Squirmy hated crowds.
It was something that constantly terrorised him on the Isle. Large, loud crowds were always a worry. Large crowds meant a deadlier stampede. More spreading of disease. Most likely to get lost in and be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of voices.
Auradon seemed to have that same problem.
Hence, Squirmy's situation.
The engagement party of King Ben and Mal were well underway, and to say the number of people attending was huge would've been an understatement. Guests both Isle and Auradonian flooded the area where the party was taking place. The place felt so cramped in some parts
(Squirmy could already see the pickpockets coming in from a mile away) as everyone moved about.
Then, to his absolute horror, he loses his twin in the crowd, becoming stranded in the middle of a crowd, voices speaking over the other and so many conversations happening at once and he couldn't get anyone to find his brother (his practical anchor in some instances). The noise had become too much. Squirmy had to get out.
And he did. Out into the garden, hiding behind some hedges with trees overhead where our current scene was taking place.
Squirmy sat under a willow tree, knees drawn up to his chest as he tried to calm himself from what had just occurred inside beforehand. He wasn't crying, but his breathing sounded laboured and hoarse.
Auradon wasn't what he had imagined it to be. In fact, if he were being completely honest with his opinion, the land of heroes hadn't lived up to the hype VK Day had made it out to be.
Granted, perhaps Auradon had just been having an off week. Squirmy was certain they didn't experience a villain takeover because a princess was heartbroken every week before he came here. Certain that wasn't Auradon's normal.
But now, he'd never really get to know what Auradon's previous normal looked like. Not with the barrier being down, which will no doubt cause a bunch of new normals to occur.
A part of Squirmy was grateful for the barrier falling, as it had allowed him and
Squeaky to reunite with their father. But the other was less than enthused as the things that once tormented Squirmy will now leak into Auradon.
That latter thought made him feel guilty. As he knew if the barrier closed forever, other kids won't get to escape, and he'd never see his father again. But to completely open it... it didn't sit right.
Squirmy pulled more in on himself, his face hidden behind his knees. His mind was too loud. It was moments like this where he could use Squeaky's support. Or even Sammy's. He wished there was someone he could talk to, but knowing his luck, wishes were maybe not meant for him.
He feels something drop onto his hand. He looks up to look at his hand and
immediately frowns at the white substance on it.
"Bird poop?"
"Cake frosting, actually!"
Squirmy jumped up from his seat, looking around a little panicked as he realised he wasn't alone. He then looked up into the tree he was sitting under and found himself staring at a boy, possibly around his age, maybe even a little younger.
" You good down there, pal?", the boy asked, his voice sounding casual.
"Who are you?", Squirmy asked, taken aback.
The boy up in the tree grinned," I asked you first~", he sang cheekily.
"No, you didn't!", Squirmy jumped as the boy suddenly jumped from the tree and landed on his hands and feet. He looked up at Squirmy and grinned widely, his buck teeth the forefront and star of what was a set of charmingly crooked teeth.
" Well, I meant to~", the boy said sweetly, almost as sweet as the dessert still covering his mouth," I did still ask a question first, though. You good?".
" How long were you up there?", Squirmy asked.
The boy raised his brow, looking unimpressed at Squirmy's deflection but deciding to play along," Long enough to be the first here", he said flatly.
Squirmy winced," So you were here for... all of that?".
"For every single choked-up sound you let out", the boy confirmed, his voice drawling.
Squirmy reeled back and leaned a little further away from the boy. He felt bitter, 'Great. Bad enough, I got bullied for being a wuss on the Isle. Now I'm gonna have it in Auradon too', he thought, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.
He felt a gentle tap on his shoulder and turned to find a plastic lunchbox gripped in the hand of the boy before him.
" Don't worry, I won't snitch about the crying", the boy said as he plopped down close to Squirmy, another lunchbox in his other hand for himself.
The boy went straight into eating from the lunchbox, not waiting for Squirmy to join
him or anything. The youngest Smee watched the boy in front of him scarf down the food before joining, eating his food with the same urgency without the mess.
The boy stopped for a moment to gaze up at Squirmy. He tilted his head, watching him eat.
"Do your siblings try to steal your favourite food too?", the boy asked curiously.
"What?", Squirmy asked, confused.
" My siblings make a game out of eating all my favourites without sharing. That's why I'm eating all of this without them", the boy said with a shrug," I'll share with them eventually, I just want to taste some of my faves, y'know. Do you have siblings?", the boy asked curiously
Squirmy blinked, the boy had given him a lot to process. Eventually, he got to the question and nodded in response.
" Two. My big brother and my twin brother"
"You have a twin!", the boy said excitedly," I have little twins in my family too!"
"How many siblings do you have?", Squirmy asked curiously.
"Loads!", the boy exclaimed," Mostly brothers. I recently started getting more sisters and siblings. There's like-", the boy paused and silently counted the number of siblings he had," 13 of us, altogether. I'm 2nd eldest, but I was the first!".
'2nd eldest but the first?', Squirmy thought it was weird. He didn't quite understand and was rather confused. The confusion
must have been visible on his face because the boy decided to elaborate.
"I'm what the Mainlanders call "Adopted"", the boy explained, and suddenly, it made sense to Squirmy. Something else then piqued his interest.
Mainlanders? Squirmy was about to ask about that, but then the boy beat him to speaking by asking his own question.
" Don't take this the wrong way, but... you're oddly dressed for a Mainlander", the boy pointed out, mouth full of food at this point," You don't look like you're from the EverRealm either".
"Mainlander?", Squirmy murmured, confused.
"BAH! Auradonian if you wanna get
technical about it", the boy scoffed, rolling his eyes," So where are you from?".
" You don't know?"
It was odd to Squirmy that this boy didn't immediately recognise him as a VK. From what he heard, the whole VK Day thing was televised.
The boy raised a confused brow and tilted his head to the side as he watched Squirmy," Am I supposed to?", he asked, confused.
Squirmy opened his mouth to respond... then closed it as he thought about it. There was a possibility that not all Auradonians (assuming the boy before him was Auradonian) would be interested in the VK problem. At least the young AKs like the boy before him. Heck, Squirmy wasn't initially very interested in what the fancy
people in their castles had to say until he was signed up for the VK Day program by Harriet and his father. If they all were the same, then safe to say the boy probably wasn't interested in stuff like this at all.
"I guess not", Squirmy shrugged," I'm from the Isle".
The boy blinked twice," The Isle of...?", he drawled, waving his hands in a circular motion for Squirmy to get the cue he needed to be further specific.
Squirmy's eyes widened, surprised. This boy really knew nothing.
"...The Lost", Squirmy said, finishing the sentence," I'm from the Isle of the Lost".
A beat passed. And then-
"OOOOOOOH", the boy exclaimed suddenly," The Isle of the Lost! That explains-", he pauses," Well- it doesn't explain anything to me right now, but I'm sure it will eventually!", he said cheerfully.
"Yeah", was all Squirmy said. His mind was busy playing catch up with the boy's weird but nicely nonchalant reaction.
"Sooooooo", the boy drawled out," Are you like... a kid of a villain, then?", he asked curiously as he leaned forward.
"Uh... My dad is more of a henchman than any- what are you doing?", Squirmy said, falling back as he noticed the boy was now uncomfortably close.
His pupils were dilated, and he was straight-up sniffing Squirmy. Squirmy fell back and stared up at the boy above him,
who was intensely smelling him everywhere he could. It made Squirmy, like his namesake, squirm. Because of that, the boy stopped and sat back. With a blink, his gaze returned to normal.
"Sorry. Sorry", the boy said sheepishly as he helped Squirmy up," I shouldn't have done that. Mother warned me Mainlanders don't like it when I or my sibs do that".
"Why were you smelling me?", Squirmy asked curiously after a second to compose himself.
"You smelled like someone I knew a while back...", the boy said earnestly with a shrug, playing with the fox tail lining the hood of his jacket." Anyhoo... your pops? You said he was a henchman? Whose was he?".
Squirmy was still a tad stuck on the fact he had just been sniffed by a boy he was definitely beginning to question the sanity of but still pressed forward to answer the question.
"Captain Hook's", Squirmy answered.
Something changed in the boy's demeanour. It was small and mostly unnoticeable. Squirmy himself hadn't noticed something was off.
The boy stared and stared at Squirmy for a few seconds before speaking," ...You're Smee's Kid?".
"Yeah, wasn't it obvious?", Squirmy asked, gesturing to his clothes and their colour scheme, which the boy did look at with a contemplative stare.
"Huh", the boy said softly. His gaze falls on Squirmy again with an unreadable expression.
"Wanna go grab more food with me?", the boy asked suddenly.
Squirmy walked hesitantly behind the boy, breath quickening as the voices from the party inside grew louder.
"Gosh, this place is even more packed than earlier. How's a guy even supposed to enter?", the boy commented," These sort of parties are never usually this big..."
"Do we really have to go inside?", Squirmy asked. He did make note that his new... companion had been inside earlier. And apparently knew how these sorts of events
went.
The boy shrugged," We don't have to go in this way. We can just find the staff entrance and get in through the kitchen", he explained, taking hold of Squirmy's hand and dragging him around the building to find the staff entrance.
"Have you ever been to these sort of things before?", Squirmy asked, seeing as this boy was somewhat knowledgeable on these sort of events.
"Eh, once or twice", the boy said shrugging," They aren't my scene. Think of it as a... once in a blue moon sort of thingamabob", he added," I get invited. But I'm not really fond of leaving home much".
A home body? Squirmy could relate to that.
"Same here", Squirmy said quietly," I'd much rather be at home napping".
They found a staff entrance and the boy led Squirmy by the hand through the long corridor until they entered the busy kitchen. Squirmy hesitated to move forward, so he had to be pulled by his companion. They got a lot of stares but the boy's glare usually sent the workers looking elsewhere to Squirmy's surprise.
They came up towards the wheeled server trays and Squirmy's mouth watered at the sight of all the treats piled onto them.
"The food is made by the chefs working at Tiana's Palace in Bayou d'Orleans, so this stuff is going to be REALLY tasty", the boy explained.
Squirmy nodded. Honestly though, after
eating trash for most of his life, even the bad Auradon food tasted incredible. So Squirmy trusted his companion's judgement.
"So what do we do then?", Squirmy asked quietly.
The boy grinned," We take some, duh", he said like it was obvious.
"Won't the cooks get mad though?", Squirmy asked worriedly.
"Probably", the boy said as he went and grabbed a few hors'deurves and started placing them strategically into places in the backpack he had been carrying with him since meeting Squirmy," But I don't care".
'Spoken like a true VK', Squirmy thought as
he just watched the boy pluck the different finger foods and confections outside the eyes of the wandering chefs. It made him a little put off actually, but not by much. His new companion acted more like an Isle kid than he did. It made him a little curious to learn more about him.
And of course, the boy's kindness was certainly a large factor in Squirmy's growing comfort being around him.
The boy was doing well to ask Squirmy what he might like. The youngest Smee couldn't decide as he didn't recognise much of what was presented to him. So the boy decided to pack him a little bit of everything in a medium-sized plastic container so Squirmy could try it out.
"Mother will freak that I took her good tupperware but it's for a good cause",theboy said as he showed Squirmy the container with his treats in," This'll be for you".
Squirmy was thankful and a smile grew on his face due to the boy's thoughtfulness. The boy noticed his smile and grinned, proud to get such a smile out of this kid he had just met.
They were almost caught once by one of the staff workers. The boy had dragged Squirmy behind some flour bags as the worker went and took the wheeled tray to the main room where the party was taking place.
"That was close", the boy piped up.
"What are we going to do if we get caught?", Squirmy asked.
"Run, I guess"
" I'm... I'm not really a fast runner", Squirmy was ashamed to admit. His lack of speed was usually what got him caught by his bullies. He got ridiculed by Harry about it a few times and was expecting something similar to happen here. But to his surprise, his companion just giggled light-heartedly.
"Then I guess I'll just have to carry you then", the boy said with a playful wink and an air of truth.
Squirmy felt his face warm up a little. His rosy cheeks became a little more pink from the boy's response.
"Can you even do that?", Squirmy asked, brow raised.
"You doubt me?", the boy said with an exaggerated pout.
"I find it a little hard to believe, is all", Squirmy said with a shrug, hoping to come off as nonchalant and cool about it," You'd have to carry both me and the bag". The full bag they filled with food by now.
The boy scoffed," Piece of cake! I've carried heavier", he said folding his arms.
"I don't believe you", Squirmy replied.
"-Now. You don't believe me right now. But soon, you will", the boy said confidently.
"We'll see about that", Squirmy said shaking his head.
They were done filling up the bag. There was enough food in there to last a family 3 weeks in Squirmy's Isle-like opinion. For the boy, this will simply be a weekend's
supply of treats.
" Now what? Do we go back outside?", Squirmy asked. He was quite eager to get further away from the ongoing party.
"I was actually going to check on my siblings", the boy answered," They're somewhere in that party room".
Squirmy felt his body freeze at the mention of going back to the party room. With all those people and all that noise with so little space-
But then Squirmy is reminded of his own twin. Who he hasn't seen in the last hour. Who's probably still inside somewhere, worried about him.
"Can we find my twin while we're at it?", Squirmy asked as they slipped out of the
kitchen," I kind of lost him before I got outside...".
"We can split up to look for the-", the boy started suggesting.
"No!", Squirmy exclaimed, grabbing the boy's hand. His body shook a little and willed it to stop by thinking of other things," I- I'd like it if we stuck together".
There was silence for a moment and Squirmy thought for sure he had just embarrassed himself. But then he felt his hand be gently squeezed.
The boy gave him a soft, supportive smile," Okay. We'll stick together, then", he said gently before pulling Squirmy forward, taking him down the hall.
They walked together in somewhat
silence. The boy was humming and took to walking on all the furniture he came across from tables to chairs. Squirmy giggled at the sight. Very few words were exchanged for that few minutes. Squirmy winced hearing the music getting louder and the voices becoming more clearer. Then the boy spoke up out of nowhere.
"Do you not like parties?", the boy asked curiously.
Squirmy hummed in thought,"...I like parties. Just... not parties as big as these". So many people. So much noise.
"Why?", the boy asked, curiously, as he hopped in front of Squirmy.
"There's so many people and so little space and so much noise. It hurts my head. I feel sick", Squirmy said honestly, those similar feelings bubbling up again as they got closer to the party room.
The boy looked sympathetic and thoughtful as Squirmy described his experience," Is that why you were shaking when I met you? You came from the party then?", he asked, his brows furrowed in concern.
Squirmy nodded," I lost my brother in the crowd and I panicked", he said as he took a stop to rest against the wall," Being alone always made me a target on the Isle. And the crowd was so big and so loud, I felt like I was about to crushed by it all".
"Sucks, man", the boy said sympathetically. He bit his lip in thought. They were close to the door now but the boy was hesitant to drag his new friend inside after what he heard. He had to think of something else.
Luckily, something came to him rather quickly.
"Come on", the boy said as he grabbed Squirmy's hand again.
"Where are we going? The door is right there", Squirmy pointed out.
"The balconies would be less crowded, I think. You'll be more comfortable up there", the boy explained.
" You'd do this for me?", Squirmy said, eyes widened in surprise.
"You're my friend, of course, I would", the boy said with a friendly grin.
Friend. The word echoed in Squirmy's mind. He had few friends outside of his twin brother. Dizzy was his friend... Celia would be a potential friend if she was okay with it. But that was it. No one would really want to be friends with the wimpy, anxiety-riddled Squirmy Smee who would always get his treats stolen or wouldn't survive a day on the Isle without the protection of the Hooks.
But this boy did. He genuinely wanted to be friends with him. He went out of his way for Squirmy's comfort. Took food aside for him just because he wanted to. Offered to hide things about him to prevent further embarrassment.
Friend. The word made Squirmy feel... giddy. In ways he hadn't really felt before.
'My first Auradon friend', Squirmy thought in awe,' And he's so cool', he thought with excitement.
Speaking of said friend, he was currently walking on a table that had a vase on it. The boy carelessly kicked the vase off, letting it shatter against the floor. He apologised to Squirmy since some pieces fell close to him, which the latter dodged. The boy seemed more apologetic about him having a vase shard fall close to him than actually breaking the vase itself.
"Why are breaking them anyway?", Squirmy asked. He felt a little bad seeing people's things break.
"Because it'll annoy the grownups. Duh", he said it is like it was the most obvious thing in the world," Especially the old King. He gets antsy when things break", the boy snickered," All Mainlanders do though, really. The people here hate messes. Will give you the stink eye even if you did it on accident", he scoffed.
"You talk about them, the Auradonians, like you're not from here yourself", Squirmy said thoughtfully," Aren't you Auradonian too?".
Squirmy was worried. If his new friend was foreign and only here temporarily, they'd have to leave eventually. And will probably be gone for a long time. And it'll be hard to maintain contact, especially since Squirmy hadn't received a phone yet. Did his new friend have a phone?
The boy wrinkled his nose with a look of some mild disgust, like he was personally insulted by the idea of being from Auradon (and he was, just a little). He let out a small huff, brushing some of his long blonde hair away from his sky-blue eyes.
"I guess I am in a way", the boy said, his lips pulled back in disgust at even
admitting it," My home is more a... a territory of Auradon than actually part of Auradon itself, let's say. So I don't really consider myself Auradonian, get it?", he explained.
"Huh", Squirmy hummed thoughtfully," I... do get it... actually", he said, thinking about the Isle, a little surprised at the commonality between their homes being a part of Auradon but not feeling like its part of Auradon.
King Ben might argue the Isle was always a part of Auradon. But that argument wouldn't erase the feelings of 'otherness' all Isle kids felt when they came to Auradon. The Culture Shock. It won't erase the obvious differences between the Isle of the Lost and Auradon. The Isle, an ugly entity of a mark against the big, beautiful picturesque Auradon. Saying they are one kingdom... won't fix much right now.
It was much easier to think of them as separate anyway.
The boy turned to look at him," Do you want the Isle to feel like it's a part of Auradon?", he asked curiously.
Squirmy thought for a moment," Yeah, I do", he said.
The boy hummed," I guess that's where our homes differ. My home wants almost nothing to do with Auradon anymore", he said before stopping in front of a door to open it," We're here".
The boy pushed open the door and kept it open to let Squirmy in first. Squirmy murmured a thanks before stepping in. He looked over the railing and down at the party where many people gathered. Luckily no one was on this balcony with them. They were alone up there. They both peeked over the railing to spy down on everyone below them.
"Spot your twin yet?", the boy asked.
"Not yet", Squirmy replied," Find your siblings?".
"Found about 3 so far. Spotted my mother and baby brother though!"
"Really? Where?", Squirmy asked.
"Girlie in the baby blue dress", he said pointing towards a specific door. Squirmy only saw the flare of a baby blue dress skirt disappear behind the door though.
"Missed her", he said
"She must have gone to put Tootles down for a nap somewhere", the boy stated," Is your dad here too?".
"Yeah. Maybe my brother's with him", Squirmy wondered thoughtfully.
"That'll make it easier to find him at least. We can just look for your dad too", the boy said as he went and sat on the railing, feet dangling.
"Yeah", Squirmy agreed. He turned to talk to his friend again only to his shock for a bird to fly past. Squirmy stumbled but his friend merely looked surprised and turned around.
Squirmy's eyes widened as he watched the bird transform into a human child before his eyes. Their outfit was adorned in black-iridescent feathers, much similar to their bird form. The child watched Squirmy with curiosity stark in their dark eyes.
"Birdie", Squirmy heard his friend greet lightly," How's the party?"
Rather than speaking, the bird-child let out a squeaky chirp with a silly grin. His friend chuckled at their enthusiasm.
The bird-child, aptly named Birdie, then drew their attention back to Squirmy, who tensed up a little under their attention.
"Friend?", they asked curiously, head tilting to the side as they walked towards Squirmy. Their walk reminded Squirmy of the thin live chickens Amos Slade kept in his cabin near the outskirts of the Isle. And much like what his friend had done earlier, Birdie began to sniff at him, causing Squirmy to lean away uncomfortably.
Luckily sensing his discomfort, his friend slid in and made the bird-child back away.
"Birdie, come on, you know the Mainlanders don't like it when we do that", the boy said shooing the child away to out distance between them and Squirmy," Sorry about them. Birdie hardly comes out here much".
"Friend?", Birdie repeated.
"Is this one of your siblings?", Squirmy asked curiously, remembering his friend mentioning he had siblings.
"Yeah! This is Birdie", his friend introduced them happily," And Birdie, this is...", the boy paused for a short minute and turned to Squirmy, face flushed and grinning sheepishly.
"I uh- didn't get your name earlier", the boy said chuckling in shy embarrassment.
Squirmy chuckled shyly too, because it just occurred to him too, that he never got his new friend's name either.
Birdie let a squawk that Squirmy didn't understand, but his friend did completely.
"I got distracted!", the boy excused as he heard his sibling sassily ask why he had forgotten to ask Squirmy's name when they met.
Birdie chirped with interest at that excuse. They looked back and forth between the two boys, reading into something neither Squirmy nor the boy were aware of. But they sensed it. And it made them grin excitedly, bouncing on their feet and pointing at Squirmy with a wild gleam in their eyes.
"Wendy!", Birdie squealed. And then began to repeat it over and over in an excited and almost teasing chant.
Squirmy didn't get it. But his friend, judging by how red his face had become, did.
"It's not like that!", the boy squeaked," We just met today!"
But Birdie continued their incessant teasing, calling Squirmy 'Wendy' much to the Smee boy's confusion. Squirmy could see his friend growing frustrated and decided to intervene swiftly.
"My name is Squirmy", Squirmy said over their fighting. He could see his friend stiffen and pause mid-argument as his mind registered that he spoke.
"Huh? What's that?", the boy asked.
Squirmy's face turned a little pink and he shyly scratched the material of his jacket sleeve," I said... my name is Squirmy. Squirmy Smee".
Birdie let out a few animated trills and chirps, most likely commenting on Squirmy's name (they were, in fact, in fact doing that, and also asking about knowing the VK was a Smee) before turning to their older brother, who was stuck in a trance looking at Squirmy. Birdie elbowed the boy in the rib and he hissed in pain.
"Slightly!", the boy gasped as Birdie elbowed him in the rib," Ow... did you have to go that hard?".
Birdie huffed and pointed back at a waiting
Squirmy, who looked confused at the exclamation.
"Slightly?", Squirmy said confused.
The boy looked back at him with a small smile," Yep, that's my name", he extended a hand for a shake," Slightly Soiled, but just call me Slightly".
"Slightly", Squirmy repeated," Odd name", he said as he shook Slightly's hand.
"Better than Squirmy though", Slightly said cheekily.
"Wanna do a betting pool on that?", Squirmy asked dryly.
Slightly cackled," Nah, I'm good", he said with a huge grin.
Birdie watched this interaction with a knowing smile on their face. They looked at Slightly with a smirk and teasingly sang," Wendy~~".
Slightly growled and tried lunging at them, but Birdie transformed back into their bird form before Slightly could get them. Squirmy could hear them cackling in their bird form.
"Oh laugh it up!", Slightly growled glaring at the bird," Do you got a reason for bothering me right now?"
Birdie transformed back into their human form and sat on the balcony railing comfortably. A series of chirps, squawks and trills began, with some actual English that Squirmy understood. Though the only thing Squirmy made out was "brothers" "boy" and "Hook", the last one making
Squirmy shivered. Was Captain Hook here? Squirmy thought worriedly. If such was the case, then Squirmy had to find his father soon. If Captain Hook mistook any of the Auradon children for the Lost Boys as he often mistook Isle children, then they were in for a world of hurt.
"What did they say?", Squirmy asked nervously.
"Eh, they were asking me if I wanted to join a game with the rest of our siblings", Slightly said, sounding a little put off," Hey, um, can I ask you something?".
"Sure", Squirmy said.
Slightly licked his lips," Does... does Captain Hook have kids?", he asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, he does", Squirmy answered quietly.
Birdie let out even more caws that Squirmy ignored in favour of watching Slightly.
"How many?", Slightly asked, tilting his head.
"3", Squirmy replied.
"Any boys?"
"Just one. His name is Harry"
"How old?"
"I think he's 19 now..."
Slightly hummed before turning back to Birdie," Sound like your guy?", he asked.
Birdie chirped and Slightly turned back to Squirmy.
"Does his make up make him look like he just spent hours in the shower listening to Lana Del Rey and sobbing?", Slightly asked with complete seriousness.
"Uh... I guess his eye shadow makes him look... tired?", Squirmy said with uncertainty.
Slightly turned back to Birdie," Your guy?", he asked.
Birdie chirped and nodded their head.
"Ah, cool", Slightly said before turning back to Squirmy," My siblings are stalking him for funsies", he explained, no fanfare whatsoever which made Squirmy even more gobsmacked.
"Huh?!"
"They wanted to know if I wanted to join", Slightly shrugged before turning to Birdie," I think I'll stick with my friend here for a bit. We're lookin' for his twin and his dad up here and I'd rather not lose him in the crowd y'know. He's a mainland kid, he won't be used to everyone. You and the others have fun though", he said with a wave.
Birdie nodded and transformed back into their bird form. But before they flew away, Slightly got an idea and called them back.
"Birdie, while you're down there, try to find someone who looks like Squirmy- or find Mr Smee!", Slightly said," And if ya got trouble remembering what he looks like, find Jake. He'll know", the boy said and
Birdie gave as good as a nod you can get out of a bird before diving back down into the ground, some guests letting out loud yelps as the bird came too close to them.
"That should sort out the search for your family and my family", Slightly said with a nod of his head," Wanna head back outside? Birdie won't have trouble finding us if we left".
"Yes", Squirmy said immediately. Even atop the balcony away from most of the crowd, Squirmy still felt uncomfortable. Luckily, Slightly didn't wait to grab his hand and take him way.
The walk on the way outside was mostly quiet. Slightly made sure to leave a mess in his wake while Squirmy watched on amused but pensive. His pensive expression coming from his ponderings about his friend that he hadn't gotten to do earlier.
Slightly. It was such an odd name for an Auradon boy. Slightly, who seemed to have dozens of siblings. Slightly who didn't seem to be fazed by Squirmy's VK status. Slightly who met him with a cool exterior and a excitable grin promising chaos. A face more in line with a VK than an AK. That caused Squirmy to wonder. Who were his parents?
Squirmy didn't know who Slightly's parents were. He figured that they had to be important though, as a lot of the Auradon guests at the party were nobility and royals, seeing as this was the engagement party of the High King and the Lady of the Court. Squirmy didn't get to ponder much further as Slightly spoke up.
"Are you close with Hook's kids?", Slightly asked suddenly.
"Huh?", Squirmy said quietly," Yeah, I guess".
"You friends with any of them?", Slightly asked.
Squirmy shook his head," They're all way older than me. CJ's 16 and she's the youngest. We used to play together when she was younger but then she got older and got new friends", he rambled," Harriet babysits me and Squeaky a lot. She's the oldest. She's like 24 now I think".
"Harriet, Harry and CJ", Slightly muttered as they reached the outside gardens.
Squirmy continued rambling," Harry's kinda mean a lot. He always steals my squid snacks whenever I get some-"
Slightly growled hearing that, and the growl was animalistic Squirmy jumped hearing it," Jerk", Slightly muttered," I hope my siblings give em hell".
"Aren't you worried about your siblings?", Squirmy asked curiously.
Slightly snorted," I'd worry about the Hook boy more. My siblings are a lot to handle", he said grinning.
"Harry's pretty unpredictable", Squirmy warned.
"So are my siblings", Slightly grinned," They can take him. If anything, this will be a fun challenge for them", he laughed," Nibs is probably itching to start a fight with him anyway".
Squirmy hoped that wasn't the case. While he was certain Harry wouldn't purposefully hurt a younger kid, Slightly's brother could still get hurt fighting the pirate.
They got back to their spot (their spot, Squirmy thought with bashful glee) and sat down on the grass. The sky turned pink as the sun was beginning to set. Slightly handed him a container filled with the food he had collected for Squirmy, the latter taking it with a warm thank you before beginning to eat what was inside. As he predicted, it was all delicious. And while they ate, Slightly asked another question.
"And what about Hook?".
Squirmy froze," What about Hook?", he asked hesitantly.
"What was he like to you?", Slightly asked curiously. There was something in his expression that Squirmy couldn't decipher. But he knew whatever it was, Squirmy's answer would be something that stuck to Slightly more than any other answer he gave for previous questions.
"He- n-n-not great", Squirmy stuttered, rubbing a hand around his throat, imagining the hand of an older man gripping his throat with murderous intent as he mistook Squirmy for someone else completely," How much do you know about him?".
Slightly tilted his head and there it was again. Another expression Squirmy couldn't decipher.
"I'd like to think I know a lot", Slightly said with a shrug.
"He's a lot like what the stories describe him to be", Squirmy said quietly.
Squirmy caught Slightly frowning and brows furrowed. Stuck between feeling sad for his friend and angry at Hook. And there was something else in Slightly that Squirmy noticed. Between the anger and sadness, there was... disappointment. An odd combination for sure. Why would Slightly be disappointed in hearing Captain Hook was a monster?
Slightly then spoke," I'm sorry you had to go through all of that", he said, sounding oddly remorseful for reasons Squirmy couldn't decipher.
"It's not like it's your fault", Squirmy said with a shrug. But that seemed to be the wrong thing to say.
"But it is partly my fault", Slightly said suddenly.
"But it isn't. You weren't even born when that happened just like me. It's neither of our fault. It's like what King Ben said. We're not our parents", Squirmy said.
Slightly seemed to go silent at that. Squirmy thought he got through to him but that turned out to be not the case.
"You... don't know... who I am?", Slightly said quietly.
Squirmy furrowed his brows," You're Slightly, we just met today".
"No, you don't know WHO I am", he repeated again.
Squirmy the figured his friend must have meant who he was descended from.
"Am I supposed to?", Squirmy asked awkwardly.
Squirmy watched as Slightly's mouth opened and closed as he thought on his reply. But then, Slightly finally replied.
"I guess not", he said with a shrug, before going in to eat his own food.
Squirmy seemed like he wanted to ask further but then Slightly spoke up again.
"It's getting late. My folks will probably call us in and head home soon", Slightly said thoughtfully.
All thoughts and questions Squirmy had, came to a stop as he realised his time with his new friend was possibly coming to an end.
"O-Oh", Squirmy said with a hard swallow,"...W-Will you be visiting again soon?", he asked.
"I don't know. I told ya before I usually only come here for special occassions", Slightly explained.
Squirmy felt his heart break. He just couldn't lose his new friend so soon. And Slightly noticed.
"Don't be sad. I'll try and ask about visiting more often- and hey! Do ya got a phone? I can give send ya texts and we can call each other", Slightly suggested.
Squirmy remembered having received a new cellphone when he first arrived. He had it hidden back in his room at Evie's starter castle.
"Yeah I do!", Squirmy said happily.
"Neat!" Slightly scratched around in his backpack and pulled out a pen. He took hold of Squirmy's wrist and wrote down a number on his arm.
"I don't have my own phone", Slightly admitted," But this is my Mother's number. I can use this until I can get my own".
"She won't mind?", Squirmy asked.
"Nah, my sibs and I always steal hers for games anyway", he said as he finished writing the number down," And there!"
"-And just in time too", Slightly said as the two boys heard a familiar caw of Birdie flying overhead and someone yelling out Squirmy's name," Seems like Birdie found somebody. Though I don't think its your dad or your brother".
"It's Jay", Squirmy said as he heard the son of Jafar's voice get closer and closer until the older boy found the two of them sitting together.
"Squirmy! There you are, buddy. We've been looking everywhere for ya", Jay said, sighing in relief.
"I was outside", Squirmy replied.
"I can see that", Jay said with a smile as he ruffled Squirmy's beanie-covered head before turning his attention to Slightly," And I see you made a friend. What's up, Slightly? Strange to see you all the way out here".
Squirmy's eyes widened as he looked between the two of them, surprised they know each other.
Slightly snorted," It's strange to be out here", he replied.
Jay snorted," I imagine", he said with a smirk," Thanks for keeping Squirms company here, man. I owe you".
"Eh, I'd do it again for free. Squirmy here is pretty cool", Slightly said, bumping his shoulder against Squirmy's with a fond grin.
Squirmy's face turned a lovely shade of red from that statement.
"Aww your first Auradon friend. Proud of ya, sport", Jay said giving Squirmy a gentle fist bump to the shoulder.
"Really? I'm your first friend here?", Slightly asked.
Squirmy flushed," Yeah...", he said embarrassed.
Slightly grinned and puffed out his chest proudly," I shall carry that title with honor then!", he said with strong promise.
Squirmy laughed at the sight. It made him feel so warm that Slightly was taking all of this in stride.
Jay chuckled too," Come on, Squirms. Let's get you back to your brother and dad", he said as Squirmy took his hand," Slightly, I think your fam were looking for you earlier".
Slightly chuckled, watching as Birdie flew away," I think they know where I am. I'll be fine", he said before looking back at Squirmy," Don't forget to text later, okay?".
"I won't", Squirmy said with a smile as he committed the number on his arm to memory so he'd never forget it," Bye Slightly!"
Slightly waved back silently and watched as the two VKs walked away.
Jay led Squirmy by the hand around the castle towards the front entrance. As they walked, Squirmy relayed to him all that happened after he lost Squeaky back at the party, Jay listening to everything the boy had to tell. This was, after all, the most Jay had ever heard him spoke. A tiny piece of the Smee boy's shell has broken off from this newfound friendship.
"Glad you had a good time despite how it all started", Jay said sincerely," And Slightly's a good kid. He'll look after you if you get in trouble".
"How do you know him?", Squirmy asked quietly.
"Met him at a R.O.A.R tournament in Neverland. Tough kid. One of the only 10 year olds I'm not ashamed to say wiped the floor with me at the game. He's good", Jay whistled, remembering that tournament," You got pretty lucky to meet him".
Something scratched at Squirmy's brain at the mention of Neverland. And like that, pieces of a puzzle he was unaware he had built started to come together.
"How come?", Squirmy asked curiously.
Jay shrugged," The kid's hardly allowed out of Neverland. Plus he and his siblings's got
a bit of rep here from what Peony told me. So they don't come here often by choice. Heck, you might even be Slightly's first mainland", he said," Not a lot of kids here can say they befriended a Lost Boy".
And like that, the puzzle was completed.
"HE'S A WHAT?!"
Squirmy eyed his phone in his hand, the number he had on his arm now logged onto the phone. He sent the first message, hoping Slightly was the one to answer and not his mother (this made Squirmy ask even more questions).
Slightly('s Mother):
SQUIRMS !Squirmy bit his lip as he tried to find an appropriate way to ask his question. But figured, he might as well just jump in and take the plunge.
SquirmyS:
Why didn't you tell me you were a Lost Boy?Squirmy watched for what felt like hours as he watched the phrase showcasing that Slightly was typing below. But then the message came through. It was much shorter than what Squirmy was expecting truthfully, considering Slightly took minutes to type.
Slightly('s Mother):
It never came up.Squirmy's eye twitched suddenly. He was uncertain why but he felt a spike of anger.
Then another message appeared from Slightly.
Slightly('s Mother):
Does it matter?
Squirmy took a minute to think. Did it matter that Slightly was a Lost Boy?
Squirmy thought back on his younger days, thinking about what the Lost Boys meant to him, as the son of Smee.
The Lost Boys weren't a group that came up in conversation a lot. They were backgrounds from what was known of the Peter Pan story. They weren't named in the history books, the pirates certainly didn't utter their names either. They were a singular unit. Peter Pan's sidekicks. Unnamed and unimportant.
But Hook... Hook hated them all the same. The Lost Boys invoked the same murderous rage that Peter Pan invoked as they were his kin, his underlings who followed his every command. And Hook always had trouble telling children apart. Particularly the Smee twins. From a young age, both boys only knew one thing about the Lost Boys: that in the group was a set of twins.
Twins that Hook often mistook the Smees for.
It caused some bitterness amongst the pity the Smee twins usually had for the Lost Boys. In a similar vein of how Harry felt bitter towards Peter and how Harriet felt bitter towards Wendy Darling. Had Pan just left Hook alone-
But then something in Squirmy's thoughts
changed. Perhaps Auradon changed his thought process and he was gaining a different perspective. But Squirmy thought of something no one else in his life had really thought to question.
Could Pan even leave Hook alone?
Captain Hook constantly ranted about how difficult it was to find Peter Pan's hideout. The years he spent searching for it.
A grown man... obsessively searching for the home of several young boys... so he could kill them.
Perhaps then, it wasn't Pan who couldn't leave Hook alone. It was Hook who couldn't leave Pan alone. It was the grown man, who could've licked his wounded stump where his hand once was and sail away like the rest of the crew wanted to. But made the active choice to stick around and stalk the boy who made a bad decision, looking for any moment to strike him down.
Peter Pan and the Lost Boys were as much victims of Hook as Squirmy, his brothers and Hook's own children were.
Squirmy's bitterness was not made for the Lost Boys. And it certainly didn't feel right to continue to leave it on them, for all the events of what happened.
Slightly... Slightly blamed himself for Hook causing Squirmy and other kids harmed. He felt guilty. Slightly, who spent the entire afternoon with him, feeding him, keeping him company, taking care to not put Squirmy in uncomfortable spots.
Slightly cared. Slightly was a friend. Slightly was his friend.
SquirmyS:
No. I guess notThe End.
The app has seriously degraded since the last time I properly wrote something. And I'm just trying to edit something here.
Also: there's seriously no Squirmy Smee tag. For shame, Descendants fandom. Show the Twins some love.