Chapter Text
The cold, wet grass hugged his arms as he lay. It was probably the only thing enjoyable about this moment, even if it didn’t bring that much joy. Rocket stared into the sky with streams of salty water running down his face as the grayish cloudy mess of clouds slowly started to fade.
Was this death?…
As the crimson started to spread against his torso, his lips began to quake. With the gear piercing into his stomach every breath he took was sharp and painful. Coughing up blood whilst laying on the Earth’s floor felt like drowning in a dark ocean whilst being alone. Everything was beginning to go quiet now. Rocket lifted a shaking hand closely towards his face with every ounce of strength he had left, all that looked back at him was red. Everything was red. Crimson. Dark. Painful.
Rocket had assumed he’d just die sooner or later due to the intense throbbing of his head and his limbs beginning to go numb. Then a dark shadowy figure began to sprint towards him whilst limping ever so slightly. It was all a blur that Rocket couldn’t quite translate. Before the figure reached him, everything went black.
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Dinner for Sword was usually very quiet. Venomshank didn’t talk about his day very much and Sword was either too busy eating or yapping his dad’s ear off about some bug he found outside or something along the lines of that. But today was different. Sword stared at the plate in front of him, green beans and slightly burnt steak staring back at him. Untouched. Venomshank definitely noticed his lack of consumption and conversation. He didn’t question it.
Little did Venomshank know that Sword was debating whether or not to ask the question that’s been plagueing his brain for the past week. Maybe a week and a half, he didn’t count. He cleared his throat a little too aggressively before scooting his plate slightly forward.
”Hey dad? I just wanted to-um ask you if I could like…” Sword was kind of just stumbling over every word in his terribly planned sentence. Venomshank looked up at him, glancing over to his mask and back at his son as he tried his best to use the skill taught to him when he was around 5.
”Can I go to public school? I just you know…feel kind of lonely almost?” His thumbs began to idly tap together as he awaited his father’s reaction. The two of them just stared at one another for a while, tension so thick you’d need a chainsaw to cut through it.
…
”Why?” The question wasn’t given quickly, but it was said rather quickly. Venomshank continued to eat whilst Sword tried to piece together another sentence without sounding like an idiot. Which was harder than it sounded.
“Well I just feel like you and Sisyphus being my only acquaintances is kind of um, sad?” The two both blinked at each other before Venomshank sighed and stood up. He gently placed his plate in the sink and began walking away from the kitchen.
”If it’s what you want, Sword.”
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1 month later…
The walk to school was only about a block or so from Sword’s residence which made the trip bearable. But the only thing that wasn’t bearable about this trip is Venomshank insisted on Sword walking with Sisyphus on the way. To be quite honest, he thought public schools was his shot at independence but really it was just another setting for his dad to watch his every move.
”Ok Sisyphus I have to actually go into the building. I don’t think birds can join me.” The dark crow gave a scoff before soaring away, turning the corner to where Sword’s house was. It was time to give this whole public school thing a shot. With a deep breath and hands clenching his backpack straps, he walked into the gray and bricked building.
As soon as Sword walked in, there was students everywhere he turned. On the stairs, leaning against the lockers, standing on the lockers?, walking to class…kissing. It was almost like the high school movies he’d watched as a kid, only there wasn’t a popular kid trio. Sword decided the best course of action was to make it to his first class without being late. English.
He felt confident as his back thumped next to him. Sword knew English was one of his top subjects when it came to school so there were no worries. Everyone began to settle, eyeing the knew kid out for mere seconds before continuing their normal lives.
The teacher walked in with a name tag stating they were a substitute.
”I know it’s already been a month, but we still haven’t found a new English teacher for the class yet.” For some odd reason the whole mood of the classroom seemed to shift when there was a mention of no new replacement. Maybe they just liked the old teacher Sword assumed. Everyone began to return to the old atmosphere before any mentions of teachers.
Rest of the day went smoothly. Sword didn’t get lost once! He met teachers, talked to a few classmates, and ended up sitting alone during lunch. Other than that, Sword thought he had a pretty good day overall. But as he made his way through the hallways, it felt like someone was watching him the whole time. No one was there though. Sword shrug it off as paranoia and began to walk home.