My True Friends
Chap 1
Friends. Something that everyone has.
True Friends. Well, that is something else entirely.
You might have a thousand friends but have only two-five actual true friends. Unfortunately for me, I had only four friends and no genuine friends. We might hang out, but I knew for sure that when it came down to it, they would leave me behind. When I was younger, my mother always told me that strangers are just people you are not friends with yet. However, every time she told me this, my father pulled me to the side and gave me some advice about finding out who my true friends were.
'Friends are people who are with you when they have time. True friends will carve time from their schedule for you. No matter what they need to do.'
I was always skeptical about his advice since his flirting advice was always terrible. However, this advice proved true when I started middle school. Yet, I still doubted his advice and thought that I was just bad at making friends. That is until I came to Beacon. And only a month after, I finally learned that his advice held a lot of weight behind it. Had I only listened to him a long time ago, it would have saved me a lot of trouble.
"Where are you going, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.
Yet, had I listened to him, I would have never met my current true friends.
"Just out to meet a few friends." I answered as I slung a duffle bag over my shoulder.
"Well, be careful. The last thing we need right is to go out on a rescue mission, especially since we have a test next week that we need to study." Weiss remarked as she never stopped reading a book from Professor Port's class. I just rolled my eyes at her.
'Can't believe I initially had a crush on her.' "Well, I'll be back on Monday morning." I told them before exiting the dorm.
Adjusting the strap of my bag, I then walked down the halls of Beacon to get to the exit. All the while avoiding everyone and anyone I can. After a couple of minutes, I finally exited Beacon. Taking in the fresh, cool autumn air, I then made my way over to the bullheads. Getting on the bullhead, I made my way over to an available seat. Sitting down, I reached into my bag and took out some motion sickness pills. Taking them, I sighed in relief before getting comfy to take a nap as the bullhead ascended into the air.
Half an Hour Later
'Alight. Time to collect some scrap.' I thought as I woke from my nap as the bullhead made its preparation to land in Uptown Vale.
After a few minutes, the bullhead finally landed, allowing everyone to exit. Giving it a few minutes so everyone could disembark, I got up before leaving the bullhead myself. Once off, I made my way over to the street to hail a cab which came rather quickly. Getting in, I gave the drive the instructions to head to the work district of Uptown Vale. She nodded before driving off towards my destination. Arriving after about a half-hour, I got out of the cab before paying the driver. Turning around, I smiled at the building that held many memories.
"Time to get food for my friend." I said before entering the building.
Looking around, I went to the locker room to change into some work clothes. Once done, I stepped out before grabbing the truck keys that were on the nearby desk. Putting them in my pocket, I then went into the next room over which is the garage.
'Note to self, clean the truck.' I thought as I gazed fondly over the tow truck that has been with me over the years and has helped me transport food. Going around, I opened the garage before getting into the car and turning it on. Smiling, I slowly pulled out of the garage before getting on the streets. Reaching for the remote, I pressed the button which closed the garage door.
Three Hours Later
"Alright. Think I have enough food and scrap." I said as I finished hooking up a wrecked and abandoned car to the tow truck.
Going back into the truck, I turned the truck on before driving to where my friend lives. As I made my way through Vale, I started to think about all the adventures I had with my special friend. From how I first met him to now basically being family to me. From how I started being scared of him to now sharing all my secrets with him. As I let my mind wondered, I realized something my big sister Saphron once told me.
'Friends come in all shapes and sizes.'
"Wonder how Saph and Terra would react to seeing my 'unique' friend." I wondered as I slowed the truck to a stop as the traffic light changed to red. "Adrian would have a blast."
Tapping my fingers along the wheel, I began to look around as I waited patiently for the light to switch back to green. Though, I regretted doing so as I spotted Team Cfvy hanging out nearby. While they aren't bad, I knew if they spotted me like this, all Beacon would know this within the hour. Luckily, it seemed they were too distracted with teasing Velvet to notice me. Rasing the side glass, I turned back to see the light finally switch back to green. Driving forward, I continued on my way to my friend. Though, I had to pull over to the side when I felt my scroll vibrate. Good thing that there was a spot big enough for me and the car I was towing. Taking out my scroll, I saw that I had received a message.
'Jaune. Are you on your way?' The message read.
'Yeah, I'll be there soon. Got scrap and a car for the giant.' I replied before closing my scroll and putting it away.
But before I could pull back onto the road, I heard someone tapping on the truck window. Turning to the side, I saw, to my relief, that it was only someone asking if I was about to leave. I nodded before pulling out of the spot and back onto the road. After about forty more minutes of driving, I soon came across a path that would take me into the woods. Unlike the Emerald Forest or Forever Fall Forest, this one had no Grimm, making it safe to travel without fear or worry.
As I traveled through the forest, I marveled at how beautiful it was. With it being the fall season, the leaves had a lovely yellow, red, and orange color. The serene beauty of it all, combined with the cool temperature and sound of rives nearby, made me relax. It also made me want to have another picnic with my friends to enjoy and admire nature in its purest and most serene form.
'This is the life. It makes dealing with everything Beacon-related worth it.' I thought, smiling as the sun's rays filled me with warmth.
Half an Hour Later
'There it is.' I thought as I saw the familiar sign of 'Dean's Scrapyard' come into view.
Pulling into the scrapyard, I made my way through the scrapyard until I came up to Dean's house. Turning off the truck, I got out before heading around back and started to unhook the car from the tow truck. Hearing footsteps, I looked up and saw Dean walking towards me with two coffees in his hand.
"Hey, Jaune. Good to see you. Coffee?" He asked while holding out the coffee cup that was in his left hand.
"Good to see you as well, Dean. And thanks." I replied while taking the coffee and taking a sip from it.
"I see you got a ton of scrap and relatively in shape car. I'm sure your friend will love it." Dean said while looking over all the scrap that was still in the truck.
"Where is he anyway?" I asked as I finished unhooking the car from the truck.
"On the other side of the scrapyard, working on a little art project." He answered. However, as soon as he said this, loud footsteps that shook the ground started coming towards us. "Never mind. Here he comes."
"Hey there, Iron Giant." I greeted as I smiled as my true friend stopped only a few feet from Dean and me. Looking, I saw the smiling face of the Iron Giant. A fifty-foot-tall iron machine that is one of my two true friends, with the other one being Dean.
"Jaune." He said while smiling.
"Hey, bud. Got you some food." I told him while pointing to the car and scrap that was in the truck. He smiled even more before quickly devouring the vehicle and scrap.
"How long will you be around this time?" Dean asked while taking a sip of his coffee.
"Today and all weekend." I answered while also taking a sip of my coffee.
"That's good. How about you help me finish some art projects, and then we can head to the nearby river and have a picnic." He suggested.
"Sure. What are you making on this time?" I asked.
He smiled before motioning for me to follow him towards his barn, where he stored some of his more significant projects. Entering the barn, I saw that he was making a statue of all of us together. And even though it was not even a quarter of the way done, it was already amazing and surprisingly big as it was about twenty feet tall.
"What do you think?" He asked.
"Amazing." I answered, impressed. "Now, let's get to work."
Five Hours Later
"Whew. Certainly, coming together." I said as Dean and I took a few steps back to admire our work on the statue. And even though the figure was now only a quarter of the way done, it is still impressive.
"It is. Anyway, I think that is enough for today. Let's head into the house and get ready for the picnic." Dean said as he wiped some dirt and grease from his face.
"Sounds good." I said while wiping my hands clean before putting all the tools away.
Turning around, we exited the barn before heading into Dan's house. Though, I had to get my duffle bag before doing so. Going into the house, we started to make some food prepare some drinks before putting them into a basket. Looking down at myself, I noticed that my work clothes were a mess. Grabbing my duffle bag, I went into the bathroom to change into some more casual clothes. Stepping out a few minutes later, I saw that Dean was ready and waiting for me. Smiling, we grabbed the supplies before heading out of the house. Looking up, we saw the Iron Giant smiling and waiting for us.
"Hey, bud. Care to give us a lift." I asked.
"Sure." He answered before lowering his hand to the ground. Smiling, we stepped onto his hand, where he then lifted us to his shoulders, where we got off.
"All right. Let's head to the river." I said as Dean, and I sat down.
"Wait. Before we go, the giant needs food as well. Go and grab some cars for food." Dean told the giant. He smiled before walking over to the other side of the scrapyard and picking up three cars.
"Alright. Let's go." I said as the giant started walking towards the river.
Ten Minutes Later
'This is nice.' I thought as I floated in the river close to the waterfall. While beautiful, the river water was rarely ever warm. Most of the time, the water was cold to the point that you could freeze if you stayed too long. Luckily, this was not the case this time, as it was pleasantly warm.
"How's that water down there?" Dean shouted from on top of the waterfall. The first time we did this, I had convinced the Iron Giant to do a cannonball into the river. Needless to say, it wasn't the best idea, and Dean was sent floating away. Since then, he always chose to set up his seat on top of the waterfall.
"Fine. Great for once." I shouted back. Turning to the side of the waterfall, I saw the Iron Giant sitting down next to a few scraps. "Care to join me?"
"Alright." He answered before getting up and walking away.
"You're a daredevil. You know that." Dean shouted.
"I know." I shouted back as I braced myself for what was about to happen.
All was quiet, but after a few tense seconds, the ground started to shake violently as the Iron Giant came back, running as fast as he could before jumping and performing a cannonball into the river. Needless to say, as soon as he landed in the river, all the water came rushing out. Had anyone else been here, they thought a small tsunami had just happened. As for me, who was still in the river when the Iron Giant cannonballed into the river, was sent flying into a nearby tree.
"Awesome as always." I said as I kept a firm grip on the tree to not fall to the ground.
"Even better that I was not in the way like the first time." Dean added. I just rolled my eyes before slowly making my way down.
One Hour Later
"Beautiful," I said while taking a bite out of my sandwich.
Right now, Dean and I were on the Iron Giant's shoulders eating the food we made earlier. The Iron Giant was eating the last of the scarp and cars he brought with him as we all watched the sunset. Its beautiful last rays of light highlighting the forest around us, making the scenery seem like it came from a movie from how beautiful it looked.
"It sure is." Dean agreed.
"Jaune." The Iron Ginat said, getting our attention.
"Yes?" I asked.
"What is this called?" He asked while pointing to the sunset.
"It's called a sunset. It's when the sun goes down." I explained. The Gian hummed before looking back to the sunset. We stayed quiet for the next few moments until Dean broke the silence.
"These moments are the ones that will stick with you forever." He said. "Especially when you share them with friends."
"Very true." I agreed as we continued to watch the last moments of the sunset. Soon, however, the sun disappeared as the night rolled in. Yet, we decided to stay the night and admire the night sky and stars. We were enjoying the peace and each other's presence until we fell asleep.
Note:
Something that came to mind after rewatching the Iron Giant movie.