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It was Oswald's first day back at school after his final encounter with the yellow rabbit, and he wasn't looking forward to dealing with the stress of teasing on top of everything he'd just went through.
When he entered the school, however, he was not greeted by Dylan or any of his friends teasing him for his name. In fact, he couldn't seem to find Dylan anywhere.
He didn't think much of it, figuring the bastard was probably just home sick or playing hooky.
However, when he went to the bathroom during first period, he would quickly find that this wasn't the case.
The one stall in the bathroom was shut and, from within, he heard crying. More interestingly, though, it almost sounded like...
"Dylan?"
"Go away" the crying boy dismissed. Oswald rolled his eyes. A part of him did want to just leave Dylan to cry about whatever was bothering him, but he also knew he'd feel guilty if he did that. So, instead, he crouched down and crawled into the stall, trying to ignore how gross the ground was under his hands. "I told you to go away, Ocelot"
"Why are you crying?"
"What's it to you?" Dylan bit back, avoiding the question.
"Because, unlike you, I actually care when others are upset"
"I told you to leave"
"I'm not leaving" Oswald told him firmly. It was then that he noticed the kid had a black eye. "How'd you get that?"
"I walked into a door"
"Dylan, you have better reflexes than most of the people in our grade" Oswald deadpanned. "What actually happened?"
"...My dad"
"Your dad did this?" Oswald asked, horrified. Dylan nodded solemnly. Suddenly, things made a lot more sense. "Is that why you're so mean to people?"
"If I'm a bully, then no one gets close enough to me to hurt me" Dylan said in between sobs. Oswald frowned.
"But then no one gets close enough to you for you to have real friends, either"
"I don't deserve real friends"
"Maybe not if you're a bully, but I'd like to be your friend" Oswald said, almost shocked as the words left his mouth. Did he really want to be friends with Dylan?
The bully smiled.
"I'm sorry for making fun of you"
"I accept your apology" Oswald sighed. "And, hey, if you still wanna call me a name, then how about Oz? You know, like The Wizard of Oz"
"That sounds a lot better..."
Maybe it was the fact that he desperately needed new friends, or the fact that his perspective had changed after his near-death experience with the yellow rabbit, but Oswald and Dylan became fast friends following this.
And, even better...
Dylan wasn't a bully anymore.