Disclaimer: Don't own the original Hunchback of Notre Dame. You're about to read my version. : )

Chapter 1: In Which The Glowing Boy is A Wimp

I was nine when I got into my first fight. I wanted my hair braided first by Mama but she was older so she went first. Nine-year-old me thought cutting off her hair was the only solution.

Can't braid what you don't have.

Then she kept yelling and screaming at me so I pushed her. We fought, I lost, then she snitched. Mama scolded me, whopped me than grounded me. You know the usual when you do something bad.

Now, I'm telling you this for a reason.

After I went to my room I sat on my bed with fat tears rolling down my cheeks. Thoughts of running away, how unfair everything was. The works ya know.

"Why are you crying?"

I had screamed and fallen off my bed because that was a boys voice and not my brother's.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

Peaking over the side of my mattress. I saw a bent over...blue thing. It had no features but I could see the outline of the...thing clearly though.

Child me puffed out her cheeks and rolled her eyes. "You didn't scare me," I remember standing up on shaky legs. "Me scared? Ha, pl-eezz."

It perked up. "I don't scare you."

"No. Why would you?" I remember being so confused because he was just a dark shade of blue with white outlines like somebody forgot to fill in his features. Noting scary to it.

Thinking back on it I probably should have been more cautious. Could have been a killer or child kidnapper for all I knew.

It sat down on the floor. "My master says I scare people so I have to stay in my room."

Child me deadpanned. "You sound like a complete wimp and you don't look scary either."

"What is a wimp?"

"You."

"No, my name is Quasimodo."

I groaned, flopping down onto my bed. "Forget it." I thought about going to get a snack but remembered I'm grounded. I immediately felt like I related with Wimpy. "Anyways I'm Renee. But my friends call me Al."

"What should I call you then…?"

I remember not liking the tone of his voice, but not knowing why. It sounded different than wimpy but more so a sad-wimpy.

My mama always taught me to pay close attention to people's voice and facial expressions.

Thinking on it I decided after five long seconds of hard and thorough reasoning. "You can call me Al."

Wimpy took two steps closer to me. "Really?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, I mean nobody else I know is friends with a glowing boy." Sure my reasons for befriending Wimpy aren't all that good but he sounded happy enough so..meh.

Opening my eyes, I found he was gone. Later that same night at breakfast I told my family 'bout the glowing boy and they obviously didn't believe me.

I knew what I saw though.

…

It was barely a day later that he appeared again while I was focused on my homework.

"Al?"

I screamed and threw my pencil at him. He ducked the flying object at the last second before springing back up.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you again."

I rolled my eyes annoyed that I'd have to go retrieve the pencil to finish the last few math problems. "I told you, you didn't scare me the first time and you didn't scare me now." Picking up the pencil I went back to my desk and sat down.

"Oh okay." I politely ignored the fact that Wimpy didn't sound like he believed me but let it go.

After a minute of silence, I peeked back at him to see he was still standing, looking around my semi-messy room (what? Who had time to clean their room with homework). "You can sit down, ya know."

He flinched at being addressed. "No, no, I'm f-fine. T-thank you." Frowning at that I spun around in my chair to face him.

Not letting it show that his stuttering problem was bothering me, I tried a courteous smile. "You can sit down right there." I pointed to my beanbag chair in front of the TV.

"I couldn't, r-really-"

"It's rude to refuse to sit when you're at somebody else's house, dude." I crossed my arms and scowled as a thought crossed my mind. "My chair not good enough for you huh?"

Wimpy hastily waved his arms. "Oh, no n-no. I couldn't p-possibly..." He ringed his arms nervously. His head moved, looking around my room. Sometimes stopping on stuff like my radio, TV, a/c, and finally my bed. "My back...it hurts sometimes when I seat down." He looked to my floor and I felt regret at getting mad at him.

Looking at my freshly made bed, mind you, I wanted to be the first to get in, I shrugged. "Just lay down on the bed then." I frowned. "Does it hurt when you lay down too?"

He moved from foot to foot and I realized one is shorter than the other. "My bed is..not so comfortable so it h-hurts." He looked up then. "B-but I'm n-not complain-ing! My master is very k-kind to give me o-one."

My head tilted and I felt an unease rise in my stomach. "Master?"

"Master Frollo is v-very gracious to have taken m-me in." He nodded his head.

Biting my lip, I rubbed my hands on my pajama pants trying to cool my nerves. Looking up at him, I felt dread. "Are….are you a slave Quasimodo?"

We had only just started talking about it in Social Studies but my parents were firm on me knowing about racism, slavery, and none of those things were good. They'd told me if somebody called themselves my master I was to run to the nearest adult and tell them.

"No!"

I flinched back then, and my heart jumped into my throat. I was not expecting him to get so defensive over it.

"M-master is g-gracious to have taken in a-abandoned monster-er like me."

My hands covered my mouth in horror. I felt terrible at having called him a wimp now. He'd been abandoned and even though my parents didn't leave me, one of my friends is an orphan and she says it hurts.

With new resolve, I took his hand in mine. I put my hand on his shoulder when he tried to get away in a calming manner as my Papa does. "Calm down. I'm not trying to kill you or something."

Okay so maybe it could have done without the attitude but hey, he calmed down enough.

Getting him to the bed was easy but actually getting him to lay down on it was harder. He didn't get on it till I threatened to not be his friend anymore for being rude.

I'm such a great friend.

Walking to my TV, I turned it on and put in a tape of a cartoon movie and let it play from the beginning. "Here, you can watch TV while I finish my homework. Just be quiet 'cuz my parents don't like the tv on during the night. Okay?"

He nodded his head and I went back to doing my homework with a nod of my own head.

Thirty minutes later after finishing math and English, I turned to check on Wimp-Quasimodo to find just rumples in my covers where he once was.

With a shrug, I turned off the TV and called it a night wondering when my glowing friend will come back.

I really shouldn't be starting another story before the others are finished but...meh

I'm terrible at keeping ideas to myself and I'm scared somebody else is gonna think of this and post it so mine won't be original so...

Tada~ here is Just Another Gargoyle! The title gives a hint at the base of the story and explains why Quasimodo isn't too shy and reclusive upon his first meeting with dear Renee.

Also, he's nine...so young and influenceable.