Crushed

I do not own Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja and I don't want too. I'd just ruin it.

Summary: Howard is crushing and Randy gets crushed.

Rated: T (Violence I guess)

Pairing: Randy/Howard

Read on, my deers.

Randy

As the weeks rolled on, being the ninja became second nature and I grew adjusted to it. It was still really Bruce, but what made it most interesting was the characters. All the different people I came across were interesting. The students, teachers, faculty. I always learned something about them and their fears, their daily lives. I always kept everything I learned bottled away and hidden tight in case I was asked a question. Answering reflexively was a bad habit of mine.

None of them knew anything about me, though. To everyone around me that I learned about, they knew me as "The Ninja." No one was able to dig under the exterior of the mask to find a scared, unsure Randy Cunningham. No one except my best friend, Howard. He was the one I relied on most. I don't think he minded either, because honestly I knew he cared, even when he was laughing at me for being scared all the time. I could tell he understood, though.

The suit didn't stop injuries, but I guess the powers it had helped. I never had to go to the hospital, no matter how many times I was slammed into lockers or thrown through walls. I think both Howard and I were happy about that. Howard would always help me patch up if there was anything bad. The suit would fix itself as soon as I pulled off the mask. That was another good part about it, because I can't sew for crap.

Every time I got a scrape, I got to listen to him laughing at me for bruising so easy. The playful teasing was reassuring, but when one day Howard was silent while he fixed a cut on my arm, I knew something was wrong.

"Hey, man!" I fell into step beside Howard in the early morning of school, smiling at him.

"Hey Cunningham." He responded back, without much enthusiasm and no eye contact.

I felt my stomach flip and my heart stop for a second. I figured it had just been that day he'd been upset, so with letting him be alone over the weekend, I'd expected to return to school on Monday to a happy Howard. Not a much worse one. He seemed like he just really wanted me out of his hair.

"Howard, dude, what's up? Why are you acting like this?" I tried, thinking he wouldn't want me to pry, but I was doing it anyway.

"Acting like what?" Was his short tempered response and I rolled my eyes as stepped in his way to stop him from moving forward.

"Come on, something's wrong. You're not your usual obnoxious self."

"Maybe I've changed." He shot back, but I started laughing. Howard changing so suddenly like that? Yeah right. Unfortunately, he did not find it as amusing and had walked around me and kept up his slow pace towards his destination.

I did not follow as closely behind. We had every class together and sat by each other in everyone. He couldn't avoid me very long. I'd figure out what was up with him.

I guessed that by the end of the day we'd be back to talking again, but I wasn't right. Nothing had changed at all in fact. He seemed like he was trying to be normal at some points, but he'd give up and go back to whatever he was doing. I was actually starting to worry about him. What if he got hurt or something happened to him?

What made everything even worse was that there were no monster attacks or robots breaking through walls today. Meaning I had no distractions and reasons to ninja the hell out of there. I was almost praying for something to happen, but what kind of person would I be if I wished harm on someone or something for my own benefit? Not a good one, that's for sure.

We went our separate ways to get home and I felt like I should have forced him to let me go with him, but I didn't want to push it. So I made it home in silence and went inside to the same quiet that seemed to be following me everywhere today.

Homework seemed to be the last thing I had motivation for, so I sat down to play video games after dropping my back pack on my bed. I popped in a classic, Grave Puncher 2, but when I saw the title screen I thought about Howard again and my stomach got tight.

Maybe no video games.

I turned off the console and pushed myself up from the ground where I'd taken up sitting, then stood there. I didn't really know what to do. I felt lost without Howard, even though he didn't always come home with me after school and we didn't LIVE together or anything, but... He's my best friend and how am I supposed to relax when I know or think something really awful is wrong with him... Wait. I have to fix him. He can't get infected by the stank. "...How come I didn't think of this before?"

It hit me that I had gotten lucky today with Howard not changing, but tomorrow might not go the same. I turned to my bag and grabbed it quickly, pulling it on my back. I shoved open my window and ducked out of it, slamming it shut. It was just a faster way to leave the house and take off towards Howard.

I didn't think I could run faster than I was right now and I didn't know why I needed to run, but it didn't matter to me. It was happening.

It seemed liked I broke down the door when I burst into his house, glad it wasn't locked. My dramatic entrance would have been a lot less dramatic if I had to knock.

I made my way straight down the stairs to his bed room, only to have to run back up and shut the door right after.

Unfortunately when I finally got there, I paused at his bedroom door and started to get nervous. My sight dropped to the floor and I shuffled my feet slightly. What if he didn't want me here right now? What if he needs his space? What if... What if... Screw it. I'm going in.

I threw open his door, taking in the sight of him playing some handheld device on the floor and leaning against his bed. He stopped immediately and looked up at me, slightly confused. "Uh, what are you doing?" Howard questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm... I'm coming to see you. I have to know... what's wrong." My voice came out somewhat weak and I realized I was slightly out of breath.

"Did you run here or something? We don't live that far apart." He spoke and avoided why I was here.

"Yes. Very quickly..." I heaved out, walking over to him and sitting down close by. My back pack was discarded beside me as I got comfortable, but as things progressed I realized the silence that had stalked me all day had followed me here, too. I need to do something about it.

"Howard," I started, "You gotta tell me what's up. I don't think I can take more than a day of this weird quietness you're giving me."

He laughed, "Look, I'm fine, okay? Just one of those days, you know?" The way he spoke tried to reassure me, but I knew he was lying.

"Tell me what's wrong." I repeated, "Were you rejected? Are you sick? Dying?"

He shook his head, sighing. I could tell I was getting to him with this constant questioning and he'd break and tell me soon. "Is someone else dying? Did someone DIE?" I continued.

Howard shot me a glare, "Dude, stop guessing."

"Then tell me what it is! Is it-"

"Alright! Fiiine! I have a crush on somebody!" He exclaimed, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting per usual.

"A crush? Whaaaat? Why is that such an awful thing?" I pried, more confused than I'd been now. Who does he have a crush on that would make him act like this?

"Because it is! Shut up about it. You know why now." Howard frowned at me and I sighed.

"But-!" He shook his head to interrupt and I crossed my arms over my chest as well.

"I don't pry over your crushes." Howard remarked.

"Yes you do. AND you make fun of me."

"Okay, well, this is different. I'm different." He pursed his lips before looking back to his handheld and playing it again. I heard the music start up as he got refocused on it.

Fine, if he was gonna be that way, I'd find my other ways soon. I could scrape up gossip tomorrow at school. Easy.

For now, since I was here, I figured we could hang out. He hadn't told me to leave so...?

I felt better now that I was here with him. Leaning closer, I glimpsed the game he was playing and moved a little bit more to watch him with ease. He tensed when I moved closer and our shoulders bumped. Howard wasn't the kind to show affection of any kind in public. For the sake of his reputation, you know? But usually when we were alone, he'd be fine with it. Every time I got near him lately, he'd tense up and try to focus harder. Was he really that embarrassed of his crush? Did he think I could read his mind?

Neither of us moved, though and he kept playing his game, hardly relaxing, unlike me, as time went on. I leaned against his bed, our shoulders still pressed close as I slouched somewhat with my legs out in front of me and my knees up a little. One of my hands was on the ground for support while the other one just rested on my thigh.

Watching Howard play was fun, the way he did things in games with interesting. He wasn't as good as I was, but he definitely was not bad. Very far from it.

At one point in time, he paused his game and put it down, glancing to me. "What are you doing?"

The questioned confused me, "Uh, watching you play? What's it look like I'm doing?"

"Exactly that! Why are you watching me?" He seemed frustrated and flustered.

"Because we are friends and I want to watch you play." These things seemed very obvious.

"Well maybe I want to play alone." Howard grumbled, narrowing his eyes at me.

"Do you need time or something..?"

"Yeah, time away from you."

I winced away slightly, kind of hurt by that. I mean, we hung out a lot, but it was a group effort. It wasn't like I was always the one to engage it. There was no arguing, though, I just stood up and backed away, grabbing my bag from the carpeted floor. If he wanted me out, I'd get out. This was his place.

My feet took me to the door, but I didn't have time to open it before someone grabbed my arm. I turned around to Howard. He didn't say anything; he just stood there, staring at me from his spot. It was equally as awkward for me because I was just staring back. Without knowing what he wanted, there wasn't much I could say, so I just raised an eyebrow.

There was a loud crash that shook the ground and screams that followed, startling me from the unofficial staring contest. I broke the contact with Howard and tore off up the stairs, darting past Heidi.

"Hey, Mindy. Where you headed so fast?" She questioned quickly from we're she was peeking out the window, but I didn't respond. I threw open the door and my sight immediately locked on a 20 story tall creature about a mile away. My jaw dropped slightly. I'd taken down big monsters before, but this was ridiculous.

I grabbed for my bag on my shoulders only to feel a hand on my arm and have Howard hand me my mask.

"It fell out of your bag when you grabbed it. Be more careful." He warned, giving me a glare.

I took the mask tenderly, glancing between it and my best friend a few times.

"Well? Are you just gonna stand there and be useless as people die, or what?" Howard shot, a smirk slipping onto his face for the first time that day.

I nodded, shoving my back pack at him before ducking into a bush and pulling on the mask. The fabric wrapped around my arms and legs, fitting nicely and being loose like always.

Loud thuds slammed against the ground, telling me the creature was on the move and I should get going too. Leaping from my hiding spot was quick and I pulled myself onto the roof of Howard's home, leaping roof by roof closer to it without missing a beat.

I started to climb higher, needing to get to taller buildings. It wasn't very difficult to do, but once I got closer, the damage began to distract me. I heard sirens close by and people screaming in terror. They fled quickly and some of them hid, but I had to focus on the cause of their problems, not them right now.

As I reached it I could make out the beasts details much easier. The creature had harsh red eyes, circled by black and scales that trailed all the way down its back. It had two heads, attached at the jaw and long arms with vicious looking claws. Four legs helped it move, making a total of six appendages.

I had already started to formulate a plan.

"Hey!" I screamed, my voice echoing off of the buildings from the height I was at. "Hey ugly! Up here!"

It seemed to respond to me with a loud roar, clamping onto the building I had been standing on. I jumped high away from the danger, landing on its head and slipping down its body somewhat to grab onto its scales and yank out my sword.

I had to act quickly, but luckily I was naturally fast. The sword sliced into the first appendage close by where I clung to, cutting it off in one clean swipe. A loud screeching cry of pain broke from the creature as gross green liquid leaked from the wound. I realized that I needed to get down and it helped by throwing me off and slamming me into the ground. I winced, groaning in pain and assuming it was angry now.

It got down low to the ground, growling and getting closer till I was able to stab it right in the double snout only to get my sword stuck.

It shrieked and grabbed for me with its good arm, holding me in its claws and bringing me up to its face.

I could feel it huff into my face and breathe heavily. It showed me its bold teeth before parting its jaws. Saliva dripping from its never ending rows of yellowish teeth. "Ugh, you need a breath mint loser. Like hell I'm getting eaten today." I hissed and wiggled slightly, trying to work the blade out of its scales quickly. It managed to get free and I jabbed it into the monsters wrist. The grip the beast had loosened and I got myself free. It started trying to shake me off of its mitt, roaring loudly and practically driving me to be deaf. Unfortunately my efforts to stay in place were lost when it threw me back to the ground.

I pushed myself up from the hard asphalt hardly seconds lately, only to get knocked out of the way again by a large mitt. The wound on its hand caused green to splatter all over the building I hit. The wall was not comforting and the glass from broken windows made it even less enjoyable, so far I was pretty bad off, but I had it weakened and all I needed was to cut off its head.

Prying myself out of the glass was difficult though I managed. The worst part had yet to come.

Grabbing my sword and stowing it away, I stood in the middle of the rode, staring up at the creature 20 times my size and snarling behind my mask. "Come and get me, you freak!" I screamed, holding out my arms and grabbing its attention once again.

"What are you gonna do?! I cut off your arm! You can't hurt me!"

He was in my face in barely 5 seconds, baring its sharp teeth, each one almost as long as my arm. Its mouth opened and I knew this was the second time it planned to eat me, but I refused to give it that satisfaction.

Ducking out of the way, I jumped onto its head and scrambled up higher. It started to shake me off, desperately swinging its head side to side, but I held on for dear life. I worked to get my scarf in its mouth to tie it around the back of its head and hold on better. It took a lot of effort and patience and the grip of god's, but it worked.

With my feet pressed to the back of its neck and one hand holding tight to the ends of the scarf, I yanked out my sword. It was still swinging it head and trying to claw me off but I wouldn't let it happen. I brought the sword back behind my back and swung it, slicing into the monsters neck right above my bold red scarf. I kept going; not stopping till its head started to fall off and green goo went everywhere. The loud slam of the severed head made the ground shake and the body followed seconds later. I tried to stick the landing, but I hurt too much and my hands were sore and bloody under the cloths from wrestling that thing.

The ground seemed to be a comfort when I hit it about 10 feet away from where the head had landed. I gone farther than the body and hadn't landed on anything except asphalt. I would have been dead if I wasn't wearing this suit. It was like a miracle worker, but it couldn't stop injuries from happening like I said before. It sure helped avoid death, though.

A few seconds passed before I blacked out as I wondered if Howard was okay.

Howard

I'd watched the whole thing happen from the very distant sidelines, but I was the first to arrive when Randy hit the ground and didn't get back up. I had to get him out of here and back to my house without anyone suspecting anything.

People were starting to appear and they all gathered around but remained a distance away. No ambulances would be able to get through here. "Uh... I'M GOING TO TAKE THE NINJA TO THE HOSPITAL! PLEASE EVERYONE MAKE ROOM!" I screamed, leaning down to collect Randy in my arms and carry him as I walked. He was extremely light even as dead, unconscious, weight.

People started to move to let me through and I hurried as quickly as I could through them. There weren't actually too many people. They were all most likely still hiding or just staying out of this business.

I ran towards the hospital than turned and cut off down a small road towards my house once no one was in sight. I hid quickly in an alley and pried off Randy's mask, shoving it in my back pocket. He looked worse than I thought he would. There were cuts on his face, blood running down his face and over his lips from his nose. His clothes were intact, but I knew underneath them it wasn't as pretty. I had to get him back quickly.

It didn't take too long for me to get back and into the front door of my house, surprisingly. Maybe it was the adrenaline. I had thought about getting in other ways, but this was the safest and quickest to my room, so I was just quiet about it. I quickly snuck him down to my room and laid him on my bed, panicking slightly. There was no time to deal with my own feelings now. I had to help Randy get through this.

After a trip to the bathroom to collect a bunch of first aid stuff, bandages and a bottle hydrogen peroxide to clean his wounds, I stumbled back in and shut and locked my door. I was scared someone might walk in, but mostly I was scared that Randy wouldn't be okay after this mishap even though that was completely unreasonable and I knew he'd been through worse. Sure, it seemed like I didn't care about him, but I cared about him more than anyone else ever. He meant the world to me, even if I would never admit to that in any life time.

I tossed all the first aid onto the bed by my unconscious friend and lifted him up somewhat to work his jacket off of his shoulders. I could see his chest rising and falling slowly and it looked like he was breathing as he always did. Great news for me and it slowed my panicking.

I threw the jacket to the floor before my fingers hooked under his t-shirt even with embarrassment racing to my face, but I heard a gasp and suddenly Randy was sitting up and breathing heavily. I yanked my hands away, glad I didn't have to go through with taking off his shirt for him. "Oh my god! You're alive!" I cried, grabbing his shoulders. He rubbed the back of his head, smiled at me then winced and leaned over to hold his stomach that was most likely littered with bruises and cuts.

"Of course..." He muttered, "Who wouldn't be okay after being thrown to the pavement by a monster from 20 stories up on two separate, but very close occasions?"

"Almost every person on the world, but that suit is freakin' whack. You know that." I paused and looked at him more seriously, "I'm glad you're okay, though." I responded, feeling the sappiness dripping from my words even if what I said wasn't very heartfelt at all.

He gave me that warm tender smile of his and reached out to hug me close, but I didn't let him do it. I wasn't the kind of guy for hugs.

Instead I went back on the promise I'd made myself weeks earlier, the promise I'd said I would never break and kissed Randy right then and there on the lips.

It terrified me to pull away, fearing what expression I might see on his face, but he just smiled like he understood and I knew he'd figured out my crush in that second. Anyone would have known by then.

I was pissed off at myself for not just keeping it quiet like I'd wanted, but this seemed like it would turn out well. Like something could actually happen here. It would definitely be so much better than avoiding Randy and being angry all the time at my own stupidity and him.

"I'm sorry about earlier..." I whispered, staring at him. There was nothing for a long while, and then he spoke.

"Fix me up, will you?" He asked, his voice a bit hoarse, but he still managed to startle me. I didn't let that be seen, though.

"Of course, you loser." I snorted in response; smirking at him and getting a smirk right back.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure things will go alright here.

i hope you enjoyed it uvu please review and mention to me if there are any errors