We've Been Here Before (Henry Stickmin Fanfiction)

Chapter Seventeen: Damaged

Henry and Tobias had hidden away in another janitor's closet. There were Toppat members coming by, so they jumped right in, and Tobias locked the door.

With a sigh, Henry leaned against the wall. He was tired. He was sore.

And he was homesick....

Tobias noticed how sad Henry looked, and tilted his head like a curious puppy. "Is everything okay, Mr. Stickmin?"

Henry started to sign. "I miss home."

"Me too..." The boy sat on the floor, leaning up against an empty mop bucket. He took off his hat. "I literally just got my own place before I came here .... all that work for nothing ....."

It was silent for a while...

Tobias spoke again. "Hey, since it's gonna take a while until we can get out of here, why don't we get to know each other?"

Henry raised an eyebrow at him. "Hm?"

Tobias seemed enthusiastic. "Yeah! Like, I ask you a question, you answer it, you ask me a question, and so on!" He crossed his legs and placed his hands in his lap. "You can skip any questions you feel uncomfortable with."

Henry sighed again, then flopped down onto the floor. "Fine."

Tobias bounced like an excited child. "Okay! I'll go first!" He cleared his throat. "What is .... your favorite colour? Mine is Pearlesint White."

Henry set his hands in motion. "Cerulean Blue."

"Ooh~! That's a nice shade! Okay, your turn to ask me a question."

"Hmmm...." Henry thought about his question. "Dog person? Or cat person?"

The boy answered. "Cats! Dogs are cute ..."

This went on for a while, and soon, Henry got a little more comfortable around Tobias.

"Alright, Henry .... how did you get those scars?"

Henry hesitated. He used the same answer he always told Ellie and Charles. "Failed heists....."

Tobias titled his head. "No need to feel embarrassed.... I have scars, too."

"Next question," Henry signed. "What happened to your leg?"

Tobias laughed nervously. "I should'a seen that one coming... Alright.... it happened quite a while ago ... 5 years, I think?"

Henry leaned foward as Tobias continued.

"I was actually involved in a car crash ... my uncle was driving me home, and we got rear-ended by a van .... my uncle came out of the crash with a broken arm and a concussion... and I left the crash in an ambulance with deep cuts on my face, and a completely shattered leg."

"Ouch..." Henry cringed at the thought.

Tobias nodded. "At the hospital, they were unable to save my leg, so they had no other choice but to amputate it. It took quite a while to get used to this thing ...." He gestured to his prosthetic.

"And your cut?"

Tobias just lifted his bangs out of his face .... He had bright, peridot green eyes, and three deep scars lined up across his right one. "Never left."

Henry seemed to relax a little. Seeing Tobias's scars and hearing his story on how he got them .....it just seemed to make him feel better about his own scars ....

Maybe he shouldn't feel so ashamed of them anymore....

********

"Where is that god damn ship!?" Ellie was getting frustrated, searching the horizon through her binoculars.

"We'll find it, Ellie..." Charles drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "And as soon as we do, I am gonna do something awesome!"

Ellie glared at him "Don't."

Charles pretended to not know what Ellie was talking about. "Don't what?"

"Don't you dare crash this helicopter! I am not paying for your medical bill!" She crossed her arms.

Charles chuckled. "Fine .... I'll only do.it as a last resort..."

That made Ellie relax a bit, and she went back to her task.

Of course, one thing that was one her mind was how hard she was gonna kick Henry's ass when they found him.