Chapter Text
“What do you remember from that night?”
“Nothing much, really. It was supposed to be a relaxing hangout with my friends and then we saw it,” he responded with a quiet voice.
The investigator took note of it, “What exactly did you see?”
“We only saw the silhouette, it was huge and we couldn’t make out anything. But it was alive. We knew these kind of things are not to be messed with.”
He scribbled more onto the paper, “What did you do after you saw it?”
“We reported it, told our parents, and then, we went straight home.”
With a click of the pen, the investigator concluded the interview, “We appreciate your cooperation. You may go.”
As soon as he stepped out of the station, his friends immediately came running to him. “Eddy! What happened? Are you alright? Did they suspect you?”
One of his friends, his best friend, Brett was holding both of his shoulders, scanning his face. Eddy shook his head, “No. They just wanted to know what happened from one of the witnesses. Since, we saw the figure.”
“We’re just teenagers, there’s no way we could’ve killed that man!” Hyung said, in a panicked tone.
Ibo shrugged, “I mean, damn, that was no ordinary thing that we saw, right? But do you guys really think they’ll believe us? No fucking way. The police are dumb.”
“Hyung, just calm down. They just questioned Eddy. It’s gonna be fine. Let’s just go home for now, we have school tomorrow,” Sophie rolled her eyes.
“I’ll walk him home. You guys go,” Brett said, already pulling Eddy to the direction of their house. “Don’t wander off to the forest, okay? Call when you guys get home. Let's meet up again tomorrow since the police said they still need us for more details."
They started walking side by side, holding the straps of their backpacks.
“Do you wanna get pizza on our way? We’ll be quick,” Brett asked. He was understandably concerned by his best friend’s state. He hadn’t been talking much since the incident.
Eddy hesitantly replied, “You said we’d go straight home.”
“Yeah, but you look like you could use some good food. I can stay at your house and we can watch movies?”
Eddy nodded at that, “Okay! That'll be cool.”
“Okay. Let’s go. It’s right across the street.”
Tonio’s Diner
“Are you coming to school tomorrow?” Brett asked, taking a huge bite from his slice of pepperoni pizza.
Eddy shrugged, “I don’t know. People will talk about us. We’re already ‘weird’ as it is, then this happened.”
“Hey, we don’t give a shit about them, okay? We have our friends. That’s enough. A little group is always better than a huge, popular one. Besides, I don’t think you would wanna miss the art club tryouts tomorrow.”
“Right.. What about you? Where are you joining?”
“Hmm, I think Science Fair? I’ll join with Hyung. Probably in the innovation sector.”
Eddy nodded, finishing up. “You would fit in perfectly there.”
The boy smiled at him, “You would too.”
After eating at the diner, they continued their way home. When they got in front of the door, Eddy knocked softly, he figured his mother would be near the door during this hour.
The door swung open, “Oh, you guys are finally back. I’ve been worried.”
“Brett is gonna stay for a while, is that okay?” Eddy said, gesturing towards his friend beside him.
His mother nodded, letting them inside, “Of course. I’ll prepare some snacks for you two.” They went upstairs and Eddy’s mom yelled, “Eddy! Don’t close the door, okay?”
“Okay!” Eddy replied, keeping the door at least 3 inches open. Brett frowned, “Why? Why are you not allowed to close the door?”
“I don’t know, she probably thinks we’re gonna do something bad.”
“What, like, drugs?” Brett chuckled, plopping himself down on Eddy’s bed. “I have no idea, she’s talking about it with my sister, too. Whenever Andy comes over, at least.” Eddy grabbed the remote and turned his t.v. on.
Brett paused, “Oh.”
“Anyway, what do you wanna watch?” he asked, handing Brett the remote. “Hm. I keep forgetting to watch this one movie that I wanna watch, so let’s go with that.”
“Is it scary?” Eddy frowned. “If it is, then no.” Eddy knew if they watched something scary tonight, there’s no chance he’s getting a wink of sleep.
“No because I know how you hate horror films,” Brett answered, focusing on getting the tape from his bag. “I just bought this recently, what do you think?”
“Dragonheart,” it said on the title. Eddy flipped it over and his face brightened, “It’s from the same director as my favorite movie!”
“Was it ‘The Rat Pack’ one? You always watch that movie.”
“Yeah!” Eddy went to tv and played the tape. Minutes into the film, his mother came with snacks and two glasses of juice.
After a while, just minutes before the movie ends, they could hear the door from downstairs open.
“Is that your dad?” Brett asked.
“Nah, it’s probably Belle.” That would be later confirmed as Belle dashes inside his room. Brett sat there like a deer caught in headlights.
“Don’t you knock?” Eddy sighed. Belle rummaged through his cabinet of home videos.
She rolled her eyes at him, and replied sarcastically, “Sorry, I interrupted your movie date. I need a movie for my homework STAT.”
Before she went outside the room, she turned around, “Hey, Brett.”
Brett nods once, “Hello, Belle.”
“Tell your brother I am not talking to him till he apologizes.”
The boy just blinked, “Okay? I’ll be sure to tell him…”
“Thanks.”
“Brett, you wanna see my tent outside?” Eddy smiled.
The other perked up, “You finished decorating it?”
“Uhuh. I added the fairy lights you suggested.” he brought Brett to their backyard and he reveled at the sight of the glowing tent with plant decorations all over it. It looked straight out of a fantasy movie. The two boys went inside and Eddy zipped the tent close.
“It doesn’t glow that much right now because it’s pretty bright outside but during the night? It glows so much!” Eddy fixed one of the decorations. The walls were adorned with lights, drawings, stickers, plants, and posters. He also managed to sneak in some pillows and blankets inside to make it more comfortable.
Brett stared at each drawing pasted on the walls of the tent, “These are amazing. Is that one us?”
“Yeah, that one is us. And that one is the underdogs.”
“I love it. Can we hang out here sometime?” Brett smiled, grabbing one of the blankets inside and wrapping himself with it. “Sure thing! We can fit the whole underdogs here. What do you think I should add?”
Brett thought hard, “Maybe some comic books? So we can read while we hangout?”
“I’ll do that.” Before they could lay down, they heard the voice of Eddy’s mom calling from the kitchen.
“Brett, your mom just called, they’re almost here to pick you up,” she informed, holding the telephone on her hand. “Check your things! Also, your friends called earlier while you two were watching, they got home safely.”
“Are you fine alone? I can sleep over, you know.” Brett said, slinging his backpack behind him.
“No, I am fine. I’ll just meet you tomorrow at school.”
“Okay, but just call me on the walkie talkie and I’ll immediately sneak out, all right?” He said, raising his walkie talkie. “Sure, Brett.”
“By the way, Brett, help me think of a name for the tent tomorrow at school, will you?”
“Sure thing, Eddy.”
Brett hugged him tightly before hearing the honk from his mom’s car. He waved good bye before stepping inside.
“Eddy? Can I talk to you?” his mom asked, wiping her hands on the apron she was wearing. Eddy noticed she was doing the dishes and preparing dinner. “Uh– yes. What is it?”
“You know how the police talked to you just this morning, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, it must be better if you don’t let your classmates or any other people in school know about what you talked about with the police. Other than your friends that were with you that night,” she said, sternly but still with a soft tone of voice. “You might get in danger, and your friends too if the news spread.”
Eddy nodded, “I know. Brett also told us that. It’ll freak out more people if they know.”
“Okay, that’s good. Brett is a smart kid,” she grinned.
“He is! He’s always keeping us in order,” Eddy agreed. His mom left his room and he worked on his drawings for the art club tryout. After a while, he heard static coming from his walkie talkie. He picked it up and held it near his ear.
“Hello?” he called. A long beep answered him.
“Eddy? What you doing?” It was Sophie. He smiled, looking down at his almost finished painting, “Working on my drawing for the art club. How about you?”
“Uh shucks. What club do you think I should go to? Everyone already has a club in mind except for me. I feel peer-pressured.” Sophie just transferred in their school last summer. That’s why she hasn’t gotten a club in mind to join.
Eddy hummed in understanding, “I don’t think you should join a club because of peer pressure from us. What hobbies do you think you like? It might affect what club you’ll be interested to join in. Just like me, I like drawing. Brett and Hyung both like science. Ibo is in the Sports Club since he’s athletic.”
“I think I’ll join the photojournalism club. I like taking pictures,” Sophie concluded. “Do you think I’ll get in?”
“That’s good! We like your pictures so you’ll definitely get in. Maybe bring your camera and some of the pictures you’ve taken so you can make the cut tomorrow.”
“Thanks for the help, Eddy! I’ll do that. Over and out!”
“Over and out.”
CLUB DAY CEREMONY
Sign up for the Arts Club!
Eddy stared at the sign and sighed to himself. He was tightly holding the painting he worked on all night. He knew no one from the arts club, that’s the reason he’d been skeptical to join since the beginning. But he figured he had already worked on his painting.
“Eddy?” somebody tapped his shoulder. It was Mrs. Pritchett. “What are you doing out here? Are you joining the arts club?”
He nodded, gulping nervously. “Yes.”
“How wonderful. Come with me, let’s go inside. I am the club adviser of the arts club so you don’t need to worry,” she smiled kindly, patting his head and gesturing for him to head inside.
“No Brett today? Or he’s joining a different club?” He’s gotten used to people finding Brett through him. They’d been inseparable since grade school so he wasn’t surprised.
He shook his head, “He’s joining the Science Fair with our other friend.”
“Oh, I didn’t take him for a science kid.”
Eddy just chuckled awkwardly and sat down on one of the wooden chairs. There were a few people there, already staring at him. If there’s anything he hated the most in the world, it’s people staring at him. Mrs. Pritchett introduced him and he couldn’t pull his eyes off of the floor.
“Oh! Eddy, right? Well, I am Ginny, the president and Blake is the vice president. Would you like to show us your art?” the girl named Ginny started. She had a kind smile on her face that somehow comforted Eddy. “Assuming that’s your drawing.”
He nodded and went in front. He rolled his drawing open and showed it to the whole class. He didn’t expect the others to gasp in unison.
“That’s incredible! You’re a good painter, Eddy!” one of the boys in glasses exclaimed, clapping. The others took turns in complimenting his drawing.
“That really is so good, and for your age?” Blake cheered. “Would you mind telling us the message behind it? Why is the boy in your painting hiding?”
Eddy cleared his throat and stood beside his drawing, still holding it up, “Uh– I think of the boy in the drawing as me. I’ve always felt different from others. And the light shining on the other side represents my best friend, Brett. He’s important to me. I drew this after we hung out.”
Ginny hummed, “I see. Do you mean Brett Yang?”
“Yes uhm, that’s correct.”
“Blake and I are classmates with his brother so we’re familiar with him,” she shared. They arranged their chairs in a circle, learning more about one another to get everyone settled in the club. Eddy felt like he was in cloud nine. It was the second time he felt he belonged. The first being, with his group of friends. He couldn’t help but think he made the right decision to join.
He had fun knowing about the other people in his club, he memorized everything about every single one of them so he’d have something to talk about when they’d approach him.
“Oh Eddy, we didn’t know you had a sister! Who is she?”
“I am not sure if you know her but I am a Chen so, Belle Chen is my sister.” At that, the whole class went silent.
Blake chuckled and broke the silence, “What do you mean you’re not sure if we don’t know her? She’s a popular cheerleader of course we know her! Everyone in our grade has a crush on her but she got with Andy Yang.”
Eddy knew his sister was great at cheerleading as she had been doing it for years. However, she didn’t know that she was this popular among others.
“Sorry if I am intruding but is there something going on with the both of them? They seem to be distant. And you know, everyone talks,” a girl named Sally asked.
He just shrugged, “I guess so. I am not really in close contact with their relationship but it seems like that, yeah.”
The bespectacled boy named Barron spoke, “That’s interesting, Eddy. Did you become friends with Brett because of your siblings?”
Eddy’s mood lightened instantly. He always feels great whenever anyone talks or asks about Brett to him. He likes talking about Brett the most. “It would seem like that but no, we were friends since grade school, even before our siblings dated. So technically, we knew each other first.”
After him, Ginny and Blake introduced themselves. For their final activity, they were allowed to draw together. Their first project was a huge mural about their school that would be drawn by all of them, including their club adviser, Mrs. Pritchett.
While he was having fun painting the library and a classroom, which were assigned to him, he could hear static coming out of his walkie talkie. He always kept it near him in case his friends called. He snatched it and excused himself.
“Yes? Brett?” he whispered to the line.
“Eddy? Where are you? Hyung and I are done with our club. We’re meeting up with the others at the atrium. How about you?”
“Oh,” he muttered, glancing at the clock. He hadn’t realized that school hours ended two hours ago. “I can’t go right now. I am still not done with club.”
“Oh, okay. Can you catch up later, then?”
“Sure, where are you guys heading?”
He could hear the both of them walking through the hallways, “We’re going at the mall. Catch up, okay? And don’t forget to tell me all about what happened today for you.”
He smiled, “Okay, sure. Talk to you later. Bye, Brett.”
“Bye, Eddy.” When he closed the door and turned around, everyone was looking at him. “Who was that, Eddy? Was that your girlfriend?”
He shook his head, laughing, grabbing his paint, “Nope, no girlfriend. It was Brett. He just wanted to check up on me if I need an escape. He knows I am very introverted.”
“Aw, what a sweet boy,” Mrs. Pritchett commented. “You have yourself a good friend.”
Ginny joked, “We hope you don’t need an escape…”
“Oh, definitely not! I am having a lot of fun.”
Mall Plaza
“Brett, quit sighing. You’ve sighed 20 times in a row for the past minute,” Sophie raised an eyebrow, devouring her cheeseburger. “Eddy’s having fun, but he’s gonna join us later.”
Brett scoffed, “Good on you for noticing, Sophie.” Hyung wanted to laugh at how miserably Brett stared out the window.
“Well, now we know you definitely love our company,” Ibo teased.
“Isn’t it nice, Brett? Eddy felt happy for once joining other groups,” Sophie comforted him.
Brett frowned, “When did I ever say I am not happy for him? I am! If anyone should be happy, it’s me. He’s been feeling like an outcast all his life, even though, I’ve repeatedly told him that he has us. So yes, I am happy.”
“So why were you sighing, then?” Hyung interrupted.
Brett dropped his chin on the table, he finished his meal 30 minutes ago. “Is it not normal to miss your friend?” They all looked at him like he had grown three heads. “Now what?”
“You were with him yesterday,” Sophie answered for the three of them.
“So?”
Ibo stood up, “Let’s just get shakes so Brett stops moping around. Maybe we can go to the record store, too. You’re waiting for your favorite band’s record, right? Let’s check.”
Brett stood up, “Fine, let’s go.”
“Guys! Wait up!” Sophie shouted, finishing the last bite of her burger. She’d always been the slowest eater out of all of them.
Louisiana High
“Eddy, thanks for the help, really,” Ginny sighed, dropping the last box on the storage room. “We didn’t wanna keep the others from going home. And you too, but you still helped.”
He smiled, “It’s fine. We’re all meeting up at the art room tomorrow again, right? To finish up the mural?”
“Yep, it’s almost done. We’re putting it up at the conservatory so everyone would see!” Blake said, stretching his arms.
“Thank you guys really for welcoming me,” Eddy said, his tone grateful.
Ginny patted his hair, “Of course, anyone is welcome to the club! See you tomorrow!”
Eddy glanced at his watch and almost cursed, he was already more than an hour late to their meetup! He quickly said good bye to her club-mates and took his bike to go to the Mall Plaza where his other friends were at.
“Brett? You there?” he called on their walkie talkie, continuously pedaling fast to get there quicker. “Brett?”
It took a while for the other line to answer, “Eddy! Are you done with your club?”
“Yeah, I am heading to the plaza now, where are you guys so I can meet you there?” One more turn and Eddy’s already at the mall.
“We’re just getting shakes, 2nd floor. Let’s meet up at the record shop.”
“Okay. I am sorry for being so late, they had us paint a mural but I had fun,” he shared, smiling to himself. He finally reached the destination and parked his bike safely.
“You don’t have to apologize, we’ll always wait for you and I am glad you had fun.”
He smiled, going through the entrance and heading to the record shop, “Thanks, Brett. I am on my way to the record shop. Meet you there. Over and out.” The line went into static mode again and Eddy practically ran to the record shop. When he called his friends, Brett immediately slung an arm to his shoulder and they all went together inside the record shop.
Brett did find his favorite band’s new record and he almost jumped in happiness. He didn’t think twice and bought it, from his savings. He had been saving for the record for a while now. After that, they all bid their farewells and parted ways.
“So, you promised to tell me what happened. Are you gonna?” Brett asked in a quiet voice, as they wheeled their bicycles while walking through the street.
“Well yeah, I showed them the painting I made and they really liked it. The president and vice president of the club are Ginny and Blake, they’re classmates with your brother. I did tell them a lot about you, and us, in particular, that’s because they asked,” he rambled, his eyes almost sparkled.
Brett nodded along, “Wow, cool. Does that mean you painted about us? The underdogs?”
“Uh well no. I painted about just the two of us since I worked on it after you went home yesterday. I just felt grateful having you as my friend that time.”
“Only that time?” he teased.
“Of course not, you tease. I feel grateful for our friendship everyday.”
Brett sighed, “You sure do get along so well with them. They might replace me soon.”
Eddy stopped walking, Brett noticed and he stopped as well. “No one will ever replace you, Brett. Did you think that was gonna happen?” Brett resumed walking and Eddy followed in suit.
“We promised each other no secrets so I admit, I thought about that a little. They told me I looked miserable while I was waiting for you. Which I think was offending but okay,” he chuckled to himself. “Eddy, look, I might seem like a jealous friend but I can’t help but think about it.”
“There’s no way. There’s just no way someone would ever replace you from my life. I assure you that,” Eddy scoffed. “Not even our other friends.” They were nearing Eddy’s home.
Brett stood there in front of their porch while Eddy knocked on the door to their house.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Eddy. Call me if anything happens, all right?” Brett smiled.
“Uhuh. Goodnight, Brett. See you. Get home safely.” his mom opened the window and said hello to Brett before letting Eddy inside. Brett’s house was pretty close so he only had to walk another block from there. Eddy quickly shed his outside clothes and showered, changing into his cozy pajamas.
He quickly did his school works and felt lightheaded afterwards. The boy turned his desk lamp off and went to his bed. While lying down, looking at the glow-in-the-dark stars pasted on his ceiling, he could hear static from the walkie talkie. The familiar static whenever one of his friends called him.
He sat up from his bed and listened. There was a low growling on the other line, but he didn’t hear any of his friends’ voices. Eddy felt a shiver travel down his spine. He pulled the blanket over his head and closed his eyes shut, tightly.
“You’re just imagining things, Eddy,” he repeated the words in his brain like a mantra. He knew that sound. How could he ever forget? It was the sound from the incident. After a while, the growling stopped and Eddy thought it was over. He gently pulled the blanket back down.
He was no longer in his room anymore. Eddy squinted at his surroundings, adjusting his eyes from the darkness. It looked like he was in a forest. He hesitantly got out of bed to walk around and find his way back home.
As he was walking, he realized that every time he walked on the grass, there was another pair of footsteps just behind him but when he looked back, no one was there.
“Am I dreaming?” he whispered to himself, afraid of drawing more attention to him by whatever creature was out there. He kept walking in a straight direction, it was still following him behind but he figured if he ignored it, it would go away and get tired of following him.
Suddenly, his whole body froze as if he was paralyzed from head to toe. He stared in front of him, he couldn’t move a single muscle, not even blink. It was the same silhouette of the creature they saw a few days ago. The same creature that killed that man.
“Edward. You have a gift,” it whispered to him. “Once you find out what that is, I’ll show my true form to you and we’ll work together.” The creature circled him but no matter how hard Eddy looked, he couldn’t make out a single feature of this creature. It was like he was being hypnotized.
“It’s a gift, find it.”
“Eddy! Eddy! Edward!”
“Eddy!” his sister snapped him back to reality. He sat up, gasping for air. He held his chest and was panting heavily. It was a dream, he thought to himself. “What is up with you? Mom’s been calling you for like 10 times. Did you have a nightmare?”
Eddy rubbed his face and ran to the bathroom to wake himself up with cold water. “If you’re not ready in 5 minutes, we’re leaving you,” his sister called outside, shutting his door behind her.
Eddy frowned, staring at himself at the mirror. It was indeed a dream but it all felt real. The texture of the grass, the sound of the footsteps, the cold air touching his skin, and the creature speaking to him. It was as if he travelled to another dimension. He shook his head and quickly got ready for school. For now, school, and then he can think about it.
Louisiana High
He could see Brett already waiting by his locker, leaning on it with a book on his hand. Something about dinosaurs, he assumed. Brett sensed his presence and looked up to greet him.
“Eddy? Are you spacing out?” he tilted his head in confusion when Eddy didn’t answer.
“Meet me at lunch, I have to tell you something,” he whispered in a serious tone. “It has something to do with the incident that happened.”
Brett nodded stiffly, “Okay, let’s meet at the bleachers, then.”
“Don’t tell it to the others yet. I don’t want them to panic. I’ll tell them when I have a clearer explanation of what’s happening with me. I just need you to listen,” Eddy warned.
“Of course, I won’t tell a single soul. You can trust me. I’ll meet you there.” The bell rang and they both ran to their respective classes.