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Being a social outcast wasn’t so bad, you mused as you shuffled through the halls of Metro City High. You passed your locker, seeing a group gathered a few lockers away. Wasn’t worth it, you decided, continuing to make your way to homeroom. For the most part, you kept mostly to yourself, and people tended to leave you alone. That was exactly how you liked it, to be left alone. But being left alone all the time was...well...lonely, soul crushingly lonely.
Metro City Public High was a large school, and it was easy for you to slip into the back of every class unseen. None of the other kids interested you, and none of them were genuinely interested in you either, with one exception.
The school had its own resident super, the invulnerable and powerful Wayne Scott, or Metro Dude as everyone called him. But Metro Dude was terribly dull, a boring jock type, and not the one who held your attention.
Megamind, the schoolwide mischief maker was far more interesting. He was a blue alien with a quite frankly impressive sized cranium, with the smarts to match. His smartass attitude and machines of mayhem constantly plagued the school. You sniggered, remembering one April Fool’s waking up to see the entire school painted blue. They’d never fully gotten all the paint off, and the school board decided it was cheaper to just paint over it than scrape it all off. Sometimes you’d go peel the paint off the walls to see the blue still hidden underneath.
Megamind sometimes played pranks directly on people he didn’t like, like the time Kevin had opened his locker and have a small ocean of pudding plop out, but you had been spared so far. You sat near each other in almost every class (when he showed up) and you thought there was some sort of tentative comradery between the two of you. Some days he’d even roll his eyes and smile at you if something dumb happened in class, but you’ve never actually held a conversation with him before.
His machines, punk rock attitude and attire intrigued you, but not enough to get over your social anxiety to attempt to talk to him. Besides, being seen talking to the school’s resident freak would risk pulling you out of obscurity.
You sighed, resigning yourself to another day of hell. Entering the classroom, you took your usual seat in the back, slumping down in your chair with another sigh. You were ten minutes early, the other students filtering in, and it was still quiet. Maybe you could get a little nap in before actual class started. You lay your head down on the desk and close your eyes, pulling your hood up to block out the light.
The next period bell rang loudly, startling you from sleep. You had slept through homeroom and all of first period! You hoped you didn’t miss anything important, your grades were already painfully average. With a small sigh, you slung your bag over your shoulder and got up. Most of the class had darted out of the door as soon as the bell rang, but as usual there were a few slower moving students. Metro Dude and his gaggle were already gone, and you didn’t see Megamind anywhere. You sighed again and shuffled behind Lori, who was usually out right before you. She wasn’t much for conversation, but she sometimes shared notes or pens when you asked, which was the closest thing to a friend you had. She smiled tiredly at you as you passed, and you offered the brunette a small wave in return.
Finally out in the hall, you decided to chance your locker again. You wove your way through the crowd of students, flinching back from touching anyone. People mostly shuffled out of your way, which you were extremely grateful for. As you approached, you noticed the area was blissfully clear of anyone. Your locker was mostly empty, you didn’t have the motivation to decorate it like some of the other students did. It simply held your textbooks, which you rarely even used, but you needed your math book for the next period. Most subjects you could easily coast, never needing to study, with math being the exception. Pre-Calc was a bitch. It took you a few moments to remember the combination, you’d just woken up after all, but soon you opened the metal door and ducked down to grab the book.
A series of loud squeaks echoed through the halls. The squeaks were turning into loud thuds and the noises were rapidly approaching. You turned your head, but not quickly enough, something slammed into you.
“Ow!” You yelled, only to have a hand clamp over your mouth.
“Shh!”
Before you knew what was happening, Megamind slid into your locker, pulling the door shut behind him. Right as the door shut, he sent you a pleading look. Or wait, was that a wink? You barely had time to register what had happened before a group of boys blew right past you, shouting angrily.
“He couldn’t have gotten far!”
“When I catch that thing I’m gonna-”
“Which way did he go?”
You watched as they rounded the corner, and waited for their footsteps to recede before you let loose a breath you hadn’t even noticed you were holding. A bubble of excitement rose in your chest. You had just helped Megamind hide! Secretly, you had always been rooting for him, the kids in your school were all class A jerks. Oh! Megamind! You knocked gently on your locker door. There was a pause, and then a stronger knock back.
“Let me out?” His voice came out muffled from behind the door, surprisingly soft.
Wordlessly, you unlocked the locker and opened the door a crack. It immediately flew open, Megamind jumping out. He landed upright on his feet, and took off running in the opposite direction of the other boys. The blue skinned boy turned and waved at you before he rounded the corner, a grin on his face. You watched him go, dumbfounded.
The late bell rang. Shit. Textbook forgotten, you raced to class, heart pounding.
Much to your disappointment, you did not see Megamind for the next few days. Although, rumors of a suspension due to robotic crabs in the boys locker room had you snickering inwardly. You went on with your normal schedule, nothing interesting happening until three days later.
Lunch was your favorite part of the school day. You hated the loud, busy atmosphere of the cafeteria, so you usually ate outside, weather permitting. Today the sky was very cloudy, the dark, angry clouds threatening to unleash a downpour at any moment. On days like these, you would sit on the steps by the door under the covering, waiting and watching for rain. You loved rain, the sounds it would make on the metal awning, the cool chill it brought. To your delight, the downpour started as soon as you sat down. You smiled to yourself as you pulled out a sandwich, unwrapping it and taking a bite.
Your eyes caught movement in your peripheral vision, and you instinctively turned your head. Oh my god, someone was caught in the rain! You squinted, trying to see who it was through the grey but they had a jacket over their head. They were running towards the building, and you simply sat and watched as they approached, noticing a familiar blue hue. He reached the awning quickly, a dark scowl on his face. He was completely soaked from head to toe, his boots caked in mud. Megamind barely spared a glance at you, too busy trying to wring out his shirt without taking it off. His jacket was cast to the side, deemed a lost cause.
“Shit, dude.” You said.
His head snapped up, those impossibly green eyes narrowing at you.
“Shit, dude indeed.” He replied.
You smiled. He turned back to wringing his shirt.
“I have an extra shirt in my bag if you need it.” You offered, already reaching for your backpack.
Megamind’s eyebrows shot up, eyes wide in surprise. He watched silently as you pulled out a plain black tee and held it out to him. The suspicion in his expression hurt you a little, you thought you two had been cool. After a few seconds, your arm was starting to get tired. Then his expression softened.
“...thank you.”
He took it and sat down next to you, not moving to put it on. You continued eating your sandwich, going so far as to offer him a bite. Megamind looked at you like you’d grown a second head. You took that as a no. The two of you sat under the cover, watching the rain. Your heart was pounding in your chest, and your palms were starting to sweat. Why was he sitting here with you? You peeked over to find him already looking at you. He flushed purple--oh my god--and coughed and looked away.
“I heard about the crabs.” You said, “I didn’t get to see any of them, but I bet they were cool.”
You thought he was blushing before, no, now his entire face and neck were completely purple, but he looked at you like you were crazy. After a few awkward beats you were ready to try and retract the statement somehow, but he beat you to it.
“Uh...would you like to see them?” Megamind said hesitantly.
“What, really?” Your entire face lit up, “Can we go now?”
“Of course! Follow me!” He choked, jumping to his feet. He took off into the rain and you gasped, shoving your sandwich back in your bag. You shot to your feet and chased after him, shrieking at the cold. Megamind turned his head and grinned at you, giving out a whoop. Now you both were soaked, and it was the most alive you’ve felt in weeks. Grass and mud splashed beneath your feet, coating you shoes and pants legs in mud.
Megamind lead you around the back to the gym, and he skidded to a stop in front of the back door, mud splashing against the outside wall. You nearly crashed into him, but he swerved out of the way just in time, yanking the door open. He pulled you in and lighting flashed behind you, thunder booming and shaking the building. You both screamed, then turned to each other and started laughing hysterically. He clutched his stomach, doubling over, and you leaned on the wall for support.
It took you a good minute to wind down, lingering giggles being replaced by shivering as you noticed the puddle at your feet. You noticed Megamind wasn’t shivering, he didn’t even seem to be cold. He furrowed his brows upon seeing your body shaking, and you swore you saw a lightbulb light up above his head.
“Oh! You’re shivering! Here, come with me, I’m sure Minion keeps extra blankets or towels in here somewhere.” Megamind said, gesturing for you to follow. He walked over to the bleachers, dropped to his knees and started crawling right through the wall! You blinked rapidly, surely there was some water in your eyes or something? You wiped your glasses with the edge of your sleeves but just managed to smear them.
Megamind stood up once he was inside, turning to address you, only to notice you weren’t there. He called your name, and poked his head back out the entrance. You looked apprehensive, and for the millionth time he was considering how wrong this could go. None of his other school mates had ever been as nice to him as you were, and today you had shown him two acts of kindness. His bar for friendship was very low, and you had gone far above the minimum. He hoped this continued to go well.
He smiled and beckoned you with his hand, nodding in what he hoped was an encouraging manner. You shuffled close to him, sneakers squelching with each step. Once you got close enough he went back in, quickly glancing around for something you could dry yourself with.
“Aha!” He spotted a pile of neatly folded towels in the corner, and grabbed four of them just to be safe.
You stuck your arm into the illusionary wall first, before crawling completely in. Megamind pulled you to your feet and shoved several towels in your arms.
“Thank you.” You looked for a place to sit, and gasped quietly. Megamind had built his own little lab right under the bleachers! Beakers full of bubbling liquids were lined up on a table facing the far wall, and several machines in various states of repair were scattered about the small area. Spikes and blue were the prominent theme here, and several machines with blinking lights kept catching your attention. You wrapped a towel around yourself and just stood in awe.
Megamind coughed awkwardly, watching you. When you didn’t run screaming, he took it as a good sign.
“This is my... Cave of Isolation ,” he mumbled the name quickly and continued, “It’s just my little shool hideout, I only keep small experiments and inventions here. The reason is, of course, if anyone where to discover it besides myself, nothing of great value would be lost.”
“Small?” You breathed, eyes fixed on what appeared to be some sort of large...launcher of some sort. He called these his small inventions? What the hell do the bigger ones look like?
“Yes! But ah, you are here to see my Evil Snippers! Snippy, Crabby, come on out. We have a guest!” Megamind called his robots with a flourish, the effect literally dampened by his wet sleeve flinging water. You waited. After a few moments he sighed.
“I’m sorry, they’re just shy.” He apologized, dropping to his knees by the table. “Snippy, Crabby, come on out. Don’t embarrass daddy, haha .”
You raised your eyebrow at that. It was quickly forgotten as you heard small tink noises, like metal tapping on the ground. Megamind let out a small noise of triumph and he stood up, a small, blue robotic crab in each hand. He held them out to you eagerly, awaiting your reaction. You cooed. They were adorable little things, with big claws and big black eyes. They both had little mohawk spikes, but the first spike was broken off on one of them.
“Can I hold one?” You blurted out.
Megamind looked like he stopped breathing.
“You certainly can, but I’m afraid they might..ah, snip you?”
You held out hour hands. He put his hand next to yours, and the crab climbed right into your waiting palms. You felt like you were holding a small puppy or kitten, it was so tiny. It’s eyes were little cameras, you marveled, and its robotic legs had joints just as seamless as a real crabs. It seemed to regard you curiously, poking you with its larger claw.
“Wow,” You breathed, and Megamind was looking at you like you had the stars in your eyes. You didn’t notice, too focused on his creation.
“Which one is this?” You asked.
“That one is Snippy. Crabby is the one with the broken spike.” Megamind repiled, absentmindedly scratching Crabby’s shell around the spikes.
“Hi, Snippy.” You said, reaching up with your other hand to pet the top of the crab like Megamind was. It seemed to like that, leaning into your touch. Your heart melted. “I think it likes me!”
“It seems that it does.” Megamind hummed, biting his lip.
Nobody ever marveled at his inventions before besides Minion. Megamind sincerely hoped this wasn’t a trick, then he’d get to show you all his other, cooler inventions. Snippy started crawling up your arm and you laughed, wet hair clinging to your forehead. Megamind smiled and for the first time in years, he didn’t push the hope welling up in his chest down. Maybe you would be his friend after all.
“Would you like to start meeting me here for lunch? I noticed you always eat alone, it’s always nicer to eat with friends you know.” He blurted out before the courage could leave him.
You beamed at him.
“I’d like that.”