~Prologue~

Nuss 5:14PM
hey Lookas
tis ur neighborhood frendly Nuss
heres my number for ur new phone
in case you ever wanna talk about puns and chocolate

Lookas 8:32PM
You know me so well
I'm always up for puns and chocolate

Nuss 8:34PM
Oh w8 ive got one
are you chocolate pudding
becuz I want t o spoon you

Lookas 8:37PM
That was horrible
What has chocolate pudding ever done to you

Nuss 8:37PM
Dont ask
it's got its own wanted poster
trust me u don't want to know

Lookas 8:38PM
I candy your point
All chocolate is good

Nuss 8:39PM
no its not
im SNICKERing at ur lack of taste

Lookas 8:39PM
Sweet

Nuss 8:40PM
anyways i got an email from Master Hand
he wants to VidChat us tomrrw morning at 8 on Whoosh
hes gonna chew me out
aHH im freaking out what do i do
should i unfriend him on social med

Lookas 8:45PM
Don't unfriend him
He's a HANDy person

Nuss 8:46PM
u feel that?
that's me glaring into ur soul 4 the bad pun
but fuck Im so scrwed
he wants us to chat him together
my place or yours

Lookas 8:49PM
My place
I'm too lazy to get out of bed

Nuss 8:49PM
wow
really

Lookas 8:50PM
Nah I'm messing with you
I don't mind whichever
My neighborhood might not be safest though

Nuss 8:55PM
i'll skateboard over :)

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~Chapter Sixteen~

A Familiar Feeling

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Seven-thirty in the morning, my cell phone shatters the silence with My Name is Alexander Hamilton. With a groan, I fumble for the source of godawful fanfare and press the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I croak.

"Hey, I teleported past the gate. Can you let me in?"

Disheveled and bleary-eyed, I shuffle out of my room and answer the door. In contrast to my pathetically dead state, Ness is a shining ball of enthusiasm. His face lights up upon seeing me.

"Hi." He's grinning. "Is Lucas home?"

I stare dumbly at him. Then pinch my nose. "No."

"Good thing I came over then," he says cheerfully, shouldering himself in with his Hot-wheels skateboard. "Gotta go and wake him up."

Shutting the door behind him, I stifle a yawn. "No bike this time?"

"Yeah, my bike lock's busted."

"You could've teleported yourself in."

Ness makes a face. "That'd be rude." He gestures at the little furniture we have. "Plus I could accidentally crash into something and damage your stuff."

Classic Ness. Worrying over the destruction of my property over his possible injury.

I give an incoherent mumble and shuffle to the kitchen to brew some coffee. Sunlight is peeking through the blinds, but as far as I'm concerned, it's too fucking early in the morning. Not all of us are hyperactive morning larks like Ness. Trudging over to the island, I prepare the ground beans and water before plugging the coffee machine into the outlet. The lid hisses and steams.

As Ness sets up his laptop and plugs in his charger in the living room, I get dressed and wash my face. When I emerge, tugging down another one of my striped shirts, Ness has comfortably made himself home on the couch.

"You want something to drink?" I ask him.

Ness shakes his head. "I had a big breakfast before I left," he says, patting his stomach. His eyes nervously flicker to the closest room down the hall. "Is your dad-"

"He's out."

Ness shakes his head again, this time in disbelief. "He's a real workaholic."

"He's over his pneumonia too." I pour myself a generous heap of coffee in the kitchen and breathe it in. Though I prefer tea, I like the taste of coffee. It's bitter, but keeps me awake... Nature's best energy drink for emergencies. I take a sip, feeling it slowly clear out the fog in my brain. "I think I can head back to the mansion tomorrow. I let Master Hand know."

Ness's voice filters from the living room. "Same. We can teleport to the subway together."

I cave into another yawn. "And... thanks for the soup. I'll bring something over for your mom next time I'm over."

"You don't have to," Ness says quickly.

"I want to."

Ness's watch goes off. He glances at it and gulps. "Seven fifty-five," he says hoarsely, and when I sit beside him on the couch, he starts fidgeting and wringing his hands like a sinner. "I'm so screwed. Master Hand is going to kill me," he moans. "I missed so many practice matches-"

"Practice matches aren't mandatory-"

"It's different for me. Master Hand actually looks at my practice match record, because I'm one of the Twelve," Ness says, and he's so twitchy and jittery with anxiety that he's shaking on the couch like a buzzed drug addict. "He's gonna hand me over to Crazy. I just know it, Crazy's gonna force me to do something totally embarrassing. I'm doomed-"

I shake him by the shoulder. "Hey. Do you want coffee."

Ness falls still. His left eyelid twitches.

Turning back to my neglected cup of coffee, I heave a small sigh. "You came back to check on me. It wasn't like you ditched training for a lame excuse. So tell him that."

Ever so slowly, Ness shifts into the couch pillows. "Okay," Ness whispers. "Thanks."

The icon flashes across the laptop screen for an incoming Whoosh call. With rising trepidation, Ness clicks on it and accepts the call.

Needless to say, I'm feverishly glad that my dad has already gone to work. Our apartment walls are thin. Soundproof-free.

They're certainly not Master Hand-friendly.

"You've left the entire mansion in a state of utter chaos-"

"HA. hA! CHaOS!"

"-caused a massive surge of activity in the shipping poll over the past twenty-four hours-"

"ANaRCHy? BRiLLiaNt!"

"-and appeared on the front page of the Smash Daily!" Master Hand booms, jabbing the colorful 6" by 8" cover page of the subway station into the computer screen. If the circumstances hadn't been so dire, I might've laughed; as it was, I ended up ducking my head to stifle a snort into my hand. Ness's flailing headshot blocked out over half of the blown-up photo, his expression stuck in a perpetual herp-derp. In the background of the photo, I catch the just-recognizable faces of Toon, Red, and Popo fleeing in mortal terror from the camera. Glowering with a hellish wildfire, Master Hand slams the paper down. "NESS. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE."

Ness gives a nervous laugh. "I... boosted your sales?"

Hell hath no fury than a Hand's scorn. "Lucas's Leave of Absence was supposed to be an undercover secret from the press. What you did was bring all the paparazzi to Onett."

"Sorry," Ness says meekly.

"bLAtaNt diSReGaRd fOr ruLeS? mE LIKEy!" Crazy Hand cackles, waggling his finger. "OOooOOh, NESSie, yOU'vE bEEn A vERY NAUgHty bOy!"

"We were about to send out search parties before inner intelligence stated that you left of your own accord-"

"ha! HAHa! I sAy wE PUNisH hIm-"

"-and so help me, disciplinary action will be taken."

"nO CaNDY fOr TwO THOuSAND YeARS!"

Their voices bounce against the empty walls. We can feel Master Hand's smoldering anger seep through the screen of Ness's silver Apple laptop, and thoroughly whupped, Ness shrinks deeper into the couch. "I was checking on Lucas-"

"And I told you it was all under control."

"To be fair, you did lie and say that I was sick," I mumble.

Crazy Hand twitches gleefully. "YeAH, BRo. YoU liED. HOw doES iT fEEL tO bE ThE BAd kiD nOw?"

"Crazy, please. This is not the time." Master Hand slumps into his seat. "While I am most certainly relieved to find you both in one piece before the Winter Championships, proper disciplinary action must be enacted. Ness, I will place you under temporary house arrest until further notice-"

"House arrest?!" Ness sputters out. "Who are you, my mom?"

"ENOUGH!" Master hand slams himself against his desk, and Ness flinches. "You've not only gone MIA, but also sparked an uprising of Nesscas followers, became an international shipping sensation, and created a new Internet meme in the span of less than a day. That does it, Ness. I'm putting the hand down. With the sole exception of Lucas, who is on official leave, you are to return to the mansion immediately. Am I clear?"

Ness shrivels up in his seat. "Crystal."

Setting down the newspaper, Crazy Hand nervously twitches in the corner. "eH, bRO-bRO. yOU mIGht waNNa sEe thIs."

"See what?"

"ThIs sUPeR sHADy tHInG iN tHE PaPER."

As the two Hands converse off-screen, Ness glumly wiggles his socked feet against the living room carpet. "Hooray. So is this the part you say, I told you so?"

"No. I don't like seeing you get into trouble," I mutter.

Ness breaks into a small smile. "Then I'll swear off all trouble making," he says seriously, crossing his heart. "I will be the new Poster Boy of good behavior."

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. "Don't make promises that you can't keep."

"I don't," Ness insists.

Someone clears their throat, and we turn our attention back to Ness's laptop. "There's been a change of plans," Master Hand says grimly. "Ness, stay in Onett today."

Ness perks his head up in surprise. "Huh? Why?"

"I wouldn't have dropped patrol duty on you before the Championships, but since you conveniently happen to be in Onett, all the better for us." With a rustle of static, Master Hand picks up his crumpled copy of the Smash Daily. "There's been a sudden hike in Shark raids-"

"And you want the two of us to investigate."

"Twenty-four hours. Two psychics working together on the case might yield some clues."

I shift uneasily in my seat.

Ness is quick to respond. "Sure. We'll sweep the area. One thing, though," Ness adds, flicking the bill of his cap. "Why do you need us to step in? The Sharks are a street gang of highschool dropouts. They're not a threat. The police could easily handle them on a one-to-one."

Master Hand exchanges a worried glance with his brother. "We have our suspicions. This might be a part of an insidious development. A greater evil."

"Yeah." Ness points at me. "They beat up Lucas."

"They didn't beat me up. They stole my phone," I protest, but Ness shoots me an O RLY?

"Same thing."

"It's not-"

"Whatever it is, they've gone quiet after several coordinated robberies. Crickets. Radio silence. My experience of dealing with criminals tells me that a major heist is underway." Master Hand twiddles his thumb. "I want you both to take a quick glance around for anything remotely suspicious. We can launch preparations for a proper investigation after the Championships, but if I could, I'd bet all of my fingers that the Sharks up to no good."

No shit, Ness thinks sarcastically, and I resist the urge to snort a second time. For a second, I'm afraid that he's about to speak his mind, but Ness must've caught onto the severity of the situation, because there's only one thing worse than having one pissed-off Hand: TWO pissed-off Hands.

"Sounds swell," Ness says instead, then casts a hopeful glance at the monitor. "So... if you want me to stay here..."

Master Hand takes one glance at his pleading, puppy dog expression and sighs. The tension vanishes from his knuckles. "Ness, you do try my patience,"he mutters, sweeping a thumb across his paperwork. "But Crazy is right. The Championships are a stressful season for everybody. Very well, just this once, I'll let your misdemeanor slide. Make up for it by training hard... Harder than you ever have." When Ness perks up like a happy dog who's won a treat, Master raises his figurative eyebrows."I'm not going on soft on you. If you cause any more trouble, then the deal's off."

"I love you, Master Hand," Ness says fervently.

"Hah. Well. Lucas, keep this troublemaker in line."

"Hey!"

"No guarantees," I say wryly, and Ness throws me a betrayed look. I thought you were supposed to be on my side, he mouths, and I give him a helpless shrug. Keeping him safe is my job, regardless of whose side I'm on.

Master Hand relaxes. "Good. Do your best to avoid the paparazzi. I'll see you both in twenty-four hours."

Crazy Hand pops into the screen with a wild cackle. "yEAH! aND SeND uS pOSTcArDS oF yOUR BeaUTIfUL HoNEYmOOn!"

"Crazy, no-"

The screen fizzles out.

Ness shuts his laptop with a groan. "Some honeymoon this is. They didn't even give us extra time off."

"And I thought people go on a honeymoon after getting married," I agree, stretching my cramped joints.

"Tracy says that we already bicker like a married couple."

"I just like to bicker with you apparently."

Forcing a laugh, Ness elbows me in the side. "A-Anyways. The Sharks. If they're causing trouble again, we should have a chat with my old pal, Frank Fly."

"Frank Fly? Isn't he-"

"Yup! Head honcho of the Sharks!" Ness slings his bag over his shoulder and grabs hold of his skateboard under the other. "He's a good guy. Tried to kill me but changed his mind after I disbanded his gang."

"An awful lot of people want to kill you," I note.

"Hey, I was an eleven-year-old kid trying to save the world. Take it easy," Ness defends himself, puffing up his cheeks. "But yeah, Frank's not a bad guy. He decided to reform and open a fast food company instead. We sometimes go grab pizza when I'm in town. I think you'll like him."

Leave it to Ness. He has such an odd motley crew of friends that I've lost count. Only he could be bffs with an ex mafia-slash-street-gang boss and actually pull it off.

"Let's meet him for lunch. Lemme teleport and drop off my stuff first."

"Sounds like a plan."

His eyes brighten up. "Cool. Then I'll see you at the gates in five." He hops up to ruffle my hair. As soon as his feet touch the ground, Ness dashes past me with a wild whoop-

And leaps over the railing from the FOURTH FLOOR.

With a shout of alarm, I race outside, but Ness has already skidded onto the pavement on his skateboard. Our powers help us defy physics and slow our descent, but that's still no excuse for him to play dumb!

"You're going to hit your head one day," I exhale, catching my breath over the railing, and grinning like a loon, Ness meets my eyes. My heart stutters in panic.

This red-capped idiot is going to be the end of me.

Even from up here, I can hear the teasing lilt in his voice. Ness cups his hands over his mouth. "Sheesh, Lucas! Never would've struck you as the worried type." His crooked grin widens so that he's grinning ear to ear. "It's okay! If I get hurt, I'll have you to heal me."

"That's not what my PSI is for-"

"Later, Lookas!" Ness yells before dashing behind the dumpster. A blink of power in my mind tells me that he's teleported.

With a small groan, I bury my face into my hands. Suddenly, keeping Ness safe doesn't seem like an easy promise to uphold.

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~oO0Oo~

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We meet Frank Fly at the pizza parlor.

For a guy who once ran a street gang, Frank doesn't look the least bit gung-ho. He doesn't have weird piercings on his nose, and doesn't wear baggy jeans that threaten to slide off his arse. Cleanly shaven, he's dressed in business formal attire.

When Ness calls his name with a furious wave, Frank does a double-take.

"Ey!" Frank says, lowering his shades in surprise. "Haven't seen you in a while, Nessie."

"We should catch up," Ness chirps. He drags me over by the arm and starts making introductions. "This is Lucas. Lucas, Frank."

Frank smiles. "Well, any buddy of Ness is mine."

Ness watches me expectantly, his eyes willing me to make first contact. The look is unnecessary; while I'm shy of speaking, I do try to be courteous, and leaving Frank hanging would be a rude welcome on my part. Still, Ness's encouragement urges me to close in the gap, and I'm just about to extend a hand out in greeting until my limbs lock up. A cold chill runs down my spine.

I recognize this man.

"Lucas, huh? You look familia-" Frank stops. A slow realization dawns in his eyes, and the smile on his face falters. "You're..."

I slowly withdraw my hand. Digging my nails into the side of my arm, I force a smile. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Fly."

Ness looks confused by the spike of tension. His head whips back and forth between us. "You two know each other?" he says in disbelief.

"Saw him in passing." Frank's eyes shift away from mine. His voice turns gruff. "Anyways, boys, pizza's on me."

Throughout the entire meal, Ness surreptitiously shoots me looks, elbowing me in the side or kicking me under the table to talk. He even projects his thoughts my way to grab my attention, but I double down, twisting my fists into my lap. I'm not interested in joining the conversation. I want nothing to do with this man.

I want nothing to do with what he represented.

Eventually, Ness gives up. I keep track of their dialogue, but it's hard not to drift off. Ness seems more than happy to catch up instead with the ex-mafia boss, who - sitting beside Ness - behaves more like a long-lost Uncle than an incriminating crime lord. When the waiter bustles over to refill our water, I spare Ness a hesitant glance to remind him why we're here, but Ness busily makes enthusiastic gestures with noisy side-accompanying whooshes and kabooms. He's excitedly enraptured in telling some wild story or another, and clutching his sides, Frank Fly roars with laughter.

They work their way through the second 16" pepperoni with mushrooms when Ness suddenly stands up.

"Bathroom," he announces, tossing his napkin onto his chair. "Be right back!"

Within the blink of an eye, he disappears around the STAFF ONLY sign.

Well, this is awkward.

Clearing his throat, Frank Fly sets down his glass of diet coke. "Well, kid. I can't say that I'm surprised to see you here. How's the new life treating yah?"

"Good."

Frank barely wavers at the one word response. "I'm glad to see you out of the hood," he says, offering me a cig. When I decline it with a jerky shake of my head, Frank Fly nods and lights its end. "Right. You never liked cigs-"

"I'm not here to smoke joints," I say stiffly.

"Right, right," Frank murmurs, the cigarette in his mouth bobbing up and down. "I can't believe I never put two and two together. You working for the side of the law now? Impressive." He gives a low, breathy chuckle. "Ness is an interesting kid. He sees the good in the ugliest people. He sure changed my life. Changed yours too by the looks of it."

When I uneasily stay silent, Frank takes a drag and blows it in the other direction. "All that fame hasn't gotten to his head like a lot of the popular folk. His heart's in the right place... but I worry for him, kid, I do. Ness can be too trusting of strangers sometimes. Makes me feel better that he's got a skeptic like you around." He flashes his tobacco-stained teeth at me like a feral shark. "A pragmatist. Someone with a steady head on shoulders."

"Ness isn't a kid. He can take care of himself."

Frank laughs. "You've changed a lot, kid."

"I have a long way to go."

"Don't we all." His eyes crinkling at the edges, Frank leans over to clap a hand on my shoulder. "I know it's too late for us to make amends, but keep a close eye out for that rascal, will you? I prefer to see him alive and kickin'."

Then Ness returns to the table with an enthusiastic clamor, and welcoming him back, Frank pinches off the end of his ash-caked cigar. Ness looks more than eager to renew conversation, but this time, Frank shakes his head. "Hey, kid. Don't get me wrong, I love the chit-chat, but I have a feeling you're here for somethan' else."

Horrified, Ness jerks his head up. "Oh fuck, I forgot! The investigation-"

"Over my former gang. Key word: former. No hard feelings, Nessie," Frank Fly says, waving his apologies off. "An'ways, the Sharks have a new boss now, an' it's not me. I did hear a thing or two about some higher up paying them for a major heist-"

"A higher up?" Ness asks with a frown.

Frank shrugs. "Dunno who. Again, some higher up. Must be important if the Sharks aren't blowing his brain out with a gat. I bet a whole diamond that he's a either a politician or a business man."

"It's a he."

"Yep. That's all I know. Sorry, kid. If ya want clues, check out their turf. Don't go there now," Frank adds when Ness rises halfway out of his seat. Embarrassed, Ness sinks back down. "That's right, Nessie. I'd wait til nightfall. 'S dangerous, but them Sharks like to work in the dark. If you wanna catch someone to spill the beans, then the Arcade's your best shot." Frank Fly jerks his head in my direction. "Your friend should know how to get you in."

Ness shoots me a puzzled look. I shrug back, averting my eyes. The waiter passes over the bill, and Frank presses a whole fifty on the table.

Crumpling up the customer receipt, Frank tips his fedora back. "Well, kids. I gotta go. Don't die now."

On that pleasant note, our audience with the reformed crime lord comes to a close.

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~oO0Oo~

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We hang out at my place until the sky dims and the stars peek out. When the street lights start popping along the main road, I poke Ness awake and toss him his shoes.

The temperature tonight falls below freezing. A sliver of ice coats the cobbled alleyway. Dotting our view, dingy apartments creak and groan in protest to the temperature change.

The only other sounds that break the silence are the crunch of our shoes into the snow and Ness's incessant complaining.

"Master Hand better not punish us for this."

"We should keep our voices down," I mutter, keeping my mind alert. So far, so good. Nobody's in the area.

We stop right outside the busted Arcade. Even looking at it makes my skin crawl with shame.

Words can't describe how much I hate this place.

Wrapping himself in his jacket, Ness rubs the goosebumps from his arms. "What did Frank mean? Like, about you getting us in," he says, watching me drop to my knees and pat down the icy ground. "It's past closing time. The Arcade's locked-"

"Not anymore," I say in relief, flipping the spare key into my palm. It lands perfectly in my hand, unintentionally making me seem a lot cooler than I am.

Ness turns slack-jawed. "Bloody hell."

Unlocking the backdoor of the Arcade, I kick it open. "After you."

"How did you do that? No- where did you get that?" Ness says faintly. He scrunches his eyebrows into a frown. "It was like..." He starts mimicking me in an exaggerated impression. "Like, poof! Da-da-daaa, Magic Key!"

"Lucky guess." A half-truth. I buried the key in this spot many years ago, and I'm lucky that it's stayed here. Any more waiting tonight, and the ground would've been frozen too solid to dig with my hands.

Ness rolls his eyes in a no, duh. "Sure it is."

"It's a long story. Not here," I add when Ness opens his mouth to ask. "I'll tell you later."

Bursting to the brim with unanswered questions, Ness searches my face, but as if sensing my unhappiness on the subject, gives me the benefit of doubt. He trudges inside, ducking under the door frame and breathing into the winter chill.

The Arcade's darker inside. Slivers of moonlight scatter across the dusty windows and paint the squalid floor pale blue. The old light fixtures creak and groan, and our sneakers squeak loudly against the filthy tiles.

"D'you sense anyone?" Ness whispers.

My eyes rake over the darkened rows of arcade games. "No."

"Me neither." His eyes shining in the dark, Ness presses his hand to his chest. When he blinks again, his eyes die down to their natural nocturnal glow. "I don't feel anyone around either."

"There's no one here," I say slowly. "That's weird."

"Why?"

"This place should've been lit. On a good day, it's packed. There should've been bouncers out front."

Ness grips his bat tighter. "What if it's a trap?"

Wary now, I consider the possibility. It's too soon to lower our guard. "Keep your eyes pealed."

As Ness takes watch, squinting through the windows, I duck underneath the pool tables. A crisp packet. Several empty beer bottles. As confirmed, no sign of people. Grimacing at the sour stench of beer, I straighten myself up and accidentally bump against Ness's arm.

Ness flinches in surprise.

"Sorry," I whisper.

"It's okay." Ness's rapid breathing fills my ears. He scrunches his eyes shut. "Let's check out the second floor."

I mutter in assent, and we head over to the exits. Our footsteps noisily echo up the stairwell like claps of thunder. Ness takes the front, both hands on his trusty bat. Taking up the rear guard, only pausing to take a glance back, I ready a PK Magnet on my fingertips.

The door on the second floor is ajar.

With a deep breath, Ness pokes the rusty hinges with his bat. It creaks. When nothing else happens, he charges into the storage room with a yell-

Only to fall face-first into an empty cardboard box.

Popping his head up, Ness breaks out into a stifled snort, then triggered by his own snort, outright starts laughing.

Alarmed, I hurry over and clap a hand over his mouth. "Shh."

Squirming around in my hold, Ness gulps down a choked gasp. "L-Lucas, there's no one here."

"Shh, stop laughing. You're gonna get us killed-"

"No, you Shh," Ness says.

I jerk up when my skin crawls. Someone's watching us. My eyes flicker over the landing to - there. A dark, skulking figure. Jolting to my feet, I hurl a PK Freeze its way, hitting it square in the chest. Boxes topple around us in a pile of dust, and when Ness gives a yelp of shock behind me, I whirl around to face his assailant-

Ness grabs my wrists from behind. "-Stop! Luke, there's no one here."

I follow his eyes back to the toppled pile of boxes.

Ness is right. There is no one there.

Shame prickles my mind. The floor suddenly sways. My knees grow weak, so I sit down hard. "I-I thought-" I start stupidly.

As if reading my mind, Ness tightens his hold on my hands. His hands are warm, so comfortably warm and reassuring that I grip them back like a lifeline.

"Are you okay?" he whispers.

I realize I'm shaking.

There's no point in telling him that I'm fine. Ness would eventually pry the truth out of me. I struggle to get the shameful words out. "This was... this was the joint." I take a breath. "Where I dealt drugs."

"What?"

"In third grade. I was small and stupid," I mumble. "The Sharks cornered me the week I moved in. They needed an errand boy to pick up drugs from a drop-off point. A drug runner. My dad was still trying to find work, we were about to be evicted from the apartment, and it was the only way I could pay off the bills..." I wince at the distraught look on Ness's face. "It's not something I'm proud of, Ness."

I expect him to make a wisecrack, but Ness exhales, "Shit, Lucas."

"Yeah."

"That's like... You could've gotten shot by the cops."

"I try not to think about it."

Ness grips my hands tighter. "How long?"

"Two years." I crack a small smile. "Then you went on your quest and forced the Sharks to disband. You inspired me to stand up for myself. They left me alone after that."

"Are you talking about the incident that-"

"-led to my training with Lucario. Yeah."

Still unconvinced, Ness gingerly examines my palms as if making sure they're real. "...you never let me crash at your place. Was this...?"

"Partly," I admit.

Ness's jaw tightens. His brow knits into a thick furrow. "I can't believe I never noticed. And your dad... " Ness rubs his forehead in an agitated fashion. "How the fuck did he not figure out?"

"My dad was out working all the time. He got suspicious a few times, but never asked."

Ness stares at me, then runs a hand through his unruly black hair. "This is so messed up," he says finally.

"I know, me dealing drugs-"

"I'm not talking about that, you idiot, I'm talking about... How did this not fuck you over in school? I mean, I guess it did..." Ness inhales deeply. "I remember you sat inside for recess once, because you had this horrible limp, so I thought that maybe your dad had been-" Ness's eyes widen in horror. "Shit. They hit you."

We're veering off-topic. "That's not the point-"

"They did, didn't they?" Ness presses.

"Only if I returned late."

Whatever I said doesn't seem to have made a difference. Ness's eyes turn hard, and he lurches towards the stairwell.

I grab his shoulder. "Ness, hold on-"

"Don't try to stop me," Ness snarls, whirling back to face me. "They hur-" His voice cracks midway. "They hurt you." His voice rises even higher. "Goddammit, Lucas! They practically terrorized you until you turned into a twitchy little shit, and all you can tell me is hold on?!"

"They didn't turn me into a twitchy little shit," I say, my mouth dry. I should've expected this. Ness already had a reputation for being overprotective over his friends, but I should've known that he wouldn't have taken my exploits well. He cares. He cares too much about other people that they hurt him.

It's not to say that I can't relate to his sensitivity. I do, to an extent. From an early age, I grew up as the crybaby counterpart to my braver twin, and the title quickly stuck. I used to be so easily reduced to tears that I hated myself for it. Crying was shameful. Crying made me weak. Eventually, I hit a point in my life when I realized that crying didn't solve anything.

I haven't cried in public since.

The difference is that all his life, Ness has been taught that it's okay to cry, that it's okay to express himself. So he cries unabashedly over what some might consider trivial: The Lion King, fluffy bunnies, sad nature documentaries. This, I don't mind. Ness is readily open with his feelings where I am closed, and Ness is strong where I am weak.

But this is different. Ness sounds even more upset than I do. It's not like the Sharks had forced him to deal drugs, for crying out loud!

When Ness tries to shoulder past me, I pull him back. "Hey, where are you going. It's okay, stop."

"No, it's not okay!" Ness bursts out, grappling with my arms, but it's ridiculously comical because he's so short.

"Let it go, Ness. I signed up for it," I plead.

Dropping all signs of a struggle, Ness stares at me... then socks me right in the shoulder.

"Ow," I groan, rubbing my sore shoulder. "Is this really necessary."

"God," Ness breathes in, then pinches his nose. "Fuck, I can't believe you... Okay, I'll let it go. Just promise me that you won't do something this stupid again."

"That's a hard promise to make-"

Ness grabs my shoulders and lightly shakes me. "Promise me, Luke. I mean it. This shit isn't funny."

Something about the desperate look in his eyes makes me stop. I'm not used to having someone worry over me. I've grown up realizing how much better it is on the long run to keep to myself in fear of bothering others around me. Better a considerate nuisance than a flat-out nuisance.

Then again, Ness isn't the odd someone.

Watching his heavy brow scrunch into a frown, I wonder how I would've reacted if our positions had been reversed. If Ness had been the one to play errand boy. If Ness had been the one to hide behind dumpsters and worry his nails off. If Ness had been the one to curl up and sob and tend to his new injuries whenever he thought that no one was watching. If Ness had been the one to struggle open his front door to strangers who demanded him to play hooky and get the good stuff.

Touched by his concern, I clumsily pat him in the shoulder. "Promise."

His arms slump over in relief. "Good." Ness releases his hold on me, then after a brief moment of hesitation, fondly reaches up to ruffle my hair. "Now let's go round up some potheads," he says matter-of-factly, and when I laugh, he shoots me a crooked grin that brightens up the stars in his eyes.

A strange warmth tickles my throat. Caught by the playful desire to respond in kind, I flick one of his bangs out of his face. With an inward grin, I wait for the hasty recoil, the playful scowl, the trademark complaint of oh fuck off, but Ness does none of the sort.

He's frozen in his tracks.

Taken aback by the unexpected reaction, and wondering if I've overstepped my boundaries, I slowly stuff my hands back into my pockets. "We should wait downstairs," I mumble, embarrassed.

"Okay," Ness whispers in a hoarse voice.

The wait is uneventful. To our luck (or lack there-of), no one shows up, but the awkward silence sinking into the snow makes the wait last painfully longer.

Leaning against a broken down ping-pong machine, Ness is eerily quiet. He speaks once, twice, but only to comment on the time. Aside from that, he returns to his statuesque vigil.

Crouched by the door, I turn my head aside and trace the ambiguous shadows that flit and flicker across the window.

A police siren wails past. An owl hoots.

Involuntarily, I find my eyes drawn to the figure by the pool table.

Ness is loud. His thoughts are loud. His body language is loud, and his clothes - bright yellow striped shirts - are loud. Even without talking, even while standing, he brims with confidence. His eyes look alive. His chest rises and falls with each breath he takes. His hair shivers with a silent energy, and I watch it in mild fascination. I never noticed how naturally Ness's dark bangs swept over his forehead; it's a different look from the poofy, capped fashion statement he wears on stage, or the spiky hat-hair he proudly shows off during the day. Something about its messy familiarity tickles my mind.

I decide I like Ness without his hat on.

Fifteen minutes in, Ness breaks the silence. "Let's go home."

All too glad to comply, I hobble back onto my numb feet.

Ness teleports me home. He promises to stop by tomorrow for the subway station, then just as quickly, winks out of existence.

Shuffling awkwardly in place to kill another few seconds, I settle back into my usual routine. Routines are predictable, boring, and safe. I like the security they offer, even if it's an illusion, because routines give me a sense of direction. Drag myself back to my apartment, unlock the door, set up the table. Check on dad. Exchange one-liner about my day. Repeat.

Routines are meant to be kept. They help me focus and fill up the gaps in my life.

And in one fell swoop, Ness crashed into my monotonous life.

He broke all of my routines. A risk-taker with a knack for improv, he did things on the fly, did things in the spur of the moment, did whatever felt right. Something dangerous always seemed to careen his way, and I'd learned to expect the unexpected.

Ness was a loud wave of excitement that slammed into my life one morning and never left. He made my life unpredictable, unboring, and unsafe.

And I loved the change.

Mortified, I flatten my face into my book. I've noticed little changes in my own behavior - little changes that I couldn't explain. While solitude was welcome and alone time even more so, I couldn't bear to live life the way I'd used to, forever lonely and holed up in my room. I felt bolder. Braver. I wanted to try out new things. Think new things. Take risks that I never would've taken.

Worst of all, I couldn't keep my focus. I couldn't concentrate whenever Ness was around.

It's an all-too familiar feeling, but to my frustration, one I can't place my finger on.

A hot flush creeps up the back of my neck, and I slowly peel my burning face off from the paper pages. I'm a skinny little fucker, all gangly limbs and unattractive as hell, but Ness somehow makes me feel warm, happy, and flustered at the same time. He makes me feel embarrassingly weak and helpless in a way that no one else has ever done before.

My tea has cooled down. I don't bother re-brewing it and pick up the mug anyway, because cold tea's still tea, and I need something to keep my mind off of all... this. Flicking the tea bag away from the rim, I try to rub away the pleasant tingly sensation of Ness's hair from my fingers, but absentmindedly find myself wanting to touch it longer. Shaking my head to rid myself of the strange urge, I scrunch my eyes up, but find myself drifting off instead to Ness's grin, the alive look in his eyes, the dots of warmth every time his fingers press into my skin-

I love you.

The tea mug drops out of my fingers, but I barely hear it shatter over the roar of my suddenly clear thoughts.

Oh, fuck. Shit.

I'm in love.

Author's Note:

*In Earthbound, Frank Fly is the ex-crime lord of the Sharks, a street gang in Onett. Ness disbands them in his quest to fight Giygas.

*In Earthbound, Frank Fly is a minor Earthbound boss who eventually reforms and works at the local Onett burger shop. He's younger than 21 years old in-game. After Ness knocked some sense into him, I like to imagine that he graduated college as a first-gen student, and ended up making big bucks at the company of the burger franchise he previously worked in.

Happy reading!