Chapter 2

That new kid I met at the library offered to treat me to lunch. I told him it was only a little past ten and he told me it would be an early lunch.

He seemed so familiar, but I don’t talk to people like him. His type usually speaks in grunts and drags their knuckles along the ground. Well, at least in my town.

He was a brunette and he had green eyes. I wondered if he was even in high school, he looked older, but lots of kids nowadays looked older than they actually were. He had a heavy brow and facial hair.

I couldn’t grow a beard if I tried. It wasn’t a lot, just a goatee type deal. I thought it was cute. I had checked out “Hills of Sorrow” and we made our way out of the library.

I asked him where he had been living and he told me that his family had lived a different place every year for the last five years. That would totally suck. I asked him why they moved back and he said his dad had wanted to settle down permanently. I could understand that.

I was wearing a pair of jeans and a baggy blue and green t-shirt. He was wearing a pair of cargo shorts and a brown t-shirt. He had nice calves. He was pretty massive. He had a belly, but the rest of him kind of made you ignore it. He was like a brick wall, big and solid.

He walked so close to me his arm sometimes bumped against mine. If he was gay, Harry would be so jealous. I found a cute guy and he didn’t. I laughed at the idea of this stranger being gay. We walked past an old family owned convenience store and I saw Mr. and Mrs. Hirsch!

They were both short stocky people. It was obvious where Oswald got his body type. I thought I’d get to see Oswald again. I excused myself and ran into the store, hoping he’d be there as well.

My stomach was doing somersaults. They both had brown hair and thin noses. Mrs. Hirsch had green eyes and Mr. Hirsch had blue. Mrs. Hirsch was definitely larger than Mr. Hirsch.

They were surprised to see me. I was surprised to see them. Mrs. Hirsch gave me a hug, and I received a handshake from Mr. Hirsch.

They looked the same as when they drove away with Oswald five years ago. “So, where is Oswald?” I asked excitedly. They both grinned and pointed towards the new boy standing in the doorway. I guffawed somewhat rudely and he walked over.

“Hello Commander Nate.” He said. He pulled out a retainer and a thick pair of glasses and put them on. He gave me his goofy grin, laughed, and I stared back at him dumbly.

“Captain Oz…?” I asked. He just laughed again and gave me a hug. There was no way in hell this was Oswald.

I felt my mouth go dry. He must’ve known that I was me all along. He surely must've known.

Captain Oz was hot. He was gorgeous. He was standing right in front of me.

“You alright?” He asked, still grinning. I felt my face go hot. He was here, but I had no witty remarks. I had no anything.

I could barely muster enough will power to state that I was fine. He put his arm around my shoulder and steered me towards the door. “Bye Mom and Dad.” He called.

We were walking again and he moved his arm from around me. He even smelled different. He smelled like a guy. He used to only smell like candy. “How long did you know you were talking to ME?” I asked finally, my hand gripping “Hills of Sorrow” tightly against my thigh.

“As soon as I saw you. You look the same as you did in seventh grade.” He said. He didn’t sound like Oswald. He looked over at me. “Are you mad?” He asked, suddenly bringing back memories of meek Oswald. He used to always ask me that.

“N…no.” I said. He smiled. Little things like that should have given it away. The way he smiled was still exactly the same. He had taken off the glasses and put the retainer back in its case. “What’s with the…” I circled the area he had facial hair around his face on my own.

“I don’t know, just wanted to see if I could grow something.” He smiled again. I felt warm inside and looked away. I remembered I was supposed to meet Harry at eleven at the park. I invited Oswald.