Pitbabe S2, Chapter 5 pg3

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   His question stung and relieved me at the same time. Deep down, I’d been afraid that Dean might not want to return to the team after my massive mistake and all the chaos that followed. But his look and words were like a signal, telling me this was a chance to start over, no matter how broken the pieces left behind were.

   “There’s always a place,” I said. At that moment, I felt the cool touch of someone’s hand gently grasping mine. Jeff, who’d been silently watching from the start, always knew when to step closer when I needed him. “Team X has always had you. Never didn’t.”

   Dean nodded. As I said, he always smiled when we met, but this was the first time in two years that I felt his smile was genuine, coming from his true feelings. The inner conflict I used to sense in him was gone today.

   “So… isn’t Phii Babe coming?” Dean’s voice dipped slightly. He scanned the surroundings, searching for the person he named, clearly hoping to see him. When there was no sign of Babe, his face fell instantly. “Is he still mad at me?”

   Dean had always thought that. Even though Babe had visited him several times, because Babe never said he forgave him, Dean was convinced he hadn’t been forgiven by his older brother. And with Babe’s absence today, that belief was only reinforced as undeniable truth.

   “Phii Babe’s busy. He took Charlie to the doctor,” Jeff said, his first words to Dean. I’d thought he wouldn’t speak at all. “But he said he’ll meet you at the garage… with Charlie.”

   Just a simple statement in Jeff’s calm tone was enough to bring tears to Dean’s eyes. Maybe it was because it was Jeff saying it, which made it feel more credible. If it had been me, North, or Sonic, Dean might’ve thought it was just a comforting lie. It stung a little, but I’d let it slide for now.

   “He didn’t skip out because he hates me, right?”

   “No, Phii Babe doesn’t hate people carelessly.”

   The more Jeff answered, the wider Dean’s smile grew, as if the speaker wielded some kind of magic.

   “What’s up with Charlie?” Dean asked, wiping some sticky syrup off the back of his hand.

   “Heard he’s got an eye issue, but it’s not a big deal,” I replied.

   “Oh… got it.”

   “That whole thing? Babe’s long forgotten it,” I said. I wasn’t sure if my words carried as much weight as Jeff’s, but I hoped they’d ease Dean’s mind a bit. “No one’s holding any grudges.”

   “Yeah, it’s all in the past,” North chimed in, with Sonic nodding vigorously in agreement.

   Dean smiled. He held my gaze for a few seconds, like he wanted to say something more.

   “If everyone’s forgiven… then I’m okay too.”

   That was what Dean decided to say, and I could tell right away it was the core of what he wanted to convey to someone like me, still living with the weight of events from two years ago.

   

   BABE:

   “So, feeling numb yet?” I teased.

   “Can you not rub it in, Babe?” Charlie said weakly, dragging his feet like a rookie pirate. In reality, this guy was just a kid with an eye infection fresh out of the doctor’s office. “I’m sick, you know.”

   Honestly, I wanted to tease him even more. Compared to his stubbornness last night, I’d told him over and over that his left eye looked seriously red. But Charlie kept insisting it was just dry eyes, a bit of eye drops would fix it, and even mocked me for “overreacting like a clueless nurse.” In the end, the genius woke up with tears streaming nonstop, and we had to rush to the doctor. If his pathetic one-eyed look wasn’t so pitiful, I’d have given him a full-on lecture.

   “Aww, feeling down cause you’re sick, little guy?” I ruffled Charlie’s hair hard, turning it into a bird’s nest. He just rolled his one visible eye with an annoyed expression, not bothering to fix his hair at all. In the end, I couldn’t resist and reached out to tidy it for him. “How’s it going? Still hurting?”

   “Not anymore, but it’s super itchy.” Charlie raised his hand like he was about to rub his eye but only scratched the air near it. The doctor had slapped an eye patch on him to keep germs from messing with the infected eye and to stop its owner from scratching it.

   “Stop. Don’t let me catch you rubbing that eye,” I said, pointing and using a stern tone. That was enough to rein in the one-eyed nerd. Charlie mumbled under his breath like he was complaining but lowered his hand obediently. Of course, I’d still have to keep an eye on him after this. “And no work today, either. Just rest.”

   “Huh?”

   “You’ve got an eye infection.”

   “It’s just one eye. The other’s still fine,” Charlie argued, as if I’d just told him to quit X-Hunter, drop out of university, and abandon his Project 101. All I said was to rest. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll just read some stuff at home.”

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