "Look, I get what you're saying and I'm glad you've got this heart of pure gold, but I'm. Not. Helping."

"Alright, I get it, you and Ed don't have the best relationship, but still! Besides, he's trying to get better too!"

Isaac hesitated for a moment, "Fine, I'll admit that he's more... Tolerable nowadays. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna' go sticking my nose in his business. Even if he wanted someone to bother him there's still the issue of-" he waved his hands for emphasis, "Neither of us like each other."

Chris huffed in annoyance, "Fine, I'll go figure it out myself."

"Good luck with that!" Isaac called after him as Chris left.

Chris had just walked through the door when he was tapped on the shoulder. He jolted and turned to see who did it, relaxing slightly when he saw that it was someone he didn’t know.

He looked at the other student in confusion, “Do I know you?”

The other student just shook his head, “No, sorry, I forget not everyone knows me sometimes.” he stuck out his hand, “Name’s Barry, I’m Edward’s friend.”

After a moment of hesitation, Chris reached out and shook his hand, “Alright, what did you need?”

"I believe you've noticed that something's up with Ed too." He said, his face unreadable.

"How did you know?" Chris asked, beginning to feel slightly nervous.

Barry just gave him a friendly smile, "Call it a hunch. Now, I assume I'm correct?"

Chris nodded slowly, "Yeah... What's it mean to you?"

"Well, I care about my best friend for one. There's also the fact that very little goes on in this school without me knowing so when there is, I like to know what I didn't before. No c'mon, we've got a lot of figuring out to do."

Chris didn't have a chance to speak before Barry was pulling him down the hall towards who know where.

------------

Meanwhile, on the other side of the school, the answers Barry and Chris were looking for were revealing themselves.

"I-I haven't t-touched Drew!" Edward stuttered, backtracking quickly, "J-just leave me alone!"

"Don't treat me like I'm stupid," Nevin sneered, "I saw you two together. Now get over here."

"I-I... I'll do anything!" Edward pleaded, "I'll n-never even LOOK at him again!"

Nevin just stepped forward, "I warned you Quinton..." 

"P-please." He whispered, freezing as he hit the wall.

He was trapped.

-------------

Chris jumped as Barry slammed his hands on the table, "OK, what do we know?"

After recovering from the shock, Chris hesitantly responded, "I... Guess he's been avoiding people more often? I don't know, you probably noticed more."

Barry nodded, "That's the most noticeable change. Even his little gang hasn't seen much of him outside of class."

This was new to Chris, "Wait, not even they know what's up? I thought he told them everything."

Barry shook his head, "If he didn't tell me, he wouldn't tell anyone."

"I feel like there's more between you two than just being friends."

"I'll tell you later." Barry responded dismissively, "Now, back to what we know. So no one has seen him much which implies that he's avoiding people."

"The question is why."

Barry nodded, "And unfortunately, that's something I can't figure out."

"Do you know any reasons why he wouldn't want to be around people?"

"No, not really. He's always been very social so I don't understand why he wouldn't be around others even if something was bugging him."

Chris sighed, "Then we're back at square one."

They sat in silence for a while, both of them feeling frustrated and somewhat defeated. If they couldn't figure out what was wrong they couldn't do anything to help. And it wasn't like they could just ask since Edward wasn't really known for being an open book.

"I wish this was as easy as movies made it look." Chris muttered, "I wish this was like some detective movie or something where there's a clue or sign just magically seems to appear."

And of course at that moment, the universe decided that Chris had gone thre enough already and granted his wish.

The door burst open, causing Chris and Barry to jump in surprise. The door slammed again and they could hear the sound of something thudding against the cabinets in the kitchen. 

They shared a worried look before Barry stood up, "Who's there?"

There was a quiet mumble from the kitchen that neither of them could decipher.

Chris stood up next, "Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?"

There was no response this time and after sharing a wary look, the two teens crept towards the kitchen. At first, it looked like no one was there, but once they rounded the corner they saw the intruder. Sitting on the floor, knees tucked up in a defensive position, sat the very person they'd been talking about.

"Ed...?" Barry whispered.

"Go away." Edward rasped, seeming to draw even further into himself.

"Well," Chris said, a look of confusion on his face, "I think we've got even more questions to answer now."

---------

It took them about half an hour to get Edward to leave the kitchen, and even then. he refused to be near them or say anything. Barry eventually gave up on getting Ed to talk after another half hour of fruitless attempts. 

He sat down at the table with a groan, "Y'know, Ed's a good guy, but there are times where he is extremely frustrating. This is one of them."

Chris chuckled quietly and glanced out the window, "Oh geez, I didn't notice how dark it got. I wonder if my dad's wondering where I am yet."

Barry looked surprised, "Oh my gosh! You it's never told your parents!" he stood up and walked off, "I should tell Ed's mom he's spending the night."

Chris stood up after him, "Well, good luck with that. I gotta' head home before I get in more trouble than I'm definitely already in."

Barry nodded, "Alright, good luck to you too."

They waved goodbye to each other and Barry watched the other walk off until the last trace of color disappeared into the night. He shook his head, turning back to his phone as he pulled up Edward's mom's contact. Most people would consider it weird that he has the number of his best friend's mom but it made sense to him. After Ed had developed the habit of accidentally falling asleep at Barry's house, he just decided to help out and message Ed's mom for him. 

Speaking of which.

Edward had finally fallen asleep, slumped over with his knees still pressed to his chest. 

Barry sighed, "Wish you weren't so stubborn and let people help you..."

He walked to the kitchen, grabbed a towel, and returned to sit next to his friend. After moving Edward's arms away from his face, Barry began wiping off the tear stains. Shockingly, the jock didn't wake up, only shifting slightly. After carefully removing the other's jacket, Barry grabbed one of the blankets and practically tucked Edward in. And after a moments hesitation, he leaned down and gave his friend a soft kiss on the forehead and turned off the lights, finally heading off to get some sleep.

---------------

Thankfully, it was finally the weekend, meaning Barry didn't need to fight Ed to keep him home. Chris came over again, saying he wanted to help just as much as Barry did. It took an hour or so and lots of prying for Edward to finally open up. And when he did, the story he told definitely shocked the other two.

"I'll t-talk now." He mumbled.

Barry and Chris instantly started questioning him.

"What happened?"

"Are you OK?"

"Did someone do this to you?"

"How can we help?"

At this, Edward instantly shrank back into the blanket covering him, wide eyed and shaking slightly. The other two backed off upon seeing his reaction, giving him a minute to collect himself.

"Maybe don't do that next time." Was all he said, still tense but doing better.

Chris rubbed the back of his neck, visibly embarrassed, "Yeah, probably wasn't my smartest moment."

That got an annoyed scoff out of the other that caused Chris to perk up. 

Barry spoke up after a second, "Could you tell us what happened now?"

Ed flinched again, obviously not liking the conversation, "I... Guess..." he took a breath, steeling himself for the coming conversation, and finally spoke. "It started a couple weeks ago. Stupid-" His face scrunched up in disgust, "Stupid fuckin'... Emo kid said something 'bout me messing with his brother. Of course I wasn't 'cuz even if I was like, violent all the time, I'm not gonna' beat up a kid on crutches. That's just sick. But yeah, the asshole kept catching me after school and just pummeling me. I tried to fight back a couple times but that didn't work so I just tried avoiding him. That didn't work either so I just started avoiding people altogether. Didn't help that after the first few times any sort of contact freaked me out. But yeah, that's basically it."

Chris and Barry just sat there and stared at him, completely at a loss for words. Edward looked unnerved by the sudden attention, once again shrinking back into himself.

Chris snapped out of it first, "S-sorry, we didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. We're just... Surprised, I guess."

Edward raised an eyebrow, "Really? He already hated me, this shouldn't be too surprising."

Barry was still in a state of shock, just staring at his friend with a mixture of concern and anger.

Chris suddenly stood up, "That's it. I need to talk with him."

Edward looked panicked, "No way! He'll crush you!"

This didn't stop Chris who just continued towards the door, "I don't care, he's not getting away with this." and with that, the door shut and the house was silent.

Barry sighed, standing up, "I hope he doesn't get himself into too much trouble..."

Edward just kept staring at the door as if he was expecting Chris to walk back through at any moment. 

Barry noticed this and sat down next to his friend (Not close enough to touch mind you), “Hey, I’m sure he’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry so much.”

Edward scoffed, trying to mask his embarrassment, “I’m not worrying! I’m just... Waiting for him to come back and tell me about how he whooped Nightmare’s ass! Yeah!” he grinned, I’m so smooth.

Barry just chuckled, leaning back into the couch, “Whatever you say buddy. Want to watch something?”

“Sure, what are you thinking?” The jock responded and instinctively glanced at the TV as it flickered on.

“We could just see what’s on. That is unless you were thinking of something specific.”

“Nah, whatever is fine.”

And just like that, Edward quickly forgot about his worries in favor of intently watching the show that came on and criticizing the acting. Barry was glad he managed to take the other’s mind off of Chris, but now it was his turn to be worried.

-------------

Chris rapped on the door of the Jovel house, having to keep himself from just busting it down and scouring the place for any sign of Nevin. After a bit of shuffling from inside, the door opened, revealing none other than the emo disaster himself.

He gave Chris a bored look, “You want something?”

Needless to say, the urge to punt the boy in front of him increased.

Chris took a deep breath, reminded himself that other people might see him pummel what appeared to be an emo 12 year old (Height wise), and forced a fake smile.

“Hey Nevin,” He said, his voice slightly strained, “mind coming outside so we can talk?”

After surveying his tall friend for a moment, Nevin shrugged, stepping onto the porch and shutting the door, “I don’t see why not.”

“Cool.” Chris responded simply, turning to walk down the stairs when he was pushed down.

He quickly scrambled to his feet and spun around, a short knife resembling a blood red dagger appearing out of nowhere in his hand. Nevin was still standing on the porch, a smug smirk on his face.

“You really thought I was stupid enough to fall for that?” He sneered, “You weren’t even trying to pretend like this was just gonna’ be a normal conversation.”

Chris grit his teeth, “Kinda’ hard to play nice when you learn that your friend is secretly an asshole who beats up people who didn’t even do anything.”

Nevin scowled, stepping down the stairs, “Quinton has done more than enough to deserve what I did. I even warned him.”

Chris glared at him. This is going nowhere. Guess we’re doing this the hard way. Nevin suddenly jumped forward, snapping the other out of his thoughts. Chris managed to step out of the way right as Nevin swiped at the air where he had been moments before. Black crystal like structures had formed at the tips of the dark haired boy’s fingers, effectively forming crude claws. He made another swipe and Chris barely managed to block it with the flat of his knife. 

Nevin hissed, shaking his hand lightly before glaring at Chris, “I thought you were on my side Chris! Not that pompous bastard’s!”

Chris took the opportunity to go on the offensive, “That changed when you started being a jerk!” he grunted, making several slashes and stabs at his opponent.

Nevin quickly moved out of the way, “Then I hope you’re prepared for what you got yourself into!” he tried to grab the knife but cried out, an audible sizzle coming from the black liquid now coating his hands, “You little-”

Chris allowed himself a triumphant grin as Nevin reeled, holding his burned hand. His smile quickly faded however as the flow of black liquid just increased, the previously dull cyan glint in the shorter boy’s eye doubling in intensity. The liquid seemed to have a mind of its own, moving and bubbling with frantic intensity. Chris began to move back, starting to wonder why he thought this was a good idea as his once-friend gave him a hate filled glare slightly obscured by the black sludge.

“Now you really fucked up.” Nevin growled, flinging some of the sludge off his hands and exposing the now lengthened claws.

Chris swallowed, gripping his knife tightly as he willed it to grow. Oh shit. Was all he thought as the two stared each other down. Then, Nevin lunged, restarting the fight.

--------------

The show had been long forgotten and been reduced to background noise. Edward was splayed out on the couch, having taken it for himself in his sleep. Barry switched to one of the armchairs and was absentmindedly petting a random cat that had crawled into his lap. 

The relative quiet wasn’t meant to last though. 

The door burst open, startling the cat which caused it to leap off of Barry and dart off into the kitchen. As the boy was beginning to stand up to see who had barged in, his surprise guest stumbled into the living room.

“Chris?!” Barry said in shock.

The boy in question was covered in dirt, grime, and some unidentifiable black sludge with several leaves stuck to it. He had numerous bruises and scrapes along with a slight limp. All in all, he was a mess.

“Heya Barry.” Chris mumbled.

Barry immediately snapped out of his shock, “Holy- Chris go take a shower right now, you need to get all that gunk off. I’m gonna go get some bandages and anti-bacterial spray.”

Chris stood there for a moment, looking completely out of it, before nodding slowly and limping up the stairs. After a minute, the faint sound of falling water came from the upstairs bathroom. Somehow, this was more jarring than the door slamming open and woke Edward up.

“Barry...?” He called, his voice slightly hoarse.

“In here Ed!” Barry responded, eventually returning from one of the many closets with an armful of medical supplies.

Edward, who was still tired and groggy, just stared at his friend for a moment, “What’s all that for? I already told you I don’t need anything.”

“It’s for Chris.” Barry said, “He just got back. He was covered in dirt and all sorts of muck so I told him to take a shower before anything. I’m waiting for him to come back so I can patch him up.”

This obviously didn’t sit right with the school king, “He’s hurt?! What happened?”

“I don’t know but I’m assuming it’s Nevin’s fault.”

Edward scowled but before he could say anything, the water stopped and a voice came from the bathroom.

“Hey Barry!” Chris shouted, “I uh... I don’t have any extra clothes!”

Barry sighed, “Damnit, I should’ve thought of that.”

“You could give him some of my stuff I left here,” Edward suggested, “we’re close to the same size.”

“That could work.” Barry mused then called back to Chris, “Give me a minute! I’ll go get you something!”

He walked to the spare room and opened the closet, revealing Edward’s stash of spare clothes he kept there in case he slept over. After grabbing a plain T-shirt, sweatpants, and a sweater with the school emblem on it, Barry made his way up to the bathroom.

He knocked on the door, “I have some clothes that could work for you.”

After a moment Chris opened the door, only wearing a towel and looking incredibly embarrassed, “Sorry for taking your stuff, I didn’t think I’d get this messy.”

Barry waved a hand dismissively, “It’s no problem. Besides, Ed suggested I give you his spare stuff anyways so you don’t need to worry about taking my things.”

Chris only looked more embarrassed at this, “Oh my gosh, Isaac’s never going to let me live this down if he finds out.”

Barry just chuckled, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell. Now get dressed so I can patch you up.”

Chris nodded and took the pile of clothes, then proceeding to retreat back into the bathroom. After a minute, he came out, looking slightly flustered.

“It fits.” He mumbled, pulling at the sleeves of the sweater and avoiding eye contact.

Barry just smiled, “That’s good, now c’mon.” he grabbed the other’s hand and brought him downstairs.

At the sound of the two coming downstairs, Edward looked up from what he was doing on his phone. Upon spotting the incredibly flustered Chris, he immediately looked back down, feeling his face heat up slightly. Barry worked in silence, disinfecting and wrapping up all the scrapes and cuts Chris got from the fight. After that was done, the three sat in semi-awkward silence until Edward finally said something.

“Want to see what’s on TV?” He suggested, obviously uncomfortable with the silence.

Barry nodded, reaching for the remote and turning on the TV. After a few seconds, the screen lit up and the sound of voices and quiet music issued forth. It was some sort of Spanish drama if the music and stereotypical mustaches and sombreros were any indication. 

Right before Barry could change the channel, Edward reached out and stopped him, “No wait, this looks interesting.”

Barry gave him a confused look but just shrugged and set the remote aside. They all huddled on the couch, Edward on one end, Barry on the other, and Chris in the middle. It took a bit for them to understand what was happening since the episode was apparently in the middle of the season. Not to mention the fact that it took forever for them to figure out how to get English captions since Chris was the only one who could even sort of understand what they were saying. About an hour in, Edward and Chris were extremely invested, both of them immediately denying Barry’s request to find something actually good. An hour and a half later, the two were crying over a wedding scene.

Chris sniffled, tears streaming down his face, “S-she f-finally got her h-husbaaaand!” he trailed off into sobs.

Edward was too distraught to respond and just nodded aggressively, blowing his nose loudly. Barry just watched them, a look of concern on his face. When the villain crashed the wedding though, they became even more distraught. Chris leaned against Edward, hugging him for support as he cried. Edward noticeably flinched but after a moment, smiled slightly and awkwardly patted the other’s back.

“I-I-I c-can’t b-beli-ieve he dID THAT!” Chris sobbed, descending into distressed mumbling and tears.

Barry snorted and began laughing and so did Edward. Chris just weakly smacked Edward’s arm and tried to kick Barry, only succeeding in tapping the other with his foot.

“Y-you guys are mean.” He muttered, causing the other two to start snickering again.

It didn’t take long for him to pass out, having tired himself out with all the crying. It took Edward a bit to notice that there was now a deadweight leaning up against him.

“Uh, Barry?” He whispered, “There’s a problem.”

Barry looked over and upon noticing his friend’s predicament, he smiled, “Aww, that’s cute.”

Edward blushed slightly, sputtering something unintelligible, “No it’s not!” he hissed, “Now help me!”

Barry just grinned, “Nah, he looks comfortable.” his smile faltered after a moment though, “Are you uncomfortable? I’ll move him if this is making you uncomfortable.”

The jock hesitated then sighed, “No, I’m fine, I just need to move him a bit.”

He began shifting slightly, trying his hardest not to wake the other up. After moving so that he was laying on his back, he let Chris’s head fall onto his chest.

He glared at Barry who was smiling again, “Not a word.”

Barry held his hands up defensively, “Hey, I wasn’t gonna say anything.” he thought for a moment, “Actually, do you want to stay here or move to my room?”

Edward glanced at Chris, poked his head, and when the sleeping boy didn’t do anything, he nodded, “Yeah, the couch isn’t the most comfortable and one of us would probably roll off.”

“Alright.” Barry said, standing up, “You got him?”

As if on cue, Edward hoisted Chris up, holding him bridal style. He stumbled slightly at first but quickly regained his balance, shifting his sleeping load a bit before following Barry to the bedroom. They settled in, Chris in the middle again, and Barry turned off the light.

“Goodnight Ed.” He whispered.

“Night Barry.” Edward responded.

-------------

Chris woke up to a bright light shining onto his face and the sound of muffled talking and clanging. It took him a moment to register that he didn’t recognize the room he was in and another to begin panicking. 

He shot up and instantly groaned at the sudden soreness, “Aaaooooww shit-”

He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. He quickly pieced together that this must be Barry’s bedroom after remembering the events of last night. He swung his legs out of the bed (Also registering that he was still wearing Edward’s clothes) and after stretching a bit, left the room to see what was happening. He got to the bottom of the stairs and followed the noise to the kitchen. The source of the noise was Edward singing along to a random song that was playing from his phone along with Barry cooking some eggs and bacon.

“Ed I’m trying to cook-” Barry started but was cut off as Edward started singing again.

“Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah no I can't risk falling off my throne!" he sang, “La la la la la la la la love is something I don’t even know!”

Before he could stop himself, Chris slid in and started singing the next part as well, “Straight hair! Straight A’s! Straight forward, straight girl. Little Miss Perfect, that’s me!”

Edward noticed his new singing buddy and after a moment of embarrassed silence and surprise, the next verse came up and he decided to just go with it. They eventually convinced Barry to join them and they all had a sort of karaoke session before Barry finished the food. Breakfast was relatively quiet but instead of it being awkward, it was a comfortable quiet. Eventually, Chris and Edward needed to go home. Neither of them were too happy about that fact but they couldn’t just live at Barry’s house. Barry fussed over Edward for a bit, asking if he needed Barry to walk him home and if he was feeling alright. After managing to convince his friend that he was fine, Edward turned to the door.

He paused though, turning around to look at Chris, “Hey, umm...” he thought for a moment, not sure what to say, “Thanks.”

Chris just looked confused, “What for?”

Edward shrugged, “I dunno, beating up that jerk for me I guess. Figured it wasn’t right to just ignore what you did for me, so thanks.”

Chris was caught off guard, “O-oh! Oh yeah no problem, I couldn’t just let him get away with that.”

Barry jumped in, “Don’t you ‘no problem’ us, we saw what happened to you. You did more than you needed to and more.”

Chris felt his face heat up, “Oh, thank you.”

Edward patted him on the back, “No problem bud.”

After once again assuring Barry that they were both perfectly fine, Chris and Edward finally left. They waved goodbye to each other and went their separate ways, both smiling to themselves.

~~Extra~~

Chris opened the door, “Hey Isaac, come on in!”

The shorter artist walked in, glancing around, “Is your dad out?”

Chris nodded, “Yup. No need to worry about him. Now c’mon, we got a project to work on.”

Isaac groaned dramatically but followed his friend up to his room. The room was a bit messy but nothing Isaac wasn’t used to. It took them a minute to get set up and he decided to check out Chris’s room out of bored curiosity. It was pretty normal for a teenagers room, a messy desk against one of the walls, a bookshelf covered in books that were collecting dust, a sweater with the school logo on it, a couple socks on th-

Wait...

“What’s this?” He asked, picking up the sweater that had been partially hidden by a blanket. 

Chris instantly froze and began panicking, “Uh- I-it’s just some sweater I got at the beginning of the school year!”

Isaac gave him a suspicious look and then glanced at the tag on the back of the collar, “Funny, cuz right here it says ‘Edward Quinton’.” he smirked, “Now what does that mean?”

“Daniel! Stop playing with the cats and sweep the floor!”

Daniel barely suppressed an annoyed groan at his managers voice. The bastard kept making him do all the menial tasks instead of just letting him entertain the animals (And himself by association). After briefly considering quitting just to get away from the manager, he remembered that he loves animals and needs money which was enough to make him grab the broom and start working.

“C’mon Kyler,” He muttered, “you better show up soon or I’m gonna’ die of boredom.”

Unfortunately, his friend didn’t have the uncanny ability to appear when mentioned. Well, that wasn’t exactly how it worked but he liked letting people think he could essentially be summoned when someone says his name. In reality, he just had a sort of sixth sense for when (And sometimes where) people said his name. Add to that the fact that he was fast, quiet, and usually unnoticeable, a lot of people thought he was some supernatural entity they could summon by just talking about. It was honestly pretty funny to take advantage of this ‘ability’ and scare the shit out of people, but he didn’t do it too often. He was eventually snapped out of his thoughts by the quiet ringing of a bell.

“Fucking finally.” He mumbled, feeling relief wash over him.

Before he could turn around, he was smacked on the back, causing him to stumble.

“Sup, Dan my man!” A cheery voice began, “I figured I’d stop by and check on ya’.”

Daniel couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth, “Cats are where they always are you idiot.”

The newcomer (Also known as Kyler, one of Daniel’s only friends) grinned, “You know me too well bud.” he then leaned down and whispered, “Wanna go see Hedrix?”

“Of course.” Daniel responded, “Just gotta’ get my manager to get off my case first.”

“Just tell him you’re distracting me so I don’t scare off potential customers again.” 

Daniel allowed himself to smile at that, remembering the time Kyler scared off a couple and their kid by telling them gruesome facts about animals. After the kid burst into tears from Kyler telling them about how pigs can eat human bones, the couple left. 

Easy to say, Daniel’s manager wasn’t the biggest fan of Kyler after that.

“Alright,” He said, “but don’t mess with the cats or else I’m not gonna’ be able to keep you from getting kicked out again.”

“No promises!” Kyler responded, running over to the cat enclosure with childlike glee.

“Daniel.” 

Daniel felt the odd squirming in his gut that usually accompanied his manager talking about him and sighed, “Yeah I know, I’ll get him out of here.”

His manager immediately went back to whatever he was doing on his phone and Daniel started walking towards Kyler. 

He grabbed Kyler and pulled him away from the cats, “C’mon nerd, let’s get going.”

Kyler stuck his tongue out at his friend, “Whatever fuzz ball.”

“Furry.”

“Shorty.”

“Bitch.”

“Motherfucker.”

The banter continued until they ran out of insults and just walked down the sidewalk in silence. Not too far away, a hot dog cart was set up with a solitary figure sitting at it. Well, sitting was inaccurate, they were obviously asleep with their head rested on top of their arms.

“He’s gonna’ get robbed one of these days.” Daniel muttered.

“He might as well learn the hard way.” Kyler muttered and grabbed the jar of money stashed under the cart.

“Kyler-” Daniel started.

“Relax short stack,” Kyler responded, “I’m just gonna’ scare him a little bit. Y’know, just some tough love.”

“He’s gonna’ cook you or something.” Daniel said.

“Nah, he loves me too much.” Kyler responded and began to shake the sleeping vendor, “Hey, hey Hedrix. Buddy. Wake up dude.”

Their sleeping friend opened one eye lazily, “Kyler? Daniel? What’s up?”

Daniel felt the familiar warmth that came with Hedrix saying his name but brushed it off, “We wanted to see you. Kyler dragged me away from the store just to see you so you better not tell us to leave.”

Hedrix sat up slowly and stretched, the action accompanied by several joints popping, “Alright then, guess it’s my turn to keep you two out of trouble.”

“Always is!” Kyler said, practically beaming, “Also, where’s your jar?”

Hedrix instantly became more alert, “Wh-” he stuck his hand under the cart and felt around for the jar, “Shit, where’d it go?”

Daniel decided to play along, “I told you someone was gonna rob you one of these times.”

“No I must’ve just misplaced it.” The other muttered, scouring the cart for the jar that held his profits, “Stupid fucking assholes...” he said after not seeing it, a near animalistic growl leaving his throat.

No matter how many times they heard it, that sound always made Daniel and Kyler shudder. Hedrix thought nothing of it though, no matter how many times he was told that it was unnatural.

“Relax dude,” Kyler said, holding out the stolen jar, “I was just messing with you.”

“You bastard...” Hedrix muttered, giving his friend a scathing glare and snatching the jar back.

Daniel shrugged, “Maybe don’t fall asleep with all your money in broad daylight.”

“Yeah yeah whatever.”

“Can I have a hot dog?” Kyler asked, sliding to the front of the cart and leaning on it.

“Me too!” Daniel added.

After regarding them for a moment, the still tired vendor just sighed, “Alright fine, but I want something at least. Giving you guys free food isn’t exactly good for business.”

Kyler slid him a ten dollar bill, “Keep the change hot stuff~” he said with a wink.

Hedrix was unphased, taking the bill without looking up, “Keep flirting with me and you’re not getting what you payed for.”

Kyler frowned, seeming dismayed, before his signature smirk returned, “Ah well, can’t blame me for trying.”

After a minute Hedrix handed them two hot dogs before grabbing a third and sliding off his chair.

Daniel gave him a confused look and he just shrugged, “I’m on my lunch break.” he gestured down the street, “Park?”

“Sure!” Kyler said, “I can tell you about what happened yesterday!”

Daniel gave him a confused look, “What happened yesterday?”

“I’m glad you asked!” He responded, jumping in front of the other two and walking backwards, “First off, my dad finally filled out the paperwork so I’m officially going to Foxfield high. So I go there yesterday to get a feel for the place so I’m not a total stranger and the weirdest shit happens! I walk past this jock looking dude talking to some other jocks and right as I pass him, he just stops talking. Then, out of nowhere, he starts following me.”

Daniel frowned, “Did you do something?”

Kyler looked offended, “What? No! I didn’t do anything!” he received a look from Hedrix and sighed, “I didn’t do anything this time at least.” he waved his hands a bit, “But that’s not the point. So anyways, this guy just started following me for no reason. Obviously, I thought that was kinda’ shady so I tried to lose him. Unfortunately, I’m not magic like Little D over here,” Daniel scowled at the nickname but Kyler just continued, “so jock dude catches up to me and grabs my shoulder. I was honestly this close to just punching the guy so he’d leave me alone but I figured that wouldn’t be a good first impression so I just brushed his hand off and kept walking. THEN this asshole walks right in front of me so I just stop and look at him. He started grilling me about being ‘supernatural’ or some shit so I tried to tell him to fuck off in the kindest way I could.”

“You punched him and ran, didn’t you?” Hedrix deadpanned.

Kyler was silent for a moment before mumbling, “Only a little...”

Daniel started laughing but Hedrix just glared at him, “We’ve talked about this Kyler.”

“Yeah whatever dad.”

“Wait wait wait,” Daniel interrupted, “what did he mean by ‘supernatural’? Like, were you surrounded by ghosts or something?”

Kyler shrugged, “Fuck if I know man. All I know is he deserved what I did and he was probably on something.”

“Weird...” Daniel mumbled.

“I know right?” Kyler continued, “If anything, I’m pretty sure you’re the most supernatural or at least weird.”

“How?”

“You’ve got your weird thing where people talk about you and you just like, appear or some shit. It’s weird.”

Daniel shrugged, “I just get this feeling when people are talking about me so I usually check it out. It’s nothing weird, it’s like that myth that you sneeze when someone talks about you.”

Hedrix gave him an odd look, “That’s... Not exactly normal.”

“You’ve got no room to talk Mr. Bear Growl.” Daniel shot back.

Kyler jumped in, “Alright, your both weird! No need to argue about it.”

“You’re weird too though!” Hedrix pointed out, “You talk about how you hear radio static out of nowhere when there’s literally no reason you would.”

“There’s reason!”

“You heard static in the middle of the fucking woods Kyler.” Daniel deadpanned.

“Fine! We’re all weird!” Kyler responded, “Happy?”

“Quite.” Hedrix said, smirking slightly at the annoyed look on Kyler’s face.

“Oh fuck you.” the other muttered, turning around and kicking at a rock that was in his path.

Eventually, they got to the park. It was mostly empty with only a few people walking their dogs or just hanging out on one of the benches. The three just walked down the path cutting through the park. At that point the sun had begun to sink below the horizon, turning the sky a bright orange and causing the lamps lining the path to light up. None of them minded though, it’s not like they couldn’t handle themselves if needed. 

“-so I tell this kid to leave the iguanas alone and when he didn’t, I just told him that they were poisonous and he was probably gonna die soon ‘cuz he touched them.” Daniel said, finishing his story.

Kyler was wheezing with laughter and had to lean on a chuckling Hedrix to stay upright.

“I would’ve killed to see that kids face!” Kyler laughed, wiping a tear from his eye.

Hedrix just shook his head, still smiling, “You two need to quit terrifying kids before you get in trouble.”

“Chillax hotdogs!” Kyler said, leaning up against the other, “We don’t get in trouble, you got no reason to worry!”

Of course, the universe had to prove him wrong.

“HEY! HOODIE GUY!”

Daniel turned to see who was talking, “Me?”

The boy running over just shook his head and pointed at Kyler, “No! That guy!”

“Oh shit-” Kyler muttered, ducking behind Hedrix.

“Who is that?!” Hedrix asked, turning his back to Kyler to face the newcomer.

“That’s the guy I punched at school!” Kyler hissed, holding Hedrix’s arm like a lifeline, “He’s gonna kill me!”

Before the other could respond, the jock reached them, and he didn’t look too pleased. 

“I want an explanation you little-” He began but stopped, looking stunned.

The other three shared a look before turning back to their aggressor.

The jock shook his head, now looking surprised, “There are two more?!”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Daniel asked, backing up slightly.

The jock gestured to Hedrix and Daniel, “You two! You’re supernatural too!”

The accused two looked at each other, looked back at the jock, and then burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” He demanded.

“Y-you think we-” Hedrix could hardly get anything out through his laughter, “You think WE are supernatural?!” he laughed, “Oh that’s- that’s rich!”

“Buddy,” Daniel said, still snickering, “the most unnatural thing about me is my lack of a growth spurt.”

Before the jock could continue, someone else an up to them.

“Get back here Ed!” They called, still a ways down the path.

The jock, presumably named Ed, just scowled at the three, “I’m not finished with you weirdos.” he glared at them one last time before turning around dramatically and running off towards his friend.

Kyler sighed, “Glad that’s over, I really thought I was in trouble this time.”

“No worries buddy,” Hedrix said, patting him on the back, “just don’t go around punching people next time alright?”

“Whatever.” Kyler muttered.

That was apparently a sufficient answer as Hedrix just smiled, “C’mon guys, let’s head home before Foxfield’s Ghostbuster comes after us again.”