EHHHHHHHHHH
Hi, it's me, Water. Yes, surprisingly I'm NOT dead! Jeez, been nearly a year since I last posted anything. Literally the biggest rut I've ever had ever... So, I finally have something to show. And no, this isn't a one time thing. I already have another story ready to be released soon, so please bare with me for just a bit longer.
This story has two purposes. The first one being a warm up since it's been ages since I've written anything. The second is for the Gumball Wiki Writing Marathon, the first one in fact. So if any of you see it over there and think I'm stealing, plz no h8 m8. You could probably ask me ther too if that's not enough for ya.
Welp, my back hurts, so lets start our short story. :3
-x-x-
Endless fumbling in his pockets, till he got a grip on his keys. He shoved it in the lock to his apartment, pushing the door with his foot as his arms carried the large basket of laundry. He stepped in the very plain apartment room, tossing the basket of clothes on the couch by the door. He stretched out, walking by the end table next to the couch and turning on the light, which didn't really help brighten up the room all that much.
His ears twitched, turning to see a door across the room slowly open. A young cat stepped out with a night cap on his head and a long t-shirt.
"...You're really late..." he yawned.
"Traffic, someone hit a streetlight. I had to take a detour." He tossed his keys on the couch. "Did you eat?"
"Yeah, just a bowl of noodles... I'm kinda tired..."
"Alright, it is kinda late." He checked the watch on his wrist. Sadly it was still broken.
"Night, dad." He yawned again before turning around.
"...Night, kiddo." The door closed quietly, before he sat down on the couch. The only noises were cars and sirens from outside. He leaned over to the lamp and switched off, sitting by himself in the darkness. A faint orange light from outside slipped by the window, casting an orange spot on the wall.
He sat silently, his leg twitching and twiddling his thumbs and fingers. The only thing on his mind were the previous days slowly playing back in his mind. They all felt so similar, barely anything ever changed, and the redundancy was slowly driving him insane in the inside. His ears twitched at the thought of his old home, nearly a thousand miles away.
He let out a low sigh, before hearing a faint knock at the door.
-x-x-
The car slowly pulled up to the corner, the only light being from a streetlight on the other block. She unbuckled her seat belt, turning the car off and slumping in her seat, letting out a long sigh. Her legs were itching to stretch out, even though she doubt she could last another hour moving. She turned to the passenger seat, a small boy starring out the window at the old buildings, long since forgotten by the residents of the city.
"Mom, I don't like it here..." the boy said, his eyes locked on the corner behind them.
"It's the only place we have for now, sweetie." She leaned over and rubbed his back. "We'll leave first thing in the morning..."
She opened her door, stepping out and stretching her arms. The cold hit her quickly, her arms retracted and rubbed the sides of her arms. She walked to the other side of the car, opening the door for her son. He slipped out of his seat belt, stepping out of the car next to his mom. She closed the door quickly, moving to the other side and closing the driver's door and locking it. The two entered the apartment, keeping an eye out for anyone who looked suspicious.
The lobby was quite plain, a dead plant sat in the corner, while the desk remained empty. She walked up to it, opening a book and flipping through the pages. The boy walked up to the plant, the only thing left were some twigs and dried out leaves. He sighed, turning around to his mother.
"Four B... Five B... Six B." She closed the book, motioning for him to follow her up the stairs. He stayed behind her as they went to the next floor, the hallway was even darker than the lobby. They made their way down the hall, ignoring the small noises coming out of the other rooms till they went up another set of stairs. Now there was barely any light around them. They found another hallway, but next to the stairs was an old couch sitting up against the wall.
"...Honey, sit here." She nudged his shoulder. "I'll be right back."
He reluctantly sat on the couch, placing his hands on his lap and starring at his own feet, as his mother walked down the hall, quietly counting the doors as she passed by them till she stopped at one at the far end. She stood silently, starring at the door as her hand slowly moved up to knock on it. A bad feeling in her gut emerged as she gently knocked twice, waiting to hear if anyone was even inside.
...Footsteps, before the door slowly opened up.
"...Hello?"
He squinted his eyes, before they blew open widely. The very dim glow of her was all too familiar. A wave of panic, anger, and fear, all cascaded on him at the same time, as he tried to pull his best poker face and not slam the door. His hand shook on the knob as he opened his mouth slowly, barely being able to choke out anything.
"...P-Penny?"
"...It's... It's been a long time, Gumball..." She let out a sigh. "Everyone has been... wondering where you went..."
"...How on earth did you find me?" Gumball asked.
"I just... wandered around the state. Eventually I started talking to people and some knew where you went..." Her eyes narrowed at him slightly. "And they told me you didn't want anyone looking for you."
"I-I mean," he scratched the back of his head. "I h-had to take care of something... urgent."
"What was it?" asked Penny, trying not to yell, but whisper.
"...Someone died and they... left something..." Gumball's eyes moved to the roof. "I needed to get here fast... and it's kinda complicated..."
"...Your family wanted to come with me, you know."
"I'm actually really scarred to see them after so long." Gumball could see them all so clearly, at least what he thought they looked like. "Did you bring anyone with you?"
"...Yes, someone... important to you..."
He looked down the hallway from the door. Even though it was pitch black, he could see someone sitting on the couch by the corner of the hallway. They kept their head down even though they looked like they could hear everything the two were talking about.
"Who is he?" asked Gumball, his eyes slowly shifting to Penny. She didn't look back at him.
"...He's your son, Gumball."
The knot in his stomach grew tighter as the words passed by her lips. He starred back at the child, with a drop of sweat slipping down his forehead. He gulped, stepping outside of the room and closing the door.
'...that night,' he thought to himself.
"How did you find out I lived here specifically... and why are you here?"
"I saw you leaving the post office, I followed you here and waited for you to come back when you left this afternoon."
Gumball was slowly starting to regret returning for his wallet, his hands were shaking slightly as Penny's eyes slowly moved to stare at his own. Her gaze felt like it ripped through his head.
"I had to move because of personal reasons... and you need to see them. It's not about me and you, it's about you and your son... We need a place to stay, we don't have the money for a hotel tonight."
His ears perked up, and he tried to not vomit.
"Um... I'm not entirely sure about that, there's not much room in her-"
"We'll manage," interrupted Penny.
"I don't know if I could feed you both-"
"We'll manage."
"Well, I need to leave early for-"
"We'll manage." This time it was more of a hiss than a whisper.
"...Well..." Gumball looked down the hall again. "...On one condition..."
"Depends on the condition," said Penny.
"...What's his name?"
Penny turned down the hall, starring at the ground silently. Gumball tilted his head, taking a step closer.
"Just tell me his name and I'll let you stay."
"...It's..." He could hear a faint choke. "...It's Damon."
He blinked at her.
"...Why was that hard to tell?"
"Are you gonna let us in?" Penny turned to him again, her eyes narrowing at Gumball.
"Alright, alright, bring him over, and give me a minute to get the other bed out." Gumball turned and opened the door. He stepped inside as Penny walked over to the couch where Damon sat silently. She shook his shoulder slightly. He looked up at her.
"We have a place to stay for the night, come on."
Damon nodded. "Who's that guy?"
Penny stayed silent as she nudged him to stand. He stretched out before walking with Penny down the hall up to the door. He could see the faint orange light inside the room across the hallway, along with hearing the noises from inside.
"You can come in now," said Gumball from inside. Penny and Damon slowly walked in, closing the door behind them. Penny looked around, not finding any garbage or drugs anywhere, and the place didn't reek of any kind of smell either. She walked closer to the middle, still examining every inch of the room. Damon simply stood by the door, waiting for the ok from his mom.
"I assure you, there's nothing here that could rip your face off." Gumball lugged the large mattress from the closet, laying it in the middle of the floor. "Hope you don't mind sharing, you could use the couch too if you want."
"Um, the bed is fine, thank you." Penny turned to face Damon, she motioned for him to come over. Damon kept his hands behind his back and hung his head down slightly. Instead of walking, he floated a few inches from the ground, something Penny didn't see him do often. He floated closer till he was behind his mother. He stood on the ground, peeking from behind Penny to get a look at the stranger.
"Um... it's kinda late. Should probably-"
"Wait." Penny turned, placing a hand on Damon's shoulder. He could feel the tension she was feeling just by the shaking of her hand on him.
"...Damon..." She took a deep breath. "This is your father."
Damon's eyes slowly moved towards Gumball. His mouth fell slightly before looking back at his mother.
"...He doesn't look like me though..."
"I know I don't, kiddo... you get it all from your mom... not sure if you actually got anything from me." Gumball scratched the back of his head.
"...I didn't know I had one..." Damon tilted his head at Gumball.
"For awhile I didn't either," said Penny.
"...Yeah, I didn't know about it either..." Gumball turned away from the two for a moment.
"...He's got your spark when you were his age." Penny rubbed Damon's head. "He's usually restless."
"You're not too crazy on your mom, right?"
"No." Damon starred at the floor.
"Not on weekdays at least." Penny let out a tiny giggle, patting Damon's head as he let out a tiny growl. "You should go to bed now, it's late."
Damon sighed, sitting down on the bed. "You gonna sleep too, mom?"
"I will, I just need to... ask something." Penny walked past Gumball, stepping into the kitchen. Gumball followed her inside. She stood leaned up against a wall, a hand on her forehead as she sighed.
"...It's not about me, it's-"
"I know, I know... it's for the kid..." Gumball walked up next to her. "He means a lot to you... I can tell..."
"...You could call him by his name, you know," said Penny.
"I don't think I deserve to though..." Gumball tuned and looked outside the kitchen. "Don't think he likes me either."
"He's been through a lot... he'll warm up to you..."
"...I think I should mention before you go to sleep..."
"...Is there a catch?" Penny moved away from the wall.
"...There was this girl from a long time ago... Back when your dad was trying to kill me..."
"She's here, isn't she?" Penny stepped closer to Gumball.
"...She had an O.D. three years ago and um... she had a kid that was with her parents, and they were kinda... upset at the kid for something..."
"...I see..." Penny looked away from Gumball.
"He'll proba-..."
"What?"
"...Think he's awake." Gumball stepped out of the kitchen, looking from across the room to see his bedroom door slightly open. He walked past the bed and stepped inside, closing the door quietly behind him. His son stood there scratching his eye.
"Dad, what's wrong?" He yawned as he starred up at his father.
"...Jamie, there's some people staying with us for a bit... she's a close friend."
He could hear Jamie's breaths and see his body shake slightly. "D-Dad, I don't like p-people..."
"It's only for a bit, kiddo... Trust me, they're friendly." Gumball took his hand and slowly led him outside the room as reluctant as he was. He could see the mattress in the middle of the room and two people sitting on it. One was helping the other take off what looked like a really tight shirt. They waited for the two to finish before stepping closer.
"Um, Penny, Damon... this is my son, Jamie." Gumball nudged Jamie a bit closer, his hands and legs shaking slightly.
"H-H-Hello..." Jamie was barely able to choke the words out. Penny leaned a bit closer while Damon smiled brightly at him.
"Hi there, Jamie. I'm Damon." He held a hand out to him slowly, he could tell Jamie was shy, even if he looked his age. Slowly, Jamie held out a paw and shook his hand, It felt a lot warmer than his. He stepped back next to his father, holding on to his leg.
"He doesn't like other people that much, don't feel bad about it too much..." Gumball could hear Jamie sigh quietly.
"How old is he?" asked Penny.
"I-I'm ten," replied Jamie quietly.
"You're pretty big, Jamie." Penny could see him crack a tiny smile, even if it faded away shortly after.
"I-I should go to bed now." Jamie waved lightly before turning around and heading back into his room. Penny gave a sly smile at Gumball.
"Where did he get his name from?"
"After his mom passed, she was the one who told me everything that happened. And I really didn't have any other ideas... Heh..."
Gumball turned, still chuckling. He saw Damon already bundled up in a few sheets about to go to sleep.
"Think we should all go to bed now."
"Yeah..." Penny turned her head at Damon. "It's only for a day."
"Sure," said Gumball, walking over to his room. As he stepped behind the door, he turned to look at Penny one more time, still sitting at the edge of the mattress silently. He could feel that knot in his stomach tightening again.
"...You two can stay for a week if you need to," whispered Gumball. Penny couldn't reply before he closed the door gently. She sat there motionless, before a smile formed on her face, and the odd feeling she had when she got here disappeared.
She turned and saw Damon already asleep, snoring lightly. She leaned over and planted a kiss on his forehead before laying down herself, starring at the plain white roof. The sounds from the city grew more quiet as her eyelids started to close, drifting her off into a deep sleep.
...Before she was out, Penny felt something touch her forehead... gently.
And that's a wrap. Thank lard I finally got this done and am FINALLY writing again. I feel better too. :3
Review if you want. I know it's kinda eh but it's mainly a warm up. As for continuing it... Hm, dunno. I'm working on something else at the moment, but after that's done, I'll give this a swing down the road.
And also to answer someone in PM about a certain question, no, I haven't been sitting around and doing nothing since I left. I've actually taken up animating and drawing a bit more these days, links on my userpage, and I've finally, FINALLY started a band on YouTube, Dubz. Link on profile for that too if you want them.
That's about all for now, excuse me as I crawl in my hole filled with tiny Kirbys. :3
- Waterfront3000 (or Bakukirby27. Whatever works for you. :P)