Chatting lightly, Ness and Claus scoured Town Square.

"C'mon Princey! I wanna show you my favorite place to eat!" Claus said enthusiastically. He led Ness around.

"Alright just slow down a little! And don't call me 'Princey'! People are starting to stare!"

"Calm down, calm down. No one will suspect a thing. We can just tell them it's short for a name or something." Claus continued. He ran down alleys and took shortcuts around the town. Soon, they were both face-to-face with a restaurant. It was made of splintery wood that gave it the really cheap looking appearance. However, judging by the the amount of people going in and out, the place was more than average. It was called, 'Jetson's Bar and Grill'.

Claus went in, but he stopped when he saw that Ness wasn't moving. "Something wrong? Does royalty not eat commoner's food? Do they only eat that fancy ol' cups of lifenoodles?" he joked.

"No, it's nothing," said Ness. "I've just never been to a place like this! It feels like I traveled to another universe or something."

"Well, now you are!" Claus indistinctly took Ness by the hand. From there, he dragged him inside. Once inside, Ness totally felt like he was in another universe now. Jolly people filled the whole restaurant. Some were hard-working men, talking to his group loudly whilst drinking beer. Families eating together, enjoying the food they've chosen. And cooks happily tossing and cooking sausages in the kitchen that smelled delicious to Ness and Claus.

Satisfied with his surrounding, Claus led Ness to a wooden booth right next to a window. "I always sit here. The guys drinking beer really annoy me."

Ness took a seat across from Claus. "Huh? Why?"

"TONIGHT, WE SHALL DRINK LIKE CRAZAAYYY!" a guy drinking beer who clearly looked drunk already, shouted. He had a heavy case of the hiccups as his head dropped to the table. The other guys he was sitting with, cheered.

"Annnnnd that's why. I prefer a nice time alone." Claus picked up a menu.

"Really?" Ness picked up one as well. "I thought of you as the kind of popular guy at school who's friends with everyone and is also good with the ladies."

Claus scoffed. "Seriously? You're waaaaay off. Except about the ladies part." He smirked jokingly. Ness laughed.

"Oh! And speaking of school, didn't you have to go today?" interrogated Ness.

"Nah, I skipped."

"Why?"

"..." Claus paused for a moment. "O-Oh you know, because I had stuff to do, and since I did, I figured I'd choose today to tell you to come to Town Square to give you back your bracelet and such."

Ness smiled and shook his head. "Then if you were supposed to be busy today, why are you eating out with me?"

That made Claus freeze, while at the same time, blush.

"You do realize you can just tell me straight that you wanted to see me, right?" Ness' smile turned into a big grin. "You didn't have to go to the trouble of stealing my bracelet just to have a reason to call me out."

"S-Shut up!" Claus said. His expression told Ness that his accusation was spot-on. "And what about you, Princey? Weren't you busy doing what princes are supposed to do?"

"Yes, I was, actually. My agenda was full from morning to night. But I skipped too. Because somebody took my bracelet and only gave me today to come pick it up!"

Claus laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. "You still came."

"Heh, I'm kinda glad I did too. Definitely beats having to learn about the history of Eagleland." Ness was looking through the menu. Claus smiled at that, but hid it under his own menu. "I have no idea what I want."

"Really? I already know what I want. It's my all time favorite! I always get it whenever I come here. It's just so tasty and gives you a weird jumpy feeling on the inside," informed Claus.

"What's it called? I'll just take that too."

"Skip Sandwich DX. Yum! It's one of my favorite foods! That, and vanilla ice cream."

"Ooooh! A sandwich! I've heard of those! Never had one though."

"Wow, you really are congested in royalty."

Ness rolled his eyes playfully, as Claus called over a waiter.

"JOHNNY! JOHNNNNNNY!" Claus flailed his hands in the air. The overall picture of him right now caused Ness to chuckle.

"AH-! What is it, Claus?!" A portly man in a dirty apron walked over. He was carrying a circular tray with a few dirty plates on it. He looked a little bothered by Claus' sudden call, but he smiled nevertheless. He and Claus were good friends.

"I want the usual!" Claus grinned, then pointed to Ness. "He wants the same thing I'm having too."

"Oh alright- wait..." Johnny approached Ness and inspected him carefully. While he was looking, Ness curved the bill of his hat more over his face a little. "New friend?"

"I guess," said Claus. "Why? You seem surprised."

"It's nothing... It's just that whenever you come over here, you're either with your brother, or alone reading a book by yourself."

"Well, I met this guy off the streets."

"Oh really?" Johnny looked at Ness. "And what's your name, young man?"

"Uh..." Ness didn't know how to reply. He was pretty sure if he answered with his real name, that would activate Johnny's suspicion. "Ne...Ne... Nate. Yup. Nate." Ness smiled crookedly.

"Nice name, boy. Good meeting ya! Well, I gotta get back to work you two. Your food will be right up in just a sec!" Then Johnny went off to the 'Workers Only' part of the restaurant.

"Pft... 'Nate'?" Claus snickered. "That's a retarded name to come up with!"

"HEY. I was limited with time! It was the best I can come up with, okay? I'm not stupid..."

"It's not that! It's just that I like 'Ness' better," Claus defended.

"...Really?" A tiny smile grew on the black haired boy's face.

Seeing that, Claus replied, "Ehem, y-yeah. You're still stupid, though."

"Sure I am," said Ness, sarcastically. Claus shook his head with a smile. After that, Johnny came back real quick and dropped off their Skip Sandwiches DX and free drinks. They both thanked him and then he got back to work.

"Yummy!" As soon as Johnny was gone, Claus picked up the big sandwich, and started enjoying it. Ness stared at him silently, not touching his food just yet.

Claus may not have known it, but that recent fight that they were just in... Ness still couldn't forget about it. All this small talk... Ness knew it was just to avoid that topic. But the thought that Claus would feel somewhat troubled if he brought it up kept him from talking about it. Should he, or should he not? Ness felt empathy for Claus, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"Uh... Princey?" Claus snapped a finger in front of his face. That took Ness out of his thought cloud. "You alright? You haven't touched your sandwich yet."

"O-Oh, I'm alright... I'm just thinking... about what happened..." Ness said slowly. He took a bite out of the Skip Sandwich DX. The flavor bursted in his mouth, and it tasted really good. But he didn't mention it to Claus because he wanted to stay on topic.

"Oh... that..." Claus stopped eating, and set his sandwich down. "I bet you're wondering who they were, aren't you?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Ness. "They were bullying you! Of course I want to know! That is, if you're okay with telling me."

Claus looked hesitant, and even a bit sad. He looked down at his hands. "They upset me, but I guess if you want to know, I'll just tell you then..." He took a deep breath, then looked up at Ness. "You know that boy Fuel?" Ness nodded his head. "He used to be my best friend."

Ness' mouth gaped open. "What? That jerk?!"

"Yeah, lemme just finish my story, and you'll understand better." said Claus. Ness nodded, and quieted. "You see, about 2 years ago, Fuel and I were best friends. Popular, even. Everyone was my friend. I wasn't such an outcast like I am now. That was until Fuel... he...he..." Claus gulped. "Confessed his feelings to me."

Ness gasped quietly, but kept his mouth shut.

After saying those words, that was when Claus' expression became angry. "But I told him that I didn't feel the same way for him, and that we should just stay friends. He didn't show it, but I could perfectly tell that those words somewhat killed him on the inside. I said I'm sorry, but he didn't listen. You see, Fuel isn't the kind of guy to... you know... take things lightly. He was always so nice, but that time, he literally went berserk. He told me he never wanted to see me again, and that it was my fault that he fell in love with me. That it was my fault for his depression and angriness."

Claus' eyes reddened, but he refused to cry. "He was my best friend! Those things he told me really got to me. It was my fault. But that itself wasn't even the worst part. He was so mad and depressed, he started spreading rumors. Rumors about me. Things like, 'Don't trust Claus,' or, 'Claus is a homo, Satan created him,' and stuff like that. Everyone grew to just hate me. My friends betrayed me and left me behind. Soon, I was by m-myself...!" He stuttered the last part. Because now... he was crying. Ness got up from his seat and took the one next to Claus when he was crying. He put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's my f-fault! It's my fault! I'm s-sorry Fuel!" Claus said in between breaths. His two hands were covering his eyes. He couldn't breathe straight. "N-Now he and his friends always bully me!"

"Claus... I'm so sorry..." Ness didn't know what to do. Because he couldn't do anything. And that's what made Ness feel bad the most. Having one of your friends suffering right next to you and you couldn't do anything or share the pain with him...

"It's not your fault, Claus!" Ness insisted. Then, having nothing to resort to, he brought Claus into a strong embrace. Claus didn't fight back, he just accepted it. He was too sad to push him away.

"You're wrong, it is my fault. It's not just me who's being bullied. My t-twin brother, Lucas, is too. Because we l-look alike...!" Claus breathed in erratically. "If I have never denied Fuel, Lucas would probably have never been bullied or rejected like me! I'm a h-horrible brother! I've ruined my life, along with his. Why did this have to happen? Now all I can do is protect me and m-my brother..."

Is that why he's so mean towards others...? thought Ness. It was a quick thought, one that he didn't dwell on for a long while.

In hearing that, Ness just tightened the hug. Now, people of the whole restaurant were starting to stare. "Here, Claus. C'mon, we need to go." He helped him out of his seat. Claus went along with Ness, still crying in his arms. He wanted to get out of the restaurant as much as Ness wanted to.

When they exited, Ness brought Claus to a nearby bench outside. One that wasn't too close to people, and had a tree shading the sun from it. He sat him down gently. By now, Claus' cries lessened. His eyes were still really red, but no more tears were coming out, only tiny sniffles now and then. And his head hung down. Ness felt really bad for Claus. He wanted to cheer him up really badly. But how?

That was when Ness figured it out.

"Claus." Ness stood up from the bench. Claus raised his head, telling Ness he was listening. "I have to go somewhere, I'll be right back, okay?"

"B-But I don't want you to go-" Claus' weak reply was too late; Ness already ran off. He stared sadly where Ness has gone off to.

Running as fast as he could, Ness ran to the nearest ice cream parlor. When he found one, he entered, happy to find that there was not much people in line. He waited, and when his turn came up, he bought the biggest vanilla ice cream sundae they had. Ness forked over his money, grabbed a spoon, and ran out. Then he went back the same way he came, and back to Claus.

Claus looked happily as Ness ran towards him, but confused as to why he was holding ice cream. "Why are you-"

"It's for you... I don't like seeing you sad anymore..." Ness looked away, blushing as he handed Claus the vanilla ice cream sundae. Claus looked at it and took it, then looked at Ness.

"Well, aren't you going to eat it?" asked Ness.

Claus still remained unmoving, still staring at the prince. Then, to Ness' surprise, Claus sat the ice cream to the side, and stood up. Slowly, he moved towards Ness with his arms open. Then ever so gently, he wrapped his arms around him.

"Thank you..." Claus tightened his embrace. Somehow, that filled Ness' heart with warmth and comfort. Taking a gulp, the prince hugged him back. They may not have been able to see each other in the middle of the hug, but if they could, they would see a big, bright smile on each other's faces.

Soon, they separated.

"Let's go now, Claus," said Ness. The boy nodded.

When Ness got a chance to look at Claus again after the hug, he was happy to find that Claus was breathing normally again, and his red eyes were completely gone. In fact, the orange haired one was smiling straight at Ness. It made him glad that he could do something to cheer him up.

Then from there, the two went off to spend the rest of the day together, completely leaving the ice cream behind. Because nothing could've made Claus happier than having Ness as his friend.