The Bench

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   Cry Baby was making her way home on her bike, the breeze gently brushing her hair and the sunshine covering her bare arms, when a group of two teenage boys pedaled up beside her. She had dealt with them before, and none of those incidents ended well for her. She tried to look straight ahead and ignore the fact that they were right beside her, but inside, she was being swallowed by fear.
   
   "Hey, look! It's Cry Baby!" One of the boys mocked, and his friend nastily snickered.

   "Are you riding on home to cry to mommy?" Cry Baby attempted to ignore them once again, when out of nowhere, one of the boys jerked his bicycle to the side, sending Cry Baby shooting down to the empty road.
   
   The boys laughed and pointed as Cry Baby's tears filled her eyes within seconds. This only made the boys laugh harder, and chant the cruel nickname, "Cry Baby!"
   
   "Just kick her," one of the bullies encouraged, and although she was drenched in tears, Cry Baby managed to get back up onto her bike and speed away as quickly as she could. She looked over her shoulder somewhere along the way, and the two boys were coming after her. She pedaled harder and harder, knowing how unsafe it was to bike this fast when she could hardly see a thing due to her tears.
   
   Behind her, she heard a crash and a grunt, and as she looked back, she saw the boys on the ground, not seeming to be in terrible pain, but awfully dizzy and confused. She stopped her bike, not to help these immature boys, but because of who was there.
   
   Blurryface.

   "Blurry!" She called, and ran up to him. "What happened? Was that you? How'd you do that? Why'd you do that?"

   He shrugged, and tried to grin at her. Cry Baby had not known this boy for long, and she never thought that he would go to such measures to get her out of trouble, but she was already saddened by the fact that he couldn't take credit for doing something so heroic. So she hugged him. He was clearly taken aback by the sudden embrace, seeming to nearly fall backwards while in her arms.
   
   Through her tears, she whispered, "Thank you."

   "No problem." He said after a few awkward moments, and he slowly and hesitantly put his arms around her in return.
  
   Cry Baby pulled away with eyes of gentle waterfalls, but a smile of radiant sunshine. She turned to her right to face the two boys trying to gain balance on the ground, and sternly walked toward them.
  
   "You can tell your mothers why your knees are all scraped up," she said sharply.
She turned away and walked back to Blurryface with her ever-bright smile. She was hesitant to let somebody enter even the outline of her world, but she still asked Blurryface if he would like to go sit and chat somewhere.
   
   "Sure." He awkwardly accepted.

   "Great!" She chirped, "I know just the place!" The two walked in silence until reaching a bench overlooking a wide and beautiful lake. They sat down and simply let the chirping of the birds fill their ears, the smell of the lake water ease into their nostrils, and the breathtaking view entertain their tearful eyes.
   
   "Why... why did you do that?" Cry Baby asked, looking over kindly at Blurryface. She wasn't expecting a detailed answer, but she was genuinely curious, and she was determined for him to face the fact that he was good enough for the world.
   
   After a long silence, she playfully encouraged, "I'm waiting."

   "I just... I was at my apartment and I saw them chasing you, so I just..."
   
   She was shocked to hear this, and she sweetly gasped and teared up, both out of happiness and sadness. She was happy because there was someone good enough in the world to fight for someone they hardly knew, and she was sad because there was someone good enough in the world to fight for someone they hardly knew, and they wouldn't even own up to it. This made her wonder of all the good things Blurryface had done in his life, and never been appreciated for. How could someone this sweet feel so unwanted?
   
   "So, that means you live around that path?"

   "Yeah."
   
   "Maybe I should come over sometime and we'd go out for coffee or something?" Blurryface opened and closed his moth multiple times, not saying anything.
   
   "Not as like, a date or anything." She assured, "I don't really have an interest in relationships." She wasn't sure when she would tell anyone of her past or household, and she wondered if Blurryface ever thought of what her words might mean.
   
   "Sure." He agreed, and gave Cry Baby his address before they parted.

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