Frayed/Lovestruck -CHAPTER TWO- .:Frankenweenie:.

"Come on Toshiaki, throw the ball already!" Snapped Edgar impatiently, tapping his foot on the home plate.

"No, this pitch has to be perfect. I'll take as much time as I need to." Toshiaki squinted and pulled his arm back.

FLING! The ball hurtled towards home plate at record speed. Nassor raised his bat,
but unfortunately struck out as the ball whizzed past him and hit the fence.

"Good pitch!" Yelled Victor from the dugout.

"Better luck next time Nassor!"

"Hey Victor, why don't you bat!" Said Bob.

Victor shuddered at the thought. The last time he'd gone up to bat, his dog was hit and killed by a car,
so he'd generally grown to avoid it altogether after a while.

"Bob, do you even remember what happened to Victor in fourth grade?" Snarled Toshiaki.

"Yeah, he hit the winning pitch!"

"His dog was killed chasing the winning pitch, idiot. Why do you think he's sat out at almost every game in the past three years!?"

"I just thought he didn't want to play!"

As the two squabbled, Nassor walked over and cleared his throat.

"For Victor's sake, I say we stop talking about that." He said, gesturing towards the dugout.

They heard the sound of someone breathing hard inside.

"Victor, are you alright in there?"

"F-fine!" He huffed. "J-just fine!"

"You stupids, he's very sensitive about that game. He gets worked up every time it's brought up!" Whispered Edgar.

Victor wiped his eyes and exited the shadowy dug out.

"It's getting a little late guys. I think I wanna head home."
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Wind shook the trees as the boys made their way home in the dark. Victor fumbled along behind the others with Edgar,
while Toshiaki and Nassor walked up front with flashlights.

"Sorry about them bringing up…you know.." Said Edgar.

"It's alright..I'm kind of used to it by now..I mean, I did hit the winning pitch!" They laughed for a moment before Victor went silent again for a while.

Clearly that conversation hurt him earlier! Come on Victor, do something! Edgar waited a moment for Victor to say anything, but he remained quiet with an upset look on his face.

Finally, after ten minutes or so, Victor perked up when he felt something drip on his head.  Lovely. Rain.
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"Geez, where did that even come from!?" Toshiaki tried to shield his face with an arm but failed miserably as the storm continued to pour down on him.

"At least you're wearing a jacket." Snapped Nassor, a nasty glare on his face.

"It's not my fault you weren't prepared." Toshiaki growled back.

"Guys, I think we need to focus on getting home!" Shouted Victor over the whipping wind.

"IF WE COULD SEE A LITTLE THAT'D BE NICE!!!" Victor tensed a little.

Was…Was that Toshiaki?

Never once in his life had he heard Toshi go beyond a slightly raised voice. For him to yell, he must have really lost it at someone.

"Victor, did you hear that? I-I think that was Toshiaki!" Said Edgar.

"It was. I think he might have hit Nassor. I heard him shouting too."

When they'd caught up to Nassor, Victor saw what damage Toshiaki had dealt out to him.

His nose was bleeding, he had a red mark on his cheek, and there was a long bloody scratch going up the side of his face.

"Nassor, what happened?" Asked Edgar. Nassor sniffed and wiped at the blood running down his face.

"Toshiaki backhanded me."

"But what about that cut?"

"Sharp nails. One sliced my cheek."

Was Toshi actually capable of such violence? Victor wondered how Toshiaki could go from his normal calm self to having such a violent temper so fast.

Suddenly Toshiaki appeared from the haze. Everyone tensed for a moment, afraid he would lash out again, but relaxed when he handed a handkerchief to Nassor.

"Get..Get the blood off your face." He was upset for hitting his friend.

"Your father would be furious if he thought you were in a fight with s-someone…"

At least he cared. Victor couldn't say the same about some people who were like that.

"Guys, let's just go home. I think some of us need some alone time." Victor gestured towards Toshiaki. He flinched as if he'd done something to hurt Victor as well.

"It's alright Toshi. I'm sure Nassor forgives you for hitting him."

Suddenly lightning illuminated the scene.

"Let's get going."
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An hour later, the downpour still raged on, leaving the boys soaked to the bone.

"I think we're on Marx Street. Isn't that where you live Nassor?" Asked Edgar.

"No, this is where I used to live. I live about six streets over now."

"North Birch Lane? That's where I live. House 2084." Toshiaki added quietly.

"I'm 2094." Nassor replied.

"You live acrossed the street from me? I've never seen you there."

"I get up early and walk to school. You probably aren't awake then."

At least Toshiaki's calming down again. That tantrum of his scared him pretty bad. He was afraid he'd hurt someone else…An hour ago, he couldn't even look at Nassor, Let alone talk to him.

Victor himself was calming down from the trauma. He'd never seen Toshi lash out like he did then.

"There's an intersection coming up here. No-one uses it much, but we should still be on the lookout for cars." Said Nassor, pointing his light at the stop sign ahead.

Cars and crossing the street. Another thing Victor had come to avoid, as specially when he took Sparky for a walk. Now he'd have to cross the street in order to get home.

That he could handle, and it was virtually unused, right? Piece of cake.

"Remember to look both ways, and watch for any headlights. If it's coming at you, don't try to cross."

First to cross the street was Toshiaki. As Nassor had said, he looked both ways before quickly zipping acrossed the street.

Edgar followed suit, watching for lights, then running through the crosswalk.

Now it was Victor's turn to go. He check both left and right three times. He slowly began his trek acrossed the striped pavement.

You're alright Victor. You're gonna be fine. Edgar and Toshi made this look easy! There's absolutely no reason why you can't do it too! He thought, swallowing hard.

"Come on Victor! You're doing great!" Cheered Edgar. That was reassuring.

He'd made it a little less than half way when he heard it coming.
A car. Like the one that killed Sparky. Now it's coming for me.

The other boys heard it too. In fact, Toshiaki swore he saw a faint pair of lights in the distance of the rainy haze, heading straight towards Victor.

He did.

"VICTOR! VICTOR GO BACK!" He shouted.

"GET OUT OF THE STREET, THERE'S A CAR COMING!" Nassor yelled from the opposite side of the road.

Despite the warnings, Victor couldn't move. He was terrified. Frozen to the spot like a deer in the headlights.

Edgar and Toshiaki could only stare in horror as the car sped closer.

Nassor started to run out and push Victor out of the way when- THUNK. The driver sped off, not even noticing it had hit someone.

They were already too late.