Birthmarks and Bruises

Roadkill

"I know they're just rubber pellets, but why?"

Daniel was in charge of setting up the cans for target practise in their nerf gun war. Of course, Daniel being Daniel, he had to use a wild animal because 'moving targets are better to practise on!'

There had been a bet in where whoever won the 'war' had to pay for the grand feast of junk food to sustain them during the movie marathon to end all movie marathons. Felix had insisted on having a practise round beforehand- ending in Daniel rummaging around the bushes for some kind of garden critter to practise on.

"Dude! There is no way I'm letting you shoot the little guy. Just look at his wittle face." Felix cooed, plucking the hedgehog from the tower of bricks it had been stranded on, and freeing it onto the pavement. Daniel laughed a little.
"Come on, Felicia, they're rubber pellets. Its not gonna hurt or anything." He replied, grinning lazily up at his friend. Felicia was the name he had been given to poke fun of his feminine look- a title he didn't choose but was now stuck with.
Felix stuck his middle finger out at him in return, cautiously petting the head of the petrified animal before encouraging him back to the overgrowth of which he came from.

"Hey, no more live targets, okay? Or I'm shooting you." He laughed, grinning.
Felix slid the plastic weapon from under his belt out fired a pellet at Daniel.

"Oh, wow. From that shot alone I declare myself winner." Daniel teased, stooping to collect the toy bullet from the pavement it had been shot at.

The mood changed with a sudden screech of tires.

Curses and a series of disturbing crunches sounded from behind them, a lone, unfortunate creature pulverised beneath the wheels of a newly cleaned family car.
"Oh, Jesus..." Felix muttered, spinning around to meet the grim sight displayed across the tarmac.
Daniel had never been good with blood or gore of any kind, so when he started to heave Felix wasn't exactly surprised. He guided his friend around to gave the other way, offering him a shoulder to lean on.

"Ugh... dude- I could see its insides-" He stammered, shielding his eyes from the sight. Felix recovered himself rather quickly, squatting down next to his best friend.

"Come on Dan. This stuff happens all the time." He smiled reassuringly at the shorter teen, who couldn't bring himself to return the gesture through his disgust. "Isn't that the same one as earlier?" He croaked. Felix hesitated. "Uh, yeah- maybe. I think so."

So much for saving the little guy, huh?

The driver had sped off, obviously not caring about the animal he had hit. Not that Felix blamed him, it would've been worse if it was someone's pet or something, but- as he told Daniel, things like that happen all the time. It was just unfortunate that someone with a blood phobia had to witness it.

"Cmon. Let's get you back. The bet's cancelled, yeah?"
"I guess so."
"It's alright. I can pay for next week."

As they walked, Daniel gripping Felix's shoulders, the redhead noticed a sharp pain from under the other's fingers. It felt almost like a swollen bruise, though he never remembered being injured there, nor anything being on his shoulder that morning.

Felix cleared his mind of irrational doubts, patting the back of his friend comfortingly. Luckily, the pair lived pretty close to each other- so getting his best friend back home wasn't too much of a difficult task. A glass of water and a good night's sleep should fix him up, anyway- and he would be back to his usual snarky self. Daniel's mother greeted him with a smile, the whole house smelling strongly of various exotic herbs and spices. Of course, the twins took Daniel's discomfort as a chance to tease him in an act of sibling love.
Half an hour passed, and everything was pretty much alright again, Felix trotting back home under the late afternoon sky as if nothing had ever happened.