"Oh..." Bobby rambled, confused. "I...thought I saw something there. Like a Clown or something."

"Don't be gay. You'll ruin the game!" Eddy chastised, his voice only half-joking, though it didn't sound annoyed as much as playful. "There's no clown there!"

Shawn tried to play to Bobby's doubt and confusion; the last thing he wanted was for him to become curious. "It was probably just those flowers; all the way on the other side of the park, it kinda looks like a clown if you squint."

"Yeah." Bobby said, seeming to agree though sounding uncertain.

"Alright, alright. Enough of this." Eddy said, growing tired. By now, many of the kids at the park had already left, and it was clear that the park was emptying out, lunch time approaching.

"I have a new game." Eddy announced, taking the lead. "Who wants to play S-P-U-D?" Eddy asked, tossing the ball into the air.

Bobby looked at Shawn. It was clear Bobby had never heard of the game.

"What's S-P-U-D?" Shawn was glad to leave people watching behind. It made him uncomfortable for reasons he couldn't quite find the words to express.

Shawn would come to find out that the game was simple. Someone threw the ball in the air straight up. Then the other two kids had to run as far as they could until the ball hit the ground. At that point, the person who through the ball would take large jumps towards someone. Each time they jumped, they would use one letter. S-P-U-D...four jumps in total. Then they would get to throw the ball at someone. If they hit the person, that person would be it.

The only thing unclear was why the game was called 'Spud.'

"So, do you guys want to play?" Eddy asked, cool as you like.

Shawn subtly tried to judge if Bobby looked like he want to play. If that was the case, Shawn nodded in agreement. "Sure, sounds fun."

"Alright." Bobby agreed, that distracted look of having seen Feddler back on his face.

Without another word, Eddy threw the ball into the air. "Run!" he yelled.

07:13, Today: Shawn's Acquaintance - Eddy Hughs rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((4,10(+3),8)).


OOC: Shawn Rolls Wits + Dexterity OR Athletics

Shawn stumbled, but in keeping with his performer's instincts, at least tried to turn it into an entertaining pratfall.

OOC: 09:26, Today: Shawn Cramer failed (no successes) using 5d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 1,1,2,2,6.  Wits + Dexterity/Athletics.

Shawn stumbled in his effort to run. But he was ever conscious of how other people around him were reacting. It was true that Bobby hadn't been the same since seeing Feddler. And now, Shaw could see that more and more it was bothering his friend.

It was the way he walked when Eddy through the ball instead of running. He held himself in some kind of hug, arms tightly wrapped around as if he was cold, head down and sullen--eyes darting around.

There was no indication, however, that Bobby remembered anything from before about the Circus--far from it. Instead, he just had a ghostly, pallid quality to his face. The kind of face that looked like it, in fact, had seen ghost, or in this case, an imp. More and more Shawn was coming to the inevitable conclusion that Bobby was spooked, and that all Bobby's efforts to appear fun and into the game were now just for show.

"Yeah, run!" Bobby said, sounding authentic and picking up his walk a little bit.

The ball fell to the ground and Eddy picked it up. "Stop!" He yelled with glee.

"OK, now I get to spell it out and then I get to throw the ball at one of you." he rejoiced, looking over at both Bobby and Shawn who weren't that far away from Eddy nor from each other.

Eddy jumped forward with the ball hooked under one arm like he was a running back at a football game.

"S"

He jumped again, moving towards the boys.

"P!"

Now he was close, really close. Almost able to hit with point-blank accuracy.

"U"

He jumped to put himself between the two boys, who were now about 15 feet from Eddy on either side.

"D!"

Eddy smiled, looking at both of the boys like he had their number, oblivious to Bobby's growing unease.

Seeing Bobby's growing dismay and fear, Shawn was reminded of the old days, before Bobby had forgotten. It broke Shawn's heart to see it again, and he resolved that whether through the Numbers Game or somehow finding more Tweedberry powder, he'd set it right. As soon as he could, maybe even tonight...

"Ha!" Eddy said, pegging Bobby with the ball. It rolled after hitting him, right up to Shawn's foot.

"You're it!" Eddy proclaimed.

"I...I don't know if I want to play anymore."

"Don't be gay." Eddy said to Bobby, turning to Shawn for support. "He's being gay."

To Shawn's shock and surprise, he found himself ignoring Eddy out of his concern for Bobby. "Bobby, are you okay?"

"I...I dunno." Bobby said.

In the background, Shawn could hear Eddy complaining about how the rules weren't being followed, about how the game had to be played. And then, in general about how both boys were ruining the game. Peppered liberally throughout these complaints was the word 'gay.' Finally, he stormed off muttering, ball in hand, leaving Bobby and Shawn to themselves.

"I..I saw it. That thing. We saw it."

Shawn winced inwardly as Eddy stormed off, but for once he was more worried about Bobby than someone else's approval. "I know...I'm trying not to think about it.."

Bobby looked up concerned. "Promise me something though. Promise me that you won't tell Mom and Dad anything. Promise me that if we try to get to the bottom of this, we'll do it together. I don't want to get Mom or Dad involved." Bobby pleaded. It seemed, even though Bobby had forgotten nearly everything, his sense of secrecy and self-sufficient survival--some would call it 'sneakiness'--remained intact.

Shawn nodded seriously at Bobby, looking him right in the eyes. "I won't tell anyone else. But we absolutely have to stick together on this. Neither of us does anything without telling the other, okay?"

"OK." Bobby said almost instantly. "Cross my heart and swear to die, stick a needle in my eye." Bobby said. It was a common phrase that Shawn had heard before. If Shawn repeated the phrase himself, it would signal that they had made a verbal pact that shouldn't be broken.

"Cross my heart and swear to die, stick a needle in my eye." Even as he said it, Shawn knew it was an absolute blatant lie. This was something he was going to handle on his own, before Bobby could put himself in danger.

OOC: Shawn Joins Thread

Shawn: The Kid Night Movie