Chapter Text
Stingy sits down at his desk with a sigh, turning on his computer. He checks his e-mails, only to find nothing. No personal messages, no updates on when his 16th birthday presents for himself are arriving, nothing. He sighs and puts on headphones, listening to music quietly.
There’s a sudden knock on Stingy’s door. “Come in!”
Jessica steps in the room with a smile.
“Oh hey, Jess.”
“Hey, Stingy. I’ve got some exciting news!” Jessica smiles genuinely, and Stingy can’t help but grin as well.
“What is it?” Stingy asks, pausing the music.
“Your father sent a message, and he’s inviting you to Paris to celebrate your birthday!”
Stingy furrows his brow and shakes his head in disbelief: “M-my father did w-what now?”
Jessica nods: “He sent George a message telling him that he can pay for the plane tickets to allow you to go to Paris. You could celebrate your birthday together!”
Stingy frowns and crosses his arms over his chest. The young man takes a couple of deep breaths before opening his mouth again.
“He sent a message to George? T-to George?”
Jessica’s smile drops.
“He could’ve messaged me. Even better, he could’ve called! Maybe he should actually talk to his own son once in a while.”
Jessica steps closer to Stingy with a frown: “Stingy, I’m sure it’s nothing…”
“Yeah, if we’re asking how much my dad cares about me, I’m sure the answer is nothing too.”
Jessica tries to reason with him, but with no result. Stingy stands up from his chair and keeps shaking his head.
“I mean, it’s my birthday! He should be the one visiting me!” Stingy huffs.
“Sweetie, he just doesn’t have enough time to visit.”
“Enough time my ass! He hasn’t had enough time to visit me in eight years!”
“Don’t be silly, he has visited many times.”
“Twice a year at best. I think I was 14 when I last saw him.”
There’s a short moment of silence. Stingy breathes heavily and looks out of the window, while Jessica tries to think of what to say.
“I have you and George, I have my friends, I have the mayor, and I have Sportacus. I’d rather celebrate my birthday with them than with my jerk of a dad.”
Jessica shakes her head: “Stingy, I’m sure your dad cares about you.”
“Well, maybe he just doesn’t care enough!”
Soon enough, George steps into the room. “What’s going on over here?” he asks, surprised to find the two arguing.
Stingy scoffs: “Oh great, let’s bring the whole family together! No, wait! We can’t because my dad always has to be on the other side of the globe, taking care of something more important than me!”
“Stingy…”
“I don’t care! I’ve had enough! He has been ignoring me my whole life, and now he has the nerve to ask me to travel far away from all the people I care about, so I could spend time with him! And he can’t even send me a message, he messages the butler! Fine! If he thinks his job and Paris and all that crap is more important than me, he can think that way! I’ll celebrate my birthday with people who actually care about me!”
George and Jessica listen to Stingy with frowns, and they nod. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. We just thought it would make your father happy.”
“And I think it’s about time he’d start thinking about what makes me happy!” Stingy storms out of the room, down the stairs, and out the front door. As he walks away with heavy steps, he texts his friends, and soon enough they all meet up at the treehouse.
Everyone stares at Stingy with frowns as he sits in the corner of the old treehouse. He pouts with his arms crossed over his chest, while Trixie rubs his leg comfortingly.
“You know, Stingy, he’s still your dad. I know he still loves you,” Stephanie says softly, resting her hand on Stingy’s knee.
He looks away with a sigh: “Yeah, well that doesn’t make me any less angry. He still hurt me.”
His friends look at each other with frowns, not sure what to say. Stingy looks down with a million thoughts in his head, but he doesn’t say any of them aloud.
Trixie breaks the silence: “It’s okay, Stingy. You don’t need him. You’ve got us.”
Stingy nods with a faint, but painful smile.
Pixel puts his arm around Stingy and nods. “Yeah. We’re here for you, man,” he says with a soft comforting voice.
Stingy smiles again and leans his head on Pixel’s shoulder. “Thanks.”
Stingy closes his eyes, as Pixel holds him close and the others stay quiet, some of them holding his hand and petting his head.
“Is this a moment for a group hug?” Ziggy asks with a little smile.
Stingy nods with a grin. “Yeah, that’d be good.”
Suddenly, the boy is surrounded by his friends hugging him from every direction. Tears blur his vision, but he tries his best to keep them from rolling down his cheeks. However, one of them falls. Stingy tries to keep the teardrop hidden, but Pixel notices. He lets Stingy wipe the tear on his T-shirt without anyone else noticing.
“It’s okay,” Pixel whispers.
“I know.”
Pixel gives him a comforting smile and holds him even closer.