(Prologue: Ness)
"Listen, one and all! Here I am, Porky Minch! Emperor of business, of innovation, of greatness! I bow in your service, giving you quality products, and unending joy! Try my newest creation, the Happiness Drugs - they'll give you euphoria for a week!"
Porky preaches on the main stage in the centre of Onett City. The grotesque smile slapped on his face seems to be attracting some attention; there are crowds of interested people. Everyone here knows his name, everyone knows what he does. But everyone likes his products, so they turn a blind eye.
"Sir, come right this way!" He beckons, a genial smile on his features. "You look just fit to be a tester for some of my new projects! Come with me, the wages are very good!"
"No, thank you!" I bow, keeping up a pretence of politeness. Of course, he doesn't remember my face, he doesn't remember who I am. He's got much bigger fish to fry.
"And what about you, sir?" Porky turns to a man with red hair, and I can only watch as he happily takes his hand, following him down the street.
Never to be seen again.
...
"Evil Tazmily! Cruel Tazmily! Tazmily is developing its weapons, and we need to act now!"
Another man has taken the stage today; Geldegarde Monotoli, a notable businessman and politician.
"Onett is strong, and we will not be threatened by a feeble village! Sign up for the Onett First Brigade! Bring glory to our city!"
"Well!" Porky appears from the gloom, a radiant smile on his face. "I think I can lend you a hand."
"See? Mr Minch - he is a servant of the people!" Geldegarde beams around at the crowds. "He is a great man, a great man indeed! He will bring glory to Onett, beyond any we have ever had before!"
Porky smiles.
"Oh, you don't know the half of it, sir! Indeed… Indeed I shall..."
.
.
.
~~o00o~~
Chapter 5: In Sickness
(Ness)
~~o00o~~
.
.
.
Panic courses through me as Lucas's body falls limp in my arms.
"Lucas?!"
I don't know what's happening - he said he was ill earlier - but now he's gone and collapsed on the floor. Outside Headmaster Hand's office, no less - I hastily check his breathing. I feel air escaping his mouth. It's okay - he's alive - but what now? Straining, I pick him up - thank goodness he's small - and I start to carry him to our dorm. He needs to get into bed, and, maybe he'll be alright in the morning. I don't care if it's early, he needs sleep, right now.
But Headmaster Hand steps out of his office. "Oh no - what happened?"
"He collapsed, Headmaster!" I answer worriedly, as Lucas's body threatens to slip out of my grip. "I don't know how-"
"Dear me..." Headmaster Hand stares, as I try, unsuccessfully, to lift him up again. "How about I take him into my office? Or to the medical ward?"
"It's alright sir," I reassure him, gasping for breath. Headmaster Hand looks really worried, actually. It's concerning.
"You go back to your work," I add, seeing this. "I'll take Lucas to our dorm, and I'll put him to bed. Don't worry yourself, Headmaster." I try to be as polite as I can.
"If you insist." He frowns, evidently reluctant. "But - you see to it that he's alright, yes? Dr. Mario's office is still open…"
"I will, Headmaster," I say, as Headmaster Hand disappears back through his door. I hoist Lucas up onto my back. He's not too heavy - and I begin the long trudge to our dorm, still fretting like a mother hen.
Of all the worst pieces of luck. Lucas is sickly at the best of times, but this is a worrying new low. I hear him mumble something occasionally, as I carry him - something that sounds Latin. It's highly concerning.
I set down Lucas on his bed, tucking him under the covers. A noise of complaint comes from his mouth - I frown, worried again, and as I go to change into my pyjamas, I find he's taken my arm captive. Of course - I'd forgotten what a clingy sleeper he is. I try and release myself from his grip, but he only murmurs in his sleep again, holding on tighter. But it's okay. After all, his bed does look warm, and comfortable… maybe even more so than my own... and I am pretty tired…
I lie down, snuggling up to him. It's not weird - we've slept in the same bed before. Usually, when one of us has a nightmare, we'll seek solace with the other in their bed. It's just the way we do things.
Bayonetta's words come back to me. 'Funny story - I'm not actually into guys. I'm into girls.'
I blush, in spite of myself. This isn't like that! Lucas is just sick, and I happened to be the thing he clung to in his sleep, and I didn't want to make him let go, or he'd have been woken up! It's a perfectly ordinary situation! Besides, I must like girls. I have to like girls - what would Father think of me otherwise?
It wouldn't matter. He already hates you. You're already not good enough.
I tell the voice in my head to be quiet, curling up next to Lucas's pale form. My eyes slowly close slowly. Tomorrow will be calmer, better, I hope.
I drift off into an undisturbed slumber.
...
Wednesday morning breaks, and I wake up in the middle of a lovely dream about steak, thanks to Lucas jolting suddenly in his sleep. He must've had a bad dream or something, but he seems fine otherwise. His blue eyes open, boring into mine.
"Hi," I whisper quietly, suddenly self-conscious, seeing as we're sharing a bed.
"Hey - wh-what happened?" Lucas asks, putting a hand to his head.
"You passed out - so I carried you to bed - but you wouldn't let me go - and now it's morning - and yeah..." I ramble like an idiot. "How do you feel?"
"Not good." Lucas groans, rolling over. "I can hardly breathe - and my head - ngh -"
"Maybe you shouldn't go to lessons today…" I suggest, but Lucas disagrees.
"No! I have to go, or I'll fail the exams - and Father will be angry!"
"But it's Sport first…"
"Fresh air would be good," Lucas counters.
"Lucas, please, you're sick, you might be dying!"
"I'm fine," Lucas sighs. He rolls out of bed, clumsily getting up. "See?"
There's no arguing with him, so we get dressed and head down for breakfast. It turns out we overslept, because we're some of the last people to come down, even our friends seem to be nearly finished eating. I grab some oatmeal, Lucas grabs some porridge, and we sit at our usual table.
"Who's late? You're late! Who's late? You're late!" Toon Link chants, as we arrive.
"Lucas is sick," I explain. "And yet, he still refuses to rest."
"Yes," Lucas confirms. "Because rest is boring."
"He's sick?" Red looks up sharply, from the newspaper. "Have a look at this…"
We lean over.
Dastardly Disease Spells Death and Demise!
"Talk about overuse of alliteration," I grumble. Lucas shushes me.
A new disease has been discovered, found in over 100 Onett Civilians. It was identified on Monday in the Andonuts Laboratory. "It's a big deal, and it's quite scary," grinned Dr Andonuts, renowned scientist and inventor. "After examining hospital samples, it appears that this particular pathogen is viral in nature…"
He spoke for a while longer, but he used a lot of incomprehensible vocabulary, so we have omitted it from this article. We're definitely not only reporting the news we want you to hear.
"But I can't have that, right?" Lucas shivers, looking up. "I'll be fine!"
"The symptoms weren't reported," Red says plainly. "It's uncertain how fine you will be."
"He has to be fine!" I burst out. "He will be okay! He will not die!"
"Ness, please, calm down," Villager says, when nearly the entire school look over. "You don't have to act so defensively - he's not going to die, nobody said he was going to die."
"Sorry," I say. "But - I'm worried!"
"Ness, don't stress yourself out over it," Villager says calmly. "Don't get into a panic."
"I'm not panicking!"
"You are," Red observes bluntly.
"Fine." I give in. "Let's just go to Sport..."
"Ugh, we have Sport first?" Toon Link complains. "Oh well - perfect time for Villager to show off to Zel-"
"Hey!" Villager hits him on the shoulder. "None of that, thank you. I'll have you know that I'm not into her at all. Not one bit!"
"Is that so?" Toon Link laughs, raising an eyebrow. "We'll see about that in our next History lesson!"
"Hey!" Villager blushes. "You arse!"
"Yes, I do have a nice arse, thanks for noticing."
"Why are we friends with you again?"
"Because I make you all look good?"
"Toon Link! If you were any more full of yourself-"
"Shut up!" Red shouts angrily, interrupting the old married couple. "I'm trying to think!"
Villager and Toon Link give each other a surprised look, and Lucas has the nerve to laugh.
"Why is it that you guys always make fun of me?" Red continues, shooting Lucas a glare.
"What?" Toon Link turns to look at Red in bemusement. "What are you on about? Nobody was making fun of you."
"Not right now, other times," Red sulks. "You all ignore me."
My stomach sinks a bit - is he right? No, we're all pretty nice to him, aren't we?
"Where did this all come from?" Toon Link asks bluntly. "We were having a nice chat, and suddenly you're attacking us, I don't-"
"You're doing it now!" Red folds his arms. "It's especially you, Toonie, calling me Reddy, all the time-"
"You what?" Toon Link stares in disbelief. "I don't say that to be mean, it's just a nickname, you know?"
"And you're always going on at me, for liking maths, and books, and-"
"Red, please." Toon Link sounds desperate now. "You know it's all in good fun-"
But there's no stopping Red's upset rambles. "I'd have thought all of the rest of you would notice! Lucas, you're nice, you should be able to see through Toon Link's act! Ness, he poured cereal over your head, surely you can see-"
"That wasn't - he wasn't trying to be mean-" I say, but Red isn't having any of it.
"See you in Sport!"
He angrily gets up, storming off. An uneasy hush falls over the rest of us.
"Where did that come from?" Toon Link exclaims. "I knew it - he's always had it out for me!"
The silence is deafening.
Lucas cautiously rubs his arm. "We should make it up to him…"
"But he's totally in the wrong!" Toon Link argues.
I know, but..." Lucas hesitates. "We should still be nice."
"I agree with Lucas," Villager accentuates. Lucas just looks up at the ceiling, not meeting anyone's eyes, his porridge forgotten. I bet he blames himself, doesn't he? Of course, Red has to go and make people feel bad, with pointless accusations, and-
No. We haven't been the best of friends to Red in the past, and I guess he had a whole winter break to realise that, seeing as he snapped so soon into the term… My arms sink to my sides.
"We need to sort this out in Sport, okay?"
There's a general nod of agreement around the table.
"Come on, let's go. We've got this." Villager uncrosses his legs, standing up. "And we wouldn't want to be late, we know what Wii Fit Trainer is like…"
I like the way he says we. This isn't just one person's responsibility. We're a group. Some would attempt to pin it all on one person, but Villager isn't like that. He knows when he's done wrong, and he knows when to fix it. Even though Red isn't perfect… neither are we.
It's a short walk down to Sports, and once we've changed into our kit, we're out on the bitterly freezing field. There's still snow on the ground from Monday, but Wii Fit Trainer still strides confidently out of the school building, his feet crunching as he does so.
"Greetings!" He arrives. "It's time to get fit!"
Usually, Lucas and I skip Sport class, and sneak into the art block. Shulk turns a blind eye as I try to replicate Lucas's painting skill. I don't know how Lucas does it - he just dances the brush across the page, and suddenly, there it is, a stunning landscape. We decided not to skip Sport today though; we need to show up at least once in a while, so Wii Fit Trainer doesn't get too suspicious.
"Today, you will need to be in pairs." Wii Fit Trainer patrols the field. "We are starting the rugby module!"
Great. It's hard to think of any sport that I hate more. Of course, Olimar and Meta Knight are rubbing their hands together with glee. They couldn't be more stereotypical bullies if they tried, for goodness' sake. Usually, I'd pair up with Lucas for this, but since I need to get back on Red's good side, I look around to see if I can see him anywhere. Unfortunately, everyone else in our group has the same idea - Villager manages to get to him first, though, leaving Toon Link, Lucas and I scrambling around to find someone else to be with. I nab Lucas, promising to go easy on him because of his illness. Toon Link halts his run towards me, looking like a lost puppy, and then he glances around. There's nobody left.
"Toon Link! You can go with me," Wii Fit Trainer calls out, and he groans in horror.
"Can't I go in a three?"
"No, no you cannot go in a three. This is a pair activity!"
Toon Link groans again, and I laugh. "Good luck, Toonie!"
He sticks his tongue out at me, going over to Wii Fit Trainer.
The tasks aren't too hard, as it's the first lesson of the module, but it's still a lot of work. All we have to do is try and throw some rugby balls and run with them, but I'm so out of shape; I'm panting by the end of the running section. Lucas is pretty fit, so of course he doesn't even break a sweat. I guess it comes from being outside a lot of the time, and he grins slyly upon seeing my exhaustion, so I'm sure to go over to him and mess up his hair to show him not to cross with the supreme Ness. He gets his revenge later though, by nicking my clothes when we're getting changed again and hiding them in an unknown location. As a result, I'm the last to finish, and Lucas gets to laugh at me for a full five minutes as I search in every nook and cranny, before finding out that he just hid them behind his back.
"Science next," Lucas informs me. I check the timetable. He's right, but for some reason, I have a different room and professor to Lucas, despite our lessons being at the same time. Lucas groans with disappointment upon noticing this.
"What if I'm in a class with Olimar and Meta Knight? I don't want to be alone with those two…"
I check the timetable again. I've fortunately got Professor Rosalina, one of the best professors, but I don't even know who Lucas has ended up part ways, heading into our respective classrooms - Red's there, and fortunately, Villager's on his other side. Time to fix this friendship.
"Hey Red!" I chirp. Too cheery. "How are you?" Too fake.
"I'm fine." He shrugs, not looking at me. "
"Glad to hear it." I hope I don't sound too pained. Villager looks over at me sympathetically.
The lesson passes by much of the same. Unlike Lucas, I've never been too interested in science, so I don't pay as much attention as I probably could. Lunch passes too, it's shaping out to be a rather dull day, despite the confrontation of the morning. We somehow end up being late for Art, though, and Lucas and I find ourselves walking alone in an empty corridor.
"You know, I think I'm getting better." Lucas looks optimistic, for once. "The headache isn't as bad anymore… it seems like it's been and gone, whatever caused it."
"That's a relief - see, you haven't got the new disease after all, what did I say?"
"You goof." Lucas pokes me. "You were the only one who was worried."
"What can I say? I'm protective," I say, and Lucas laughs.
"I can take care of myself, you know."
I frown. He always says stuff like this, and then he fails to do so.
"I know," I lie. "I'm just worried… Remember primary school? And those bullies? I don't want you get hurt again."
"Those were old times, Ness," Lucas says, patting me on the shoulder. "It's alright."
"I know... but I need you. And that includes you being okay."
There's a pause. Lucas moves his hands into his pockets, contemplating the words, contemplating me. It's almost as if he sees right through everything I am.
"I need you too, Ness." His voice is hushed, but I hear it clearly. And it means the world.
The moment is abruptly broken.
"Boys, why aren't you in lessons?" It's Professor Rosalina.
I panic, trying to look natural, and not as if I'm having a weirdly sentimental moment with my best friend. "We were… uh..."
"We were just heading there now," Lucas says smoothly. "It's Art you see, on the other side of the school, you know how we wouldn't want to miss that..."
"Oh! Of course, my apologies." Rosalina backtracks, smiling. Lucas is a genius. "Yes, of course - Shulk was ranting and raving about having his favourite student back today… I did see your desert piece, Lucas, it's very impressive..."
"Thanks." Lucas blushes, trying to look anywhere but at Rosalina's face.
"But that's not why I'm here," Rosalina continues efficiently. "I was looking for Ness, which is just as well. Ness, you've got mail."
There's a short pause.
"Mail," I repeat, swallowing nervously. Receiving mail is almost always bad news. "Who's it from?"
"Home," she says simply. "Now, of course, your letters are usually given out in the morning, but considering the nature of, uh, some of your other letters from home, I figured it would be better if you opened this with an adult."
I blush fiercely. She doesn't think I can handle a letter from my Father?
"So, may I invite you into my office? Of course, if you'd rather not…"
"It's fine," I say quickly. "Lucas can come too, right?"
"Of course he can." Rosalina smiles, and it feels a little condescending. "You two are stuck together like glue, I know that now. Come with."
She leads us to her office. It's a lush blue room, with painted spirals and patterns of galaxies and stars - we'd first encountered Rosalina when Lucas had walked by and commented on the decor. We sit down dutifully in front of her desk, Lucas on the right, me on the left. Her seats are a lot more comfortable than the wooden bench that Bowser has.
"This is the third office I've been in this term," I comment meekly, taking the letter from Rosalina's hand. "I'm getting closer to a bingo."
~~o00o~~
Ness,
A poor start. Two letters home about your misbehaviour already. Need I remind you of your past failures? I expect a lot better from someone who calls himself my son.
This isn't your childhood anymore, Ness. There's no time for messing about. As I have said many times to you: work hard, and maybe you'll get yourself somewhere. Maybe you'll get a wife, a family, a business.
But you'll get nowhere if you keep up this disgraceful behaviour. Get your act together.
- Father.
~~o00o~~
I look up, miserable again. "But I don't want any of those things!"
"You don't want a wife?" Lucas sounds curious. He'd been reading over my shoulder.
"Uh," I'm caught aback. "Well, maybe not right now - but-"
"How dare he call himself your Father!" Rosalina looks furious. "And then write that awful letter to you? 'Disgraceful' - I'll show him disgraceful - don't listen to any of that, Ness!"
"I won't," I lie.
Failures.
Get your act together.
I expect a lot better.
"We should go to art," I say. It sounds like a lame excuse.
"Well, actually..." Rosalina bites her lip. "There's another letter…"
I groan.
Lucas sits up a bit more rigidly. "I don't think Ness needs to see it, if it will be anything like that last one."
"No- no, it's from Ness's sister-"
Thank goodness. I keenly tear it open.
~~o00o~~
Hey, Ness!
Tracy here, I hope school's good! Although, it probably won't be. It's school, after all.
How's Lucas? Is he still innocent? I hope so. I've been having an alright time my end, although I wish I was at your school. Father still thinks that because I'm a girl, he shouldn't have to pay for me to have a decent education. What a dick, right?
I honestly might as well be a boy, what with the football, and sport, and all the other stereotypes. But Father says it isn't ladylike of me. I saw him writing a letter to you earlier - that's why I'm writing one too - since I'm sure his isn't gonna be good news.
I hope you're getting into loads of trouble over there - it really pisses him off, and it's hilarious. See you soon, okay?
From your favourite little sister.
~~o00o~~
I smile. I miss Tracy. She's annoying and she's loud, but she's great. She shouldn't be dealing with Father's toxicity - though it seems she's better at dealing with it than I am.
"Well, that's certainly nicer," Rosalina comments, pleased.
"Yeah."
"Well, Ness?" A small grin twitches across Lucas's face. "Am I still innocent?"
"Of course," I reply without hesitation.
"Now, before you head off to your lessons..." Rosalina is purposeful again. "Ness, you looked worried in my science class, is anything else bothering you?"
My mind flashes back.
"People are disappearing."
A grotesque face, pressed up against the other side of the train window.
"Lucas had better watch out for Friday..."
"Nope." I swallow. "Nothing at all, Professor."
...
Shulk doesn't seem to mind that we're late, declaring that a mid-afternoon stroll is great for provoking artistic thought! I honestly don't think the guy has had a sane thought in his life.
He comes over to me and Lucas pretty quickly. "I told the class earlier, because, you know, you weren't here, but this term, we're focusing on the theme of war. Obviously you two will want to major in painting again?"
We nod. Painting is the only aspect of art I'm not horrible at.
"Fantastic," he continues briskly. "So every lesson, I'll bring in some newspaper articles to do with the tensions between Onett and Tazmily. Then, we'll spend a week's worth of lessons making painting, inspired by the articles. By the end of the term, you'll hopefully have a decent portfolio of finished works - this term's, what, six weeks? And you're missing that one for the Wilderness Survival Week, of course. So all in all, you'll probably end up with five pieces!"
We nod, taking it all in. Shulk talks a lot, but that's okay.
"Alright, so you'll want to crack on with today's piece. There are some newspapers left over there, so best of luck!"
Lucas and I wander over.
~~o00o~~
Dark days approaching, warns B.H Pirkle.
"Please don't ask me to take any responsibility. I'll be able to avoid any responsibility, right?" The mayor said, following the recent virus announcement, and the ongoing tensions with Tazmily...
~~o000~~
Hilly Tazmily, Oh So Silly!
Tazmily is threatening our glorious city! Tazmily is threatening to kill us all! Tazmily and its very marginally hotter temperatures, its unnatural oils and its weird outfits! Tazmily and their woollen clothes! Join the powerful army of Onett, and join the fight against poor fashion choices!
~~o00o~~
"Tazmily wouldn't ever do this." Lucas picks up the last article, looking sad. "It's just a tiny village. Onett is a big city. It'll be crushed."
"Do you notice," I mutter in a low whisper. "It doesn't say how Tazmily threatened Onett. It just, well, insults the Tazmilian culture for the whole article."
"I'm taking it," Lucas decides firmly. "I'm going to paint Tazmily, and it will be beautiful."
"I've never seen what Tazmily looks like before."
"I'll show you," Lucas says, his eyes shining. "It was lovely, full of sunflowers, the sunshine forest, full of joy and community and happiness. Well, mostly."
"Mostly?"
"Like any place, there were some bad people," Lucas admits, "But mostly, it was amazing."
"So why didn't you stay there?" I frown.
"Father needed to go to Onett for work." Lucas runs his fingers slowly across the headline, not meeting my gaze. "And I suppose Tazmily reminded him too much of-" he falters.
"Of?"
"Of Mother." He stares rigidly at the article.
"Of - Mother?" I stammer, a cold feeling slipping through me. I know that Lucas lost Claus... but I've never really heard him talk about his mother. But she can't have… it's not fair...
"Ness." Lucas looks up, his eyes meeting mine intensely. "I should've told you. My mother died, she died ages ago, back when I was living in Tazmily."
My hand slips off the table, and I yank Lucas into a silent hug.
"It's okay." He hugs back. "It's - I recovered, it was, heatstroke they say… that killed her."
"But, Lucas." A horrible thought occurs to me. "If your mother - and your brother - and your father is so, so neglectful...who looks after you, Lucas?"
"Uhm." He seems to shrink in on himself. "I look after myself, I guess."
"Lucas..." I trail off, trying to process all of this new information, these new bombshells. It's just not fair. It's not fair at all. Here's me with my amazing mother, and sister, and my rich family, but then there's Lucas, so alone, so broken, so poor. The injustice of it all makes me want to scream, to do something, anything, everything. I close my eyes for a few seconds, willing my emotions to stay in.
"I want to go back to Tazmily someday," Lucas says quietly. "Away from this terrible city."
"I'll come with you," I nod, hasty yet certain. "I'd come with you wherever."
"You would?" Lucas's eyes stare upwards into mine. There's surprise there.
"I would."
He smiles. "Then, we will."
There's a silence, and then there's closeness and there's warmth.
"We should paint." Lucas unwraps his arms from around me.
He's right. The lesson must be half an hour through already, and our canvases are blank. I take the headline about the mayor, thinking I can do something with that word, responsibility. We head over to our work stations in silence, then over to the paints and palettes. Lucas goes for an orangey-yellow colour palette, and I go for as many different colours as I can fit in. See, I'm a self-declared abstract painter, which means I get to paint anything and call it art.
I'm not great at painting if I'm honest. Lucas is a clear professional, and, to be honest, I'm totally just taking art because he is, but that's okay. I think.
Dark days… responsibility…
Hmm. I get some black on my brush, and sweep it around the border of the canvas, enclosing the white inside - ooh, that's good, that looks like a metaphor. Lucas seems to be laying down a light blue foundation to whatever he'll be doing. He looks over at my painting.
"What was your headline again?"
I show him.
"Ah, of course." He nods as if it explains everything.
I carry on, layering in some indigo, adding a softening tone of a darker purple, which blends in with the black to create softness. This seems to be looking more like a crystal than anything else so far.
Days...
I begin outlining something vaguely semblant to a calendar in a corner. There's still a large white void in the middle. I have no idea what I'll put there.
"Nana?" Lucas calls suddenly. Nana quickly comes over.
"What's up?"
"How do you do that shine-"
Lucas points to the shine on Nana's watermelon drawing. I have many, many questions about why a watermelon relates to a headline about war.
"Oh, you just have to be bold with the white," Nana says enthusiastically. "That's a lake there, right? So just do a sweep of white across the blue - and it'll be perfect."
"Oh - thanks!"
"And Ness!" She turns on my canvas. "Interesting. I really can't think of anything else I'd add to it. Then again, I'm not an abstract artist."
"Thanks," I say, slightly puzzled. She doesn't leave.
"By the way, you made quite the impression on Bayonetta. She's been talking about you to everyone she meets!"
Ah yes, Bayonetta, I'd almost forgotten her, the loud girl from Business who likes girls.
"Uh, what's she been saying?"
"Something to do with you being the only guy she's met who hasn't hit on her."
"Right," I say. The thought of her talking about me makes me a little uncomfortable. "She's into girls - so, uh..."
"Yeah, I do know that already." Nana frowns. "What's your point?"
I will myself to enter the ground. I feel awkward, and make a large red mark on my canvas, cursing. Ignoring that, Nana claps her hands together, turning back to Lucas. "Well, see you two around!"
She leaves. Lucas and I exchange a glance, and we continue with our paintings. I take a look at his and - when did it start looking complete already what the-
The rest of the double art lesson goes by as expected, and I check my timetable to see what we'll be finishing off the day with. English Literature. Of course…
…and Lucas and I sit down, the unusual Pit twins surrounding of us. I feel a slight twinge of guilt, thinking about the disease in the newspaper, and how they'd said that their father is ill. But there's not much time for soft feelings as Bowser blunders into the classroom with yet another poem that he doesn't know the meaning of. And neither do I, someone once said that it's likely I have some form of dyslexia, which just adds to my pile of worries. My mind drifts off, absent from the shouting, drifting over to yesterday, Business Studies...
'I'm actually into girls.'
And all of a sudden, it's all I can do to stop myself slamming my head into the table. Normal boys think girls are pretty, normal boys want girls. They want to take girls to their bedrooms, and do things with them. I should want that too, shouldn't I?
But I've never been a normal boy.
Why don't I want what the other boys want? I don't understand. I should want it - there's Zelda right there, isn't she pretty? With her hair and her - what else is supposed to be pretty? Her face maybe - yeah, that's nice, and...
I give up. I don't get it. Something went wrong when making me. I've malfunctioned, somehow. I don't understand, I don't understand it, I don't-
"Ness? Are you okay?" A soft voice - Lucas's - to my side.
"Yeah." I try to cover my face, pretending I'm not having a crisis. "I'm okay."
Lucas. I can tell Lucas everything. He cares about me... but no, I can't load this onto him! That'd be selfish. He's got enough on his plate with his mother, and his brother, he doesn't need my problems as well. I breathe. This is my dilemma, not his!
"Ness?" Lucas sounds more insistent now, concern ringing through his voice.
"I'm fine, uh, just scared of failing English-"
It's an awful excuse, and I know it. I stare up at the ceiling, hoping it will collapse on my head.
"We'll talk later," Lucas promises. "I know that can't be all."
Oh no - talk later? What'll he think? No, I can't tell him. I won't. I mustn't. It'll ruin everything… girls are attractive, girls are attractive, girls are attractive, please, it has to be true, let me believe it, let me be normal-
But normal boys don't get worked up and emotional. Normal boys don't cry - so what the hell am I? Why wasn't I put on the reject pile at birth?
"Ness..." Lucas sounds really worried now. How must I look? A mental breakdown, in the middle of English class? I'm digging myself into a deep pit - a deep pit of misery. I need to be calm. Maybe it'll be fine. Maybe I'm just - I haven't hit puberty properly yet, maybe I'm a little behind everyone, yeah, that's it - maybe, I'll think girls are attractive in time, soon. Maybe… but what if...
"Right, Ness, we're leaving now," Lucas decides, cutting off my thoughts. "We need to talk right now - you're hurting. Forget the lesson."
I'm so taken aback that the issue is almost driven from my mind. It's so unlike Lucas to skip class or misbehave… but then again, he's right. I need to get out of here - away from all these people - maybe I can go and bury myself under the covers and cry, like a miserable lump...
Too negative.
Or - or spend some time with Lucas...
Why would he want to be seen with you when you're like this?
Or, or, anything, just-
Bowser turns his back, facing the blackboard, and Lucas stands to a suppressed gasp from many. I follow suit, and we swiftly leave the room, hoping that Bowser doesn't notice.
We're alright.
Pull yourself together.
Lucas takes me by the hand, leading me. I let him. I hope we're going somewhere good - the dorms, perhaps, they're fine. There's no Bowser there. I breathe, in, out. The air is cold against my tongue, against the roof of my mouth. I breathe deeply, and suddenly we're in the dorm; I'm swimming in darkness - the nights are so cold, so early - it's night already, and it's barely late… Bed, there is my bed. I fall on it. It's soft and nice. Lucas sits by me.
"Ness, what happened?"
I freeze up.
Lucas lightly touches my back.
The ridiculousness of it all falls like a ton of bricks. What exactly was I getting so worked up about? What even was that? Did I seriously dig myself into that big of a hole? Warmth rushes through me, spreading from Lucas's touch, despite the cold of the room. I blush as Lucas pulls me into a hug. What an embarrassing scene I made… it's sort of funny; it really shouldn't be funny… but honestly, only I could be such a goof. It'll be alright in time - surely - I'm not that bad. I push the dark thoughts down. Now is not the time to fight them. I gaze up, into Lucas's worried eyes.
"Sorry," I say.
"What are you sorry about, Ness? It's okay to cry."
Of course, he's still worried, he doesn't know it's fine yet. He's an empath, after all.
"It's okay, I got myself worked up," I try to explain. "It's stupid."
"What were you worrying about?" Lucas doesn't take his eyes off mine. His voice is quiet, soft. I laugh slightly.
"Nothing important."
"It's important to me."
"Really, it's nothing interesting,"
There's a slight pause. Lucas looks out to the window, and then looks back towards me, meeting my eyes.
"Ness. You're my best friend. If something worries you, worries you enough that you broke down in English of all places, I need to know. Just to ease my mind if anything."
I sigh. He's right, he's always right, and he's very convincing.
"It's been a tough day, Ness." He takes my hand in his. "With Red, and then in Art, and then with those letters. It's alright, it's understandable for it all to build up…"
"I guess it overflowed." I feel a little condescended, but I rub my face. "I was just worried about..." I gulp. "It's weird. I was just worried that I don't think girls are pretty, or hot, or attractive, and I think I should, but..."
I run out of words, desperately seeking his approval.
"Ness, that's alright." Lucas smiles slightly. "That's not something you can control. That's not, that's not bad, or anything."
"It isn't?" I look at him, uncertain.
"No. If anything, I… agree."
I frown. "Agree? What do you mean?"
"I don't think girls are that pretty either."
For some reason, I find myself smiling. If Lucas feels the same, then maybe it isn't so bad?
"Sorry for being so emotional," I say.
"Ness, don't apologise." He hugs me again. "We're here to catch each other when we fall. It's what best friends do."
"Thanks, Lucas. You're amazing."
"Don't mention it."
We break apart, and I'm aware that I'm shaking a little. But it's alright.
"Now, uh..." Lucas shifts awkwardly in the silence. "We've got time to research the Face, if you'd like."
"Yeah," I say. "I'd like that." Something to think about, something to focus on with my best friend. That'd be nice.
Perfect, even.
A/N
Ah, Ness, you poor hormone factory…
Also, a tiny little bit of Onett lore, at last! There's a lot more to come though, from a lot of different aspects of the fic, so be excited.
And Tracy, Tracy is a character I'd like to do some more with. If you hadn't already picked it up, everyone is quite different from their usual personalities in their games… and she is no exception.
Thank you again for reading! It means the world.
Notes:
-BH Pirkle is the canon mayor of Onett. He expresses a wish to avoid responsibility in Earthbound too...
Reviews: (omg I got a review!?)
"I'm really appreciating the effort you're putting into this! Its rare to find a Nesscas fic with an actual plot, and it's set in the Industrial Revolution too. Sweet. Im not much of a writer but i know this stuff takes time. Really excited to see where this is headed!"
Aww, thank you so much! I have a lot of twists and turns planned for this fic in the future, so I hope you enjoy them!
Once again, thank you everyone for reading,
~ReadyForTeddy