My first ever Happy! fanfiction. I noticed just last week that there was a category for this show. It's too bad that this show was cancelled after two seasons; I loved that show. :\ I also read the comic book.
Happy! is already an underrated show, despite what I've seen on deviantArt and tumblr. Well, just felt like writing for this show, try something new.
I tried to do the math and pinpont the timeline between the events of season one and season two. The first episode aired in 2017, so if we're keeping track of how many days Nick spent searching for Hailey, and the events that unfolded in season two, I say this story takes place in 2019.
Springtime in New York.
The snow melted off the colossal skyscrapers, revealing gleaming glass windows. Cars passed through the clearing roads, making it easier to get around. In the park, the grass that laid under a carpet of cotton batting unfurled vivid and green. The flowers that too laid slumbering burst forth. Trees, which remained bare and leafless for months, sprouted flowers which then turned into luscious green leaves. On those branches, birds of every size and color began to appear and warbled their song of righteous joy.
Central Park. A dazzling attraction that distracts you from the cynical reality the world is perceived to be. The sun shone brilliantly and the water in the pond glittered invitingly. In one of the tallest trees, in a low branch sat a small, blue unicorn with spearmint wings and vibrant purple eyes. The forlorn look plastered on his face was an antithesis to the overall blithesome atmosphere around him.
It had been almost a year. A year since he last saw Hailey and Nick. A year since he caught Bo Peep cheating on him with Twigs in the back room of the bar. A year since his conversation with God. Before, he thought God was an ever-benevolent being that helped those in need. But now, he thought of God as disillusioned as anyone he saw on the streets.
Happy meant to seek out Nick, but after everything he went through, he thought it better to find himself, roam, and find a friend when the need arose. So far, there was nothing for Happy to intervene in. He flew here, there, watching, wondering, worrying. He often thought about Hailey, Nick, and Amanda. Often wondering what they might be doing. His days were always spent like this. Wishing to see how they're doing, but pulling back when he told himself they were okay. This, roaming the city day after day, was fine. It's what he's gotten used to.
God told him to be a friend, but it seemed like being a friend was not on his schedule. It's not that Happy didn't want friendship it was that he was scared. Scared of repeating his mistakes. Scared of putting his new friend in danger, like what happened with Hailey. Nick berating him for losing Hailey hit a soft spot, but he was partially right. It was his fault for letting Hailey get captured by Very Bad Santa, but with everything going on all at once, it was hard to keep watch for dangerous predators.
It was true God told him Nick was alive when he thought he was dead. He saw him die. Finding out he was alive gave him a bleak hope. And what God said about Hailey becoming "a witch assassin" was appalling. Happy wished there was something he could do to keep Hailey from falling into that lifestyle. Nick killed people for a living, but that doesn't mean that his daughter had to follow in his footsteps. Hailey was growing up, and Happy himself knew it the day he told her. She didn't want to accept it, but, despite the reluctance, she came around to embrace her coming of age.
The wind was sighing and thrashing in the treetops and the boughs moaned. Happy glanced down at the bustling streets. People came and went, walking past the tree he sat on. No one could see him, which to Happy was a relief. He didn't think he could handle being seen in this state.
There were days when he would fly by some apartments and look through the windows and watch families gathering around for dinner, or celebrating birthdays, holidays. Happy would sometimes pretend to be part of their lives. He would pretend to be the imaginary friend of the children living in the apartments or houses he'd seen. It was a temporary comfort from the existence he's had.
Seeing the things he'd seen opened his eyes to the disillusionment the world was seen as. He knew that the world was messed up. More messed up than Happy let on. He's seen his fair share of stealing, killing, cheating, gambling, drug addiction, poor management and so forth. But there were good things to life. Such as now, Happy sat on this tree branch and watched random families pass by. All of them happy and so content with each other. Those were the moments that Happy cherished, and it was one of the reasons he kept trying to move forward. That was the whole reason he found a glimmer of hope. It was the reason why everyone griped and griped about the world. They see what it should be. What it could be.
Happy missed those adventures with Nick. He missed sleeping in with Nick. When they'd take Hailey out with them. He even missed those times fighting the bad guys with Nick. He was willing to do anything to have those days again. Even wipe himself out of existence.
It felt to Happy that the world was moving on and leaving him behind. The world was changing and he remained the same. He still loved little kid things; playing games, watching children's programs, picture books, and all things colorful.
Happy let out a sigh. His laid down on his stomach and continued to watch the day unwind. A cool breeze blew in through the park that alleviated his sullenness. The brisk wind was doing something to lift his mood. Being in Central Park gave him a feeling of reassurance. He spent nearly a year wandering, thinking, waiting, and hoping. Since the day he left Nick he hadn't talked to another imaginary friend. It's not like he wasn't allowed to talk to them, but it was that he didn't have the courage to approach them. He would watch imaginary friends with their human friends, and he'd feel a warmth thrum in him. The feeling imaginary friends have meeting their human was a feeling that Happy had grown to love. When he met Hailey, he wanted the whole world for her. He dreamed of the life she was going to have. What things she might see. What she'd be when she grew up. Remembering the situation she was currently in, Happy wondered if she would free herself from her destiny. God said Hailey was going to be a witch assassin, but perhaps, when the time was right, she could change that. Escape what was laid for her and choose a new direction. Be someone her mother would be proud of.
Happy stretched and fluttered his wings. He let out a yawn and sat up. Looking both ways he took off flying. He ascended above the treetops, catching sight of the park below and the surrounding buildings.
He skipped Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter; he might as well miss the upcoming holidays that were coming next month. He wasn't up for any holidays. Perhaps, some time in the future he might feel up for celebrating the holidays. Maybe not all of them. But he couldn't today, or tomorrow or any day.
His perspective was bleaker than an apocalypse setting.
It was hard when the things you loved turned out to be not as great as you thought. When you see the truth of things, you do everything to cling to that childhood safety to not have to face the world. It was true that Happy didn't understand certain things back then, but with everything he faced, everything he went through and heard made him wish to go back to a time where everything was safe. When it was just Hailey and him.
There was no way to make time turn. Hailey was growing up and there was nothing he could do. All he could do was hope she would be okay.
Happy flew past the passing trees and glided towards the city. The noise, the smell; it was absolute hell. He might as well search for a place where these things didn't bother him.
"Who am I kidding?," uttered Happy in an almost audible voice. "Nobody wants me. Nobody needs me."
Was that entirely true? He only assumed no one wanted him because of how he reminded himself constantly. The more he reminded himself, the more he began to believe it. Did anybody need him? He didn't see anyone who needed his help. Maybe there was and he just hadn't looked hard enough. Maybe he did look hard enough, but he didn't think it was to his liking.
I just have to stop making excuses, he ordered himself, eyes gazing down at the bustling road.
He could see how Hailey was. No, she couldn't see or hear him anymore, and it wouldn't be right of him as was his duty as an imaginary friend.
But she could be going through some stuff. So what? Everyone goes through stuff. It's not anything new.
Happy thought back to the things Nick told him. He remembered when he was kidnapped by the three-headed dog imaginary friend Raspberry. He and his kid Gerry had him do Russian roulette and then they had him tied to a dart board. It wasn't until Raspberry was about to crucify him that Happy had had enough and stabbed him with his horn. It wasn't something he expected, but he had to survive. Survive to save Hailey. Nick told him that you never forget the first person you kill. That the memory sticks with you for the rest of your life. Scars you when you don't want it to. Happy remembers that night he killed Raspberry, but what he did was justified. Raspberry was going to kill him if he hadn't done what he did. If he hadn't killed him, he probably would be here right now.
There was joy and sorrow in this world. It was true that people wanted to break away from this crumbling disaster they called life. Life wasn't like in the stories he and Hailey used to read. Happy knew that now, only he had the will to move on. He'd seen so many things that no one should see. These things would normally scar anyone and throw themselves into denial as to not face it. Others fell into the wrong lifestyle. And others...had the opportunity to drag themselves out of that toxic atmosphere and find a better way.
Some things were worth fighting for all the time, be it a better future or a brighter tomorrow. Anything was worth fighting for. Even searching for something as simple as a friend.
Happy fluttered passed several buildings before he found the place he was looking for: Hailey's old house. Hailey lived with Nick's old partner now. Hailey's old house was now being lived in by a new family. He wouldn't call them a "family," not the way they lived. The mother, Happy deduced, was a janitor at some company whose name he didn't know. The father was a realtor, or at least, he made himself to be one. He wasn't a professional, but he knew what his way around. Happy wasn't sure if buying old houses and renting them counted as being a realtor, but it brought in the check every week.
The family's daughter was too old for an imaginary friend, but too young to enter the work force. She was old enough to drive, but too young to do taxes. Happy wasn't sure how old she was, but he guessed she was older than Hailey, but too young to live on her own. If he had to guess, he would place her age at around over seventeen. The girl was pale as a sheet. Her hair was a color between brown and black with amber eyes, and stood taller than most other girls. Come to think of it, of all the times he passed by, he hadn't seen the girl go to school. He didn't know what her situation was, but he was curious to know the reason. Peering through the window, he saw the girl laying on the bed, paging through a comic book.
The room was different than how he remembered. It had a new paint job; it was now a subtle shade of lavender. The girl's bed was dressed in a soft pink comforter with matching pillow shams and purplish cushions. All of Hailey's things were gone and were replaced with the girl's belongings: a desk next to the window with a computer, a fuchsia armchair in the far left corner from the window, a salmon pink rug on the floor to the bed's right, a cream-colored vanity next to the door, a shelf across the bed filled with numerous books.
The girl put down the comic and got up from the bed. Her wardrobe was the opposite of her room. She dressed in black and other dark, muted colors. She didn't dress the way her neighbors dressed. Instead of the modern clothes her neighbors wore, she wore jeans, loose-fitting blouses, tennis shoes, and anything that didn't make her stand out. Her wardrobe could be described as outdated. Maybe even old-fashioned. Not fashionable, but not out of season.
Happy watched her walk toward the window, which prompted him to move out of the way. She couldn't see him and yet he hid from her. It was out of reflex in his book. Still, he took a peek and saw her gazing out the window. Her expression was one he couldn't place. She looked bored and yet, there was a longing in her heart. A longing for what? It wouldn't hurt to take a look in her room.
He phased through the window and flew past her. He hovered above the desk, looking at the computer screen. It was open to a website called tumblr. He looked at her homepage. He saw her name Avery and she was twenty-two years old. Twenty-two? Then why did she look like she was a teenager? That explained why she didn't attend the same school the others went.
Happy read through her page more. He saw her latest post. It was a journal. The beginning was not as depressive as the middle, and by the end, he was speechless.
He looked over at the girl, whose back was to him, completely unaware of his presence. She let out a sigh, or was it a yawn? It was almost eleven thirty.
Reading through her journal made him understand her more. She was homesick for a time that wasn't her own, and now she was wishing she could turn back time and live in that era where this current existence wasn't happening.
A comfort zone was nice, but nothing grows there. Happy knew firsthand what it felt to pretend to be someone else, to live another's life. Remembering those fun times with Hailey and Nick were a nice distraction from the real world, but eventually you had to wake up. Nick used to be a respectable police cop and now he spent his days drinking, killing, sleeping in. He hated himself for the past he had. Happy still cared a great deal for him, but it was still too soon seek him out. Perhaps their paths will meet one day, but it wasn't going to happen today. He might even see Hailey again. It might not happen today, but someday. Maybe at her high school graduation, college graduation, or maybe even at her wedding. He wanted to be there for those things.
Happy felt like he had been asleep for most of this year, but it felt longer. That's how long it's been when he buried himself in his denial. That's how denial warped you. He heard a noise coming from Avery. Happy glanced up and saw her still at the window. Reading from her journal was all he needed to know that she was desperate for an old friendship she wanted to have back. Whatever it was that happened, that was in the past. The future was now.
Everybody needed someone. That's what Happy believed, even after all the hell he went through. No matter how much people insisted, everyone wanted a friend. And this girl needed one.
Happy breathed in a sigh and looked at Avery. Fluttered towards her, confidence growing.
This was a start for him and for her.
I at first didn't plan to have an OC in the story; this was mostly centered on Happy and his exploits, but I thought having an OC might give the story something organic to pick off of.
Besides, I couldn't resist. It felt boring having Happy wandering and talking to his inner thoughts.
