It was a long trip to get back to Happy Tree.

After waking up at 5 AM, he got dressed in his usual camo-uniform, mostly because he had brought only one or two outfits from home to wear in the training camp. It had been a while since they'd been washed and they reeked of sweat, mud, things that LOOKED like mud but...were most likely something...else. So the normal clothes were out of the question as Filip put on his uniform and was called down by the same officer that had directed him before. He got out of his bunk and left the tent, where he was then led to a bus. It looked similar to a school bus only the wheels looked like they could take on any terrain and also had mud splatters along the sides, probably from when they were moving too fast on wet, smooth ground. The rest of the bus was a dark green color and the windows were clearly bullet-proof. Filip just hopped on, took a seat and tried to go back to sleep. That would easier said than done, everytime Filip closed his eyes...all he saw were the dead bodies of his comrades. This shocked him awake constantly. But then he started thinking of someone else who was very close to him; Franky. Franky didn't judge Filip, she has plenty faults of her own while everyone called them a couple. She never liked attention, so whenever it was on her, she'd just start turning red. One of her faults was her white flakes, they looked like snow, but everyone called it dandruff, causing Franky to adopt the name of Flaky. Filip had hardly realized how much time had flown by as it seemed like just as he had gotten on the bus was as soon as he got off it. Now he was at the airport, holding a ticket and nearing the gate. The boy got on the plane with ease...but then started to get the feeling that he was being watched. Everyone he turned to seemed familiar….like...the tigers! Filip started shaking a bit in horror and remembrance of his friends. But then shook the thought out of his head and just looked out the window. When clouds covered the window for a while, Filip could see his reflection. It was definitely him only...darker. he had shadowy eye circles, but his eyes had narrowed and became yellow, his teeth were razor sharp. Filip nearly screamed when he saw this bizarre figure looking it back at him.

"Um...sir? I'm gonna need you to buckle up, we'll be landing shortly." The stewardess told him after tapping him on the shoulder. He looked up to see the symbol for the seat buckle was glowing. Before finally doing as told, he looked back at the window…, all he saw was the bright blue sky. Filip sighed in relief.

"Attention passengers. Attention passengers. We are beginning our descent into Happy Tree. Please make sure your seat belts are properly fastened and we will be landing shortly." Filip got a knot in his stomach now, realizing how close he was to his friends, feeling nervous but excited at the same time. They land smoothly, Filip casually walks off the plane and toward the exit. Just as he leaves the airport, his first sight is of a beautiful teenage girl with bright red hair going down to her upper thighs. She had 'dandruff' or rather, what they SHOULD be called; 'flakes'. She wore a short light pink skirt, red leg warmers with uggs underneath, a light red short sleeve shirt and underneath was a long sleeve red and white striped shirt.

"Hi Filip!" Filip was stunned, he froze completely at the sight of the girl, she leapt into his arms and he started blushing.

"H-h-h-hi…..F-F-Fra-Franky….it's been awhile….". Franky blushed just as much as Filip, except Franky was about a foot shorter than him so she couldn't see his blushing anymore than he could see hers. Franky has always been rather petit, one of the many qualities that Filip thought of as adorable. Not to mention her perfect skin, cute smile, nice figure, and beautiful big eyes.

Together, the two took Franky's Moped back to her house, Filip had to swallow some of his pride to ride on the back of a purple scooter. But they eventually made it to the house without being spotted. Filip got off the moped and opened the door for Franky after she pushed the scooter back into the garage. Franky blushed at Filip's gentlemanly behaviour and walked inside. Filip followed.

"So how've you been latel-"

"WHAT WAS IT LIKE IN THE WAR?! I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!". Filip started and Franky finished. Filip felt nervous, speaking about his time on the battlefield, he hadn't expected to be telling his stories this early…. He hadn't even had time to prepare a good fake one that doesn't make him look like a coward. The most interesting story he'd have to tell would be his time in the rainforest...but from what he could remember, it didn't make him look very heroic. Being perfectly aware that he was responsible for the deaths of his comrades.

Franky waited patiently for an answer. After a few minutes of silence, Franky remembered she had cookie dough that she was gonna put in the oven when she got home. But when she turned around and saw Filip's saddened face…, she realized that she may have asked the wrong question. It was possible that she brought up bad memories and so she felt guilty.

"S-sorry…".

Franky didn't know what else to say or do, so she just decided to keep her hands busy by forming the dough into little balls and placing them on a pan.

"I-it's...O-ok…". Filip finally managed to stutter out. Then they were silent again.

"I-I-I'm baking...c-co-cookies…". Franky told him, Filip smiled, Franky saw this and smiled back then she turned around and blushed. Both of them always had issues with small talk.

"Sounds good…." Filip told her. He hadn't expected his return to be this awkward. All he could do was just sit quietly on Franky's sofa and twiddle his thumbs. When Franky put the dough in the oven, she walked over to the sofa, sat next to Filip and asked if he wanted to watch some TV. "Yes!" Filip eagerly replied, almost yelling. It would be a great relief from the awkwardness and boredom. The first thing they watched were some reality shows, then some cartoons until Franky at last came up with a more reasonable question.

"So...do you plan on going back to school?" She asked with little hesitation, Filip didn't mind the question at all and answered gladly.

"Uh...Yeah...I'd like to." He told her, Franky smiled at this. Not long after they finished an episode of their cartoon marathon, Filip asked where the bathroom was. Franky gave him the directions and he left her there with only her thoughts...and cookies that should soon be done baking. When Filip entered the bathroom, he walked to the mirror and splashed some water in his face. "C'mon! Get your act together…. Just talk like a normal person! You've known her all your life...it's not like she's changed. And you haven't either!"

I wouldn't count on it….