My brain scares me. And I mean genuinely scares me. I have NO idea where this idea came from. Actually, I sort of know. It was inspired by ABCDavenport's story "Just a Dream?" (Check it out if you haven't yet!) Well, that's where the idea started. Then it just sorta . . . snowballed.
On a brighter note, this is my first story focusing on Leo! Yay! I have a much harder time doing him, so hopefully this turned out okay.
Alrighty, warning time! First of all, this story may ruin Lab Rats for you. I hope that doesn't happen, but . . . it's a possibility. Also, there are spoilers to the episodes "Bionic Showdown," "Sink or Swim," and "You Posted What?!" You have been warned. Also, there are slight references to anorexia, cutting, and bullying. Again, you've been warned!
If you're still willing to read this, then I hope you can enjoy! I don't own Lab Rats. I sort of own Matthew, Clark, Logan, Alex, and Jake. In a way. You'll see what I mean when you read. Hope you like it!
* * * Nothing Is Real Anymore * * *
"Welcome to your new home, Mrs. Davenport!"
"Why thank you, Mr. Davenport!"
"Absolutely, Mrs. Davenport."
"We get it, you got married! It's getting old!"
"Alright, they're part of a secret project I've been developing: genetically engineered super-human siblings! Tasha, Leo, meet Adam, Bree, and Chase, the greatest combination of biology and technology ever developed!"
"I guess this is it. Thanks for everything, Leo."
"Yeah. You're the best friend we've ever had."
"No, he's the only friend we've ever had!"
"And Leo, why didn't you tell us that Adam, Bree, and Chase were still here?"
"Because, I was trying to protect my friends. And I'm still gonna protect my friends. That's right! You wanna send them away? You have to go through me first! It's go time, little man! It's not the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog! And there's a lot of fight in this little doggie! C'mon! Uh huh! Yeah!"
"Leo! Calm down! They're not going anywhere!"
"Oh, don't you . . . wait, what?
"Watching you guys risk your lives for each other made me realize something. Maybe I've been focusing too much on training the superhumans out of you and I forgot all about the human part."
"I wanted to apologize. I'd never do something like to my friends, but you guys aren't my friends.
"Leo, FIY, this is the worst apology ever."
"I'm saying you're not my friends, because you're my brothers."
"Leo, I don't let just anybody use my holoscopic screen. Y'know, this is a big father-son moment for us."
"Please don't make me play catch. I . . . that's just gonna get ugly."
"Hey peeps! What's the dealio?"
"Hi, I'm Marcus!"
"I know. We have gym together. And study hall. And also chemistry. We're lab partners!"
"Oh! I . . . did not know that!"
"What is wrong with you? Why are you doing this?"
"It's a long story. But let's just say: you're in my way. Oh, and if you ever try and rat me out again, you're toast. For real!"
"Guys, I'm sorry. You're trying to rescue me when I'm supposed to be protecting you. I guess I wasn't a very good enforcer."
"No, you weren't!"
"Oh come on! Adam and Chase would cover for me!"
"Yeah, and they also turned their babies into breakfast treats. Look, I'm your sister and it's my job to call you out and hope you're mature enough to take responsibility."
"But I'm not!"
"Leo really stepped it up today! He's showed me that he has what it takes to be a part of this team. So I am making him our new strategic mission specialist!"
"Congrats!"
"Way to go!"
"Mazal tov!"
"Awesome! Wait, does that mean more paperwork?"
"Haha, yes! But you will also be helping me design the overall mission strategies and while these guys are in the field, you will be assisting me from your own mission specialist work station!"
"I told you Marcus was evil! 'Leo, he's a nice guy!' 'Leo, give the guy a break!' Wool, eyes, pulled over!"
"Goodbyes are tough, Leo, so I'll make this easy."
"LEO!"
"What the . . .?"
"Exoskeleton in the house! Or whatever you call this funky place."
"Leo! You're alive!"
"Ugh!"
"I ask you to do one thing!"
"I've gotta find them."
"I've already tried. They must've disabled their GPS signals, there's no trace of them anywhere . . . they're gone."
"I can't believe they're gone."
"I should've been in school today. It's my job to watch out for them and I didn't! This is all my fault!"
"No, it's not! It's not theirs either."
"Listen to me! The Triton App only controls your bionics, not your human side! You have to fight it!"
"Yes, Chase! Remember! All the great times we had, all the cool inventions we built! The time Trent made us bob for apples in the bathroom! Okay, that wasn't really cool, but we did it together! It's not working!"
"Keep trying! It's our only chance!"
"I'm the one who showed you the real world, Chase! I taught you what it means to be a brother! A good one, not like Adam is to you! Remember, when I found you in the lab? Our first day at school? When we won the robot throwdown! Oh, I still have the picture! Here, see?"
"Try and remember, Chase!"
"Yeah, see, you, me, together, brothers! Come on Chase, I know my brother's in there. Where is he, Chase? Where is my brother?"
"What did you do?"
"Congratulations, Leo. You're bionic."
"What are we gonna do?"
"Not to worry. We may be in prison, but our power runs far beyond this little cage. The bionic brothers and sisters will make sure of it. Rise, bionic soldiers! Rise!"
Beep . . .
Beep . . .
Beep . . .
Ugh, what's that noise? Leo thought. It's irritating.
Beep . . .
Beep . . .
Beep . . .
So steady and consistent. Not like anything else in Leo's life. Suddenly he was aware that he was lying down. His eyes were shut tight and for some reason Leo couldn't open them. He was tempted to just lay there in this state of relaxation. But some part of his brain was warning him that it wasn't a good idea.
Then it hit him. He remembered. Krane and his bionic army. He had to warn someone! Adam, Bree, Chase, and Big D had to know! Leo fidgeted a bit. The beeping beside him became quicker and there was a bit of shuffling around Leo.
Finally the boy managed to crack his eyes open. He found himself looking up into a pair of blue eyes. The eyes belonged to a middle-aged, blonde-haired woman in a long white coat. She gave a small smile and Leo calmed down a little, but only a little.
I have to get up! Leo thought, panic rising within him. I have to tell them! Warn them! Krane has an army!
Leo opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Try as he might, he was unable to form any sort of communication. The lady beside him rubbed his arm gently. "Shh, calm down," she murmured. Leo did in fact calm down a bit. The world wasn't in ruins; maybe there was still time.
Besides, Leo was so tired. He felt the waves of lethargy swim over him. He could rest his eyes for a few seconds. Surely everything was fine.
No! I have to warn them! Get up, Leo! Get up!
The internal voice was being smothered. Leo slowly drifted off back into darkness, the world fading before his very eyes.
When Leo woke up again there were voices at the foot of his bed. He cracked his eyes open to see the blonde-haired lady from earlier talking to his mom.
For the first time, Leo realized that he was in a hospital. He was lying in a bed, dressed in a hospital gown. There were several monitors beside him that were causing the small beeps. A few tubes had been stuck up his arms. The walls were a blinding shade of white and the furnishings were meager.
"Mom?" Leo croaked out. Tasha turned and grinned at her son.
"Leo!" she said, rushing to his side and embracing him.
"What's going on?" Leo asked softly, wincing at little at his mom's hug. "Where are Adam, Bree, and Chase?"
Tasha released her son and stood up, a confused expression on her face. "Who?" she asked.
Leo was about to answer when the lady – who Leo now realized was a doctor – asked abruptly, "How do you feel, Leo?"
"Um, fine . . ." Leo said, drawing out the word. "But . . . I'm just a bit confused. And . . . some stuff hurts."
"That's not surprising," the doctor said with a sad smile.
"What happened?" Leo asked.
"Sweetie," Tasha sighed, "you were in a car crash."
"What?" Leo yelped.
The doctor slowly began to back out of the room. "I think I'll just leave you two alone for a minute," she said. "Just yell if you need anything." The lady left the room and Leo turned his full attention to his mom.
"Mom, where are they?" Leo asked quickly. "I have to warn them! Mom, Mom we have to tell them! Krane is making a move! He's got an army! Please, you need to get Adam, Bree, and Chase! They have to know!"
"Leo, Leo, calm down!" Tasha said, patting her son's shoulder. "What are you talking about? Who are Adam, Bree, and Chase?"
Leo felt like his heart stopped. Though obviously it didn't, because the monitor beside him kept right on beeping. There was a lump in the teenage boy's throat. His mom did not just say that.
"Adam, Bree, and Chase," Leo repeated, slower this time. "You know, Big D's kids! Well, technically, they're Douglas's kids, but Big D raised them."
"What's a 'Big D'?" Tasha asked, nearly as confused as her son.
"Donald Davenport!" Leo replied, almost frantic. "Your husband!"
"Leo, I don't have a husband. I'm dating Clark, but we're not married."
"Clark?" Leo asked, the lump in his throat larger. No. No way. This was just some crazy dream that Leo would wake up from soon.
"Yeah. Actually, he'll be here any minute. He wanted to check on you."
"Why am I even here?" Leo asked, trying to change the subject before his brain exploded.
"You were in a coma," Tasha said with a gulp. She looked down at the bed and slowly rubbed Leo's hand. "For five weeks. Pete and his mom were driving you back home and they got in a car accident."
"Pete?" Leo asked. The name sounded vaguely familiar; like a word on the tip of his tongue.
"Yes," Tasha said. "They were mostly fine. Carol broke her nose and Pete had a lot of bruises, but you weren't so lucky."
Leo took a deep breath, trying to process this new information. "So where are Adam, Bree, and Chase? Or Donald or even Douglas? Where's Principal Perry?"
"Sweetie, I really don't know what you're talking about!" Tasha said. She looked just as scared as Leo felt.
Leo was about to question her further when the door swung open and a familiar face entered. The man side-hugged Tasha and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before turning to Leo and flashing a half-hearted grin.
"How you doing, buddy?" he asked gently.
"Big D!" Leo exclaimed.
"Big what?" the man asked, his face twisting into an expression of confusion – the theme of the day.
"Look, I've got a lot to tell you," Leo said, trying his best to sit up. "Krane made a whole army of soldiers! We have to stop them! And before you say anything, please let me help! I know I can do it!"
The man who looked shockingly like Donald Davenport gave a smile that read 'I think you're absolutely crazy!' Then he leaned in towards Tasha and whispered, "Is this normal?"
"I don't know," Tasha whispered back. "He's been going on about an 'Adam, Bree, and Chase' since he woke up. I'll have to ask the doctor if that's normal."
"You know, I can still hear you guys!" Leo pointed out. Both adults frowned. The suddenly Leo's face lit up in realization. He knew what was going on. "Oh, I get it!" the boy said, smiling a bit. "You guys are messing around with me! Haha, very funny, but drop the act! You're not fooling me."
"Um, I think I might be going now," 'Big D' said, edging his way towards the door. "I'm allergic to crazy." Tasha grabbed his arm and shot him a glare.
"Clark!" Tasha hissed.
"He's not Clark!" Leo insisted.
"I'm pretty sure I am!" Clark/Big D countered.
"You're Donald Davenport," Leo said matter o' factly. "You're a tech mogul, a genius, and a billionaire!"
"I'm a computer programmer," Clark corrected. "I wouldn't classify myself as a genius. And considering my car will be ten years old this February, I'm no billionaire!" Clark grinned and turned to Tasha. "Though I certainly wish I was."
"What is going?" Leo cried. "I want Adam, Bree, and Chase! Quit it! I want my friends back! Please!"
The doctor came back into the room in the middle of Leo's freak-out. Tasha sent her a questioning look and the doctor approached Leo. "Hey, kid, calm down," she whispered soothingly. "It's okay."
"But I'm so confused," Leo gulped.
"I know, sweetie," the doctor said. "Why don't you just fall asleep? Things will make more sense when you wake up."
"O-Okay," Leo conceded. Come to think of it, he did feel rather tired. Slowly he laid his head back down on the pillow, his thoughts a whirlwind. What was going on? Why did no one know who Adam, Bree, and Chase were? These questions still plagued Leo as he fell into a deep sleep.
For the next few days Leo was kept for observation. He made a pretty astounding recovery. Everything checked out and he was totally healed. The only thing that no one still seemed to understand was his random mumblings about "Adam, Bree, and Chase" or "bionics" or "missions." Leo himself was wondering why nobody knew what he was talking about.
Three days after he woke up, Leo heard his mom and the doctor – who he now knew as Dr. Penny Franks – talking outside the door to his hospital room. He was completely bored just lying in bed – there was nothing good on TV – so he decided to eavesdrop on the conversation. It was just loud enough for him to hear.
"Dr. Franks, what is he talking about?" Tasha was asking. "Why does he keep rambling about these things?"
"It's not entirely uncommon. I've seen it happen before," Dr. Franks said.
"Please tell me what's happening. It's scaring me, to be honest."
There was a sigh that came from the doctor. "Your son probably had a dream during his time in the coma. It was obviously very realistic; that's why he's talking about it now. He thinks everything in the dream is real."
"So you're saying that 'Adam, Bree, and Chase' are part of his imagination?"
"That's one way to put it. Considering the reaction he had to your boyfriend, the people from his dream are most likely based off of people he knows in real life. That coupled with the brain trauma he received in the crash will most likely impair his memory for a little while. But whatever he's rambling on about is all fake. The people he thinks he knows never existed."
Leo felt like he had been hit by a train. There was no way. Leo was not going to accept that. Adam, Bree, and Chase . . . weren't real? Leo never discovered their lab? They never went on missions together? Leo never got bionics? There were never any bionics in the first place? Everything, his entire life . . . it was nothing more than a dream?
That was too much for Leo. The hot tears spilled down his face. His heart felt like it had been broken in two. His friends, his family. They were fake. A mere figment of his imagination. Leo would never see them again.
Four more days and Leo was cleared to go home. Though the memory impairment had been mentioned, and Leo was on a seemingly constant stream of medicine, everything would return to normal. But what was normal? Leo didn't even know what he could trust anymore.
Though no one had actually told him that it was a dream, the doctors had mentioned that Leo might have trouble remembering things. They had subtlety implied that he would have faulty thinking, that things were not as they seemed. Leo had just nodded along.
After just one day of being home – in a one-story house that Leo barely recognized but was told was his own – his mother called him from his room. "Leo, you have a visitor!"
Leo hopped off his bed and headed down the short hallway to the living room. Somehow he knew how to navigate the house perfectly, even though he didn't exactly remember it. Well, he did, but it was more like a distorted photograph in his mind rather than an actual memory.
When Leo reached the living room, Tasha was talking with someone at the door. She turned to Leo and opened the door wider, revealing a boy about Leo's own age.
"Oh, Leo, it's so good to see you!" the boy exclaimed.
Leo trembled a bit in fear before frantically shouting, "Marcus!"
"What?" Marcus asked, his expression one of confusion – again, that blasted confusion!
"Leo!" Tasha whispered harshly.
Leo stumbled backward, backing into the wall and pointing a finger at the brown-haired boy in his living room. "W-What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I was just here to check on you," Marcus said, looking genuinely hurt. "Ms. Dooley, what did I do?"
"Nothing, Matthew," Tasha said gently. "Leo's having a few problems with his memories. The doctor said it will get better with time."
"Mom, that's Marcus!" Leo shouted. "He's evil! And I know no one believed me before, but he captured Big D and Adam, Bree, and Chase! Wait, how are you even alive? You were buried under a pile of rubble!"
"Ms. Dooley?" Marcus/Matthew asked, his face holding a look of fright. Tasha leaned over and whispered something in the boy's ear. Marcus/Matthew nodded and slowly walked towards Leo.
"Get away," Leo whispered hoarsely. "I don't need you threatening my family all over again!"
"Leo," Marcus started and then paused. He threw a quick look back at Tasha, who gave him a reassuring nod. Marcus sighed and continued, "Leo, I'm not this 'Marcus' person. I'm Matthew Rodriguez. I'm your best friend. We've been friends since kindergarten! And every Saturday night we play video games. I'll go over to your house one week, and the next you come to mine. We've been doing that for eight years straight now!"
"Y-You're not Marcus?" Leo stuttered. Then he was reminded of the dream. If all of the good stuff was fake, the bad stuff must've been too.
Matthew nodded slowly. "And I visited you in the hospital, too," he said with a gulp. "I was so scared for you. Sometimes I wondered if you would never wake up. I was so happy that you did, but . . . now you don't remember me." Matthew's face fell and he looked at the ground.
"Yeah, I don't," Leo sighed. "But, um, maybe I will someday. Why . . . why don't you come into my room and you can tell me more about our . . . friendship." Leo barely got the word off his tongue. Some part of him was still screaming that he shouldn't trust Matthew, the identical twin of Marcus. But still, Leo knew now that it was irrational.
Matthew's face lifted and he grinned. The two boys walked to Leo's room so they could talk in private.
"So," Matthew said as he shut the door. The brown-haired boy leaped onto Leo's bed and rolled over onto his stomach. Matthew was more comfortable in the bedroom than Leo himself was. "Who exactly is 'Marcus'? And why do you keep calling me that?"
"It's a bit confusing," Leo sighed as he sat down in the chair at his desk. "I heard my mom and the doctor talking . . . I guess it was all a dream."
"Oh," Matthew said, grabbing a pillow and playing with it. "A dream?"
"A very vivid one," Leo said, looking down at his feet. "I thought it was real."
"What was it about?"
Leo hesitated for a second before answering, "My mom got married to a billionaire tech mogul and we moved in with him. But it turned out he had three kids: Adam, Bree, and Chase. They were all bionic."
"Bionic?" Matthew asked, twisting up his face. "What does that mean?"
"They all had a set of superhuman powers," Leo explained. "Adam had super-strength, Bree had super-speed, and Chase had super-intelligence. They had other powers too, but those were their main ones."
"That's pretty cool!" Matthew said with a grin.
"We lived together for a long time, and a lot of stuff happened . . ." Leo trailed off, shaking his head. There was so much to explain. "Then I met a kid named Marcus who looked exactly like you."
"Huh, neat."
"But he was evil."
"Oh."
"I kept trying to prove that you . . . I mean, Marcus was evil. But no one would believe me. Finally they did when Mr. Davenport – I called him Big D – got captured and Adam, Bree, and Chase went to rescue him. Then they met their real father, who was evil and was also Big D's brother! Then it turned out that Marcus was an android and he got crushed by a pile of rocks."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Matthew said, holding his hands up in the air. "So in your dream, I was an evil robot who got killed?"
Leo nodded.
"That's actually kinda cool," Matthew said with a smirk. "But what happened with Adam, Bree, and Chase's real father?"
"Well, eventually he got frozen in a block of ice after Chase nearly turned evil. But later he broke out with the help of a billionaire named Victor Krane. But then Douglas – their real dad – turned good, but then the world found out about Adam, Bree, and Chase's bionics! So the government tried to take them away and I got crushed by a beam. But Krane got captured and I got bionics but it turned out that Krane had a whole army of bionics! And that's when I woke up."
Matthew just sat there, staring at the wall. Finally he said, "That was a lot of stuff."
"Yeah," Leo agreed.
"But that also might be the coolest dream ever!" Matthew said with a smile. "You'll have to tell me more about it. How did Adam, Bree, and Chase's bionics work?"
So Leo launched into the long story of what he thought had been two years of his life. He explained their powers, their relationships, and their adventures. It felt odd to be talking about it as 'a dream'; in Leo's mind it still wasn't. This all had been so real to him, and he was going to miss the Davenports more than he could say.
A week later Leo's mom finally allowed him to go to school. It was the same school as in his 'dream': Mission Creek High School. At least Leo wouldn't have to learn how to re-navigate the halls. Matthew met him at the front doors with an amiable smile. It took Leo a second to remember that this wasn't Marcus; he was starting to get it, though.
"Do you think you'll do okay in school?" Matthew asked as they opened their adjoining lockers.
"I dunno," Leo said. "The doctors said it might take me a while to get readjusted to it. But the school and the teachers know, so I think they're going to cut me some slack."
"Lucky," Matthew muttered. "Maybe I should get in a coma to get out of schoolwork." Leo rolled his eyes in response.
Just then shouts were heard down the hall and Leo saw the grimace that passed over Matthew's face. Leo turned to see what all the commotion was about. From around the corner came yet another familiar face. The teenage boy was dressed in a blue Dingoes football jersey. He was wearing a smirk that, to Leo, seemed rather uncharacteristic of him.
"Hey, loser, why are you staring at me?" the boy shouted as he caught Leo's eye. Leo cringed, not expected such angry words to come out of that mouth.
"I'm sorry, you just look a lot like someone I know," Leo muttered meekly as the boy stormed up to him. At this point Leo had learned that the people from his dream were not the same people in real life.
"Oh really now?" the boy said with a snarl. "And just who do I look like?"
"A . . . a kid I used to know," Leo said with a gulp. "A kid named Adam." Adam's doppelganger was right above him, his angry stare menacing. Matthew had taken a few steps back to avoid conflict.
"Wonderful and completely useless information," the jersey-clad boy sneered. "Now, why don't you stop staring at me and move right along."
"B-But this is my locker," Leo stuttered.
"I said move along before I beat you into a pulp!" the other teen growled. Leo swallowed and supposed it was best to stay out of a fight. He walked away wordlessly, joining back up with Matthew and walking down the hall.
"That was close!" Matthew said with a whistle. "Jake is such a bully."
"Um, yeah," Leo said. He felt like crying again. Deep in his mind he was sure that was Adam; sweet, kind, and somewhat naïve Adam who would only beat up Chase – and even then it was just for fun.
"And you said he was like Adam? Wasn't that the oldest sibling?"
"Uh huh. Adam was . . . not all that bright, but really nice."
"Well Jake certainly isn't the smartest, either," Matthew snorted. "But he's definitely not nice. We usually call him 'Jake the Jerk' . . . never to his face, of course! Then you'd walk away without a face." Matthew shuddered. Then suddenly he stopped walking and stared down at his feet. Leo turned and observed the other boy.
"What?" Leo asked. "Why do you look so upset?"
"It's just . . ." Matthew sighed, shouldering his backpack. "I shouldn't be explaining this to you! We've known Jake Dayton ever since he moved here in the fifth grade. For years we've suffered through his bullying together. It's just so wrong to explain it to you. You should know this, Leo!" Matthew sighed again, then mumbled, "Sorry, I didn't mean to shout."
"It's okay," Leo said quietly. "I'm sorry for not remembering."
"It's not your fault," Matthew said with a shake of his head. "We're both having a hard time dealing with this. Here's English class. Come on."
The boys walked through the door and entered the classroom. After about a minute the bell rang and class began. Leo did his best to listen, but at times he found it hard. Most of the facts were familiar. Of course, there were times when everything seemed like it was over Leo's head. But the teacher never called on him to answer the questions and he was excused from doing the homework. A few kids gave him jealous glares, but he ignored them.
After class Matthew and Leo were sliding their books into their backpacks when Leo noticed a girl in the back of the classroom. Her wavy brown hair fell over her shoulders as she laughed and chatted with her friends.
"Who's that?" Leo asked, nudging Matthew and motioning to the girl.
"Oh, that's Alex," Matthew said, only looking up for a second to see what his friend was talking about. "Who does she remind you of?"
"She looks like Bree," Leo muttered.
"Alex is a sweet girl, I'll admit," Matthew said as he fought with the zipper on his backpack. "But she's got some serious self-esteem issues. She was diagnosed as anorexic last year and went to the hospital for a little while. She's been getting better lately, but she still doesn't think very highly of herself. Which is a shame if you think about it."
"Wait a second," Leo said, a teasing smile sliding up his face. "Do you have a crush on her, Matthew?"
"What?" Matthew asked, his face turning a dark shade of red. "A-Are you kidding me? U-Um, no!"
"I think you do!" Leo said in a sing-song voice. Matthew just scowled and stormed out of the classroom. Leo laughed as he too walked into the hallway.
Later that day at lunch, Leo was about to sit down beside Matthew when he noticed a boy sitting by himself on the other side of the room. The boy was chewing thoughtfully on an apple while he studied the textbook open in front of him. There was no one else at the table.
"Hey, why don't we go sit over there?" Leo suggested, motioning to the virtually empty table.
"You wanna sit with Logan?" Matthew asked.
"He looks lonely," Leo observed. Then to himself he muttered, "And he looks like Chase."
"Leo, I've never even heard the kid talk!" Matthew insisted. "The guy is a loner. Just leave him be. Even Jake ignores him."
"Well, I'm going over there," Leo announced. "So join me if you want or just stay here; it's your choice."
"Ugh, fine, I'll come with you." Matthew sulkily picked up his tray and followed Leo to the nearly unoccupied table in the corner of the cafeteria.
"Hi!" Leo said as he placed down his tray and pulled out a seat. Chase's twin jumped and looked up from his textbook.
"Um, h-hi," the boy stuttered.
"Mind if we join you?" Leo asked.
"Uh, sure," Chase/Logan said. He looked back down at his textbook, appearing to read it, but his hazel eyes kept flicking upward every few seconds.
"Whatcha doing?" Leo asked as he took a bite of his chicken nugget. Matthew was sitting beside him, his expression sour.
"Just, uh . . ." Logan said, biting his lip and trailing off. "J-Just doing some, you know, homework." The look on Logan's face read 'I just want to disappear.'
"Oh, cool," Leo said. "You remind me a lot of . . . an old friend. He liked doing homework too."
"Oh," was all Logan said.
Leo continued to talk. "He was a really great guy. Kinda shy until you got to know him. Really smart. In fact, you could even call him the smartest person in the world."
"That would be handy," Logan said with a smirk. "But probably impossible. There's no way he was that smart."
"No, really!" Leo insisted. "He knew the answers to everything. But he loved reading a lot. Sometimes people didn't talk to him at school, but they really should've, because he was a great guy. I . . . I get the feeling you're the same way."
Logan gave a small smile and closed the textbook. "No one ever wants to talk to me," he said quietly. "I'm not good in conversations and people always pass me off as 'nerdy.' I've never had a real friend before."
"Well, I'm willing to be your friend," Leo said. Logan jerked his head up with a look of disbelief written on his face. "And I bet Matthew would too, huh Matthew?"
"What?" Matthew asked, choking on his food. After a few coughs he shot Leo a 'what are you doing?' look.
'Just trust me,' Leo replied with his eyes. "Maybe we can hang out sometime," Leo suggested, turning back to the spiky-haired boy.
"That . . . that would be great," Logan said, a sheepish smile creeping up his face. "Thank you . . . um, I didn't catch your name."
"Leo," the boy replied. "And that's Mar-I mean, Matthew."
"Logan Fraser," the other boy said, reaching out his hand and shaking Leo's. "Um, I have to get going now, but it was nice to meet you." Logan stood up abruptly, picking up his textbook and walking away.
"I'm impressed," Matthew said, poking his French fry with a fork. "I have never heard him say that much before. I've never heard him say anything at all."
"Those kinds of people just need a certain push to get them going," Leo said, smiling to himself. "But I think Logan will be a great friend."
The final bell had rung and Matthew and Leo were putting things away in their lockers. They were chatting about their art class experiences and how Leo was starting to get the hang of things. Suddenly a timid voice behind them said, "Um, hello."
The boys turned to see Bree . . . oh, uh, Alex standing there. Leo quickly observed the girl who he had thought of as a sister for a long time. Alex had on fancy designer clothes and expensive-looking jewelry. Leo noticed that she seemed oddly thin, though not enough so that it was disturbing. The other thing Leo made note of was the faded red lines on Alex's wrist, remnants of an old bad habit.
"Hi Alex," Matthew said nervously, shuffling his feet a bit.
"Hello," Alex said again. The she pointed at Leo and asked, "Um, you're Leo, right?"
Leo nodded. "That's me!"
"Yeah, you were the one in a coma," Alex said thoughtfully. "Glad to see you're okay."
"Thanks," Leo replied with a small grin.
"So, uh, Matthew," Alex said, turning to the other boy. "I . . . well, um, I was, uh, wondering . . ." She trailed off and actually looked like she was about to start crying.
"Yeah, Alex?" Matthew asked in a gentle voice. This seemed to calm the teenage girl down greatly.
"I was kinda wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime?" Alex asked, flashing a nervous grin. "I mean, if you don't want to, I understand, but–"
"I'd love to!" Matthew cut her off. "I mean, uh, yeah, that sounds cool."
"Oh, awesome!" Alex said, obviously relived. "How about this Friday evening? We could go see a movie together."
"Sounds perfect."
"Uh, okay, see you then! Bye Matthew! And bye, uh, Leo!"
"Bye Br-Alex!" Leo replied, quickly catching himself.
Matthew turned to face his friend, a large grin on his face. "I have a date with Alex Sawyer!" he said excitedly. "I can't believe it! I've had a crush on her since first grade! This is amazing!"
"I'm happy for you, Matthew," Leo said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. And he was truly happy for Matthew, despite the boy's resemblance to a former enemy.
Leo sat on his bed, staring at the tan wall right across from him. He sighed and picked at a loose thread in his bed sheet. He was still trying to understand exactly what was going on. He still couldn't believe that it was really all a dream.
Leo would never see Adam, Bree, and Chase again. Yet, he had never really seen them in the first place, had he? They were all fake, contrived in the innermost part of his brain to create a counterfeit story. A believable one, at that. It had been so vivid, so lifelike! How could it possibly be just a dream?
Adam would never again make some silly or irrelevant statement. Bree would never again get so annoyed with her brothers that she completely blew up at them. Chase would never again say some random, nerdy fact that no one cared about. Mr. Davenport would never again create an amazing invention or brag about his 'awesomeness.' Douglas would never again argue with his brother or come up with some evil – or occasionally good – scheme. Krane would never again try to take over the world – okay, maybe that part was good.
It was so hard. So hard to realize that everything was fake. So hard to understand that nothing had been real. So hard to come to terms with the fact that Leo would never see any of those people again. The Davenports were not real. They were never real. But they had been Leo's family! Now he would have to say goodbye.
Maybe Leo could make a new life for himself, within his old life. Logan seemed like a really nice guy. Perhaps he would be really smart and constantly blow Leo away with crazy facts. Alex seemed like a sweet girl. Perhaps she would be really feisty and headstrong. Jake was far from nice, but he still had that childlike air to him. Perhaps someday he would become a better person, lighting up the room with a unique personality.
But that was silly. The more Leo thought about, the crazier it sounded. He couldn't just replace the Davenport family. He needed to think of all these people as who they were, not who they resembled in his mind.
Logan would be a great friend. Maybe someday he could open up more and do riskier things. Alex would be an awesome person to hang out with. Maybe someday she could escape from the shackles of insecurity and become a much more confident person. Jake was a bully, granted. Maybe one day he could change and be a good friend as well.
Leo sniffled as a tear ran down his cheek. He stared at some of the family pictures on his dresser. They showed him, his mom, and his dad. Yeah, Leo used to have a dad. That he remembered. Leo and his dad used to go to baseball games, the movies, you know, all the stuff dads do with their kids. But Leo's parents divorced when he was six. His dad had moved far away. Leo hadn't spoken to him in five years now. Somewhere deep in his subconscious, Leo realized that when he had dreamed about Mr. Davenport – or "Big D" – he had created his perfect dad.
Leo knew what he had to do now. As hard as it would be, it was time to let go. It was all a dream and Leo knew that now. There was no point in trying to deny it. Time to move on. "Goodbye, Davenport family. I'll miss you all."
Don't . . . even . . . ask. -_- But yeah . . . oh my word, I just wrote that. O_O I can't believe it. So, did I scar you for life? Will you ever be able to look at Lab Rats the same way again? I think I may have scarred myself for life. Geez. Where the heck did this story come from?
As I was writing this story I thought that maybe there's a possibility of more chapters. I could do something about Leo's "real" life. Maybe. But I'm super-busy right now with other stuff, and I'm not exactly sure what I would do. If you really want to see more chapters and have some suggestions, let me know in the reviews. It's unlikely that I'll do more to this, I'll probably just leave it as a one-shot, but we'll see.
So yeah . . . I don't even know what else to say. Let me know what you thought in the reviews. Was it confusing? Shocking? Mind-blowing? Please tell me! Review, follow, favorite, all the usuals. You guys put a smile on my face when you do. :3
(By the way, for you I'm a Monster readers . . . I'm sorry to say that I'm facing some writer's block on that story [thus the reason I wrote this one]. I will attempt to barrel through it and try, I repeat, try to get a chapter up by the end of this week. But please be patient with me. Okay? Okay. Thanks! Love y'all! :D)