Worth it

I Can Tell That We Are Gonna Be Friends

"Nervous?", Steven had nudged Lars as they stood behind the stage for Beach-a-Palooza.

"Yeah, Captain Obvious," he whispered back as he clung onto the guitar strap a little too tightly. He was nowhere near a master at playing this thing yet, even with lessons from Greg, so he picked something that would be fairly easy for him to learn to play. But that's not the part that made him nervous.

He just didn't want to embarrass himself with this. Maybe he should have stuck with something easy, like a magic act, but everyone had been pressuring him to do something like this. He'd initially wanted to strangle Steven when he told Buck, Jenny, and Sour Cream about his act idea, but when the three expressed their admiration, he figured he had nothing to lose. Sadie had told him it was a very heartfelt idea, and he decided that with everyone whose opinions he cared about out of the way, he could do this without too much embarrassment.

He just hoped this wouldn't embarrass who this act was for.

Less than two years ago, he and Ronaldo had decided to repair their friendship, and ever since, they'd been almost as inseparable as they had been when they were children. Lars was still pretty skeptical of all of his friend's research and theory tossing, but he had to admit, it was fun when he did decide to join the dork on his explorations, and wind up with muddy clothes, scrapes, or that amazing rush of adrenaline from fleeing danger and pursuing targets.

This last year, Lars knew, had been more than a little rough for his friend; family troubles, his father's business close to bankrupt, and to make things worse, a fire at the lighthouse that destroyed most of Ronaldo's work. Sure, like always, the guy was bouncing back, and being cheerful, but Lars could tell how he was really feeling sometimes. He'd try not to show he worried about him too much, but he really did.

Even as Ronaldo was on the stage right now, exuberant as ever as he gave his yearly presentation (which Lars usually riffed during his rehearsals), Lars couldn't help but sense his friend was feeling pretty low.

He'd decided to do this act, not just in the hopes it would cheer Ronaldo up, but that his friend would know he was willing to be there for him when things were rough. He'd screwed up several times before when they were kids, but this was different now. Lars was done caring what other people thought. If he wanted to perform for his friend, then he was damn well going to.

Ronaldo soon finished his presentation with a dramatic bow, and as the audience politely clapped, confused by the whole thing, he looked around, trying to see if Lars was in the audience. Not seeing him anywhere, Ronaldo was more than a little disappointed, especially since Lars had promised he'd be at Beach-a-Palooza.

As he dejectedly wheeled his whiteboard off the stage, Mr. Smiley announced the next act, "Performing for, I quote, 'the first time in his entire existence', give it up for...Lars!"

Ronaldo turned around, seeing Lars hopping up the steps of the stage to some supportive cheers by Steven, Sadie, and his three 'cool' friends. Lars got over to the microphone, and adjusting it, suddenly turned, pointing to stage left, where Ronaldo was standing, "Yo! Fryman! Get the hell back over here!"

The audience cackled, and Ronaldo flushed in confusion, wondering what Lars wanted, "Uh...alright?", and shuffled a few feet back onto the stage, so he was barely in sight of the audience.

"All the way! This is for you!"

Bright red, Ronaldo continued to stand there, almost feeling a little self conscious now, being put on the spot for reasons he didn't exactly know.

Lars sucked in his cheeks, and rolled his eyes, "Ok, anyway, like I said, this is for that guy right there, he's been one of my best friends since pre-school, not counting a hiatus-", he paused, then licked his lips, face flushed, "And I care about this guy. A lot."

A few audience members gave an 'awww', and Lars hid his blush, averting his gaze away from Ronaldo, praying that he wasn't too embarrassed by this.

"Also, sorry in advance, everyone, uh, I am not a singer by trade, so uh, if it's bad, just cover your ears and pretend it's OK..."

Ronaldo inched out a little further onto the stage. Lars was seriously going to sing him a song?

Taking a deep breath, Lars strummed through the opening chords of the song he'd been practicing at night, well until 2 AM with a flashlight illuminating the sheet music while he sat on his bed.

And as soon as Ronaldo recognized the tune, he held his breath in shock.

Fall is here, hear the yell
back to school, ring the bell
brand new shoes, walking blues
climb the fence, books and pens
I can tell that we are gonna be friends
I can tell that we are gonna be friends

Ronaldo listened to his friend sing, and agreed with the earlier statement, yes, Lars was no singer, but at least he could carry the tune without much struggle, and he wasn't messing up on the simple chords. Even then, he didn't care. This song was for him!

Sadie was quietly recording the performance, watching Lars bravely play through the song, trying to show he wasn't scared at all, and that he wasn't going to be embarrassed about this. She did her best to zoom in on the parts where Ronaldo's smile seemed to grow, or he appeared overwhelmed.

Soon, Lars reached the bridge, and for once decided to flicker his gaze up at his friend, and seeing him look so touched, smiled himself, and felt a bit braver with his singing.

We don't notice any time pass
we don't notice anything
we sit side by side in every class
teacher thinks that I sound funny
but she likes the way you sing

"Oh my god," Jenny nudged Sadie, "Ron's crying."

Ronaldo was clearly trying to hold back tears, still smiling with amazement. Lars didn't notice it, reaching the final verse of the song.

Tonight I'll dream while I'm in bed
when silly thoughts go through my head
about the bugs and alphabet
and when I wake tomorrow I'll bet
that you and I will walk together again
I can tell that we are gonna be friends
Yes I can tell that we are gonna be friends.

When Lars finished the final chord, and looked up, he immediately saw approximately 200 pounds of weirdness and exuberant cheerfulness rushing right at him, and before he could even react, he was pulled into a tight hug.

The audience members were clapping and cheering and 'aw'-ing at the scene, and Lars' face turned bright red, and he thanked them all, and gave an awkward bow, shuffling offstage as Ronaldo still continued to hug him with one arm while Mr. Smiley complimented 'such a sweet act', and ushered on the next performer.

Ronaldo gave him another squeeze, wiping his eyes, "Oh my god," he breathed, trying to hold it in, "That was the nicest thing anyone's done for me, I-"

"You're not completely embarrassed?"

"Oh no, I am," Ronaldo assured, flicking Lars' guitar, "But at least it's for something done to make me happy. I mean, you've never performed before, and you did this for me!"

"Y-yeah, of course, man," Lars laughed, "Sorry I wasn't in the audience for your act though. I was backstage wiggin' out."

"Makes sense," he assured, as they regrouped with their mutual friends, getting compliments and platitudes and a bit of light teasing, and they all continued watching the rest of the acts.

When it was all over, and the teens were volunteering to help dismantle the stage, Ronaldo nudged Lars, "So what is your plan for next year? Another song?"

"I dunno. Maybe?", he shrugged.

"Well if you do...get some singing lessons, alright? As touched as I was by our friendship, my ears are not that touched by your voice," Ronaldo admitted, swatting Lars' hair.

Lars sputtered, and swatted Ronaldo back, "Why don't you sing then?"

"Ok, I will!", he announced, and inhaled a deep breath as if he was about to scream at the top of his lungs.

Before he could even get one note out, Lars had tackled him to the ground, leaving them both a cackling mess as the stars in the sky grew ever brighter.