"I remember that!" Leonard replied laughing.

"Ok, then how about this. Remember when you spent the night at my house and we were poking out heads through the stair railings?" Rivan asked.

Leonard stopped laughing and replied "Yeah…..I got my head stuck."

"Yeah, and then Mom had to saw off a few inches of your horns to get you head out!" Rivan replied laughing hard.

Leonard's ears flattened themselves against his head.

"Funny for you maybe, it was an embarrassment for me."

"Oh yeah, cuz' those damn horns are your pride and joy." Rivan replied.

"That's not true, I mean come on Rivan; I'm not vain." Leonard replied back.

Rivan shrugged and Leonard said "Remember that time you got that fish hook stuck in your cheek?"

"How could I forget the object lodged in my cheek?" He replied.

"Do you remember the time we met?" Rivan asked.

Leonard smiled weakly and replied "Of course, how could I forget?"

Leonard's back hit a tree and he let himself slid to the ground. He could no longer hold back the tears that were already sliding down his cheeks. He felt horrible. Unwanted. Like a freak. He was used to being made fun of, it happened every day, and he never cried once….but- for some reason it really hurt him this time. Leonard had told his Mother about it and she said try to ignore them, and if he did they would leave him alone. But this wasn't the case. The boys not only called him names and made fun of him, they began to hold him down and pull on his ears, and the small six inch horns on his forehead as hard as they could. To escape their bullying and hurtful words he had ran to the nearby woods and hid behind a tree.

"Freak!"

"Worthless piece of garbage!"

"No one cares about you."

"You'd be better off dead!"

The boys' words rang in Leonard's head. They couldn't be true! They just couldn't be! He knew his family loved him. He knew it with all of his heart, but……why was he so unsure? He continued to sob until he heard something approach him. Leonard didn't look up in fear of it being the two boys. It was silent for a while until a voice asked "Why are you cryin?"

It was then Leonard looked up. The voce belonged to a demon a few years younger than he was. The boy's hair was icy blue. Just like his eyes. He wore a simple grey t-shirt and blue shorts. He also had small antenna like things on each side of his head, and the boy was also carrying a fishing pole? The boy cocked his head and asked again "Why are you cryin?" Leonard sniffed and replied "I-I'm upset." The boy raised an eyebrow.

"Well obviously, you wouldn't be crying in you weren't! What I mean is why are you upset?" Leonard rubbed his eyes and replied "Two boys were making fun of me and they pulled my ears….." He replied.

"Ah. Well, you shouldn't let those boys hassle you." The boy replied.

Leonard nodded, then pulled his head slightly back as the boy shoved his hand in Leonard's face.

"My names Rivan, what's yours?"

Leonard blinked his sky blue eyes surprised. He said nothing at first but he later said "My names Leonard."

Rivan smiled as Leonard grasped his hand and he helped him up.

"It's nice to meet you, Leonard!"

Leonard smiled.

"And we've been close ever since." Rivan stated.

Leonard nodded his head in agreement.

"And we'll be friends until the end."