Barley Lightfoot x Oc (Cari) Love Story (Under Editing)

Morning Talk

It was now early morning, at about nine or ten to be exact, the sun now high in the blue sky. Everyone up and ready for the day at New Mushroomton. At the Lightfoot house, everyone was downstairs, getting breakfast and chit-chatting, all except for the older Lightfoot brother. Barley was in his room, packing some of his Quests of Yore stuff in his backpack. "Okay, I think I have everything" he mumbles to himself, zipping his backpack up and tossing it on his back. He exits out of his room and heads to the kitchen, where his little brother Ian, his mother Laurel, and his stepfather Colt were. "Hey guys" he said to them, grabbing a bagel from the bag it was in. "Hey, Barley" his mother greeted. "How's it going?" Colt asks him. "Oh, nothing much, just gonna head out to the park and meet up with some friends" the young adult elf said. "Rugnar and Sasha, right? How are they doing?" Ian asks him. "Yep, they're doing good" he replies.

"Hey Barley, do you mind dropping me off at Madi's when you leave?" Ian asks his older brother. "Sure, but are you sure you don't want to come along?" Barley asked him. "Nah, no thanks, I told Madi that I would hangout with her today" the young teen said. "Oh, okay" Barley said, a little disappointed that his little brother didn't want to come, but also understood that he isn't really interested in his Quests of Yore games. Ian sees the slight look of sadness on his face. He lets out a small sigh and said "look, next time you plan on hanging out with Sasha and Rugnar, I'll come along, okay?" "Yea, that sounds alright. Perhaps we can also teach you the basics of Quests of Yore, where we tell you of our grand adventures and noble quests!" the young adult said, with some enthusiasm and optimism, though it seems somewhat forced. He finishes his bagel and goes to get his car keys. As he left, Ian looks at his mom and stepdad, all giving each other knowing looks. Ever since him and Madi started dating about a year ago, Barley started to feel a bit left out, sort of acting like a third wheel whenever the two young teens hangout or is doing a school project. Ian wants to talk to him about it, but he wasn't too sure how he would react.

"Come dear brother, our destiny awaits!" Barley said from the front door. Ian finishes his breakfast and heads out the door. "Alright, we're going out" he said to Laurel and Colt. "Okay, have fun, you two" his mom and stepdad said. The young teen leaves the house and makes his way to his older brother, who is now sitting in Guinivere the Second. As he got in, he hears the young adult elf ask him "so, are you ready for your visit to Lady Madi's house?" "Yea, I am" he replied. Ian couldn't help but smile at that. At times, he couldn't believe that the girl of his dreams is his girlfriend now. Ever since getting together, those two have been inseparable and couldn't be more in love with each other. Ian lets out a dreamy sigh, but out of the corner of his eye, he sees Barley giving him a smirk. "What?" he asks him, a little confused as to why he's giving him that look. "You thinking about Madi, aren't ya?" the young adult said to him, his smirk never faltering. "What! No, I mean, uh, maybe?" the teen said, his face burning a little. He tried to convince his brother otherwise, but to no avail. "Hmm hmm, sure, whatever you want to say little brother" he said, starting the van up. After that, Ian ponders for a moment, debating whether or not he wants to talk about a certain issue. He breathes in, looks at his older brother and asks him "hey Barley, um, could I talk to you about something?" "Sure, what's up?" he replied. 'Okay, here we go' the teenager thought. "Um, so, I just wondered if you're feeling alright?" Ian said to him. Now it was Barley's turn to have a confused look on his face. "Yea? I'm fine, what made you think I wasn't?" Barley said. "Well, it's just that, I thought that there maybe something bothering you. I mean, you always like to hangout with me and Madi. Not that that's a problem, but it's still something to think about" the teen boy said to his brother.

Barley's eyes widen as he hears this. Has he really been taking up all of Ian's and Madi's time? He didn't think that he was. He knows that his brother doesn't truly think that, that's for certain, but he does kind of wonder what he actually means by that. "What are you saying, Ian?" he asks him, still very much confused. "I'm just wondering, are you lonely at all Barley? Cause that's the only possible explanation I can think of" the teenage elf said. That's when it clicked inside the young adult elf's head. Did he really think that he was lonely? Sure, Ian has Madi, and his mom has Colt, even some of his friends have their significant others. But that still wasn't enough to make him feel lonely. "N-No, I'm not. Yea, I like to hangout with you guys, but if you want it to be just the two of you, that's completely fine. You don't need to worry about me, Ian, I'll be fine" Barley said, placing a hand on Ian's shoulder in a reassuring matter. The younger brother didn't feel too sure about it, but nonetheless, he managed to give him a small smile. The young adult elf pats his shoulder and pulls out of the driveway, driving a little bit to Madi's house. Once pulled up at the front, Ian exits the van and says goodbye to Barley. "Alright, later Barley" he said. "See ya, little brother, have a wonderful time with your fair maiden" his older brother said him, causing him to blush. "B-Barley!" Ian said, feeling a bit embarrassed. Barley laughs, waves a goodbye to his little brother, and drives away from the house. As he drove off, Ian's words drifted into his head. Was he as lonely as he says he is? No, there's possibly no way that could be true. Pushing those thoughts aside, he makes his way to the park to meet up with his friends, completely unaware of something special that'll happen there.