What Manny Needs

Somehow, thirteen year-old Manny Rivera can't stop pacing around his bedroom. He didn't even know why he was pacing. Was he just imitating the people in TV who paces while thinking? Did it really work for them? Now, will it work for Manny? Will Zebradonkey ever pay him a visit ever again?!

"Will you get on with the serious narrating?!"

Okay, sheesh.

Manny finally sat on his bed, thinking. Somehow, pacing didn't work a bit. "Stupid pacing people in TV's..." he cursed. He rested his head on his cupped right hand and breezed through his mind a certain flashback on how he ended up in his room, grounded.

Flashback

"Manuel Pablo Gutiérrez O'Brien Equihua Rivera!!" His father called from the living room.

Manny, in short, hesitated in going down from his room and face his very doom. He never really wanted to face his masked father in which he always asks himself why does he always keep his mask on even though he is... handsome looking.

If Frida was here, she would tell him at a time like this, "Dude... you're doomed!! DOOMED I TELL 'YA!!"

On the second thought, he didn't even want Frida to be here right now... it would insult his emotional injury.

"Should I... no..." Manny whispered to himself. "I don't want to go down... I'll be dead!!"

"Manuel Pablo Gutiérrez O'Brien Equihua Rivera!!" his father once again called.

Manny still hesitated. "I won't go down!" he said to himself.

"COME DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!!"

"On second thought, I think I will..." Right away, Manny descended from the stairs hesitantly, ready to face his doom. (dun dun dun!!)

"Yes dad?" Manny said, trying to sound as angelic as possible. He was peeking from the open doorless way.

There, in the living room, sat the great White Pantera, holding a white card and his head cradling on his right arm. "Manny..." he said. "sit here, mijo..." he continued, patting the empty seat next to him.

Manny, although hesitant, sat next to his father. His heart thumped quickly, he felt his blood run out for his face was pale. Yes, he was afraid, no doubt about it...

"Why, mijo, why?" Rodolfo, his real name, began.

"Well, I was uh..." Manny started. He wanted to lie so much right now.

"Don't lie, Manny!!" Rodolfo's voice highered. "You disgrace me, Manny!! You got straight D's on your report card!!" He showed the report card to his son and sure enough there were D's printed on it, except the last one which was a C.

"At least I got a C in Math..." Manny smiled a little but his eyebrows arched in fear.

"Yes, I am happy you got a C on your stinkiest subject but... Manny!! Cutting classes and being tardy is unheard of!!" Rodolfo said, his voice continuing to high.

"But dad..." Manny started.

"You're grounded for two months!!" Rodolfo said, his index finger under Manny's nose.

"Dad...!" Manny whined.

"Three!!"

"Dad I...!!"

"FOUR MONTHS!!" he finally shouted, his face was dark and stuff. His background, which I must say that suited him well, was blazing.

"But Dad!!" Manny still whined.

"If you whine again I'll make it ten," Rodolfo said.

"Yes, dad..."

Manny got up from the couch. "And to be sure you'll be in your room all day, I'm going to confiscate your belt," Rodolfo said, snatching his son's belt quickly.

Quickly, his pants fell down at which he didn't even mind a bit about it instead, concentrating into whining. "NOOO!!" he tried to run after it but ended up tripping because of his loose pants. "I NEED TO KEEP MY PANTS UP WITH IT!!"

"You'll be earning this when you deserve it..." Rodolfo said.

"NOOOO!!" he screamed as his father sighed then left with the buckle.

End Flashback

"That was a long flashback," Manny said, sitting on his bed.

He looked down on his waist and felt incomplete with his buckle. He sniffled and thought of the times when he had his mom.

What would mom do? he thought. He remembered his mom giving a hug at a time like this.

He thought of some exact lines his mom would tell him. "I believe mom would say something like this:" He said to himself. He coughed a little and immitated his mom's voice perfectly. "Mijo, I'm sorry about this but this is for your own good, try to cheer up. Wow... I am a good impersonator, I wonder if I could use it sometime..."

And then he stopped. His mind concluded an answer: Manny... aka El Tigre... Rivera...

...needed...

...a...

...hug...

That was totally out of his character, we all know that. "I don't need a hug!!" he said to himself. "I'm a thirteen year old, I'm a teenager and teenagers don't need a hug!!" Silence then flowed in the room.

"Okay, maybe I do need a hug... but from who?" He scurried through his mind. He didn't want a boy to hug him... that would make him gay... so a girl should do... I think...

And then, the list begins...

His mom?? No... she's away...

Sartana?? Yes, she's a girl but defenitely not a hugging material...

And then, there are girls in his school...

Zoe Aves?? NO!! Again, a girl but not a hugging material...

"I wonder if the Black Cuervo is available..." he thought. "...EEW NO!!"

And then... the final girl that entered his conscience...

Frida? Yes, she's a girl, his best friend, his... sidekick... by any chance... she'd be perfect!!

But wait!! Manny thought again. "but Frida doesn't like hugging!!" he said. "But somehow... I need her to hug me!! So I can feel better!!"

But how? That would be a BIG question for Manny.

"Asking can't help..." he said to himself. "That would make it awkward."

Silence once again basked inside the room.

"How about accidentally but purposely tripping and ending up hugging her!!" he said.

Silence.

"That would make it more awkward..." he said to himself.

Giving up in thinking, Manny propped himself on his bed. Besides, thinking wasn't his best character. Mostly, someone would do the thinking for him.

"MANNY!!" a shout from the doorway occured. He sat up. Manny didn't even hear the door bang.

He saw, at the doorway, was his best friend, Frida Suarez.

"MANNY!!" Frida said, running up to the boy on the bed and hugging him. (Ain't a typo dudes... ain't a typo...)

"I am so sorry for getting you into trouble!! I'm a bad influence!!" she said, crying... mostly shouting her heart out.

"No, Frida," Manny said. "You're not a bad influence... I think I am..."

"Dude..." Frida began, her voice trailing off. "THANK YOU!! I'M NOT A BAD INFLUENCE AT ALL!!"

Silence began again to blend in the Mexican air...

"Frida..." he said, his eyes sparkling...

"Dude... what?" Frida answered.

"Can I have a hug?" he asked.

Frida's face scrunched up into confusion. "Awhatnow?" she said, totally confused.

"A hug... can I hug you?" Manny asked. And again, it was TOTALLY out of his character.

"DUDE!! NO WAY!!" Frida screamed.

He knew that asking was the dumbest thing that everybody could do and for that, he earned himself a mental slap.

Frida could see how sad his eyes were and finally decided. She smiled and hugged the thirteen year old boy.

Manny smiled to himself and thought:

Asking always is the best resort.

Okay, so it's my first time here... I like El Tigre since the day that my little sister introduced me to the world of El Tigre... Yes, I support MannyxFrida and I'm also a onesided MannyxZoe. But mostly, I would like to see someone here write a FridaxMannyxZoe!! That'd be real cool!!

Again, first time here and so please be nice to me. I fully understand that I got them OOC... I think... and I still have room for improvement. No flames please, R&R. Again, please be nice. :D gaia09

P.S. I do like MannyxFrida kisses but I would rather prefer to write something about them hugging or holding hands or something like that. But I will write MxF kisses if I see a real clip of them doing so...:D