A/N: This story occurs at a time when Emmet is still fairly young, long before he becomes a construction worker. It deals mostly with a friend of his, however; a friend who is a little different.


Figuring It Out

"What's the matter Honey?" Rita Pegg asked her youngest boy as he sat despondent in the living room. She sat down beside him on the sofa with a faint 'snap'.

"Just something, that's all. It's okay" the boy mumbled.

"Now Jhon, we've always told you if there's something wrong you should talk it over with us. Are you having trouble with your friends? How's Emmet doing?" Jhon mentioned several friends, but Emmet Brickowski was the most commonly brought up.

"Emmet is awesome like always" Jhon said. It was true; Emmet could fall off a building and he'd probably just put himself back together and talk about how incredible it was.

"You didn't tell Lucy how you feel about her did you?"

"Mom! No...besides, she's just a friend I just met at the park last week. She doesn't go to my school so I don't see her every day."

"Is it your classes then?"

"No, I'm doing okay with my studies. It's just that..." he said before pausing, trying to find the right words. His mother waited patiently for him to continue. "Well...I just don't feel like I quite fit in."

"Fit in? With what?"

"Everything. I'm just different from everyone."

"We're all different, Honey. We all can make our choices to do the things we want, talk to the people we want to talk to, and study the subjects we want so we can hopefully get the jobs we want."

"I know, I didn't say I don't have free will. But I can't help but see that I don't quite look like everyone else."

It was true. Jhon's body was less blocky than everyone else and his colors were more pale.

"You were always a thin baby Jhon, we've told you that. It was probably because you were so sick when you were a baby, isn't that right Victor?" Jhon's father had just stepped into the room from down the hallway and was standing nearby listening. He noted silently that Rita was looking for support.

"That's right. When we brought you home you were a bit stringy and off-color. We thought you would grow out of it, but you never did fill out completely" Jhon's father noted.

"It was probably that virus that was going around, I think a doctor told us that when you were little" Rita chimed in.

"But the point is you're still as strong and quick as anyone, so what's to worry about?" Victor sat in his favorite chair with a faint 'snap' and reached for his cup.

"But that's not all" Jhon went on. "I can barely hold the handle on your cup, or the broom, or even the pole of a flag. I'm strong enough, but my hand is almost too small."

"We know dear, that's why we ordered that tennis racquet special. It fit just fine when you used it."

"Yeah, but when anyone else tried it the thing just slipped out of their hands, Mom. I mean, look at how I'm sitting!" Jhon pointed out what his parents had been ignoring on purpose. While they sat snugly on the sofa and chair, he was actually just barely touching the tops of the bumps on the sofa; he never went 'snap' when he sat down on the sofa, chair, bench, or even when he walked on the ground. In fact, he had trouble even walking as his feet just didn't seem to quite fit like the feet of everyone else; it was almost like walking on rocks.

"Victor, I think he's old enough to know" Rita said after remaining silent for some time.

"Know? Know what, Dad?"

"Jhon...you know we love you very much" his father started. "You're our son and I don't think we could love you any more than we already do. But we've already had the talk about where new figures come from, right?"

"Sure Dad, when a mommy and daddy love each other very much they go down to Octan Hospital and come home with a baby. Everybody knows that."

"That's right, and that's how it usually happens. But...well..."

"What your father is trying to say, Jhon, is when the time came to bring home a baby we were outside of Brickland."

"Outside? There's no outside of Brickland, there's just different worlds but it's still all Brickland."

"No, there is another place that you won't find on most maps" Victor explained. "In some ways it's a lot like Brickland, but it's just a little different. Things fit together there like they do here, but when we go there we...don't fit in either. No one from here quite fits in over in Blokland; we don't 'snap' when we sit, we're too bright, and we don't come apart as easily as they do."

"Then why go there?"

Victor reddened while Rita continued. "We were young, and we wanted to try something really different and wild. We heard about the place, and snuck over to look at it. While we were there we...I...well..."

"They have hospitals in Blokland too" Victor finished. "So...Jhon...you actually came from Blokland. Now it doesn't mean you're inferior or superior to people from here, it just means you're different. We looked into the legalities, and Bloks and Bricks have every right to live their own lives.

"Do they have the same kind of worlds over there that we have?" Another place like Brickland? But different?

"Not the same, but they do have themes like we do. We have Star Wars, they have Star Trek. We have Harry Potter, they have Halo. We have the old west, they have Spongebob Squarepants..."

Jhon was starting to get excited. "Can we go there on our next vacation? Please? I want to see this place!"

Victor and Rita looked at each other and reached a decision together.

"We knew this day would probably come; so now that you know, next year we can take a short vacation there. I said short!" Victor admonished.

"That is awesome! Woo hoo!" Jhon shouted as he jumped up. He didn't care that he didn't 'click' when he stood up. "Wait till I tell Emmet!"

"Now son, be careful who you tell" Rita warned her son. "Not everybody thinks bricks and bloks belong together. But you really should see where you came from I think; it won't solve life for you, but it might give you a start to figuring it out."

"Thanks Mom, thanks Dad. You're the best parents ever."

"Awesome" Victor said and took another sip from his cup.

The End


A/N: There was a time many years ago when I bought a Mini Mega Bloks set to supplement my son's Legos; they weren't as compatible as they advertised. But they did have their uses, and I understand the compatibility has gotten better in recent years.