Lucas looked out of the window at his new house. He sighed and looked down. That's when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked to his left and saw Claus' smile. Claus doesn't smile all too often. Claus tries to come off as a tough person. Lucas knows Claus is holding something in, but it's Lucas' own faults that keep him from finding out. Claus' smile is rare because Lucas knows Claus doesn't have much to smile about. However, both of them are very good at faking a smile. Despite being skilled in the art of fakery if someone were to see their genuine smiles they'll know the difference. The major difference is their dimples. They both have dimples that only seem to appear in a genuine smile, and Lucas can see Claus' dimples. Lucas nodded and looked back out of the window. He let out a breath and opened the door.
He jumped out of the truck with Claus following. Flint and Hinawa walked out of the other side. Flint then walked to the back of the truck and opened the large door. Inside were a load of boxes. Flint took a big step onto the truck and grabbed some of the large boxes. He carefully got off the truck, but before he continued toward the house he noticed two people walking toward them. One looked like an average teenager with a little hint of creepiness added onto it. The other was a bipedal dog. Everyone, but Lucas, looked their way. Lucas was too busy looking in the back for his two best friends. "Here Boney..." Lucas called out. That's when a small dog appeared behind a box and barked happily. When Boney got fully from behind the box Lucas saw his other pet, a rope snake, was on top of him. This rope snake was a parting gift from Duster-a family friend. Boney stopped in front of Lucas and the snake jumped onto Lucas' shoulders and wrapped himself around his neck. "Ryle, I'm glad both of you are ok. I don't know why we put you back here."
"Ahem, Lucas, how long are you going to be ignoring us?" Flint asked. Lucas turned around as Boney jumped from the truck. He saw the boy and the dog. The boy seemed a little thrown off by the Ryle around Lucas' neck. The boy composed himself and stepped forward and extended his arm.
"Name's Villager, I'm your neighbor," Villager said, a little skeptical of Ryle.
"Oh, uh, hi...I-I'm Lucas," Lucas said as he shook his hand. Lucas noticed the slight fear in Villager's face. "D-don't worry about him. He...he doesn't bite."
"Yea, 'cause he has teeth."
"O-oh yeah, he doesn't...well, um, he won't...he won't-"
"What he's trying to say is, just don't worry about him." Villager nodded and looked back at Lucas.
"You don't talk much do ya?" Lucas shook his head. Villager smiled and introduced them to the dog. Her name was Isabelle. Villager and Isabelle live in a very similar house next to Lucas'. The houses don't seem all that different on the outside. Villager and Isabelle chose to help Lucas and his family with the move. The move itself took a long while. Due to the hard work all of them did, Hinawa vowed to cook for them. Isabelle and Villager gladly accepted the offer. Lucas was able to escape from the conversation they were having in the living room. Lucas walked up the stairs and into the hallway. The hall itself circles around but instead of connecting with the beginning of the hall it's blocked off with a wall. At the top of the end of the wall, there was an extendable ladder. Lucas' room was the second door on the right. When he got in the room he uncomfortably smiled at his new room. He misses his house back in Tazmily. Lucas walked to the dresser near the door. He opened the top drawer. Inside was his notebook. He took it out and walked to the bed opposite the dresser. He opened the notebook and saw his drawing of Ryle. He looked at the right side of the room-Lucas' right-and saw a rather large desk. There was a glass case with some sand and rocks inside it. This is where Ryle normally stays. Ryle also usually stays underneath the sand.
That's when Claus knocked on the opened door. Lucas looked at him. "Mom wants you to come join us," Claus said. Lucas sighed and stood up. After placing the notebook on the desk next to the case. Lucas walked out of his room, down the stairs, and sat on the couch. They have three couches, one facing the tv, and the other two on either side of the tv looking at each other. Lucas sat on the one that looked at the tv, even though it was off, he looked at it.
"Lucas?" Villager asked. Lucas looked at him and tilted his head. "You gonna join any clubs?"
"Oh, I-I dunno."
"I'm joining the computer club," Claus proudly owned. Lucas faked a smile and looked down, fumbling with his thumbs.
"I-I'm not good at...at many things."
"Nonsense, everyone is good at something," Villager tried to cheer him up.
"Yea, like this dude here, is very good at being the teacher's pet," Isabelle laughed. Villager sighed and looked at her.
"I am no teacher's pet."
"You're the class president, that automatically makes you a teacher's pet." Villager rolled his eyes and looked back at Lucas, who was still pouting. Lucas grew a smile when Boney jumped onto the couch and cuddled up to him.
"Lucas, you should join the art club," Claus chimed in.
"I'm not t-that good-" Lucas tried to protest.
"Oh please, I've seen your notebook." Lucas just shook his head, hoping to find a way out of the situation. That's just when Hinawa called everyone into the dining room to give them the food they deserved. Everyone was seemingly laughing and having a rather good time. Lucas looked at Claus, who was smiling, however, the smile was fake. Lucas didn't see the dimples. Claus turned his head and looked at Lucas, Lucas saw something in his eyes, but just decided to shake his head. He looked down at the hamburger and tapped the top bun. He sighed and looked at his mom, who sat opposite him.
"Mom? C-could I walk outside f-for a bit?"
"Sure, but be sure to be here before 6 p.m. Your dad needs to take you to the school," Hinawa said. Lucas nodded and stood up from the chair. He got to the door and took the gift Kumatora gave him, her hoodie. He put it on. It was a tad bigger than he expected. The sleeves extended further than his arms did, but he allowed his hands to stay comfortably in the sleeve. He opened the door and quickly got out. He inhaled the fresh air and grew a genuine smile. He walked to the left. He didn't care where he walked to, as long as he enjoyed it. Lucas reached into his pocket and checked his phone so he could see what time it was. He saw that he had an hour of being out.
Half an hour passed and Lucas doesn't fully know where he is. He knew he needed some help, so now he was on the hunt to find someone. He soon arrived at a park. It was mostly a plain flat area with a small area dedicated to a playground. He saw there was someone in the baseball fields across the grassy park. Lucas pulled the cords under the hood as if it was in some form of defense. He then put his hands in the shared pocket and walked to the boy. Lucas saw the boy toss up a baseball and hit that ball with his bat. The ball flew toward Lucas and landed at his feet. Lucas kneeled and picked it up. When he looked back at the boy he noticed he was running toward him. "Crap," Lucas said to himself. The boy stopped a few feet from Lucas and rubbed his neck.
"Hey, sorry that I almost hit ya. Just tryna take out my anger."
"On the ball."
"Yea..." Lucas nodded and held the ball toward the boy. When the boy took it he noticed something about Lucas. "You're new, aren't you?" Lucas nodded and the boy crossed his arms. "Well, nice to meetcha, I'm Ness."
"I'm L-Lucas." Ness smiled. "C-can you help me?"
"Sure, what's up?" Lucas looked at Ness and then looked down.
"I'm k-kinda lost."
"Where are you going?"
"Uhh," Lucas fumbled with something in his pant's pocket. After a little struggled he took out his phone and went through the texts with his mom. That's where he found the address. He showed it to Ness and Ness put it in his phone. Ness smirked and placed it in his pocket.
"Alright, follow me, big guy," Ness chuckled. Lucas grew a small smile, a smile he knew was genuine. He followed Ness. They were talking but Ness was clearly the dominant talker. It only took a few minutes for Ness to escort Lucas to his house. Lucas walked up to the door and turned around.
"T-thank you."
"Has anyone ever told you how innocent you sound?" Ness asked as he crossed his arms.
"I...um n-no, not really," Ness smirked.
"Well, it fits you," Ness said with a small wink. "See you at school?"
"M-maybe." Ness chuckled as he walked away. Lucas watched him as he walked. He felt if he kept his eye on Ness it'll protect him from a danger he knows probably doesn't exist. He turned around and opened the door. The first thing he saw was Claus, who knew his secret.
"Who was that boy?" Claus asked like the overprotective brother he is.
"Oh s-shut up," Lucas tried to shake Claus away.
"Come on, it's my right to know." Lucas just sighed.
"H-his name is Ness, he...he helped me back home." Claus grew a smug face which caused Lucas to shake his head. "It's n-nothing like that." Claus groaned like he was disappointed, but shook his head.
"You met Ness?" Villager asked. Lucas just nodded.
"Was he playing Baseball?" Isabelle asked.
"K-kinda," Lucas answered.
"That's just like him. He's the star baseball player," VIllager. Lucas nodded, not fully caring what Ness was for the school. He did hear that it meant he was popular of all popular kids, but like baseball, he didn't care. Lucas opened the cabinets and grabbed a Strawberry Poptart and continued to pretend like he heard them. After a few more minutes Villager and Isabelle had to leave. When they did leave, Flint walked in.
"The car's ready," Flint said. Claus and Lucas nodded and walked out and into Flint's car. Flint drove them to the school. The school was large and it scared Lucas in a way. Lucas hopped out of Flint's pickup and Claus followed. Flint led them into the doors of the school. Immediately to their left was the officer. They entered the office and saw an angel behind the counter. He smiled and stood up. "Pit, was it?"
"Yes, I believe we spoke on the phone?" Pit asked.
"Yea."
"Alright, so this is Lucas and Claus?" Claus gave a small salute and Lucas just gave a small nod. Flint helped Pit determine which was which. Pit typed something onto the computer and walked to the small horizontal door and opened it for them to go behind the counter. Pit led them to the end of the office where the door to the principal's office was. Inside was a tall lady with green hair. Pit introduced her has Palutena or Mrs. P. Lucas and Claus sat in the two chairs in front of her.
"Hello, boys, how's the move so far?" Palutena asked in an unforgettable voice.
"Could be worse," Claus shrugged.
"That's good, I hope." Palutena shook her head and adjusted herself in her seat. "Alright so, your credits have already been transferred from Nowhere High School. And from my math, it seems you just need one more English credit, one more PE credit, and three more elective credits to graduate. We've already given you the English and PE; however, we need you to decide your electives."
"When will we get the schedules?"
"Sometime later this week, Pit will call in advance, however." Claus nodded, and Palutena opened a drawer and looked around the papers. She soon found two copies of the list of electives on a pink sheet of paper. She grabbed them and handed each to the two boys. She then pulled up a small list of classes for each boy on her computer. "Take a minute to look through the list and choose at least three classes that take credits. A study hall doesn't so be sure not to just fill them out with study halls."
Claus looked through his paper and found a few classes he likes. Palutena handed them both a pencil. Claus circled Graphic Design, Keyboarding, and Coding. Palutena then said that they needed to circle two more classes to have eight in total, counting lunch. Claus decided to circle a Study Hall and Woodcarving.
Lucas looked over his paper and contemplated many decisions. He circled Painting, Chemistry, Culinary arts, Zoology, but he couldn't think of the last class. He wanted to do a class but was scared at the same time. He looked over at Claus, who knew exactly what Lucas was thinking of at the moment. "Do what you want, not just what you're good at," Claus said. Lucas nodded and looked at the paper. He then circled Chorus. The two boys handed over their lists to Palutena.
"You'll get a choice of your second-semester classes when you get to see your counselors." The two boys nodded. Palutena looked at the classes and nodded. She put them aside and looked at them. She interlocked her fingers. "So, are there any things about the two of you I need to know of?" Lucas looked at Claus like he was pleading for Claus to be quiet.
"Nothing I think you need to know." Palutena looked at Lucas to see if he was going to speak, but she got nothing and so she just sighed.
"Well, I guess-" Palutena was cut off by someone barging into the office.
"Sorry Mrs. P. We need to speak," the person said. Lucas knew him, it was Ness. Ness looked at him and smiled. "Oh, hey Lucas."
"H-hiya," Lucas happily said, only to cover his mouth with his hands. Claus chuckled. Ness turned to Palutena.
"What's wrong Ness?"
"I..." Ness turned back to Lucas. Ness looked down and shook his head. "Nevermind, I'll work through it." Ness turned and left the office.
"Odd, he's never at a loss for words," Palutena said. She shook her head and turned to the two boys. "Well, it was great boys. If you have any questions don't be scared to ask. We'll send your dad an email on some other details. Have a nice day." Lucas and Claus nodded and stood up. The exited the hall and saw Ness standing at the counter and talking to Pit. Ness looked up from Pit and smirked. Lucas and Claus continued forward but stopped in front of Ness.
"Looks like we've seen each other earlier than I thought," Ness smiled. Lucas looked down and nodded. Claus saw this awkwardness between the two and patted Lucas' back and left the main office. Lucas looked at Claus and he just gave Lucas a smug smile. "Who's that?"
"M-my brother, Claus."
"He seems like a douche." Lucas giggled faintly.
"H-he is." Lucas then remembered that Ness wanted to say something to Palutena. "I-I'm sorry."
"Sorry? About what?"
"You s-seemed like...like you had s-something to t-tell Mrs. P." Ness shook his head.
"I was just going to inform her on something, no need to be guilty."
"R-really?"
"Promise," Ness winked. Lucas smiled and Ness tilted his head. "You have dimples?" Lucas just shrugged.
"I-I should probably g-get to o-our car." Ness nodded.
"See ya later." Lucas hummed as he left the main office. Ness watched as he left. Once he saw he was out of the school he sighed and turned to Pit. "Can you do it?"
"I don't know Ness," Pit said, typing something to seem busy on the computer.
"Please." Pit collided his forehead into the computer screen and sighed in annoyance.
"I'll try to tell Palutena, but I can't promise anything." Ness looked out of the school via a small window.
"It's worth a shot, thanks Pit." Ness turned to leave the main office and eventually out of the school. He stretched his arm and looked at his bat that was leaning against the wall. He groaned as he picked it up. "I've gotta do this." He slowly swung in the air. He then shook his head. "I can't fail now." He started to walk but didn't plan on where he was walking. While walking he swung the bat every now and then. He soon realized where his legs were taking him. He stopped in front of a house and looked up at the door. And walked to the door and knocked twice.
A little after he did his friend opened the door. Ninten stood there and crossed his arms. "Oh, you have the bat," Ninten said, surprised.
"Yea."
"You need to talk?"
"Sorta." Ninten stepped aside and allowed Ness in. Ninten led Ness up to his room. Ninten then sat on his bed and crossed his feet.
"So, come on, I'll be your diary."
"You're one ugly diary then."
"Well, I can always spread all you've said with this diary."
"Ok, man, learn to take a joke." Ninten rolled his eyes but then went back to being serious. Ness looked down at his bat that laid on his lap.
"You think I'm cut out for Baseball?"
"Of course, you're the best player we have."
"But I-"
"You got struck out, big whoop. Everyone has a bad game, that game was just yours."
"But If I fail then that means I'm not good at it."
"No, it means you're not perfect at it, which is good." Ness shook his head then fully laid on the ground. He closed his eyes and sighed.
"I dunno."
"You're lonely, aren't you." Ness shot up.
"What!? No, of course not."
"Mhm, so if I were to set you up on a blind date you would not accept."
"..."
"Well, It was worth a shot, I'll just have to tell her-"
"I never said no." Ninten chuckled and stood from his bed. He kneeled down next to Ness and patted his back. Ness closed his eyes again and laid down. "I just...I just miss him Ninten."
"How's Tracy dealing with it?"
"She doesn't seem to give a shit." Ninten took hold of the bat and looked around. He then knocked on the bat and tilted his head.
"This is his, isn't it?"
"Yea, all I have."
"You just need to find your confidence in someone else."
"That's all?"
"Yea, once you find that person I'm sure you'll be back on your game." Ness opened his eyes and took the bat from Ninten and smirked. He stood up and helped Ninten up.
"Thanks, man."
"Hey, that's what I'm here for." Ness started to walk for the exit to the house. Once he got out of the house he turned to face Ninten.
"You still set up that blind date?"
"Yup, be prepared."
Flint had driven the two boys back to the house. Lucas walked up to his room. He closed his door and laid in his bed. He looked at Ryle and smiled. "Hey, Ryle." Ryle slitherer out of a small wooden house. He stuck his tongue out. "What should I do?" Ryle tilted his head and turned around. He slithered to the other side of his glass cage and looked at the notebook. Lucas slid off the bed and grabbed it. He opened it to the drawing of Ryle. He smiled and showed Ryle. Ryle seemed to have smiled. "You two, huh? Should I join a club?" Ryle ecstatically nodded its head. Lucas pulled out the chair that was pushed in. He put the notebook onto the desk and reached into a drawer and grabbed a sharp pencil. He closed his eyes and allowed his hands to move on its own.
After a little while, Lucas opened his eyes and saw the structure of what he wanted to draw. Lucas reached into the same drawer and grabbed coloring pencils and smiled. He drew for a few hours and tilted his head at his product. It was of Lucas' back. He was sitting on a cliff and there was a night sky with many large shooting stars. Lucas then showed Ryle. "Is it done?" Ryle analyzed it and shook his head. "Yea, that's what I thought, but what else?" Ryle proceeded to dig himself into the dirt. Lucas turned back to the drawing and scratched the back of his head. "Claus?...no, he'd never sit for a star storm." That's when a realization popped in his head. He stood up and exited his room. He walked down the stairs and saw his mom cleaning up the house. "M-mom, what's the name of the school's baseball t-team?"
"Huh? I think it's called the Smash Stars, despite their logo being a circle," Hinawa said. Lucas nodded. "How come?"
"Oh, um, w-well?"
"Are you joining the baseball team, hun, I'm so proud of you."
"Um, y-yeah sure, I'm joining the...the team." Hinawa happily smiled and ran over to him. Hinawa pulled him into a hug. Lucas sighed and pushed away from the hug. She got the hint and resumed cleaning. Lucas nervously chuckled as he walked up to his room. He closed his door with a defeated sigh. He nearly stumbled back to his chair and looked at Ryle. "Well Ryle, looks like I'll be a baseball player...lord knows I'll suck." Lucas shook his head and looked at his drawing. He continued his drawing. He drew Ness right next to him, with a bat laying behind both of them. There was a speech bubble coming from both of them. The words "PK Starstorm" were in the bubbles. Lucas looked at the drawing that didn't fully reach the edges. The drawing cut off like it was a frame for Caillou. "PK Starstorm?" Lucas questioned himself. He smirked and closed his book. He crawled into his bed and looked out of the window. "PK Starstorm," Lucas said more confidently. That's when a small shooting star shot across the sky. Lucas smiled and got comfortable in his bed. He just looked at Ryle and said his goodnights, then went to sleep.