It started in the Fall. The new school year had just started a couple months back, and already Halloween was almost upon them. Halloween was one of Gavin's favorite times of the year because his elementary school always held a Halloween parade where all the students got to come to school in their costumes, and after lunch, they all got to ride on floats in a parade that went all throughout the streets for the whole town to see.

This year, Gavin had already decided to go as the one and only Batman. He'd made sure to tell everyone in the class because he definitely didn't want anyone copying his choice, and he'd noticed that he'd had a bit of a reputation as being the mean kid in their grade. This had its perks, one of which being that no one wanted to be on his bad side. So, once he'd announced to a big group of his friends at recess that he was going to be Batman for the parade, he knew they'd spread the word.

They did, and that didn't surprise him. What surprised him was when he went looking for someone to be his sidekick, to be Robin, and no one wanted to step up. Either they had already chosen their outfits, or they didn't want to follow Gavin around all day and be his second in command.

Even that dim-witted Elijah Kamski, who Gavin had come to think of as a close friend since they'd spent so much time getting in trouble together, didn't want to be Gavin's sidekick because he was already planning on going as Iron Man.

Gavin hadn't wanted to admit that every time someone turned down his spectacular offer, his heart would just strangle itself in embarrassment. So, instead, he kicked Kamski in the shin and got his recess taken away.

Screw them, he thought, every time he heard his classmates laughing and talking about the upcoming Halloween parade. He'd noticed that they'd all paired off, and some of his friends had decided to coordinate together and without him, talking about their plans to go as an apple and an orange, Spongebob and Patrick Star, and even the—in Gavin's ten-year-old opinion—babyish Thing 1 and Thing 2.

Halloween was beginning to look like a disaster for the Batman who would have no Robin by his side.

He was in an irritable mood in the days leading up to the parade, and his mother had noticed. The night before Halloween, he was standing on a chair in the kitchen of his house, fully attired in his awesome Batman outfit, as his mother made a few adjustments to the chest plate. He wanted to look a bit buffer, and she had no problem fixing it up on such late notice.

"Lose these frown lines, sweetie, or you'll end up with wrinkles," his mom said as she smoothed her thumb across Gavin's scrunched together eyebrows. Then, she stood up straight and studied him curiously. "What's troubling you?"

Gavin huffed and already he could feel the grimace take hold of his face once more. "No one wants to be Robin with me. I asked everyone, and they all said no. I'm gonna look so stupid by myself while everyone else is with their friends. Every superhero has their sidekick, especially Batman!"

His mother's eyes softened at his outburst, and she merely laid a laid on his cheek. "You need no one, Gavin. You can shine just as bright on your own."

Gavin almost rolled his eyes at her words, but he had more respect for his mother than that. She didn't get it, though. Batman was part of a duo, and it was just embarrassing for him to have asked everyone and to be turned down every single time.

His mother went back to tailoring his suit, but he tried not to be such a downer for the rest of the night. He didn't want to make his mother upset, not after she went through so much trouble to make this costume for him and to make sure he had the best day tomorrow.

Despite his jumpy nerves, he managed to sleep like a baby that night, and when morning came and his dad dropped him off at school on his way to work, Gavin was in a better mood. How could he not be when the whole day was basically going to be a party?

Throughout the morning, it was easy to forget that he was mad at everyone for rejecting him when everyone was having so much fun doing other things as a class. The teacher gave everyone popsicles and they all watched Casper, and Gavin didn't even mind when Kamski sat next to him and they made fun of the background characters in the movie.

Lunchtime couldn't have come fast enough, and as everyone gathered into the cafeteria to eat their lunch, Gavin didn't even sit down at the table he was so excited. He ate his lunch standing up, hopping from foot to foot as he twirled in place once, eating into his apple his mother had packed for him.

When the parade was finally ready to start, Gavin's fantastic mood dissipated almost instantly. As soon as the fourth grade class left the cafeteria and headed for the street in front of the school where all the floats were waiting for the kids to be led onto, he watched with a sinking heart as his classmates gathered into their groups of two, three, even six as they found each other and ran onto the float together.

Gavin chewed on his lip and wrapped his cape around him protectively as he scanned the weaning crowd around him in search of a friendly face, someone he knew, someone who had no one to partner up with. Then, he instantly felt pathetic. Gavin Reed was not that kid who got picked last for the soccer team, and he wasn't going to sit around like some baby and wait for someone to go up on the float with.

So, he threw the ends of his cape behind him dramatically, letting the wind wrestle it up behind him and started for the float. Batman could take on the world when Robin wasn't around, and so could Gavin take on this float by himself.

He was ready. He had already pumped himself up for this solo ride and knew his mom would be proud at his attitude right now, but as soon as he stepped onto the float, he caught sight of him.

His Robin.

The boy was sitting right there by one of the other fourth grade teachers Gavin never really knew. Gavin didn't recognize the floppy, brown haired kid wearing the bright red and green costume with the yellow cape tied at his neck, a big, stitched R on his chest, but he couldn't help but bust out a grin at the sight.

"Robin!" Gavin said, and the other boy instantly lifted his head. The other boy's wide eyes peeked out from behind a black eye mask, frightened at being addressed, and for once in Gavin's short life, he hadn't meant to put that look on someone's face.

Before the other boy could gaze away and never look back, Gavin ran up to him, the other boy slowly hunching in on himself at Gavin's abrupt arrival. "Do you wanna be my sidekick? We could be a real superhero duo."

The fear that had bugged the kid's eyes out only moments before slowly abated as Gavin stood there, refusing to take no for an answer. He just didn't think he could handle another rejection. Then, the boy tilted his head at Gavin as if he were trying to read him, like Gavin had some sort of secret motive behind his request.

The few kids who had yet to get on the float filtered in beside them, and when the teacher announced for all the kids to settle in and get ready for the parade, Gavin was just seconds away from pulling another jerk move and kicking this kid in the knee for refusing him.

But, much to his surprise, the kid merely glanced at the teacher beside him, and once she smiled encouragingly at him, he faced Gavin and nodded his okay.

And, finally, Gavin had a sidekick.

"Come on, let's go to the front," he said, scooping the boy's hand up in his and starting to drag him away. He only got about a foot away before the teacher that had been sitting with the boy called out to them.

"Connor, wait," she said, and the boy pulled on his hand as he stopped, trying to get Gavin to wait with him. "Are you gonna be okay up there?"

Gavin watched the exchange curiously, waiting for the boy to respond to her, wondering why he even had to respond to her. But, the boy only nodded once more, and then he turned back to face Gavin expectantly.

Gavin didn't need to be told twice, so he ran them the few more feet past the other kids huddled together, eating their candy and waving at everyone they passed on the streets. The whole town had come out to see the parade, and as Gavin pushed through the thin line of kids at the front of the float, he dragged the boy up beside him so everyone could see how the best duo on the float was really Batman and Robin and not that stupid Thing 1 and Thing 2.

All around him, kids were screaming with excitement, and the people lined up along the side of the streets were waving with smiles on their faces, and somewhere up ahead, music was being played by the marching band that led the parade.

It was like this every year, with Gavin standing at the forefront of the float with a grin on his face, waving and laughing as they passed by the entire town. Usually, he had Kamski or whoever was his friend last year by his side, but this year, it was a strange kid he'd never even met before.

Gavin turned to the boy at his side for the first time, noticing the way the kid gazed at the crowds on the street in a bright-eyed, almost terrified wonder.

"Your name's Connor?" Gavin said, and the boy's attention instantly flitted to Gavin. Even being this up close, Gavin still didn't know who this kid was. He didn't even know there were any Connors in his grade, so maybe the kid was new.

The boy nodded at Gavin and seemed to hesitate for a moment, furrowing his eyebrows as he thought. Then, he gestured to Gavin expectantly.

"Me?" Gavin said, and he knew then that this kid definitely must be new if he didn't know who he was. Everyone knew Gavin and what a little troublemaker he was. Still, he supposed this could work in his favor. It seemed too late to change anyone else's mind about himself, so maybe this could be the friend Gavin hadn't known he'd been searching for, someone who didn't know him and didn't know what kind of jerk he could be.

Gavin hadn't meant to become the class bully, but somehow, he found himself being just that person. He said he had friends, but really, he just had a bunch of kids who tolerated him, who put up with his obnoxious antics so that Gavin wouldn't pick them as his next target.

And, it was lonely. If this Halloween had shown Gavin anything it was that no one really wanted to hang around Gavin if they didn't have to.

No one but this kid. This kid who was still staring at Gavin expectantly, waiting for his name.

"I'm Gavin," he said, and Connor gave him a timid smile, a shy one. It made Gavin's stomach flip at the sight, and he couldn't help but smile genuinely back at him. Maybe being nice wasn't as hard as Gavin had thought it was.

The parade through town lasted about an hour, and in that time, Gavin was having the time of his life. The teacher had given him a bucket full of candy so that he could toss some out to the crowds as they passed. He did his duty, but he also snuck a bunch of candy for himself and for Connor.

Kamski had come up at one point with the rest of the Avengers at his back, but Gavin pretended like he couldn't hear him past all the noise the crowds were making before them.

When the candy bucket was empty, and the parade was winding down, Gavin took a seat on the side of the float where Connor had retreated to a few minutes ago.

"That was so awesome," Gavin said as he sucked on the cherry lollipop he'd stolen from the candy bucket. Connor was eating some of the skittles Gavin had tossed to him earlier, his head down and legs swinging. "Today was so much better than I thought it was gonna be."

Connor glanced sideways at Gavin and squinted at him in question, and something suddenly struck Gavin.

"You know, you haven't said a word all day," Gavin said, and very minutely, he noticed Connor's eyes widen just the tiniest bit. "It's totally cool," he quickly added, afraid of running off the only kid who was willing to be Gavin's second in command for the day. "You're probably like one of those pirates who had their tongue ripped out for trying to overthrow their captain and steal their treasure."

Gavin chuckled as he remembered a movie he saw just like that, but Connor didn't laugh. Connor only shook his head seriously, as if Gavin really thought that was the case.

It didn't seem very funny when only Gavin was in on the joke, but before he could question Connor further, the teacher Connor had been sitting beside earlier came up and tapped Connor's shoulder, taking up the empty seat on Connor's other side.

"Look at you two, Batman and Robin. Funny how you two matched today. Did you already plan this?"

"I don't even know this kid," Gavin said, and the teacher looked at Connor in confusion.

"You don't know each other?" she said, but it was mostly directed at Connor. Connor didn't look at the teacher, and he didn't even answer her for that matter. Gavin found that weird. If Gavin had ignored a teacher like that, then he would have surely gotten written up for it, so why did this kid get off with only a soft sigh from his teacher?

"That's … surprising," she said, "but, in a good way. I'm proud of you, Connor." She'd had a hand on Connor's shoulder as she spoke, but at her praise, Connor slowly shifted out from beneath her and scooted a bit closer to Gavin.

The confusion he'd been feeling at such a weird interaction must have shown on his face because the teacher smiled at him as she crossed her arms across herself, leaning back against the side of the float.

"Connor hasn't said much to you, has he?"

Gavin's eyes flickered down to Connor curiously, watching the way Connor continued to slip skittles into his mouth unnoticed. "He hasn't said anything, actually."

She nodded as if she already knew he would say that. "It's a curious thing that he took off with you and without even knowing you, especially. That's not something he does, you know?"

"No. I don't know," he said, and he couldn't help it if his voice sounded a bit sassy. She wasn't making any sense, and Connor wasn't making any sense, and he wished someone would just tell him what the deal was. "What's wrong with him?"

Connor flinched a bit, and his teacher narrowed her eyes at Gavin. "Absolutely nothing is wrong with him. I just want to get that straight first." Gavin felt a guilty flush go through him at the reprimand, but not really because he got in trouble for his word choice, but more because of how Connor had reacted; how he hunched his shoulders close to himself and wrapped the tiny skittles bag tightly in one fist. "Connor is just like you and every other kid in this school. He just has a little trouble with one thing that all of you kids have absolutely no problem with," she said, and he definitely heard the dig there.

It was on the tip of his tongue to respond in a snarky fashion because he just couldn't stand being talked down to like this woman seemed to be doing, as if Gavin didn't understand something, but he didn't want to hurt Connor's feelings again, if he even had to start with. So, he bit his tongue as she continued her little lecture, all the while imagining tearing those skittles from Connor's hands and tossing them one by one into her open mouth while she talked, until she finally said something that caught his attention.

"Wait, say that again? Connor has a what?" Gavin said, scrapping his daydream.

She stopped mid-word and glanced down at him. "Connor has selective mutism. It means that he doesn't speak in a lot of situations. Like here at school, you probably won't hear him say a word to anyone. He certainly doesn't speak to me, and I don't think he's spoken to any of the other children so far in the last month since he first started here, but his father says that it's normal for him. He's always been this way."

"Why?" Gavin said, and he frowned as he watched the way Connor continued to swing his legs and ignore the pair of them. Had he really never spoken a word? It seemed pretty lonely to Gavin. Words were the epitome of life for Gavin. He used them to make other kids fear him, he used them to show his mother he appreciated and loved her, and he used them to try and get himself out of some sticky situations—not that he was ever successful, but he thought the teachers found it amusing that he tried.

Gavin was so full of things to say and ideas to share that he couldn't even imagine going through life without saying a word. Maybe that was why the boy looked so sad right now as Gavin and the teacher spoke about him. Maybe Connor was full of things to say and felt trapped that he couldn't.

The teacher shrugged at Gavin's question. "No one knows. There's not a reason for these things. It's just to say that whenever he feels comfortable enough, you might get him talking. But, otherwise … you're gonna have to learn to his read body language if you want to understand him."

This time, when Gavin glanced at Connor, he found the other boy already looking at him through that black eye mask, his wide eyes no longer so terrified looking, but something else that Gavin felt drawn to. Something that made Gavin want to try.

"Do you have any Beyblades?" Gavin said, because that was the ultimate test here. Gavin absolutely loved his Beyblades, and if he was even going to consider to try to get to know Connor, then he had to know what Beyblades were.

Connor's eyes crinkled around the sides as he squinted at Gavin, but then he nodded, and Gavin grinned.

This was going to be the start of a beautiful friendship.

At least, Gavin had thought so.

He didn't see Connor again after that. Months passed and try as he may, he had only ever caught glimpses of the brown-haired kid in one of the other fourth grade classrooms as he worked studiously on his worksheets.

There was a reason Gavin had never seen him before the Halloween parade, and it was simply because they never crossed paths during the day. But, it was maddening for Gavin because now he knew that Connor existed, and he couldn't not try and seek him out.

He tried one day to sneak into the classroom where Connor was aptly watching the teacher talk to the class about their times tables. The door was wide open and Connor was right there in the back seat closest to the door, so when the teacher moved to write on the board, Gavin dropped to his hands and knees and made quick work of crawling up beside Connor's desk and tugging on his jeans.

Connor's head shot down at the motion, and, at first, Gavin was faced with that familiar wave of confusion, a little fear mixing in those wide, brown eyes.

"It's me, Batman, remember?"

Recognition was slow, but as Connor studied Gavin all over, from the dark, slight curls at the ends of his hair to the boisterous grin on his lips, Connor gave a tentative smile. Then, he wrote something down on the paper in front of him before ripping it off and handing it to Gavin.

He gazed at the torn note he was given, his heart lighting up at the single word Connor had remembered from their day together.

Gavin.

"Yeah," Gavin said, smiling up at Connor. He was relieved to see the other boy finally smiling back, no fear there to occupy. "I've been looking all over for you, but you're a tough kid to find."

Gavin wasn't going to say he missed him because he wasn't a punk bitch, but not seeing him all this time made Gavin just a little miserable.

Connor frowned a little and shrugged, at a loss for how to answer.

Gavin said, "That's okay. We can—"

"Gavin Reed! What are you doing on the floor?"

For the thirtieth time that school year, Gavin ended up losing his recess and having to write a paragraph about responsibility.

The rest of the school year went by and Connor and Gavin only had little moments, a smile as they passed the halls here, a wave from the classroom window when Gavin found him there. It was no fun always skimming by this kid, and after awhile, he'd sort of given up on trying to find him. It just seemed impossible, and Gavin was tired of getting his hopes up only to fail in getting to know him.

Pretty soon, Connor became a mere forgotten presence in the back of his mind.

Summer went by, three whole months spent playing at Kamski's house while they watched Teen Titans and played with their Beyblades; a few days of vacation where Gavin's father took Gavin and his mom on a trip to the beach; the times where just Gavin and his mom went out for the day to feed ducks at the good pond that was an extra 45 minutes away from their house. Gavin kind of liked those days with just his mom the best.

By the time fifth grade rolled around, Gavin had almost completely forgotten about that mysterious mute boy who had captured Gavin's attention for half the school year last year.

Had almost forgotten.

Every single memory and feeling he'd associated with that kid came rushing back to him on the first day of school when he saw Connor sitting at his assigned table—the same one as Gavin!

He was overcome with joy because the world had actually done something nice for Gavin in his life. Had actually attempted in letting Gavin try to have a real friend.

Gavin raced to his seat, maybe a little too abruptly because Connor straightened rigidly at his arrival, his pencil dropping to the table.

"Robin!" Gavin said excitedly, grabbing the ends of his desk.

Connor hadn't changed much over the summer. Unlike Gavin, who had a bit of a summer-kissed tan, Connor was as pale as ever, like he hadn't even seen the sun for months. His hair was a bit longer, and a few brunette strands hung over his eyes, but it was easy to see through the cracks to see the light in the other boy's eyes as he took Gavin in.

He hadn't even noticed, but Connor had written something on a neon yellow sticky note and slid it across the conjoined desks that formed their table and onto Gavin's desk.

Batman.

Gavin bit his lip to try and stifle the grin that was threatening to take over as he folded the paper neatly and tucked it into his jeans pocket. He'd keep this note, and when he got home, he'd stick it in his drawer to place it next to the Gavin note Connor had given him last year.

This year, it was so much easier to get to know Connor. They were in the same class, the same damn table! And, the teacher didn't even mind when Connor passed notes to him because Gavin always lied and said that he was explaining the lesson to him in further detail. He was glad their teacher never wanted to see the notes or else Gavin probably would have gotten Connor in trouble with the drawing of the Godzilla version he'd converted their teacher into.

Connor, for all his weird quirks and quietness, seemed like any normal kid to Gavin. He found out that Connor liked watching Teen Titans just like Gavin and his other friends. He saw that Connor liked to make jokes, and Gavin could always tell when he was in a joking mood because Connor would widen his eyes comically before pulling an exaggerated funny face their teacher had just made. He even found that Connor liked dipping his pizza in ketchup, which everyone who saw Gavin do the same had always frowned upon because they all said that it was already made up of its form of ketchup, so why dip it in more? There was a difference, and Connor also knew this.

The fact that Connor hadn't said a verbal word to Gavin in all this time wasn't even a problem at all. Gavin, like the teacher had told him last year, had learned to pick up on Connor's social cues, on his body language. If Connor was frustrated, his fists would clench by his side beneath the desk, hidden from everyone else's view—everyone but Gavin. When he was confused, his tongue would slip out of the side of his mouth, and he'd scratch his temple with the eraser of his pencil.

Connor didn't outwardly smile at anyone much, but when he was really excited, his lips would twitch on the sides as if he wanted to smile, but it never really came to fruition. But, that was something Gavin had an easy solution for. All he had to do was grin at Connor unabashedly, and the other boy finally broke and let the smile loose.

It was something Gavin was proud of, and when he went home and told his mom all about it, all about his new friend Connor, and how he was pretty much the only one who could make Connor smile, his mother caressed his cheek and told him how proud she was of him.

They were becoming fast friends, and Gavin thought it was time to step it up a bit. So, one afternoon, when they were packing up their stuff for the day, he invited Connor over to his house. Connor had only stared blankly at him for a minute. It was long enough to have Gavin backtracking, wondering where he went wrong. Maybe Connor didn't want to see Gavin outside of school? Maybe this was just one of those friendships where it stayed in school and never left those safe confines to dip into their personal lives.

Gavin would be the first to admit that he didn't like inviting other kids over to his house, mostly because of his dad. His dad didn't like the noise that came with Gavin playing with his friends in the house, and so it was always Gavin who went over to people's houses.

But, it was different with Connor. He didn't talk, so how could they make any annoying chatter?

Connor took out a sheet of paper, and he knew he was in for a long one because Connor started scribbling for minutes, stopping and starting at random intervals. Gavin tried not to watch him as he wrote, his nerves pulling his stomach in all directions, so he started kicking his foot against his other table mate Cathy Monroe's foot.

"Gavin, quit it!" she said, and Gavin snickered to himself.

"Didn't know it was you," he said. Cathy only rolled her eyes and scooted her chair further away from Gavin.

When he glanced back at his desk, Connor's note was sitting there, facedown, but before he could read it, the end of the day bell rang, and Connor took off anxiously, not even waiting for Gavin this time.

Gavin let him go without a fuss. He figured whatever the kid wrote wasn't going to be good, and he didn't want to face Connor when he read it.

He grabbed up the note and gathered his backpack and headed out of school alone with the note.

Thanks for inviting me to your house but I don't think my dad would let me. I don't like going places by myself and I don't know your mom and dad. I'm sure they're nice but I'm just scared of being in new places alone. Thank you for asking. I hope we can still be friends.

Goddamn it.

Gavin crumpled the paper up in his hands, frustrated, before immediately unwrapping it and sliding it across his knee to smooth it back out. He read it again, wondering not for the first time why Connor sounded so much like an adult on paper with his perfect grammar and his politeness.

So, Gavin had been rejected, but he couldn't really be mad. The boy admitted that he was just scared, and it wasn't because he didn't like Gavin or that he didn't want to go. He did want to come over, but he was just scared.

When Gavin got home, he opened his top dresser drawer where he kept all his good Beyblades and shoved the note in the drawer with all the rest of the brightly colored papers he'd secretly been collecting.

The next day at school, Connor kept his head down, and it was almost funny to Gavin how the other kid thought he was going to be able to get away with ignoring Gavin. Not even a chance.

Gavin had already written a note at home to give to Connor in case this very situation happened, and he slid it across the desk onto Connor's. He basically explained how Connor didn't have to feel bad because Gavin understood. He also clarified that they were best friends and would be forever.

By lunchtime, Gavin and Connor were sitting side by side and eating their lunches together as if nothing had happened.

Fifth grade whizzed by with Connor by his side, and for the first time ever, Gavin was anxious about the school year ending. How was he going to see Connor now?

It was the last day of school, and they were all in the middle of cleaning their desks using shaving cream the teacher had sprizzled down onto everyone's desk. They did this every year as a fun "end of the year" activity that also involved cleaning, and usually this was Gavin's favorite part. He would always stick some of the shaving cream around his chin and run around the room screaming that he was Santa Claus as he tossed out candy from the teacher's little candy bowl for everyone.

This year, though, Gavin found himself slowly wiping his hand along his desk, a small knot in the pit of his stomach. It felt like the end of something—and not just the school year.

Connor wasn't the least bit down. If anything, he was more excited today than any other day they'd spent together in school. It bothered Gavin immensely because it made him feel like the other boy couldn't wait to be rid of school—to be rid of Gavin.

Connor picked up on his mood, and Gavin could tell that the other boy was trying to cheer him up as he mimicked their teacher's stern face. Gavin smiled tightly, and they could both tell his heart wasn't in it. So, Connor grabbed up some of the shaving cream on his desk onto his finger, and before Gavin could realize what was going to happen, Connor had already wiped his coated finger down Gavin's nose.

That was the beginning of the great shaving cream war of 2014. Everyone in the class began picking up their leftover shaving cream and flinging it at their classmates. The teacher had tried to stop it, but once a large goop flew across the room and hit Gavin square in the eye, even his teacher had stopped to laugh at the struck look on Gavin's face.

And, that wasn't even the best part. The best part was when Connor actually giggled at the sight of Gavin being struck. It was the softest sound amongst the entire room of other voices laughing, but Gavin honed in on the foreign sound immediately, having never heard that particular sound before.

Connor's eyes widened when his eyes connected with Gavin, realizing he let the sound slip out, but he never stopped smiling. How the hell was Gavin supposed to go the whole summer without his best friend now?

Man, he was really going to miss that kid.

The end of the day came way too soon and without Gavin's say so, and he and Connor lingered by each other even after the bell rang. They were walking as slowly as they could to the front entrance of the school, prolonging the inevitable. All the while, the little note wrapped up tightly in Gavin's hand was beginning to burn a hole through his hand.

The air was hot once they reached the double doors that led outside, and Gavin groaned as the sunlight hit his eyes. He cast his hand up to block the sunlight as he stopped at one of the benches in front of the school. Connor's dad was already waiting for him, and once he caught sight of the two of them by the bench, he waved at them and honked the horn twice for Connor.

It was now or never for Gavin, and before Connor could wave goodbye in that silent way and take off running, Gavin grabbed Connor's hand and shoved the little note with his address into his hand, curling Connor's fingers over the note.

"Please come," he said. Connor wrapped his fingers around the note tightly and gazed between Gavin and the note in confusion. "Catch you later, Robin."

He started backing away, toward the sidewalk that he took to walk home, but he didn't turn around until Connor raised his index fingers to either side of his head to symbol Batman to him.

Gavin ran all the way home with a smile on his face and hope in his chest that Connor would show up.

A few weeks passed and Gavin spent a lot of that time going to visit Kamski. Admittedly, he hadn't seen the kid during the whole year because they weren't in the same class anymore, and Kamski had his new friends and Gavin had Connor. But, it didn't look like Connor would be showing up, so when he saw Kamski at the community pool one day, he decided that there were worse ways to spend his summer.

He got back into his old routine of waking up, watching cartoons, eating the amazing breakfast that his mom cooked, and then spending the day with Kamski doing whatever they thought of. They still played with their Beyblades, but Gavin got tired of it after awhile, so they started playing at the park near Gavin's house with whatever kids showed up that day.

Gavin liked to play Blind Man's Bluff with everyone, but he noticed that whenever it was Kamski's turn to be it, he cheated and he peeked and found everyone who was perfectly still. It was no fun when Kamski played that way. Gavin also cheated when it was his turn, but it wasn't any fun when Kamski did it, so he took his Beyblades off the ground and started heading back home alone one day after Kamski found Gavin in his perfect hiding spot.

He cursed Kamski and silently vowed to never go back to that stupid kid's house the entire walk home, but all his fury swept away in an instant as he walked up the two steps to his house and heard the motor of a car pull in behind him.

He tensed before he turned, not wanting to hope but daring to.

He turned around.

It was him.

And, just like that, his miserable morning was forgotten about.

He ran back down the steps and went straight for the passenger side of the car where Connor sat, his arms folded around himself nervously. He was so excited that Connor had showed up that he had to physically stop himself from flinging the car door open and dragging him inside.

Gavin played the good kid. He waited until Connor and his dad stopped their little chat (which Gavin was dying to know what Connor was saying), and Connor finally opened the door.

"Connor, I'm so glad you came! It's been so boring without you. Come on, I'll show you all my toys. I have this new—"

"Easy there, champ," Connor's dad said as he stepped out of the car, and Gavin stopped his incessant chattering to glance at him. "Think you're overwhelming him a bit."

Gavin squinted at him before taking Connor in, really seeing him. Connor was hunched in on himself a little, his shoulders curled in protectively as he continued to keep his arms wrapped around his midsection. He was gazing apprehensively at Gavin's house and no where else.

"Oh," Gavin said, trying to calm himself. He was such an idiot. Hadn't Connor told him himself how he was scared to come over? And, yet here he was, at his door with his dad, and all because… Well, he didn't know what changed his mind, but he was glad something did.

"Just give him a minute," Hank said, "and he'll warm up. Your parents in?"

"Yeah," Gavin said, nodding, still watching Connor. "Just my mom. My dad's at work."

"Fine with me. So long as someone is around," he said and started heading for Gavin's house. When Connor noticed his dad leaving them, he hurriedly ran past Gavin and caught up with his dad enough to slip his hand into the older man's.

Normally, Gavin would have laughed at seeing one of his friends run up to their parents to hold their hand like a bunch of babies. But, all he felt right now was a strange surge of … something. Something that made him want to smack himself for even thinking about laughing at Connor.

Gavin ran ahead and opened the door for them, yelling to his mom that they had company. She came bustling out of her bedroom with a confused smile on her face.

"Hello," she said, clearly flustered. "I'm sorry, Gavin didn't mention he was having any friends over, or else I would have cleaned the house."

Connor's dad smiled kindly at her and waved her off. "I should be the sorry one for showing up here without a phone call, but Connor only had an address, and he's just been talking non-stop about your boy. Don't worry yourself over the house, ma'am. I know just how messy a place can get when you have kids running around. And, this one here doesn't like to clean up after himself," he said, messing a hand through Connor's hair.

Gavin's mom laughed. "Gavin is notorious for leaving those little spinning toys of his around the living room if the tiny bruises under my feet say anything."

The two adults laughed at her unfunny dig, and Gavin rolled his eyes.

"Mom, can I show Connor my room now?" Then, he glanced at Connor's dad for an okay. "Is that all right?"

"Sure, honey," his mom said, while Connor's dad said, "S'okay with me."

Finally. Gavin carefully walked up to Connor like he was afraid he might blow if he moved too quickly. Luckily, Connor seemed a bit more relaxed being close to his dad, so when Gavin eased to his side and quietly asked Connor if he wanted to go see his toys, Connor gulped and gazed up at his dad.

"Go on, I'll be right here," the older man said, patting Connor's back. It took only a moment, but Connor finally started forward, and Gavin wasted no time in leading the way to his bedroom.

Gavin loved his bedroom. It was his safe spot, a space that was entirely his own with no dad dragging him down, no mom asking him to pick up his toys, and none of his "friends" who, before when he used to have them over, would play too rough and ended up breaking his toys.

He didn't think he'd have that problem with Connor.

When Connor walked in behind Gavin, he almost immediately relaxed from his rigid posture, the kid he knew from school slowly emerging once more, coming out of his hard shell.

"Here, take this," Gavin said handing Connor the controller to his brand new remote-control car his dad had bought him last week. He stood beside him and showed him which buttons moved what and which were the brakes, and Connor was a quick learner, he always had been, so when Gavin stepped back and flopped down onto his bed, he watched excitedly as Connor raced the little ATV around the floor, never once hitting something solid.

They played together for what felt like hours, going from the remote controller to Gavin's expansive collection of Beyblades, and when the sun started going down past the massive tree outside Gavin's window, Connor had a bright idea.

Connor carefully unraveled the blanket from Gavin's messed up bed and held it to the top of the dresser drawers, one eyebrow raised.

"You wanna make a fort?" Gavin said, already loving the idea. Connor nodded enthusiastically, and Gavin told him to hold on a minute while he went to get more blankets from the hall closet.

The carpet of the floor masked his running footsteps, so when he got to the closet door beside the kitchen, he hesitated a moment as his mom and Connor's dad's conversation drifted out to him.

"That must be very difficult to manage," his mom said softly, sadly, and Gavin dared to peek around the corner into the kitchen. His mom and Connor's dad were sitting at the kitchen table, coffee mugs in front of them both. His mom had a hand to her cheek and a faraway look in her eyes as Mr. Anderson chewed on his lip.

"It ain't easy, but I get on okay. Connor's a fine kid, damn near smarter than I was at his age. He's just … he's real anxious, you know? He just can't handle the pressure like we can, and so he just shuts down verbally. Or, so that's what the doctors tell me. Just wish there was a way to help him more. He talks just fine with me, but I'm not the whole world. He needs to branch out, and I'm not sure I'm doing enough to get that wheel turnin'."

His mom picked her head up to look at Mr. Anderson, and Gavin hurriedly pulled his head back and away from the kitchen before he could be spotted.

"You're doing the best you can," she said gently but firmly. "You said so yourself, just him wanting to come over here today is progress."

He heard the older man snort. "Yeah. The kid damn near talks my ear off all the time talking about your son, how he did this cool thing for him, and how he's so funny. It's the first time I've seen him come home and not whine about having to go back to school the next day. He's been wanting to come over for a while now, but he's … skittish about being around adults he don't know. But, I think the urge to see your son made him push through that today, and, well, here we are."

"Here we are," his mom agreed, and Gavin could hear the smile in her voice.

They didn't say anything more, and Gavin suddenly remembered about the blankets, so he turned back and opened the hall closet to get the blankets his mom put in there.

When he went back in the bedroom, his thin arms full of blankets it was just about covering his head, Connor raced over to him and took off the top load, dropping them to the floor beside them before picking up the top one and getting to work with getting it to stick to the top of the dresser drawer.

As Connor worked on trying to tie that one corner down onto his dresser drawer, Gavin felt frozen as he stood where Connor had dropped the blanket load, and he couldn't seem to get out of his head. Their parents' conversation just kept floating through him like a movie reel, and he was trying to understand everything he had just heard, trying to understand the tight feeling in his chest.

He was only able to come back when he felt a hand on his arm. Connor was gazing concernedly at him, his brown eyes wide, his eyebrows slanted, his touch warm on Gavin's arm.

"I'm glad you came," Gavin said, or more like whispered. The other boy was so close, barely a foot away, there was no need to be loud in this moment.

Connor's eyebrows smoothed out as Gavin said the words, and after a quiet moment, he patted his chest twice.

Me, too.

They smiled at each other, Gavin unusually shy and Connor characteristically shy, as they both took a moment to soak in the peace.

Gavin swallowed, and he knew if he didn't move away and make a joke in the next two seconds then he would do something stupid, like hug the kid, and Gavin still wasn't that much of a punk bitch.

"It's time to finish our Fort Knox," he said, throwing his hands up in a karate move. He was relieved when Connor only rolled his eyes playfully at him and headed back to finish the fort.

It didn't even take that long. They'd finished their fort in no time, and as they hid under it and looked at some of Gavin's comic books together with a flashlight, Gavin couldn't stop thinking about how today was the best day he'd ever had.

Then, their parents had to come and spoil it.

"Knock, knock," Mr. Anderson said, and both boys looked at each other, groans stilling in their throats. "Any boys hiding in this room?"

"Wow, look at this," his mother said in awe, and Gavin knew she was admiring the massive fort that expanded from his dresser drawers all the way to the end of his bed. "This is really something."

Gavin crawled out of the fort first and slumped on his knees as he gazed at his mom. "Five more minutes? I didn't even get to show him my DS."

She folded her arms across her chest. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but Mr. Anderson said it's getting close to Connor's bedtime. And, the same goes for you, too, buddy. You still need to take a bath, and—"

Gavin groaned dramatically at the word bath and flopped down onto the floor. The funny thing was he was seriously upset at this news, but he wasn't going to make too much of a fuss while Connor was here; that'd be so embarrassing.

Connor came crawling out next, and Gavin immediately threw himself back up onto his knees. "Can he come back over? Or, can I go over to his house? Please?"

And, how could they say no now? He said please! And, he never said please to anyone, much to his mother's dismay.

Her surprise definitely showed as she raised her eyebrows. "Oh my, now this really is a miracle," she said to herself and chuckled once. "Well, Connor is always welcome over here, but you'd have to ask Mr. Anderson about going over to his house."

Connor's dad shifted, and he looked uncomfortable as all eyes in the room turned to him for an answer. He scratched a hand through his beard and huffed a laugh, gazing at Connor. "I'd be surprised if Connor didn't want the kid to come over. Would you like that, Connor? You want him to come over our house next time?"

Connor pushed himself up and ran to his dad to pull on his arm. He waited until he had the man's attention before he rested his hands flat under his own cheek, miming going to sleep. Mr. Anderson chuckled and laid his arm around Connor's shoulders.

"He's so keen on the idea he's already thinking about sleepovers."

"Ooh, yes! Mom, please, can I go sometime?" Gavin said. And, he knew if he asked his mom instead of his dad that he'd probably get a yes from her, because his mom actually cared about his friends.

"It's no trouble," Mr. Anderson said, a soft smile on his face as he looked at Gavin's mom. "I've had my fair share of sleepovers with Connor when he was younger, so your boy is safe with me. I'm a cop, in case I didn't mention before."

"Are you, now?" she said, and Gavin watched as his mom lifted a playful eyebrow at him. "Is that supposed to make me feel better about letting my son go to a complete stranger's house? Because you're a cop?"

Connor's dad huffed a laugh as he squinted at her in interest. "You're a tough bargain. Okay, no, I get it. It's smart. You can come over for dinner some time and check the place out if that makes you feel better. Then, we can get back to talks of a sleepover."

His mom smiled, and it was that annoying smile that Gavin always shuddered at when she gave that same smile to his dad. "I'd like that. Gavin would like that, right, sweetie?"

"As long as I get to sleepover, then I'll like anything."

Gavin's mom chuckled, and he pushed himself up and ran to her so she could wrap him up against his side. Hey, Connor was doing it, so why couldn't he?

Mr. Anderson nodded stupidly, and Gavin was beginning to get annoyed at how Connor's dad kept smiling at his mom. "Sounds like a date, then."

Ugh.

His mom and Connor's dad guided them into the living room as they said their goodbyes, but it took another twenty minutes of the four of them just standing by the door as their parents talked about absolutely nothing. Connor sneakily pulled some hilarious faces at Gavin, and the two of them giggled to themselves during that brief time.

When Connor began yawning and rubbing sleepily at his eyes, Mr. Anderson finally took notice and said yet again that he had to go. This time, Gavin's mom let him, and as Connor waved to Gavin as he trailed down the steps of his porch, Gavin waved back, his mother waving beside him.

"I like that family," Gavin's mom said later that night as she tucked him into his bed. The fort was still up, and Gavin had negotiated for that to stay up because it was so cool, and it was something he and Connor had done together. If he had to do a few more chores around the house to keep that up, then it was worth it.

"Yeah, Connor is so funny. He's always making these dumb faces when the teachers aren't looking. And, he's spot on, too! He does it just like them."

His mom smiled softly at him and ran her fingers through his soft hair soothingly. Gavin's eyelids started drooping at the soft, comforting pressure; he loved when his mom did this.

"I'm so glad you have such a good friend, Gavin. I know I always told you how you never needed anybody, but this kid is the kind of friend I've always wanted for you. Someone who's kind and nice and doesn't break your toys," she said, going in for a quick tickle on his ribs. Gavin squealed once before he pushed her hands away. Then, she rested her hands atop the blanket once more. "Someone who makes you smile because I love seeing this smile. It's much nicer than that grimace you always used to wear."

Gavin picked at his mom's fingers on his blanket, gently pressing the pads of his thumbs into her nails. "That's because Connor is better than everyone else. Especially Kamski. He's such a cheater. I bet Connor wouldn't cheat at Blind Man's Bluff."

"And, the fact that Connor hasn't spoken to you doesn't bother you, does it?"

"No," he said honestly. Sure, Gavin always wondered what his voice sounded like, and he thought about how much easier it would be to communicate if Connor just talked to him, but that just wasn't Connor. "Connor talks in other ways. He talks with his hands and with his eyes. And, especially with his face. I always know what Connor is trying to say when I look at his face."

"That's beautiful," she said, and by now Gavin was so tired. He was almost drifting off even before his mom could leave. "I hope you realize how special this friendship is for Connor. You're the first real friend he's ever had, and I want you to watch out for him."

"What do you mean?" he said, but before he could even hear her answer he'd already fallen asleep, content and happy under his mother's hand.

They went over for dinner two weeks later. If it had been up to Gavin, they would have gone that very next day, but Gavin's mom insisted that they wait just a little longer.

It was a good thing, too, Gavin thought, because his dad went on a work trip yesterday. For some reason, Gavin was really apprehensive in telling his dad all about Connor. It's just that his dad could be so insensitive sometimes, and with Connor being mute, he thought his dad might not understand him in the way Gavin did, in the way his mom did.

So, today, his mother got them ready, laying out Gavin's best clothes for him. He hated it because it wasn't like he was going to one of his dad's fancy parties where they all had to go as a family and smile all day long. He was just going to his best friend's house. But, he did say he'd do anything so long as he could sleepover at Connor's, so he put his button up shirt on and his slick dress pants on without a word of complaint—maybe a few grumbles when his mom wasn't near, but not a word of complaint.

On the drive over to Connor's house, Gavin kicked his feet against the floor of the car, anxious. He was really excited to see what Connor's bedroom looked like and to see what kind of toys he had. And, he knew that Connor felt safe at home, and that's why that was pretty much the only place Connor actually let himself talk out loud to his dad. He wondered if he'd get to see that today. He wondered if he'd get to hear Connor speak for the first time.

They pulled up to the single story house, and before they could even shut the engine off, the front door had opened to reveal Mr. Anderson.

Connor's dad rushed out to greet them. Or, his mother, rather. He opened the car door for his mom like she couldn't get it herself, and Gavin rolled his eyes to himself as he followed his mom out of the car.

When Gavin caught sight of Connor peeking out from behind the front door to his house, Gavin made a dash for him, his overnight backpack thumping against his lower back as he ran inside the house.

"Robin! I'm so excited for the sleepover tonight. I brought my Beyblades, and that one comic we didn't get to finish," Gavin said as he rushed to unzip his backpack.

Connor bit his lip as he smiled at him, bouncing on his heels as their parents shuffled in behind Gavin.

"Sweetie, can you wait until after dinner to bring out the toys? Don't be rude," Gavin's mom said, and he could hear the undercurrent of a scolding in her tone, so he begrudgingly zipped his backpack closed and set it beside the couch.

Mr. Anderson's dinner sucked. It was spaghetti, and as Gavin dove in for the first bite expecting the same kind of taste that his mother made, he was sorely given a rude awakening when he was met with rubbery noodles. It tasted like he was chewing on bland cheese, the sauce slipping right off the rubbery, hard-to-chew noodles.

That was just the first bite. As he looked around the table to gauge everyone else's reaction, he was relieved to find Connor across from him, frowning down at his plate as he slid his fork back and forth across the food, trying to make it smaller. His mom was slowly but surely trudging her way through her plate like a true warrior; she'd still had a bunch on her plate, but she was doing the same thing Connor was doing in sliding her food around to make it look like she was eating more than she actually was.

Even Mr. Anderson seemed to be having a hard time chowing his food down as he continually gave tiny grunts as he chewed his food, coughing slightly into his fist.

His mom noticed Gavin not eating, and she kicked his foot under the table. He glanced at her, her smile tight and her eyes wide. "Eat it," she hissed through her teeth, low enough so only Gavin could hear.

"No way. It tastes like paper," he hissed back.

His mom choked at his words, and he could tell she was trying to hold in a laugh.

"All right, there?" Connor's dad said, his hand reaching out to rest easily on her arm. His mom blushed furiously at the attention and nodded.

"Yes," she said, and she wiped at her mouth with her napkin but not before she shot a subtle glare at Gavin.

Mr. Anderson sighed, long and deep, and both Gavin and Connor raised their heads at the sound. He was resting back against his chair, arms spread out along the table, a sheepish smile on his face.

"Not exactly five star gourmet living, is it?" Mr. Anderson said.

"I wouldn't even give this two stars," Gavin said, and he was being generous.

"Gavin, please," his mother said, smacking her napkin across his elbow in admonishment.

Across the table, Mr. Anderson chuckled. "Kid's just being honest; no fault there. Truth is, I don't actually cook very well or very often for that matter. Most nights, if I don't feel like going out and picking up some food, then I just pop in a quick meal in the microwave for me and Con and call it dinner."

His mother made a soft sound at that, a sad sigh. "Oh, well, that's no way to eat," she said gently, gazing at Connor with soft eyes. "What do you enjoy eating, sweetie?"

Connor tensed up at being addressed, and he folded his hands together on the table, his eyes flickering back and forth between his dad and Gavin's mom before landing back on his dad.

Mr. Anderson cleared his throat. "Connor doesn't like too much. He's a picky eater, so most of the time he ends up wanting some form of chicken. Chicken nuggets, chicken tenders, baked chicken, fried chicken, you name it. If it's got chicken, chances are he'll eat it."

This was something Gavin knew as well, and it was part of the reason he liked to sit beside him for lunch because Connor almost always packed a chicken sandwich for lunch—and Connor was kind; he shared.

Gavin's mom grinned brightly, and he knew ideas were sprouting in her head. She always had such spontaneous ideas, and Gavin suddenly felt his heart spike with wonder.

"That's an easy fix," she said, biting her bottom lip. Then, she faced Mr. Anderson. "Please tell me you have at least two pounds of chicken, some flour, and a whole bunch of different spices in that kitchen?"

Mr. Anderson pursed his lips as he thought, and after he tipped his chair back a little so he could peruse the entire kitchen around them, he dropped back to all fours and grinned. "You, my good lady, are in luck."

Gavin smiled as he watched his mother clap her hands excitedly before jumping up from her seat. She had just started opening cabinets when she stopped and turned back to the table where no one else had moved.

"I hope you don't think I'm making this whole meal by myself. I need the three of you up here, stat!"

Connor's dad grinned guiltily at both Gavin and Connor as he started to rise. "You heard the woman. Get to it."

For the next hour and a half, the four of them navigated the kitchen under his mother's orders, passing her this spice and putting this much pepper in the flour mix, and being careful to watch out for Connor's dad in the corner, who was very studiously chopping up the chicken into fine pieces, just the size of a chicken nugget.

It was so much fun, and it was something he'd never done before. He'd helped his mom in the kitchen before, but his dad was never a part of it. He was usually still coming home from work when mom made dinner, so by the time he got home, all the cooking was already over. But, in this house, everyone participated and everyone had a job to do. Connor was in charge of finding the spices and lining them up for his mother to use. Gavin was tasked with measuring out the amount of spice to put in. And, Mr. Anderson had the fun job of doing the cutting of the chicken.

His mom had the hardest job, though. She was in charge of actually cooking the chicken, and that always seemed hard to Gavin because when were you supposed to flip the chicken? How long were you supposed to leave it in for? What temperature were you supposed to set it for?

He didn't know the answer to any of these questions, but his mom knew. His mom knew everything.

Maybe that was why when they'd finally finished cooking all the chicken and had tossed them all in a bowl to eat out of together, the chicken tasted so much sweeter; because all four of them had a hand in it. Maybe his mom hadn't been lying when she said making the food with a little bit of love would make it taste so much better.

The four of them were sitting on and around the couch, watching a movie Connor had picked out, the parents actually setting on the couch, and Gavin and Connor sitting at their feet, the bowl between them. Connor was sitting with his knee pulled up and his back resting against the couch and his dad's leg, while Gavin was lying on his stomach, his chin in his hands, as they watched The Lion King. It was Connor's favorite, apparently, and Gavin had never actually seen this Disney movie.

About halfway through, when the young lion had started aging through quick time jumps, Gavin swiveled his body around to reach for another chicken nugget. His hand had just reached the bowl when his eyes drifted to his mother on the couch.

He watched and squinted at the way Connor's dad had his arm resting pretty comfortably on the back of the couch, right behind his mom's back. His mom had her head tilted toward Mr. Anderson as he whispered something into her ear, and then she giggled quietly into her hand at whatever he said. When she caught Gavin looking, she dropped her hand and straightened up, focusing back on the movie very pointedly now. When he checked on Connor's dad, he found him doing the same.

Gavin scooped up the nugget that he'd just had his fingers resting on and turned back to the movie, confusion sweeping through him. That was … weird.

But, Gavin didn't dwell on it. Adults always had their big people secrets they didn't want to share with the kids all the time, and this was just one of those things.

Gavin didn't catch the end of the movie. He ended up falling asleep right there on the floor.

When he woke up, he found Connor's hand flopped across his face. He knocked it away and sat up, taking in his surroundings. Connor was asleep on the floor beside Gavin, his arms flung out and his mouth wide open.

Gavin rubbed at his eyes and yawned as he got up to look for his mother. He found her in the kitchen, leaning against the kitchen counter with a steaming cup of coffee in her hand. When she caught sight of him, she smiled sleepily at him and beckoned him over.

"Morning, sweetie," she said, and when he reached her, she wrapped her arm around his chest, pulling his back against her front, and kissed the top of his head. "I can't imagine you slept well on that floor all night."

"It was okay," he said. Gavin was a sound sleeper and could sleep anywhere: the floor, the couch, he even slept in the bathtub one time, and that was only because he was sick, and the cold tile felt good against his clammy skin.

"The couch was okay for me, too. A bit too springy for my taste, but I didn't want to leave you while you slept last night."

"You coulda left if you wanted. I was fine here."

"I know, but, still."

Gavin let himself be swayed as his mother gently rocked them from side to side. It was quiet, and the fog of sleep still hung over Gavin, so her gentle swaying just had him closing his eyes in peace. Gavin thought he was always most content being right under his mother's gentle hand.

"Now, that I've seen this place and have gotten to know Hank a bit better, I think it would be okay if you spent a few nights over sometimes."

Gavin's eyes popped open, and he whirled around to face her excitedly. "Really?" Then, he frowned as her words washed through him. "Wait, Hank?"

"Yeah. Mr. Anderson. His name's Hank, and he actually said last night that we can just call him by his name. Even you."

Hank. It sounded much better than just calling him Connor's dad or Mr. Anderson.

His mother's eyebrows were downcast when he gazed back at her, and she seemed to be thinking about something as she chewed on her lip. "Gavin…" she started, hesitant.

"Mornin'," a gruff voice said behind Gavin, and he turned to find Hank walking into the kitchen and scratching at his head. "Glad to see you found the coffee maker. Just the pick me up I need right now."

His mother straightened once more and ushered Gavin to the side with her so Hank could reach the coffee pot behind them. "It's all yours. Thank you, again, for letting me stay. I know it was supposed to be a kids sleepover, but I just couldn't leave him without letting him know."

"Ah, don't worry about it. We ain't got much space here, but you're always welcome to treat this place as friendly. I mean, our boys are practically best friends, so I'm sure they'll be thinking of the other's house as a second home eventually."

His mother chuckled, sipping at the mug at her lips. "Suppose so," she said.

Hank poured himself a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter where his mom had been standing moments before. He glanced at Gavin as he took a quick sip out of his mug. "Why don't you go wake up that sleepyhead in the living room? I don't want him oversleeping, or else it'll be hell trying to get him to sleep at his normal bedtime tonight."

Gavin's mom had moved her hand to brush against the hairs at the back of Gavin's neck, and she pushed his back slightly to get him moving. "Go on," she said gently. "We have to go soon, anyway. We've gotta go pick up your dad at the airport."

"He's coming back already?" Gavin couldn't help the way he whined the question out. He knew these sleepovers wouldn't be a frequent thing with his dad around.

"Gavin," his mother admonished. Before she could lecture him on manners and respecting his dad, Gavin turned on his heel and ran to the living room.

Connor looked funny while he slept. His mouth was wide open, and a little bit of drool had crusted around his mouth, and as Gavin leaned closer to inspect his face without interruption, the smell of Connor's morning breath hit him, and he groaned lightly.

Gavin's lips tweaked up at the corners as he glanced around him for anything he could use to stick in Connor's mouth. How he wished he had a phone to take a picture with, but his parents said he couldn't have one for at least another year and a half, when he was 13.

He giggled to himself as his eyes landed on Connor's nerf gun on the ground beside Connor's feet. Little styrofoam bullets were lying beside it, and he grabbed the little green bullets up in his hand.

Gavin was just about to stick the bullets in Connor's mouth as if they were two giant teeth on the sides, but when he giggled softly once more right in Connor's face, the other boy suddenly roared and jumped up in Gavin's face.

He fell backward and screamed a very girly scream (though he would deny it when Connor brought it up again later) and oofed as his elbows hit the carpet.

Connor was now sitting up, clutching himself at the waist as chuckles burst forth.

"You're a douche," Gavin said as he pushed himself back up. He flung the bullets in his hand at Connor's face, and Connor brought his hands up to belatedly block the attack.

"I'm sorry," Connor said, that dumb smile still on his face.

Gavin was about ready to pounce on the other boy, but then his brain finally caught up to him.

Connor just talked. Like, with his words talked.

"Dude!" Gavin said, and he crawled right up to Connor and sat on his knees. "You can talk. I was really beginning to think you were a pirate whose tongue got cut out."

All traces of humor left Connor as he bit at his fingers, glancing around them, the realization that he'd just spoken out loud registering.

"It's just us," Gavin reassured him. "My mom's in the kitchen with your dad."

Connor nodded and looked at Gavin, a curious gaze, one that had Gavin flushing inside.

"I've never spoken to anyone before. Only my dad, and ... and my therapist, lately," Connor said, and as he said that out loud, a slow forming smile began to takeover his face, his eyes bright as he gazed at Gavin again. "I wish I could have done this sooner. Talk to you. I've always wanted to, but I just … couldn't. I don't know," Connor said, and Gavin was loving the soft, forward sound of Connor's voice.

"That teacher from last year once told me that you'd only start talking if you felt comfortable around that person. I can't believe it took you a whole year to get used to me," Gavin said, but he wasn't really salty about it, though. How could he be when Connor just said his first words to him?

Connor apparently felt guilty, though. "I'm sorry."

Gavin pushed his arm, trying to get that sad look off of his face. "Don't be. You're talking now, and that's all that matters. Oh, man, this is so cool! I've always wondered what your voice sounded like, and I gotta say, your voice sounds so … you. I don't know, but I can't imagine any other voice for you now."

Connor bit his lip, and then he grinned back at Gavin. "You should have seen your face. You were all, like." And, then Connor proceeded to mimic Gavin's scared face, only a hundred times funnier.

"Oh, yeah?" Gavin said, and Connor recognized the predatory look in his eyes, but he wasn't fast enough to scramble away before Gavin pounced on the boy, pinning him to the floor as he straddled his waist. Connor's tummy rumbled with laughter beneath him, and before Gavin could go for Connor's hair, the other boy surged forward and pushed Gavin off. They wrestled around for about a minute before the sound attracted their parents, and that was the end of that.

Gavin and his mom left soon after, and even though Gavin didn't see Connor for a few more weeks, the separation wasn't that bad. Gavin had the memory of Connor's voice that he carried with him every single day to hold him over.

It became a pattern. Gavin's dad would go on a business trip, which usually lasted about two or three days, and Gavin and his mom would go to visit Connor and his dad. Most days, the four of them went out to fun places, like the museum to see all the cool old artifacts from the time of dinosaurs, or the time they went to the water park and Gavin and Connor slid down all the different slides together.

Perhaps his favorite day of the summer came when they went to go do something simple. Feeding the ducks at the pond was something Gavin only ever did with his mother, never with his dad or anyone else. But, his mother had suggested it first, and Gavin was stoked at the idea.

The four of them had piled into Hank's car one day, and she showed him the way to the good pond.

Connor and Gavin played in the backseat with some of Connor's action figures the entire way. Connor didn't really speak anymore unless he and Gavin were alone and away from his mom. Apparently, as much as Connor said he liked his mom, he still didn't feel comfortable talking in front of her. Which Gavin understood. In fact, he would have been downright offended if he started talking to his mom anytime soon because it took Gavin a whole year of friendship before he'd even heard what the boy's voice sounded like! Connor only knew his mom for, like, two months already.

So, unless the two were completely alone, or Gavin's mom simply dropped him off at Connor's house without her, Connor hadn't talked too much.

When they reached the pond, Gavin took off racing with the bread pack in his hand, Connor trailing on his heels.

Gavin called it a pond, but this place was really a lake, flowing in a circle around a huge mall. There were little bridges so you could walk over the water to get to the other side, and that's where Gavin led Connor.

He sat down on the edge, dangling his legs over the bridge and resting his arms on the bar at his chest as Connor sat beside him and open up the bread.

"I love coming here," Gavin said, watching as their parents sat at a bench across the lake from them. The two of them were as cozy as ever, and they seemed to be getting closer every single time they met up.

Gavin always watched their displays with furrowed eyebrows because he'd never seen his mom be so friendly with other people she knew. He used to watch her interact like that with his dad, but he couldn't even remember the last time he'd seen his parents just laugh and be happy together.

It bugged Gavin to see Hank's arm around his mom all the time when they thought no one was looking, but he never said anything about it. His mom looked super happy, and he thought if she knew that he saw them all the time, then she'd stop being happy.

He didn't want that.

"What are you thinking about?" Connor said, and Gavin leaned the side of his face on the bars as he glanced at Connor.

This year, unlike the previous year, Connor's skin glowed with a new layer of a tan. They'd been spending most of their summer outdoors, and Gavin's skin was just a bit darker because he suspected he spent just a little more time outside than Connor did. He still played at the park with his friends when Connor wasn't able to hang out, but it wasn't as fun as being here right now, tossing bread out to the ducks gathered beneath their dangling feet.

"Just thinking about how middle school is gonna be. We're gonna have so many different classes, and I hope we get to share at least one class together."

Gavin snaked a piece of bread out from the bag and tore into it with his mouth, chewing off a bite before tossing the rest to the ducks.

Connor was quiet, and Gavin wondered if Connor had even thought about school, yet. It was only two weeks away, but Gavin felt like it was coming tomorrow. Like today was their last day of freedom.

"I'm scared," Connor said quietly, and Gavin slowly picked his head up as he studied Connor. "What if the teachers don't understand me, don't want to understand me and try to make me talk?" Connor gazed at Gavin, and his heart squeezed at the pure look of fear in the other boy's eyes. "I'm getting better, I know I am. My therapist says I am, but … I'm not there, yet. And, I'm gonna have seven different teachers, and what if one of them forgets?"

"Easy, Con, school's not even here yet," Gavin said, trying to get the kid to calm down, but Connor only shook his head, and he doubted the other boy even heard him.

"And, I probably won't even have you there to help me explain to them. A—And there will be so many more kids joining from other schools, kids who don't know me, and I heard middle school was the worst, and the kids are mean, and—"

"Connor! Relax," Gavin said, and he grabbed him by the shoulders to get him to focus. Connor was still panting heavily, his eyes darting from side to side as his thoughts continued to circle, and when Gavin smacked his hands against Connor's cheeks to get him to focus, Connor took an abruptly deep breath and held it. "Calm down."

Connor held his eyes steadily and released his pent up breath in a slow and steady stream. When Gavin felt that Connor wasn't going to go off again, he dropped his hands from his face, the warm air striking cold against his palms.

"You wanna listen for a sec?" Gavin said, and after a moment, Connor nodded. "I really don't think middle school is gonna be as bad as you think. I know a couple sixth graders from my neighborhood and some of them are really cool. I think they're only mean to the kids who are mean to them first, so you have nothing to worry about. You're, like, the nicest kid ever, and how can you offend anyone when you don't even talk?"

It was sound logic to Gavin, and he may have fibbed a bit when he said kids only picked on other mean kids. He'd seen some of the older kids in the neighborhood go after the young, the weak, the ones who didn't defend themselves, but he wasn't going to say any of this to Connor. Besides, if anyone tried anything with Connor, then Gavin would have no problem greeting his fist to their faces.

So, he wasn't lying: Connor had nothing to worry about.

"But, what about the teachers?" Connor said. "I can tell they get frustrated with me, sometimes, even though they try to hide it. Some of them just act like I'm deaf, and they just talk about me like I'm not even there, or like I don't know what they're saying."

Gavin frowned at him, unaware that these kind of instances occurred with him. But, his relationship with the other boy was always in a "now" moment. It wasn't like Connor could tell him about the kind of experiences he had, not when their communication was limited to what Connor wanted and felt in that moment they were together. If Connor wanted to share something more, then he usually wrote it down, but something like this, something that bothered him in a way that he couldn't just write down, well, Gavin never would have known if Connor hadn't told him.

"Screw them," Gavin said harshly, angry at everyone who had failed to treat Connor like a normal person. "They're our teachers, they're supposed to help us. Have you ever told Hank any of this?"

Connor shook his head and went back to throwing more bread into the water. "I didn't want to make a fuss. My dad can get pretty fiery with people when they make him mad, and my teachers might've just gotten mad at me if that happened."

"But, that's not fair to you, Connor. If that were me, I would have told my dad, and he definitely would have told the teacher off. He's scary like that." Gavin kicked his feet into the air as he tried to imagine that scenario. It seemed pretty funny in his head, actually.

"If that were you, you probably would have just told them off yourself and have to stay in for recess," Connor said, and when Gavin smirked at him, he found Connor smiling sadly.

Gavin didn't really know what came over him. Maybe it was because Connor looked so sad, or maybe it was because Gavin was so relaxed being here at this pond, doing the thing he loved with his best friend, but for whatever reason (not one of them being that he was a punk bitch) he wrapped his arm easily around Connor's neck, and he might've pulled him into his side a little bit.

Might have.

"If these teachers here in middle school act like you're dumb or whatever, you don't have to tell Hank if you don't want to. Tell me instead, and I'll handle it."

He felt Connor rumble at his side as he huffed a laugh. "You'll handle it? What can you do, you're only eleven."

"I'm Batman, Robin, and no one crosses me or my sidekick."

Not unless they wanted classic Reed to make an appearance.

And, no one enjoyed that.

Hii! So, after my last story, I found that I just couldn't quit this pairing, so here i am with another nearly 50k story about Connor and Gavin growing up together, and I have to say, I was pretty excited about this. I wrote this whole thing as one continuous piece, but it was way too long, so I reluctantly split it into three chapters for easier reading.

I'm completely done with this work, and so i will be posting the next two updates on Monday and Wednesday. I hope you enjoyed!