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Even when he was just a little kid, back when he played in the creek with Mark, Barry, and Kenneth, he never felt a little different. Those were his friends and they hung around him, even when he cried about how the seams of his socks shifted. Kenneth always offered a pair of seamless ones with a toothy grin, and David usually felt okay enough to look him in the eye to give his thanks. They would always go right back to playing after that, whacking each other with sticks and tossing pebbles into the water.
David always went home slightly sunburnt but happier than ever. His grandma might fuss at him for refusing certain food sometimes or threaten to take his toys if he didn’t wear a shirt, but he had his friends. He felt like a normal little kid.
Now he was a dorky highschool junior with a bad slouch and even worse social skills. Kenneth had disappeared and he was left with Mark and Barry, the three of them turning to D&D to fill their spare time. David ended up getting a little sister named Anne the last time his dad came to visit, he brought her to the creek every day but she mostly ignored him and his friends in favor of eating dirt. Most of the time he didn’t blame her. He rambled a lot about his interests at home.
It was just supposed to be another day at the creek, another day to sit under elder rock with his friends and enjoy their company. They weren’t playing a game, no creek competitions, no plans whatsoever. He just had time to read whatever book he wanted and mess around with polishing his helmet. Everything was supposed to be good, so of course it wasn’t.
He’d barely managed to get under the rock without snagging his helmet, scuffing up his hands and elbows in the process. Then, Mark decided to tell him that they were going to play an impromptu one shot and he’d left all of his dice at home. It was too hot under the rock and his hoodie was getting too warm, his hair was touching the back of his neck in the wrong way and now there were kids screaming about some war they were in and it was just too much to process.
He had no chance to even try to calm himself down before he was dragged out of the rock, helmet getting knocked off in the process. The little warrior girl was yelling so loud that he couldn’t understand a word of it, their leader was rummaging through his bag and everything was clinking together in there. Just when he was about to go back under the rock to actually collect himself, Barry put a hand on his shoulder and he lost what little bit of composure he had.
David took off through the trees in a desperate attempt to find somewhere that was quiet. He could hear the others calling out after him but he didn’t slow down, not even bothering to try and stop the tears from flowing. He was too hot and it was loud and everything was touching him-
He’d yanked his hoodie and shirt off before he registered it, tugging off his slides and socks next. He was at a part of the creek that the kids usually avoided, the water was a little too deep for them to stand in. He didn’t hesitate to slosh into the icy water, ignoring the way it seeped into his bones and focusing on the fact that it made his body feel like he was weightless. He was up to his chest when he could hear voices shouting for him. They were getting closer. Just when the world finally started to take pity on him and slow things down, he was being screamed at from the bank.
“David, that water is freezing cold, you have to get out. You’re going to get sick,” Barry scanned the ground, looking for a way to grab his friend while also staying dry. “You’re going to get frostbite! We’ll have to amputate your feet!” The little warrior girl held onto her bird while yelling. The leader of their trio was fretting around and trying to figure out a plan, the tallest running in circles and screeching. Mark just stripped his jacket and shirt off too, stepping out of his shoes and socks.
“David, I’m coming in. Barry, get the kids away.” David just whined and sank himself lower, the water was just above his shoulders. He could hear Mark gasping at how cold it was and Barry gently leading the kids away. All that was left for him to focus on was the sounds of nature, the cold, and the fact that Mark was getting closer. The thought didn’t bother him, like Mark was some kind of safety net meant to pull him out. He was a warm body that could hold him and soothe him like he desperately needed. Mark wasn’t bad, his brain was just being stupid. Again.
“I’m right behind you, splash once if you can hear me.” He’d never heard his friend be so patient before. He whined again and gave the surface of the water a light splash. “Okay, alright. Okay. Can I touch you? Splash once for yes and twice for no.” David splashed once after a heavy pause. He felt Mark’s hand cautiously rest between his shoulder blades, barely warm enough to notice until his palm was flat against skin. The hand stayed as Mark moved to stand more at David’s side. He watched his friend fidget with his fingers under the water, tracing them up and down, tapping them together. “Hey, David, can I hug you?” He didn’t bother to splash, instead turning to bury his head into the crook of Mark’s neck.
Mark squeezed him a little closer and ran the hand that wasn’t on David’s back through the hair on the nape of his neck, resting at the base of his skull. Mark was warm and steady, something else to ground himself with. David could feel the stress from the entire day wash away, floating down the creek to be someone else’s problem. He could feel the heat from Mark’s skin, the steady beating of his heart, every breath that made his chest puff out just a little bit.
He couldn’t tell how much time had passed when Mark shifted them a bit to stir David back to reality. “We gotta get out of the water, you’re actually going to get sick, Davie.” He let out a long breath through his nose and pulled his head away, not having registered the pet name. “Barry’s on the bank waiting for us, he brought you a blanket to dry off with.” He just hummed, suddenly very aware of the fact that he couldn’t feel his lower half.
Barry was waiting, just like Mark had said. He had a small smile on his face and a blanket stretched out for David to take. “I grabbed what I had in my car. I put your helmet and stuff in there, we’re gonna go to my house.” David nodded and climbed onto the bank, shivering while trying to dry himself. He heard Mark get out of the water and dry himself off too. “The kids are back to doing whatever they were doing before. I grabbed your stuff and sealed the rock back up, my parents aren’t home so we get the living room.” “Thank you Barry, you get him to the car and get it warm, I’ll find Anne.”
David was halfway through sliding on his shirt when he noticed that the material felt too itchy for his liking. He was on the verge of tears, trying to shove it over his head, when Barry stopped him. “Hey, I brought you a different one. You can even have my hoodie, it’s softer than yours.” He let Barry take the cloth from his hands and slide a shirt over his head. He felt the hoodie get pressed into his hands, purposely halfway inside out to show the soft lining. “Is this gonna be okay? I, uh, I also brought you pants.” David nodded and moved to dress himself.
The walk back to Barry’s car wasn’t nearly as long as he would’ve thought. Barry kept a firm hand on his back, guiding him through the brush. David’s eyes never looked up from the ground, fingers tracing one another again. “I know you don’t wanna talk, but do you feel any better?” He only nodded. He did feel a bit better, now he was just exhausted.
It took only a few minutes to warm the car up enough to be comfortable. Mark joined them not long after, soggy blanket wrapped around his shoulders. The music was soft, it was one of the playlists that Mark had made and shared with them. Between the newfound security of the car’s warmth and the soft music handpicked by his friends, David drifted off for the ride. He only woke up when Barry was lifting him from the seat like he was a princess in a Disney movie. He didn’t bother fighting, he was tired and it felt nice anyways.
He was set down on the couch and handed a blanket and a throw pillow. Barry left to go to the kitchen for snacks while Mark made himself comfortable beside David. “Anne is gonna catch a ride home with one of her friends. She has my phone number and yours, just in case.” Mark didn’t look at him, keeping his eyes on the TV to find a good movie. David was thankful, he didn’t think he could manage someone watching him.
Barry came back soon enough with drinks and a few snacks. He took a seat on the other side of David, handing him a water bottle. David drank it without question, he never really felt thirsty or hungry but Mark and Barry always made him consume something. Judging by the time, he probably missed breakfast and lunch, and he knew for a fact he hadn’t drank anything since waking up.
Halfway through The Princess Bride, David tugged Mark and Barry closer to him. They both understood immediately and shifted to sandwich him. He felt like he finally had his voice again, now that he was safe and comfortable. “I’m sorry.” And he really was, he’d made quite the scene and caused a lot of problems. “Dude, you don’t have to be sorry. It’s just the way your brain works.” Barry leaned his head to rest it on top of David’s. “Yeah, it’s not the first time you’ve gone into sensory overload. I’m sorry we didn’t notice it until it was too late.” Mark copied Barry.
David sat in thought for a moment. “What do you mean?” He kept his eyes on the screen, following Princess Buttercup and her journey to be with her true love. “You know that you’re autistic, right?” Barry shifted beside him, grabbing another water to hand to David. He frowned. “No I’m not. I’m just not smart.” It was Mark’s turn to move. He cleaned his glasses with his shirt. “Your mom got you tested when you were like six. She gave you to your grandparents because she knew she couldn’t take care of you in the way you needed. You show most of the major symptoms too.”
He ended up looking up autism in people his age and was genuinely surprised. “So, it’s not normal to be upset when I have to eat eggs? Or when I have to wear those dumb shirts for gym?” Barry ran his fingers through David’s hair before setting his arm over the back of the couch. “No, and it’s okay. You’re just wired differently.” Mark handed him a bag of animal crackers with a soft smile. “We love you regardless, you’ll always be our friend.”
David felt his heart squeeze, it didn’t matter that he wasn’t like them. He felt loved and cared for, safely squished between his two best friends.