Chapter 8

A True Friend

It's been a couple of weeks since the stork encounter. All of Matt's wounds are fully healed and barely visible.

Matt went outside to get some fresh air. It felt nice being outside after so long. He spent a good couple of minutes just standing there and soaking up the sunlight.

That's when Matt heard something speak. He didn't know exactly who they were or what they said, but it definitely scared him. He quickly jumped and turned to see that Aaron was standing there.

"How does it feel?" asked Aaron. "Being outside after so long?"

"It feels nice," Matt replied.

"So, what do you feel like doing?" asked Aaron.

"I don't know," Matt replied. "But what I do know is that I don't want to head straight back inside."

"Same," said Aaron. "Hey, there's a lake nearby. Wanna go for a swim?"

Matt thought about it for a bit. He didn't bring any swim clothes, but then he realizes he hasn't showered since he came to this world, so it might be beneficial to go to the lake.

"I'm fine with that," he said to Aaron.

Matt then went inside the house, grabbed a couple towels from the bathroom, and then he took off his Saint James uniform that he's worn since ending up here. He then grabbed an extra set of clothes he had in his bag.

The shirt was his favorite Legend of Zelda T-shirt, and the shorts were a light blue.

Matt met up with Aaron outside, and the two headed for the lake. The lake was small but perfect for a swim. There were a few frogs hanging out in the lake, either swimming or tanning. Upon seeing Matt, a good half of them ran, but a few others just stayed as if they've seen worse things. They still backed up whenever Matt got close to them.

Matt and Aaron got into the lake and swam around it for a bit. They made sure not to get too close to the other frogs in fear of how they'd react to Matt.

After swimming for a while, Matt and Aaron got out of the lake and dried up, then Matt put on his new set of clothes.

After leaving the lake, Matt and Aaron headed out into town.

After walking for a while, Aaron got an idea and spoke up. "I think I know what we should do next."

The next thing Matt knew, he and Aaron were in an alleyway, and Aaron had a can of paint. He painted a picture of a toad, then painted a circle around it, and then crossed it out. He then offered the brush to Matt.

Matt didn't want to take the brush. He wanted to say no, but he thought back to Sasha, and how any time he tried to say no to her, she always spoke in that tone. That menacing tone. When she spoke in that tone, you know she's being serious. She'd always say those negative things and sometimes, she'd threaten to kick Matt out of her group. The only place he felt he belonged.

Matt reluctantly took the brush and painted a line that reads "Toads can bite it."

That's when Matt and Aaron heard a siren, and when they looked, they saw the town sheriff staring at them disapprovingly.

Before they knew it, Matt and Aaron were in the town precinct under interrogation.

"Which one of you was responsible for placing graffiti on that wall?" the sheriff asked.

Matt sat silently, thinking about how he should respond. Should he tell the truth? Take the blame? Lie that they just stumbled upon the wall and the paintbrush? Eventually, Matt made his choice.

"It was my fault," he lied. "I thought it would've been a funny prank, but I was wrong."

"Well, you two won't be allowed to return home until you clean that up," said the Sheriff.

"Yes sir," was all Matt said before he and Aaron were sent out to clean up the graffiti.

While cleaning up the graffiti, Aaron looked away from Matt, filled with guilt for not speaking up. He then thought about how Matt looked hesitant before taking the brush. He turned towards Matt and asked, "Why did you take the brush? I know you didn't want to, so why?"

Matt was shocked that Aaron asked that, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to answer that question, but he decided it was for the best. "I was just being a good friend. My friends from back home taught me a lot about being a good friend. One of those things being that a good friend does what their friend wants, whether they like it or not, otherwise, they're not worth it."

Aaron took in Matt's words, and he felt bad. He didn't want his first real friend to believe he had to do stuff he didn't want just to be his friend.

"In that case, I want you to not do things you aren't comfortable with," he said.

After a second of processing what Aaron said, Matt smiled and simply said, "Okay."

After cleaning up the Graffiti, Matt and Aaron headed back to their house, and approached the front door. They knew they were going to get an earful from Dareth and Catherine. Matt unknowingly took Aaron's hand, but then they noticed and quickly let go of each other before heading inside.