Chapter Text
Bad drummed his fingers on the edge of the steering wheel, frowning slightly at the heavy fog that had engulfed his car and the highway surrounding it. He'd already been driving for 4 hours, and his foot was starting to fall asleep after being still for so long. Rain began to splash on his windshield, and he flicked on the swipers, still trying to peer through the mist. A sign for a gas station appeared, then vanished behind him. Bad glanced down at his gas, noticing it was running a bit low. He turned into the exit, deciding he should get something to eat along with fueling his car.
He parked the vehicle in front of the small convenience store, exiting and taking a moment to stretch and breathe in the sun-warmed air. He had gotten an early start, leaving his apartment at 6am to start his trip.
Bad had once lived in the town he was going to visit, although his memories of living there were extremely blurry, more so than usual. From the few things he did remember, it was a small community on the outskirts of another, slightly bigger, town. He vaguely recalled a skating rink, as well as a classroom. The skating rink confused him. Bad had never been much of an athlete, and he didn't particularly love skating. Maybe something happened there? He wondered, not for the first time as he paid for his sandwich and walked back outside. As he climbed into his car and leaned his head against the headrest, his hand suddenly felt warmer, as if someone was holding it. The sunlight shone through the windshield and onto the dashboard, some dripping onto his hand. He relaxed slightly, knowing it was just the sun. Still, he couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated with himself, for not being able to remember. Sighing, he popped his neck and shifted the car into drive again, preparing for the long and boring ride ahead.
~
He stopped in a driveway, nearly 6 hours later, and double checked the address of the house in front of him. This should be it. The green-eyed man stepped out of his car, leaving his suitcase in the backseat. When he rang the doorbell, it opened quickly, a woman stepping out. They had the same fluffy reddish-brown hair and pointed chin. The woman gave him a warm smile.
"You made it!" She leaned forward and gave Bad a hug. He returned it awkwardly, not used to physical affection. "How was the drive?"
He chuckled nervously. "It was good, Aunt Paula. Thanks for asking." He pulled away from the hug. "Can I bring my stuff in?" He gestured to the luggage in the car behind him.
"Oh, of course! The guest room is right over there." She pointed to a door off of a short hallway. "Do you need help?"
Bad smiled. "I should be fine."
The room was quite cozy, with dark blue walls and white-painted furniture. A double bed with a gray comforter was pushed up against the far corner. Another door led off from the bedroom, and Bad assumed it was a closet of sorts. The dresser was right by the door, a desk and straight backed chair next to that. A few pictures of flowers hung on the walls.
Bad dragged his suitcase into a corner and then opened it. He stared at the clothes inside, then flipped the top closed once again and lay down on the bed, closing his eyes. The drive had been exhausting and he just wanted to rest for a bit. Slowly, the thoughts stopped pinging around his head and dissolved as he fell asleep.
He awoke to knocking and his aunt poking her head into the doorway.
"Dinner is ready, if you're hungry." The smell of chicken hit him, and he scrambled up, rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes and stretched.
"Thanks for coming. I'm sure you had something else to do for the summer." She said after they had taken a seat at the table with their food. "Too bad my back is almost completely useless when it comes to lifting heavy things. Otherwise you wouldn't have had to come." She looked down at her plate.
Bad shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I didn't have anything planned anyway." Not exactly true, he had a few things planned, but he did want to see his grandparents again. Even when he was just a child, he understood that family was the only thing that remained pretty much the same throughout everything in his life, like a rock surrounded by bustling waves. His grandparents needed to move to a senior home, after his grandfather had broken his leg slipping in the bath. His grandma didn't need to move as well, but she insisted that she goes to take care of him. Bad lived about 9 hours away, so he had never visited, apart from when he was 12 and lived there. They finished their dinner in comfortable silence, Bad bringing the plates to the kitchen after Paula showed him where it was.
He returned to the bedroom and closed the door lightly, slumping over and leaning his head against it. A small part of him was nervous. The town was relatively small, and if he did run into someone he once knew, surely they would be angry at him? Had he even made any friends? It was almost as if he didn't. After all, what was the point of being friends with someone if you didn't even remember?
He sighed and walked over to his suitcase, which he opened with his foot and bent down, putting some of the clothing away before pulling out his pyjamas and crawling into bed, tired despite the nap he took earlier.
~
Bad looked up at the fading blue sky, shrouded by a thin layer of cottony clouds. He stretched his arms up, easing the muscles. Bad had been helping his grandparents pack for the last few days, arriving at 10am sharp each day. So far, they had packed down the dining room and his grandmother's cabinet. While Bad did not like packing (it always meant moving again), he had done it many times before and had helped his parents with most of it. He knew how to set up the boxes properly, so that they didn't collapse when you lifted them up, and where to stick the tape. The hardest part had been deciding what to take with them. His grandma, as much as Bad loved her, could be quite indecisive. He sighed, rolling his neck.
A bird flew above him, flapping its small wings. The blue feathers on its head and back reflected the orange-red light of the sunset; a flying flame. It landed on a tree on the other side of the street, where a group of men were passing by. There were five; one wearing a blue shirt with brown hair, who was holding hands with a taller man with blonde hair. The other three had dark hair. The first seemed monotone, somehow. The second had a white headband on. The last boy, who was wearing a cobalt-blue hoodie, caught Bad's eye. Even though he was sure he'd never seen him before, he seemed slightly familiar. The group were talking amongst themselves, their conversation clearly filled with banter as they strode down the sidewalk. Bad stared at them, perplexed, when the man wearing the blue hoodie suddenly stopped talking and slowed his pace just a bit so he was a step behind the rest of the group. He looked up as well at the pinkish-purple sky. An angry expression formed on his face. Even though Bad was across the street, he wanted to back up from that anger. It was fierce and violent, but as quickly as it came, it vanished and something softer replaced it. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but whatever it was, it was better than that searing hot anger.
One of his friends, the one with the white headband, turned around and said something to him. They were close enough that Bad could hear them if he listened closely.
"Are you okay?" The man asked.
"Yeah… yeah. Don't worry, I'm fine. What were we talking about?" They caught up to the rest of the group, out of range of Bad's hearing. He watched them walk away, the man wearing the blue hoodie now looking bubbly again, if not talking as much. Bad turned away, back to the pathway to his aunt’s house, the angry boy still in his mind. Why was he so mad? Is he okay? I wonder what happened to him. He twisted around, but the group had already gone out of his sight. For some reason, he felt like he had seen them before. Maybe I met them when I lived here? He sighed and looked to his right, surprised to see his temporary home. Unlocking the door, he stepped through and slipped his shoes off, calling out a quick greeting. His aunt appeared from the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel.
“Hey Bad. Dinner’s ready.” He nodded and headed to the bathroom. The green-eyed man returned a few minutes later and sat at the table.
“Oh yeah, you don’t have to go to your grandparents’ tomorrow, by the way.” Bad looked up, mouth already filled with food, and tilted his head to the side, a silent question.
She sighed. “Bad, how long has it been since you’ve gotten here?” He swallowed his food.
“Um, I think a week or so? Why?” He answered.
“It has been one whole week that you’ve been doing nothing but helping your grandparents.”
“Well, that is the reason I came here right?”
“It is,” Paula agreed. “But it is still summer. Besides,” She grinned. “Don’t you still have friends here? I’m sure at least some of them are still here. Go hang out with them or something tomorrow. I’ll take over for you.”
“But-” She interrupted him. “No buts. Just go tomorrow. You deserve it.” Her grin faded into a genuine smile. At this point, he wasn’t even sure he had any friends, at least ones that lived in the town. Still, he didn’t want to disappoint his aunt, so he put on a fake smile and nodded.
~
Bad wandered the town, by foot since it was pretty small, and got lost in his thoughts. The humid air stuck to him, making sweat drip down his forehead. Even with the discomfort, passing by some places was enough to pull small memories out, but that just made him more frustrated, having little tiny pieces that wasn't enough to help him figure out the whole picture. A blast of chilly air came from his right, and he looked over to see a couple emerging from a movie theater. He hadn’t realized just how hot he was and how refreshing the cold air was. He quickly stepped inside, breathing in the cold air. The lobby of the movie theater had black walls and red carpet, similar to its auditoriums. Glancing up at the previews of movies, he found one that caught his eye. The bored-looking ticket clerk handed him his ticket and he moved to the correct cinema.
An hour and a half later, he walked back out into the stifling heat, already missing the cool air-condition. Bad closed his eyes against the sunlight, the image of an angry expression etched into the back of his eyelids. He still couldn’t forget it. A silent rage was somewhat of a rarity in Bad’s world. Sometimes he frustrated his friends accidentally even when he tried so hard not to, but they were never just… silent. They would yell at him playfully, then get back to whatever they were doing. A drift of cold air hit his back, reminding him that he was still standing in front of the entrance of the movie theater. As he turned to start walking, he thought he could see a flash of cobalt-blue.