My Mania Ended The World Peace. ★

⋆ 9 ⋆

            The fidget spinner was repurposed as it winded through the air like a throwing star. It missed Jasper by an inch, but donged against Jenny's shoulder which screwed up her face before a deep wail rang out of her. She was crying in full pitch. Adrian and Hyde were running from there on.

            Adrian glanced over his shoulder which made him lag a little behind. 'Dude, she's crying.' He pointed out.

            'No shit,' Hyde gasped ahead of him. It wasn't unusual for Hyde to flip out like this, but he never harmed kids in the process.

            So when he asked if he felt bad about it he really just did that in an attempt to preserve his former image of him, which was the calm and relaxed Hyde that asked him if he enjoyed the monkey ride and the Hooed who really was just a younger Hyde that couldn't get his name right.

            At last, Hyde Blum, in his thin shirt that feathered over his shorts like a baby blue shadow and starched tennis socks, slowed to a lazy jog, flipping a curl back that became a bother to his eye before he came to a halt and looked at Adrian just when he made a sharp stop directly in front of him.

            'Yes.' Hyde said firmly.

            'Okay.'

            Hyde looked over Adrian's shoulder then back at him, his eyes seeming unnaturally light, almost yellow. 'I don't know why I did it, it just overcame me. I hope she's not hurt?' He crumpled his lips up and tucked the corner of them into his cheek, looking concerned.

            Adrian felt like the world would never look peaceful again if he didn't say anything, so he sighed before he got his act together, and this was somewhat hard because he rarely ever lectured Hyde or anyone, but he managed a little something,

            'That was a first, yeah? You never harmed anyone lower than your equal before, let this be the last time, how about? We can go buy her something nice, she'll be making cupcakes with your brother later on, right? We'll come around and you tell her you're sorry, it's not the end of the world as long as you didn't ruin someone else's, and I highly doubt you ruined her entire life with that, maybe one day of it or a minute, but she'll come around too.'

            Hyde nodded along every word he said, keeping his eyebrows furrowed and at the end he looked so miserable that Adrian opened his arms up and Hyde fell right into his hard chest, even bringing out a sniff but that was about it.

            Adrian kept one arm around him as he lead him over through some bushland by the far end, on the other side of the park, where a few stones were clustered at the edge, constantly being licked by the waves that slapped against them solemnly. Adrian sat Hyde down on a rock then claimed a rock close to him himself.

            'Feels like it this place is getting smaller,' Adrian said thoughtfully. 'Don't you think?'

            Hyde didn't respond, so Adrian tried a different approach; he pointed at the bridge in the distance as if they were here for the first time and that was something fascination, but it distracted Hyde only very little so Adrian decided to allow him a moment of silence to think his mistake through by himself.

            Hyde didn't say nothing for a crucial amount of time, all he did was lean back and cross his arms over his stomach, staring ahead into the sky. Adrian let him have at it and watched the sunset by himself. By then the sun was stuck between two buildings, glazing over the water's bobbing surface in red, and everything else around them took on a roasted hue.

            At some point Adrian decided it'd be too sad if Hyde missed out on this completely, so he said, 'The sun is going down.'

            And Hyde immediately came with a reply. 'Are you going to leave me?'

            'What?' Adrian's face jerked inwards, his aquamarine eyes finding Hyde when he glanced down. Hyde was gripping some of his own shirt in a fist, his eyes wide and mortified.

            'You think I'm awful now.' Hyde continued. 'If that wasn't true you would've filled this ongoing silence with reassuring me that I'm not awful.'

            'I'm your best friend, Hyde. I will stick around even if you decide to murder someone one day,'

            'Stick around to do what? To make sure I hear every single day that I am freaking awful?'

            'Stop it. No.'

            'If that's what you want me to do, then why don't I stop it all!' Hyde slumped onto his feet and began climbing down the rocks. When he was wading ankle-deep out into the water Adrian went after him and wordlessly dragged him back to the shoreline.

            Hyde continued crying himself into a puddle on his former rock until they heard a rustle behind them, then a person tentatively stepping out of the bushes.

            Hyde vigorously rubbed his eyes dry, then crossed his arms over his chest while the redness around his lashes only deepened and the vein on his forehead seemed to bulge out even more. But unlike he would've done to Dale, he allowed Jeremy to inch forward and didn't complain when he squatted behind his shoulder, hands hanging lazily between his legs.

            It was the calm staring that brought Hyde to utter a, 'Wha—?' but that immediately got Jeremy to speak up himself.

            'You know, for a big brother you're acting years younger than Jessie.' He said in a pleasant dry voice that always smelt of coffee.

            'Please stop.'

            'I think you need at least a little lecture after the deed you've done, would you not agree?'

            Hyde propped himself up and cut him a look over his shoulder. 'Okay! Whatever! Go ahead and whip me with your hateful Filgate belt, so long as you don't call him Jessie.'

            'You know very well I'd never whip any of you. I've never done it before and not planning on starting now, ever.'

            'Well, maybe you should do that instead of those crappy talks then.'

            Jeremy sighed softly, his tired eyes landed on Adrian who sat up straight at the sudden attention. 'Hi Adrian, it's nice to see you, buddy, but would you mind us a second?'

            'Nah,' Adrian jumped on the rock he was just sitting on, but before he left he clapped his hand down on Hyde's shoulder and stooped just low enough to tell him, 'I'll go hail us a cab, be there quick after the whooping's done, yeah?'

            Jeremy saw the humour in that and responded accordingly with a humming laughter, but his son just shrugged one shoulder lamely and let his head hang away to the right, probably pouting at the sea.