These are two oneshots that I thought were too short alone. So I put them together, even though they are at completely different times and about completely different things!

I remember one night I stayed over at your house. We were seven at the time. I was all excited; I always was when we stayed at each other's houses. We always had so much fun, even though we never did much.

Tonight, however, was different. The sky was darker than usual, except for when bolts of lightning lit it up in a seriously spooky way. Then the thunder crashed and growled like some kind of savage monster. Not to mention the strong, cold wind that made every inanimate object move as if it was a person of its own. And the clattering sounds the rain made as it hammered onto the roof.

I'd always been scared of storms.

They just terrified me. They always had, and probably always would. There was no denying that all those surreal photographs on the Internet or in books looked really cool, but it was just being right underneath one that really bugged me. And in Minnesota, we'd always gotten pretty wild ones.

So, there I was, sitting on my sleeping bag and staring up at the ceiling, when suddenly the lights just went out. I know how loudly I screamed, but I didn't care, because it terrified me. I heard you fall off your bed with a thump. "Logan, are you ok?"

When I didn't answer, I felt your hand on my shoulder. "Logan, are you scared of the dark?"

"No," I mumbled. "I'm scared of the storm. I hate it!" I sniffed mournfully. "I know, I'm a big baby. And a wimp." I was so scared you'd laugh.

But you didn't.

Your eyes were wide as you said, "No you're not! Everyone's scared of something."

"Oh, really?" I said defiantly. "What are you scared of?" I didn't expect you to answer.

But you did.

"I'm scared of heights," you said quietly. "Remember the tree?"

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that."

"And I don't like snakes. They're really creepy."

"I can't argue with that!"

You were quiet for a second. "And I'm scared of water, too. I can't swim."

"Really? You can't?" I'd always been able to swim, and had always loved it. I remember how in the summer, even when I was a toddler I'd spend all day in a paddling pool in the backyard. I don't know how I didn't realise this before, but then again, we preferred running around in the park or the field behind my house than going to a pool. In fact, that was one thing we hadn't done. Maybe that's why I'd never found out. "Kendall? Why are you scared of water?"

I didn't expect there would be a real reason. But I saw your eyes (which I could still see shining through the dark) stray towards the floor. "I don't really wanna talk about it, Logie. Maybe some other time."

"Oh. Ok." Somehow talking to you made me feel so much better. Of course I was still scared, but it didn't bother me as much. It helped to know that, while you always seemed so brave, there was a lot you were afraid of. "I don't like spiders," I said in a light, cheerful tone.

"That's no secret, Logie." You were giggling. "Remember that time when we found that big spider in your backyard and you wanted to squish it with your mom's garden gnome?"

I nodded, grinning. I remembered it. I remember that, while I was shrieking and making horrified faces, you were picking it up in your hand, laughing at how it tickled when it crawled along your bare arm. You thought it was cute. You even wanted to keep it as a pet, but I made you put it back and come away.

I sighed and got into my sleeping bag, and heard the creak as you climbed into bed. The lightning still flashed outside the window, the rain still clattered, the thunder still crashed. But I got to sleep anyway.

School is strange. I've always thought that. There are always so many ranks, so many unspoken rules. So much hierarchy. People get picked on for all kinds of ridiculous things. For their hair, their height, their faces, their sense of humour, their sexuality, even their level of intelligence, high or low.

People picked on me because I was smart. Smarter than them. But they didn't call me a geek, or a nerd. They called me weird. They said I wasn't normal, that I couldn't be normal. I hated it, but I never stood up for myself. I don't know why; I guess I was nervous that it would make things worse.

I never told you, or Carlos. They never hurt me physically; they just teased me and hurt my feelings. I don't know why I never told you, and I don't know why you didn't realise. Although, I was good at hiding it from everyone. Even my parents, who'd always managed to get everything out of me.

Then, suddenly, you did know. One day when we were all over at your house, and we were talking, and when the conversation drifted to school, you just gave me one long, intense look with those wonderful eyes. I looked away, and changed the subject immediately. Carlos didn't notice anything, but I should've realised you could see right through me at times like this.

The next day, I got into school before you did, and I walked to my locker, opening it getting my math book out. One of the kids who was meaner than others showed up in front of me with that same nasty smirk on his face. "Hello, weirdo! Gonna go read some math equations? That's how you spend all your time, right? I'm surprised you have any friends at all!" This really got to me, because I sometimes wondered the same thing. I wanted to fight back, but I just didn't know how.

But you did.

You just appeared right beside me, as if by magic. You told him I wasn't weird, and the only freak around was the one who picked on me when I hadn't done anything to him. But it wasn't just what you said; it was the way you said it. You seemed so angry that anybody could hurt me, because I'd never hurt anyone in my life. You scared him away, and I really didn't know how to thank you. You just gave me another long, blank look and said, "You should've told me, Logie. I could've stopped it sooner."

I blinked dazedly. "What do you mean? That's the only time . . ." my voice trailed off as you gave a small glare. I knew I couldn't fool you that easily. So I just smiled. "Thank you."

You shrugged. "No problem. So, you wanna go to class?"

I stared at you. "You hate going to class early!"

You shrugged again. "I can make an exception today, I guess. So, let's go find Carlos first, ok?"

We were in 6th grade when this happened. I think it might have made me love you all the more.

Notice the part when they were talking about what they were scared of? Personally I liked that part best, but ANYWAY, that's not the point! Couple of those fears will come up later on, so . . . yeah. Please review!