"I'd like to be your best friend," Brother replied after Too Tall's admission.
"And...?" Too Tall asked jokingly, thinking Brother wouldn't reply.
"And not just because you're a good singer. And football player. And spitball spitter," Brother explained. Both cubs were walking at a leisurely pace.
"My house is closer than yours," Too Tall pointed towards some treehouses, "we can clean up our injuries and bandage them up."
Brother smiled as he and Too Tall continued their path to the other cub's house.
"Sister gave me your address," Brother commented as he noticed the treehouses addresses were similar to the one she gave him.
"What, now I have to worry about both you guys having a crush on me?" Too Tall kept quiet before laughing.
"It's a joke! A joke," he added, "Sister is cool. She really cares about you and her friends."
Brother and Too Tall finally reached Too Tall's treehouse. It wasn't the biggest on the block and Brother didn't know what to expect. Too Tall grabbed the key under the welcome mat and opened the door.
"You in here Two-Two?" He called out. No response. He shrugged and let Brother in.
The inside wasn't anything good or bad. The walls were painted nicely but faded. There were a few school pictures up of Too Tall and of an older cub, who Brother assumed was Two-Two. The livingroom was slightly hot, from the sun coming in through open blinds, but the house was overall welcoming.
Too Tall walked to the kitchen and reached in the highest cupboard for a first aid kit. It was still in the same worn-out container it first came in, but the supplies were fresh.
Both cubs tended to their wounds in silence. Brother had a few scuffs and scrapes but hadn't been cut open like Too Tall. They both winced at the peroxide on their injuries and then applied bandages on the open cuts after.
"Can I borrow your home phone? I oughta call my mama or papa to tell them where I'm at," Brother said tentatively. He had nothing to hide, but Too Tall wasn't always easy to read.
"Yeah, it's in the kitchen," Too Tall pointed, "if they ask, my older sister is home watching us. My dad will be home late."
The lie fell so easy from Too Tall's lips. It was rehearsed so many times it became a truth.
Brother had never been home alone before. Period. It was always one of his folks home or if they went out then his grandparents stayed.
Brother was even more surprised when he calmly dialed to his house and told his Mama what happened and who he was with. Her disbelief almost infected him over the phone. Too Tall really saved Freddie and him from bullies? Brother was really at Too Tall's house?
Really, really, he had replied to his Mama. After, he promised to come home for supper and tell her everything then.
He hung up the phone and saw that Too Tall had migrated to the living room. He assumed Too Tall would want to eavesdrop, even a little, but that wasn't the case.
Brother followed Too Tall to the living room and thanked him for his phone. He found a spot next to Too Tall on the couch. The t.v. wasn't playing anything interesting and Brother was burning with a hundred billion questions.
"Thanks for staying over," Too Tall said after some time, "I've got a lot to say. It's weird. I don't usually do."
"I'm listening," Brother said, "which you know, is the opposite. I'm usually the chatterbox. Um. Sorry. Go on."
Here we go, Too Tall said to himself. He took a deep breath before he began.
"I accept your apology Brother from the other day when I ran off. Deep down, I knew we were more than friends and I wanted to run away from it. There was too much at stake for me if we did become closer. But. I'm tired of running away And right now, it feels like I can only trust only you."
Brother nodded silently, encouraging Too Tall to continue.
"My name isn't Too Tall. It's Michael."
"..."
Brother couldn't hide his disbelief. Michael was the name of one of the teenage mutant ninja turtles. A thought so absurd Brother couldn't believe himself.
However, Michael was a good name for his classmate.
"I-err- thank you," Brother hastily caught himself, " for sharing your name with me. I promise not to share it without your consent."
Brother was honored Too Tall trusted him with not only his name, but with his transition from a frightening bully to a classmate.
"Thanks," Too Tall replied. His breathing became easier. It felt nice to say his name aloud. "You can, call me by that name if you like. But only if it's us two. I'm not ready for everyone to learn it."
"Whatever you like," Brother agreed, " I wouldn't betray your trust. Your name is safe with me, Michael."
Too Tall and Brother fell into a comfortable discussion. Too Tall told Brother the truth about his absent father, his dare devil older sister, and his mother in county jail. It was easier to have Brother by his side. The cub had offered his sympathetic words and attentive ears.
Supper time arrived quicker than Brother would have liked. And although Brother insisted Too Tall and his sister join his family for dinner, Too Tall politely declined.
"I'm not sure I'm ready today," Too Tall apologized, "I'm scruffed up from the fight and I don't know if you're folks are as accepting as you and Sister. No offense."
Brother nodded. A week apart, a sudden fight, and a budding friendship was too much for today. For both of them.
But over the next week both cubs exchanged phone numbers. Brother called Too Tall in the mornings to make plans. Almost every day!
Too Tall had been surprised. They didn't do anything particularly exciting. At least not in his book.
They hung out at the comic book shop with Freddie one day (Freddie had apologized for his behavior after the fight and even paid for Too Tall's comic books that day.)
Another day, Brother and him played basketball and had dinner at the Bears' treehouse. Mama and Papa Bear were kind and even joked with Too Tall about the tacos and hot sauce incident from the previous summer.
Brother liked hanging out with Too Tall, but he knew when to leave his friend be. He didn't ask to visit Too Tall's spot by the creek. And he started calling Too Tall twice a week. Calling every day was a bit of an over kill.
Sister and Freddie, thankfully, were also patient with Brother and reminded him to pace himself.
But how could he when Michael was always on his mind?
This he had come to terms in the middle of summer break. They had learned each other's favorite everythings and secrets and hung out from dawn to dusk. It was as if Brother and Too Tall were making up years and years of lost companionship. Why had they denied each other's friendship in the first place? It hadn't matter.
One particular night in July, both cubs had made plans to see the county fair fireworks from the roof of farmer's Ben's barn. Although the county fair had been a town over, the grand show of fireworks was visible from many roofs in their town.
Farmer Ben had allowed many cubs to visit the barn, but only those who performed chores around the farm. After a week of weeding and cleaning up after the cows, Brother and Too Tall were able to cash in the favor.
They didn't expect a whole lot of cubs hanging out by Farmer Ben's farm. As both cubs walked closer they could see Queenie and her crew, Scuzz and Smirk, and a few other older cubs.
The group hushed as they saw the pair walk up to them.
Brother's heart sank. He knew Michael wouldn't ditch him, but he steeled himself for the inevitable with Too Tall.
"Too Tall? Where you been? Thought you were gonna hang out with us this summer?" Scuzz and Smirk called out in unison.
Well they had certainly grown a pair, Too Tall grumbled to himself. Made sense, as Honeybell was by Scuzz's side, just as the cub had said earlier in the summer.
Michael was in the fork of the road. Ditching Brother to hang out with the other cubs was the easiest path. They all expected a show of the bully pummeling his weaker classmates.
But the other path didn't hurt Brother's feelings. It meant everyone would learn a truth about Michael's character. It meant coming clean about his current friendship with Brother. Or whatever their current situation was.
"Call my home phone and we can plan something then," Too Tall replied easy, "me and Brother were just passing through."
"Nuh-uh," Smirk and a few cubs blocked their path, "don't leave just yet. Ask Queenie what you were gonna ask her the last day of school. About your true feelings."
Queenie looked at him, keeping her usual expression of superiority. This wasn't fair! Michael wanted to scream. He couldn't find it in him to tell Queenie off. She was someone he liked, as a classmate. Truth was, he didn't think about Queenie. Not like he did about Brother. It wasn't fair to trash talk Queenie or raise her hopes up.
"I don't have anything to ask Queenie. In fact, if you want to ask Queenie, then go right ahead."
"Ask her what?" Smirk being Smirk, failed to see the knowing look Too Tall gave him.
"If Scuzz and Honeybell are going out, then you can ask someone out. Anyone you like!"
Queenie rolled her eyes. She had an audience too, a group of croonies to appease. Too Tall could see his rejection stung, but only because Queenie wasn't denied in front of everyone.
"Ugh I'm so over this," she grabbed Honeybell's hand, "you guys are losers. Your loss not asking me out. We're out," the posse turned on their heels and marched back to the empty path.
Too Tall's face burned with shame. The whole conversation had been a mess! He was afraid to look at Brother until he heard Brother clear his throat.
"Guess they didn't want to watch the fireworks."
"Yeah I guess not," Too Tall rapidly agreed. "Sorry about all that. Scuzz has been busy with his girlfriend and Smirk's being stupid. They think Queenie and I like like each other because we're alike."
"I wouldn't say alike," Brother countered, "Queenie still acts snobby in front of everyone. You don't."
But in Brother's heart, hope burned like a bright flame. It did help learning Queenie wasn't a girlfriend and that Too Tall wasn't interested in her.
The two cubs lumbered up to farmer Ben's barn. They hadn't forgotten the fireworks and were excited to see the show. The county fair did not disappoint. There were loud firecrackers and pinwheel fireworks. The explosions came in all the colors of the rainbow.
Brother liked the ones that exploded in red, white, and green. Too Tall countered that the fireworks in gold and blue were louder and therefore the best. They bantered and laughed until their sides ached.
Then Too Tall looked up at empty sky. The fireworks had ended and it was late. He had put off what he was going to say far enough.
"I know who you like like."
One heartbeat.
Then another one.
And a third one.
The silence in the barn had become eerie. Brother had no problem admitting his new feelings for Too Tall in his heart. If the feelings stayed inside, they wouldn't ruin their friendship. Saying them out loud was hard and complicated and not fun.
And here were his feelings, airing out in a barn.
"It's...it's ok," Too Tall continued, "I'm just not ready. I don't know if I ever will be ready. All I can give you is my friendship."
"I-I wasn't...didn't want you to...it's okay," Brother managed to stammer out. "I can't force you to feel a certain way for me. I just didn't expect my feelings to change. But I know the extent of our friendship and it's okay. I'm happy as we are now."
He raised his fist jokingly, as Too Tall had done a month ago and said, "you understand Michael?"
Too Tall rolled his eyes and gave the other cub a playful shove. The cool night air had gotten icier. Too Tall saw Brother yawn.
"Wanna spend the night at my house?" he asked.
Brother didn't have the heart to admit he had sort of planned sleeping over anyway. His mama had said to spend the night at Too Tall's if they were going to be out that late. If things had gone south, as they almost did, he had Freddie as backup who would pick him up from anywhere.
They walked back to Too Tall's treehouse in a comfortable silence. After all they had confessed to each other and the growing night, they were eager to get inside.
A car was by the side if the house. Leaning over the driver's side window was a taller bear. The bear leaned back and looked towards them and waved.
Brother's heartbeat sped up and he could feel a prickle of fear. He turned to Too Tall who was effusively waving back.
"Don't worry chicken," Too Tall assured him, "it's only Two-Two."
Brother sighed in relief. Sure enough, the figure approaching them was Too Tall's older sister. She smiled at both of them.
"Hey," she greeted, "you guys are back early. Lucky for you, there's leftover food from the party. Come inside."
Brother stared at Too Tall, hoping for a clue, but the other cub shrugged.
"You make no sense Two-Two, how are we back early but there's leftover food from a party?"
"Well yeah," she stated very matter-of-factly, "the party sucked so everyone left for a different party. You're lucky I didn't give this food to Lizzie's brother. That bear can eat an mountain if I let him!"
"Well my friend Brother and I are going to get some then," Too Tall replied, "he's sleeping over. So don't be weird."
"Me weird? Sweetie, do I look weird to you?" She placed her paw rather heavy on Brother's shoulder. Softball practice definitely paid off for Too Tall's sister. Brother didn't want to appear weak so he smiled as if it didn't faze him.
"Nope Two-Two, you're one of the nicest cubs I've met," Brother stated, "thanks for letting me spend the night too."
"Well you're definitely the first, this little brother of mine hasn't had a sleepover ever. Me be weird? You better be nice to Brother!" She smiled widely at Too Tall as she opened the door for them.
The inside was littered with cups and plates, but nothing was shattered or in disarray. Maybe Brother had seen too many high school movies.
There was leftover pizza and pasta and breadsticks. There was soda and empty beer cans. To top it off there was candy and chocolate and cake.
"You sure this was a party? Where's all the booze?" Too Tall joked.
"Drank it all," Two-Two replied as she grabbed a garbage bag from the emtpy dishwasher, "people left when their booze ran out. I wouldn't dream of buying anyone that much alcohol. The sodas are different. I got those at Dollar Bear."
"Help yourselves and don't be too loud," she called over her shoulder, "noise curfew in this neighborhood is 11pm and I'm not about to answer to the police. Good night~"
She cleaned up a little before giving up and walking to her room at the end of the hall. By then, Brother and Too Tall were too busy stuffing their faces with party food.
"We can help her clean up after," Too Tall said in between mouthfuls, "I didn't eat anything before the fireworks and I'm glad I didn't. But the house is all messed up."
Brother nodded, at Too Tall's earlier statement. Cleaning up was the least he could do in exchange for sleeping over.
"Why didn't you stay for your sister's party?" Brother asked.
"I'd rather hang out with you," Too Tall replied quietly.
More hope to Brother's hopeful heart.
After dinner and cleaning up the house, both cubs went to the living room. They put in a movie, a raunchy buddy comedy on Bear Comedy Central, and watched it quietly. Sleep didn't take long to overcome them as each rested on the same couch.
Two-Two came out of her room later in the evening for a cup of soda and saw both cubs were fast asleep. She quickly grabbed a blanket and covered them.
They were so cute together, Two-Two thought, although she knew better than to voice it out loud. She had a good feeling about this Brother Bear. He was probably a better influence than any cub Too Tall had been seen skulking around with. She hoped her little brother Michael would realize it too.
Things would be different from here on out. Brother had to endure the fluttering in his heart. The hope would vanish, Brother thought, they were only middle schoolers. Right now, this friendship was all he could hope for and enjoy.
What they didn't know was that the bears' hearts beat with the promise of more. A promise that they fulfilled years later into a loving relationship.
The End.
