Prologue of my new little playground.

Enjoy.

Warnings: eh, nothing too hard for now, but like always a shitload of mistakes, probably.

There is one in every neighborhood, in every school, in every park, in every playground, and daycare. There is always one kid you wish you could be friends with. The kid that draws your attention and keeps it. The little child that seems to captivate your eyes and make you wish you were someone different so you could be part of his world, so you could be part of who he is.

It happened to Alfred when he was merely a child. He could still visibly remember the moving truck parking outside the house next door to his. Boxes were slowly carried inside the big Victorian house. Soon furniture was being dragged out from the truck and inside the house as well. The moving people were not done though, because clocks, vases, mirrors and other decorations were soon dancing on top of the concrete as they took them inside.

Another vehicle parked outside the house just as the moving in people were done. It was an old car, a classic car. He could remember his father showing him cars like those in magazines and saying how he wanted to buy one to rebuild it himself. The only problem was that they were far too expensive. Alfred was going to have to tell his father so he could look at it.

A family walked out from the car. A young woman with ash blond hair and a man with dirty blond hair. The two were dressed in expensive looking clothes, something that belonged in a executive office or maybe a law firm but here in Alfred's neighborhood they just looked out of place. That didn't kept the sunny blonds' attention for long though because another figure was soon coming out from the car and this time it was another child.

The kid was shorter than Alfred by around two inches and he was wearing shorts with long socks and dress shoes. The vest on top of his dress shirt would reach his hips and sleeves of his shirt would mostly cover his hands. Alfred thought that he looked more like an adult, if it wasn't for the shorts he would be pretty much dressing like one. It was…strange.

The family was weirder than Alfred first suspected, they declined all welcome parties to the neighborhood and every time someone wanted to say hello or give them a welcome gift they would never open the door. They were never seen outside with the exception of the morning when the two adults went to work but the kid that Alfred could remember seeing the first day was never seen again. The boy didn't go to his school and he even asked his friends about new kids in their schools but none of them had any.

"Maybe he is home schooled dear, or maybe he goes to a private school."

His mom told him when Alfred mentioned how the kid didn't go to school. On the other hand his dad would talk about how weird they were and that maybe they didn't allow their kid to socialize with other kids which was a form of abuse! Of course Alfred's mom would always tell her husband that he was just exaggerating and the only flaw the neighbors had was that they were anti-social. After all, not everyone likes being around people.

Alfred truly didn't know what to believe, he just knew that he wanted to see that kid again. It was more of an obsession than anything else. He was not worried if the kid was being abused or if he even wanted to see him. It was Alfred that wanted to see him. So with that in mind the American boy decided to jump into the neighbor's house through the backyard. It took him a few tries until he finally got a small ladder and used that to climb over his fence and jump into the yard next door. The young boy landed in between some trees and he quickly crawled on the ground to get a good view of the backyard.

He was met with something else; it wasn't a backyard but a garden. The center of the yard was concrete and a metal table with metal chairs was sitting on top of it. There were different paths of flat rocks around the garden, allowing you to walk through it without stepping or damaging the flowers because everything else was really nothing but flowers and trees.

Alfred couldn't remember ever seeing so many flowers in his life and all of them were nothing but roses. Red roses were adorning the whole garden, tall and proud. It almost looked like they were glowing because of how beautiful they were. The trees were thick and tall, allowing shades to land on top of most of the flowers, which made the American wonder if that was bad for the flowers but for the looks of it, it wasn't.

Sky blue eyes moved around the garden and landed on a woman that was standing near the rose bushes. She was watering and nursing the plants. It was the same lady from before so with a small smile, he jumped on top of the flat rocks and made his way towards the woman.

"Helloooo." The sunny blond said with a wide grin.

The woman jumped a little bit and quickly turned around, her green eyes landing on the boy in front of her. "How did you get in here?" Her voice was soft and warm. It was completely different from the cold personality she would show. It had a hint of an accent but Alfred couldn't tell from where but it was funny!

"The fence, I wanted to see why you guys are always hiding!" Alfred huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You mustn't be here. Come, I'll walk you to the door and be quiet." She whispered and made and quiet motion with her finger and her lips. "Come child and please do not make any noi-"

"Hello."

Alfred turned his head to his right and felt a smile tugging from the corner of his lips. Standing near the door for the backyard was the boy that he was looking for! The sandy blond was smiling bemusedly and holding a book close to his chest. He looked exactly the same as when Alfred first saw him, he was even wearing the same style of clothing the only difference was the colors.

"Who is this?" The boy asked with a smile as he glanced at his mother.

"Oh…ah," She gave a weak laugh and gently held onto Alfred's shoulder. It was a tight but secure grip, the kind of hold a mother would give when trying to protect their children, which was confusing Alfred because this women was not his mother.

"He is the neighbor's kid. H-he…he climbed from the fence, I was about to escort him outside." She smiled and gently pushed Alfred forward. It was odd, Alfred could tell how she now sounded nervous and was worriedly looking down at him. It was somewhat scaring the American.

"Ah! No need!" The sandy blond said with a cheerful tone as he moved through the stone steps to get to the center of the garden.

"Arthur, I'm sure his family would be worried. I need to get him home."

Alfred's blue eyes widened when the child threw the thick book at his mother. He was able to see how the book hit the women on her forehead, making a small cut on her left temple. Blood was quickly pouring out from the wound, staining the gray concrete with a rich red color. The woman lost her balance for a couple of seconds and she fell against the ground. One of her hands quickly covered the sound to stop the bleeding but it wasn't doing much.

"W-why did you do that!" Alfred yelled and turned to glare at the boy that was looking so guiltless it was hard to believe what he had just done.

"I told her there was no need." Arthur said with a bored tone and then smiled, turning his attention towards the American again. "Hey! I just met you and you haven't told me your name. What's your name?" The boy moved closer and walked in circles around the blue eyed boy.

Alfred rubbed his lips together, letting his eyes follow the shorter boy. He was glancing at Arthur's mother from the corner of his eyes, noticing how she was now trying to stop the bleeding with the sleeves of her shirt. "Alfred…my name is Alfred."

"I'm Arthur." The boy said and then frowned. "This won't do. Mom, go away!" He huffed softly and picked up his book just to lift his hand and attempt to throw it at the woman on the ground again.

This time Alfred quickly reacted and pushed the boy onto the ground before sitting on top of him and grabbing the book. He threw the book against the roses, making red petals fly everywhere. "What's wrong with you? You shouldn't hit your mom! Your hands will turn to stone, and it's not right!"

The boy underneath him tilted his head and then laughed. "That won't happen, I done it a lot of times. You are so weird…" The smiling face slowly began to fade away though and the laughing stopped. The shorter boy was now looking at Alfred with a bored look on his face and his now toxic green eyes were making the American shiver.

"People like you are so boring."

Those words hit Alfred like a cold shower. The young boy frowned and stared down at Arthur, confusion written all over his face. He wasn't boring, his friends loved to hang out with him, in fact he was the one that would make everyone laugh and have a good time. He was awesome!

"So dull, so common and so very normal."

Alfred swallowed thickly and felt tears building on his eyes. It was hard to make him cry and he wasn't sure why these words were hurting him so much when other kids would say worst things. It was like every word was slowly stabbing a needle on his chest, making it hard to swallow and to breathe.

"Maybe normal is what I need." Arthur smiled his head tilting back and forth as he ran his fingers through Alfred's hair. "Want to play a game?"

"A..a g-game?" Alfred shivered. When did it get so cold?

"Yes, a game. We can play one together! Wanna do it!" And Arthur sounded so cute when asking that. It made Alfred wonder if he ever thought about his other friends like that. He was smiling again and looking at him with pretty, shiny green eyes.

Alfred swallowed thickly. "…o-okay."

The sunny blond was a bit surprised when he felt himself being lifted up and set aside. He was more surprised when he saw Arthur's mother picking up the shorter male and actually threw him against the metal table that was on the center of the garden. She then picked up Alfred and ran around the house until she reached the metal gate and with shaky fingers she reached for the keys in her pocket to open the lock that was keeping the gate shut.

The lock came off and Alfred found himself standing in front of the big house with Arthur's mother holding on his shoulders.

"Don't come back here, please. Please, you have to promise. Can you promise that, Alfred?" She sounded so desperate and at the edge of tears. It was truly breaking Alfred's heart that a lady that was so elegant could look like this just from what her son was willing to do with her. He couldn't refuse her.

"I-I promise."

"Go home now then, don't come back."

Alfred kept his promise. He never tried to jump over the fence ever again and maybe it was because now he was afraid to do it. Fear was making him keep his promise. He wanted to see the garden again, the lady and Arthur but then flashes of those acid green eyes would flash through his head and he would find himself hiding under his blankets.

Two months later there was a fire. The memories were still to vivid in Alfred's head. He could remember his mother screaming at his dad, waking him up along with his father. Alfred was still able to see his dad running down the hall. He was calling the police which made the young boy jumped off of his bed and follow his parents outside.

The old Victorian house was burning. Fire was breaking the windows and slowly consuming the whole ceiling. Alfred could remember his mother calling the fire department while his dad used the garden hose to spray the side of their house with water so the fire wouldn't jump to their house.

The firemen came soon enough and took care of the fire. It took them around an hour to get everything under control, by then a lot of the people in the neighborhood were outside; their curiosity getting the best of them.

"I'm so glad nobody lived there."

Alfred felt his blood turning into ice when his mother said that. He turned his head and glanced at his mother with a small, nervous smile on his lips. "A family lives there…mom, remember? A lady with clothes you wish you could have and a man with a car that dad wants a-and a kid. A kid, remember?" He chuckle, looking like the whole thing was unimportant.

"Alfred, nobody lives there dear. It has been empty for years; maybe you were dreaming and are confused?" His mother said with a frown and gently touched his forehead. She checked his temperature but everything felt normal.

The sunny blond didn't know what to respond to that. He talked to his mother about Arthur and he did the same with his father. They even tried to invite them to a welcoming party but they declined it. He could remember everything, it wasn't a dream. It happened.

The people around him were saying otherwise though, just like his mother they kept commenting how they were happy that nobody lived there and how it would had been so tragic if somebody did.

Alfred had never been so confused in his life. He felt like crying and screaming. He wanted to scream at everyone that they were all wrong and a family did live in that house! But he couldn't even bring himself to open his mouth and say it. Instead he pretended to pay attention to the firemen.

Just then, just at that moment did Alfred noticed the kid that was sitting on top of the fire truck. The sandy blond was swinging his legs back and forth and was eating a chocolate bar. Both of his green eyes were staring at the house that was still burning on some parts.

Emerald eyes slowly turned and stared at Alfred. A smile spread over pale lips and that was all Alfred needed. He quickly ran towards the house, ignoring how the firemen were yelling at him to stop. He dodged a couple of them that tried to stop him and he went inside the house. The place was still burning, even though the fire was under control fire was still eating away the walls and Alfred quickly covered his mouth with both of his hands.

The sunny blond ignored the screams from his mother and he moved through the house. Where was the lady and her husband? Where were they? The boy whimpered, feeling tears building in his eyes from the smoke and the strange feeling that was slowly growing on his chest. Alfred moved to the second floor through the stairs in the kitchen. He dodged some ceiling pieces that were beginning to fall and instead he moved through each and every room.

It was staring to get too hot. It was hard to breath and his head was feeling too light but he needed to keep looking. Just one door was left, just one. With that in mind the young boy opened the last door and he stared in horror at the couple that was sitting on the floor, tied together and with their feet and hands nailed to the floor. Alfred didn't know what to do, but his first instinct was to run towards the couple and attempt to untie them. He would worry about the nails on their hands and feet later. For now all he needed to do was to get them free, they would help him, yeah they would help him to get them free. They couldn't die here. Not, here.

He failed to notice the pentagon that was drawn below the couple and he also failed to notice that the two were already dead. The couple were not moving, and their bodies were bleeding far too much. Their skin was already a ghostly white color and their lips were a dark purple. But Alfred was going to save them, because they were good people, because the lady was nice and because it was the right thing to do. Nobody else could remember them, nobody else was going to come and save them. It was his duty, his duty and no one else's!

Alfred coughed loudly when a wave of smoke hit his face and he covered his mouth with one of his hands, letting the other one tug and pull on the ropes in an attempt to set them free. He didn't notice when the pentagon began to glow an eerie green color, he was far too busy to notice how small lights were now floating around the room. He finally noticed just when the glow was so bright it was hard not to notice it.

The sunny blond stared at the ground, staring at the star that was drawn on the ground before quickly moving away from the glowing symbol. But it was too late, the young boy whimpered as he noticed that his body was glowing the same green color. It was like a field that was now surrounding his body and making it glow. The sunny blond tried to scratch it away and rub it off but the green color didn't disappear until the glowing on the pentagon faded away.

The couple were now gone, the only evidence that they had ever been there were the bloody nails and the rope that was now on the floor. Alfred stared at the empty room, the fire now forgotten. The house was slowly falling apart and before ceiling collapsed on top of him a pair of strong hands took a hold of him. The fireman gathered the boy in his arms and ran with him downstairs, almost falling into the basement when the stairs broke with each and every single one of their steps.

Alfred's head was spinning. He couldn't see anything. Everything was like a big blur that was now showing in his head. The last thing he could remember seeing was that smiling kid, still sitting on top of the fire truck with his mom and dad sitting next to him.

The sun slowly shone through the bedroom window, causing the teenager to squirm and drop one of his arms over his face. "Stupid sun…" He mumbled out and turned around but it wasn't working. The damn, bright sphere was making him unable to go back to sleep. The sunny blond groaned and pushed the blankets off of his body. He stretched his arms over his head until a popping noise could be heard.

The door for his bedroom was then open and a woman with brown hair came in. She smiled at the teenager and then set a trey on the night table next to Alfred's bed.

"Good morning Alfred. How are you feeling today?" She asked as she picked up a small cup with five different pills.

"The sun keeps bothering me. Do you think I can get some blinds?" Alfred asked with a whine and took the small cup with pills that was being offered to him. He put them all in his mouth and then grabbed his glass of water. The American took a big gulp of the water and swallowed the pills, giving a satisfactory smile after wards.

"I don't know dear. We took them down after you tried to hurt yourself with them, remember?" The nurse frowned and gathered the two empty cups. "Now get ready, breakfast is ready."

"Sure thing!" The blue eyed teen got out of bed and went to his closet to change from his night robe into his usual blue pants and blue shirt. He slipped on his socks and slippers before walking out of the white bedroom.

It was a wonderful morning outside; Alfred only wished that he could see it through normal windows and not windows with metal clinging to them to make a cell. Then again, this wouldn't be a safe mental hospital if people could just break a window and jump out. No, it would be a crappy mental hospital indeed. Then again Alfred was used to this; he was used to this place after eight long years. Eight long years without seeing the outside. Eight long years since he killed his parents in a fire.

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