Young Writers Society

"I think there was," Télos said - not willing to admit he didn't really get how the different sections of this store worked. He glanced down at himself. His clothes weren't entirely different from what he would normally wear, but he definitely needed a change. "I might grab something there, too. I was lucky enough to get clothes, but they're not really my style."

He glanced back at Aquarius and Bobby.

"I can stay here with Bobby," Aquarius quietly offered. "I don't know if Bobby wants different clothes, but I want different ones..."

Bobby quietly shook his head. These were the nicest clothes he'd worn in a very, very long time, plus, changing wasn't a good idea most of the time. It was always better to add clothes than to change them, unless you had a reason to look presentable. Bobby didn't have a reason like that.

He spotted a grey hoodie hanging off a rack they were going to pass with a floral pattern on the inside and on the cuffs of the sleeves. He quickly grabbed it and shoved it on. It was a few sizes too big, but it was more comfortable like that. It'll last a while.

Télos and Aquarius exchanged a look - or would have, if they had faces to give it. Unsure if his brother had gotten what he was implying, Aquarius gave a tiny little gesture forward with his hand. He would stay with Bobby. Télos could go with Bo to the men's section.

While the two much bigger members of the group headed off to the men's section, Aquarius lingered behind with Bobby. He watched as Bobby took a hoodie off a nearby rack. He found a similar one nearby; the flowers were slightly different, and the fabric was blue instead of gray. His was a few sizes too big, too, but he didn't really mind. It was more comforting to wear a big hoodie right now.

Bobby shifted awkwardly and pulled the hood up over his head. He was alone with one of them now, and he couldn't decide if that was worse than being with the big group. He thought he could run faster than the one he was with, at least, if he had to.

His gaze flicked around, looking for exits, hiding spots.

Bo would've nodded or smiled as they split off but he didn't have a head or a face, so he just waved goodbye before heading to the men's section.

He didn't think it was that important what he was wearing, as long as he was wearing something. First priority was pants, so he made a bee-line for the jeans all folded up on a shelf.

This would be so much easier if he was in his actual body and not in a mannequin body (not that he wanted to be naked in his actual body - that would absolutely horrifying and way, way worse). But, that said, he had no idea what size he was.

He looked down at his waist and just started grabbing a bunch of jeans and holding them up to his waist. He didn't have a good enough grid for what a pair that would fit would look like so he just started trying a bunch on.

The first pair didn't make it past his thighs. Okay, so he overestimated how much smaller he was. No big deal. Go bigger.

A pile of pants started growing as he went up sizes one by one, until there was one that fit perfectly around his waist. It was just a normal pair of straight-legged jeans, and it was at that moment that Bo had a revelation.

Clothes weren't made for real people. They were made for mannequins.

...That or mannequins were made for commercial clothing. That would make more sense.

"Ha ha!" he finally cheered in victory. The hard part was over. Pants were always the hardest part. "Here's to hoping be don't suddenly have or normal bodies while still in these clothes," he said, more to himself than Telos, but Telos was nearby. "Not that I don't want to be in my own body - I do - but these will definitely not fit normal me. I haven't worn sizes like this since like, high-school. Which was a years ago."

Aquarius shifted. Maybe he should have asked Télos to wait for them before going off to another part of the store - Bobby didn't want to talk, and Aquarius wasn't sure how to make him feel more comfortable.

"Um..." he awkwardly started. "...Hi. I know you don't want to talk right now, but I, uh, don't want you to feel scared of me..."

He faltered.

"...How old are you?" he asked. Bobby didn't sound too old - they had to be around the same age, right? Maybe Bobby would feel more comfortable if he knew he was with another teenager. "I just turned sixteen a month ago."


Télos gave an awkward nod. He didn't really know all that much about high school - Lex had mentioned it before, but he hadn't been there in awhile and it hadn't really come up.

Télos looked down at his own body.

"I don't feel that different," he said, studying his arms as he held them out. "I think I'm around the same height as usual. But this might be a good time to try out different outfits..."

He eyed the racks around them.

The styles weren't really what he was into, but he saw an interesting looking jacket in the back. It reminded him of something Aleks would wear - all leather and completely black.

He grabbed it, took off his flannel shirt, and slipped on the new jacket.

He looked it over in front of the mirror. He would have been grinning if he could. It was perfect. He just needed a few more things to make the outfit look complete. He looked around the rest of the men's section, grabbing different clothes that fit what he had in mind.

Liz had mentioned something about a changing room before. Getting changed in front of Bo felt a little weird, even when he was just a mannequin and Bo had been naked earlier, so he darted into one of the changing rooms with a promise of, "Be right back!"

It only took him a minute or two to switch out of what he was wearing and into what he had found. As he left the room, he caught sight of pair of sunglasses, a hat rack, and a forgotten mask. Seeing a mannequin without a face was definitely creepy, but maybe hiding the faceless part would help.

He grabbed one of each and returned to Bo's side. He already had the hat on by the time he reached him, but he was trying to put the mask on and had the sunglasses under his arm.

"I'm back," Télos said, grinning.

Bobby flinched. He didn't want to say how old he was. Nothing good ever came from people knowing that. He shook his head.

"I'm...older than that," he lied, badly.

"...Oh," Aquarius quietly said.

Bobby's voice was higher than his or Zeph's; he was probably younger than him and didn't want to admit it. Aquarius's gaze dropped to the ground. He wasn't going to pressure Bobby into saying how old he was. He just wanted a conversation topic that would make Bobby feel more comfortable.

He glanced back up at him.

"...I really like the hoodie you chose," he said.

Bobby shifted uncomfortably, looking down at his feet. He shrugged. His instincts were telling him to run and hide. They were always telling him that. But this person wasn't working for the Ringly's or anyone, were they? They couldn't be. The Ringly's didn't trust kids. Most of the families didn't.

Still, even other street kids were bad news, and the ones with families could be just as dangerous to talk to.

"Where are you from?" he squeaked out.

While Telos was off changing, Bo was searching through a bunch of graphic tees. There were a lot of superhero and Star Wars ones, but they didn’t catch his interest as much as a cat one.

It was a comically large kitten coming out of the ocean beside a pirate ship. Like... the Kraken, but the Cat-ken.

He checked the size. Medium. He slipped it on, and though he knew it probably would, was still surprised that it fit.

As he patted the soft t-shirt he looked up to see Telos dressed in head-to-toe black, with his head and face covered. He couldn’t help but snicker.

“Ah. Yes. The whole vibe you’re putting off... it’s very strong.” He was pointing at Telos and gesturing towards his outfit. “Edgy. Attitude. Emo. Goth. I can see it.”

Aquarius faltered.

Bobby was probably from Earth. Would he understand and not think Aquarius was lying if he told him the truth?

"It's, um, a long story," he admitted. "I grew up in one place and now I live with my brother...Do you, um, believe in other worlds? We're mannequins right now so I hope you don't think I'm crazy, but..."

He hesitated.

"I'm from Minecraftia," he quietly said. "If you're from Earth, you probably know it better as Minecraft..."


Télos froze.

Emo? Goth? Wasn't that what Lex called Aleks when they were having arguments years ago? He hadn't meant to come across as that at all - he just really liked how the color black looked.

"...I don't come across as angry and intimidating, right?" Télos asked.

Bobby stared, trying to figure out if he was being lied to. No one would lie about something so obvious, right?

"Like...the game?"

“Huh?” Bo would’ve blinked. He would’ve.

“I mean, to some people, maybe, if I’m being honest. I don’t find you intimidating but a middle-aged suburban mom might.”

Aquarius gave a tiny nod.

"Minecraftia is its own world," he said. "I think the game acts like a bridge between the two worlds..."

He shifted uncomfortably.

"I don't know how to really explain it," he admitted. "I just know that people on Earth think my world is just a game."


Télos let out a sigh in relief.

"That's good," he said. "I thought I was coming across like one of my ch...friends. Like one of my friends. I'm glad we're friends, but he's not exactly the kind of person I want to be like."

Bo bobbed his neck a little bit. He'd started to nod, but he had no head to nod. He would call it muscle memory, but he was all plastic, not muscles. How did this even work? Where was his brain? How was he seeing right now? Those probably weren't questions that had answers he really wanted to hear, but still. He couldn't help but wonder.

"The clothes you wear don't make a person who they are," Bo said with a small shrug. "But they can affect how people perceive you, and I'm pretty sure they can affect your mood. Then again, I'm not a psychologist, so eh. But I wouldn't worry about it too much, man."