Newcomers

Sleepover

Charlie handed Cody an overnight bag in from the front seat of Chase’s cab. “Remember, you can call me at any time if you want to come home.” He said. Cody nodded. ‘Don’t worry about me dad, I’ll be fine.” Cody said. “If you say so Cody. I’ll see you in the morning. I’ll pick you up at 11:00.” Charlie said. “Okay, bye dad.” Cody said. “Bye Cody.” He replied as he started to drive away. Chase honked so that he wouldn’t blow his cover and Cody watched from the doorway as they drove through the woods.

“Alright, come on back inside Cody.” Namseon said, ushering him back inside. Cody hopped upstairs back to Seojun’s room. “Okay, I’m back.” He said. “Hey.” Seojun said, not looking away from the tv on the wall. Cody sat down on the bed beside him. “Hey Seojun?” He asked. “Hm?” Seojun hummed, turning his head towards Cody. “How do you guys make yourselves smaller?’ He asked. “Oh that? It’s pretty simple I guess.” He said. “How?” Cody asked. Seojun blew air through his lips in mild irritation, but explained it anyway.

“We have these things called compression patches that we usually put on our backs or shoulders. They’re made of a plant that originates on earth called a Hymphon. They’re like small blue shrubs” He said. “We crush the leaves and stems of the plants and replant the roots and seeds. Then we strain the juice and mix it with gelatin to make it a paste. When it's concentrated like that, it takes about four plants to be able to cause a fully grown Nyumal to shrink. We put them in bags that stick to your body. They take three minutes to take effect and seven minutes to wear off. They also work up two twelve hours, but for safety reasons they should only be worn up to eight hours. You also aren’t supposed to put them on your chest because it can hurt you.” He said.

Cody remembered something. “Is that why you had that chest cramp when we went to the library?” He asked. Seojun frowned and cocked his head at him. “You remember that?” He asked. “Yeah, I was worried about you.” He said sheepishly. Seojun chuckled. “It was fine though. I had just woken it up late and stuck it in the wrong place.” He said. “Oh okay. That’s a relief.” He said.

“So you’re wearing one now?” He asked. Seojun nodded. “Are you gonna take it off?” He asked. “Well, I got like three more hours on it, but yeah. It’s not always a good idea to sleep with them on.” He said. “So I get to see what you really look like?” Cody asked. “After I get in the shower, and if my mam doesn’t catch me.” He said. “Noble!” Cody said. Seojun rolled his eyes with a small smile. “So eager.” He said jokingly. Cody blushed. “Sorry..” He said sheepishly. “No, it’s fine.” Seojun replied. He passed him a bag of chips and they watched some loud cartoon on adult swim. “Are we even supposed to be on this?” Cody asked. “Nope.” Seojun replied with a cheeky smile. “Your mom’s gonna catch you.” Cody said. Seojun shrugged. “Eh.”

Close to the middle of the night Seojun jumped into the shower and Cody changed into his sky blue matching pajamas and sat at the desk watching the tv.

I wonder what it’s like to be that tall. How come his mom is so cautious about everything? What happened after they headed to the capital?

Seojun came back twenty minutes later, interrupting his thoughts. He tossed Cody a black sleeping bag. “Blap!” Cody yelped as he just barely stopped it from hitting in the face. “Oops, sorry.” Seojun said. Seojun walked through the doorway and closed it. He stood in front of him, waiting for him to say something.

His hair was in twists, and he had on a different white tank top and grey sweatpants. He was very tall, just a few feet below the ceiling. His eyes glowed more brightly, his ears pointed up more, and he had a green marking like a band on his bicep. Otherwise, he didn’t look much different other than being a lot taller.

“Wow.” Cody said in astonishment. Seojun avoided his eyes. “What do you think?’ He said shyly. “It’s cool. You still look like you to me.” Cody replied. Seojun smiled and plopped down across the bed on his back. “That’s good to hear. I expected a very different reaction.” He said.

“What, you don’t trust me?” Cody teased. Seojun snorted. “I do, I just have my doubts at times.” He said. “It is a little strange to me, since I’m used to you only being 6’5 but- wait, how tall are you anyway?” Cody asked. “10’3.” He said. “Noble!” He shook his head to get himself back on track. “But as I was saying, we’re friends. I’m not gonna judge you just because you’re different from me.” He said. Seojun ruffled his hair with a gentle smile. “Thanks.” He said. “Sure.” Cody replied while he fixed his hair.

“I’ve had friends before, just not one as close as you.” Seojun said, looking into his eyes. Cody smiled. “Just me?” He asked. “Well I’m close to Frankie and Priscilla too, but it’s...different with you.” Seojun elaborated. “How?” Cody asked. “Well, you’re the only one I’ve told so far about being Arsinian, or stayed up late talking to in person.” He said. Cody nodded. “You’re the only one who knows I’m struggling at all.” He said. Seojun sighed. “You should tell someone about that though. It wouldn’t be good to let it continue and hurt you.” He said. “I know. I just need some time to get my thoughts together.” He said. “Okay.” Seojun replied.

They laid on the bed quietly watching the TV. It was nice to just be around him, the silence between them didn’t feel awkward, just calm. They understood each other, mostly. Cody looked over at Seojun and felt butterflies in his stomach. He’d tell him at some point, for now he was fine just being there with him with no strain on their friendship. That could change if he said something, and he didn’t want that to happen.

At 1:52 in the morning, Vashti came in to tell them to go to bed and Seojun turned the lights out. Cody climbed into the sleeping bag that was a little too big and Seojun turned over on his side in bed. “Goodnight Seojun.” Cody said. “Goodnight.” Seojun murmured tiredly.

Seojun fell asleep almost immediately. Cody lay awake in his sleeping bag. He was so tired, but he was having trouble since he kept instinctively forcing himself to stay awake. He was frustrated by it.He turned over on his side and watched Seojun. He was relaxed and completely asleep. He remembered that he wasn’t alone and that he’d be fine. He followed Seojun’s breathing like he had earlier until he finally closed his eyes and fell asleep.