When Shawn got outside, he felt somewhat refreshed, having slept way late into the day and recuperating from what was an exhausting night and a troubling morning.

In the air, there was the peaty smell of the fall as it moved closer to overtaking the summer. But also in the air was the smell of burning wood, the results of the fire last night with Michael and the shed.

Nevertheless, Shawn found himself staring at Junior's door moments after leaving Mom and Dad to argue among themselves.

Shawn felt physically refreshed, but he was still quite nervous about the situation. He rang Junior's doorbell, and as he waited for an answer, he sent out a tentative mental probe towards Feddler. Are you there? I just wanted to say I'm sorry again... He still felt bad about how things had ended, and he was about to do something potentially dangerous that he had no idea if or how it'd work.

There was no answer from Feddler. Just silence.

But the silence was broken as Shawn heard the door lock snap open, the turning of the knob and then the door creak as it pulled back.

Junior stood there with a cocked head like a small dog that had heard something interesting.

Then his eyes widened.

"We ARE best friends..." he exclaimed in amazement. It was said in tone that suggested that he knew it all along and had been waiting for this very moment to confirm a long-held, religious belief.

Shawn had hoped that maybe Feddler would be drawn back by now, because he could really use the imp's advice. But either way, he had to keep going. He gave Junior his most dazzling smile. "Hey Junior! My parents are still cleaning up after the party last night, I was hoping I could hang out here with you for a bit?"
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 11:53, Thu 02 May 2019.

Junior's mouth dropped open with surprise. It was a total contrast to what he had just said. But nevertheless, his eyes fixed onto Shawn's, as if he was in total amazement.

Star Struck.

"Uh...Uh..." He stammered.

His hands opened the door, a motion that was completely separate from his mind, as if the hands had a mind of their own. The door opened to invite Shawn in.

"Hang ..... out!" He repeated with enthusiasm, losing himself and his identity in Shawn's own words as he stepped back to let Shawn into his home.

Shawn met Junior's gaze with a grin. "Yeah, if you're not too busy." He stepped inside, looking around the house politely before turning back to Junior. "Oh, that reminds me. I had something really cool I wanted to show you, but you have to keep it a secret, okay? And promise not to laugh."

"Right." Junior said in an excited way.

Then he turned around. "Ralph! You've gotta go!" he shouted into the next room.

"My best friend is over." Without skipping a beat he said to Shawn.

"Ralph is over. But I can kick him out. He's not an actor like you are."

Shawn looked at Junior with surprise - but he keeps it confined to a polite amount rather than the actual confusion he was feeling. "Ralph is here? I didn't know you knew each other?"

Junior took a step back, as if he was worried that Shawn learning this information might affect Shawn's opinion of Junior.

"Well..yeah..." Junior said. "But he's not as good of a friend as you are!" Junior quickly corrected.

Shawn smiled, even as his mind raced. "Ralph's a really nice person, you've got a good friend. Did he bring Bobby along with him?"

Shawn could hear the tell-tale dragging or rather waddling of Ralph's feet. The fat boy's feet picked up speed in the nearby room, sounding like a small, fat train was heading towards the hallway where Shawn and Junior spoke.

"No." Junior said, this time with definite certainty and pride. It was clear he wanted Shawn to know that Bobby was not here, mostly because he didn't want Shawn to think that there was anyone else as important to Junior as Shawn.

"No one else is here. And no one else is gonna be here. I promise. If you're here, Ralph has got to go. There isn't enough room to fit Ralph and a movie star like you in my house. I mean, we're best friends!"
This message was last updated by the player at 12:25, Tue 07 May 2019.

Shawn kept smiling and shrugged. "Well, it's your house, I guess."

Ralph came waddling into view. His hair was plastered to one side of his face.  His shirt was untucked on the left side exposing belly fat that hung over the waist band. All the while he was fumbling at his hands as he came closer to Shawn and Junior.

"I...I...I...I..I..I..I..I..I...c...c...c..can...can't..." He stammered nervously

Shawn crouched down non-threateningly in front of Ralph. “You can’t what, Ralph?” He kept his tone friendly and kindly, encouraging Ralph to speak his mind.

"Oh, I think I know what he's trying to say." Junior said, temporarily forgetting how starstruck he was with Shawn's presence.

"He's trying to say that he can't find..."

"B...b...b..b...b..Bobby!" Ralph stammered, and with the last words, he reached forth and grabbed Shawn's shirt, filling his fat, little fists with cloth, gripping at Shawn in desperation.

Shawn did his best to hide his worry - there was no sense in scaring Ralph. But he felt a pit open up in his stomach. "When did you see him last?" It was a distant hope, but maybe he'd just gone to the park to play and was completely fine.

"I told him he probably just went for an early morning walk. Because big kids do that kind of thing. They get up faster than younger kids." Junior observed. "That's why Ralph is here really. I mean, I think he was looking for you Shawn."

Ralph nodded his head vigorously. "W..w..w.w.w.was looking ..f..f..f.f.for you...B..b..b..b..b..b..b..but there...wa..a.w...w..w...was a p...p..p..p..Police car!" Ralph stammered, finishing Junior's line of questioning, but not answering Shawn's question.

Shawn nodded seriously. "The policeman was looking for Tiffany, so he's probably fine. But just in case, I think you should go home and wait, just in case Bobby comes back." If he could get Ralph to safety, he could get Junior on his side and then maybe Michael and Anthony. Whether Bradford had anything to do with his disappearance or not, dealing with him would make Bobby and Ralph safer.

"D...d..d..d.d.ddon't want to...g..g..g..g.g...go.....h..h..h..h..h..h..home..a..a..a..alone!"

"Ralph, you'll be fine." Junior said, eager to get Ralph out so he could be alone with his best friend Shawn.

Shawn tried to look sympathetic to Ralph. "Don't worry, Ralph - there's a police car in the neighbourhood right now. You'll be safe if you go straight home. And isn't it only a few doors down? We'll watch you from the window to make sure you're safe.

"I don't know if you can calm him down." Junior said, as Ralph stammered and stammered away. Ralph's blubbering was now on the verge of becoming a full break down. A little kid about to erupt into a wave of emotion.

He would have to calm down if he was going to listen to anything that Shawn or anyone else said.

OOC: Shawn Rolls Wits + Manipulation + Specialty + 2 (Ralph is an ally of Shawn) with the following results

0 Successes: Ralph cannot be calmed down. He will not listen to Shawn

1-4 Successes: Ralph calms down. The next roll and number of successes will determine if Ralph listens to what Shawn wants Ralph to do.

5+ Successes: Ralph calms down. It is not necessary to perform a separate dice roll. Ralph will listen to what Shawn tells him to do.

OOC: 07:48, Today: Shawn Cramer rolled 1 success using 8d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 7,10(+7),3,6,4,4,1,7.  Wits + Manipulation + Specialty + 2 .

Not sure what sort of specialty I can use - there's no specified skill. I can roll an extra die with "Acting" if I can use anything?

Ralph calmed down slowly and Junior reacted. "Wow!" Junior remarked. "You're even good at...at...at...!" He let the words unfinished.

Shawn put his hand on Ralph’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, it’ll be okay, Ralph.”

"Yeah Ralph, it will be OK. I mean, Bobby is a Big Kid. Not like you and me. He's not small for his age like I am. And he isn't fat for his age, like you are. He isn't famous like Shawn is and that's probably the worst thing he's got going against him. I mean you're fat, and you're ok. And I'm small and I'm ok. So Bobby will be alright." Junior said, trying to be helpful

Shawn was a little small for his age, but he wasn't going to bring that up right now. "I think what Junior is trying to say is, Bobby's probably all right, and we shouldn't make things worse by panicking right away.

Ralph was now just calming himself down as Shawn had had tried to make him do. Calm as the boy was, he was clearly still worried. His hands were together, folded near the pouch of fat belly that hung over his waistline. Those chubby fingers fiddled and fiddled and fiddled with nervous tension. Still, he was calmer and now able to speak.

"I....th...th...th...th...th...think..tha...tha...tha...tha..tha..that...H..he..he...g..g..g..got..Bobby.  I...th..th.th..think...tha...tha...tha...that...Bra..Bra...Bradford...g..g...g...got...Bobby."

Ralph stammered and he stepped closer to Shawn to show he was in fact really worried. Ralph had never spoke this way, at least not since the new Ralph and Bobby had gained a new family.

Shawn nodded seriously, trying to show that he was taking Ralph seriously, but not panicking and making matters worse. "He may have, Ralph. But there's a police officer over at his house right now, so he can't do anything right away. We just have to be ready for when he leaves."

"Wh.wh..wh..wh..wh..wh..wh..wh..what-u I do!" Ralph asked Shawn pleadingly. Tears came down Ralph's face, and it was clear that he was on the verge of panic all over again.

"Geez Ralph!" Junior said with a nervous smile. "Don't worry. Shawn is a big kid. And he's a movie star. He knows what to do in situations like this. Don't you Shawn?"

Shawn knelt down a bit so the two were at eye level. "Right now, Ralph, you need to keep yourself safe. We just need to find a place you can hide."

Ralph was sniffling now. "O..o..o..oo..o..o..o..o..o..OK." And Ralph stood there in a pathetic state. Now snot had added to the tears, his cheeks crimson red.

"It...it..it..it..it's..j..j..just...he..he..he's..my..my..my..my..brother." Ralph stammered, somewhere between an explanation to Shawn and a confession that he was totally at a loss in terms of what to do about the situation.

And so, without any direction, he just stood there, fat belly hanging out from under his shirt, hands nervously fiddling.

"Junior!" A woman's voice shouted from somewhere deep inside the house, perhaps the kitchen just beyond the hall. It sounded like maybe it was Junior's Mom. "Junior! Are you outside? I thought I told you boys not to leave the house without telling me first. It's not safe in the neighborhood."

There was a tone of anger and annoyance in the voice

"Yes Mom." Junior said obediently. "We're still inside the house."

Shawn saw a way to possibly solve two of his problems - keeping Ralph safe, and freeing him from interference from Junior's mom. "Hey Ralph, maybe you should help out Junior's mom for a bit? You should be safe as long as you're with an adult, then Junior and I can figure out how to solve the problem."

"Yeah Ralph." Junior piped up, clearly reading the situation and coveting 'alone time' with Shawn. "My Mom still has some cookies! Remember?"

Ralph nodded his head, ran the back of his hand across his snotting nose. Then he rubbed his eyes clear of tears with both hands. He trudged towards the kitchen with a despondent gait to his walk, head hung low, sniffles coming out periodically.

Then he turned the corned of the hallway and was gone.

Shawn could hear Junior's Mom say "Ralph! Honey, what's wrong!?"

Shawn breathed out a sigh of relief as he turned to Junior. "Wow, that was pretty crazy. Do you want to go to your room and figure this out?"

Meanwhile, he also sent out a thought towards Feddler, in the hopes that he was paying even a little bit of attention. See, Bobby might be in trouble - even if you hate me, you can't take that out on Bobby. C'mon, please help, I don't know if I can do this on my own. Despite Feddler's earlier outburst, he was hopeful the imp had just been mad and said stuff he didn't mean before - he'd seemed protective of Bobby before, after all.

OOC: The Storyteller has made a secret roll to determine actions between NPCs

Suddenly, in the house, there was a ringing sound. The phone gave a chilling call outward, its urgent chiming resonating throughout Junior's house.

"Yes!" Junior elated with a fist-pump. "Can we play G.I. Joe's first! Then we can figure..." and he waved a hand dismissively towards whatever Ralph had been upset about. "That." He finished, disinterested.

"Hey, maybe after we are done, you can tell me stories about what its like to be in the movies!" Junior suggested.

OOC: The Storyteller has made a secret role to determine interactions between NPCs.

"Hello?" Shawn could hear Junior's Mom pick up the phone.

Shawn was a little curious about what Junior's mom was doing, but it wasn't like he had a good excuse to stick around. "Okay, let's see your room!" He hoped Feddler would come back and help him, but ultimately he would move forward and do it on his own.

Shawn followed Junoir down the hall.

Of Feddler there was no word. Just a silent echo of a feeling. Resentment? Shame? Vulnerability? It was just a faint echo of one or more of those feelings. And behind these immediate but faint whisps of Feddler's emotions, there was a deeper ocean of rejection. But it was distant in Shawn's mind. It was coming from the Imp no doubt. There could also be no doubt that Feddler was sealing himself away, for Shawn felt this. Deep away and into the far recesses of Shawn's mind and subconscious. If and when the Imp came back Shawn didn't know.

Further down the narrow hallway they were walking Shawn heard Junior's Mom in what sounded like a panicked conversation. The woman was saying things into phone like "Oh my God!" and "Here!? Here!?" and "Are you alright?"

Shawn sent a feeling of apology a deep into his own mind as he could, trying to reach Feddler before he could seal himself completely away. He didn't like the sound of the conversation Junior's Mom was having - were they talking about missing kids?

OOC: Shawn Rolls Wits + Occult with the following results:

0 Successes: Feddler seals himself away, the messages is sent but it is not recieved

1 Success: Feddler seals himself away after he receives the message. It is unknown if he bothers to read it

2+ Successes: Feddler seals himself away, but Shawn knows that Feddler read the message

OOC: 22:23, Today: Shawn Cramer rolled 1 success using 4d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 4,2,6,9. Wits + Occult.

"...and this is the picture of my Mom at her marriage to my first Dad." Junior said, showing Shawn all of the pictures on the wall.

"...and this the picture of my Mom that she still hangs on the wall from my first Step-Dad." Junior explained, pointing to a picture on Shawn's left that was on the wall, the Man had a mustache like Tom Selick.

"And this is my Step-Dad right now. I mean, my second Step-Dad. The one that lives here." Junior pointed to a third picture of a rugged looking guy on a motorcycle.

"My Step Dad doesn't like that my Mom has all of these pictures of my old Dads up. But my Mom said that its her life and she likes to remember it."

Feddler had now sealed himself away. Shawn knew the imp was not coming back for some time, if ever. And just as Shawn was contemplating that loss, it was clear that Junior's Mom was getting increasingly agitated on the phone. Finally she yelled out

"Junior! Is Ralph still here!! Have you seen a boy named Shawn!?"

Shawn follows along with Junior's tour with every sign of interest, but he freezes a little when he hears Junior's mom call his name. He makes eye contact with Junior, puts a finger over his lips, and then shakes his head. The message is as clear as he could make it - 'don't tell her I'm here'.

"Maa' I just...!" Junior started to yell back and then he stopped mid sentence upon seeing Shawn's signal. He gave a silent nod and hurried Shawn towards Junior's room, as if ushering into a space that they could hide.

Shawn could see a wide-eyed grin on Junior's face, as if pleased that he and Shawn were sharing some secret that might bond them closer together as friends forever.

Shawn winked at him, and as they hurried towards Junior's room, mouthed a quick 'thank you' to Junior. Fortunately, it seemed Junior was willing to cover him.

They got to Junior's room which was covered in pictures....of the movies Shawn had been in. Large movie posters that Shawn didn't even know were ever in production. The movie Kid Knight was on display in large letters above Junior's pillow.

Junior turned to Shawn with a big smile on his face. In the background, Shawn could hear the frantic yelling of Junior's Mom as she searched the house for the boys.

OOC: Shawn Rolls Wits + Stealth  Vs. Wits + Composure of Junior's Mom (which will be a dice pool of 3)

OOC: 19:08, Today: Shawn Cramer failed (no successes) using 4d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 7,1,4,6. Wits + Stealth.

OOC: 20:13, Today: Storyteller rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((2,8,8)).

Shawn looked around the room in vain. In a few moments, Junior's Mom came running in and explained that Shawn's Mom was looking for him and the Junior wasn't allowed to leave the house.

OOC: Shawn Joins Thread

Shawn: In a Hotel Room With Mom