NNote: Here's chapter two! I didn't want to keep you guys hanging for too long, so enjoy! I'm gonna take a little break and chapter 3 will be uploaded tomorrow! And again, if the font is too big, I'm sorry!
Enjoy!
-TheLittleReaderWriter

Chapter 2

What could he say it was?

Different?

Eye-Catching?

Jaw-Dropping?

Clever?

Amazing?

Majestic?

Comfortable and roomy?

Above all, what Duck could see was brilliant.

There were shelves that went as high to the ceiling, which were stacked full of books. The room was doing and the floor was made of a golden, gleaming wood, that had a touch of age to it. The shelves were made of oak, and dust glittered through the sun beams shining through the window. A huge, wooden staircase in the back was covered and velvet and led up to the second floor, and right next to it was a huge stone fireplace with a large coffee bar. Even James, who had never appreciated literature, would've found this store to be really cool. Duck looked around for Thomas or Percy, but didn't see either of them.

They probably went home to do homework, he thought.

Marianne walked off to the romance novel section, and Duck walked around, finding himself in the Horror section. He never really liked horror stories, but it was just where he wound up. He picked up the first book he saw, flipped to a random page, and almost gagged at how graphic the content he was reading was. He wandered around some more, eventually finding himself at the Nonfiction section. His golden eyes scanned the spines of all the books, until they landed on one book in particular. His eyes widened as he pulled it off the shelf. It was a thick book, with a old, dusty cover and worn pages.

The History of The Great Western Railway

Duck opened it up and started reading, letting the true facts of his heritage wash over him. He smiled as he read all about trains and schedules and the founding of the railway that he was extremely proud of. Duck turned the book over to see the price, and was surprised when he saw that it was only a bargain price of ten bucks.
/

"Duck?"

Even his own parents didn't call him by his real name.

Marianne appeared beside him with a book nestled under her arm.

"What do you have there?"

Duck showed it to his mother, and she laughed.

"How much is it?"

"Only ten dollars."

Marianne smiled and pulled out ten dollars from her purse.

"Here, go buy it. I want to look around a little bit more anyway."

Duck happily walked up to the cashier counter and placed the book down. A young teen suddenly came from the back room, and up to the counter. He looked to be about Thomas' age, but Duck was about a head taller than him. He had smooth brown hair, and some bangs laying across his forehead and the ends were hanging off to the side of his forehead. He was a little thin, but he stood straight and had great posture. He had beautiful olive green eyes, and he was wearing the bookstore's uniform. The strange thing about him was that he had a huge bruise on his cheek, and his right eye was red and swollen. The teen stared at him for a long time, eyes big and form tense. Duck swore he saw his cheeks turn red.

"Sorry about that!" The boy finally said, "did you find-"

Suddenly, the two stopped dead and stared at each other, eyes huge. They stood there, analyzing each other for what seemed like hours.

"Wait…" Duck said calmly, heart pounding, "Oliver?!"

His best friend smiled.

"Duck."

Duck raced behind the counter and enveloped him in a strong embrace. Oliver laughed joyfully and hugged back.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?!" Duck cried excitedly once they separated. "Look at you! God, you've grown!"

Oliver laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, you have, too. I uh...kind of live here now. The Great Western was getting too packed...and that and I kind of got a special request."

"Request?" Duck asked, cocking his head, "what kind of request?"

"I got this letter asking for me to enroll in this special school," Oliver explained, "it was called Sodors Arts or something…"

Duck grabbed his shoulders and shook him excitedly.

"We'll be going to school together!"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah," Duck smirked, leaning against the counter, "can you still draw?"

"Is the Great Western the greatest railway on earth?"

"Are you still good?"

"Best in the district back home."

"So….pretty phenomenal, huh?"

"Exactly."

The two old friends smiled at each other, and Duck suddenly caught sight of the bruise on his face.

"If you don't mind me asking….what happened to your face?"

Oliver's eyes went wide, and he slapped a hand over the bruise.

"Uh...n-nothing...just a little accident, is all…."

"Oh," Duck said quietly, "I hope you'll be okay, then."

Oliver nodded.

"I will be. What course do you take at school? I read they offer a lot of stuff, but they want me to be in Visual."

"I'm in Video Arts," Duck sighed, "with two of the biggest idiots on earth. I try to get SOME work done, and all they do is fight!"

Oliver cocked his head, deciding not to ask who he was even talking about.

"How's Toad?" Duck asked, curious about the well-being of Oliver's little brother.

Oliver smiled.

"He's seven. He'll be eight in a few months. He really misses you."

"I miss him, too."

Duck cocked his head again.

"Hey, Oliver, what time do you have lunch?"

"I have it fifth period. But, I usually go straight to the library. It was always that way, remember?"

"Oh, yes," Duck said, picking up his book and walking toward the door, "I'll see you there."

"Why?" Oliver called after him.

Duck turned and smiled.

"Because I have lunch fifth period, too."

Over at the Billington household, Percy was tucking his homework away into his folder. He often spent his evenings and weekends at Thomas' house, doing homework or just spending time with his boyfriend. He picked up one of his notebooks and started writing again. Thomas shook his head in amusement.

"What're you writing about, Perce?"

"Oh...nothing," came the sly reply.

"Come onnnnnnnn," Thomas whined, "you've been hiding that stuff for years! Lemme see. Please?"

He made his blue eyes go huge and adorable.

Percy shook his head.

"That only works on you, Thomas. I'll stick to my writing and you just stick to your music, okay?"

"Cinders and ashes!" Thomas yelled, throwing his hands up, "you little sneak!"

Percy giggled.

"I'll show you someday, Thomas. I promise."

Thomas nodded, and picked up his guitar. Giving it a quick tune, he started playing the first song that came to his mind. Percy watched and listened intently, and gave a little clap when the final chord rang out.

Thomas smiled, walking over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, Perce."

"Boys!" Came the call of Thomas' mother, "dinner time!"

Thomas set down his guitar and opened the door, Percy following him down the stairs. Annie and Clarabel, Thomas' little twin sisters, both jumped up to hug their brother's legs.

"Hi, big brother!" They chorused.

Thomas laughed, and bent down to hug them back.

"Hey, girls."

Annie and Clarabel then hugged Percy, before they all took a seat at the big kitchen table. Thomas' mother brought a big, steaming hot pan of lasagna to the table.

"When will Dad be back?" Thomas asked as he served his little sisters.

"He's taking the engine out for the last run of the night, son," she replied, "he'll be home any minute."

Thomas' mother, whose name was Leslie, smiled at Percy. She knew about her son's relationship, and she approved one hundred percent.

"Percy, dear, did you have a good day at school?"

Percy smiled.

"Yeah. I'm still at the top of my class, Mrs. Billington."

Leslie grinned at him.

"Please, dear, call me Leslie. And congratulations."

Percy only grinned and nodded. The front door suddenly slammed shut, and Thomas' father walked in, wiping coal smudges off his face.

"Dad!" Annie and Clarabel cried, running up to hug him, "you're home!"

Stanley (not the Stanley Thomas hated in the Great Discovery, but I just called his Dad that) smiled and hugged his daughters, before going up and clapping his son on the shoulder.

"Son," he said, "you're gonna love driving around the family engine someday. It's a great shunter."

"That little E2?" Thomas said, cocking his head with a grin, "I'll bet."

"Hello, Percy," Stanley said, not surprised at all by his presence at the dinner table, "good day?"

"Very good, sir. You?"

"Yes, good day."

Stanley reached up and pecked his wife on the cheek, before setting himself down. He grabbed a plate and filled it up with lasagna. The family and Percy all filled up with the dish before Leslie gathered up the dirty dishes.

"It's getting late," Leslie said as she loaded up the dishwasher, "your mother might be wondering where you are, Percy."

"Don't worry," he replied, "she knows that this is the only place I'd ever be."

Leslie smiled, as did everyone else.

Thomas grabbed the car keys from the counter.

"C'mon, Perce. I'll drive you home."

Percy nodded and followed him out to Leslie's little red sedan. It was a brand new car, and the cherry red paint gleaned in the setting sun. Thomas started up the engine, threw the car in reverse, and took off down the road. Thomas drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove, and Percy cocked his head.

"You do that a lot."

"Do what?"

Percy reached over to the dashboard and drummed his fingers on it as an imitation.

"That."

Thomas shrugged.

"It's a habit, I guess."

He stopped the car as he pulled up to Percy's house. He and Percy walked up to the door and Percy pulled his house key from out of his pocket.

"Well...goodnight, Thomas."

Thomas smiled and leaned down to kiss him, his boyfriend kissing back.

"Goodnight, Perce. Love you."

"Love you, too! See you at school!"

Thomas walked back to his mom's car and took off down the road again minutes later.

Notes: Hope you enjoyed chapter two! Chapter three will be uploaded tomorrow if I can, as I'm trying to domore frequent updates. You'll find out more about Oliver and here in a little bit, as well as what Duck plans to do about it. You'll meet some old characters turned new in the next few chapters, as well as some others! Keep watching for updates!

I'm out!