A.N. - I've been reading a few Calvin and Hobbes stories, and I realized why I didn't like most of them. They were too much like stories. Calvin and Hobbes is originally a comic, so I decided to tailor my style to reflect the panel-style comic format, but in story form. Hope you enjoy it!

For Fun

"Calvin!" yelled his mom's voice from downstairs.

Hobbes looked worried.

"Oooh…you think she found the water balloon fort?"

Calvin rolled his eyes.

"Well, we didn't exactly hide it, Hobbes."

He nodded.

"Yeah, you're right. Hmmm…too bad," he added, looking sad. "I thought we could invite Susie over."

Calvin rolled his eyes again and was about to say something, but then they heard, "CALVIN!"

He let out a long sigh and sat up on his bed, tossing the book he'd been reading to the side.

"Coming, mom!"

He looked back at his tiger, who had picked up the book that he'd put down.

"We'll talk about this later, you orange furball."

Hobbes ignored him, nose in the book.

He took his seventeen-year-old self down the stairs, his now long legs taking him much more quickly down the risers. When he came around the corner, his mom pointed out the window to the front yard, her eyes accusing.

"Calvin, what is this?"

He stopped himself from rolling his eyes and said, "A water balloon fort."

"And what is it doing in my yard?"

Calvin shrugged.

His mom let out an exasperated sigh, not quite believing he was seventeen-years old. He still acted like a six-year-old so very often.

"Just remove it, Calvin. Please?"

He nodded.

"Sure, mom."

And then, with no whining or any sort of protestation, he did just that.

Such a confusing boy. Absolutely gifted and yet absolutely frustrating and confusing. He was already in his third year of university, but he still had a penchant for silliness and extreme pranks. As soon as he'd dismantled it, he went back up to his room and lay down on his bed, not bothering to take back his book from his tiger.

There was a silence.

And then…

"Hobbes…?"

He didn't even look up from the book as he replied.

"Yes?"

Calvin put his hands behind his head and then stared out the window.

"Do you think that I'm immature?"

Hobbes still didn't look up and didn't hesitate.

"Yes."

Calvin sighed again, still staring out the window, watching as the sparrows took off into the slowly darkening sky. It was only half past four.

The two of them were silent for a long time, the only sound in the room the rustling of paper as Hobbes turned the pages of the textbook, seemingly engrossed in it. It lingered for a long time. Both of them said nothing.

Then, there was a knock on his door.

"Come in!"

The door opened to show Calvin's mom with a worried look on her face. She walked in and stood next to the bed. Then she sat down on the edge of it and said, "A water balloon fort? Really?"

He shrugged as best as he could while lying down.

"I was bored. Seemed like fun."

He turned his head towards his mom and saw her give him a fond smile.

"Well, do you think that you could ask me next time what to do when you're bored? There are plenty of things that need to be done around the house."

Calvin smiled back.

"Sure, mom. Need me to do anything right now?"

She shook her head.

"No, not right now. Maybe later." She ran her hand through his hair. "Your dad will be home soon. Just be ready for dinner."

He nodded and she got up to leave, but then paused in the doorway, staring at Hobbes on the end of his bed.

"Honey, why is Hobbes reading your Theology textbook?"

Calvin shrugged again.

"Dunno. Maybe he's questioning his existence."

She gave him an odd look and just shook her head. He was a genius…with a stuffed tiger. Oh, well. The door closed.

Hobbes now gave him an odd look.

"What was that about?"

Calvin looked at him.

"What?"

Hobbes closed the book and glared at him, looking very upset.

"You. You're acting weird. Did something happen?" Calvin shrugged. Hobbes pressed. "Did something happen at school?"

Again, Calvin shrugged.

"Kinda."

Hobbes stared at him. Hard.

"Elaborate."

Calvin sighed, something that he'd been doing a lot of recently, as well as shrugging.

"Professor Higgins has been worried about me ever since I told him about you. My grade is still the highest one in the class, but he thinks that something might be wrong with me."

Hobbes gestured broadly.

"What do you mean?! There's nothing wrong with you! You're completely fine!"

Calvin sat up on the bed, gesturing the same way.

"That's what I told him! But…"

"But what?"

"…He wants me to talk to a psychologist. I mean, I've had enough psychology to last me two lifetimes!" Hobbes nodded, agreeing with him. "I mean, remember when I read that psychology book when I was six? All I ever talked about was how stupid the world was, and now that I'm in the world, my opinion still hasn't changed! I don't see how a psychologist can help me!"

Hobbes tilted his head.

"Well, why not go anyway?"

Calvin looked at him, incredulous.

"What? What for?"

Hobbes shrugged.

"For fun."

Calvin smiled.

"Not a bad idea, Hobbes. Not a bad idea…"

They shared the moment…and then they heard the front door open.

"I'M HO-OME!"

Calvin sighed.

"Dad's here. Time to go down for dinner." He got up from the bed and walked to the door, where he paused and then said, "I'll bring you back some extra chicken."

"How do you know it's chicken?"

Calvin gave him a sly smile.

"There was white sauce on mom's shirt. It's the one she uses for her chicken dish."

He left the room, leaving Hobbes behind. When Calvin left, he picked the book back up and turned to the chapter he'd been reading. For theology, it was actually interesting. No wonder Calvin enjoyed the class so much.

Part 1/?