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“Nah man, you’re supposed to say something like ‘oh, it’s Friday! You can spend the night!’ Or ‘dad will take you back home.’ You look like you wouldn’t be able to hold your own on a real street fight, karate kid or no, so I gotta be around to protect you at night.” Izzy was the tough one here, not this smiley kid, that was obvious. He wasn’t about to just let him wander around alone.

“Awwww... Why you gotta hide it? I’m just gonna keep asking and asking until you spill the beans, you know.”

"Thinking about me huh?" Why in the world would Toby be thinking about him and blushing? Again, he scrunched up his face, deep in thought over the whole thing.

Lots of things didn't add up, even with the evidence right there, clear as day. Izzy didn't want to think too hard about it, so he only smiled and shrugged.

"I guess it's hard not to think about me, huh? I getcha, I do. I'm just that cool, aren't it? You probably never had a friend as cool as me, guaranteed!" It was easy to just let the subject drop for now, given that Toby had been red pretty much since he got to the cafe. Poor kid just couldn't handle how cool Izzy was.

He'd learn over time!

"I'd have to call my mom and ask about staying the night, but it's probably best you call your dad first. ... Dammit, if we were gonna do all that, maybe I should have packed some extra clothes. We're not too different in sizes though, so I'm sure you got something to lend me. But what about an extra toothbrush?"

"See, that's smarts. My family only ever gets new ones when we go to the dentist. We go every six months, and then they give us new ones when we leave since that's how often you're supposed to change them." Izzy pulled out his own phone and sent a quick text to his mom, asking permission too. It was an almost immediate 'yes, have fun!'.

Figures. It felt like she was trying to set them up on a play date or something the whole time Toby was in the shop.

"So your dad's gonna be home too? Is he like my dad, who gets home and grabs a beer then falls asleep in front of the TV, or one of the more nosy parents who are always up in your business?"

"Cool... Huh, since mom said yes too, and I'll just be still heading this way, do you think we should stop and pick up some snacks or something? What's a sleepover without a giant bucket of cheese puffs and soda?" ... Dang, if he would have known this was going to end with a slumber party, he would have raided the cafe for more concha...

"That sounds pretty cool though, your dad I mean. And if he's still messing with music, that means it won't be too late for you to do the whole serenading thing, right? Who knew I would have heard something so soon?"

"Hey, not my fault you wanted to be Mr. Moneybags and spoil me like you loved me or something." Dang, and here he thought he was going to be able to just keep mooching.

... Technically he mooched plenty already but whatever.

"It's okay, You said something about a frozen pizza, so that works out plenty. Lots of cheese right there. Dang though, I got nothing music to add to it. Uh... I can sign though, I guess. I was in church choir when I was a kid, but still do some singing every now and then. Heh... It's a bit embarrassing to think about singing infront of someone though."

"I guess? But think of it this way, I was in a group of like, twenty other choir boys. I have no idea if people actually think I sound good one on one, you know? I don't exactly go around standing on rooftops and singing to the moon like a weirdo. Or a cat. Cats do that." Izzy was grateful for the darkness that was falling. It hid the heat coming up to his face at the thought that he'd sing infront of Toby. He had already made fun of the other boy plenty, it only gave him more fuel to make fun of him for being out of tune.

"Ehhh... Singing just comes to you. You just feel it, you don't really do it for anyone else except yourself because who cares if people think you sound weird? You sing cuz it makes you happy, and it makes me happy, so that's all that matters."

"No need to force yourself. You got plenty going on already. I heard Violin was one of the hardest things to play, thanks to there being no frets. Lots of memory involved there, so good on you, Toby. It's cool that you'd still go at it, even if it's hard." At that, Izzy reached out again to ruffle Toby's hair again, and this time he let his hand linger, playing with the locks with minor amusement.

"So what's with the green stripe, anything about it, or just for the cool factor?"

"Uh-huh." He didn't know why he thought that there was some deeper meaning behind it. It didn't really matter anyway, and Izzy just withdrew his hand and shoved them back into his pockets.

"That's cool. Mine's too dark to do anything, and bleaching is too much for me. It'll end up looking all yellow instead of blond. I think I'm only the tiniest bit jealous of it."