Hey guys! I'm back... again. Uh.. yea, I really just didn't feel like writing until yesterday, and here's what flopped out. I've had a few ideas of how to proceed with this story floating in my head for awhile now, and I liked this one best. I hope you're enjoying the series, and if you could, please leave helpful reviews. :)

P.S. The italics are what Darwin is thinking.


Run. Why am I running?

Run. Why won't my legs stop?

Run. Just stop!

He couldn't stop, however. Fueled by panic, Darwin Watterson's legs moved as if propelled by some unseen force. He had been caught masturbating by his brother, his best friend... his crush, the blue-haired cat-boy Gumball.

Darwin wasn't so much running from being caught, as he was running from what Gumball would think of him. He knew that Gumball masturbated (having caught Gumball just beforehand), but it was something totally different when you, yourself are caught. Plus, Darwin was still relatively new to self-pleasure, being a late-bloomer and only just discovering this feeling, his body about 6 months ago, and girls and boys about a month later.

I need to stop. Darwin slowed and soon stopped running. He bent over and placed his hands on his knees as he gasped for breath. I wonder how long ago I left. He looked around and noticed he was in the park on the other side of town. He sat down on a bench and tried to calm down.

"I shouldn't have run away." He said to himself, admitting the mistake he made. "I should've at least locked the door." He mentally slapped himself upon realizing that, as well. He brought his knees up to his chest and just watched as children played on and around the playground equipment. Life was so simple, so easy back then. I could just play and laugh and not have to worry about stuff like this.

"Hey, Darwin, what's up?", a voice called to him. He jumped slightly and looked for its source.

"Oh, hey Penny," he replied back. She must have snuck up on him while he was lost in thought. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, it's a nice day, it's not supposed to storm until later tonight, so I thought I'd get out and take a walk. Once I got here, I walked around until I noticed you sitting here by yourself. Though I'd come say hi." She looked at and noticed the sullen pout on his face.

"Something happened with Gumball, am I right?" Darwin looked at her, surprised at how good her guess was.

"How did you know?", he replied.

"Well, I never see you outside by yourself, and when I do see you outside, Gumball is usually somewhere close by. I don't see him here, so I figured something must have happened between you two." She sat next to him as she spoke. "You wanna tell me anything?"

Darwin clenched his fists and took a breath. "It's just... I was doing... something, and Gumball caught me. I didn't know what to do, so I just ran." He hugged his knees tighter.

Penny mulled over what Darwin said. She had a pretty good idea of what he meant, since she, along with most of the kids in her grade,had sex ed at the beginning of the year. Teenage hormones, and all that. "Hmm. Well, I can tell you now that running away was not a good idea. It probably made Gumball feel like it was his fault."

She looked over at him. "I won't pry too much about what happened. But I think you should go talk to him. Things won't get better if you sit here by yourself all day." She stood up and ruffled his dirty brown hair. "I gotta get going, it's starting to get dark. I'll see you at school, Darwin", she smiled at him and went on her way.

"Bye." Darwin didn't look away from the ground as he thought about what Penny had told him. She's right. I need to head back and apologize to Gumball. He stood up off the bench, wiped away a tear, and started the long walk home.