Feeling Blue: A Smurfs Fanfiction

Chapter One

So to avoid spoilers I'll add trigger warnings for the remainder of the story as the chapters start. Once I've warned it then expect it to be prominent in the story :) To start with warnings for depression (although not explicitly yet) and bullying

The sun beat down on the lake a short way away from Smurf Village, making it shimmer like a freshly polished mirror. It wasn't large, at least for humans, but it was a beautiful spot especially with this kind of weather. It was in the perfect location for days like these and never stopped being a popular place to go. Occasionally the rare breeze would send a leaf falling onto the surface sending slight ripples onto the surface before becoming perfect again. Each leaf floated gently around, so beautiful to an observer it looked like it was painted by a skilled artist. The lake was perfectly clear and fresh, meaning it was entirely safe to drink or spend a day swimming or playing in. The place was tranquil. Around the lake the bank was soft and covered with emerald grass. Trees circled the area and flowers popped up here and there, leaving spots of reds, blues and whites. Most noticeable were the roses towards the far edge, each one uniquely beautiful. The air was filled with the sweet smell of pollen and the sky was a perfect blue without even a wisp of a cloud messing up the consistency. As a result the sun had nothing blocking its immense heat resulting in not much shade except for under the trees and it was the perfect weather to do no work.

The quiet was suddenly filled with the sound of happy chattering and singing. The trademark Smurf long – "La, la, la, la, la, la. Sing a happy song. La, la, la, la, la, la. Smurf the whole day long" – filled the air. The serenity shattered instantly to be replaced with fun as the whole village ascended on the lake. Everysmurf gathered around the lake, some swimming and some doing tricks from the waterfall like structure. Others simply socialised, taking bits from the communal picnic as they enjoyed the day off their tasks. Hefty and Gutsy were jumping off the highest points into the water, sending water splashing everywhere. Anysmurf watching cheered. The few chosen to judge who did better were left with a lot of choices. Hefty went from a more dangerous point and had a disregard for safety. Gutsy, however, had a significant amount of style compared to the prior. Hence his victory.
"What is that, twelve to me and five to you?" Gutsy asked, teasingly, smirking slightly with pride. Hefty simply scowled and rolled his eyes. "Aw don't go bitter, Hefty." Hefty simply rolled his eyes heading off to talk to somesmurf else. "Well someone is acting like a Smurfling..."

On the main part of the lake where most of the Smurfs were Clumsy was as cheerful as ever.
"This is so fun!" he said, optimistically. He tripped over his own feet, landing face first in the mud. "Still fun!" To get the mud off he jumped into the water to get it off.
"This isn't fun at all," Grouchy muttered.
"Oh cheer up," Clumsy said, happily. "Even you have to admit this is nice!"
"I admit nothing," Grouchy said, crossing his arms over his chest, but there was a hint of amusement in his usually annoyed expression.

Everysmurf was enjoying the company of everysmurf else...except for one. A tired looking smurf with oversized glasses sat under a tree. He could see the lake and everysmurf else but he was a distance enough away for the isolation to be noticeable. His eyes were trained on the large, heavy, book on his lap but he wasn't really reading it. He barely processed the words and he hadn't turned the page in a long time. He used to love to read but often these days, especially when forced somewhat into company, the ink seemed to just blur into obscurity. He sighed and put the book to his side, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He rested his chin on his knees, shoulders noticeably sinking. Nicknamed the 'village headache' was getting to him even if he wouldn't admit and noticing how happy everyone was quickly became a foreign concept. Happiness was a trivial luxury at this point and he was slowly slipping away from every interaction he could.

Brainy looked up and glanced at the lake where Hefty had challenged Gutsy to a rematch. He was often disinterested these days but watching someone but Hefty in his place was always nice to see. Plus, as useless as faith was, he had every faith that Gutsy would absolutely wipe the floor with Hefty. This time Gutsy did an even for cool landing, making the votes even more directed to him. If Brainy had wanted to express his opinion – which he most definitely didn't want to do given how badly that always went- Hefty really should just give up given how Gutsy always won. When was the last time he even gave advice? Weeks ago, he figured at a guess. And that was something that was about to break so a different result would be disastrous. When was the last time he prattled on about advice? A long time ago, certainly. He was much quieter these days to avoid being made to feel even hollower. Plus everysmurf seemed to prefer this more subdued version of him and even then things were disastrous.

He glanced over at Handy who was working on something and he could see the disaster before it was going to happen. He contemplated whether or not to give some advice before it went crashing down, potentially breaking his foot. On the other hand giving any form of advice always lead to him being literally thrown out of the village or at least the general vicinity of wherever he was. Then again Handy was one of the more reasonable of the smurfs. He had never been one of the ones to throw him and whilst he did nothing about it when it did happen no one did. Not even Papa.

Brainy sighed and stood up, carrying his book under his arm, heading over to Handy.
"Can I help you, Brainy?" the other smurf asked. The bookworm flinched slightly at the obvious irritation in Handy's voice, relieved the other was too lost in his work to notice the reaction.
"It's just-" he began but words were difficult given how rarely he talked these days. "If you put that there the whole thing is going to fall apart right on you." Way back when there would be a lot more perceived arrogance but these days he just got right to the point. Handy looked at Brainy with scrutiny for a moment, then back at his work again. He was at least considering it but before Brainy could hastily leave Hefty stormed over.
"Do you still think that we can't do our own jobs, huh?!" Hefty snapped. Brainy stayed silent. Answering back or doing nothing didn't do anything but cause trouble so may as well do the one with minimal effort. There was a sudden grab then the usual kick which catapulted him away from everyone else and out of earshot.
"He was right," Handy said. It wasn't exactly telling Hefty off for what he did but was a small reminder that it wasn't just pointless advice. Hefty though didn't care because this had become far too big of a habit.

Brainy's landing hurt, even more so than usual. He hit the floor, grazing his arm and slamming his ribs to the ground. The landing wasn't exactly flat though so he rolled, colliding with a tree and sending a deep jarring pain through his head. His glasses were knocked off, making everything blurry. Or was that his head doing that? Who knew, or cared? He whimpered slightly as he tried to sit up, reaching for where he thought his glasses were and pushing them on. He forced himself to sit up, instantly being hit by a wave of dizziness. Why did he feel so much worse than usual? Was it him not eating as much that was doing this, the lack of sleep or a worst impact? As he questioned that though he didn't really care. His life was mostly a blur of being literally kicked out of the village.

He glanced down and sighed. A patchwork of bruises was already beginning to form on his side. Definitely a worst landing than usual. He let his head rest on the tree, trying to close his eyes to quench some of the dizziness. The soreness he could ignore somewhat. It was easy enough to get used to it and the physical pain was nowhere near enough.

Brainy listened to slight breeze rustling the leaves, the chirping of birds on the branches, the sound of a stream nearby. Water...that would certainly help. He forced himself to his feet and stumbled towards where he could hear the water. He just made it there before his legs gave up and he fell to the side. He scowled at his reflection, it being one of the last things he wanted to see these days, and threw a pebble so it would temporarily ripple away. He splashed some of the water on his face, the coolness clearing his head slightly, and got a sip worth in his hands. Definitely helped. His head still ached and the bruises were throbbing but at least he no longer felt as dizzy.

This was just a part of the forest and it was a distance away from everyone and security. It was quiet, lonely and ever so slightly creepy in this area but he liked it. He liked being alone. He liked the guarantee that no one was about to yell at him or throw him out the village. He liked the security that he was not going to be bothered or have hateful looks shot at him. But the knowledge he preferred this kind of thing made him ponder the same question yet again: why even bother being in the village if it made everyone – including himself – happier?