Just wanted to say, this day marks the one year anniversary of my time in FanFiction. It only feels like a month since I joined though.
To celebrate, I got this together and am posting another fic in the 'Homestuck' archive as well.
Here's to another year, yo.
Author's notes have been redirected to the forums under Gumball's Hollow Ponds Perfectly Not - Author's notes, for the remainder of the story.
Perfectly Not
~O~X~O~
'BZZT!' 'BZZT!' 'BZZT!'
He slapped his hand on top of the clock, silencing that god-forsaken buzzer. He cracked one eye open and looked around. The place was somewhat dim, but there was light in the room from outside. Gumball looked to his right. Darwin was strangely not in his fishbowl, or the room for that matter. He assumed Anais had also left as well. He checked the clock, just to make sure he didn't overslept.
6:01
He sat up and stretched his back out. Tuesday had come, not that it was any different than Monday. Gumball still had the feeling that today was still going to be worse than yesterday. He knew it was highly unlikely, but his gut told him otherwise.
He yanked off his nightshirt, tossing it in the corner with his other clothes. Jumping off the bed, he walked over to the closet and dug out a towel. He then made his way out of the room, closing the door behind himself.
Once again, Darwin and Anais were standing by the bathroom door last. He knew in his mind they were bound to speak nonsense into his ears. Holding in an eye roll, he stepped next to Darwin, but still placed some space between them. He starred at the ground, not wanting to look at anything that had a face or could speak with it.
"..." The silence felt deafening to Gumball.
"...Gumball," started Darwin, not that Gumball wanted him to finish.
"Just... don't."
"We're not trying to be any way to you, dude." Darwin stepped closer to his brother. "We're just worried about you, ya know?"
'Liar...'
"Okay," said Gumball, keeping his eyes locked on the floor.
"You could acknowledge our existence," grumbled Anais, somewhat loudly.
"I said okay... is that not enough for you?"
"It's fine-"
"You don't have to say it with an attitude," said Anais, bluntly.
"..." Gumball remained silent, closing his eyes tightly. Darwin looked back and forth between the two, not sure on who's side to take.
"Um... I think what Anais is trying to say, is that she wants you to speak a bit more, Gumball." Darwin glanced at his sister. "And right now, Gumball is just tired-"
"He always is tired." Anais rolled her eyes.
"It's not my fault," said Gumball, now looking at the two of them.
"How is it not your fault? You're the one who went to bed late." Anais shot Gumball a nasty glare.
"I went to bed at Nine. How is that late? Besides, it's not like you two have chores or homework to worry about..."
"Oh, shut up, Gumball."
The mood of the room had now dropped like a rock. Gumball starred at the two blankly for a few seconds before lowering his head and turning around. His tail was hanging low and didn't move an inch. Darwin looked back at Anais with an, 'what the heck was that,' look on his face.
"What?" asked Anais.
"Seriously? Wasn't that kinda harsh?"
"Like what he did at lunch yesterday wasn't 'harsh'..." Anais turned as their father stepped out of the bathroom.
"Mornin' kids!" he said as he skipped downstairs. Anais stomped in the bathroom and closed the door. The running water could be heard. Again, Darwin and Gumball were alone in the hallway, filled with silence and an awkward vibe.
"...Dude?"
"..."
"Are you okay, Gumball?" asked Darwin.
"...I-I'm fine," lied Gumball, gripping onto his chest tightly.
"Gumball, Anais is just-"
"Ahem." Nicole walked up to the two boys, carrying her purse in her hand. She walked over to Darwin and leaned down next to him.
"Remember when I said about giving him some space?" whispered Nicole. Darwin sighed.
"Alright."
Nicole glanced over at Gumball. He was facing away, and probably didn't know she was looking at him. She stood up and walked over in front of him. Her hands on her hips and her head tilted down.
"Is something wrong?"
"..."
"Gumball. Answer me." Nicole knelled down to his level.
"I'm tired..."
"When did you go to bed?"
"The same time you did," said Gumball, now looking up at his mother.
"Did you stay up last night?"
"...I had trouble sleeping for a bit..." Gumball could hear Anais stepping out of the Bathroom, walking downstairs, and Darwin walking inside and closing the door.
"So when did you go to sleep and how did you get to sleep?" questioned Nicole.
"...Nine-Thirty?" It was Gumball's best guess. "...Oh, and I m-"
Gumball slammed his hands over his mouth. Which, was actually a worse move because his mother now suspected something. She raised an eyebrow, scooting a bit closer to Gumball.
"You... what?"
Gumball kept his hands over his moth as he spoke. "N-Nothing."
"Hm..." Nicole's own mumbling made her realize what her son was about to say.
"...Oh."
Gumball could feel his face going red and the sweat pouring down.
"U-Um..."
Nicole stood up and walked over to the staircase. Before she went down, she looked back at Gumball, still holding his hands over his mouth.
"It's... okay, Gumball. I'm not mad at you for that." Her words had some firmness, yet were also gentle. "It's fine."
Gumball nodded as his mother went downstairs. As if on cue, Darwin walked out of the bathroom, a towel on his head. He looked at Gumball who was still standing in place. He simply sighed and went downstairs as well, leaving Gumball alone.
Reality came back, and Gumball shook out of his moment and ran into the bathroom. Closing the door behind him, he kept his back on it. Heavy breaths left his mouth.
His mother now knew. She knew, and he hated it. Of all the things, this was one that Gumball couldn't stand people knowing about. His stomach turned at the thought of his mother talking about it later today with him. He could practically hear her voice, talking about his body and all the other things wrong with him.
"I-I-I... uh, UH..."
Gumball ran over to the toilet, falling on his knees and moving his head over it. His stomach started up, his whole body went rigid, and a loud gag left his mouth before he threw up once. A rather large amout of vomit came rushing out of his mouth. Gumball took a deep breath before another wave hit him and he threw up again, some of it hitting his chest. Wave after wave, he continued throwing up as the burning pain in his stomach grew. Snot and tears rolled down his face the entire time.
After a few more gags, Gumball had completely stopped. He slid down, sitting up against the bathtub with heavy breathing. He reached out and flushed the toilet, the sound of rushing water somewhat calmed him. He slowly crawled to the door and grabbed his towel, standing up on both legs.
He grabbed the end of his briefs, about to pull them down before noticing something. A small dark stain was in the middle of them. it was smaller than his hand. He went more red at the thought of wetting himself. He checked by the toilet making sure it wasn't a big mess. Dry, thankfully. He pulled his briefs down and stepped in the tub, turning the cold water on full. His face and chest were met with a freezing blast of water.
"Ahhhh..." moaned Gumball out loud, not caring if anyone could hear him outside.
He grabbed the soap and scrubbed his body down. Sadly, because of his vomiting ordeal, he had no time to do his favorite thing. Not that he wanted to. The previous confrontation with his mother pushed that idea far back in his mind already. And school had to be dealt with.
He shut off the water, shaking his body in the tub. He stepped out of it and grabbed his towel, wrapping it around his waist. He picked up his briefs as he stepped out of the bathroom and into his room. He shut the door and tossed his briefs again, in the corner of the room. He opened up his closet, Pulling out a Turtleneck red sweater, black shorts, and sadly, a pair of purple boxers. He hated them, but it was his only clean pair.
Slipping on his clothes, he rubbed the towel on his head before grabbing his other clothes and heading out the door. He went downstairs, looking at a clock on the wall.
6:43
He sighed, being glad he wasn't in the bathroom for an hour. He went over to another room where a washer sat alone. Next to it was a hamper, where he shoved his clothes inside. He finally went to the kitchen table. His family were already eating cereal and toast, which for once, looked appetizing to Gumball.
He took his seat, sitting in between Nicole and Anais. Obviously, his sister didn't look at him once, but his mother glanced at him for a moment. Gumball grabbed the box of cereal and poured some into his empty bowl. Setting it down after and grabbing the milk.
"...Oh," Nicole started. "I should let you all know we have a dentist appointment later today."
Everyone in the room froze up. And surprisingly, so did Gumball.
"Woah, woah, wait a second," said Darwin with his fins up. "Why didn't you say something yesterday?"
"Actually, I told you all last week. However, our dentist said he had to change his plans. I didn't tell you because I didn't think he would book us back in again." Nicole took a bite of her toast.
"D-Do we ALL have to go?"
"Yes, Richard. We ALL have to go." Gumball flinched, setting the milk down.
"Our teeth aren't that bad!" exclaimed Darwin.
"Darwin, you have two cracked teeth on one side, Anais has a cavity that's the size of your father's mouth."
"Hey!"
"Your father's teeth could fall apart any day now with everything he eats."
"I can work in a few more days!"
"And Gumball needs braces."
"..."
"We'll all go after scho-"
"WAIT, WHAT?!" Gumball stood up from his seat, causing everyone to jump. Nicole backed up a bit.
"Gumball! Don't-"
"Y-You never told me I needed braces before!" shouted Gumball.
"I never told you because, Gumball."
"Why?! What on earth could have kept you from telling me?!"
"Look, the last time we went, they said you couldn't get braces for a few months."
"Y-You still could have told me I needed them! That's no excuse!" Anais and Darwin had their jaws open slightly.
"Gumball, you can't just yell when... ugh..." Nicole placed a hand on her forehead.
"...Okay, alright. I admit it. so I might have..."
Gumball could clearly hear the last words she whispered, and they horrified him.
"You... forgot?"
"Gumball,"
"H-how on earth did you forget to tell me?" Gumball was about to have a breakdown, and Nicole could tell.
"Gumball, calm down."
Gumball moved his hands over his mouth. He could pratically feel the meta being placed on his teeth. He wouldn't go to school the next day, let alone want to. He knew all the names that would come about, all the kids laughing at him, making fun of him, and hurting him more.
"...Sweetie."
Gumball snapped out of it. Nicole was holding onto his shoulders, much like she did yesterday. But what was different was what she called Gumball. It was a word he heard her use with Darwin and Anais, but he couldn't remember the last time his mother called him, 'Sweetie' before.
"Please, calm down. I know you don't want them, but it's for the best. You won't even have them on for very long, either. It's just for a couple of months, okay?"
Gumball remained silent as he slowly sat back down in his seat, slumping over. He grabbed his cereal and slowly started eating it down, not looking away from the bowl. Everyone else quietly continued to eat their food. Nicole let out a sigh.
'I should have said something sooner...'
~O~X~O~
The kids were now grabbing their bags, getting ready for another day at school. Darwin kept a fin on his cheek the entire time, Anais looked troubled as well. Gumball, however, had a blank face. He barely showed any emotion to anyone or himself. When he picked up his bag, he followed his siblings out the door. His father slept on the couch as his mother kissed Richard on the cheek, following Gumball outside.
She was about to walk to her car, when she stopped Gumball by grabbing his shoulder. She whispered something to him quickly.
"I'd like to talk to you again before we go to the dentist later... alone."
Gumball knew very well what she wanted to talk about. He nodded as she went to the car and sat inside. The engine started up before she drove away to work. Gumball kept her words in her mind as he went to the bus stop.
Soon, he was now standing by the sign with his siblings next to him. It was dead silent, and he preffered it that way. Gumball looked up. The sky was more cloudy than yesterday. Practically a Grey sky above him. Gumball again, drifted off into a little daydream before the bus arived. He could see himself flying above the clouds and seeing a blue sky all around him. An escape from his sad and depressing life below.
His thoughts were short-lived, though. The bus pulled up and it's doors opened up. The three stepped inside and took a seat. Darwin and Anais sat together in a seat up front. Gumball looked around for an empty seat. Teri again, was open, but he didn't want to talk to her after yesterday's conversation. Looking ahead, a seat at the back was open, but some were already sitting there.
'...Dammit...'
Gumball kept walking forward, passing the other kids to the back seat. On the left, Tobias was sitting, flexing his arms and muscles all around. Carrie was placing as much space between her and Tobias as she could. Gumball sat in the middle of the two as the bus started driving off to school.
Gumball looked down at his feet and kicked them around lightly. It was the only thing to focus on that wasn't painful to look at. Sadly, and arm was shoved in his face from the side. A rainbow-colored one at that. It was skinny and bared no real flesh to speak of, in Gumball's eyes, at least.
"Wished you had these, don't you?" asked Tobias with a large grin on his face.
"..." Gumball spat in his arm.
"Ew ew ew! Watch it!" Tobias retracted his arm, rubbing it on his seat. Gumball simply rolled his eyes.
"You're gonna get it, dude!" Tobias stood up in a fighting stance.
"Sit down before you break your brain more," said Carrie, looking over Gumball.
"Oh, come on! You think I don't got this?"
"You know, Gumball is a bit bigger nowadays." Gumball looked down at his gut. He didn't think it was big. "He'd probably pop you out the window, let alone anyone else on the bus."
"Ha! You kidding? Anyone?!"
"Even Teri could. You're practically made of the same thing." Tobias grunted, crossing his arms and turning away.
"Oh, speaking of... Teri said something about you, Gumball."
'Oh god, oh god, oh god...' Gumball slowly turned to face Carrie, trying to not looked freaked out.
"W-What did she say about me, exactly?"
Carrie had a sly look on her face as she flipped her hair upward.
"She said you could blow yourself."
"..."
"I'm sorry. What the hell did Teri say?"
"You're more stupid than I thought." Carrie rolled her eyes. "She said you told her you could get your head down to your own junk."
"..." Gumball was blown speechless. It was the dumbest thing he had heard in ages.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Are you lying?"
"How can I be lying if I never told her that in the first place?!" Gumball looked across the bus, over at Teri. She was facing away from them.
"Sooo... you can't do it?"
"I don't know, but I sure as heck never said I did!"
"So wait, how do you know you can't do it?" asked Tobias.
"I never said-"
"Have you tried?"
"W-What the heck, man?!" Gumball scooted away from Tobias. "That's none of your business!"
"So, you've tried?"
"NO! STOP ASKING!"
Gumball crossed his arms, completely done with the conversation. He ignored all the dumb things said by Tobias as he waited to arrive at school. Thankfully, time moved quickly, and they arrived there in no time. Everyone flooded out the bus except for Gumball. He sat motionless in his seat as the bus driver got off the drivers seat and out the door.
"Kid, you gettin' off?"
'...For the love of,'
Gumball quickly jumped off the bus and ran inside. He passed multiple students and even knocked down a few as he ran into the nearest bathroom. He knocked on some stalls, making sure no one was in any of them. He stepped in one, and slammed the door behind himself.
~O~X~O~
"Good morning, class."
"Good morning, Mr. Gravel."
"Class, Today is my last Tuesday with all of you." Mr Gravel pulled out a stack of paper. "And I'd like to make it special for every-"
Gumball pushed open the door with great force. So much, that the eraser sitting on the blackboard slightly jumped up and fell on the floor. He looked as if he had been running and his face was strangely red in some places.
"...Watterson."
"Yeah, I know, late, late, late." Gumball walked to his desk and sat down, dropping his books on the desk also.
"Do try to be on time to class. That also includes no last minute appearances."
"Yeah..." Gumball sank lower in his seat.
"Now then, class. Today, I have something very special to tell you all."
Everyone (except Gumball,) leaned forward.
"In my time here, there will be only one more quiz for all of you."
Some smiles showed throughout the classroom.
"But there is a catch: it's pop quiz."
Everyone groaned in frustration (except Gumball,) as Mr. Gravel slowly started to hand out papers to everyone. Gumball rolled his eyes as a tiny stack was passed to him. He opened his desk and pulled out a pencil, wanting to finish up he garbage before him quickly.
"You all have thirty minutes," said Mr. Gravel as he sat behind his desk and picked up a rather large textbook.
The room went silent, save for the few turning of pages and the clock hanging above the blackboard ticking. A sense of dread filled the room slowly as the students, now practically mindless drones, continued to write down their answers. No one moved and no one whispered, either.
Gumball sat his pencil down, not bothering to double check his work. He crossed his arms and laid his head down on them, waiting for his opportunity to leave. His mind drifted off into the bathroom earlier when he had a bit of a test for himself. He did pass, but he wasn't sure how to feel about it.
'I mean... I guess it's a nice thing... not that I can brag about it...'
He peeked up at his teacher. He looked as if he was a statue just waiting to be tipped over. Gumball had considered the idea before, many times. Sadly, he never went through with it, and certainly couldn't now. Not after being grounded for even longer.
'I should just run away. For like, freaking ever.'
Running away was a good idea, had money, food, shelter, and being killed, not been an issue. He also had seen hobos before, and didn't like the way they turned out, with hair everywhere and asking for socks whenever you passed by them.
'I don't even wear freaking socks when I go outside...'
"Alright, hand in your papers, kids." Mr. Gravel stood up and checked the clock. "We still have some things to go over today."
~O~X~O~
Walking down the halls, Gumball kept looking at his feet and hoped he wouldn't hit a wall. His mind had abandoned all thoughts of bumping into someone, though. He thought about the previous night for a moment. All day he had not seen his siblings and was partially scarred to see them.
Anais would give him lip, and Darwin would probably stand there and let her. An image of strangling both of them popped in his head for a moment, but he pushed it away quickly. Running away seemed like a better idea to him. He snapped out of his mind when he hit a wall. Rubbing his head, he sighed.
'Should have seen that coming...'
Gumball looked around. He wasn't exactly sure where he was going. His next class would start soon, so he assumed it was that. He turned and kept on walking, some thoughts of his nagging siblings kept poking his head as well. He found the classroom and dragged his feet inside, not bothering to reply to the teacher who called his name for attendance.
"Alright, class, everyone sit down," instructed the teacher. She was a three-dimensional fairy composed completely of a wire frame. Her eyes were white squares that scarred some students whenever they shifted. Her wings were solid, but twitched like mad whenever she moved with them. While he wouldn't admit it, Gumball sometimes found her in his own dreams...
The bad ones.
"Now then..." She looked through her papers, somewhat distressed. "We, um, have much to go over today."
'Just like every other day,' thought Gumball, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Um... take these and, um, do... something." said the teacher passing out many papers. "All due, u um... next week."
Everyone kept passing around the assignments, and Gumball was sure to stay out of it. He knew very well the other students were mainly goofing off with it, and he just wanted the day to be over. Sadly, they wern't helping him.
"Um, class, this assignment was... No, Is... or-"
'BZZZT!'
"Students, this is your principal speaking." the man said over the speakers around the school. Everyone could hear some anger in his voice.
"I want every student in this building to proceed to the gym. Now."
Very quiet 'Oooh's and other hushed whispers drifted in the room as everyone got up and proceeded out the classroom. Gumball stayed in the back, not looking forward to a school-wide lecture about obediance or something similar to making this place feel more like prision than anything. The halls were flooded with students and the school staff as they made their way to the gym. It took nearly ten minutes to get inside as everyone was shoving to get through the doors.
Inside was the gym teacher holding a megaphone in one hand. Next to him was a tall skinny lady who resembled some kind of plant. In between the two was a tall and very blocky man with a suit and a face that spelled death on him. He took the megaphone and held it over his mouth as everyone was inside.
"Students of Elmore High school, it must be explicitly stated that you all must respect the school property, the staff, and most important, our beloved country."
"Fart-bag," someone whispered.
"...Someone, has not done the three I have stated..." He turned around and started to unfold some kind of cloth. After a bit of fumbling with it, he turned around and with both hands, showed the cloth to everyone.
It was just a normal, American flag that was similar to the one outside and in most classrooms. The problem was whatever was painted right in the middle. In a bright-saturated Green, a hand was plastered on it. Whoever painted it on there was obviously trying to make a point on something, as four of the fingers looked to be cut off from the hand. Red paint included. The only finger left was that of the middle finger, which made everyone's eyes pop out.
"I am going to make this as simple as possible... THIS-" He shook the flag forward a bit. "-is in no was ACCEPTABLE in this school."
"Whoever did this, step forward right now."
Every student stood motionless at the failed attempt of justice.
"...Whoever committed such an act, just know this: We will find out whoever you are. And you WILL be punished greatly..."
The principal folded up the flag and walked out of the gym, the lady followed him while the gym teacher simply scribbled in his clipboard. The students and staff left the gym and went back to their classes, however no one could really thing straight after that meeting and seeing the flag in such a horrible state.
No, this was something that simply had to be talked about.
Gumball kept his head on his desk and ignored all the whispers, note passing, and the teacher as he got lost in his own mind. He knew, along with everyone else, what that hand meant. It was only the most feared and talked about thing in high school ever since he got here.
'...Signals...'
Signals were a group of gangs that roamed Elmore for as long as Gumball could remember. While he never saw them in his neighborhood, they were all over the town at night. Hiding in dark corners and grouped up in random buildings. They were feared top dogs. Committing armed robberies, hijacking of more vehicles than cars, an underground network of computers that could practically shut off nearly half of Elmore's internet connection, and many more acts that would earn anyone a life sentence.
The group was much more complex than the name suggested. It was split up into many divisions, groups, rogues and criminals. All having some kind of connection and working together as one dangerous force.
While the principal wouldn't say it, everyone knew who pulled the stunt. A member of Signals was now in Elmore's high school. And when one member was around, there was a chance to get into the group. A small one, but nonetheless, a chance.
The last few minutes in class Gumball spent daydreaming about being in the group of criminals. Practically standing next to an unstoppable force, all the respect and praise from his friends and cohorts.
And killing every dentist that ever stood in Elmore.
Author's notes redirected to forums. Gumball's Hollow Ponds Perfectly Not Author's Notes.
End of Chapter 4