[8]: Positive Façade (3)

It's been a while since Dacron and Cooper went up to inform Sync and clear the tension in the brunette's heart from his brother's visit. Marco was sitting on the ground, with his arms resting on his knees. Although he hated being under the sun for a long time, it was tolerable because of the humidity and cluster of passing clouds.

Marco feels at ease in the serene atmosphere but wants to converse with the kids at the same time. So they won't feel too nervous around him.

"Wyatt, Luke," he called them out, testing their names roll out of his mouth. It felt foreign but not that odd.

The two boys turned toward him with their full attention. Wyatt furrows his brows, and Luke looks confused and nervous, both wondering about the sudden mention of their names.

"I was wondering," Marco starts, side-glancing at the bicycles in front of him, "about your bicycles."

Marco hesitated, not that there was a need for it, but he asked anyway. "Why were the tires punctured with thorns and barbed wires?" He was genuinely confused and concerned with the two kids.

"Are you two okay?" he asks, concern building up in his chest.

Wyatt and Luke exchanged looks then the blonde burst out laughing while the timid boys flushed pink in embarrassment.

"Luke… Hahaha… wait," Wyatt tried composing himself. Marco stared at him, somewhat amused.

The other boy covered his blushing face with his hands, muttering something that the lost soul couldn't hear properly, words mumbled and incoherent. Marco huffed while looking at their expressions, torn between laughing and letting out a sneer, but he knew the latter was inappropriate and shouldn't be meant on kids, so he doesn't.

"Uhm… We were on our way to p-play when my bicycle lost control, and w-we accidentally tripped over some bushes," Luke explained while sporadically stuttering.

Marco warmly stared at the shy kid, who couldn't meet his eyes. He shifted his gaze to the pouting blonde beside the little brunette.

"It actually goes like this," Wyatt butted in, lightly shoving Luke. He leaned towards the lost soul and began narrating animatedly. "Luke and I were heading to the square, racing on who gets there first like we always do— Luke was actually leading for the first time in six weeks. But! But!! I wasn't even a meter behind him."

Marco listened and watched the blonde with slight amusement. He let the kid pause for a breath, then asks, "What happens next?"

"Then! My best friend right here!" Wyatt gestured to the embarrassed brunette, "thought it was good to block my path for once."

"Hey, I didn't!" Luke interjected. He started mumbling his words when he noticed Marco and Wyatt looking at him, "And besides, you always do that whenever we race with our bicycles..."

"Because it's strategic, and I'm confident that I can pull it off!" Wyatt huffed. The brown-haired kid sulked on the side, pouting.

"I was pushing you to do that and stood up for yourself since we were five!" The blonde sighed. "Your timing was pretty off to pull out that courage."

Marco didn't know whether the blonde was annoyed or not. The kids' interactions were quite entertaining to him.

"What happened after?" Marco reverted to the topic.

He already guessed how things would turn out, but he'd like to listen to the blonde kid's explanation that comes with exaggerated facial expressions and hand gestures.

"Oh, right!" Wyatt exclaimed as if he had actually forgotten what they were just talking about. The lost soul chuckled.

Wyatt completely sat with crossed legs on the cold asphalt in front of him and continued telling about their little accident.

"Well, we swerved out of the bicycle lane and crashed into the local garden. There were whish-whoosh whooshing sounds when we were going down, and then BAAM! We fell off our bikes, and several flowers and plants were ruined, scattered, and flying all over us!" The blonde's bright blue eyes glinted as he spoke.

Wyatt scratched the back of his head and shifted his gaze with a wry smile. "We kinda… destroyed some parts of the garden, so that's why there are thorns and weeds on our bikes."

Marco bit the inside of his left cheek, straightened up, and examined the two boys more closely with his inquisitive eyes.

"Are you two okay?" he repeated his question earlier. "You got any scrapes, scratches, wounds? Does anything hurt?"

"Oh, no, no! We're completely fine!" The blonde waved his hands frantically. "Besides, it wasn't that bad. It was new, pretty exciting, and fun."

Luke remained quiet on the side, seemingly in deep thought. The lost soul studied the brown-haired kid, contemplating.

"Is there something wrong?" Marco couldn't help but ask.

"Huh? It's just… I feel like I've forgotten something," Luke distantly answered.

The blond rolled his blue irises. "It's probably nothing important. We were just gonna play today, anyways."

"Wy!" Luke hastily called out, his green orbs widening. "We have to go!"

"Huh? Why?" asked Wyatt, confused.

"Remember that we promised Mrs. Miles to help them fix and replant the garden? We told them that we'll just get our bicycles fixed and we'll be back right after."

"Oh no!.." Wyatt whined. "Granny Rose will surely scold us again and keep on nagging."

"Yeah, and she'll be furious if we don't hurry!"

"Ah, wait!" Marco called out, his tone just a tad bit higher than his usual monotone.

The two kids were about to leap into a sprint when Marco spoke, which made them halt their steps. Bright blue and green eyes stared at him. The lost soul cracked a smile.

"Can you both wait for either Dacron or Cooper? I think they'll be here in a minute."

Marco wasn't sure what to do about the kids' bicycles. If it was for him, he'll just let them go. But he's currently in a vehicle workshop, so just maybe, the kids have to pay. Although Marco was technically neither a mechanic nor a worker in the shop.

'Where's Old man Charles, when you need him?' the lost soul questioned himself, inwardly sighing.

"Oh, we could do that," Wyatt agreed, turned to Luke, and patted the brown-haired boy's head, "Let's wait for a little while, 'kay?"

Marco glanced at the blonde kid and nodded, grateful for the help. The kids immediately went inside their own bubble, chattering.

He looked back at the building behind him and frowned.

'Dacron and Cooper, you can show up any second, now.' The lost soul heaved a sigh and pondered, 'What's taking them so long? Maybe, I should just let the kids head off.'

Marco turned back to watch over the kids when he heard footsteps and creaks of the stairs. He puffed his cheeks and rested his left hand to support himself, relief washing over him. He continued watching the two kids tease each other with a fond smile, the corner of his lips barely quirking upwards.

"Wee wains," he murmured to himself.

Marco felt a hand on his shoulder, lightly patting it. He was glad it wasn't as heavy as the old man's calloused hand. He looks up to find the brunette-haired young man with a boyish grin.

'He looks much better now,' he noted and glanced at Dacron's back, where Cooper was. There was an upward tug on his pinkish lip, his face now bright, not so grim as what Marco remembered. 'His spirit looks uplifted too.'

'That's good,' he thought, relieved.

"Hey," Dacron greeted. "Sorry, we took so long to get back."

"It's fine," Marco replied. He looked at Wyatt and Luke chasing each other while giggling. "The kids were adorable."

"Sure they are," Dacron agreed. Silence reigned for a while until the brunette suddenly exclaimed, startling Marco for a second, "Did you do that?!"

"Do what?" Marco asked dully.

"Did you fix their bikes?!"

Marco looks back at Dacron, nods his head, and hums in acknowledgment.

"Ah, that. Yeah…" He breathes a sigh. "Well, as you said… You two did take a while to get back."

Dacron gave him a small sorry smile that quickly molded into a grin. "Oh, I didn't take you for a dude to be knowledgeable about that stuff and the like."

Marco didn't move from his position, too tired for it, which he didn't even know the reason for. At least he knew it wasn't from fixing the kids' bicycles. It was fairly easy and wasn't really a taxing job to do. He was just being sluggish.

"Thanks for the help, man."

Marco hummed and gave a small nod, "Anytime."

They stayed silent for a couple of minutes, just staring at the three in front of them when Marco remembered what the kids told him, and he relied upon it to Dacron.

"Oh. They're in a hurry. I'm not really sure how to handle this, so it's better if you talk to them," the lost soul filled in while rubbing his nape with his free hand.

Dacron grinned at him and pouted toward Cooper and the kids. "Nah… Cooper's already on it."

"Is that so? Well then, come."

Cooper ushered the kids towards the other two.

"Hey," Wyatt started, prolonging the ending sound, then came beaming at them.

"So, what's up?" the kid asked, most likely pertaining to Dacron.

Dacron shrugged, "Nothing much, really."

"Oh, how's Sync? I saw him pass by earlier. He looks uhh… as gloomy as ever. Though, like, much more," Wyatt babbled, spreading his arms wide to gesture the vastness.

"He does look like a walking undead, doesn't he?" Dacron lightly laughed. The brunette glanced at the still crouching Marco and grinned, "Then this dude, right here, seems like a lost soul."

"Yes! He looks like he's always in a daze and levitating," Wyatt added excitedly.

Marco scowled at them, not quite offended, but he still reprimanded them, "Aren't you and Luke in a hurry? You wee wains are running late."

Wyatt's shoulders sagged. He heaved a sigh and muttered, "Real unlucky…"

"Haven't seen you around lately, Kuya Dacron," Luke greeted. "Though, Wyatt and I have to go now. We have to help Granny Rose and Mrs. Miles fix their garden 'cause we uhh... kinda ruined it…"

Dacron Oh-ed. He glanced at the greens: vines, leaves, and the like, and grimaced.

"Well, we have to go now," Luke bid, fiddling with his fingers.

Wyatt waved at them and rode on his bike, not moving and still waiting for Luke.

The green-eyed boy walked up to Marco, which made him rigid for a second before relaxing. Luke offered him a sincere smile, "And thanks for fixing our bicycles."

Marco smiled at him in return and ruffled the kid's brown locks. "Hmm. Anytime, kid."

The boys waved them goodbye before hurrying off with their bikes in a little banter. The three watched the kids scurry off the shop. They lingered for a while until Cooper decided he had enough of it and went back inside while Dacron and Marcus didn't move from their place.

"Hey, wanna go to the convenience store?" Dacron invited.

Marco stared at him for a while before nodding. "Yeah, sounds great."

The lost soul got up and dusted his clothes. They both entered the shop, Marco going straight to the faucet to clean himself while Dacron went to grab Cooper.

"Hey, you bloody git! Stop pulling me! I'm coming, alright!?"

"Then hurry up! You move like a turtle."

"Get your hands off me, you wild monkey!"

"Oh, just shut up. Will yah?"

Marco watched the two argue all the way out. The three left the shop after closing it and messaging the old man about their sudden tour as they started strolling off the streets.