A/N:

Flashbacks! Backstories! Yay! Grab some tissues because you may cry... meh, my writings never make people cry :P At least I tried... ...

I was originally going to feature more flashbacks in here, but with how long it was becoming I divided this into two chapters. The chapter titles both nod to the You Are My Sunshine song.

I hope the lighthearted flashbacks get some good laughs, I tried to make these funny yet heartfelt. So yeah.

Enjoy!

~ Ashla.

The door creaked open.

Brandon had his chin in his palm, trying not to rest his eyes - or tear up with his eyes - as he stared at the screens - kind of - again. Rhett had stayed at the hospital to visit his childhood friend more before heading straight home, it was late enough in the day. That meant only one person could have opened the door...

"I'll watch the cameras tonight."

Brandon pulled his head lazily from his palm, slowly turning to see Wyatt walking up to him with two mugs of some type of hot beverage. Wyatt handed one to Brandon, "Looks like 'ya need it."

Brandon took the steaming, warm cup of... his favorite kind of tea. Green herbal tea with honey. Brandon smiled up at Wyatt, who carelessly leaned against the control panel, sipping black coffee. Brandon smirked, "What are you, our official cup bearer?"

"Well..." Wyatt mischievously rolled his eyes, "Somebody's got to do it with Jerry gone. Not to mention, slowly waiting for the opportunity to ask Rhett that fatal question..."

They both spoke at once, "Would you like a beverage?"

Amused chuckles escaped them, taking some form of heavy weight off Brandon's burdened chest. The fact that Wyatt knew his favorite tea also made what was a crappy day feel a little bit better. But weren't things always that way? That self centered stuntman always found a way to make him smile. It was there since the first day they met - well, the first day Brandon met all of them. There was just something about that insolent smirk that made him feel so much more determined. It was Wyatt, after all, who taught Brandon to develop a backbone. An insecure childhood would have left him so much more of a doormat, but now Brandon was capable of keeping his head high in the face of... most pressure...

Wyatt took another sip of coffee, "Go home, forgit' studying and get some sleep."

Brandon sighed, "I'm not as ahead as I should be..."

"In school as well as sleep." Wyatt glared at him, "You and Gage both need better nighttime habits."

Brandon shook his head, "Especially with Larry gone, since this whole thing with Silver started, it's been hard."

Wyatt gripped his cup, fresh anger spewing from the volcano, "That guy's a psychopathic jerk..."

Concern filled Brandon's azure eyes, "Are you okay? You got beat up pretty bad."

Wyatt shrugged, "I'll manage. I've been through worse..."

Instantly, the road pirate incident crossed both their minds. Wyatt shut his eyes, wincing to remove the painful memories from his mind. Brandon couldn't help but wonder, was Wyatt also offering to take the cameras because of his mental plight? Brandon could literally see the unhealthy thoughts running through Wyatt's mind. The bright, burning sun was at the edge of a solar eclipse. More than physically, that silver freak had managed to poison Wyatt's mind.

It made Brandon feel more determined to catch him than ever. Wyatt was his best friend, and nobody did that to him. It was mental doubt, more than anything else, that pushed Wyatt over the edge. To this day, as hard as he tried to fight it, Wyatt's inner struggle with "proving himself" was there. It was like his worth was measured by what he could do. About a year after the road pirate incident, it was still a struggle to break.

Brandon sighed, getting up and motioning Wyatt to take his place, "Do I have to explain how the cameras works again?"

Wyatt shook his head, sitting down in the seat, his coffee sloshing around in his mug, "I've got this."

Brandon smiled, placing his hand on his shoulder, "Hey, Wyatt?"

Wyatt looked up at him.

"When Gage said you didn't have to prove anything to us," Brandon told him, "He meant that."

With nothing else he thought he could say, Brandon went to leave. His footsteps slow, he did smile as he closed out, "Good luck, stay awake."

Silence filled the room as Brandon walked away, his tea still in his hands. When he reached for the doorknob and pulled the door open, Wyatt spoke up.

"Brandon?"

He stopped dead silent, simply staying there as he kept an ear open.

"Thank you, I needed that."

Wyatt's usually strong and cocky voice was filled with just enough mellow earnesty, he meant it. Brandon pulled his tea up to his lips, just to avoid the choking sounds of him trying not to get emotional. With an important decision, one that could separate them for unspeakable miles dead ahead, Brandon lowered his cup, feeling it was about time he said it, "It was always you who made me feel better," the gadget guy said, "You taught me how to stand up for myself. I owe you for that."

"No," Wyatt shook his head, eyes still glued to the screens, "You've done more than enough..."

Brandon looked back at him, watching his back as he diligently kept his post, "But still..." Brandon said, "Thank you... For everything."

*Slam!*

After closing the book, he placed it back on the shelf. The library was quiet and... really dusty. The small boy, nothing but skin and bones, sneezed into his baggy sleeve. His hair over his face, the six year old reached and grabbed another book. His professor had decided to combine history and science class for today, and to throw PE into the mix. It was simple, walk to the library (PE), pick out an old science book (history), and pick out all the scientific inaccuracies they discovered since that old book was written (science.) Brandon was looking for something as early as the nineteenth century, a century when modern science went through its big bang, but was having little luck.

Professor Gilderoy Broderick constantly told Brandon he had to get outside more, at least to study. But the birds, wind, and other little nitpicks always distracted him. Of course, that clever Professor finally came up with sending him to walk to a boring library. Why not just take a bus? It wasn't the seventeen hundreds anymore, there were easier and more efficient ways to travel! What was so important about physical education anyways? Knowledge was all that mattered, especially to someone who was growing up under the shadow of science. Under the influence of the legacy of a scientist at the top of her game...

Brandon opened yet another book, kind of caught up in the tinkering isle (because inventions and nick knacks were epic.) As he buried his head into a diagram of the pulley, he heard voices from further down the isle.

"Oh yeah, that's what you think!"

"Shut yer mouth, Gage, I-"

In the public library, a place of "peace and quiet," the sound of two kids physically punching and kicking each other was unmistakable. Annoyance brewing to the top, Brandon almost shouted for them to stop. However, he stopped himself. Those were strangers, rude strangers but still strangers. What was his place to tell them what to do? It was never his place to even ask anybody what to do... His mother made sure she taught him that. Taught him his place. He simply buried his head further into the book, taking out his annoyance by rashly turning the page, it just continued.

"Stop!" A third voice pleaded, "Stop 'pwease? Gage?"

Before anything else could happen, Brandon felt another body wham into him. It sent them both crashing to the carpeted floor. That third voice screamed at the collision... Brandon just moaned, "Ow..."

"Oh my gosh," a voice cried, "I'm so, so sorry!"

"Yeah, Gage," the person laying next to Brandon shouted, "'Ya better be!"

"Not you," whoever it was said with a tinge of annoyance. Still rubbing his head, Brandon squinted his eyes open and saw him. It was a small, Hispanic boy with short, brown hair. His brown eyes were quite apologetic, "You okay, dude? I'm so sorry!"

He was wearing jeans and a green shirt with the number eight on it. His apparel practically screamed that he was a race fan. Brandon took his hand, letting him pull him back to his feet. The voice of the kid who was shoved into him rang loud and clear, "Yeah, I would apologize too, but it's not my fault!"

Brandon turned to see a rather skinny, but the physically toned type of skinny, boy. His short hair and green eyes made for a naturally good looking kid, but the major thing that caught his attention was how many bruises and scratches covered him. Scarring on his face made him look like an experienced warrior, aside one band-aid on his knee. Even for someone who only appeared to be six, his arms had more muscle than meat on him. He was no body builder, not yet anyways, but he obviously had zero health problems aside what he did to himself. These two kids just glared at each other, oak eyes meeting emerald in burning, passionate hatred. Hatred. These kids obviously hated each other with a burning passion in their hearts.

Gage let go of Brandon, arms crossed as he talked down to his adversary, "Well, you started it, Wyatt!"

"I did not!" Wyatt shouted back in a southern accent usually not heard around these parts, "Come up to me and prove it!"

And just like that, Gage ran up to him and they started brawling again. Brandon could, only for a moment, process who and what on earth he had just run into. Another moment following though, as Brandon just stood there watching them fight, a third kid walked up to Brandon, also watching the fight. The chubby boy had hazel eyes and messy, red hair that really needed a good trim. His red t-shirt and grey sweat pants were wrinkled, suggesting that this was the second day in a row he was wearing them. His expression as he watched the other boys was that of uncertainty. In a slightly off key, but still concerned tone, he spoke.

"Yeah..." He blinked, "They always like this."

Brandon raised an eyebrow, another wave of annoyance gushing over him. He wanted to get as far away from these hooligans as fast as he could. Before he could say or do anything though, instincts gave him a sudden warning that danger was behind him. He and the redhead turned slowly, noticing a large, towering woman breathing down their necks. Brandon's eyes widened, noticing the name tag of a librarian.

The redhead chuckled nervously, "Uh... Heh, heh. Hi, uh..." He turned and shouted to the others, "Gage, company!"

The fist fighting children turned to see the librarian. She glared at them, her pulled down glasses topping off her size to make her even more terrifying. All at once, the four children screamed.

"RUN!"

"This way," Gage shouted, pointing towards the direction of the library entrance, "Follow me!"

For reasons Brandon could not understand or explain, he did. The quartet immediately raced towards the doors, dropping any books or anything else they had. Well, there went Brandon's history and science classes for the day... PE sure seemed to be good today though.

"Faster!" Gage shouted, "We're almost there!"

And they burst into the sunlight of the city.

They didn't stop there though, nope. They kept going. Brandon was at the tail of the line of little boys running for their lives... even if it was just the adrenaline rushes pushing them, as they long lost the mad librarian. They eventually stopped when the exhausted redhead called to the others, "Gage, can't run! Stop!"

With that, right there on the sidewalk, everyone plopped onto the ground, desperately catching their breath. Brandon could not recall ever... exercising... like that once in his life. His voice almost gone from his burning throat, Brandon hoarsely spoke up, "I'm sweating..."

After several more moments of panting, Wyatt jumped back up, as excited as a puppy who's owner stepped through the door. "That was awesome!"

Brandon and the redhead exchanged expressions that said it all: they wished they had his radiant energy.

Gage scoffed, wiping his forehead, "It took a lot of effort, but we're alive. *Whew!*"

After more panting, everyone started to laugh.

"So that's what danger feels like?" Brandon asked.

"Hey," the redhead asked, "What your name?"

Brandon turned to face the kid, confusion on his face.

The boy just beamed as he spoke, "Rhett's my name!"

"I'm Gage." The Hispanic boy threw in.

"Wyatt!" The final kid smirked. He thumped his fist and pointed and Brandon, "And don't 'ya forget it! Cause I'm gonna be a famous model someday!"

Gage burst out laughing, "Oh, you going to woo them over with what? Your accent?"

Wyatt growled, turning his attention to Gage, "I'll have you know my grammy gram says I get it from my momma!"

Brandon looked around, noticing all the signs, the buildings, and he realized... he had no idea where he was.

"Um..." He piped in, "Help?"

"What wrong?" Rhett, who once again had just been watching Gage and Wyatt argue, asked him.

Brandon continued to look around, "Where are we?"

Wyatt responded, "I'd say this looks like seventy three east Call Street."

Brandon nervously turned to the child with southern roots, "I'm lost."

Wyatt's emerald eyes shone with surprise and concern, "Well, where'd 'ya live?"

Like a calculator producing the answer to a math problem, Brandon recited his exact address. With that in the southerner's mind, Wyatt smiled, "Hey, that's next 'ta the road my doctor's office is at! I go there all the time. I can take 'ya. I have excellent navigational skills, 'ya know."

"Yeah, right." Gage scoffed.

With a little more edge, Wyatt added in, "What, for a while away from Gage..."

Gage clenched his fist, "Wyatt!"

Before they could argue yet again, Rhett grabbed Gage's shoulder, pulling him away, "'Kay, have fun!"

As he pulled Gage away, Rhett looked back at them, waving with this massive smile on his face, "See you, uh-..."

They all stopped, realizing that they did not know this new kid's name. With all curious eyes on him, the blond shyly responded, "Brandon."

"Oh." Rhett smiled again, "See you, Bwandon!"

With that, Rhett skipped away, down the side walk. Gage followed, a lot more chill with his hands in his pockets. They walked away, conversing in a friendly manner. Wyatt smiled at Brandon, his short, messy black hair bouncing, "Come on, this way!"

Wyatt hummed as he turned and walked the opposite way. Brandon simply followed, his neutral, reserved face unchanged.

Driving home in his blue car, Brandon smiled upon looking back to those memories. He had felt like an alien to them, and they like an alien to him especially. Even if a young Rhett had given him hopeful nudges of them possibly meeting up in the future, a single introvert upon a trio of extroverts, Brandon had still been hoping that that be their final meeting.

How ironic it was, as Brandon drove home, the way he went was not the quickest or easiest route. Whenever he drove or walked home (to this day walking was rare for him though,) he took the route Wyatt had guided him home down that first day. The conversation that had been carried out was a fond one. A narcissist if anyone ever met one, Wyatt had consumed a lot of the conversation bragging about how awesome he was. It was only towards the end of that conversation that Brandon's new friendship, his first friendship, was forged with the most unlikely of people.

And to this day, it somehow worked.

"... Say, you got any friends?"

Brandon was pulled out of staring into space when, for once, this Wyatt kid spoke of something aside himself. Brandon only stared at him as they walked down the street. The same, default face on him the entire time. After several moments of silence between them walking down the sidewalk, under the evening sun, Brandon spoke, "I study a lot, really never took time for friends."

Wyatt's eyes shone with a shaded emotion, one Brandon could hardly read. Wyatt was walking backwards, looking at the scrawny kid he literally ran into at the library, "So you have no friends?"

Brandon shrugged, looking up to the pink sky, "No."

Wyatt gave Brandon a sad expression, "Same."

Brandon's head snapped back at him, surprise washing over him, "But... What about the others at the library?"

Wyatt shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets, "I just follow Gage around 'cause I hate his guts and someday I'll fine'ly teach him his place... Rhett's his buddy, so..."

"So you run around purposely annoying them?" Brandon asked.

Wyatt narrowed his eyes in confusion, "I mess with Gage, but Rhett's okay. Weird, but okay."

Brandon scoffed, 'weird' was right... Something was just off about that kid. None the less, this kid also apparently had zero friends. For different reasons, obviously, but still. The two eyed each other with surprising sympathy. For all his unlovable traits, Brandon saw something more in him in that moment.

How insecure are you, really?

Wyatt attempted to smile, "Another block or so to go."

"Good," Brandon's rare wit seeped through, "Because I'm sweating."

Wyatt chuckled, "Was that... personality there?"

"Uh..." Brandon instantly slipped back into his inverted shell.

Wyatt smiled, "I like you already."

Brandon didn't reply. They were at the edge of the sidewalk, and Wyatt unknowingly stepped onto the dark road. Brandon saw it, a zaffre car running past the speed limit... straight for it. Eyes widened, Brandon surprised himself when he reached out, grabbing Wyatt by his white shirt, pulling him back to the sidewalk just in the nick of time, "Watch where you're going!"

As the sound of the car carelessly passing sounded, Wyatt's green eyes widened in sudden understanding. Brandon let him go, and they stared at each other a second more.

For the first time since he met any of them, Brandon smiled.

Yep, there was that very sidewalk, that very road right there. Brandon chuckled as he drove safely by. He devolved back into further memories as he went past the next block.

As they continued walking, all eyes in front of them this time around, Wyatt said his name, "Brandon, was it?"

"Yes." Brandon responded, looking at him.

"Maybe..." Wyatt started, obviously not used to asking such things, "Maybe we could be friends?"

Instantly, the conversation from several minutes earlier crossed his mind. Brandon looked back on ahead again, confusion crossing Brandon's face, "Why?"

Wyatt spoke shyly, "Well, we both seem to not have any. Why not have each other?" Wyatt shrugged, "I don't know how this friendship thing works, but who knows? Maybe it could be good?"

Brandon stopped, watching Wyatt as he too came to a stop, "I don't think I'd be the best... friend ever, Wyatt. I'm not friend material."

Wyatt hopefully pursued him, "Brandon, I'm a jerk. Saying something bad about my awesome, hot self is against my protocol, but I'm a jerk. I'll be a terrible friend, but you just said you'd be too..." He smiled, "We could develop, we could - uh - ..." He whispered the next part, "Like I need improvement..."

Brandon snickered, Wyatt needed nothing but improvement... but maybe it was the reason to say yes. The words of Brandon's professor rang through his mind. "Those who are the least lovable are those who need loved the most."

Brandon spoke, "So, it's two jerks, against the world, trying to be something we can't naturally?" A shy smile half made it on his face, "The scientific method consists in experimentation and making mistakes, so."

"The scientific methane does extra-wut, now?"

Brandon rolled his eyes, this guy had zero clue... but the sudden excitement of finally finding a 'friend,' whatever those were, caused him to pull his hand into a fist, putting it in front of him, "Friends?"

Wyatt's eyes brightened. He instantly smirked triumphantly, his overconfidence and massive ego shining brighter than the sun. That was something Brandon realized he liked about him, he carried himself in a victorious manner. Wyatt clenched his fists, grinning ear to ear, "Friends we are, baby!"

They fist bumped, sealing the deal.

Brandon had a friend.

It was the beginning of something amazing, he just knew it...

Brandon smiled softly. The following years, they went through a lot of trial and error. Taking up hobbies like car watching and helping Wyatt do his homework (being two grades above him at that time, it was a piece of cake to LeBay,) Brandon suddenly stepped into a larger world. Indeed, a huge amount of it Brandon spent beneath his shell still. Wyatt, a dare devil and risk taker to the T, constantly pulled him into misadventures he never wanted to be in, his narcissistic nature causing him to unmeaningfully use him. From the start, it was always an unfair deal with Wyatt. With how much Brandon felt more alive though, he tagged along as Wyatt constantly ran into Gage and Rhett, often times clashing with the race car fan head to head as Brandon and Rhett watched from the sidelines.

As he hung around the three of them, Brandon found out more about them. Gage's obsession with speed was instantly noticeable, a desperate urge to go even faster causing Brandon to scratch his forehead. Rhett was quite odd, especially back in the early days, for odd speech and constant confusion on things that should of been common knowledge. Brandon never liked him, but Gage was right there beside him. He guided him when he was confused and furiously protected him when he was commonly bullied. It was a close bond they had shared as toddlers, before meeting Wyatt on the first day of first grade. Brandon and Gage quickly grew onto each other, but their different relationships with Wyatt prevented them from bonding much. In fact, shock and pleasant amusement crossed everyone's mind when Wyatt reacted to them reading a book together with jealousy. Responding with any form of concern to a human being aside himself was extremely rare back then.

Rhett's lisp eventually faded away, and Brandon slowly was becoming a little more open. While Brandon would slowly change in his opinion on Rhett, back then he visibly did not enjoy his company. Brandon's personality wasn't much though, as emotionless, empty eyes were only replaced with cynical, judgmental side comments. At the same time though, Wyatt loved Brandon's growing sarcasm even when he used it on him.

"You're finally breaking outta yer' shell, baby!" He whooped.

Things continued on casually, a dysfunctional but happy quartet building up at the speed of a sloth. A lot of fighting happened back then, but within their mini-cliques that came in two's; Wyatt and Brandon's bond, as well as Gage and Rhett's, continued to grow.

The first time a true act of friendship between Wyatt and Brandon would happen though was when they were eight (Wyatt) and nine (Brandon.)

... On March 28th.