Thank you for the extension NOTS.(sweatdrop)

Disclaimer: I don't own Meet the Robinsons. My creations tend to have more angst than that, hence the fan fiction. XD

Wrapping Paper

By Netbug009

The moment Wilbur first ran into Lewis, it was clear to him that this guy was his dad.

Yes, he had seen pictures. Yes, he had heard stories. But even so, the real world resemblance shocked the heck out of him. How little can somebody change in 30 years? Seriously! And his personality! Yeah, a bit low in the self-esteem department for Dad, but deep down it was still him.. It had been 5 minutes from first encounter, and Wilbur was already having trouble remembering to call him 'Lewis' instead of 'Dad'.

But, all the same, there was meaning to the world 'deep down'. Cornelius was a present Lewis had to give himself. Wilbur simply had to stay out of the way as much as possible. It was like when somebody opens their Christmas gifts and wants to save the wrapping paper to reuse next year. It gets taken off slowly and carefully. If somebody else comes and tears it apart, you have a problem. In this situation, that would be a huge problem. Yet Wilbur wished he could just rip the stuff off and get it over with. It would make his life so much easier. "No," he had to tell himself. "Do you want to mess up time as we know it? Just pretend he's just another kid." That same paper he was already getting tired of was helpful in his little charade. That paper made him just another kid. But beyond the paper, the box, the age, the learning curve, it was still his dad.

That's what made the current situation, Lewis betraying him, so hard to swallow.

But, was betrayal the right word here? That made it sound like Lewis had just decided to stab Wilbur in the back for no good reason, which wasn't what happened at all. Lewis had every reason not to trust Wilbur. In anybody was the traitor, it was the later. But that was such a small detail of a bigger problem, really? Right now, not even the fact that both their lives could be on the line mattered the most to the futuristic tween. What mattered most was the expression that Dad was giving him as he left.

Lewis, he meant Lewis. Not dad. This wasn't Dad yet, right? But the name thing had gotten ten times harder to keep up as the day had progressed. The paper was folded neatly aside. The box had been opened. Dad was inside for the world to see.

The expression. It was a hard glare. Angry. Cold. Apathetic. Hateful.

Hate.

Pure hate.

His own dad hated him.

Wilbur was really starting to miss the packaging.