Stomp, stomp, stomp. Loid trudged through the plain beige halls of his school, with the occasional student's artwork or class project adding a minimal splash of color. His shoes had some traces of light snow on them, and he shivered from the chill of just being outdoors without a jacket. It was Valentine's Day, his least favorite day of the year. He never got any valentines, and though he was shy, he always felt lonely.

Sure, he had been welcomed back from his journey with Ninten and Ana as a hero, but that status had worn off quickly. It had started out slowly, his decline of popularity, but one day, when he had tripped in the cafeteria and fell onto his lunch tray, he became the laughingstock of the school. He could remember the day like it was yesterday, though it was a week ago.

Loid walked in between two lunch tables, a deep brown synthetic wood. The walls were a plain beige, like the many rooms of the school normally were. His lunch tray, a plain white plastic rectangle, piled high with vegetables, wobbled uncertainly, as if it was begging to fall out of Loid's hands. He gripped it tightly as he tried finding a place to sit. Most of the spots were taken, and he struggled. As he walked, he failed to notice that one of his shoelaces was untied. He stepped on it, and quickly realized what had happened. A look of panic spread across his face as he let out a yelp of surprise and fell. The impact was dulled by his vegetables, though by the time he had picked himself off the floor, heads were beginning to turn. The fact he had vegetables and their juices all over his face caused some snickers to arise. Besides that, it was so quiet that you could hear your hair growing. Finally, someone shouted out something that made Loid cry. "LOID'S SUCH A KLUTZ!" Loid would start crying - which he hadn't done in quite a while - as he kicked the tray across the room and ran - something he hated to do - all the way to the roof. He had fabricated a key that would allow him easy access to the roof in case he needed to visit. Emerging on the roof, he stood in front of the trash can that sat a few feet away from him. He then did something he hadn't done in weeks. He hid inside the trash can.

Ever since that day, Loid had been bullied constantly, as if his adventure had never happened. He missed adventuring with Ninten and Ana, they were nice and it felt so good to be free from the bullying that had plagued him like a chronic illness. He longed to return to those days, that small ray of sunshine lighting a path away from bullying.

Loid had walked to his classroom, head down. He sat at his desk, ignoring the joyful red and pink hearts that dotted the room in celebration of the day ahead. He dreaded the card exchange, the yearly event that took place across the school. Other students got candy and cards, and Loid got nothing. When he was younger, at his first card exchange, he had been excited for the event, expecting he'd be getting candy and kind words, which would be a major improvement from his usual bullying. He had made cards for everyone in his class, but made sure he was anonymous by not saying they were from him. He joyfully skipped around, and it was clear he had a major change in attitude. Placing cards into everyone's boxes on their desks, he was excited to see the treasures inside his own box. Upon returning to his desk, he found his box was empty, it's cleanly applied label reading 'Loid' ruined with various insults written on it, such as 'You don't deserve any valentines' and 'You aren't getting any valentines this year, nerd!'. Loid had ran out of the room and hid in a trash can in the hall.

The school day felt like it took an entire year to complete. Even math and science, Loid's favorite subjects, felt like they took a long time. He was dreading the end of the day, which was when the card exchange would be. He found himself tearing his eyes away from his work to look at the clock, only to find a single minute had gone by.

The end of the day soon came. The other kids hurried to grab their boxes that they had brought to school, neatly arranged on a table in the back of the room, and placed the boxes on their desks. Loid hadn't bothered to bring in a box, as he knew it would lead to disappointment. He quietly sat at his desk, the occasional passerby throwing an insult or two at him. He took a book from the classroom library and read it, waiting for the exchange to be over. He heard the classroom door open up, and the room fell silent.

Loid didn't look up until he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked up, expecting someone to insult him or slap him, but to his surprise, two familiar, friendly faces were looking at him. That familiar red, white and blue striped shirt, bandanna and baseball cap, and that pretty pink dress and matching hat. It was Ninten and Ana, standing in front of him, smiling, hands outstretched towards him. He rubbed his eyes, convinced he had fallen asleep. All the kids were staring at them. Surely they had seen pictures of Ninten and Ana in the news published after their journey, and they must've remembered he had adventured with them, too.

Loid saw something in his friend's hands, and they seemed to be.. Valentines? Ninten and Ana confirmed his thoughts by placing the cards, with cartoons and cheesy puns, along with 2 grape lollipops on the desk. Loid's favorite flavor. One kid suddenly yelled out. "Why are you giving him cards?"

Ninten stared at the kid, a young boy with brown hair and a blue t-shirt. "Why wouldn't I? He's my friend," Ninten said.

"He's a nerd, that's why," the boy said, as if it was obvious.

Ana stared in shock. "Loid, have they been bullying you again?"

Loid hesitated for a moment. "Yes.."

Ninten furrowed his brow. "You all should be ashamed." He grabbed Loid's hand, with Ana grabbing the other. "Happy Valentine's Day, Loid," he said with a smile that reminded Loid of their adventure. Ana picked up the cards and candy they had given Loid, and they walked out of the classroom together, leaving the room in silence. The teacher did nothing to stop them as they exited the school and walked to Loid's house.

The next few hours were not spent on science, like Loid usually did after school. They were spent talking, laughing, and remembering. This was what Valentine's Day was about - not getting the most cards, or the most candy, or falling in love - but having true friends.

And something about those two little cards and lollipops made Loid feel happy anyway, because they reminded him of something important.

He had some of the best friends of all, and nothing his classmates said could ever change that.

~END~

Author's Note: Hi everyone! If you've been looking at my profile, you may have noticed I was going to post another story called Fallin' Love. Well.. That's not going to happen. I wrote this for the Valentine's day Funfest, and to help me feel less lonely on Valentine's day. I've decided I'm writing another fanfiction for the Funfest where Ness and Paula have a childish makeshift date at the Onett burger joint. Fanfics like these aren't going to be announced on my profile most of the time. In addition, I realized Fallin' Love wasn't long enough to fill a good length of story. If you have more questions, send me a PM. And yes, I'm still working on Concealed. It's on hiatus because I'm trying to choose how to open the next chapter: With a flashback, a POV, something happening somewhere else, or a normal continuation. Also, I'm trying to remove Hunger Games parallels from the rest of the plot. I've had one or two people point out the parallels, and I'm removing them as best I can, but a major part of the plot is powered by something that MIGHT be a parallel. I'm not sure. Either way, that's the end of this note. Bye, and happy one-hour-after-Valentine's-day Day!