Thaddeus flicked his alarm off, rolling out of bed with an energy he hadn't felt in some time. He smiled as he turned his lights on, going through his closet to pick out a warmer selection of clothing for today's outing. He could feel the excitement simmering in the pit of his stomach- flying again, he couldn't wait to do it! After he'd changed, the man knocked on Billy's door as he passed by.
"I'm up," came the tired call from within, and Thaddeus made his way to the kitchen to take a seat at the table. He'd decided against eating breakfast- he wanted to experiment with his flight, and potentially seeing what he'd eaten come back up hadn't sounded like a pleasant idea. The man leaned back in his seat, crossing his legs as he waited for the boy. He closed his eyes, fondly thinking back to his dreams. He'd been soaring through the air, light as a bird and utterly carefree. The rising sun had warmed him as he'd drifted higher, its bright rays illuminating all for him to see. Thaddeus sucked a breath in, shaking his head to bring himself back to the present. Soon, he reminded himself. The sound of approaching footsteps made him open his eyes, and he sat up as Billy entered the kitchen. The boy had decided to wear his new clothing, he was sporting one of his long sleeved shirts and a fresh pair of jeans.
"You can eat before we head out," Thaddeus offered, but Billy shook his head.
"I'll be fine," he said, uncertainly considering the man.
"Yes?" he asked, tilting his head at the look on the boy's face.
"You're sure you'll be ok today?" Billy asked, thumbs hooking under the straps of his backpack as he looked at the floor. "I could stay home if you wanted, we could watch more movies." Thaddeus smiled, standing from his seat.
"I'll be fine, Billy," he said, reaching out to rest his hand on the boy's shoulder, "really."
"Ok," Billy murmured, nodding.
"Besides," the man said lightly as they started down the hallway together, "your friend will be expecting his phone back." He paused at the thought, looking at the boy as they stepped into the elevator. "I... never thought about that," he admitted, and Billy raised an eyebrow at him. "I could get you a phone, if you'd like," he offered, and the boy's face lit up.
"'If I'd like?' Uh, yeah," he gushed, vigorously nodding his head, "yeah, I'd like that!" Thaddeus's smile widened at Billy's enthusiasm, it was almost adorable. "This is gonna be so sweet," he continued, his hands waving about with his excitement as he walked. "I could get your phone number, and Freddy's, and I wonder if Darla has a phone? Huh," the boy mulled the idea over, rubbing at his chin as they walked out and started down. "I wonder what'd we talk about." He snorted, a small smile on his lips as they made it to the man's car. He plopped his backpack inside, crawling in as Thaddeus took his own seat. "Probably Elina."
"Elina?" Thaddeus asked, starting the car as he checked behind them. Seeing no one else, the man pulled out and started for the exit.
"She's a character from some Barbie movie Darla likes- it's all she talks about," Billy explained. "Give me a few more days and I'm sure I could quote most of the movie to you."
"Which you won't need to demonstrate," the man assured him, and Billy grinned.
"Hey, if I have to sit through it, you should have to hear about it too."
"No, really," Thaddeus insisted, shaking his head as they merged left. "I'm good." Billy chucked at that, and Thaddeus smiled at the lighter mood as they took a right turn. Spending time with his friends would be good for the boy, he hoped. "You remembered Freddy's phone?" he asked, and Billy nodded, digging it out from the side pocket on his backpack to show Thaddeus. "I'm sure he'll be glad to have it back."
"Yeah, glad he'll be able to text me more his random superhero trivia once I have a phone," Billy said. "He's super into Superman and Batman, he even showed me some pics of "genuine" stuff from them." The boy sat up in his seat, turning to look at Thaddeus with wide eyes. "Hey, you said your part of the company researched superheroes, right?"
"Supernatural phenomena," he corrected the boy, who rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, well flying like Superman is pretty supernatural! Anyway, do you think it'd be ok if we dropped by sometime?" he asked. "Freddy would freak," he said, chuckling at whatever mental image he was getting.
"I'll actually be shutting the department down," Thaddeus admitted, and Billy frowned.
"Really? Why?" The man glanced away, considering his possible responses.
"How about this," he said, looking the boy in the eye. "I'll show you why after school, ok?"
"Show me?" Billy repeated, confused, and Thaddeus nodded. His smile widening, the man turned his attention back to the road- Billy wouldn't know what had hit him when the time came.