Xander Morrison & Daniel Rothschild
The Stuff was a dangerous thing; and that wasn’t code for some type of drug, either. The horror film was just released last month, where Xander had forced Daniel and his mother - since they were too young to get in but he enjoyed her company since she let him and Niel cut up - to go see it. The young boy instantly fell in love with it, having showed his enthusiasm by constantly nudging and even slapping Niel in the arm, not able to stop himself from whispering in the other boy’s ear about how he recognized how they did this or that, how he could see similarities between the director’s, Larry Cohen’s, previous works and the new movie. Somehow, magically by Xander’s thought process, Niel had gotten him a VHS copy of The Stuff. That was how Xander missed the important meeting at Debra’s house last Friday evening. The Stuff was dangerous because he had gotten so caught up in watching it on repeat, his mother humouring him by joining him in his obsessive indulgment, that he had lost track of time. That, and Niel hadn’t bothered coming over and reminding him, nor did he call him, so he was totally putting a lot of the blame on his best friend.
The only reason Xander realized his slip-up was because Niel had came to his house afterward to stay the night - Xander’s parents were cool enough they didn’t mind the child randomly popping up last minute seeking a place to bed down - and Niel had asked him where he had been. Which led to Xander being confused, and that led to Niel filling him in on the details on the meeting. Xander felt bad, because it wasn’t something he should have missed, but he was partly relieved. Debra’s smelly basement always gave him a headache; he didn’t let it stop him from going there but when he forgot something and didn’t go, or just couldn’t, there was some relief that thrummed through him.
Now, he was packing to go on this short camping trip, his excitement building the more rushed around to get stuff together. Though, there was the matter of what to tell his parents. He couldn’t say he was staying at Niel’s. It’d be too easy for them to figure out that lie. He exactly didn’t want to lie to his mom, either. Niel mentioned just sneaking out if it got too hard, coming up with something, but Xander had immediately denied it. He couldn’t do that to his mother. He’d be
missing a whole night. She would be in a panic and he would never want to cause her that if he could prevent it. At the same time, he didn’t want to tell her what he was doing. While he knew he could convince her - he acknowledged the fact he was spoiled and got his way more often than not - he also didn’t want her worrying an intense amount. But if he said he was staying over at another friend’s house - Debra’s would be the best, since she had not only had an Uncle as a cop, but as the
Chief of Police - then he knew his mother would call that household up to check in. Then again, he would only be staying one night if he went that route, so maybe she’d trust him enough to believe him and not call - until he didn’t show up the next day, which he was sure he was going too. He doubted they’d get lost enough to get eaten by a grizzly bear or taken by the government to become lab rats or something.
He had stared at his school backpack but it seemed like a hassle in the long run; instead, he rolled up his snacks - Shark Bites Fruit Snacks, Fruit Rolls Ups, and Cheez Balls, because junk food was life - his flashlight, and his extra outfit just in case all wrapped in his favorite blanket into his sleeping bag and secured it firmly. He looked down at his Casio Databank Calculator Watch and noticed he had almost an hour to pass before he had to leave for the meeting place. Which he had to go over and see if Niel was packed and ready, and he had to say his goodbyes. Just in case a grizzly bear
does eat them or the government
does turn them into lab experiments, he wanted to make sure he said bye to at least Lovecraft and his mom, since his dad was at work already.
“
Are you gonna be a good snake when I’m gone, hmm?” Xander asked as he took Lovecraft out of his tank, smiling as the milk snake began to curl around his arm. “
I won’t be gone for long, promise. Unless I get eaten… or kidnapped… or I just die. I might, trying to protect Niel from some of the more questionable people of the group.” he rolled his eyes, gently running the tip of his pointer finger down Lovecraft’s head and part of his body. It wasn’t like he hated anyone in the group of friends; just some could be a bit… brash and that wasn’t something he enjoyed. “
But besides that, I’ll be back soon! So be good for mom and dad, okay? Mostly mom, since she takes care of you more… but don’t forget who always takes care of you. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back. I trust you to keep secrets.” he rambled happily before holding Lovecraft up to his face. “
Now give me goodbye kisses, I still gotta stop by Niel’s before going on this secret mission!” after getting a few “noodle kisses” from Lovecraft, Xander returned him to his tank, watching him slide into his home that Xander made himself, before frowning.
“
I’m gonna miss you…” he mumbled and his face lit up with a sudden idea. He yanked open the top drawer of his short dresser, where Lovecraft’s tank sat, and pulled out a tin. He opened the top and looked down at all the shedded snake skins inside; about twenty, since baby milk snakes shed a lot more than adults. “
I’d bring you if I could put a leash on you but we know how well that worked that one time soooooo. I’ll bring a part of you! Kind of creepy but it’ll make me feel better,” he murmured the last sentence, gently digging through the snake skins until he found one that felt like the right one to bring. He put the tin back, tucking it underneath his underwear, before gently rolling the snake skin tighter, making it a small circle. “
Bye, Lovecraft! Love you!” he said excitedly as he carefully slid the skin into his front jean pocket, before he snatched up his sleeping bag by the strap it had and rushed out of his bedroom. Now, he had to confront his mom, and he was still torn on what exactly to tell her. He would wing it, like he did with a lot of other stuff in his life anyway.
He found his mom in the kitchen, scrubbing down a counter. She didn’t glance up as he came in. “Next time your father is off work, I’m going to let the kitchen build up in grim again and make
him clean it,” she said, voice mildly annoyed, but Xander knew she wasn’t angry or anything too serious. She paused in her scrubbing, looking over at him, eyes zeroing in on the sleeping bag, like she sensed it. Or smelt it. Xander had theories she had some scary mother powers that could smell when he was up to something.
Her mother senses were tingling. Xander blamed Niel for him knowing about superhero stuff, since he, himself, wasn’t that into it - he did pretend to be really stupid about it just to get under Niel’s skin. Speaking of powers, his mom also had eyes in the back of her head, he firmly believed that one. “Where are you off too?
Danny’s?” she said teasingly.
Xander puffed up a little. “
I am gonna go to Niel’s but we’re going somewhere else.” he said, trying to fight off a smile; considering he was the only one who called Danny Niel, his mother liked to tease him for it, and it was always hard to act defensive and not amused like he actually felt.
“Oh? And what are you two up too?” his mom asked, ripping off her yellow gloves and tossing them onto the counter to give Xander her full attention. It was one thing that made Xander preen, the fact his mom always rained him in attention, and coddled him when he wanted it. Spoiled little shit, that he was, and he didn’t want it any other way naturally.
“
Uh, well, that’s the thing… you love me, right?” Xander said slowly, shuffling his feet and tilting his head down a little to look at her through his eyelashes, sticking his bottom lip out a little.
His mom immediately frowned. “Xander, what are you up too, seriously? And wipe that puppy dog look off your face before I do it for you. I’m not falling for it.”
Fail. Xander dropped the act with a dramatic sigh. “
Okay, before I say what we’re doing… there will be an adult!” he lied smoothly, bringing his sleeping bag forward to squeeze it to his chest. He didn’t like lying to his mom but he did it plenty enough so he was pretty good at it. “
But we’re gonna go on a camping trip… for one night! Somewhere where the tourists like to go so it isn’t, like, really secluded or something…”
His mother’s eyes didn’t waver from him as her lips pursed, obviously in thought. She turned to start to make herself a cup of coffee since the pot was still fairly fresh since earlier this morning. “Who’s the adult?”
“
Um,” Xander fumbled for a split second, knowing that can make or break this lie, and quickly tried to recover. “
Elizabeth Hart!” the name came out of nowhere, and he can vaguely recall Noah at one time mentioning the name, even overhearing it in conversations between adults. She was supposed to be cool, right? Or he just really messed up supplying.
He began to get nervous over his mother’s thoughtful look before she broke out in a smile. “That sweet thing that manages the drive-thru?” she said, putting sugar in her coffee before sitting at the little table in the kitchen. She kept eyeing Xander, even as she took a sip of from her teal-colored mug. “She’s really going to be there tonight?”
“
Mhm!” Xander nodded, bouncing on his toes in excitement. “
Really! And it’s just for tonight. I dunno what time I’ll get home tomorrow but I’ll be home tomorrow, swear it!” he said, rushing over to hold his fist with his pinky out to his mom, a big grin breaking across his face. His other hand was hidden, fingers crossed, as his mom fondly rolled her eyes and did a pinky promise with him.
“Okay. Just be careful and get home as soon as possible tomorrow.” she told him firmly and he nodded before throwing himself into her chest.
“
’Kay, I will! Thanks, mom, love you!” he shouted as he rushed out of the backdoor, having barely given her time to hug back, and she returned the ‘love you’ with a smile and headshake at her child’s energetic behaviour. Xander ran through his backyard and crossed into Niel’s, rushing up to his backdoor and not hesitating to shove his way in. They had been friends since practically birth; he had never knocked on Niel’s door, like Niel had never knocked on his. Unless it was locked but during the day, it rarely was. The kitchen was empty and, with a grin, he immediately went to the fridge to start digging into it, stealing a cherry Squeezeit. He assumed Niel was in his bedroom so, after twisting the top off the Squeezeit in the kitchen to be able to throw it away, he made his way towards it.
Holy shi - shoot. Holy, uh, cow. Daniel rose from his bed, groggy from his nap, but his eyes wide in alert. He was forgetting something. What was he forgetting? He’d called Xander not too long ago after coming home - they’d stayed up way too late for kids his age - and then went up to take a quick nap. His eyes spotted the clock next to his bedside table and his heart stopped pounding in his chest in order to slow to a nice crawl. Thank God. He had just enough time to round up his things, grab Xander and make a break for it in order to arrive as soon as he could. Maybe be the first - no, that’s not a likely outcome.
Groaning, Daniel gathered a clean pair of clothes, a flashlight, a pair of journals and a whole handful of pens, along with a compass he shoved into his pocket. Never know how useful something so simple could be deep in the woods. The rest went into his backpack and Daniel immediately shot out the door, only to collide headlong with Xander. His immediate thought wasn’t exactly on his friend’s safety and rather the Squeezeit in his hands.
“
Hey! Who told you that you could have that?” Daniel said, pointing and frowning at the offending object in Xander’s hands. He snatched it, took a swig of it, and shoved it back into Xander’s chest. “
Come on, nerd, we’re gonna be late! If we don’t beat Debra then we risk getting called losers!” Danny didn’t bother waiting for a reply, simply dragged Xander down the stairs and into the garage where his bike waited.
Xander totally did
not let out a high-pitched squeak when Niel was suddenly colliding into him. He managed to stay upright, only stumbling back a few steps, and somehow also managed to not let the Squeezeit get shot everywhere from the short impact. He gave a - fake - offended gasp at Daniel’s question. “
This is practically my second home and you dare-” there was no point in finishing, because Daniel decided to grab him and start dragging him downstairs. Not that the other boy minded being manhandled, since Niel was a hands-on type of person, so he had gotten used to it. He simply kept pace and drank from the Squeezeit until two gulps were left. Once they were in the garage, he almost rolled his eyes at himself. He had been so excited, and relieved he got away with a half-truth, that he forgot to grab his own bike. “
Here,” he said, shoving the almost empty Squeezeit bottle into Niel’s hands, “
Gonna go grab my bike, loser.” he only tacked on the loser as a comeback for being called a nerd earlier.
It didn’t take long to retrieve his bike; it was in his own garage, on its side and looking pitiful with the beginnings of rust since he was so rough on it and didn’t bother with the care of it. He was doing circles on it in front of Niel’s house in recorded timing, the sleeping bag strapped tight to his back. “
I’m gonna get old out here if you diddle daddle, c’mon, punk!”
A sleeping bag! That’s what he forgot. Daniel mildly cursed, hopping on his bike instead. Maybe someone would be willing to share. He gave Daniel a pout as he biked passed him and trailed down toward the destination. The ride there was mostly quiet, with Daniel and Xander peddling along side by side. They talked in quiet voices along the way, about recent movies they’d seen - realizing they watched them together - or the comics they read. An entire discussion consisting of why Scott Summers was an asshole finished their conversation and bike ride.
Xander always enjoyed when their bike rides were quiet and slow, not that he’d quite say so aloud. But nonetheless, when one of them didn’t challenge the other into a race or doing something stupid - like build a questionable ramp on the dock Cecil’s, as he claimed it, boat was at and attempt to jump onto it only to fail horribly (at least Cecil was clueless about that little adventure) - the bike rides were slow and steady, with soft conversation that they often engaged in during late nights together. He messed with Daniel at first, pretending to get Scott and Alex Summers mixed up, but he knew who was who, and the conversation consisted mainly of how much of an asshole Scott Summers could be. Though, Xander still liked him, and he wasn’t going to look into the why too deeply.
They found a few of their friends milling about, waiting likely for Debra. Daniel immediately spotted Milly with a pack of smokes and Daniel’s brows pinched, as did the rest of his face. “
Those’ll kill you,” he started, readying up a rant, “
I’ve have newspaper clippings my dad’s got from California saying just what those things can do to you!”
Daniel paused for a moment, looking Emily straight in the eyes. The corner of his lips twitched slightly, “
Ci-gar-rette of it. Eh...heh… you know like ‘So. Get. Rid of it?’ AHA.” Daniel doubled over, nearly tipping his back and face planting into the concrete. He looked at Xander and repeated himself, “
Cigarette of it!” and then turned toward Noah’s arrival, “
Cigarette of it! Oh my gosh, I’m gonna pee myself!”
Sadly, Daniel hadn’t dropped it by the time others trickled in and was still doubled over when Debra came sliding in next to them. He exclaimed one last time, “
Cigarette. Of it!!”
Xander stayed perch on his bike once they reached their group of friends, resting his feet on the ground and leaning onto his handlebars. His lips twitched upwards when he realized Niel was about to get started; he was probably the only one out of the group who could stand Daniel’s rants and puns without batting an eye. He had grown up with it, so his patience level for the other boy was very high. Maybe he was the only one who found Niel hilarious, too, because that boy had the best jokes and puns Xander had ever heard with his own two ears. He did agree with Niel about the smokes Nut-Nut, as he called her, had on her. He nodded his agreement rather than made it verbal. He only got verbal when Daniel made that pun, and he snorted before covering his mouth. But when Niel looked at him, making brief eye contact, and repeated it, Xander ended up in a similar boat as Daniel. Beginning to laugh against the palm of his hand, trying to muffle the sound, but Niel just
had to keep repeating it, and each time, it got funnier to the point he had to drop his hand to grip at the handles on his bike.
“
Stop i-it, you punk!” Xander said, nearly falling off his bike as he leaned too much weight onto one side, almost not catching himself. He did last minute, but it resulted in him having to hop off his bike, where he proceeded to double over, hands on knees, and get his laughter under control. He sucked in a few deep breaths before straightening up and punching Daniel in his shoulder with a wide, toothy grin. He enjoyed Daniel’s company too much, the other boy was always the cause of him having fun. He almost didn’t notice Debra’s arrival, or what she had said, and snorted a bit, choosing to focus on Emily for the moment. “
But Niel has a point. Those are bad for you. How do you get ‘em, anyway? You are fourteen, right?” he said then waved his hand in Nut-Nut’s general direction. “
Nevermind, I don’t wanna know. Your business, blah, blah, but still, they stink. Ci-gar-rette of it,” he totally only said the last bit to be able to repeat Daniel's pun, beginning up another set of muffled laughter against his hand as he fell against Niel in his little fit. Only Daniel could make him behave this way and he had no shame over it.
