Chapter Text
I hid behind my mother, staring at the strange boy trying to talk to me. Who was he? Why was he here? And who was the other man behind him, talking to Mum? I looked up at Mum. She didn't seem afraid. She knew him? The boy waved at me. I moved even further behind my Mum.
"Evan," Mum said, "this is Dil, and his son Dab."
I tilted my head. Dab smiled.
"Go on, say hello," Mum encouraged.
I slowly emerged from behind Mum, and approached Dab. I took a deep breath, and spoke... "S-so, uh... t-triangles?" Dab grinned at me enthusiastically. Could this be the start of a new friendship...?
No. I hardly knew him. He was a stranger.
Terrified, I ran back inside the house.
~*~
Ok Dab, stay calm, you don't want to ruin this new friendship... I thought to myself, as I approached my neighbour and soon-to-be best buddy (hopefully) Evan Pancakes. He looked more nervous than I did, at least.
"So, have you seen that one episode of Donkey Kong where that one dude all like, 'Why is your name Donkey Kong, you're not even a Donkey!?' and Donkey Kong has no idea how to respond?"
Evan nodded and smiled. "I love that episode!" And thus our friendship began. That shy toddler that ran away upon our first meeting had become my first real friend, my BFF for life.
Or so I thought...
~*~
Dab and I slowly drifted apart towards the end of our first year of school. He was always the popular, funny kid, and I was always the shy, quiet kid. He was the cool, artsy kid, and I was the nervous, nerdy kid. He made friends with anyone and everyone, and I joined forces with the few other unsociable kids. We still saw each other at the Howlter family parties and such, but we weren't exactly the BFF's our parents had hoped we would be.
~*~
But, old friends never truly left each other.
Even after the Pancakes moved to Oasis Springs and Evan had to change schools, our families still kept in touch. Eventually, they moved back to Willow Creek, just before high school began, and we were finally reunited as friends.
But what came next shocked everyone, even us. Nobody saw it coming, but, dang, that was the best year of my life...
~*~
~Monday 3rd September 2022~*~After School~*~Evan Pancakes~
"D-Dab?" A boy in the same year as me looked up from his canvas. "Is that really you?"
He looked different from the last time I had seen him. His hair was longer, resting on his shoulders, with a single blue hairlight running through his midnight black hair. He was much taller as well, almost a foot taller than me (we had previously been the same height). However, he had the same goofy smile, the same cheerful glint in his big brown eyes.
Dab stood up, and began to walk towards me. "Evan? Evan Pancakes?"
"Yup, I am indeed Evan Pancakes," I confirmed.
"No way!" Dab exclaimed. "I haven't seen you since... well, I suppose it would have been Mum's birthday party, but even then I didn't speak to you. What are you doing at Willow High? I had assumed you would be staying at Oasis Academy... Have you moved back to Willow Creek? I did see your mum in the neighbourhood a couple days ago but I just assumed she was talking a walk and spying on Dad like usual and-"
"Dab, calm down," I interrupted. "We moved back to Willow Creek, and I'm going to school here now. Honestly, I'm just as surprised to see you."
Dab snorted. "Why would you be surprised to see me? Obviously I would go to this school, since I've always lived in Willow Creek, and you know how much of an art geek I am, so I usually hang out in the art room anyway."
"I-I, well... I j-just... I d-didn't think I would s-see you around school or anything... C-considering I d-don't really want to g-get involved in anything... Or t-talk to anyone... And there w-would be no reason for you t-to talk to me, s-so..." I stuttered.
He simply laughed, and enveloped me in a warm hug. "Of course I'd talk to you, Ev! You're my ol' buddy, I've been looking for an opportunity to catch up with you for, like, five years now!"
I was clearly taken aback by this comment. I pulled away from the hug, and stared at him in disbelief. "R-really?" Don't get me wrong, I found this an incredibly sweet gesture, but... me? Of all people, he would want to catch up, with me? "I-I mean... We've seen each other at parties and stuff, you could have spoken to me then."
"I suppose I could have," he agreed, rubbing the back of his neck, "but at the same time I kinda wanted to catch up alone, y'know? Without all the crazy antics that always seem to happen when Dad is around."
That actually got a laugh out of me. "Yeah, Dil does kinda... Attract weirdness."
"Anyway, we should meet up sometime," he suggested. "Maybe hang in the park sometime?"
I nodded. "Yeah, we should do that. You free at the weekend?"
"Yup."
"Great." I smiled. "Uh, I need to go now. I just came in to get my bag that I left earlier." I quickly stepped over to the other side of the room and grabbed by bag, which was still underneath my chair.
Dab waved as I left the classroom, before he went back to his painting.
~*~
~Monday 3rd September 2022~*~Evening~*~Dab Howlter~
I honestly couldn't believe that Evan had finally moved back to Willow Creek. We used to be such good friends - almost every night after school we would hang out, whether it be at my place or his. And we would stay together until the late hours of the night. It didn't matter, since we literally lived across the road from each other. Sometimes I would stay at his so late I would just sleep over, or vice verse. It came to a point where we would just leave a spare pair of clothes and pyjamas at each others houses, so we didn't have to go home to get our stuff.
It was nice, just me and him, best of friends.
However, when he left, things changed. We were already growing apart. My Dad had just given birth to my younger brother (long story), so I was spending more time at home helping out around the house. Eliza and Bob, Evan's parents, were facing some difficulties in the marriage (I wasn't entirely sure on the circumstances, but I knew something was going on). Eventually, Eliza moved away, and took Evan with her. Bob stayed - my parents were kind of annoyed with this, because we as a family had always been closer to Eliza, but we stayed quiet. It wasn't our business to get involved in.
When I got home that evening, my brother Dalien was waiting at the table to tell me the news.
"Eliza and Bob have gotten back together!" he exclaimed as soon as I came through the front door. He stood up and rushed towards me. "Evan has moved back! We can all hang out again now!"
I smiled and nodded. "I know, Dale, I know. I saw Evan earlier. But... I didn't know the Pancakes were back together. That is great news."
"Yup!" Dale grinned at me. "Dad said he might through a reunion party soon."
"Where is Dad, by the way?" I inquired.
"He's still at work. He told me to come home early because they were doing some experiments, and y'know... they've recently been delving further and further into alien life. He didn't want me to feel uncomfortable, and he definitely didn't want the others to try anything out of me," he explained.
That would make sense. Dalien didn't go to school, so he would usually join Dad at work. Of course, this was sometimes problematic, because Dad worked at some super secret government science place, and Dalien was an alien. That explained why his skin had a blue tint, and why his high-pitched voice would echo wherever he was. Nobody cared that he was an alien - he was just as loved in the family as I was.
"Anyway, Mum is making dinner," Dale informed me.
I smiled, and joined him at the table.