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Part One

Out of all four boys that were a part of the unlikely friend group, only three of them were human.

That isn't to say that the boys thought less of the non-human in the group; quite the opposite, really. It was a simple fact amongst them that he belonged in the batch just as much as the others, and nothing could be done to prevent such a fate from being disrupted.

Well, almost nothing.

The issue at hand was indeed a problem worth considering, seeing as the nonhuman hadn't exactly told anyone of his heritage, or his species for that matter. Something that should have been common sense was anything but, and all concerns were understandable when it came to telling the truth. The boy, Sam was his name, wasn't quite keen on the idea of revealing who he was, what he was, and how he came to meet the three closest to him. There were reasons for his dilemma; the first being a threat amongst his kind.

Sam knew in his heart that his friends would cause no everlasting damage (at least not intentionally), however that sort of consideration remained tucked into his pocket and kept out of sight the moment he decided to think of the consequences. Such consequences included, but were not limited to, pain, death, and the mass genocide of his species. All distress was certainly justifiable, no matter the dramatic visuals Sam's intrusive thoughts provided with a glare and a deep smirk. He was, to put it as simply as possible, worried for what a revelation of his species might entail. The possibility of being taken advantage of and feasibly killed, just because he wanted his friends to know the real him, did not tread lightly in his mind. And so it went on that Sam kept under the radar, never speaking a word of his true self out of fear for what might come next, which led to the question of how exactly nobody had figured him out yet.

A simple question, really, involved a much more complicated answer than originally intended. To start, it was of utmost importance to Sam that he stay vigilant regarding his connection to his species. A young man such as himself needed to carry on his legacy, especially considering the fact that both of his parents, due to unfortunate circumstances, died. There was no bang, no whimper, just an untold story that would stay untold, or would be spoken about with a great deal of humor and satire to whoever was lucky enough to hear it. It was clear that the parents passed away due to an accident involving a human being, a can of bug spray, and the twisted imagination of a 6 year old child that took residence in his house at the time, however the story stopped there. Sam did not prefer speaking about how his parents kicked the bucket, and that was that. The only affiliations Sam had with the human race were ones of pain; of reminders that his parents were not coming back and that he was truly alone for as long as he could survive.

Until he met the new residents.

They were kind souls: Sam knew as soon as they walked through the door that it was a family of which he wanted to be included. No matter how impossible, he longed to join them in at the dinner table every night and indulge in whatever vegetables or vegan-substitutes were on the plate at exactly 6 p.m.
A family of three did not eat as much as the mother could make, and Sam often found it easier than normal to 'borrow' the leftovers as they were placed on the kitchen counter to be stored in the refrigerator for later use. And while he took the opportunity where he could find it, the nonhuman often withdrew his counter-top visits in search of the voice that belonged to one individual in the family of three: Leo.

Leo, a vegan like his parents, had the softest aesthetic out of anyone Sam grew up watching. He often got lost in nature, taking pathways through a forest or two until it had turned a deep black that coursed through his soul and forced him to go back home, lest he get caught by a vicious animal stalking their prey at night. Not that Leo would mind, of course, he always claimed that a death by a wild animal (or anything concerning nature in its entirety) was the best way to go. Sam had to agree with that.