Interruption

Another beautiful Monday morning, only today, I DON'T HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL! HOORAY! Me and my friend have been playing nothing but video games (aka, I'm helping her play Wind Waker because she's new to video games.) If you're reading this, send her some words of encouragement in a review I can read to her, because she believes she's horrid at playing. Here's two options I want all of you to tell me in your review. Either 1.) Tell your story of playing your first game, or your first time playing a game you STUNK at. The second option is, 2.) Tell me how you first found Homestar Runner, and how you got obsessed. If you do both stories I'll give you a cookie.

My story for how I got obsessed, my eighth grade teacher would show Strong Bad emails to us during free time. It took me a year to actually get obsessed with it, but during my free time at lunch I started watching emails, and it's progressed since then. Good news people! I got my two Homestar Runner shirts, hoozah!

Disclaimer- I don't own Homestar Runner or it's characters, they belong to the Chapman brothers! Our gods!

End Interruption

Chapter 9

And an even greater undersound

of a vast confusion in the universe

-Lawrence Ferlinghetti

"Javier, Javier," Ms. Runner sighed as she wrapped his knuckles in bandages. "Am I going to have to go over-protective mother on you?"

He ducked his head, ashamed. The glass shards in the bowl next to him showed thousands of reflections and caused light to dance on the walls. "No ma'am, Homestar's doing that for you." Homestar hovered around like a mother hen, constantly asking if he would be okay. The adrenaline of waking up to Javier's scream and the sound of breaking glass seemed to have not worn off. "Homestar, for the love of God, I'm fine. Now stop pacing, you're making me antsy."

One hand bandaged, Ms. Runner moved onto the next hand with a pair of tweezers. "What in the world were you dreaming about that scared you to break my mirror?"

Javier didn't respond, wrapping his bandaged arm around his abdomen where the word was carved.

Homestar saw this and seemed to break. Slamming his fist on the coffee table, he shouted "That bastard shouldn't be able to get away with this!" He stood up and started pacing again, not because of worry but because of the primal need to hunt down the man who had done this. His eyes burned with an unmatched fury and his fists kept clenching and unclenching.

Ms. Runner patted his other, now wrapped, hand. Only a few shards had gotten impaled in his palm, where he had pushed himself up from the floor. "All done Javier." She said tiredly. "Now, I want you to go back to bed. You don't have to sleep; read a book or something. Okay?" Javier nodded and she stood up. "Good, I'm going back to bed. I still have four hours of sleep."

Each went to their respective room, or couch. As Javier was slipping back under the covers, he noticed Homestar. "What the hell are you doing with those pillows?"

Homestar looked up at him from where he was removing the barricade of pillows. "I was awake." He sated simply. "When I woke up I let go of you and grabbed onto the pillow. I also know you didn't have any nightmares that night."

Javier felt his cheeks burning. Shit, he had been awake? "So?"

Homestar didn't respond, just getting into the bed, pulling Javier into the same position he had woken up in the night before.

Feeling his blush grow hotter, he hissed "Let go of me Homestar!" He didn't move and Javier worked on getting his least injured hand free, punching him as hard as he could.

He winced, but refused to move. "I'm not letting you have nightmares if there is something I can do to stop them." He gritted out. "I don't want you to hurt yourself."

Javier huffed angrily and wiggled around so his back was against Homestar's chest instead. The arms around him relaxed and took this as a sign he had given up.

"'Night Strong Bad." Javier ignored him, sulking like a child.

"Strong Bad, those weren't there when I left you yesterday." The Cheat, similar to Homestar at 2 am, was going mother hen. "What the hell did you do to yourself now!?"

Kids shoved and pushed around them to get to their lockers and talk to friends. Javier stepped out of the way as a group of boys passed by. "Nightmare." He stated simply. "I broke the mirror in the bathroom, cut myself by accident."

The Cheat stared at him like he was going to start freaking out and punching the closest thing to him. "Anyway," He said, trying to change the subject. "Ms. Reigns told me to tell you to stop by her classroom. She wanted to talk to you about something."

"I suppose I should go do that now, huh?" At his nod he sighed. "Okay, I'll see you later in class." Waving goodbye, Javier started walking toward the classroom, wondering what she wanted.

"Come in." Javier opened the door and stuck his head in. Ms. Reigns looked up from the computer screen and smiled. "Mr. Strong, I'm glad you're feeling better."

Javier nodded his thanks, he was also grateful he didn't have to wear a sling anymore, and walked in, standing in front of her desk. "You needed to see me?"

She nodded. "Yes, I did. I wanted to talk to you about the website project you received a while ago?"

"Shit, I forgot all about that!"

"Stop panicking." She ordered. "I'm excusing you from the assignment."

Javier blinked in surprise.

Ms. Reigns continued. "If you still want to do it, and you can catch up, I'll excuse you from the rest of this class's assignments that you've missed."

He nodded. "'Kay, when would it be due?"

She tapped her pen against the desk, thinking. "Three weeks?" She offered. "Half the time, but no other work would be due from me."

"You've got a deal Ms. Reigns." Javier agreed as first bell rang through the hallways.

"Freedom!" About a minute after the last bell rang, a teenager burst through the front doors of the school to the world outside. He ran a few feet, paused, threw his hands in the air and shouted again, "Sweet freedom!" At this declaration he started running down the sidewalk away form the school as fast as he could, laughing insanely all the way.

Javier stared after the boy, blinking in confusion. "What the crap just happened?"

"That," Homestar explained simply. "Is Tim."

"The guy they found having a tea party with himself on the roof of the school? Did they ever figure out how he got up there?"

"Yup." He nodded. "He does this every day. You stay after school and you see these sorts of things. And no, they never did figure that out." They started walking towards the field. "Anyway," He continued. "I've got track after school today, so you don't mind staying here 'til I'm done do you?"

He shook his head. "No problem, I'll just get homework done while I'm waiting. What about Gerry?"

"I wrote a message in his planner to meet us at the bleachers."

Javier paused and looked back. "I should probably go back and make sure he knows where the bleachers are."

Homestar looked surprised and guilty at forgetting about that little trouble. "Dammit, I forgot. I should probably come too."

"It's okay." He said, already walking back to the school. "I don't want you to be late for practice, get going."

Closing the door behind him, he started walking through the now empty hallways. One or two kids, stragglers, were shoving the last of their books in their packs before making a run for the buses getting ready to leave outside. He passed his locker, then Homestar's, Marzipan's, Pom Pom's, The Cheat's-

Javier paused at The Cheat's locker, looking at it suspiciously. Knowing the combination, he went over and opened it. There was a cry of surprise as the boy fell out from the inside of the bottom locker. Landing with an 'oomph!'. He looked up at Javier with sleepy eyes. "Hey Strong Bad."

"Any reason you're sleeping in your locker?" He asked dryly, helping him up.

He stretched. "Not really. Some of the football players were roughhousing in the hallway. One of them pushed the other and didn't notice me, so I was knocked into my locker. Another kid accidently closed it. I decided to take a nap while I was in there, the heat's nice." As if remembering it was after school, he looked at Javier confused. "What are you still doing here?"

"Homestar's got track." He explained.

The Cheat shook his head. "I swear you two have been joined at the hip lately. Good thing I know you're not gay."

Javier laughed nervously at this, kicking himself internally as The Cheat gave him a weird look. "Even if I was a fag," He tried to redeem himself. "You think I would go after a bozo like him?"

Still staring at him with a raised brow, The Cheat nodded. "Yeah… Well, just be careful, gossip spreads like wildfire through this school." He changed the subject quickly. "Anyway, you coming to Bub's place this Friday? Been lonely without ya."

He grinned. "Of course, it's not a party without me!" Javier started walking down the hallway again. "I've got to go, have to make sure Gerry's found his way to the bleachers."

"Later man!" The Cheat called back. Looking longingly at the locker, he sighed and grabbed his backpack to head to the park.

Javier knocked on the back door, waiting patiently and tapping his foot to the faint rhythm pulsing through the walls. The door opened and Bubs poked his head out, the music magnifying tenfold. "Strong Bad, come on in!" He opened the door wider and Javier walked in, letting his eyes adjust. His ears pounded with the beat of the music and lights flashed, changing color at every beat. He could see The Cheat up high on the small stage with the equipment. His gold tooth flashed in a grin as he waved Javier over.

Avoiding the main dance floor, he walked around the crowds to where the podium was.

"Strong Bad, glad you could make it!" The Cheat called down to him, voice almost drowned out by the music.

Javier pulled himself up onto the small platform, only enough room for two people, or someone that was Bub's size. The stage was only about 4 feet off the ground but it gave a hawk eyes view of the whole place. The Cheat grinned at him from atop a large chair, which was needed for him to see over the top. "Same here."

The Cheat glanced around. "Where's Dorkstar? Figured he would tag along."

He snorted. "What do you think I am, his keeper?" At The Cheats blank stare, he sighed. "He's at home with Gerry."

"Ah." Starting a new song, he turned back to him. "Now get outta my spotlight." The Cheat joked. "Go buy a drink, talk to some hot girls, dance, talk to some hot girls…"

Javier jumped down after being shooed off, grunting at the impact. A flash of pain shot through his legs and he grit his teeth and leaned against the wall for support so he didn't fall down. Okay, it was obvious he wasn't fully healed. Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself off the wall and started walking to the drink station, stumbling once.

Behind the drink counter a young man was making a virgin pina colada for a girl. On closer inspection he realized it was The Cheat's computer class partner, Brittney. Sitting down next to her, he ordered Pepsi. Brittney smiled at him. "Strong Bad, good to see you in class this week. How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Fine." He dismissed quickly. "How about you and Joscelyn?"

"Same." She agreed. "Jos is dancing so I decided to come get a drink and chat. So where's Homestar?"

He threw his hands in the air, exasperated. "Why does everyone think he would be with me?"

"Because you two are dating?" At Javier's look of loathing, she paused. "Shit, you must not have realized you like each other yet. Ah well, you would figure that out eventually anyway."

Javier sputtered indignantly. "What would make you think I like him that way?!"

"You two have been following each other around like lost puppies." Brittney explained this to him as a kindergarten teacher to a five year old. "Well, Homestar's been for the past two years, but I suppose you never realized that did you?"

"He's liked me that long?" He asked in shock.

She nodded. "Maybe longer, I just didn't notice until then. Didn't you notice he's never dated anyone, even though thousands of girls have asked? Even some boys?"

He sat in silence, comprehension dawning on him. She was right.

As he sat there in a stunned silence another girl bounced over with a grin. Draping her arms around Brittneys shoulders, she gave a wave to Javier. "Hey, Strong Bad, what's shaking?" The dark haired brunette gave a quick kiss on the top of Brittney's head.

She smiled and looked up at her. "I'm guessing you came to drag me dancing?"

"Heck ya!" Joscelyn finished Brittney's drink at the offer and pulled her up, waving goodbye as they both headed to the dance floor.

Javier sat there for a few minutes as he finished his drink, throwing it away when he was done and standing up. A girl winked at him from where she was dancing, but he looked away, feeling cowed by the earlier realization. He made his way towards the exit when the crowds started surging around him. His breathing hyped as someone bumped into him, causing him to flinch away and try and make his way through the crowd faster. His head was starting to spin and his breathing shortened at the beginning of a panic attack. "I've got to leave." He said, not giving Bub's a chance to respond as he practically ran out of the door.

Closing the door quickly, he leaned against it as he took gulps of the cool night air. The sun must not have gone down more than an hour ago. Javier pushed his way off the door and took a few steps before stopping. He tried to will himself to continue walking but he couldn't. His feet were connected to the pavement. Pulling out his cell, he dialed the seven numbers and waited for the other person to pick up with shaking hands.

"Hello?" The voice asked into the receiver, confused.

Javier shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, Homestar? Can you come by Bub's place?"

There was a swift response. "Of course, I'll be right there." They hung up.

He stood there in thought. Homestar didn't ask any questions. He didn't even hesitate.

Javier saw Homestar come jogging down the street after about three minutes, carrying a jacket. "Here." Homestar gave Javier the jacket. "I thought you might be cold." Javier nodded gratefully and thanked him. "Did you have a good time?" He asked cheerfully, obviously trying to ignore the frazzled appearance of Javier.

He lied through his teeth, just as Homestar had expected him to. "Of course." Javier remembered why he had enjoyed going to Bub's place before, but it hadn't been as enjoyable this time. "Thanks for coming." He mumbled, embarrassed.

Homestar smiled at him. "You're my friend Strong Bad; I'll do anything for you."

He didn't respond to that.