A Hero Through a Friend's Eyes
Eoghan woke with a start and gazed at the starry sky. So it hadn't been a dream. This Digital World was real. They were in real danger. Not that it bothered Niall, he reflected, glancing over at his snoring friend. They'd known each other for years, and he was still a mystery. Eoghan had been the outcast before Niall moved to their school, years before.
He remembered the taunts, the digs at his stupidity, how he was only ever shown respect on the soccer field. Then out of nowhere, Niall burst into the scene. Becoming the school's resident child genius turned him into the outcast Eoghan had been. He'd said nothing, just happy that he was being accepted. He felt so guilty over leaving the seemingly shy, defenceless boy to be bullied, for letting someone else go through the same thing he had. He eventually broke down and apologised furiously to Niall, expecting anything from quiet hatred to a punch in the face.
He had not expected the other boy to burst out laughing. He stood completely dumbstruck as the boy he thought of as the quiet, collected genius failed miserably to recover from a bout of pure hysterics. Niall pulled him aside to casually explain the situation.
"No offence, but you're really an idiot if you're blaming yourself over this. I've been bullied before, I'll be bullied again. It happens. Some people are just jerks, and most of these guys here are actually pretty cool. They're all willing to stick up for each other, no matter what. And, if you ignore the real morons, this is a great school. I've got a few friends around here already. I'll introduce you."
That was that. Niall never blamed him. They became friends soon after that, though it was years before Eoghan stopped blaming himself and started blaming the real culprits. Niall ignored the insults and the names for years. He never gave in to the abuse. Eoghan still remembered the defining moment of Niall's determination.
It was the end of the Easter Break and the pupils were returning to school. Lunchtime, all the boys headed out to the pitch behind the school. Niall jogged onto the field a few minutes later, his friend Darren standing on the sidelines, looking as ridiculously dark and brooding as ever. Eoghan was up as first captain, Michael Earls, from the year ahead as second.
Earls was a thug, plain and simple. Whereas everyone else had grown up and befriended Niall, who was extremely social by anyone's standards, Earls and his equally stupid group of followers took pleasure in making his life miserable. Books ripped, possessions stolen, they never let up. Eoghan got the same treatment, less so due to his athletic record, being on two school teams. Niall tried to laugh it off, but anyone could see how degrading it was.
With teams chosen, Eoghan and Michael shook, the other trying to crush the hand he held in his grip. The match started immediately, the ball flying around their heads until it came to rest at Eoghan's feet. He sidestepped a member of the "Michael Earls Fan Club" and sprinted up field, knocking the ball between the discarded jackets used as goalposts.
The match proceeded as normal from there, each side scoring goal after goal due to a lack of willing keepers. With the end of lunch imminent, Eoghan called an end to the game, ending in a draw. As he picked up the ball, he heard running before a hand pressed down on his shoulders and his head exploded with pain. He fell backwards, blood streaming from his nose as people gathered around to see what had happened. He forced an eye open to see Earls' knee spattered with blood as someone pushed through the crowd.
Niall knelt beside him and handed him a pack of tissues before turning, rage in his eyes. As Earls made several barely coherent boasts to his comrades, Eoghan saw the smaller boy tap his enemy's shoulder. Earls turned to smirk at the stone-faced younger boy, before Niall reached back and launched a punch into the side of his tormentor's head, knocking him to the ground in one hit. Niall turned to Eoghan and calmly helped him up, and the two walked back inside to a standing ovation.
Eoghan sat up straight and noticed that the digimon were asleep, even V-mon X, their appointed night watchman. Darren, however, was missing. Eoghan stood up and stretched. He guessed that sunrise wasn't too far off, from a dim glow on the horizon. He began walking towards the edge of the clearing, leaving his friend muttering in his sleep.
Darren let out a breath through clenched teeth. He knew from the time they stopped that the digimon wouldn't have been able to stay awake all night. Frostmon and Cragmon had passed out soon after they stopped. V-mon X had been injured and exhausted even before they met him. Unable to sleep, he volunteered for the watch a few hours before sunrise. He gazed up at the stars from his perch atop a low branch. Niall's snores broke through the silence.
Darren rolled his eyes. Niall was… weird. No-one else Darren knew shared the aura of welcome that the other boy had. He went out of his way to befriend people, with a few exceptions. Darren smirked as he thought of Michael Earls, also known as "That Prick", clutching his face and sobbing after one hit from Niall. Although, to be fair, if it weren't for Earls, Niall and Darren might never have even met.
Earls and his gormless followers strode up to nine-year-old Darren. One of the nameless goons lifted the boy by the scruff of his collar and casually cast him out of their way, not even breaking stride. The boy sat on the ground in silence. This was part of his life and wasn't going to change. Let them bully him. They'll pay for it.
A hand stopped in front of his face. "Need a hand?" He looked up at the cocky grin in front of him. He waved away the hand and climbed to his feet. Niall's grin faltered for a split second before he glanced at Earls' crew. As Darren walked away, an arm swung itself around his shoulders. Darren pushed the other boy away. "Leave me alone." he hissed, walking past.
"No way." grunted Niall, grabbing Darren by the shoulder and dragging him back. "Listen. I don't care if you hate me for whatever reason you have for being such a jerk, but you'd better listen to me. Those guys are morons. They're mean to everyone in our class. Don't let them hurt you. They can't treat you like that if you don't let them."
Darren stood still, surprised at the anger in Niall's voice. Niall, perfect student, genius, popular, was nothing like he'd expected. He'd thought of Niall as another face in the crowd, just one more person Darren had to endure.
Yet here he was, angry with Darren for letting himself be bullied by Earls and the others. Angry with Darren for pushing everyone away. Darren gritted his teeth and held his hand out. "Okay, okay, fine. Truce?"
Niall's face split once more into a smile. "That's the spirit. Come on, there's got to be something better to do than sit around here."
Darren smirked as he cast his mind back over the last few years. Niall insisted on dragging him to events with everyone else, where he, albeit grudgingly, eventually began to enjoy himself. If it weren't for Niall, he'd be… well, he wouldn't be as willing to accept people. He had to admit he was wrong. There were some good people. He just had to find them.
Darren looked down at Niall, the snores subsiding. The other boy was sweating profusely and muttering in his sleep. He knew what was happening. He'd found out a couple of years ago, after inviting Niall over to his house for the night.
"I can't make it, Darren, sorry." insisted Niall. The boys were outside the school, walking towards the housing estate where Niall lived. "T-too much to do the day after." he laughed, half-heartedly, without any of his usual confidence.
"You said two minutes ago you weren't doing anything this Saturday. If you don't want to come over, just say so. Don't try to fool me." muttered Darren, becoming increasingly annoyed. He began to change direction before Niall caught him by the arm.
"Wait." he gasped. Darren was shocked, not by the action, but by the tone in his friend's voice. He was hyperventilating, his body shaking. "I… I have nightmares. I-I know that sounds stupid, but hear me out. I… wake up, screaming. I only remember a few parts of them, but when I wake up, the feeling I get, it's like I never want to sleep again." The boy was panting for air at this point, terror in his voice.
"I'm lucky if I don't wake everyone else. If I'm somewhere I don't recognise straight away, I panic. I just start screaming until I can pull myself together…" the boy ended on a whisper. Darren nodded and they stood silent for a moment before Niall raised his head. "…Sorry. Let's get going. Maybe another time, yeah?" Darren just watched as Niall walked home.
Darren shook his head. Niall was the most carefree person he knew, insanely so. Whatever could scare him enough to have him screaming was something Darren didn't want to think about. He looked up as the other boy -Eoghan- stood up and began walking away. Darren rolled his eyes. Why the hell Eoghan decided to walk away from the camp -alone- was most likely a stupid idea he didn't need to hear. Why did Niall hang around this guy? Darren jumped down to the ground. "Better get him back before he hurts himself." Darren thought to himself.
Eoghan kept walking for a few minutes before he reached the edge of the forest. A field of flowers in full bloom faded away at the edge of a cliff. Eoghan sat on a log as the sun lit up the horizon with a flash of gold.
"So you left the camp for this?" came Darren's voice from behind him. "It's not like it's any different than back home." said the dark-haired boy as he walked up to Eoghan. His voice was sceptical as he looked down at Eoghan.
Eoghan rolled his eyes. Trust the dark, brooding jerk to put a damper on the beauty of the moment. Why would Niall want to hang around this guy? "That's exactly why." he muttered. "It's exactly the same as back home, which is more than can be said for the rest of this place."
"Huh." Darren looked thoughtful at the response. He hadn't expected a reason from Eoghan, let alone one like that. Maybe he'd underestimated Eoghan. "Nicely put."
The two boys sat in silence for a few moments. Darren regarded Eoghan suspiciously as the latter glanced back towards the camp.
"You think he'll be okay?" muttered Eoghan. Darren hesitated before answering. Thinking about their friend's nightmares was a sobering experience. He'd never seen the effect they had on Niall, but he suspected the sandy-haired boy had.
"I don't know… he's told you about these nightmares, then?"
Eoghan stood up, sighing. "I found out a different way."
Eoghan jumped over the fence in front of Niall's house. Niall had missed a lot of schoolwork, and he'd volunteered to make the homework delivery. It was good to have an excuse to visit, even if Niall was sick. They hadn't spoken in days. He knocked on the front door, feeling the sound echo through the hall behind. With no response, he shoved his notes through the letterbox and turned to leave.
A scream rang out from an open window. Eoghan froze, listening to the sheer terror in the voice. In Niall's voice. Throwing his bag to one side, he scrabbled for the key he knew to be under the flowerpot. Slamming it into the lock and running upstairs to his friend's room.
Niall was sprawled on the bed, roaring in agony. Eoghan paused, totally unprepared for the situation. Stumbling forwards, he shook the other boy, hoping to wake him.
Niall's eyes flew open, wide in terror. He grabbed Eoghan's arm in both hands, panting. "Don't…don't let him… he's… oh God…" babbled Niall. Eoghan stood still, terrified and bewildered. Niall's grip tightened painfully as his eyes showed a spark of recognition.
"Eoghan… don't let them get hurt… don't let him find us… please." he coughed, before his eyes focused on his friend. Shock and fear were clearly visible on his face.
"I-I'm s-sorry," he panted, choking back sobs. "Seriously, I didn't mean for that t-to… I'm sorry…" he whispered before sobbing silently into his hands.
Eoghan nodded, still stunned. "… Do you want to talk about it?…" he muttered, feeling totally overwhelmed. "I'm… here… for you?" he finished lamely.
Niall let out a short chuckle, a smile on his face despite the tears. "Thanks, man. I'd better remember to hold you to that." he whispered, before clearing his throat and turning to his friend.
"Do me a favour, though. Don't tell people about this. I can't- I'm not ready for everyone to know yet. I'll let them know sometime." Eoghan nodded again, this time confidently. He turned to leave, pausing as he heard Niall ready himself to talk again. With no response, he descended the stairs, wishing for a way to help his friend.
"I still don't know how I can help, but I'll have to try. If I don't help him, I won't be able to forgive myself." finished Eoghan as they walked back to the camp, the sun at their backs. Darren bowed his head, not trusting himself to speak.
"…It's good that he can trust you." said Darren eventually, just as they reached their camp. Eoghan thrust his hand out to the other boy with a half-smile. "So can you."
They shook hands just as the digimon and Niall woke. "Hey, guys," yawned Niall. "Ready to go?"
Darren and Eoghan grinned and nodded their assent. "Excellent." smirked Niall, jumping to his feet. "Let's get this party started."
And there you have it. Hope it's worth reading.