After a bit of talking while beginning to eat, I began to zone out again.
Morton noticed and waved his claws in front of my face to scare me. Since I was too subconscious to pull out my phone, I waited until they finished their food.
We threw away the trash, and we met up at Old Navy, just like Bowser texted Roy to.
Nearing the store, Morton broke the silence surrounding us.
"Wanna ask dad if we can go to Winding Waters?" He said.
"That's a good idea. But we don't have our swimsuits here,"
"Since when does that matter? Dad practically can buy the entirety of the North Islands. Buying us swimsuits shouldn't be a problem. Yeah, Taemin?"
"What is Winding Waters?" I ask curiously, running a hand through my hair.
"It's a waterpark here in the mall, " Roy grunted as if I should've known already, earning a nudge in the side from Morton.
Roy softened his expression but didn't say anything.
Walking into the Old Navy, we spot the pair immediately.
"Taemin! Hi!" Wendy said. She was holding an insane amount of bags filled with clothes. Bowser was also holding an astounding amount of bags from various stores, like Game Stop, Whetersworth, and Sears.
Morton had asked about the Waterpark, and Bowser surprisingly said yes. I thought he was going to say no.
Handing each of us another 100 dollar bill, he told us that he was going to take the things back to the house and would be back for us at 4:00, which is about 2 hours from now.
Wendy gave her bags to him and he left, waving us bye, which we waved back to.
Once he was out, Roy turned to us, a devious smirk on his face.
"Last one there coughs up $50," Roy said and immediately took off. Wendy and Morton followed behind quickly. I ran after them, giggling along with them.
I had no clue where we were going, so I lagged behind. People laughed joyfully as we passed by.
Once I saw the sign, I took off, doubling the speed of theirs and nearly instantly passing through the sign, but stopping as soon as I caught sight of possibly the most breathtaking view of my life. There was easily nothing like this in the USA. The water park had a vaulted ceiling that took up the entire height of the three-story building.
Slides decorated the venue, painted in blue to compliment the clouds design painted on the blue brick walls. I heard the footsteps of the others stop behind me and I heard the heavy breathing of Roy and Morton. The endless waterslides and rides had me in a trance. There were rides and pools galore. It even stretched outside to the side of the mall.
Wendy grabbed my hand as she and her brothers walked over to a swimsuit store built-in. We purchased swimsuits, and I purchased the cheapest one so that I had enough to buy a shirt with it. I was skinny, but I was also subconsciously trying to hide my body because I knew it wasn't perfect. Walking out, Wendy separated from us to go into the Girls' locker room and change. I followed Roy and Morton into the Boys, steeping into a stall. Stripping, I hurriedly changed into the swim trunks and a shirt I bought. It was a black skin-tight material, but I bought a size too large so that it wouldn't hug my figure as it should. Walking out, I saw Wendy holding a bag. It was a mini book bag. As I walked up and looked at it, it looked expensive.
She noticed me approaching and handed it to me. She motioned for me to put my things in it and I did.
"Wanted to make it special," she smiled. "You didn't have to-"
"I wanted to now take it," She instantly pulled out her phone and began to take selfies, ignoring anything else I had to say.
I realized the absence of Roy and Morton. I sat on the lawn chair next to Wendy's, and hugged my knees to my chest, longingly looking at the water.
I had too many insecurities for this.
I loved swimming, especially when Rick snuck me out to the dirty pond out back of the adoption home. We would peel off our shirts and jump in. He was the only one who had ever seen me shirtless. We'd put back on our shirts and sneak back into our rooms to change pants to avoid anyone knowing that we had soaking pants on. Roy looked like Rick, it had made me constantly distracted. I wonder what's under those shades, anyways. He even wore them as he swam.
My thoughts were interrupted when I caught sight of a brown claw waving in front of my face.
A smiling Morton connected our gazes as I snapped out of the trance I didn't even know I was in.
"You gonna get in? Come on!" He smiled. I shook my head, making him frown slightly.
"Why n-" he was cut off by Roy shoving him out the way and grabbing me and yanking me up, my back pressed against his stomach.
He stepped back before confirming my fears as he flung me into the water full force. I let out a yelp as I hit the cold water, it eventually warming up. I gaped at him as he howled in laughter. Morton pushed him by his shell, sending him crashing in beside me. It was Morton's turn to laugh. Wendy was chuckling from her spot. I noticed that she had it all on video. Roy chuckled and punched me on the shoulder and lifted me after with ease after Morton had jumped in.
"Catch!"
"Catch?! Wait wh-" I was cut off as I sailed through the air to Morton who caught me and again, lifted me with ease. They took turns dunking me and whatnot, and we began to go on slides. I laughed nearly the whole time, and Wendy ended up joining us for slides. This was the best time I've ever had in my life!
At around 3:20 we dried off, the three buying tote bags for their swimsuits, got redressed, and went to the tiki bar to get drinks. I got a can of Osmos, a brand that tasted like coke in the USA, but different. I liked it so much, I ordered another and put it in my bag that Wendy got me.
After drinks, we got ready to go. Since we had time, we stopped at Sears to look at random things while waiting for the text from Bowser. I saw a fluffy pillow I wanted, but It was just barely too much. Morton bought it for me, grinning like a goof because he made me happy.
Soon enough, bowser pulled up in his Jeep, and we piled in and sat our bags on the floor. I sat in the back in between Roy and Morton. Their sides pressed against my arm from how large they were, and how thin the Jeep actually was. As everyone pulled out their phones, I just kinda sat there. I was nervous about pulling out such an old phone while everyone had new ones. Roy had headphones in, but the radio station's commercials played softly as we cruised down the highway. I felt Roy's body rise as he took in a sharp breath and had a conflicted look as if he was contemplating something. I tried not to stare and kept my eyes on the scenery ahead.
I tried not to jump as I felt something being placed in my ear. It was a headphone. I look at Roy and smiled, which he weakly returned. It was genuine, though. A playlist made of mainstream rap and heavy metal played loudly. This definitely fit his rough nature and looks. I wasn't the biggest fan of rap, but I didn't hate the metal though. I may have to listen to this later.
Pulling into the neighborhood, I looked around at the huge houses in the daylight. I still couldn't believe I lived here. I was so incredibly lucky. He drove into the driveway, which curved around the landscaping and stopped at the garage door. We all walked to the front door and waited for Bowser to unlock the door before going inside. Before I headed off to greet everyone, Bowser stopped me. "Do you wanna see your room?" He grinned a grin that didn't fit him. It was awfully goofy. I smiled, loving the nice atmosphere. "My room- what? So I don't have to share?" He looked puzzled. "Of course not!" He smiled lovingly at me. I was so glad to finally have a family as fortunate as this one.
He waved at me to follow him through the house. I followed him, loving how beautifully crafted this home was. From the clean, and painting covered walls to the pearly white baseboards, to the insanely large and bright windows littering the house, it was truly a blessing to live here. We walked through the dining room, filled to the brim with extremely lavish furniture. Up ahead was the bar area. Set up with barstools, the feature was well kept. I'm just going on a hunch, but Bowser looks like the type to be over here a lot. There was a huge iron door which I was assuming was leading to a wine cellar. I looked around in awe. The space was also open to the kitchen, which was truly whimsical to look at. The fridge was huge, stacked to the brim on the top with cereal boxes. The counters were beautifully detailed, the brown color shining throughout the brightly sunlight space. Bowser tossed his car keys on the huge island. There was even more rooms off the kitchen as well! First, was a door Bowser let me peek in. I was totally shocked to see a home theatre. The recliners looked like they were worth more than my life. The huge screen was just asking to be turned on. Bowser smiled, glad I was enjoying myself. He shut the door and we moved on. Looking over, to my right, there was a short hallway with a few doors that were closed. Ahead of me, was an entryway to another room. The room was huge, and was coated with dark wooden floors. Floor to ceiling windows decorated a large portion of the walls, letting in a star striking amount of natural lighting in. The entry to the room had a step down to separate the brilliantly bright kitchen floors to the dark floors in this room. The huge tv and furniture set let me know that this was a den. The room also had a double-sided fireplace that was a part of the entryway wall, so half of it was in the room and half was in the kitchen's space. To my right, was the hallway. Bowser guided me down it until we reached the end. There was a built in office nook, a few doors, and the massive stairwell. This quite literally could've been the spiral staircase to heaven. The curved wall was covered in windows that curved with the staircase, and got shorter as the stairs got higher.
After walking up the beautiful stairs, we entered a hallway, passing an open playroom, and a home theatre door. Bowser let me peek inside and I was instantly in love. It was crafted just like an actual theatre.
"We have 2. The reason all the sports stuff is here is because we like to watch the sports games in here, and movies and shows down there" he explained, smiling proudly.
Moving down the hallway more, we took a turn, passing a bathroom door. We peeked inside, revealing a huge bathroom that was beautifully decorated. It's features were like nothing I've seen before.
We approached a large door, and he inserted a key from his pocket into the lock and it opened, revealing quite possibly the most life-changing sight of any orphans life. Wow, I really was the luckiest boy alive.
In front of me was an insanely sized room with a huge bed. It had a fluffy baby blue bedspread with plushies all around it, and lights under it. Fairy lights strung all around the ceiling, giving it a blissful glow. The walls were beige, with one of the walls being baby blue. There was a huge white wardrobe, an empty white desk, and two closet doors. There were multiple large windows, and a few skylights in the ceiling. White carpeting lined the floor with a baby blue fuzzy carpet in the center. A large TV sat in the center of the windows, mounted on the wall with white lights behind it. We walked over to a door, looking inside, it was an extremely sumptuous looking bathroom. "That's your bathroom. We can get supplies to decorate it tomorrow. No one ever really uses it, so it'll be all yours," he explains. I hugged him, gratefully squeezing my tiny arms around his exceedingly large shell. I couldn't even thank him in words. He wrapped his large arms around me and he rocked us for a minute before letting go. He smiled down at me and ruffled my hair.
And what made my jaw drop was that every single bag Wendy and Bowser were holding today, was sitting there, on my bed. A lot didn't fit and lined the floor around my bed. I couldn't help but turn and wrap my arms around Bowser in a tight hug, this time, I cried into his shirt.
"You alright?" He asked soothingly. "It's just- thank you so much!" I cried happily. "I don't deserve any of this!" I sobbed harder into his chest, staining his shirt a little. He didn't seem to mind.
"You do deserve it," he cooed, pulling my face away to wipe my tears. He stroked my hair as he continued, "There were so many kids in that adoption home- koopas if you will. I chose you because you deserved that," he said softly. I pulled away for a split second before hugging him again.
"Thank you for changing my life, Bowser," I whispered.
"Please, call me dad...son," he said. Oh, how good it felt to hear that after not being able to since I was 9.
"If you need help setting anything up, ask Iggy. He loves technology," he pointed down the hall we came from. "Left turn, last door on the corner," he explained. He smiled before walking away, turning back the way we came. I walked in and closed the large door.
I walked over to the bags in awe, seeing how many things he got me. I put up all the shirts in the left closet door, the pants in the right closet door, and the sweaters in the wardrobe. I opened the shoeboxes to reveal a pair of black and white high top vans, and a pair of baby blue low tops. Gosh, he knew me so well. Squealing, I stacked the shoeboxes neatly on the closet shelf and put the shoes, including my converse, on the top of the wardrobe, which was just in my reach.
I started to go through the other bags, and almost instantly noticed the abundance of game consoles in the bags. I gasped, shocked that he was willing to buy this for me. I separated each one of the fresh boxes and began to unpack more and found 2 Acer monitors and a PC. I had no idea how he knew I wanted this, but I facepalmed, knowing he read my file.
Not actually knowing how to set one up, I went through the last two bags, which were Apple. It had a note in it, so I read it.
"I saw the phone in your hand and don't know how you could use something so old, no offense. I bought you a couple of devices so you'll never have to use anything old again," the note read. Bowser had really come through for me. I smiled, setting the boxes on my desk. Noticing the bath and body works bag on the floor, this one had a winky face with Wendy's name under it. I went through the colognes and sat them neatly on my desk. I smiled, loving my new family.
Going to leave my room, I thought about Bowser's directions to Iggy's room. Walking down the stairs, I followed the directions I was given until I found a door decorated in green posters and had Iggy's name on it.
Yep, this was him.
Here goes nothing. I softly knock at the door, and Iggy opens it a few seconds later. He steps out, closing the door.
"Hey dude, I was actually coming to check up on you in a few minutes. Bowser told us you had a room here but never showed us where," he said.
"Um yeah," I started, twiddling my fingers nervously. He noticed, and before I could speak, he spoke first.
"Is something wrong?" He asked, looking down at my nervous tells. My palms were sweating, I was fidgeting with my fingers, and as our eyes met, the nervous look in mine could be seen from a mile away.
"You don't have to be scared to talk to me, what's up?" Iggy asked, slight concern lacing his features. His snout curved into a slight frown.
"Bowser got me a computer," I started. "I don't exactly know how to set it up," I said, shrugging. His eyes lit up in understanding. He smiled and grabbed my hand, intertwining his claws with my fingers. I walked him up to my door.
I opened the door, and he looked around, smiling.
"This fits you," he said, chuckling. "It sure does," I breathed. I motioned toward the boxes.
" Do you know how to set this up?" Iggy nodded. He began to open the Monitor boxes and placed them on the desk side by side. He skillfully maneuvered the cords and soon unboxed the main PC itself. I set up the consoles while he did this since they were easy to figure out. I finished and sat down on my bed, waiting for Iggy to finish up. He was bent down putting the PC in the assigned compartment in the desk. He skillfully worked the cords and soon realized something, standing up and putting a hand on his chin.
"Its too many plugs," he said. "I'm going to need an extension cord," he thought before an epiphany lit him up. "Oh! I have one in my room. Wanna come?" he turned to me.
"Sure!" I said. We walked out of the room, closing the door. We walked back downstairs, and Iggy opened the door, letting me inside.
His face reddened the second he let me in.
"Its a bit messy, " he said, scratching the back of his head. The room was bright and had green lights lining the crown molding, giving the room a green glow. His canopy bed had a green bedspread but was haphazardly thrown together on the king-sized bed. In his retreat area, his 60-inch tv was mounted on the wall in the corner, and had green LEDs behind it. His PC setup that was the same as mine, just on a different desk with green glow ups behind his monitors. Game consoles were stacked under his tv, alongside a MacBook sitting on his tv stand. A green carpet was placed in front of his bathroom door.
Just as he said, it was a bit messy. Just a little bit though. Clothes were strewn about and shoes were on the floor, but nothing else was that dirty except his desk which was littered with papers. Opening a drawer in his dark desk, he pulled out an extension cord and set it on his bed. Pulling his shirt off, he threw it in his hamper across the room and shrugged on a black pullover. I blushed a little due to the fact that he just changed in front of me. He handed me the extension cord with a smile. He then realized something else and pulled out another power brick with four outlets on it.
"For your PC and consoles, " he smiled at me, which I returned. He flopped on his bed and looked at me.
"If you need anything else, just come get me, " he smiled. "Also get ready for dinner, suns going down. Dad never cooks dinner too late after sundown, " he reminded.
"Got it, " I smiled softly, which he returned and left the room. I walked back to my room and plugged everything up. I looked out of my opaque white curtains and realized the sun was beginning to go down.
I walk downstairs, hearing screaming and laughing. Hearing sizzling sounds to the right, confirmed that Iggy was right about Bowsers' cooking schedule. Ignoring the delightful smells of non-processed food, I walk into the living room to see Ludwig and Larry playing Mario kart.
Of course, they would be playing as themselves.
Ludwig smiles as he sends a banana in Larry's path, sending his cart sailing off the map. This sent Larry into a rage as he moved into eighth place. Ludwig laughed triumphantly as he came into first place.
"Too easy for me, bud. Try going against junior next time, " he smirked, ruffling Larry's hair. "Fuck you!" Larry laughed as the six-year-old rolled his eyes from his spot on the love seat across the living room. My eyes widened as I heard him. Ludwig caught my gaze.
" He lets us cuss, " he says. I nod in understanding. "Do you wanna play?" Larry offers. I nod, sitting in between Ludwig and Larry. He hands me a wired controller, taking the other one. He sets up a race, and I choose Ludwig, smirking at him as I do so. He laughed heartily.
"You better not make me lose, " he snickered. I laughed. He did not know I was literal skill itself at this game. Wendy let me play it on the cheap tv she had in her office, and I instantly fell in love with it. She let me come in there with Rick to play anytime we wanted. We were always her favorites.
The game started and I used the boost off trick, surprising all three of them. I bet they didn't think I knew how to play. I drifted skillfully into a mushroom, surpassing Larry and accelerate into first place. He is on my tail, but I took a secret shortcut, putting even more distance between us. I go through an item box in the shortcut and get a mushroom. I get another item box and get a banana.
Oh, he was in for it now.
Waiting until the last lap, I slow down and wait for Larry to try to pass, but I get in front of him and double press the item button, trapping him on a banana and speeding off immediately after. Ludwig and Junior bust out into screams at my tactic, and I drift skillfully into the finish line. I drop the controller into Larry's lap, smirking at him. He came in 5th because of me.
"Never challenge me to Mario kart, " I smirk at him before ruffling his hair and walking into the kitchen, savoring the expression on his reddened face. Bowser sees me and turns around and faces me. He motions me over. The delightful smells engulf my nose as the food sizzled in the pan. He put an arm around me as I stood next to him.
"How are you so far?" he asks. I smile brightly. "So good! My life means something now because of you!" I gleamed, eternally grateful. A smile contorted on his face. He looked like my words truly affected him. He turned and hugged me. He sniffled and I realized a tear made its way down his face.
"That's all I could ever ask for, kid, " he sniffled, voice cracking slightly. He wiped his face quickly.
"Hey, why don't you go get your siblings for dinner? I'm gonna set the table, ok?" he requests. I nod and run back into the living room to tell Ludwig, Larry, and Junior that dinner is ready. They nod and head out after me telling them I'm gonna find the others.
Ludwig pauses, realizing that I didn't know where any of their rooms were. He told the others to go to the dining room, and he walked upstairs by my side.
"I know you just got here so I'm gonna show you where everyone rooms are, " he smiled softly, his baritone voice reverberating through the long hallway we walked down.
I nodded with a smile, and he stopped me. This door was blue and had a picture of Larry on it.
"That's Larry's room, I don't think he'll mind if we peek, " he said, opening the door. The walls were a white and blue striped pattern, and his bed had a trampoline in the middle of it. His carpet was blue and fuzzy as it sat in front of the couch and coffee table that was filled with organized controllers. He had a flatscreen with a bunch of consoles stacked on the floor by the TV stand. His iPad was charging on the floor nearby. It was surprisingly clean for Larry. Ludwig closed the door and we moved on.
The next door was obviously Mortons. He tapped the brown door decorated with Morton's name in glowing letters. Morton opened the door seconds later.
"Dinner?" he guessed. Ludwig nodded. "We were also wondering if we could see inside?" Morton nodded before chuckling, " It's not the cleanest but sure, " he said before walking down the hallway.
Ludwig pushed the door farther open so I could see. Morton's room had stone walls and had a little kitchenette inside. His 60" TV still was on, playing MTV. The remote sat on the couch set he had in his room and his iPad was on the coffee table. The huge bed was messily made, and there were shoes on the floor. Everything else was clean though. The fairy lights hung up in the corners gave off a soft glow.
Ludwig closed the door and we moved on. Reaching a Pink door, which was obviously Roys, Ludwig knocked and Roy opened.
"Yeah?" he grunted dryly. "Dinner, Royce, " he grimaced at his full name being used but didn't do anything because I was here. I noticed Lemmy rolling by on his circus ball, and waved, which he returned smiling brightly. As he tried to get by, he knocked me into Roy, which pushed his shades clean off and across the hallway. I gasped and picked them up, muttering apologies when everybody froze in terror. Roy had been paralyzed in fear, and as I looked up at him, I found out why.
His right eye was completely devoid of an iris, white where it should have been. A nasty looking scar went through it.
"Give me back my shades, " he whispered, shaking and whimpering. Before I could react, he started yelling, "GIVE ME BACK MY SHADES!" He roughly grabbed my hand, claws sinking through my skin. I screamed in pain. Lemmy, now off his circus ball, covered his mouth in shock while Ludwig tried getting him to stop. I tried giving back his shades, but his hand was around mine, creating gashes in my delicate skin. He yanked the glasses out of my hand and pushed me back full force. Ludwig and Larry watched in absolute terror as I went straight through the balcony railing. My heart sank as I fell down two stories until I hit the cold, hardwood flooring with a sickening thud and cracks. Pain ricocheted through my body and I began to let out screams of agony as I could no longer feel my head or my arms.
Hearing the thud followed by my screams, everyone in the dining room rushed out and to their horror saw me laying on the floor in my own pooling blood. Bowser kneeled next to me as I tried so hard and failed to stifle my screams. Footsteps could be heard as the rest rushed down the stairs, except for Roy of course.
"Get the wand, Ludwig!" the boy rushed into a doorway that I had no idea where it leads. Wendy and Larry were crying. Morton had his hands over his face, tears rolling down his cheeks with an angry expression on his face. I had never seen him like that. Junior had a sorrowful look on his face. Iggy had his hand covering his mouth, eyes watering as he looked at my blood. Lemmy was crying his eyes out. He soon got up and walked away from everything, not being able to take it at all. I couldn't think straight, and the sweet nothings Bowser spoke as he tried to calm me down went from one ear out the other. I couldn't feel anything but pain everywhere. Ludwig darted through the doorway as he held some sort of glowing wand and a book.
He spoke some foreign language before stopping abruptly. My pain fizzled away as a purple glow consumed me. The second I could feel everything, I stood up quickly and ran to my room as fast as I could. I heard a pair of footsteps chasing me though. I walked into my room but before I could close the door it was interrupted by a foot getting in the way. Not caring I went over to my wall, pushing myself against it. I hugged my knees against my chest, burying my head into them. I felt myself being pulled into someone's arms. It was Iggy who chased after me. I saw Morton walk in, closing and locking the door.
"What happened?" Iggy asked softly. Morton wrapped his arms around me, bringing himself closer to me on my other side. I struggled for words. I noticed I was still bleeding, but it was no longer painful because of the spell Ludwig cast on me. Iggy noticed, and took his pullover off, and Morton took his shirt off, leaving them in nothing but their pants. Iggy put his sweater on the back of my head so I wouldn't stain my wall anymore. Morton lifted me up a bit before setting his shirt under me so the blood dripping down my back wouldn't stain my white carpet anymore. They both put their arms around me, waiting patiently for my answer.
I shakily explained to them the situation about how someone bumped into me, making me knock Roy's shades off. I elucidated how he cut my wrist up with his claws, and how he pushed me through the balcony, Leaving out the fact that Lemmy was the one who pushed me.
Morton got an angry expression, angry tears starting to drip down his face. He pulled me closer to him as he began to rant.
"HE KNOWS the human body is weaker than ours! Shades off or not, he shouldn't have pushed you! He fucking knows you don't have A FUCKING SHELL TO PROTECT YOURSELF!" Morton raged. I wrapped my arms around him and he cuddled me into him, soothing his rage as he played with my hair. I was getting blood on him, but he didn't seem to care.
Iggy got up and I got up from Morton's arms and gave Iggy a hug. Since he was taller than me, I put my head on his shoulder. He grabbed the bloody pullover from the floor and headed for the door. Morton got up, grabbing the bloody shirt, slinging it over his shoulder. They walked out, and before they left, I heard Iggy say,
"Send Ludwig in here,"
I got up from the stained spot on the wall. I quickly changed into comfortable clothes, leaving the dry bloodstains on my skin. I climbed into my bed, with a somber expression on my face.
"Why are you so dumb? Why do you have to mess everything up? Why are you so stupid? Just go die, already!"
I shrank back from the mental assault. It was all true though. I always messed sh-
"Taemin!" I flinched as my door flung open to reveal a disheveled Ludwig. His hair laid messy atop his head and was covered in sweat as well as his face.
He ran over to my side.
"Are you okay?" he searches me for wounds, and to his dismay, he found a lot. He looked at his wand, frowning. He pulled me up into a hug, my face landing in the crook of his shoulder. My blank face expression didn't tell much of how I was feeling. I feebly wrapped my arms around him.
"Morton and Iggy going to talk to the others about what Roy did" I nodded, the blank expression remaining on my face. I suddenly felt bad for Roy. He pulled away and looked at me sympathetically. He scooted farther into my bed as I sat up, and he was now sitting crisscrossed in front of me. His socks were stained slightly with my dried blood. I pulled the fluffy blue cover over my chin, hiding my face in them.
Speaking up, I counterproductively whispered quietly, "Did you know about his eye?" I asked meekly. He nodded somberly.
"It was in a bike accident, he blames himself. It was the first day he ever cried in front of anyone. He sees it as his weakness and he hates being weak. He was riding his bike with Larry and Lemmy and ended up getting hit by a car. He went face-first into the windshield, but he didn't go through it. The glass went through his eye and scarred his head. This wasn't too long ago. About 7 months now. It's kind of ironic. He used to take pride in his unique blue eye color. But now he feels he needs to hide it," Ludwig sighed.
I nodded in understanding. I decide to get up and check on him. I was too damn nice.
"Where are you going?" He asked, getting up. I grabbed the doorknob. "To check on him," Ludwig looked as if he didn't want to let me go. He reluctantly nodded. He walked the opposite way down the hall. "Good luck!" he called. I nodded determinedly. I walked to Roy's door and knocked slightly. It was a good minute before I heard footsteps pattering toward the door.
Roy opened the door, and as soon as he noticed me, his face molded into that of surprise, shock, or anger. I couldn't tell because his eyebrows we're covered by those stupid shades. I held back a grimace as we stared back and forth at each other.
"What do you want?" He growled viciously at me. I flinched back, instantly regretting my decision. He noticed, and his face softened just a bit but curled back into a frown quickly.
I inhaled sharply. "I just wanna talk," I stood up straighter, trying and failing to make myself look confident. He looked at me for a while before huffing and stepping aside, letting me in. Looking around, the walls of his room were made out of stone, one wall being colored pink, a TV mounted on it with pink LEDs. A futon and a glass table sat in front of it. His canopy bed had a pink and purple bedspread but had stripes on it. The muteness of the colors gave it a more masculine feel. He had a balcony door and two windows, letting light in. In the corner, he had a trampoline, with a MacBook laying closed on it. His nightstand was crowded with a charging iPad and tons of . . . pill bottles? He caught my gaze and hurriedly swept them into the drawer and out of my sight. He had a weight and dumbbell set in the corner with a mini-fridge.
"Did you come in here to gawk at my room or what?" He growled. I shook my head fearfully, backing away slightly. I noticed his tracksuit jacket on the floor nearby, and his pants hung messily in a rack in an open closet door. He had on an undershirt and shorts. He looked me up and down, seeming to only just notice the bloodstains covering my body. Hesitant concern laced his face and he walked off into what I assumed to be his bathroom after muttering, "Sit on my bed," following his instructions, I decide not to snoop. A pang of pain was felt in my upper body as the spell Ludwig cast wore off. I merely ignored it. I've been through worse.
Obviously.
He came back out with a rectangular box and sat beside me as he opened it and pulled out a wand. A purple aura consumed it. I gasped as he spoke in a foreign language, which constricted a blue glow around me before the bloodstains began vanishing.
I smiled at him and he smiled back.
"Roy, I'm so-"
"Stop right there, " he cut me off. He took a deep breath, his chest rising visibly.
I gasped as he took his shades off, setting them on his nightstand before training that one eye on my own, freely letting my eyes graze over the nasty gash on his own.
"I'm sorry, " he started. I watched his eyebrows furrow as he searched frantically for an apology.
"I know Lemmy knocked you into me. I knew you were trying to give my shades back, " he started. He hesitantly bent over slightly and pulled out one of the various pill bottles from his drawer. He shakily handed it to me.
Benzodiazepines.
I looked at him, covering my mouth in shock and realization. Roy totally wasn't this tough guy he was made out to be. Why couldn't I tell it was all a front?
His eye spastically moved around as he tried avoiding eye contact with me. He fiddled with the hem of his tank top before continuing.
"I shouldn't have let it get the best of me, " he whispered. I grabbed the bottom of his snout and forced his head up so he had no choice but to face my green orbs with his blue one. Seeing eyebrows on him was weird. It helped display his emotions a lot more. Right now he was scared. Hell, who wouldn't be?
I gave him a soft smile, letting him know it was alright. He smiled back and I loved to see my brother healing. I wasn't even an original part of the family but I saw myself quickly getting to know my siblings deeply. Seeing how much my family cared when I fell off the railing really touched me. It made me wanna cry, but I didn't want to do that in front of Roy.
"No matter how many times you hurt me, or someone else, I'll always be here for you man, let's let bygones be bygones and get over this like we're gonna get through everything else. And if anyone else doesn't forgive you, which they will. Remember, we are brothers by chance, friends by choice, " I finished with a slightly altered Disney quote.
He chuckled before... his face scrunched up slightly and he started to cry. His cry wasn't ugly nor was his facial expression. It was just... different from his masculinity that I was used to. I could see the tears dripping from his eyes as he cried, and his eyebrows shaping his horribly somber expression.
I stood up, holding my arms out. He dawdled for a moment before getting up and slowly and softly wrapping his arms around me. I squeezed his large form to myself tightly and we rocked there for such a long time. It was so comforting in his arms. He was really soft to hold.
I never expected someone as tough and big shot as Roy crying in my arms like this. The sounds that left his snout were soft and gentle, laced with sadness and so many unspoken words.
He pulled away, but I kept my hand on his shoulder. I watched him as he wiped his eyes.
"The others must be really pissed, huh, " he stated. It wasn't really a question but I nodded. He frowned and sputtered like he was gonna cry again. I was quick to squeeze him, and this time he threw his arms around me and began bawling into my shoulder. Loudly.
I let him cry out his frustrations. His anxiety, his downfall, his problems, his concerns.
And his true identity.
He wailed and tried to form words as he cried, sputtering incoherent sentences.
"It's not my fault! It's not my fault!" He cried. "They must hate me! They don't like me anymore!"
Wow.
It's like someone opened my eyes for the first time. I've never seen anyone who cared about their siblings as much as this guy does.
I whispered soothing words to him, as he was shaking really badly. I noticed he couldn't control his breathing as he cried. It seemed like I was the only thing from keeping him from falling and shattering into pieces.
I squeezed him into me as he rode out his panic attack. His arms gripped me tighter as if I was threatening to let him go. This reminded me of Rick. How he totally broke down when I left him. I would've totally called him by now.
Roy calmed down and pulled away slowly. He smiled sadly at me, which I returned gratefully. He walked over to his nightstand and pulled out a pill bottle, taking a dose of the contents dry.
As I watched the troubled boy, I knew wasn't going just sit here and let him stay here wondering if he was going to make it up to his family.
I was going to make him do it.
A/N: Whooo! Finished Chapter 2. This is over 6,000+ words so plz leave a vote lolol. This took me 2 days to write, and I'd appreciate some feedback. Share this to your friends guys! Peace out!