The Tenmas
Another Amazing Astro Boy fanfiction by Emily the Artist and Kaitlyn Draws Manga
Chapter One: Don't Shed a Tear
Astro was seated in a chair looking at a sheet of paper as he let his fingers move around the keys. New Years was approaching quickly, but it didn't seem to be enough to get him excited or care as much as we'd assume.
Astro played a few more keys and stopped for a moment to look around at his surroundings. He then went back to looking at the same sheet of paper, and moving his hands around the keys and starting to make what he thought was a decent song, one of his favorites, and he was recreating it right there.
On Tenma's piano.
We'll carry on,
We'll carry on
And though you're dead and gone believe me
Your memory will carry on
We'll carry on
And in my heart I can't contain it
The anthem won't explain it.
Astro couldn't help but shed a few tears, even though he loved the song, it always sometimes made him reflect on life and the pain it came with.
"Astro, you down here?"
Astro stopped playing and turned around.
"Yeah."
"Just wanted to know where you were."
Astro smiled.
"so what are you up to?"
Astro sighed.
"Nothing."
"I-I just don't think i'm ready to face another new year."
"Why is that?" Tenma walked up to him.
"Well, I just don't know if i'll make it, I don't even know how I survived this year, and now I have to survive another year, It just seems too overwhelming."
"Don't be so pessimistic. You're going to be fine."
"Y-you really think so?"
"Yeah."
"Well I guess if you say so, then i'll try my best" Astro smiled again.
Tenma smiled at him and ruffled his hair.
Astro slowly turned around to face the piano again.
"You know, you're really good at that."
"Oh! you must've heard me playing?"
"Yes I did. How about you play some more?"
"Uh.. sure, I guess." Astro shrugged.
Astro looked back at the sheet music and began to play again.
A world that sends you reeling from decimated dreams
Your misery and hate will kill us all.
So paint it black and take it back
Let's shout it loud and clear
Defiant to the end we hear the call
Astro shed a few more tears as he kept going and playing the song.
He soon came to a sudden halt and stopped playing.
"I-I can't, I just can't." Astro's voice cracked.
"What's wrong?" Tenma put his hand on his back as he knelt beside the chair Astro was sitting in.
"Nothing, it's just a sad song, even though it doesn't always make me sad, it's just sometimes."
"I know what you mean."
Astro let out a sigh.
"How about something a little happier?"
Tenma put one hand on the keys nearest to him and began to play a quick easy song.
Astro soon jumped in and played along with Tenma. ((Aww this is, i-i can't, this is adorable! ~Emily))
He couldn't help but sing along and giggle as they played faster.
"Woah, I've never actually played that much." Astro sounded astonished.
"You'd be surprised at what you can do if you put your mind to it." Tenma smiled at him.
"Yeah, but music isn't really my thing, but I can see what you mean." Astro smiled back.
"Ah. I just remembered I had to do something! I'll talk to you later." Tenma rushed away and ran quickly up the stairs.
"Haha, well you go do that while I cry my eyes out, listening to The Black Parade." Astro chuckled.
Later on at night, Astro was sitting at his desk, resting his arm on it to support his head. He yawned.
There was a knock at the door.
"C-come in!"
Tenma opened the door.
Astro turned around.
"O-oh, i-it's you." Astro yawned again.
"It's time for bed."
"I know, but I can't seem to fall asleep anymore…"
"Well you sound awfully tired, I don't see how that can be a problem."
"I know, but whenever I try to fall asleep, nothing happens."
"Maybe you aren't trying hard enough."
"What do you mean? I try hard enough."
"Goodnight Astro." Tenma closed the door.
"But wait, how's trying harder suppose to hel-"
Astro folded his arms.
"At least I know who not to ask when I need help regarding my sleeping cycle."
Astro got up from the chair and walked over to his bed. He then crawled under the covers and tried his hardest to go to bed.
"Pfft, try harder." Astro complained as he stared at the ceiling.
He tossed and turned and closed his eyes.
"Maybe if I tire myself out even more."
Astro got out of bed and walked over to his closet.
"i'll just write in my journal." Astro smiled as he took the journal out of his closet.
Astro walked with the journal back to his bed and crawled back under the covers with it.
He scribbled and wrote a few things in it.
"Nope."
"Ugh!" Astro rubbed his eye.
"Why can't I go to sleep!"
"Maybe if I didn't try..."
Astro set the journal and pencil aside and curled up into an adorable little ball and stared at the wall.
He waited a few minutes and eventually fell asleep.
A few hours later, Astro woke up. He rubbed his eye and slowly got out of bed and carrying a pillow with him.
He slowly walked out of his room and into the hallway.
He slowly walked up to Tenma and Cindy's room and lightly knocked on the door.
No one responded.
Astro slowly opened the door.
"Astro?" Tenma looked at him.
"What are you doing up?"
"I-I had a bad dream, and I was wondering if I could just sleep with you guys…"
"Aren't you a little too old for this?"
Astro sniffled.
Tenma sighed.
"Fine..."
Astro smiled and walked over to Tenma's bed.
He moved over and Astro climbed in between him and Cindy.
The next morning, Astro woke up in the afternoon.
"Ah, I missed breakfast?" Astro wondered aloud as he rubbed his eye.
He slowly got out of bed and carried his pillow with him out of the room, into the hallway, and to his room where he placed the pillow back on his bed.
Astro left his room again and went into the hallway and into the kitchen to grab a miniature apple juice box, he then left the kitchen and sat down on the couch in the living room.
"Man, I can't believe I actually missed breakfast!" Astro blurted out.
"I wonder why?"
"Maybe I was making up for all those hours I lost since Christmas."
"Or maybe I was having a nightmare and didn't realize it."
"Or, what if this is all a dream and I wake up being the crazy me again."
Astro sighed.
"Or-Or maybe-"
Astro shut his eyes tightly for a moment and tried to hold back his tears.
He didn't notice anyone else sitting on the living room couch with him.
Astro sniffled and grabbed onto the couch as tight as he could.
He gasped and quickly opened his eyes when he felt something touch him.
"You okay there, Astro?"
Astro slowly turned around and looked at them with a sad face.
"Wait… KAITLYN?! WHY ARE YOU HERE?!" He flinched and jerked over to the other side of the couch.
"Why am I NOT here?... Hold on wait…. Did that even make sense?" She responded.
"WTF?"
"What? No proper greeting? No 'Hello' at least?"
Astro got up from the couch and walked away.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Kaitlyn jumped up and rushed after him.
Astro walked into his room and forcefully closed the door behind him.
"WHY YOU LITTLE-!"
She sighed and sat down on the ground in front of the door, leaning her head back against it..
"At least I'm getting paid for this….."
Astro sat down on his bed, his hands began to shake a little.
After a while, Kaitlyn came back to the door with a small juice carton in her hand.
"You still in there?" She knocked lightly.
Astro was sitting alone in the corner of his bedroom, holding his knees up to his chest and trying to relax and calm himself down.
She leaned her forehead on the door.
"You know… about what you said earlier….."
Astro didn't respond.
"Well, you're fine. There's nothing to worry about. This isn't some kind of crazy dream."
He ignored her and sighed.
"If you're scared about going back, I just want you to know that I'll never let that happen to you as long as I'm alive."
Astro still couldn't respond, his hands began to shake again.
"If you snuck out and I'm talking to myself, I'm going to beat your ass so bad, you won't have an ass no more." Kaitlyn moved her head so she could try and listen through the door.
He couldn't take it anymore.
Astro slowly tried to get up, but he collapsed, leaving him to just stagger on his way to the door.
"Oh. I think I hear him. Good." She whispered to herself.
Astro tried to reach the doorknob but everything got blurry and Astro fell helplessly to the ground and knocked out completely.
"You fell, didn't you….?"
She slowly opened the door.
Astro was on the ground at her feet.
"You and the drama…. I swear." She leaned down and poked him, hoping he would wake up.
Astro remained lifeless and didn't do anything.
"You suck…." Kaitlyn kicked him a little.
He still didn't do anything.
She sighed and lifted him up then carried him over to the bed.
She placed him down and pulled a blanket over him.
Astro still seemed lifeless.
"If you're dead, your parents will kill me….." She sat next to the bed.
"If I punch him hard enough will he wake up?" She thought.
"Nah. I tried that once before and if it didn't work then, why would it work now?"
"I also refuse to think it's one of those 'Sleeping Beauty' kinda things. Just nope. Nope nope nope."
Astro's hands continued to shake as he was out cold after fainting.
Kaitlyn looked up at him.
"He can't be that afraid…. can he?"
His hands still shook.
The sound of a door opening could be heard in the distant.
"KAITLYN? ASTRO? WE'RE BACK!" A voice called out.
"Wah?" Kaitlyn woke up after dozing off.
"He's still here…." She sighed looking over at Astro who was still on the bed.
"KAITLYN? ASTRO?" they called out again.
"Hmm?" She looked up.
"OH SHOOT THEY'RE BACK!"
"WE'RE BACK!"
"Maybe they're in Astro's room?"
"Maybe."
Astro continued to still lay lifeless as his hands shook quite a lot.
"Wah! What do I do? What do I say? What if he actually is dead?!" Kaitlyn began to panic.
Tenma and cindy made their way into the hallway.
"AH! SHHHHHIII- ASTRO! WAKE UP!" Kaitlyn got up and began slapping Astro.
"Come on! You idiot!" She shook him by his shoulders.
Astro did nothing in response.
There was a knock at the door.
Kaitlyn stared blankly at it.
"Kaitlyn? Astro? You there?"
"M-maybe!…. Dammit why did I say that…."
"Can we come in?"
"No?"
"Hmm, what was that?"
"I DON'T KNOW!" She whimpered.
"Is everything okay in there?"
"NO! DOES IT SOUND LIKE EVERYTHING IS OK?"
Tenma and Cindy both exchanged confused looks and opened the door.
Kaitlyn looked over at them with tears in her eyes and ran up to them, falling to her knees.
"I'm sorry. I didn't do it! Please don't hate me! I'm sorry!" She begged.
"What? What's going on?"
"Astro got all deep and emotional on me then he got all weird then came in here and fell somehow then he fainted and I think he's dead…. Don't hate me."
They looked up and at Astro.
His hands were still shaking even though he appeared to be dead.
Tenma walked around Kaitlyn and to Astro as Cindy tried to calm her.
"He's fine." Tenma looked at them.
"Oh… good."
He turned Astro back on.
Astro slowly opened his eyes.
"Woah." Astro seemed a bit spooked.
"I told you not to overwhelm yourself." Tenma looked at him concerningly.
"I-I couldn't help it, I got scared, I don't wanna go back to being the old me and die."
"You won't." He hugged him.
"I'm just so scared, i'm terrified." he whispered
Astro slowly smiled and his hands began to stop shaking. He closed his eyes and slowed down his breathing.
A few hours later after Atom had left the house to go out, Emily and Kaitlyn kindly knocked on the door of Elefun's house to see if he was home.
Elefun made his way to the door
"So what happen at Astro's while you were babysitting him?" Emily asked, looking over at Kaitlyn
"Uh... Stuff..." Kaitlyn looked away.
"What KIND of stuff?"
"Ugh OK I guess I'll just tell you... Well things got all dramatic with Astro again and I'm not really sure if they'll want me babysitting again... Ever... Cuz I kinda ran out the second astro came to."
"Woah."
"Yeah..."
Elefun opened the door.
"Oh it's you two girls, how's it going?"
"Good." Kaitlyn smiled.
"So uh, what brings you here?"
"We came to see Atom." Emily said.
"Oh, Atom just left a few minutes ago to go shopping, not sure where he's going shopping at though.." Elefun rubbed the back of his head as he spoke.
Kaitlyn groaned.
"Well, we better get going then!" Emily smiled.
"If I were you, i'd check the Containers Store first..."
"Haha yeah sounds like a good idea." Kaitlyn giggled as she got into her car.
The two of them said their goodbyes and made their way to Kaitlyn's car.
Atom made his way inside the store, pushing a cart inside and down the aisles.
He went down one of them and swore he spotted a familiar face.
"S-Stephen?" Atom called out.
"Uhhhhh..." Stephen slowly turned around and blushed.
"Atom?" Stephen tilted his head.
"Yeah, it's me!"
Stephen put his hoodie on and tighten it with the strings.
"I'm not here."
Atom chuckled before thinking.
"Wait, you don't shop here?"
"I know, i'm just hiding from my mom because she's looking at boring girly stuff."
"Ahhhh, I see..."
Atom pushed the cart further.
"Well, you wanna come with me, or would you rather stay there?"
"Meh, I'll stay."
"Well I'll see you later then!"
"You too!"
Atom pushed the cart and walked away.
Emily and Kaitlyn later on made their way inside the store.
"Hmm this place is kinda big," Kaitlyn looked around.
"Well duh, they sell containers?! Do you know how many types of containers exist, and colors?!" Emily replied.
"Oooo look at this neat pink one over here!" She ran over to an assortment of different boxes.
"We're suppose to be looking for Atom."
"But. Emi. This."
Emily sighed.
"We're suppose to be looking for Atom."
"Mmmmmm. Fine."
Emily and Kaitlyn strolled around the store, looking for Atom.
"Oh my gosh Emi! Look at this giant container. It's huge!" Kaitlyn walked up to a large plastics container.
"Who knew they made them this big? You could fit like 3 people in here!"
"Oooh, I think I spotted Atom!"
"Really? Where?"
"Over there in the back of the store"
"Well let's go!" Kaitlyn grabbed Emily's wrist and pulled her over.
"GAH! Geez, calm down lady!"
Kaitlyn and Emily raced over to Atom.
"AAAAATTTOOOOMMMMMM!"
Atom turned around.
"What?"
"Hi!"
"Oh, it's you guys!"
"Man, I've been running into a lot of people here."
"Well we wanted to come see you but you weren't home."
"Oh, yeah, i'm just here spending my allowance on stuff I think I need, when I probably don't, but don't care..."
Astro slowly staggered out of his room into the hallway, making his way to the kitchen to get a drink, he appeared to be off-balance and dizzy.
He tried to tightly grab the handle to fridge to open it, after finally getting a proper grip, Astro opened the door and with sleepy eyes tried figuring out where his drink was.
"WOAH!"
Astro regained his balance.
He looked behind him briefly to see someone walking in.
"Hello." Tenma said as he passed by him.
"Oh, hey." Astro turned to face Tenma.
"You feeling any better?" He asked, taking something out of the cabinet in front of him.
"A little, ah.. dizzy."
"You need more rest then."
"Huh?" Astro was lost.
"Go. Back. To. Bed."
Astro sighed and closed the door to the fridge and sluggishly made his way back to his room.
"Well, I think I got enough stuff." Atom said as he put a final object in his cart.
"Finally!" Kaitlyn yawned.
"Oh, I didn't notice how long we were here." Atom looked at Kaitlyn.
"Eh. Not that long." She looked down at her phone.
"I'm just getting kinda bored."
"Oh, I see…."
The trio walked out of the store with Atom holdinging a semi-large bag in his hand.
They all got into Kaitlyn's car and she drove off.
"So where to next?" She asked.
"Well, maybe we could go downtown after I drop my stuff off." Atom looked at Kaitlyn.
"Sounds good. What do you think, Emi?"
"Sure."
They finally arrived back at Elefun's house.
"I'll be back in a sec." Atom said as he made his way to his room.
Atom came back out of his room a while later.
"Sure, 'i'll be back in a sec'" Emily chuckled.
"Oh, I had to put the stuff away, my bad."
Later on, they all made it downtown and walked along the sidewalk.
"Hmmm. So what do you guys wanna do? Just walk… or go somewhere… or… um..." Kaitlyn thought out loud.
"I dunno, we could walk around."
"If it floats your boat."
Atom had a look of confusion on his face for a moment and then laughed.
"Hey, why don't we go in here?"
"Ooh im in the mood for a frozen drink!" Emily exclaimed.
"Why not." Kaitlyn shrugged.
The three of them made their way inside the Starbuck.
A redhead was waiting in line to order and didn't notice Kaitlyn walking up behind him.
"So what do you want?" She turned around and looked at Emily and Atom.
"I dunno." Atom shrugged.
"Ooooh! Get me a… uh…. vanilla….. bean… frozen drink!" Emily said as she eyed the menu.
"Ok. Vanilla bean for you. And Atom, I'll just get you….. a strawberry one."
"Sure, I love trying new things!" Atom shrugged with a smile.
Kaitlyn carelessly walked forward, she too, did not notice there was a person in front of her.
"Ah!" A voice yelped.
"Oh! Ah! Sorry! I didn't know anyone was in front of me."
The voice turned around.
"Oh, sorry miss, my bad, I uh-"
The person took a glance a Kaitlyn.
"Woah." he muttered.
"Uh.. y-you can just go ahead of me, I still can't decide what I want anyways." The person moved out of Kaitlyn's way.
"Oh. Thank you…. And sorry again about bumping into you." She smiled.
"It's okay, accidents happen." The person shrugged.
"Hehe. Yeah."
After finally ordering, the three sat down at a table and decided to talk for a little bit.
"I have a surprise for you two!" Atom exclaimed as he grinned.
"Ooooo! What is it?!" Emily's eyes widened.
"Oh, it's at home!" Atom chuckled.
"What?! Well why would you tell us now and keep us waiting?" Kaitlyn looked slightly annoyed.
"Well I had to put stuff away, and I forgot." Atom sighed.
"Oh. It's ok. It's not that big of a problem. We do have all day, right?"
"Yeah." Atom looked down at the table and made circles on it with his index finger.
"It's getting kinda boring in here. You think we should just keep walking around?" She looked around.
"Sure, i'm getting bored too."
They all sat up from the table and headed for the door.
Kaitlyn had dropped the 20 dollar bill in her back pocket on the ground and didn't realize it.
The person from before had finally gotten what he had ordered earlier and saw Kaitlyn heading for the door.
"Wait! Miss!"
"Huh?" She turned around.
"You, uh, dropped something."
"Oh. Where?" She looked around at the floor.
"Um… over here."
"Oh." Kaitlyn walked over to where the person was and crouched down.
Kaitlyn and the person made brief eye contact for a moment until she picked up her 20$ bill and stood up again.
"Ah. Thanks." She grinned, her cheeks turning more rosy than normal.
"No problem. My name's Brandon." The person politely greeted her in a gentlemanly fashion.
"I-I'm Kaitlyn."
"Kaitlyn, Kaitlyn, nice to meet you miss Kaitlyn."
"Nice to meet you, too."
Brandon smiled and tried not to blush.
"Ah. B-bye." Kaitlyn waved and walked away, almost tripping on the leg of a chair.
"Goodbye miss Kaitlyn, it was a pleasure meeting you!" Brandon waved goodbye.
She tried hiding the redness on her face with one of her hands as she followed Emily and Atom out of the door.
Atom seemed more observant of his surroundings than normal as the three of them continued out on the sidewalk.
Kaitlyn walked slowly and stared at the ground as she took small sips of the iced coffee she still had in her hand.
Atom sighed.
She glanced over at him then back at the concrete.
They all made it to Elefun's house later on.
"You okay there Atom?" Emily tilted her head.
"Y-yeah." Atom nodded.
"You sure?" Kaitlyn looked over at him.
Atom nodded his head again and slowly made it to his room.
"So uh, what do you wanna do now?" Emily looked at Kaitlyn.
"Didn't he have a surprise for us?"
"Oh yeah that's right! I totally forgot!"
Kaitlyn and Emily slowly made their way into the hallway and to Atom's door.
Atom was sitting on his bed, looking through old photos on his camera.
"Hey Atom. Remember, you have a surprise for us?" Kaitlyn peeked her head in.
"Oh… yeah."
The two girls walked in and sat besides him.
"You sure you're okay?"
Atom nodded and looked through a few more photos.
Emily put an arm around him.
He relaxed a bit and sighed again.
"I-I just feel like a terrible wreck."
"Why is that?"
"I don't know, it's just something that happens from time to time."
"I just don't wanna leave everyone behind, I don't wanna forget about them, and I just feel terrible when I work myself up too much and get caught up in the craziest things and put the stupidest things first when I should be making time for the people I care about, and I don't and it really bothers me alot."
"Sorry, am I boring you to death?"
"No."
Atom chuckled with a smile.
"I think I feel better after venting out my issues." Atom put his camera down and got up from his bed.
"This might take a while considering I stuff containers INSIDE of containers and then put them into BIGGER containers and THEN put them in my closet."
Emily and Kaitlyn looked at each other than at Atom as he began to take out multiple plastic containers out of this closet.
"Ah! Uh! C-close your eyes!" Atom blurted out.
"Gee, I forgot to wap these!" he muttered to himself.
He took out a semi-large box and a thinner box out from the plastic container and put that plastic container into another one, and another until he put the giant container into the closet.
"Here." Atom grabbed the semi-large box and walked over to Kaitlyn.
"Hold your arms out."
She took the box from him.
"Can I... open it?"
"Uh.. I didn't really wrap it, so…"
She opened the box and smiled when she saw what was inside.
Atom smiled back at her and turned around to get the other box.
He handed it to Emily.
Emily opened her eyes.
"Oh!" She took the top of the box off and set it aside.
"Oh, this is adorable, how'd you know?"
"Oh, I had Astro help me since I don't really know much about shopping and that sorta thing."
"You really didn't have to spend so much on us." Kaitlyn said as she carefully took a camera out of her box.
"Actually, I think I owe you guys a lot more than what i've given you guys." Atom sat back down on his bed again.
"You guys have just-"
He yawned.
"Done so m-much for me… It seems o-only fair that I return the same kindness t-to you…"
"Aw. Thank you so much!" She smiled widened.
Atom smiled back and tried to keep his eyes open.
"Maybe we should get going now." Kaitlyn whispered to Emily.
"Ok." Emily whispered back.
Kaitlyn turned out the light as her and Emily left his room.
"Bye." She whispered to Atom.
"B-bye." Atom faintly waved.
"Well today was kinda weird." Kaitlyn walked into the living room and sat on the couch.
"Yeah, I guess that's a good word to describe it."
She sighed and leaned her head back.
"So what do you wanna do now?"
"I dunno." She shrugged.
"Same."
"Dangit, brain, stop thinking about that." She muttered to herself as she put her hands over her face.
"Huh?" Emily looked over at her.
"Um… Nothing..."
"You sure?"
"Yup."
"Hmm, ok."
She sighed.
"You didn't see what happened at the Starbuck, did you?"
"Not really. Wasn't really paying much attention."
"Then you don't understand my pain."
"Hmm, what do you mean?"
"Uggghh. You wouldn't understand."
Emily shrugged her shoulders.
Roughly some time later, Astro ventured out of his room again, still a little unsure and worried as something seemed to be playing back in his mind over and over again.
He casually made himself comfortable on couch and looked around for the TV remote.
"I-I can't believe I did it." Astro muttered, looking straight forward with a blank face.
"Did what?" A familiar voice said from the kitchen.
"Uh…." Astro slowly moved his head to catch a glimpse of them.
"Nothing, nothing."
"Don't tell me you're losing it again." Tenma walked out of the kitchen.
"Im my dreams, but I took care if it."
Astro tried not to chuckle.
"You'd never believe me if I told you what I did."
"Tell me." He lifted up his fork and put some of the food in his hand in his mouth.
"I uh… m-m- killed myself."
"In a dream."
"Killed yourself?" He swallowed.
"Well my old self, it started out as a heated argument and then i just I dunno, stabbed him I guess, and he died."
"Him? You mean you're 'conscience', or whatever you used to call it?"
"No not him, my old self, or in better terms, the crazy person I wish not to become?"
"I see…."
"I know, it's strange…"
"Well it was a dream."
"Yeah, but i'd never murder someone, even if it was an old me, even in or out of a dream!"
"Well, you should take it as a symbol of getting rid of your old self." Tenma plopped down on the couch next to AStro.
"Hmmm, I guess." Astro shrugged and changed the channel.
"I just can't believe I did it."
"There's lots of things people do that they never thought they'd ever do. You'd be surprised."
"Like you?" Astro joked.
"Ah. Yeah. Yeah like me. But that was all in the past."
Astro laughed.
Tenma pouted.
Astro changed the channel again.
"Man, there's nothing good on TV anymore." He complained.
"Tell me about it."
Astro clicked through a few more channels.
"Eh, I guess I'll just deal with this." Astro said, putting the remote down after stumbling on a children's channel.
"Heh." Tenma chuckled under his breath.
Astro slowly scooted to Tenma and rested his head on his arm.
He looked over at Astro.
"Everyone must think I'm a human pillow." He scoffed.
"Yes, yes you are." Astro replied with a chuckle.
Tenma smiled.
"Okay, is it just me, or do I need help?"
"Cause like...I dunno...I never knew kids shows could be this interesting."
Tenma bursted out laughing.
"Eeeeyyyeaaah, that's a sign I need help, now."
"No. You're fine. It's kinda cute how you like these."
"Hmmmm… sure…" ((omg readers I tried my best but i had forgotten again what I was gonna type so I just typed that so sowwy ~Emily))
"It is."
"Pfft, Atom is worse, this is him everyday, he's too childish for me, I swear if I told someone he was 8 years old they'd believe me!"
He laughed again.
"I'm not sure if I should take notice and do something about it, or just let him live life like a fourth grader."
"Just let him be. His innocence is a blessing. He could've turn out like you." Tenma joked.
"Yeah, maybe that's why he doesn't go out a lot, or uses social media, or do things I do…"
"Maybe he just doesn't want to."
"Maybe…"
"Maybe he doesn't wanna be me, so he doesn't do things I do."
"Well you're not him. So you don't know."
"But in somewhat of a way I am.." Astro tried to make it sound mysterious.
"He may be your clone, but you have separate brains." He patted Astroon the head.
"Pfft, I knew that."
"Suuure."
Astro rolled his eyes.
"Oh! I just remembered! I'll be back in a few minutes." Tenma got up and hurried into the hallway.
"Pfft, he abandoned me yesterday and today, that's it, one day imma abandon that sucker and see how he feels" Astro folded his arms.
He began to swing his legs back and forth and suddenly took interest in what was on TV.
"I seriously need help." He muttered to himself.
"Hmm, maybe we could take a walk to pass the time?"
Emily and Kaitlyn were still sitting on the couch, trying to figure out what to do next.
"Sure." Kaitlyn got up.
Emily got up as well and the two of them made their way to the door.
They both exited the door and headed for the sidewalk.
"So..." Kaitlyn said as she began walking.
"I dunno."
"Come on Emi, don't you ever have anything interesting to talk about." Kaitlyn started poking Emily's cheek.
"Not really, I'm kinda boring most of the time."
"Well, you're not really boring." She brought her hand back down to her side.
"Hey look, that dude over there reminds me of Ed Sheeran, doesn't he? Red hair, t-shirt, skinny jeans?"
Kaitlyn looked over and squeaked a little when she saw him.
"Eee!" She hid behind Emily.
"Woah, you okay there?"
"Uh. Y-yup. Totally fine." She got herself together and walked next to Emily again.
"Hmmm…. okay."
Brandon was on the other sidewalk jogging at a steady pace, he had headphones in his ears, but he was still alert and aware of his surroundings.
He stopped when he saw Kaitlyn.
"Oh why hello there Miss Kaitlyn, nice to meet you again! Quite a beautiful day outside, isn't it?" Brandon called to her.
Kaitlyn looked over and blushed.
"H-hi!" She smiled and waved to him.
"It's nice to take walks here, I don't live in this neighborhood, but the park is too crowded for me, so I like to take walks here, instead."
"Yeah. This is a great place to take a walk."
"Mind if I tag along?"
"No! Not at all! Come on over."
"Uh, great!" Brandon blushed.
"So, have any plans for New Years?" He asked after making it to the other side of the street.
"No. Not really..."
"Me neither, I never seem to figure out what to do on New Years." He shrugged.
"Same here."
"I like your hoodie, goes great with your jeans."
"Oh. Uh. Hehe. Th-thanks." Kaitlyn looked down at the ground and blushed.
"Y-your welcome, miss."
She looked up at him and blushed harder.
"Uh, you okay there, your face i-is all red."
"Uh. Yeah! I'm fine!" She hid her face in her hands.
Brandon tilted his head in confusion.
She peeked over at him again.
He smiled at her gently.
She lowered her hands and giggled.
He giggled back.
"So um…. What do like to do? Like... um... hobbies and such?"
"Well, I usually like being fit and taking walks whenever I can, also gives me a chance to think about life -because who doesn't question life- I also tend to stay home and watch movies or watch things on TubeYou, nothing extraordinary or special."
"That's cool." Kaitlyn smiled.
"Hehe, I guess."
"You know, it'd be really nice to meet you again some other time, Miss Kaitlyn."
"Yes. That would be exquisite, Mr. Brandon." She giggled again.
"Oh." He seemed thrown off by Kaitlyn's sudden formal way of addressing him.
"Ummm okay, how about I come visit you for New Years?"
"Oh! That would be great!" She grinned.
"Sure, I'll make plans."
"Um… How about… I give you my number?"
"S-sure!"
He handed her his phone and she put her number in as "Miss Kaitlyn".
She chuckled a little as she handed his phone back to him.
He took the phone from her and put it back in his pocket.
"Oh!" Brandon looked at his watch.
"I-I must be on my way now, gotta get home in time for dinner."
"Oh..." Kaitlyn's smile faded a bit.
Brandon reached over for her hand.
"Hmm?" She seemed surprised.
"I'll see you New Years, Miss Kaitlyn." He said before kissing her hand.
Her face turned a bright red as his lips brushed against the skin of the back of her hand.
He slowly put her hand back into it's original position and headed off and away with a smile.
"B-bye..." Kaitlyn said softly as she waved to him, a big dorky smirk on her face.
"Woah, what was that all about?" Emily seemed puzzled.
"I... I... Emi pinch me, I think I'm dreaming."
"I can't do that! That hurts! I should know…"
"I don't care! I need to know if this is real or not!"
"Okay, but when u start wincing in pain, don't come crying to me!" Emily warned before pinching Kaitlyn's arm.
"Ah... OK well I know I'm not dreaming, but I'm still not convinced that that just happened." She rubbed the spot where Emily pinched her.
"What do you mean?"
"It just seemed so surreal. Like something you would only read about in fairy tales. But it just... It just happened... And to ME!" She almost seemed to be in a trance.
"Woah, woah, relax, as far as I'm concerned this isn't no Cinderella, sleeping beauty world."
"Don't ruin the moment, Emi."
"I'm just saying." She shrugged.
Kaitlyn stuck her tongue out.
"So uh, what do you wanna do now?"
"I don't know... Emily, did I just get asked out?"
"I dunno, I was clueless as to what was going on!"
"Well I think I just got asked out... I'm gonna need to think on this..."
"Hmm okay."
"So uh... Let's just keep walking..."
"Okie dokie!"
The next day Astro seemed confused as he walked out of his room and into the hallway like he did every morning.
He sat down at the table and sighed before thinking.
"Good morning." He heard someone say as they walked in.
"Ah!" Astro quickly turned around.
"Oh, did I scare you?"
"No, No, I just didn't expect anyone to be here."
"Well don't mind me, I'm just getting a glass of water."
Astro nodded, he couldn't help but keep thinking the same thing he thought yesterday.
"Don't think so hard, you'll hurt yourself." Cindy ruffled Astro's hair and lightly kissed his forehead before leaving the room.
"But I-I just can't, it's too much for me." Astro quietly said to himself, burrowing his head into his arms that were folded on the table.
Tears streamed down his face as he sniffled.
Astro couldn't help but think of what was to become of him, the memory replayed in his head like a broken record.
I can't believe I did it.
"Morning professor!" Atom greeted as he came out of the hallway and made it to the living room.
"Morning, Atom." Elefun replied back.
Atom sat down at the table.
"So uh… what's for breakfast?"
"Hmmm, not sure, I was thinking you and Uran could come up with something."
Atom thought for a moment.
"Hmmm, something good for breakfast? Ah-ha! I'll be right back!" Atom got up from the chair and ran upstairs to Uran's room.
Astro continued to put his head down on the table as time passed and he couldn't help but shed a few more tears.
He felt uneasy and the world was getting blurry again. It felt like it was spinning so fast, Astro became rapidly dizzy and couldn't think straight.
He opened his eyes and slowly lifted his head up to catch a glimpse of the blurry window.
Astro?
Astro?
ASTRO?!
Astro put his head down again.
He heard faint footsteps around him, like someone was getting closer.
"No i'm sorry, I didn't mean to do it!" Astro pleaded aloud.
"I-I just don't wanna turn into you again!"
"Astro?"
Astro looked up and gasped.
Tenma placed a hand on Astro's head.
"You're starting to scare me..." He said with a concerned looked on his face.
"We have to do something about this." He pulled Astro in close to him and hugged him gently.
"We'll I've been trying, but I guess it's hard to change when you're haunted by your old self."
"I'm so sorry." He hugged him tighter as he spoke softly.
Astro sighed.
He sniffled as he buried his head into Tenma's shoulder and started crying again.
A few hours later, Emily and Kaitlyn went over to visit Atom again, Emily had left to use the bathroom while Kaitlyn made her way into the hallway and knocked on Atom's door.
"Ah! C-come in!" Atom seemed in a rush.
She slowly walked in.
Atom kept pacing back and forth around his room like a crazy person losing their mind.
"You… ok there?" She said as she closed the door behind her.
"Mmhmm, just freaking out, that's all."
"Why?"
"Oh, because I have the memory of a four year old."
"Oh. So you forgot something?"
"Uhh yeah, more like Stephen's birthday is on New Years and I forgot to get him something and I just spent my allowance and now i'm literally LOSING IT!"
"Oh…." She sat down on the bed.
"Well, if you need a little money, I'd be willing to lend it to you. I don't have much… but..."
"Ah! I wouldn't do that to you!"
"I really don't mind… as long as you pay it back."
"Yeah, I'd rather you keep the money."
Atom plopped down on his bed.
"So, uh.. what's up with you?"
"Oh.. um nothing much." She toyed with one of the curls of her hair.
"Cool." Atom looked at her and smiled.
"You know I couldn't help but remember about that red head you bumped into at Starbuck, I wonder if he remembers you, wouldn't that be cute?"
"I think it's kinda cute."
Her cheeks turned red.
"Oh, uh- you okay there? Your face is red? You're blushing?"
"Uh. Y-yeah."
"Oh haha, don't worry, I blush all the time, like when i'm singing in front of a mirror and someone walks in on me…"
Kaitlyn giggled.
"Hey, uh, do you think i'm too friendly?"
"No."
"That's what I told Astro yesterday on the phone, he never believed me though." Atom folded his arms and pouted.
"Well anyways, back to what we were talking about, do you think he remembers you?"
" 'Cause not to be mean or talk dirty, but I saw the way he looked at you."
"And from experience, It looks to me like he likes you."
"Haha. Yeah. I think he definitely remembers me.."
Atom chuckled.
"And I think he likes me too." She blushed harder.
"Aww, isn't that adorable!"
"Ah what do I do? Ah-Ha!" Atom thought for a moment before giving Kaitlyn a hug. ((Lol, the feels were too much for Atom xD ~Emily))
"What's this for?" She chuckled.
"Too many feels, sorry."
She smiled.
Atom chuckled.
"So uh.. what are you gonna do about it?"
"I'm not sure…."
"Hmm, maybe you should get to know him? That's how I met- ooooohhhhhh, I need a gift!" Atom facepalmed.
"Anyways, me and Stephen actually met the day he moved to Metro City, and then we just keep meeting over and over again, and then THIS occurred, so it never hurts to try and meet him again."
"I kinda did already…"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I just saw him again not long ago… yesterday in fact."
"Oh really? Did it turn out well?"
"I think so... He said he wanted to get together for New Years or something like that."
"That's awesome! You see, nothing wrong with meeting people again."
Atom broke off the hug.
"Yeah..." She smiled softly.
Atom chuckled.
"Oh wait! That means you're gonna have to find something nice to wear, right?"
"Oh. I forgot about that. And I don't have anything new..." She sighed.
"Well I could help you, you helped me get ready for my first date, so I might as well return the favor. I may not be the best but i'd say i'm pretty good, Astro says I dress like a girl anyways, so you should be fine."
Kaitlyn chuckled again.
"Thank you so much!" She leaned over and gave him a big hug.
"Oh! Haha.. it's nothing!" Atom chuckled.
She broke off from Atom and laid back on the bed.
"I'm not sure whether I should be happy or terrified." She said with a half-hearted smile on her face.
"Haha, you should be happy, that way when other people see you happy, they become happy too!"
"Haha. Yeah I guess so."
"Hmmm, how do you feel about the color… baby blue?"
"Well, it would match my eyes, right?"
Atom looked into Kaitlyn's eyes for a moment.
"Yeah."
"Hmmm… i'm thinking."
Atom got up from his bed and walked over to his desk where he grabbed his sketchbook and sat down on his bed again.
"I don't really draw, but Astro got this for me and I use it to jot down ideas."
"Cool."
Atom grabbed a pencil and quickly sketched out a drawing.
"How about something like this?" Atom handed the sketchbook to Kaitlyn.
She propped herself up with her elbows and examined the sketch.
"That's really good. And I love your idea too."
"Really? Wow I uh, wasn't really expecting- that response!" Atom blushed.
Kaitlyn giggled.
"so, uh, now all we need is to go to the store and see if they have something similar."
"Sounds good."
Atom smiled.
"Let's go right now!" He jumped off the bed excitably.
"Uh. O-ok!" Kaitlyn sat up.
"Haha." Atom walked over to his closet and pulled out a jacket.
"You might wanna wear a jacket incase it gets cold."
"OK."
They walked out of Atom's room and to the door.
Emily was walking into the living room, shaking water off her hands.
"Oh hey guys, how's it going?"
"We're going shopping." Kaitlyn looked at her.
"Oh, uh, okay?"
"Well come on Emi, stop moaping around and wasting time. Let's go."
"Ah! Okay i'm moving!"
They all got into Kaitlyn's car and she drove off.
Astro quietly sat down on the couch, everything still wasn't clear to him, he kept muttering things to himself as occasional tears slipped out and streaked down his face.
Tenma stood at the end of the hall, leaning against the wall and looking at Astro with a pained look on his face.
Astro tried focusing but it wouldn't work.
His mind was running, going on for miles and miles with thoughts that consumed him whole and left his sitting there helplessly, like it was the end of all ends.
Astro sighed.
Cindy walked up next to Tenma and he wrapped his arm around her.
"He was doing so well." He sighed.
"What do you think happened?" She looked up at him.
"I don't know. And its killing me that I don't know how to help him. Its even worse seeing him act so sad like that."
"I wish I could do something." Cindy leaned her head against Tenma's shoulder.
"I know." He kissed the top of her head.
Astro held onto the couch a bit more tighter.
He cringed and shook his head in fear.
"You need to relax Astro, just calm- calm down." Astro muttered to himself.
He took a deep breath.
Astro sighed and switched his position and rested his head on the couch.
He desperately tried to go to sleep but his hands began to shake.
He felt a hand gently touch his back and slowly move back and forth.
Astro opened his eyes to see who it was.
Tenma smiled faintly.
"Oh, i-it's you, can't really see you…. that well, I'm kinda dizzy at the moment."
"You really shouldn't let this silly dream of yours get the best of you. I know you're stronger than that."
"It's not the dream anymore, this has become bigger than that, it's spun off to far places I had no clue about!"
Tenma sighed.
"If only there was something I could do to help you..."
Astro closed his eyes again, this time he didn't want to fall asleep.
"Maybe you could try thinking of something else. Something positive."
Astro nodded.
He tried to envision something positive in his mind, a faint smile and a little chuckle came out of him.
Astro began to ease a little and snore as he drifted off to sleep.
"Thats a good boy." Tenma smiled as he patted Astro on the back once more before getting up.
Astro woke up an hour later, he got up from the couch and walked into his room to grab something and then went back out to sit at the table.
"Hmmm, I should really catch up on my proportions." He said as he flipped through pages of his sketchbook.
He flipped to a blank page, clicked his mechanical pencil and began to draw slowly in the peaceful atmosphere.
Astro had finished the drawing hours later, not wanting to cause attention he quietly put the sketchbook back and went to watch TV.
He rubbed his eye for a moment and blinked.
"Hmm, I wonder what's for lunch?" He wondered aloud.
Astro got up from the couch and went to the kitchen.
"Woah." Astro regained his balance after losing it on the way to the kitchen.
He made his way to the cabinet and opened it.
"Y-you know what, I think I should just lie down instead." Astro closed the cabinet and went back to the living room to lie down.
"Oh! I didn't see you walk in?" He said as he sat down on the couch next to Tenma.
"I think I'm getting dizzy again."
"Then maybe you should listen to me and stop getting up."
"But I was hungry, I still am..."
"You could've called me in to get you something."
"Pfft, do you think i'd remember after finishing an artwork and watching TV?
"Yeah. You know you don't have a memory problem, right? You're just lazy."
"Oh really, I never noticed." Astro chuckled.
He yawned.
"Woah I think that yawn came from like the depths of my soul right there!"
Tenma chuckled but was interrupted by his own yawn.
"Gosh. You must be contagious." He looked over at Astro.
"Haha, I wouldn't be surprised."
Tenma held his nose and puffed up his cheeks.
"You better not give me anything."
"Pfft, the only thing I could give you is my wisdom in laziness…"
"And maybe the ability to sleep during the day and work at night." Astro folded his arms proudly.
"Or your attitude." He laughed.
"Or my attitude."
"Well it could be worse."
"True."
After another 30 minutes had passed, Astro had drifted off to sleep.
But hours and hours had passed and Astro wouldn't wake up.
He still lied there fast asleep on the couch.
It was leading into the next day and Astro was still asleep on the couch.
And in his mind he was dreaming of a place.
A mysterious place.
And as the dream went on Astro's smile was slowly fading.
What was to become of him?
(END OF CHAPTER ONE!)