Hey all!

Well, by writing this Story, I think I've given my old identity away. Yep, I am BuntyBadger, old time user of this site. Recently I have been reading though my old posts, and found one story that I would like to re-write. It's "Friends Forever"... but I like to think I've tried to improve a lot of it. Since writing the original story I've found myself in the caring profession and working closely with the medical side of things, such as nurses, medications, hospital environments, making my knowledge and researching more effective in general.

I hope you enjoy the new and improved story!

Tick... Tick... Tick...

Bloo watched the door intently, his eyes almost burning holes into the antique cherry timber before him. A tin of paint he held on his left arm weighed him to one side, and the hammer he held in his right was held up in almost frightening enthusiasm. Today was the day. The Day they would complete the MOST awesome, MOST amazing, MOST spectacular project EVER. The Herriman Piñata. He had absolutely no idea how to make a piñata of course, but he was sure a pot of paint could be thrown in there somewhere, and the hammer for good measure.

Tick... Tick... Tick...

Why does that darn clock have to tick so much? Why not "tock" for a change? Man, that clock was starting to irritate him something chronic. Just one hit. Herriman need never know. Bloo dropped the paint pot on the floor where it rolled in abandon and climbed the nearest furniture to reach the offending regulator, hung on the wall high above the reaches of most imaginary friends.

But Bloo was not "most imaginary friends". He soon reached the timekeeper, chuckling madly through gritted teeth. He pulled the hammer back behind his shoulder and just as he was about to commit murder on it, the door burst open, causing light and life to flood into Foster's foyer.

"OH MY GOSH BLOO!" A girl's voice shrilled throughout the home, causing Bloo to drop his hammer in surprise. He squinted at the familiar form in the doorway, dark against the sun that shone so brilliantly behind her. She pointed herself towards the blob and took a running leap at him, rugby tackling him to the floor and rolled to the centre of the room. The two grunted in their endeavours of play fighting, and didn't notice the second figure to slip into the room.

His thick brown eyes smiled at the two tussling friends on the floor, and felt a surge of delight uplift him. He had been promised a brilliant day by Bloo the day before and had been lucky enough to bump into Goo on the way to the home. And when the three of them were together, anything could happen.

And he meant anything. He still had the scars.

"MAC!" Goo yelled mid-nelson to the boy before her. "THINK FAST!"

And at that, the two friends flew at Mac with the force of two mini tsunamis, each individual enough to knock a grown man off his feet. Unsurprisingly they fell together in an ungraceful heap halfway across the room, a tangle of limbs, hair and excitement.

"Bloo says he has a REALLLLLY REALLLLLY cool thing to do today and I thought that's so cool because Bloo always has the best ever ever ever ideas and..." GAAAAASP "Frankie's gonna give us the materials and EVERYTHIIIING!" She squished her face in her palms in unbridled joy.

"She's giving... us... materials to make a Herriman piñata?" Mac gasped and coughed under the figures pinning him to the floor. The coughs juddered through the tangled trio violently, and Goo and Bloo looked at each other in concern.

"Oh man Mac, you STILL have that cough? How long's it been f'r Pete's Sake?" Bloo groaned as the two rolled off him, giving Mac some air.

"About... *coff* about a *hack!* week now, I think *caff caff caff*" Mac hacked into his palms and once he was finished, held his head in his hands. A few seconds later he pulled away, and looked up his friends before him with a bright smile.

"Ohhh man, you do! You have a temperature and eeeeeverything!" Goo shot out her hand to the boy's forehead, which was quickly swatted away in frustration. "You should eat some chicken soup 'cos last year I had the flu, and flu reaaaaally sucks you can't breathe and you get sick and get a temperature JUST LIKE YOURS! So mom made me some of this chicken soup and I was like 'GROSS IT'S YELLOW' and mom said sorry but she can't cook all that good but I ate it anyway and it was lumpy and I got better a few days later," GAAAAAAAASP.

Mac shot Goo a withered look. She was sweet and all but sometimes she worried a bit too much. The phlegm in his mouth made him gag a little so with a little shudder, Mac swallowed it with a loud GULP. Bloo shot his hands over his mouth and made a face of disgust.

"OH MAN MAC! That is SICK!" Bloo shrieked in horror. "Why didn't you spit it out? That's disgusting!" His tongue lolled about his chin, his eyes squinting in revulsion.

"Because I don't wanna spit it! We're in the front room; I don't wanna put it all over the floor,"

"Thank you, Mac," A voice above them sounded. The three turned their faces upward to the woman who towered above them, her hands by her sides holding plastic bags full of what looked like crepe paper, scissors and glue.

"I have to clean up gob all the time as it is," She eyed Bloo with green-eyed suspicion. "So don't think of doing it anytime soon, mister," The blob crossed his arms and looked away.

"Dun thin of doin it anytime blahblahblah blah blah!" He mimicked, but withered when the woman snapped to face him and narrowed her eyes.

"SO! Who's up for piñatas!" She smiled and held up the plastic bags. "I thought we could make an activity for the other friends too. It'll be fun!"

Goo shot to her feet. "Other friends?" She grinned toothily at the redhead before her, who nodded and gave Goo the plastic bags. Her eyes widened in excitement and raced to the dining room, followed closely by Bloo shouting "WAIT FOR ME! WAIT FOR ME!"

"NOT IN THE DINING ROOM GUYS! IN THE ACTIVITY ROOM! ACTIVITY ROOM!" Frankie hollered after them, and the two left behind heard a screech and a change of direction as the footsteps thundered down the corridor.

"Hey Mac, why aren't you with them?" Frankie looked down the eight year old who was still seated on the floor.

"I don't feel very well Frankie. I kinda got a nasty headache, had it since this morning," Mac smiled wearily. Frankie, her instincts sounding loudly in her head, knelt down next to him and, brushing the mop of chestnut bangs away from his neck, felt under his jaw. Beneath her fingertips she felt a lump about the size of a hazelnut, and one on the other side. Her green eyes darted as Mac winced and wrenched his face away, pushing her hands aside.

"Ohhh Mac. Your glands are really swollen. Haven't you been taken to the doctor yet?"

Mac looked away and played with his fingers. "Mom just says I've got the flu. To be honest I really should be at home but I was so bored watching TV I snuck out and came here,"

"Didn't she stop you?" Frankie looked concerned at this news.

"She doesn't know. She's still at work 'till six tonight and Terrence left me to see his friends,"

Frankie sighed knowingly and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Little guy, I really think you should go home. You've had this for about a week now, you might be pushing yourself too hard. Go home; I'll take you there now. Get some bedrest and I'll talk to Terrence about getting your mom to take you to the doctor," Frankie smiled warmly as Mac started to protest. "Relax kiddo, Terrence listens to me these days. He just needed to be put in his place,"

The child pushed himself up onto his feet and pulled his backpack onto his shoulders. "But what about Bloo and Goo? I don't wanna let them down. They're really looking forward to me being here,"

Frankie put her hand on his shoulder and turned to walk towards the door with him. She looked over her shoulder and, with an impressive yell, called out to the inhabitants of the home.

"HEY GUYS? I'M GONNA BE 10 MINUTES, JUST GONNA TAKE MAC HOME OK? BEHAVE YOURSELVES!" Her voice reverberated throughout the corridors, and from around the corner two faces, covered in glue and sparkles and crepe paper and bizarrely, alien boppers on their heads, peered to watch Mac go out the front door with Frankie.

"Hey Mac, where ya' goin'?" Goo questioned. "We got way so much t'do!"

"Mac's not feeling very well and needs some rest. He'll be over again soon, won'tcha kiddo?" Frankie smiled back at the imaginary friend and the girl watching the two with intense curiosity.

"I'll be back tomorrow guys! Have fun, ok?" At this he turned to hack as he walked out, the door shutting behind them with a click.

"D'ya think he's ok, Bloo?" Goo sighed, fiddling with a bopper that sprang backwards and forwards.

"He's fine, Goo. Just got a cough... and he said he'd be back tomorrow!" Bloo took her hand and led her back to the activity room, which was filled with the busy forms of various imaginary friends seated around tables in different stages of crafting. He held above his head a PVA stick, and with a primal yell that echoed around the other friends, he declared a message.

"LET THE GLUE-ENING... BEGIN!"