Lucas closed his eyes. He knows what today is, and he hates it. He shakes his head, trying to wake himself up from this nightmare that he knows is real. There was a knock at his door. Lucas didn't bother to put any clothes on-besides the underwear he had-and opened the door. Claus stood there. He had a small bruise on his face, Lucas knew who did this. Claus' eyes were also stained in red, much like Lucas' normally is. Lucas noticed a small drop of blood dripping from his left nostril. "You should probably get ready, dad's gonna take us to school," Claus said with no emotion.
"Where is she?" Lucas asked with a similar lack of emotion.
"Left for work, at least, after this." Lucas nodded and looked into his room. His messy room. He had clothes on the floor because they didn't have enough money to pay for dressers. They were lucky enough to have beds.
"I'll get ready, tell dad I'll be out soon." Claus nodded as he whipped the blood from his nose. Lucas closed the door and looked around at the various piles of clothes. Two piles were of clothes that no longer fit, one was of clothes ripped, and the final were ones that actually fit. Lucas was able to find a grey shirt with black shorts. He entered the nearby bathroom and took his cold shower. He looked in the mirror after the shower and looked at himself. His childish haircut sticking up with a little swoop. Lucas reached for a pair of scissors. He reached up to his hair. "New year...new me." He proceeded to cut his hair into the drain of the sink. Some of the hair struggled to fall down the drain, but with a little push, they fell. After a few minutes, Lucas looked back into the mirror. He was glaring in his eyes and some tears started to fall.
"Lucas, dad's waiting," Claus knocks on the door. Lucas nods to himself in the mirror and opens the door. "Don't worry Lucas, we'll get through this. After this, we could move out." Lucas nodded and together they walked out. Before leaving Lucas and Claus grabbed a hoodie. Lucas' hoodie was black and Claus' was white. They put their hoods on and left the house. They got to the car in the driveway. The car for sure shows its years. Their mom bought it as a gift for their dad, but he's never been able to buy another car since. Claus enters into the passenger's seat and Ness behind him. They closed the door and their dad-Flint-backs out onto the road.
"You guys excited?" Flint asked with little excitement.
"What do you think?" Claus asked.
"Sorry, just thought I'd ask."
"Sorry dad, it's just."
"No, don't worry, I know." Flint then looked into the rearview mirror at Lucas. "What about you big guy?"
"I dunno dad, I don't know." Flint nodded.
"Me too." Flint continued to drive, purposely taking the long way to school just to avoid the police station. It still only took around ten minutes. They got to high school. Lucas rolled his eyes at all the happy faces. The faces talking with friends they haven't seen over the summer. They both heard the click signaling the door was unlocked. Lucas and Claus begrudgingly opened the door. They hopped out of the door and grabbed their black bags from the back of the car. Claus shut the trunk and looked at Lucas. They then walked toward the entrance that was being used by all of the students. Lucas looked back at his dad. Flint smirked and gave a faint nod.
Once Lucas and Claus entered the school they opened their bags and grabbed a schedule. They compared classes. "Looks like we have different lunches."
"Is that even surprising anymore?"
"I guess not, see ya later then." Lucas nodded and watched as Claus walked away. Lucas looked at his first class and walked up to the second floor. He walked to the opposite side of the school and found his classroom, classroom 211. The only person inside was the teacher. She looked like a nice lady, with an overall orange design for her clothes. She had a small pin in her brunette hair. The pin was of a daisy. She looked up from the computer and smiled.
"Hi I'm Daisy," Daisy said.
"I know, why else would I be in this goddamn room."
"No need to be rude, so who are you?"
"Lucas, so shut up." Daisy almost looked offended that Lucas talked to her like that. But she knew he was going to be a problem. Daisy shook her head. She looked on the computer and pulled up a seating chart.
"Your seat is in the back right, next to the window." Lucas didn't acknowledge her but still sat in his seat. He placed his bag down and rested his feet on the seat in front of him. He lowered himself on his seat and crossed his arms. He then closed his eyes and tried to fall back asleep.
A few minutes later Lucas heard some clear his voice. Lucas didn't bother to open his eyes, or even adjust himself. "Ahem, your feet are in my seat," the boy said.
"Funny rhyme, but I don't give two shits," Lucas said as he opened an eye. He saw a boy with a red and blue baseball hat. The boy also had a plain T. Just one look in the boy's eyes Lucas knew that the boy was the popular kid. Lucas just rolled his eyes.
"Just move your feet.
"YOU CAN'T FUCKING TELL ME WHAT TO DO."
"JUST MOVE YOUR FUCKING FEET."
"BOYS, I will not have any fighting in my class," Daisy said.
"Sorry, ma'am." The boy faced Lucas. "Move your feet, I don't want to get detention," the boy said with minimal movement in his mouth.
"Suck it up, buttercup."
"DON'T CALL ME BUTTERCUP."
"BOYS, I won't ask again," Daisy annoyingly said. Lucas rolled his eyes, and the boy just pushed Lucas' legs back and sat down.
"Fuck you," Lucas angrily said. Ness just shook his head and looked down. A few minutes later and the first bell rings. The boy started to prepare some notebooks.
"YOOO Ness, what's up?" Ness looked up and saw his friend, Ninten. Ninten walked over and crossed his feet on the seat next to Ness'.
"You sit here?" Ness asked.
"Nah, I sit back there," Ninten pointed to the other side of the classroom. "But, earlier I met this rude ass kid. His name was Claus or something, but man he was rude."
"Much like this kid," Ness pointed to Lucas.
"Don't call me kid Buttercup," Lucas said with his eyes closed.
"Don't call me Buttercup Kid." Ness shook his head.
"Anyway, I'm not gonna lie, Claus was very good looking," Ninten chuckled.
"You gonna try and get in his pants?"
"You know it," Ninten started laughing.
"If you even try to get in his pants, I swear on everything that's holy, you'll regret it," Lucas said with anger tinting his now open eyes.
"Pft, don't just eavesdrop our conversation," Ness said.
"Yea, just put your damn headphones in," Ninten chimed in. Lucas rolled his eyes and stood up. He then walked toward the exit. He crashed his shoulder into a few-green tunic-ed students-and left the classroom. "What's up with him?"
"Not sure, but should we even care?" The two boys just shrugged. More time passed and the second bell rang for class to begin. Lucas hadn't returned to class though. Ness, as much as he'd hate to admit it, was worried for Lucas. He would never actually admit it, but he had this feeling about Lucas. One he couldn't explain, but one he wanted to feel again. Ness looked back as Daisy took roll.
"Young Link?" Daisy asked.
"Here," a small elf boy said from the front of the class.
"Ness?"
"Present," Ness said as he was looking out of the classroom door.
"Lucas?" Lucas still wasn't in class. Daisy looked around, she knew what he looked like, but didn't see him. She sighed and placed a hand on her forehead. "He's going to be a problem, I know it." She shook her head and moved on with the roll.
Lucas was in the cafeteria with Claus. They've been sitting there for a little while now, despite knowing they should be in class. "There's a boy trying to get in your pants," Lucas said.
"Yea, I know, he keeps it quite obvious," Claus said.
"Whatcha gonna do about it?"
"I'll let him have fun trying, you know, go along with it for a bit. Shoot him down when he thinks I like him back." Lucas started to laugh.
"If you need anything, you know who to call." Claus nodded his head.
"Excuse me, boys? You know you're supposed to be in class, right?" someone asked behind Lucas. Lucas turned around and saw a security guard. He raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not about to take orders from no false police officer who wasn't even strong enough to go further in his life than to stop high schoolers from vaping. There are people out there stopping murderers and child predators, and here you are, talking to me, not in class. What are you doing." Claus chuckled at what Lucas said.
"I will-"
"Oh please, what can you do, send me to the goddamn principal's office. Not like I've been there enough to know that Palutena has five freaking bottles of Corona underneath her desk. If I so pleased, I could just tell Master Hand, and get this entire school detained. And you'll be out of a job, so don't test me." Lucas stood up and walked away. Claus just nodded to himself and stood up.
"I'm with him," Claus walked away. The security guard stood there, fighting back tears. He grabbed his phone and dialed a number.
"Mom, I need you to pick me up from work, I'm scared," he whined. Lucas inevitably got back to class. He walked in as Daisy was passing out the Syllabus and some permission slips. Daisy looked at the door and saw Lucas walk in.
"Finally you decide to join us, how was your morning stroll?" Daisy asked.
"An adult with a pin of a flower in her hair can't even come close to taunting me," Lucas said nonchalantly. Daisy shook her head and passed down some more papers for him to pick up.
A few hours had passed and the third lunch period started. Ness found where Ninten and a few other friends were sitting. He placed his tray down and sat down. He smiled as he grabbed a fry. Ninten is doing what he normally does, "spilling the tea" as he calls it. "So, I heard Paula has a crush," Ninten said.
"Ninten, shut up," Paula said pointing at him.
"Who is it?" Jeff asked.
"Well…"
"NINTEN, NOW!"
"Poo."
"Motherfuck," Paula sighed. Poo, who sat toward the end of the table, dropped his bottle of water.
"Me?" Poo asked.
"Poo, that's not, he's not...FUCK!" Paula ran to the door to the courtyard. Poo thought for a moment and smiled. He stood up and ran to follow her.
"Ahhh, love's blooming," Ana said. She looked at Ness, who wasn't paying attention to anyone at the table, not even at his food. She tilted her head and snapped her fingers to wake Ness up from his daze, but it didn't work. She looked at Ninten, who knew Ness the best. "What's up with him?"
"He only looks like that when he sees fireworks, so he's in awe at something," Ninten said. Ana tried to follow his sight and when she did she found out he was staring at a boy who was sitting in the corner of the lunchroom. She looked at Ninten. "Ness? Why're you staring at Lucas?" Ness still didn't answer. Ninten then took Ness hat which broke him from his daze.
"Give me my hat back," Ness said as he snatched the hat back. He put it on his head and saw Ana's face. "What?"
"Why were you staring at Lucas, I thought you hated him."
"I do, I'm just observing him."
"Mhm, right," Ana said.
"He's weird," Jeff said.
"Yea, but…" Ness looked back at Lucas. "Nevermind, I don't really know."
Lucas zipped up his bag, finishing his search for nothing. He rested his head on the wall and closed his eyes. He tried not to think about the smell of the food, and the happy go lucky conversations he can't help but overhear. He felt a tear start to well up, so he searched for a way to leave. That's when his stomach growled. He smirked and stood up. He walked out of the lunchroom and found the door to the kitchen. Lucas acted like he was walking past, and a teacher walked out of the door. Lucas stuck his foot between the door and the wall to prevent the door from closing. He looked both ways and slid into the kitchen. He instantly hid underneath a metal table. He knew there were fries in a red disposable food tray. But he needed to hide because a fat penguin was walking toward him. Lucas stayed underneath the table and watched the penguin's feet walk by and out of the kitchen. Lucas scooted up a bit and stuck his hand out and planted it on the table. He shifted his hand around, trying to find a food tray. He soon found one and grabbed it. He smiled and quickly got out from under the table and ran out of the kitchen. He came back into the lunchroom and smiled victoriously as he sat where his bag was. He grabbed a fry and was about to eat it, but then someone snatched it. He looked up and saw the lunch lady, Peach. "You have to pay for food," Peach said.
"But, I don't have enough money," Lucas pleaded.
"No buts." Peach walked away. Lucas just sighed and reached into his pocket. He brought out one fry. He hid a fry in his pocket and ate it like he won a war. He looked around and saw Ness staring at him. Lucas just shook his head and waited for the bell to ring.
Once school ended Lucas started to walk home. Once he left the school, however, he crashed into Ness. Ness turned around and crossed his arms. "Watch where you are going," Ness said.
"Why the fuck were you standing in front of the door anyway?" Lucas asked. Ness extended an arm but Lucas just hit it away and stood up without help. "I don't need your help Buttercup."
"DON'T CALL ME BUTTERCUP!"
"I can call you whatever the hell I want." Lucas then crashed his shoulder into Ness' and started walking away from the school.
"Lucas!" Claus said. Ness turned around and saw the boy Ninten was talking about. He too crashed his shoulder into Ness' shoulder and ran to catch up with Lucas. They started walking together. Ninten walked forward and tilted his head.
"Guess what I found out," Ninten said.
"What?" Ness asked.
"Lucas and Claus are brothers, but not just brothers, twins."
"Makes sense." Ness turned around and watched Lucas and Claus walk away. That's when Lucas stopped and turned his head. He looked at Ness. Ness saw something in his eyes, but he couldn't pinpoint it.
A month has passed. Lucas had shown no sign of being anyone's friend. He walked into his classroom and sat like he always sits, with his feet on Ness' seat. Ness walked in and just sighed. "Come on, Lucas, just stop being a dick," Ness said.
"Oh please Buttercup, I can do what I want," Lucas said proudly.
"Maybe you can stop calling me Buttercup."
"Why? It's a nice name." Ness shook his head and pushed Lucas' feet back, with significantly less strength than normal. Ness didn't mind. He sat down and pulled out his notebook. The two bells rang and Daisy started her class. She's a geography teacher. She highlighted the special terrains of the states.
"Now, to learn more about each state you'll go back to your elementary sides. You'll be doing a diorama. However, you'll be assigned partners," Daisy said. Young Link raised his hand.
"Do we pick our partners?" he asked.
"No, I just said, I'll assign them. Now then, I'm going to pass down slips of paper, so please write your names on them." She handed down very small slips of paper, and everyone put their names on it. She put each one into a basket. She reached her hand in. She grabbed one. "Who's Joe?" One of their classmates, Larry Koopa, started cackling.
"Joe mamma," he laughed.
"Well, you can take Joe mamma and yourself, to the principal's office."
"Aw dang it." Lucas shook his head, not even half-amused by Larry's joke. Ness turned around to face him.
"You've gotta admit, that was funny," Ness chuckled.
"It was as funny as you are good looking…" Lucas leaned forward. "Hint, not at all." Ness shook his head and turned back to Daisy. She's called a few pairs already. She then pulled Ness' name. Ness sat up straight, now bothering to pay attention. The next name she called was Lucas'.
"Say sike right now," Ness said.
"Just deal with it, for the love of God," Daisy annoyingly said. Ness turned around to see Lucas dozing off.
"Hey Jackass."
"What Buttercup?"
"We're partners."
"Yea, I have ears; clearly you don't have eyes to see that." Ness gave an annoyed sigh and turned around. He rested his head on his arm, thinking. He looked at his notebook and picked his head up. He closed his eyes and allowed his hands to do what they wanted. He opened his eyes to see a heart. He raised an eyebrow and ripped the paper out and balled it up. He tossed it behind him and it landed in the trash can. He got hyped for a moment, and he seemed to get more hype when he saw a small smirk on Lucas' face. Once Lucas noticed Ness was looking at him his smirk disappeared and Lucas gave him the middle finger.
At lunch, Ness planted his tray of food on the table. He started to play with his food. "Ness, something on your mind?" Paula asked.
"It's that Lucas kid."
"They're partners for a project," Ninten said. Ness sighed.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Jeff said.
"I'm not," Ness said.
"You ain't?" Ninten asked. Ness shook his head and looked at Lucas; who sat in the place he always sat.
"I don't know." Ness stood up and walked toward him. Lucas noticed Ness walking his way and unzipped his bag. He began to look through the bag for something that he doesn't know existed. Ness got to Lucas' side and kneeled down. "Hey, partner."
"What do you want Buttercup?"
"You can't bullshit me, I know you have nothing in your bag, to begin with, more or less something to find." Lucas sighed and zipped his bag up. He turned his head to Ness, and Ness realized just how close he was. He waddled back with a small tint in his cheeks.
"Well, what do you want? Can't you see I'm a busy man?"
"Very busy, anyway, should I come by your place to do the project?"
"If you even dare come to my house-"
"Ok, damn, I won't come by. Just, how 'bout you come by mine. The sooner we start, the faster we finish, and the less we need to talk." Lucas crossed his arms and closed his eyes.
"Fine, where do you live?" Ness reached into his pocket and grabbed a small piece of paper. He proceeded to write his address down. He handed it to Lucas and took it without much hesitation. He looked at what was written and thought for a moment. He looked back at Ness. "What are you still doing here Buttercup?"
"I uh, I don't know. I guess I'll see ya later." Ness stood up.
"Salut," Lucas said. Ness turned his head.
"Salut?"
"Look it up, it's French."
"I know it's french, but you know it's French?"
"Ugh, just go sit the fuck down." Ness chuckled to himself. He walked back to his seat and sat down. He just looked back at Lucas.
"Ness? Are you blushing?" Paula asked.
"Don't start with me, Paula." Ness pointed back at her while still looking at Lucas.
School had been over for a while now. Lucas was sitting on his bed, with his eyes closed, and trying to picture himself in a better place. Before he could go all out with his dream, Claus knocked on the door. Lucas didn't need to answer before Claus opened and entered. Lucas saw something in his eyes. It wasn't pain though. Pain is normally what he's feeling, but he's feeling something different. Claus closed the door and walked over to the bed, sitting on the foot of it. He looked at Lucas. Claus being Lucas' twin, Lucas felt what he was feeling. "No way," Lucas said.
"I don't know, Lucas, should I really be feeling this way?" Claus asked. Lucas sat up and scooted down to sit next to him, with both of their legs dangling off the bed.
"I don't, man, I'm no expert in this. But, if you are feeling what you're feeling, maybe you just didn't know who you were. Maybe Ninten was able to help."
"But, I didn't know I'd be into a boy." Lucas shook his head and looked down. He opened his mouth to say one thing but decided to change what he was going to say.
"You may not, maybe if you try it out, you'll find out. And if he hurts you…" Lucas looked up at him with a smile. "I'll hurt him." Claus smiled and pulled Lucas into a hug.
"Thanks, lil bro."
"I hate it when you call me that." Claus chuckled and pulled away from the hug.
"You should probably head to Ness' before he gets mad."
"I don't care about that Buttercup."
"Sure you don't. Just get over there." Lucas rolled his eyes and couldn't help a smile. Lucas stood up and grabbed the piece of paper from his pocket. He looked back at Claus once more, and Claus gave him a wink. Lucas playfully flipped him off as he left the room. He soon left the house after he grabbed his hoodie. He started to try and find the address.
He was looking for a while but still couldn't find it. He was starting to get mad, and a small part of him thought he just got duped. He soon saw a police officer. Lucas knew he needed help, but he didn't really want it from an officer. After looking around and not seeing anyone, he sighed and walked over to the officer. The officer was looking away, but Lucas could tell it was a girl. "Excuse me, ma'am?" The officer turned around, and Lucas knew her. "Goddamn it."
"Oh, hello Lucas," she said.
"Hi, Mary."
"Come on, just call me mom."
"You are not my-ugh-nevermind, can you just help me for once?"
"I don't know, you are quite rude to me." Lucas closed his eyes, trying to contain his anger. "What do you need help with?" Lucas showed her the piece of paper, and it took a minute for the reason to pop into her head. She grabbed Lucas' neck and hovered him into the air. "If you rob this place, I swear to god."
"I-" Lucas couldn't talk with Mary's hand around his neck. Despite not hearing it, she knew what he was going to say. She put him down, and Lucas rubbed the mark that was now on his neck.
"If I hear that you robbed this place, I'll take you in faster than the public hated Bill Cosby."
"That doesn't even make sense."
"Shut up and get in the car."
"Fine."
"I SAID SHUT UP!" Lucas just nodded and followed Mary to the police car. She started to drive and Lucas just glared out of the window. He tried to picture his mom in place of Mary. His mom, Hinawa, had died a while back. Flint tried to remarry to fill the gap of Hinawa's untimely death. She died via a car crash. Not only that, she died from a car that was owned by a rich family. The rich family wasn't taken into custody for their unfocused driving. Lucas tried not to think about her death, or her wake, or her funeral but failed. He started to cry. "I said shut up, fucking crybaby, my God." Lucas tried to ignore Mary, but she only caused more tears to come down. Mary soon stopped the car, Lucas didn't bother to look at the house she stopped at. He got out and tried to close the door. "You've gotta pay me for the drive."
"I don't have any money."
"Fucking broke bitch." Lucas angrily closed the door and Mary instantly drove off, surprising Lucas and causing him to tumble forward. Lucas rubbed the tears from his eyes and turned around. He saw the house and grew even angrier. The house was more of a mansion.
"Of course he's rich." Lucas closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down. He walked forward when he opened his eyes and got to a golden gate. Lucas rolled his eyes as he opened it and quickly walked up the many steps to the door that stood behind various columns. He knocked on the door, and within seconds the door opened. There stood a well-dressed man. He had a tuxedo, and clearly too young to have had Ness. "And a butler, great."
"May I help you, sir?"
"Yes Alfred, names Lucas an-"
"So you're the boy master Ness talked about, I think you should get off the property."
"But."
"No buts sir, please lea-"
"Henry, come on, don't be rude to our guest," a sweet-sounding voice came from behind the butler. He stood aside and a young woman walked to the doorway.
"Ma'am, I came to do my project with Ness."
"Ah, you're my boy's partner, good to know." She looked at the butler, who now had an apologetic look on his face. "Please get our guest a welcoming cup of water."
"Of course ma'am," Henry said. He started to walk away.
"Oh, uh, miss, that's not necessary."
"Nonsense, any friend of my boy deserves a little gift." She didn't give Lucas a chance to speak before motioning for him to enter. Lucas nodded and walked into the mansion. The foyer was large, and a golden chandler hung above them. Lucas exhaled a stressful breath. A few minutes passed before Henry came by with a silver platter and a glass cup of water. Lucas faked a smile as he took the cup and took a sip. "Ness honey, your friend is here." Lucas didn't bother to correct her and took another sip of the oddly tasty water. Lucas watched the railing that was connected to the staircase in the foyer. He soon saw Ness appear up there. He didn't have a shirt on, and Lucas couldn't help but notice how nicely built he was. Lucas shook his head, trying to ignore the sight.
"Oh, Lucas, finally. Come on, I've prepared everything," Ness smiled which seemed odd to Lucas, but he couldn't shake the image of Ness' build. He cleared his throat to shake himself from the gaze and walked to the staircase. He watched Ness ahead of him and walked to the end of the hall where an opened door laid. Ness turned around with another oddly place welcoming smile.
"Why're you so happy Buttercup?" Lucas asked as he entered the room.
"We can get this project done." Lucas saw the fancy room. There wasn't a single piece of clothing on the floor. The only thing that seemed messy was the stuff for the diorama. Lucas sat with his back against the side of the bed. Ness sat opposite and had a shoebox in between them. Ness smiled again.
"You never know when to stop smiling, do ya?"
"Oh shut up, let's get this done," Ness said, trying to hide his excitement. They strangely worked well enough together that they were able to get a firm grip on the project. They decided to work on a project based on the state of Smashville. They were even able to collaborate to cut and place paper as a background. Ness noticed a new side of Lucas, a side he never thought he'd see. He looked at him and a small smirk grew. Lucas noticed this.
"Stop staring at me Buttercup." Ness gave a small chuckle.
"Can't help it, never seen ya so focused."
"Fuck you." Lucas' stomach growled. Lucas got a little flustered as he was cutting some paper.
"You hungry?"
"N-no," Lucas tried to convince, but his stomach growled once more.
"No, I can tell, you're hungry." Ness walked to the door. "Henry, cook a prime steak will ya?" Ness walked back and sat down.
"You don't have too."
"When was the last time you ate, that growl didn't seem natural."
"I, um…" Lucas grew more flustered but continued to cut the paper.
"Come on, you can tell me."
"Two days ago."
"Why don't your parents cook food?" Lucas was now cutting ruggedly. He wasn't focusing on where the scissors were cutting, or what it was cutting.
"M-my parents, they uh, they um, well-MOTHERFUCK!" Lucas screamed as he dropped the scissors. He looked at his thumb which had a large cut on the side of his thumb. Blood was rushing out of the large cut. Lucas was able to see the bone. Ness shot up and grabbed Lucas other hand. He then rushed Lucas into the bathroom connected to his room. He started the water and put Lucas' thumb underneath it. Lucas flinched a bit.
"Stay here, I'll get the alcohol."
"Didn't know you drank," Lucas struggled to say from the pain. Ness smiled, happy that he is still being himself under the pain. Ness ran out of the bathroom. Lucas looked at his cut and grew a smile at the knowledge of Ness doing this for him. He then looked in the fancy mirror. The fancy wall behind him was reflected in the mirror. He grew angry. "Look at you, needing help from the rich. They killed mom, why are you even accepting their help. You're so weak." Lucas started to cry but didn't attempt to whip the tears. He glared at himself in the mirror.
Ness eventually came back with a rag, rubbing alcohol, and a large bandaid. Ness looked at the tears and felt sorry. "Wow, you actually have emotions." Lucas couldn't help but smile. "This is gonna sting a bit." Lucas nodded and Ness opened the alcohol. He looked at the cut in the water and started to pour.
"Fuck…" Lucas flinched. He covered his mouth with his right hand.
"It's alright, you can do this. You're strong." Lucas looked at Ness as he complimented him. He looked toward the floor and closed his eyes. Ness poured more alcohol which made him flinch more. Ness turned the water off and dried the cut with the rag, getting bloody water all over it. Lucas opened his eyes and watched him open the bandaid with his mouth. Lucas noticed how hard he was trying to help him, and felt guilty. Ness removed the rag and placed the bandaid over the wound and pressed on it. Lucas hated to admit it, but he sort of liked the feeling of Ness' hand. Ness let go of Lucas' hand. He walked through the doorway and looked back at him. "You feeling better?
"Yea, I-I…" Lucas looked into the mirror and straightened his back. He looked back at Ness' concerned face. "I don't need your help, rich boy."
"So what if I am rich, what's that gotta do with anything?"
"I just, I just don't need your fucking help."
"I'm just trying to be nice, even with you being an absolute asshole, I still tried to be nice."
"I DIDN'T NEED YOUR NICETIES." Ness clenched his fists and his nose slightly twitched.
"FUCK YOU!" Lucas walked forward, crashing his shoulder into Ness'. He stepped over the project and opened the door. "I want you out of my house, I'll finish the project myself."
"GOOD, not like I wanna stay in this fucking place anyway." Lucas stormed out into the balcony and down to the foyer. He opened then hesitated to open the door.
"Hey, jackass." Lucas turned his head and caught a steak that was flying his way. He looked and saw Ness in the foyer. "Eat up." Lucas shot around and stomped out of the mansion. He closed the door and looked down at the steak. He bit into it and chewed slowly, allowing the taste to drain on his tongue. He smiled, but then instantly felt guilty. He closed his eyes.
"I-I'm sorry," Lucas whispered. He shook his head and walked away, not wanting to tell Ness himself. He was walking for a while and eventually made it home. He hesitated as he opened the door. When he did he saw no one home and he took a breath of relief and stepped in. Right when he was about to enter his room he heard someone clear their voice. He knew the sound. He turned around to see Mary crossed her arms, still in her outfit.
"What were you doing?" she asked.
"None of your fucking business."
"Don't talk to me like that."
"I can talk to you however I want." Mary slammed her fist into Lucas' throat, causing him to fall back. He coughed and looked up at her. He stood up and rubbed his neck. "I just worked with my fire-my partner on a project. Are you fucking happy?"
"I don't believe you, you're just a filthy thief." Lucas clenched his fist and glared at her. "Get in your room, fucking idiot." She walked back out of the house. Lucas shook his head and entered his room. He slammed the door closed and looked into his only drawer. Inside was a lighter. He grabbed it and sat on his bed. He stared at it. Lighting it on and off. He sighed and came up with his decision. He looked at his left hand, the bandage over his thumb, and hovered the hand over the lighter. He turned the lighter on and lowered his hand down to the fire. He tried to keep his groans of pain to himself, but once the fire started to burn marks into his palm he let out the painful groans. The longer his hand stayed over the fire the louder and more painful his screams became. "AHH, fuck," he screamed once more. He ripped his hand from the fire and dropped the lighter. He held his wrist with his right hand and looked at the circle of burnt skin. He was still breathing and groaning from the pain. His breaths got shaky and eventually, he cried.
The next day came and Ness walked into the classroom. He saw Lucas and sighed. Lucas didn't know this, but Ness heard Lucas apologize, and Ness decided to forgive him. He walked over to Lucas. Lucas looked at him and moved his feet without Ness needing to assist. Ness sat down, but he looked back. He looked at the bandage and saw the burn on his palm. "Lucas, what happened?" Lucas allowed a single tear to fall from his eye. This tear of sadness answered Ness' question. "Don't worry, I forgive you." Lucas looked into Ness' eyes and allowed a smile to creep on his face. Ness turned back around.
Lunch rolled around and Ness was in line for lunch. He saw Lucas enter and sit in the corner. He looked down at his tray, then backed up. He looked at Peach through the window. "Another tray like this one, please." Peach nodded and took the three dollars that Ness dropped. Ness then struggled to carry both trays over to Lucas. He sat down in front of him, leaving little space in between them. Lucas didn't bother with pretending to look for anything in his bag. "You must be hungry Buttercup." Ness smiled.
"Nah, I bought this one for you." Ness handed the tray over.
"'Cause you're rich," Lucas said calmly as he grabbed.
"So what if I am rich?" Ness asked, still with his smile.
"You're, you're a nice rich." Lucas grabbed a fry and ate it. Ness copied.
"How was the steak."
"Didn't eat it."
"I know that's a damn lie." Lucas chuckled, which made Ness happy.
"I fucking hated it," Lucas smirked.
"Just like you hate me."
"Oh trust me, I fucking despise you." Both of them smiled and allowed their cheeks to slightly have a pink tint.
"Lucas? Would you like to come by my place to finish the project?"
"I thought you said you'd finish it yourself."
"I lied."
"I fucking hate you, Buttercup."
"Thanks for coming asshole."
"Who said I'm coming?"
"Trust me, you're a jackass, but you're also a nice ass."
"I am a nice ass, or I have a nice ass," Lucas winked with an odd amount of joy.
"Why can't it be both," Ness shrugged. The two of them started laughing.
Back at Ness' normal table, Ninten watches this unfold. He had a proud smile. Paula surprised him which caused Ninten to jump. "You jealous?" Paula asked.
"No, just happy for them. I don't know what's up with Claus recently, but he seems better," Ninten said, no longer looking at Ness and Lucas.
"What do you mean?" Poo asked.
"I mean, he seems like someone anyone would fall for, and well, I fell for him more."
"I heard he stopped wearing that hoodie," Jeff said.
"And he started smiling and all that," Ana said.
"Yea, you think, you think I was a part of that," Ninten said.
"Course, but I feel Lucas helped," Paula said. Ninten looked back at Lucas, who had his hood down, a wide smile, and a sparkle in his eyes.
"Thank you, Lucas."
Lucas knocked on the door of Ness' mansion. Henry opened the door and allowed Lucas in. Lucas bowed thanks and walked to Ness door. He knocked on it and once more, Ness had no shirt. "I feel like you do this on purpose," Lucas said. Ness winked. Lucas walked in and sat where he sat yesterday. They worked even better than yesterday. They got to a point where they needed to create a flag. The way they did it was Lucas cut the shapes and slid them to Ness who was able to quickly stick them into the box. They did this one hundred times but it was done in 5 minutes. With them finishing this flag, they finished the project. Ness placed the box on a dresser next to the tv and they looked at it together.
"Look what we made," Ness said proudly.
"A Buttercup and a jackass." Ness patted his back and walked back to his bed. He crawled in and got under his covers. Lucas rubbed the back of his neck and made his way to the door. "I guess I'll just get going." He opened the door.
"You don't really have to do that," Ness said.
"Huh?" Lucas asked as he turned his head.
"I mean, you can stay over for a little longer. We could hang out and just do whatever, I guess." Lucas' cheeks started to redden more. Lucas looked back out of the room to hide his smile. He closed the door and turned around. He walked to the bed and sat down next to the side of the bed. "Oh come on Jackass, this Buttercup doesn't bite. Come up here, next to me." Lucas crawled onto the bed and laid next to Ness. Ness turned the TV off and sneakily got out from underneath his bed. He reached over his side of the bed and grabbed a spare blanket. He smirked to himself and draped the blanket over Lucas. Lucas struggled with a giggle but was able to lower the blanket underneath his head. He looked at Lucas.
"You're an ass, Buttercup." Ness adjusted himself underneath the same blanket. He then shifted to be right next to Lucas. He turned his head.
"I'm just trying to be nice, Jackass."
"Well, I don't need your niceties."
"But you like them, don't ya." Lucas lowered himself to rest his head on Lucas' shoulder.
"I'll never say yes." Ness smiled and turned to the TV.
A few months have passed. Ness walked into the classroom and walked to his table. Lucas moved his legs apart for a perfect place for Ness to sit. Once Ness sat between his legs, Lucas playfully "trapped" Ness with his feet. Ness giggled playfully. "Well, Lucas, I've never seen this side of you," Claus said. Ninten stood next to him with a smile. Lucas shrugged.
"Well, this Buttercup won't allow me to be any other way." Claus turned to Ness and mouthed a thank you. Ness nodded. Claus turned to Ninten and pecked his cheek.
"See ya later Nin." Ninten nodded and watched as Claus walked away. He turned back to Ness and winked. He walked over to his seat. Ness turned around and smiled at Lucas, and Lucas returned the smile.
At lunch, Ness was buying Lucas lunch as always. Once he started walking to Lucas Ninten walked up to him. "Hey, Buttercup."
"Don't call me that," Ness said.
"But-"
"Only Lucas can call me that."
"Thought so, just wanted to test it out. Oh and, good luck with him."
"I don't need luck." Ninten patted his back and Ness walked over to Lucas. He gave him his tray.
"Hey, Lucas?" Ness asked.
"Yup?" Lucas asked.
"There's this rich part today."
"Right."
"And, of course, I was invited."
"Uh-huh"
"They also said I could bring a plus one, sooo."
"You want me to come, and not Ninten or whatever?"
"Of course."
"Oh, um, Ness, I'm poor and I don't have enough money to pay for a suit."
"You don't think I already know? I've already bought you a suit. Come by my place and you can try it on." Lucas smiled.
"You don't mind that I'm poor."
"Course not, you don't care that I'm rich, so I don't care that you're poor."
"I appreciate that, Buttercup."
Lucas didn't bother heading to his house. He went to Ness' house with him. Ness seemed giddy about showing Lucas the suit. Lucas wasn't as excited. Ness practically dragged Lucas up the stairs. That's when they crashed into Ness' little sister, Tracy. Lucas has seen her a few times, but she mostly stays in her room playing Fornite. "Oh wow, you're out of your room."
"I was hungry and no one was answering my food bell," Tracy said.
"Maybe 'cause everyone has something better to do," Lucas shrugged. Tracy pointed at him.
"You're lucky Ness wants to bang you." Tracy then skipped away, clearly proud of what she said. Lucas turned to a red Ness.
"You want to what?"
"Ignore her, she's drunk."
"She's a minor."
"Drunk on...lack of sunshine?" Lucas tilted his head.
"Right, should we just continue?"
"Yes please." Ness and Lucas got to Ness' room. Once they entered Lucas walked to the bed and sat down. He watched as Ness scrounged around the closet. He tossed some things out and pushed others aside. He soon found a small box and walked over to Lucas. He put the box next to him. Lucas opened the box and saw a black and white tuxedo.
"Classic old penguin style huh?"
"Yea, it's a black-tie event."
"Ahh, so boring?"
"Yup thought you could spice it up a bit." Lucas nodded. "You can take a quick shower before you change, if you'd like, look and smell your best for it."
"So I smell bad?"
"No, not at all, you smell great."
"So you actually smell me," Lucas smiled victoriously. Ness sighed and looked away. Lucas grabbed the box and hopped off the bed. He entered the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He shook his head and placed the box on the toilet. Lucas then got undressed and entered the shower. Outside the shower, Ness was on his bed smacking his knees to a tune inside his head. He looked around and saw something in the closet. He walked to it and saw that it was the dress shoes. He grabbed them and walked back to the bathroom door. He took a quick breath and opened it. He placed the shoes down but then heard Lucas. He was singing. Not only was he singing, but he was also singing well. Ness couldn't help but smile and just listen. Lucas was singing Believer by Imagine Dragons. Ness leaned against the wall and accidentally turned the light off.
"Shit," Ness said as he tried to fix his mistake.
"Ness?"
"Uhh, I am the ghost of Christmas past." Ness could hear Lucas laugh.
"What are you gonna show me about Tiny Tim?"
"You're already looking at him in there."
"Was that seriously a dick joke Buttercup?"
"Uhh, maybe?"
"Ugh, just get outta here so I can finish my shower."
"Right-O." Ness slid out and closed the door. He then sat on the bed and closed his eyes. He imagined Lucas singing to him. He smiled and fell back on his bed. He was so in his own mind that he didn't realize Lucas had stopped the shower. He shot up and watched the door. A few minutes had passed and Lucas slammed his forehead on the door. "What's wrong?"
"I look like an idiot."
"I'm sure you'll look wonderful."
"I dunno."
"Just come on out." Lucas regrettably opened the door and Ness saw Lucas in the tux. Ness smiled. "You looked amazing."
"How amazing?"
"Like Ryan Reynolds, Tom Holland, and Chris Hemsworth all in one."
"So...basically the ultimate human being?" Ness snapped his fingers into a finger gun and pointed at him.
"Precisely." Lucas looked down and started to blush.
"Well, I guess I could stay like this for a little bit."
Ness' mom drove the two of them to a larger mansion. Lucas was a little worried, but Ness was able to comfort him by simply smiling. The two were able to enter the mansion and saw that there was a party room. All the rich people were very similar, and in a way-hypnotic, black and white suits. All of them were on the sides of the large room, not a single soul in the middle of the room. Ness led Lucas through the hypnosis of copy cats and got to a table with fruit punch and chocolate chip cookies. "Hey, Ness, you made it," a girl said. Ness and Lucas turned around and saw Paula walk toward them with a white dress. She grabbed Ness hands and smiled.
"Is she your girlfriend?" Lucas sadly asked. Paula shook her head.
"Nah, she's banging my other friend, Poo."
"Poo?"
"Yea, yea, Poo is his name." Lucas couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Ness looked at the room of people.
"This place is very boring," Paula said.
"Yea, I can tell." Ness turned to his side and looked at Lucas drinking the fruit punch. He smiled and had an idea. He shot back at Paula and leaned into his ear. He told her his plan. She grinned and nodded. She ran back.
"What'd you'd tell her?"
"You'll see." A few minutes passed and Ness looked at Lucas, who clearly was getting bored. He even started to doze off. "Hey, Lucas?"
"Yea Buttercup?"
"I've got a way to make this place more exciting."
"I'm listing," Lucas said as he stood up straight.
"You can sing."
"That, I don't fuck with."
"Oh come on, you sound great." Lucas shook his head. "What if I sing with you?" Lucas looked down and closed his eyes.
"Fine, I guess it'll be better than this boring mess."
"That's the spirit, come on," Ness said as he grabbed Lucas hand and ran to the middle of the room.
"W-wait, what are we singing?" Ness whispered into his ear, and Lucas smirked. "Fine, let's get this over with." Ness looked out to the side of the room. He saw Paula near a makeshift radio. Ness nodded and Paula smiled and started the song. Ness looked at Lucas.
"Ready?"
"I have no choice." People already started to notice the music. Tracy and Ness' mom were some of the first to look in the middle, at the boys.
"As long as you love me," Ness and Lucas sang in unison. Lucas looked at Ness and smiled. Ness returned the smile. Ness grabbed Lucas hand and started to playfully dance as the music continued.
"Although loneliness has always been a friend of mine, I'm leavin' my life in your hands," Lucas sang as he held both hands toward Ness.
"People say I'm crazy and that I am blind. Risking it all in a glance," Ness sang as he grabbed the hands that Lucas extended toward him.
"And how you got me blind is still a mystery." Ness spun Lucas around and brought him into a hug.
"I can't get you out of my head," the two of them said as they looked into each other's eyes.
"Don't care what is written in your history. As long as you're here with me," Ness sang as he propelled Lucas forward. The two of them then shuffled from their right to their left as they sang the chorus. They smiled and constantly pointed to each other. "Every little thing that you have said and done, feels like it's deep within me. Doesn't really matter if you're on the run." Ness surprised Lucas by putting his hands on his waist and put his chin on his shoulder.
"It seems like we're meant to be," they sang in unison. Ness picked him up from his waist as they started to sing the chorus. When Ness put Lucas down Lucas smiled and watched Ness badly dance. His giggle broke through the song, but he was able to get back on track.
"I've tried to hide it so that no one knows, but I guess it shows when you look into my eyes. What you did and where you're comin' from," Lucas sang as he copied Ness' bad dance moves.
"I don't care, as long as you love me, baby," they sing together. They then get really close and start to almost slow dance. While slow dancing they sang the final chorus happily. "As long as you love me," they sing as Lucas plants his hand on Ness' chest and Ness' head on his head. Everyone started to clap and Ness and Lucas pulled away from each other.
"You were kinda off on that one note," Lucas said.
"Fuck you," Ness chuckled. That's when people went to the makeshift radio and they too got into the swing of singing. Ness and Lucas were proud to have lightened this party up. Ness' mom drove them to their house. Lucas changed out of the tuxedo and spun around.
"Ahh, much better."
"Hey, look." Lucas looked at Ness on the bed. He was on his phone. Lucas saw that he was on Twitter and there was a video of the two of them singing. "We're popular."
"Do we really wanna be Twitter famous."
"Yea, not the best start, but a start nonetheless." Lucas shrugged. That's when a strange feeling came over Lucas. He stood up suddenly. "Lucas?"
"Claus?"
"Claus?" Lucas didn't answer, he just ran out of the bedroom, and out of the mansion. He kept running and ran all the way to his house. He slammed into the door and looked around. He heard groans of pain from Claus. He hurriedly walked through the small hall into his room. He saw Claus laying on the floor, bloody. He struggled to move. Lucas looked on the phone, he was still on the phone with Ninten.
"Claus, CLAUS! Please, answer me," Ninten said worriedly. Lucas picked the phone up.
"Ninten?"
"Lucas! Where's Claus?" Lucas started to cry. "LUCAS, PLEASE ANSWER ME."
"Call Ness, please." Lucas hung up and heard the front door slam shut.
"Lucas honey, we need a chat," Mary said. Lucas looked at the bloody Claus. He shook his head, crying bloody tears. Lucas backed out of the room and looked at Mary. She had a bloody knife. She smiled maniacally as she looked at Lucas. "I am tired of you boys fucking my life over. Now it turns out you both like dick."
"So what if we do, nothing you can say can change us." She growled and walked over menacingly. Lucas tried to fight back but simply got his arm slashed. Mary then grabbed Lucas' throat and held him against the table. She smiled as she held the edge of the knife to Lucas' eye.
"Goodbye Lucas, it wasn't really fun, but the fun is about to begin." She was about to put pressure on the blade on his eye, but then a loud bang caused her to drop the knife and fall forward. Lucas fell down and noticed a hole in the back of her head. He saw his dad with a pistol. He aimed at her once more and shot two more bullets. He then dropped the gun and fell to his knees.
"Go, run away, now," Flint cried out.
"B-but Claus."
"I've called 911, don't worry about him." Lucas nodded and ran. He ran out of the house.
Ness received an unnerving call from Ninten. He was able to convince his mom to drive him toward Lucas' house, which Ninten said the address of. Ness' mom knew how bad he must've been feeling. Ness' mom started to speed up. "Come on mom, we've gotta get there before anything bad happens," Ness egged his mom on.
"Hun, I'm driving as fast and as controllably as possible," she said.
"Well, we've gotta take a short-" Ness was cut off by the car crashing into something and bouncing in the air. Ness' mom slammed onto the breaks. Her face grew into one of utter shock.
"Not again…"
"Mom, what's wrong."
"No, I didn't mean it, not again," Ness' mom started to cry.
"Mom?" Ness' mom didn't answer. Ness decided to leave the car. He saw that the wheels were bloody. He followed the bloody tire tracks and found the body. He instantly covered his mouth. "No…" Ness said in his hands. His mom ran over Lucas. He laid in a pile of blood. A large wound on his head, massive cuts around his body, and an obvious broken arm and leg. Ness ran over to him and turned him onto his side. Lucas' eyes were closed. "LUCAS, please wake up...please."
The cops had arrived at Lucas' house and arrested Flint and took Claus to the hospital. A separate ambulance picked up Lucas. Ness hopped in the back, completely ignoring his mom's cries of guilt. He saw the EMTs trying to patch up the cuts and the wound on his head. They soon got to the hospital, but they wouldn't allow Ness into the hospital room. Ness started to cry aloud. He sat on the chair and just cried as he looked plainly at the ground. Ninten, Paula, Poo, and Tracy came by to try and comfort him. Ness just ignored their attempts. He was only looking for the doctor and the nurse-Dr. Mario and Nurse Peach respectively-but they were in the room for hours.
Around five hours after initially coming into the hospital, Dr. Mario opened the door. His face wasn't happy. "Doc, please tell me he's awake," Ness pleaded.
"He is," Dr. Mario said. He moved out of the way for everyone to get into the room. Ness almost gagged as he saw how bloody Lucas was. Lucas could only move his left hand, the one he cut, the one he burnt.
"H-how's Claus?" Lucas struggled to ask.
"He's going to live...just like you, right?" Ninten asked. Lucas didn't answer. Ninten looked at the nurse. "Right?" Nurse Peach faintly shook her head. Ness didn't cry more, he couldn't bear ripe his eyes from Lucas.
"B-Butter-c-cup?" Ness walked forward.
"Yea?" Ness asked. Lucas adjusted his left hand so his palm was facing the air. Ness walked forward. Ness put Lucas' hand on his cheeks. Lucas rubbed off some tears.
"I-I've never s-said thank y-you...for the...for the l-lunch. And f-f-for sitting, and baring w-with me."
"You've always been a Jackass, but I could handle any ass," Ness tried to joke, but couldn't help cry it out. Lucas started to laugh, but it turned into a minute-long coughing spree.
"You've a-always been m-my B-Buttercup, B-B-Buttercup." Ness put both hands on Lucas' one hand on his cheek.
"I'm proud to be your Buttercup." Lucas smiled and whipped one final tear away from Ness' face. That's when he flatlined. Ness turned his head to the monitor, and saw the line. No jump, no dip, just flat. Ness closed his eyes and looked down. He lowered Lucas' hand. He opened his eyes and grew a smile.
"Ness? Why're you smiling?" Poo asked. Ness sniffed.
"'Caus Lucas loved my smile, he wouldn't want to see me sad. So even in death…" Ness leaned forward and Closed Lucas' eyes. "He'll see me smile." Paula lowered her head and allowed tears to fall from her eyes and hit the floor. The others soon followed. Ness put his head on Lucas' arm.
"I don't care," Tracy started.
"Who you are," Poo continued.
"Where' you're from," Paula continued.
"What you did," Ninten continued.
"As long as you love me," Ness finished. He closed his eyes and allowed his tears to wet Lucas' sleeves. They stayed there for a bit. That's when there was a small beep. Ness shot his face up and looked at the monitor. He smiled and looked back at Lucas. He started to groan and open his eyes.
"A-as l-long as you l-love m-m-me," Lucas struggled to finish.
"Lucas?"
"Huh, s-seems like I'm a l-little off." Ness pulled him into a hug.
A few months passed and Lucas and Claus made a, more or less, full recovery. Lucas still has a broken arm but was back to his normal self. Ness' mom wanted to apologize for running over Lucas, and later revealing she was who ran over Hinawa, but Lucas and Claus were forgiving. She took the two boys under her wing for the final few months before they turned 18. Ness and Lucas moved out and lived together. Claus and Ninten tried to live by themselves but ended up living with Lucas and Ness. The four of them lived together for a long time. Ness surprised Lucas with a wedding ring when Flint was released from jail. They got married in the place they fell in love, in their high school. They made a special seat for Hinawa and even made one for Mary. Claus did the same for his wedding with Ninten, just in a church. Lucas and Ness now lay in their beds. "Hey Jackass?" Ness questioned.
"Yea Buttercup?"
"I hate you, you know that."
"I despise you." They laughed and looked at each other.
"I love you," the two of them said in unison.