Up for Adoption

He always knew it would happen. Deep down, he always knew it, but he would ignore it, enjoying the time with his friend. But he knew that it was only a matter of time before Mac gave him up.

It started out slow, with Mac arriving later than usual. Instead of coming to Foster's around three, he'd come at four, five, or even six o'clock. Soon enough there were days where he'd never even show up. When Bloo questioned Mac about it, he told him he made new friends at school.

"New friends? You have me, why do you need more?" Bloo inquired.

"It's nice to have a lot of friends, Bloo, so it's not the same thing everyday," Mac told him.

"Well, you should bring them over sometime, show them how cool your best friend is!"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea..."

"Why not?" Bloo asked, a confused look appearing on his face.

"Well, I'm not sure how they'd react to learning that I still have an imaginary friend," Mac said, looking anywhere but at Bloo.

"You've never been embarrassed by me before."

"It's not that I'm embarrassed, it's just that..." Mac couldn't come up with anything.

"No, no, it's fine Mac, I understand," the blue friend assured his creator. "You can have fun with your other friends, I've got plenty here."

"I promise I'll still visit you," Mac said, as he walked out the door. Bloo waved as he left, putting on a smile, but a heavy feeling had already made its way into his heart.

As more time went on, Mac went from missing a day here or there to being absent for multiple days in a row. Sometimes a whole week at a time. Mr. Herriman became insistent on putting Bloo on the adoption list, but Madame Foster told him that until Mac officially said he was giving up Bloo, he was to remain off the list.

Bloo would remain standing in the entrance hall, waiting for Mac to visit, just like his first few days at Foster's. He began to get curious of what Mac did with his friends. He'd leave Fosters to go spy on them. Whenever he'd do this, he'd see them playing video games or skateboarding around town. Since when did Mac skateboard? Bloo thought to himself. He'd never see Mac doing the things he did with Bloo with these new friends of his. Bloo didn't understand how these guys were any better than him.

A couple years passed, and Mac spent more time with these friends, and making even more. One day, while spying on Mac, he saw him not with his friends, but with a girl. Bloo could tell she wasn't just a friend. They held hands, smile at each other a lot, they even kissed. Just quick pecks, but it was still a kiss. Bloo nearly barfed.

One day, Mac came to Fosters. Bloo ran to Mac and jumped on him, like he used to when they were younger. Mac, being bigger now, was able to catch and hold Bloo.

"What do you wanna do today, pal?" Bloo asked.

"Actually, I'm here to do somethings else," Mac said.

"What?"

"It's personal."

Mac walked away, entering Mr. Herriman's office. Inside, a giant rabbit with a top hat, monocle, and a suit sat at a desk.

"Ah, Master Mac, what can I do for you?" the fancy rabbit asked.

"I think you can guess why I'm here," Mac replied.

Mr. Herriman nodded in understanding. "May I ask, why you've just now decided to put Master Blooregard up for adoption?"

Mac shrugged. "I guess I didn't have the heart to do it before."

"Are you sure this is what you want, Mac?"

"Yes. I don't know if you know, but Bloo's been spying on me. He doesn't think I know, but I've seen him, and it breaks my heart when I see him doing it. I think it's best for him to forget me."

"It would, but an imaginary friend doesn't easily forget their creator especially when they have a bond like you two have. Master Blooregard may not ever forget you."

"Then I at least don't want him hoping that I'll come by. It's better for him to know I won't come back."

"I agree," the rabbit said.

On the other side of the door, Bloo held his invisible ear to the door, listening to the conversation. When Mac walked into Mr. Herriman's office, he knew what they were going to discuss, but he had to be sure. Now that he knew, he walked away from the door, and stood slumped in the entrance hall.

When Mac emerged from Mr. Herriman's office, he saw Bloo, looking a deeper shade of blue than usual.

"I guess you already know," Mac said.

"Why, Mac?" was all the blue friend had to say.

"I know you've been spying on me, Bloo. I hate to see you like that. I'm doing this for you."

"Well thanks a whole lot, pal," Bloo spat.

"You don't get, do you? We can't be friends forever Bloo. Humans grow up, imaginary friends don't. We'd just keep drifting farther and farther apart. If I do this now, I at least get to say goodbye."

"But I don't want to say goodbye," tears started to stream from Bloo's eyes.

Mac got down on one knee and hugged his friend, who reluctantly hugged back. "I'm sorry, Bloo."

"Don't apologize," Bloo said, pulling away. "Just go on, hang out with your new friends while I stay here with no one else."

"Stop being so dramatic. You live in a house full of imaginary friends for crying out loud! What about Wilt, Eduardo and Coco..."

"Coco got adopted," Bloo told Mac.

Mac stared at Bloo. "Really?"

"Yep, but you wouldn't know that because of you've been spending too much time with your new friends to care."

"Of course I care, I care about everyone at Foster's."

"Then why don't you stay?"

Mac sighed. "I can't, Bloo. I can't keep coming to Foster's. This has been going on for too long."

"Then get out of here already," Bloo said quietly.

Mac stood up and walked towards the door. He opened it, then turned back to his friend. "I'm gonna miss you."

"I won't miss you," Bloo said, crossing his arms and turning away from the teen. He tried to convince himself it was true, but it wasn't. It was a blatant lie. Bloo had been missing his friend for five years.