DISCLAIMER: This episode deals with serious social issues. If this makes you uncomfortable, I recommend you simply skip this episode.
"Here's to another victory!"
A teen stood at the head of a lunch table, a milk carton in his hand. He was still wearing his football gear aside from his helmet. The rest of the table raised their milk cartons in a toast, cheering. Most of the table were the other players, and some were other students. Near the head of the table sat a grinning Rian, who proceeded to chug several milk cartons while Sadie sat beside him, sitting sideways in her seat with her feet on the spot beside her, leaning her back against Rian's shoulder as she texted on her phone.
"And here's to more victories for the Garden Goliaths for years to come!" The team captain raised another milk carton. Another toast was made, and Rian chugged down a few more milks. The Goliaths was Garden High School's mascots. They weren't the best or most prestigious school in Savory, but they'd just wiped the floor with their rival school in the last football game of the season.
"C'mon Sadie! Chug with me!" Rian nudged his best friend, offering her an unopened carton of milk. She looked at it, before looking to Rian. "I need something bigger if I'm gonna chug." She told him. "Fair." He shrugged, opening the carton to chug more milk. After some more celebration at their successful season, one football player on the other side of Rian nudged him. "Hey look, it's Stain." He pointed to a table opposite theirs at a boy their grade, though he was much smaller than any of them, with greasy black hair that covered his face, and pale skin. He wore mostly black clothes, and had his nose stuck into a geography book.
Stain was every bully's favorite target. He had an embarrassing history (which consisted of many poop-stained underwear stories, hence his nickname), was easy to pick on, and had plenty about him to make fun of. When the football player pointed him out, several other heads started to turn to Stain. For much of the football team, Stain was a favorite 'toy' of theirs. No matter how they were feeling, they'd pick relentlessly on the poor kid. Rian himself used to do the same, but after some convincing from Sadie, he'd stopped. However, he did nothing to stop his teammates from bullying the kid.
Stain sat alone, not even noticing all the people who were now staring at him as he was engrossed in the book that seemed a little too heavy for a kid of his size to carry. Finally, the football captain stood up. "Lame Stain!" He hollered, making the boy jump and look over at them. Noticing who they were, he quickly stuffed his book into his backpack, hastily picking up his lunch tray and making for the trash cans to dump his food, which was barely touched.
Sadie gave the football captain a look; the same one she'd given Rian the first time she'd seen him pick on Stain. Frankly, she found the behavior immature, and rumor had it that the poor kid had it almost as bad at home as he had it at school, if not worse. After Sadie had convinced Rian to stop picking on Stain, she'd practically painted a target on her back for the football team to start bullying her, too. But luckily, she and Rian were quite close, and nobody wanted a kid as big and burly as Rian on their bad side- not to mention, a few members of the team found Sadie cute. All in all, she was pretty much immune to the bullying, and couldn't help but feel bad that Stain didn't have such a luxury. And yet, she didn't try to stop the rest of the team, and didn't know why.
"Where you goin', Stain?" The captain asked as several players got up to join him in marching over to the boy whose name everyone had forgotten. Rian elected to ignore it all, trying to eat his food while beginning to feel sick from all the milk.
Stain tried to weave around them after putting up his tray, but was shoved by one of the players, and fell to the ground, his bag slipping off and sliding across the floor. "I said 'where you goin'?" The captain leered over the boy as he quietly made to collect his bag.
While the boy was being picked on, Rian and Sadie continued to stay seated, pretending as though it wasn't happening.
"Come on!"
Rian called to Sadie as he parked his car in the driveway of Sadie's new house. After what had happened to Garden High School, Sadie had been transferred to Voxis to live with her mom and her sisters. Rian and his dad moved as well, deciding to leave Savory behind. Today, however, they were going back to visit Sadie's grandma, whom she'd called 'Wammy' since she first learned to speak. Rian had been convinced by Sadie to take her to see her wammy. Both didn't say anything about it, but they were both aware of how each other felt about returning to Savory. The suppressed memories... the regrets... it would be a lot harder to ignore once back.
Sadie's three younger siblings were all seated on the porch- they weren't coming along, but they'd requested to see her off before she headed to Savory City with Rian.
Sadie held up a finger towards Rian's car, meaning she'd just be a minute. The girl turned to her siblings, folding her arms.
"Okay, you guys know the deal, right? Be on your best behavior for ma. Your lunches for school are in the fridge- don't eat too much sugar, especially before bedtime- that means you, Mya, I know how you get when you eat Oreos after 7:00 PM."
Sadie's youngest sister, Mya, who looked to be about five years old, giggled as she recalled the night her older sis referred to.
She hugged each sister before rushing to Rian's car and climbing in. "Let's go." She grinned. Her sisters waved and called bye to the pair as Rian pulled out, and this continued until they were out of sight.
Sadie sighed and leaned back into the passenger seat. "This'll be fun." She stated, at which Rian grunted at. She glanced at him, noticing his tense shoulders and glossy eyes. "...thinking about Fuku or...?"
Rian shrugged, making a turn onto the highway.
"Why so quiet?" Sadie asked, earning only another shrug. One of three things was happening- Rian was mad at her for drinking his protein shake the other day when he wasn't looking, he was thinking about his new lady-friend Fuku, or he was having mixed feelings about going back to Savory City. If it was the third thing, she really didn't blame him.
"I know what'll cheer you up." Sadie stated, and dug in the glove box for a moment before pulling out a cassette tape, then a tape player along with it. The tape was labelled 'The Mystery of Don DeFron'. It was something that had been in Rian's possession since his great grandfather had passed away and left it for him. That wasn't the only reason why Rian cherished it- he also really enjoyed the story recorded on the tape. A detective noir story about a grueling detective on a cold case that hadn't been cracked in decades.
He glanced over at it, and a smile tugged at his lips. "Eh? Ehhhh?" Sadie grinned widely, waving the tape under his nose. Finally, he smiled. "Okay, okay... sure."
"Yeah, that's what I thought," Sadie replied, satisfied. Obviously, Rian probably wouldn't be able to give the tape his full attention while he was driving, but he could still appreciate it as background noise too. Sadie popped the tape in the player, and after a few moments of silence filled the car, the audio began to play, earning an even wider smile from both of them.
'It was a cold, dreary night in downtown Fallay. I hadn't gotten a wink of rest, and found myself pacing endlessly through my cluttered office, flipping through various papers in my hands. The case was getting to me. I had circles under my eyes, and I couldn't remember the last time I'd slept.'
The cold opening of the detective noir began, the two listening to it as they began to make their way out of Voxis City, making their way into the country. Even with the distraction, Rian still couldn't help but think about what had happened.
It was early in the morning as Rian and Sadie stood at the school entrance, next to about a quarter of the football team, waiting for the bell to ring and for class to start. The jocks and Rian were talking about the usual. Football, girls, and food. Sadie ignored the conversation mostly with her arms folded, staring out of the building to the parking lot outside, where it was raining heavily.
"And so then I said; ''what do you mean? That spaghetti's been sitting there all week!" Rian grinned widely as he delivered the punchline. The football team erupted into howls of confused laughter, one of them doubling over before taking a step back, and knocking into someone, who was unbalanced and fell to the floor. "Hey, watch it." The player barked, turning around, before his face lit up. "Well if it isn't Lame Stain!"
Stain had fallen on his rear, dropping his lunchbox, hands scraped up from the pavement. He was clearly already frustrated, but didn't say a word- even as one of the football players snatched up the boy's lunchbox.
"Ooo, looks like Lame Stain's mommy packed him a lunch!" the jock snorted, before tossing the lunchbox a few feet away, earning a frown from the boy.
"I packed that myself..." Stain mumbled, standing up and brushing himself off, hands bleeding, but only slightly.
"What'd you pack, huh? More poop?" another player asked, referencing the time that one of the jocks had snuck a cat turd into unsuspecting Stain's lunchbox. Frustrated, the boy being bullied ran forward and tried to shove one of his bullies, but didn't even come close to succeeding. He'd tried to knock down the captain of the team, who didn't budge, instead forcing his own arms into the much smaller kid, making him fall on his bottom twice as hard as before.
"What the hell was that?" The captain demanded. "James..." Rian began, but did nothing else as the captain ignored him, stooping over and grabbing Stain, lifting him into the air by the collar of his shirt. "Think you're some tough little shit? I'll show you what you get when you mess with me."
With unnecessary ferocity, James dragged the poor kid out into the pouring rain, heading right for a gutter that was rushing water through it. "Teach you to mess with me." He growled, and shoved the kids face into the water. The other jocks, and plenty of surrounding students, watched from the dryness of the awning as some of them cheered James on. Rian and Sadie themselves watched, glancing at each other, but didn't move.
Stain thrashed desperately as he was completely soaked by the combination of the rain and the gutter water, for about a solid thirty seconds until James finally let go of the poor kid, but the football captain's anger was the gift that just kept on giving. He grabbed one of Stain's shoes, pulling it off and chucking it halfway across the parking lot.
"Yeah, not so tough now, are you? Don't fuck with me," James growled, before returning to the rest of the players.
To Sadie's absolute disgust, several of Rian's teammates even congratulated James with pats on the back and some whoops. "Ugh. Let's get to class early." She muttered to Rian, who stared out at Stain, who was trudging through the rain to collect his shoe, before nodding at Sadie. "Yeah... let's go."
"So... apparently Terrence is a natural at fighting." Sadie informed Rian from the passenger seat, staring at her phone. She was slumped down in the seat, her feet kicked up on the dash. Had anyone else been doing that, Rian would have kicked them out of his car in a heartbeat. But not Sadie.
"He should consider joining the football team." Rian stated. "I think he'd be a natural at it, too."
"Really? You think so?" Sadie asked. "You could always put in a good word to the coach for him, y'know."
"I just might, if he's any good. Assuming he's even interested in trying out. With Frisk, and his new turtle friend, I dunno if he'd have the time."
"You never know. Once we're parked, you should check out the video he posted in the GC. He made these weird orange hand things, it was cool."
"I wish I could do that." Rian stated. "Ask him what he did to make his thingy appear. Maybe we could try to make ours appear later."
"Sure." Sadie replied, typing up a quick response. After a few moments, she tucked away her phone, staring out of the window at the passing farmland. "I forgot how far Voxis is from Savory..." She stated, staring at a cow as it grazed. "Think Wammy will be awake when we get there?" Rian asked.
"Who knows? Sometimes, she sleeps four hours, sometimes she sleeps forty."
"Oh, right. I remember that time she slept forty hours. You called me, crying, because your family thought she was..."
"Yeah... it was kinda embarrassing when she woke up and we found her getting a bowl of Cocoa Loops," Sadie chuckled. "Man, I've missed her."
Rian grinned, sharing a look with Sadie before he returned his eyes to the road. "Yeah. Me too." For three generations, the two families had been undeniably close. It all started when their great grandparents' rivalry ended the day their two children became the closest of friends- Rian and Sadie's grandma's. Rian's grandmother had since passed peacefully in her sleep, but her friendship with Wammy was still as strong as ever. Even in death. Rian's father and Sadie's mother had been close friends, much like the two teens themselves. Nowadays, though, the two rarely spoke to one another. Rian and Sadie promised each other to never be like that.
Best friends forever.
The drive continued on for quite a while, the two making idle small chat here or there, before the farmland made way into forestry and giant hills. A sure sign they were getting close, as Savory City sat within a large valley.
"I see with my little eye... something yellow." Sadie stated.
"The sun."
"Nope."
"Uh... a flower."
"Nope."
"...A... uh... duck...?"
"Nope."
"Is it the carton of goldfish in the backseat? Those are really more of an orange."
"Nope."
"Alright, I give up. Tell me?"
"About fifteen minutes ago, a fat little bumblebee flew by my window."
"And...?"
"That's it. He was yellow, after all."
Rian snorted. "Hilarious," he replied. "My turn. I spy something white."
"A cloud you saw fifteen minutes ago."
"Damn."
"You're too easy, dude." Sadie stated matter-of-factly as she leaned back, resting her arms behind her head and closing her eyes. Rian chuckled, before shrugging. "Yeah... I guess so."
They fell silent as the drive continued, the sun now beginning its setting cycle, growing ever so closer to the distant mountains. Sadie pulled out her phone, checking her texts. "Damn." She said. "What is it?" Rian asked, appearing concerned. "Oh nothing." His best friend shrugged. "Just F and T plotting to get G a Homecoming date."
"Oh." Rian nodded, appearing relieved. After another moment of silence, he spoke again. "Hey, Sadie?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think... do you think things have changed? Like... gotten worse? Since... it happened?"
Sadie didn't say anything for about thirty seconds, and Rian figured she'd decided not to reply at all; but then she spoke.
"Of course I do," she replied, letting out a long breath. "When something like that happens... people don't just forget. It's still pretty recent. The only reason we've been able to keep ourselves in the light is because we moved to Voxis. Away from all the bad memories."
Rian nodded, hands clutching the wheel a little tighter. "It's hard to think about," he admitted. "Our classmates..."
"Did you do it?" James asked as one of his fellow football players came out of the boy's bathroom with a wicked smirk, nodding like a bobble head toy. Sadie and Rian were leaned against a nearby wall, the former watching with total annoyance toward James, while the latter had a poker face- he, much like his best friend, didn't much care for this... the rest of the team was ecstatic, on the contrary.
Stain had attempted to eat his lunch in the bathroom that day to avoid his meal being ruined by his bullies. It was just bad luck that they'd snuck a peek of him walking in with his tray.
The boys howled with laughter, which only intensified when the small frame of Stain walked out of the bathroom, his body covered in juices and condiments and milks, his food uneaten on the tray in his arms. His head was bowed, his hair covering his face as he tried to walk away, but James was quick to grab him by the arm, causing him to drop the tray and spill his ruined food all over the ground. "Come on, Lame Stain. Let's get you cleaned up. I've heard the toilet is great for quick cleans."
Stain hardly even resisted as he was dragged back into the bathroom, the other jocks following closely behind. "Some friends you got." Sadie muttered to Rian. "Hey, I'm not like them anymore!" He defended himself as Sadie grabbed his arm and started pulling him off to go to their next class. "Never be like them again." She replied.
The sun was setting over the horizon as Rian's car pulled into the driveway of a nice little suburban home. "Come on!" Sadie said excitedly as she practically jumped out of the car before Rian had even parked it. "Yeah yeah, gimme a sec." He replied, turning the engine off and climbing out.
Sadie was already knocking on the door to Wammy's house by the time Rian made it to the porch. Honestly, he was excited to see Wammy again too- maybe not quite as much as Sadie, but he always felt pretty good inside whenever he visited. Not only was Wammy an amazing cook, but she also adored the pair of Rian and Sadie, not to mention she had all kinda of wild stories about Rian's own grandma, which weren't the kind of stories anyone would expect to hear from such a kind and polite old woman.
After about thirty more rapid knocks, the door opened, and the kind old face of Wammy appeared. She stood a foot shorter than Sadie, and had poofy, thin white hair that was usually pulled back into a bun, but tonight was loose and wild. "Boogerboo!" She exclaimed when she saw Sadie, wrapping her arms quickly around her granddaughter, before seeing Rian. "Stinkerstoo!" She moved to Rian and hugged him as well.
"Great to see ya again, Wammy," Sadie folded her arms and beamed, earning a chuckle from the little old woman.
"It's been lonely without having the family around, boo," Wammy replied. "Come inside, I already baked you two up some treats. This is the only company little old me has gotten all week, so I put lots of love into them."
"Oh man!" Rian grinned widely, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.
Wammy's house wasn't your typical old lady house. Sure she had frilly curtains and the house smelled of old people, not to mention the walls were filled with pictures of family and friends throughout the years, but there was also an expensive treadmill in the corner of the room, a large flat screen tv taking up most of a wall, and a punching bag hanging from the ceiling.
She led them to the kitchen, which was more of your stereotypical grandma kitchen, complete with fancy wallpaper of little angel babies decorating the walls.
"Help yourselves to everything on the counter," Wammy told them, waving one hand toward all the goodies she'd prepared; it was mostly different kinds of cookies, some chocolate chip cookies, some sugar cookies, and some cookies with raspberry filling in the middle- Sadie's personal favorite.
"I've got some strawberries dipped in chocolate, too," Wammy stated, "but they're cooling off in the fridge."
"Oh well. I guess these can hold us over for now," Sadie smiled, picking up a raspberry cookie. "Thank you, Wammy!"
"Yes, thank you!" Rian grinned, indulging in the chocolate chip cookies as Wammy watched them with fondness. "Oh, it's so good to see you two again." She smiled warmly. "You're both getting so big!"
"Wammy, it's only been a few months."
"A lot can change in a few short months." Wammy pointed out. "Like your height! And your muscles!" She poked Rian's shoulder, and he smiled widely, cookie crumbs falling off his lips. "I've been working out more!" He stated. "For a girl?" Wammy asked knowingly.
"Geez, Wammy, you didn't waste any time hitting the nail on the head," Sadie giggled, stuffing her face with the raspberry cookie in her hand.
"Well... okay, so I like a girl," Rian shrugged. "It's no big deal. I haven't even asked her out yet."
"Well, I think it's wonderful that you have a crush," Wammy smiled warmly, before turning to Sadie. "And I don't suppose there's any special boys in your life, Sadie?"
"Eh? Uh... well, no, not really," Sadie shook her head, swallowing her cookie.
"No? No granddaughter of mine's going without getting some beefy boy in her life." Wammy chuckled, and Sadie blushed. "Wammy..."
Rian, however, got a real kick out of that, bursting out laughing.
"I still don't think we should offer him a ride just because he wrecked his car for, you know, drunk driving." Sadie sighed, leaning against Rian as they waited with his car, staring at the large house before them. The sound of muffled yelling could be heard coming from within. "He's my friend." Rian shrugged. "I know he can be a jerk, but that doesn't mean I have to be."
Sadie made no reply as they waited, the yelling coming from within the house continuing. "How much you wanna bet he's being a spoiled little rich boy and yelling at his mom for not getting the new Gamestation?" Sadie asked, somewhat joking, though mostly out of spite for the guy. "James' mom died last year." Rian reminded her, and she seemed to shrink slightly. "Oh. Right. Nevermind."
After a few more minutes, the front door finally opened and James came outside, his backpack slung over his shoulder. When he noticed Rian and Sadie, he quickly rubbed his sleeve against his face. "Hey." He mumbled as he approached, sporting a new black eye. "Dude... are you okay?" Rian asked. "Fine. Can we just go now?" James asked, his demeanor not that different from Stain's.
"Yeah... yeah, of course," Rian nodded. James made a beeline for the passenger's side door, and Sadie seemed bothered.
"Uh, James? Actually, that's..."
"What?" James spun around, looking down at her. The girl swallowed- James was over a foot taller than her, and towered overhead. Sadie knew she was safe from James, for the most part, but he was still scary.
"...just wanted to let you know that the seatbelt can be a bit quirky in that seat," Sadie mumbled, earning no reply from James as she got in the backseat.
"Okay. Marry, screw, kill." Sadie grinned at Rian, who groaned. "We haven't played that game for like, three years."
"Yeah? And I figured it'd be fun to bring back since we can't sleep." Sadie shrugged. She was seated cross-legged on her bed as Rian stared up at her from the cot on the ground, before he sighed. "Okay, okay... fine. Let's play."
"Melissa Wagner, Sharon Cox, Abigail Stratton," Sadie began.
"Marry Melissa, screw Abigail, kill Sharon," Rian answered quickly. Normally, he'd be much more hesitant to play this game, but he and Sadie knew they wouldn't judge each other. There was the occasional tease, but not much further than that.
"Good answers. Your turn," Sadie smiled, leaning back against the wall.
Rian thought for a moment, before he propped himself up on his elbows, smirking at her. "Gregory, Jason Clever, and Coach Small."
"Oh." Sadie raised her eyebrows. "Playing dirty so early? Okay... Marry Greg, screw Jason, and kill Coach Small. But you already knew those were my choices, didn't you?" She asked. Rian only shrugged. "Your turn."
"Okay... Fuku Fire, Frisk, and Mrs. June."
"Damn, I've tasted my own medicine," Rian laughed. "Hm. Okay. Marry Fuku, screw Mrs. June, kill Frisk."
"Dang, poor Frisk."
"Hey, that's T's girl. I gotta honor the bro code," Rian replied simply.
"Very admirable, considering Mrs. June is married," Sadie teased. "Your turn."
"Hm... Terrence, Sans, and Stai-" His voice seemed to catch in his throat, before he stopped, his expression turning sour. There was a long moment of silence, before Rian laid back down. "...I think I'm done with this game." He told her, turning away. Sadie stared at him for a moment, before she got off the bed and plopped down beside him. "Hey. Rian. C'mere." She told him. He didn't move for a moment, before he slowly sat up, and she wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Sorry, dude." She told him. "It's hard dealing with what happened, I know, but... it's kinda your own fault for bringing him up."
Rian was still for a moment, before he put his arm around her and hugged her back. "Yeah. My bad." He sighed. "It just doesn't get any easier, does it? I'm just... so full of... guilt. Like... I could have done something about it..."
"Yeah... I know how you feel," Sadie sighed, leaning into him. "I feel really dumb, looking back on it. I mean, at the time, I thought I was making a difference just because I wasn't joining in... but that wasn't helping at all. Kid still had the whole football team breathing down his neck..."
"Do you think we're ever gonna be able to forget what happened?" Rian asked, wiping at his eyes, causing Sadie to pause, deep in thought.
"I don't think so," she stated bluntly. "But maybe that's a good thing, that we'll never completely forget. After all... now we can always make sure we do everything we can so that history doesn't repeat itself. I don't like thinking about it, but... it's just something we'll have to live with."
They stayed together for a few moments longer, before parting, and Sadie climbed back into her bed. "Let's just... try to sleep now." She offered, and Rian nodded. "Yeah... hey Sadie?"
"Yeah?"
"Love you bunches."
"Love you bunches more." She smiled back, watching as he settled back down, and closed his eyes. She hated seeing him like this. Her Rian was always confident, goofy, and fun. She didn't let it show as much as he did, but the whole thing with Stain was still eating her up just as much, even after nearly eight months since it all happened.
James stood in the center of the auditorium, most of the football team gathered around him, including Rian. Theatre students and some of the nerds were there as well. "Hell yeah!" James cheered, lifting up an audition sheet. "I'm playing Bender!"
"I'm playing a rock." Another student stated, eyeing the paper. Sadie stood nearby at the entrance to the auditorium, watching as Rian got his turn to look over the paper, before he came jogging up to her. "I'm playing Alejandro the Dummy!" He informed her proudly. "How fitting." She teased, before noticing somebody walk by her and Rian, who she recognized immediately. It was Stain, wearing an unusually large coat today, storming by her and marching toward the large group of students. She caught a glimpse of his face, and for some reason, she felt her blood run cold. He'd looked livid, almost... inhumanly so. "Uh... Rian?" She whispered, nodding to Stain as he made his way into the crowd, making a beeline for James. Rian followed her gaze, and his face fell. "This can't be good." He muttered.
Stain approached James, immediately stopping behind the towering boy, glaring up. His face was so red and bunched up that even James looked a little startled as he turned around.
"Oh, uh, hey, Stain, I was actua-" the taller boy began, and was immediately punched in the nose from below. James didn't stumble, but his nose started bleeding.
"That the-"
People started grabbing at Stain, but nobody was prepared for what happened next.
A small, black box about the size of a brick clattered to the ground next to Stain. It was covered in wires of various colors, and electrical tape.
Sadie opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out.
The next few seconds seemed to move in slow motion- Rian grabbed Sadie and ran for his life, faster than he'd ever run on the football field, scooping the girl up in his arms as best he could. A torrent of screams roared behind him.
And then he felt a blast of heat.
Rian shot up on his cot, body drenched in cold sweat. He was breathing heavily, heart thundering a mile a minute in his chest. Taking a few seconds to calm down, he turned to look at Sadie, who was leaned against the wall as she sat on her bed, staring at him. "Same dream?" She asked quietly. He gulped, before slowly nodding. "Yeah..." He breathed, his breath shuddering slightly. "I'm..." He closed his eyes, but didn't finish his sentence, unable to translate his thoughts into words at the moment. Sadie seemed to understand, however, and nodded slightly, staring up at the ceiling. "Maybe we should like... I dunno... talk about it more? I felt better last night after we talked about it." She offered.
"Yeah... maybe," Rian huffed.
"Get up here," Sadie said, patting the spot next to her on the bed. Rian stood up and took a seat beside his best friend, wiping away the cold sweat that was beaded on his forehead. "I just... I still can't believe it happened," Rian panted. "It's one of those things you hear about all the time, and you never think it'll happen to you, but..." He buried his face in his hands. "It did happen, Sadie. Stain bombed the school."
They were silent for a long moment as Sadie leaned against him, feeling him shivering slightly. "Nothing'll change that, too." She said quietly. "James, the team, our friends, and so many other people we never even met... gone in an instant..."
"I've been trying to, you know, not think about it. Ever since we got to Voxis. I keep putting the thoughts away, try to ignore them... and it's been easy, especially with our new friends, but... being back... I forgot how much it hurts."
Sadie rested her head on Rian's shoulder, closing her eyes. "Me too..." She muttered. "I've... thought about visiting their graves. Paying respects, I guess. I dunno. I thought maybe it could help ease the pain in some way."
"Really?" Rian looked at her. "I don't know... don't you think that would be painful?"
"...maybe. But it might give us closure. Just a little bit. I'm kind of desperate for it, to be honest."
"...how about we do that tomorrow?" Rian suggested. "We could bring some flowers, stuff we know they liked..."
"I'm not bringing Playguy magazines for James." Sadie couldn't help but laugh sadly at her joke, and Rian chuckled with her. "Okay. Maybe just flowers... and words." He offered. Sadie pulled out her phone and looked at the time. It was only three in the morning. "...we could pay respects to Stain's parents, too, I guess..." She added. Rian frowned, thinking for a moment as his heart rate finally started to calm down. "God... I can't even imagine what they must be going through..."
"What about James' dad? And the others?" Sadie added, but Rian shook his head.
"James' dad requested that nobody visit him to talk about it. A lot of people did the same. Although, Stain's parents did remain quiet. Maybe they wouldn't mind...?"
"Guess we'll see..." Sadie pursed her lips. "How are you feeling now, buddy?"
"Better." Rian replied. "Thanks, Boogerboo." Sadie couldn't help but smirk at that. "Any time, Stinkerstoo."
The sound of beeping accompanied his return to consciousness, and Rian began to stir, moving his head, slowly opening his eyes to see only blurred shapes surrounded in white light. "Rian!"
He felt arms wrap around his middle, arms he recognized as Sadie's. "Sadie...?" He mumbled. "What... happened?"
"Your back- it-" Sadie was sobbing, barely able to string her words together, let alone form coherent sentences. "You got- got burned-" she continued to struggle, and Rian was able to piece it together from there. What had gone down in the auditorium felt like a blurry, distant dream, but he knew it was real.
And now... was this a hospital bed?
"I..." He blinked, trying to clear his gaze. "Stain... he didn't... I don't..."
"He d-did..." Sadie replied, still holding onto him tightly. "You saved me, Rian..." He moved his arm, searching for her back, before finding it and rubbing his hand over her back as comfortingly as he could. "I just... I didn't think. I acted. You... I couldn't let you get hurt." He admitted.
Sadie wiped away the tears that stung in her eyes. Rian's vision began to come back to him, slowly but surely. He could feel a tingling pain in his back, and pretty much everywhere else, too. He'd blacked out the moment that fiery blast had touched him.
It was a miracle he was alive.
"How the hell... did Stain get bombs...?" Rian asked sluggishly, probably due to drugs or something in his body. Or maybe he was just still super tired. "Nobody knows..." Sadie replied, before the sound of a door opening could be heard, and Rian turned to see the blurry image of his father nearing him. "How's my champ?" He asked, voice laced with worry.
"Alive. And..." Rian paused, beginning to feel the weight of the whole situation. "Oh my God... how could this happen...?"
Sadie's tears began to flow down her cheeks, and Rian could feel his eyes begin to sting as well- he wasn't as sad as he was in shock, but the former was beginning to set in, too.
"Hey- hey buddy, don't worry about it right now, okay? How're you feeling?" Rian's dad asked, getting closer and sitting beside Sadie. Rian could tell from his old man's eyes that he'd been doing some crying of his own.
His dad never cried...
"So how long are you two staying?"
Rian looked up from his bowl of applebits cereal at Wammy, who was currently slugging her punching bag, wearing an oversized pair of boxing gloves. It was a goofy sight to see such a frail old lady wailing on a punching bag twice her size, but he'd grown used to it over the years. "Just a couple days. We're skipping school tomorrow, but we'll be back by Tuesday for our first quarter finals." Sadie replied, spreading way too much jelly on a piece of toast.
"Maybe we can go to the Houston Cafe. You two always loved the place." Wammy suggested, smiling kindly at them before she slugged her fist into the punching bag.
"I remember that place," Rian nodded. "They had the best sandwiches."
"I always went for their salads," Sadie replied, biting into her toast, getting a little bit of jelly on her upper lip in the process. "But hey, to each their own."
"You only got the salads because they come with a brownie," Wammy chuckled, taking another swing at her punching bag. Sadie puffed with fake anger.
"Hmph."
"Hey, don't sweat it, bestie. Their brownies are good, too," Rian grinned.
For the rest of the morning, they got ready for a day out on town in Rian's car. Most of that time was spent waiting for Wammy to finish her morning routine of boxing, running on her treadmill, then taking a relaxing morning bath.
It was already thirty minutes into the afternoon by the time they were heading into the city. Things hadn't changed much in their short absence, but there something... strange in the air that neither teens could quite pin.
They ate at the Houston Cafe for lunch, then went to the park afterward, swapping stories. Wammy seemed particularly interested when she learned that Rian's crush was a monster. Despite monsters having left the underground over four years ago, not many had left Voxis. Savory City had maybe two or three, though they were mostly out of the way.
"Hey Wammy, Rian and I were thinking about stopping at the cemetery." Sadie informed her grandma, who was seated in the passenger seat. "Oh, that's no problem, dears. I was wondering when you'd want to go."
"Yeah... do you think you'd want to go with us?" Sadie asked. "Maybe you could visit Rian's grandma while we're there."
"Oh... that's not a terrible idea," Wammy admitted with a smile, looking at her granddaughter in the backseat. "I didn't ask yet because I'm worried it's a touchy subject, but... are you two alright after what happened?"
Sadie looked down. "Well... not really. But we talked a bit last night, and now we feel a bit better. Hoping visiting the graves will help a bit, too, y'know?"
Wammy nodded, smiling warmly. "Things in life happen, and sometimes people become lost to the chaos. While they may not be around anymore, paying your respects, or honoring their memory, can work wonders on a hurt consciousness and soul." She informed them as Rian made his way out of the city, and down a path where tall purple flowers extended up on either side of the road. "Ah... it looks like the violet stalks are in full bloom this year. That's a good omen." Wammy stated. "Those haven't been in full bloom for years. Not since your grandmother died." She patted Rian's shoulder.
"Is that true?" Rian asked, raising an eyebrow with mild interest. It was pretty cool to know- unless Wammy was just saying it to try and lighten the mood, of course. "Lies never leave these lips," the old woman assured him, which satisfied Rian. Wammy was trustworthy, he knew that.
The road continued for a little while longer, Wammy telling a story about how she used to pick the purple flowers to make flowers crowns, before Rian pulled up to a small little park-like area, but with several headstones covering the horizon. There were countless wilting flowers on graves, which were actually a bit nice to look at.
They got out, and made their way into the cemetery, quickly spotting the names of many people they knew. "Wow..." Sadie shook her head. "So many of them..."
"Yeah..." Rian replied, looking down at a 'Judge P. Everett'. "Heh... remember Judge? Those stupid pranks he used to pull on Coach Briggs?"
"Yeah..." Sadie nodded, looking down the row, before pursing her lips. "...We don't even know what Stain's real name was."
"Yeah... you know, I don't think I ever heard anyone call him anything else. Not once. That dumb poop stain incident from elementary school stuck with him his entire life."
"It must've been hard," Sadie said, taking a deep breath. "I can't imagine people not calling me by my name like that."
"Yeah..." Rian frowned. "Do you think we'll be able to find his grave?"
"I don't know..." Sadie looked around at the other graves, before perking up, frowning. "...I think I just did." She pointed to a gravestone toward the back. It was the only one that appeared defiled. Bits had been smashed, there was graffiti on its surface, and it was the only grave not decorated in flowers.
Rian and Sadie slowly approached it to find that the name had been scratched out and spray painted over. "...Yeah, this is uh... definitely him." Rian stated.
"I don't know why I didn't expect this," Sadie admitted, eyeing some of the things that had been drawn and spray painted onto the rock. She wondered how long the grave had been here prior to being defiled.
"I don't know how to feel about leaving flowers on his grave," Rian whispered. "I mean... I know the kid got bullied. More than anyone could ever deserve. But... he bombed a school. People died."
"I know. I've been thinking about it all day... I don't know how to feel about him."
They stared down at the grave for a moment, before Rian kneeled and placed a hand on the stone. "...what you did wasn't... good... and I'm sorry that you chose to do what you did." Rian said to it. "I keep thinking that... maybe, if I'd intervened and stood up for you... maybe everyone here would still be alive. And maybe you'd be happier. I... blame myself." He admitted, and Sadie stared down at her best friend with wide eyes. "It wasn't your fault," Sadie whispered to him. "We can't... we can't keep focusing on 'what if.' Anyone could have intervened, but nobody did. If we went on that logic, everyone would be to blame..." She sighed. "And maybe everyone does share the blame. Or maybe nobody should get blamed at all in situations like this."
She looked down at the grave.
"...I can't forgive you for killing so many people," she admitted. "But I know that nobody's born with the goal to bomb a school. I know you got pushed to that point, and I'm sorry. I hope... that all of you can rest easy."
Rian stayed kneeling before the grave, hanging his head. Sadie placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing him affectionately, before turning and heading back to her grandmother, who was appearing to have a very animated conversation with a gravestone some ways away beneath an apple tree.
After a few more minutes, Rian stood up, glancing back at Sadie, before back at the grave. "I forgive you." He told it, before he too walked away.
When Rian approached Sadie, she was standing beside Wammy, who'd wrapped up her conversation. Rian didn't need to be a detective to conclude that the gravestone she'd been speaking to was that of his own grandmother.
'In loving memory of Alexis Dasterian. A loving wife, mother, and friend.'
He smiled down at the stone, before looking at the other two. "Let's head to grandma's favorite spot on the beach before the day ends." He suggested. Wammy's face lit up with excitement. "Oh, what a wonderful idea! You're so much like her." She pinched his cheek affectionately before they returned to Rian's car.
"Well, because the school has a... a... you know, a gaping hole in it, uh... they're gonna transfer you to Grace High School." Rian's father told him as the teen entered his home, Sadie at his heels. "Oh... really?" Sadie asked. "I'm moving in with my mom down in Voxis. I was sorta hoping Rian would come with me..."
"Your mom has plenty of mouths to feed. A teenage boy might be a little much for her." Rian's dad replied. He was a big guy, like Rian, but unlike his son, he had an equally big beer belly. He wasn't a drunk, per say, but he definitely could do without a bottle or two every now and then. He was balding and had a spruce mustache that covered pretty much his whole mouth.
"Dad's right. I don't want to burden Gwen." Rian agreed, and Sadie shrugged. "Damn. That... really sucks." There was a moment of silence, before Rian's dad spoke up. "...you know, I was offered a really good job down in Voxis some time ago. I didn't take it because we'd have to move and I'd have had to pull you from school, but... we could always use the extra money and I could always use the extra hours."
"Are you saying you'd be okay with us moving to Voxis, too?" Rian asked, looking a bit hopeful.
"It's a possibility," Rian's dad nodded. "I mean, it's a great opportunity. Would be a shame to split you two rascals up, anyways."
Sadie tried not to get her hopes up, but she was practically giddy at that moment. She'd already been prepared for the worst, but if Rian and his dad moved to Voxis too, then everything would be okay.
"I think I'd like that." Rian nodded. Partly, it was because he didn't want to separate from Sadie, they'd been a caring thorn in each other's sides for as long as they could remember, but also because he was struggling with staying. With the memory of it all. It was all a little too much to bear, and he wanted to go. Be anywhere else.
"I'll see if that job still wants me, then." Rian's dad smiled, pulling out a flip phone.
After a night's rest, that was easily much better than it had been the previous night, Sadie and Rian agreed to find Stain's parents and offer their condolences. First, they had to figure out who he really was and where he'd lived, so they whipped out Sadie's yearbook from last year she'd left under her bed, and quickly found Stain.
"His name was Caul Stone?" Sadie frowned. Rian scoffed. "Wow. Kind of a badass name combo, you know? Sucks that Stain replaced it..."
The pair then checked through the phonebook for the Stone family, and found three. So their miniature adventure began. The first place they arrived at definitely wasn't Stain's home. It was occupied by an elderly woman with a million cats. The second home they stopped at denied a Caul ever living there, and slammed the door in their faces. It had been a younger couple with a screaming baby and two barking dogs.
"Guess we got one place left to check." Rian told his best friend.
"I'm nervous," Sadie admitted. "The word on the street was that his home life was almost just as bad as his school life."
"The street? You mean that spot by the stairs where you used to get all your gossip from Kiley and Marisa?" Rian gave a small smile, to which Sadie nudged him.
"Hey, they were reliable," she defended.
The two found themselves at the third house a few minutes later, both of them having a wrenching feeling in their stomachs.
"You sure you wanna do this?"
"We really should," Sadie nodded. "You?"
"Yeah, I'm sure."
With that, they approached the home. This was in the rundown side of Savory, full of drug deals, drive-by shootings, and apparently rabid squirrels. The house in question appeared dilapidated, with grimed windows that were either cracked or missing completely. The side paneling appeared to be falling apart, and the roof had a sinking slope to it, where a small pond had formed.
"Whelp..." Rian raised a fist, and knocked on the door. There was a booming bark, and after a few seconds, the front door opened after the clicks of several locks being undone. It cracked open and a wild eye stared back at them. "Got the stuff?" A man's voice croaked at them. "Um... did a Caul Stone used to live here?" Rian asked. The eye glared at him for a moment, before responding. "That little punk is better off dead. If you don't got any blue sky-"
"MARLON! IS IT THE DEALER!?" A woman's voice screeched inside the house. The eye rolled itself, before disappearing. "SHUT UP WOMAN!"
Rian and Sadie shared a look together, eyes wide, before the eye reappeared. "Get out of here. Don't show your faces here ever again." The door slammed, and the sounds of locks clicking back into place sounded.
"Well... guess the rumors were right." Rian muttered, shuddering slightly. "I feel sick just being here. Let's... let's go." Sadie silently agreed, and the two turned to leave, before a man stumbled around the side of the building. He was short and fat, with a long, thick, grey beard and equally long hair. "You's askin' 'bout's Caul?" He asked, huffing slightly.
"Get behind me," Rian whispered to Sadie, but he was pretty awful at whispering. The man shook his head.
"Nah, nah, I'm not like that," he assured them. "Trust me. I'm Caul's uncle, even got the photos in my wallet to prove's it..." he patted his pants. "Can never be too sure I have my wallet on me in this neighborhood, though," he added with a dry chuckle.
"Do you trust this guy?" Sadie whispered to Rian, who only shrugged, not taking his eyes off of the man.
"C'mon, I'm curious. Why's you askin'?"
"We uh... wanted to offer our condolences." Rian stated. Stain's uncle widened his eyes in surprise. "I... tha's mighty... nobody's done that." He stated, and they could see his eyes begin to well with tears. "Caul... he was like the son I always wanted. Better than tha'." He shook his head. "You's was friends o' his?"
"Not exactly," Sadie shook her head. "We saw him around school a whole lot, though."
"Aye, I hear's ya," the man nodded. "Y'know, a few friends woulda done's that kid a whole lotta good," he quickly added. "Was always talkin' 'bout how the kids at school were pickin's on him..."
Rian scratched his head awkwardly. "Yeah, I uh... I feel really bad about the whole thing."
"Jus' don' go pickin' on helpless kids wit autism and you'll do good to honor his memory." Caul's uncle told them. "He was always comin' to me fer advice... I always told him to keep his head on, be himself, and one day, people would come to like 'im." He paused, his gaze darkening. "He always did righ' by that, 'till he started spendin' time wit' tha' one kid."
"I didn't know Caul had any friends." Sadie spoke up, and the kid's uncle shook his head. "Wasn' no friend 'o his. Bad influence. My Caul started turnin' hateful and cruel... then that thing happened..." He paused. "Caul was a good boy. My good boy. I never woulda thought in a million years he coulda done what he done, but... that wasn't my Caul who killed all those poor kids."
"...I'm sorry for asking, sir, I know it must be hard for you to think about... but can you tell us anything else about the bad influence your son was hanging out with?" Sadie asked. Had someone else convinced Caul to do what he'd done?
"I don't rememba when it started," the man began. "He was goin' into the backyard at night's, every night's. He'd be talkin' in a whisper. I neva got a good look at the other boy, he'd always be just out'sa my sight... bu' I can tell you's... tha' boy had golden eyes. Shined like golden nuggets in the nigh'. He twisted poor Caul's mind... an' now it's too late to save 'im."
Rian and Sadie shared a look, thinking the same thing. The only person they knew of with golden eyes, who apparently transferred from their school to Voxis after the incident. Jason Clever. "We're sorry for your loss, sir." Rian bowed his head. "I'm sure he was a great kid. I wish we could have taken the time to get to know him better." Sadie added, and Caul's uncle wiped his tears from his eyes. "Aw... you's sweet kids. Thank you's... so much. It means a lo' to hear that."
The man now sported an award-winning smile that made Sadie and Rian both feel a little warm inside. They waved farewell, but as the duo were returning to the car...
"Okay, please tell me you're thinking the same thing I am," Sadie blinked.
"Jason Clever. It's not fair to say it was him just yet, but... it's a bit suspicious that we never actually saw Jason at Garden, even though everyone says that's where he transferred from."
"Maybe we could ask him if he knows anything, at least," Sadie shrugged.
"Yeah... you know, I think I remember Frisk saying that he gave her the creeps." Rian added. "I don't want to pin the kid, he seems nice, but... maybe Frisk's onto something there."
"Didn't Terrence mention yesterday that he kept seeing things the other day that he thought was Jason?" Sadie asked, and Rian frowned as he got into the car. "...Let's wait until we get back to the others to talk about it."
"Yeah, I think that's a good idea. It's all a little strange, but we'll be able to piece it together a bit more once we meet up with the others again." Rian nodded. "Y'know, come to think of it, Gregory's the only one who hasn't been paranoid about Jason."
"Yeah... it seems to just be our friend group, minus him."
"In his defense, he mostly spends his time reading when he's with us." Rian added with a shrug. "So... anyway... I think I feel a lot better now. About the whole Stain thing. Well, I guess it's the Caul thing..."
"Yeah. Let's make a pact," Sadie clapped her hands together. "From now on... no more calling him Stain. We'll call him Caul."
Rian nodded. "It might take a bit to get used to," he admitted. "But... that feels like the right thing to do."
With that, they left Caul's house, driving off to return to Wammy's.
"C'mon, don't make me say it again."
Rian stared at his teammate in awe as they stood half naked in the locker room, having just finished practice. "For real? I mean... you usually get a real kick out of torturing Stain."
James averted his gaze, rubbing his arm. There appeared to be a series of fresh bruises along the limbs, including a freshly cut bottom lip that he definitely didn't get from football practice. "I-I know, man, I just..." He let out a heavy sigh. "I never really thought about it before. I used to just do it because it... made me feel better. Like I was venting my anger, but..." At this, he finally looked Rian in the eye. "All it's doing is turning me into my old man, Rian. I can't- I won't be like him."
"He give you those?" Rian asked, and James folded his arms in an attempt to hide the bruises. "Doesn't matter." He replied curtly. "I feel awful right now, man, okay? I'm... done. Alright? Done. With messing with Stain. My dad was an asshole his whole life, and I don't want to do the same thing. Tomorrow, I think I'll apologize to Stain."
"He probably won't forgive you." Rian pointed out, and James shrugged, slinging a towel over his shoulder. "It'll be a start, I guess. Maybe earn me a few brownie points with Sadie." He winked, and Rian went stone-faced. Noticing this, James' grin slid off his face. "Sorry, man. Bad joke. See you tomorrow?"
"See you tomorrow."
The rest of the day was spent with Wammy out on the town, visiting some of their old favorite spots, eating dinner at Gertrude's Diner, which was unique to Savory, and opened up back when Wammy and Alexis had been kids. They spent the night driving through the town, stopping for some mini golf, before returning home.
The morning after was the best one yet. Rian and Sadie awoke, feeling refreshed. The memory of what had happened still hurt, but they'd addressed their regret and guilt, and come to terms with it.
They said their goodbyes to Wammy, who demanded they come by in a few months again, to which they agreed to, before they were returning home, leaving Savory behind once again.
"So. Good weekend?" Sadie asked. "Yeah." Rian nodded, smiling, satisfaction in his voice. "Glad I asked you to take me then. I think we both needed this."
"Yeah. I guess we did, huh? It feels like a whole building has been lifted off my shoulders." Rian continued to smile, unable to contain it.
"Same here. I haven't felt this good in a loooong time," Sadie admitted, putting her feet up on the dash, closing one eye.
"Hey, Rian?"
"Yeah?"
"I spy... something blue."
After some stops along the way back to Voxis, and a short detour to see a traveling carnival, at which they befriended a baby elephant, they finally arrived home. The sun had since sunk beneath the horizon, and Voxis was slowing down for the night.
When they passed by Sadie's house, the girl frowned, turning to Rian. "Earth to Ri. You missed my place."
"I know. I just... wanted to stop somewhere first." He replied, grinning uncontrollably. She stared at him for a moment, narrowing her eyes. "Okay. I'm curious to see what you're gonna do."
They drove into the city, pushing through very little traffic before finally coming to a very familiar curb. They were parked across the street from Grillby's. Sadie looked at the bar & grill, which was closed by now, before looking at Rian, who was looking at the building intensely, before turning forward and turning off the car. "Okay..." He sighed, closing his eyes. "Here we go."
He opened the door and got out, crossing the street to the building and promptly knocking on the door. Through the door, he saw somebody approach, and open it. It was Fuku.
"Oh, hey Rian." She smiled at him. "You're a little late, unfortunately. We're closed."
"Oh, I know." Rian replied, folding his arms. "I just uh... I came because I wanted to... ask you something." He bit the inside of his cheek as Fuku blinked, before she leaned against the door. "What's up?" She asked expectantly. "Well, you know, I um..." He wrung his hands, taking another deep breath. "I was wondering if you'd like to... be my date to Homecoming?"
"Oh... I had a feeling you were gonna ask me sooner or later," Fuku admitted, her cheeks turning a darker shade of green. "I'd... love to be your date, actually."
"Wait... really? I thought you figured I was totally awkward and lame," Rian paused, before his face broke out into a big grin.
"That's how I could tell you liked me back," Fuku said simply, a smile dancing on her face. "...also, your friend is recording." Rian glanced back to the car, and felt his cheeks heat up when he saw Sadie waggling her eyebrows, phone held up to record.
Rian smirked. "Oh well. She's probably just as excited as I am about it. She's kinda been trying to get me to muster up the courage for this for a while..."
"Oh. Really?" Fuku smirked lightly, staring up at Rian. "Well uh... thanks. For asking me."
Rian nodded. "Yeah, me too." He said stupidly, before clearing his throat. "I-I mean... yeah..."
"Maybe we can... hang out tomorrow after school?" Fuku asked, and she seemed to glow a little brighter. "You know, like- get to know each other. I can ask my dad for the day off."
"Yeah. Yeah! Sure, no problem! I think that'd be awesome!" Rian stated enthusiastically, and Fuku shone even brighter. "Cool! I'll uh... I gotta finish up in here so... see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah." The boy nodded, and they stared at each other for a long moment before Fuku awkwardly waved at him, and retreated back inside. When she was gone, Rian pumped a fist in the air. "Boo yah!" He cheered, racing back over to Sadie. "I did it!"
"Oh yeah, I know you did," Sadie replied, already smirking deviously. "Frisk says congratulations, and Terrence says 'so prud.'"
"Prud?" Rian asked, climbing into the driver's seat, still giddy over Fuku accepting.
"I think he spelled 'proud' wrong," Sadie chuckled. "And y'know what? I'm proud of you too, big guy."
Rian looked over at Grillby's as he started the car, and felt a little light on his feet- or in this case, on his rear. "Thanks, bestie. I... think I'm proud too." With one last grin to himself, he pulled back onto the road, heading for Sadie's house.