Chapter Text
Over the next week, all effects of the strange days that affected Elmore were gone. The news reports of Joe's mother being saved faded out of the news, and the idea of Zach being some local hero faded out of ordinary thought. Life was just as it should be and usually was. But for Zach, the effects of the last few weeks have not yet been dealt with; one major problem still needs to be solved.
"so I just go up and talk to her, right?" Robert said nervously next to a basketball hoop as he looked around it awkwardly, staring at two girls; next to him was Zach, standing smiling.
"yeah, man, it's that obvious," Zach explained. "you said you liked her, and she's lonely. Don't let her outside scare you away. She's really sweet when she wants to be." The last obligation Zach had to fill out was helping Robert with his social life; he didn't expect this to be him asking a girl he liked out. He didn't know Robert liked anyone. Robert liking someone was, oddly enough, not even the biggest twist, as the girl who caught his affection was not conventional, to say the least.
Staring across the courtyard, Zach and Robert would see Tina and Jamie, the two resident bullies of school, eating lunch or at least the lunch they stole from Anton with each other. When Zach heard Robert liked Tina, he almost wanted to warn him, but if anybody can change, Tina Has changed. She was a lot less hostile, sure rough around the edge, but she was great.
"I think I should give up. There's a low chance she'll like me."
"Hey, don't talk like that; you're smart, cool, and one of the best friends I've ever had. You can do it. Besides, getting it off your chest and over with will feel better."
"is that how you felt about Penny?" Robert asked, making Zach
blush a little bit.
"She was basically the one that asked me out, but don't be a coward like me, be a cool guy like you already are."
Robert smiled and then got a face of confidence as he walked towards the girls. He never stopped or turned around.
"I'm so proud of him," Zach said as if he were a mother dropping off a child to go to school. Darwin, who had been standing next to him quietly, only looked at the situation a little amused.
"do you really think she's gonna go out with him?" Darwin said optimistically.
"you have to have faith, Darwin. You have to have faith."
"geez, when did you become an optimist, and will we ever start worrying about that mystery again?"
"Nah, I'm not an optimist. I just got a new look on life, and besides, I think everything will sort itself out in the end," Zach said as he pointed towards Robert.
A tall girl on the bench nearby wearing a lot of dark green camo clothes had the brightest eyes she ever had. Throughout the school, she was known for being super mean and never smiling; right now, she looked happier than ever, like a dream was coming true, as Robert asked her out. Beside her, Jamie just looked annoyed. Jamie and Darwin would be speechless. After a bit of stumbling, Tina's first reaction to Robert's proclamation would be to kiss him, stunning Robert.
The only person who didn't look shocked was Zach, who simply smiled.
Everything was good, and all was back to normal. Maybe even a little better.
A few weeks later
In a brighter Elmore junior high, the entire world looked like it was cell-shaded as a blue cat and walking fish walked out of the principal's office.
"Man, I don't know why he keeps asking us to help the new students. Do we look that friendly?" the blue cat named Gumball said as he walked down the halls, annoyed.
"I think you just need to keep a better head about it. Besides, this guy seems better than Sarah was. The orange fish, Darwin replies.
"OK, but Sarah got crazier and crazier over time. Maybe he's like that." Both Gumball and Darwin would turn around quickly to stare at the new kid. They didn't know much about him, but he looked weird.
"Hey, new kid, are you like a weirdo?" Gumball said rudely as his brother elbowed him.
Rob, who had just stepped out of the principal's office, looked at him, a little taken aback by the question as he simply smiled back. "Nope, I don't know about being weird; I'm just here to, you know, have fun at school and make some friends."
"and that's it?" Gumball said, surprised. Rob would almost look at him nervously as Gumball inspected him more and more.
"is there anything weird with that?"
"no," Darwin said, answering for his brother, "If you want to become friends, we can hang out. Would your parents let us?"
"oh, I don't have parents," Rob said awkwardly as the brothers stared at each other, concerned. Much to Rob's surprise and happiness, Gumball would be the one to step up.
"I'm sorry, man, but if it makes you feel better, you can come to our house and play video games. Just call us your first official friends here."
"that's it?" Rob said, amazed, "You just wanna call me your friend."
"yeah, man," Darwin said honestly. "we can always use more friends."
"or at least another person who could help us fight off bullies. Just one question before we start that's super vital to any future friendship."
Rob looked nervous; this was another universe he had tried, and with countless failures, he was almost starting to lose hope.
"do you write fan fiction, and if you do, do you write fan fiction about real people?"
"um, no," Rob said, confused.
"perfect," Gumball said. "You can come over to our house tonight. You might have to fight our mom for the couch, and our dad will be making dinner, so just be warned. Also, don't freak out if our sister tries to do some mad experiment on you. It's normal."
As the three of them walked down the hallway, Rob started smiling. Sure, everything was not the same. It was very much different. But he likes it. He released a relaxed sigh, letting out a bright smile he had almost forgotten how to do.
"Yeah, this wasn't a mistake."