"Uh...W-well, I'm glad you like it, hehe!" he smiled at me, as he scratched the back of his head again.
Without having realized, I had already started enjoying this dumb goofy boy's company. Even though it was only the first time he and I were hanging out. Even though the way he and I first met was in a situation that was in no shape or form pleasant. I felt like I had wanted to talk more and more with him, but something kept me back from opening my mouth.
A short silence ensued, as I found it increasingly harder to look at him for some reason. I noticed he was also acting kinda fidgety. Just as I was about to say something to him, he spoke first.
"...Do you want-"
"U-um, do you wanna— he paused mid-sentence, realizing he cut me off, — Oh, sorry! What were you about to say?"
"...No, go ahead. What did you wanna say?"
...This boy really is a weird one, I thought. But I didn't dislike how strange he was.
"...Right. I was thinking — maybe we should call it off for the night?" he asked.
...Of course.
"...Uh, sur-"
"I-it's just, you know...I don't want your family getting worried about you! After all, you ARE a girl! I don't want to be the reason your mom yells at you for coming back home so late, and I definitely don't want your dad getting concerned and thinking something happened to you, you know? And, what if some douchebags like last time pop up again, y'know?"
Oh, that's what he was worried about...Idiot, I almost felt like chuckling a little bit.
"O-or, you know — if you want to stay outside for a little bit longer, I'm cool with that too!" he let out that awkward nervous laugh again. Dummy.
"...I want to hang out a little longer. What about you?" I responded.
"Really? Alright! — he pumped his fist in the air completely unsubtly — Oh, I mean, yeah! I'm fine staying out late too. You don't need to worry about me. My mom is always at work anyway, so I've got no issues on my side."
"...Alright. Where do you want to go next?"
"Hmm...Oh, how about the fountain at the main city park? It's probably pretty quiet there right now, and the smell of the grass is super nice!"
"...Sure," I said.
The two of us made our way through the evening downtown streets. Being the middle of September, it wasn't too cold out, even though it was quite late. I looked at the octopus plushie Milo gave me, which I had put away in my school handbag. I then looked at Milo, who was walking next to me, smiling as he looked straight at the sidewalk. I didn't know why, but the tired little octopus was cute. Even though it was a little ugly. Even though I hated octopuses.
I remembered the shooting gallery game he won this prize from. To be truthful, I was fully capable of getting a perfect score in that game. I honestly didn't understand how people failed at simple arcade games, especially ones like the shooting gallery.
I had noticed how sad he looked when I was beating him in all the games we played, so I felt like I had to intentionally perform poorly on at least one of them. He looked so happy when he finally 'beat' me at something.
"Hey, Pela?" he asked.
"...Yes?"
"I was wondering...You and I still haven't really gotten to know each other, right? I forgot to ask this, but — what school do you go to?"
"...I go to Birch High, to the north of the city, in Hally River."
"Wow, Birch? That's so far away from my school! Do you live close to there, then?" he asked, totally oblivious to the nature of his question just now.
"...You're asking me where I live?"
"Huh?- O-oh, no no! Sorry, I didn't mean it like tha-"
"Relax. I'm poking fun at you," I said.
He stopped walking for a second.
"...What's wrong?"
"...No, nothing. It's just — that was the first time I've heard you tell a joke!"
"...What's that supposed to mean?"
"N-nothing, of course! It's just, for the short time I've known you so far — you've always been so robotic and all, y'know? Like, you never stutter or use words like 'Umm' or 'Like' when you talk!" he said.
I let out a small giggle.
"...A-and, and now she just giggled!" he said, acting even more surprised. This boy really was stupid.
We continued walking.
"...What about you? Where do you go to for school?" I asked him.
"I go to Panney. It's about a thirty minute walk from Sunshine Mall. It's a really annoying school, though. Since it's one of the biggest public schools in the city, there's always something dumb and chaotic happening there, every day. Really, it's a headache," he said.
"...That sounds tough."
"Honestly, though, it's not that big a deal."
Talking about more small topics, we soon arrived at the park fountain, and sat down at the bench next to it. The soft sounds of the fountain sprinkles dropping against the its pool were soothing, with the yellow trees around us rustling in the faint breeze of the evening. Just as Milo said, there really was nobody besides the two of us at the current hour.
"...Say, Pela. I've really been meaning to talk to you about something."
"...What is it?"
"Thinking back on it...There really was no way that we got super lucky and had some kind stranger coincidentally notice how we were in danger — right when I was about to get stabbed — and throw rocks at the thugs, AND hit all of them perfectly in the head, without missing a single throw, AND knock each and ever one of them out like that," he said.
"...Huh?" he caught me by surprise.
"And those crazy three top scores you pulled off today at the punching machine...Your unbelievably fast reaction time when we played Whack-A-Mole...All of the strange stuff I saw today is telling me one thing about you..." he said in a serious tone I hadn't heard him use once so far.
"...You're actually some sort of martial arts master, aren't you?!" he exclaimed, pointing at me.
...Huh?
"I know for a fact the two abandoned buildings we were between that day had absolutely nobody in them! You had to have used some sort of crazy karate, or kung-fu, or kickboxing. or something like that...Right?" he said to me.
I wasn't sure how to answer his accusation.
"Teach me your skills! Despite being shorter than me, you absolutely whooped those guys that day! Please, Pela!" he pleaded with me, lowering his head and putting his hands together, as if he was praying.
I couldn't help but laugh out loud. This boy's lack of awareness was simply too much. But, maybe that was for the better.
"Hey, haha, what's so funny? C'mon, Pela, please teach me!" he started laughing too.
"You really are funny, Milo..." I said to him.
"What do you mean? I need to learn from you so that I don't get beat up so much anymore, haha!" we started laughing together for a good minute.
"...But, really, Pela. You're actually super cool," he said, out of nowhere.
"...What makes you say that?"
"I...I don't know. It's just the way you are," he said, smiling as he stared at the moon.
"...I think you're a good person too," I said to him.
"T-thanks! Hehe!" he gave me his typical huge grin, scratching the back of his head like usual.
***
After that, the two of us went home.
For the next three weeks, we continued to meet up after school to hang out as well. The boy would text me almost every day, almost always at the exact same time...
[1 message received]
[From: Milo]
[15:55]
[Milo: Hey, wanna meet up again today? I got nothing else to do the rest of the day.]
[Pela: you always say that, you never have anything to do after school]
[Milo: Sorry, haha! Same place then? I'm headed over right now]
[Pela: sure]
***
"Hey! Here's the fifty I owe you for the black coffee, from Cafe Bonita last week!" Milo said, giving me five coins.
"Oh, you don't need to-"
"What're you saying? Of course I need to pay you back! Also, here's my half of the four hundred you paid for at the arcade!" he cut me off, taking out bills from his pocket.
"No. Like I said that day, I paid for you. You don't need to pay me back anything," I asserted.
"...Are you sure? Then, let me buy us lunch at the burger joint in Sunshine Mall! Their stuff is to die for, trust me!" he pleaded with me.
"Do you always eat unhealthy junk like that?" I asked.
"Huh?! You did not just say that! Alright, that's it, we're definitely going there now!" he said, smiling from ear to ear.
The next moment, I would see him chowing down on some processed beef patties — which were, in turn, sandwiched by processed bread buns. Looking at my order — a fillet sandwich — I couldn't really work up an appetite. Additionally, I didn't like eating at food courts because of all the people there.
"What's wrong? Are you not gonna eat yours?" he asked, the outside of his mouth covered with mayo and tomato sauce. Hesitant, I took a small bite from the food.
"...It's alright," I said.
"Hehe! That's a win in my book! Another wonder of the modern world that I've managed to get you hooked on!"
"Shut up, — I said, smiling, — I only said it was alright. I'm definitely never making it a part of my regular diet."
***
"Hey, check this manga out! It's called [Fishcake]!" he said, opening a magazine in front of me. We were in a book store.
"What a weird name."
"I know, right? But trust me, this manga is so good! It's about this ninja boy who lives in a world full of child ninja soldiers and assassins! And he has a demon fox sealed inside him!" Milo talked away about his oh so precious comic, and how the child characters in its story were expected to 'patriotically' die for their nation.
"...How does anyone read this kind of thing?" confused, I asked him.
"It sounds weird, I know! But it's super good! The series is really blowing up right now, too! Just last year, the author released the long-awaited sequel manga — where the main character is already a teen! [Fishcake] is, like, in the Top Three of the Weekly Boys Magazine right now!"
***
"So, have you been downloading any songs on my walkman lately?" Milo asked me while we were walking through downtown.
"...I don't think I know any artists or songs that you don't already."
"Dang, what a bummer..." he looked down.
"...Well, I have been listening to a few of the ones you have here," I said to him.
"Really? Which ones did you like?"
"...Was it [Take A Photo]? By 'Filter'? And I also liked [Torn] by Natalia Iadevaia, I think her name was? She has a really nice voice."
"Those are hits of the late 90s. They have a really warm sound to them, don't they? I think we just found out your favorite genre!" he said.
"Who else would you recommend?"
"Hm, I think you would also like the band 'Tone'. They made great songs like [You Wanted More] and [If Only She Could See]. Great group, honestly. Maybe Brit Spear, too? I feel like she would be right up your alley."
***
"Pela, which one do you like better between dogs and cats?" we were at a pet store.
"...I don't like animals that much, but if I had to choose — I guess dogs. They're friendlier than the latter."
"Huh, I thought you'd be more of a cat person. I like cats more, personally."
"What made you think I was a cat person?" I asked him, both of us looking at a grumpy tabby in a cage.
"Uh, I don't know. I guess it's because you kinda act like a cat..." he said casually.
"...What's that supposed to mean?" I raised an eyebrow at him.
"N-nothing! Cats are really calm, you know!"
You're a bit like a dog yourself, Milo.
***
"You've never did any sports in your life? At all?! I don't believe you," he said to me while we were in a public playground, full of children hanging from monkey bars and whatnot.
"Never."
"...I guess some people are just physically gifted from birth. I used to take soccer classes when I was in primary," he said, sighing.
"Why'd you quit? Soccer is good for stamina, right?"
"I was lazy. Just didn't wanna go, haha! Kinda regret that now...I'm guessing your best subject at school is PE then, right?"
"I get good or excellent grades at almost every subject," I said, as the two of us sat on the bench and stared at the laughing children.
"No way! All of them? There's gotta be at least one you're not good at, right?"
"...Well, I guess maybe literature. I don't like being forced to read books aloud for the class...What about you? What's your best subject?"
"...PE," he said, looking away.
"Lazy."
***
We were in some suburban residential district of the city.
"I'm telling you, there's always some weirdo throwing his garbage out of his window in this building. I've seen him do it almost every time I come back from school, and it's always around the same hour, the same day of the week!" Milo laughed as he said to me. We were leaning against a building in the same block as the one he was telling me about.
"...And what's so interesting about this?" I raised one eyebrow at him, my arms crossed.
"Cause! There's always some weird stuff in his trash, I promise you! One time I saw a strange black leather whip, alongside a red gag ball and a black mask! Don't know what he would have that for, though!"
I rolled my eyes, smirking.
"Watch that window, on the ninth floor! I guarantee you he's going to show up soon..." he chuckled, pointing at some high-up apartment with his finger.
The next moment, I saw a fat mustached man — clearly in his forties or fifties — open that very window. His sweaty glistening head was almost completely bald, with only some hair around his temples. He had a huge belly, and was wearing a stained wife beater. Indeed — in one hand, he was holding a large plastic bag full of what I could only assume was garbage. In the other, a brown bottle of some sort of beer, probably.
"See, there he is! Now, watch him drop that bag!"
"I have eyes, you know."
"Sorry, hehe!"
The old man dropped his bag into the alley of the building. Even though there was a big dumpster in that same alley with its lid lifted up, the man couldn't even bother aiming for it. As the bag hit the ground, the two of us saw how it spilled a whole bunch of trash. Funnily enough, the area of the ground the garbage bag landed on already had two or three other identical bags there.
"...You have some pretty weird hobbies, Milo. You even know some random old man's exact garbage-throwing schedule," I made fun of the boy.
"Oh, give me a break! This is the shortest way back home from my school, and it's not like I ask him to do this!"
"...Still, he could've at least tried to get it into the dumpster. What a lazy old man."
"Right? This guy must be a massive pain for this city's noble garbagemen! Anyway, Let's go to the alley!" he said, giggling. The two of us ran to the other side of the road, even though there was no crosswalk.
We would find many strange things, quite a few of them sticky. Pizza boxes, empty liquor bottles, some weird long colorful plastic toys I didn't want to think about.
"Look! He bought a wig! Guess it didn't fit or something, since he didn't have it on just now, haha!" he laughed, pointing at a bag with a picture of a person with long feminine hair.
"I think he bought the wrong one. That's clearly for women," I added, smiling.
"Haha, definitely! Hey, you bald old fart! Stop throwing garbage out your window! You're trashing the city!" Milo shouted up at the building, laughing.
"What was that?! You little shit!" the old man yelled back at us, peeking his head out the window.
"At least get the right wig! Your bald head's shining on our eyes!" Milo continued.
I couldn't help but laugh a little.
"Why, you!" the old man went back in, before appearing at his window again and dropping something right above our heads.
The two of us backed away, as another beer bottle broke against the ground. Its shattered pieces nearly got us.
"Milo, we should probably go..." I said to him.
"Yeah, you're right, haha...You crazy old idiot!" Milo shouted once more, before we ran off.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
***
And so, Milo continued to bombard me with different types of fun, cuisine, fiction, music, and other facets of common modern culture. He would be surprised every time I told him I'd never tried or did some apparently extremely common thing that everybody else did. Sometimes, we'd just walk around different parts of the city, with nothing to do. It was pleasant just talking with him and seeing areas I usually didn't visit. And, of course, we still went to the arcade every now and then.
[PLAYER 1 WIN!]
"Hehe, take that! You may hold the top score on the punching bag and all the other games we've played, but I will never lose to you in Boulevard Brawler!" a familiar cheeky boy taunted me from the machine in front of me, as I saw my character get knocked out in some obnoxious fighting game.
"I don't understand, how are you doing all those combination attacks? And why do you always manage to hit me after blocking my hits? It's almost like your character's just faster than mine by default," slightly annoyed, I peeked my head over to talk back to him.
"It's called frame data knowledge, noob! I'm using safe moves, they always leave me positive! You have to do some studying if you wanna beat me, young lady!" he said, wiping his nose. Cocky jerk.
"Shall we have a go the punching bag again? Or Dance To The Rhythm!, since you're so confident?" I asked him.
"...Nevermind," he sat back down. I couldn't help but snicker a little when I saw that.
***
For those three weeks, I found myself unable to refuse Milo whenever he would ask to hang out. Sometimes, he was a bit too energetic — but that wasn't bad. He never looked at me like them.
...Though, our fun outings wouldn't last long. Three weeks after our previous conversation at the fountain, the two of us decided to sit at the fountain bench again. The park was just as peaceful and relaxing as last time.
"Hey, Pela, mind if I tell you something?" he asked in a voice a bit different than his usual upbeat tone.
"...What is it?" I looked at him.
"...Do you think I'm...Maybe a bit annoying?"
"...No. What makes you ask that?"
He seemed to go quiet for a few seconds.
"It's...It's just that I always get that from people... — he took another pause for a moment, before — I...I don't really have a dad...He died in a car crash during one of his business trips when I was ten," he continued, taking a brief pause after he said those words.
"...When I heard about it, I was devastated. It felt like something in me had changed from that day on. I would be made fun of by some kids for not having a dad, and that would often set me off. I would always get into fights with whoever talked bad about him, and that caused a lot of trouble for my mom.
"...I'm sorry to hear that," I answered, not having anything else to say.
"It's alright. That was a long time ago. Mom had to start working all the time, so that she could put food on the table and support us. On top of having to worry about money 24/7, she would also frequently get called to school because of the fights I'd get in."
I could only stay silent.
"...Though, to be honest, I never really was much of a fighter. I often lost, even though I would be the one start it," he laughed.
"...And me being such an erratic kid obviously made others avoid me. Even if I would try to be friendly and nice, I could always tell that the few kids, who would talk to me, would always be put off by me. I could tell they never really were comfortable around me. I was 'annoying and stupid'. Maybe those kids weren't wrong, though."
"...That's not true...Well, sometimes you can talk a bit too much...But I don't mind."
"Hehe, thanks!" he smiled at me.
"...But I don't know, something about you is different. You are kinda quiet, and a little strange — I was honestly a little scared that you didn't show any reaction to that incident with thugs. And you don't really seem to be the type to joke around a lot. In a way, we're kinda opposites in personality, huh?" he continued smiling.
"I can tell that you're a good person, Pela. I mean, you immediately treated my injuries that day, when those thugs beat me up, haha!" he said.
"...Sorry, that was probably too much of me to say. I'm such a weirdo, just telling you all about my life when we still haven't known each other for that long!" he laughed.
"No, it's fine," I said back.
"...What I'm trying to say is, — he continued, — I'm glad I met you, Pela. This might sound cringey, and I know we still haven't known each other that long...But, you're the part of my day I look forward to the most these days. I hope we can continue being friends from now on. You're basically my first real friend ever, after all!" he showed me his big white grin.
"...I feel the same way," I replied.
The two of us sat in silence, looking at the fountain illuminated by the moonlight...
"And, I was like: 'What the fuck did you say to me, you little bitch?! I'll knock your shit in!" I suddenly heard another boy's voice in the distance. Milo hadn't heard, it seemed.
"Whoa, man! And what'd he do?" another boy's voice said.
"Obviously, he started apologizing to me like the pussy he was, haha! Saying he was just kidding and all that other shit," the first boy responded.
"Man, that's crazy~. I just wanna find myself a cute bitch to hang out with, dude," a third boy spoke up.
I could tell they were in the same park Milo and I were in. They were probably a couple hundred meters or so away from us, but I could hear them perfectly fine. Likely, they were walking behind some of the trees, which was why I couldn't see them. At the same time, I could hear their footsteps slowly getting louder and louder.
"Man, this dumbass! Always thinking about getting your dick wet, huh? What happened to that girl you were with last week? The one with the bleached hair and the huge tits! Fuck, what was her name again?" a fourth boy asked. How many of them were there?
"Huh? Who?...Ohhh, her. Yeah, I don't really remember their names, haha!" the other boy answered.
"What a terrible guy, this fucker, haha! Doesn't even bother to at least memorize the names of the girls he does. Just pumps and dumps, this asshole!" a fifth boy laughed, followed by the laughter of several more guys.
Their footsteps were accompanied by a bunch of metallic rattling sounds, too. Keys? Chains? Weapons?
"What the fuck did you say to me?! Wanna go?" the boy said back.
"Can you idiots shut the fuck up?! We're supposed to meet up with those punks from Cale High at the fountain soon!" another boy shouted.
"...But fuck me. Those losers actually got the jump on Donnie while he was alone! They're gonna pay!" another one said.
"Yeah, I'm really pissed off right now because of that..."
Their footsteps were gradually getting closer from behind us. Simultaneously, from ahead of us, I could hear the faint laughter of another large group. They sounded like more teenage male voices. Was this the other group the one behind us was supposed to meet up with? If I had to estimate by the total voices and footsteps of both crowds, there was easily over twenty people, maybe even thirty — all approaching the fountain.
A dumb high school gang fight? I thought. There was no shortage of shitty men in the world, it seemed. Well, it didn't matter. Either way, I had to do something.
"Hey, Milo."
"What's up?" he asked, oblivious to what was going on.
"Should we head home?"
"Sure. We should get going. It's almost twelve! Man, I really got carried away today!" he asked. When...
"...Anyway, I'm just saying I could really let off some steam right no-" The boys from behind us were already in eyesight. Just as the two of us got up from the bench, we made eye contact with the gang of boys. When had they gotten so close to us, and how had I not noticed? The group was about fifteen or so in numbers, all of them looking to be about the same age us Milo and me, possibly a year or two older — seeing as how some of them had light facial hair.
Each and every one of them was clad in some sort of black clothing, mostly street outfits. Beanies, hoodies all with the same symbol, large harem jeans, dumb metal chains hanging from the pockets. Did all of these scumbags dress the same? Whether they were grown men trying to molest a high schooler, or a bunch of wannabe-tough guy brainless teens, they all wore the same things. These ones weren't as big and imposing as the men from the last incident. Still, they all looked to have athletic builds, probably stronger than Milo.
"...Uh, what's with that large group of guys? You're right, Pela. We should probably head home. Good timing," Milo said to me, his voice much quieter than when it was just the two of us. As we were about to walk away, I heard somebody say:
"Whoa, dude, check her out. Isn't that girl really cute? Think you've found a new one?" one of the boys pointed at me, asking his friend.
"Holy shit. Is she a model or something?" the other boy responded.
"She's cute, alright. But who's the twig next to her? That her boyfriend?" another one said.
"There's no way he is. Just look at him! That dude has to be a fag. What's with those lame bangs? Haha!" another boy with a buzzcut laughed.
Without even realizing, I had clenched my fists. Just as I was about to turn around, Milo said to me without turning around to face them.
"C'mon, Pela. Let's go. Before something dangerous happens again."
"...Right."
Just as we'd gotten a distance of twenty or so steps between us and them, another boy said something.
"Wait, I recognize that girl. Remember when we were at the arcade yesterday? That's the girl I was telling you about! The one with the juicy plump lips, playing that stupid dancing game!"
"Oh shit, that was her?"
"Yeah, yeah! Man, I bet she could 'dance' for me, if you know what I mean~" one said.
"Haha, I'd show her a way better time than the skinny emo she's with!" another laughed.
I thought we were still walking, but Milo suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, turning around immediately.
"What did you just say?!" Milo shouted at them.
"...Huh?! Are you talking to us, gay boy?!" one of the boys took a couple steps toward Milo.
"Why do assholes like you always have to harass others? We didn't do anything to you, we were just minding our business! Take back what you just said about her!" Milo got even angrier.
"Oooh~, look at Mr. Badass over here, guys! Retard thinks he's some movie character or something, haha!" the boy who stepped forward said to his friends, all of whom started laughing.
Milo suddenly walked up to be almost face-to-face with the other boy.
"Take back what you said, shithead," Milo put his forehead against him, the other boy a bit taller than him.
"And what if I don't? What're you gonna do about it, huh?! Fag!" the buzzcut pushed his forehead back against Milo's.
Immediately, Milo punched the guy in the chin, sending him staggering a little.
"...This fucker actually hit me!" he said, touching his bleeding lower lip with his finger.
"You've got some balls, asshole! I was just itching to fuck some loser like you up anyway!" the boy said, before he instantly thrust his right leg out at Milo, landing a kick straight at the stomach.
Milo fell to the ground and started coughing.
"Aw yeah, some action!" another one of the group shouted, as they all rushed Milo. Within seconds, several of them were kicking Milo on his back while he was down.
"Milo!"
I didn't know what to do. The thugs from the night I met Milo were only six, and they were completely focused on him. The boys here had more than double the numbers, and some of them hadn't jumped in. I wouldn't be able to end things quickly or easily, like last time. If I wanted to save Milo, I would have to...
But then...What would Milo think of me when he sees what I really am?
"...You're a freak! Monster! Get away from me!"
I couldn't stop myself from imagining Milo calling me those words while wearing a horrified look on his face.
Just when I thought things couldn't get worse — the other gang that was coming to the fountain from the other direction, was also here. They also looked to be teenagers, but they were all dressed in red clothes.
"Hey! Look, it's the guys from Rockybelt High!" one of the new boys screamed out, a metal bat in his hand.
The guys jumping Milo stopped momentarily, shifting their attention to the rival gang.
"...Man, I just knew these pussies would bring weapons! You fuckers have a reputation for that, after all!" one of the boys dressed in black shouted, before getting a pair of brass knuckles from out of his pockets.
In the next moment, both the red and the black gangs started taking out weapons. Many of the kids had sported things like brass knuckles, metal bats, iron pipes, and other blunt metallic tools.
"You're gonna pay for what you did to Donnie, assholes!" the black gang shouted, before the two groups charged at each other.
Just like that, a massive brawl had broken out. Blood splattered everywhere, as the sound of pained screams and angry cries echoed throughout the entire park.
...This could actually be good! I just gotta get Milo out of the chaos and run away! I thought.
But, in the next second — I suddenly saw one of the boys dressed in red punch a boy in the cheek with brass knuckles, who was kicking Milo. The boy that got hit looked like his cheek had been run through a grater. He started bleeding profusely, his skin torn to the point that the pink flesh underneath was exposed. The boy let out a terrible scream.
Just then, I saw the same scumbag with the brass knuckles pick up Milo by the collar of his shirt.
"You also Rockybelt, bitch?!" he said to Milo, before he wound up his fist to strike Milo right in the face. Milo looked helplessly at the guy in front of him, not able to say or do anything because his body was too hurt from the earlier beating...
*Bang*
*Thud*
When I came to my senses, I saw a large lavender tentacle extending out of my left shoulder. Looking straight ahead, I saw the boy with the brass knuckles. His head dropped down, as he sat motionless against a large tree a little further away from the brawl.
The loud sound of a whip crack caused by the my strike, followed by the loud thud of the boy being sent into the tree, was enough to stop everyone dead in their tracks.
Both gangs, and Milo, all looked straight at me.
"...What the fuck?!" somebody shouted.
"...Get her!" another commanded to everybody there. In the next instant, I saw how well over twenty armed people were all charging at me.
Yet, I couldn't help but take a brief look at the injured boy who was sitting on the ground by himself, who was in turn looking at me — just as shocked as everyone else.
A bat was coming directly to the left side of my head, with several other fists and weapons aimed at various other parts of my body.
More tentacles sprung out from underneath my skirt — stopping all the blows that were coming at me completely. Like hitting a soft squishy surface, all the attacks simply sank into the tendrils.
Before anybody could blink, the same tentacles all wildly swung at everybody who was within a meter of me.
***
Several bodies were scattered across the area. Unconscious in the fountain pool. Hanging off of tree branches. Sitting against trees, fences, lamp posts. Lying on the ground or grass fields around me.
Not having time to think about anything else, I quickly ran to Milo after reverting to my regular body.
"Milo! Milo!" I called out to him, resting his head on my lap as I sat on the ground.
"...Pela..." he weakly responded. It looked like he had received stray hits while he was in the middle of the brawl earlier. A few ribs were definitely broken, and he was bleeding heavily out of what looked to be a cut made on his left eyebrow. The same eye was black. His right cheek was heavily swollen as well. His teeth were stained red.
"Are you okay?!" I asked him.
"...Pela, your right is eye yellow..." he said.
Almost instinctively, I rushed to hide my right eye with my hand.
"...So it was you after all. You were the one that beat up those thugs that day," he continued.
"Hold on. I'll call an ambulance right away!" I said, taking my phone out of my bag.
"...Is this why you're so quiet, Pela? You were hiding this, all along?..." he asked in a soft voice.
A certain, unstoppable thought forced its way into my head when I heard those words from Milo.
It's happened again...Just like that time, and that other time, and the time before that. That little girl, that boy, that teacher, that child's parent, those classmates, and all the others...It's happened all over again. Right when I thought you...No, you're also...
"Freak..."
"Monster..."
"You're seriously creepy..."
"Never talk to me ever again..."
Suddenly, several memories from my past came back to my head all at the same time.
"...Why did you stand up for me in that alley?..."
"...What?..."
"I'm asking why did you protect me from those thugs!?" I shouted at him, not able to contain my voice in the slightest.
"Why did you do something so stupid!?" small droplets of water hit Milo's face, as I dropped my head.
"...Because...My pops would always tell me to help others..." he said with a raspy voice, coughing a little bit. The blood in his mouth must've been causing it.
"So you constantly put yourself in danger because your dad told you to do so?! How stupid can you be?!" I shouted.
"What made you think you would be able to win against several men much bigger than you, all by yourself?! What made you think you stood a chance against a dozen other boys just now?!"
"...Pela..."
"Are you an idiot?! Do you not have a brain in that head of yours?! Why did you get involved with me?! Can't you see that I always draw scumbags like those perverts or these wannabe-gang kids to myself?!"
"..." he simply looked at me, not even able to open his swollen left eye.
"...N-no!...I get it! I get it! You just want me for my body, don't you!? Just like every other one! You don't want to be my friend at all, you liar! You just want to have sex with me, right?! Otherwise, you wouldn't do something so dangerous and stupid just for some so-called 'friend' of yours!" more and more droplets started to hit Milo's face.
"...What?! Did you think you could score with some friendless mute chick that can't speak up?! You men are all the same! A-all you ever think about is that...T-that...Disgusting shit!" I began stuttering, my voice shaking.
For some reason, I just couldn't shut myself up. It all came out, like an explosion.
"...Pel-"
"I-I...I thought you were different, asshole! Why did I think you were different!? You're just gonna leave me like everybody else! Why do I always make the same mistake?!"
He still didn't say anything. Why was he just looking at me?
"...'Friend', hah. Don't make me laugh! We've only known each other for a month! What do you know about me?!" I scoffed at him, my eyes still teary.
"...This is what I am! I'm a freak! A monster! I'm destined to be alone!"
Yet, he still kept quiet. He didn't push me. He didn't get up and start running.
You're like all the others, right!? You are! Tell me to go away! Tell me! Why aren't you saying anything!?
As Milo silently stared at me, I couldn't stop sobbing, and my jaw wouldn't stop quivering.
"...A-and, and what's with you, anyway?!" I continued.
"Why did you tell me your whole life story like some idiot?! You don't just go telling anybody about that stuff!" I couldn't stop the next words flowing through me.
"...That's why you have no friends! You're annoying! You talk too much! Of course people will bully you! You think people will be nice enough to just hug you and comfort you if you tell them about your dead dad?! Well, guess what! I don't have a mom OR a dad! They both died before I even started elementary!...But nobody cared! Nobody!"
He didn't say anything, only looking at me with droopy eyes.
There...Now...
"...But you and I are friends, right?" he said, smiling.
"...Huh?"
"It's true, Pela. People suck. Most of the time, nobody really cares — no matter how lonely you are, or how much pain you're in, or what you're going through. I know that better than anybody else...But what you said about yourself is not true, and you know it," he said, before coughing again.
"Milo!" I called out to him in concern.
"...So what if you're some strange octopus girl? Just that alone doesn't make you some freak. You're super kind, Pela. You giggle at my unfunny jokes, even if it's just out of pity. You try to help me in whatever way you can, whether it's just paying for my coffee or beating up an entire gang," he continued.
"...It's true that I still haven't known you for that long...It's true that I'm stupid for always sticking my nose where it shouldn't be...But I can't stand to see bullies. Why wouldn't I help my friend?"
I sat silent.
"...I don't want to abandon you just because of a few gangster-wannabes...I still stand by what I said earlier. You're actually a super cool person. And you're still somebody I hope to continue being friends with in the future, because you're the first real one I've ever made."
"...And it's true. I am a weirdo. I'm sorry for talking about something so strange like my dead dad when this was our first time meeting. But I did it — because I could tell you were somebody I could talk to about stuff like that. I mean it."
The tears just wouldn't stop.
"...But, uhh- I...I c-can't deny that I definitely think you're the cutest girl I've ever seen though, heh- Ow, ow ow!" he said, his cheeks turning pink.
"...M-Milo!" I called out to him.
"I'm alright. Just the ribs hurting when I laugh...Though, You are super pretty, Pela. But I wasn't lying when I said that I want to be your friend, and that I want you to be my friend."
Suddenly, he fainted.
"...Milo? Milo!"
***
"Another friend, Pela? I wonder if this one's gonna stick around, though," a tall middle-aged man in all black, wearing a strange clerical hat and sunglasses, said. He looked at the park, as he stood on the rooftop of a large skyscraper.
[Chapter END]