That's What Bein' A Friend Is About

Maybe Now You Have Figured It Out

TW: HOMOPHOBIA
CW: VOMIT, PANIC ATTACK

∆_-_∆_-_∆

Lloyd had figured, over the course of his unexpected adventure, that Ninten’s blindingly bright optimism would see the group through no matter what they faced. After all, he’d seen it work its magic too many times to doubt it.

In a way, that crazy glass-half-full attitude was all that kept Lloyd going at this point. If he didn’t believe in Ninten’s insane plans… well, what was he here for? Without Ninten’s friendship, he was just a kid who ran away from home and spent every day watching two people fall in love knowing he... wasn’t that lucky.

Sure, Ninten was a great friend. Lloyd appreciated him, no doubt about it. The thing was that… well, if Ninten weren’t so determined to keep up their friendship, Lloyd wasn’t sure he would still be out here instead of at home.

Denying it to himself didn’t do anything. Every time he watched Ninten turn a little pink at something Ana said, Lloyd wished he’d been the one to flatter him. Every time Ninten showed off a grin, Lloyd’s heart fluttered as an immediate reaction. And now, he was lying awake in the Reindeer hotel thinking about how nice it would be to hold Ninten’s hand. Or how horrible he was for thinking that way about his best friend. It switched back and forth.

Why didn’t he just say something in Snowman? Getting it off his chest and hearing Ninten tell him to give up the crush would’ve ended this before it grew into such a huge problem. Maybe he’d hoped it would go away on its own, but… that wasn’t the case. Not at all.

At least Ninten didn’t seem to notice Lloyd’s new, quieter habits. The only time he looked concerned was when they went to the store and Ninten bought Lloyd a new jacket. He didn’t seem hurt or anything that Lloyd didn’t want to wear the jacket, just worried. “If ya don’t like it, I can return it and find a new one. I don’t wantcha to be cold.” How was Lloyd supposed to respond to that without sounding like a jerk?

In any case, he had the jacket, a boomerang, and an awfully big crush on his best friend.

Lloyd turned over and buried his face in his pillow. He didn’t know how he’d be able to sleep, but he had to try.

===

The difference in Ana and Ninten was visible the moment they walked into Easter. It scared Lloyd, because they walked through a gap in an old fence and suddenly Ninten’s shoulders slumped. The bright eyes were suddenly dull… and it wasn’t just him who looked dead on his feet. Within seconds of entering Easter, Lloyd realized he was looking at church Ana, and a version of Ninten he didn’t even know existed.

The passion in everything Ninten did… it was all gone. Clearly, something was very, very wrong.

On top of that, Easter itself wasn’t exactly in the best shape. Whatever was affecting Ninten and Ana, it had a grip on the kids here, too. The town was only kids, actually… and they weren’t exactly forgetting it.

“Have you seen my mommy?”

Lloyd turned around to see a girl, probably around kindergarten age, with tears in her eyes. She was only one of the unexpectedly abandoned children wandering the town.

“No,” Ninten sighed. “We’re tryin’ to find the grown-ups, but we haven’t yet.”

“...I miss her,” the girl sniffled.

Before they could say anything back to her, she wandered away.

“These kids scare me,” Lloyd mumbled, wrapping his arms around himself. “It doesn’t feel right.”