Hey everyone! This is just a little one shot I thought of a while ago. Enjoy!
"Hey, Dad?"
"Yes, Nick?"
"You and Uncle Dylan were in the orphanage, right?"
Eugene sat down his fork. Rapunzel was on an official trip for her parents, so it was just he and Nick for dinner tonight. "Yes, we were."
"How did you two meet?" he asked.
"Why do you want to know?"
Nick shrugged, "Just curious, I guess."
Eugene smiled. Nick had been asking questions nonstop recently. "Well…"
18 years ago…
Eugene smiled as he placed his favorite book back on the shelf. The kids he was reading too had been extra attentive today. As he turned around, he was shocked to find a little boy with platinum hair staring up at him. "Um, hi. Can I help you?"
"My name is Dylan."
"Good for you. I'm Eugene. Did you need something?"
"Will you be my friend?" He looked really nervous and kept his hands behind his back.
"Sure?"
"Great! I've never had a friend before!" Dylan ran off.
Eugene stood there for a moment before shrugging and putting the encounter to the back of his mind.
Over the next few weeks, Dylan got bolder and bolder, even going as far as sitting next to him when he read, hanging out with him afterwards, and sitting with him at meals. The two of them seemed to fall into an unlikely system of friendship. Until one day, Eugene overheard a conversation.
"Why is your hair that way?"
"I don't know, it just is."
Eugene recognized the second voice as Dylan's. From his hiding spot behind the wall, he couldn't see who the other was.
"Why don't you have any friends?"
"I have friends!"
"Who, Eugene? He just pretends to like you!"
Eugene heard sniffling. "Shut up! You don't know anything about him! Or me!"
There was a door slam and Eugene heard the bully scoff. Eugene stepped out from behind the wall. As he passed the bully he sneered, "What is wrong with you?"
He didn't bother waiting for a reply before he knocked on the door to the room Dylan had entered. "Dylan? Are you ok?"
The muffled sniffling stopped abruptly. "E-Eugene?"
"Yeah, it's me buddy. Can you open the door?"
"G-Go away!"
"Not a chance." Eugene tried the doorknob and hissed in surprise. It was freezing cold! "Dylan, open this door right now!"
The only reply he got was sobbing from inside the room. Eugene made up his mind and quickly pulled out a few tools from his pocket. He started to pick the lock. Lucky he "found" these items in the village last month. When the lock clicked, he dropped the tools and shoved the door open.
Eugene wasn't sure what his mind registered first. He didn't know if it was the ice covered walls, the snow flurrying around, or the crying little boy with his arms around his knees. But he was sure of one thing: Dylan was upset.
Whenever a child was upset at the orphanage, they were given a hug to make them feel better. Eugene decided to try that. He wrapped his arms around the trembling figure and held him as he sobbed. He didn't know what was going on with Dylan, but he needed to calm him down. That was the first priority.
Eventually, he stopped sobbing. Eugene noticed that the snowfall became less violent. "Dylan?"
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Eugene paused. "How are you doing this?"
Dylan shrugged pitifully. "I don't know. It's just something that I've always been able to do."
"Does it happen every time you get upset?"
The boy nodded. "I don't have any friends because of it."
Eugene frowned, "You have me."
"You mean you aren't going to leave?" Dylan hesitantly met his eyes.
Eugene smiled. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
The snow stopped falling.
Eugene ran into his room and found a bag. He started grabbing things at random. How could he have been so stupid? The man saw him! He was usually so careful, what happened? Eugene knew he didn't have the skill to take those coins, so why did he? Was it pride? Or greed? He didn't know. He just knew that they would be after him.
They would think his friends were involved. Well, friend. Eugene knew that Dylan wasn't good under pressure. He would get upset or nervous and reveal his powers. Eugene couldn't allow that. To protect his best friend in the world, he had to run away. If he left without it, it would prove Dylan's innocence. Dylan's life would be so much better without him. He would be adopted by a nice family and everything would be okay.
Once he had gathered everything he needed, he crept out the back door. Without looking back, he ran into the woods.
18 years later…
"Wow," Nick said. "That was idiotic."
Eugene laughed. "Yeah, it was."
"What happened to Uncle Dylan after you left?" Nick asked.
"Well, I was correct in assuming he would get adopted, because he was. He managed to keep his powers hidden until a few years ago," Eugene explained. "And everything is good now. His parents accepted his powers and he has forgiven me for leaving him."
Nick grinned. "I'm glad. Uncle Dylan is pretty cool."
Eugene chuckled. "He is, isn't he?"
Nick nodded and was silent for a few moments before he asked, "How did you and mom meet?"
Eugene sighed. Here we go again.