This is sorta a filler chapter.

I don't own anything.

POV: Toris

It was mid-January the day I went to Feliks' house for the first time.

He had just invited me out of the blue. I wasn't even entirely he had asked me when I stammered out a yes.

My mother had even approved of it. Saying she was 'so proud to see [me] acting so social again.'

Feliks' bus was much less crowded than mine, but it was much more... chaotic.

"FOOD FIGHT!"

"Take cover," Feliks said in exasperation as he curled up in his seat.

"Huh?"

I felt something small and hard hit the back of my head and stick to my hair. Feliks pushed my head so it was below the top of the bus seat. Then he pulled whatever hit me out of my hair.

It was a filthy lollipop.

"I told you." He tossed the lollipop to the small garbage can at the front of the bus.

"I should listen to you more often," I said jokingly.

Feliks let out a fake dramatic gasp. "I thought you always listened to me!"

I laughed as the bus came to a stop. It stopped outside a small, wealthy neighborhood. I call it 'wealthy' for several reasons. I can see that the houses are newly built (a minute detail I noticed after years of living in the area; newer houses tended to have paler colors). There was a camera looming over the entrance. Occasionally, there was a screen surrounding the area behind a house, so some of them had pools. Rare for this state, I've heard.

"Here's our stop, Liet." He stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Come on."

It took 5 minutes to walk to Feliks' house. The inside was bigger than I was used to, but oddly homey. Also, a blonde woman, whom I assumed was Feliks' mother, immediately came to greet us at the door.

"Feliks! Welcome home!" she said in a thick Polish accent. She noticed me and smiled. "Who's this?"

"Liet, this is mom. Mom, meet Liet."

I held out a hand and tried my best not to look nervous. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Lukasiewicz."

She laughed as she squeezed my hand. "So you're the famous Liet! You're just as polite as Feliks says you are!"

I felt an odd, unfamiliar feeling creep up on me. What was it? Embarrassment? Flattery? Joy? "Feliks talks about me?"

Her smile got wider. "It's a task just to get him to stop talking about you!"

Feliks started blushing. "Mom!"

It would be an understatement to call this funny.

"I'm just teasing."

"Yeah, me and Liet are just going to hang out in my room." He nearly shoved me towards the stairs.

Mrs. Lukasiewicz whispered something loudly into Feliks' ear. However, it was in Polish, so the only clue as to what she said was in the playful glint in her eye.

Feliks stammered something back in Polish. My only clues there was the flustered tone and the fact that is his face was completely red.

After he almost threw me into a room upstairs, I asked him, "What was that about?"

He flailed his arms around and tried to smile. "N-Nothing! My mom's totally crazy! Hahaha! Now, uh, you wanna play? Yeah, like, let's go!"

Before I could register the rushed jumble of words, Feliks grabbed my wrist and dragged me to a pair of double doors.

"What's this?"

He opened the doors and waved towards the inside. "My closet!"

There were bright colors and sparkles everywhere. There were jackets, shirts of all different kinds, every type of pants imaginable, hats, gloves, stockings, mini-skirts... I didn't question the last one; I'd already seen Feliks wear a few whenever he was in a pleasant mood. The closet was huge. My room could probably fit inside.

"Oh my..."

"Isn't it, like, fab?"

I could only nod.

"Pick an outfit you like!"

I started blushing. "W-What?"

"We're, like, playing dress up," he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Oh no... Oh no, oh no, oh no!

I couldn't play that with Feliks!

What if he saw my back? What if he starts worrying and I ruin his good mood?

This is bad. Way to ruin your first time in someone's house in years, Toris...

"Hey, Liet," Feliks said with a concerned look on his face. "If you're shy, you can always change in the closet. It has a light switch."

"Uh... T-Thanks." I was so relieved.

He took my wrist and dragged me around the closet to pick an outfit. After several minutes of looking through clothes, he handed me a small pile. It was a pair of black pants, a white long-sleeved shirt, and a vest.

The moment I walked out, I heard a high pitch squeal. "OMG, LIET, YOU LOOK, LIKE, SO CUTE!"

"Ow, my ear."

"Sorry."

I noticed that Feliks changed too. He was in a sweater and a miniskirt. "How do I look?"

Like a girl. "...Great?"

"Good! Next!" He picked up another pile and started leading me back to the closet.

Suddenly, I felt a cloth slip under my foot and I fell to the ground... landing on my back.

I hissed out in pain. Feliks helped me to my feet.

"I... I'm fine..." I gasped out.

Feliks had his hands on my shoulders. "...Liet."

His tone was too serious for just a little fall.

"Yes?"

"Can you..." he seemed to be struggling to find the right words. "Can you, like, tell me who did it?"

I blinked in confusion. "Who did what?"

Then it hit me.

The injuries. Of course Feliks must have seen them.

"...Your back..."

I looked away from his stricken face. I tried to focus my sight on something. Anything but the face of my best friend. "I don't know what you're talking about... All I did was fall."

"Don't lie, Liet!" he shouted. "Who did it?"

I can't...

I shook my head. I felt my throat tighten.

"Liet! Please! Can you tell me who did it?"

I could do more than tell him who did it. I can identify them by full name, by face, tell him their schedule after memorizing which classes to be cautious in, and list their crimes. "I can't."

"Why not?"

They hate snitches.

They'd hurt you too. I'm not worth that.

You'd end up like me. "I just can't."

At that moment, the door opened. Mrs. Lukasiewicz was holding a large plate of snacks. She stopped in the doorway, staring at us.

It was at that moment that we remember how closely we were standing together.

"It's a little soon for that, isn't it, Feliks?"

Feliks' face turned red again. "M-MOM!"

Hours later...

The sun was setting and my mother was waiting outside in the car.

I had said my goodbyes and was about to cross the front lawn, but Feliks stopped me.

"Hey...um... Liet? I'm, like, sorry about earlier."

"It's fine." You were just the only person to show concern in years.

"Are you sure? Cuz, I, like-"

"Feliks, it's fine." I smiled at him. "You were just being a good friend." I hear my mom honk the horn, bluntly telling me to hurry up. "B-Bye."

"Bye, Liet. Love ya."

Again with those words. He shouldn't throw them around!

I got into the car and Mother immediately sped away.

"So..." she said boredly. "Who was this again?"

"My friend, Feliks."

"You said it was a boy, right?" She must have seen the mini-skirt.

"Yes."

She had poorly-disguised disgust on her face. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

Why does she always sound accusing when she asks that question? What answer does she want me to say?

"I want him to visit."

She sighed. "Anything else you want to tell me?"

"No."

I'm sorry if there's too much Mood Whiplash in here. To make up for it, I made this chapter longer.

Review, please.