Sibling Secrets

6 - A Little Help From Kwan

Kwan and Star went back a long way, further than anybody else probably thought, though they never discovered exactly when, or where. Star said she remembered meeting him at a playground somewhere, while Kwan first saw her in the mall shopping with her mother (in the midst of a tantrum, as was Star's way). It was a heated discussion, and one that they probably would never solve. Occasionally Valerie would butt in and tell them that there is a playground conveniently placed right next to the mall, but that was too easy, wasn't it?

At least, for Star, it was. If Kwan thought about it enough, it was one of the few things he didn't immediately agree with his best friend about. If he was any less of a gentle jock with not a lot going on up there, this may have aroused some suspicions, but Kwan? Never. He liked to see the best in everyone, from Fenton losers who had their cool moments to Dash and Paulina, who were as shallow as paddling pools to an elephant but never did any real harm, right?

And so Kwan would always push these worries to the back of his mind. Dash told him he wasn't a thinker, so why should he worry about what he thinks?

"Hey, Kwan!" It was a regular Friday morning, with nerds to beat up and A-listers to pretend to be friends to. Dash had a busy schedule to send his best buddy to keep.

"Hi, Dash! How was last night? I heard you had-"

Dash thumped him on the back, both as a hello and as a means to get him to shut up. "It was great! Now listen, you see Paulina and Star over in that corner? Yeah, I thought you did, so go over there and start telling them how awesome I am, okay? Thanks, I knew you were a nice guy really." All of this was said without a single chance for Kwan to get a word in edgeways. But Kwan shrugged; Dash was busy with his football, and... other things, obviously, right?

But there was one thing bothering him. "But... you like Jazz, right?" Dash had told Kwan a year ago to get over his crush: Jazz was his. He made him do mean stuff like punch nerds and act rude in front of her and their friendly relationship quickly deteriorated into cold stares and shrugging off. It was the right thing to do, Dash told him so, but he couldn't shake the feeling of sadness and disappointment which hit him where it hurts whenever he looked at her.

"Kwan, duh! Of course I'm into Jazz. But I like Paulina, and Star as well, y'know? Also, Jazz can be so cold when she wants to be."

"Yeah, I know." Kwan sympathised, but there was such little to be said in such instances it was kind of embarrassing. Dash felt it too, and moved off.

"Aren't you supposed to be doing something?" He growled. Kwan sighed; Dash was such a cute kid back in elementary.

"On it, Dash!" He trudged over to Paulina and Star, who giggled loudly just before he came in earshot.

"Oh, Kwan! We were just talking about you!" Paulina smiled deceptively, and alarm bells went off in the jock's head; he didn't need to be Einstein to realize A-listers + laughing= bad, bad news.

"Yeah! Kwan, buddy..." Star laid a gentle, foreboding hand on his shoulder. "We were just-"

A growling from not very far away spooked Kwan. "What was that?" His eye caught a single red eye staring at them from the school dumpster.

Like a spark to dynamite, Kwan exploded into action, protecting his friends. "Get behind me!" He ushered them back, caring not for their moaning and complaining. They stopped as soon as they saw the dumpster say goodbye... violently.

In its place? Jazz called it a Woo-verine, but the one he saw last time (that half destroyed the school) was a puppy compared to the sheer green bulk of this thing. Shredded ears, one single remaining eye, rough and dishevelled fur...