June 14th, 1990,
Playcare,
17:28
It was just another day at Playcare. The birds were singing, the sky was clear with barely any clouds, just like always, and of course, the indistinct yells of the children as they all played in the huge area that was the Playcare.
Among all of them walked a child, of about thirteen or fourteen years of age, carrying a small notebook where his homework was stored, waving at almost anyone he came across, with them waving back.
He sat down on one of the benches scattered along the main path that crossed Playcare, readying himself to finish his science homework.
"Yooo, DD!"
The boy stopped what he was doing and looked up, huffing as he turned to the source of the voice.
Another boy, slightly younger than him, wearing the same dark yellow hoodie and the 'cool kid' sunglasses he had been given on his birthday a few months ago, which he wore ever since.
"Nathan, I've told you a thousand times not to call me that." The other boy rolled his eyes.
"Aw, come on man! What's wrong with it? It's just the first letter of your name and surname! Aren't you happy you have your own nickname?" Nathan smiled, sitting next to him.
"Still, I've told you already. Just call me Damian, please."
Nathan only rolled his eyes. "Fiiiine! Whatever you say, DD!"
Damian sighed before he began chuckling. "Ugh, you're so annoying sometimes!"
"I prefer the word cool , thanks."
The two friends laughed for a while before Nathan took a glance at Damian's notebook. "What are you doing?" He asked.
"My science homework. You know, the one due tomorrow?"
"Bah, I've got enough time to do it later. It can't be that much."
"Yeah, classic Nathan." Damian chuckled.
The two began talking to each other about their day, since that was the first time they had seen each other in a while, as they occasionally waved at the children that passed near them.
Most, if not all of Playcare's residents knew about both Nathan and Damian. They were quite… Let's say 'popular' there. The former had become well known ever since he first came in, no one knows why yet, probably because of his carefree attitude. The latter because, even if he never took credit for it, always did his best to help anyone that needed it, be it with small favors or with other types of things, always with a smile.
Something about 'being very mature for his age', or something.
"Why are you even wearing sunglasses in here?" Damian asked Nathan.
"Well, because they make me look cooler , DUH!"
"Does Miss Delight even let you wear those in the classroom?"
Nathan scoffed. "Nah. She says that 'if I wore them, I could fall asleep in class without her realizing'. As if that won't happen anyway."
The two laughed again.
Damian then shook his head. "Alright, I have to get back with my homework. You've already distracted me enough." He smiled.
"Whatever you say, DD." Nathan chuckled, standing up. "I'll go and play some basketball with Abigail while you do your oh so precious homework."
"Oh, right! You have to introduce her to me someday!" Damian exclaimed.
"Well, when you finish with your stuff, how about you come with us? I'm sure you and her will get along real well. And hey, if that ends up happening, she could come to that sleepover you are planning."
"Yeah, sure! Make sure to tell her. And if I manage to figure this out, I'll look for you in the Playhouse's court, okay?"
"Can't you ask that smart friend of yours for help?" Nathan suggested. "What was his name…"
"Are you talking about Jeremy? I don't want to disturb him while he does… whatever he usually does on a daily basis. And plus, it's a dumb thing anyway."
"Well, you do you, I guess. See ya later then, DD!"
"Bye, Nathan!"
Damian watched as his friend walked away from him before disappearing behind the crowd of children.
Picking his pencil, he spent the next twenty minutes or so scribbling useless words and numbers on the paper before groaning and turning to a new page, hoping he would magically guess the solution.
He had to finish his homework, but he didn't have any idea of how to solve the problem. He was strongly debating if he should leave it for later and just go and meet Nathan and Abigail.
"You seem troubled, Damian."
Damian jumped in his place as his head whipped to look at whoever just spoke. He sighed when he saw that it was simply Jeremy, wearing his usual blue sweater and brown pants.
"Don't do that, please…" Damian sighed with relief while Jeremy walked in front of him and looked at his notebook, readjusting his glasses and getting his blonde hair out of the way.
"Are you perhaps having trouble with your homework?" He asked.
Damian's face fell. "Yeah…"
"No wonder. This problem is something not apt for children our age." He scoffed. "Let me help."
Damian shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but I don't want to bother you. I'm sure you're busy."
"Nonsense. My tasks can wait." Jeremy interrupted. "We are friends, aren't we? Then let me do my part and help you just as you have helped me in the past."
Damian wanted to argue, but then he realized what he meant. A few months ago, Damian was walking around Playcare when he found Jeremy being picked on by the infamous Connor.
About the same age as Jeremy, he was simply a jerk that liked messing with people that didn't deserve it. So after Damian managed to free Jeremy from his pestering, the boy ended up becoming good friends with him, though Jeremy always said he felt in debt with Damian, and that he wanted to pay him back somehow, even if Damian had tried to talk him out of it many times.
He supposed this was part of the 'paying him back' part, and Damian knew there would be no way to dissuade Jeremy, even if he tried as hard as he could.
So he opted to simply sigh and nod.
"Fine. Let's do this so I can go with Nathan."
Long story short, it was done in less than five minutes. Jeremy's explanations were clear and short, and, despite being complicated, they were pretty easy to follow.
"Woah, you're amazing." Damian chuckled, closing his notebook. "Have you considered asking Miss Delight to let you help her teach?"
"I have asked her several times, yet I always get a no as an answer…" Jeremy rolled his eyes.
"Bummer… I wish you'd stand in front of the blackboard just once…" Damian shook his head with fake sadness. "Oh, by the way, did you finally make up your mind about the sleepover?"
Jeremy nodded. "Yes. I've decided that, even if sneaking at night may be a bad idea, I believe that a bit of fun could do me so good, hm?" He said with a smirk, something uncharacteristic of him.
Damian raised a brow. "Huh? You and breaking the rules in the same sentence? Okay Nathan, you can leave Jeremy's body now!"
Jeremy simply shook his head with a laugh. "If I were possessed, I can assure you Nathan would most certainly not be the one behind it."
"Speaking of Nathan, I'm going to go meet with him and his friend Abigail. Want to come?"
"Sorry Damian, but I have to finish a personal project I'm working on as soon as I can." Jeremy sighed.
"Oh, well no worries!" Damian smiled. "We'll see each other soon, yeah?"
"Sure-"
"Hey, you guys!"
The two boys turned to look at the one speaking, finding a girl running towards them. She wore a crimson dress over a white t-shirt, and each of her wrists had at least three bracelets with different kinds of ornaments.
"Oh, hey Rose!" Damian waved as the girl stopped in front of them. "What are you doing here? I thought you were with Stacy helping her with her art project."
"We were, but then Lilith and her little group showed up and blew the mood, so I told her she could continue it alone somewhere else if she wanted while I went to see the new kid." Rose explained.
"New kid?" Both Damian and Jeremy exclaimed.
"Haven't you heard? A new boy arrived at Playcare a few days ago!" Rose replied. "Did you really not know?"
They shook their heads. Rose sighed, but it sounded more like an exhausted sigh. "No wonder. The kid apparently doesn't talk more than a few words to anyone or anything apart from his plush… Poor thing."
"Huh… Not even to you?" Jeremy asked her, to which Rose shook her head.
"Woah, then that kid must be real shy if he didn't fall for your sweetness!" Damian laughed.
"It's not funny, Damian." Jeremy interrupted. "I think he may have an issue if what Rose said is to be believed."
"My bad, my bad!" Damian raised his hands. "Rose, where is this kid? I want to see him for myself."
"Oh, he was just next to the mini pool, sitting on a bench next to it." The girl told him. "You will know who he is when you see him."
"Okay. I'll go say hello to him."
"I thought you were going with Nathan?" Jeremy hummed.
"That can wait. I have to make the new kid feel welcome! Can't let him be shy forever!" Damian replied, walking away towards the lake. "Bye guys!"
"Bye Damian!" Rose waved.
"Goodbye!" Jeremy added
Damian didn't take too long to find out who the 'new kid' was. While all the children ran around the grass or the paths of Playcare either playing tag, or those sorts of games, there was a singular child that didn't.
Just as Rose had told him, the kid was sitting on the corner furthest away from anyone, looking down to the ground and tightly hugging a plushie that seemed to be brand-new.
Hoping that he wouldn't be disturbing him too badly, Damian walked towards the boy until he was in front of him.
He didn't seem to notice at first, but later noticed Damian's feet, as he frowned in confusion and slowly looked up until he met his gaze.
The boy immediately flinched in shock.
Damian could see he was younger than him, maybe a few years, and he was also wearing quite an elegant blue shirt. He could now also see the plush he was hugging so tightly. It seemed to be a small purple cat plush with a wide smile. If he recalled correctly, Catnap, from the Smiling Critters cartoon.
"Hello!" Damian waved. "I heard you were new here, so I wanted to come and say hello! My name is Damian!"
Now it was the boy's turn to look surprised. Damian only rubbed the back of his head. "You may have heard my name. Everyone around here seems to know me, for some reason…"
The boy squirmed uncomfortably, hugging the plush tighter. "H-Hello…" He said, barely above a whisper.
Damian widened his eyes in surprise. Well, at least he talks…
His gaze then fell down towards the mini Catnap. "Hey, I like your plushie."
The boy's look followed Damian's as he too looked at the plush he carried. "It looks so new! You must take good care of it, hm?"
The boy's expression turned sad. "They didn't let me bring my old plushie…" He whispered again.
Damian mirrored the boy's face. "Oh. I'm… sorry. I didn't know."
The other boy didn't reply.
After some time of uncomfortable silence, Damian felt that the boy really didn't want to talk to anyone, so he decided not to push it too much.
"Okay, I have to go now. It was nice meeting you!" Damian smiled. "If you ever want to talk again, you can just ask around for me! I'm sure it won't be long before you finally find me."
The boy seemed horrified at the mere prospect of having to talk to other people, but he gave a small nod nonetheless.
"Okay. Well, see you!"
Damian turned around and began walking away. He only took a few steps before he turned around and saw the boy's gaze fixated on him.
He simply waved at him before walking away.
He was an odd boy, sure, but he seemed to be simply shy. Now, he knew it was none of his business whether the child wanted to be alone or not, but something within him hated seeing him alone with only his plushie to keep him company.
No one deserved that, so he was going to fix it.
…
He was starting to realize that maybe there was an actual reason why everyone knew him.
June 16th, 1990,
Train Station,
14:10
"Ugh, I'm so tired…" Nathan groaned as he got off the train. "Did anyone else feel like Statues was harder today?"
"You are just lazy! It wasn't that difficult!" Abigail laughed.
"Said the one always exercising!"
Both Damian and Jeremy groaned at their bickering.
It had been two days since Nathan had introduced Damian to Abigail, and he had to admit that she was just how Nathan had described her as: Full of energy, and ready to tackle any challenge, such as today's Game Station session.
As they arrived back at Playcare and then at Home Sweet Home, they had to part ways with the girl, as the bedrooms were separated by gender.
"Phew, I think I'm just going to take a nap for the rest of the afternoon…" Nathan sighed as he laid on the bed.
"And then how will you sleep, dork?" Damian shook his head.
"I don't know, and I don't care! If I don't nap, I will faint the moment I take a step outside!" Nathan replied.
"While you do that, I'll go and talk to Rose. She said that she and her friend Stacy had met a new girl when they were waiting to play Musical Memory, and that she wanted to introduce her to us." Jeremy said.
Just then, Damian caught a glimpse of the kid from two days ago sitting on his bed and turned to gaze at him, wondering what he could be thinking about.
Jeremy frowned as he saw Damian not playing attention.
"Damian!" He exclaimed.
"Huh?" Damian's attention was snapped back to the present.
"Do you want to come meet that new girl or not?"
"Oh, yeah, yeah, of course!" He replied, looking at the boy again. "Just wait for me outside, okay? I'll be there in a sec."
Jeremy looked confused, but he shrugged, walking away. "Okay. I'll meet you at the entrance."
Once Jeremy went away, Damian looked at Nathan, who had already fallen asleep. He frowned. Statues is not that hard, buddy… He mentally chuckled.
With that, Damian left Nathan to his sweet dreams and then began making his way towards the boy from last time.
As he did, most of the kids that were in the bedroom waved at him, and he always returned it.
Finally, he stopped in front of the bed where the kid was laying on, and waited for him to realize he was there.
Just like last time, the boy flinched once he saw Damian. "Hello!" The older kid waved at him.
However, this time there wasn't even a whisper as a reply. In fact, now that he looked closer, the boy seemed to be shying away from him subtly, trying not to be noticed.
He looked visibly more timid than two days ago.
"Hey, are you alright? You look… down."
He didn't reply.
Damian sighed, sitting on the bed next to him. "Hey, listen. What's your name?"
The boy stood a few seconds silent. He seemed to be thinking whether he should tell him or not. After a while, Damian heard a whisper.
"What? Did you say something?" He asked.
"T-Theodore. Theodore Grambell." The boy repeated, a bit louder.
Damian wasn't sure if it was him, but he could swear he heard a laugh coming from somewhere near them.
He shrugged it off, turning his attention back to the now named Theodore.
"Okay. I know that look. Theodore, did something happen to you today at the Game Station?"
The boy looked down for a few seconds before shaking his head.
"Then why are you sad? Come on, don't try saying you aren't, because I can see it!"
There was another pause in which Theodore stood silent. He didn't look very comfortable talking about it.
Even then, he spoke. "I didn't do good in any games…"
Damian frowned in confusion. "Is that it?" Then he chuckled. "Come on, it's not that big of a deal! I have a friend that still hasn't beaten even half of Statues' course!"
That only seemed to sour Theodore's mood further.
Damian was starting to get worried. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked, in a more demanding tone. "Did nothing really happen at the Game Station?"
Theodore frowned even more, looking away. And he still didn't reply.
Damian sighed. "Please, Theodore. Have you at least told any adult about it?"
He slowly shook his head.
Damian took a deep breath. He hated to admit it, but this kid was starting to get on his nerves.
Before he could talk, Theodore beat him to it.
"You think I'm impossible to deal with, don't you?" He asked in his unusually quiet voice.
That made Damian widen his eyes. He stood silent for a few seconds, taking in what Theodore had just said. "Is that what happened at the Game Station?" He asked the younger boy.
Theodore stood still for a long while. Damian barely caught him nodding his head. "I've heard those adults wearing white coats say it. And then someone said the same to me at that playground place."
He clutched his plushie harder. "They made fun of me for not talking to anyone and for not doing good in any games."
There were the faintest of tears coming from Theodore's eyes.
Damian frowned deeply and stood unmoving. Did all of that happen so soon after coming here?
"You think the same too, don't you?" Theodore whispered, voice quivering. "That I'm just a loser? That no one likes me except my plush? And that it only does because it can't move?"
Damian resisted the urge to slap Theodore right there. How could he say such things?! Who the heck said that to the poor boy?
After a really deep breath to calm himself down, Damian put one of his hands on Theodore's shoulder.
"Listen, Theo, and listen well. Can I call you that?"
Theo nodded. "Good. Now look at me."
Slowly, Theo turned his head towards Damian. "Very good. Now, I want you to drill what I'm about to tell you in your head."
He grabbed Theo's shoulders and frowned even more as he looked at him, trying to look dead serious. "You are not a loser. People do like you. And you are definitely not impossible to deal with! If you were, I wouldn't be talking to you right now!"
Thankfully, there wasn't anyone inside the bedroom anymore, because Damian couldn't keep his voice low. "I don't know who was the one that said any of that to you, but you better not let me find out, because they will regret it!"
Theo recoiled back at Damian's sudden outburst. "H-Huh?!"
"Theo, I want to make something very clear to you. You are not a loser, okay? You are just shy. You don't like talking to people, and that's fine! Everyone is different! If other people can't see that, they are the ones doing it wrong, not you!"
Damian looked towards the door, remembering Jeremy was still waiting for him outside. "Listen, I have to go now, but promise me, and I want to hear it from you, that if anyone says something like that to you again, either an adult or a kid, you'll tell me."
Theo looked at Damian with a look full of disbelief. It seemed he didn't expect that at all. He wiped the tears off his eyes and shakily nodded.
"I… I promise."
Damian sighed with another nod. "I'll leave now, but take care of yourself and your mini Catnap, okay? I'll see you soon, hopefully."
Theo looked down at his plush and then back at Damian, nodding, the same look still on his face.
With that, Damian let go of Theo and began walking away, feeling the kid's eyes once again fixated on him.
But he could swear it was for a different reason.
June 21st, 1990,
The School,
16:35
Five days.
It had been five days since the last time Damian had seen Theo. No matter how hard he tried to look for him, something else happened that made him unable to search for him.
At the moment, he found himself holding a fruit bowl while posing for Stacy while she painted something on her canvas during arts and crafts.
"How long do I have to keep standing like this?"
"Just a few more minutes!" Stacy replied without averting her gaze from her drawing.
"Now, now, Damian! Remember that at the very least, you are not doing anything yourself!" Miss Delight giggled as she paced around the room.
"I guess…"
"While you try your best to look like a statue, check out this cool drawing I did!" Nathan exclaimed, showing a piece of paper with a drawing of a 'person' wearing sunglasses and doing a thumbs up. "Pretty rad, huh?"
"Is that supposed to be you?" Damian asked, trying to suppress a deep sigh.
"Of course it's supposed to be me! Look, I even drew the sunglasses!"
"I can barely see it, to be honest."
"You just have bad taste in art!"
With a roll of his eyes, Damian went back to trying to stand as still as possible so Stacy could finish her drawing already.
After at least ten more minutes, Stacy finally sighed and nodded, putting her brush down. "Done!" She smiled.
Nathan walked to see the drawing. The moment his eyes landed on the canvas, they immediately widened and his mouth opened.
"DD, come here and see this." He muttered.
Damian walked to see the drawing Stacy spent the entire class making, and his reaction was quite the same as Nathan's.
The drawing consisted of a perfectly accurate recreation of Damian holding the fruit bowl, with the same expression, and details to the point that it looked like a photo instead of a drawing. The only thing that changed from reality was that instead of in a classroom, Stacy had painted Damian somewhere that looked like an art studio.
"It's not that good…" The girl reddened slightly.
Slowly, all of the class went to check the canvas, and all the reactions were mostly the same, and with each person that complimented the painting, Stacy only reddened even more.
Seeing all the ruckus, Miss Delight approached to see what was going on.
"Goodness!" She exclaimed as she saw the painting, before clearing her throat. "That's a very good portrait of Damian! I believe this is a clear 100, don't you think, class?"
Yells of collective agreement filled the room.
The bell suddenly rang across the classroom, signaling the end of today's class. After Miss Delight put the canvas somewhere safe, she waved goodbye to all the students as they all fought to leave the School to go and do whatever they wanted.
Of course, that included Damian, Nathan and Stacy.
"Well, what do you guys want to do today?" Damian asked.
"Aw, sorry dude, but I have an appointment with the doctor just now!" Nathan sighed.
"You do?" Jeremy exclaimed. "I have one as well!"
"Huh. What a coincidence!"
"That sucks…" Damian said. "What about you Stacy?"
"Sorry, Damian, but I promised Anne I'd help her and Rose with the cake for a birthday party of one of her friends!" She replied.
"Oh."
"You can come if you want! I'm sure she won't mind." Stacy added.
"No, don't worry. I'll manage on my own. By the way, ask Anne if she wants to come to our sleepover when I finally plan it for me, okay?"
"Oh, sure!"
As the four went their separate ways, Damian simply walked forward, with no clear goal in mind. He had nothing to do for the day, so he began thinking about what he could do. He wanted to have accepted Stacy's offer to help Anne, but he didn't want to bother them, so that's why he declined.
Maybe he could see if Abigail was playing football in the Playhouse as usual. Or maybe he could take advantage of the free time he had been given to finally search for Theo.
He decided to try to do the second one.
It didn't take long for his hopes to shatter, however, as everyone he tried to ask about Theo's whereabouts either hadn't seen the boy or simply didn't know who he was.
With a frown, he resigned himself to his fate and made his way towards the Playhouse, looking for the small football field it had. He hadn't been there too much, so he tried his best to navigate the huge circus tent and its many areas.
Once he finally exited the crowded padded rooms, he found the stairway leading to the pool, from which a lot of shouts and splashing noises came. He walked upwards, arriving just where he wanted.
The area consisted of the football field, a basketball court, and some stands to watch matches, all squished into a room that was more or less twice Damian's bedroom.
Despite that, there were a couple of children playing in the two fields, Abigail among them. Anyone could recognize her bright green sportswear, and immediately know who she was.
After Abigail scored a goal with a ball that would have knocked the goalkeeper out should she not have dodged it, the girl noticed Damian walking towards her, and she told the other kids she would be back soon before approaching him.
"Hey, Dami! What's up?" She greeted him.
"Hello, Abigail!" The boy waved back.
"I find it weird you are alone." Abigail commented.
"Yeah, well, everyone had plans so I was wondering if I could join you for some football?"
"Oh, sure! We need a new goalkeeper, because the old one didn't want anything to do with football after my last goal!" The girl told him with a smirk.
"I wonder why…"
As Damian placed himself in front of the goal, the match that Abigail was playing resumed. The opposing team didn't have much chance to do anything, really. Abigail was simply too much for everyone to do anything against.
That included Damian.
He didn't stop any balls from entering the goal.
The end score was 10-3, with Abigail's team obviously winning. Still, everyone had fun and left the field to let other kids play on it.
Abigail and Damian both walked towards the stairs.
"Phew, I'm exhausted!" Abigail sighed.
"Imagine me! It looked like you were throwing an actual rock at me instead of a ball!" Damian laughed.
"It wasn't that fast! You have to see the ones I usually throw at Nathan!"
The two laughed.
"Say Dami, you wanna go and get something to eat to get back up in shape?" Abigail suggested.
"Oh, yes please! I'm starving!"
But just as Damian was about to reach the stairs, he heard a shout coming from his right. For the looks of it, Abigail had heard it too, as they both looked at the source of the scream.
It had come from the right end of the stands, where someone had just pushed a kid behind them, so whatever was happening wouldn't be seen by anyone.
Normally, Damian wouldn't snoop around what other people did in their free time, but as he squinted, he caught a glimpse of a certain earring in the ear of whoever was pushing the other person around.
Which meant that person was none other than the same jerk that had bothered Jeremy all that time ago.
"Connor…" Damian muttered, looking at Abigail. "Abigail, you know who that guy is, right?"
Abigail frowned. "Unfortunately." She groaned, angrily. "I will never forget what that… bastard did to Anne."
Damian wasn't sure he knew what she was talking about. As far as he knew, they were just some bad taste remarks about her appearance, but it seemed that Abigail hadn't forgotten about it yet.
After Damian learned that, he realized he could hate Connor even more.
"If he's pushing someone away from the sight of people, it can't be anything good." Damian spoke. "Let's go."
"You read my mind, Dami."
The two quietly approached the end of the stands as the sounds of voices reached the pair's ears. They peeked around the corner, finding that it was just as they thought.
Connor was wearing his usual crimson and black hoodie, plastered with logos of various music bands, his earring shimmering in the light.
However, despite Damian thinking it was impossible, Connor wasn't alone. Next to him stood another girl with long blonde hair and a bright pink jacket and black jeans.
Damian wasn't sure he knew who she was.
"...nyone would like a freak like you, huh?" Connor's voice called.
"Aww, I think he's gonna cry~" The girl said. "Maybe he'll call his imaginary friend for help?"
"S-Stop."
Damian felt his heart stop when he heard that voice.
You have to be joking…
Once the girl moved slightly to the side, Damian could see that the one that was trying to hold back his tears as he was cornered by those two was none other than the boy who he had been looking for for five days.
Theo.
"Hey Dami, isn't that the shy kid you've been trying to talk to?" Abigail whispered.
"He is." Damian whispered back. "Come on, let's move!"
"Behind you."
The moment the pair approached Connor and whoever that other girl was, all heads turned towards them.
There was an audible scoff coming from Connor. "Ugh, if it isn't Damian . Don't you have some lame friends to spend time with?"
"Get away from him, Connor." Damian simply frowned, walking closer.
His face turned to Theo before going back to Damian. "You're talking about this freak here? What if I don't?"
"Are you willing to find out, asshole?!" Abigail shouted.
"Oh, you think using those big words of yours is going to scare me?" Connor's voice was dripping venom as he once again turned to Theo and stole the Catnap plushie from his grasp before he could even react.
"Now…" Connor raised the plushie in front of them. "You two are going to turn tail and leave." From his pocket, he pulled a small bright orange object.
A lighter.
He raised it just below the plushie's tail. "Or I will reduce this thing to ashes."
"NO!" Theo yelled standing up, but he was kicked down by Connor.
"You stay down, freak."
The other girl looked between Theo and Connor, a horrified look on her face as the situation suddenly spiraled from just words to pyromanic threats in just a few seconds.
"Where the hell did you get that?!" Damian exclaimed.
"None of your business." Connor bluntly replied. "Now, what will it be?"
"Connor, you're going too far." The other girl spoke. "Put that lighter down or-"
"Or what? You're gonna snitch? Just like you always do when anyone tries to do anything fun with you?"
The girl bit her tongue.
Damian looked at the quivering Theo with a worried look as the lighter sat just below his plushie. The only thing that's brought comfort to the boy, about to be burned if he didn't think of something.
"Damian?" Abigail called.
The boy looked at his friend and then at Connor, fists clenched, and after careful consideration, there was only one thing that he could do.
"You asked for this." Damian spoke.
Before Connor could even wonder what he had meant by that, Damian slapped the hand where he had the lighter, making it fall onto the ground before Abigail quickly did the same with his face, dropping the plush.
Connor stumbled back, covering his cheek with a look of disbelief as his face slowly raised back up to look at Damian. His eyes were full of hatred.
"You just made a grave mistake." Connor almost growled, jumping on top of Damian and dropping both to the ground.
"Wha-?!"
"Damian!"
Damian heard both girls shout something, but he couldn't focus on it as Connor punched Damian's face, making him yell in pain. He pushed Connor away with a kick to his stomach, earning him enough time to stand up and swiftly get the plushie from the ground.
Connor groaned as he too got back on his feet, clutching his gut. "Argh, you're dead! " He yelled.
What happened next was a blur. Damian tried his hardest to block, or at least dodge, all of Connor's strikes, but sooner than later, a strong hit to his chest knocked the air out of his lungs, and Connor took the chance to punch his face, or more exactly, one of his eyes.
However, it came with a few of Damian's own hits to both body and face.
Before they could go for another round, the two girls that had been idle all that time grabbed both of them, stopping them from fighting.
Damian simply looked back at Abigail, as she gasped when seeing his state.
"Damian, your lips! Your eye!" She exclaimed.
Damian was now realizing that he could barely see with his left eye, and when he touched his lip, he found out it was indeed bleeding.
Ouch…
"LET ME GO, ASHLEY!" Connor yelled, trying to squirm out of the other girl's grasp.
The other boy had a swollen eyebrow and his nose was bleeding, and yet, he looked like a rabid animal, still wanting to fight more.
"Stop!" 'Ashley' said.
Abigail walked away from Damian, next to Ashley. She looked at her with an angry look. "I'm only helping because I want him gone."
Ashley frowned as she looked at her. "Don't think I want your help either." She replied.
The two seemed to know each other, for better or for worse.
With their combined efforts, they managed to force Connor to stop squirming and push him away as the boy looked back.
"JUST YOU WAIT UNTIL I SEE YOU AGAIN, DAMIAN!" Connor yelled, glaring daggers at Damian.
"We'll handle this. You go for the kid." Abigail nodded, as she and Ashley disappeared, along with Connor.
Damian took a deep breath. It wasn't often that he physically fought someone, but there just wasn't any other choice at that moment. Wiping the blood from his lip, he crouched to get the Catnap plushie once again.
With that, he inspected it to make sure it wasn't damaged. It seemed that the worst thing that had happened to it was some dirt getting stuck on it.
With a small smile, Damian then turned to Theo, who was looking at him, still shaking. He offered him the plush.
"I think this is-"
Before he could even finish the sentence, Theo stood up and jumped to wrap his arms around Damian for a hug as he began crying.
Damian remained shocked for a few seconds, but he didn't take long to hug Theo back. The two stayed like that for a few minutes before, slowly, Theo's sobs began quieting down.
Some seconds of silence later, there was a hushed whisper that came out of Theo's mouth. "W-Why?"
Damian sighed. "Why what?"
"Why did you help me?"
Damian immediately pulled away, looking at Theo in his eyes. "Because you needed help to get that jerk away from you." He simply replied.
"B-But you're hurt! You shouldn't have- Not for a freak that can't get anyone other than a plushie to like him, like me…"
"Hey, HEY!" Damian shouted. "Don't ever say that again, got it?!"
Theo stood silent with a shocked look. "I don't want you to say any of that nonsense again, okay? You are not a freak! If Connor says you are, that's just more reasons to believe the opposite!" Damian kept scolding him.
Theo looked at Damian for a long while, his gaze scanning his very soul, trying to see if he was being serious. Finally, Damian saw Theo's eyes become wet again, as he once again hugged Damian. "You are the only one that's tried to talk to me this much…" Theo sobbed. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
With those words, Theo once again cried until he couldn't anymore. And all the while, Damian was there with Theo, not letting go.
"What happened during these days?" Damian asked.
Theo didn't reply at first, but he slowly looked up at Damian. "I- I tried to talk to people, but no one wanted to be near me. No one wanted to play with me, or be my friend. Today, I tried to look for you and asked someone, but…"
Damian resisted the urge to chuckle when he understood what Theo meant. "It was Connor, wasn't it?"
Theo nodded.
Then, Damian took another deep breath, ready to ask the question he had been meaning to ask Theo for five days now.
"Theo, is it true no one wants to be your friend?" Damian asked, to which the boy nodded again. "Well, no it isn't."
"H-Huh?" Theo looked at Damian once again, wiping his tears.
"Let me clarify. Theo, do you want to be my friend?" Damian smiled.
Theo widened his eyes, not believing what he just heard. But slowly, really slowly, a smile crept to his face.
"Y-Yes! I-I'd love to be your friend, D-Damian!"
That brought a grin to Damian's face, as he gave Theo another hug.
"Great. Now, how about I introduce you to the girl that was with me? Would you like that?"
Theo seemed to stiffen at that. "Come on, I swear she won't bite."
Theo took a deep breath before slowly nodding. "Okay. I… I'll trust you, Damian."
Damian's grin grew wider. "Thanks. Come on, let's get out of-"
"Damian Davis!"
Both boys' blood ran cold as they heard that voice coming from behind them.
Slowly, they turned their heads towards the source, finding that an adult was standing at the entrance, looking at them.
It was Miss Greyber, who immediately gasped when she saw Damian's state.
"Oh, God…" She muttered. "You two, follow me. I'm taking you to the doctor, and after that, you are going to give me an explanation as to what happened, understood?" Miss Greyber shouted, full of worry.
"Yes, Miss Greyber." Damian replied, standing up and going after her, gesturing Theo to follow him.
"Hold on…" Miss Greyber spoke, looking at Theo. "Are you Theodore Grambell?"
Theo nodded slowly, making Miss Greyber's eyes widen, as she looked between Damian and him repeatedly.
"Damian, you have… a lot to explain." She spoke, guiding them towards the doctor's clinic.
Damian looked at Theo with a reassuring smile, one the boy returned, because he now knew he could trust Damian, his new friend, and that he wouldn't do anything to hurt him, even if Theo couldn't believe it was real yet.
He couldn't wait to tell his other friend about Damian.
June 23rd, 1990,
Home Sweet Home,
22:27
"Watch out with that ice bag!"
"Shut up, Nathan! How about you watch out with your blanket?"
"Shut it, both of you!"
It had been two days since that fight with Connor. When Damian and Abigail explained to Miss Greyber what had happened that day and what Theo had been going through, she cursed under her breath, muttering something about not letting it happen again, before he congratulated Damian for doing what he did.
Connor hadn't been so lucky with his punishment, but Damian couldn't care less.
It was late at night, and everyone else was sleeping. However, Damian had planned a sleepover that very same night, and he, Nathan and Jeremy were all sneakily making their way towards the meeting point where they had to meet with the rest.
Damian had invited Theo to come along with them, and despite what he had thought, he'd said he would think about it, but when Damian went to his bed to ask him if he wanted to come with them, he wasn't there.
That was strange, but he was sure Theo wouldn't be sneaking around to get into trouble. He didn't seem like that sort of person.
"Come on, the exit is just over there!" Jeremy whispered.
Once the trio slowly opened the door to peek outside, they found no one to stop them, and thus, they exited Home Sweet Home.
"Hey what are you doing here, you three?"
All three boys jumped on their place as they whipped their heads around, expecting someone like Miss Greyber to be behind them.
It turned out the responsible had been Abigail, who was grinning as she carried the sleeping tent, standing in front of the other girls: Stacy, Rose and Anne, the latter carrying a small bag.
"Not funny…" Nathan groaned.
"It was for me!" Abigail chuckled.
"Is everyone here then?" Anne asked.
"Wait, that boy Damian helped isn't here!" Rose exclaimed.
"I don't even know if he's coming." Damian sighed, readjusting his ice pack. "Let's start without him."
"Are you sure you don't want to wait until your eye is better?" Jeremy asked Damian.
"Yeah! We can always delay the sleepover!" Stacy added.
"Don't worry about my eye. It's nothing." Damian smiled.
"I didn't want to say it, but it makes you look cool." Nathan told him. "A nice reminder that you showed that jerk who rules."
"Yeah, that was really cool!" Abigail added.
"I'm more worried about that boy…" Rose nervously added.
"Of course you are, girl…" Anne rolled her eyes. "Anyway, let's get this party started already!"
She rumaged through the bag she carried, taking out a small plastic bag of popcorn. "I brought the snacks!"
"I'll get the tent ready!" Abigail exclaimed. "Jeremy, you're smart. Help me with it!"
"Strange way to say you don't know how to build it…" Jeremy rolled his eyes.
"Wha- Hey, I didn't say that!"
"Well, then try to build it."
"..." Abigail deadpanned. "I hate you." She chuckled before Jeremy went to help her.
"Did anyone bring an alarm clock? We have to wake up early before anyone finds us here!" Damian said.
Everyone looked at each other. Damian could only sigh. "No one brought an alarm clock? Really?"
The group shook their heads.
"I… I brought mine!" Theo replied.
"Oh, well, that's nice Th-"
Damian's head whipped to look at his side, finding that out of nowhere, Theo had appeared and was now standing next to him.
Quite literally everyone jumped in shock, most falling to the ground.
"Geez, where did you come from?!" Abigail yelled.
"How did you get here without any of us realizing?" Rose asked Theo.
"I'm… good at sneaking around." He whispered back, subtly moving a bit closer to Damian.
The boy had noticed it, however, and so, he looked at him and gave him a reassuring smile. He then glanced at the rest of the group.
"Everyone, this is Theodore, or Theo for short. He's kinda shy, so try not to overwhelm him." Damian spoke.
Then, he looked at Theo. "Come on, Theo. I promise they are not going to hurt you."
Slowly, Theo took a deep breath and walked away from Damian, and towards the closest person, which happened to be Nathan.
Damian wasn't very sure if that was a good thing.
"H-Hi…" Theo said weakly.
"Hello there, buddy!" Nathan replied, offering his hand. "I'm Nathan, the coolest guy around! Nice to meet ya!"
Theo flinched slightly and looked at Damian. "He doesn't mean that last part, don't worry."
"Hey!"
That earned a chuckle from everyone, even Theo, who shook Nathan's hand with a smile.
And so, Theo introduced himself to everyone, and Damian could see that, while he still seemed reluctant to talk, he was clearly a bit more comfortable now. It seemed that he wasn't immune to Rose, despite what he had thought at first.
Before long, the tent was up, and everyone scurried inside, laying down blankets and pillows.
After each person had gotten comfortable, Anne took out some of the snacks, and they began eating as they conversed.
"I thought you wouldn't come." Damian whispered to Theo.
He didn't reply, but Damian could see him smiling as he hugged his plushie. That only made him happier.
"Yo, we should totally share some horror stories!" Nathan suddenly exclaimed, mouth full of food.
"Yeah, let's do that!" Abigail replied, raising a fist in the air.
"I don't know…" Stacy said.
"Come on, don't be scared!" Rose reassured. "They won't be too scary, right? "
That last word sounded more like an order. Nathan flinched as he hung his head low. "Okay…" He muttered, looking away.
Jeremy, Damian and Theo laughed.
"Oooh, let me start!" Anne exclaimed, raising her hand.
"Sure, go ahead!" Jeremy told her.
From her bag, Anne took a small flashlight. She switched it on and pointed it at herself, trying to look scary.
"Okay so…" She cleared her throat. "There's this rumor about a kid." The girl began, trying to mimic a spooky voice. "A group of children that wandered into a place they shouldn't have…"
"I'm shaking in my boots…" Nathan rolled his eyes. "The Halloween special from the Smiling Critters was scarier than this."
"Shut up, I haven't even started yet!" Anne yelled at him.
Nathan recoiled, shutting up immediately. "Thank you. Now, as I was saying…"
Anne pointed the flashlight at her again. "There was once a group of children doing a sleepover, just like us. They were huddled inside their tent, just like we are right now."
A dramatic pause. "Then, they went to sleep, and after a few minutes of silence, they all heard a whisper, calling the name of one of them.
Josh…
At first, they thought they had imagined it, but once they heard it again, everyone immediately stood up and looked at each other. No one had said anything, and when one of them looked outside the tent, there was no one."
Damian could see some sweat drops forming in Nathan's forehead as his expression trembled.
"While they were trying to figure out the source, they heard it again.
Stronger.
Josh…
And again.
Josh…
And yet again.
Follow my voice, Josh… "
At that point, half the tent was shaking, while the other half was full of anticipation for what was about to come.
"Scared, the children followed the sound of the voice around the whole Playcare, until…"
Anne paused dramatically. "They found a door on the wall. When they opened it, they found a room, with nothing but a mirror inside.
And then, they heard it again.
Josh…
The whisper was really strong there. Hesitating, the one that was being called, Josh, entered the room, carefully walking towards the mirror as his steps echoed along the room.
Tap
Tap
Tap "
At this point, everyone was shaking. "W-What happened n-next?" Stacy shakily asked.
"Josh stopped in front of the mirror, looking at it. At first, there was only his reflection standing there…"
"A-At f-first?" Nathan managed to stutter.
Anne smirked. "However, as he stood there, he realized there was something else in the mirror. He thought that it was just dirt, but as he squinted his eyes…"
A long pause. Too long.
"Come on! Spit it out!" Abigail shouted.
More silence.
"He squinted his eyes, and saw that it wasn't dirt.
Behind him…
Looming…"
Anne switched off the flashlight before another pause came. Everyone was on edge, and Damian could swear he heard someone squeal.
The flashlight then switched on, but Anne was suddenly gone.
"H-Huh?!" Jeremy exclaimed.
A rustle from behind Damian was heard, but he only stiffened, slowly turning his head back.
He couldn't see who was the one that quickly grabbed the flashlight, but they switched it on before pointing it behind Damian.
And then he saw it.
"A DARK FIGURE WITH GLOWING RED EYES, CLAWS SURROUNDING THE BOY!" The figure behind him yelled.
Everyone quite literally screeched until they realized the 'figure' was just Anne, who was now rolling on the floor, laughing like crazy.
The rest groaned.
"Haha, really funny…" Damian said.
"Yeah, try to hide it all you want, Dami, but you were petrified just a second ago!" Anne told him.
"It w-wasn't that scary!" Nathan tried to look confident, but he was still shaking.
"What do you mean?!" Stacy half cried.
"Anne, I told you not to be too scary…" Rose frowned.
"Oh, come on! I haven't even finished!" The girl whined.
"I believe it's best if we… move on to something else." Jeremy sighed, trying to seem calm.
"Y-Yes…" Theo weakly nodded.
"Meh, what a bunch of chickens… " Abigail chuckled, shaking her head.
The rest of the time they stayed awake was spent in talking about various things, and eating the snacks Anne had brought. The mood was high, and even Theo chuckled from time to time.
But eventually, after all the games, laughs, and good moments, it was time to go to sleep if they wanted to wake up early the next day.
And so, everyone grabbed a blanket and got themselves comfortable, ready to rest.
"We should have done this way sooner!" Abigail exclaimed.
"Well, we would have, if Damian knew how to plan!" Nathan chuckled.
"Next time, you're making the plans, okay?" Damian replied.
"Please, I'd rather do them myself than let Nathan even share his ideas for a plan." Jeremy added.
"Yea- Wait, hey!"
The group laughed for the last time in the night as all lights disappeared and the tent felt silent.
Damian was smiling while he tried to adjust the ice bag so he could sleep comfortably while having it. The wait had been worth it. The sleepover had been the best thing he could have asked for! The only thing missing was a TV to watch a movie or a series, but even then, it had been tons of fun.
He could hear the rest of his friends were already snoring, having fallen asleep, but Damian couldn't, as the pain on his eye still bothered him a bit, though a lot less than when he had fought.
"D-Damian?"
A weak voice suddenly cut the silence. Damian didn't need too much time to guess who had spoken.
"Theo? Is that you?" Damian whispered.
"Y-Yes."
"What do you need, bud?"
There was a long silence before a deep breath was heard.
"I… It's been so fun. I-I just wanted to say…" He began, but stopped himself. Then Damian felt someone wrapping their arms around him. "I'm really glad to have met you. Please, never leave me alone again."
Damian could feel a smile creeping on his face. He slowly returned Theo's hug. "I'm glad I've met you too. And don't worry, I'm never going anywhere."
Unknown date,
Unknown place,
Unknown time
…
…
…
"Doctor Sawyer? I'm here to talk about the new experiments you wish to carry out for the Bigger Bodies Initiative. Uhhh… the Smiling Critters, was it? I believe there was a proposal sent to you?"
"I do not care about that piece of garbage, doctor Harris. That proposal couldn't have been more incomplete and devoid of research even if they tried! Who in their right mind proposes to carry out an experiment on a new arrival?"
"...Okay… So, I suppose you have an idea for the subjects that will be used for those experiments?"
"I have not looked into possible subjects for all experiments, but I believe I have the first one chosen beyond any doubt."
"If I may ask, who is that subject? I think the first experiment Leith wanted to bring to life was… Ugh, I always forget his name… The dog?"
"Yes, indeed, and I have chosen accordingly. Look at this document, please."
…
…
"Him? But sir, his name is known by practically everyone in Playcare, even staff! If he were to disappear-"
"Doctor Harris, may I remind you he will not "disappear"? As far as the rest of the children and staff are concerned, Damian Davis is finally getting adopted by a sweet and caring family."
…
…
Outside the door stood a boy, chest clutched in his hand, holding his breath. He had woken up to go to the bathroom, and he had seen the light switched on inside that room. He had thought that there wouldn't be any harm in eavesdropping.
He was wrong.
So wrong.
He tried to sneak away, run away from that place before he heard anything else, but he was petrified. He couldn't move.
Finally after some deep breaths, he let go of the wall and headed back to his bed.
A pair of hands suddenly grabbed his shoulders.
"Now, Damian. I don't think spying on other people's conversations is a good thing to do, is it?"
Before he could even open his mouth to shout, he felt a sharp pain on his head.
And then everything went black.