Author's note: Hey Guys! First, I wanted to apologize for not posting this chapter sooner. I've just been a little lazy and I have dealing with some personal issues, plus I just started school again so I've been a little busy. I really appreciate all the reviews I've gotten so far. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Gumball walked into his bedroom and threw his backpack against the wall. He had just gotten home from school and he was exhausted, to say the least. Letting out a loud sigh, he walked over to his bed and lied down, still in a daze over the events that happened just hours before. With everything that was happening with Darwin, he just wanted to forget about everything and take a nap. Naps were his favorite way of forgetting about things he didn't want to think about, even if it was just for a little while. He was just falling asleep when he heard footsteps outside the door. He opened his eyes and sat up to see that it was, to his surprise, Darwin. He was standing in the doorway of the room. He seemed hesitant to come inside as if he was afraid he would get in trouble for coming into his own room.

"Hey," Darwin said, softly. He didn't think Gumball heard him since his voice was just above a whisper but sure enough, he responded.

"Hey," Gumball said, tapping his fingers on his bed. That was always a bad habit of his. He usually only did it when he was nervous. "Are you feeling okay?" Gumball knew that was a stupid question but he wanted to see his answer. He needed to know what he was dealing with. Was he still in a bad mood? He needed to know.

Darwin nodded. "Yeah," He let out a small chuckle. "I'm okay."

Gumball smiled. "Well, I'm happy to hear that."

There was a slight pause.

"Listen I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for the way I've been acting lately. I didn't mean to worry you." Darwin said his voice quivered and his eyes began to water but he continued speaking. "And I'm sorry for throwing that picture frame at you." Darwin cried. All the shame and guilt over what he's done hit him all at once. Gumball got up from the bed and gave Darwin a hug.

"It's okay," Gumball said as Darwin continued to cry. Gumball felt bad but mostly relieved. Gumball knew who Darwin really was and that person who threw that picture frame at him and punched Tobias in the face wasn't him. He knew the real Darwin was here, he could tell just by looking into his eyes. Darwin was thankful that Gumball was being so forgiving but he couldn't understand why. He felt like he didn't deserve forgiveness but nonetheless, he was thankful. Gumball released him from his hug.

"So, you feel better now?" Gumball asked.

Darwin nodded. "Yeah, I'm better now," He said as he wiped a tear from his eye. He felt embarrassed for crying but he was glad to do it in front of Gumball, who he knew wouldn't judge him for it.

Gumball was happy to see Darwin back to his normal self, but he was still curious about one thing. "So, what caused you to act like that?" Gumball asked as he sat down on the bed. Darwin stared down at his shoes. He didn't really want to go into detail about the conversations with his conscience, especially after he had threatened him. He was planning to tell him one day, but not today. Darwin shrugged.

"I don't really want to talk about it," Darwin said, still looking down at his shoes.

Gumball was surprised by his change of tone. Just a moment ago, he was happy and smiling but now he seemed uncomfortable. Gumball's worry soon came creeping back. "Why?"

Darwin smiled, trying to pretend like it's not a huge deal.

"Oh, it doesn't matter anymore, I promise," Darwin explained, waving his fin in the air.

Gumball gave him a reassuring smile. "Okay, don't worry about it."

The next day, Darwin was walking down the school hallways, ready to begin a new day. He was hesitant on coming to school after what happened the day before. He felt like it was too soon. He tried convincing Nicole to let him stay home for the day but she wasn't having any of it. She's been in a sour mood with him for the past week and he knew that the best thing to do was just stay out of her way and just do whatever she wanted him to do, which he did. As he got to his locker before his next class, he saw Chrissy standing next to it, as if waiting for him to get there. She had a smile on her face and for a moment, Darwin forgot about everything bad that had happened the day before.

"Hi," She said happily, leaning against a locker.

Darwin smiled back. "Hey,"

"I'm glad to see that you're back"

Darwin was confused about that statement. Did she mean that she was happy to see him in school today or happy to see him back to his normal self? He didn't want to bother asking so he just nodded his head. "Me Too"

Chrissy paused for a moment as if deciding on what to say next. "So, do you want to hang out after school today?" Darwin was excited to hear that, but he tried his best not to show it. He had been dying to hang out with her since she came into this school and it was finally happening. Then it hit him, he was grounded. The smile he had on slowly vanished and Chrissy took notice.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, It's just that I just remembered that I'm grounded," Darwin explained.

"Oh," She seemed disappointed too. "Well, do you want to hang out at lunch today."

Darwin nodded, happy to see that there was an alternative. "Sure, I would love that."

After receiving his lunch, Darwin scanned the cafeteria and sat down at the nearest empty table that he could find. Now that he was here, all he had to do was wait for Chrissy to show up. He was hoping that she would come soon since he didn't like sitting in the cafeteria alone, especially after everything that had happened yesterday. He was already nervous enough since this was going to be the first time that he was going to actually hang out with her. A lot of things were going through his mind, bad things. He was afraid that maybe she wouldn't like the real him. What if she thought he was or boring, or worse annoying. That's one of the reasons why he didn't like socializing with people. He was always in fear that whoever he was hanging out with, they thought he was was just a weird fear he always had. He knew they sounded ridiculous but he couldn't stop thinking about it. He tried to push those thoughts out of his mind and began eating his food. A few moments later, Gumball walked over with his tray of food.

"Hey, why are you alone?" Gumball asked. Darwin could swear that he heard the concern in his voice. He had been acting this way since yesterday and it made Darwin uncomfortable. He didn't understand why he should be concerned about anything. He appreciated that Gumball cared, but for the most part, he was fine.

"I'm just waiting for someone," Darwin explained.

"Oh," Gumball said. "That's cool, have fun." He said as he started walking away. Darwin let out a relieved sigh. He was glad that Gumball had finally left him alone for once. Usually, it was the exact opposite. Darwin sometimes had trouble leaving Gumball alone at times. He always wanted to be around him, but lately, things begin to change. Now, Darwin wanted to be left alone more often. He liked having a little independence. Darwin thought that maybe it was because he was getting older and maturing. That was life after all.

His thoughts were soon interrupted when he saw Chrissy walking over to his lunch table. "Hi," Chrissy said happily as she put her tray down on the table.

Darwin's heart began to race but he tried to play it cool. He didn't want her to notice how nervous he was. It wasn't like they were out on a real date or anything. "Hi," Darwin said with a smile. "How was your day?"

"Good," Chrissy said. "Yours?"

"Mine too," He said, and this time, he meant it. It felt like everything was back to normal and he couldn't be happier.

"So, is that your brother?" Chrissy asked. Darwin was confused for a moment but then saw that she was pointing to Gumball, who was sitting at a table on the other side of the cafeteria. He was caught off guard by that question, he didn't even notice her when he was talking to Gumball a few moments before.

Darwin nodded. "Yeah,"

"Whoa, you guys don't look alike,"

"No, well um yeah," Darwin stuttered. "I'm adopted."

Chrissy was surprised by that statement. "Oh, that's really cool."

Darwin shrugged, a bored expression appeared on his face. "I guess."

Chrissy noticed Darwin's demeanor change. "Did I say something wrong?"

Darwin quickly shook his head. "No no" He assured her.

Chrissy didn't entirely believe him. "Are you sure?"

A sincere smile slowly appeared on Darwin's face. "Yeah, you're fine." Once Chrissy saw his smile, she let her guard down and returned his smile with one of her own. The table soon became quiet as they both began eating their lunch. The only conversations going on were from the people around them. Despite it being quiet, Darwin didn't feel awkward at all. He usually hated quiet moments like this but he actually felt relaxed. It was nice.

Chrissy soon broke the silence. "So, how's your family like?".

Darwin was, once again, taken off guard. He didn't really know what to say about them, so he just shrugged and said the first thing that popped into his head. "They're nice I guess,"

"So you're pretty close to them aren't you." She asked, still smiling like before.

Darwin fidgeted in his seat. "Well, I mean yeah. Um, Gumball and I are pretty close."

"But not with the rest of your family?"

Darwin paused and thought for a moment. "Well not as much... but I still have a really good relationship between me, my sister and dad."

Chrissy was a little confused. "What about your mom?" Darwin was taken back by the statement. He completely forgot to mention her.

"I mean," Darwin paused again. "I mean, I guess we have an okay relationship."

"Just okay?"

Darwin shrugged, "I don't know, I guess because it's like I'm invisible to her." Darwin blurted out. He wanted to take it back but it was too late, it was out in the open. He didn't really mean it, did he? He quickly tried to change the subject. "Maybe we should talk about something else."

"Look, I'm sorry if I hit a nerve..." Chrissy began but was interrupted.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore!" Darwin snapped.

Chrissy and Darwin sat there in silence before she began nodding her head, accepting his request.

Darwin began to feel guilty, he didn't mean to hurt her feelings or jump around her questions. He then tried to retrace his steps. "Look," He began. "My Mom and I don't have the best relationship but that's okay, I've learned to accept it."

"Accept what?"

Darwin sighed and looked down at his food, avoiding her eyes. "That our relationship will never be good," Darwin admitted shamefully. "Whenever I try to talk to her...it's like I'm being pushed away."

Chrissy felt terrible. She had no idea that he had felt this way before, but she could strangely relate to him. "Darwin, I'm so sorry," Chrissy said. "Sometimes I feel the same way. My parents and I don't have an amazing relationship either."

Darwin looked up. "Really? How?"

Chrissy sighed, leaning back into her seat. "They act like they're never interested in my life. All they care about are grades." Chrissy explained, rolling her eyes. "They're perfectionists. All they care about is me getting straight A's, nothing else."

"I'm sorry," Darwin said. "So you if you don't get all A's, they get mad?"

Chrissy nodded. "They also work a lot, so I don't really get to see them, let alone talk to them. It's like our relationship doesn't even exist. " Her voice quivered as she finished her sentence. She sounded like she was on the brink of tears. Darwin didn't know how to react. He felt terrible. All he wanted to do was to make her feel better. "Well, at least you're accepted into yours."

"What?" Chrissy asked, hoping what she thought she just heard was a mistake.

"At least you're accepted into yours" Darwin repeated. It sounded more like a statement. No remorse or sadness could be heard in his voice.

"Darwin, how can you say such a thing?"

"Because it's true!" Darwin snapped. "Because it's true," He repeated, but this time, it was only a whisper.

"You really don't feel accepted into your family?" It took all of Chrissy's strength to release those words. The idea that Darwin doesn't see himself as part of his own family killed her inside. Since the day she started talking to him, she always knew something was different about him, a good different. She hated to see the boy she admired so much put himself down like this.

"I try too, but sometimes, in random moments, I remember I'm not like them." Darwin sighed, a single tear rolled down his cheek. It was surprisingly easy for him to open up to Chrissy. He could never open up like this to anyone else, not even Gumball.

Chrissy shakes her head. "Just because you feel that way doesn't mean it's true."

"Then why does mom ignore me, like she doesn't even care?" Darwin asked, expecting her to have an answer but in reality, he knew she didn't have one.

"Well, maybe you should try talking to her more, try to rebuild a relationship with her," Chrissy suggested.

"I don't know"

"Let's make a deal." She began. "I'll talk to my parents about my problems if you talk to your mom about yours"

Darwin thought about it, it seemed scary for him but he knew it was worth a shot. "Deal."

It was night time and everyone in the Watterson household was getting ready for bed. Darwin was in the doorway of the kitchen, watching his mother wash dishes, which she did every night before going to bed. After the conversation he had earlier today, he decided to take a stand and stop feeling so invisible. He wanted to have a conversation with her, something they rarely ever had. She seemed like she was in a bad mood, but she's been that way since everything that has happened this week. He tried to not let that phase him. He just wanted to build a better relationship with her. After a couple of moments, he entered the kitchen. Nicole didn't notice when he walked in since her back was turned towards him. Darwin waited there for a few moments to see if she'll notice. After a little while, he cleared his throat. Still no answer.

"Hey, Mrs. Mom," Darwin finally said.

"Yes, Darwin?" Nicole answered. Not turning around. Even though he couldn't see her face, he could tell how she was feeling only by the tone of her voice. Cold and without emotion.

Darwin took a deep breath. "Can we talk?"

"Not right now, I'm busy." She said as she continued washing dishes. Darwin let out a disappointed sigh. He was about to turn around and walk away but he stopped himself. He wasn't backing out that easily.

"How about when you're done washing dishes?"

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Nicole turned around. "I just don't feel like talking right now,"

Darwin didn't mean to annoy his mom any further, but it's just something that he wants so badly. A relationship with her. He knew that if Nicole really did love him, she would make an effort to better their relationship. "Okay, how about tomorrow?"

"Darwin, why don't you go to sleep," Nicole said.

"But we never hang out,"

"Why does this matter?"

A lump in Darwin's throat began to form. "I'm sick of you pushing me away,"

"Why don't you just go upstairs," Nicole answered. Without another word. Darwin turned around and walked upstairs.

Darwin tried his best to fall asleep but it was no use. He looked over at the clock next to his bowl. It was almost one in the morning. He couldn't get the conversation he had with Nicole out of his head. He just couldn't understand why she was so stubborn to talk to him for at least a moment or two. Anything. He looked over onto the bed next to him to see Gumball sound asleep. For some reason, Darwin couldn't help but feel...jealous. Not only because he was actually asleep, but because of everything. He had a good relationship with both his parents, friends and was outgoing. Everything came so naturally to him. It was harder for Darwin, he didn't really have any friends except for Gumball and wasn't nearly as outgoing. He tried to push past his feelings. He knew he shouldn't be jealous of anything. Gumball was there for him no matter what. Part of him wanted to wake Gumball up, so that way he could talk about how he felt, from the feelings of pain that he doesn't really share a connection to his mom to his fears that he'll never be good enough. He ultimately decided not too. Gumball needed his sleep and so did he. Darwin closed his eyes again and concentrated on falling asleep.

After a little while, Darwin opened his eyes and saw nothing but darkness. He blinked a few times, trying to figure out if he was dreaming or still awake. Nothing, he saw nothing. He got out of his fish bowl and looked next to him. Gumball's bed wasn't there. Neither was Gumball. He began to walk around. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a way out. His heart began to race. Where was he? He then heard the voice say, "I told you couldn't get rid of me." before everything went black.

Hope you guys enjoyed! PLEASE REVIEW! It's very much appreciated.

PEACE ON THE STREEETS SAAAN!