Olivia had dug her snout deeper into her notebook upon seeing us return… with Naser in tow. The pterodactyl had noticed the baryonyx as well, his gold eyes widening to briefly indicate that he had recognized Olivia as the girl he had crashed into the other day. And for the record, it was not my idea to have the two sit directly beside each other, it just so happened that was the closest chair to Naser when he had arrived, the pterodactyl folding in his good wing and sitting down as Olivia pretended to be further absorbed in her notebook. Worden was the first to ask. “So what’s your name man?” Naser seemed caught off guard despite the normal question, “Oh, me?” He then gave a nervous smile. “My name’s Naser.Aaron.” He said the name I always knew before extending his claw. “It’s nice to meet you.” It seemed a little too formal for the occasion, but I couldn’t really blame Naser for being a little awkward. He was the popular kid of Volcano High… but outside of his comfort zone, and especially, outside of school, he was far out of his element here. “Oh, we’re doing-?” Worden had to stand up to accept it, “I’m Worden Jack.” They shook on it as Doe placed a hand on her chest, standing to accept his claw. “And I’m Doe Marette! It’s nice to meet you, Naser.” Naser nodded, turning his snout to me with his claw open. Ah, fuck it. Awkward greeting or not… it felt super good to meet Naser again after so long. I swing my arm to the side and clap my claw against his own, grasping it with a smile on my snout. “Anon Agos. Good to have you at the table bro.” Naser seemed slightly surprised, hopefully not too overwhelmed by my sudden outwardness. Thankfully, he slowly smiles back, shaking on our handclasp. “Thanks....” He then relinquishes his arm, turning to Olivia. “And you are…-?” I peer past his shoulder to try and give Olivia a reassuring smile. She doesn’t see it. Instead, the baryonyx somehow reads even more deeply into her notebook for a few seconds before reaching for her water canteen to take a big, nervous swig. She was already quite distant when meeting new people, but to meet with her crush for the first time? This was going to be tough for her. Slowly, Naser’s good wing began to droop, his head slowly peering away as he unfortunately began to get the wrong impression. “Uh… I-” A flash of Olivia’s grey-gold eyes seemed to peer between him and the book, realizing that she had to say something. And with tremendous force, she stood up from her seat, so suddenly that her tail had tipped her chair back as it fell to the floor with a loud clatter, startling Naser and the rest of us. “O-Olivia!” Naser looked back, taken aback. “My name’s Olivia and…-!” She then seemed to get a hold of herself, more calmly saying the next part. “I’m not angry about that time you crashed into me.” It seemed so random and out of pocket to declare, especially since it happened a few days ago… But ironically, Olivia had somehow hit the nail perfectly on the head as Naser let out a huge sigh of relief, now no longer as tense as his good wing assumed a normal position. “Oh thank god. I really thought that really was the case and-” He then let out an unsteady chuckle, perhaps realizing that he was talking too much before finally smiling. “... It’s good to finally know you, Olivia.” The baryonyx pauses, her eyes peering at mine for a moment to see my grin before looking back, a small smile building on her snout. “Yeah, you too.” Before trying to sit back down, having completely forgotten that she had tipped the chair over. Olivia’s eyes widened as she fell back atop the floor, now lying down and blankly staring up at the ceiling, Naser’s eyes widened. “Woah! Are you okay?!” “... Yeah.” Naser, ever the good boy, went forward to help her up as I put her chair back up for her to properly sit. Olivia murmured a thanks to us both, returning to her book to subtly doodle and distract herself from the embarrassing event, Worden once again being the first to speak up as Naser’s attention turned to him. “So what school do you come from, Naser? Cretaceous Public?” He shook his head, “Nah, I’m from Volcano High, in Volcaldera Bluffs.” “I knew it!” Doe spoke up, “Most students coming from schools in Janoga Park are usually in bigger groups, kind of surprised you committed to the 2-hour bus drive.” “Heh, yeah… yeah…” Naser brought a claw to the back of his head. “Well, actually, I was supposed to come with another student from my school, a megalodon named Chad…” He then shrugged, “But he had to drop out at the last second to deal with some family stuff.” “So you’re here all by yourself…?” The question surprisingly came from Olivia, looking from her notebook to briefly stop drawing. And I watched as Naser slowly peered down, a small frown on his face and his brows raised. I knew him too well to know that something was definitely eating at him. So I chose the moment to speak up, but not push it… Not yet at least. “Then it’s a good thing we found each other.” I say with a brightening smile on my snout, “You eat yet?” Naser’s head lifted up, “Not yet. I usually don’t eat until I finish training…” His claw moved away from his head, removing the other from his claw to clutch at his growling stomach. “... Which is now actually. Do you guys have any recommendations from the cafeteria?” “The steak’s good.” Worden suggested. “Just keep in mind that it can be kinda tough to chew sometimes.” “Will do, lemme just…” He reached into his pocket before freezing up, feeling up his other pocket. The telltale sign.of- “I left my wallet at the dorm.” Naser simply said before slumping back down into his chair, a devastated look on his face. “Damn, that’s unlucky.” I remarked as I brought out my very own packed lunch, shrugging. “Alright then, you can have half my sandwich.” Naser looks at me, his eyes wide. “Huh? A-Are you sure?” I will never forget his brave sacrifice of his footlong philly sub that he had split with me on my first day of Volcano High. Guess everything had come full circle for me to finally pay that back. “Of course man, you must be starving after running all day.” I then handed him half a ham and cheese sandwich. “Thanks, I-” A plop suddenly was heard on the table, Olivia having silently donated her entire ziplock bag from her lunchbox, filled to the brim with raptor-shaped dino nuggies, Naser left stunned. “Oh, you really didn’t have to Ol-” “Ooh! Ooh! Take my drink too!” Doe added, rolling a can of soda over, Naser catching it with a startled claw before it fell off the table. “Okay, okay thanks but-” “Ice cream.” Worden simply announced as if casting an ability, claw outstretched as a covered cup of vanilla cream suddenly appeared on the other side of the table, the classic form of misdirection. “... Now I just feel completely indebted.” Naser murmured, now staring at the entire lunch before him as the three of us burst out into laughter, Olivia briefly looking at him with a small smirk on her snout. “You guys always this charitable?” He asked, yet all the while his tone sounded grateful. “Well, to be honest, I kinda just jumped the bandwagon.” Worden admitted, “But I don’t regret it.” He then seemed to remember, “Oh yeah, we also got boxing club afterschool, probably not a good idea to eat ice cream anyways.” “Boxing club? There’s a boxing club at this school?” Naser asks, a hint of surprise in his voice as Worden nodded. “Yeah, Anon and I have been apart of it since fourth grade.” “Since fourth grade? Damn…” Naser looked at me, “That explains your grip, felt like my dad’s claw for a second there!” He said with a chuckle, not realizing he had dropped one of the biggest compliments I had ever gotten. … Holy shit. Was Naser serious? My grip strength was Mr. Ripley levels of powerful? I was put in a brief existential out-of-body experience as I stared at my own claw, Naser looking back to Worden as his snout chomped into his gifted sandwich. “Wait, so…” He finished swallowing a piece, “Is everyone on this table apart of a sports club?” Doe nodded, “I’m in badminton.” “Swimming.” Olivia simply said. “Wow, you guys are pretty sporty.” Naser complimented, gulping down a dino nuggie. I rub the back of my neck with my claw. “To be fair, we kind of had to have an afterschool sport beyond fourth grade.” I explained, “Mezosoic Private is one of those schools that advertises a fitness regime for its students.” Naser shook his head, taking a sip from the soda can Doe had donated. “Huh… well, Volcano High’s got nothing like that, although we do have a lot of clubs, none of them are mandatory.” Naser then paused, “Well, okay maybe one of them is technically. Our gardening club, but that’s because its a punishment for detention.” Didn’t I know it… Ach, no more smarmy interjections by me, it had been a miracle so far that my mutter was much less prevalent in this life, listening intently beside Doe, Worden, and Olivia as Naser continued. “But thanks to that, Volcano High is like the number one in the natural beauty department.” Olivia paused her drawing to murmur as she began a new doodle. “Sounds kinda nice actually…” “Yeah. Mezosoic Private’s got no such trophy.” Worden snorted, “You’d think it being built in the 20's would mean that stuff would look nice, but if anything, some of the classrooms look like they’ve been left alone ever since they were built, just absolutely dilapidated.” “Heh, I guess everything has its upsides and downsides.” Naser said with a smile, now scooping up some ice cream with a small wooden spoon that came with the pack before glomping his snout into it. He then seemed to notice Olivia drawing, his eyes blinking as he took the spoon back out his snout. “... Are you drawing?” Olivia suddenly flinched, “Y-Yes!” She then paused, “I mean… Yeah.” And in a surprising move, actually offered to show it. “You… wanna see it? Hoo boy. The baryonyx was going to reveal some of her power level… Obviously, it wasn’t her ‘real’ power level, knowing that the other notebook was back at her house, but the thing about Olivia was that she was kind of our resident shitposter, usually doodling what occurred at the table in her free time. Exposing Naser was either going to have him laugh out loud or extremely confused, and I knew how painful the latter was when trying to impress someone. Fortunately, it was definitely the former that occurred, his cheeks inflating and snout letting out broken air before opening, letting out a laugh. “Ha! Is that me?!” He pointed in the picture as I peered over his shoulder, noticing that Olivia had drawn a really good sketch of him running like a familiar blue Deinogalerix, escaping a cage full of students in florist gear and yelling ‘ You’re too slow! ’, his good wing drawn more like a sailboat that was giving him wind, all the while other random doodles like Worden in a wizard’s getup summoning an ice cream cone and Doe tossing a can at high speeds, her body morphed into the typical shonen protagonist build of a certain ‘Joji’s Strange Escapades’ series. And then there was me, lying on the floor, drawn to look more like an inanimate doll, communicating through a small speech bubble ‘ Defeating a sandwich, only makes it tastier ’ “This is slander.” I argued with faux outrage, “I’ll have you know that I’ve never committed a hate crime on a sandwich, so I wouldn’t know that fact.” I argue my case as I cross my arms. “Slander is spoken. In print, it's libel.” Olivia fact-checked with a smug smirk before giving Doe and Worden a brief look at her notebook. “Aw, why do I look super scary?” “Heh, I should grow a beard when I grow up…” Olivia then returned the paper to her side, looking to Naser. “Do you… like it?” “Are you kidding!?” Naser exclaimed, “I love it!” His snout opened with an enthusiastic smile. “I just can’t believe you drew all this in like, what? Five minutes?” He then gestured with a claw to the notebook, “And have it look this good.” The pterodactyl then tilted his head, “Are you an artist?” The baryonyx paused, clearly overwhelmed after receiving all those compliments by her secret crush, a blush growing on her cheeks as she looked down. “Sorta?” She simply said before pausing, ripping the paper from the notebook. “Here… you can keep it.” “Wha- Seriously?” Naser asked in surprise, claws gently grasping the paper as the pterodactyl looked down at it for a moment, “... Thanks.” He then looked back up, a bright smile on his snout. “I’ll show this to my parents tonight and maybe Lu-” Naser then froze up, his gold eyes blinking as a cold comfort rose beneath my scales. My eyes close as I resist the urge to let out a weary sigh. It seemed that the more things changed, the more they stayed the same. Because I instantly knew with those two letters where Naser’s problems were likely coming from, even if I didn’t know the exact reasons as to why. Naser’s sister. Fang. Or… I guess her name at this point, the one I had read on her very own tombstone… Lucy. I calm myself before slowly reopening my eyes, turning to see Naser peering down at the table with that distant look and small frown he sported way too much for his own good, Olivia speaking up. “... You okay dude?” He looked at her, “... Yeah, I’m fine.” Naser then paused, snout briefly opening and closing as if he wanted to say something to Olivia before he looked suddenly conscious of the rest of us listening in. “Um, never mind... It’s nothing.” The pterodactyl then checked his smartphone, “I should probably get back to studying.” He then began to stand, a grateful look on his snout. “Thanks a lot you guys, I’ll find some way to pay you all back for what you did for me.” “You can start by stopping by when you have some free time.” I say with a smirk on my snout, “Not often we get to hang out with a student from another school.” Naser paused before nodding, “Sure thing.” He then looked away with one last smile, checking his phone in an anxious manner as soon as his back was turned, leaving the cafeteria, Olivia’s drawing held gently in his other claw. The silence over our table made it pretty obvious that we all knew something was wrong, and it seemed Olivia was the most affected by that fact, resting her snout over her claw as she stared at where Naser was. But before we could even speak a word… The bell had rung. And our food was still hardly eaten, our eyes widening. … Crap. “ By the power of love, I will defeat you, evil demon lord-! ” The cringy dubbed dialogue from the anime, the type Stella would enjoy, filled the living room of our house. Olivia and I watched on the couch, lying away from each other to occupy the opposite ends. With Dad coming back home late and Mom meeting with some friends after leaving some generous leftovers in the oven, Olivia and I spent the night just watching some crappy shojo anime on the TV that neither of us even knew the name of, it just happened to be on. I guess it was pretty obvious that Naser’s unhappiness was affecting us even now. While any normal person or dino would probably not have been bothered… that did not apply to us, seeing as Olivia and I had some serious connection to the grey and orange pterodactyl. For me, it was because I ‘knew’ Naser from my past, and for Olivia it was because he was her crush. Just a weird and troubling situation all around. I could try and fix it, really push the subject using my knowledge of his own life and try to solve what was bothering him. Except that didn’t feel… right in the slightest, if not the absolute wrong thing to do, even pervasive in a way. Naser’s issues were his own, and trying to take advantage and control was a recipe for disaster if I learned anything from my past life. And besides, he didn’t look ready to talk yet. … At least not to me. I lift my head from the arm, staring at Olivia as she slowly drew out a sketch that was completely unrelated to the show, instead working on another drawing of Naser. However this time, it didn’t seem to be drawn with some fawning ‘reverence’ for his athleticism or good looks, but rather how he was, sat at the table with a thoughtful frown. “Guess you noticed he was upset too, huh?” Olivia pauses before continuing her drawing. “... Yeah.” I pause before sitting up to ask, “How do you feel about him now?” The baryonyx held up the piece of paper, staring at it for a moment. She then spoke. “Naser’s not perfect…” Olivia slowly smiled, “But he is pure.” … I don’t think anyone could’ve phrased that in a better way. Naser was far from perfect for a pterodactyl who felt the need to be perfect… but he really was a pure guy, with not a single bad bone in his body, the type you really did want to help out. … Barring the fact that he was also really naive and liable to do the wrong thing at the worst time. “Now I wanna help him out and stuff…” She then lowered the paper, “But I don’t know how.” “Nothing wrong with not knowing that.” I said with a reassuring smirk, sitting beside her. “If everyone could fix each other's problems, then we wouldn’t have them.” My smile slowly disappeared. “Naser’s got his own issues Olivia, just like everybody… but…” I shrug. “I guess the best thing to do is to just be there for him if he needs someone to talk to.” “... Yeah…” Olivia slowly agreed. Naser wasn’t ready to share his troubles with our group. … But maybe he would with Olivia, if I had read his expression right. And as for why? Well, I kinda knew the answer from my parents, back when Olivia had first moved in. As I had been there for her, now she was being there for someone else. Olivia had clearly shown that she cared about Naser. And that was more than enough. “Wow, this ‘Skin Row’ place sounds frickin’ intense!” Billy exclaimed. A nerdy troodon sat beside the carnotaurus, adjusting his glasses to nod. “To that, I agree! It sounds like a zone rife with random encounters!” I rolled my eyes, taking a sip from my soda can as I listened to the exchange, refusing to think up any smarmy comments in my head as Olivia quietly drew in her notebook. Naser scratched the back of his head bashfully. “Well… to be honest, I’m just telling what I’ve heard from others and seen on the news.” He admitted, “I’ve never actually been there myself.” “Still, that’s insane that a neighborhood like that actually exists.” The carnotaurus seemed to try and put a claw beneath his snout in thought, only to give up upon realizing that his arm was far too short. “I mean, we got nothing like that out here in Janoga Park.” “Indeed, but I would consider that a crucial blessing, for-” The troodon was about to continue before a female troodon passed by, wrapping her arms over her shoulder as the nerd was briefly startled, letting out a cut-off scream. “Ah-!” “Isaac C. Kleiner.” She said with a giggly tone, her sharp teeth showing off braces. “Oh fiddlesticks, what now?” The troodon named Isaac asked jokingly, clutching her arm. “There’s a new ice cream flavor being sold… you wanna split a cone with me?” “Why of course, Stacy.” He then stood up, waving a quick goodbye to Naser. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Naser of Volcano High, but I must be off.” The two then left, Billy turning back to Naser. “Yeah, it was cool meeting you dude.” Billy agreed, “But I’m gonna have to cut this short too.” The carnotaurus then stood up, “Cause I just learned that there’s a new ice cream flavor on the block.” With those two gone, it now left Olivia, Naser, and I sitting. … Which reminded me, where the hell was Doe and Worden? I couldn’t even remember the last time they were absent from the table as Naser spoke up, head turned to me. “I gotta say, I’m surprised how many students came by to visit and talk.” Naser admitted, “I didn’t think this was a popular table.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask, taking on a serious look as the pterodactyl panicked. “Oh I- Sorry I-I didn’t mea-” I then laughed, dropping the act. “I’m just messing with you bro.” Naser let out a sigh of relief, “You’re right, we’re not the popular kids' clique, if anything, we’re more like-” “The B clique.” Olivia answered for me. Naser briefly looked at her before turning back to me. “The B clique?” He asked as I nodded. “We just chill out and… well, students kinda just come to us and hang out because of that.” I explain, “No drama or gossip about us here, just cool vibes.” “That… actually sounds really nice…” Naser admitted, “I can’t think of any such group existing back in my school, a lot of students in Volcano High are either obsessed with being popular…” He then seemed to frown. “Or want to do nothing but tear others down.” I quietly grimaced, knowing a bit about what he was talking about too, the first coming to mind being the very first day that VVORM DRAMA had played in the auditorium. Although their music wasn’t very good, the absolute ridicule they faced was staggering. Even from me, contributing to the laughter… Back before I knew Fang… I close my eyes, resisting the urge to sigh as I reopened them, Olivia speaking up. “Damn, you make your school sound shitty.” She brutally noted, Naser stuttering. “W-Well, I mean-!” He then looked down, “I’m probably making it sound more worse than it actually is, but I will admit you guys have it a lot better here, especially with regards to popularity.” “To be fair-” Olivia nodded her snout to me, “The movie we made in fifth grade gave us a boost, especially in the credits when Anon played guitar.” “You guys made a movie?” Naser asked before turning to me, his gold eyes wide. “You know how to play guitar?!” “Well I-” Now it was my turn to be bashful and stuttery. I really, really wasn’t the type to jerk off my ego unless it was to be ironic. In fact, just the other day, Doe had leaked to me that some girls had actually found me… attractive, especially after hearing me play the credits of our Literally E movie. Now that had been a total mindfuck, especially considering that in my past life, not a single dino or hell, even person, liked me growing up. “-I dabble, did a few lessons and stuff. So I can play decently well.” I explain it off, Naser nodding. “That’s cool, my sis-” He then paused again, the words caught in his snout as he looked down. “I mean…-” Oh boy. It was painfully obvious to me that his problem was stemming from Fang… or Lucy at this point. I quickly decided to move on. “Well if we’re talking about popularity, then you gotta know that students literally pay Olivia for her artwork.” The baryonyx looked at me with shock, as if unbelieving that I was putting her in this position after doing me dirty. Yet she seemed to change her mind as Naser turned to her with a smile on his snout. “I can believe that.” I look to Olivia, a slight smirk on my snout. “Got any works to show Naser? She seemed to realize what I was planning, awkwardly fidgeting with her pencil before nodding. “... Yeah, I got a few…” Olivia then looked back, turning a page to show some actual sketches and colored, Naser attentively watching beside her as he looked over the page, listening to her explanations. Maybe I would have to step in and try to coax something from Naser, because whatever the matter was regarding Fang was now beginning to take its toll… There will be a talk… Right after I went to the bathroom. I placed my soda down and silently took my leave, walking down the cafeteria, my thin tail lazily swaying behind me. I was just about to reach my destination too, before I felt a claw grab at my camo jacket. “Whu-” I was immediately pulled to the side into a separate hallway, my eyes wide upon seeing the perpetrator to be Worden, the allosaurus gesturing for quiet, Doe silently standing beside him. “Worden, Doe? What’re you-?” “Shh!” He shushed, my snout shutting as I whispered. “Where’ve you guys been all lunch?” “Here.” He simply answered. “... Why?!” I whispered loudly, Doe now shushing me before whispering to me. “Because we wanted to give Olivia and Naser time alone.” … Holy shit. “You guys knew?!” I almost yell before Worden practically grabs my maw and shuts it close with his claw. “It was pretty obvious.” Doe then peeked around the corner. “Look, they’re talking!” Worden immediately let go of my snout, joining Doe to peek around the corner. “What are they saying? I can’t hear them.” Man… this felt like an invasion of Olivia and Naser’s privacy, just silently trying to eavesdrop on them. Too bad I had begun to do it right beside the Doe and Worden, peaking from down below as I noticed nothing out of the ordinary, Olivia telling Naser something. It was only when I focused my gaze that I had begun to surprisingly pick up on their conversation, compsagnathus’s were known to have keen senses after all. “-and this one’s just Anon tripping, I think it looks funny.” I frown, now wishing for a moment that I didn’t have those keen senses before reluctantly continuing my listening in, hearing Naser chuckle as Olivia asked. “So uh, what’d your parents think of my drawings?” “My dad didn’t get it at all, but my mom loved it.” Naser declared, “I just wish that…-” Yet before he could break out into whatever he was going to say, he paused, as if one of her works had caught his eye. “... Hey, what’s that one?” “Oh, the flowers on the sidewalk?” Olivia explained, “Just some homework from art class the teacher had us draw.” “Cool… it’s just that-” He then paused, “In Volcaldera Bluffs, because the city was actually built on a lot of fertile volcanic land, wild flowers easily grow from cracks on the sidewalk.” “Seriously?” Olivia asked, “... Then that could’ve been the reference photo I was given.” “Maybe…” There was a pause before Olivia asked. “Are you homesick Naser?” Damn. Olivia could be quick and to the point with her words at times, Naser stuttering. “N-No I just-” There was a pause before I heard him sigh. … “Do you have siblings, Olivia?” My eyes widened, Olivia pausing for a moment before answering. “Kinda, yeah.” “Kinda?” “Anon is sorta my brother.” I blink at that, a small smile building on my snout. Too bad it seemed Naser didn’t get it. Naser shook his head, “No, I mean, like a real sibling who lives with you.” “Uh… yeah, Anon.” I watched as Naser tilted his head, “I live at his house, his parents take care of me and stuff.” “Wha- Why?” The pterodactyl asked. I resist the urge to facepalm, Doe and Worden are thankfully still not able to hear the conversation, otherwise their opinion on the pterodactyl would’ve definitely been lowered. Oh my fucking God Naser. “... Cause Mr. and Mrs. Agos are my godparents, I’m his foster sister.” Olivia then seemed to not risk any chance of misunderstanding… “My mom and dad died in a car crash.” I could imagine the amount of things going through Naser’s head as his snout seemed to tighten in horror, golden eyes wide. “I-I-” He then tightened a claw behind his head, suddenly finding the table interesting before seemingly realizing he had done a disservice, looking back to Olivia. “I’m so sorry… Olivia I-I didn’t mean to-.” “It’s cool dude.” Olivia then paused, “I mean, it wasn’t cool that it happened but-...” She shrugged, Naser nodding as he got the point. “... Anyways, what were you gonna say?” “I-” He paused, “I guess I just wanted to ask if Anon ever just… act like you didn’t exist.” Oh jeez. A picture started to be painted in my head, remembering the rocky relationship Naser and Fang well into Senior year. What was going on in the household of the Aarons? What was going on between Naser and Fang at this point? “Uh, no. Never.” Olivia answers. “And… have you ever acted like he didn’t exist?” “Dude-” She gestured to her book, “Have you seen how many works I have of Anon? He’s like a source of comedic inspiration to me.” I took that as a compliment as Naser seemed to consider her answer for a moment, looking away as Olivia took the chance to ask. “Is that what your sibling’s doing to you? Just completely ignoring you?” Naser paused again, “It’s… complicated.” “Define complicated.” The pterodactyl turned to Olivia, “I mean-” He then sighed, “... I just don’t know where to even start.” “The beginning?” Damn, Olivia’s straight-to-business approach was working wonders, Naser blinking as he stared forward. “... I guess when we were younger, Lucy-” “Your sister?” “Yeah, my sister, Lucy.” He then continued, “Anyways, she and I were at top of the bluff that Volcaldera is known for. It’s more like a cliff slope, with a lake at the bottom… and I asked her if I could fly…” His good wing extended as if to make a point, Naser then pausing, “But our wings can’t really support our body weight, at least not from great heights… and because she didn’t know that at the time either, she said ‘of course’.” I was absolutely stunned. I had never heard the full story, never knew the reason as to why Naser had a broken wing… but now I did, which made me wonder why he was telling Olivia all this. Olivia’s eyes widened, peering at his broken wing. “So is that how…-?” “Yeah.” Naser slowly nodded, “But I hardly care about that… it’s what came after that began to suck.” He sighed, “I don’t know why, but Lucy grew… distant after I got back from the hospital, I mean it upsetted me that she never visited me with Mom and Dad but-” “She didn’t visit you while you were recovering?” Olivia asked. “Ah, no… but that really doesn’t matter. What matters is that-” Naser sighed, “-... I don’t blame Lucy at all, even for the hospital visits. It’s just that now, she doesn’t talk to me much anymore… and I just-” The pterodactyl gave a long pause. “I just wish she did again…” Olivia stared at him, her grey and gold eyes blinking. Naser shook his head, closing his eyes as he looked away. “I’m sorry I’m just splurging all of this on you, Olivia. I-I just-” He paused, “I guess I’ve had it on my chest for so long, and not being able to talk to anyone about it, not my friends or even my parents… and Lucy of course… has just made it heavier to hold it. ” The pterodactyl looked up at the ceiling. “Even now, every time I call Mom and Dad, I ask if Lucy wants to talk… but she never does, and now that I’m here, far away from home, all by myself… I’ve never felt more…” He shook his head, his snout closed tight. “Alone.” I guess that was the full picture of Naser’s troubles, putting into perspective how far along trouble had begun far before I had ever arrived at Volcano High. It was… illuminating, in a way. Admittedly, for a moment, it felt as if my mind was coming up with two decisions as I watched, trying to decide on how to proceed… like some visual novel. Interrupt Don’t interrupt And… I stay where I am, a small smile on my snout. I believed in Olivia. But I definitely did not anticipate what she would do. Olivia hugged Naser. Doe let out a gasp as Worden looked taken aback, neither thankfully knowing the context as I looked on, blinking. As for the pterodactyl himself… Naser looked absolutely stunned, his gold eyes wide and arms open away as Olivia quickly separated, awkwardly peering down and leaving a gentle claw to rest on his shoulder. “... Sorry. It just looked like you needed one.” The baryonyx then peered up. “To be honest, I have no idea what to say. I don’t know enough about your family, about Lucy… and maybe, even about you to an extent, Naser. I just don’t know the full picture… and even if I did…. I don’t think it’d be in my place to tell you how you should feel, because all of what you said really does suck… a lot.” Naser blinked, Olivia continuing. “But… despite all that…” Olivia showed the warmest smile I had ever seen her give. “I’m really glad you told me.” She then nodded, a determined look in her eyes. “And you’ll have Anon, Doe, Worden… and me, to keep you company while you’re here so um…-” She paused, “Don’t feel alone… okay?” Naser paused before returning a smile, his gold eyes looking into her greys as he gently placed his own claw over hers atop his shoulder. “... I won’t.” “... Cool.” Olivia then paused, a blush on her cheeks as she separated her claw, peering away. “I gotta ask though, why’d you tell me all this? Of all dinos?” The pterodactyl seemed taken off guard by the question. “Oh uh, why you?” He then paused, “Well, why not you?” Naser asked, “You just seemed to immediately just know that I was still feeling guilty over the time I crashed into you when we first met, and you made it pretty clear that I didn’t have to feel that way.” The pterodactyl scratched the back of his head. “I don’t think there’s many dinos who’ve done that for me...” Olivia paused for a moment. And then she began to laugh, much to all of our confusion, Naser tilting his head. “Dude.” She looked down, recovering with a smirk, “You’ve got some low standards.” “W-Well-” Naser looked slightly affronted. “-I don’t think that you’re a ‘low standard’ at all, Olivia.” Now it was Olivia’s turn to look floored, her wide eyes blinking as she looked to Naser. “You’re reserved, insightful, kind-” I nod in agreement, Naser dropping pretty good compliments, “-straight to the point and have beautiful… silver eyes.” I continue nodding before instantly frowning. Wait, what the fu- *SLAM* Olivia’s tail had smashed against the floor, making everyone jump, even nearby students who were sitting at other tables, their attention briefly turned before slowly turning back around. Naser had frozen up, his gold eyes blinking before a redness seemed to rise to his cheeks, his good wing unconsciously drifting to obscure some of his body… almost like how I remembered Fang would do when she got flustered as the pterodactyl perhaps realized what he had said. Or really, partially confessed. “I-I mean-” His eyes then nervously scanned around, claw fishing out his phone. “I… should probably…” He gulped out the last part, “-go train.” He then stood only for Olivia to do the same. “W-Wait, before you go…” Naser looked at her, not exactly meeting her gaze because of how flustered he was. And his blush grew ten-fold when the baryonyx wrapped the pterodactyl in another hug, “One last hug… for the road.” Olivia then murmured. “Also cause I felt like it…” The pterodactyl paused for a moment before slowly reciprocating, gently wrapping his arms around her back as the baryonyx tensed up at his touch before relaxing, Naser’s good wing moving on instinct to cover over the two of them protectively. “A-Aww…” Doe quietly squeed. They slowly separated, Naser seemingly calmed again as he slowly smiled. “... Thanks, Olivia…” “No problem. If you wanna talk about more stuff, you can find me anytime.” She then smirked. “And for the record dude-” Her sharp digit rose up to tap the edge of his cheek, right beneath his now widening golden eyes as her snout grew close. “You got way prettier eyes than mine.” … Holy fuck. That was smooth. Unfortunately, it had turned Naser into anything but, the pterodactyl turned into a blushing mess as his good wing shielded him as best as it could. “Yesn’t bye.” He gibbered before immediately turning around to fast walk, his tail furiously wagging as his wing flapped out as if trying to fly him away from the situation. As soon as he disappeared to the outside, Doe made a show of placing the back of her hand over her forehead. “Oh, hold me Worden, I’m overdosing right now.” Doe sighed, making a show of fainting into his arms as the allosaurus simply tilted his head. “On what? Drugs?” Worden asked as held the human up, “We didn’t even get to hear what they said to each other…” “But they hugged! That’s so- so-...!” All the while I watched as Olivia quietly sat back down, a smile on her snout as she returned to drawing, clearly given new and brighter inspiration that was hopefully a lot more… healthier. But I guess the best thing to come out of all of this? Naser had gotten something heavy off his chest. And I couldn’t have been more proud of Olivia for helping him do so. I had a feeling good things were coming over the course of the Meteor Bowl. … And that'd start right after I went to the bathroom, the reason I had even left the table in the first place as I hobbled away, my bladder now threatening to commit a hate crime on my pants. [NOTES] A bit of a Naser and Olivia-focused chapter to celebrate Fang Friday... Anyhow, faced some delays with this chapter due to midterms and school, so I hope this compensates.