New Fic: Butterfly Effect Part 5-6

[chaps1870]

Chapter Five

John must have dozed off at some point because he woke with a terrible crick in his neck. The kid was still sound asleep, so John left him. Checking the time, he shut off the alarm and wandered to the window, scratching his belly as he peered out. A grin emerged at the amount of snow that had accumulated over night. Nope, no school today. Hurrying out of the room, he turned on the radio to verify his suspicions then went back to bed.

Waking up around ten, he noted the kid was still asleep and was tempted to wake him. He shrugged it off and wandered to the kitchen. The smell of food should get him moving. The kid stumbled in a half hour later, dressed in his own clothes. His face was red and puffy, evidence of the night before and kept his head down as he sat at the table. John put a plate of bacon, eggs and potatoes in front of him and sat down with his own meal. Conversation was put on hold further as the kid ate with his usual gusto. John was only half way when the kid finished. Pointing to the stove, John smiled, “There’s more if you want it.”

The kid jumped up and started to refill his plate then hesitated on the second spoonful of potatoes. Seeing the warring thoughts on the kid’s face, John waved his hand. “Finish it up. It’ll just go to waste if you don’t.”

The kid filled his plate with the leftovers and John watched as he ate, barely stopping to breathe. “Slow down, kid. It’s not going anywhere.”

Fork in midair, the kid blushed and mumbled with a mouth full of food, “Sorry.”

“I believe the proper response would be screw you.”

Mouth sputtering, the kid reddened further, “Excuse me?”

John shook his head, waving his own fork to emphasize his point. “You gotta be tougher if you want people to leave you alone. Hiding out and keeping quiet hasn’t done you any good. You gotta get an attitude if you want to survive. I know it’s in you. You’ve got a sharp tongue, use it.”

The kid snorted, “Before or after they cut it out? In case you haven’t noticed they are much bigger than me.” He shook his head and eyed John like he was crazy as he shoveled in more food.

John stood and grabbed his empty plate. He thumped the kid on the head on his way by. “Use your brains, kid. Figure out a way to stop them, so they don’t mess with you.”

“And you’ll come to my funeral when your idiotic advice falls flat?” quipped the kid.

Seeing the wheels turning in the kids head, John smiled, “Sure, what are friends for.”

The kid dropped his head on the table, “I’m a dead man.”

******

That afternoon when the kid insisted on leaving, John gave him an old coat and tried to pawn off several hand-me-downs but the kid refused. He couldn’t afford to have too much in his tiny hideout. John relented, admitting the kid had a point. Scrounging the garage he found an old sleeping bag that he refused to take no for and smiled when the kid took it without arguing.

The drive was quiet, the streets all but empty. John’s dad would have had a fit if he’d known John was out driving on the snow covered streets, but the kid was determined to go, even if he had to walk.

“I wish you would reconsider. You’re gonna freeze out here,” said John as they sat in the empty lot at school.

The kid shrugged, “It’s not so bad with the snow. It’s a nice insulator.”

“My dad will be gone in a couple days. You can stay with me.”

“You don’t have to. You’ve already done enough,” said the kid meekly. He moved to get out and stopped, “Look, I appreciate what you’ve done but you have to promise me you won’t do anything at school.”

John’s hands tightened on steering wheel as he clenched his teeth, “I’m not afraid of them.”

“If they see you with me or even talking to me, it’ll just make it worse. Why do you think no one talks to me? Just promise me…please.”

The look the kid gave him was pleading and stubborn at the same time and John finally nodded. “I won’t promise, but I’ll try to mind my own business…at school. How’s that?”

“I don’t understand why you’re doing this.” He looked at John with shining blue eyes, “but thanks…for everything.”

John shrugged and playfully slapped the kid’s arm to ease the awkwardness. “Come on. I wanna see where you live.”

Embarrassment flashed across his face and the kid shook his head. “There’s nothing to see. Besides, I’m going to have to go the long way around so nobody sees the tracks.” He gestured to all the snow.

John didn’t want to hurt the kid’s pride any further. “Okay.”

The kid sighed quietly and got out of the car, grabbing his backpack and new sleeping bag. He hesitated, then stammered a final good bye, “I’ll…uh…see you…tomorrow.”

Nodding, John watched him leave. He sat in the heated car and smiled when the kid kept looking over his shoulder to see if he’d gone. John waited until he was safely inside the equipment shed before driving off.

*********

True to his word the kid didn’t even act like he knew him, but John saw the surreptitious looks cast his way at lunch. Bill and Gary both hounded him about joining them after school, but he begged off. Pushing off their annoyed looks, he left with them anyway. On his way past the kid, he tossed him his lunch sack and winked, “Throw that away, kid.”

He knew it wasn’t the best approach, but the kid refused to take any food from John yesterday and would be hungry. His dad always fixed enough, hoping his son was actually eating it. It was always too much and John knew the sandwich, apple and granola bar wouldn’t go to waste. By tossing the kid the bag, he’d kept his promise even if John felt horrible treating the kid that way. Hopefully the food would make up for it.

By math class he was feeling even worse for the way he handled it. When the kid entered class, split lip and all, John felt even worse, but the kid just glanced his way with a quick look that showed his gratitude. John wasn’t sure whether to feel relief for being forgiven or angry that the kid had taken another beating. He couldn’t protect the kid every hour of the day and was gonna have to teach him to defend himself.

He stalled as class let out and slipped beside the kid as they left the room. He asked out the side of his mouth, “You okay?”

The kid nodded quickly and darted down the hall. John was a little hurt until the kid turned and smiled over his shoulder when he deemed the distance between them safe. John grinned back and went to his last class of the day, preoccupied with finding a way to get supper to the kid without being too obvious. He spent the first few minutes of class cramming for a test then breezed through it, leaving him time to think on the problem.

Driving home, he still hadn’t come up with anything and finally gave up with the subtle approach. He stopped, picked up a pizza and drove back to the shed. When the kid didn’t answer he left it by the door and drove back home. He was a little unsettled by the disappointment he felt in not getting to talk to the kid, but with his dad home he couldn’t risk hanging out waiting for him. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t figure out why this one kid brought out his protective streak the way it did.

************

If John thought he’d kept the kid’s promise not to interfere, it all went to shit the next day. It all started out innocent enough with John tossing the kid his lunch again. Instead of backing down, the kid came back with a snide remark, “I’m not your personal slave, flyboy.”

John looked back at him in surprise, noting the tension in the kid’s posture as if he was waiting to be hit or ridiculed. John smiled and any insecurity the kid was feeling seemed to disappear in a sigh of relief. Curious to see if the kid could play it out, he countered, “Flyboys are Air Force. I’m an Army brat.”

“Probably a good thing, I’ve heard the Army will take any one.”

The kid wasn’t backing down, but John’s friends were trying to drag him out and he had to concede defeat. Too bad. John was actually enjoying the banter even though he did his best to look annoyed for the benefit of others.

John lingered near his locker waiting for the lunch bell to ring when he spotted the kid come out of the lunchroom. It was only seconds before the jocks converged, snagging the kid’s lunch bag. They held it above his head, teasing him and John saw red. He’d seen the kid hungry, seen his ribs against pale skin and stealing the kid’s lunch was the final straw. John stormed up to the group and growled menacingly, “Give it back to him.”

“Back off Sheppard,” said Drake, waving the bag higher. “This ain’t none of your business.”

Drake flinched when John stepped closer, his eyes dark with fury and his voice was low and threatening, “You just made it my business.”

One of Drake’s thugs laughed, “What? Genius boy here your new boyfriend?”

The kid began to panic, his whole body twitching nervously as he looked between the two combatants. He grabbed at the bigger of the two, protesting, “I don’t even know him.”

“Hands off, cocksucker.” Drake backhanded him, sending him sprawling. The kid sat up, dabbing at the blood at the corner of his mouth.

John grabbed Drake’s wrist, twisted his smaller frame and had the big man’s cheek pressed to the floor and a knee in his back before he even had a chance to react. Those watching, stood open-mouthed, too stunned to move.

Lifting his head he glared at the kid, “Get out of here.” The kid swallowed hard, but didn’t move. John barked, “GO!” The kid flinched, scrambled to his feet and took off.

Turning his attention back to Drake, John leaned over and spoke with a cold and calculating coldness in his voice. “Leave the kid alone.”

Even with his face plastered to the floor, Drake snapped back, angrily, “You’ll pay for this, Sheppard.”

John grinned but those that witnessed it saw no humor and he twisted the arm in Drake’s back a little higher. “I don’t think so. You see I really don’t care what you say about me so your threats are meaningless and I’m pretty sure I can take on any one of you.”

“You’re an Army brat. You won’t be around forever. Your kind never are,” spit Drake, trying to struggle but helpless under John’s grip. “You can’t watch every minute of the day.”

“True, but someday you’ll push him too far and you’ll be the one crying.” John let him go and moved away. Tilting his head, John flashed him a cocky grin, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Drake was seething and John held his worry in check. Don’t let them see you sweat. He’d screwed up big time and he knew it. The worse thing was he could protect himself, but Drake was right, he couldn’t protect the kid 24/7. He needed to find the kid, warn him and apologize for his stupidity.

He searched through his next class and when he didn’t find him, John hoped the kid had made it to class without running into trouble. When he found him already at math class, head bend over his desk, John knew he was too late. Ignoring everyone, he went straight for the kid and nudged him gently. “Hey.”

“Go away,” muffled the kid, refusing to look at John.

“Let me see,” John insisted, tugging at the kid’s arm. Reluctantly, he lifted his head and John swore under his breath, “Damn. I’m sorry.” One eye was swollen shut and heavily bruised and there was a cut on his left cheek. The kid started to drop his head, but John grabbed him. “Come on, let’s go.”

The kid tried to refuse, but John was bigger and practically dragged him to the door. The teacher crossed his arms and glared at them, “Where do you think you’re going?”

John stood up straight and growled, “I’m taking him home. If you have a problem with that, too bad.” He stalked to the board erased a couple of calculations and fixed them, “You can work on that while I’m gone.” He walked out, his hand gripping the kid’s arm tightly as he stormed down the hall.

Fingers scrabbled on his hand, trying to remove it as the kid said angrily, “You promised me!” Free of John he stomped away, still fuming, “You are stupider than I thought if you didn’t see this coming. Do you even think before you rush in to play the hero? Did you even consider that I might not want your help? I wasn’t trying just trying to protect you, you know. Did you honestly believe they would leave me alone because you asked?” The kid tried to roll his eyes in frustration, but winced as the pain flared across his face. He glowered at John before snapping, “Just…just go away. I need to figure out how to convince them to spare my life.”

“Maybe you should put some ice on that,” said John, pointing at the kid’s eye.

“Thank you so much for the medical advice, Dr. Sheppard.” The kid pushed him away and stomped off. John didn’t follow, thinking the kid needed some time to cool off.

*******

Of all the possible things John could come up with that the kid would do, he never would have guessed he would rig the locker of every single one of his tormentors to release the foulest smelling liquid known to man when opened. He practically busted a gut at the sight of students gagging and holding their noses. They were very unhappy, and John looked around frantically for the kid. It was a great joke, but likely not one that was going to go over well. John wasn’t expecting to find the kid leaning against the wall, arms crossed and chin held high in defiance as he waited for shit to blow up. John sidled up next to him and spoke out the corner of his mouth, “You should probably think about…oh, I don’t know…RUNNING!”

The kid shook his head, “No. This was your idea so my death will be on your head.”

John looked incredulous, glancing over his shoulder nervously, waiting for someone to realize who was responsible. “What? I told you to douse them with skunk piss?”

“Yes… sort of.” The kid reached in his pocket and pulled something out then gazed at John and said earnestly, “Whatever happens you have to promise you’ll let me handle it.”

The kid held a little black box. John couldn’t see it clearly, “What is that?”

“The means to an end. Now, promise me you won’t interfere.”

“But…” John started only to be cut off.

“No. Just shut up. You made this my fight and now I have to do this. Go somewhere else if you can’t control your hero urges. Someone has to protect you from yourself.”

John frowned. “Where did the shy, quiet kid go?” He sulked away, before turning back, “Oh my god, you’re one of those multiple personality people and this is the evil, power-tripping identity.”

The kid held up his hand when John tried to move closer than ten feet and hissed, “Stay!”

Taking a deep breath, John crossed his arms and leaned into the wall, looking all the world like he was holding it up. He pouted, “Fine.” Just as John suspected, it didn’t take the victims long to figure out who was responsible. When they advanced on the kid and himself, John politely pointed a finger at the kid, “Take it up with boy genius over there.”

The kid flashed him an evil glare, “Thanks.”

John sneered back, “My pleasure.” His smile faded and his body tensed when Drake’s biggest buddy had the kid up against the wall, his feet well off the ground. The bell rang and the hallway cleared, leaving only the two groups. Well, John and the kid and the group of Joe jocks.

“You little shit. You think that was funny,” snarled the big hulking jock.

The kid was trembling as he held the black box up out of reach. “Put me down.”

“Fuck you.”

The kid stared him down and said with shocking vehemence, “No, FUCK YOU!” and he pushed the button.

A loud thump could be heard outside and the kid dropped to the floor as they all rushed to the window. After several minutes, crowd turned back, numb. Drake looked at the kid then his friend and said in total disbelief, “He blew up your car.”

Before the big guy could tear the kid apart, the kid spoke up, fingering the box nervously as they towered over him, “Yours is next, Drake. I suggest you and your friends back off. If one person beats on me or is anything but polite from now until say…” He paused then added emphatically, “FOREVER, your car is toast.”

Drake anxiously held back his friend, “No, don’t touch him. Something happens to that car and my dad will kill me.”

His bulky friend jerked away and advanced on the kid. John was ready to step in when the kid’s eyes darted to the rest of the group, “After his, yours are next.”

The rest of the group jumped in and held the big guy in check. The kid stepped closer and said with conviction, “That’s why you don’t mess with a brilliant scientist!”

John grabbed the kid and left before things got really ugly. They managed to maintain a walk until they were around the corner than they looked at each other and took off running, not stopping until they were outside.

The kid was bouncing around John, his face filled with delight as he gleamed, “Did you see that? I was amazing!” The kid’s hands flew as he re-enacted the whole thing for John, his smile never fading.

John shook his head, grinning from ear to ear at the kid’s enthusiasm. It was the first time he’d seen him so animated and full of life. It was pretty cool seeing the fourteen year old shining through instead of the tired and weary kid he’d first met. He playfully pushed him towards the car, “Remind me never to piss you off, kid.”

Chapter Six

The kid’s personality changed that day from shy to exuberant and there was no holding him back. John treated him to lunch and watched as he ate three hamburgers with fries like they were the best food on Earth. Burger in one hand, the kid talked around a mouth full of food, “Even if I die tomorrow that was so worth it. The looks on their faces was priceless.”

“So you’re gonna grow up and be the mad scientist, I take it?”

“I prefer brilliant scientist,” said the kid smugly. “I’ll have you know that I have a free ride to Northwestern.” His grin faltered and he glumly set the burger down.

“What’s the matter, kid? That sounds like a pretty good deal.”

“It’s a great deal. It would be even better if I wasn’t here or college wasn’t across the country.”

John felt for the kid but didn’t know what to say and motioned for them to leave. As they drove around town, John asked, “How did you manage a free ride?”

“Genius thing and the CIA.”

“Huh? What does the CIA have to do with a 14-year-old going to college?”

“I built a working model of a bomb in sixth grade. Seems that’s a big deal in their world. After convincing them I wasn’t a part of some terrorist youth group they took an interest. Northwestern has a great astrophysics program and I just have to get there.”

“You’ll get there. It’s still a ways off.”

“Six months.”

“Huh? You’re a senior? That’s just wrong,” said John, frowning. He added with a discouraged sigh, “I’m seventeen and can’t get through chemistry.”

“I could help,” beamed the kid, enthusiastically.

“What’s the point?”

The kid frowned, “You want to go to college don’t you?”

“Not really a requirement for the Army.”

“You’re easily the smartest person I know, outside of myself of course and you’re going to waste that going into the Army?”

John looked confused, “What do you mean the smartest person you know?”

“Oh please, I’ve seen you in math class. I’m very observant. If you can do that then you’re not an idiot.”

“We move too much to keep up. I do enough to get by,” shrugged John, unused to being complimented about his intelligence. He’d spent years trying to hide it, so he could fit in.

“So you’ve decided to join the Army rather than do something meaningful with your life.”

“There is nothing wrong with the Army. My dad’s in the Army,” John said defensively, surprised to find himself supporting his dad.

“I didn’t say there was anything wrong with it…for some people. You could do more.”

John sighed, “My dad thinks it will make me a better man.”

The kid looked at him and asked, “What about what you want?”

Staring forward, John said wistfully, “I always wanted to fly, be a pilot.”

“In order to be a pilot you have to be an officer. To be an officer you have to go to college. Funny how we keep going back to that.”

“Shut up, kid.”

The kid looked hurt, but kept quiet until the silence gnawed guiltily at John. “Look, my dad expects me to join the Army, I’ve never had the nerve to tell him I don’t want that.”

The kid laughed, “Well what’s the worse that can happen? You think he’d kick you out?”

John thought about it. They might end up getting mad and yelling at each other, but he had to admit that he really didn’t think his dad would kick him out. He looked at the kid’s smug look. “It really doesn’t matter. My grades suck.”

“You have a year left. With your math talent, you do good your final year, do good on the ACT and you can go where you want, trust me.”

“I don’t know. I’d still have to tell my dad and right now we are actually getting along. I’d hate to ruin that.”

“Well nothing says you have to do it all at once. We can start by letting me help you with chemistry.”

John raised a brow. “We?”

The kid beamed, “Yeah…we, flyboy.”

******

Their days changed after that. John took lunch for both of them and the kid actually allowed him to eat with him. The jocks kept clear and any others that thought to take a hand to the kid were quickly discouraged. The kid still watched over his shoulder alot, but was on the whole much more animated and talkative. John would join him after school at the library or they would go to his house, depending on whether his father was home or not. On the nights his father was gone, John cooked, making sure the kid got his fill. After two weeks of regular eating, the kid was filling out some and looking less like a holocaust victim. Gary and Bill were history.

They sat huddled over the kitchen table, eating while the kid tried to explain chemical formulas. “Look, it’s not hard. You have to look at the valences.”

“The plus and minuses?”

The kid rolled his eyes, “Yes, the pretty little pluses and minuses. They have a name. Say it with me…va-lence.”

Head resting in his hand, John mumbled, “Why am I looking at them?”

“They are how you balance the equation. When you combine chemicals the valences must balance, it’s what makes for a stable bond. Hydrogen has a valance of plus one. Oxygen minus two. If you want to form a stable bond, you have to have two hydrogens to balance the minus two of oxygen.”

John sighed his frustration. “Isn’t there an easier way to do this? Can’t I just memorize the equations?”

“You could memorize but that wouldn’t actually be learning it would it?” said the kid sarcastically. He paused in thought and tried again, “Look, just think of it like you do a math equation. The chemical symbols on one side of the equation have to equal the symbols on the other side. If you have two oxygens on one side you have to have two on the other. It’s like algebra. You have to figure out how many of each chemical you need to balance the equation. By knowing the valence you know how much of each chemical is needed to make the bond stable.”

Something clicked in John’s brain with the kid said math and he gazed down at the paper and thought X and Y and suddenly it all made sense. Picking up the pencil he worked a problem and brightened as the kid smiled.

“Do another one, flyboy.”

“Why do you call me flyboy?”

The kid frowned, “I’m hopeful it will impress upon you and you’ll do something meaningful with your life. You want me to stop?”

“No, it’s cool.” John flashed him a lopsided smile, “I kinda like it.” He went back to the problems, finishing them easily. “Damn, why didn’t somebody just say so in the first place.”

“I’m sure they were simply trying to make your life miserable by not explaining it in Sheppard terms.” The kid ducked expecting to be thumped and then ended up laughing when John couldn’t keep a straight face.

After a month John couldn’t believe he’d made it through 12 years of school without the experience of having a best friend. He’d had friends in the past but no one had ever made him work at it so hard or made it so much fun.

His grades were as good as they’d ever been and he didn’t feel the least bit uncomfortable hanging out with the kid. He made learning seem like a thrill, like a treasure hunt. John discovered the kid had a tongue like quicksilver and only the bravest could walk away unscathed but had John biting his cheek to keep from laughing out loud.

After a couple of weeks of agonizing every time he dropped the kid off at the shed, John introduced him to his father and lied through his teeth so the kid didn’t have to go back to the cold shed. When John asked if he could spend the night, his father just shrugged and said sure, whatever. If the kid spent too many nights at John’s house while his father was home, he’d go to the library and John would leave his window open a crack so the kid could sneak in. He was always gone in the morning. The kid didn’t mind. It was warm.

His father never asked why the kid spent so much time at the house and John suspected his father liked the fact that the kid was a good influence on his son. He still hadn’t worked up the courage to tell his father about the flying thing.

John marveled at how little the kid knew about just being a kid and set about teaching him. They played John’s Nintendo until all hours of the morning trying to better each other’s scores. They spent time out playing in the snow, having snowball fights and sledding until they were both sore and bruised. They sat in the movie theatre for two days, gorging on popcorn and candy while John watched Top Gun over and over. They laid on the roof in the middle of the night, freezing their asses off as they learned the constellations. When John told him about the money he was saving for a motorcycle, they poured through every magazine they could find looking for just the right bike.

When Sheppard senior informed John he was being transferred and they’d be moving in two weeks, John went to his room, slid to the floor and cried.

************

The kid looked up at him, blue eyes shining, trying hard not to let the tears fall. “This really sucks.” He turned his back and scooted closer to the bed, resting against it and effectively hiding his face from John, who sat on the bed.

John leaned forward, his elbows on his knees and sighed, “Yeah it does.”

“When?”

“Two weeks.”

The kid’s shoulders slumped and he dropped his head, an unmistakable sniffle audible in the quiet room. John closed his eyes for a moment then dropped a hand on the kid’s shoulder. A sob escaped and the kid bolted, scrambling to his feet and was out the door before John could react. He grabbed the nearest thing at hand and threw it across the room, “Fuck!”

It took him an hour to work up the courage to seek the kid out. The shed was dimly lit but he knew the kid was there. He really had no place else to hole up in. Shutting the door, he stood in the silence until the sound reached his ears, giving him a direction to go. The shed was crammed full of equipment with small semi-clear paths to various piles. He moved forward and after half crawling through a maze of sport gear, he found the kid in the far corner curled up under the sleeping bag. Pulling his long legs up, John sat beside the kid. “Hey.”

The kid gave a muffled response, “How did you get in?”

John shrugged, “I wasn’t always a saint. I jimmied the lock.”

“Privacy be damned,” huffed the kid from under his cocoon.

“Come out of there. I can’t talk to a lump,” teased John, nudging him.

Wiggling out of the bag, the kid leaned against the wall, and pulled the bag around him. He said sullenly, “What’s there to talk about? You’re leaving and I’m staying. End of story. You might even call it the story of my pathetic, miserable existence.” He pulled the bag up around his shoulders and sniffed, “You should’ve just left me in the snow.”

John erupted inside and grabbed the kid through the blanket, shaking him, “Don’t say that! Don’t ever say that! I dragged your ass outta the snow and by god you are gonna prove to me just how smart you really are. You are gonna go out there and show everybody what you are made of. Don’t you ever give up! Do you hear me, kid? You do whatever it takes to survive.”

The kid blinked furiously, shaking in John’s grasp and unable to stop the tears that threatened. “Why have friends if it hurts this bad?”

The words tore at John and he released the kid. The sadness and pain in the kid’s eyes only made the tightness in John’s chest worse and he slumped back in to the wall, scrubbing his fingers through his hair.

Lying on the floor, breathing loudly, the kid stared at him, expecting an answer. John shook his head, his own tears barely in check. He was older, supposedly old enough to have outgrown silly childhood outbursts of emotion. He had to be the strong one. John was losing his best friend, but the kid was losing so much more. “I don’t know. I wasn’t expecting this.”

“What? You weren’t expecting to move. I thought you moved all the time.”

John thumped him, “I was talking about you, genius. I’ve never had a best friend.”

The kid looked dubious, “Really?”

“Look, just because I’m moving doesn’t mean we still won’t be friends. We can write.”

Moving to his knees, the kid crawled to the wall and sat with his back to wall, shoulder to shoulder with John. “No.”

John felt the ache in his chest and couldn’t hide the hurt. “What do you mean, no? You don’t want me to write?”

The kid wouldn’t look at John as he shook his head. “Oh you’ll write for a few weeks, a month, maybe even a year. Eventually you’ll forget or be too busy and the letters will stop and I’ll never know why.” He looked at John. “If you don’t write then I can always call you my best friend, because when you leave you’d still be my best friend and I don’t have stupid letters to remind me that you stopped writing some day and weren’t my best friend anymore.”

“Ah.” John nodded, a little bewildered. “Your logic scares me when it makes sense in a strange warped kind of way.”

“It’s easy to befuddle a lesser mind,” said the kid smugly and John knew they’d worked past some of the discomfort.

He nudged the kid, “You wanna go for ice cream?”

“Are you crazy? It’s cold outside.”

John rolled his eyes, “So?”

The kid shrugged, “Good point, but I’m going to eat the biggest thing they have and make you pay for it. It’s only fair since you’re the one leaving.”

Standing up, John grinned as he reached out a hand, “Come on, kid. It’s on me.”

Leaving the shed, the kid asked, “Why do you call me kid? Do you even know my name?”

John draped an arm over the kid’s shoulder, dragging him closer, “Yes, kid just sounds better.”

“Of course it does,” huffed the kid, then freed himself and bounced ahead, doing his best to shake the melancholy. John wasn’t convinced but he grinned when the kid said with feigned excitement, “Hey, let’s go look at bikes. We still haven’t picked out what you want. How long you figure before you have enough saved up?”

“I’ve only got three thousand. That won’t buy much of a bike yet.”

“How much do you get a month?” the kid asked curiously, as he got in the car.

“My trust pays me two fifty a month, but I only manage to save around a hundred and fifty.” John didn’t mention that he’d been saving a lot more before he’d started spending more money on food and entertainment the last month. Hell, it was worth it. “Hey, I’ll let you pick out the color how does that sound?”

The kid was beaming, “Honest?”

John laughed, “What do you think? What color should I get?”

“Silver.”

“Why silver?”

“Like a jet. Silver. I’m sure you’ll be cruising top speed, wind messing up your hair.” He motioned to John’s hair. “Though how you could tell I’m not sure. Just try not to get yourself killed.”

“Well yes, that was on my list of things to do. Get killed riding bike,” retorted John, rolling his eyes at the kid.

“Ha ha.” He grabbed his side, laughing. “You slay me.”

John grinned and pushed him into the door, “I will if you don’t shut up.”

*****

The next two weeks passed by quickly and before either boy knew it, the movers were packing up the house. They watched quietly from the sidelines, both lost in thought. Every time John glanced towards the kid, he could see the overwhelming sadness just below the surface and John couldn’t speak through the lump in his own throat.

By midafternoon, the movers were all but done and they couldn’t put it off any longer. Thankfully it was a nice day, almost spring like and they could walk off some of the awkwardness. The second pass around the block, John handed off the envelope that had weighed heavy in his jacket all morning.

The kid frowned as he took it and John covered his hand, “Don’t open it. Not ‘til I’m gone.”

“Why?”

John closed his eyes for a moment, gathering himself and said softly, “Because I asked.”

Nodding, the kid answered just as quietly, his voice catching, “Okay.”

“Look, I took care of some things for you is all.”

The kid looked ready to refuse, but closed his mouth and slipped the envelope into his own jacket. His voice was whispered, the emotion heavy in his words. “Thanks but I’ll be fine. I managed before you came along.”

John smiled weakly, “Yeah, I remember.”

They walked in silence back to the house. His dad was there, the movers already gone. He was sitting in his car waiting and rolled his window down when they approached, “I left the house open if you want to check it one last time. Just be sure you lock it up when you leave.” He glanced at both boys and said sympathetically, “I’m sorry, son. I know this is hard.”

John nodded, “I’ll follow you. Just need a few more minutes.”

“Okay, but I don’t want you too far behind me. It’s a long drive.”

“I know. I won’t be long.”

Sheppard senior turned to the kid and stuck out his hand, “You take care of yourself.”

The kid stepped forward and took the offered hand, shaking it. “I will. Thank you.”

He looked at his son a final time, “Remember, not too long.”

John nodded and both boys watched him drive off before turning back to the house. They went directly to John’s room and stood in the door, staring into the now empty room. John entered the room and walked around, checking the closet and shelves for anything missed. When he turned back to the kid, his shoulders slumped at the silent tears he could no longer hold back. Seeing John had noticed, the kid wiped his face and smiled gamely, “Sorry.”

John unconsciously opened his arms and found himself being hugged fiercely and he held on tight to the boy. It was several minutes before he found his voice, “I’m gonna miss you.”

The kid nodded against his chest and backed away, sniffling, “You…you should go.”

Nodding, John led them both outside and the kid stopped, sitting on the front steps. His eyes were red and puffy, and John’s were no less so as he sat beside him. “You sure I can’t write?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ll take care of yourself?”

“Sure. I have this guardian angel, thinks I need protection.”

“Hmph,” John smiled, and leaned into the kid’s shoulder playfully, “You’ll take the world by storm.”

The kid nudge, “And you’ll be a great pilot…after you finish school. Use your brains before the military sucks away your free will.”

John stood and looked down at the kid a final time, “Don’t ever give up. Who knows, maybe we’ll cross paths some day.”

The kid gazed at him, eyes shining, “I think I’d like that.”

Shoving his hands in his pockets, John nodded towards the car, “I…uh…better go. Don’t want the old man hunting me down.” The kid nodded and John walked slowly to his car, afraid to look back. Settling in driver’s seat, John started the car and watched as the kid pulled the envelope from his jacket. John’s hands shook as he put the car in reverse, knowing he couldn’t stay and watch when the kid found what was inside.

He was right. As he pulled out of the drive and glanced back one last time, the kid’s head was buried in his hands and John didn’t need to hear to know he was crying. His own tears welled up and flowed freely as he drove off. The only consolation he had was knowing he’d done all he could in the short time he’d been with the kid and maybe just maybe he’d made a difference. It didn’t make leaving any easier nor did it fill the hole in his heart.
Part 7-8