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"Professor Plum in the study with the… the…" Merton looked around the room and then smiled, "With the toilet-plunger!"

Vince shook his head, "Nope!"

Merton sighed. "Then who?"

"Mrs. White in the Study with the electrical wire." Vince handed Merton the homemade cards that he and Merton had made to make the game more 'Interesting'.

"I was so close!" Merton pouted. "Lets play one more game. Please?"


Vince smiled. "Ok. But this time, Vince is Mr. Green."

"You're always Mr. Green." Merton smiled, his gappy-toothed grin making Vince's heart flip-flop.

"That's because Vince is Mr. Green." Vince pointed to his bright-green hair.

"Well," Merton sighed in defeat, "Fine. But next round I get to be Mr. Green and you have to be… um…" Merton rooted though the clue box until he found what he was looking for, "Miss Scarlet."

Vince pretended to be angry but inside he was smiling. Merton knew that Vince wasn't really angry so he started to shuffle the cards.

~~

Merton stood in front of the school and swallowed. His Mommy gave him a little push towards the building.

"Go on honey," She said, "I bet you'll have lots of fun in school. You'll meet new people and have lots of friends."

Merton turned to look at Vince. Vince held out his hand and Merton took it. "Vince bets that we'll find other people who like Clue like we do." He smiled and pointed to some other kids. "And if any of them make fun of Merton, Vince will hurt them." Merton smiled at this and they walked into the school together, Merton's mom waving at her son.

It was huge inside the school, the light way about even Vince's head. All around him were other boys and girls. Panic struck Merton for a moment but a reassuring squeeze from Vince's hand made him feel better. They made their way into the kindergarten room and found a seat at one of the tables near the front. Vince sat in the chair beside Merton. Another little boy tried to sit where Vince was but Vince tripped him and the little boy ran away, crying.

This did not surprise Merton. Around a year ago, Merton had discovered that no one else could see Vince because they didn't believe in Vince. Instead of being sad, Merton had been happy. If no one else could see Vince that meant that he could have Vince do things for Merton so Merton wouldn't get in trouble. Since then, Vince had done stuff that was kind of mean but since people were already mean to Merton, Vince didn't see anything wrong with making other people feel the way Merton did.

Merton had learned to not tell anyone about his friend. People acted weird around Merton when they found out about Vince and they would talk quietly about Merton being 'a little old for DELUSIONS'. Merton wasn't sure what DELUSIONS meant but he thought that it might get him TAKEN AWAY to the CRAZY HOUSE. These were words that he had heard whispered between his parents when he played with Vince in front of them. Merton didn't like the sound of the CRAZY HOUSE so he stopped talking about Vince in front of his parents.

Vince reached over and tapped Merton on the shoulder. Merton looked up and saw an adult entering the room. She was as tall as his mommy and had really red hair. She was really pretty and Merton could smell Ivory Soap.

"Hello class," Her voice was sweet and she smiled, "My name is Miss Lisa and I'll be your teacher."

Most of the kids went quiet and looked at her. Well, almost all of the kids. Two large boys ran in the classroom shrieking.

"Tim, Travis." Miss Lisa scolded them, "Sit down and behave."

The two boys sat at the same table as Merton and Vince.

"Hey," One of they said. "Look at the little baby."

"Baby!" The other laughed, "Let's make the baby cry."

Merton went to call the teacher to help him but Miss Lisa was on the other side of the room. "Y…you better leave me alone." Merton tried to sound brave but he was shaking like a leaf.

"Or what?" The one boy said, "You'll tattle?"

"Or Vince will hurt you!" Vince stood up and grabbed the two boys by the scruff of their necks. He then threw them away from the table. Tim and Travis hit the bookshelf, causing the books and toys on the shelf to fall down on them. They both began to cry and ran to the teacher.

"Miss Lisa!" They yelled, "The mean kid over there hurt us!"

"Uh oh," Merton whispered to Vince as Miss Lisa came near. "We're in trouble."


~~

"…And if I ever hear anything like this from your teachers ever again I'll take away your toys for a week." Merton's mother yelled at Merton while Vince waited upstairs.

"Yes mommy." Merton sounded so sad. It was hard for Vince not to run down the stairs and stop the yelling but Merton had told Vince to say put.

"Now go to your room and think about what you did." The talking was finally over and Vince could hear Merton climbing the stairs. Vince quietly waited on Merton's bed, trying not to fidget too much.

The door opened and Merton walked in, his head hung low.

"Merton?" Vince said quietly. Merton looked up at Vince with fresh tears in his eyes.

"You can't come to school with me anyone." Merton said sadly.

Vince felt an empty space grow inside of Vince. "Vince understands." Vince said sadly.


Vince would obey Merton.

Vince loved Merton.

~~

The clock ticked slowly.

1:55.

1:55.

1:55.

1:55.

1:55.

Vince stared at the clock, waiting for it to change. Vince had been waiting since 8:30 that morning when Merton first left. Vince knew that Merton wouldn't want him to just sit here but Vince couldn't help it.

The day was boring without Merton to play with.

1:55.

1:55.

1:55.

Time went by slowly, dragging like the arms of a giant gorilla. Vince waited, not shifting, not moving an inch.

1:55.

1:55.

1:56.

One less minute till Merton was home. And then, it would be playtime.

1:56.

1:56.

1:56.

~~

"What's grey, has four legs and carries a trunk?" Merton looked up from his joke-book, a smile on his small face.

"An elephant!" Vince said, pleased that he knew the answer.

"No," Merton's smile grew bigger, "A mouse on vacation!" Vince laughed along with Merton. Though Vince didn't really get the joke, Vince knew that Merton would want him to laugh.

"Tell me another one Merton!" Vince said eagerly, "Please?"

"Alright," The smile on Merton's face made Vince fell all tingly inside. "When crazy people walk though the forest, which path to they take?"

Vince smiled, "The psycho-path!"

~~

"What do you know?" The Daddy was yelling at The Mommy again.

"More than you!" A lamp smashed up against the wall. Merton covered his ears with his hands, hoping to block out the sound of his parents fighting downstairs. Tears ran down his cheeks, leaving shinning trails that glowed in the soft light of his nightlight. Merton whimpered quietly and snuggled deeper under his blanket.

All of this Vince saw from the closet where he slept.

Vince did not sleep in the same bed as Merton. Vince had once slept beside Merton's bed but The Mommy had tripped over Vince, causing her to panic and wonder what had caused the trip. Since then, Vince had slept in the closet where Vince would not get in The Mommy's way.

But now… now Merton needed Vince.

Vince slowly opened the closet door, checking to make sure that The Mommy and The Daddy were still downstairs. Then, creeping quietly across the floor, Vince made his way over to Merton's bed. Vince sat on the edge of Merton's bed and placed one hand on Merton's shoulder. Merton took his hands off of his ears and looked at Vince.

"Hey there little buddy," Vince wiped the tears off of Merton's face, "No worries. Vince will protect you. Vince won't let anyone hurt his friend."

Another smash came from downstairs. Merton scrambled into Vince's lap and wrapped his arms around him. Vince was surprised. Merton had never hugged Vince before. Held Vince's hand, yes but hug Vince? Never. The feel of Merton in Vince's arms was… right. Vince wrapped his arms around Merton's small frame. Slowly, Vince rocked back and forth and began to sing gently.

"Vince loves you forever. Vince loves you for always. As long as you're living, Vince's Merton you'll be." Over and over Vince sang the simple words, keeping rhythm and time together. Merton began to relax, the tension flowing out of his shoulders.

Moving gently, Vince shifted onto the bed and lay down, Merton still clutched in his arms. Merton, almost asleep, snuggled closer into Vince's chest and sighed happily.

"I love you…" Merton whispered as the darkness overtook him.

"Vince loves you too." Vince kissed Merton on the forehead and then followed Merton into the black void of sleep, completely content.