It was a normal afternoon in Center City. And in the house of the Little Freaks, Braingel and Tryla were in their bedroom together and Dubs was in the living room watching TV. Yet Braingel and Tryla's 5-year-old daughter, Lilibeth was still in school and it wasn't time for the school day to end yet.

"So what do you want to do, Tryla?" Braingel asked Tryla.

"I don't know, Braingel," said Tryla. "What time is it?"

Braingel looks at the digital clock on the nightstand.

"It's almost 1 o'clock in the afternoon," said Braingel.

"I hope Lilibeth gets out of school soon," said Tryla.

"She doesn't get out until 2:30," said Braingel. "Tryla, you know that."

"Yes I know," said Tryla. "So what'll we do until then?"

Just then, Dubs knocked on the bedroom door.

"What is it, Dubs?" Braingel said.

"Are you looking for something?" asked Tryla.

"No," said Dubs. "I want to tell you something."

"Alright, door's open," said Tryla. "You can come in."

"Thanks Tryla," said Dubs.

Dubs opens the door and enters the bedroom.

"Braingel?" said Dubs, holding a pair of boxer shorts. "What is your underwear doing in my room?"

"Uhhh…" said Braingel, starting to blush nervously.

"Braingel, why would you put your own underpants in Dubs' bedroom?" Tryla asked her boyfriend.

Braingel shrugged.

"Well, here you go, Braingel!" said Dubs, as he throws the boxers in Braingel's face.

"Hey!" shouted Braingel.

Tryla bursts out laughing.

"That wasn't funny, Tryla!" said Braingel, feeling embarrassed.

"Yes it is!" said Tryla, still laughing.

"No it's not!" said Braingel, getting mad.

"Come on, Braingel," said Dubs. "Laugh once in a while."

Braingel gives Dubs a dirty look.

"What?" said Dubs. "What's the matter?"

"It's not funny!" said Braingel.

"Why don't you think so?" asked Dubs.

"Sometimes I'm too busy to put my underwear away," said Braingel, then looking at his underwear and saying, "Is this even clean?!"

"Yes it is," said Dubs.

"Okay thank goodness it's clean," said Braingel. "Because if it was dirty, I would've smacked you!"

"Okay okay!" said Dubs. "You don't need to yell."

"But now you know, Braingel," Tryla said to Braingel, "put your underwear in the hamper where it belongs."

"Yeah, yeah, okay Tryla..." said Braingel, getting annoyed.

Tryla giggles a little bit.

"Be quiet," said Braingel.

"Geez sorry…" said Tryla.

An hour and a half later, Braingel and Tryla went to pick up Lilibeth from school and brought her back home. Though Braingel was still in a bad mood about what happened 90 minutes prior.

"Braingel, come on," said Tryla. "You have to get over it."

"Why" said Braingel.

"Because it was just one moment," said Tryla. "Please move on."

"Okay fiiiiine!" said Braingel, all unhappy.

"Come on, honey," said Tryla. "Smile!"

"I can't..." said Braingel. "Cause I am not happy..."

"But you have to be, Braingel," said Tryla. "Nobody wants to be around a miserable downer."

"Grrr…" said Braingel, showing his teeth a bit.

"Seriously, what's wrong with you, Braingel?!" Tryla asked, all annoyed.

"Nothing Tryla…" said Braingel.

"Never mind…" said Tryla, with a sigh.

"Forget it," said Braingel. "I'm going to watch TV."

He goes into the living room and sits on the couch as he turns on the TV and starts flipping through the channels.

"There's nothing on…" said Braingel, groaning.

He turns off the TV.

"You okay, Braingel?" asked Dubs, who was behind Braingel.

"Aah!" said Braingel, as he jumped. "Dubs! Where did you come from?!"

"I came from my bedroom, dude," said Dubs. "I just woke up from a nap."

"Oh..." said Braingel. "Sorry Dubs, I guess you startled me."

"It's alright," said Dubs. "Anyways, you doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Braingel. "Why?"

"Well, you were kind of feisty this morning..." said Dubs.

"Feisty?" said Braingel, pointing to himself. "Me, feisty? What makes you say that?"

"The whole thing with your boxer shorts in my bedroom," said Dubs. "You yelled at me like it was a threat."

He paused and said to his friend, "Why would something like that make you so angry?"

"I don't know…" said Braingel.

"I think something's bothering you, Braingel," said Dubs, sitting next to him on the couch. "What's wrong?"

"Well…" said Braingel.

"Yes…?" said Dubs.

"When you threw my underwear in my face," said Braingel, "it started to remind me of one of the ways I was bullied as a child..."

"Oh?" said Dubs. "How so?"

"My classmates would throw stuff at me just to annoy me," said Braingel. "And sometimes try to break the glass covering my brain!"

"That's awful!" said Dubs.

"Yeah I know!" said Braingel, sadly. "Dubs? I was constantly bullied as a kid. I think I'm traumatized from that..."

"Really?" said Dubs.

"Uh huh..." said Braingel, getting teary. "Remembering those kids throwing stuff as me, pushing and hitting me, teasing and making fun of my deformity...Calling me Brainboy..."

"I'm sorry Braingel..." said Dubs, feeling bad. "I had no idea..."

"It's fine, Dubs..." said Braingel, then gets up from the couch and says, "Excuse me, please..."

Braingel goes into the bathroom and closes the door. But moments later, he started to cry.

In Braingel and Tryla's bedroom, Tryla heard her boyfriend crying.

"I wonder what's wrong with Braingel..." she said to herself. "I better go talk to him."

She leaves the bedroom and goes into the bathroom where she sees Braingel sitting on the floor against the wall in tears.

"Oh Braingel!" said Tryla, running over to him. "Are you okay?"

Braingel was still sobbing.

"Braingel!" said Tryla, kneeling down to him. "It's me, Tryla!"

Braingel looks at her while still in tears.

"Honey, what's the matter?" asked Tryla.

"I'm upset…" said Braingel.

"Why?" Tryla asked.

"Because of what happened between me and Dubs this morning..." said Braingel. "It reminded me of when I was being bullied because of my deformity...Remember when Dubs threw my clean boxer shorts at me? Well, that made me think of my former classmates who would throw stuff at me trying to break the glass protecting my brain."

"Oh honey…" said Tryla, with a frown. "I'm sorry you feel this way…"

"Yeah…" said Braingel. "I don't get it...Why are these bad memories keep coming back?!"

"Who knows, Braingel?" said Tryla, then thinks of something. "Maybe you need to see a psychiatrist."

"Why?" said Braingel. "I don't need medicine."

"But do you want to find out why these traumatizing memories keep coming back?" asked Tryla.

"Yes I do," said Braingel.

"Then you have to see a psychiatrist," said Tryla.

"Okay, I'll go…" said Braingel, with a sniff.

"Good," said Tryla.

"When can I go?" asked Braingel.

"You can go on Monday," said Tryla.

"And what's today?" Braingel asked.

"Friday," said Tryla.

"Alright," said Briangel.

Three days later, it was Monday. After dropping Lilibeth off at school, Tryla took Braingel to see the psychiatrist.

"Braingel?" said the receptionist. "The psychiatrist will see you now."

"Okay…" said Braingel.

Braingel goes into the psychiatrist's office.

"Hello Braingel," said the psychiatrist, shaking his hand. "Have a seat."

Braingel sits on the couch and lies down on it.

"Now what seems to be the problem?" asked the psychiatrist.

Braingel didn't know how to start.

"Well?" said the psychiatrist.

"Uhhh..." said Braingel, trying to think. "It's...It's my life..."

"Care to explain?" asked the psychiatrist.

"I haven't been enjoying it lately..." said Braingel.

"Why not?" the psychiatrist asked.

"Too many bad things happening..." said Braingel.

"Like what?" said the psychiatrist.

"Well..." said Braingel. "One thing is my girlfriend yelling at me all the time."

"Why would she do something like that?" asked the psychiatrist.

"She thinks I do a lot of things wrong when I don't," said Braingel. "She seems to get upset pretty easily..."

"I see," the psychiatrist said. "Is there anything else wrong with your life?"

"I've been having bad flashbacks..." said Braingel.

"Keep talking," said the psychiatrist.

"About the time when I was bullied as a child," said Braingel.

"What were you bullied for?" asked the psychiatrist.

"I was bullied because of my deformity..." said Braingel.

"What kind of deformity do you have?" the psychiatrist asked.

"My brain is outside of my head," said Braingel, pointing to his brain. "See?"

"I do see," said the psychiatrist. "Why is your brain like that?"

"Cause...I guess something went wrong before I was born," said Braingel. "Cause the brain is supposed to be in our heads surrounded by our skulls. But for me, that didn't happen..."

"Why didn't it?" asked the psychiatrist.

"I don't know..." said Braingel, with a shrug. "I really don't know..."

"Is there anything else you can tell me?" the psychiatrist asked.

"It wasn't until my parents enrolled me in school for the first time when the bullying started," said Braingel.

"And how did the other kids bully you?" asked the psychiatrist.

"I don't remember what started first," said Braingel, "but I can name a few."

"Alright, go ahead," the psychiatrist said.

"Well," said Braingel. "One thing is, they would throw stuff at me trying to break the glass protecting my brain."

"How else did these kids bully you, Braingel?" asked the psychiatrist.

"They would hit and kick me," said Braingel. "Sometimes they would push me against the walls or lockers."

"Did they call you any names?" the psychiatrist asked.

"Yes they did," said Braingel, getting a little teary. "They called me so many nasty names. But...the worst they called me was Brainboy..."

"I'm so sorry, Braingel…" said the psychiatrist, feeling sorry for him.

"Uh huh..." said Braingel, about to cry. "It was bad...It's just..."

Braingel breaks down crying.

"Do you need a tissue?" asked the psychiatrist.

"Yes…" said Braingel, still crying.

The psychiatrist hands him a box of tissues.

"Thanks…" said Braingel, taking a tissue out of the box.

He then puts the tissue towards his nose and blows into it.

"Are you okay now?" the psychiatrist asked.

"I don't know…" said Braingel, sobbing.

Braingel uses more tissues. But he would not stop crying.

"Braingel, it's okay…" said the psychiatrist, with a frown. "I'm here to help you…"

"If only Tryla was allowed to come in here..." Braingel said.

"Tryla?" said the psychiatrist.

"My girlfriend," said Braingel.

"Oh I see," the psychiatrist said.

"Can I see her?" Braingel asked. "Please?"

"Certainly," said the psychiatrist.

The psychiatrist gets up and goes into the waiting room for a moment to see Tryla sitting in one of the chairs.

"Excuse me, Tryla?" the psychiatrist said to her.

"Yes?" said Tryla, looking at the psychiatrist.

"Your boyfriend wants to see you," said the psychiatrist.

"Oh?" said Tryla, a little surprised.

"Will you come in?" asked the psychiatrist.

"Sure," said Tryla.

Tryla stands up and walks into the office.

"So what's this about?" asked Tryla.

She notices Braingel crying.

"Braingel, what's the matter?" Tryla asked him.

"This is too much for me, Tryla..." said Braingel, sobbing. "This is too much!"

"Well do you want to feel better?" Tryla said.

"Yes…?" said Braingel, with a sniff.

"Should we schedule another session for next week, Tryla?" the psychiatrist suggested.

"Yes please," said Tryla.

"Okay," said the psychiatrist, writing down the next appointment.

Braingel continued to cry.

"Come on, Braingel..." Tryla said to Braingel, hugging him. "We better go home…"

After thanking the psychiatrist, Tryla and Braingel leave and get into the car as Tryla starts driving. Yet Braingel was still in tears.

"Braingel, will you get a hold of yourself?!" said Tryla. "We're out of the psychiatrist's office already!"

"But Tryla, I can't," said Braingel, all teary. "You know how much I hate talking about my past childhood. It's traumatizing!"

"But it's the only way to heal you, Braingel," said Tryla.

"How is talking about that going to heal me?" Braingel asked. "Huh? It doesn't feel like enough!"

"What do you think would be enough?" Tryla asked. "We can't just ignore it."

"Drugging me?" said Braingel.

"No, that wouldn't work," said Tryla. "You could have bad side effects."

"Then what can help me?" asked Braingel.

"Maybe the psychiatrist can help you by giving you advice on how to deal with some trouble from the past," said Tryla. "You can't be haunted by that forever, you know."

Braingel frowned.

"Don't worry, baby…" said Tryla, rubbing his back. "You'll get the help you need…I promise…"

The two then arrived home a few minutes later.

"So how did it go?" Dubs asked them.

"Braingel couldn't handle it," said Tryla, sighing sadly. "He cried for almost the whole session..."

"Oh…" said Dubs, starting to frown.

"Uh huh…" said Tryla, frowning as well.

Braingel went into his and Tryla's bedroom without saying a word and starts to cry again. Tryla then went after him, but couldn't see him. That's because Braingel was hiding in their closet with its door shut.

"Braingel?" said Tryla. "Are you in here?"

She hears her boyfriend's crying coming from the closet and walks over to it as she knocks on the door.

"Go away," said Braingel.

"But honey, it's me, Tryla," said Tryla.

"What do you want?" Braingel asked.

"I just want to talk to you," said Tryla.

"No, I don't want to," said Braingel. "Please leave me alone."

"Come on, Braingel... please?" Tryla said.

"Fine..." said Braingel. "You can open the closet…"

"Tryla opens the door as she sees Braingel on the floor hiding in some of their clothes.

"Honey?" said Tryla. "Where are you?"

"Here…" said Braingel, as he sticks his fingers out from under the pile of clothes.

"Braingel, what are you doing under our clothing?" asked Tryla.

"I'm hiding…" said Braingel.

"From what?" said Tryla.

"The world…" said Braingel.

"Why would you want to do something like that?" Tryla said.

"Because it's too stressful and won't leave me alone," said Braingel, all upset. "I'm sick of it!"

"Honey, hiding from the world is not the answer," said Tryla.

"How do you know that?" asked Braingel.

"Because I'm not a coward like you!" said Tryla.

"Tryla, don't call me that!" said Braingel.

"It does no good to hide from the world," said Tryla, shaking her head.

"But everyone is after me!" said Braingel, all freaked out.

He sighed and said, "Tryla? I've said this once, and I'll say it again...The world is out to get me and I'm not facing it!"

"Fine, then face the fact that you'll be labeled a coward for the rest of your life!" said Tryla, getting annoyed.

"I do not appropriate the name calling," said Braingel.

"Well, tough tinkies, Brainboy!" Tryla said.

She leaves the bedroom in anger and shuts the door. Braingel was hurt that his girlfriend called him that since it was the worst name he's been called as a child. He then began to cry.

"Why would she call me Brainboy?" Braingel asked himself, sobbing. "She needs to know how much that name hurts me!"

He looks down and said to himself, "I really hope my next session will be better. The psychiatrist has got to help me!"

A week later, Braingel was at his second session with the psychiatrist.

"So Braingel," said the psychiatrist, "are you feeling any better?"

"No..." said Braingel, getting upset. "Now my girlfriend is going against me!"

"Oh?" the psychiatrist said. "How so?"

"Tryla got mad at me for feeling like this," said Braingel, about to cry. "And she called me Brainboy! You know how much that name hurts me!"

He started crying as he said, "What should I do?!"

"Now now, Braingel," said the psychiatrist. "I'm sure she didn't mean what she said to you. Your girlfriend was probably frustrated and didn't know how to react."

"I'm sorry…" said Braingel, with a sniff. "These bad thoughts are really getting to me. It's madness!"

He then paused and said, "Can I step outside for a minute or two, please? I need to calm down..."

"Certainly Braingel," said the psychiatrist. "Take all the time you need."

"Thank you," said Braingel, wiping his tears away with his sleeve. "I'll be right back."

Braingel stands up and walks out of the room. He then walks out of the building without anyone noticing and goes to the side of the building. He goes against the wall and continues to cry. Just then, his cell phone rang with Dubs calling him. Braingel picks up the phone and answers.

"H-Hello?" said Braingel, all teary.

"Braingel, it's me, Dubs," said Dubs, on the other line. "You okay?"

"Not really…" said Braingel, sadly.

"What's the matter?" asked Dubs.

"They're out to get me, Dubs..." said Braingel, in a scared voice. "They want me gone..."

"Aren't you getting therapy for this?" Dubs said.

"Yes..." said Braingel. "And it's not taking me anywhere! Next thing you know, the psychiatrist is going to suggest medication. Then it's going to kill me!"

"Well, if you weren't so traumatized," said Dubs, "they wouldn't have to do that, Braingel."

"Dubs, you don't understand," said Braingel, all manic. "My childhood was very rough and it's hard to forget it. It was extremely painful! I'm crying my eyes out it's not even funny!"

"Dude, calm down!" said Dubs.

"I can't!" said Braingel, crying hard. "I just can't! It's too much! Everything is too much for me! Oh Dubs, I don't know what to do anymore!"

"Braingel?" said Dubs. "Listen to me. Calm down...Everything will be okay...Don't lose hope. You've gotta have faith. I know this is really hard for you and it's making you afraid, but you have to-"

Dubs was then cut off by Braingel's sudden screaming as if something wrong was happening. And it was. Very wrong.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!" Braingel screamed all terrified, as his mouth gets covered by someone.

Then a few seconds later, everything went silent as Braingel's cell phone dropped onto the ground. Dubs was alerted by what he just heard and started to get nervous. Not knowing that Braingel had just been abducted, Dubs tried to get his friend's attention thinking he was still on the other line.

"Braingel?" said Dubs, all worried. "Dude, are you there?"

All Dubs could hear was the dial tone as the line went down.

"Oh no!" cried Dubs, starting to get nervous. "Something's happened to Braingel!"

He dials Tryla's cell phone number.

"I better let Tryla know right away!" Dubs said, as he places his phone to his ear.

"Hello, this is Tryla," said Tryla, on the other line.

"Tryla? It's Dubs," said Dubs, in an afraid tone. "You need to come home quickly! Something's happened to Braingel!"

"Huh?" said Tryla, all confused. "What do you mean? He's supposed to be in the psychiatrist's office right now."

"I know," said Dubs. "But he went outside and then Braingel started crying when I called him just now. And then, someone kidnapped him!"

"My boyfriend's been abducted?!" said Tryla, gasping in horror. "Oh my gosh!"

She tries not to panic as she said, "Don't go anywhere, Dubs! I'll be right there! Sit tight!"

Tryla hangs up and quickly leaves the building as she drives back to the house. Then when she got there, she parks her car and enters the house.

"Oh good, you made it!" said Dubs.

"Where did Braingel go?" said Tryla. "What happened to my boyfriend? Where is he?!"

"I have no idea," said Dubs. "All I heard was him screaming and the line went off!"

"Oh dear!" said Tryla, getting scared. "This is bad! We have to find him!"

She paused and said, "But what about Lilibeth? I have to pick her up from school this afternoon!"

"I can handle it, Tryla," said Dubs.

"Are you sure?" Tryla asked. "Do you know how to get to the school?"

"Yes I do," said Dubs. "I have the address."

"Okay good," said Tryla.

She takes out her cell phone as she says, "I think I should call Braingel to see if he's okay."

Tryla dials the number and waits. But since Braingel's cell phone was still by itself near the psychiatrist building, nobody picked up as it went straight to voicemail. After trying again a few more times, the same thing happened. So Tryla had no choice but to leave a few messages after the tone beeped.

"Darn it…" Tryla said, as she hung up.

"What are we going to do, Tryla...?" asked Dubs.

"If Braingel doesn't get heard from or seen within the next few hours," said Tryla, "I'm calling the police and possibly report him missing."

"Great idea," said Dubs.

The next day was Saturday. Lilibeth had no idea about Braingel's abduction since Tryla and Dubs told her a few lies to avoid scaring her. But when the afternoon came, Braingel was still not heard from or seen. And that made Tryla think what she was going to do next as she said the previous day.

"Tryla?" Dubs said to Tryla.

"Yes Dubs?" said Tryla.

"Did you call the police?" said Dubs.

"I just did," said Tryla. "They're on their way here to the house now so we can give them some information that could help find Braingel or at least find some evidence."

"Okay good," said Dubs. "But make sure that Lilibeth is in her room when they come here so she doesn't suspect anything is wrong."

"Right, of course," said Tryla.

The police then arrived. After Tryla told Lilibeth to stay in the child's bedroom with the door shut, she opened the door and let the police inside the house.

"We came as soon as you called," said one of the policemen.

"Oh thank you so much," said Tryla. "I really needed you guys to come."

"So…You said your boyfriend was kidnapped?" asked the policeman.

"Yes," said Tryla.

"I see," said the policeman, getting out his notepad. "What's his name?"

"His name is Braingel," said Tryla.

"And where did you last see him?" asked another policeman.

"Yesterday," said Tryla. "I took him to a psychiatrist since he was having some emotional problems. The psychiatrist said Braingel went outside to calm himself down since he was having a crying fit. And according to the psychiatrist, Braingel said he would return to the session in a few minutes. But he never came back..."

"Mind if I give you some information, Officers?" Dubs asked the policemen.

"Not at all, sir," said the policeman. "What do you know about this and did you witness anything suspicious?"

"I noticed that my friend stopped answering his phone when I was on the other line," said Dubs.

"Mind going into details?" asked the other policeman.

"I called Braingel because I wanted to make sure the session with the psychiatrist was going well," said Dubs. "But he was crying through the whole conversation claiming that he was being watched and that the world and society was out to get him."

"How many times has he seen the psychiatrist already?" asked the policeman.

"This was only his second time..." said Tryla, sadly.

"Alright," said the policeman, writing down the info. "Continue."

"As I was saying," said Dubs, "Braingel was all hysterical and was acting very strangely while I was talking to him. He said the psychiatrist might suggest drugs, of course the safe prescription medications. But my friend thought that the psychiatrist was going to drug him that will kill him, which is not true. And I tried to calm him down many times. But then I suddenly heard him screaming terribly as I heard him shout "Help!" The audio then went silent and cut the line off."

He sighs sadly and said, "That was the last time I heard from him...And this was only the previous day!"

"Then Dubs called me to let me know what happened," said Tryla. "Braingel vanished without a trace!"

She paused and said, "Can I request a missing person report, please?"

"Of course," said the policeman. "You have some pictures of your boyfriend?"

"Yes I do," said Tryla. "I'll go get them."

Tryla takes a folder of photographs from the living room drawer. She then takes out a couple of photos of Braingel, one or two of them being a clear look of him, and gives them to the police.

"Here you go, Officers," said Tryla, handing the photos to the policemen.

"Thank you very much, ma'am," said one of the policemen. "These are perfect."

"You're very welcome," said Tryla.

Tryla and Dubs give out a little more additional information as an extra. Then they go over the information with the police to make sure everything was correct. Then after that, they all thanked each other as the police left the house and started to search for Braingel right away.

"I hope they find my boyfriend..." said Tryla.

"Me too..." said Dubs. "Where could he have gone...?"

To Be Continued…