Second Chances

Chapter 6

The next day was Saturday, so Steve had the day off. Herobrine scribbled on a sheet of paper and Steve counted that week's pay. He should have enough to buy food for both him and Herobrine for the next week. He also had a little extra to buy Herobrine some extra clothes, since he had been wearing the same oversized shirt for three straight days now.

Steve glanced at Herobrine and caught a glimpse of what he was drawing. A small stick figure held a green blob. At first, Steve though that the figure had no eyes, but then he realized that the eyes were white. Oh. This was a picture of Herobrine holding that creeper. Next to Herobrine's pack of crayons (where did he even get those? Steve didn't think he had a pack of crayons laying around, but maybe he was wrong) was a completed work, which was five or six blue stick figures standing around a white-eyed stick figure. The background was completely red with a few orange blobs.

"What's this?" Steve asked, picking up the drawing.

Herobrine looked up to see which drawing Steve was talking about. "Oh. I had a scary dream."

"A dream?" Steve set the drawing down. "What happened in the dream?"

Herobrine paused for a few seconds before answering. "I was in a really hot place, and these people made of blue stuff were chasing me... and I fell into a pool of fire. It was really scary."

Steve's blood ran cold. It sounded like Herobrine was talking about the Nether, since that was the only place Steve could think of that fit that description. Steve had never been to that hellish dimension, but he had heard enough about it. The people made of blue stuff sounded like warriors in diamond armor—most likely warriors who were apart of one of the Herobrine-hunting clans. Steve wasn't sure, but this sounded like how Herobrine last died. Steve prayed that this was all Herobrine remembered of his past life.

"Mister Steve, it's cold in here," Herobrine said, rubbing his arms.

Steve realized something that he should have realized earlier. Rumor was that Herobrine lived in the Nether, haunting and tormenting anyone that wandered through a portal before finally killing them. He would have acclimatized to the heat of the Nether, so the Overworld would have been freezing to him. That was why he was always complaining that he was cold.

"Well, I can't change the temperature. Can you clean this up? We have some errands we need to run," Steve said, gesturing to the crayons and paper. Herobrine nodded and started cleaning up.

Steve needed to take Herobrine with him when he went shopping because he needed to find clothes that would actually fit him. The only problem with this was that if anyone saw his eyes, they would know exactly who he was. So, Steve forced him to wear a hat that covered his eyes. He didn't complain, but he didn't look happy about this accessory.

"Stay by my side. Don't go anywhere without me and don't touch anything that I don't tell you to touch," Steve ordered.

Herobrine nodded and tugged at his hat. "Why do I have to wear this?" he asked.

Steve hesitated. "It's a long story. But don't take it off and don't let anyone see your eyes."

"Why?" Herobrine looked up at Steve curiously.

Steve hesitated again. "Your eyes are not normal. If anyone sees them, they're going to freak out."

Herobrine looked down at the ground. "O-okay."

With that settled, they went out.

...

The market was incredibly busy, since most people were out shopping on their day off. Vendors called out into the crowd what they were selling, and everyone jostled around each other to get to where they needed to go. As soon as Herobrine saw the crowd, he froze and clung to Steve's hand. Steve was tempted to shove the child off, but he didn't. At least he knew that Herobrine wouldn't go wandering off if he was holding his hand. Steve started to continue, but Herobrine stubbornly didn't move.

"What is it? What's the matter?" Steve asked.

Herobrine didn't say anything. He messed with his fingers and stared firmly at the ground. He was terrified, but Steve wasn't sure of what.

"Hero—" Steve stopped himself from saying his full name. There were still people around them and if anyone heard him, with or without context, a panic could erupt. "Hero, what's wrong?" he asked in a much calmer tone than before.

"I don't want them to be scared of me," he said quietly.

"What? Why would they be scared of you?" Steve could think of several reasons why, but he didn't think that Herobrine knew any of those reasons.

"You said that they'd be scared of my eyes." Herobrine looked up at him.

A pang of regret shot through Steve's chest. He probably shouldn't have said that. Herobrine looked down at the ground, and Steve just stuttered as he racked his brain for a response. "Okay, look. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that about you." Herobrine looked back up at him. "It's true, though. Your eyes... they're different from everyone else's. It's not a bad thing, it just means that you can't show anyone your eyes. Okay?"

Herobrine looked at the busy crowd, then back at Steve. "Okay," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Herobrine took Steve's hand, and they walked into the market.

Steve wasn't sure how he felt about lying through his teeth to Herobrine. Well, it wasn't all a lie, just the part about his eyes not being bad. His eyes were dangerous because if anyone saw them, they would try to kill him. Steve would also probably end up in a jail cell, since Herobrine was an enemy of everyone in the Overworld and associating with him would probably be considered a crime. His eyes were a very bad thing, but it was not okay for Steve to tell a six-year-old that, no matter who that six-year-old happened to be.

Steve's first stop in the market was the farmer. After spending two emeralds on a dozen loaves of bread, he went to the butcher and bought some meat. Usually, this was when he went home, since all he usually needed was food for the coming week, but this time was different. He then went to a textile vendor and began browsing what they had in the children's section. Herobrine followed Steve around and occasionally, Steve held something up to Herobrine's small body to see if the item he picked out would fit. Herobrine quickly grew bored of this, and after a while, he wandered away while Steve wasn't looking. Steve didn't notice for quite some time since it didn't take long for him to get a good estimate of Herobrine's size.

Herobrine wandered through the small clothes shop and explored. The large racks of clothes were perfect for hiding and playing in. He grinned and peeked out and saw Steve paying for the clothes. He smiled at the idea that he was completely invisible to Steve. He was as stealthy as an Enderman. He wasn't sure what an Enderman was, but it sounded like a very stealthy creature.

"Oh, hey there little guy! You're that kid we found in the mine, aren't you?"

Herobrine quickly turned around to face the person who was talking to him. He was disappointed from realizing that he wasn't as stealthy as he thought he was and terrified that someone was looking at him. What if they saw his eyes and got scared?

The person talking to him was a woman in iron armor. She had a bow strung on her back and a quiver of arrows on her thigh. She smiled at him.

"Hi," Herobrine said quietly.

"Hello. Are you here with Steve?"

Herobrine nodded.

"Well, I'm just glad you're okay," the woman said. "Why are you wearing that hat?"

Herobrine shifted uncomfortably. "Because my eyes aren't normal. I don't want to look scary."

The woman's smile faded. "What's wrong with your eyes?" She bent down and lifted the hat out of Herobrine's face. As soon as she saw his eyes, her eyes quickly changed to horror. Herobrine pulled away and pulled the hat back over his eyes. So, Steve was right. His eyes were scary.

"Hero!" Steve called. He frantically turned the corner and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Herobrine. "Thank the gods, there you are! Don't go wandering off like that!" Steve huffed. "Oh, hi Clara."

Clara looked up at Steve and as soon as their gazes met, he knew that she knew. Oh no.

"Steve, is this who I think it is?" Clara asked.