Friend Request

June and Sunny sat on the couch together while June quietly clicked through the channels for something interesting to watch. The air had been awkward between them after Ren found her outside with a group of Denizens. Sunny struggled for a reason to speak until something on the TV grabbed her attention.

"Wait, what was that?" Sunny asked as she leaned forward.

"The news?" June asked with surprise in her tone. She clicked back a few channels, stopping when she saw the graying news anchor. A black, oily-looking substance was pictured in the top-right corner.

"Police are still investigating the cases of NEON found in Kast Legari. Researchers are concerned there could be more to this substance than mere addiction. Like many recreational drugs, the effects have included increased appetite and dopamine production. Unlike other recreational drugs, however, sleep deprivation was discovered as one of the symptoms and is the leading cause for concern at this time." The man looked down at the stack of papers in his hand and flipped the front page over. "A small group on social media has come forward recently, hoping to recover from this intoxicating drug. We talk to Kathy now, who's on the scene with one of the unfortunate souls who fell into a life of drugs and crime."

The channel froze for a few seconds until a younger woman with brown hair and a microphone appeared. Beside her was a man who looked to be in his late teens. His eyes were bloodshot, his clothes dirtied and pocked with moth holes. Another man in law enforcement clothing stood behind him, the young man's hands cuffed behind him.

"Kathy here on the scene," the reporter said, looking directly at the camera, "with a young man named Sebastian. He says that a life of highs isn't what it seems and that he only wants to return to the person he once was, stating that he barely recognizes the person he's become." The woman looked at the man. "Sebastian, do you have any words for those watching today?"

"It ain't worth it," he said with a deeper tone than Sunny expected. "I can't *bleep* sleep, man. I haven't slept in *bleep* days. I don't even—"

June suddenly changed the channel.

"June!" Sunny exclaimed. "I was watching that!"

"That's not something I want you to watch," June said with a more dire tone than usual. "Let's watch something else."

A more lighthearted show came on as Sunny wondered more about the NEON substance. If it was such a popular drug, why did it show up around Denizens? There had to be a link somewhere.

---

It felt weird to ride without Sunny by Benji's side. He'd taken to a seat in the back where he could be left alone, the night of the Denizen attack still weighing on his mind. As much as he wanted to know what the eyeball meant, he knew it was out of his hands now. Whatever Ren and the others would find out, he and Sunny would have nothing to do with it. Not after the stunt they pulled.

Benji sighed as the bus pulled up to the school. With his jack-o-lantern beneath his arm, Benji kept to the back of the line. From his experience, he'd learned it was the best way to avoid comments or bullying. The bus driver had intervened once, not because of the words, but because of how loud they were. Benji avoided looking at the driver on his way out.

A light rain sprinkle had many kids running for the front door. Benji didn't mind the rain and maintained his comfortable pace as he approached the school steps. He stopped at the stairs when a familiar wispy voice intruded on his thoughts.

"Benji. We need to discuss our next step," said Kiska. Her sudden presence caused Benji to flinch, nearly dropping his basket. He wasn't sure if he could speak back to her at such a distance. Kiska hadn't exactly been clear as to how her telepathy—if that's what it was—worked.

Benji turned his gaze to the forest line on his left. He couldn't see anything from where he was, but something told him she and G were just beyond that line somewhere.

"I gotta get to school," Benji muttered, unsure if she could hear him. "We can talk at recess."

A pause followed. Just as Benji was about to open his mouth, Kiska continued. "When is that?"

"A couple hours from now. There's a tire swing by the forest line. Meet me there."

"Very well."

For the second time that day, he almost dropped his basket. A sudden force hit Benji across his shoulder, shoving him forward. Benji gasped, catching the jack-o-lantern moments before it hit the ground. A taller kid—probably the one who hit him—snickered to himself and shook his head.

"Dumb pirate's talkin' to himself again," Benji heard him say. His friends chuckled with him as they ascended the steps.

"Shouldn't he be locked up in a looney bin?" one asked before entering the building.

The rain was coming down harder by the second. As the water soaked the shoulders of Benji's letterman jacket, he felt a need to curl up beside a tree and collect his thoughts. Steeling himself, he drew a deep breath and entered the school.

Two and a half hours later, the teacher released Benji and his classmates for their fifteen-minute recess break. Benji grumbled as he approached the forest line, occasionally looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was following him. It wasn't often that recess started late, but of course, there just had to be one kid in the class who wouldn't shut up. A punishment for one was a punishment for all.

Once Benji stood beside his favorite tire swing, he craned over the canopy of bushes and flora to see the back of G's head.

"G," said Kiska. "Turn around. Benji is here."

With a half-snarl, G turned around and settled into a sitting position, his head barely visible over the bushes. G scratched his nose, his gleaming yellow eyes wide with curiosity.

"So… what's going on?" Benji asked, the sight of spilled blood from the night prior still fresh in his mind.

"We would like an accord." Kiska's translucent shape appeared beside G, floating a few feet off the ground. "Considering our circumstances, we believe we share a mutual interest."

Her words were formal and complicated. Benji had to digest their meaning longer than he would've liked. He scratched the back of his neck. "Uhhh, okay? So, what? You want to team up?" he asked, hoping for clarification.

"That is correct," she nodded. "Since you understand us, we think we could become strong allies."

The thought of Sunny crying at home, desperately wishing for answers regarding her father's death, surfaced in Benji's mind. His heart broke at the idea, and as he exhaled, he nodded. "Okay. I'll help." The way he figured it, Kiska and G could do things he couldn't, get into places he wasn't able. To top it off, they were exceptionally dangerous foes. They couldn't make better allies. "What do you need?"

G gestured to his open mouth with one pointy finger. "Ah-ah-ah," he grunted.

"Food?" Benji asked, blinking his one eye.

Kiska giggled. "Yes. As pathetic as it may be to hear, we struggle to find reliable food sources. I obviously don't need food, but G does. We were hoping you may be able to fix that."

"Hmm." Benji crossed his arms in thought. There was an old shed at his house that would be perfect for hiding. Lyro—his father—had set foot in there one whole time since Benji met him. It was more the property of the local spiders than anyone else. "I might have a place you can stay. My dad is rarely home, so you can use my bed during the evening when he isn't there."

"Is that wise?" asked Kiska.

"Trust me. It'll be fine," Benji said with a forced smile. He tried to remain optimistic about his circumstances, but the longer he talked with them, the more he felt he was biting off more than he could chew. "You've been following me until now, right?"

To Benji's surprise, G offered an enthusiastic nod.

"Yes," Kiska added.

"Follow me after school. I'll take you to my house. We can talk more when we get there," said Benji.

"Thank you."

"In the meantime, can you please meet Sunny while I'm in class? I think her phone was taken away because she hasn't answered. If you could pass notes between us, that would help."

"We can do this," Kiska assured him, nodding. "G and I will make for Sunny's place now."

"Don't you need her address?"

Kiska smiled. "We follow you, remember? We know where Sunny lives."

Benji found that equal parts charming and kind of creepy.

"Okay… well, when you're done, meet me at my house with a note from Sunny. If you can do that, then we can work together."

"Splendid," said Kiska, her tone resuming its usual girlish charm.

"See you there," Benji said, forcing another smile before turning on his heel and heading back toward the school. The more time he spent talking to them, the more likely they were to get in trouble. Treading on the line of the forest was already a good way to find yourself watched by the teachers, and he didn't need anyone else breathing down his neck. His heart pounded harder with every second that passed, a tiny voice urging him to get back to class. Despite the anxious feelings he was experiencing, however, a shred of him was glad he could do his part in helping to bring Sunny some closure regarding her father.

---

The journey back to Benji's home was quiet, as usual. Knowing that two strange beings were following him gave him cause for concern, but they seemed to have Benji and Sunny's best interests at heart. Besides… if they had ill intentions, they would've done something by now. Power was not something G was short of.

They saved us, Benji reasoned with himself. I'm sure they mean well.

The rain had stopped, but the dark clouds still loomed overhead. Benji undid the latch on the gate, and the iron squeaked at his push. He shut the gate behind him, throwing the latch back over, and snaked around to the back of the house. Situated against a corner of the brick wall was an old two-door shed.

It was a nasty old thing in dire need of tender love and care. The structure was pocked with spots where the wood used to be painted white, flaked away by the passing of time. Splinters stuck out like porcupine thorns, eagerly awaiting their next victim. To top it off, you couldn't get within ten feet of the shed without running into a spiderweb. The thought of one of those creepy crawlies on him was enough to send a chill over Benji's skin.

Benji cleared his throat and approached the shed. "Hello? Are you guys there?"

The bushes rustled, and a grinning G popped up over the wall.

"Phew. That's a relief," Benji continued. "Were you able to meet Sunny?"

"Yes," came Kiska's gentle voice. "She gave us a note. G?"

G grunted enthusiastically, leaping onto the top of the wall on all fours—like a cat—and jumped over Benji, landing a few feet away. Benji approached while G dug through his hoodie for a slip of folded paper. As Benji reached to grab it, G pulled back and dropped the letter, distracted by a red-bodied insect flying in the air. He snapped his jaws at it, then jumped to catch it with his claws. The ladybug casually flew out of his reach, soaring higher and higher into the air.

"G! I'm so sorry, Benji" said Kiska. "G! G! G, pay attention."

G grunted and blinked twice before reclining on the ground before Benji.

Benji chuckled. So, there was a soft side to that gigantic creature, after all. He plucked the letter from the old tire treads in the dirt and straightened the paper. "I'm okay," Benji mumbled, reading the letter aloud. "Ren and June took my phone and said I can't go to school or use my computer until I've healed. I'm grounded. We have to talk like this. I decided to trust G and Kiska. What about you?"

Benji redid the fold and tucked the paper into the pocket of his letterman jacket. "Thanks, Kiska, thanks, G."

G nodded, his smile widening to show his pearly white cuspids.

"Thank you for trusting in us," Kiska said, appearing beside G. "It means a lot to both of us. We haven't had anyone to talk to in a very long time."

"O-Of course," Benji said, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "Still getting used to it if I'm being super honest."

"I understand. Our appearances must be alarming to you."

Benji struggled for a nice way to say what he felt. Words weren't his specialty, and he often found himself in deeper trouble with every word he spoke. It was easier to stay quiet. Things were simpler that way.

"Is something the matter?" Kiska pressed.

"N-No," Benji shook his head. "Let me help you get into the shed." Benji dug around in his shorts pocket and pulled out his ring of keys for the house. Flipping through them, he stopped on a tiny copper key and motioned for G and Kiska to follow. "Sorry for the mess, but we don't go in here anymore, so it might be super dusty and filled with spiders." Benji undid the padlock holding the chains together, then slipped the chains away from the handles.

Once the chain was off, Benji wrapped his hands around one of the shed's handles and used his weight to pull the door back. The metal screeched from years of misuse but refused to budge. Benji dug his heels into the dirt, and still, the door didn't move. Hissing through his teeth, Benji shook his hands.

"Stand aside," said Kiska.

"Uh, okay."

Benji backed up a few feet, and G approached the door. He wrapped three of his clawed fingers around the loop and pulled. The door slid to the side easily, and the metal screeched again.

"Woah," Benji said with wide eyes.

G sniffed at the air, then waved his hand in front of his face.

"Sorry, you'll have to deal for now." Benji moved to stand in front of him. With no sunlight, Benji struggled to see inside. He wasn't about to risk walking into a spiderweb. "Hey, Kiska."

"Yes, Benji?"

"Can G understand me?"

"To some extent, yes. It's expression that he struggles with. Why do you ask?"

"Over there." Benji pointed to a hanging lightbulb. "It might not work anymore, but do you think G could try and pull the cord? I can't reach it."

"Of course. G?"

"Rah?" G grunted.

"See that lightbulb?" Kiska asked, pointing at the hanging cord. G nodded. "Look under it. Pull it."

"Pull! Pull!" G mimed before walking in without any sense of caution. He reached for the cord and yanked. To Benji's immense relief, the lightbulb came alive, bleaching the room in bright white. G covered his eyes with one hand and backed away. "Bright!"

"Very good, G. Very good," Kiska said, smiling.

The shed looked just as Benji remembered. Tools and home improvement supplies littered the floor and walls. Despite how long it'd been since the shed saw use, the room was still exceptionally organized—a testament to his father's habits, he supposed.

"Well, there's plenty of room to hang out, sleep, eat, whatever you want," Benji explained. "Like I said, you can sleep in my bed when my dad isn't around. You probably sleep outside a lot, huh?"

"Yes," said Kiska, "but we will not impose more than necessary. So long as G can eat, we will be fine."

"Okay." Benji sniffed. "My dad will be home in about an hour. He just comes home to change and goes right back out. I'll microwave some dinner once he's gone and come give you some."

"You are certain?" Kiska asked, cupping her hands over her chest.

"Yeah! It, uh, it'll be fine. You'll see. I'll close up the shed fifteen minutes early, just in case. You can check it out in the meantime. And be careful, Denizens are shot on sight."

 "We shall practice caution. You have our thanks."

Benji was coming around to liking them. Appearances were only skin deep, and he knew that better than anyone. Whatever G and Kiska's reasoning for following him didn't matter. He'd found two new friends, and you couldn't put a price on friendship.

"Hey," Benji began, "sorry to suddenly ask you something after I… just said you could, uh, check out the shed, but, uhm. Could you pass along a message to Sunny?"

Kiska smiled. "Yes. Of course."

---

Benji kicked his legs while he sat at the dinner table, waiting for his father to come home. He leaned forward on his crossed arms and hummed a song from one of his favorite bands.

"Benji?" came Lyro's voice. "I'm home!"

"Welcome back," Benji said, lifting his head and jumping from the chair. The chair squeaked as he pushed it flush against the table. When Benji joined him in the hall, Lyro was putting his damp coat on the rack. "How, uh… how were things?" Benji asked, struggling to fill the air with pointless conversation.

Lyro regarded him, glancing at Benji's shoes. "You're still wearing your shoes. Planning on going somewhere?"

The thought hadn't crossed Benji's mind. To avoid an extra step, Benji thought to keep his shoes on so he could get food to G. He hadn't suspected Lyro would pay attention to such a tiny detail. A sigh escaped Lyro's lips.

"I'll go ahead and start dinner," Lyro said as he walked past Benji.

Benji's heart skipped a beat. "Y-You're staying?" Lyro stopped with his hand on the doorframe to the kitchen. He raised one suspicious brow. "I-I-I mean, it's just, uh, surprising! You know?"

"Hmm." Lyro continued to stare, drumming his fingers along the frame's spine. A few more seconds passed, and Lyro shook his head before entering the kitchen. "Take your shoes off. You're going to dirty the floor."

Benji hissed but did as he was told. He kicked his shoes off by the front door, then quietly slinked into the kitchen. Lyro was already opening cabinets and pulling down cans of beans and tomato sauce by the time Benji approached the table. He put a hand on the back of one chair, an uneasy feeling searing the ends of his nerves. "What's the occasion?"

Lyro stopped, turning to regard him with a raised brow. "A father should make a meal for his son every so often."

Benji didn't disagree with that, but Lyro had a lot of nerve to talk like he had any experience being a proper father. "Only now you want make meals?" He found that awfully convenient.

"I haven't been there for you when I should have," Lyro said, procuring a small tube of turkey from the refrigerator. "So I'm making up for lost time."

Benji frowned. "You think it's that easy." He meant to frame it as a question, louder than a whisper. Instead, it came out like a statement, as if he were trying to wrap his own mind around the idea. "It's not."

"I know."

How could he know? What did he know of being abandoned and left to practically fend for oneself? Countless nights vanished into the wind in hopes that his father would return. The mother who pleaded for her husband sat by a windowsill each day, praying for a man that would arrive too late. The night he found his mother dead, with her arms wrapped around him still haunted him on occasion. Needle marks littered her forearms, dead eyes looked back at him. He'd overheard she died from an overdose. If not for Crowlei, then…

"Sit down," Lyro said. "This won't take long."

Benji took the seat closest to him, allowing his feet to kick back and forth in anticipation. The silence was so thick, it could be cut with a knife. Lyro's piercing stare glanced at him on occasion, and Benji briefly wondered what that was about. True to his word, however, dinner was on the table ten minutes later. Lyro scooped up a helping of the chili he made, and plopped into a small bowl with a spoon. He put a spoon on top, then set it on the table in front of Benji before scooping a second helping of chili into his own bowl.

Benji poked and scooped the chili. Moments later, Lyro sat down with a bag of shredded cheese and sour cream. "In case you want it," Lyro said simply. He began to eat his chili in silence, seemingly uninterested in whatever his 'son' had to say.

Seeing the close relationship between G and Kiska reminded Benji of his friendship with Sunny. She was the only one he trusted, and although Sunny was without parents, he felt a tinge of jealousy that she at least had an amicable relationship with her dad.

He needed answers.

After swallowing his second spoonful of chili, Benji decided to take the plunge. "I need to ask you something."

Lyro hummed as he enjoyed his chili.

"Why did you leave?" Benji asked. "Why did you abandon us?"

Lyro stopped chewing, looking up from his meal. "I didn't want to."

Benji clenched the hand holding his spoon. He hadn't expected it to be so hard to ask. The very thought threatened to overwhelm him with tears. "Liar." When Lyro didn't say anything, he bowed his head. Somehow, refusing to look at Lyro gave him more strength. "I've never seen you cry. I've never seen you upset. I feel like I'm talking to a robot."

"Son—"

"Don't call me that!" Benji spat. "You weren't there when we needed you most. Mom spend countless days looking for you! Praying that you'd come back! Crowlei told me everything I needed to know."

"Then why are you asking me?" Lyro said, his voice monotone. "Sounds like Crowlei explained it just fine."

Although he was too young to remember Lyro, Crowlei had told him how one day, Lyro had just disappeared without a trace. It broke the family apart, and Crowlei often spoke of him with regret in her voice. Now, she too, was missing.

"You don't want to defend yourself?" Benji asked, aghast.

"I see little purpose. You've decided what I am." Lyro spooned another helping of chili, then began to chew. He swallowed. "I understand that what I did was wrong. I'm not going to contest that. All I can do now is make amends."

"You don't sound like you want to!" Benji bellowed. Even at Benji's worst, this man could somehow maintain composure, maintain that terrible voice. This wasn't a man who cared, as far as Benji was concerned. "Why are you even here? Why show up now? Why were you there for Crowlei, but not for me?"

It was no good. Tears fell down Benji's cheeks without mercy. Thoughts paraded in his mind, promising him that Mom would've been fine if Lyro hadn't left. Perhaps Crowlei would be happier, and he could actually have a normal life.

Instead, this soulless husk of a man sat before him, pantomiming good will and promises that would no doubt be broken again.

"You're terrible!" Benji screamed. "Terrible! You just walk back in like nothing happened! Like Mom didn't die! It should've been you! Not her!"

That seemed to draw a reaction out of his 'father,' albeit a minor one. Lyro gaped, and his eyes widened subtly.

Benji pounded his fist against the table. "Answer me this: why were you there for Crowlei, but not me?"

Lyro paused. "You wouldn't understand."

"Why not?" Benji growled.

Lyro averted his gaze. "The situation was… complicated."

"I hate you." Benji's appetite was shot, and he didn't care to have this conversation anymore. Pushing his bowl of half-finished chili forward, he leapt down from his chair and marched up the stairs to his room. Unsurprisingly, Lyro made no attempt to stop him, and even as he marched he could hear Lyro continuing his meal. Like nothing happened.

Benji made his way to his room, then slammed the door behind him. In a fit of anger and upset, he fell forward onto his bed, and buried his face into a pillow.

His muffled cries filled the room as rain began to pelt the window.