Hello there, mates! Back on my bullshit over here again :D lol I'm really glad to see people enjoyed this idea! I honestly just love the idea of how things could have been a bit different with just a single twist to the storyline so I'm glad others are also on board lol
... Also I just find Raz's and Lili's relationship hella cute lol Though I can't stand writing in a ten-year-old's perspective anymore so as you might have guessed or seen in the tags, I aged them up a bit to be able to make them a bit more... Realistic with my writing style lol So they're 15/16 ish lol It's what I'm used to now anyway lol
Anyway! I hope you all enjoy Raz's perspective here! This will be my first try at writing him but let's see how it goes!
Much love to ya!
Being raised in a circus and around adults for the first five years of your life makes it rather difficult to make connections to kids your own age.
For the longest time, I thought I was just... Too weird to be able to make any natural or real connections to someone as a friend. I had my great aunt, her friends, and at times, my own family, but it never made it feel any less lonely when I just wanted someone to play with on my own merit. Or to just be a kid with. The adults were always teaching me about my powers or busy with acrobatic training. My siblings, sadly, had stronger connections to one another than me. I had 'middle child syndrome' to the worst possible degree.
But a lot of that loneliness went away after I met Lili Zanotto.
She was the outspoken and fierce spirit I needed in my life at the time. She brought light, mostly fire honestly but light nonetheless, to my life. She was that connection I so desperately needed. The bond I was searching for.
The best friend I always wished for.
I glanced over toward the girl in question as I just smiled at the thought.
And so much more as well.
I watched her for a moment as she was talking to one of our fellow campmates that have been coming here to Whispering Rock for as long as we both have.
Did I care to remember the girl's name? Honestly, no. I tried to, for sure, but it never really stuck. There wasn't much for people I would hang out with outside of Lili and a few other kids anyway, so her's must have been one of the many that slipped my mind over the years.
I smiled as I saw the other girl make Lili laugh a little. It wasn't the laugh I was used to from her. That one would make creases appear at the corner of her eyes as a color would appear to her cheeks. That one was her carefree laugh. The one I knew was usually reserved for me and me alone. This one she gave was her polite one. Meaning the girl said something amusing more than actually hilarious. This caused me to compare the Lili standing before her with the one I met ten years ago within my mind.
Funny how time could pass so quickly. How such a short amount of time could also cause so much change within a person.
One obvious thing about her that changed was her height. We were always around the same height growing up until recently, actually, with me now being nearly a head taller than her now. But she was still a bit taller than she used to be in her own regard. Though it seemed she might be a little stuck on the shorter side.
Which she will probably be upset about until the day she dies.
I chuckled a little to myself as I relax a bit more on the dock I was sitting at. My brain now had an effortless endeavor on seeing the differences that appeared in my best friend over the years as I leaned back on my elbows.
Her hair has gotten longer and she no longer wore it in the two pigtail style she used to love. She now went for braids most of the time. Sometimes going to buns or ponytails mattering on how professional she felt on being. Though, I always preferred it when she simply wore it down. She always complained about that though. Saying it would end up with knots due to how thick her hair was, but I always thought it fit her rather well.
She changed up her attire as well too. When we were ten or so, she had a thing for pink skirts and sweater vests, but as we got older, she started to get into leather jackets and dresses. Two things that always stayed consistent though was her use of fingerless gloves and combat boots. Those always seemed to be her friends. No matter what she wore though, she always gave the vibe that she could effortlessly kick your ass. Skirt, dress, or anything else. It didn't matter. She still gave off the vibes that she could put you in your place and it was never wrong either. If anyone could make anyone listen with threats of violence, it was Lili Zanotto.
Though, I always enjoyed that side of her. It was something I always found endearing about her.
I felt a small blush creep up on my cheeks as I kicked my feet above the water. My hydrokinesis made it so I could keep my shoes dry as I did as such.
It was obvious to me from a young age that I had feelings for her. What kid wouldn't honestly? She's strong, fierce, and independent. She was born to take the world by storm and it was obvious the world knew it.
I laid down on the docks as I decided to start up at the pink sun-setting sky as I waited for the girl in question to join me. A goofy smile took over my face as my thoughts raced about her.
She was just so... cool! Ever since we were kids, I admired her. How strong she was and determined she could be. But she also had a soft side that I got to witness on occasion. The one that would be a complete dork with me about comic books and movies. The one that would gush about her favorite plants when no one else was listening. The one that would do anything for her father and those she loved, even if she had a hard exterior about it at first.
She's... her.
And I loved that about her from the very beginning.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting here." I snapped out of my thoughts as I looked up toward Lili's voice to see the girl in question. Her light brown eyes looked down at me with a happy little spark in them that I knew was always reserved for me.
God, she's pretty.
I tried my best to give her a natural smile as I patted down at the open space to the right of me.
"No big deal, Potato Smasher. I've just been chilling here."
"I thought we agreed to not use our codenames as nicknames!" Lili nearly flopped down beside me as she joined me in laying on the docks. Her frustration with me was evident by her actions alone.
Didn't make it any less cute though.
I smiled at the thought as I knew she was unable to read my thoughts unless I openly let her. It used to annoy her when we would kids as I could easily read her mind with ease, but I never used it to my advantage after she made it evident that she would kick my ass into next Tuesday if I didn't give her a bit of privacy there.
"My bad, my bad." I raised my hands in defense as I knew I was going to get slugged sooner or later for my teasing. "So how was your conversation with~." I elongated the word as I made it evident I didn't remember who exactly she was talking to.
"Elka." I watched Lili give me an amused look as I just gave her a cheeky smile in reply.
"Elka."
"Well talking to Elka is like," Lili hesitated for a moment as it seemed like she was trying her best to put it in the kindest way possible. "Talking to Elka." She laughed at herself for a moment which only made me smile with glee.
The little creases I love to see.
"Well, I think it's pretty self-explanatory that I don't quite remember what you're talking about there."
"It's probably for the best you don't, Captain Forgetful."
"Hey!" I pushed myself up onto my elbows once more as I went on to defend myself. "If I remember correctly, she was one of the girls when we were kids that always saw me a fly when we did Clairvoyance lessons, so she can fuck off." Lili pushed herself up onto her elbows too as she gave me a mischievous smirk.
"Well, you were pretty 'buggy', if you take her word for it." I rolled my eyes at that as Lili just laughed full-heartedly at my reaction.
"Buggy my ass."
"Hey, could be worse." Lili reached up with her elbow and nudged me a little as a playful smile took over her face. "Who was the kid you told me saw you a mustached villain carrying me away from him?"
"FUCKING ELTON!" My blurted-out reaction caused Lili to knock her head back in laughter as I carried on. "Dude resented me for knowing you. Like, seriously. Even when he started dating Milka there."
"Well, I think he resented the fact that it was obvious for a long while there that the only person I really cared about here was you and you alone." I blushed slightly at that as Lili just laughed a bit more. "Couldn't be worse than the guy that saw you just an ear though."
"I'm not like," I hesitated for a moment as I tried to find the right word. "Nosey, right?"
"Of course not." Lili nudged me with her elbow once more before lowering herself back down onto the docks. "They probably just saw you as such because I would do all the talking when we were in big groups. You never really cared for being the center of attention when we first came here." I nodded along as I lowered myself down onto the docks as well.
She wasn't wrong. The downside of having a lot of abilities as a psychic is the fact that a lot of people at once that don't either know how to harbor their thoughts or at least don't try and lower the voices they had caused me near panic attacks as a kid. My abilities were sensitive at the time caused me to be the same. It was one of the reasons I loved my helmet growing up. It damped everything. It muffed a lot of the thoughts out.
But, Lili was like my filter in a way. Helping me dampen all the thoughts and voices when she could by being the middle man for me in conversations or groups. I was teased about it a lot by Bobby Zilch, but I never really cared. It helped me a lot and it was something Lili was always open to helping me with.
"Though I will say," I watched Lili as she turned on her side so she could give me her full attention. "I did nearly want to lose my shit when you told me how Bobby Zilch saw you." I couldn't help but chuckle at that as I turned onto my side to do the same.
"You were always quite protective of me, huh?"
"You're my person," Lili smirked as she made it so the long braid that kept her hair together laid over her shoulder. "No one fucks with my person."
"Not even a summer camp bully."
"Especially not some summer camp fuck head."
"You were always looking out for me nonetheless."
"Even though we still somehow got ourselves in trouble." Lili gave a wicked smile as I couldn't help but laugh at the memories that flowed due to it.
"May it have been by accidentally scaring everyone with thinking we were lake creatures of the night by falling out of our favorite tree spot or by somehow saving the world from one of our camp counselors." I sighed as I brought my arm up so I could use fold it under the side of my head like a pillow. "We never got a break, huh?"
"Nope." She made sure to give the 'P' and little pop to it as she just a gentle along with it. "We weren't looking for a break anyway. You and I enjoyed adventures too much."
"Oh absolutely!" I chuckled as Lili now mimicked my movements so she could lay the same as me. "We were always looking for something new to do. Trouble starting or not."
"Just like when we cause Oleander to wet himself when he fell asleep at the camp's loud speaker's mic."
"Oh, he was livid for days." I smiled as the mental image of the army soldier with a red face and gritted teeth made me laugh a bit as Lili went on with some of our old memories.
"Or the time we made friends with Linda the Lake Monster."
"Yeah, after she kidnapped ya."
"You had my back anyway." I nearly melted as Lili gave me one of her few soft but genuine smiles. Where one side went up just a smidge higher than the other and there was this little gleam to her hazel eyes that could melt even the coldest of hearts.
Couldn't blame Elton for hating me with a sight like that to enjoy.
I felt my cheeks flush a little at the thought as I gave her a large smile in return.
"I always will too."
"Right back at ya, Raz." She lifted her spare hand that was balled into a fist. I thought she was going to knock me in the shoulder, but she kept it lifted in the air for a moment with a smirk. "Together forever, after all." I gave her a lopsided grin as I brought my fist up to meet hers in a soft little bump.
"As always." I watched as her smirk made itself into a large genuine grin before she suddenly turned onto her back so she could get back onto her feet.
"Well we've been laying around quite a bit and it's our last night away from the Motherlobe," She spoke with a bit of a mischievous tone in her voice as she lent down a hand toward me. "Wanna cause some chaos?" Without a second thought, I took her hand and let her help me up onto my feet. The mischievous tone in her voice was now being matched with a spark within her eyes that always led the both of us into some trouble. Not like I ever minded it anyway.
"What are we waiting for then?" Lili took that as an acceptance of my fate as she started pulling me toward camp. A few of the many plans she had fell off her lips as I let her drag me along. Mainly due to the fact my head was in a completely different place as she looked over her shoulder to smile at me once more.
Though she's worth fighting for. Troublemaking habits or not. She was worth everything, honestly.
I felt like I was melting a bit as Lili turned her attention toward the camp completely now as we went under the major sign on the little pathway that led to the lake.
I being able to love her openly, or not.