- Chapter 9 - Meeting the Forgotten Boys -
Warnings: jumpiness, worry, being overwhelmed, anxiety, slight sadness
Third Person POV

There were a lot of people in the group thing that Jack led.

That was the first thing David noticed.

The second thing he noticed was that his younger brother was far better with humans than he was.

The younger thrived in environments like this, while David just wanted to curl into a ball and read a book.

So... maybe he was a bit of a bookworm and a teacher's pet who stayed out of trouble. But who was to say that was a bad thing?

Including the five boys David had already met, he'd met nineteen people.

Nineteen people.

In one day.

David's introvert brain couldn't handle this.

David sighed, standing to the side. He leaned against the wall, watching younger brother.

Les giggled loudly as Henry tickled him, holding him in his arms.

"Les, no!" Lucky squealed when he was picked up by Race, who started tickling him.

Race laughed as he placed Lucky on the couch, laying him on his back and tickling him more.

David really wasn't sure how to feel about the situation.

On one hand, he was incredibly thankful that Les found a friend and was happy and giddy and playing.

On the other, David really hadn't had time to process the whole thing that happened to them in the past forty-eight hours and he was exhausted and confused.

David almost jumped out of his skin when someone started speaking next to him.

"Woah! Woah!" Jack chuckled as he put his hands out to calm David down. "You okay? I'm sorry if I scared you. I forget that some people scare easily," he said with a soft chuckle.

David inhaled slowly, his eyes still wide as he tried to calm down his racing heart. He looked at Jack, calming down when he realized it was just him. "Yeah," he mumbled breathlessly, "I'm fine."

Jack tilted his head. "Then why did your voice just crack?" he questioned knowingly.

David pursed his lips. He sighed a bit. "I'm tired and jumpy because of the past forty-eight hours," he admitted, mumbling.

Jack watched him closely. "Do you want to talk about it or lay down?" he asked, his voice almost a bit gentle.

David stayed silent for a moment, processing the gentleness in his voice. He hadn't heard that since his mother passed.

"David," his mother cupped his cheeks and tilted his head up to look at her. She had a soft smile on her face, the warm one she always wore, "you're going to be great. You're a very smart boy, and you always do well on tests."

David smiled slightly, clearly still nervous. "Thanks, Mama."

His mother kissed him on the cheek. "You'll be great. Trust yourself," she whispered to him. "Trust your instincts; they're always right."

David nodded.

"I love you, David Jacobs." His mother smiled. "Your father and I both love you."

David swallowed, feeling a stinging behind his nose. He quickly shook his head and tried to brush it off. "I'd just like to sleep," he mumbled.

Jack cocked his head to the side, clearly watching him closely and studying him. It was almost if he could see through David's and tell what he was feeling.

It was impossible. No one could read David. No one, other than his mother, had ever been able to before.

David was good at hiding his feelings, and there was no way that this boy could read him. He wouldn't let him be able to.

Eventually, after what felt like hours, Jack nodded. "We have a few extra sets of bunks," he informed Davey. "You and Les can share one, if you'd like. You two can either both sleep on the bottom, or he can have the top and you can have the bottom."

David nodded.

Jack looked at Les. "Do you want to get him?" he asked softly.

David followed his gaze and looked at his brother.

Les was still laughing and having fun with Lucky and the other boys.

No matter how much David wanted to tell him he should sleep, he couldn't. It had been such a rough forty-eight hours and Les deserved to be happy, to have fun, like any kid should.

Even if it was past his bed time, David decided to leave him be. He looked at Jack and sighed softly. "He deserves to have fun," he mumbled. "He's been through a lot in the last forty-eight hours, and I... I trust them to keep him safe and happy."

Jack smiled a bit. "They're good with kids, I promise," he assured him. "I know rough Race who chews on a cigar doesn't look like he'd be good with kids, but he really loves them," he informed David. "Him and Lucky are like siblings."

David looked back over at them. "They look like it," he commented.

Jack nodded. "And Specs is responsible, so is Henry," he assured Davey. "They'll keep them safe, and the others will make sure they have fun."

David nodded. He watched a boy he remembered being called Elmer laughing as he spun around with Lucky in his arms, Lucky laughing with him.

Elmer put Lucky down, still a little breathless and laughing lightly. He noticed David watching him, smiled and waved at him.

David tilted his head, but waved back awkwardly.

Elmer smiled, and he turned back to Lucky and Les.

Jack smiled. "Come on. I'll show you to the bunk room." He started walking upstairs.

David looked away from the group and quickly followed him upstairs.

Jack lead him to the bunk room. He opened the door, finding Buttons sitting on his bunk and sewing. He smiled. "Hey, B. What are you doing?"

Buttons looked up. He smiled. "Sewing." He held up a vest.

Jack chuckled. "Is that Elmer's?" he asked knowingly.

Buttons chuckled. "You know it." He noticed David. "Hey, Davey. Getting a bit tired of the craziness downstairs?" he asked.

David blinked at the nickname. He was the third person to call him that in an hour. He nodded. "How do you know?" he asked.

Buttons shrugged, starting to sew another stitch into the vest. "You know the phrases "introvert" and "extrovert"?" he asked.

David nodded. He'd heard about introverted and extroverted people before, but he only knew the terms very vaguely.

"You seem like an introvert, and they're all definitely extroverts," Buttons commented, chuckling a bit.

David nodded. "Accurate," he muttered.

Buttons chuckled. "I get that; they can be a lot," he said. "I'm kinda in the middle, but I'm just having an introvert sort of day, you know?"

David nodded. "I have that everyday."

Buttons laughed.

Jack chuckled. "Alright, your bunk is over there." He pointed to a bunk that didn't have any clothes hanging from it or anything.

David nodded. "Thank you."

Jack smiled. "Of course. Sleep well," he responded.

David mumbled a "thank you" and walked over to the bed, laying down on the bottom bunk. He didn't bother to take any of his clothes off, just closed his eyes.

He drifted off to sleep not long after, too tired and confused to stay awake and think more. He'd done enough thinking for a day.

1284 Words
Fun fact: the words "introvert" and "extrovert" (or technically the concept of introversion and extroversion) were first introduced in 1910 by Carl Gustav Jung, and the word "ambivert" and the concept of being an ambivert was introduced in 1947 by Hans Eysenck, so I only used "introvert" and "extrovert" as they were made before the story takes place and "ambivert" was made after the story would've taken place.