𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃 | 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐢

𝐗𝐗𝐈. 𝐓𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐬

Danny was quiet most of the walk back to Nora's. However, it was only once they were standing outside the restaurant that Matt had noticed. He'd assumed that the boy was acting like before when he dropped him off the first time around; however, he wasn't sucked into his electronic device this time. Now reading the signs, Matt could see that the boy was anxious.

He placed a hand on his cousin's shoulder and Danny looked up at him in surprise. Matt quietly asked, "Is everything alright?"

Danny nodded his head and stiffened his posture, clearly faking whatever face he had put on. Rather than just letting it go, Matt pulled the boy aside, out of view from the customers inside the restaurant. The surprised look returned to Danny's face.

"What are you doing?"

"You've just been through a lot," Matt replied, "It's normal to feel overwhelmed, but it's not healthy to keep it bundled up."

"I'm fine." Danny tried to move past him, but Matt remained firm and took his by the shoulders.

He then bent down so that he was eye-level with the boy. "One of my friends used to bottle up her feelings too. She's still trying to balance how much she's willing to share, but she's realized that it's okay to depend on other people. Now I know that Jumanji is a terrifying place and might invade your nightmares for a while—"

Danny shook his head. He took a deep breath and then quietly admitted, "I thought about staying..."

Matt's eyes widened, and he didn't exactly handle the news with grace. "What?! You thought about staying in that demented place?"

Danny looked around, panicked, almost like someone else was now listening in on the conversation. "You gonna tell the whole neighborhood? See, this is why I didn't say anything."

Matt quieted himself and then tried to calm his cousin. "You're right, I'm sorry. I handled that wrong. I just find it hard enough to believe that one person would want to stay let alone my own cousin."

"I mean, yeah, it was dangerous and scary at times," Danny admitted, slowly pulling his arms around himself in a hug, "but it didn't seem as terrifying as facing the real world."

It finally dawned on Matt what the boy was implying. Within a week, the boy's entire lifestyle had been broken up and stripped of him as his parents took each other to court. He'd been forced to live in a couple of homes that he'd rarely even visited and with people who seemed to view him as nothing more than a pest. Matt realized that he'd even had some fault with this. Meanwhile, in Jumanji, the boy had been given a feeling of power and self-reliance that was overlooked in the real world.

Matt slowly nodded his head. "The power that the game offers can be tempting since there's not a way to cheat at real life, but facing our problems is how we grow."

"What about your dad?" Danny crossed his arms, unconvinced. "You can't tell me you weren't even slightly relieved to know that you didn't have to worry about him while in the game."

Matt slowly shook his head in disagreement. "Since it was your first time, I realize you wouldn't know this, but the game continues even when we're inside. Time works a bit different there. Before we finished the game the first time, Alex had been trapped there for over twenty years. He had no idea, but his parents thought that he'd run off or worse... As much as my dad and I disagree, I wouldn't ever want to subject him to that."

Danny looked down at the ground, deep in thought. He then looked back up with an inquisitive expression. "How come you've never told him that?"

Matt shrugged. "You know how guys are—"

Danny scoffed. "Matt—and I mean no offense—but you're not exactly the manliest guy out there. You tend to wear your emotions on your sleeve."

"Which is why I draw," Matt admitted, "because I'm not always great at expressing them."

"Well... maybe now's a good time to start," Danny suggested with a shrug. "I can think of a pretty cool dude who once said, and I quote: 'It's not healthy to keep it bundled up'."

Matt playfully rolled his eyes and ruffled his cousin's hair before standing up straight with a nod of his head. He released a gentle laugh and led Danny back toward the restaurant. "You're not so bad, Danny."

"Gee, thanks," Danny also playfully rolled his eyes before returning the statement, "You're not so bad either, Matt."

Danny opened the door to the restaurant, but Matt stopped him before he could walk inside. "Hey... keep in touch. I'll be around if you ever need someone to talk to or, you know, if you ever just want to hang out."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you already miss me," Danny joked.

"I might have gotten used to the little thorn in my side," Matt retorted with a shrug.

Danny rolled his eyes, but the smile remained on his face. He gave Matt a small salute, which was returned, then walked into the restaurant. Matt lingered a minute longer before turning to see that Bethany waited for him on the other side of the street with the keys to his car in hand. He shook his head and released a gentle laugh before jogging across the street to meet with her.

"I thought you'd gone home."

"You left your car at Spencer's." She shrugged and handed him the keys. She walked around to the passenger side of the vehicle and climbed inside. Matt turned on the car, but stopped in a bit of a daze as she pressed a gentle kiss onto his cheek. "That was sweet of you."

"How long had you been standing there?" He questioned with the understanding that she'd meant talking to his cousin.

"Long enough," she replied vaguely. "So, you're gonna talk to your dad now, right?"

"Were you eavesdropping on the whole conversation?"

"No." She shook her head defensively. "I missed the first few minutes."

"Yes," he finally answered her question, "I'll talk to my dad after I drop you off at your house."

"Actually, my car's at Spencer's house."

Matt chuckled under his breath, and he turned off the emergency parking brake and drove down the street. The drive was short but allowed the couple to catch up on missed conversations from when they were separated within the game. Once at their destination, Bethany exited the car. However, she approached the driver side and Matt rolled down his window.

She gave him a kiss that Matt thought was far too short, but also wouldn't have given up for anything in the world. She looked at him fondly as she walked back to her car. "I love you, Matt."

Those four little words flooded his heart with warmth every time he heard them. The lovesick expression that appeared on his face any time that he looked at her still remained even to this day. She could trust that his reply was always genuine. "And you're my everything, Bethany."

She drove off and Matt drove home. Normally, a tension of anxiety would build up in his chest, knowing that he was to confront his father the moment he arrived; however, he was at peace. It was still the last thing he wanted to do, but he'd come to realize, with help from others, that it was necessary. He didn't hesitate when he returned home. He opened the front door and proceeded to march to the end of the hall where he knew his father would be in the study, already making plans for the next semester at the high school.

His father looked up from his laptop in surprise. "Matthew. I wasn't expecting you to be home until later."

Matt slowly nodded his head. "I know... I just thought we could talk."

"Is something wrong?" his father asked with confusion.

Matt gently shook his head. "No. I've just realized that I've never let you know that I appreciate all you've done for me."

Although he did smile and laugh at the expression of genuine shock on his father's face, Matt continued the conversation. There were a few rough patches of disagreement here and there, but Matt did recognize that his father had done a great job raising him alone. True, they'd gotten over the hurdle of grief after his mother passed a long time ago, but they'd never actually resolved the conflict between them that had also surfaced. It was time to move past their former issues and start thinking about the future. They had their differences, but Matt had no desire to drift apart from his family. It just took a touch of the wild to remind him.