Marshall woke up to the sound of their neighbors yelling at each other, yet again. It was only his fifth day in the new apartment and he was already tired of it. At this point he wished he could duct tape his ears and cover them with pillows, because frankly, the yelling was giving him a headache. "Just shut up already," He grumbled, pulling the covers over his eyes.

Barely a minute later, his door slammed open and his covers were pulled down, revealing his mother, who was wearing a menacing smile. He groaned as she pulled the curtains aside, letting the sun filter in, warming up every surface it touched. "Rise and shine Marshall Lee, today's going to be a busy day." He glared heavily at her, and she simply smiled at him again, setting down several unpacked boxes by the side of Marshall's bed. "I know we've only been here a week," she said, huffing as she set one of the heavier boxes on his wooden rocking chair, "But we need to unpack or else these will stay packed forever."

Marshall sighed, and asked, "Do I have to? Can't you do it?" His mother shook her head, and sternly said, "Marshall, you are a big boy aren't you? Only little boys need their mama's help to put away toys and clothes. Now go do it and don't get in my way. I'm going to be putting things away all day and I don't want you to help." With that, she gave him a small kiss on the forehead, and sweeped out of the room, her black hair swinging behind her.

He grumbled as he hopped off the bed, and went to go change into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. After that was done, he started opening up boxes, and started filing away his toys, many of them legos. He cried out in pain when he happened to step on a fallen lego, and threw that one under his bed in a fit of anger. "Stupid lego..." He muttered, as he continued putting away more of his toys, not bothering to search for the lego he threw.

About an hour later, Marshall felt the first rumblings of his stomach, and decided after an hour of hard work and a minimal amount of distraction from his toys, that he ought to eat. When he exited his room into the living room where his mom was, he asked, "Hey mom, what do we have to eat?" She stood up from her crouched position and pointed to the fridge saying, "Go look." So he did, and the only thing he found was a jar of dill pickles along with some leftover sushi from yesterdays outing. But wanting neither options for breakfast, he shouted, "We don't have anything to eat!"

By the time he turned around, his mother was already walking over to him with something in her hand. "Here, take this and go buy something to eat. There's a McDonalds across the street so go get a burger there or something." She handed him a ten dollar bill, and pushed him to the door. He slipped his shoes on and shouted a quick 'bye!' before slamming the front door, and eagerly rushing down the apartment building stairs as fast as he could. He nearly fell down the stairs, in his hurry, but still didn't even bother to slow down. How could he with such freedom?

This was the first time he went anywhere without his mom, and obviously he was nervous. He was only seven, so anything could happen to him. He was pretty sure nothing would, but you could never tell with those creeps and murderers lurking around every corner. So of course, he took precaution, and made sure to walk fast, and to not stand near the curb. If he kept that up, he felt sure no harm would come to him.

After only about two minutes of walking, Marshall reached the large and colorful McDonald's area, and immediately decided he wanted something sweet, like a pie or cookie of some sort. And maybe some juice. So in preparation, he took out his ten dollar bill, and waited behind the long line of people who were waiting to order. When it was his turn, he ordered for a chocolate chip cookie, and some apple juice. Unfortunately they did not have any apple juice so he got milk instead.

As he sat by himself sipping at his milk, he noticed a boy with strangely vibrant pink hair and his face scrunched up in a frown. He said something then stormed away from two people who looked like his parents and walked over to a table nearby Marshall. The boy was glaring straight ahead, obviously annoyed. Marshall stared at the boy and asked, "Why are you staring at me?" The boy startled and looked momentarily confused before furrowing his brows and saying, "I wasn't staring at you."

Marshall stared at him suspiciously and said, "It seemed like you were." "Well I wasn't." snapped the boy, now crossing his arms. "And why's your hair so pink? And what's your name?" Marshall asked, unable to stop himself. The boy stared at him, and slowly said, "I don't really know why my hair is like this. And my name is Bubba. Why?" Marshall this time really couldn't help himself; he burst out into laughter and said, "Bubba? Really? That sounds like the name of a whale!"

Bubba huffed and glared heavily at Marshall. "You're a brat!" He shouted, just as his parents sat down. Marshall saw his parents reprimand him, and he couldn't help but feel a little guilty. But as soon as he saw Bubba glare at him again, this time with much more venom, his guilt quickly melted away, into something closely resembling annoyance. Marshall shortly after resumed eating, and only a few minutes later, finished his food. When he got up to throw away the trash, he met his gaze with Bubba's, and noticed how pink his irises were too. Bubba's blank expression of course turned back to a glare in almost less than a second, and he looked away, eating his cheap, greasy meal, leaving Marshall standing there, wondering how one could be so pink.

By the time he left and got back to his apartment, he found his mom still cleaning, putting away some encyclopedias along with a few others on their old book shelf. He smiled and went to his room, to go play with with and make a mess of toys he probably just cleaned and put away. But he didn't mind, he'd just clean it up later.

x

Later that night, while his mom was laying on the couch taking a nap, Marshall decided to go outside and venture to the nearby park he saw a few days ago on the way to the store. He figured nothing could happen to him right? The park is safe, and there'll be other children there if he gets lonely or scared or something along those lines. Plus what if he saw that kid from earlier? He seemed so interesting, and he entertained Marshall quite a lot during his little trip to McDonalds. Bubba was his name right? He felt kind of sorry for Bubba, considering that's his name and all. Marshall felt kind of lucky at times like these with such a plain name.

He grabbed a chair and pushed it against the bookcase, where his mom had happened to leave her keys. He stood up on it, and grabbed the keys from the very top shelf. He only took one off, which was the apartment key, and set the other keys back, and got back down. He blew a kiss to his mom and pulled his favorite sweater on along with some boots knowing it'll be a bit chilly outside, and exited, locking the door behind him. He cautiously crept down the now seemingly much emptier and dim lighted stairs. He realized this was probably not the greatest idea, considering how creepy it was. But he was too far gone with the idea, plus he secretly hoped he would meet Bubba again, despite the almost nil chance.

For about a half an hour, Marshall walked on the dimly lit streets, with only a few cars passing by every now and then. It felt almost too deserted, and Marshall felt an impending sense of danger that he couldn't quite put his finger on. But he tried his best to ignore it and continued on to the park, which was only a few streets away now. When he reached the park, he noticed a few scattered people, mostly adults, by themselves, staring strangely off into the distance. One of them noticed him, but quickly looked back down at their phone, which Marshall found to make him less uneasy.

As he continued walking through the small, twisting paths, he finally reached the playground, and settled on one of the swings. Now that he sat out here in the dark pretty much all alone, he felt pretty stupid for going out. Who would be out at the park at 9pm on a Thursday night? As far as Marshall could tell, no one. So, he figured, there wasn't really a point for staying at the park then if he was just going to be by himself at such a dark and scary hour. But just as he got up, a small noise coming from the nearby plastic playhouse stopped him in his tracks. He cautiously and quietly turned around, and tiptoed to it. He leaned up against it, and went as far as to push one of the plastic windows open just slightly.

Marshall stood there still and straight against the house for a whole other minute before he heard a few small noises, that almost sounded like someone was crying. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, Marshall slowly opened the small plastic door open, peering into the tiny room. He was surprised to find a tiny pink figure angrily crying into his hands, a figure that looked strangely familiar. "Bubba? Is that you?" Bubba immediately snapped his head up, and stared at Marshall, his face quickly contorting into a frown. "Have you come here to bother me again? Do you like to see me angry, you...you sicko?"

Marshall couldn't help but feel a bit hurt and said, "No, I don't like to see you angry! And don't call me a sicko!" They glared at each other for a moment before Marshall continued, "So why are you here crying? Where are your mom and dad?" Bubba sighed and explained, "I wasn't listening to them cuz I didn't wanna take some dumb medicine so they yelled at me and I ran away. But I'm only running away for the night, not for very long..." Marshall stared curiously at Bubba before asking, "Do you wanna stay at my place tonight? It's not too far and my mom can always drop you off in the morning."

Bubba met eyes with Marshall, and despite looking unsure, he agreed. "So what's your name?" Bubba asked, collecting himself once more. Marshall smiled and said, "Marshall Lee Abadeer at your service." Bubba gave a little smile back and said, "Hello Marshall Lee Abadeer. Will you now take me to your place?" Marshall obliged and Bubba stood up and wobbled a bit from sitting for so long, and followed him out of the plastic house into the cold. "So which way is your place?" Bubba asked, looking around. Marshall pointed in a general direction and simply said, "That way."

They walked in silence for a while, Bubba wrapped up in his own thoughts, and Marshall wrapped up in his. How should he tell his mom? He knew he wasn't supposed to go out past sundown, and he especially knew he wasn't supposed to bring back strangers. But technically Bubba wasn't a stranger; they did know each others names and they had met before, albeit earlier that day, and plus he could always say he just went outside into the stairwell and found Bubba sitting there all lonesome couldn't he? As long as Bubba knew how to lie, he didn't think he'd get in too much trouble.

So by the time he got back, he unlocked the door, and put his fingers on his lips, motioning for Bubba to be as quiet as possible. When he unlocked the door, he tiptoed in, and made sure his mom was asleep. When he heard soft snores coming from the living room, he motioned for Bubba to follow him. He closed the front door behind him and set the key back on the shelf, the chair still being in place, and immediately froze when he heard his mom stir. After a moment or so, he heard her mutter something, and heard the couch creaking. He swiftly crouched down and sat on the chair, trying to look as unsuspicious as possible. Obviously getting frustrated, Bubba finally whispered, "Why don't we just make a run for it to your bedroom? Let's just pretend we're asleep or something!"

Marshall nodded in the dark and got down from the chair and pulled Bubba by the wrist into his bedroom; he didn't dare look back for the fear of the wrath of his mother. He rattled his door open and quickly got inside, pulling Bubba in with him. Immediately Marshall asked, "How am I gonna tell her you're here without getting grounded for a month!?" Bubba thoughtfully looked at Marshall and stuffed his hands in his pockets and said, "I think...you should let me sleep in your closet and in the morning say you're going out to play and then when you're mom is busy, I'll follow you outside. Then you'll come back soon after with me and say you've found a friend and ask if I can stay over. Do you think it'll work?" He smirked when Marshall was nodding speechlessly and asked, "It's a good plan isn't it?"

So they followed Bubba's seemingly brilliant plan and Bubba got into the closet and slept there for the night, while Marshall settled into his bed, and whispered a goodnight. He surprisingly quickly succumbed to sleep, easily exhausted from all the walking he had done that night. Only about ten minutes later, Marshall's mom opened the door, the hallway light spilling into the room, and softly smiled when she saw him snuggled so sweetly into his favorite stuffed bear with his head buried in the pillows. She crossed the room and gently kissed his forehead before exiting out of the room to head back to bed.

The next morning followed by his mom slamming the door open and announcing that breakfast is ready, and Marshall groaned and sat up. "Don't roll your eyes mister, you'll be very happy once you've had this breakfast." He sighed and said, "Okay mom, I'll be out in a minute. I'm gonna get dressed." She smiled cheerily and and exited, shutting the door behind her. He rolled out of bed and practically fell off it, and swiftly went to go lock the door. He then went over to his closet and opened one of the doors, to find Bubba curled up in himself, snoring softly. Marshall crouched forward and shook him, and whispered, "Bubba, my mom's awake."

Bubba blinked slowly, squinting when the mass amount of sunlight hit his eyes and turned away, a grimace on his face. "Good morning," Marshall said, slightly amused at his grumpiness. "Good morning Marshall...did you say your mom's awake?" Marshall nodded and started to explain, "She wants to give me breakfast but after that we'll start your plan okay?" Bubba sighed and nodded, muttering a 'hurry up' as Marshall stood up and got out, shutting the closet door behind him. He then went to go to the kitchen, and sat with his mom, and said thank you for the food before scarfing it down like he was starving. She then pointed it out, and trying to think of an excuse for his fast eating, said that he was just really hungry. She shrugged and figured he was a growing boy, so it didn't really matter.

After they finished eating, his mom took their plates to the kitchen and began to clean them, leaving Marshall and Bubba to start their plan. "Hey mom? Can I go outside and play for a while?" He asked, tugging on his mom's shirt. She said, "Sure sweetie, but be back within a couple hours okay?" He nodded and smiled, and promptly rushed to his bedroom, saying he needed to put on his shoes before he left. His mother shook her head, thinking he probably forgot his shoes were by the front door.

"Okay Bubba," He loudly whispered, slamming his door behind him, "It's time to start our plan. My mom's doing the dishes and we don't have much time!" Bubba got out from the closet asked, "How am I going to get from here to the front door?" Marshall stared at him and said, "Just follow me, I think I know how to do this."

Marshall twisted the door open, and peeked out, seeing that his mom was unloading the dishwasher. He motioned for Bubba to follow behind him, and they both creeped down the hallway, as quietly as possible. Bubba glanced forward noticing that Marshall's mom was almost done and started to panic. "What if she sees us?" He whispered into Marshall's ear. All he did was turn his head and press a finger to his lips, and kept going. After a few more paces, they reached the living room, what Marshall would label as the danger zone. Quietly and quickly they crept, until they reached the short distance to the front door. But as Marshall was about to open the door, his mom must've heard him or something, and she turned around and said, "Don't forget your shoes..." but dropped off mid sentence when she saw Bubba creeping behind Marshall. Almost instantaneously, Marshall saw his mom go from a blank face, to surprise, to confusion, then lastly, to anger. "Marshall! What is going on?"

Both Marshall and Bubba felt their heart thumping in their chest, and Bubba backed up behind Marshall, trying to hide himself. "Um nothing mom, I, uh, I just found him outside and he was kind of crying, and I, I didn't want to leave him alone. That's all." His mom stared at him suspiciously, looking both him and Bubba down. "Is he telling the truth?" She asked, making Bubba jump. He nodded and remained silent, still hiding behind Marshall. She sighed and asked, "Do your parents know you're here?" Bubba shook his head this time, meeting eyes with her. "Listen kid, this is putting me in a really bad position, so I'll just call your parents to pick you up okay? Just wait here until they come. Do you know your number or address?" Bubba quietly said, "No, I don't. Could you please just drop me off at the park? I'll know how to get home from there." Marshall's mom furrowed her brows, but obliged, and told them to go downstairs to her car.

They drove in silence, and Marshall and Bubba kept glancing at each other. Bubba mouthed 'I'm sorry' and Marshall shrugged, mouthing that it was okay. Once they got to the park, they parked and Bubba said thank you, and exited, walked down the street, disappearing after a couple minutes around the corner. They rode back in silence and Marshall wondered if he'd ever see Bubba again.

A/N

Hello! Please let me know what you think of this story, and if there's anything I should change or add, or any sentence structures or words I misspelled and need to fix. Also, this'll be a long fic, around 34 chapters or so. Ily all so much and thank you for reading :)